Friday, October 30, 2015

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Catholics, politics, and the world.


Yes, I'm going to do politics again, but probably from an angle you wouldn't expect.  You might even enjoy it, because it's a trip into the twilight zone.



I know the American populace has been credited with the memory retention of your average house fly, but still, you'd think there have to be limits.  For example, does anyone remember when Mitt Romney was considered way too liberal to be nominated for the Republican presidential nominee?  Now, he's being cast as an evil, right-wing psychopath that makes George W. Bush look reasonable. What alternate reality have I fallen into?



Now, granted, Romney is different from the moderate we got last time, Senator John "Mumra" McCain, who was perfectly moderate, and perfectly boring.  Romney's only real conservatism seems to lie in his being fiscally conservative, and that's on a good day, but that's still more than John McCain had .... and Romney also looks like he has a pulse, though that is a more recent development.



Now, keep in mind, I'm a New Yorker.  If I'm not in the most Left-wing city in the United States, it's in the running for the position. So, I get daily reports and updates about why people are voting for who they're voting for, even though I really would rather smother them so I can be left alone.



However, since no one will leave me alone, here are some thoughts.



#1)  Romney is not going to be touching abortion, contraception, birth control, in any significant way. Sorry, but it's the truth. No one is going to, no one can, and therefore it is an irrelevant issue. At this point in time, you'd need an act of law to alter the way any of that is currently functioning, and I can't see any congress voting that way, do you? Even if Republicans took over the entire house and senate, please realize that there are such things as pro-choice Republicans, even if there is no such thing as a pro-life democrat.



#2) You have the right to tell no one to shut up. Everyone has a right to their opinions.  You may not share that opinion, but may not like their opinion, but you have no right to issue death threats.  You can do what everyone else does, and walk away.  Insults are also a waste of your time.  A friend or mine has basically declared "every woman who votes for Romney is stupid!!!!" Now, since the candidates are tied for women voters, that is a really bad move, and will alienate all those who you could have won over. You lost them, kiss the votes goodbye.



#3) Considering that the key issues this year seem to be about the economy or foreign policy, making a play for social issues is a fairly obvious play at changing the subject. That was a problem I had with Rick "I believe in the Devil!" Santorum.  Most religions believe in devils, demons, what have you, but to make a public statement about your belief during a Presidential run is just so irrelevant, and boils down to "What does that have to do about anything?"  And, now, that seems to be a running theme -- ignore everything else that is taking precedence, or taking place, and focus on something shiny over somewhere else.



Can you tell that I'm tired of living in spin?



Maybe we can have an honest debate where everyone tells the truth, no one interrupts each other, and the audience can shot the moderator if they become too annoying.



And maybe pigs will fly.