Posts Tagged ‘broken clock’

I see the NYT has written the closest thing…

Posted: April 12, 2010 by datechguy in catholic, opinion/news
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…to a fair story on the pope that they will likely ever produce:

This isn’t an isolated case. In the 1990s, it was Ratzinger who pushed for a full investigation of Hans Hermann Groer, the Vienna cardinal accused of pedophilia, only to have his efforts blocked in the Vatican. It was Ratzinger who persuaded John Paul, in 2001, to centralize the church’s haphazard system for handling sex abuse allegations in his office. It was Ratzinger who re-opened the long-dormant investigation into Maciel’s conduct in 2004, just days after John Paul II had honored the Legionaries in a Vatican ceremony. It was Ratzinger, as Pope Benedict, who banished Maciel to a monastery and ordered a comprehensive inquiry into his order.

So the high-flying John Paul let scandals spread beneath his feet, and the uncharismatic Ratzinger was left to clean them up. This pattern extends to other fraught issues that the last pope tended to avoid — the debasement of the Catholic liturgy, or the rise of Islam in once-Christian Europe. And it extends to the caliber of the church’s bishops, where Benedict’s appointments are widely viewed as an improvement over the choices John Paul made. It isn’t a coincidence that some of the most forthright ecclesiastical responses to the abuse scandal have come from friends and protégés of the current pope.

I haven’t seen Morning Joe use any of the links I suggested, however this comes from the preferred source, the New York Times. Let’s see if it gets any play.

Say Thanks for Palin and the Tea Partiers for this one…

Posted: March 31, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news
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don’t think for one minute that the president would be defying his leftist friends if he didn’t need to recover from their pushback.

In a move that could help win Republican support for other energy initiatives, President Obama will announce plans Wednesday to open large sections of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and an area off the Virginia coast for oil and natural gas drilling.

“To set America on a path to energy independence, the president believes we must leverage our diverse domestic resources by pursuing a comprehensive energy strategy,” said a statement provided by an administration official

Wrong reason or right reason aside, it is the right policy, particularly in a time of high unemployment and it should be supported and encouraged, particularly when done by a president on the left.

The Lonely conservatives thinks it might be to get votes on cap and tax. We’ll see.

It’s pretty sad where Lawrence O’Donnell is the voice of reason…

Posted: March 16, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news
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…but today (and yesterday) on Morning Joe he is.

“I don’t understand about Wall Street and I don’t pretend to.” but when it comes to how bills get passed how things work on the finance committee he knows it. He compared it to turning a triple play yesterday. “The rules committee is a total scam”.

“They didn’t want the ‘I voted for it before I voted against it’ defense” that is the slaughter rule. “You are voting to amend a law that doesn’t exist.”

As he put it, they lose one seat in Massachusetts and they all go nuts.

Crammer is now talking about what this bill is going to mean taxwise. “I’m going to work for the government till September then it’s all mine.” This is not unusual in the North.

He is talking about a huge “ghost cost” to NY. “They are delivering a long term burden to the states.” this is in terms of medicare. That is the Nebraska deal. He calls it “subsidizing the health insurance companies.”

He compares covering an 85 year old needing a hip replacement to selling fire insurance for a house on fire. This is why he supports a single payer.

I suspect a lot of e-mails are going to the Morning Joe team from the White House right now screaming bloody murder.

Hey suddenly the Patriot act doesn’t looks so bad…

Posted: February 26, 2010 by datechguy in opinion/news, war
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Let’s take the way back machine to December of 2008 in the first few weeks of this blog…

You can take this to the bank: Any successful attack on American soil during an Obama administration is going to be wholly owned by not only that administration but the Democratic party.

It won’t matter how diligent or responsible the administration has been. It won’t matter that they acted in good faith which any fair minded person must assume. It won’t matter if like Hornblower in Hornblower during the Crisis members of the current administration and people who understand how hard it is to be right every time rush to their defense. The public will remember who succeeded in protecting the country and who failed particularly if a major population center is successfully hit.

This was written in reference to trials (and lo and behold they will not take place) but they work equally well with this:

That brings us to the main point. Republicans have mostly supported this bill because they believe it a necessary tool for counterintelligence and counterterrorism. Democrats mainly opposed it as a way to rally political opposition to Bush and the Republicans. Now that they’re in charge and responsible for preventing attacks, that Patriot Act looks pretty darned good to most of them.

There is nothing like actually having responsibility to make people choose to act, well responsible, after all this isn’t just a question of a few dollars for pals, this is a question of life and death..

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