Addressing the Vatican tsunami

I've been reading a ton of commentary on the Vatican tsunami that seems to be intensifying every day. I've sent rather detailed articles on the subject to my lists. Many a day I find myself in the midst of discussion and debate.

In much briefer form, here is how a friend of mine describes the situation:

"The latest defense of the pope is that as archbishop of Munich he was more concerned with doctrine than with people!!

"It makes him sound like the philosopher who loved humanity, it was just that he couldn't stand people.

"It makes one ask how could the church claim to carry the gospel message. Any reading of the gospels makes it clear that Jesus' concern was with people, not doctrine."

A multitude of whackos

I would rather not run long quotes on this blog, but today Shortnews.com did a very fine job of summarizing the lunacy that seems to be growing like wildfire in our country:

"Majority of Republicans Believe Obama is a Socialist Muslim

"According to a new Harris poll, 57 percent of Republicans believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim, and 67 percent believe him to be a socialist. This despite Obama´s relation of his Christian faith in ´The Audacity of Hope.´

"The poll also found that 45 percent of Republicans, and 1 of 4 Americans, believe Obama was not born in the United States "and so is not eligible to be president." This 'birther' claim has even been dismissed by Fox News´ Bill O´Reilly.

"38 percent of Republicans believe that Obama is 'doing many things Hitler did,' and nearly a quarter of Republicans -- 24 percent -- believe that Obama 'may be the anti-Christ.'"

I have been a whacko-watcher for years, but these numbers are simply mind-boggling. I think we just might be going to hell in a teabag.

History made tonight

It has been a great night indeed.

President Franklin Roosevelt gave us Social Security in 1935, but in 1939 he could not get Congress to back national health insurance.

President Harry Truman was unsuccessful when he asked Congress for universal health care coverage in 1945.

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson pushed Congress and got us Medicare and Medicaid.

In the 1970s President Richard Nixon could not get Congress to extend Medicare/Medicaid coverage to everyone.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton could not get Congress to back universal health care.

But tonight saw history made. After months and months of often fierce conflict (and endless shouts about Nazis and death panels and similar craziness), the House passed a strong health reform bill by a vote of 219 to 212.

Many folks (such as myself) could not figure out why President Obama went so very long without giving up on the Party of Perpetual No. But then he rekindled the fire of his campaigning days. And he has been relentless ever since.

Some think that for a time the president was almost convinced by advisors such as Rahm Emanuel to forget the big picture and just go for smaller changes. But Nancy Pelosi would not be moved. Obviously, the first woman Speaker of the House is pure determination and dogged perseverance.

So tonight begins a new era, with some changes taking place right away and some taking up to four years to implement. Despite the lack of a public option (for now), the approved bill will change the lives of millions of Americans. 32 million uninsured will be getting insurance coverage. Among the many changes: insurance companies will not be allowed to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions or gender; large employers will have to provide coverage; out of pocket costs will be capped; parents will be able to keep their children on their health coverage until age 26.

The Senate must now vote on some "corrections" insisted upon by the House -- to be decided by "reconciliation" (51 votes or the vote of VP Joe Biden if there is a tie.)

Tonight's House vote was by far the biggest medical coverage decision in almost a half century.

P.S. Special thanks to Rep. Bart Stupak, who I would say redeemed himself tonight. And to hundreds of Catholic hospitals (through the Catholic Health Association) and the national coalition of nuns for backing the reform bill when the bishops would not.

Poor Mexico

These days "poor Mexico" means a lot more than a Mexico suffering from poverty. The drug wars are crucifying large parts of that country.

In the past three years, over 18,000 people have been killed in the cartel wars: competing cartel gunmen, police and military personnel, journalists, civic officials and sometimes bystanders.

President Calderon has sent 11,000 soldiers and federal police to Ciudad Juarez, while great numbers of citizens and businesses have abandoned the city. 4,500 people have been killed there since January 2008, 500 of them so far this year. After a children's birthday party last Saturday, the Aztecas gang connected to the Juarez cartel murdered a U.S. consular official and her husband and a Mexican citizen in another car.

In Nogales, Sonora, just 62 miles south of Tucson, the homicide rate continues to grow: 52 killed in 2007, 126 in 2008 and 136 in 2009. By last Friday, this year's number of homicides had already reached 70.

The cartels' reign of terror is often carried out with automatic weapons and sometimes hand grenades. Many of the guns are obtained in the U.S.

Bodies are found, sometimes in the streets and sometimes in mass graves, with torture marks and sometimes beheaded.

This war particularly affects Tucson/Pima County, the Connecticut-sized Tohono O'Odham reservation just west of Tucson, and most of Arizona. 28 percent of prosecuted crimes in Pima Country are drug-related, compared to 10 percent nationally. In just 12 months, the Tucson Police Department's home-invasion unit investigated 150 home invasions, with about 80 percent of those drug-related.

(I'm not writing this blog from some ivory tower. Many a time I've heard gunshots. I recently found a wounded dealer and then worked with three friends to clean up the blood after a barrage of bullets was fired in broad daylight across the street from a school playground.)

A vast Mexican army presence on the other side of the border and a huge enforcement buildup on this side have not been able to stop the madness. The story is not complicated: the insatiable U.S. appetite for cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana means people can make such incredible amounts of money that many will torture and murder to get it.

Lest we forget

Much of the world has just seen the bravery of Iraqis going out to vote despite all the threats and the deadly explosions. Apparently the turnout was well over 50%.

But behind all the media coverage of the past weekend In Iraq, the ongoing death statistics get little attention.

Since Bush and Cheney began their illegal war on Iraq almost seven years ago, the number of US troops killed there has reached 4,380. (The most recent death was on Feb. 25.)

The "official" number of Americans wounded is 31,706. The estimate, however, is over 100,000 wounded.

Here are some more death statistics from Iraq:
Contractors, 1,457
Journalists, 338
Academics, 437

The estimated total number of Iraqi deaths due to the US invasion is 1,366,350 (from Just Foreign Policy.org)

As of March 3, coalition deaths in Afghanistan have reached 1,599. (And where is this number headed?)

The song keeps echoing: "When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?"