Pope Benedict XVI surprises everyone by resigning.
Pres. Obama is weighing a new round of executive actions.
Sen. Lindsey Graham threatens to put a hold on Hagel and Brennan's confirmations, while Sen. Inhofe uses the "f" word.
Rep. Eric Cantor is pro-DREAM Act.
The president awards a Medal of Honor today; the recipient attends the State of the Union tomorrow.
Pres. Obama will use the State of the Union to call for reducing our nuclear arsenal.
House Democrats plan to bring victims of gun violence to the State of the Union.
A soldier who fought DOMA dies, leaving her widow without benefits.
We have a new commander in Afghanistan.
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If you believe Eric Cantor then I have a bridge to sell you! He will find a way to squash the whole thing.
Do you really think it's a good idea to kick people in the shins when they agree with you? Duh?
It's a whole new set of problems. How do you address an ex-pope, "Your formerly holiness?" Does he get a pension? Where will he live? Does he get a vote in choosing his successor? Does he get lifetime protection from the Swiss Guard?
I just have to wonder if the Pope's resignation (I didn't think God accepted resignations, lol) has anything at all to do with the release of the documentary "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God" which is an outstanding documentary. As Ratzinger, he had every report of child molestion come and rest on his desk, so he and he alone knows the MOST about the terrible things the priests did to the DEAF children!!
My question is what do you do with an Ex Pope...
Seriously, He can't really ever go back to just being a Cardinal again...
As an ex altar boy I'm betting he goes back to being a priest in the parish of his choice to live out his days. He will not become the catholic version of Bill Clinton.
#3 ANS sufferer,
I think we can let this scandal rest for a bit, as it has nothing to do with Pope Benedict's resignation. The Pope is 85 yrs. old and very frail. His legacy will be that faith, science, and reason are not incompatible as they are all gifts from God. This Pope was an excellent teacher and writer.
Why is it necessary for people to focus on all the negative and rare, YES RARE, problems in the Church? Most priests do not abuse anyone.
These prurient interests are of no interest to most Catholics, other than seeing that they are properly dealt with and punished.
And we have to consider, where are they going to find another former member of the Hitler Youth Corps to replace him?
They probably found the mother of all smoking guns in the Vatican archives from when Ratzi the Nazi was running the Inquisition and harassing anyone who questioned the Pervert Protection Plan.
Of course, now his replacement will be chosen by such moral leaders as Roger Mahoney, exposed as a conspirator to protect perverts and obstruct justice, and the Archbishop of Ireland, exposed as the protector of monks, nuns and priests who abused Irish orphans of 70 years, as well as the other stalwart conspirators to protect perverts and obstruct justice, who will choose one of their own to continue the conspiracy.
Sorry India, but when you consider how many other "frail" Popes have stayed in office till they drew their last breath, having descended into senility years earlier, and given the extent of the exposure of the mendacity and criminality of the current Red Hat Gang (equaling that of the Borgias), to accept the lie that Ratzi the Nazi resigned due to bad health is a demonstration of severe DENIAL.
I was suspecting something similiar to that as well but I haven't heard of this documentary in particular yet.
No we most certainly can and will not. Absolutely not. The use of Church resources to cover up cases of molestation which has been thoroughly proven to be a wide spread policy choice knowing full well of the validity of such accusations is not to be sidelined or forgiven. It is a travesty and an insult to all churchs and faiths. We can stop talking about it when the Church surrenders every peice of information or leads they may have with the appropriate law enforcement, I don't give a damn whether any of it was said in "confession" or not, they must turn it over. In addition they need to give the known location of any and all accused molesters who they moved around that were not charged or investigated. The "gag orders"(uugghh makes me sick just saying those words) on all victims so they may testify in court.
We can let this scandal go when the pedophiles are brought to justice til the we will not forget, forgive, equivocate on this issue.
I thought being ancient was a job requirement.
You must be kidding me, last I checked the Church still believes condoms are tools of Satan and that those darn Nuns on the bus should stop trying to help the needy and attack gays more. Just because the Pope is on twitter doesn't mean the bureaucracy of the church is living in the modern age.
Luckily no one has insinuated that they are all bad just that the ones who are need to be brought to justice. The church transferred around priests who were consistently accused of molestation where ever they went without telling anyone in law enforcement and then paying off the victims to keep them quiet is using their influence and unique resources to obstruct justice. That in itself is a crime, a serious crime. In fact that would meet the definition for criminal racketeering that under the RICO act means that the entire organization can be prosecuted as co-conspirators. So it's a BFD to paraphrase Joe Biden.
If you think that any group using its influence or power to hide pedophiles is no big deal so be it but this will not be swept under the rug. I'm sure you might also think the Penn State officials actions were no big deal either according to this logic. Sorry like it or not but I will say that I and a great many others will not stop attacking the Church until it repents for it's grievous behavior. The Catholic Church has become nothing but a sham, a whore as any church that would claim to be the hand of god on earth that would protect those who prey on children. The Catholic faith has nothing to do with the actions of the church on this, it is not the faith or doctrine but the organization that is at fault. It is the bureaucracy and those who control it that are problem.
If the only consequence of this latest round of Republican intransigence and bullying is the loss of a small percentage of the Pentagon's bloated and pork-filled budget, that would be a good thing for the fiscal health of the country. But the GOP is intent on doing much more damage, putting our economy and Americans at risk of even another recession if the conservative dual agenda of austerity cuts and impotent government oversight is enacted. How can the president negotiate with a party so determined to stake their ideological claim, and with the goal of relitigating the 2012 election solely to embarrass Obama? - progressive
Harry, it's the nuclear option or bust.
The last Pope wouldn't leave until he REALLY left!
This one is giving up too easily.
First the Netherlands Queen resigns and now the Pope resigns. Ya gotta think Prince Charles is like "okay, mum, it's your turn. Join the crowd"
DOMA needs to go away. It's a junk law that was thrown together just to make social conservatives feel better about themselves.
The problem is not only CWO Morgans widow but all of the others who have been affected by it and considering that we have been in a state of war for over a decade I am sure there are hundreds more.
Stop and think about that. You are willing to go and offer your life in service to your country and you don't have the right to dictate who your survivors benefits will go to or who will manage your estate and why?
Because you love who you love and the way you live your life makes some morally constipated busybody feel uncomfortable.
Hey Cantor, you're supposed to be AGAINST Obama's ideas...especially one that is as bad as "the dream act"!
The Pope: He's resigning because 1.) he just found out he's got a terminal illness that's definitely going to kill him within a few months, or 2.) someone has absolute proof he did something truly evil, or 3.) he found out something that disputes everything he believes about the church. Since being Pope is a pretty sweet gig, I can't imagine another reason he'd quit.
Maybe he couldn't handle all of his followers on twitter.
It is really necessary to make fun of a very elderly man who has spent his life in service to the Church? He's been frail for years and has done what I am sure his doctor's suggested. He is not able to travel now and this would be a big handicap for the Pope.
Whether you believe in God or Catholicism or not, let's show some respect for the millions who do, both here and throughout the world.
This is slightly off-topic, but it popped in my head when I read through the list in the post.
We need to remember that the words of the Star Spangled Banner pose questions.
----------------------
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
----------------------
So ... What are the answers? Can you see the flag? Does it still wave over "the land of the free and the home of the brave"? And what kind of land is that exactly? What is going on in Washington and in State Houses around the country to ensure that we have that kind of land?
Maphi,
We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our system has been broken by corruption in our governing body.
I doubt any of the president's ideas will be implemented due to the obstructionists in Congress. There is no political will even to get the most minimal gun safety laws passed. We'll be lucky to get background checks. The obstructionist party is already saying NO to that simple idea.
Forget anything else the country needs.
How about we get the administration to withhold all payments to the welfare states represented by Graham and Inhofe. Maybe once the people realize what the federal government actually does for them (like give them more money than they contribute to the federal budget) then they might recall these idiots they have elected. These idiots are ruining the country. I say cut them loose and see how they like it.
Yes, because it makes all kinds of sense to punish people who have absolutely no say in what their representatives do. Geeze, if we COULD control them, we'd have a jobs act passed, the Farm Bill passed, the Violence Against Women act passed, Gun Control passed - it's amazing what would happen in government if we, the people had any say in what the fools who are there to represent US would do their jobs.
JanH, Not gonna happen due to the constituents (ultra-right wing) who put these people in our governing body to ruin President Obama.
And de facto, they are ruining the country.
Too pooped to Pope? Whatever.
Corporate CEO's resign all the time and this guy gets the ultimate golden parachute from his gigantic tax-free corporation.
Original Sin Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of
white people
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112365/why-republicans-are-party-white-people#
There's more to the pope retiring than being reported. The process of choosing a new pope might be very interesting indeed.
I wonder what the nuns who taught me at Seven Dolors* Catholic Grade School would say about this!
* I was taught by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, just like Lawrence O'Donnell. I didn't know what "Seven Dolors" referred to until years later, when an Irish Catholic woman from Boston and I decided to figure it out. It turns out that the Seven Dolors are the seven sorrowful mysteries of the rosary!
Rachel: Here is an interesting story which appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today. It illustrates the hypocracy in the house and senate. It seems the public is subsidizing a hair salon for them to the tune of over 300,00 per year...which is operating at a loss. These senators and congressmen get haircuts for 20.00 in the Russell bldg. along with their free health care and pensions and rather nice salaries. In addition, these so called fiscal responsible people get free mailing services for their mailouts, free photography, free train rides and free health care...all the while asking others to make sacrifices. I might suggest they do the same by paying more for their haircuts to sustain this salon or closing it down and making them use a public facility...just saying...
I nominate Antonin Scalia for Pope!
Well, he's certainly 10th Century enough for them, and more than conversant with hypocrisy.
Good idea. Anything to get him off the Supreme Court.
How long do you think it will take before Obama is blamed for the Pope stepping down? You that's coming from the right....I say 2 days maybe 3.
After Pope Benedict resigns, will he come clean about the church's long-standing policy of protecting pedophiles?
Cardinal Joeseph Ratzinger, now His Holiness, Pope Benedict the 16th had every sex abuse case involving a minor come to his desk, The late Pope John Paul had established Ratzinger as the most knowledgeable person in the world regarding priestly sexual abuse of minors.
This is documented in a new HBO documentary that examines the pedophile priests child sex abuse scandal of the Catholic Church, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God.
The film, which is both gripping and extremely upsetting, is showing on HBO this month. As difficult as it may be for some to watch, I strongly encourage you to.
I feel this documentary is the true reason the Pope is resigning. As this documentary shows how evil and horrifying the Catholic Church was/is about it's sexual abuse of children all over the world.