Bryce Carlson Rows Across the Atlantic

Here's the background:



What happened?  Not only did he row the 2,000 miles unaided across the Atlantic, he beat the previous record by two weeks.  Two weeks!

It took him 38 and a quarter days, but he did it.  It's not surprising that he also does ultramarathons, as the mental toughness required for such a feat is something normal people can't begin to fathom.

Fatigue.  Fear.  Loneliness.  Pain.  And oh, about a dozen capsizes.  

The human heart, body, and spirit are truly remarkable.

Jack in the Box - We Love Jack's Bowls

We don't have this burger chain up here in Minnesota, hence, the social media outrage of this campaign isn't on our radar screen.

What's the outrage?  This:



As of this writing, JITB has not apologized for this campaign.  For that, I give them credit.  It takes a lot of bowls to stand up to the social justice warriors...

It's Hard to be Catholic

The latest scandal to hit the church is especially egregious.  The latest count has 300 Pennsylvania priests raping and abusing kids that number into the thousands.  The individual stories of abuse are so sick and depraved that they can only be defined as evil personified.  

That's personally why I'm struggling so much with this.  Lord knows this is hardly the only priest abuse scandal.  There have now been too many to count.  But while other cases and stories, numerous as they were, continued to pile up, we were saved details.  Not this time.  This time we were informed not only of the abuse but also of the nearly satanic efforts employed around it.  Incredibly evil and sacrilegious behavior and rituals.  

But that's just the start - which is a remarkable thing to type.  The cover-up and lack of any kind of action are where the evil really establishes its deepest roots.  It moves up the chain of the church to some of the highest levels.    

As a practicing Catholic, we cannot state that these are one-off behaviors.  They're not. Priest sexual misconduct (pedophilia, heterosexual, and homosexual) and its subsequent cover-up has been and continues to be an issue everywhere.

Everywhere.

It has been that way for decades, and still exists today, and even at the highest levels of the church.  Just a little over a year ago Vatican police raided a drug-fueled gay-sex party at an apartment belonging to an aide of one of Pope Francis’ key advisers.

As a Catholic - one that truly believes that this is Christ's church here on Earth, one that truly believes in the sacraments and what they mean, one who believes that the Holy Spirit has worked to guide it, one who believes that it is the outcome of Jesus' call to Peter to be the rock - I truly don't know what to do.

I'm angry.  I'm convinced more than ever that evil has permeated our church, and not just via behavior.  This is evil of a super-natural and satanic variety.  How could you not read the report out of PA and not come to the exact same conclusion?

This is Christ's church.  This is my church.  It is under attack from the inside.  I can either walk away, as millions and millions of Catholics have already done, or I can stay and fight.  

Is there a chance, or is the battle already lost?  Is the fight a righteous one, or an ignorant one?  

I have been shaken by this and I really, truly don't know what to do.  

Saturday Song Share: Wrabel - Sideways

We're not goin' up 
We're not goin' down
We're sideways, we're sideways, we're sideways

Sgt. John Chapman, Medal of Honor

A couple of things on this:

• Has a MOH recipient ever been filmed during his heroics?  I think not.
• The charge into the bunker was one of the bravest things I've ever seen filmed.
• Sgt. Chapman continuous fighting, despite injuries and being vastly outgunned and outnumbered, were astonishing.

Think about whatever petty gripe you have going for you today.  Now watch this:

Ben Shapiro Breaks Down Trump's "Like a Dog"

Everybody is looking for Trump the racist.  Turns out, the guy just doesn't like dogs:



Yet another reason why my man-crush on Ben Shapiro continues...

Willie Dillie Chooses Suicide to Save Her Family

This is what Islam has wrought in the Netherlands.

How is this not front page news everywhere?

Happy Anniversary to Me

24 years ago today Mrs. YDP and I were wedded in a simple, but large and incredibly fun ceremony.  

It's interesting to look back at all that has transpired since that time.  We've been through a lot, no doubt, but along those lines, there's no doubt as well as to who I would have wanted at my side all of that time. 

I stand with her a year away from our silver anniversary and wonder where all the time went.  I also stand in dumbfounded appreciation for our life together.  I am stupidly happy.  And even when the inevitable pains of life come upon us, having her there makes everything more tolerable.

I'd like the say that I'm lucky, but that is hardly the word.  I'm blessed.

Happy anniversary, sweetheart.  

Happy.  That's exactly what you've provided me all these past 24 years.