Friday, June 19, 2015

More from the Opining Pope

Maybe after he's done with the environment and maybe the $15 minimum wage he can promulgate an encyclical on Donald Trump after he excommunicates Hannity.

32 comments:

  1. I sort of wonder; Pope Francis and Galileo kicking back at Giovanni's Beer & Burgers circa 1640. Would things have worked out differently? On the Trump
    encyclical, since they are traditionally in Latin, would it have to be something the
    Trumpster could understand? Like "Donaldius Behold-Ouray iredfay

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  2. Here's my basic problem with Francis: (a) as a Churchman he's taking political positions and (b) he acts like if you don't share his position then you're a bad Christian. OK he doesn't exactly say this but it's implicit.

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  3. If everybody agreed with every Pope, we would all be Catholic, Z-Man.

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  4. From where I sit he's a theological Obama, he wants the Bigger Government. He's against capitalism I think it safe to say and for the more politically conservative Catholics he's a disturbing puzzle at best. One wonders when Peggy Noonan and George Weigel will get tired of twisting themselves into pretzels defending him.

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    1. Maybe the way to address a Papal Obama would be for the ultra conservative Cardinal caucus to have one of
      their Eminences filibuster and read 'Green Eggs & Ham'. In Latin, of course.

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    2. I'm thinking your Obama antipathy may have resulted in your not being
      hired as White House chef?

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  5. When can we expect the encyclical on medical marijuana (in Latin of course)?

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  6. I'm struck by all of the recent talk of the Pope being political. Hasn't that always been true?

    Aren't his attempts to change how someone claiming to be Christian, or Catholic, lives their life at the heart of the Gospel? Biblical writers for years told us how to live our, yet Pope Francis gets beat up for doing so.

    That's what a pastor does... he watches his flock and instructs them as to how to live a more Godly life. If biblical teaching does not influence how I choose to live my life, of what value is it?

    I think the pendulum has just swung... when past Popes took stands against co-habitating, abortion and birth control, the right cheered and the left groaned. Now with stands against global warming, the military industrial complex, and in support of social justice, the reaction has flip flopped.

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  7. I'm guessing Dave, that religion is just on of many disparate concepts that has fallen to politicization; economics, tv shows, healthcare, foreign affairs, infrastructure,
    social justice, race, education....what is there anymore that doesn't have a loud
    range of left to right wing opinion?

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  8. BB... that's why I always liked Bill Moyers... even when I disagreed with him, I never felt like I needed a shower after watching him.

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  9. But Dave what does the Pope have against AC? It's in the encyclical.

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    1. The Pope is against Air Conditioning?

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    2. & sundry forms of technology. The encyclical has been noted for its occasional off-centeredness but let's not detract from the glory of the document.

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    3. I haven't read the encyclical, my Latin being a little rusty, but wouldn't we expect a Pope with an MS in Chemistry who models himself on Francis of Assisi to rock the traditional boat a bit?

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    4. That seems to be his main motivation these days, to rock the traditional boat.

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  10. I've been thinking about this climate change thing a bit lately. Now with most theories the theorists welcome and even invite criticism of their theories quantum physics being the perfect example. Einstein's Theory of Relativity is generally assumed to be roughly correct in its broader aspects but if you're qualified and you have another opinion on the matter put it on the table and you'll at least get a respectful hearing. After all we're all after the Truth esp. in science. Not so the climate change theorists. They SHUT DOWN debate and stifle dissent every chance they get and the Pope is doing the same thing. THAT'S my problem here, not whether real climate change exists or not but how we're going about the subject.

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    1. Predicting 110 here by the end of the week, second all-time record so far this Summer. One problem with the climate change discussion is vested
      interest, most of the naysayers are in the pay of the energy industry. Not
      that the negative discussions go away: you can find folks that still think there was no ozone hole or that DDT had no impact on the decline of eagles. IMO, the campaign against AGW has been very successful, with
      many non-scientists in the anti-camp. Stifling debate- I see SC finally took
      down the confederate flag.

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    2. Some truth in your comment but here's what you're missing. It IS possible for one to be pro-environment and yet doubt climate change at least the apocalyptic version currently being bandied about. I would be the first to protest if Walmart decided to dredge a beaver pond to build a new store and yet I still should be able to question climate change theorists without being labeled "anti-environment."

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    3. I have to ask you though on an emotional level don't you bristle when OTHERS tell you what issues you should care about? If I come around on climate change on my own that's swell but the other day I was about to enter my local supermarket and two young people, a guy and a gal were approaching every customer to discuss the climate change. They seemed to be annoying people.

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    4. You can lead a horse to water, but....
      -yeah, missionaries can be annoying.

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    5. The Jehovah's Witnesses of climate change - The Solar Watchtower.

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    6. I agree about over-reacting, or reacting in harmful ways: the 'cap & trade'
      deal caters to the polluters-if they get below a certain goal, they can sell
      the remaining permit to pollute to some other outfit. Always capitalism.
      IMO, far more progress is being made by companies the recognize their
      image is important to success, and respond by voluntarily being good
      corporate citizens. Many of those companies have quite ALEC and the
      US Chamber of Commerce over their hardline stance. It is interesting to
      see how other countries respond, Norway with 100% and Canada with
      72% renewable energy, for example. IMO, in the long run, substitutes
      for fossil fuel will not only be better, but cheaper.

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  11. They times, they are confusing; the racists commandeer an old historical flag and the enviro-missionaries have their
    t-shirt








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    1. You know how an issue may be important but you just can't get into it? I feel that way about climate change. I worry about ISIL, I fear getting cancer, I hate a bad night's sleep. The Earth turning one degree warmer over time doesn't do it for me. Maybe I'm insensitive.

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    2. My friend and I were at Dick's Sporting Goods at the Palisades Mall yesterday. Guns galore, a real gun culture out there. So how in hell do we juggle all these issues?

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    3. Easier to get a gun than a confederate flag these days.

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    4. Which is ironic considering that most confederate flag owners probably own guns.

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  12. Drone technology advances: they are working on a 100 mph drone which carries a
    difibrillator right to the victim and talks a person through using it. Pretty neat. We suspect they may have a smaller slower one for colonoscopies, just sayin'.

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    1. They have one for rattlesnake bites?

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    2. Rattler bits are quite rare
      and even then 20-25% are "dry bites" where no venom is injected..they
      are certainly less frequent than heart attacks. (or the ubiquitous pit bull
      mauling) According to the westerns I've seen, the best defense is to spit tobacco into their fiendish face. BTW, breaking news, one of the Clinton escapees has been shot and killed. Apparently they have been 'vacationing' the whole time in the boonies. Are they using drones
      in Sasquatch research yet?

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    3. Here's what I like about you as opposed to Shaw. She's just straight politics, hardcore all the way. Sour Mash Bourbon Left call it whereas you discuss quantum mechanics, rattler bites and Sasquatch.

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    4. Shaw is a strident partisan progressive. Me, just a jack of all subjects,
      master of none.

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