Biden's revealing of the pope's words on Communion was impolitic, but forgivable

Biden's revealing of the pope's words on Communion was impolitic, but forgivable

Given the conduct if Gomez and Company, they were entirely appropriate. Thus is not about Biden. It affects all Catholic Democrats.

Time to scrutinize Facebook's algorithms — and what social media do to us

Time to scrutinize Facebook's algorithms — and what social media do to us 

A few decades ago, historians were worried that few wrote letters or kept diaries in the modern era so that future historians would not be able to see what people thought. Then came social media. As to algorithms, they only matter if you read your newsfeed and react to it. This is all done in the open. The question is how it links to advertising, so the Federal Trade Commission may have cause to look at how the algorithms work, except to the extent that trade secrets are involved. Such secrets cannot simply be laid bare because Nervous Nellies want to see them. Usually to view such secrets, there must be cause related to unfair activity. It's a hard sell. 

While terrorists, both foreign and domestic, use Facebook groups to communicate, the insurrectionists mainly used Parler. Parler no longer exists and its entire content was captured and is being used to find bad actors. The Insurrectionists  also had a nasty habit of getting into debates on Twitter. My feed from early January includes a discussion with one of these fools that laid out there strategy, including their view that Trump could declare martial law under, ironically enough, the Insurrection Act, in order to stay in power. 

These people were none too wise. They had no understanding of the 12th Amendment, which sets out how Electoral Votes are counted and who wins. There is no magic number. It changes with the number of votes that are eligible. Even if the congressional side of the conspiracy succeeded, Biden would still have won with 232 electoral votes to Trump's 208. The sole arbiter of what the total is is the Speaker of the House and her majority. 

I told my interlocutor that there was no hope - but desperation thrives on hope. By the way, all conspirators are responsible for the crimes of other conspirators, so there will be members of Congress going to jail. The irony is that the whole thing was designed for Trump to take advantage of some imaginary immunity that he really did not have, although the media still says otherwise and prosecutors did not push the point. This was malpractice in both cases. Neither is capable of even understanding Facebook's algorithms, let alone regulating them.

To look at Facebook's trade secrets, there must be a civil suit or criminal prosecution to force either discovery or investigation. Finding a legitimate cause for either is a tough sell. Facebook is likely cooperating with the FBI on domestic terrorism (but neither will ever confirm this, for obvious reasons). Even filing a civil suit is an even tougher sell - and it would involve one user suing another user or users for what is said in voluntary,semi-public communication. If such communication is harmful, it can be shut off by logging out. 

It is up to parents to take away devices and block websites in cases of Internet bullying. Sensitive children who can be bullied online are also susceptible to the in person kind. Looking at Facebook's algorithms won't suddenly make such children emotionally resilient. We have not yet cracked the code in how to do this generally.

Bottom line, regulating Facebook is about as likely as protecting the unborn through the criminal law. It is simply not a thing that can be done. Theologians should not try to do it. What is more likely is Facebook suing NCR for the graphic accompanying this article as a trademark violation. They could not win because it is part of protected speech. What is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander.

Links: Francis channels his predecessors; fact checking political ads; supply chain problems

Links: Francis channels his predecessors; fact checking political ads; supply chain problems 

Francis calls us to real faith, not to focus on The Faith (in the organization). Faith calls us to Love and Hope - all of which are gifts of the Spirit.

I saw Oprah's adaptation of Beloved. It is a very dark story. I would not assign it to high schools students. Youngkin's education ad is as freaky, referring to GOP boilerplate conspiracies on the FBI investigating school board attendees (that may or may not have been parents) because they threatened violence. Very scary.

Ortega is taking a page out of Putin's playbook. Trump would have followed it if he could have gotten away with it. Cheney did get away with it in the name of national security, rather than electoral politics. In the end, it doomed the GOP for long enough to get health care passed.

Prices going up while people stay home, either because they can afford to or because they are made to is an invitation to hyperstagflation. The GOP is not wrong to worry about this. Biden should be worried too. Given an inflated asset market (both liquid and real), we are a hairs breath away from another depression.

A third of a pound burger cooks down to four ounces of protein and fat when cooked. It is a reasonable size for a burger. Not too big, not too small.

When Biden meets with Francis, some heads will explode

When Biden meets with Francis, some heads will explode 

MSW, unless you want to make abortion illegal, you are pro-choice. Biden, like Cuomo, is absolutely correct about the pluralistic view of abortion. It derives from Dignitatis Humanae. The Americanist heresy has become doctrine. I dearly hope that Biden, or a surrogate, explains what the GOP is up to in wanting to ban abortion by turning the matter over to the states. Doing so would upend American constitutional law in a return to the state power regime of Plessy. 

Roe v. Wade is the law of the land, regardless of popular support. Biden supports women not being turned into criminals, or at least suspects, when they lose a pregnancy. Everyone should be for that. That many pro-lifers regard increasing the child tax credit as socialism or paying women to have babies - or sex - shows that they really do want to control women's bodies.

Once Francis is made to understand this, heads will really explode - or they will simply roll. (How do you roll and exploded head?) Build Back Better is pro-life legislation. The Child Tax Credit changes passing for just one year should be both permanent and bipartisan (not requiring reconciliation) and the Catholic Bishops should make that happen.

Both Biden and Francis are heads of state and both are woke, although Biden more so regarding women. Hopefully, Joe does not give the Pope the Johnson treatment. He tends to speak with people from a distance of only a few inches. Luckily, he has good breath.

Links: Latino voters in Virginia; Missouri's MAGA warrior; flying on French-fry fuel

Links: Latino voters in Virginia; Missouri's MAGA warrior; flying on French-fry fuel 

Until the Church has an epiphany on abortion promotion v. abortion rights and commits to adequate family income (read median income) as the way to decrease abortion, it will not truly make peace with labor, especially the teachers unions (which it should also allow in its schools).

This election is about getting out the vote, not changing people's minds. I suspect that many ads that tag Youngkin as a Trump loyalists will bring out Trump voters. The most unhinged thing said this year is repeating the GOP trope that Garland is going after parents for speaking their minds on criminal race theory and using pronouns. The FBI is looking for White Supremacists who make threats. That is their job, but it is not going after dissenting voices.

In Missouri and elsewhere, being tagged as a Trumper may either win or lose votes. If Trumpism is equated with being Soft on Putin, Trumpism will disappear.

Biodiesel is trendy, but I am more interested in seeing if cryogenic hydrogen can be used in airplanes, particularly military aircraft. Aircraft manufacturers usually use government design contracts to prove out new technology before implementing it in their civilian fleets.

Reconstructionism is a good idea if we can find compromise without first finding a common enemy. We cannot do so without Grace. People are not willing to seek this quite yet. If we start talking about Christ as Humanist and the Perfect Humility of God, (not Jesus before God, but God Themselves), we  we will be getting closer.

The gay rights movement is egalitarian/sectarian. Such cultural groups are not known for a sense of humor. They have been kicked in the face one too many times to let down their guard just yet. This is why I love Andrew. He brings wit to the party. 

Archbishop Chaput calls Pope Francis a liar

Archbishop Chaput calls Pope Francis a liar 

Chaput disagreed with an off the cuff remark by Francis that was not meant to be reported. EWTN, as a whole, provides the best live coverage of Church events in the American media. Should Rome officially take notice if Arroyo? Probably. However, that is not the way Francis operates.

Wave of worker strikes resurrects our call to solidarity

Wave of worker strikes resurrects our call to solidarity 

People do not strike because they fear that they are replaceable. A shortage of willing workers has mitigated that fear. A job that cannot attract workers will not attract scabs. It is easy to find safety in numbers when you know that no one else wants your job.

In the South, authoritarian culture predominates. There is support for the kind of capitalism that recognizes the right of management to expect obedience. In such a culture, a strike is almost unthinkable. I suspect that this is true, even now. A culture of solidarity can bring workers out of that culture at work, but it is a hard ask. A society that mocks wokeness finds solidarity amongst itself hard.

If the Church now recognizes the right to strike, it is news to me. It was not in Rerum Novarum. The Church will only stray so far against Authoritarianism.

Links: "Maid" and working, single moms; sustainable energy; our neighbors in Latin America

Links: "Maid" and working, single moms; sustainable energy; our neighbors in Latin America 

Mnuchin and Pelosi negotiated the bailout, which did not have time for new efforts. The task was to keep the lights on right away by keeping existing plants running.  Build Back Better is the venue for change. We need one or two Republicans to get such a thing passed.

Texas is an example of why localized grids are a bad idea.

Childcare should be funded through employer paid taxes (with credits counting against the tax) and include onsite daycare for both healthy and sick children - as well as clinics for employees. Small firms would purchase services from their office buildings.

Biden's speech also demonstrates the need for accountability against runaway leaders. From what I hear, this is coming sooner than later. Have I mentioned that Oleg Daripaska's homes were raided and that Igor Fruman is pleading guilty (and cooperating) in early December? Trump supporters, especially the pro-lifers, need to realize that by supporting a Putinist and by continuing to do so they are soft on Vlad.

The best thing that Latin America can do is what the U.S. did in 1787, at which time they can tel the U.S. to take a hike.

Small d democracy has no place deciding on individual rights. Justices and judges learn on the job. Look at Souter and O'Connor - and likely Gorsuch. Roberts certainly. In recent history, there have always been 3 factions on the Court of relatively equal strength - progressives, moderate conservatives and the right wing. Like supermajorities in the Senate (especially on Judges), be careful of how you tinker with what mostly works.

Pope Francis targets 'post-truth' media and culture in speech to social movements

Pope Francis targets 'post-truth' media and culture in speech to social movements 

The key to speaking with moral clarity is speaking in humility. Francis does that well. It is not only in the imitation of Christ, but also of the Father - or Abba. The Divinity needs nothing from us. They are whole and complete and perfectly loving and happy. Their entire concern is our welfare - as such, it is humanist. Morality must be humanist. Economy must be humanist. Humanism implies equality, so that the children of workers and the children of executives have equal opportunities, services, decent housing, security and food. 

In a way, consumerism is not bad because it gives workers a better life than poverty. It is a gilded cage. Consumer economies are not revolutionary economies. Even China knows that in its authoritarian state capitalism. For the revolution to occur, there must be unity. Division by race or morals is the tool of the economically powerful to divide the workers. Even vaccine hesitancy is proded by NewsCorp (Fox News), oddly under the banner of fighting big PhARMA profiteering.

Militarize policing, including misuse of Border Control Agents under the prior regime was designed to be divisive. Calls to defund the police and fund community organizing are not helpful, however. They are mocked, even by MSW, as wokeness (which is the new way to denigrate social equality). The option to muscular policing is medical intervention and mental healthcare. This must include options for robust custodial care, plus its funding. 

Immediate danger is too weak a standard. Likely danger must be the standard for release from care. Additionally, criminals who were impaired, feeding an addiction or mentally ill should be allowed to plea guilty by reason of insanity, to be committed for care for their minimum sentence and until successful treatment, whichever is longer.

Social division is why we have never been able to achieve socialism at the ballot box. Social Democracy is also a gilded cage. It has limited shop floor democracy and allocates social goods and often profits, but true ownership is denied to workers and CEOs still expect some level of obedience.

Capitalism in production, consumption and finance needs to be replaced with cooperation - not by government entities but by a transition to ownership. Shifting employer taxes from profit to all value added with all revenue going to child subsidies, childcare and healthcare. Firms could either pay the tax or provide the funds and services to employees - who would also be paid a higher minimum wage. 

Shifting ownership is possible by taxing asset transactions including dividend, interest payments, rent at distribution or receipt (capital income) or capital gains. Value taxed will be marked to market at IPO, option exercise, short sale and the first sale after inheritance, donation or gift. The tax would be zero rated for sales to a qualified broad-based Employee Stock Ownership Plan or Cooperative (which is an ESOP with everyone having one vote and additional property interest in the form of preferred shares).

Cooperatives and ESOPs would force CEOs and middle management to bid in open auction, with the bottom two bidders standing for election - aka a free market. They would provide payroll lines of credit for consumer purchases and mortgages. Cash would be replaced with standard labor hour based currency. Consumers would control the means of consumption - with make-buy decisions on each type of product or service, including education, health, housing, clothing, food and vacation travel and lodging.

In the interim, or as some would say, back to reality, the Holy Father must get cooperation from the bishops in supporting the family support and educational provisions of the Build Back Better Act. It is a pro-life measure and should be scored as such. The pro-life movement would rather not have such subsidies, which they feel would not be needed if abortion were criminalized. This shows their true colors - because they do not want to reward sexuality. In other words, they really do want to control women's bodies.

Trumpian Truth is supported by the pro-life movement because he and McConnell delivered judges, especially on the Circuit Courts. Cases that should have been ruled under precedents are being heard by the Supreme Court so that they must hear the case (or rule per Curiam) to reverse these judges.

Trump himself is headed for jail due to his support from and of Vladimir Putin. Yesterday's raids of Oleg Daripaska's residences indicate where the case against Trump is headed. The question is, at what point will supporters, especially Catholics, realize that supporting Trump means being soft on Putin. My guess is fairly quickly. Igor Fruman pleads guilty in early December. He is the lynch pin of the money flow between Putin, Trump, his Super PAC and those members of Congress and the Senate who took Trump money.

Links: Vaccine mandate exemptions; Supreme Court changes; ideology run amok

Links: Vaccine mandate exemptions; Supreme Court changes; ideology run amok 

Trump fanatics believe that he is sent by God to save either the White race or the unborn. We cannot change the minds of the true believers, we can only arrest the violent ones and show Trump to be poor, therefore lacking God's favor.

The problem is not the Court, it's the Senate - which responds to the problems of the House. Open rules for debate in the House will lead to comity in the Senate and no extremists on the Court. God will do the rest. Justices Thomas and Breyer are getting long in tooth. The meme on partisan justices is only half right. On some issues, especially in dissent, less conservative justices (and they are all conservative) strive for justice over law. 

We must balance both - and no, Roe is not going to overturned. The most the Court will do is extend legal protection for those unborn who respond to painful stimuli. Settling second trimester issues ends the debate. Congress should consider how to do it before the Court does. Recognizing it can also ends the debate. Civil rights law is a mess because the Senate is broken and because, unless lotteries are recognized as the best affirmative action, there is no good solution where no one feels cheated.

The biggest question for vaccine hesitancy is whether people who have had the disease can be counted as immune. Those in that boat have suspicions about profiteering by drug companies. The key issue for the moment is that children are no longer immune like they were a year ago. Isolating them was not a good idea. Now they must have the vaccine to be safe.

The Carroll schools incident shows why strong central administration in education is a lousy idea. Let every school have a board made up of people who now serve on the PTA. Smaller scale discussions will stop systemic insanity.

Law schools are a way to make sure Associates can be worked to death because of their educational debt. Like medical residency, doing law is the best way to learn it. Law school politics is training for what happens when older lawyers run for Congress. As for Yale, they need to give Senator Josh Hawley his money back. He seems to have forgotten basic Con-Law.

Florida voting depends on who dies and who moves down to retire. Global warming also has a say in the matter. The state is a good argument for district level voting in the Electoral College, with the two votes for Senators going to whomever wins the popular vote. The South is the reason why an independent judiciary is needed to restrain democracy. It is too easy for elites, like Catholic bishops, to put their moral agendas over the rights of individuals.

I am all for women working, especially in high paying jobs. Whomever makes the least amount should be the stay at home parent /golfer. It is time to escape the bonds of evolution that require men to work. I would hope that Ms. Nooyi does stand up for Build Back Better - as well as the Child Tax Credit's expansion. She, and Biden, should shame the bishops into joining them.

Bill Donohue's criticism of Biden pick for Vatican ambassador shows only his own narrowness

Bill Donohue's criticism of Biden pick for Vatican ambassador shows only his own narrowness 

Bill and company are best ignored, but they are correct on what constitutes being pro-life as their side sees it. Democrats who call themselves pro-life need to be honest on whether they would ban abortion or neither side will trust them (nor should they). It is the role of the ambassador to the Holy See to communicate the views of the United States, not American conservative Catholics. 

It is about time we had an ambassador who will call out the bishops Rome appoints for their partisanship. This is especially the case when a politician is denied Communion for acting in accordance with the Constitution. The word for doing so is sedition. It becomes a diplomatic issue when the seditious person is appointed by a head of government. It is ironic that the objections to Catholicism leveled against Catholics of a prior generation have been realized in conservative bishop's attacks against other Catholics.

'Pro-lifers' make suicide pact with anti-vaxxers

'Pro-lifers' make suicide pact with anti-vaxxers 

It is sad when bishops and the Bioethics Center that they support don't remember the principle of the double effect from their undergraduate ethics classes. That they do this to pander to the Republican Catholics (note word order) is even worse (especially if they do remember their classwork. Then they are truly lying. 

Their vax knowledge is as inaccurate as their biology regarding birth control, which prevents gastrulation - the first point where the soul is present - at least the materialistic soul which prevents entropy and stops at death. I am leery of birth control for economic reasons (including NFP), because the Church needs to bare witness to the economic rights of women and families.

Texas Republicans give Florida Republicans a run for their money on the race to Crazytown.

Links: Palm oil corruption; the blue-collar struggle for social justice

Links: Palm oil corruption; the blue-collar struggle for social justice 

Sadly, palm oil companies are not that much worse than other industries in that part of the world. If they were the worst of the worse, no one would work there. Consumerism drives this. If it were more cooperative, along with cooperative labor, no industry could get away with this stuff. They could also not offshore jobs or use race and sex to divide workers.

Cooperative purchasing and work should also be better for the environment, especially because it should do better urban planning and land use than the free market can. Or government, which responds to disaster more than thinking ahead (especially on water).

The moral clarity of the bloody shirt was great for winning elections. The Dixiecrats have now switched parties, but are still up to their usual tricks. To reiterate, they are the shock troops of capitalism.

The problem with the Bioethics Center is the bishops who support their astroturf. They are the problem, not the solution.

Dignitatis Humanae carried with it not only democracy but the God given nature of individual rights. The Curia and its counter-revolutionary popes did not want to see this. This pope is only beginning to see it and it is the heart of why the Bishops are mistaken when they seek a criminal solution to abortion. The drive to ordain women and let sexual teaching evolve dates from that era, although it took the abuse crisis for us to realize that Medieval ecclesiology is neither necessary or desirable.

Platitudes on wood carving trivializes the self-inflicted wounds of Zionism, which also claims to advance American ideals. Given the treatment of Tribal Nations, they learned the wrong lesson. If anyone is locked out of rights, they are not really inviolate for anyone. This is before we consider abuse of the alien (in their own land) as taught in Torah.

Follow Pope Francis' call to be a listening church — but from a 45-degree angle

Follow Pope Francis' call to be a listening church — but from a 45-degree angle 

I agree with the Pope, especially regarding Catholic business owners. No employee's children should live in poverty. No employee should have to pay for an abortion for their wife, daughter or partner because their pay is too low. Indeed, an argument can be made that there is no excuse for the children of the workers to receive any less than the children of owners. If that is not possible in the firm, then owners must campaign for laws which provide such benefits to his family and those of his or her workers. 

The key in dealing with sin is that you look at your own first, not those of your neighbors or parishioners, which of course is at odds with the paragraph above. What kind of justice does the Church fight for, a God of personal perfection or perfect love of others. One of these produces happiness. If one is in doubt, find a spiritual director. If he is in doubt, ask a she.

This is where the Church must listen and learn. The most profound sexual sins in the Church today are scruples and misogyny. Clergy must examine their own sexuallity before rendering judgement on anyone else's. Much is to be learned, but will the Church listen?

Links: New priests; Democratic voter divide; uneven economic recovery

Links: New priests; Democratic voter divide; uneven economic recovery 

Parish ministry has much to offer our society, especially in charity and education. White, elitte elementary and high schools have lost this. As for the priests and other clergy, there is much work to be done in the area of gender theory, especially around demi-sexuality for the laity and asexuality for the clergy. We are unconscious of both as natural phenomenon, so we are plagued with the perceived holiness of what is simply fitting for asexual priests that are struggling with their own identities. Although the gay priests have a head start. The stone that the builders rejected...

The analysis of campaign volunteers and professionals is not entirely true. The Bernie corps, which hang out in Democratic Socialists of America (pushing us oldsters out) would have been better educated by seeking precinct, county and state level Democratic Committee memberships. This is the best education in what rank and file party members think. The GOP campaigners, especially the MAGA crowd, know this - which is a profound problem for the Republicans. They key to both groups, however, is the desire to win. All politics is local.

The key issue for the working class is how the wealthy use gender and race issues to divide it. This is not a new thing. It goes back to Burke and further in response to universal male suffrage. The best thing the Democrats can do is stress how supporting the child care provisions in Building Back Better are a pro-life thing - and that the feminists are right when they say that abortion is about controlling women's bodies. In the pro-life movement, there is resistance to family support because it is seen as subsidizing sexuality. QED

The GOP Party line is that social welfare is keeping people from going back to work. People have been saving their stimulus payments. When these are spent, people will likely return to the labor force. The key to building back better is to raise the minimum wage. This will stimulate growth and jobs. We cannot go back to the old two-tier economy.

Let us not forget the Stacey Abrams factor in supporting the ethical behavior by the Georgia Secretary of State - who would have likely done the right thing. He is no Katherine Harris. The Trumpists need to be tagged with Trump's support for Putin. Note to Dems: call them Soft on Putinism and then prove such links exist. It is not hard, especially when Igor Fruman pleads out in December.

Federal support for states in the area of social welfare and college education is not a new thing and it has nothing to do with elections. On the Texas case, the narrative is faulty. There is literally no way to deal with defending Roe until after cases deal with standing questions. The first task is to seek the state of Texas' exclusion from the current case. If they are immune from suit, they cannot be allowed to defend the law. Gomez v. Braid does not explicitly address standing, but the local court will, unless the counter-suit in federal court get the law first. So far, no hearing dates have been set.

New report on Midwest 'factory towns' shakes up the way we look at politics

New report on Midwest 'factory towns' shakes up the way we look at politics 

The reason factory towns have worse health is because their residents are older. The younger people who stay are more likely to parrot their parent's politics or have come back from overseas wars. A lot of the younger, smarter people have moved to cities or suburbs, especially the gay ones. Only my youngest brother, who inherited the family home, stayed in Iowa. Of the four of us that left, three have graduate degrees and one of the latter is an MD. None of us are going back. Ever.

That they do not focus on age or religion makes the 21st Century Democrats results problematic. Older and more conservative voters are not exactly experts in biology or constitutional law. They don't know that Roe is not doomed and that, if they don't stand up for very liberal solutions on family income, the unborn will also be doomed. Including in Factory Towns. 

The answer to dealing with these towns is brutal honesty. Start using the term Soft on Putin for Trump supporters, especially candidates. Then frame economic justice as a pro-life issue. Don't be afraid of offending feminists when you do - although few feminists will disagree with more money for families.

Supreme Court's conservative majority tackles hot-button culture war issues

Supreme Court's conservative majority tackles hot-button culture war issues 

I would not expect Justice Barrett to drag her large number of children to Red Mass. My family had five kids and we went to Mass in shifts with the toddles and infants not going at all. With Kavanaugh sick, the others were likely exercising caution in not spreading a virus they may have been exposed to.

Supreme Court cases don't decide details as much deciding who has authority to act. A clear line is now drawn on public and private sector labor law. Expect a case one day that balances Hosanna-Tabor and the Title VII definition of sex including gays and lesbians. 

Gun rights and abortion cases are just not the same since Nino died. Heller is not at risk, but sanity is more likely. This is a state power question as much as anything else.

The Court will have no appetite to bring back the state power regime that Mississippi (and Alabama and Texas) want in civil rights cases. They may draw lines in the second trimester, but that is not overturning Roe. It would be easier if the Center for Reproductive Rights stated that Congress could alter the terms of the 14th Amendment, but the States cannot. 

It is risky, but not so risky given the implications of recognizing legal personhood rather than regulating a medical procedure. Pregnancies would have to be registered as births, police would be empowered to investigate pregnancy loss and mothers would have to be punished as ordering a murder. None of that will be allowed by the Court.

The media likes a dramatic narrative. If the rights of state governments are briefed and discussed, the tea leaves will be easier to read. The reason the case is being heard at all is because the 5th Circuit got it wrong. Thanks Senate Dems for playing with the filibuster so that McConnell got his judges. That the case is being heard means that at least four justices think the circuit went too far.

The Maine case may be decided Per Curiam because the law is in direct violation of Espinoza v. Montana. The question that must come up is whether Catholic Schools can make a claim on school district budgets. They can already be set up as Charters in some places.

The future of affirmative action in education is murky because no good solution has yet been passed. The best option for dealing with bias is to end legacy admissions and select all but those certain to finish a degree based on their scores by lottery. Let the application process dictate who is in the sample. Affirmative recruiting will affect the outcome, but unprepared students tend to weed themselves out in the first year.

On many issues, Gorsuch has been siding with Roberts and those other justices who are not afraid of change v. those who use process to keep the status quo in place. Also, three justices are long enough in tooth for the current balance to stay in place for long.

Links: Power outages in Puerto Rico; constitutional amendments; God as 'they'

Links: Power outages in Puerto Rico; constitutional amendments; God as 'they' 

The Department of Energy needs to help out in PR, but the Commonwealth's autonomy must be respected as well. On the grid, the perfect cannot be the enemy of the good in getting the lights on. In urban areas, computer controlled cars fueled with rail style overhead power would be very green, but outside of San Juan, even an advanced system will need traditional vehicles and power lines.

I am in favor of a set of amendments for regional government and excise taxes and indirect election of the President. No more Trumps, please. It is also time to ratify the ERA.

The decline in the Senate has to do with the desire to win elections rather than seeing as governing as the way to retain office. Those of us who have been around note the decline in staff expertise. Too much public relations, not enough policy. 

Most of the Democrat's moderate problem has nothing to do with how big the cloture requirement is. Lincoln and Casey derailed the public option and did not seek or achieve reelection in 2010 anyway. 55 and 56 are good numbers for cloture. With the moral decline of the GOP, they are achievable.

Judaism has many names for how God occurs to us, including Shekinah (the divine feminine), who is also the Spirit working within us. That is how Jesus likely believed. It is time to take the hint and use Her pronoun correctly. As for the triune Godhead, Spanish has a term, Vosotros - which fits a Royal We or They. 

Our Theology is about how we see God relating to us. The actuality of God is way above our pay grade (understanding). Theology has been a source of division and even violence, which is the ultimate blasphemy. It is why Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett are not entirely wrong in their prophetic voice.

Someone can always step up as conductor, just like being a CEO does not require being a celebrity or a demand for high pay. Any first chair in strings or horns can step up and do a good job. On the same note, Bronx has some very interesting brownstones.

CatholicVote peddles extreme right-wing politics in religious drag

CatholicVote peddles extreme right-wing politics in religious drag 

CV is about getting out the vote. They only prey on those who they think are convincible, so I would be worried if I got caught in their net. The question is, who else is caught? Could it be pro-life voters? This is more than Catholic identity run amok. The pro-life movement needs to ask itself whether they are concerned with sex (and controlling women's bodies) or ending the need for abortion by Bringing Back Better? Are they willing to abandon Trumpism and is Trumpism really Putinism? Do they realize that by supporting Trump that they are Soft on Putin? How is that for a Push Poll?

Links: 'Pandora Papers'; wealthy donors interfere; the race in Virginia

 Links: 'Pandora Papers'; wealthy donors interfere; the race in Virginia

The Democrats are raising taxes on the wealthy, but they are doing it wrong - and a wealth tax would do no better. Taxing rich people as persons rather than taxing transactions is what causes the cheating. You cannot tax assets, but you can tax their increase in value or their purchase. Increase income for families at the same time and any reform would not be regressive (and certainly less regressive than a capped payroll tax).

The Catholic Church's name is none to popular in Ireland right now. Call it anything but. I hear socialism is becoming a popular term.

Donors are often Alumni, who are represented by the Board of Regents of a university. The problem with the donors is capitalism itself - the view that money buys people's obedience and that this is somehow a free market activity rather than authoritarianism.

All politics is grievance. It sells. The whole pro-life movement is grievance. The desire for economic justice is both grievance and prophetic. It is also linked to social justice. Opposition to Trumpism is grievance because he has grievously wounded this country and, for his time in office, turned our foreign policy into Putinism. Until Trumpism is equated with being soft on Putinism, our politics are doomed. BTW, Youngkin is as Trumpist as it gets, QED, he is soft on Putinism.

Any redistricting in Texas will be settled in court. Note that in Texas, judges are elected too. Paging George Soros.

How do we prepare for a synodal process? Start with the documents of Vatican II

How do we prepare for a synodal process? Start with the documents of Vatican II 

I suggest looking at Dignitatis Humanae in reference to constitutional democracy in reference to individual rights and freedom of conscience. This is the doctrine that some of our bishops resist most strongly. The relationship between such rights and women in the Church would also be a good synodal meditation - along with sexuality in general. 

The sexuality of the clergy should be hashed out in the process. Gender, aka Queer Theory needs fuller explanation, not only to understand gay priests but to examine whether the remainder are heterosexual or asexual. Accepting sexuality as a natural thing rather than as a sign of sin or holiness may raise the Titanic.