Tired of progressives/pro-diversity forces being on defense, Al Franken ups the ante: Maybe Santa’s Jewish. Listen.
From TPM Reader MS …
Kudos, Josh Marshall, for an insightful essay today. Although you are not Catholic, you perfectly expressed what many of us are feeling: simple wonder and amazement about Pope Francis and his direct expression of Gospel values.
I’m from the demographic that the Pope’s survey is talking about: a same-sex married person who is raising my adopted children as practicing Catholics. The little parish that we belong to is an oasis and an anomaly: we have been enthusiastically welcomed and supported, sacramentally and socially, with no questions asked. In return, we hold nothing back … we actively volunteer, give financial support, participate in hours of religious ed and social justice committee meetings, and go to Mass with enthusiasm.
From TPM Reader TS …
I am not religious, and in fact consider myself to be an atheist. But, I was raised Catholic – baptized, first communion, and confirmation and attending mass every Sunday was a responsibility, not an option. Even went to a Catholic high school. So, I have a pretty good understanding of the values of the church overall as well as the specific teachings.
For those of you following our discussion of Pope Francis’s decision to remove arch-conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke from a key Vatican council charged with vetting would-be bishops for the Pope to appoint, check out this article. It’s from the National Catholic Reporter and gives a feel for the backdrop to this move. The general thrust is the depth of entrenched institutional opposition to the Pope’s proposed reforms of the Curia and particularly how vocal Burke himself has been in second-guessing the direction Francis is taking the Church.
Remember Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater? He tells TPM he actually “didn’t make a whole lot of money” from the security contracting biz after all was said and done.
Part 2 from TPM Reader TF …
I am a progressive, non-traditionalist Catholic, which makes me a little unusual because most of the people like me have left the Church deliberately or have drifted away. Francis was not first on my list of picks for Pope (like I get a vote or something!), but he was among the top few. The reason has nothing to do with the label “progressive” or “traditional” because I didn’t know anything about his real positions. He looked to be a bit conservative for my tastes, but they all are in the wake of John Paul II and Benedict.
From TPM Reader TS …
As an avid and long-time reader of TPM, I must commend you on your focus on the Catholic Church and Pope Francis. My reaction to your post has little to do with theology or catechism. I am reluctant to place too much emphasis on the supposed politics of Pope Francis’ move with respect to Cardinal Burke as it relates (or does not relate) to American politics. This is not really a victory for progressives versus conservatives. It is just great news for the Church.
Today is your last chance to submit your nominations for the 2013 Golden Duke Awards. So fer God’s sake, don’t miss your chance to be part of what is definitely the best annual awards program for conspicuous achievement in scandal and, admittedly, quite possibly the only one. For this year’s category and instructions on how to submit your nomination for the 7th annual Golden Dukes, click here.
Special Sponsor Alert!: This year’s Golden Dukes is sponsored by Media Matters and its annual Misinformer of the Year Award which will be announced on December 27th.
Yesterday I mentioned how ‘Paper’, the iPad drawing/note-taking app, had dropped support for the Pogo Connect stylus in what appeared to be a brazen betrayal of its users. I think I’m now convinced that it was a tech/calendaring issue and they’ve now released a new version in the App store that restores said support.
If you had a chance to read Sahil Kapur’s history of the fall of the filibuster, he’s answering your questions about the article and the filibuster right now at The Hive (sub req).