Analytics

Friday, February 19, 2016

Miscellany: 2/19/16

Quote of the Day
Change your thoughts, and you change your world.
Norman Vincent Peale

Tweet of the Day
Sweatshops: A Pathway Out of  Poverty



Guest Post Comments: Pope says anybody who builds a wall is not a Christian
Okay, now you're officially retarded. There is no wall around the Vatican, you anti-Catholic trolls. I don't think I can post images here, but there's an address I used to debunk Crowder's similar bullshit in a tweet I published yesterday: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cbh7EmJWwAAoqo1.jpg:large
follow-up comment
The editor, even when he quotes a Gray Lady piece (and the Gray Lady is not exactly pro-Catholic) says in its title that "some point wrongly to Vatican walls", still tries to save face. Wrong, buster!

 You didn't exactly point out, did you, that the article specifically points out there are no walls built around the perimeter of Vatican City? You don't even know if you're in Italy or Vatican City for all practical purposes. There are some walls from centuries back on the property for defensive purposes, but these were common at cities of the period. Others serve a mostly symbolic purpose. The bottom line is the campus is open to the public. Yes, there is some security for obvious reasons, e.g, the Swiss Guard, but they go on to explain you can gain access to many secured areas with as little as a library card. The point is, you don't need a passport or papers to enter the city. The article even points out the white line I posted reference to in my earlier comment.

 The bottom line is the New York Times debunked the Trump campaign's transparent attempt to call the Pope a hypocrite, and now all you Trump cultists are trying to save face.

Okay, I've Watched All the GOP Debates and Don't Recall This



Cruz Tries To Sing



Rev. Sirico On Trump v. Pope Francis



Facebook Corner

(Catholic Libertarians). Thoughts? The statement was: "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian."
I don't agree with Pope Francis on economics, but here he is spot on. The right to migrate is a fundamental aspect of liberty, and Jesus references it in several places even if you somehow ignore the fact that His whole ministry was spent traveling between towns in Israel.The Good Samaritan and Jesus' directive to go and preach the Good News to all make that clear; most of the apostles died away from Israel.

 I tried reading through the comments of others but got pissed off, because most of the people whose comments I read are not libertarian. So help me if I read one more idiot talk about welfare systems--what retards! Seriously. With some dark exceptions, like the Chinese Exclusion Act, until WWI, this country practiced virtually open immigration. Immigrants helped us build the greatest economy in the world by the end of the nineteenth century--and there was no welfare system as we know it. There were charitable efforts in the private sector to help newcomers.

 The fact of the matter is that the reason we had an unauthorized immigrant problem is because we had abandoned the bracero guest worker program by 1964 under special interest union pressure. As for the libertarians in name only, you sure the hell don't have any right to tell me who I can hire from anywhere in the world, and you can't tell me who I can sell a house to. Immigration restrictions are morally corrupt, pure and simple. Your attempts to control what other people can do ends with your property line.

(Reason). The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia shocked Ted Cruz into a sudden realization: It's even more important than before that Ted Cruz be our next president.
This is a fairly obnoxious op-ed. In fact, if he weren't running for President, Ted Cruz would be one of my top picks to fill the Scalia seat; he was one of the longest serving Solicitor Generals in the history of Texas; he has presented at least 8 cases before SCOTUS, winning several, and he clerked under Chief Justice Rehnquist.

 Chief Justice Roberts' bizarre decision upholding ObamaCare under the tax power of Congress is out of the mainstream, and Cruz has every right to blast that decision, as did Scalia. Overall, Justice Roberts has been a good jurist, but the ObamaCare decision, WHICH NO LIBERTARIAN SUPPORTS, is a whopper which will stain Roberts' legacy. 

 The bottom line is that Ted Cruz has a first-rate legal mind, has experience presenting in SCOTUS, and there is no one on either side of the aisle better qualified to name a replacement. As to his rhetoric, keep in mind that he is running in a Presidential campaign and is trying to appeal to the social conservative base of the party.

Recent 2016 Presidential Endorsements



Political Cartoon
Courtesy of Steve Breen via Townhall
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Vocalists

Laura Branigan, "The Power of Love".  One of my favorite songs: Jennifer Rush's original version is awesome. I didn't realize Air Supply did a male version; I love the ending with the gospel choir backing. This marks the end of my Branigan retrospective; I'll start my Stevie Wonder series with my next daily post.





Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,