The Vatican's Dirty Bank

It seems to be getting worse for the Vatican. The new Pope Francis says he is seeking to reform the influential Vatican Bank. There have no long been allegations that the Vatican Bank has been laundering money for criminal organizations like the Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian NDrangheta. Now it is alleged that Catholic clergymen are actively involved with organized crime. You would think that the Catholic Church's dirty record, of mass murder and torture, and widespread pedophilia, now racketeering they would at least clean up their own act before interfering in the public business.

Last Week's Elections

Last week's show some sign of optimism, maybe. Chris Christie was re-elected governor of New Jersey, which isn't all that great, except that Christie is now considered a "moderate" in the GOP. Compared with the likes of Ted Cruz, he sort of sounds like that. Christie originally came to office as a Tea Party blow-hard( and he's still a blow hard) except that when Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey, Christie had to admit that there was a use for the Federal Government after all. That didn't sit to well with hardcore Tea Partiers.

Of greater interest is Terry McCauliffe's victory in Virginia. It seems that Old Dominion voters weren't to happy with the GOPer shut down. Also, Ken Cuccinelli, the extremist GOPer candidate offended a lot of women voters. McCauliffe's victory provides clues to how the Democratic party put together a winning electoral coalition. Question is whether they will do so.

What's Wrong With the White Guys?

I hate to put it in those terms but after Paul Ciancia, a self described "patriot," went on a shooting rampage last Friday at Los Angeles International, you've got to wonder. There's this long list of angry white guys, from Timothy McVeigh to Ciancia, who are committing their own form of individualist fascism; terrorist attacks supposedly against "the government," but in realist against democracy itself. There's the problem of allowing mentally unstable people to have easy access to guns and ammunition. Maybe that's the real reason. Personally, I have no problem with White people, however you define them.