That's How the Light Gets In

On Bucking the Odds A good friend of mine expressed this sentiment concerning the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court: "He'll get appointed no matter what Democrats do or the public does."   The same could be said about Donald Trump and Republican Senators and Representatives carrying out their agendas.   That conclusion, while often true, reflects an attitude that disturbs me.   It's an attitude of resignation and defeat, where I would prefer an attitude of committing to the struggle despite the odds.   Now I agree that one should be as objective as possible, particularly in terms of strategizing in the face of overwhelming odds.   One's options can be extremely limited.   But if you quit the fight before it's over, you're just accepting victimization, which can quickly turn into seeking pity.   I prefer losing in the ring to seeking pity for quitting the fight.   I believe even the person quoted above believes, or wants...

On the Benefit of the Doubt, for Countries and Catholics For the past 50 years I have given a pass to average citizens when it comes to the actions of their governments.   I will continue to do so for the citizens who live under monarchies or dictatorships, because they have extremely little voice in public policy, and dissent can be very dangerous, if not fatal.   However, citizens of democracies I now hold more accountable. The events of the past two years have caused me to change my thinking.   During that time when the actions of the Trump campaign and administration were abhorrent, I first blamed them.   Then, gradually I began to give a considerable share of the blame to Republicans in Congress, who have allowed it. But listening to the comparisons to the Nixon administration gave me additional insight, things I didn't remember or was unaware of dispite living through the Watergate era.   Namely, Republicans then did not act until the polls s...

Inspired by "Is religion a force for good in the world?" - the debates with Christopher Hitchens Let's compare general religious tenets with general humanistic tenets: I assert that to be a good humanist you must follow the rules.   To be a good religious person you must break the rules. Religious:                                             Humanistic: love thy neighbor                                   love thy neighbor do good works                                       do good works live according to the scriptures              live according to what can be drawn from evidence (science) try to follow the dictates of god       ...

The National Rifle Association-backed gun advocates claim that passing this law or that law wouldn't have prevented this mass shooting or that mass shooting.  It's a completely false argument.  It's like saying that passing this election reform law or that election reform law wouldn't have prevented Donald Trump or Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan from being elected.  It may be true, but it would be a good start. - Pete Barkett   02/22/18

Black Lives Matter - I Should Have Said You know how you always think of something to say right after it's too late?  Well, I got lucky.  I got a second chance. At our pizza place, a regular but infrequent customer came in and commented on our "Black Lives Matter" sign, saying the usual, "all lives matter."  He took his pizza and left, and, of course, a little while later I thought of a reply. This guy comes in about 5 or 6 times a year.  So, a couple of months later, he came back and again said, "all lives matter."  A rare opportunity emerged.  I said, "You're a union guy, right?  So, if the company was locking you out and trying to destroy the union, you might picket and carry a sign that said, 'Union Jobs Matter', not implying that other jobs don't matter, but that union jobs are under attack." His response was to completely ignore that, but we did talk about his decades-long union experiences for a while. ...

We kneel in support of the oppressed and disenfranchised - While saluting those who have sacrificed and died to lift our country to its highest ideals.   -  Inspired by analysis and commentary by Shannon Sharpe and Bob Costas.

On Past Judgements Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone.  - Joni Mitchell In the 1976 Presidential election, I voted for John Anderson.  I was then, and still am, a liberal.  So, Gerald Ford was not a consideration, especially after he pardoned Nixon, which was unforgivable.  But I didn't trust Jimmy Carter, who claimed to be honest.  I didn't know much about the Southern Baptist Convention, but what I did know was that they opposed most everything that I supported.  Carter was a Southern Baptist, so Carter was out.  Four years later, I had changed my mind, and I enthusiastically supported Carter against Reagan, and over the years I grew to appreciate him more and more. Carter turned out to be much more honest and thoughtful than the average politician.   And he was open to change.  He recently left the Southern Baptist Convention after 60 years due to their belief that women should ...