The inescapable politics of being Washington's cardinal

The inescapable politics of being Washington's cardinal 

That Washington was subject to Baltimore showed Rome's fear of American democracy - and more importantly - the concept of natural rights outside of the rubric of natural law. That our political elite was dominated by Freemasons, and had been from the start, put us in the same boat as those who opposed papal rule of Italy. At the end of the 19th Century, the American hierarchy had to deny that the American atmosphere of rights over authority was not a danger to the Church. 

The 20th Century saw Catholic social teaching play out in America on union rights and racial justice. It also saw Rome persecuting John Courtney Murray. The rise of America as a superpower shifted the Church itself. In an about face, the heresy of Americanism became the Dogma of Vatican II. The Curia fought back with Humanae Vitae and the counter-revolutionary St. John Paul as pope. Benedict XV was with Kuhn and Murray at the Council but carried water for John Paul and insisted that the Council was not a rupture. Of course it was.

Installing the Archbishop Gregory of Atlanta, the most prominent African American Churchman, as Cardinal Archbishop of Washington is a sign that the promise of civil rights had been realized. He is the Catholic response to Trumpism.  Time will tell whether he or Cardinal Cupich will take over for Cardinal Sean on the Council of Cardinal Advisors. My bet is on Wilton. Jerusalem was the See of the family of Jesus, Rome was the Apostolic See, Constantinople the Imperial See. Washington is the Superpower See. It is why the elevation of Gregory was a sure thing and it is a sign of things to come. The Eternal City is not as eternal as it claims to be. Just ask St. Malachy and Sister Lucy.

Links: Thanksgiving set to music

Links: Thanksgiving set to music 

Many thanks to Michael Sean for giving us a selection of music for the holiday. The choice of Now Thank We All Our God is ironic on a Catholic site, given its origins as Luther's anti-papist anthem. It gives me a chuckle every time it is sung at Mass. My father's Ashkenazi family was converted to Christianity at the point of a Lutheran bayonet and to Catholicism as a consequence of the Peace of Augsberg. My mother's family left England for America because the Anglican Church had become too Catholic. Three centuries later, my father's family came to America. The power of our music and liturgy had my mother convert to Catholicism, which is why I am here. My taste of thanksgiving music, however, tends more toward Arlo Guthrie. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving: Grace is everywhere

Thanksgiving: Grace is everywhere 

Weiss was right about "thy will be done" being the essential part of every prayer. He is also correct about there being no escape for philisophers (and I would add atheists) from the questions if religion, although I would have said spirituality instead. What unites atheists, believers and those in recovery (spiritual but not necessarily religious) is the primacy of love (who is God, whether we call Her by name or not - Google Shekinah).

True humility and true love can only be reached by gratitude, which is the response to and request for grace. The God of the cross is infinitely humble. God needed nothing from Jesus. We needed God to identify with our brokenness. We do not seek virtue to please God. We depend on God to help us find virtue, not by self-obsession over are vices but to see ourselves and others the way God does, with loving humility. Only that surrender to God's true will brings it about in our lives and the lives we touch.

Links: moral consistency, spiritual bromides, the 'Latino vote'

Links: moral consistency, spiritual bromides, the 'Latino vote' 

Opposing Warnock is about race, period. Not just his race, but the race of his base. His view on abortion is partisan orthodoxy, but has no impact on whether abortion is legal or not. Period.

Coping with the Hells we walk through is an individual encounter with God. Outsiders should share their pain, not religious platitudes. Hugs are good too.

CCUSA member agencies are known for moving mountains. Donors will gladly open their wallets for this (and shame in those who don't)

The lack of moral courage starts with Trump enabling Pence, who was also the person Senators called to deal with Trump. I hope someone kept good notes and can explain what really happened and why.

Rule one in dealing with Asians is not to call Chinese people Asians. That is like calling Portuguese and Spaniards Iberians or calling Poles Slavic. This is what is meant by political correctness. Let people self-name and respect it. Calling all Republicans Trumpists is the same error.  The best way to deal with ethnicity and voting is to not do so at all. Working class resentment in any race can show up Republican. 

Workers of the world never unite. Socialism needs better cash and prizes to take hold. After people get better money, they will worry about having a voice in management and government. That is why the GOP breaks unions and cut welfare.

Analyzing Tejano voters is an issue for elections in Texas, and to do so, you need crosstabs on the other demographics and then determine if they change based on Tejano self-reporting. If they don't, quit asking about ethnicity when doing targeting polls. If a campaign cannot afford to run a targeting ring poll it cannot afford consultants. It needs to build support block by block.

Chester County voting shows that the Lincoln Project had a huge impact on the race for President. Being a Republican for Trump means voting GOP down-ballot. Trumpism is an aberration and the union of wedge voters and the upper-class is still intact. 

The way out is to attack wedge voting, particularly on abortion, head on as a police power and poverty issue. Only then can the war on women be mentioned. It turns out that sexism really is part of the equation. Burke supported traditional roles, especially for women.

The GOP's future? Ditch Trump and read Edmund Burke

The GOP's future? Ditch Trump and read Edmund Burke 

Burke reacted rather than proposing, which is the essence of conservatism. According to Corey Robin, without a vigorous liberal agenda, conservatism flounders. The kids at Millennial should review his book, The Reactionary Mind.  

Trumpism was an ugly rejection of Obama, largely because of his color. That was what motivated Trump and he gave permission to let 1000 crosses burn (figuratively). The future of the Democrats in Kamala Harris. I can almost smell the ugly sweat developing in GOP ranks. Her agenda is the most Catholic. She and Biden will do a lot for the working class, especially parents. Hard core conservatives view such an agenda as subsidizing sexuality and advancing socialism, regardless of Catholic social teaching.

Trumpism, in contrast, showed how poor workers need a savior. They thought a member of the upper class was going to help them, rather than exploit them. If a real billionaire had run GOP, they would have embraced him. The lesson of Trump is that CEOs are in the game for themselves, not their workers or society. It is not in the nature of the conservative working class to embrace that lesson and reject capitalism. It would violate their core belief in economic liberty. They will reject Trump, however. He is about to lose his shirt and his children are as dumb as he is. We will not hear from them again. 

The Church is in more danger than the Republican Party. Until it accepts a synthesis of Aquinas and Rousseau, giving humanism a try, it will be locked in an asexual misogyny that has no place in Christianity. The promise of Christ is not that the world will adapt to the Church, but that the Church will survive by adapting to the world. Dignitatis Humanae was about accepting religious diversity, which Francis has embraced. The John Paul American bishops mistake religious power for religious liberty. Their day will soon be done.

Trump's putative putsch and its collaborators

Trump's putative putsch and its collaborators

I am not at all shocked. Trump's insanity is not a new thing, nor are his sin eaters enabling him. Trump is a walking constitutional crisis. The government has had to ignore him for the last four years or violate the law by following his orders.Putin is getting his money's worth. It is not just the Trump voters that the GOP fears, it is disclosure of who gave Trump the money for the Super PAC which they benefited from (the Russians). Trump is calling in the debt. He has something on them. The question of Rudi keeping to the Trump line is easy to explain. Rudi is Trump's handler, not his client. This craziness can only be explained with a Moscow connection and the implicit threat that goes with it. Putin does not like failure or loose ends. Sadly, some bishops are in on the deal. Only a Russian hack on the Clinton briefing book explains how Trump had the knowledge to mention partial birth and why these bishops were ready to pounce.

Links for 11/19/20

Links for 11/19/20 

Barron knows what Cardinal Sean does on child protection. He also knows he must please his audience by saying the appropriate things. He is not wrong, although he will never say what is truly needed (real democracy in the Church). Neither will MSW.

The same asexual ideal that bedevils the Church also bedevils the Scouts. No surprises here. Also, the Church has more efficient lawyers

The exit polls found the gender gap in minority communities. It probably undersampled Lincoln Project Republicans. Bitecofer (who did their analysis) likely has the best analysis. Expect it in her next paper. They also have the best answer on down ballot races. Never-Trumpers are real. They did not leave the GOP after all.

I am glad Larry Summers is not going to the party. Joe is more progressive then people thought. Thank Jared Bernstein for the picks.

People in the Heartland are desperate.. Trump was their prophet of the Prosperity Gospel. These voters are unlikely to believe that the CEO class is out for itself, and only itself.

The Trump camp got the normal assist from culture warrior bishops (who want gay marriage junked with Roe).

Biden needs to show the bishops and other Catholics that legal abortion and gay rights are not going anywhere. Limiting the power of the state is not evil.

Trump and his children may not go to jail. Trump is too crazy and the kids are to stupid to have committed most of Trump's crimes. They will likely lose their property and not their freedom. Their acolytes will drop him like a hot rock once he is poor. Biden should give him a blanket pardon, just to get him off the national stage. Trump will hate that.

Gomez's lack of leadership is on full display with statement on Biden

Gomez's lack of leadership is on full display with statement on Biden 

The current list of horribles listed by Gomez are not something Biden has any control over. This is more sour grapes by sour old men. The current Conference leadership is as irrelevant as LifeSiteNews and EWTN. Abp. Gomez is another creature of the Conference, where they go along to get along. I expected nothing and was not disappointed. 

GOP activists on USCCB staff probably had their drivel waiting for whomever was elected. Their statement, it is simply wrong. This is why Biden needs to teach the bishops about the reality of their views, rather than the other way around.

Biden is correct on Hyde, not that it matters, because no one vetoes or signs appropriations based on its exclusion or inclusion. It is simply below his pay grade. Biden's point is that, unless you ban all subsidized insurance coverage of abortion services (as covered by the health insurance exclusion on taxes), it is unjust to do so for only the poor. Good luck in getting America to adopt Hyde for the exclusion.

Roe has not been overturned, except as far as Casey ended the trimester system and switched to the amorphous "substantial burden" test. The right to abortion is not a matter for the political branches. Biden's position is irrelevant, as is the position of the bishops, or USCCB staff, or MSW or me.

The Obamacare language on contraception is also below Biden's pay grade and, regardless, is settled law as far as the extant case, where the Little Sisters need to fire their lawyers and quit interfering with the religious freedom of their employees. The bishops are seeking to maximize religious power, although no one has said that in a brief. The second it is, they lose.

The unequal treatment of Catholic schools, last I checked, was a matter that the Supreme Court has already taken care of in Espinoza v. Montana. The Court declared the Blaine Amendments unconstitutional. It is up to the Church to seek the funding. Firing gay teachers who marry in civil ceremonies is another attempt at religious power. I hope the Court strikes it down as a bridge too far. This is where Title VII will meet Hosanna-Tabor. 

The Equality Act is not going anywhere. It is a red herring and, in light of the Title VII cases, it is no longer necessary. Every protection based on gender now also protects sexual identity. Period. The question was about the definition of sex in the Civil Rights Act, even though the extant case was only about employment.

Please press 'mute' to the US bishops

Please press 'mute' to the US bishops 

Let us remember that Cardinal Sean is in charge of dealing with the abuse situation. It allows them to have no position, which they do well. Bishop Pop Rocks is a minor character in the drama, not worth commenting on. So is the Nuncio. 

I did not expect any condemnation of Trump, or the bishops who supported him. That would violate the spirit of the conference. Going along to get along. Like Trump last Saturday, let the old bulls make their last stand. Retirements will not be kind to their caucus. Now that he has secured election, it is not the Church's place to correct Biden. It is Biden's place to correct them.

As I wrote this morning, until the people seize the Church from the hierarchs, they are also minor characters. 

Bishops' conference elections: why they matter and what they portend

Bishops' conference elections: why they matter and what they portend

The topic of the day will be dealing with COVID. Some will grandstand on that. Anyone who does should be shut down or have "technical difficulties." (I can dream, can't I?)

Nothing the USCCB can say on Uncle Ted will helpThe important voice on this and other issues is the member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers. Showing that they know this will benefit them greatly. 

Magisterial Catholicism is dead and gone. They are one of its artifacts. If they want to really be current again, they can discuss how badly supporting Donald Trump in 2016 made them look. There is literally nothing they could do, aside from supporting Biden's tax provisions, that would advance the cause of Life. I am not holding my breath. 

The bishops must listen to the people in the pews, rather than telling them what do do on abortion (or other issues). This won't happen without a demand. Most dissidents simply just leave rather than fighting. Until such a demand is made, the USCCB will be considered THE Church. This is not what the Master intended. As the Curia is reformed, the Conference must be reformed along the same lines. This especially includes the committees and staff.

US bishops need to recalibrate their stance toward the culture

US bishops need to recalibrate their stance toward the culture 

MSW, give up on abortion. If you recognize all of the unborn at some point in gestation, killing them after that point is infanticide, with all that involves. Equal protection cuts both ways. Unless you want to register and investigate every pregnancy, even if it is a paper review, and jail anyone involved in the act, you are pro-choice. What the bishops need to atone for is not their culture warrior approach, it is being a whore to the Republican Party. This is easy to fix. Close the Office of Pro-Life Activities and cancel the March for Life. It has always been compromised. 

Telling the truth is never grievously wrong. If Biden were a cultural warrior, there is nothing he could do to reverse legal abortion. Biden or a surrogate must educate bishops and theologians about why Roe cannot be overturned nor the unborn granted legal protection, at least in the United States. He owes that to every Catholic politician and supporter. We got the Church to the the First Amendment at Vatican II. Now it is time to educate them on the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Also Nineteen and Twenty-Eight (pending ratification by one more state and acceptance of that act by Congress).

To stop poverty, the bishops need to push the right-to-life GOP to pass Biden's Child Tax Credit reform, and not for the year proposed. Until then, it should pay employees as if the law is already passed, with an addition to pay for every child. It should also excommunicate any Catholic employer or shareholder who does not do likewise.

I agree on the money. The bishops should not touch it at all. Give control to the laity. Absolute control. Assets too. It is time to abandon feudalism, at least for the purposes of ownership. An elected board of lay directors are more competent to hold money in trust for parishes and diocesan agencies than clergy. No money should go to Rome. Ever. National boards can move money around without the Curia getting their hands on it.

Rome also needs to get out of the bishop business. In the early Church, pastors were elected. The word for bishop is overseer, which is also pastor. Let the pastors elect the metropolitans, who elect the patriarchs (and matriarchs). We have nothing to lose but our prejudices. 

Uncle Ted, now Brother Ted, shows what unintegrated asexuality can do. When eye met him, he was dead in his eyes. It is time for the bishops, and the clergy, to come out to themselves and the rest of us. Truth will set them free. They are the A in LGBTQIA  There is a flag for them in white, black and silver. It is actually rather attractive. 

There are plenty of Gs as well. Q's too (for queer, not questioning - they need to do that rather than fear being caught). Ordain married men and women. Abandon sacred continence. At heart, this particular Charism is holier than art thou misogyny. Eve was not the mother of sin. There was no Eve.

We also need Ls in the priesthood. There are plenty in the convent, as well as As. Start by promoting the leaders among Nuns and Sisters to the episcopacy. Start at the top and then ordain priests and permanent deacons.

All of this will violate some people's belief's. Belief, however, is an aesthetic matter. It resists reason. The Church has become quite ugly to many of us. It is time for a makeover. 

Links for 11/12/20

Links for 11/12/20 

A main feature of hierarchy is loyalty to the boss or his memory, which aptly explains Weigel and lifesitenews, as well as the loyalty shown to Uncle Ted (and is why he could get away with his abuse). Brother Ted is a pitiful character, a child in an adult's body who could not cope with his unintegrated asexuality - so that he could not control any sexual urges. Gay guys don't abuse children or seminarians (unless they are sure the seminarian is also in "the life" and then the sex is consensual).

The Trump Super PAC is now stealing from donors because its supply of Oligarch money has been cut off. Grifters gotta grift. Anyone who sends the Trump's money deserves to pay for their lesson in their true nature.

Links for 11/10/20

Links for 11/10/20 

Regarding Pennsylvania and the polls, years ago, Rachel Bitecofer got it right: that the Blue Wall would come back and that turnout on both sides would increase - just as they did in 2018. She was also the pollster for the Lincoln Project. Apparently, being a Never-Trumper was really a thing. Anyone in Northern Virginia could have told you a much. This is why political scientists are better than journalists at doing and interpreting polls.

Democrats need to see that economic desperation is what is behind Trumpism, not merely racism. The exit polls also have interesting results about the gender gap within racial groupings. Among Black voters, age matters, with a smaller gender gap among Hispanics. Blacks between 30 and 44 much more likely to be Trump voters. People who did not like Black Live Matter mostly voted for Trump, which speaks volumes about racism in the U.S. Supreme Court appointments were not a factor (so much for NARAL and the USCCB). Thoughts on abortion were predictable, but irrelevant. Attitudes on the economy were a huge predictor, as well as preference for a strong leader. Trump voters bought the hype. Nones voted 2 to 1 for Biden. Union membership was irrelevant. As expected, White men without degrees are Trumpers. Again, economic desperation. 

There was no underselling the Biden victories in the streets on Saturday. As I write this, Trump is making personnel moves in the Pentagon. He misunderstands how profound the constitutional oath really is. The sad question I have is whether his supporters share his views. GOP officeholders mimicking the Trump line on the election are likely 2024 Republican candidates. They have not yet fled the sinking ship.

At the moment, Biden is dancing with the girl that he brought to the dance, which includes Never Trumpers. How tax policy shakes out (which is what we are really talking about when we talk economics issues) is not his call. The relationships between Chairmen Neal and Wyden or Neal and Crapo (depending on Georgia) as well as whether Sanders is Budget Committee Chair will make more of an impact.

Again, whether Trump tries a coup against the election, either a soft one or a hard one, will show the true nature of GOP leadership. The issue is not ethics, it's sanity.

Defunding the police - and how members communicate with their voters comes down to the O'Neill rule. All politics is local. While there are a few fringe marchers who really believe in firing all cops, the same group also predicts that Trump will try to steal the election. They may not be so fringe after all is said and done. Community organizations will not get more money, but mental health care doing more (and getting more of a share) than policing is absolutely essential. Indeed, it is the only sane course - provided that treatment and intervention are less optional than they are now. No more catch and release, or the the jails will remain the largest providers of mental health care.

The pandemic getting worse has nothing to do with Biden or the amount of relief provided. When it gets worse, McConnell will react - depending, of course, on whether the White House keeps up its current insanity and whether Mitch enables it. If Pence has the moral courage to sideline an obviously insane Trump, he and Pelosi will quickly make a deal to keep people paying their rent until the economy reopens. It will be closed fairly soon. 100,000 deaths in a month's time tends to lead to drastic measures.

What the McCarrick report tells us about the culture of the hierarchy

What the McCarrick report tells us about the culture of the hierarchy 

The report shows problems with all hierarchies, not just the Church. Pope Pius XII wrote that hierarchy is the natural state of man. He also believed in Eden. The two beliefs are not inconsistent with each other. The worst feature is the rule that the boss is always right. The question is not evil in the Church, but why it continues to govern itself in this manner, rather than adapting to the times. In the end, it is not the clergy who is at fault It is all of us.

Biden needs to push for far-reaching progressive economic policies

Biden needs to push for far-reaching progressive economic policies 

Biden's work starts with staffing the government and working on the Georgia run-offs. If we wins that, he works with Schumer and Pelosi instead of McConnell. He will then work on COVID. In my best world, he will talk to people who had the virus and recovered and then shake up the approach to fighting the virus. Bad masking is not how it spread. People with "seasonal allergies" sneezed on each other. They need to stop.  Repairing the State Department and working with the world on COVID is part of job one.

He needs Schumer and Pelosi to quit being cute in enacting legislation to embarrass Republicans. Much of the House agenda was for show. Most of those bills need to be scrapped. Their focus has been on electoral politics for too long. Schumer needs to give up on a liberal caucus and pick off a few Senators to get a majority. The only way to get appointees confirmed is to get rid of Mitch or make some deals. Pardoning Trump may be the price, but it will get Trump out of the headlines.

Domestic priority number one is already announced: undoing Trump. Luckily, Trump's "reforms" did not really happen. He was incompetent in appointing people to actually get his agenda done, so there are many things that do not need to be reversed. The economy will bounce back once people stop getting sick. Much of the labor agenda involves staffing the NLRB. 

Transportation infrastructure needs a gas tax increase and enough pork barrel spending to make it possible. You cannot get one without the other. Members coordinating with the people back home is what gets projects rolling and is how government is supposed to work. Environmental issues need to be addressed at the same time, including a carbon tax (or the threat of one in order to get a gas tax passed). The alternative should be capping flood insurance payouts on the shore. Do that and people will change their minds about warming.

Immigration reform needs to pass this year and it cannot be punitive. Everyone should get the legal status they qualify for, with no requirement of current status. The states should help with processing, with a fee charged to cover their costs. Boards of Election need something to do when there is no election pending. The DMV is another option.

Tax reform is whatever Richie Neal and Chuck Grassley agree to. The Office of Tax Policy will both negotiate administration priorities and provide analysis. It is a job for professionals, not theologians or columnists. I have a few ideas on this, which the revenue committees are well aware of.  Capital income from gains, profits, dividends, pass throughs, interest and rent need to have a consistent rate between 21 (current) and 28%. 26% is a good number. Self-reporting needs to be replaced by taxes paid at distribution or sale. Wealth taxes are a non-starter. It is better to have an asset value added tax on capital gains, zero rated for ESOP sales and marked to market at option exercise and the first sale after gift, donation or inheritance. No more estate tax. . A higher child tax credit is promised, but should be for more than one year, as proposed. 

An employer-paid value added tax should fund the public option, with partial credit for providing insurance to employees. Funding over private insurance will pay for a public option. Trade it for pre-existing condition reform repeal, with those denied automatically enrolled in a subsidized plan that is more generous than Obamacare deductibles and premiums (which function as a poor tax). ACA taxes on the wealthy need to be repealed as part of the deal. Give the GOP what its donors want. The end result of letting insurance companies being greedy is an every-growing public option and an end to private insurance. Single payer is inevitable.

If the bishops start talking about how abortion is covered - they need to be told to put a lid on it. Obama gave a pass to the bishops on these issues. Joe should not. He needs to explain to the bishops and his fellow Catholics why, if private coverage of abortion is allowed, public coverage must be as well. More importantly, he needs to publicly explain why Roe cannot be overturned, both by the Court and the Congress. No one really wants to make abortion equivalent to infanticide. It simply cannot be done without registering all pregnancies, reporting all losses and punishing mothers (as they would be punished for killing or paying for killing their infants). 

Can we turn to our 'better angels' after this election?

Can we turn to our 'better angels' after this election? 

Lincoln was speaking for history, not to the South. He was dealing with a hopeless situation. Trump voters are in two groups - die hard Republicans and economically disadvantaged men. Trump is the personification of the Prosperity Gospel. His followers want to believe in Trump and themselves. They don't want help from the government, which they think is something that only welfare mothers get. If you want to believe something, evidence to the contrary is disregarded. 

People who read the New York Times know that Trump is a two-bit hustler, but the Times is not a credible source for Trump voters. Older Trump voters believe Nixon got a raw deal and the younger ones do not even know who Nixon was. 

For whatever reason, Schumer and Schiff thought that election interference (which did not happen this year) was impeachable. Trump voters did not think so. If they had made a case on where Trump was getting his money (Russia), they might have had a shot. They are reaping what they sewed.

Trump's prosecution by Vance may convince some of Trump voters, but only the seizing of Trump assets by his creditors will convince them that Trump was no billionaire - he was simply an heir with billions, all of which went down the crapper.

Losing faith in Trump will not bind the wounds of the nation. Protectionism has now been discredited by Trump - it turns out the neo-liberals were right about free trade. Arguments about global warming will not help bring Trump voters back in. They need to see bold action, not marginal change. Old men like Biden and McConnell, whether they agree or put on the normal show, are not really capable of such things. The usual suspects have nothing to say. Time to look elsewhere.

Considering hard realities on a grim post-election morning

Considering hard realities on a grim post-election morning 

This was not a cultural election. People voted for Trump on the economy. Biden's problem to shut down the nation over the virus hurt him in places where the virus has not yet become fatal in large numbers. Some states are in for a rude awakening, as is Trump. Trump is expecting the Supreme Court to love him enough to give him the election. 

They don't even love him enough to quash the subpoena for his financial records. Republicans placated Trump by having mail in ballots counted last. This is called winning the battle and losing the war. SDNY may even release an indictment against Trump (they were not allowed to do such things before the election). 

It may not be a good week for Citizen Trump. Will this cause Red States to rebel? Nope. Michael Moore did a film that showed politics is not as important as the commentariat expects. Life really will go on either way, even in the age of COVID. Lighten up, Michael Sean.

Links for 11/3/20

Links for 11/3/20 

Once early voting results are released, which will happen once the polls close in many states, the mathematical lead held by Biden will lead to an early night. All of the polls that say the election is close include conservative push polls. Trump might win Wyoming. The more realistic number is north of 400, probably over 450.

Vigano' is a footnote on an old page.

Many in the SEIU are linked to the Greens or in the Sanders Camp., although the majority are for Joe. I doubt any Cubans are SEIU members.

In updating my book on the National Debt, I noted how little financial power working class Whites and retirees hold. There is reason enough for Trump to radicalize them.

Democrats for Life are outsiders in both the party and the movement. If they admit to wanting criminal punishment in order to secure the rights of the unborn, they cannot be Dems. If they don't, they are considered pro-choice. Of course, no one is really pro-life in terms of wanting every abortion to be treated as infanticide, including punishing the mother and registering all pregnancies and investigation their loss.

Biden owes the Black vote the nomination, much more so than the Catholic vote. If you live in glass houses, don't throw stones. Black Evangelicals of a conservative bent have no economic reason to leave the Democratic Party. Obama did not endorse gay marriage right away out of respect for them, but they came along anyway, especially the young. 

Texas Democrats will face many challenges in court over redistricting. They should, as they are not that different on creating safe seats. This war may be waged block by block.

Bloomberg was a Democrat in Name Only. The Billionaires Club could have upset Trump by running in the Republican Party. That none did shows how abhorrent the GOP brand has become in the upper class among all but the most ardent capitalists. That is why Biden could afford to dominate the airwaves.

Trump's problems are just beginning and he knows it. The Supreme Court will rule very soon on the Mazar's subpoena and it can only go one way. They likely kept quiet until the election was over. Tomorrow it will be over. Vance and SDNY almost certainly have all the financial information they need from Trump's CEO, Weiselberg. You don't get immunity without documents. Once the official documents are delivered, the Trump protective detail will revert to their role as law enforcement officers. If Barr was honest with Trump on his fate, it explains why he is on the outs. Grab the popcorn.

On Election Eve, remember the limits of politics

On Election Eve, remember the limits of politics

Trump's damage has been muted by his staff of rebels and the permanent government. It turns out that having a consequential presidency takes skill and effort. Neither words can describe Trump. The Church needs to make itself ready to step in to help the needy with a more official presence, which means it needs to be less officious and more democratic in its management. It turns out that serving tables is more important than preaching, This is especially true in providing services to addicts, alcoholics and criminals than the police and corrections system. Defund the police.

We need a social justice agenda. The Church should provide the example of a real family size sensitive wage. It should be high enough so that it demands help from the state so that all employers may do the same. 

What empowered Trump is the fact that a segment of the population endorsed his message of hate. This is why we have courts. It turns out that Americans lack a certain respect for the rights of their neighbors. Sadly, this can also be said about the Church in how it treats its employees - and especially to women. The people in the pews need to be more active in keeping their clergy in line. 

Recall that Augustine was elected by his Church - and his role was more like a Pastor than a Metropolitan. He also had a decent respect for the power of the people in his City of God. Except for the peculiar sexuality he advocated, he was quite the liberal.