Boomer Time

Welcome to Boomer Time. I'm a late Boomer—1963. Generation Jones to some—raised in a different America. I write about politics, history, faith, culture and the occasional absurdity of modern life. Sometimes serious. Sometimes sarcastic. Always my own opinion. Agree or disagree, you're welcome here. #BoomerTime1

Was the 2026 midterm election truly historic, or just business as usual? Trump is only the second president to serve nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleveland was the first. What does history tell us about midterm elections? The answer may surprise you.

Protest Vote? Here’s What You Get. Voters may enter the booth to send a message, but what comes out isn't a message. It's a government. And the consequences can last long after the anger fades.

Republicans lost more than an election. Bad candidates, poor messaging, and economic perceptions cost them dearly. But Democrats shouldn't celebrate too long. Voters want results, not political theater. My take on the 2026 midterms.

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law! Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil? William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that! Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake! "A Man for All Seasons (1966)"

FAKE POLLS ARE REAL!!!!! I've argued before that political prediction markets are unreliable and vulnerable to manipulation. Now we're seeing why. Fake polling companies have been exposed publishing fabricated election results, some of which were picked up by major media outlets. And when people can wager real money on election outcomes, there's an obvious financial incentive to manipulate the information that moves those odds. Think about it. Publish a phony poll, influence public perception, potentially move the betting market, and profit from the resulting price changes. We haven't established that this was the motive behind these particular fake polls. But the vulnerability is obvious. Prediction markets don't necessarily tell us what voters think. They tell us where bettors are putting their money. And money doesn't just follow information. Sometimes it creates an incentive to manufacture it. wired.com/story/over-dollar6… theguardian.com/us-news/2026…

The French Enlightenment promised liberty, equality, fraternity, and the triumph of reason. What followed? The guillotine, religious persecution, an emperor, and centuries of unrest. A satirical look at France's revolutionary legacy.

Run Hide Fight: Infidels tries too hard to make political points at the expense of good storytelling. Too many tropes, cheesy characters, and missed opportunities. Still, I was entertained! Sometimes the good guys winning is enough. 5.1/10.

📚 Book of the Month: The Count of Monte Cristo By Alexandre Dumas Betrayal. Injustice. Revenge. Redemption. Few novels explore the darker side of human nature quite like The Count of Monte Cristo. First published in 1844, Dumas's masterpiece tells the story of Edmond Dantès, a young man falsely imprisoned through jealousy and political intrigue, who escapes to reinvent himself as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. What follows is one of literature's greatest tales of revenge—but beneath the adventure lies a deeper question: When does the pursuit of justice become an obsession with vengeance? More than 180 years later, it's a story that remains as compelling and relevant as ever. Have you read it? And did Edmond Dantès ultimately find justice—or lose himself seeking revenge?

What do C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Greta Gerwig have in common? Three brilliant minds, three relationships with Christianity, and one question: Are we willing to follow the truth wherever it leads, even when it challenges our beliefs?

Applying our modern idea of “church tithing” to the 6th–8th centuries misses a lot of historical context. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Church was one of the few large, stable institutions that survived. It wasn’t just maintaining churches—it was providing education, caring for the poor, preserving records and learning, and often filling civic functions where Roman institutions had disappeared. In many places, the Church was doing things we would now associate with civil society and even government. That broader role helps explain the move toward mandatory tithing during this period. And tithing certainly wasn’t something the medieval Church invented. Tithing appears in both the Old and New Testaments (Gen. 14:20; Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). The New Testament also explicitly requires Christians to support the Church and those who minister (1 Cor. 9:13–14; Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:17–18).

We need more gargoyles. I will not be taking questions.

Liberal. Conservative. Progressive. We use the labels every day—but what do they really mean? America was founded on classical liberal ideas. How did many of those ideas become “conservative,” and when did modern liberalism become something different?

Question from a Catholic. Is this the correct understanding of once saved always saved?