While the Elderly, Minorities, and the Imprisoned Die, A Push to "Re-Open" the Country by "Pro-Life" Christian Republicans

Reported US coronavirus deaths:

7 weeks ago: 0 deaths
6 weeks ago: 17 deaths
5 weeks ago: 49 deaths
4 weeks ago: 249 deaths
3 weeks ago: 1,588 deaths
2 weeks ago: 7,152 deaths
1 week ago: 18,758 deaths
Right now: 36,997 deaths

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) April 18, 2020

Cristina Cabrera, "Reported US Coronavirus Deaths Surge To Record 4,591 In A Single Day":

The U.S. saw a grim milestone this week: A record 4,591 patients in the U.S. with COVID-19 died in a 24-hour stretch ending at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the figure beats the previous record of 2,569 deaths. 

The sharp increase is likely because in New York City's probable coronavirus deaths are now being counted in the official tally. 

As of Friday morning, John Hopkins University reports that the death toll in the U.S. has reached 33,286, the highest mortality rate in the world.

Wisconsin as Worst Place to Be Black in US and Recent Voting Débacle: These Are Related, in a State Whose Citizens Are a Quarter Catholic

Take a cue from Wisconsin voters who stuck it out during a torrential rain & hail storm to make sure the Republican judge lost his seat. pic.twitter.com/Tu5jUwYWyt

— KD (@Fly_Sistah) April 14, 2020

For those seeking to understand the strange goings on recently in Wisconsin, where the US Supreme Court — to be precise, the bloc of right-wing Catholic men on the Supreme bench — forced Wisconsin voters to go out and vote during a lethal pandemic, rather than permitting them to cast votes by mail, a 2018 essay by S. Ani Mukherji's in Boston Review is necessary reading. It's entitled "The Worst Place to Black in the U.S. Is Wisconsin: Racism and the Wisconsin Idea." The essay is a review of Dan Kaufman's book The Fall of Wisconsin, which offers a rose-tinted version of a progressive Wisconsin dismantled by the Koch brothers who — this is an open secret — bought themselves a governor in Scott Walker, who turned the state into something of a Koch bros' paradise for Republicans and a nightmarish dystopia for everyone else.

Today's Guardian on Growing Backlash to Appeals to Cease Religious Gatherings, Fueled by Top GOP Leaders

Since it appears some people just do not intend to get what's going on with some communities of faith — churches, notably — in the US during the pandemic, and the serious dangers some behaviors are posing to all of us, I'm glad the media keep hammering away at the backlash movement to keep churches open where they are now open and hosting meetings, or to reopen them where they have been closed. This is a largely American phenomenon, and it speaks volumes about the kind of American Christianity, especially "pro-life" white Christianity, that placed Donald Trump in the White House.

Quote for Day: Right-Wing Evangelical Churches Want to Resist Closing Services — But Risk Killing Off Their Congregations

David Neiwert, "Evangelical churches run smack into coronavirus' lethal reality, but some continue to resist"

David Neiwert writes,

Evangelical churches with a right-wing, Christian-nationalist political bent really want nothing more than to resist government orders to cease holding services during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The main drawback is that there’s the possibility of killing off their congregations.

Two Mass Shootings in Texas in One Month: Who Owns Guns in the U.S? (Answer: White Republican Evangelical Men Above All)

Latest mass shooter in Texas from Odessa American

1/ Texas has just had two mass shootings in one month. In both, aggrieved white males who had easy access to guns went on rampages and killed multiple people. In light of this, we need to review — all over again — who owns guns in the U.S., where they're far too easy to access.

— 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞 𝔻. 𝕃𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤𝕖𝕪 🌈 (@wdlindsy) September 2, 2019

Thoughts and Prayers: The American Way of Evading Meaningful Action Through Resort to Meaningless "Religious" Nonsense

The first truckload of thoughts and prayers prepares to leave for Las Vegas. This should resolve our mass shooting problem. pic.twitter.com/dAUmAabStj

— Jim Beaver (@jumblejim) October 3, 2017

Claims of Persecution and Catholic Support for Trump: Need to Move Beyond Defensive Parochial Response to Engage Real Issues — Like White Catholic Racism

In a recent essay for Fortune, Matthew Schmalz, who teaches religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, suggests that Donald Trump resonates with some Catholic voters because "[t]here’s a sense among many non-college-educated, white, Catholic voters that they are doubly marginalized—by their economic status and by their religious identity." As Schmalz explains, though (white) Catholics have been assimilated in American society, many Catholics still carry "generational memories" of having been excluded from affluent mainstream Protestant-dominated culture in the U.S.

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: "Great That . . . a Hot Immigrant Model Can Come to This Country with Nothing But the Clothes on Her Back (and Occasionally Without Them) and Land a Sugar Daddy Bazillionaire"

Lovin' me some Catholic birdcage as yesterday's . . . well, there's not a polite term to name it, is there? . . . thing transpired in Cleveland, and as that thing is being dissected in some online Catholic discussion spaces: here's rockchalkwombat talking about the Cleveland thing at National Catholic Reporter this morning:

Race Matters: As White Supremacists Robocall Wisconsin, Discussion of "Hidden" GOP Racism Continues to Come Out into the Open with Trump Candidacy

As anyone with eyes open has seen for years now in the American political context, the Republican party has long used racial resentment cynically, as a tool to get white working-class voters to vote against their own economic self-interest. As anyone with eyes open has also seen, those working-class white voters have included an ample proportion of working-class white Catholics in the North who deny any racial motivation for their decision to abandon the Democratic party for the GOP, while strong evidence exists proving that this trend among white working-class Northern Catholics is, indeed, fed to a large extent by racial animosity.

Quote for Day: When Presidential Candidates Attend Rally at Which Calls to Exterminate Gays Are Made, Why Is This Not Major News?

Katherine Stewart in New York Times this past Monday:

Another Quote for Day: "But if the Tetleys Had Lived in Oklahoma, That Sentence [of a British Husband for Raping His Sleeping Wife Over 300 Times] May Have Been Considerably More Difficult to Obtain"

Another quote to share with you as the day goes on, from Samantha Allen at The Daily Beast site:

The Curious Saga of Josh Duggar, Anti-Gay "Family Values" Champion, Or, Aristotle Was Onto Something When He Said That Hubris Courts a Big Fall

Big news in my own state of Arkansas as this week ends, which has implications that reach far beyond the borders of the state, since this news involves a family with a national presence and following in the religious right and the Republican party: as In Touch Weekly reported several days ago (and here), anti-gay family-values religious-right superstar Josh Duggar, executive director of Family Research Council's FRC Action arm, was reported to the police in 2004 by his father for molesting underage girls. 

Quote for Day: Refusal of Republican States to Expand Medicaid One of Most Sordid Acts in Recent American History

Kevin Drum on the decision of Republican states to turn back billions of dollars that would have provided healthcare coverage to their poorest citizens:

His Eminence Chooses a New Spokeswoman, and National Catholic Reporter Chooses to Censor My Comments about This

For those who may not yet have seen this news: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced yesterday that His Eminence Timothy "Dirty Freddie" Dolan will have a new spokeswoman. David Gibson summarizes the story at National Catholic Reporter and Commonweal.

Hope in the Air as Christmas Arrives: Gun Control and Gay rights

Two signs of hope on Christmas eve:

Saving Monsignor Ryan: Frank Cocozzelli Announces Documentary

You wouldn't know this now, but there was a time when Catholics were known in American culture and politics for defending the rights of workers and the poor.  Catholics used to be known for their emphasis on communitarianism--on building just societies in which everyone was included, and, in particular, in which those shoved to the margins were drawn into social participation and allowed to use their talents to the fullest and lead fulfilling lives.

Politics, Pictures: 1,000 Words

I shouldn't say it.  But I will.  

Because I have to get it out my head.  And sometimes uttering thoughts exorcises them.

Republican-Appointed Judge in Nebraska Dismisses Lawsuits v. Affordable Care Act

Judge Warren Urbom

Nebraska is a solidly red state.  Only four counties voted Democratic in Nebraska in the 2008 presidential election.  And yet yesterday in Nebraska, Judge Warren Urbom, a federal judge appointed by none other than Richard Milhous Nixon, dismissed the suits of seven states, two Catholic individuals, and three Catholic non-profits seeking to block the birth-control coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act.

David Frum's "Conversion": Neocon Morality Tales and History's Judgment

Mark Oppenheimer's fascinating roadmap of the twists and turns neocon Wunderkind David Frum has taken in his talking-head career is well worth the read.  I find it valuable for the following reason (among others): it bluntly says what many similar reviews never say outright, as they survey the careers of other neocon young Turks who have now broken with the crazy show that the GOP has become.

Archbishop Lori Spins Religious Freedom Initiative as Non-Partisan: Reality-Based Catholics not Buying Spin

Archbishop William Lori, head of the GOP organizing committee Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Freedom of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, announced to the Catholic Press Association yesterday that the U.S. bishops are "not trying to throw the election" through their Catholic-GOP machine politics religious freedom campaign.  This two days before the GOP rallies "Stand Up for Religious Freedom" rallies the USCCB is sponsoring around the U.S. tomorrow.