The Pope calls the spreading of "fake news" a "very serious sin." Seriously?

Courtesy of the AP:

Pope Francis is criticizing journalists who dredge up old scandals and sensationalize the news, saying it’s a “very serious sin” that hurts all involved. 

Francis, who plans to dedicate his upcoming annual communications message to “fake news,” told Catholic media on Saturday that journalists perform a mission that is among the most “fundamental” to democratic societies. 

But he reminded them to provide precise, complete and correct information and not to provide one-sided reports. 

The pope said: “You shouldn’t fall into the ‘sins of communication:’ disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized, or defamation, looking for things that are old news and have been dealt with and bringing them to light today.” 

He called those actions a “grave sin that hurts the heart of the journalist and hurts others.” 

Look I totally agree with the Popester here that the spreading of fake news is a bad idea.

However does he really want to talk about "disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized?"

Because I am pretty sure that his entire religion depends on much of that.

For the record there is very little in the Bible that is backed up by actual facts or secular historical documentation.

The entire religion depends on the continued spreading of disinformation and calumny ( the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone's reputation; slander.) Just ask those who have been tortured and killed for heresy or accused of witchcraft.

Yes fake news is bad.

So how much longer will the Pope and his fellow Christians continue to spread it?

The Pope denounces climate change deniers. "I denounce thee, I denounce thee, I denounce thee."

Courtesy of CBS News: 

Pope Francis denounced those who deny global warming and urged negotiators at climate talks in Germany to avoid falling prey to such "perverse attitudes" and instead accelerate efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. 

Francis issued a message Thursday to the Bonn meeting, which is working to implement the 2015 Paris accord aimed at capping global emissions. 

In the message, Francis called climate change "one of the most worrisome phenomena that humanity is facing," and urged negotiators to ignore special interests and political or economic pressures and instead engage in an honest dialogue about the future of the planet. 

He denounced that such efforts are often frustrated by those who deny climate change, are indifferent to it, or think it can only be solved by technical solutions. 

Well good for the Pope!

I do not always agree with this Pope, but he is dead right to call these people out for clinging to a belief that is not backed up by the facts, and for which the opposite point of view is held by the smartest, most knowledgeable people on the planet.

Oh...wait.

P.S. Sorry, that may have seemed like a cheap shot, but let's face it faith that exists despite evidence to the contrary is the very foundation of both climate change deniers and religious folks.

They are kissing cousins at the very least, and at the very most one is a parasitic entity which could not exist without the other.

The Pope wants to take on fake news. And there goes the irony meter again.

I have chosen this theme for World Communications Day 2018: “The truth will set you free” (Jn 8:32). Fake news and journalism for peace.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 29, 2017

Courtesy of Time Magazine:  

In a statement on the theme, the Vatican said it "relates to so-called 'fake news', namely baseless information that contributes to generating and nurturing a strong polarisation of opinions. It involves an often misleading distortion of facts, with possible repercussions at the level of individual and collective behaviour." 

The 52nd World Day of Social Communications will be on May 13, 2018, and Pope Francis's message will be published on Jan. 24, 2018.

"The Church too wishes to offer a contribution," to the discussion of fake news, the Vatican wrote, "proposing a reflection on the causes, the logic and the consequences of disinformation in the media, and helping to promote professional journalism, which always seeks the truth, and therefore a journalism of peace that promotes understanding between people."

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate what the Pope is trying to do, but how can he be taken seriously on this topic?

When it comes to fake news there are probably very few books that can really compete with this one.

People are STILL constantly turned against actual facts, and new scientific discovers, based solely on the mythology contained in these pages.

So yes your holiness, fake news is indeed bad.

But that pertains to ALL fake news.

Vatican backed article goes after Trump White House for “apocalyptic geopolitics.”

Courtesy of The Guardian:  

An explosive article written by two close associates of Pope Francis has accused Steve Bannon, the chief White House strategist, of espousing an “apocalyptic geopolitics” whose roots are “not too far apart” from that of Islamist extremism. 

The article in La Civiltà Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican before publication, lays out a scathing critique of “evangelical fundamentalism” in the US, arguing that, on issues ranging from climate change to “migrants and Muslims”, proponents of the ideology have adopted a twisted reading of scripture and the Old Testament that promotes conflict and war above all else. 

The piece was published just days after evangelical leaders met US president Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House and “laid hands” on him in prayer following discussions about religious freedom, support for Israel and healthcare reform.

Vatican experts said the article would have had the explicit backing of the church and Pope Francis. Its authors, Antonio Spadaro, the editor-in-chief of the publication, and Marcelo Figueroa, the editor-in-chief of the Argentinian edition of the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, are known as confidantes of the Argentinian pope.

It claims that fake religious arguments are being used to demonise segments of the population – particularly when it comes to migrants and Muslims – and to promote the US as a nation that is blessed by God, without ever taking into account the “bond between capital and profits and arms sales”.

You know I find this to be a fascinating time for American Catholics.

Here they are torn between the Holy Father, a very progressive pontiff, and Donald Trump, who they clearly favored in the 2016 election. (Well, the white Catholics at least.)

One leads them toward the future, and other seems determined to drag them back to the dark ages.

And the fact that it is the Pope who is more forward thinking, and the US president who is resisting change, is perhaps the most troubling thing about it.

Donald Trump meets the Pope.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

I would say that this one is worth perhaps twice that many.

Have you ever seen a glummer group of people?

The only one smiling is the idiot in the early stages of dementia.

Here it looks as if the Pope cannot believe he has to actually interact with his moron as if he is the president of the United States.

After the meeting Trump had this to say: 

"He is something," Trump said of the Pope later in the day, during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. "We had a fantastic meeting. We're liking Italy very, very much and it was an honor to be with the Pope."

For his part the Pope sent Trump a rather clear message: 

The Pope's gift left no questions about its symbolism, presenting Trump with an olive tree medal crafted by a Roman artist that the Pope said symbolizes peace. 

"We can use peace," Trump said. 

"I signed it personally for you," the Pope offered.

Like I said, a clear message. 

Callista Gingrich will be chosen as the ambassador to the Vatican. That'll teach the Pope.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Callista Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, is the preferred nominee to be the next ambassador to the Vatican. 

The White House hopes to announce her nomination before President Donald Trump meets with Pope Francis on May 24 in Rome. 

The decision to nominate Gingrich has been made, but the announcement has taken longer than expected pending approval from the Office of Government Ethics, an administration official said. 

The White House hopes to formally nominate Gingrich as soon as this week.

Well now we know what Trump offered to keep Newt kissing his ass for all this time.

Look I know that there has been some friction between Trump and the Pope, but at least you would think he might send an ambassador who looks like she was born on this planet.

When you keep getting mistaken for an actress made up to be an alien.

Callista's qualifications for the job include being Newt's third wife, having sex with him while his second wife was fighting cancer, and promoting the theory that all cancers were cured in 1925 but that the government is covering up the evidence.

Just another reminder that Trump is actively trying to destroy our reputation around the world.

Except for Russia that is, he so wants Daddy Putin to love him.

Donald Trump is so reckless that he is even scaring the Pope.

Courtesy of CNN: 

Pope Francis said Saturday he worries that rising tensions between the United States and North Korea could lead to a wide military conflict that would wipe out a "large part of humanity." 

He called for renewed diplomacy using third-party intermediaries and for the United Nations to take a lead role in de-escalating tensions. 

The Pope, while returning to Italy from Egypt, took several questions from reporters and one asked him what he would say to world leaders at this critical moment. 

Francis said in Italian that the situation "has heated up too much. I always appeal for a solution through diplomatic means." 

The pontiff, who has spoken of a "piecemeal third world war" for several years, said increased conflict would be devastating. 

"It's piecemeal but the pieces are getting larger, and are concentrated in places which were already hot," Pope Francis said. "Today a wider war would destroy, I won't say half of humanity, but a large part of humanity and culture. It would be terrible. I don't think humanity today could bear it."

You know when a guy who firmly believes in an afterlife, and that he absolutely has a reserved parking place in that afterlife, expresses great concern about the possibility of a war, I think he deserves our attention.

And the Pontiff is right, Trump's ignorance and lack of preparedness for the job of president puts the entire world at risk.

If I were working for the FBI, I would be working around the clock to prove Trump's ties to Russia and get him removed from office before it is simply too late.

Stick a fork in him, Bill O'Reilly is done.

I can see through your dress.

Courtesy of the New York Times:

Bill O’Reilly has been forced out of his position as a prime-time host on Fox News, the company said on Wednesday, after the disclosure of multiple settlements involving sexual harassment allegations against him. His ouster brings an abrupt and embarrassing end to his two-decade reign as one of the most popular and influential commentators in television. 

“After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that Bill O’Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel,” 21st Century Fox, Fox News’s parent company, said in a statement. 

Part of the reason for this decision appears to stem from the fact that yet another woman came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment:  

Bill O'Reilly used to leer at an African-American Fox News clerical worker and called her "hot chocolate," according to attorney Lisa Bloom, who helped the woman report the harassment to the network's hotline. 

The woman worked for a different broadcaster in 2008 while this was going on, but The O'Reilly Factor host's office was near her desk, the attorney claims. 

 "He would never talk to her, not even hello, except to grunt at her like a wild boar," Bloom tells The Hollywood Reporter. "He would leer at her. He would always do this when no one else was around and she was scared."

That was enough to get Matt Drudge of the Drudge Report to tweet this:

O'Reilly has had tremendous run. Very few in the business get to decide when and how things end. Media is most brutal of all industries...

— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) April 18, 2017

And that my friends is all she wrote.

Even the Pope apparently could not save Billo's career.

Source

It's like the end of an era isn't it?

An era full of pompous bloviating, and the kind of flagrant assholery that we can now get directly from the White House.

I can hardly wait for Stephen Colbert's response to the news that Papa Bear has now gone into permanent hibernation.

The Pope proclaims that priests should be prepared to call in the exorcists if the situation warrants it.

Courtesy of The Guardian: 

Pope Francis has advised priests who hear troubled confessions from parishioners to not hesitate to call on the services of an exorcist. 

A good confessor has to be very discerning, particularly when he has to deal with “real spiritual disorders”, the 80-year-old pontiff told priests at a Vatican training seminar on the art of hearing believers recount their sins. 

Disorders could have their roots in all manner of circumstances, including supernatural ones, he suggested. 

In such circumstances the confessor “must not hesitate to refer to exorcists … chosen with great care and prudence”.

First off there is NO situation that would warrant having some blabbering fool standing over a troubled person while reading Bible verses and douching them with holy water. 

All of that should be left behind in the 18th century where it belongs.

Secondly mental illness is not something that a priest is capable of diagnosing without the assistance of a trained psychiatrist.

Trust me, no good psychiatrist is going to write our a prescription for exorcism.

Thirdly I actually once had a client who had suffered through an exorcism, and I can tell you from first hand experience that the trauma created by such an experience can be quite debilitating.

What statements like this tell me is that as progressive as this new Pope seems to be sometimes, he is still stuck in a primitive mindset that makes him erratic and dangerous.

Pope Francis says "It's better to be an Atheist" than a bad Christian.

Courtesy of CNN:

If you're a Christian who exploits people, leads a double life or manages a "dirty" business, perhaps it's better not to call yourself a believer, Pope Francis suggested in a homily on Thursday in Rome. 

"So many Christians are like this, and these people scandalize others," Francis said during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, according to Vatican Radio. "How many times have we heard -- all of us, around the neighborhood and elsewhere -- 

'But to be a Catholic like that, it's better to be an atheist.' It is that: scandal." "But what is scandal? Scandal is saying one thing and doing another." 

In the Catholic Church, causing scandal also a grave offense. 

Examples of such sins abound, the Pope said, from money launderers to business owners who take beach vacations while stiffing their employees.

Well this is essentially what I have been saying for years. 

Of course I would probably just have stopped with "It's better to be an Atheist." But still the Pope makes a good point.

There are SO MANY so-called Christians who use the religion as camouflage to do terrible, and even criminal things, while using their "faith" to deflect criticism.

We have seen that with tons of politicians, performers, and even pastors.

And these "Christians" seemingly feel absolutely no guilt in judging all of those around them while acting in ways that are direct violations to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

And yes, Sarah Palin of course definitely falls into that category.

Personally I am typically FAR more trusting of a person who openly rejects religion than I am of somebody who constantly reminds everybody about their faith.

Don't get me wrong there are quite a number of very kind, and very moral religious people in the world.  And some of them have been good friends of mine.

But since I place such a premium on critical thinking skills there is always a little distance between myself and those who can accept the existence of extraordinary things without the benefit of evidence.

President Obama leaves Donald Trump in the dust as the most admired man of 2016, while Hillary Clinton wins again for the 15th year in row.

Courtesy of Gallup: 

Americans are most likely to name President Barack Obama as the man they admire most in 2016. Twenty-two percent mentioned Obama in response to the open-ended question. President-elect Donald Trump was second at 15%. It is Obama's ninth consecutive win, but the seven-percentage-point margin this year is his narrowest victory yet.

Obama's win over Trump this year is largely a result of the president earning more mentions among Democrats than Trump receives from Republicans. Fifty percent of Democrats named Obama as most admired, compared with 34% of Republicans choosing Trump. 

The remainder of this year's top 10 most admired man list includes Pope Francis, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Rev. Billy Graham, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, The Dalai Lama, former President Bill Clinton, businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates, and Vice President-elect Mike Pence.

I would not be surprised if next year, after Trump has demonstrated what a total fuck up he is, that President Obama might STILL win this category and by an even wider margin.

As for the women:

Americans named Hillary Clinton the Most Admired Woman for the 15th consecutive year and 21st time overall. Since her initial win in 1993 as first lady, Clinton has topped the list every year but 1995 and 1996 (when she finished behind Mother Teresa) and 2001 (behind Laura Bush). Eleanor Roosevelt has the second-most No. 1 finishes among women, at 13. 

First lady Michelle Obama finished second on the Most Admired Woman list this year, tied with 2012 as her best finish. The remainder of the top 10 most admired women include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former and current talk-show hosts Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, Queen Elizabeth of England, human rights activist Malala Yousafzai, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Okay well it is just pathetic that Sarah Palin still makes this list, even if it is with only 1%.

But wait, isn't there a name missing?

Why didn't future first lady Melania Trump make the list?

Does that mean that prostituting yourself to a disgusting wealthy man in order to live a life of opulence is not considered admirable?

Hmm, who knew?

The Pope has declared Mother Teresa a saint. Here is why she is undeserving of any kind of honor.

Courtesy of MSN: 

Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint on Sunday, praising the tiny nun for having taken in society's most unwanted and for having shamed world leaders for the "crimes of poverty they themselves created." 

Francis held up Mother Teresa as the model for a Catholic Church that goes to the peripheries to find poor, wounded souls during a canonization Mass that drew an estimated 120,000 people — rich and poor, powerful and homeless — to a sun-filled St. Peter's Square. 

"Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer," Francis said in his homily. 

The canonization was the highlight of Francis' Holy Year of Mercy and may come to define his papacy, which has been dedicated to ministering to society's most marginal, from prisoners to prostitutes, the refugees and the homeless.

Yes well if that is what he was hoping for, this is a swing and a miss.

Two years ago there was a research paper published which explained why that is: 

‘The sick must suffer like Christ on the cross’ 

At the time of her death, Mother Teresa had opened 517 missions welcoming the poor and sick in more than 100 countries. The missions have been described as “homes for the dying” by doctors visiting several of these establishments in Calcutta. Two-thirds of the people coming to these missions hoped to a find a doctor to treat them, while the other third lay dying without receiving appropriate care. The doctors observed a significant lack of hygiene, even unfit conditions, as well as a shortage of actual care, inadequate food, and no painkillers. The problem is not a lack of money—the Foundation created by Mother Teresa has raised hundreds of millions of dollars—but rather a particular conception of suffering and death: “There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ’s Passion. The world gains much from their suffering,” was her reply to criticism, cites the journalist Christopher Hitchens. Nevertheless, when Mother Teresa required palliative care, she received it in a modern American hospital. 

Mother Teresa’s questionable politics and shadowy accounting 

Mother Teresa was generous with her prayers but rather miserly with her foundation’s millions when it came to humanity’s suffering. During numerous floods in India or following the explosion of a pesticide plant in Bhopal, she offered numerous prayers and medallions of the Virgin Mary but no direct or monetary aid. On the other hand, she had no qualms about accepting the Legion of Honour and a grant from the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti. Millions of dollars were transferred to the MCO’s various bank accounts, but most of the accounts were kept secret, Larivée says. “Given the parsimonious management of Mother Theresa’s works, one may ask where the millions of dollars for the poorest of the poor have gone?”

In short Mother Teresa was a penny pinching fame whore who believed that the poor grew closer to God in their suffering and yet sought out the best medical attention available when she herself became ill.

She was one of the worst hypocrites on the planet, and made millions of dollars off of the suffering of others while doing virtually nothing to ease their pain or cure their ills.

To learn more simply watch this documentary by the brilliant Christopher Hitchens who may have been one of the first to see through this charlatan's act.

Pope Francis says that the church needs to apologize to gays, women, and children. Yes it does!

Courtesy of National Catholic Reporter: 

The Catholic church and other Christian communities must apologize to gay people and to many groups they have let down or offended throughout history, Pope Francis has said. 

In a press conference Sunday on the flight back to Rome after his weekend trip to Armenia, the pontiff said bluntly: "The church must say it's sorry for not having comported itself well many times, many times." 

"I believe that the church not only must say it's sorry ... to this person that is gay that it has offended," said the pope. "But it must say it's sorry to the poor, also, to mistreated women, to children forced to work." 

"When I say the church: Christians," Francis clarified. "The church is healthy. We are the sinners."

As I have pointed out before I am very reticent to trust this Pope on the things that he says, but damn I have to say that this is a very powerful statement, And one that I would really like to see at least Catholics around the world take to heart.

There is indeed quite a lot for the Catholic church to apologize for, as it has caused great harm in many places around the world.

Perhaps, just perhaps, this is the first step towards taking real responsibility for some of the most horrific policies of the church and a step toward having more inclusive policies moving forward.

Hey, I can dream.

What was the point again?

#NYForBS pic.twitter.com/uypqwaPFn1

— George D. (@xdelmar59) April 17, 2016

This twitter poster came under attack for this graphic, and he responded brilliantly.

@joseph_baptist @trimetfan and you're a fucking idiot. pic.twitter.com/Af5YAOUy6b

— George D. (@xdelmar59) April 17, 2016

Well that earns a follow from me.

Pope Francis shoots down the idea that he had a meeting with Bernie Sanders at the Vatican.

Courtesy of Crux:

Bristling at impressions that his brief greeting of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday ahead of a trip to Greece was a political statement, Pope Francis called it merely “common courtesy”, and said anyone who sees it differently needs “a psychiatrist.” 

“This morning as I was leaving, Senator Sanders was there,” Francis said. “He knew I was coming out at that time, and he had the kindness to greet me.” 

“When I came down, he introduced himself, I greeted him with a handshake, and nothing more,” the pope added. “It’s common courtesy, this is called common courtesy. 

“If someone thinks that greeting someone is getting involved in politics,” he said, “I recommend that they find a psychiatrist.”

So did Bernie Sanders just HAPPEN to be there when the Pope was leaving, or was there perhaps a motive for wanting to create the opportunity for a picture with the Pope during a contentious nominating process?

This whole Vatican visit has been a boondoggle for Sanders from the start.

Found on Reddit.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Pope calls for worldwide ban on the death penalty.

"This is going to work better if you DON'T read the book."

Courtesy of Reuters:  

Pope Francis on Sunday called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, saying the commandment "You shall not kill" was absolute and equally valid for the guilty as for the innocent. 

Using some of his strongest words ever against capital punishment, he also called on Catholic politicians worldwide to make "a courageous and exemplary gesture" by seeking a moratorium on executions during the Church's current Holy Year, which ends in November. 

"I appeal to the consciences of those who govern to reach an international consensus to abolish the death penalty," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. 

"The commandment "You shall not kill," has absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty," he told the crowd.

Uh, hey I don't want to be "that guy," and  I totally support this idea, but has the Pope read the book that is supposed to provide his moral compass?

For instance there is this passage from Deuteronomy 17:

2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 
 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. 

Yeah I know, that's the Old Testament and a lot of Christians like to pretend that they get all of their moral guidance from the New Testament.

Well if true then this is what you are instructed to do in Luke 19:27:

But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

Like I said, the Bible does not exactly give clear instructions on not murdering.

And if you want to choose God as your moral barometer.....well you don't want to choose God as your moral barometer.

By some estimates, just in the Bible alone, God has murdered somewhere between just below 3 million to 25 million people.

And if you take Creationists at their word, that death did not exist until after Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, that means every single creature that walks, swims, or flies on this planet has been murdered by God since that time just to punish mankind for the actions of two ignorant people.

So like I said, good on the Pope for calling for an end to the death penalty, but maybe he wants to base his reasoning on something less hypocritical like, I don't know, the Game of Thrones books for instance?

So Donald Trump is now in a war of words with the most popular Pope in a generation. Is THIS finally a step too far for "the Donald?"

So apparently the Pope had some things to say about Donald Trump during his visit to Mexico.

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

Inserting himself into the Republican presidential race, Pope Francis on Wednesday suggested that Donald J. Trump “is not Christian” because of the harshness of his campaign promises to deport more immigrants and force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border. 

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said when a reporter asked him about Mr. Trump on the papal airliner as he returned to Rome after his six-day visit to Mexico.

Ouch!

Well Trump is a reasonable fellow so I am sure he will be....what's that, he attacked the Pope on Facebook?

Courtesy of Trump-book:

In response to the Pope: 

If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which as everyone knows is ISIS’s ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened. ISIS would have been eradicated unlike what is happening now with our all talk, no action politicians. 

The Mexican government and its leadership has made many disparaging remarks about me to the Pope, because they want to continue to rip off the United States, both on trade and at the border, and they understand I am totally wise to them. The Pope only heard one side of the story - he didn’t see the crime, the drug trafficking and the negative economic impact the current policies have on the United States. He doesn’t see how Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama and our leadership in every aspect of negotiation. 

For a religious leader to question a person’s faith is disgraceful. I am proud to be a Christian and as President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened, unlike what is happening now, with our current President. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man’s religion or faith. They are using the Pope as a pawn and they should be ashamed of themselves for doing so, especially when so many lives are involved and when illegal immigration is so rampant. 

Donald J. Trump

Is Trump encouraging an ISIS attack on the Vatican here?

Because THAT is kind of how this sounds.

Okay now come on, Trump cannot really take on Pope Francis like this and not lose at least SOME of his support, right?

It's going to be a little hard or Donald Trump to restart America's torture program if the torturers refuse to torture.

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

Donald Trump would face huge resistance at the CIA if he were elected president and ordered the spy agency to resume waterboarding—or “worse,” as the Republican candidate has repeatedly pledged. 

John Rizzo, who was a top CIA lawyer during the time the agency used “enhanced interrogation techniques,” or EITs, on prisoners, predicts CIA officials would rather resign than obey orders to revert to “hard measures” like waterboarding and beatings. 

“I think certainly many of those who were connected to the EIT program over its six years’ span—and hundreds are still there—would‎ resign or retire rather than have to go down that perilous road again,” Rizzo tells Newsweek. “Who could blame them?”

As pretty much everybody, who is not Donald Trump, knows torture not only does not work, but it is against EVERYTHING this country stands for.

And the very idea that Trump wants to take America back to the shameful days of the Bush administration should disqualify him from any consideration as our Commander-in-Chief.

However since we have apparently been thrown into some kind of alternate reality, it hasn't.

And because it hasn't we also get to hear the ignorant things that Trump has to say about the Pope: 

In an interview with Fox Business Network, Trump was asked about Pope Francis’ visit to Mexico, where he intends pray with undocumented immigrants and immigration activists and celebrate Mass along the U.S.-Mexico. 

“The pope is a very political person,” Trump said. “I think he doesn't understand the problems our country has. I don't think he understands the danger of the open border that we have with Mexico.” 

Trump then implied that the Mexican government forced the Holy Father to take a stand on immigration.

That's right because Mexico has so much control over the Pope, right?

But it doesn't make any difference, this will not damage his poll numbers either because you know, that whole alternate reality thing.

Well according to the Pope there really is a war on Christmas, but not the one you've been hearing about.

Courtesy of Time: 

Pope Francis told churchgoers that Christmas this year is going to be a “charade” because “the whole world is at war.” 

The pontiff put this holiday season in perspective during mass at the Basilica di Santa Maria last week. His speech comes after a rash of notable violent incidents, including the now infamous terrorist attacks in Paris, as “we are close to Christmas. There will be lights, there will be parties, bright trees, even Nativity scenes – all decked out – while the world continues to wage war. 

“It’s all a charade. The world has not understood the way of peace. The whole world is at war,” Pope Francis said. “A war can be justified, so to speak, with many, many reasons, but when all the world as it is today, at war, piecemeal though that war may be—a little here, a little there—there is no justification.”

So according to the Pope it's not the non-religious or those who don't want to say Merry Christmas to shoppers that is threatening Christmas, but rather those who want continual war.

Gee now which political party promotes that around the world?

I understand what the Pope is saying, and I even agree with it somewhat, but if we allow the warlike, the fearmongers, and the terrorists to take Christmas away from us, then are we not allowing them to win?

I mean I'm an Atheist but that does not mean I don't love this time of year and wish to celebrate the holiday of giving with my friends and family.

I don't know about anybody else, but considering what is going on in the world I think we need to celebrate more aggressively than ever.