Do rightwing American Catholics hate pope Francis? Is the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Jewish? On a scale of 1 to 10, would 25 be close enough? From my outside liberal Quaker perspective, Francis is not all that progressive: slow on smashing the priestly pedophile protection racket; mushy on cleaning up the sewer of financial sleaze … Continue reading U. S. Catholic defenders of Pope Francis “Mobilize” behind closed doors
Anchorage Daily News, April 3, 2022 (With comments) When it comes to name recognition in the free-for-all Alaska Race to succeed the late Rep. Don Young, who served 49 years, Sarah Palin is only Number Two. [Who’s Number One? Ho ho ho . . .] A non-MAGA red hat was among the 50 (count ‘em) … Continue reading Alaska and the Weirdest House Primary Ever?
Is Putin in seriously bad health? An independent Russian investigative group called Proekt.media says probably yes, in a major report published online on April 1. [Given the heavy censorship of Russian media, it is not possible yet to independently confirm this report, which depends largely in unnamed sources; but our checks suggest it is at … Continue reading Big Read: We Know Putin Is Sick. But Is He also Seriously Ill??
UNHOLY ALLIANCE: Putin’s Holy Man Pushed for the ‘Eradication’ of Ukraine The Daily Beast A. Craig Copetas — Mar. 22, 2022 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill appears to be just as bloodthirsty as Vladimir Putin himself. Beneath the gold onion domes of the Danilov Monastery a few miles south of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin’s chief shaman … Continue reading Putin’s Orthodox Enabler; and the Magic of War Logistics
Jamelle Bouie is rapidly emerging as one of the more acute and important members of the rising generation of New York Times columnists. His career has followed a different track than previous generations of Timesmen, among whom almost all roads to the paper led through Harvard Yard. Instead, after the University of Virginia, Bouie blogged … Continue reading The Impending, Ominous Return of “States Rights”