I thought that Vance was a super Catholic who knows so much about Catholicism that he was telling the Pope he’s doing it wrong.
I can’t help but complete the sentence in that post:
“Trust in God’s plan to reward you with what you want, like the efficient deaths of Iranians.”
I do wonder, though, how much to read into the single service. Are the usually multiple services, for example?
It would surprise me if they want to threaten the “alliance” between american evangelicals and american roman catholics, for whom the pope does not necessarily speak in politics. the last pope wasn’t a fan of trumpism either; i suppose this one is American, which maybe matters.
That makes some sense. It’s much easier to ignore a foreign pope saying that Trump is doing it wrong; Europeans are all leftist Socialist commies who hate America, and how many MAGA even think about South America beyond “caravan” and “wall”? People from SA aren’t “American”, so they hate “America” too.
A harder sell when the pope is himself American. Of course, the claims will still be made, but it’s harder.
after hearing that from Vance, the previous Pope promptly died.
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The extremity of Trump’s threats, coupled with his growing desperation to find a way out of the conflict, has increased fears that a volatile president could try to use a nuclear weapon.
Under the US system, a US president has sole authority to order a nuclear launch. To do so he would summon a security conference call of the National Military Command Center, which would typically involve top officials such as the defence secretary, the armed forces commanderm, but it would depend who was available at short notice.
A military aide who is always close to the president would open the “nuclear football”, a briefcase containing nuclear strike options as well as the codes to confirm his presidential authority.
The only way to stop the order would be for those in the chain of command to deem it illegal.
In January 2021, the then chair of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mark Milley, was so concerned about Trump’s volatility that he reportedly told his senior officers to make sure he was involved in any nuclear decision.
Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said Trump had previously shown respect for the devastating consequences of nuclear use, but he added: “I don’t know how strong that respect is when he is losing the war and his mind at the same time.
man, atheism out here looking more and more rational every day!
These two articles strikingly illustrate the increasing income gap in the US. Middle class folks are forced to sell plasma to get by while billionaires are buying $50 million homes.
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It has been pointed out just today that the waiting time for applications for Ireland’s Foreign Birth Register has just jumped from 9 months on their website to 12 months. It is presumed that that is due to a sudden jump in Americans working on a potential exit strategy.
Thinking about it myself, with Ireland-born Grandparents.
Still waiting on mine, btw. I found out that their request for clarification will add 4 months to the wait.
I found this a fascinating revelation. From today’s NYT.
All about a new extreme service for the ultra wealthy, on Air France flights to NYC.
Each new indulgence seems more lavish than the one before. The bespoke departure lounge, where you can order a three-course meal from a menu conceived by Alain Ducasse. The Porsche Cayenne in which you are driven across the airport apron to the plane.
Your compartment in the plane’s front section, spanning four windows (five, on newer planes), where the seat flattens into a 6-foot-6-inch-long bed and complete privacy is attained via a floor-to-ceiling curtain. The nonstop attention from a procession of people eager to ply you with amenities. Even the pilot, responsible for more than 300 passengers, emerges from the cockpit to speak only to the three in first class.
The writer is most impressed by how the passenger comes into contact with virtually no other travelers. Privacy and luxury.
So it’s not just a USA issue, the redirection of resources away from the commoners and to the privileged is endemic. Apparently the next world order is a lot like medieval aristocracy.
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Totally agree that it is pretty well a global phenomenon.
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You apparently don’t spend enough time on YouTube…
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