CatholicVote.com

Here's a great and inspiring video over at CatholicVote.com.

Check it out. And, if you're so inclined, sign-up for more info over at their website.

Thank you!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their positive feedback and support for Purgatory, USA. Everyone involved in the project is so touched by the reaction. It's a blessing.

When we were shooting these, people kept saying "The Lord has big plans for this." I hope that ends up being true.

It's gratifying to know that all of those hours involved in creating the project has not been done in vain. As I said to the cast and crew just this morning, we can only go down from here! :)

I've been in contact with a couple of youth group leaders locally, Paul is checking with people in Houston and I sent the link to Matt S. at Lifeteen, so we'll see what happens. I think they could be used as a great way to introduce ideas for further discussion as part of the youth ministry. We'll have to wait and see.

Please keep forwarding the PurgatoryUSA.com link to everyone you feel would enjoy the show. We're prepping to begin shooting our fifth episode. We hope to get better at this with each episode. The lessons we learned in the first four will definitely be used in the remaining shows.

Also keep an eye out as we'll be posting interviews online soon in between each episode release.

So, thanks again! Please keep us in your prayers. And keep spreading the word.

Purgatory, USA: Episode 1 - Now Online!

You can check out the first episode of Purgatory, USA online for free at: www.purgatoryusa.com.

Check it out! Let me know what you think.

UPDATE: You can now see this in HIGH DEFINITION by clicking HERE.

Purgatory, USA - Premiere Canceled.

Due to logistics and space limitations, we’ve had to cancel the idea of throwing a premiere party. Too bad, as it would have been a lot of fun, but too many hurdles were in the way.

The good news is that we shot some interviews with Dorothea and Tiffany this weekend. So, we’ll be posting the episodes and the interviews online soon.

Selective Validation

I find it irritatingly humorous when people quote some portions of the Bible as examples of why other parts of the Bible are invalid.

If you read The DaVinci Code or The Third Jesus, you'll find the authors using quotes from the Bible to invalidate the most important event recorded in the book... the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This amazes me... either the Bible is a valid point of reference or it is not.

Now, if you want to use passages in the Bible to analyze inconsistencies within the Bible itself, for example, that makes sense, but you cannot pick and choose the validity of the Bible as a reference.

That's like me examining the Constitution and referencing the first amendment in order to invalidate the second amendment.

I also find it irritatingly humorous when people utilizes discarded versions of writings similar to the those found in the Bible (Dead Sea Scrolls) and give them equal validity to the Bible.

That's like me finding an earlier version of the Declaration of Independence that stated "all Massachusetts born men are created equal" and arguing that it has equal contextual weight, even though the entry was discarded and ignored.

Just because a document was written during the same time frame about the same subject does not mean it is equally valid as the final, approved document. If I find a writing from the time of Moses stating Moses was also a circus clown doesn't make it accurate.

Obviously, when putting together the Bible or the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence, some discernment over accuracy, validity and continuity had to be taken into consideration.

Things aren't discarded by some grand conspiracy... they're discarded because they're simply not good enough.

So, next time your hear arguments utilizing Biblical quotes skewed to attack the divinity of Jesus Christ, ask them to explain themselves. Their response will more than likely be irritatingly humorous.

The Power of Conversion

Through homeschooling and our involvement in our church we have been blessed to become friends with some truly wonderful, faithful people. They are all passionate and knowledgeable about our Catholic faith and are leaders in our Christian community.

While saying our 54 Day Novena for the U.S. Elections the other morning, it occurred to me that almost all of these married, faithful friends have one spouse who is a convert to Catholicism. Four out of the five families of which we are the closest find passion and the driving force behind their family Catholic faith through the newest members to our faith.

That is both a blessing to us and a sad reflection of what is lost on cradle Catholics. As one U.S. Bishop said recently, we have to stop looking at Catholicism as a family tradition and realize what it truly is, a faith. So many people are Catholics because their parents were and their grandparents were, etc., but the true beauty of the faith has been lost over the generations.

So, we're left with pews full of people attending mass out of obligation instead of inspiration. They find mass a duty instead of a divine opportunity.

They miss the big picture of which they are surrounded each and every Sunday... unfortunately they are unaware and, therefore, unable to see it.

Just as new citizens of this great country appreciate how good we have it, so do converts to the faith. And from them I find my own faith reinvigorated and, myself, spiritually challenged to join them in their study, their faith formation and their adherence to the doctrines of this wonderfully rich, divinely inspired institution called the Roman Catholic Church.

I'm Grumpy...

I'm tired. I'm overworked. I'm grumpy. I'm irritable. I'm spent.

I feel like I'm alone trying to move that really big rock up the mountain, with little success.

Ugh...

It's not self pity... it's exhaustion. I'll probably feel like this for a couple of days. Then I'll get over it. Until then, avoid me if you can. You'll be happy you did.

Obama Using Lives of Troops for Political Gain

Per The Post, it appears that while visiting Iraq, Obama tried to convince the Iraqis not to come to terms with a US withdrawal plan until after the election.

Nice.

You can read more here.

Busy, Busy...

First, thank you Lord for the safety of Paul, Jean and Jonathan during Hurricane Ike! What a blessing. And congrats to Matt and Candyce on the birth of their new baby girl Eleanor Grace and also to Paul and Michelle on tying the knot. What wonderful news!

Things have been busy in the Bauer household recently. Dea and DC have been hit with a flu bug making the rounds. Gabe's Fall Ball season is about to start, so we've been down at the field quite a bit. I've been trying to prepare for a Purgatory, USA premiere for cast/crew and their families as well as working DVD menus for the eventual release of Volume 1.

This past week I finished writing the next two episodes of PUSA, one dealing with Envy and another dealing with the battle between God's Will and Our Will.

In researching a short script idea Paul had sent me about Angels, I finished reading a book called Angels & Devils by Joan Carroll Cruz... she takes all of the references in the Bible as well as from the Saints of any experiences with Angels and/or Devils and puts them into similar groupings, such as what Angels look like, Angels and the Eucharist, etc. It was a very interesting read.

Right now I'm in the middle of another one of Cruz' books called Eucharistic Miracles, which details all of the Eucharistic miracles from Christ through to the mid-1980's, when the book was written. Some of the stories are amazing.

After that I'm going to read another one of Cruz' books called The Incorruptables, about saints who have died and their bodies have remained incorrutable. I have to thank our friend, Darryll Miller, for loaning me the books, as he used to live next door to Mrs. Cruz in Louisiana and has all of her books.

So, things are busy... not exciting, just busy. Hopefully I'll have more interesting stuff later in the week :)

Purgatory, USA - Opening

Here's a sneak peak of the 30 second opening of Purgatory, USA. Those who signed up as a Sonlight Picture Angel got a sneak peek of this a few weeks ago. Click on the link below...

Click on Pic for Opening

Happy viewing.

Novena Starts Today

We're starting our 54 Day Novena for the Elections today. I created a "cause" on Facebook and have about 20 more people who have joined up to say it with us. God bless technology :)


So, we're praying that the Lord's will be done in the presidential election. I hope that we can remain in God's graces and protection. So many have politically positioned themselves to make Christianity exclusive of government instead of inclusive. If we keep asking God to leave us alone, one day he'll say Yes.

I don't want to be here on that day.

Let us pray that His will, His grace, His guidance and His peace lead all voters to God's preferred outcome.

Purgatory, USA: 4 + 8 = 12

It appears the Lord wants us to make 12 episodes of Purgatory, USA. We have eight more to go. You can read more over at Sonlight Pictures Blog.

That means I have a lot of writing to do. Time to get started.

Why it's the right time for McCain

John McCain is a maverick from top to bottom. To me, that means he does a lot I like and a lot I don't. But after watching the national conventions, I realized that this is the right time for John McCain.

Washington, DC is broken. Congress has become so partisan, it has become immobile, as with the Democratic led congress. Or so entrenched with special interests as to become ineffective at solving the real problems facing us, as with the Republican led congress.

Things need a shake-up. A reformer. A change.

Both Presidential candidates offer change, but change in and of itself holds as much potential for bad as it does good. The reality comes down to this...

Obama = Socialism
McCain = Capitalism

Obama continues to take swipes at successful people and successful companies as if the hard work required to become such a success is something to be avoided. His comments are consistently anti-capitalism and pro-socialism, or redistribution of wealth.

McCain thinks the private sector can solve all of our nation's problems if the government would simply get out of the way. He believes we have the brightest minds in the world and the American ingenuity to overcome that to which we collectively put our mind.

McCain reminds me of Teddy Roosevelt, in a way. He's a brash man who will shake things up and hold congress and power brokers accountable to the American people. He said that, if a bill arrives on his desk with pork attached, he'll not only veto the bill but promised he'll let America know who's requesting the excess... he said he'd "make them famous."

That's what we need.

We're at a tipping point in our country, where we will reclaim our capitalistic roots or fall victim to the European socialist model.

And Sarah Palin has the opportunity to redefine feminism... a feminist who embraces all that it is to be a woman, including her own fertility.

This is such an important election, not because of the two people running, per se, but because of where the country will end up four to eight years later.

So, before the election I will begin a 54 day novena that the Lord's will be done. I'll pray 27 days in petition and 27 days in thanksgiving.

I hope all of you can join me in this effort.

UPDATE: We'll start the 54 Day Novena Wednesday 9/10/08.
We'll be praying for the Lord's will to be done in the election.

Obama and Public Allies - Scary Stuff

Per Glenn Beck, check this out...

Investors Business Daily has a report about a group called Public Allies that Obama helped found and who's wife was executive director. It's a community program that supports non-profit work, but it's methods are questionable, let alone disturbing.

It's a must read!

One of the recruits stated:

"It's a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia, talk about -isms and phobias."

One of those -isms is "heterosexism," which a Public Allies training seminar in Chicago describes as a negative byproduct of "capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male-dominated privilege."

The government currently helps fund this program through Clinton's AmeriCorps! And Obama has stated:

"We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the military."

He's talking about funding Public Allies to the equivalent levels of the military. He also states:

"Individual salvation depends on collective salvation."

Doesn't sound Christian to me, does it?

Anti-American, anti-capitalist indoctrination paid by our tax dollars? That's the future if Obama is elected.

And the liberal media knows about Palin's daughter's boyfriend's hobbies, but they haven't investigated Obama after all this time about this???? No agenda there.

Either way, it's scary... very scary.

You can read the entire article HERE.

Purgatory, USA - Done... for now.

I finished the last edit of the first four episodes of Purgatory, USA last night... right before heading off to draft players for Fall Little League Baseball.

Talk about timing. God is good!

Does God want us to make more? Don't know, yet.

Palin Changes Everything

My wife and I sat down to see how Sarah Palin would handle the media spotlight with her speech at the RNC. And boy, did she kick some butt! Her speech was funny and real and prodding and feisty and right on the money. She made it look so effortless.

Granted, we never vote in a Presidential election because of the Vice-President, but because of who she is and where she came from, she can say with confidence so many things most Americans have wanted said.

Here are some snippets of her speech last night that I found particularly effective...

*****

I had the privilege of living most of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mom and signed up for the PTA.

I love those hockey moms. You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

*****

Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska I was mayor of my hometown. And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involved.

I guess -- I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.

I might add that, in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they're listening and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening.

No, we tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco.

*****

Our opponents say again and again that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems, as if we didn't know that already.

But the fact that drilling, though, won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.

Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, and build more nuclear plants, and create jobs with clean coal, and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal, and other alternative sources. We need...

We need American sources of resources. We need American energy brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.

*****

And now, I've noticed a pattern with our opponent, and maybe you have, too. We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers, and there is much to like and admire about our opponent.

But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the State Senate.

This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting and never use the word "victory," except when he's talking about his own campaign.

But when the cloud of rhetoric has passed, when the roar of the crowd fades away, when the stadium lights go out, and those Styrofoam Greek columns are hauled back to some studio lot...

When that happens, what exactly is our opponent's plan? What does he actually seek to accomplish after he's done turning back the waters and healing the planet?

The answer -- the answer is to make government bigger, and take more of your money, and give you more orders from Washington, and to reduce the strength of America in a dangerous world.

*****

Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election: In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers, and then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change.

They are the ones whose names appear on laws and landmark reforms, not just on buttons and banners or on self-designed presidential seals.

*****

This world of threats and dangers, it's not just a community and it doesn't just need an organizer. And though both Senator Obama and Senator Biden have been going on lately about how they're always, quote, "fighting for you," let us face the matter squarely: There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you.

There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means death. And that man is John McCain.

*****

The real test will be when she spares with Biden during a debate. But, right now, wow, I wouldn't want to face her.

America is Back!!!

Just when my wife thought it was safe to call me "Peter..." America is back!

It appears that Real American Stories with Fox is now on a cross country road tour. Yup, they were out at the Democratic National Convention and now they're in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

(click for larger image)

So, I email my buddy Brad at Fox News (yeah, we're close now) and ask him for the info on the tour bus. He said that it's a semi where people from across the country can go in and record their Real American Story. He also said that my picture and a quote from me was on the inside where the people record... he included the pic below.

The panel above where people record.

A closer version of "America."
(click for larger image)

I told my wife who was not only ecstatic that my picture was on display again, but that it meant "America" was back in action.

In all seriousness, this all seems excessively silly to me. Not the Real American story thing, I think that's really cool. But the fact that we were part of the experience and continue to be so to this day. It's just so insane. Fun, but completely weird!

Now, if you'll excuse me... America wants some ice cream.

Six Quirks

Per my wonderful niece Catherine, here are six quirks about me...

6 Unspectacular Quirks:

1. This won't come as a shock to anyone that knows me, but I like to rock. Not musically... the old fashioned way of moving back and forth. I'm neurotic about it, really. It's very relaxing for me. Has been since I was a toddler, so I guess its the way God made me. Thank goodness for rocker/recliners! Leisure chairs of heaven.

2. I love movies that offer style over substance. Like Michael Bay... I'm a sucker for his stuff. I know most people think he offers the cinematic weight of cotton candy, but I can't help myself. I'm probably one of the few people that actually enjoyed "Pearl Harbor." I'm so mainstream when it comes to my artistic tastes. I'll take popcorn movies over an "important" movie every single time.

3. The first thing I think about when remembering an event is if/when I did something wrong.

4. I wasn't aware of this until recently, but I'm very passive/aggressive.

5. I play devil's advocate during discussions all the time. I don't even realize it. I think I get it from my father, who was adamant that you had substance behind your opinion. Sometimes my wife will say "Why can't you ever agree with me?" I'll say "I do agree with you." She'll respond, "Then why are you arguing with me?" And I quickly follow up with "Ah... I don't know."

6. When I eat over people's house, I always feel like I should wash the dishes in appreciation.

Bill Church, Life as a Blonde, Johnston Family, Paul Smith, DJ, and Supafly... it's your turn.

Here are the directions:
1. Link the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them & leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they have been tagged.

In Training This Week...

Posts will be slow this week, as I am in training for work. I hope everyone has a great, safe and blessed week!

I'm Tired... Again

The collective sigh you heard from Safety Harbor was due to the beginning of school.

And waking up around 5 a.m.

And driving my daughter to school at 6 a.m.

And struggling to stay awake at work all day long.

Fortunately, I love the drives to her school with my daughter. We get to pray and talk and laugh and spend time together. An awesome time.

But, I'm old... or feel old... or am just plain tired. I'm genetically a night person, so this transition to being an early morning riser will be a painful few weeks. But, it's worth it.