They want paralysis
2 minutes ago
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Hey Frist, Keep Letting the Wingnuts set your agenda...
...it's only good for the Democrats.
That's what polling leaked to the Associated Press seems to indicate. The "nuclear option" is a public relations fiasco:
That's what polling leaked to the Associated Press seems to indicate. The "nuclear option" is a public relations fiasco:
Private Republican polling shows scant support for a plan to stop minority Democrats from blocking judicial nominees, officials said Thursday, as two of President Bush's most controversial appointments advanced toward a possible Senate confrontation.This is what happens when you let James Dobson and the Family Research Council set the agenda. That whole Schiavo debate worked so well for the GOP, too. All the polls then showed very strong public opposition to the intervention of Bush and Congress. The impact is still being felt:
These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a recent survey taken for Senate Republicans showed 37 percent support for the GOP plan to deny Democrats the ability to filibuster judicial nominees, while 51 percent oppose.
Additionally, the survey indicated only about 20 percent of Americans believe the Republican statement that Bush is the first president in history whose court appointees have been subjected to a filibuster, a tactic in which opponents can prevent a vote unless supporters gain 60 votes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, noting the survey data has not been made public.
Republican strategists concede their efforts to swing public opinion behind their move suffered in the wake of congressional intervention in the case of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman in Florida who was being kept alive with a feeding tube.The GOP is so beholden to the extreme right wing, they are stuck with them. Let's just hope that Frist and Santorum keep the radical right in the driver's seat. Read More......
Colin Powell has concerns about Bolton as UN ambassador
Colin Powell develops a spine.
From the NYT:
From the NYT:
President Bush issued a strong new defense today of John R. Bolton, his nominee as ambassador to the United Nations, even as associates of Colin L. Powell, the former secretary of state, said that Mr. Powell had expressed reservations about Mr. Bolton in conversations with at least two wavering Republican senators.Read More......
The associates said that in private telephone conversations Mr. Powell had made clear his concerns with Mr. Bolton on several fronts, including his harsh treatment of subordinates. The associates said that Mr. Powell had also praised Mr. Bolton's performance on some matters during his tenure as undersecretary of state, but they also said that Mr. Powell had stopped well short of the endorsements offered by President Bush and by Mr. Powell's own successor as secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice.
John Bolton: UN ambassador, gay-basher, stalker?
Just when you thought John Bolton, Bush's choice for UN ambassador, couldn't get any creepier. Now there are charges that he tried to destroy the reputation of a whistleblower by spreading rumors to her coworkers that she was lesbian, and that he literally stalked this woman in a hotel, beating on her door and chasing her down hallways. Uh, excuse me, but is that behavior even legal, let alone worthy of a UN ambassador?
Here's an excerpt of the letter the woman wrote to the US Senate:
Here's an excerpt of the letter the woman wrote to the US Senate:
Dear Sir:Read it all at Daily Kos. It's bad. Read More......
I'm writing to urge you to consider blocking in committee the nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the UN.
In the late summer of 1994, I worked as the subcontracted leader of a US AID project in Kyrgyzstan....
After months of incompetence, poor contract performance, inadequate in-country funding, and a general lack of interest or support in our work from the prime contractor, I was forced to make US AID officials aware of the prime contractor's poor performance....
Within hours of sending a letter to US AID officials outlining my concerns, I met John Bolton, whom the prime contractor hired as legal counsel to represent them to US AID....
Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel -- throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and, generally, behaving like a madman. For nearly two weeks, while I awaited fresh direction from my company and from US AID, John Bolton hounded me in such an appalling way that I eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed there. Mr. Bolton, of course, then routinely visited me there to pound on the door and shout threats.
When US AID asked me to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in advance of assuming leadership of a project in Kazakstan, I returned to my project to find that John Bolton had proceeded me by two days. Why? To meet with every other AID team leader as well as US foreign-service officials in Bishkek, claiming that I was under investigation for misuse of funds and likely was facing jail time. As US AID can confirm, nothing was further from the truth.
He indicated to key employees of or contractors to State that, based on his discussions with investigatory officials, I was headed for federal prison and, if they refused to cooperate with either him or the prime contractor's replacement team leader, they, too, would find themselves the subjects of federal investigation. As a further aside, he made unconscionable comments about my weight, my wardrobe and, with a couple of team leaders, my sexuality, hinting that I was a lesbian (for the record, I'm not).
When I resurfaced in Kyrgyzstan, I learned that he had done such a convincing job of smearing me that it took me weeks -- with the direct intervention of US AID officials -- to limit the damage.
Experts solve mystery of unpopped popcorn
Consider this is a breather after a bad 24 hours. Kind of like liquor, but newsier.
Read More......
Open thread
Man, this Microsoft story is growing, at least judging by my emails and the press calls. Good. Serves them right.
Read More......
Big gay rights bill loses in Washington State by one vote - Where was Microsoft?
The gay rights bill I reported on last night just lost in the Washington state Senate minutes ago by a 24-25 vote, i.e., by one vote.
All the Republicans voted against the bill, and at least one Democrat. Apparently the forces of good did win a procedural vote to force the bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor, but then it was killed by the 24-25 vote. As an interesting aside, if you can call it that, one of the moderate Republicans voting against the bill was the guy representing Redmond, Microsoft's district.
And speaking of Microsoft, haven't heard a lot from them today, have we.
I'm hearing rumblings that Microsoft is now claiming the story in The Stranger is "wrong." That's the story that exposed last night that Microsoft refused to endorse the bill this time around, even though they had previously endorsed it, and that Microsoft's non-endorsement came on the heels of a boycott threat from a single anti-gay radical right preacher.
So what exactly isn't true about the story? You mean Microsoft DID support this year's gay rights bill? Well, not according to all the top sources I talked to in Washington state over the past 24 hours. According to them, people have known for weeks that Microsoft caved. And if the story were wrong, and Microsoft did support the legislation, then why didn't Microsoft speak out today to correct this "error"? And why didn't Microsoft call The Stranger back before the story went to print, in order to give their side and correct the "error" before it went to press? (They refused to call back.) Why, indeed.
It's hard to reach any other conclusion than that Microsoft just screwed us. The bill lost by one vote, and it's hard to imagine that Microsoft, run by the richest man in the world, couldn't have had some influence on which way that one vote swung, especially when Microsoft's own member of the Senate is a moderate R and voted the wrong way.
Microsoft has been a champion of gay rights for years. But by the admission of their own staff, as quoted in The Stranger, they've decided to reevaluate how much they get involved in these kind of political debates, and clearly their reevaluation has told them to get LESS involved, not MORE.
Microsoft, for whatever reason, has decided it's time to pull back from its previous decade long (if not more) support for civil rights in general, and the civil rights of gays and lesbians in specific. That's not only sad and infuriating, it's also incredibly ominous. It means the culture wars have taken their toll on the richest man in the world, and one of the biggest companies in America. It means that Microsoft may very well go soft on it's pro-gay advocacy in other states and at the national level. And finally, it means that other companies may now follow Microsoft's lead and jilt the gays as well.
Hell, if the richest man in the world thinks helping the homos is bad business, who's to argue?
What we may have just witnessed over the past 24 hours is the beginning of a business backlash against gays and our civil rights as Americans. The attacks started years ago from the religious right, worked its way into the US presidency and the Congress, and then down into the states. And now, America's top corporations - businesses who we counted as our friends - are offering us up for slaughter.
Shame on Microsoft. It had the chance to stand up and show the country that you can do well by doing good. But instead it sat by and shut up while our civil rights went down in flames. And yes, Microsoft was great on gay rights issues in the past. But that's all the more reason to be confused and troubled by their actions today, and all the more reason to be concerned, very concerned, that this is a sign of more betrayals to come from Microsoft, and those businesses who now choose to follow the prejudiced precedent that Microsoft just set.
It's one thing to watch a right-wing company take pot shots at you. It's quite another to watch a longtime friend stab you in the back. That's not something you recover from, ever.
PS I just heard a new joke today:
Q: How do you spell "Microsoft"?
A: C-o-o-r-s Read More......
All the Republicans voted against the bill, and at least one Democrat. Apparently the forces of good did win a procedural vote to force the bill out of committee and onto the Senate floor, but then it was killed by the 24-25 vote. As an interesting aside, if you can call it that, one of the moderate Republicans voting against the bill was the guy representing Redmond, Microsoft's district.
And speaking of Microsoft, haven't heard a lot from them today, have we.
I'm hearing rumblings that Microsoft is now claiming the story in The Stranger is "wrong." That's the story that exposed last night that Microsoft refused to endorse the bill this time around, even though they had previously endorsed it, and that Microsoft's non-endorsement came on the heels of a boycott threat from a single anti-gay radical right preacher.
So what exactly isn't true about the story? You mean Microsoft DID support this year's gay rights bill? Well, not according to all the top sources I talked to in Washington state over the past 24 hours. According to them, people have known for weeks that Microsoft caved. And if the story were wrong, and Microsoft did support the legislation, then why didn't Microsoft speak out today to correct this "error"? And why didn't Microsoft call The Stranger back before the story went to print, in order to give their side and correct the "error" before it went to press? (They refused to call back.) Why, indeed.
It's hard to reach any other conclusion than that Microsoft just screwed us. The bill lost by one vote, and it's hard to imagine that Microsoft, run by the richest man in the world, couldn't have had some influence on which way that one vote swung, especially when Microsoft's own member of the Senate is a moderate R and voted the wrong way.
Microsoft has been a champion of gay rights for years. But by the admission of their own staff, as quoted in The Stranger, they've decided to reevaluate how much they get involved in these kind of political debates, and clearly their reevaluation has told them to get LESS involved, not MORE.
Microsoft, for whatever reason, has decided it's time to pull back from its previous decade long (if not more) support for civil rights in general, and the civil rights of gays and lesbians in specific. That's not only sad and infuriating, it's also incredibly ominous. It means the culture wars have taken their toll on the richest man in the world, and one of the biggest companies in America. It means that Microsoft may very well go soft on it's pro-gay advocacy in other states and at the national level. And finally, it means that other companies may now follow Microsoft's lead and jilt the gays as well.
Hell, if the richest man in the world thinks helping the homos is bad business, who's to argue?
What we may have just witnessed over the past 24 hours is the beginning of a business backlash against gays and our civil rights as Americans. The attacks started years ago from the religious right, worked its way into the US presidency and the Congress, and then down into the states. And now, America's top corporations - businesses who we counted as our friends - are offering us up for slaughter.
Shame on Microsoft. It had the chance to stand up and show the country that you can do well by doing good. But instead it sat by and shut up while our civil rights went down in flames. And yes, Microsoft was great on gay rights issues in the past. But that's all the more reason to be confused and troubled by their actions today, and all the more reason to be concerned, very concerned, that this is a sign of more betrayals to come from Microsoft, and those businesses who now choose to follow the prejudiced precedent that Microsoft just set.
It's one thing to watch a right-wing company take pot shots at you. It's quite another to watch a longtime friend stab you in the back. That's not something you recover from, ever.
PS I just heard a new joke today:
Q: How do you spell "Microsoft"?
A: C-o-o-r-s Read More......
Is it safe to be gay in America anymore?
I have a really sick feeling again. It's the same way I felt after the election. It really doesn't feel safe to be gay in America.
The radical right wingers have a bloodlust to enact their agenda. The GOP believes gay-bashing is a winning strategy. The Democrats are cowering over the gay issues. Sam Brownback told D.C. not to give us any rights. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to have it both ways too. He appealed the gay marriage decision.
Microsoft has abandoned gays in Washington State.
Okay, we did win in Connecticut. Kudos to the folks up there. Mike Lawlor and Andrew McDonald did a super job, but even there, they had to insert language precluding gay marriage.
It just doesn't feel safe to be gay. We have a new Pope who spent years refining his gay bashing. He says we have disorders. And the Catholic hierarchy here in America goes right along with it. Read More......
The radical right wingers have a bloodlust to enact their agenda. The GOP believes gay-bashing is a winning strategy. The Democrats are cowering over the gay issues. Sam Brownback told D.C. not to give us any rights. Mayor Bloomberg is trying to have it both ways too. He appealed the gay marriage decision.
Microsoft has abandoned gays in Washington State.
Okay, we did win in Connecticut. Kudos to the folks up there. Mike Lawlor and Andrew McDonald did a super job, but even there, they had to insert language precluding gay marriage.
It just doesn't feel safe to be gay. We have a new Pope who spent years refining his gay bashing. He says we have disorders. And the Catholic hierarchy here in America goes right along with it. Read More......
Dear Microsoft, you messed with the wrong faggots
Dear Microsoft,Read More......
You messed with the wrong faggots.
You thought you were avoiding a religious right boycott by suddenly going anti-gay. And you may have thought "hell, the evangelicals boycott us, the gays boycott us - we've got to choose one, and the evangelicals are in power, so let's screw the gays."
But here's something you didn't count on. You messed with the wrong faggots.
We have no intent of launching a boycott. Boycotts are hard to enforce, especially when dealing with a monopoly. And in any case, we're smarter than that. We're the country's top lobbyists, and grassroots activists, and lawyers, and politicos, and bloggers working in both Washingtons (state and DC).
When we fuck back, we don't launch boycotts. When we fuck back, we go for the jugular.
Changing the subject, we understand congratulations is in order. You're planning a 2.2 million square foot expansion of the Microsoft campus in Redmond over the next ten to twenty years. The expansion, we hear, would allow you to hire 10,000 to 20,000 new employees.
Well bully for you. You must be quite excited about that.
We also hear that you're going to need a lot of help - a LOT of help - from the state legislature and the Redmond city council to actually make that expansion work, for highway and road improvements and the like, and that not everybody is real happy about it.
Well, wouldn't it be funny if some really smart faggots decided to use their political expertise to kill any possibility of you getting the legislation and city council approval you need to make that expansion happen? And wouldn't it be even funnier if those same faggots went to your competitors and asked them to finance the entire campaign to kill your expansion?
It'd be pretty hard to hire those extra employees without your expansion, wouldn't it? I'm not saying anyone is going to do that to you. I'm just saying it would be really funny.
Best of luck to you with the legislative session over the next 24 hours.
Yours truly,
One of the faggots you just screwed
TAKE ACTION: 24 Hours to STOP Microsoft's anti-gay bigotry
UPDATE: The full newspaper story explaining what Microsoft did is now online here.
Folks, as I'd told you last night, Microsoft has withdrawn its support for a sweeping gay rights bill in Washington state after a single religious right anti-gay activist complained. The bill has one day - ONE DAY - left for possible passage, then it's dead. The vote is close, very close - and Microsoft's decision, I'm told by folks in the state, could be the death knell of this bill.
I've explained much more in my post below.
PLEASE contact Microsoft today and let them know you're made as hell. They have 24 hours to save this legislation or they are toast. And remember, this isn't just about this bill. Microsoft has supported gay rights for over ten years now, they've gotten senior management who are openly gay, and now, all of a sudden, they've decided to rethink just how pro-gay they should be (read my post below, it's chilling what Microsoft had to say about all of this). If we lose Microsoft, we could lose lots and lots and lots of other major corporations that follow their lead.
I for one have had it with the backlash. It's not longer PC to be pro-gay in America, and enough is enough. It's time to take back our country. Tell Microsoft it has 24 hours to use its massive influence to save that bill, or Microsoft had better buy a lot of advertising in the Baptist Press, because those are the only customers they're going to have left.
Here's the Take Action info from my other post, but do read the other post if you want all the background:
********** TAKE ACTION **********
1. Call Microsoft's director of Government Relations, Jack Krumholtz, at tel. 202-263-5900 and tell him:
- You know about Microsoft secretly pulling its support for the Washington state gay rights bill, and you're not happy about Microsoft kissing up to anti-gay bigots.
- You demand that Microsoft IMMEDIATELY and PUBLICLY endorse the gay rights bill in Washington state, and demand that Microsoft publicly repudiate its new policy of backing-off of support for the civil rights of gays and lesbians and other Americans.
- Tell him that if the Washington state gay rights bill dies on Friday, Microsoft's reputation goes down with it.
2. Contact these other contacts for Microsoft and its public relations reps and tell them the same thing:
- Jim Desler,
Microsoft US
425-703-6061
jdesler@microsoft.com
- Dirk Delmartino,
Microsoft Europe
+32 (0)2 550 06 21
dirkdelm@microsoft.com
- The firm handling public policy for Microsoft in DC:
The Glover Park Group
Washington, DC
202-337-0808
- The firm handling Microsoft's "rapid response" to questions:
Waggener Edstrom Rapid Response Team
rrt@wagged.com
503-443-7070
- Media Relations for Microsoft
Global Communications & Television
(212) 339-9920
mediarelations@gctv.com
- Microsoft Investor Relations
Curt Anderson
(425) 706-3703
- Walt McGraw, Edelman, (206) 223-1606, walt.mcgraw@edelman.com
- Shon Damron, Edelman, (323) 857-9100, shon.damron@edelman.com
- Carlos de Leon,tel. 425-703-3824, or carlosde@microsoft.com
- Katie Goldberg, tel. 206-268-2244, or katie.goldberg@edelman.com
2. Demand that Microsoft return the award it received from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. We don't give corporate bigots awards, and we don't expect them to keep such awards under false pretenses. If Microsoft has now rethunk its position on defending civil rights, then give back the damn award:
Per Microsoft's own Web site:
Folks, as I'd told you last night, Microsoft has withdrawn its support for a sweeping gay rights bill in Washington state after a single religious right anti-gay activist complained. The bill has one day - ONE DAY - left for possible passage, then it's dead. The vote is close, very close - and Microsoft's decision, I'm told by folks in the state, could be the death knell of this bill.
I've explained much more in my post below.
PLEASE contact Microsoft today and let them know you're made as hell. They have 24 hours to save this legislation or they are toast. And remember, this isn't just about this bill. Microsoft has supported gay rights for over ten years now, they've gotten senior management who are openly gay, and now, all of a sudden, they've decided to rethink just how pro-gay they should be (read my post below, it's chilling what Microsoft had to say about all of this). If we lose Microsoft, we could lose lots and lots and lots of other major corporations that follow their lead.
I for one have had it with the backlash. It's not longer PC to be pro-gay in America, and enough is enough. It's time to take back our country. Tell Microsoft it has 24 hours to use its massive influence to save that bill, or Microsoft had better buy a lot of advertising in the Baptist Press, because those are the only customers they're going to have left.
Here's the Take Action info from my other post, but do read the other post if you want all the background:
********** TAKE ACTION **********
1. Call Microsoft's director of Government Relations, Jack Krumholtz, at tel. 202-263-5900 and tell him:
- You know about Microsoft secretly pulling its support for the Washington state gay rights bill, and you're not happy about Microsoft kissing up to anti-gay bigots.
- You demand that Microsoft IMMEDIATELY and PUBLICLY endorse the gay rights bill in Washington state, and demand that Microsoft publicly repudiate its new policy of backing-off of support for the civil rights of gays and lesbians and other Americans.
- Tell him that if the Washington state gay rights bill dies on Friday, Microsoft's reputation goes down with it.
2. Contact these other contacts for Microsoft and its public relations reps and tell them the same thing:
- Jim Desler,
Microsoft US
425-703-6061
jdesler@microsoft.com
- Dirk Delmartino,
Microsoft Europe
+32 (0)2 550 06 21
dirkdelm@microsoft.com
- The firm handling public policy for Microsoft in DC:
The Glover Park Group
Washington, DC
202-337-0808
- The firm handling Microsoft's "rapid response" to questions:
Waggener Edstrom Rapid Response Team
rrt@wagged.com
503-443-7070
- Media Relations for Microsoft
Global Communications & Television
(212) 339-9920
mediarelations@gctv.com
- Microsoft Investor Relations
Curt Anderson
(425) 706-3703
- Walt McGraw, Edelman, (206) 223-1606, walt.mcgraw@edelman.com
- Shon Damron, Edelman, (323) 857-9100, shon.damron@edelman.com
- Carlos de Leon,tel. 425-703-3824, or carlosde@microsoft.com
- Katie Goldberg, tel. 206-268-2244, or katie.goldberg@edelman.com
2. Demand that Microsoft return the award it received from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center. We don't give corporate bigots awards, and we don't expect them to keep such awards under false pretenses. If Microsoft has now rethunk its position on defending civil rights, then give back the damn award:
Per Microsoft's own Web site:
Microsoft has been honored for its pioneering work on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community with the annual Corporate Vision Award of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.Yeah, I don't think so. Read More......
FireFox is having issues with blogger, fyi
The FireFox browser is having problems with blogger.com blog addresses, fyi. For my blog, for instance, if you use FireFox, make sure you type in Americablog.com or .org, and do NOT use the blogspot address. That should fix it. In the meantime, FireFox has been notified - this has been happening to other blogs too.
Read More......
Greenspan delivers another shocker
The deficits are bad and will cause problems if they're not corrected. Whew! I don't think that just anyone off of the street could deliver such words of wisdom. What are we going to do when he's no longer part of the team?
Read More......
This DeLay thing gets more and more interesting...
Lots of DeLay-related news today. This whole ugly mess is entangling more and more major players.
NY Times has a piece on all the major funders to his private foundation:
Oh, what a tangled web we weave..... Read More......
NY Times has a piece on all the major funders to his private foundation:
A children's charity established by Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, has been underwritten by several of the nation's largest companies and their executives, including companies that routinely lobby lawmakers on issues before Congress, according to a review of charity records released by the companies and other documents.According to the Times, the list of donors is a who's who of major corporations and billionaires:
AT&T;, the Corrections Corporation of America, Exxon Mobil, Limited Brands and the Southern Company, as well as Bill and Melinda Gates, the Microsoft founder and his wife, and Michael Dell of Dell computers.The growing DeLay/Abramoff scandal is now further entangling some of the other big GOP players, including Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, who've been subpeonaed by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, chaired by John McCain. Raw Story has the details. Apparently, Grover's group, Americans for Tax Reform, won't turn over documents to the Hill. Ralph, the little cherub, is running for Lieutenant Governor in Georgia.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave..... Read More......
It's the Economy Again, Stupid....
The Washington Post nailed the current economic situation and how it's being dealt with politically....basically, it's not:
The Democrats have to drape this economy around the necks of every single Republican. It's the GOP's economy. They have to pay the price for it. Read More......
Inflation and interest rates are rising, stock values have plunged, a tank of gas induces sticker shock, and for nearly a year, wages have failed to keep up with the cost of living.That sums up it pretty well. The Bush economic agenda, if there is one, is to destroy Social Security. That's it.
Yet in Washington, the political class has been consumed with the death of a brain-damaged woman in Florida, the ethics of the House majority leader, and the fate of the Senate filibuster.
The Democrats have to drape this economy around the necks of every single Republican. It's the GOP's economy. They have to pay the price for it. Read More......
David Horsey cartoon on Bush nominees
Maybe just a slight exaggeration, but not too far off.
Read More......
Gorby rips on US over nukes
Funny how some people just don't like the old "do as I say, not as I do" routine. Nukes are OK for us but not for others? It's OK for us to invade a country but not others?
Read More......
Vatican II: Prague Spring or False Dawn?
I'm finally ready to post again after the shock of hearing Cardinal Ratzinger named the new Pope. Now I have to decide if the Catholic Church still embodies the promise of Vatican II. Was the mid Sixties a Prague Spring in the Church -- a period of openness that has inspired a backlash but will ultimately prevail? Or was it a false dawn, portending nothing but a respite on the road to fundamentalism? I know what answer Ratzinger would give -- and was ever anyone in the Church given such a foreboding, Dickensian name as he?
Read More......
Ratzinger's Spiritual Mentor Dined With, Praised Hitler
Yes, more information from the well-travelled territory of Pope Benedict XVI/Ratzinger's childhood during the war. This time, the Independent UK goes to his hometown and quotes a number of people quite hard on the teenage Ratzinger.
Yet, in Traunstein, some of the town's older residents feel that questions about the Pope's early years remain unanswered. Herta Kaiser, an 83-year-old pensioner recalled that several people in the town hid Jews from the Nazis and helped them to escape to neutral Switzerland. "Traunstein was not all Nazi, it was also a Catholic stronghold," she said.
There is no evidence that the Ratzinger family felt inclined to help the town's few remaining Jews, or the smattering of anti-Nazi resistance fighters who dared to oppose the regime.
Elizabeth Lohner, 84, whose brother-in-law was sent to Dachau concentration camp for being a conscientious objector, recalled: "It was possible to resist and those people set an example for others." She added: "The Ratzingers were young and made different choices."
In 1937, another Traunstein family hid a local anti-Nazi resistance fighter, named Hans Braxenthaler. He had been tortured in Dachau for his opposition to the regime. Frieda Meyer, 82, one of the Ratzinger family's neighbours at the time, said: "When Braxenthaler was betrayed and the Nazis came for him, he shot himself rather than give himself up."
And here's info I haven't read before about Ratzinger's mentor:
Ratzinger's election will also raise questions about the dubious role played by the Catholic Church during the Nazi era. The extent to which leading Catholics felt obliged to reach compromises with the regime is outlined by the stance taken by Ratzinger's mentor, Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber, one of the Pope's most important early influences.
Documented evidence shows that the cardinal visited Hitler's mountain retreat during the 1930s and was entertained to lunch by the Führer in person. During their meeting, Von Faulhaber is on record as telling Hitler that the Church saw him as an "authority chosen by God, to whom we owe respect".
Some mentor. As fallible human beings, I'm sure we can all empathize with the desire to not be harmed. Heck, this is how Naziism and the Holocaust flourished: the price of resisting seemed too high for too many people. But without being flippant or too judgmental, it's hardly crazy to expect a future Pope to do BETTER than most people, to rise above their fears and risk it all for what was so clearly the moral choice. 17 is hardly too young an age for that.
But this doesn't interest me. What DOES interest me is the Pope's attitude towards this painful and indeed shameful past. (It may be understandable, it is certainly defensible, but it is unquestionably a source of pain -- as opposed to the people who bravely resisted and paid the price.) In every quote from his memoir or statements about this time, Pope Benedict XVI explains and defends and rationalizes. I haven't seen any quotes about how this past must pain and sadden him. I'm CERTAIN there must be some at least pro forma statements to that effect. If anyone has an English language version of the memoir or can link to quotes from reputable media where the Pope talks about this defining episode and how it's shaped his worldview, I'd love to see it.
Read More......
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