...Oh...Nipples!

What a great discussion...and it's not on the Main Feed, why?

Last time I checked the discussion revolved around Pope Francis' remarks, not JPII's. If you think I'm dumping on Catholicism then you're not paying attention. Popes don't get stamped out of a cookie cutter and think, say or understand the way the world works in exactly the same way. So, you may want to stop the assertion that I'm "dumping on Catholicism" or all Catholics and quit with the grand generalizations. 

Actually, if one reads the text of the Pope's remarks he's doing a fabulous job of making the Church sound that it prefers socialism to free market capitalism all by himself.

But again,  Socialism has been a blight on humanity since Marx and Engels promoted it. It destroys human dignity, human initiative, and attempts to enslave the mind. It creates poverty on a wide scale. It has been responsible for more massive death on the planet than any other system. It is responsible for the current economic crisis throughout Europe. But not a Papal peep about it. I think it's worth asking the question, why. The Papacy could use its rhetorical powers to point out how evil socialism is. Instead it continues to focus on criticizing capitalism which is arguably one the greatest contributors to human dignity since the Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment - precisely because it encourages human potential.

Dear Pope Francis, This is a wonderful opportunity to drive a stake in the heart of socialism...seize it!

If you and others believe that capitalism can exist in, of, and only for itself then you don't understand capitalism. Free market capitalism, which the Pope criticizes is meant to exist within the bounds of law. But over-regulation, corrupt laws and corrupt politicians have the knack of destroying the intent, purpose and fair trade practices of free market capitalism. Governments coerce with the threat of imprisonment. Free market capitalists barter and trade without resorting to threats of death or harm. Free market capitalism when practiced without government distortion also provides an enormous measure of human dignity to its practitioners and most often even to those on the periphery of the greater market. 

Or to put it more bluntly...His Holiness doesn't know what the heck he's talking about and has the issue exactly wrong.

Not one word in the Pope's remarks about the inhumanity of socialism. Socialism isn't mentioned. Socialism and authoritarian control of markets by governments is not addressed as the real culprit for the financial crisis in Europe and elsewhere.

Perhaps prospects for the Papacy should be required to take courses in economics and capitalism before placing the blame on the plight of the poor at the doorstep of free-market capitalists. It's the tired old refrain that a free market capitalist is more concerned with the acquisition of obscene wealth or unnecessary luxury while trampling on the poor when it can be clearly shown that capitalism is responsible for creating unimagined wealth for countless millions around the globe for anyone willing to work and not be a drain on a nation's economy.

Pope Francis encourages governments to create policies that essentially share the wealth more efficiently which undermines the obligation of wage earners to act charitably on their own when government forces them act charitably through coerced taxation. Want fairness in taxation? Support a flat tax. Want to understand how to really help those who have less? Start a business and get rich and give people jobs.

Not one word in the Pope's remarks about the inhumanity of socialism. Socialism isn't mentioned. Socialism and authoritarian control of markets by governments is not addressed as the real culprit for the financial crisis in Europe and elsewhere.

Perhaps prospects for the Papacy should be required to take courses in economics and capitalism before placing the blame on the plight of the poor at the doorstep of free-market capitalists. It's the tired old refrain that a free market capitalist is more concerned with the acquisition of obscene wealth or unnecessary luxury while trampling on the poor when it can be clearly shown that capitalism is responsible for creating unimagined wealth for countless millions around the globe for anyone willing to work and not be a drain on a nation's economy.

Pope Francis encourages governments to create policies that essentially share the wealth more efficiently which undermines the obligation of wage earners to act charitably on their own when government forces them act charitably through coerced taxation. Want fairness in taxation? Support a flat tax. Want to understand how to really help those who have less? Start a business and get rich and give people jobs.

I agree that most reviews of wine, just as modern art, are excessive, snooty and often cryptic in their prose. But I will share this anecdote. Several years ago, a friend of mine was a bartender at an upscale restaurant in Beverly Hills (aren't they all). One evening they hosted a private party of wine enthusiasts who were encouraged to bring in their favorite reserve Cabernets and conduct a blind tasting. At the end of the evening about a dozen bottles were left, still half-filled with wine. My friend corked them up and brought them home to his fellow roommates. We decided to conduct our own blind tasting and added into the mix a bottle of Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon. As we went around the room and gathered comments, everyone easily picked out the Gallo Cabernet as having the distinct aroma of gasoline although none of us could really guess the Octane rating.

I was 19 at the time, driving in the hills around Saratoga, California with my girlfriend in the passenger seat. I suddenly had a very queasy feeling and turned to her and said, "Something's wrong." She replied, "What do you mean?" I said, "I don't think we should be on the road. Something's not right." A few minutes later I turned the car left onto another road that snaked through the hills, the car was headed down the grade in the direction of the town of Saratoga. In a few seconds two cars that were either racing one another or engaged in a fit of road rage were suddenly inches from my back bumper honking and try to pass around me on the curves. After several curves, I spotted a gravel turnout and slid my car into it stoping just at the edge of cliff. I was a bit rattled and asked my girlfriend if she was all right. She said, "Do you remember what you said a few minutes ago?"

Are the Ricochet shirts really that long? Long? Hmm...coincidence? I think not. 

Yo! Dude, well done. Fist pump.

Could be why he's predisposed to hug so many of them. 

It would be interesting to compare an old Jeopardy episode with Art Fleming to one with Alex Trebek. I'm pretty sure the games in the mid-60s through the 70s were much more difficult than they are today. 

Did I mention that I used to walk 25 miles to school in blizzards without a jacket or shoes and had to hunt critters along the way so I could have something for lunch? Everything today has gotten so much easier.

Aced it. Of course it's about as easy as Jeopardy nowadays. A bit concerned that the scores were so pitifully low for the gas that comprises most of the Earth's atmosphere. I wonder how Al Gore did on that one?