Recta Ratio

The country looks so pretty with all those red counties, it is a shame to leave it incomplete this year.

I did not even notice that the NHL is not playing hockey this year (so far).

Back around 1970-72, I was a fanactical Bruins' fan. But the fact that the ownership for a very long time has had no interest is spending the money that would make the team a genuine contender for the Stanley Cup has wiped out my interest. The last players I could name were Ray Bourke, Mike Milbury, and Gary Cheevers. Been a long time since I took that team seriously.

But David Frum is making a pretty convincing case that Yasir Arafat is actually in the terminal stages of AIDS contratcted through homosexual relations.

A fascinating photo-essay on how leftists in San Francisco reacted to the good news this week.

These people are despicable. They don't belong here. I hope they are the one's planning on heading north permanently.

I had to shove my way through a smaller and slightly better-mannered group of the same maggots in Copley Square Wednesday night.

Monday night, two friends and I ambushed a Kerry rally on the same spot, bellowing "Four More Years!" while TV cameras were rolling on about a dozen Kerry supporters. We drowned them out for 5 minutes until they brought in another dozen re-inforcements.

But just about equally, the motivating factor of the critical mass of voters was moral values.

This election was a resounding defeat for those who favor gay "marriage" or anything akin to it, and those who favor abortion.

That is why vocal, adamantly, aggressivley pro-abortion Senator Arlen Specter cannot be allowed to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would allow hiim to block or even veto President Bush's judicial nominations. It is through the judiciary's fiat that the evils of current post-modern society have been thrust upon us, and it is only through the judiciary that the damage can begin to be undone. Legislatures can't do anything until the judiciary allows it, at least as most legal scholars (and the courts themselves) believe.

Yes, we do indeed plan to stuff the genies back into the bottle if we get a chance. And posterity will thank us for ending the failed experiment of post-war social liberalism.

On Election Day, Pansy Moss of Two Sleepy Mommies gave birth to another child, a son.

God bless the Moss family at this happy occasion!

An old man said, "Every time a thought of superiority or vanity moves you, examine your conscience to see if you have kept all the commandments, whether you love your enemies, whether you consider yourself to be an unprofitable servant and the greatest sinner of all. Even so, do not pretend to great ideas as though you were perfectly right, for that thought destroys everything."

Newsweek has the details.

So why didn;t they tell us this stuff before the election?

of how the GOP went about getting such a big chunk of the Catholic vote.

They really don't understand what is killing them: 30 years of McGovernite extremism they have tried to make mainstream, plus the eventual dawning on the American people that the New Deal itself was a failure.

And take Alec Baldwin with you, for pete's sake!

You cannot be both Catholic and pro-choice.

It is not just an election slogan, to be discarded now that the side of the angels has triumphed.

Those who say that they are both Catholic and pro-choice must now make a choice. If they are Catholic, they cannot also be pro-choice. If they are pro-choice, they can no longer consider themselves Catholic.

For those who insist that they favor choice, the time for choosing has come.

They had best choose wisely for the sake of their immortal souls.

Eternity is a very long time to spend roasting in the fires of Hell and enduring its other torments and unending agonies. Unrepented complicity in the deliberate murder of innocent babies in utero will surely earn people damnation. It is a sad thing that, for the sake of making a political and social statement, for the sake of a "right" to unbridled libido with no consequences, some people will choose damnation.

Remember, remember
The Fifth of November;
Gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes Night is a national patriotic holiday in England to this day. It is of course anti-Catholic in its origins, though admittedly the plot to blow up Parliament was indeed a Catholic plot.

Today, the anti-Catholic element of the holiday is forgotten (since Catholics are a plurality of Christians in the UK, as in the US). It is now a night for warming bonfires and fireworks, rum butter, and drinking.

In the Protestant-dominated parts of the the British Isles, the merry-making associated with Hallowmas before the Reformation was transferred to Guy Fawkes' Night. Instead of "going a'souling," children would go door to door and beg a penny "for the Guy" to make the effigy of Guy Fawkes that would often crown the bonfire. Yes, that is another New Year's luck visit custom, though this one is derivative from Hallowmas.

An interesting (and more overtly anti-Catholic) offshoot of Guy Fawkes Night was Puritan Boston's Popes' Day. The rival North and South End gangs would each build on a flatbed wagon an ugly effigy of the Pope. Starting at opposite ends of the town (the North End as we know it, and the vicinity of lower Kingston Street today, what was then (but is not now) Boston's south End, they would parade toward a central point, Haymarket.

In the market square, a titanic donnybrook would ensue as the gangs battled with barrel staves, horse dung, fists, rocks, clubs, and anything else that came to hand. The gang that won would capture the other gang's Pope. Both effigies would then be burned. There would then usually be a public banquet with much drunkeness following the brawl. Sounds pretty much like an English soccer crowd of today.

This was usually also Mischief Night in Puritan New England, a time for overturning outhouses, stealing gates, egging houses, and other practices that have been absorbed into Halloween or Devil's Night mischief in modern times.

The mother of Saint John the Baptist and the wife of Saint Zachariah.

St. Elizabeth to the Blessed Virgin Mary: "Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb."

Peggy Noonan is a gem. Savour her linguistic craftsmanship.

Well, the election is over and won. Halloween has slipped down the memory hole for another year. The Red Sox are resting on their laurels and demanding higher salaries for the duration of the off-season. The pretty foliage is falling off the trees rather rapidly, as the days and nights chill notably.

And it is November, the month dedicated by the Church to the d--d (I'm using that computer again that does not like words like d--d, d--th, bl--d, etc: rolling eyes emoticon would be appropriate now).

Allow me to recommend a book by Father P.T. Kelly, S.T.L, So High the Price, Daughters of St. Paul Press, 1968.

It is a brief, 2-hour read about the reality of Hell, its s, and how to avoid it.

It is not over-heavy on the fire and brimstone. But it does get the point across. It is interesting to note that the book came out after Vatican II, and quotes Vatican II's documents to the effect that nothing about the Church's teaching regarding Hell and Purgatory was changed by the Council, and that we all ought to be aware of that reality. Even then, it was felt that there had been too little emphasis on this possible fate (probable for some).

To paraphrase St. Jerome: think about it now, so that you don't have to live there forever.

And pray for mercy for those in Purgatory, and for those dying today, that they avoid eternal damnation, a very high price indeed.

Well, this falls under the "If you can't say anything nice about the dying, just say nothing at all" category, doesn't it?

Update: Arafat now brain-dead (medically confirmed, that is).

Further Update: I've read the following from Jonah Goldberg in The Corner:

I am generally sympathetic to the notion that you shouldn't speak ill of the . The recently , that is. I don't think there's anything wrong with speaking ill of the long . Woodrow Wilson was a terrible man, for example. But when political opponents go, the temptation is to score points. Most liberals behaved admirably when Ronald Reagan passed away and I would like to think that conservatives would do the same when various stars of the liberal pantheon depart.
But all that goes out the window with ers and ists. This tradition is predicated on the assumption that ones opponents are not ones enemies. A poliical opponent shares a bedrock faith in political norms and (small L) liberal rules.
None of this applies to Yasser Arafat in my opinion. He's a bad man who's been terrible for his people and if there's any justice, when he dies he will receive 72 virgins who look exactly like him.

OK, he's convinced me.

Arafat: a nasty, murderous, vile piece of work that the world is much better off without. Anybody want to volunteer to pull the plug on him? Or to water his grave?

Mark Sullivan lists the valiant towns in Massachusetts that voted for President Bush.

I noted that his margin of victory in most of them was depressingly slim.

Saaaa-lut!

Here in Massachusetts, we lost another state senate seat (leaving us, what, 4 out of 40?) and two more house seats (Giving us, what, 10 out of 120, or is it 8 now?).

The Massachusetts Republican Party actually died sometime in the 1990s, after Weld won the governorship in '90, and then failed to do anything to build the party. It never quite thrived after 1930 or so. This death has been a long time coming, and wasn't really noticed until now.

I was once a local party official. I gave it up as a bad (volunteer) job. Too hopeless even for me, who clings on dutifully when even the slightest sign of hope seems to be extinguished.

Update: Dom Bettinelli notes the passing, too and laments the lack of any way to build it back.

Winners:
Tony Blair and the UK
Australia
Poland
Italy
Vladimir Putin and Russia
Czech Republic
Taiwan
South Korea
Israel
Philippines
Afghanistan

Losers:
Iran
Syria
Libya
China
France
Germany
Canada
Spain
North Korea
Saudi Arabia

What did Kerry the most damage?

Was it, after all, that thing he said about gladly sacrificing a Red Sox World Series win for another year so he could win this year?

Or was it the brand new, completely unbroken-in Red Sox cap?

Or was it the ghastly, clueless, tasteless TeRESah?

Was it the lack of genuine effort from the Clintons, as they cleared the decks for Hilary! 2008[TM]?

Was it the fact that he looks like the TV version of the Addams' Family's servant Lurch, and sounds like Thurston Howell III?

His warm personality and common touch (irony meter exceeding manufactuerer's limits)?

The LL Bean field jacket worn to death in the last few weeks?

The 723,975th time he mentioned that he won medals in Vietnam (omitting that he burned them later in an anti-war protest)?

The photo with Jane Fonda?

The fact that his voting record can be construed as more liberal than Ted Kennedy's?

The knowledge that he spent days making his signiture resemble that of John F. Kennedy?

The identity crisis: pretending he was half-Irish for 30 years, then suddenly before the New York primary telling people his grandfather was, in fact, an Austrian Jew, and not Irish at all?

Was it his owning an island (Naushon, a Forbes family thing)?

Was it the fact that he had been practicing the speech he never gave Tuesday night since he was 15 (so sad to see dreams die!)?

Was it having the fire hydrant removed fro in front of the Louisbourg Square mansion?

Was it the 20 years in the Senate without doing anything in particular?

Was it being born into enormous wealth, marrying an even wealtheir heiress, then divorcing her to marry the top of the Forbes 500?

Was it the years between wives when, as a US Senator, his charitable giving made the sum total of zero?

Was it his many, "Do you know who I am?" encounters with other Bostonians over the years?

Was it the far-left stuff Spouse Number 2 was affiliated with?

Was it the Paulist Center?

The fact that he never saw an abortion he did not want to make sure could happen?

All of the Above? (My choice)

I'd really like to know what was the deciding factor in making people decide Kerry was not the man.

As Mark Shea pointed out, we in Boston can rely on Osama's word that, since we voted for Kerry, we will not be a ist target.

That is, if you think Osama would never lie to the American people.

And if you believe that, there is this nice patch of land in Florida I'd like to talk to you about...

News outlets are now calling the Alaska Senate race for Murkowski.

Make that a confirmed gain of 4 GOP Senate seats.

It is a lovely sunny Wednesday morning in Boston. The clouds that drenched the Kerry people in Copley Square last night broke up before dawn.

Happy days are here again...

Non nobis Domine non nobis,
Sed Nomini tuo da gloriam
Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Te deum laudamus
Te dominum confitemur.
Te æternum Patrem
omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes angeli,
tibi cæli: et universæ Potestates.
Tibi Cherubim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus:
Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra
majestates gloriæ tuæ.
Te gloriosus
Apostolorum chorus.
Te Prophetarum
laudabilis numerus.
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbum terrarum
sancta confitetur Ecclesia.
Patrem immensæ majestatis:
Venerandum tuum, verum,
et unicum Filium.
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriæ, Christe, tu Patris
sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum
suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu devicto mortis aculeo,
aperuisti credentibus
regna cælorum. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes,
in gloria Patris.
Judex crederis, esse venturus.
Te ergo quæsumus, tuis famulis subveni,
quos pretioso
sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac
cum Sanctis tuis in Gloria numerari.
Salvum fac populum tuum Domine,
et benedic hereditati tuæ.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos,
et extolle illos usque in æternum.
Per singulos dies, benedicimus te,
et laudamus nomen tuum in sæculum sæculi.
Dignare Domine
die isto sine peccato nos custo dire.
Miserere nostri Domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua Domine super nos,
quem admodum speravimusin te.
In te Domine speravi
non confundar in æternum.

We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship Thee and the Father everlasting.
To Thee all Angels: to Thee the heavens and all the Powers therein.
To Thee the Cherubim and Seraphim: cry with unceasing voice:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and the earth are full: of the majesty of Thy glory.
Thee the glorious choir: of the Apostles.
Thee the admirable company: of the Prophets.
Thee the white-robed army of Martyrs: praise.
Thee the Holy Church throughout all the world: doth acknowledge.
The Father of infinite Majesty.
Thine adorable, true: and only Son
Also the Holy Ghost: the Paraclete.
Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son: of the Father.
Thou having taken upon Thee to deliver man: didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
Thou having overcome the sting of death: didst open to believers the kingdom of heaven.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come: to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants: whom Thou has redeemed with Thy precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints: in glory everlasting.
Lord, save Thy people: and bless Thine inheritance.
Govern them: and lift them up forever.
Day by day: we bless Thee.
And we praise Thy name forever: and world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day: to keep us without sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us.
Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us: as we have hoped in Thee.
O Lord, in Thee have I hoped: let me never be confounded.

Now I wonder if we might see a few more Democrats in Congress jump ship to be in the majority.

Victory is a great thing to be savoured, so long as one does not linger too long over the delicious results.

Of course, the next 4 years will be no picnic.

It never is.

We are still fighting a war. And in fact, I expect new fronts to open up in that war. Whether through direct US intervention, or through internal subversion encouraged by the US, the current Iranian regime must go. It has long been a sponsor of terrorism, its nursery was a terrorist act against the US, the holding of American diplomats hostage. The Syrian regime likewise needs to be either overthrown or wiped out.

China threatens Taiwan, North Korea is racing for a nuke it can detonate over LA, if we don't let it take over the South.

It will still be tough to get good judges through the Senate, because not all Republicans are stalwarts, including the new chairman of the judiciary committee.

The price of oil must be brought down, and the best way to do that is to open ANWR to exploration, which means a big fight with the tree-hugging left.

The economy could also use another tax cut, this time front-loaded, not back-loaded.

There is a public relations war to win regarding vouchers and school choice, and on "a constitutional amendment banning gay "marriage", as well as immigration reform (and sadly the President is on the wrong side of this issue).

There will be a Cabinet reshuffle almost certainly. And conservatives will have to be watchful that moderate-liberal caretakers from the depths of the bureaucracy do not replace principled conservatives like Ashcroft.

But for now, this is a very, very sweet day, only marred by Blogger's intransigence in allowing me to post these pensees and notes, in anyplace else but my comments box, which I will remedy tomorrow.

Murkowski is leading in Alaska, but it may not be official for a few days, as 2% from rural Alaska remains to be counted.

Frankly, I thought she was a goner.

Sadly, Craig Benson lost the governorship of New Hampshire on the Kerry coattails.

Of all the places for the Heinz express to have coattails, it had to be New Hampshire!

But he can be back in 2 years, if he so desires.

And we held the governorship of Vermont, the other state plagued by gay "marriage."

The President did 4% better in Massachusetts (against our own junior senator!) than he did in 2000.

Wow.

Just goes to show the depth of warm feelings for John Kerry in this state. People here like him well enough as the junior senator, who doesn't really accomplish much. But they thought that Gore guy had it goin' on.

I now regret that Blogger does not offer a laughing emoticon.

It's official: Republican Mel Martinez is the Senator-elect from Florida.

Edwards did absolutely nothing for Kerry in the south.

Even in Edwards' home state, Bush got 56% of the vote, the same percentage that he got in 2000.

The idea of picking a vice presidential candidate is, unless there is some other factor (Bush picked Cheney because of the so-called "gravitas" factor, remember) to make sure that you take a state that is important and that you might not otherwise get.

Was it the top of the ticket that was the drag, or both?

President Bush topped President Reagan's popular vote total, setting a record.

In your face, Ron, Junior, a disgrace to your father's splendid name and pro-life principles.

Kerry conceding at 1pm. That is what he has told the President, according to Drudge.

Big winner aside from President Bush, Hilary Clinton's 2008 campaign, the Battleground Poll, the Mason-Dixon Poll, G. Thomas Fitzpatrick (well, shucks, thanks, Tom) Karl Rove, and the USA and the GOP generally:

Jay Cost of The Horserace blog. This man knows his stuff. Great, trenchant analysis every step of the way.

And frankly, I think the President has been more than enough of a gentleman.

His lead in Ohio is over 100,000 with 100% of the precincts reporting. He has won that state, along with Iowa and New Mexico. He has 286 electoral votes (just what I predicted).

Forget what Kerry does. He is irrelevant at this point. His armies of trial lawyer surrogates will not get to clash in the courts. They can't effect the outcome in any state enough to justify the wait.

Time to declare victory, whether Kerry concedes or not.

And the Stock Market is celebrating. At the opening bell it surged ahead 173 points on news of the President's victory. it is now up about 135 points, after some profit taking.

That combined with the sudden nosedive it took yesterday when presented with what it thought it would not have to face, a Kerry victory, gives the lie to the notion that Republican rule is somehow bad for the economy.

Oh yeah, and to Michael Moore, Al Franken, Paul Begala, James Carville, Dan Rather, Molly Ivins, Ellen Goodman, Maureen Dowd, Derrick Z. Jackson, Arthur Schlesinger, John Kenneth Galbraith, David Brock, CBS generally, ABC, NBC, CNN, PBS, the NYT, Boston Globe, Chicago Trib, LA Times, Slime Magazine, Newspeak, US Abuse and World Distort, The Guardian, The Nation, The Village Voice, Sierra Club, MoveOn.org, PETA, People for the American Way, the ACLU, the National Lawyers' Guild, the ABA, and above all, the French and the UN minions:

your crow awaits your dining pleasure.

And when you are done with that, I have some soiled boxers for your dessert.

Eat 'em in bad health!

The only thing I don't like about all this is Arlen Specter as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman. That could be as much a roadblock to getting good justices and judges appointed as Patrick "Leaky" Leahy (dubbed that by Rush flor his shameless leaking of sensitive classified documents relating to the war that he was privy to as a member of the Senate Intelligence Oversight Committee).

Orrin Hatch was a good chairman, and would that a way could be found to keep him there. Specter was the ungrateful (and utterly undeserving) recipient of a lot of White House support in keeping his seat.

But Mason-Dixon did a nice job in the final days.

And Battleground was on in its prediction of the President's share of the popular vote: 51.8%.

The GOP picks up 4 seats in the US Senate, holding the Alaska seat, apparently, and winning in Florida, apparently.

That makes it 55-44-1

Voters in 11 states voted to ban gay "marriage," though that won't mean anything unless a federal constitutional amendment is passed doing the same thing.

Alaska voted to keep illegal (good.).

Oh, and since the President won Florida so convincingly this time, by 2%, I guess all that stuff about disenfranchised Floridians, yearning to elect Al Gore 4 years ago was all hooey. I knew it was, but this just proves it.

If that had been the case, they would have ridden Bush out on a rail, rather than giving him a good majority.

Another set of Democrat-manufactured lies.

President Bush owes Catholics big time.

He got 41 % of the national Hispanic vote.

The regular Mass attenders put him over the top (getting 55% of their vote).

Catholic Answers voting guide, without telling anyone who to vote for, put Catholic teaching on the non-negotiable life issues so clearly, that no one who took it to heart and is sincere in the Faith could possibly have gone wrong and voted for pro-aborts (when the opposition was less pro-abortion).

So hopefully this loyalty will be rewarded in more than the usual political pandering, but with continuing steadfast loyalty to the principles that won the support, manifested in judicial appointments that can effect these issues over the long term.

So, let's see, I was right about the number of Electoral Votes the Preisdent would get: 286.

If anything, I was pessimistic on his popular vote numbers (he did 1% better than I thought he would) and how big the Senate majority would be (2 better than I thought).

I seem to have been right on regarding the House (gain of 4) .

And I was right that the Kerry campaign would end all wet and in the dark in Copley Square.

'Mi good, or what?

The reports I am seeing indicate that with 99% or 100% of the precincts reporting, the President has won Iowa, Ohio, and New Mexico, giving him the 286 electoral votes needed to make my predictio of yesterday stand up. He will win Ohio by 100,000 votes.

On the popular vote, it looks like he got 51.8%, 1% higher than I speculated yesterday, making him the first president elected with a majority since 1988.

Not sure yet how big the Senate majority will be, or whether we held onto Alaska anyway. It will be a bigger majority than currently, as we swept 4-5 southern seats held by Democrats, and knocked off Daschle.

House majority is extended, too.

It could have been better.

We could have done better in the Senate with a few better candidates, and Campbell not retiring in Colorado.

If Pete Coors, (his loss along with Phil Crane losing in the House in Illinois in the wake of the Obama coattails, being the only sad moments of the night)had squeaked out a win, Campbell had hung in there, and three better candidates had been found for other seats (why are Byron Dorgan, Russ Feingold, or Harry Reid, considered invincible: they are losers!) the GOP could be looking at a filibuster-proof 60 senate seats.

It is over. We won. And that means Massachusetts has, again, been passionately invested, as in 1988, and 2000, in the losing side.

It is so much fun to see all the long faces this morning among Boston Democrats.

Only the doorman at the XV Hotel at 15 Beacon Street was cheerful. Probably one of those unspeakable Republican s.

On the Common this morning, I heard one derelict telling another he might lose his disability with those Republicans in power (oh, if only...) and, since he would be cared for one way or another, he'd rob banks if he had to. Why doesn't he just hang himself and save himself and the rest of us a lot of trouble. I'll sell him the rope.

Seriously, lots of people downtown this morning with seriously grumpy expressions. I saw three maggoty-looking Berklee College of Music students (fatigues, and Euro-trash unhygenic grundge) seeming very down-hearted. While others unhappiness usually makes me a little sad, I will admit to being more than pleased to see all these bubbles popped.

Four More Years!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think the American people are feckless enough to elect Kerry. But I did not think they could be stupid enough to elect Clinton, either.

There are so many compelling reasons to re-elect the President, from the unborn and the federal courts, to stopping gay "marriage", to vigorous prosecution of the war, to keeping taxes low, to the national embarassment of TeRes-uh as First Lady, to not rewarding a guy who stands for nothing and has been practising for tonight's speech since he was 15, to not changing horses while in a war, to just the fact that President Bush is a far more decent and genuine human being than John Forbes Heinz Kerry, that I find his repudiation at the polls unthinkable.

Pray for President Bush's victory tonight, and for a more strongly GOP and conservative Senate, so that Bush's judicial nominees start getting through and Chief Justice Rehnquist can retire with honor.

Get out and vote for the President and tell Osama to shove it.

FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!!

OK, the aspirin after the coronary I had when I saw the exit poll numbers after coming back to the computer after praying the Office of the Dead and the Novena for the Souls in Purgatory and hearing Mass for All Souls Day is kicking in. The finger nails are no longer blue, and that pain in the left arm and the back of the neck has almost gone away.

Now Strategic Vision, which is in charge of the exit polling for the media consortium has denied the story that Kerry is ahead in Florida. the President is ahead in exit polls there by 1%.

"At Strategic Vision, we have been reviewing and conducting exit polls and do not know where the media reports came from. We are showing a slight advantage for Bush in Florida by 1 point."

Since the Bush campaign thought Florida was solid enough and that they could spend time in Ohio over the last couple of days, this is good news.

In 2000, the first exit pols showed Gore up by 3 in Florida. These show Kerry up by one.

These show the President trailing by 1% in Ohio. If the pattern holds true, he should win Ohio by 2%.

Gore was up by 4 in the exit polls in Arizona. Bush won Arizona by 6.

The President has won the vote in Guam by almost 2-1.

Some 40% of the Hispanic vote is going Republican. Republicans are winning among Catholic voters in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Forget the exit polls. It may be a tense or long night. But the President is going to win this. Just get out and vote for him.

The market has been up modestly the last couple of days on news of President Bush's strength in the late polls.

When Drudge's exit poll numbers went up, showing Kerry ahead in all the key states, the markets all took a nosedive.

The market has been betting on the President's re-election. There is no reason to think that this will not happen.

Also, Kerry's own pollster, Mellman, has conceded that President Bush will get a majority of the popular vote today.

Can the President be losing Pennsylvania 60-40? No, unless there is one hell of a lot of fraud going on.

The smart money says ignore the exit polls and just get out there and vote. The exit polls at this time 4 years ago showed Gore beating Bush decisively, and many of the exit poll numbers we are seeing are based on a silly 59% female sampling. Women are not 59% of the electorate, but maybe 51%.

My guess is, along with that of the Horserace blog, that these numbers are bogus, that, in fact the President is doing quite well, and that people ought to get out and vote.

I recall reading something about Kerry planning to declare victory early. Bogus exit poll numbers are probably part of that strategy. Cloud the issue, don't concede, maybe even declare "victory"and then let the armies of business-suited maggots in Democrat pay fight it out in the courts. That is what Kerry is trying to do.

One example of why these exit poll results for the presidency are so questionable is that the separate sampling on the Senate races seems to be holding true to the national polls of the last few days. If the President were doing as badly as these polls indicate, he would be dragging the whole Republican ticket down to defeat with him. That is not happening.

Thune seems to be cleaning Daschle's clock. DeMint is winning. Coburn is ahead. Burr is beating the despicable Clintonite Bowles. Bunning looks like a cinch. Isakson in Georgia is OK.

If the President were taking the pasting these exit poll numbers indicate, then the Republicans would be losing control of the Senate, not increasing their majority, as appears very likely.

Hundreds of votes pre-cast into machines before the polls opened.

Want a bet how many of those votes were Republican ballots?

Anybody want to try the golden goose egg?

President Bush up 1.7%

President Bush 51.8%
John Kerry 47.8%
Ralph Nader .5%

Battleground's final projections have been very accurate over the last 3 elections. Check out this pdf to verify just how close they have been.

If they are just as correct this time, we may actually, for the first time since 1988, elect a President with a genuine majority of the popular vote, not just a plurality.

Bully for the Philippines!

No gay priests or seminarians. The risks are too great.

At least someone, somewhere read the lessons of the Scandal here in the US correctly, even if the US Bishops and the heads of orders here are too blinded by political correctness and, perhaps, self-interest.

Kathryn & George
Thomas
Nora & Thomas
Felicia & Louis
Patrick & Susan
Thelma & Herbert
Barbara
Austin
Mary
Rudolph
Edward
Anthony
Mary and John
Elmer
Grace & William
Winifred & Louis
Rose & Harold
Mildred & Frank
Bea & Roland
William
Samson
Patricia
Mary & James
Brother Michael
Thomas
Joseph
June
Gene
Glenn
Henrietta
Nick
Kevin
Father Dan
President Reagan

The day of wrath, that day
which will reduce the world to ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sybil.

What terror there will be,
when the Lord will come
to judge all rigorously!

The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound
among the graves of all the lands,
will assemble all before the Throne.

Death and Nature will be astounded
when they see a creature rise again
to answer to the Judge.

The book will be brought forth
in which all deeds are noted,
for which humanity will answer.

When the judge will be seated,
all that is hidden will appear,
and nothing will go unpunished.

Alas, what will I then say?
To what advocate shall I appeal,
when even the just tremble?

O king of redoutable majesty,
who freely saves the elect,
save me, o fount of piety!

Remember, merciful Jesus,
that I am the cause of your journey,
do not lose me on that day.

You wearied yourself in finding me.
You have redeemed me through the cross.
Let not such great efforts be in vain.

O judge of vengeance, justly
make a gift of your forgiveness
before the day of reckoning.

I lament like a guilty one.
My faults cause me to blush,
I beg you, spare me.

You who have absolved Mary,
and have heard the thief's prayer,
have also given me hope.

My prayers are not worthy,
but you, o Good One, please grant freely
that I do not burn in the eternal fire.

Give me a place among the sheep,
separate me from the goats
by placing me at your right.

Having destroyed the accursed,
condemned them to the fierce flames,
Count me among the blessed.

I prostrate myself, supplicating,
my heart in ashes, repentant;
take good care of my last moment!

That tearful day,
when from the ashes shall rise again.

Sinful man to be judged.
Therefore pardon him, o God.

Merciful Lord Jesus,
give them rest.

Amen.

Dies irae, dies illa
solvet saeclum in favilla,
teste David cum Sybilla.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulchra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit,
nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae,
ne me perdas illa die.

Quaerens me sedisti lassus,
redemisti crucem passus,
tantus labor non sit cassus.

Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco tanquam reus,
culpa rubet vultus meus,
supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praeta,
et ab hoedis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis,
voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis,
gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla

judicandus homo reus -
Huic ergo parce, Deus.

Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.

Amen.

Thune has a 3-point lead over Daschle in the final tracking poll by Rasmussen.

50.2% for the President. 48.5% for Kerry. Within the margin of error, but this has been pretty much how the polls have gone since late August.

I think the President will end up with about 50.8% of the popular vote, and 286 electoral votes.

A very close race.

Republicans will have to work hard to trim the numbe of people on the government payroll at every level over the next four years, and the number receiving government relief checks, so that the very dangerous situation where a Democrat ticket of J. Fred Muggs and Mr. Ed (actually very close to what they have now) will get at least 45-46% just because they are Democrats and because so many people vote for that party because that is where their interests lie.

19-7 for the President. Not bad in New Hampshire, where Kerry has been very well known for decades (as Boston TV dominates the NH airwaves).

From the Garfield Ridge blog.

Today is both Election Day, and All Souls's Day.

How fitting is that, in a country where, because of presidential appointments to the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, more than a million innocent human lives are brutally snuffed out every year under color of law?

How fitting is it, in a society that thirsts for immortality for itself, and is willing to allow human life to be created expressly for the purposes of being butchered for research?

How fitting is it in a country in which, more and more, the elderly and infirm are cast aside, and the value of their lives set at naught, so that they can be exterminated at the convenience of their family members?

How fitting is that in a country which is trying its damndedest to create human life in its own image in the form of cloning?

How fitting is that in a country in danger of having gay "marriage" forced down its collective throat to the endangerment of children's life, well-being, and proper upbringing and the denigration of the institution of marriage itself?

Well it is very fitting.

In this election, for those serious about the preservation of innocent human life, the contrasts between the two presidential candidates could not be more stark. The Democrat candidate, John Kerry is hopelessly in the pocket of NARAL, Planned Parenthood, and the rest of the abortion lobby. He has said that his federal judicial appointments will have to pass a pro-abortion litmus test. If you think that is just electioneering, think again. He has one of the most fanatically pro-abortion voting records in the United States Senate over his entire career. The man never met an abortion he did not like. He even voted against the ban on partial birth abortions. You can be certain that his judicial appointees will continue, and build upon the dreadfaul carnage caused by Roe v. Wade.

Kerry promises to allow federal money to be used to destroy human embryoes, human life, created expressly for the purposes of research. It is not happening fast enough for Kerry. Under his leadership, federal money would be purposely poured into the project, and millions of human lives will be snuffed out so that some people will have an easier time of it.

Kerry is standard bearer for the interest groups that think Jack Kevorkian is more than a vile murderer taking advantge of human frailty, and think him some sort of hero. Under Kerry, those like Mr. Schiavo, seeking for his own convenience to kill with the sanction of law his sick wife will flourish. Kerry's judicial appointments, like the judges of the Florida Supreme Court all Culture of Death Democrats, will support their efforts and find ways around laws designed to protect the sick and the frail.

Senator Kerry (D-Biogen) is awfully unwilling to do anything to stop the terrible conept of cloning human life, and is willing to see federal money used to play this very dangerous and impious game.

Kerry says that he is against gay "marriage" personally, but would do nothing to stop it. No Defense of Marriage Act, no constitutional amendment. And can there be any question where his judical appointees, drawn as they will be from the very far left of the Democrat Party and the very liberal legal profession, will stand on this issue?

And John Kerry (not an Irish Catholic at all, despite 30 years of winking and nodding when people said he was, and perhaps saying it himself a few times, but the grandson of an Austrian Jew who converted to Catholicism for convenience sake), despite taking positions on these issues vitally important to the Church directly, and knowingly, and throughout his entire career in public office (and his whole life from college on, like that of Bill Clinton and Al Gore has been nothing but a preparation for running for President), in utter disregard for the clear and unchanging teachings of the Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church has the audacity to ask for Catholics to vote for him.

In contrast, President Bush has an excellent pro-life record, better than that of even the late and much lamented President Reagan, who authored an anti-abortion book.

President Bush is not a Catholic. His brother, the Governor of Florida, is. Yet his positions on these vital issues of life for the innocent and unprotected are entirely in tune with those of the Church. He has done more to limit abortion in his first four years than any other President since Roe v. Wade, including getting through Congress a ban on the barbaric practice of partial-birth abortion. And he has done this while Senate Democrats have stonewalled his judicial appointments, which should be his greatest pro-life legacy.

He has prevented federal money from funding the slaughter of new innocents in the form of embryonic stem cell research.

He stands foursquare against cloning human life.

He stands firm with the sick and the frail, and, as his brother has bravely done in Florida, will stand up for the sick threatened with judicial murder.

He supports federal legislation preventing states that do not wish to allow gay "marriage" from having to recognize under Full Faith and Credit the "marriages" between homosexuals contracted under color of another state's law (or judicial mandate). He supports a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a state that can only be between one man and one woman.

So there you are Catholic voters. You can vote for an apostate Catholic who thumbs his nose at the teachings of the Church that are most important in the political arena, or you can vote for a believing Christian, who happens not to be Catholic, but holds positions that are consonant with those fo the Church, and has provided vital leadership in protecting government and society from the dangerous experimentation of the liberal utopians.

The choice could not be clearer. Protect the lives of more innocents from prematurely joining the souls in Purgatory or Hell.

FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!

But I will not be blogging until the cows come home tomorow night.

I did that in 2002, triumphantly recording each Republican victory.

My coverage was so up-to-the minute, and such a good example of the blogging mode, someone (not me, not anyone I know of) had my 2002 election coverage preserved at the Smithsonian archives. That is pretty cool. I found out about that by Googling my blog a couple of months ago.

Well, there will be no repeat this year. I have other plans. I expect my last entry tomorrow to be around 5:30, before the polls close anywhere. I may or may not have the advantage at that time of Matt Drudge's peak at exit polling numbers.

Things to look for: if the President takes Florida as soon as all the polls close in that state (I assume this year the networks will not call the stat until polls in the Panhandle close, an hour later than in the rest of the state), and Ohio, it is over for Kerry. Kerry needs to take Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin to win. If Bush takes one, he is still in it. If he takes 2 of the three, it is over. If Bush sweeps all three, send lots of Midol to the Heinz Kerrys' Beacon Hill abode, a dream will have ended in crushing defeat.

If Kerry should win, the unhappiest person after George W. Bush (and anyone who cares about the fate of our country and its society) will be Hilary Clinton. I think 2012 is too late for her. She wants an open Democrat field in 2008. Kerry's defeat will assure that, which is why the Clintons have been so lukewarm in support of Kerry, far underperforming the standard in enthusiastic support for the party's nominee. Jimmy Carter, that ancient quack, has been far more helpful to Kerry than the Clintons.

I see a 2 seat net gain for the GOP in the Senate. Unfortunately, it will lose the seats in Alaska (a piece of pure folly on the part of Frank Murkowski is to blame for that) and Illinois, and maybe one more.

Largely due to Texas redistricting, the GOP will gain 4 seats in the House on net.

If Bush is re-elected, with Guiliani and McCain becoming the front-runners for 2008, conservative Republicans will have to unite behind a single strong candidate from a state that is an electoral prize. He is already saying that he won't run, but my guess is that Florida Governor Jeb Bush, somewhat more conservative than his brother, who has been a pleasant surprise for most conservatives (in 1999, I was a Quayle man) will be that man. And his running mate will be none other than Massachusetts' own Mitt Romney. Two incumbent governors on the ticket means a lot of campaign contributions. And a lot of money is the only way to beat Hilary in 2008.

So Bush in '04, and in '08.

FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!!!

Patrick Sweeney at Extreme Catholic has a photo up of the Christos Pantokrator mural behind the altar that the splendid Father Rutler had done at the church he is pastor of.

Looks good to me.

A large platform, etc. has been under construction for several days.

Great planning, this. At night, in Boston, in November, outside, and, if the forecast holds true, in the rain. Nothing could be more fitting. The wretched man's campaign will end just the way it has always been: all wet and in the dark.

Whatever state you live in, get out and vote for the President and your local Republican candidates for the House and Senate. This race is too close to play silly high-minded games with, or to sit on the sidelines. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

FOUR MORE YEARS!!!!!!!

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From the fourth century, a feast to honor all the saints was established in the eastern Church, on the Sunday after Pentecost. The feast appears for the first time in the West in a little after 600. Pope Gregory III moved the feast to November 1st in the mid-700s. Pope Gregory IV in 835 applied the feast to the universal Church. It is a day for remembering and honoring all the saints, both known and unknown. In English, the title of the feast was sometimes called Hallowmas.

Or is it?

The internals of polls seem to indicate that the President is picking up momentum in key batleground states as the race enters its final two days.

This campaign comes down to Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, and New Hampshire.

I predict the President will pull out Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, arizona, Colorado, and Nevada.

Kerry will just barely hold on to New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico.

I think this ends with the Presidetn getting 50.8% of the popular vote, and some 285-290 electoral votes (you need 270 to win).

In Congress, I think we will see the GOP net a gain of 2 seats in the Senate, and 4 seats in the House.

Want something to serve Halloween night that is not loaded with sugar? Before the kids gourge on trick-or-treat candy and caramel apples, get something with a little substance into them. If it is cold in your part of the country this Halloween night, they'll need something that will stick to their ribs. Try Champ.

Champ is essentially rich-man's mashed spuds. It is traditionally served in Ireland as an alternative to Colcannon on Halloween night. Since we get so many of our Halloween customs from Ireland, why not try this one?

You need:
8 large russets (I like Yukon Gold)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 pound butter
fresh or dried chives to taste
fried or dried onions to taste
salt to taste
freshly grated pepper to taste
1/4 pound butter
1 pound Irish back bacon

Cut a strip 1/2 inch wide along the circumference of each of the spuds. This gives them better flavor, and allows for easier peeling once they have been boiled. Then boil them in their jackets.

Fry up the Irish back bacon. Irish back bacon is more like cured pork than our smoked breakfast bacon. Once the back bacon is done, dry it off with paper towels, and cut off and remove the fat and dice up the choice pieces.

Peel the spuds, and place them in a large bowl and mash them with the cream, the 1/2 pound of butter (or more, if you like) chives, onions, salt and pepper. Mix them up and bring the spuds to a consistency you like. I prefer firm, smooth, and very creamy.

Add in the back bacon and stir.

To serve, mound up the champ on each plate, and hollow out a crater at the top. Here, put in the additional butter sliced up so so that it melts. As you eat forkfuls of champ, dip them in the crater of butter. Sinfully rich and delicious!

I also like this on Saint Patrick's Day.

And just in case that was not enough carbohydrates for you:

I'm giving this recipe today so that interested parties can have it ready for tomorrow, though I don't suppose there is much threat of anyone coming "a'souling" at your door these days.

Traditionally, feast days in Europe were celebrated as wakes, which is why we make such a big thing of New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, All Hallow's Eve, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Night.

That was part of the justification, after Vatican II, by the way, for the Saturday evening Masses every weekend counting for Sunday.

Soul Bread
2 TBSP. Yeast (Instant)
1c. milk
5c. flour
1c. sugar
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 c. butter

You start with the yeast, and have to knead this thing three times after it rises to double its size (which is why I prefer to use a bread machine). When you think you have kneaded it enough, bake it at 350 degrees for an hour.

And if you don't want to go through the kneading process, buy some good plain or cider donuts. The round shape is supposed to put us in mind of God's infinity.

Souling Songs
Just like the Wren Boys on St. Stephen's Day, and our trick-or-treaters on Hallowmas Eve's cry of "trick-or-treat", there was a set formula for what the souling luck visitors were supposed to chant as they came to the door. It varied however, from place to place.

Here are two:

Soul! Soul! For a souling-cake!
I pray you, good missus, a souling-cake.

In another part of England, the children sang:

Soul! Soul!
For an apple or two!
If you have no apples,
Pears will do,
If you have no pears,
Money will do.
If you have no money,
God bless you!

(and yes, the lyrics are very similar to Christmas Is Comin', the Goose Is Gettin' Fat)

Another cherished Halloween custom is trick-or-treating. This is another one with some Christian origins.

In Celtic times, the inhabitants of the British Isles believed that on the night of October 31, which was their new year's eve, the spirits of those who had died during that year could come back to visit their families. Offerings of food were left by the living for these relatives.

Some donned the clothes of the , and begged for the treats from door to door in the village. Sometimes banquests were laid out, after which the people in the guise of the were escorted to the edge of town (we still send what we don't want to the edge of town-to the dump).

The Church looked somewhat askance at this custom. But, as the Church did with many pre-Christian customs that we still observe as Christmas rituals, it gave the celebration of the night of October 31st a Christian content.

First All Saints' Day was imposed on November 1st, and made a day of mandatory attendance at Mass. Later, a day to honor all the faithful departed, All Souls' Day was added on November 2nd.

The custom of dressing up in the clothes of the and going door-to-door was transformed into the "luck visit" ritual called "going a-souling." Young people would visit, and beg for soul cakes (square cakes of something like raisin bread), sometimes singing souling songs.

If given a soul cake, the visitor would promise to pray for the soul of the donor, or anyone he designated. This custom was, in the 19th century revived and transformed into trick-or-treating.

You will notice a strong resemblence between trick-or-treating and Christmas "luck visits" like carolling, John Canoe, wassailing, and the wren boys in Ireland. There was also a thanksgiving Day begging door-to-door ritual which is similar.

They are indeed related customs. Luck or good fortune, in this case in the form of prayers for the soul, are exchanged for gifts of food or drink. Both are new year rituals, with trick-or-treating a reminder that October 31st was new year's eve for the Celts.

Today many Catholic schools have children dress up as saints, and attend Mass on All Saints Day so attired. This is another adaptation of the "luck visit" ritual that is at the root of trick-or-treating.

Many of you will be familiar with this story, but it illustrates the Christian origins of one of the most cherished Halloween customs.

Back in the days after Saint Patrick had converted Ireland, there lived an Irishman named Jack. Now Jack was a notoriously mean, stingy, and hard-drinking reprobate. Jack wanted a drink, but could not afford one. He somehow summoned the Devil, and offered him his soul for a drink. The Devil agreed.

Jack asked for hard cider, and asked the Devil to climb a tree to get apples to make cider from. The Devil climbed up, and sent down some apples. Once Jack had the apples. he quickly carved a cross in the trunk of the tree, making it impossible for the Devil to come down out of the tree. Jack and the Devil agreed that Jack would efface the cross, so that the Devil could come down, and the Devil would never accept Jack's soul into Hell. Jack went off with the cider and laughing in his sleeve.

Jack continued his life of sin. When he finally died, he presented himself at the Gates of Heaven, only to be turned away for being in life too , too tight, and too thirsty.

"Well," Jack said, "off to Hell I go." But when he got there, the Devil reminded Jack of their bargain, and refused him. To speed him on his way, the Devil hurled a coal from the fires of Hell at Jack.

Jack had been eating a turnip, and had hollowed it out fairly well. Jack defended himself from the burning coal by putting up the turnip, and caught the coal in it. Since then, using his hollowed out turnip with its coal from the fires of Hell as a lantern, Jack has been wandering the earth in search of a drink and a refuge.

He is known as Jack of the Lantern, or jack-o-lantern.

In Ireland, it was the custom to carve grotesque faces into turnips, and use them as lanterns for going a'souling around Hallowmas.

When the Irish came to America, they found turnips not particularly popular. But the Yankees used pumpkins for everything, including soup tureens, ladles, and storage pots. The Irish found that pumpkins made excellent substitues for Jack's turnip lantern. That is why we carve pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns to this day.

Woe's me, woe's me
The acorn's not yet fallen from the tree
That's to grow the wood
That's to make the cradle
That's to rock the baby
That's to grow a man
That's to release me.

An old English lament