NEW POPE AND U.S. CATHOLIC SOCIAL ISSUES.....RESOLUTIONS?

A new Pope was announced to the world this week. Pope Francis.

 

Apparently a very holy and humble man. I wish him every success in guiding the Catholic Church through its trying times.

 

Some background. He is Argentine by birth. However, he is of Italian extraction. His father was born in Italy. A modest man. The new Pope dances to his own tune. He does things his way.

 

As an Argentine Cardinal, he was entitled to all that goes with the position. From a glamorous home to a limousine to drive him here and there to whatever. He shunned all these things. He lived in a small apartment. Cooked his own meals. Took the subway to his office each day.

 

Pope Francis was ordained a Jesuit. Jesuits are an order of priests within the Catholic Church. They are well educated and considered extremely intelligent. The primary purpose of a Jesuit is to give aid the poor. To assist in providing  basics such as food and shelter.

 

Jesuits are also doctrinaire. They read the Bible literally. What it says, it says. Period. No room for interpretation.

 

In 2010, Argentina recognized same sex marriage. Today's Pope Francis spoke out at the time. He disagreed with the law. Said it was not consistent with God's plan.

 

Argentina is part of the Latin American community. The community is still dealing with poverty. Basics such as of food and shelter. The things Pope Francis was most concerned with as a priest and then Cardinal in Argentina. He had his brush with same sex marriage.He disagreed. Matters such as priests marrying, a woman becoming Pope, dealing with the pedophile problem, birth control, and other matters of a social nature do not appear to have been on his plate. Pope Francis is accustomed to caring for the poor. A Latin American and Third World country problem. A full plate in and of itself.

 

There is significance in the new Pope taking the name of Francis. He took unto himself the name of St. Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis was a wealthy person. He gave all his riches to the poor. He then spent the rest of his life caring for the poor.

 

I doubt that the new Pope will have time to delve into the social ails of the U.S. Catholic Church. When and if he does, it will be in the doctrinaire fashion described before. The word itself with no deviation.

 

Which means in the final analysis that U.S. problems will basically remain unsolved. Priests will continue to be prohibited from marrying, a woman may not become Pope, birth control will be as it has for the past sixty years, gays will be shunned.

 

I smile when these issues arise in the context of the Church. Priests initially were permitted to marry. Some early Popes had wives. It is man made law, not God's law, that prohibits marriage. Jesus respected women. His mother Mary is a prime example. He also was a close friend of the prostitute Mary Magdalen. Such has no present impact on the woman becoming Pope issue. Women continue to be second class citizens. Birth control is an issue that has strangled Catholic and non-Catholic society for years. The fight by those against birth control will go on. Leaving otherwise devout Catholic women in a quandary. The mockery of God's universal love will continue by not recognizing the love between two persons of the same sex.

 

New York's Cardinal Dolan in an interview following the new Pope's election said he doubted the social problems concerning U.S. Catholics would gain attention or be resolved. Things would continue as they have been. A status quo. No solutions.

 

My thoughts answer the question raised in the title to this article. Resolutions? Few, if any.

WHY DO PEOPLE HATE OBAMA?

Respect has taken a breather. It is no longer with us as it once was. There was a time if you disagreed with a police officer, a military person,  a priest or a political figure, you still gave the uniform and/or position the respect it was entitled to.

Today, many who disagree would rather spit on a person rather than attempt to reconcile differences.

President Obama has had a rough road since he first was elected. Respect for him is lacking. The office he holds is likewise disrespected.

It is my considered opinion that two reasons exist for the dislike.

The first has to do with color. Obama is half black. The first person of color elected to such high office. Probably not the last. Many people, especially middle aged white Americans, have a hatred for Obama that eats at them every day. Obama can do nothing correct. No one can be that bad!

This group of white Americans sense Obama is the first of his color to achieve such heights. He will not be the last. The whites are fearful of losing their perceived status as the big guys in American society. Underlining that thought, these same persons are equally fearful that the black man will remember his history in our country and get even. The philosophy being that what goes around, comes around.

The numbers regarding persons of color are staggering. This very day, there are more persons of color in the United States than whites. Those who dislike/hate Obama are aware of that. The color group includes blacks, Hispanics, Asians and whatever other persons of color there may be.

It is probable that the United States will elect another person of color President within the next 20-30 years. Colored America will be by that time the largest voting block.

There is another consideration. I suspect that in 50 years, there will be few people of color. As the colored population grows and the white diminishes, there will be intermarriage. Society will generally be tan.

Have I said a terrible thing? No. It is inevitable.

And that sticks in the craw of the hateful whites!

The other reason Obama is disliked and hated is corporate America. If Obama were white, they would still dislike and hate him. Corporate America wishes to control and dominate American society. Any Democrat President obstructs that desire. Corporate America is for themselves, the rich. That two per cent.

Corporate America will do anything to feather its own bed. They care not for the masses.

Obama's color and selfish corporate interests have eroded the respect that a President of the United States is entitled to. Any President.

I cannot understand. The change to color influence is inevitable. It is a wave that cannot be stopped. Corporate America cannot go on as it has. Record profits while farming out 80 per cent of jobs to foreign countries. The middle class will return. Respect for every one, also.

Republicans, haters and corporate America  beware. The train has left the station.

THE RESIGNATION OF POPE BENEDICT XVI

The Pope recently announced his resignation. It took effect on February 28, 2013. Benedict XVI is no longer Pope. The Catholic Church will be without a Papal leader for a few weeks till the body of Cardinals elect a new Pope.

 

There is push within the Catholic Church hierarchy for the Cardinals to meet sooner than proscribed in Canon law to elect a new Pope.

 

The abruptness of the Pope's announcement of his retirement and then the rush to elect a new Pope concern me. Why three weeks notice of Benedict's retirement? Why the move to amend Canon law to permit the election of an immediate replacement? Moreover, why Benedict's resignation in  the first place?

 

Popes do not retire. They reign till they die. They can be ill in bed and find it difficult to carry out their Papal duties. They nevertheless remain Pope.

 

The last time a Pope resigned was in the 1200s. However at that time, the Church had schism problems and was divided. Each group elected its own Pope. Two reigned at one time. Once the problems between the two factions were settled, one of the Popes had to resign. That is the background of the only Papal resignation prior to this time.

 

Something is amiss. There are things we do not know. Matters the Church is not sharing with us.

 

Lest anyone think I am picking on the Catholic Church, be aware of my Catholic background. I was an alter boy and choir boy. I attended Catholic grammar school, high school and college. I am a fallen away Catholic. My mental change began while I was a student in college. It does not mean I do not believe in God. It means I did not agree with certain decisions of the Church early on and have continued to disagree with others over the course of my life.

 

Today the Vatican is a place of intrigue, mismanagement, and scandal. Internal political wars are ongoing.

 

Is it one problem that has wrought the Pope's resignation? Or it is the culmination of many problems which suddenly have swirled out of control? Or is it nothing? Has the Pope determined he is old and a younger healthier mind is better to direct the Church?

 

I believe it is a culmination of problems with something new on the horizon which as yet is secret to those outside Church hierarchy.

 

The priest pedophile scandal is world wide. It has been for 30 some odd years. The Church buried the problem. Now it is seeing the light of day. Priests are being arrested, tried and sent to jail. Diocesan hierarchy are being charged and tried for participating in cover ups.

 

It has been claimed that the Church recently has been less than appropriate when discussing matters involving Jews and Muslims. To the point that both groups have been angered.

 

Last year the Pope's personal butler was arrested for stealing private Papal documents. He was tried and jailed. Thereafter the Pope visited him, forgave him, and assisted in his release. Why was the butler arrested in the first place? Why did the Papacy subject itself to scrutiny regarding the issue? Why didn't the church merely fire its employee and send him on his way? God's admonition is forgive and forget, turn the other cheek.

 

The Church has lost many members over the years. Fallen away Catholics. As I am. Church attendance in the United States is down by two thirds in the past 20 years. Italy is another example. Church attendance is down 90 per cent in the past 10 years. Both figures are attributed to the pedophile issue. The Church has made no effort to recapture its former members.

 

The Vatican bank has problems. It has been under a three year investigation for money laundering. Last year., Italian authorities confiscated a Vatican account containing $20 million.

 

Claims are constant that the Vatican has become a ship with out a rudder. Mismanagement prevails.

 

The Church historically found new members in the developing countries. It bolstered the Church to have among its flock these converts. The Church was alone is seeking to convert these persons. No more. Evangelical Pentecostal groups are competing in places where heretofore the Church was the only one.

 

The number of people not believing in God has increased dramatically the past 20 years. The Church has made no effort to recapture these persons to God.

 

There is the issue of gay priests. Homosexuality apparently is significant in priestly ranks. Last week there were news announcements to the effect that Vatican priests who were gay were being subjected to blackmail by persons outside the Vatican.

 

An oracle of wisdom I am not. I do not know what specifically motivated the Pope's retirement and the rush to elect a new Pope.But I do have a sense of when something is wrong. Whatever the problem(s), I hope they are revealed and corrected post haste. Get them out and deal with them. God's people of all people must be transparent. 

MINIMUM WAGE

The President in his State of the Union address suggested the minimum wage be raised to $9. The minimum wage is presently $7.25. The President asked that the new minimum wage be made in increments so the $9 figure would not be reached until 2015.

 

The next day the Republicans objected. Speaker Boehner said .....No way! It would raise salaries right down the line. Businesses would be forced to close.

 

What bull shit!

 

The facts and studies indicate a contrary result. Most economists agree Boehner is wrong. Dead wrong! Studies show only a minimal impact on a business where the minimum wage was raised. Not enough to put any emplyer out of business.

 

The need for an increase is obvious.The United States is now a country of the very rich and the working poor. The middle class is  basically gone. An adult working 40 hours a week at the present minimum wage of $7.25 earns approximately $15,000 per year. If the rate went ot $9 per hour, the salary would increase to approximately $18,000 per year.

 

Lets take that one worker and put him into a family of four. Father, mother, and two children. Husband and wife both work. Presently their combined gross salaries are $30,000. With the increase, it would go to $36,000. Both figures are below the poverty level. In other words, not enough for a family of four to live on.

 

I see the impact of a low hourly here in Key West. Most working persons in Key West are paid from $8.50 an hour to $12 per hour. Their gross earnings are in the $15,000 to $18,000 range. That is why four persons are required to join together to rent a two bedroom apartment to live in. Or a three bedroom house. They cannot afford to live alone. The rent and utilities need to be divided. Otherwise, they would sleep under the bridge with the other homeless.

 

I find it strange that those who must approve the increase to $9 earn much more. Our Congressmen are paid $174,000 a year. Plus free medical. The best medical policy available. The working poor have no medical insurance. They cannot afford it.

 

Lets examine some numbers.

 

In 1955, the minimum wage was $.75 per hour. In 2013, it is $7.25. An increase of $6.50 over 58 years. The minimum wage has increased $.12 an hour over each of the 58 years.

 

For shame!

 

Back in 1955 when the minimum wage was $.75, most corporate CEOs earned between $40,000 and $70,000 a year. Few, if any, made over $100,000. Today corporate CEOs have earning packages in the $10 million to $40 million dollar range. And they and their Congressmen would deny the working person a minimum wage of $9 per hour!

 

The rightousness and morality in all of this escapes me.

GREECE THE TINDERBOX?

Turmoil abounds in the world. Wars, civil wars,and genocide are examples. The Middle East especially is a hot bed of strife.

 

Many think that if a third world war were to begin, the Middle East would be the place.

 

Perhaps.

 

There is another locale which might cause such a war to erupt. Greece and Germany. The battle of the euros, the repayment of debt.

I mentioned this possibility during my visit to Greece this summer and have commented on it since on my TV/Internet show the Key West Lou Legal Hour. As recently as last Friday.

 

Permit me share my thoughts with you.

 

History repeats itself.

 

Germany has a history of initiating world conflicts. Germany started World War I. Germany started World War II. Why not World War III?

 

Germany may be the richest European nation. It is also the least liked. All over money. The Euro.

 

Germany has experienced great financial success the last 20 years. When the Euro and Euro bank came into being some ten years ago, Germany was in a terrific position. It was king pin. It had the most money.

 

Germany made huge loans to the other 16 nations comprising the Euro nation. Loans were made to other nations similar to the manner in which mortgage loans were made by U.S. banks to homeowners for mortgage purposes in the years leading up to 2008. No concern was taken for the ability of the borrower to pay back.

 

Greece owes Germany a ton of money. It cannot pay it back. The debt is onerous. Greek leaders try to meet the repayment plans. Taxes have had to be raised. Companies cannot pay their employees. Better than half the stores in Greece are closed. Beggars line the commercial streets of Athens. Fathers cannot feed their families.

 

Germany does not care. It has stood hard with regard to the repayment plans. Only minor adjustments have been made. The Greek government presses the people for more money to pay the Germans.

 

Germany is the banker. It is playing hard ass. The reason is simple. If Germany does not collect, it will suffer deep economic problems. In other words, Germany must be paid or the German economy ends up in the gutter.

 

Greece is not the only nation being squeezed. Italy, Spain and Portugal are in similar situations. Though not quite as bad as Greece's.

 

You will recall that I spent five weeks in Greece last summer. I saw first hand the pressure the Greek people were under at the time. I participated in two demonstrations in Athens. Thousands of people in the square in front of the legislative building. I was an observer, not a demonstrator. I walked among the people. They were ordinary every day folk. Most conservative appearing. All ages represented.

 

Merkel was at the time and still is Germany's Prime Minister. She is the boss. Every time her name was mentioned in a speech, Greek citizens, male and female alike, spit on the ground.

 

Merkel has her own problems. She runs for reelection next year. The opposition insists she is not doing enough to collect the debt, especially the Greek portion. So she presses even harder.

 

Which brings me to today. This moment in history and what is happening. None of it good.

 

Greece consists of many islands. My recollection tells me 800. It could be more. Travel amongst the islands is by ferry boat. The ferrys carry people and necessary supplies to the various islands. Very few islands have airports.

 

Last week, the seamen who operate the ferry boats went on strike. They struck for pay arrears, payments to their pension funds, against tax hikes, and various aspects of the government's austerity program. Notice they struck not for more. Rather to get even. To merely be paid what they were owed.

 

The seaman have more than six months back pay coming. They had worked without pay in anticipation of getting caught up at some point. Catching up never came. The pension plans had not been funded for more than one year. A simple truth is involved. If you do not get paid, you cannot eat. Nor can your family.

 

The Greek seamen were on strike 6 days. The strike basically shut down Greece. The government finally got a court order to the effect that the seamen return to work immediately or get fired. Hope continues to spring eternal. The seamen returned to work.

 

Workers from other occupations then struck. In support of their brother seamen who had been forced to return to work. The hotel workers, bus drivers, trolley workers, and railway workers announced an immediate four day strike. Out they went. It is called solidarity.

 

Farmers are getting killed economically. The cost of producing the farm goods exceeds greatly what fruits and vegetables can be sold for. Six months of working and tilling the soil returns pennies. The farmers are threatening to close down Greece's highways in protest.

 

The farmers decided better to give the food away to those who were in need. Free. Last week in Athens the farmers gave out free fruits and vegetables. It was  a mob scene. Chaotic. Everyone climbing on each other to get some food.

 

A news media outlet described it best. These people were not beggars.....they were victims of an economic crisis.....which came like a hurricane and leveled families.....the people have swallowed their pride and dignity.....they will do whatever they can for free food for their families.

 

It is a bad situation getting worse with each passing day.

 

Recall Germany in the 1920's and early 1930's. The German people were economically down trodden because of the onerous financial burdens imposed on them by the Allies after World War I. Such gave Hitler the ability to  gain popularity and favor and eventually take over the German government. Whenever people hurt, especially when a man and woman cannot feed their children, people will accept any one who promises a better way.

 

The seeds of a similar experience are breaking ground today in Greece. There has been the birth of a Greek Nazi Party. It is called the Golden Dawn Party. In the national elections last November, the Nazis garnered seven per cent of the vote. Now roughly three months later, it is believed that if an election were held today, the Golden Dawn Party would come in a strong third. Making the Nazi party a decided influence in Greek affairs.

 

The members of the Greek Nazi party are similar to those who supported Hitler. They are anti-Semitic. They believe Auschwitz was good. They sing praises to Auschwitz. The Nazis are also very anti-immigration. There is not enough for the Greeks. Why share with an outsider. The Nazis chant the slogan.....Speak Greek or die. Jewish and immigrant places of business are vandalized.

 

Sound familiar?

 

Things are obviously bad in Greece. It is difficult to see any good coming out of the present situation. A head on confrontation between Germany and Greece is possible. Perhaps probable. Whatever. My point is the Middle East is not the only tinderbox that could explode into a world war. Germany and Greece are in the running. Germany would then have the dubious honor of having started World War III.

 

NOTHING IS FOREVER

Laws become outdated and need to be changed. The  circumstances which gave rise to the law initially are no longer valid.

 

An example is China's one child rule.

 

In 1980, the Chinese government became concerned with over population. The country was growing. There was not enough of anything to keep up with the increased population. Simple things like food and shelter. Something had to be done. The Chinese government passed the one child rule.

 

The rule was simple. Only one child per family. The rule was strongly enforced in urban areas where space was at a premium. If a woman became pregnant with a second child, the law required she be aborted. No choice on the couple or woman's part. It was described as forced abortion.

 

The law permitted two children per couple in rural areas. Space amongst other things was more prevalent and farm areas raised their own crops for consumption.

 

The one child per family rule has been quite successful. It is estimated that four hundred million births have been averted since 1980.

In recent years, the every action has an equal and opposite reaction axiom has come into play. The Chinese government now needs an increased population. The only way such can be accomplished is by more births. The proposed new rule would permit two children per couple.

 

Why is the change being considered?

 

One reason is that the working population is decreasing rapidly. There is a definite shortage of workers. Ten million workers per year are dropping out of the work force due to age or other reasons. The ten million worker drop has been steady since 2007.

 

China needs an increased working population in order to survive. Economically and otherwise.

 

There is the problem of care for the aged. Chinese custom requires that children care for their parents in their old age. The children become the caretakers of the old. Unless something is done, there will not be a sufficient number of children to care for their parents. Stated another way, too many parents for one couple. Remember, if left at one child, the husband and wife will be caring for each other's parents at the same time. Four dependents relying on 2 people. It may not be workable.

 

Male babies have always been favored over female ones in China. If a woman determined she was carrying a female child, she could have an abortion. Get pregnant another time and it may be a male. The male over female favoritism has resulted in 118 boys being born to every 100 girls.

 

This translates into not enough females for marriage. Nor for sex. Both are becoming decided problems.

 

Chinese men who have been unsuccessful in securing a wife will often times go to a brothel for resolution of the problem. There are many brothels on the China side along the Vietnamese border. A Chinese man can get his sex at a brothel. He can also get a so called wife.

 

Pimps offer the prostitutes for sale. The brothels are considered sex markets. The man purchases a Vietnamese prostitute for a sizable sum of money. The transaction is split between the prostitute and her pimp on a 60-40 basis. The prostitute gets the 60 per cent.

 

The prostitutes do not marry the men. Though they live with them as wives. Many of the so called wives leave this arrangement after a while and return to the pimp. Then she is offered for sale again and gets her 60 per cent again. This can happen several times.

 

Some of the prostitutes have 2-3 such husbands at one time. They are referred to as rotary wives.

 

It all boils down to the following. The Chinese government needs workers for it burgeoning economy, the elderly need caretakers, and Chinese men need wives and sex. There is a moral component. The Chinese government frowns on prostitution.

 

The Chinese government is in the process of deciding whether the two child rule is feasible.

 

Decision time is probably this year. It is a toss up as to whether the new rule will be adopted. 

THREE SHADES OF FRAUD

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. The Shadow knows.

There is unquestionably a streak of evil in many. Evil manifests itself in degrees. Some evil being more serious than others.

One example is fraud. Fraud has many definitions. Generally, fraud can be defined as deceit perpetuated for profit or gain or to damage another. Deceit.....for profit or gain.

This article concerns itself with three examples.

In recent days, Subway has been in the news. Subway and its footlong sandwiches. Subway refers to them as the "Subway Footlong."

Subway's problem was discovered when an Australian teenager measured a Subway sandwich. It was only 11 inches long. He told people. The international news soon picked it up. People all over the world started measuring Subway sandwiches. All came up with the same result. Eleven inches, not 12.

An inch can be worth millions of dollars to a company such as Subway.

Instead of owning up and saying sorry, Subway appears to be stonewalling. A Subway representative issued a statement that the term footlong was was merely descriptive and not intended to describe length.

Tell me another story! How stupid!

Again, Subway should have immediately stepped up, said sorry and most importantly that the problem was being corrected. Then it should have followed up the mea culpa announcement with a further one offering some sort of bargain to its customers for a period of time.

It would not surprise me if this breach of trust costs Subway a reduction in sales for a while.

Lets move on to prisoners. Persons in jail. People like murders, thieves, child abusers, molesters and the like. Ingenuity recently evidenced itself within the jail population.

It was recently reported that persons in jail have been filing tax returns seeking refunds. Fraudulent returns. In some instances, false names were used. In others, another person's Social Security number. Initially, some inmates were successful in receiving refund checks.

For the taxable year 2011, 173,000 fraudulent tax returns were filed by those in jail. That was twice as many as had been filed in 2010. The word was spreading.

If any federal agency is diligent, it is the IRS. They caught on to the scheme. The IRS saved $2.5 billion in refunds by discovering the false returns filed in 2011.

The ingenuity of the bad guys who originally thought up the scheme is to be complimented. I would also make the observation that it is too bad their genius before and during jail was not exercised in a legitimate fashion. Honest men have been known to make money.

This article would be remiss if banks were not mentioned.

Montepaschi Bank is Italy's oldest bank. Strong in assets and character. Till recently.

Montepaschi is becoming the Lehman Brothers of Italy. Scandal has befallen the Bank.

The situation is different from Lehman Brothers and at the same time similar.

Three top level managers were involved with hedge funds and the like. They were investing Montepaschi monies in complex and complicated business dealings. To the detriment of the Bank, the Bank's shareholders, and soon perhaps its depositors.

The deals entered into lost the Bank $300 million in 2012 alone. Last week the Bank's shares dropped to $ .31 a share.

Montepaschi needs a bailout. It is seeking one from the Italian government. To the tune of $667 million. Apparently there is more involved than the $300 million 2012 loss.

The joke in all this is that the Italian government is broke. They are right behind Greece with a teetering economy. Germany is on Italy's ass to repay Eurobank loans. Thus far Italy has not been able to do so.

The cry is that Montepaschi is too old and too big to fail. Giants fell in the United States. Again, remember Lehman Brothers.

Deceit perpetrated for profit or gain. Seems to apply to Subway, the inmates, and Montepaschi.

Since the preparation of this article, the Bank's bailout request
has risen to $5.2 billion. The Bank's losses are now projected at $1
billion. A knowledgeable person said the problem has arisen because of
"...risky deals hidden from regulators."

It never ends.