Grateful Dead

Anti-gay marriage, anti-homosexual, anti, anti, anti. Turn on the lights in the cave, please. How sad. It's 2013 and the song remains the same. First Argentine pope or not, no new ground was broken here at all. St. Bernard, man's best friend with brandy to boot, would've been a much better choice, imho.

God's Rottweiler, the pope emeritus Ratzinger (Head ramrod for the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition), is definitely being scrutinized right now. Going to Gandolfo for a couple of weeks of prayer doesn't mean he won't be riding herd on Jorge. * Steven Colbert's writer's get credit for the title here. (I replied by PM to Marye's previous post, don't want to appear flip here)

Let us leave off the title Pope Francis Ist and look at the man Jorge Bergolio of Argentina. Already the myth is building that this man is the most humble of the humble, refusing the trappings and perks of an archbishop. One interesting fact has emerged and I underline it because to me it undercuts the rest of his better characteristics. During the time of 1976-1983 when more than 100,000 people in Argentina alone "disappeared" (arrested by the secret police, tortured and killed simply for being teachers, labor activists, human rights workers, which were all labeled communist). That would have been 1 of every 260 of the then current population. Jorge Bergolio said nothing about this. He remained completely silent. For a Jesuit who was getting guidance from his Order about Liberation Theology during this period this is quite curious, to be kind. "Walking a fine line between two competing interests." is supposedly a quality that great leaders have. The Vatican remained an untouched bastion amidst fascism in WWII. I question this supposed quality. The Catholic Church remains a moral authority? Not any more so under Jorge Bergolio. (BBC reports this morning that the Catholic church formally apologized for it's silence last year and a book has been written about the Jorge Bergolio's complicity titled El Silencio {The Silence}. The Church in Rome stands by Bergolio's absolute denial. How can you deny a public record of saying nothing when over 100,000 people are tortured and killed?)

but one of my classmates, a Jesuit, was being interviewed on TV last night because he knows the guy well and seems to hold him in high regard, and if Art likes him, this bodes well as far as I'm concerned.

North Korea is a bad boy. It has conducted it's third nuclear test in a year. The US has consulted with five nations, most notably China, in getting tough new sanctions that include a total ban on luxury goods from the West and the blocking of transfer of suitcases full of cash through diplomatic pouches. No doubt that Kim is following the Stalinist example of his father and grandfather and needs to be potty trained. However, the more I see and hear of authoritarian nations like Iran, the more it seems that punishment does not seem to motivate them. In fact, it seems to have the opposite effect of closing doors to negotiations. The world has many examples of countries that resist pressure from countries like Russia, China and the US, even if sanctions create massive suffering for it's own people. Clearly, sanctions are meant to weaken a country and make it stop it's offensive behavior or reduce it's power to negotiate. If it does not have that effect and instead increases it's bellicose rhetoric to use it's nuclear weapons as "Fists of steel justice aimed at the US" then perhaps another approach should be used. We aren't clever enough to reign in a ruling elite that is starving several millions of it's own people for it's own power and prestige. One wonders how we ever got Germany to unite. It just wasn't a product of a caving-in Soviet economy due to a massive arms build-up. There were several other factors involved, not the least of which was two or three generations of Germans who were reunited with their families. We have lost that chance in North Korea. It has now been 60 years since the temporary peace was signed to end the Korean war. There are very few people still alive to be reunited. The question is where do we go from here in stopping a country from threatening to nuke us?

Nobody has dared take the name of Francis. Francis of Assisi said: Always preach the Gospel; Use words if you have to. Picking another 76 year-old was not the smart thing to do for the corp.. They don't need a reformer, they need a CEO. (LA Diocese, headed by Mahoney who is in Rome & voting, has just settled 4 pedophile cases for $10,000,000)

and one who decides to call himself Francis, after Assisi, not Xavier, SJ. This could be interesting.

2 of 3 Catholics are lapsed. This is due to the clergy sex-abuse scandal, gender issues (women's ordination), birth control and other significant factors of a medieval institution being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. From our seats as we sit here watching for the white whisps of smoke from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, meaning a new pope has been chosen, it seems as if God's Corporation is having a bit of a systemic problem. We'll see who comes out on top.

Canada delivers the knock-out punch. Bring on the U.S

Canada delivers the knock-out punch. Bring on the U.S