Pope Francis on Atheism

Pope Francis made an amazing point last week, informing believers that non-Catholics must be accepted if they do good works, and that atheists are to be accepted if they do good works. True, the Pope wasn't speaking "Ex Cathedra" and therefore this isn't official Catholic Church Canon now, but words matter, and this Pope seems to know what real Christianity is all about instead of mere lip-service. I like his "back to the Bible" inclusive approach. Jesus never said "Go ye therefore and hate all nations" - instead, the opposite, in the name of peace.

From The Vatican Radio Address, May 22, 2013

"The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can. He must. Not can: must! Because he has this commandment within him. Instead, this ‘closing off’ that imagines that those outside, everyone, cannot do good is a wall that leads to war and also to what some people throughout history have conceived of: killing in the name of God. That we can kill in the name of God. And that, simply, is blasphemy. To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy.”

. . . Instead the Lord has created us in His image and likeness, and has given us this commandment in the depths of our heart: do good and do not do evil”:

"The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”

President Obama in Israel

If you can overlook Chuck Todd's stupid questions - and of course we can, and should - this has been a fantastic historical trip for President Obama. And goodness knows it has been more successful than Mitt's #Romneyshambles when he tried to declare war on Iran even though he held no elected office and was just a guy from Michigan.

This is a speech of hope. Blessed are the Peacemakers, as Jesus said. I am so proud today I voted for this President.
Full Speech Transcript Here on Daily Beast

First, peace is necessary. Indeed, it is the only path to true security. You can be the generation that permanently secures the Zionist dream, or you can face a growing challenge to its future. Given the demographics west of the Jordan River, the only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine. Given the frustration in the international community, Israel must reverse an undertow of isolation. And given the march of technology, the only way to truly protect the Israeli people is through the absence of war – because no wall is high enough, and no Iron Dome is strong enough, to stop every enemy from inflicting harm.

This truth is more pronounced given the changes sweeping the Arab World. I recognize that with the uncertainty in the region – people in the streets, changes in leadership, the rise of non-secular parties in politics –it is tempting to turn inward. But this is precisely the time to respond to the wave of revolution with a resolve for peace. As more governments respond to popular will, the days when Israel could seek peace with a handful of autocratic leaders are over. Peace must be made among peoples, not just governments. No one step can change overnight what lies in the hearts and minds of millions. But progress with the Palestinians is a powerful way to begin, while sidelining extremists who thrive on conflict and division.

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Cease Fire in Gaza

The world can be thankful for this today:

via LA Times

Egypt announced a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas effective Wednesday evening local time, the Associated Press reported.

In details of the agreement obtained by news agency, Israel will cease all military activity against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip at 9 p.m. local time (11 a.m. PST) and Palestinian militants will cease rocket attacks into Israel. After 24 hours of quiet, Gaza's border crossings with Israel will be opened further to allow freer movement of goods and people.

The announcement by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton followed talks in Cairo between Clinton and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

Israel Hammers Gaza

It seems to me that Israel Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's only skill is to make war instead of peace. And unfortunately the people in Gaza are sitting ducks, and when they fight back he blames them and punishes them even more. Now the violence is spreading into Syria and Egypt, which is dangerous. Interestingly, Reuters is reporting a massive hacking attack directed at the Israeli Government.

NBC News Story

Updated at 5:14 p.m. ET: TEL AVIV, Israel - Israel was prepared to substantially broaden its operation in the Gaza strip, the country's prime minister said on Sunday as its military planes continued to bomb targets in Gaza City.

"The Israel Defense Forces have attacked more than 1,000 terror targets in the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting. "We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations and the Israel Defense Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation."

. . . Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said he fully supported Israel's right to defend itself but cautioned against a ground offensive.

"If this can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that is preferable," Obama said. "That's not just preferable for the people of Gaza, it's also preferable for Israelis because if Israeli troops are in Gaza they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded."

Reuters

More than 44 million hacking attempts have been made on Israeli government web sites since Wednesday when Israel began its Gaza air strikes, the government said on Sunday. Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said just one hacking attempt was successful on a site he did not want to name, but it was up and running after 10 minutes of downtime.

Typically, there are a few hundred hacking attempts a day on Israeli sites, the ministry said. Attempts on defence-related sites have been the highest, while 10 million attempts have been made on the site of Israel's president, 7 million on the Foreign Ministry and 3 million on the site of the prime minister.

A ministry spokesman said while the attacks have come from around the world, most have been from Israel and the Palestinian territories.

"The ministry's computer division will continue to block the millions of cyber attacks," Steinitz said. "We are enjoying the fruits of our investment in recent years in developing computerized defence systems." Steinitz has instructed his ministry to operate in emergency mode to counter attempts to undermine government sites.

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The Last Presidential Debate - WOW

source: gifwich tumblr

What a great night for President Obama! He had zingers ready and Mitt didn't get away with most of his silly flip-flops and lies.

The theme of the night was "Mitt is Old-Fashioned" and Obama pointed this out at every opportunity:

Full Transcript of the Debate on ABC News

OBAMA: Gov. Romney, I'm glad that you recognize that al Qaeda is a threat because a few months ago when you were asked what's the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia.

The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War's been over for 20 years.

. . . Governor, when it comes to our foreign policy, you seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s, and the economic policies of the 1920s.

The most famous lines of the night harkened back into history, evoking WWI or the Civil War to the days of warefare with "horses and bayonets" came during a discussion of military spending. Hilarious, and the best comeback line of all time! Twitter and Tumblr went nuts for this. At my house, we laughed and cheered.



source: weneedmorehorsesandbayonets tumblr

ROMNEY: Our Navy is old -- excuse me, our Navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917. The Navy said they needed 313 ships to carry out their mission. We're now at under 285. We're headed down to the low 200s if we go through a sequestration. That's unacceptable to me.

I want to make sure that we have the ships that are required by our Navy. Our Air Force is older and smaller than at any time since it was founded in 1947.

We've changed for the first time since FDR -- since FDR we had the -- we've always had the strategy of saying we could fight in two conflicts at once. Now we're changing to one conflict. Look, this, in my view, is the highest responsibility of the President of the United States, which is to maintain the safety of the American people.

And I will not cut our military budget by a trillion dollars, which is a combination of the budget cuts the president has, as well as the sequestration cuts. That, in my view, is making -- is making our future less certain and less secure.



source: havelogicwilltravel

OBAMA: Bob, I just need to comment on this.

. . . I think Governor Romney maybe hasn't spent enough time looking at how our military works.

You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed. We have these things called aircraft carriers, where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.



via gifwich
And so the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting slips. It's what are our capabilities. And so when I sit down with the Secretary of the Navy and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we determine how are we going to be best able to meet all of our defense needs in a way that also keeps faith with our troops, that also makes sure that our veterans have the kind of support that they need when they come home.

And that is not reflected in the kind of budget that you're putting forward because it just doesn't work.

 source: plures on tumblr

Obama also reminded Mitt of his "Romneyshambles World Tour" last summer, in which Mitt schmoozed and raised money in Israel from the likes of Sheldon Adelson. And to me, this quote is really all you need to know of the debate and the differences between Mitt and President Obama:

ROMNEY: ...Mr. President, the reason I call it an apology tour is because you went to the Middle East and you flew to Egypt and to Saudi Arabia and to Turkey and Iraq. And by the way, you skipped Israel, our closest friend in the region, but you went to the other nations.

And by the way, they noticed that you skipped Israel. And then in those nations, and on Arabic TV, you said that America had been dismissive and derisive. You said that on occasion America had dictated to other nations.

Mr. President, America has not dictated to other nations. We have freed other nations from dictators.

OBAMA: Bob, let me -- let me respond.

If we're going to talk about trips that we've taken -- when I was a candidate for office, first trip I took was to visit our troops. And when I went to Israel as a candidate, I didn't take donors. I didn't attend fundraisers. I went to Yad Beshef (ph), the Holocaust museum there, to remind myself the nature of evil and why our bond with Israel will be unbreakable.

And then I went down to the border towns of Storok (ph), which had experienced missiles raining dowm from Hamas. And I saw families there who showed me there where missiles had come down near their children's bedrooms. And I was reminded of what that would mean if those were my kids. Which is why as president, we funded an Iron Dome program to stop those missiles.

So that's how I've used my travels, when I travel to Israel and when I travel to the region. And the -- the central question at this point is going to be: Who is going to be credible to all parties involved? And they can look at my track record, whether it's Iran sanctions, whether it's dealing with counterterrorism, whether it's supporting democracy, whether it's supporting women's rights, whether it's supporting religious minorities.

And they can say that the President of the United States and the United States of America has stood on the right side of history. And that kind of credibility is precisely why we've been able to show leadership on a wide range of issues facing the world right now.

It was quite elegant the way Obama went through a check-list of the Romnesiac's previous positions. The biggest fib of the night was Mitt trying to walk back an Op-Ed that he wrote for the New York Times titled "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt." He tried to make it seem as if people misunderstood his position, forgetting that he put it in writing, and everyone knows there was no private money willing to bail-out the industry, so the government was their last hope. And it worked! And now he wants to take credit for what Obama did because people like himself, connected to Michigan and children of the auto-industry moguls did nothing to help a dying industry. Epic. Freakin'. Fail.

I'm a son of Detroit. I was born in Detroit. My dad was head of a car company. I like American cars. And I would do nothing to hurt the U.S. auto industry. My plan to get the industry on its feet when it was in real trouble was not to start writing checks. It was President Bush that wrote the first checks. I disagree with that. I said they need -- these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy. And in that process, they can get government help and government guarantees, but they need to go through bankruptcy to get rid of excess cost and the debt burden that they'd -- they'd built up.

And fortunately...

(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Governor Romney, that's not what you said...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Governor Romney, you did not...
ROMNEY: You can take a look at the op-ed...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: You did not say that you would provide government help.

ROMNEY: I said that we would provide guarantees, and -- and that was what was able to allow these companies to go through bankruptcy, to come out of bankruptcy. Under no circumstances would I do anything other than to help this industry get on its feet. And the idea that has been suggested that I would liquidate the industry, of course not. Of course not.
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Let's check the record.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: That's the height of silliness...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Let -- let -- let's...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: I have never said I would liquidate...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAM: ...at the record.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: ...I would liquidate the industry.
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Governor, the people in Detroit don't forget.

. . . ROMNEY: ...if -- if you're...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: ...you've had the floor for a while.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: ...get someone else's.

OBAMA: The -- look, I think anybody out there can check the record. Governor Romney, you keep on trying to, you know airbrush history here. You were very clear that you would not provide, government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy. You said that they could get it in the private marketplace. That wasn't true. They would have gone through a...
(CROSSTALK)
ROMNEY: You're wrong...

By the end of the debate, Obama had eviscerated Mitt, who was stammering incoherently about things he loves, as he does when he is thrown for a loop. Incredible.

Look, I love to -- I love teachers, and I'm happy to have states and communities that want to hire teachers do that. By the way, I don't like to have the federal government start pushing its weight deeper and deeper into our schools. Let the states and localities do that. I was a governor. The federal government didn't hire our teachers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor?

ROMNEY: But I love teachers. But I want to get our private sector growing and I know how to do it.

SCHIEFFER: I think we all love teachers.

(LAUGHTER)

In Remembrance of 9/11

Eleven years later and all of this is so overwhelming. I've shed a few tears watching videos of the unfolding disaster in New York City, and was reminded again of the loss of thousands of lives. There is a fearful horror that still lives in all of us who witnessed the desctruction whether near or far away. This is not just a story about New York City.

On September 11, 2001, I was sitting at home with my youngest child, who was usually in kindergarten but he was sick that day. He was lying on the couch watching Blues Clues on TV when my husband called and told me urgently to turn on NBC because something had happened in New York - a plane had apparently hit the World Trade Towers. I couldn't see how that was possible. It was a beautiful clear day in the East, the first cool day of fall. Visibility was 100% - surely my husband was mistaken.

No. I stared in horror at the sight of buildings with gaping holes in the side, watched while smoke rose and papers flew from the tall buildings like weird confetti. What I learned later was that human beings were also falling to the streets, those killed on the impact of the planes, or those above the fire who jumped to their deaths. This is what haunts me even now. I have a scrapbook of pictures I printed from the internet in remembrance. I'm glad to see those pictures still around on the internet to remind us of the human cost, the human story. This wasn't just about buildings and economics and religion.

This was about killing innocent people in a cruel and unbelievable way with a diabolical plan. It wasn't just about killing Americans either - there were people in those towers from all over the world.


And then there were the first responders. We saw video of brave firefighters and policemen walking towards the towers, with ambulances and police cruisers parked around the base. We were told on the news they were going to rescue everyone. There was so much hope! Everything was going to be all right! And then the Towers fell, one after another, collapsing like accordians into the streets, smoke rising over Manhatten Island, taking all those lives, including the men who matter-of-factly walked into the buildings to save anyone they could. Lost.

Of course, we found out later that many were saved that day, but not enough, not nearly enough.

And then there was the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. And the Pentagon. And we knew we were at war. And we are still at war - the longest war ever fought by our country.

As I said, my youngest was in kindergarten. For at least two weeks after 9-11, children would spontaneously talk about what they saw on TV, and some would start to cry. One little girl in my son's class was terrified because he Daddy was a fireman. My children drew pictures of burning towers and planes flying over the skyline of New York.

Even though we have risen from the ashes of the falling towers, we must never forget what happened that day. May it never, ever, ever happen again.

Fehrnstrom: Romney Covered Afghanistan in Another Speech

I think something is seriously wrong with Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt's senior adviser. Not only did he let his boss get upstaged by an empty chair on the most important night of his campaign, but he can't quite explain why Mitt avoided any mention of Afghanistan in his major speech at the Republican Convention.

Don't they realize how many young men and women are still in Afghanistan? Peopler are being hurt and maimed, mentally and physically, every single day. Don't they realize how many military families are involved in that effort? Stupidity doesn't even explain it - for instance, Sarah Palin mentioned the war and the veterans in nearly every speech she gave during the last election, and looking back that seems much more sensible than Romney's omission. I guess we have to assume he just didn't know what to say, so it's easier to slam China or Iran and talk about how Obama has "thrown Israel under the bus." Make up new threats to scare people instead of making them happy to have both Iraq and Afghanistan behind us.

Hey, Mitt - and you too, Eric - "Blessed are the peacemakers." Got that?

Here's the way Fehrnstrom explained it on CNN:

CROWLEY: Why didn't the president mention anything about there are troops as you know overseas still fighting in Afghanistan, but there was no mention of that in his speech. Was that deliberate, was it an oversight, what was that decision about?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, the day before the convention speech, Candy, Governor Romney traveled to Indianapolis on Wednesday and he gave a speech before the American Legion. Now that was an invitation that President Obama declined. Governor Romney thought it was a privilege to be speaking to people who had served so nobly. And in that speech, he talked about Afghanistan. He also talked about the $1 trillion in defense cuts that are going to be taking place under this president which his own defense secretary has said will be devastating to our national defense.

CROWLEY: Point taken. And I didn't mean the president, I meant the governor, He is your nominee, presidential nominee at this point. But it is not just the president and the Democrats, here is something that Bill Kristol, from the Weekly Standard, a conservative, a Republican, had to say, "what about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing to even mention in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored in this kind of major and formal speech the war and our warriors? I doubt it. It has been since 1952, I read, where a Republican did not mention troops serving overseas."

Do you think it was an oversight -- in hindsight, should he have said something?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, again, he spoke to Afghanistan in a big speech before the American Legion the night before his convention speech, that was an invitation...

CROWLEY: Sure, but this is a huge, big audience.

FEHRNSTROM: President Obama declined. But Governor Romney's convention speech was an opportunity for him to introduce himself to millions of voters who were seeing him for the first time and in that speech he accomplished what he set to do, which is to talk about his better vision for America with more jobs and increasing wages, he talked about the failures of the Obama presidency over the last four years. And he talked a little bit about the personal side and what motivates him.

And we thought that speech was a home run.

Obama wondered why Romney would just overlook the role of President in the Afghan conflict:

"Gov. Romney had nothing to say about Afghanistan last week," Obama said at a campaign rally in Iowa on Saturday. "Didn't mention it. Didn't offer a plan in terms of how he might end the war or, if he's not going to end it, he's got to let people know."

Republican Bill Kristol blasted Romney in an Weekly Standard column:

What War?
The United States has some 68,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan. Over two thousand Americans have died in the more than ten years of that war, a war Mitt Romney has supported. Yet in his speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief, Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.

Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney's silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored, in this kind of major and formal speech, the war and our warriors?

Romney Warmongering in Israel

In a speech that will delight Jewish extremists and Evangelicals alike, Mitt Romney stated that he believes Jerusalem is the "capital of Israel," trying to sound like the guy who is going to rebuild the Temple of Solomon single-handedly while also fulfilling the Mormon White Horse Prophecy, which will save the Constitution of the U.S. but also bring about the Rapture and Armegeddon.

Isn't that special? The problem is, he hasn't been elected to anything yet.

So mainly Romney wants to get that sweet money from Sheldon Adelson, and everything else is secondary. By the way, the Romney camp has reversed their policy of yesterday and will now allow journalists inside the fund raiser in Jerusalem. Apparently that includes both the American Press Corps, as well as the Jewish Press. But stay tuned in case another etch-a-sketch happens.

Romney's Complete Speech Here

From the Boston Globe

JERUSALEM—On Israeli soil, U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday declared Jerusalem to be the capital of the Jewish state and said the United States has "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability.

"Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses. They want to know who will object and who will look the other way," he said. "We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel."

The presidential election hovered over the speech, with the Old City forming a made-for-television backdrop behind Romney, while some of his campaign donors listened in the audience.

Romney Shambles Day One: Disconcerting London Gaffes
Romney Shambles Day Two: British Press Pounces
Romney Shambles Day Three: On to Israel
Romney Shambles Day Four: Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran

President Obama's Speech in Afghanistan

The President made a trip to Afghanistan on May 1, 2012.

From PBS Newshour

During a surprise visit Tuesday to Afghanistan, where he signed an agreement outlining the U.S. role there after most NATO forces leave in 2014, President Barack Obama said he knew many Americans are tired of the war, but underscored a need to "finish the job." "Our goal is to destroy al-Qaida, and we are on a path to do exactly that," Mr. Obama said. The election-year speech aired live in the U.S. during prime-time hours.