Paul Ryan vs. Pope Francis

I am a HUGE fan of Pope Francis. I grew up in an Irish Catholic household where we all had our First Communion and did CCD every Saturday morning. Whilst I haven't identified as Catholic in years for many reasons, Pope Francis has given me a renewed hope in the direction the church is heading. His messages on feeding the poor, helping the sick and homeless, and rejecting rampant capitalism are exactly what the world needs to hear right now. His message is resounding with millions and millions of people across the world. But of course, you can't always please everyone. Enter conservative American Catholics or followers of "corporate Catholicism." Notably jackass congressman and Wisconsin's number two most embarrassing citizen, Paul Ryan. Mr. Ryan had a few choice words for Pope Francis.

"The guy is from Argentina, they haven’t had real capitalism in Argentina, they have crony capitalism in Argentina. They don’t have a true free enterprise system." -Paul Ryan

First of all, his isn't referred to as just "the guy from Argentina." That's just incredibly disrespectful (but what else would you except from Paul Ryan?) And second of all, the fact that he saw poverty all the TIME in Argentina proves he has A LOT of ground to stand on when discussing the truly evils of capitalism. Ryan can't see the own poverty in his district from his white picket fence, let alone understand it in a foreign nation. And yes, I know, Ryan DID volunteer at a soup kitchen last year in a ditch effort to ebb a little bit of the sinking ship that was his presidential ticket with Mittens Romney, but no one bought it, so I don't think that really counts.

Paul Ryan and his conservative Catholic cohorts in congress despise the Pope because of his anti-poverty message. Ryan supported over a million Americans no longer receiving unemployment benefits. He's told America he isn't interested in helping the poor or sick both verbally and legislatively. This week, he was the main player in eliminating unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who counted on it as their only source of income. He hates the Affordable Care Act, which has been key in countless Americans being able to pay for insurance for the first time in months and years, and for some, for the first time ever. He supports cutting programs that feed and house children, all while telling women they can't have birth control or abortions. He scoffs at the idea that maybe, JUST MAYBE, it's up the the government to help protect and care for those citizens who are most vulnerable. I highly doubt however, he thought of that as he was trying to get rid of social security and throw it into the hands of the "free enterprise system" he loves so much. And he certainly doesn't think about it when he writes and supports legislation that keeps veterans homeless and hungry. I truly believe there are two main players when it comes to poverty. First, there's the poverty itself. The other half are the people who are keeping poverty alive and well, like Paul Ryan.

You know America is heading down a dark hole of fiscal oppression when we have a person who is actually LIVING like Jesus Christ did, not just talking about doing as He did, and Republicans have a big issue with it. This just proves that everything the GOP stands for is exactly what is wrong with America. What I really find the most ironic about this entire American conservatives VS. the Pope issue, is that the right wing claims to be the most Godly. Talk is cheap. Yet God's worldly rep actually does as Christ did and Rush Limbaugh labels him a Marxist (clearly not understanding Marxist teachings on religion.) Right now we actually have a religious figure tackling issues that ARE important. The Popes teachings could lead to poverty coming to eradication. Families around the world are counting on it. All we need to do is lend him our ears and our hearts, and reject message of disdain coming from Paul Ryan and his teabagger circus in congress.

Two Americas

David Simon, the creator of The Wire, recently gave an impromptu speech:  

The idea that the market will solve such things as environmental concerns, as our racial divides, as our class distinctions, our problems with educating and incorporating one generation of workers into the economy after the other when that economy is changing; the idea that the market is going to heed all of the human concerns and still maximise profit is juvenile. It's a juvenile notion and it's still being argued in my country passionately and we're going down the tubes. And it terrifies me because I'm astonished at how comfortable we are in absolving ourselves of what is basically a moral choice. Are we all in this together or are we all not?