Still crazy after all these years

                          and it is a breath of fresh air Only six months have elapsed since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis I, but what he has done in that time has been simply incredible. If nothing else, he has changed the narrative of the Catholic Church, the story about what Catholicism is supposed to mean.  The words that have entranced many in the church -- and even those outside of it -- were found in a 12-thousand word piece in America Magazine , a Jesuit publication . Francis's  interview with a fellow Jesuit priest, Father Antonio Spadaro, reinforced what he has been saying and doing since he became pope in March. <http://americamagazine.org/popefrancis> The pope emphasized that the church had been too strident in espousing opposition to abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception.  “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. . We have to find ...

                               Kudos to McClatchy This is overdue. McClatchy papers are now requiring those who post comments after news stories of columns to use their names. They must have a Facebook account and picture for anyone to make comments.  If you ever read any of these comments, they can be libelous, racist, sexist -- you can continue the list. Essentially, they can be very demeaning to other people.  Since these people have a handle like 4xtradude or some other silly name, assuring their anonymity,  they are never held accountable for their comments.  I never read these comments until the Jerry Sandusky case occurred. I am not sure why I did so with this case, but they often gave a feel for how people were thinking.  The intent of these newspapers is to eliminate those kinds of comments. "Posting will require real names and some kind of picture or i...

Dear Peggy, Oh how your heart must ache for Ronald Reagan. You must daily yearn for the return of the pompous, intellectually deficient that you have elevated to the status as savior. However, let's take a look at Ronnie's record. First, Ronald Reagan had one opportunity to stand up to terrorism. That was in the Oct. 23, 1983 bombing in Beirut, Lebanon that left 299 servicemen from both the U.S. and France dead.  Reagan's response: He cut an ran.  In fact, Ms. Noonan must realize that the Repubs have a woeful record in national security affairs. Woodrow Wilson won WWI, FDR won WWII, and Nixon lost the Vietnamese War.  The greatest victory in the Cold War was the use of brinkmanship used by President John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis in Oct. 1962. That was a victory, Peggy. Then of course we have two wars and the Repubs started and then left hanging in the wind in Iraq and Afghanistan.  So, Peggy, what sayest thou about this? Yes, Pres. Oba...

Sometimes, I wonder how dumb our congressmen think we are From Tom McClintock, R-Calif. "Traditionally, this nation (the U.S.) has never attacked another nation unless we ourselves were attacked or an ally was attacked. Unless those conditions are present, I would be very, very skeptical of declaring war against Syria." http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-what-one-gop-congressman-would-do-about-syria/ Note: I agree with him about Syria, but this man was born in 1956. He should know what happened in Iraq. That is a blatant lie. American History lesson number one: The U.S, attacked Iraq in 2003 because they might have weapons of mass destruction or nuclear weapons (those non-existent mushroom clouds that Condi Rice discussed). None were found by the American lead investigator after the fall of Saddam Hussein.  Iraq was a sovereign nation ruled by a despicable despot, but we had no right to attack them, just as we have no right to attack Syria. In addition, Congre...