Banned by Mark Shea.

As I mentioned in a blog post from June, one of the blogs that I frequented at that time was Mark Shea's Catholic and Enjoying It!. As I said at that time, I don't always agree with Mark - we definitely part ways over the minimum wage - but I find, for the most part, we agree on issues more often than we disagree.

It appears now, though, that I'll have to stop reading his blog. I've found myself blocked from commenting on his blog, and I see little reason to continue reading what he writes if I'm not allowed to comment.

Mr. Shea's blocking me took me by surprise.

It began with a recent post of his, "He’s just saying what we’re all thinking" where he was critical of the GOP base and their love of Donald Trump. No, I did not defend Trump. I don't support Donald Trump, and I seriously doubt that I ever could.

The conflict I had with Shea came after someone asked Shea who he would pick in a Trump vs Hillary match-up. Shea replied, "Neither".

Of course, I wouldn't vote for either one......that's not where the disagreement lay. I wrote,
"Mark has given up on voting for less than perfect candidates. The person must be pure."

Mr Shea took offense to that statement, whereupon he called me a liar, and left this link - http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/wanting-to-attain-heaven-and-avoid-hell-is-normal-catholic-faith and blocked me from leaving further comments.

Having read the article to which he linked, I stand by my observation. I am willing to admit that my assessment of Mr. Shea's view may not be 100% accurate, but even if I'm in error, I believe Shea's reaction is over-kill.

It's not unusual for Mr. Shea to throw a tantrum when a reader disagrees with him.

As I said, I see no reason to continue following Catholic and Enjoying It! if I cannot leave the occasional comment. I'll send a link to this post to Mr. Shea via his email - that's the only way I can let him know of my thoughts on his blocking me.

I can't be certain that Shea will read this post, or if he does read it whether he will condescend to comment on it here. One thing I am certain of, however; I would not block whatever comment he might choose to leave.