Pope Francis has passed on. Such a wonderful and benevolent soul, n'est-ce pas? It was all reflected in his smile. And if this is how yours truly feels about the deceased Pope - RIP - then certainly there will be naysayers. Even people rock-ribbed in the Catholic faith had some feelings of disapproval that they could not deny. I had one good friend in this category. I'm using the past tense because I'm not sure he's a friend now. Not that we've had a formal parting of ways. But when a person like me who is not bedazzled by Donald Trump senses a division with someone who is, the sensation is stark, rather irreversible.
Sad? Yes.
Congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia encouraged people to celebrate the death of Pope Francis. OK, I know you'll say that MTG is not really representative. Not representative of normal sane people, you might postulate. Really? She is an elected representative in our U.S. Congress. Acknowledging that, you might move on to diminish her by saying she's from the Deep South. OK, so you're suggesting she's a "dumb Southerner." Well, you really are suggesting that.
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| John Thune |
It was like pulling teeth to get the Republican AG of South Dakota, Jason Ravnsborg, impeached after the guy acted so strange after running over and killing someone along a South Dakota Highway, then coming back the next morning to discover the dead body. Just think if someone else had discovered it first.
But Republicans today are acting so strangely, might it become an existential threat to the U.S. of A.? Are they on drugs big-time like one of their primary heroes now, Elon Musk? What a transition: when I was young, it was the young "hippie" types that were associated with drug abuse. A typical college kid would have the little plastic bag of "marijuana" which was such a cool thing to use because it was prohibited.
I've always wondered how my peers acquired this stuff without fear of being caught in an LE "sting." Well, I think the ones at risk were minority kids from deprived backgrounds. Many of my own peers were white bread types and might be children of doctors and other like folks. And they dove into the counterculture of the '70s. I could tell you all about it.
And the counterculture of the '70s was quite tied in with the political left. In fact there was a special term: the "new left." Years later my journalism associate Jim Morrison would laugh at that and say "the new left is now the old left!"
I could never have looked my peers in the eye and say "I disapprove of marijuana." That might be misstating it - it's not so much that I disapproved of it, I just didn't see anything in it. I certainly had tried to sample it. A friend told me the stuff was known to have "medicinal value." Well, whatever. Boomers made their minds up pretty firmly about things. We thought we knew it all.
We did congratulate ourselves for being right on the one big issue of the day: the Vietnam war sucked. You ought to remember the rest of the story, Woodstock etc.
So fast-forward to today and it looks as though the big drug abusers are on the right side of the political aisle. The stuff coming out about Elon Musk now ought to bring laughter, seems like an absurd parody of what I'm talking about. And he's arguably the second most powerful person in the USA.
Musk may have receded some in recent days but don't let the president's statements fool you. Ezra Klein says the primary thing to keep in mind about Trump is: "Don't believe him." It ought to be so self-evident from news stories. I internalized this long ago about the man: "Don't believe him." Just don't. It's not that I'm condemning the man on moral grounds with that statement, I'm just saying "Don't believe him." Like it's simply a fact. "Don't believe him."
I sense I'm in a minority by having such certainty. You are such fools or lemmings. And now how much of a price is our nation paying for that, or will pay in the future? I think we could collapse.
There is now an obvious suspicion that there was a cover-up re. Musk's horrendous drug abuse. A cover-up? And this after the right wing had kittens over the alleged "cover-up" with Biden's cognitive decline?
I cannot stop this avalanche of Trump support. In its early stages I thought Americans would come to their senses. If it's happening at all it's not fast enough. Look for "druggie" Musk to continue setting the tone. The president continues using his mob boss tactics, and his power continues mostly unabated.
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| Pope Leo |
Our community of Morris has three Protestant churches that can be considered "moderate." In other words, we do not exist to lift up Trump and what he stands for. We have other priorities with the faith. And we are fading. So badly, in fact, my First Lutheran Church (FLC) monthly publication of yesterday informs us that FLC and Federated are partnering to the extent that we'll be alternating buildings for the summer.
What does the term "sanctuary" mean. A church building has a sancutary. It is a place that members can count on. A sanctuary is resilient or it's supposed to be. Not now. All my life a person could go to FLC on any Sunday morning - any Sunday morning - and count on a pleasant experience, even if numbers got low.
We adapted to decline. We lost members like the late Truman Carlson who was so wedded to Trump and even to Roy Moore in Alabama. I discussed these things with him or at least tried to. He just smiled dismissively at me. I was not someone to be taken seriously.
Was I condemned to hell because I'd at least listen to what Democrats had to say? I think he thought I was. So he and others retreated to other more "conservative" churches. So being "conservative" equates with making DJT almost a divine figure himself? I guess it does.
And we have the congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene wanting to "celebrate" the death of Pope Francis. And in the last few days, DJT says he does not even feel sorry for Joe Biden who is suffering from cancer. Not an ounce of simple human compassion in these people.
And this all started because of gay rights? Our very nation may dissolve. Can this happen without massive loss of life? "Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do."
Addendum: Remember the first "War of the Worlds" movie from the 1950s? Remember how the heroic characters knew they could find protection in a church sanctuary? The Martians were overcome by the Earth's bacteria just as they were advancing on the church. Symbolic, yes. The movie had a Christian message.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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