Is the right dysfunctional?

That was the title for one of today's Mclaughlin Group discussions. I heard about it yesterday and was really interested in hearing what they had to say. I figured it would be good for a few chuckles. I was wrong. It was not as riveting as the title makes it sound. They did touch a good point: the right is getting into a slump, where they seem to be going into different directions without a common goal. You have the issue with the Bolton nomination, Bush's public support for him, questions in Congress, not to mention Powell's questions about the nomination, Delay's position on the Schiavo case disaster and other instances of the right digging in their heels regardless of public disapproval, i.e. Social Security Privatization. Tony Blankey from the Washington Times called it the "Second Term Slumps." No one agreed with him. The discussion was too general and fast passed for this subject. I would have liked to see something more in depth, though it did point to an outline of reasons. I figured that by this time they would have the video on their site and could give a better outline of this, but they don't. I will continue to check and update this post.

Now you know what I do with my Sundays, watch Meet the Press (which was boring this morning... analyzing the new Pope with a nun and priest who was the student of the new Pope and a pretty intelligent historian), Mcglauplin Group, Mcglauglin One on One, an afternoon of History of Jazz (great documentary by the way) a relaxing reading break and then back to PBS for a early night fix of Nature and Deep Jungle... I know, I have no life!

A New Pope

I saw the news before lunch: a new Pope. To be honest I am disappointed in the choice, but when I heard about the candidates, I did not expect any better. Still, I hoped that a more progressive Pope would be elected. Someone like the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodrigez Maradiaga or even Dionigi Tettamanzi. Here is a good general profile of all the candidates. Of course Ratzinger wins 2/3's of the vote. I am not sure how good that is, good because there is no question on majority and bad because he was the ultra conservative candidate. My reaction to him is pretty much the same reaction I have for Bush. Mainly because his doctrine track record and recent sermon bemoaning relativism and belief that the church holds the absolute truth. In other words, leading to more divisiveness. The perfect example being the pressure he exerted on priests in China not to preach acceptance of other faiths as a way of God... Issues such as poverty, AIDS, more rights for women in the church, homosexuality, and not to mention his actions to stomp down Liberation Theology. Personally, I believe the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is a step back by a few more decades... And we just went back a few more decades with the first election of Bush Jr. this past November...

Here are some good links to learn more about Liberation Theology:
Wickipedia has a decent general summary
Liberation Theology and Land Reform has a good historical background
Here is Ratzinger's position on Liberation Theology.