by Primo Encarnación y Hachecristo

There are a lot of things I agree with Pope Francis on. There are a lot of things I disagree with Pope Francis on. This was not always so. As a child, in Catholic school, I accepted the Catholic version of reality with unquestioning loyalty and faith. That lasted until I found out that there was more to that thing down there than just peeing. Suddenly, the Pope (Paul VI, at the time) and I had a parting of the ways.

The rift has only grown over time.

That rift has narrowed of late, not because underlying Catholic dogma has suddenly been rewritten, but because the emphasis of the Church has shifted. Francis has decided to lead by example instead of by fiat, himself following the example of the Gospels instead of the generations of misogynistic power mongers who have turned the red meat of Jesus’ message into pre-cooked kosher hotdogmas, suitable for re-heating in the pulpit every Sunday.

Feeding the poor, caring for the sick, nurturing our planet – none of these are new concepts. They never went away, they just got drowned out by the power-politics of sexuality. By that same token, the institutionalized misogyny and the outlandish concept that “spilling the seed” is a mortal sin, rather than a really fun, non-prescription relaxant, have not gone away. They’re still there, just – how shall I put it? – in the closet?

Which brings us to Kim Davis. Oh, BOY! Do the Pope and I disagree on this one. On the surface it would seem that this comes down to a classic case of Church/State dichotomy, and that the two positions are irreconcilable. An open, pluralistic society rooted in the concept of basic universal human rights will inevitably come into conflict with any religion hell-bent on being hell-bent. Or does it?

Let’s play in Kim’s ballpark: I am put in mind of the fable where Jesus, is asked about paying taxes. He asks to see the coin used to pay the tax, and demands to know whose image and inscription appear on the coin. On being informed that they are Caesar’s, he avoids the trap being set for him by saying “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s but render unto God that which is God’s.”

This is the Christological answer to the Kim Davis dilemma. Davis, for just about ALL of her adult life, has taken Caesar’s coin, first as a deputy to her mother’s multi-decade reign as clerk, then as clerk in her own right, where each and every year she collects $80,000 worth of Caesar’s coins, some of which she duly renders back to Caesar. But there is something else which Caesar owns, which by Jesus’ own words should be rendered: her job. Her job is not God’s. Her job belongs to the State. By taking Caesar’s coin and not doing the job Caesar expects in return, she is stealing Caesar’s money.

Now we come to the part of the discussion that Jesuits like Francis love: the lesser of two (well, three) evils. Not everything is black and white, and this issue, in fact, is about 50 shades of gay. Which, my friends, is the greater evil? To steal Caesar’s money holding a job – which apparently she considers to be a family sinecure – that she has no intention of doing to Caesar’s liking? Or to do the job she was hired to do and hand out civil marriage licenses to people her private religion tells her should not be married and, in fact, should be murdered, instead? Or to QUIT the job over a matter of principle, keeping what little-remaining virtue she possesses intact?

Jesus has an answer for that, too: “If thy eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it away.” If you can’t in good conscience do your job, then quit your job. No one is expected to stay in a job which endangers their soul. By that same token, Jesus makes it quite clear in these two passages that he doesn’t expect you to bend others’ circumstances to suit your own needs, but rather – however painful it may be – to bend yourself.

I suggest Kim Davis get bent.

Welcome to Texas.

A new poll released Thursday by the Texas Lyceum found Trump is leading the primary contest among registered Texas voters with 21 percent. Following in second place in Texas is Cruz with 16 percent of respondents in the poll. But if Trump were to drop out of the race before the March primary, the poll found almost 40 percent of his Texas supporters would support Cruz. Twenty-four percent of Trump’s supporters would head for former neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s camp, and the rest of his support would be divided up amongst the vast Republican field.

So, that means Texas Republicans pick the wildbutt crazy guy, the guy nobody likes or respects, or the completely insane guy, in that order.

As our friend John says, considering how well they gather nuts year round, the symbol for the Texas Republican party should be the squirrel.

That was Rick Perry’s problem all along. He was dumb instead of totally insane. Well, he is a little crazy but just not crazy enough.

Please allow me to introduce Wisconsin Republican Representative Glenn Grothman, a man who cannot understand why we even need Planned Parenthood.

“As a guy, I could go to many clinics locally that have all the machines that one would need,” Grothmann said. “All these clinics, as far as I know, take Medicaid dollars, so you could go to any of those clinics to get any medical service you could.”

He said poor women might not even notice if Congress cut funding and the health care organization went out of business.

I gotta show ya a picture of this guy.

That is the whitest rich guy in Wisconsin.  That guy is so white that they calibrate laundry detergent against him.  He glows in the damn dark. There is snow darker than that.

He has a net worth estimated to be $1,580,000. A rich white guy can go anywhere and get medical care, you damn fool.

Grothman is 60 years old, has never been married and does not have any children. He don’t need no damn Planned Parenthood so you shouldn’t either.

Grothman once claimed that modern women were choosing to have children out of wedlock and “we should educate women that this is a mistake.” First of all, isn’t that exactly what Planned Parenthood does, educate woman? Second of all, if there is not a law preventing a single white male with no children from telling women when, where, and how they should have a baby, there should be, dammit.

Additionally, this dope thinks all poor women are on Medicaid. If they live in Texas, they sure aren’t. And, women without health insurance but who don’t qualify for Medicaid need health services.

Boy howdy, he really hates women.

I am certain that the feeling is mutual.

Thanks to Elizabeth for the heads up.

Just for fun, Republicans still hate, have, triple hate Obamacare.

The House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday advanced legislation that would repeal several major ObamaCare provisions through the fast-track process known as reconciliation.

“We’re going to pass a bill that can dismantle ObamaCare and reach the president’s desk,” said House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). “We’re going to repeal the five worst parts of the law: two mandates, two taxes and one board of bureaucrats.”

Okay, I was trying to find a definitive answer to how many times have Republicans tried to repeal Obamacare.  The correct up to date number is hidden so well that a certified psychic couldn’t find it with a Magic 8 Ball and a Ouija Board.

Last February it was 56.  But, that was last February.  Since then we lost the chalk that we use to make the little marks on the tally board.

And y’all remember Paul Ryan, the vice presidential candidate who was only slightly smarter than Sarah Palin.  He’s gonna give it a shot.

Thanks to Ralph for the heads up.

Jud McMillian, the Speaker of the House in Indiana and, of course, a Republican, has been caught winkie texting.  To his friends. Obviously by accident.  Or maybe not.

He claims it happened when he lost control of his phone for 24 hours while in Canada.  Uh, yes, he lost control, but it’s not the first time.

McMillin played a key role in a recent overhaul of the state’s criminal code and led an unsuccessful effort to drug test welfare recipients. He was also one of more than two dozen co-sponsors of the state’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

I’m finding it hard to understand why Indiana Republicans did not see this coming.  There’s a recent sparkin’ story that happened while he was a prosecutor that will curl your hair.  Only click this link if you want to hear about some kinky stuff this guy does while preaching against marriage equality.

But he’s not just a stinker in the zipper department.

An Indianapolis Star investigation in 2013 also found that McMillin and other government officials in southeastern Indiana supported grants for companies to which they had close family or financial ties. In McMillin’s case, he advocated for a $600,000 grant for a project involving Destination Brookville, a company he started and later ceded to his mother and family friends.

His official statement says that he’s resigning to “focus on his family.”  He might want to make sure they haven’t changed the lock on the front door.

Thanks to Brian for the heads up.

Wisconsin, really, Wisconsin.

A 21 year old woman came to the emergency room with a gunshot to her hip.  Her boyfriend brought her.

They said it was an accidental shooting and they didn’t want anyone to call the police.

Hazelton told police she found the gun at around 4 a.m. in an armrest compartment of the couch. She took the gun out of the holster and began playing with it.

While handling the gun, she said, it just “went off.”

Sounds like a good story, especially since her blood/alcohol level was double drunk at 0.115.  I’m just amazed that she could remember where she found the gun.