A Shootin' War
While Iran's economy is on the verge of collapse over an estimated $270 billion in reconstruction costs, the U.S. has returned the "favor" of Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz with a blockade of Iranian ports ... tit for tat. The U.S. isn't currently shooting at Iran ... but we're trading blockades, as it were. (In a late-breaking story, I should point out that reports are saying that Iran has opened the Straits of Hormuz and oil prices have dropped 10% already.)
Muddy Theology
The pope decided to inform the world that God was opposed to the conflict in Iran. He said that anyone who is a disciple of Christ "is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs." He, of course, stands in direct opposition to thousands of years of "Just War" theory and a lot of biblical texts where ... you know ... God commanded His people to go to war. Vice President J.D. Vance suggested the pope should be more careful when discussing theology. I'm not supporting Vance ... but ... I think it's clear the pope didn't consult Scripture before he spoke.
Who Was Eric Swalwell?
Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell and frontrunner in the California gubernatorial race dropped out of the race and resigned this week from Congress, citing the need to focus on his campaign. Apparently it had nothing to do with the investigation of the House Ethics Committee into allegations of sexual misconduct. He admitted to "making mistakes" while calling the allegations false. Since he's a Democrat, we should probably move on because only Republicans are scandalous when they do things like this.
Always a Crisis
The media keeps telling us the horror of rising gas prices, but there appears to be another version of the story. Some outlets are reporting that both gasoline and diesel prices have declined nationally by a small amount. Mind you, in California, regular gas is at $5.894/gal and diesel is at $7.695/gal, so "declined" looks pretty small right now, but ... it's not the same as "rising."
Sad but True
Charlie Kirk was assassinated last year while speaking at a college in Utah. Charlie's wife, Erica, has continued his work. In Arizona, she planned to give a speech at a high school in Paradise Valley, but had to cancel because of security concerns. People are sure that opponents are still willing to kill the messengers. Not to be outdone, Utah Valley University (where Charlie was killed) canceled a commencement speaker who had harsh criticism for Charlie after his assassination. Their reasoning was " increased safety concerns." It feels like we live in a very volatile society these days, where words aren't enough and violence is too often the first resort, not the last. It's not a gun problem; it's a heart problem.
Your Best Source for Fake News
After Trump's posting and removal of an AI image that clearly depicted him as a Jesus-type (actual story), The Bee reports Trump is complaining that he's been crucified for the image. Ha, ha. On the Iranian news side, apparently Trump is renaming the Strait of Hormuz as "the Donald J. Trump Strait of America." You know, in keeping with his unilateral renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, following up on Eric Swalwell's resignation on accusations of sexual assault, we're being told that he's now a leading presidential candidate. Ah ... modern politics.
Must be true; I read it on the internet.
A Shootin' War
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how amenable Iran is to say they've opened the Strait when they are currently incapable of closing it anymore. On the $270-billion reconstruction, I'm pretty sure we'll be footing that bill, because that's simply what we have done historically. Destroy Germany, help them rebuild, destroy Japan, help them rebuild. We are the "worst" winners, we keep helping those we defeat to rebuild.
Muddy Theology
I'm not exactly sure who he's talking about, I don't think America has ever wielded the sword. We have been using guns since before our foundation. And he has no criticism for Iran, killing tens of thousands of it's own people in two months, or causing death and destruction to all of their neighbors. The Pope has the same grievance against America alone as all the liberal white ladies.
Who Was Eric Swalwell?
I liked the Bee's post after his resignation, 1 sexual deviant down in Congress, 253 more to go. We all know he was forced to resign, not because of what he did, but because it would require the rest of Congress to actually vote on his ouster, and they didn't want to have to put their names on one side or the other.
Always a Crisis
Ah, the media, always there to tell a story, not necessarily the true story, but a story nonetheless.
Sad but True
And the constant blaming of guns as the culprit ignores the actual reason for the violence, a turning away from a national morality and unity. We are so ruggedly individual that nobody else is even worthy of life if they infringe on anything I want to do.
Regarding your “Muddy Theology” comment: I too found the pope’s statement perplexing (and also highly ironic, considering the massive amount of sword-wielding the RCC committed over the centuries!). I would offer one small correction to your comment, though: Swords were indeed used by Americans--from colonial times through to the Civil War. It says online that sabers “were phased out of active duty after World War I,” so it’s clear that swords supplemented firearms for a long time. (I’m not an expert in military weaponry, but I’ve seen my fair share of sword displays in many a history museum.)
DeleteAnother blog I follow daily (https://excatholic4christ.wordpress.com/) also has a weekly feature on Saturdays, presenting a “Weekend Roundup - News & Views.” I always find it interesting when your “News Weakly” entries overlap with that one (like for the “AI Trump” and the “pope-Iran war” incidents of this week). There’s often a different slant at each (the other one concentrates on church & culture issues with little political emphasis), but I will say that reading both (and at other places as well, of course) increases my understanding of these events in a helpful way.
ReplyDelete