;)
The Commentariat -- Sept. 24, 2015
Internal links & defunct video removed.
Afternoon Update:
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The White House plans to announce on Thursday that President Obama will meet next week with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, ending a long period in which the American leader refused to meet with his counterpart from the Kremlin, a senior administration official said."
*****
Peter Baker & Jim Yardley of the New York Times: "Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, challenged Congress and by extension the mightiest nation in history on Thursday to break out of its cycle of polarization and paralysis to finally use its power to heal the 'open wounds' of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution. Taking a rostrum never before occupied by the bishop of Rome, the pontiff issued a vigorous call to action on issues largely favored by liberals, including a powerful defense of immigration, a critique of the excesses of capitalism, an endorsement of environmental legislation, a blistering condemnation of the arms trade and a plea to abolish the death penalty." ...
... Ed Kilgore: "... anyone looking for this Pope's support in culture wars had to be hastened by his criticism of polarization and his attack on all sorts of religious 'fundamentalism' (not a term often used in Catholicism)."
... Here's the transcript of Pope Francis's speech to Congress. ...
... USA Today: "10 a.m. -- The Senate and House welcome the pope in a joint session. He will make the first-ever address to Congress, which will broadcast live on the Capitol's West Front. This speech will be one of four he will hold in English. The remaining 14 speeches on his U.S. trip will be in his native Spanish." ...
... The Washington Post is liveblogging Pope Francis's activities. ...
... NEW. Gregory Korte of USA Today: "Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor Wednesday, a move that Vatican officials said was intended to send a message of support in the nuns' battle against Obamacare. The religious order of Catholic sisters is suing the Obama administration over a provision of the Affordable Care Act that the administration has interpreted as requiring the sisters to purchase health insurance with birth control coverage." ...
... Sarah Bailey, et al., of the Washington Post: "In his first Mass in the United States, Pope Francis on Wednesday canonized a 18th-century Spanish missionary who spread Christianity across California but who also was controversial for overseeing the mistreatment of Native Americans who joined his flock. A throng of worshipers celebrated the Rev. Junípero Serra's elevation to sainthood -- the first canonization on U.S. soil -- during a late-afternoon Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington." ...
... Sabrina Siddiqui & Lauren Gamino of the Guardian: "A group of protesters greeted Pope Francis outside St Matthew's cathedral in Washington on Wednesday with a message to ordain female priests into the Catholic church or risk treating them as second-class citizens." ...
... Abigail Ohlheiser, et al., of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis told American bishops Wednesday that the offenses of the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal must never be repeated.... Francis's somber words for the bishops came in stark contrast to the joyous popemobile circuit along some of Washington's historic avenues just minutes before, where he greeted thousands, kissed babies and blew kisses to the crowd." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Here's the transcript of Francis's remarks to the bishops. ...
... Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post: "... Pope Francis ... made it clear Wednesday that he does not intend to sidestep the deeply divisive issues that are roiling this country -- and indeed, that he plans to fully employ his voice and influence as the spiritual leader of nearly 80 million Roman Catholics in the U.S. Amid the pageantry of a welcoming ceremony on the White House lawn, the first pope from the Americas introduced himself as 'the son of an immigrant family. I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Shep Shames the Fox "News" Audience. Caitlin MacNeal of TPM: "As many conservatives fret over Pope Francis' views on climate change and income inequality ahead of his Thursday speech before Congress, Fox News host Shepard Smith chided those individuals who have criticized the pope for talking about "political" issues."
I don't know what we expect to hear from an organization's leader like the pope of the Catholic Church, other than protect those who need help, bring in refugees who have no place because of war and violence and terrorism. These seem like universal truths that we should be good to others who have less than we do, that we should give shelter to those who don't have it. They're the words of the pope, they're the feelings of the president. And people who find themselves on the other side of that message should consult a mirror, it seems like. Because I think that's what we're supposed to do as a people, whatever your religion.
... Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones: "Pope Francis survived his visit to the White House this morning without anyone flashing boobs at him. That news might come as a surprise to conservatives, who for the past week have been attacking President Barack Obama for indecorously inviting LGBT activists and a liberal nun to attend the pope's speech at the White House." ...
... Gail Collins on what she learned in Catholic school. "I remember one priest who told us that when Christ was dying on the cross, he sadly envisioned us Catholic girls sinning in the back seat of a car. 'Aren't there any other sins?' I asked one day." ...
... Nicholas Kristof: "The excitement about Francis is about his tone as much as his substance, and he shares many of the conservative social values of his predecessors. To me, one of the most striking shifts that go beyond tone is one that has commanded almost no notice: his calls for animal rights. 'We must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in God's image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures,' he declared in his encyclical on the environment. 'The Bible has no place for a tyrannical anthropocentrism.'"
David Sanger of the New York Times: "Just a day before the arrival of President Xi Jinping of China for a meeting with President Obama that will be focused heavily on limiting cyberespionage, the Office of Personnel Management said Wednesday that the hackers who stole security dossiers from the agency also got the fingerprints of 5.6 million federal employees. The attack on the agency, which is the main custodian of the government's most important personnel records, has been attributed to China by American intelligence agencies, but it is unclear exactly what group or organization engineered it. Before Wednesday, the agency had said that it lost only 1.1 million sets of fingerprints among the more than 22 million individuals whose records were compromised."
Niall Stanage of the Hill: "The federal government has begun planning for the possibility of a shutdown, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday. Earnest said it was 'only prudent to begin such planning,' and lamented that this was 'a process that we have unfortunately become all too familiar with.'" ...
... Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: It costs more to shut down the government than to keep it open. "The last time this happened, for 16 days in October 2013, the White House put a price on it: 6.6 million days of lost work, $2 billion in back pay for 850,000 federal employees who did no work and 120,000 private-sector jobs gone." ...
... New York Times Editors: "The Republican obsession with [Planned Parenthood] seems to come to this: denying women, especially poor women, the health care they need; pandering for primary votes among Tea Party regulars; and obstructing the budget process and the smooth functioning of government. Quite a record."
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd.
Jack Ewing of the New York Times: "Martin Winterkorn resigned as chief executive of Volkswagen on Wednesday, taking responsibility for an emissions cheating scandal that has gravely damaged the carmaker's reputation and may spread to the German economy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Danny Hakim & Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "Long before Volkswagen admitted to cheating on emissions tests for millions of cars worldwide, the automobile industry, Volkswagen included, had a well-known record of sidestepping regulation and even duping regulators. For decades, car companies found ways to rig mileage and emissions testing data. In Europe, some automakers have taped up test cars' doors and grilles to bolster their aerodynamics. Others have used 'superlubricants' to reduce friction in the car's engine to a degree that would be impossible in real-world driving conditions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Nathan Pemberton of New York posts some of the VW & Audi ads falsely touting the cars' "clean diesel."
"Pharma Bro." Michael Miller of the Washington Post: "Although [Martin] Shkreli has delivered different, at times conflicting statements about why his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of Daraprim, his answer has often boiled down to this: because of capitalism. It's unlikely that Shkreli set out to stir a debate about the limits of the American economic system, but that's effectively what he has done. The controversy comes at a time of broad concern over inequality in this country." ...
... Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Shkreli's actions were shocking for a simple reason: It was an unusual moment of complete transparency in health care, where motives, prices and how the system works are rarely ever talked about so nakedly.... Pharmaceutical companies that make new therapies often justify prices by saying they will recoup the investment needed to research, develop and gain approval for new drugs. With Daraprim, all that money had already been spent, so radically hiking its price seems to some more the tack of a hedge-fund manager..., analysts said. Even PhRMA, a trade group that frequently finds itself defending the industry against critics, pointed out that Shkreli's company, Turing, was not a member and slammed the door on him."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Variety: "Tribune Media's flagship TV station WGN-TV Chicago has apologized for including an offensive image in a Tuesday night report on the Yom Kippur holiday. The station's 9 p.m. newscast aired a report on the holiday ... that included an image of the star of David with 'Jude' in the center. That symbol was used as the badge that Jews in concentration camps and elsewhere in Germany were forced to wear during the Nazi regime." CW: WGN, BTW, stands for "World's Greatest Newspaper," the motto of its Chicago Tribune. parent company.
Presidential Race
Nick Gass of Politico: "Next year's general-election presidential debates will be in Ohio, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Wednesday. The first general-election debate will be held Sept. 26, 2016, at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Washington University in St. Louis will host the second general-election debate on Oct. 9, 2016.... The final presidential debate will be hosted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on Oct. 19, 2016, with Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, as the backup site. Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, will host the VP debate on Oct. 4, 2016."
The Candidate Who Wasn't There. Michele Richinick of Newsweek: "Vice President Joe Biden, who has not declared his intention to run for president, ranked No. 2 -- ahead of liberal firebrand Bernie Sanders -- as Democrats' first choice for the next leader of the U.S., according to a [Bloomberg Politics] poll published Wednesday."
Kevin Drum: "By all the evidence, Hillary is telling the truth. She just told her staff to delete personal emails and turn over the rest to the State Department. There was nothing more to it. But no one's reporting it that way. Peculiar, isn't it?"
The White Boys' Game. Steve M. explains the Republican party to befuddled WashPo reporters: "If you're not a white male, to attain success with the Republican Party's voter base you're expected to specifically renounce the politics of inclusion. Thus we have Cruz and Jindal, both immigrants' sons, rejecting birthright citizenship. We have Marco Rubio now saying we shouldn't even consider a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants in the next decade. We have Ben Carson accusing the Black Lives Matter movement of 'bullying.' We have Carly Fiorina refusing to name a woman she'd like to see on the $10 bill.... If you want to succeed in the GOP as a woman or person of color, you need to embody the message that acknowledging unequal treatment of certain groups is a liberal plot. That's why there's no contradiction between a diverse Republican presidential field and the torrent of hate and disrespect we've seen from the candidates and voters."
NEW. Greg Sargent: "Republican primary voters keep telling reporters that they feel attracted to Donald Trump's presidential candidacy because he 'tells it like it is.'... Of course, telling people that the way to 'make America great again' is to immediately deport 11 million people, which Trump will do with ease, is not 'telling it like it is,' it constitutes lying to them on multiple levels.... The Trump candidacy's Big Lie: never mind the policy details, never mind the separation of powers, never mind the profound disagreements between the parties. Everything will be easy and terrific." ...
... Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump was never exactly a happy warrior, but with some of his Republican rivals gaining on him, he is showing clear signs of discontent." ...
... Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump no longer wants to be America's birther-in-chief. In a Monday interview with Fox News -- which might have been his last -- Trump said that questions about President Obama's citizenship 'began' with Hillary Clinton, 'when she was running against him.'... This was not Trump's first dabble with birther revisionism.... And more and more conservatives have settled on the Trump line -- that the questions about Obama's citizenship were so slimy that they obviously came from the Clinton camp.... The problem: This is simply not true. Clinton's campaign, one of the most thoroughly dissected in modern history, never raised questions about the future president's citizenship. The idea that it did is based largely on a series of disconnected actions by supporters of Clinton...." ...
... NEW. Trump's Sexist Comment of the Day. Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump said during a campaign speech Wednesday that Hillary Rodham Clinton is 'shrill,' raising his voice several octaves to get the point across." ...
... Kira Lerner of Think Progress: "Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has no idea what he would do to combat rising drug prices, but he does know how to launch a vicious personal attack. In a press conference in Columbia, South Carolina on Wednesday, Trump sharply criticized the former hedge fund manager who has become known as the 'Pharma bro,' telling ThinkProgress the man is a 'disgrace' and a 'spoiled brat.'... When pressed on what he would do to address the issue, he again avoided the question. 'Probably at some point the public is going to get him to reduce it somewhat,' he said." ...
... CW: Therein lies the difference between the Republican & Democratic parties. Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton would have the government regulate drug prices; Donald Trump would let the "free market" handle it. Trump, savvy businessman, doesn't seem to understand or acknowledge the scourge of monopolies, the raison d'être of government regulation. Like every Republican, he wants to take us back to the Gilded Age, when the U.S. had few anti-trust laws. His promise to up the taxes of hedge fund operators is, in the broad scheme, superfluous.
Snit Fit. Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "In what can only be a calamity for the folks at 'Fox & Friends,' Donald Trump today signaled via Twitter that he's not going on the network.... This back-and-forth between Trump and Fox News is entering another round -- perhaps its third or fourth. ...
... Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "Fox hit right back against Trump on Wednesday, saying that it was a decision by the network to cancel a Trump appearance that led to Trump's so-called boycott -- and not the other way around." ...
... Maxed out on Pope Francis? Take a break while Donald Trump explains God to David Brody of the Christian Broadcasting Network while they visit Trump's Los Angeles-area golf course:
Well I say God is the ultimate. You know you look at this? Here we are on the Pacific Ocean. How did I ever own this? I bought it fifteen years ago. I made one of the great deals they say ever. I have no more mortgage on it as I will certify and represent to you. And I was able to buy this and make a great deal. That's what I want to do for the country. Make great deals. We have to, we have to bring it back, but God is the ultimate. I mean God created this (points to his golf course and nature surrounding it), and here's the Pacific Ocean right behind us. So nobody, no thing, no there's nothing like God.
Biblical ref. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... And God said, 'Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.'... And God saw that it was good.... And God created Trump in his image. And God said to Trump, 'Go forth and get a great deal on the land beside the sea.' And Trump saw that it was good. And he made a great deal. With no mortgage. -- The Book of Genesis According to Trump (1:1-23)
Ryan Felton of the Guardian: Ben "Carson ... told reporters that 'political correctness' bears the responsibility for the criticism he has faced since Sunday, when he said he would 'not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation'." ...
... Ben Carson v. the Scientific Method. Paul Waldman: "... what's so odd about Carson is that science is ... the thing at which he excelled. Yet his religious beliefs are apparently so powerful that they completely overwhelm his ability to look objectively at any scientific area that might give some answers to what people once thought were purely metaphysical questions. Training in science is also training in how to think.... It isn't surprising that Ben Carson knows next to nothing about Islam; what is surprising is that, despite a career immersed in a very specialized field, he would think that he could listen to a couple of Glenn Beck rants and come to a deep understanding of a 1,400-year-old religion.... Carson's entire campaign for president is built on the rejection of knowledge and experience, in that he argues that all you need to succeed as president is common sense." ...
... Charles Pierce: "Ben Carson, brain surgeon, has lost his mind." ...
... CW: For what it's worth, here's my take: pediatric brain surgery is not just complicated, it's emotionally draining. For relief from the strains of his profession, Carson wanted the rest of his life to be easy, to provide simple answers that don't require the complexities inherent in his day job. Well, fundamentalist Christianity is super-simple. It provides black-and-white/Devil-and-God answers to all of life's burning questions. No thinking, no angst required. Sort of like knitting -- once you learn a few basic stitches, you can make a sweater to keep you warm. Simple-minded Christianity is Carson's hobby. It keeps him warm.
... Something to ponder: Whose theology is sillier -- Trump's or Carson's?
CW: Nice to see that the Houston Chronicle covered Marco Rubio's "Hitler problem."
Beyond the Beltway
** Kate Zernike of the New York Times on the town where Yogi lived. At the top, a mystery solved: the deeper meaning of "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." "People here [in Montclair, New Jersey,] are quick to point out that Yogi's fork in the road really is a fork in the road: where Edgewood Road splits with Edgewood Terrace, and, as legend has him telling his old friend Joe Garagiola, you take it -- and either way ends up at the Berras' house on Highland Avenue." Not as profound a solution to a mystery as, say, uncovering the meaning of life, but, well, grounding. Read the whole story, because therein lies a clue to that sweet mystery of life.
Steve Bittenbender of Reuters: "A federal judge on Wednesday denied Kim Davis a stay of his order requiring her office to issue marriage licenses to all eligible couples who want one.... Lawyers for couples suing Davis have said that since her return to work, the Rowan County clerk has interfered with the issuance of marriage licenses in violation of orders by U.S. District Judge David Bunning's in Louisville.... On Monday, lawyers for the couples suing Davis said she had made material changes to the marriage license forms after her return to work on Sept. 14 that left questions about their legality.... The lawyers asked Bunning to make the clerk use the previous format and reissue those given under the altered one, saying the office should be put in receivership and fines assessed if interference continues. He has not ruled on that request.
AP: "A US border patrol agent has been indicted in the fatal 2010 shooting of a teenage boy along the Arizona-Mexico border. On Wednesday a federal grand jury indicted agent Lonnie Swartz on a charge of second-degree murder. Swartz allegedly fired through the border fence into Nogales, Sonora and fatally wounded 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez on 10 October 2012."
Dan of TFN Insider: "The Travis County Republican Party here in Austin[, Texas,] dived into the deep end of the crazy pool Monday evening.... The tweet (which was removed late this morning) links to a blog post on the Conservative Daily News website. The hate-filled screed starts this way: 'Christianity is a religion but Islam is merely a satanic cult of rape, torture, murder, bestiality, and satan worship!!!!!'... It's all downhill from there, with the writer demonstrating (despite his protests) an almost unhinged hatred for Muslims. But he also attacks George W. Bush, calling the Republican former president a 'coward and traitor.' He even goes after other Christians, notably the Roman Catholic Church."
News Ledes
AP: "A 'duck boat' tour vehicle and a charter bus carrying foreign students to a college orientation event collided on a busy Seattle bridge Thursday, killing four students and injuring dozens of others."
Washington Post: "Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the FARC rebel group announced a major breakthrough Wednesday in peace talks, bringing the country to the verge of ending one of the world's longest-running wars. The dramatic announcement came in Havana, where the two sides began formal negotiations in 2012 on ending the 50-year-old conflict."
Washington Post: "More than two hundred pilgrims were killed in a crush near the Saudi holy city of Mecca, where millions are gathering for the annual hajj.... Saudi Arabia's civil defense agency tweeted that it is on the scene, sorting out the injured and dead from the throngs of people. Images from the scene show rescue workers performing chest compressions on exhausted pilgrims, who apparently collapsed from the heat or press of people. Dozens more bodies lie still on stretchers, covered in white sheets or blankets." ...
... New Lede: "A stampede among Muslim worshipers near the Saudi holy city of Mecca left more than 700 people dead and hundreds more injured Thursday at the height of the annual hajj pilgrimage -- the backdrop for similar tragedies in past decades.
... The New York Times has an updated story, putting the number of dead at at least 310.
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Reader Comments (27)
Wouldn't you love to see the day when justice is served by the government investigating Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals with same resources that have been brought to bear on investigating Hillary and her emails?
@Marie. In addition to being a general comfort and respite from a draining job, I suspect "simple minded Christianity" lifts some of the responsibility /guilt should he make a wrong call.
Carson is a mechanic. Very skilled at what he does, but not a world-class intellect. So it should be no surprise he's come up a clunker in the idea department.
@Diane: Exactly right, IMO.
@Racer X. Thanks for contributing. I don't know that you mean to, but I would not denigrate "mechanics." If you've ever observed a good mechanic at work, s/he uses the same sort of intellectual skills that Paul Waldman describes in his essay on Carson -- a riff on the scientific method, in which the mechanic, sometimes quickly, examines & eliminates theories of what the problem might be until she hits upon an hypothesis that seems plausible. Then she tests it. If that doesn't work, she begins the process anew, this time with more information to build on.
"World-class intellects" do the same thing, albeit in different areas. They analyze competing theories of say, literature or philosophy, & reject -- or embrace & build upon -- them. There's a great deal of crossover between the way mechanics & "world-class intellects" think. The difference comes in what they're thinking about.
I don't find one "better" than the other, and in fact, most of us probably use that same skill set, according to our abilities, to try to solve many of our "mechanical," "operational" & "philosophical" problems.
Marie
@CW: I agree with you. As a former "grease monkey" who twisted wrenches early in my career, the process could be boiled down to following the three C's.
1. Verify the Complaint. If the complaint was vague, then additional information would need to be gathered to determine under what specific conditions it would occur. "Check Engine" doesn't tell one much (opening the hood to see that it's still doesn't not normally suffice to resolve the issue.)
2. Determine the Cause of the complaint. Use various techniques and analytical tools to determine what input and/or output parameters are not appropriate. This may be an iterative process a la "Ariadne's Thread." It also takes an understanding of the various interactive systems and their affect of one upon another. Don't assume things and don't just start with the easiest to replace component or, in some cases, the most expensive part.
3. Take Corrective action. Repair or replace the faulty item to restore the system to it's normal operating condition.
It some cases it might just be a loose nut behind the wheel (i.e. the driver), most times it's not.
There is one difference though between most "mechanics" and doctors. A reputable mechanic will correct their errors or oversights without any additional charge to the customer. I have yet to meet a doctor that will do the same.
Well, right about now there must be quite a few gaskets being blown in congress as wingnuts are blowing their stacks listening to the Pope lecture them on their immoral and unforgivable attitudes toward climate change and global warming and their equally unsupportable stances on the global chaos their party has caused.
I don't recall Confederates whining about the pope minding his own business when former Nazi Youth member Pope Benedict was telling women to STFU and do what they're told, appointing the most extreme right-wing bishops and cardinals, and rolling back the reforms of Vatican II, returning the church to medieval roots in mysticism and authoritarianism. They were all for those sorts of things. Now however, a new pope is telling them they need to love their neighbor, take care of the planet, feed the hungry and shelter the homeless, things Reagan told them they never had to worry about.
So it's funny to hear idiots like Steve King telling the Pope to mind his own business and do his job. Even funnier because King and his 'bagger brigade in congress haven't done their job in years. They've been too busy obstructing and they're getting ready to shut down the government again because women are getting way too much healthcare to suit the misogynists.
*Pop*! There goes another gasket.
Holy mother!
I just read through (had to do a quick scan, I felt my insides churning) that hate screed in Conservative Daily News (linked above). If this isn't proof of the fact that many Confederate fundies are aching for theocracy and are electing similarly minded politicians, I can't imagine clearer evidence. Not just theocracy, but a theocracy founded on and fueled by hatred of the most virulent and violent kind.
My favorite line was the one about how Muslim men routinely engage in anal sex. "They also say it is acceptable for them to have anal sexual relations with each other in order to expand their anus so as to hold more explosives to kill people with." It's not clear who "they" are but these sorts of drooling screeds are never long on details or proofs. If they say it, it's true, so shut up already with all that bullshit about proof.
The writer also pretends to have some feelings for gay men by claiming that Muslims routinely hang gays while allowing Jihadists to regularly rape little boys, and how's that for hypocrisy? Let's not get all dewy eyed about fundamentalists' newfound love for the LGBT community. Just last week I read several articles in which Confederate leaders wanted to know how it was that gays are allowed to walk around in this country. They should all be shot for offending Jesus, and at the very least, locked up in prison for life lest they rape more children. I don't know what it is about unhinged Confederates and their obsession with sexual abuse. I won't even go there.
Of course there's no mention of all the horrors inflicted on the world by Christians. Those things never actually happened. It's all lies by liberals and haters of Christianity, which then brings us back to the "victims, victims, victims, we're all victims" tap dance. And a picture of Saint Kim of Redneckia as proof of the horrors suffered by Christians (like, you mean, do your fucking job? How terrible).
I was going to go on, but really, I can't. It's just too much. But the worst thing?
There are more than one or two Confederates now running for president who would agree with 90% of this hate rant. So it's not just some off the chain berserker out in the woods running around with his fly down. This is the sort of thing encouraged and cultivated by Fox, by O'Reilly, by Coulter, and by plenty of members of congress.
Disgraceful doesn't even come close.
@Akhilleus: I loved the part where Francis started talking about the sanctity of all life, & the Republicans jumped out of their seats in enthusiasm. Then Francis pivoted right to the abolition of the death penalty. Oops! A little applause, presumably from Democrats. Boehner just sat there stone-faced, or as Ed O'Keefe noted in the WashPo liveblog, "twiddled his thumbs." Francis is a sly one.
Marie
Carson Agonistes.
Or not.
I think there's a lot to be said for a view of people like Ben Carson as being beholden to a rigid black and white ideology in which there are those who are right (with Jesus) and those who are wrong (everyone else).
I've always felt that fundamentalist religion (of any variety) offers simplicity which takes decision making and the need for thought and and appreciation for nuance and difference in the real world completely out of the equation. No matter what the problem, there is a simple rule. No need for critical thinking. No need for thinking at all. Gays? Going to hell. Women who have sex outside of marriage? Likewise (this doesn't appear to apply to men however). This EZ Bake Life appeals to certain types of people. Kim Davis for one. She's right. Everyone else is wrong. It's that simple. There's no middle ground, no possible way she could be even a little off base, because this is what, in her interpretation, the Bible says.
Only it doesn't. And the fact that she needs to make an interpretation, a ruling, seems to completely elude her. Most Bible-bound Christians make such rulings all the time when, for instance, they decide that certain people are worthy and others are not. When they decide that it's okay to kill this person or let this other person starve. And this is where such a belief system helps to relieve the tension of guilt. If the actor can claim his or her actions are being done under a Biblical umbrella (Baptists, in my experience, often ask "Is it Biblical?" and if not...there's no need for any further consideration), then there is no way they can be found guilty even of any crime, large or small. So Kim Davis doesn't give a shit what a federal court judge says. She plays the Bible card which says that she's right.
End of story.
The Decider had/has this sort of mindset as well. We just bombed and killed thousands of innocent men, women, and children? Ho-hum. Don't bother me with details. I'm with Jesus on this one.
I think Carson also believes that he can say any damn thing he pleases (more interpretation) and as long as he claims that Jesus is on his side, no should be allowed to complain, because another side effect of this sort of belief is that everyone else should be obliged to go along with them and not complain.
This is one of the real dangers of religion, and there are many. And both fundamentalist Christianity and Islam preach this: the idea that this world is just an illusion. Nothing in this world matters. All that matters is following the rules so you get to heaven and la-di-fucking-da for all eternity in paradise. This is like a Get Out of Doing Anything You Don't Like card. But how great is that? And no one can criticize you for it.
But back before the US lost its mind and knuckled under to the Christianists, these people could believe what they wanted but they would still be required to obey the law.
Not anymore. Now holding them to that kind of standard is a vicious attack on their religious freedom and many judges and state and federal officials are unwilling to enforce the law in the face of such virulent fundamentalist attacks.
So explain to me again how these people are victims?
Marie,
Sly he is, and when necessary, straightforward. Did I say some gaskets were going to be blown?
I think I should have made that heart valves.
According to CNN, "Pope Francis urged the United States not to turn its back on undocumented immigrants, to reject the victimization of religious and ethnic minorities, to overcome income inequality and to save the planet from climate change, citing Scripture and the nation's founding ideals...[he] also asked lawmakers to wage a constant battle against poverty and to ensure the wealth of the world is equitably shared and used to create jobs."
Share. The. Wealth.
You mean, like with POOR PEOPLE?
*&^@@!!&%#!!
Income redistribution? When we've been working like dogs since Saint Ronald told us to fuck the poor to make sure the poor get poorer and the rich get richer?
No wonder Cheeto man was stony faced.
But some Confederates decided to blow off the pope, recognizing the possibility that he was going to tell them to be good boys and girls and not be such flaming assholes all the time.
Arizona rep, (douche)'bagger hater and climate change denier Paul Gosnar announced that he had no intention of listening to such tripe. Funny, he had plenty of time to get on a plane and fly thousands of miles to listen carefully to words of wisdom from long-time law breaker, secessionist, and racist Cliven Bundy.
"Recognizing science? Promoting shared responsibility? Striving to be good and decent? That sounds like something we expect in a pope and hope for in a politician.
As opposed to one who rejects science, disregards common courtesy and sides with a lawbreaker who believes some people would be “better off as slaves."
A perfect demonstration of where the Republican Party has taken us and where they want to go in the future. Screw common decency. Fuck science. Let poor people starve. But let's find time for a law-breaking hater of the United States who believes black people should still be in chains.
Elections matter. Which is why Confederates work so hard to steal them.
Re Carson, from an academic (PhD) whose hundred or so peer-reviewed publications include about a quarter co-authored by academic physicians, including a couple of surgeons: An education is not sine qua non for training in medicine, requiring only survey courses without an undergraduate degree. Now, I have known and worked with many deeply thoughtful, literate, analytical and creative, and liberal, physicians, well educated in arts and sciences; and a few boobs incapable of lateral thinking, but determined compulsive overachievers. Academic medical centers cut some slack for promotion of "real doctors" most of who are superior physicians but lack education and aptitude in the natural sciences. So Marie is correct about not disregarding an engineer, while not expecting a superior intellect. I would be at ease being treated by a laboratory boob. Another observation verified by many surveys: physicians, including academic physicians, are three times more likely to be religious than natural scientists (95% v <30%) or academics in general outside medicine. My cynical spin is that it reflects choice of spouse. "Doctor's wife" is in unkind descriptor I've heard many times.
I am getting sick and tired of the media giving a pass to ignoramuses on the right who spout outrageous lies about Planned Parenthood. Just this morning I was watching MSNBC and the stand -in for Thomas Roberts ( don't know his name) was interviewing Republican Congressman Duffy, who characterized PP as "selling body parts." This ( as you all know) is a bald faced lie. It's not a matter where reasonable minds can differ. It is just a lie, and a scurrilous one. Why don't interviewers call these clowns out?
Shkreli has given us a glimpse into the dark heart and soul of unrestrained capitalism. Anyone who does not admit the truth in this is a liar or a fool
While I have been loving on this sweet Pope for his good heart and moral courage, my rich Tea Party brother-in-law is hating on him. He sent the email below this AM. I really do think I was dropped on the doorstep of this "cluster of Ass Hats," to whom I am related, just because of a nasty biological joke.
The email:
..."Can’t watch that fucking hypocrite----all bullshit talk while he still protects the fucking pedophile priests and the asshole bishops that pampered them.I’ll only show him respect when he punishes Bernard Law[instead of rewarding] and the others.They and he belong in prison for enabling and coddleling the child molesters.The media is not covering opinions of the abused who can’t stand the sight of the pope."
Sigh.......
The Poop on da Pope:
Big question is will he persuade anybody of anything? Will anybody change their mind about anything, or alter their view on anything, or vote other than they would have as a result of his proselytizing?
In an essay long ago, W.F. Buckley Jr. coined an unforgettable phrase: "the egomania of democratism". And he wasn't on that occasion referring to the party. It's another term for confirmation bias.
Nearly every person is a cafeteria something -- Catholic, Christian, conservative, conservationist, or (alliteration fails me) progressive. Hence nearly everyone can find things to support or condemn in Frank's message, or anyone else's.
But will anything change?
The poop on the Pharma:
Why does a capitalist engage in price gouging?
Why does a dog lick his dick?
Because he can.
Kate,
Kindly inform your extremely misinformed brother that Bernie Law, protector of child rapists, was the most conservative cardinal in America. He was a friend and intimate of many Republican politicians including both Bushes.
When the scene in Boston got too hot for him, he was whisked away to the Vatican by then Cardinal Ratzinger and John Paul II, the most conservative pope since Pius XII, famously known as "Hitler's Pope", and given a cushy position in a basilica where he was allowed to keep his standing as a cardinal and ensconced in a gold laden medieval palace. This was a reward for keeping his mouth shut about baby rapers who were themselves protected by conservatives in the church.
When Ratzinger became Pope Benedict, he made sure Law's position would be a lifetime one. He also allowed Law to become heavily involved in choosing new American bishops and cardinals and he chose men like himself: extreme conservatives and protectors of child molesters.
Benedict tried to stay as far away from the world wide rape scandals. But he knew where all the bodies were buried, so to speak. The executive director of an American based survivors network for victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, has this to say about the most extreme right-wing pope in a century: "His record is terrible. Before he became pope, his predecessor put him in charge of the abuse crisis. He has read thousands of pages of reports of the abuse cases from across the world. He knows more about clergy sex crimes and cover-ups than anyone else in the church yet he has done precious little to protect children."
The current pope, Francis, is the only one who has spoken out in great detail and passion about these scandals and abusers who have been coddled and protected so diligently by right-wingers in the church hierarchy.
So he (your brother) really needs to get his facts straight. Law, 84, is now retired. He hasn't been coddled by Francis, but he was by conservative church leaders. Not just coddled. He was rewarded.
And all those "fucking pedophile priests and asshole bishops" were well taken care of.
By right-wingers.
D.C.,
Thanks, man. You've just given me the most hideous image of Martin Shkreli which will take some doing to delete.
Oh god! There it is again!
Akhilleus,
I find a few sharp raps to the parietal lobe with a ball peen hammer is sometimes helpful.
But I'm not a brain surgeon.
On the matter of parietal lobes . . .
room for humor?
(I'm naming it "Homunculus republicus")
http://www.political-humor.org/remains-of-what-archaeologists-believe-was-the-first-politician.shtml
Thanks Akhilleus!
I have copied the body of your excellent screed--sans first paragraph and, of course, your name--and am sending it on to my Ass Hat B-in-L
as a response to his hateful rhetoric. He probably does not even know who Pope Benedict was, but he will have to do a little thinking on this one. Maybe. Or maybe not. Anyway, thanks again. You have made me feel better!
Ophelia,
Why, I can't believe it.
My former job as a forensic facial reconstruction expert has given me the ability to study a skull and determine the features that originally covered it, and you won't believe it, but the face that goes with the skull of that proto-politcian, wedged up its own ass, is this guy's .
Go figure.
D.C.,
Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow.
Ball peen hammer therapy not working.
Ow!
Moving to heroin.
Akhilleus -
Thank you for the forensic reveal (and the laughter).
I just shared an in-depth chat with my former PT who - correctly - determined that the skull-positioning was entirely incorrect for a head-up-the-arse action.
Then again, if one considers Special Circumstances - - involving 360 rotational flexibility - - such as those exhibited in - - say - - The Exorcist . . .
D.C./Ak,
You DO know why you hit yourself on the head with a hammer, right?
Because it feel so-o-o good when you stop.
Something some people never learn. Kinda like diggin' holes.
Unwashed,
A bit like how good it feels when Ted Cruz stops yapping?
Ak,
I try to be more inclusive. Cruz doesn't have a monopoly over those you'd like to just STFU.
I think that's why the teevee has a volume control and, better yet, an On/Off switch.