Archive for the ‘politics’ Category

But just watch …

March 25, 2010

If members of a faith tradition are being excluded (see article in NCRonline and those following) because of a particular teaching within that tradition, one has to wonder: Upon what authority is the teaching based? I’m trying to think of an instance where the one whom the Christian tradition claims to follow excluded anyone. Maybe that’s expecting too much of church leaders.


Headlines throughout the day reported threats of violence and death against Democratic members of congress following the passage of the overall of health care  legislation. It would be a stretch to say that the threats are against both parties. A stray bullet hit an unmarked building holding an office of Eric Cantor R-VA, hardly the same.


Over the weekend, Congressman John Lewis and others were given a trip down memory lane courtesy of some tea partyers. Anyone who thinks our nation is in a post-racial era, causes me to wonder what they read (assuming they do), who they listen to on the radio (one can only imagine), what network they watch on TV (surely not FOX News), where they live, who they hang out with, how well they know people of color.


I do have to apologize for not assigning many good intentions to our conservative friends in government and their base. November’s election will be an exercise in measuring how fearful and misinformed our nation’s electorate can be. For the life of me, I can’t understand how a party, guilty of such inept governance and leaving our country in such an incredible mess, would ever be voted back into positions of power. But just watch …

I’m just asking …

March 18, 2010

As I reflect on all that is going on in our government, I’m trying to make sense of why only one party is on the playing field trying to get something done  while the other party jeers from the stands. Perhaps things can be explained:

If you don’t believe that such a person as Obama could/should ever reside in The White House, why would you want to help him be successful?

If your party controlled congress for 12 years (and The White House for 8 years) and nothing was done other than screw up the country’s foreign policy and economic health, why wouldn’t you be upset if the mess couldn’t be straightened out in year?

If a major piece of legislation (prescription drug plan) was completely unfunded and locked in a deficit-building entitlement for our children and grandchildren to pay for, doesn’t the party who introduced and passed such legislation have every right to block new legislation that is really needed and helps people? Especially if it reduces the deficit?

If you have a government health care plan for you and your family, isn’t it obvious that such an opportunity would be disastrous for the rest of the country? Wouldn’t that be socialism?

If your party successfully nominated and elected for two terms as president a candidate who was completely uniformed and could barely voice a coherent thought, wouldn’t such a candidate seem attractive again? Maybe the tea party folks are onto something.

If your party had a vice president who made little sense and was guilty of numerous wrong-headed, unpatriotic decisions and policies, shouldn’t he be the main critic of someone who actually thinks things through before acting?

If your party in congress has no ideas to help solve an ever-growing fiscal crisis, doesn’t it make sense to stand in the way of those who have ideas and are trying to respond to that crisis?

If your party’s administration fostered the rampant growth of terrorists world-wide through reckless and thoughtless foreign policy, shouldn’t the next administration who tries to be part of the global community through healing divisions and international cooperation be labeled as “soft” on terror?

I’m just asking …

Let her keep talking

February 7, 2010

Just in case you missed seeing Sarah Palin’s address to the gathering of Tea Party Nation, it is worth watching.

Listening to her used to make me angry, more so when there was that foolishly created chance of her being anywhere near The White House. Now I say, let her keep talking. But I do still wonder if she has any idea what she is talking about, any idea of what has transpired over the past decade, a clue to the implications of her flip “advice.” The uninformed sure do love her.

I do agree with her, wholeheartedly, that we should “put our government back on the side of the people.” Perhaps she is unaware of why the last election turned out as it did, or what “on the side of the people” really means. She does give some indication, however, when she continues to refer to “real Americans,”  code for an endless list of reasons for denying access to opportunity for a lot of folks.

Lower taxes, war that was off-budget and unnecessary,  and the myth of less government to allow  unconstrained market forces during the Bush administration got us into this mess. The Tea Party movement and the party of “no” continue to forget those facts.

Which is more laughable?

February 6, 2010

Talk about a pendulum swing during this snowy Saturday!

The morning began with an opportunity for me to speak to a church group about the death penalty. This particular group meets once per month for an 8:00 pro-life Mass followed by a meeting. They had not covered the topic of capital punishment, at least not recently.

A few parents, who have sons on death row, were there on behalf of the Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP). The general discussion went very well with thoughtful questions and a sincere interest to learn more. Literature with information and website URLs was made available. One site they were encouraged to visit is the Death Penalty Information Center.

So, later in the day I received an email notice of a posting in NCRonline referring to former President George W. Bush’s receiving a pro-life award from a group of Catholic business men. I don’t know which is more laughable, Bush being seen as pro-life, or Catholic business men believing Bush’s behavior to be pro-life.

The Catholic Church sure has gotten into a rut. Seldom is there a public face put on anything other than abortion or stem cell research. There is, or course,  an occasional article on Catholic social teachings and social justice issues in archdiocesan papers, but that is not what I would call public dissemination. I don’t even know many Catholics who read them.

More needs to be done. Voices need to be raised. Besides pedophilia and abortion, I wonder what the public image is for the Catholic Church of the 21st century. Thank goodness for the Catholic Relief Services (CRS). They can single-handedly give the Church a good name.

I can’t help but believe that if a symphony orchestra played one note all evening, people would be walking out throughout the entire performance … and some rather early too. It is of little surprise, then, that people are drifting away from the Catholic Church.

What else might be going on?

December 31, 2009

2009 draws to a close, on to the next decade!

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Does anyone wonder why two bumbling terrorists used the same m.o.? If our attention can be drawn elsewhere so easily, what else might be going on? We always seem to be protecting against the last attack. This most recent guy looks like another decoy, a setup. But body scanners it will be. Liquids, box cutters, shoes, are now joined by a peek into our undies.

I would put my money, instead, on luggage or an external airline attack such as a heat-seeking missile on takeoff  or a radicalized pilot on a private jet causing a mid-air collision.

It is an interesting strategy, however: keep us looking where the  threat won’t be.

Speaking of threats and decoys, isn’t that Sarah Palin something to behold? It still scares me that she and McCain could be sitting in Washington. Sure Obama could be doing a better job, but boy am I glad he’s in the White House when there was no apparent alternative.

What did we have to offer?

December 8, 2009

What he should’ve known
What he could’ve known
It’s too late now

I really don’t think he knew
But his handlers did
That foolish and arrogant man
His understanding was meager
Wisdom completely absent
Heels dug in with inexplicable certitude
Instincts abundant
Poorly formed in pampered privilege

Trying to outdo a parent
Ready fodder for manipulators
Playing upon uninformed passion
Vengeful unleashing of unwarranted invasion
Naïve occupation and reckless governance
Torture

Damage done far exceeds
Oppression replaced
Security gone
Hundreds of thousands killed
Millions displaced or injured

Unemployment and frustration
Humiliation and broken families
An ancient civilization
Modern indifference
Now, seething rage looking for an outlet
Self-destruction; self-hatred.

What did we have to offer?