Uncategorized

‘Prisoner To Their Completely Shattered Theory’

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Lawyers for a once-powerful cardinal accused Vatican prosecutors of being “prisoner to their completely shattered theory” on Wednesday in the latest round of closing arguments of a trial that has raised fundamental questions about the rule of law in the city state. Despite attempts to demonize Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the two-year trial hasn’t proved any of the prosecutors’ allegations of embezzlement, abuse of office or witness tampering against him, said attorneys Maria Concetta Marzo and Fabio Viglione. “The cardinal is innocent,” they said in a ...

Strategies For Staying Connected During Move Overseas

Q: Our son is in the military. The past few years he’s been stationed close to us, so we’ve enjoyed seeing our grandchildren fairly often. But now their family is being rotated overseas for several years. How can we remain connected and engaged with our grandkids? Jim: Families often used to reside in the same community for generations, but not so much anymore. And of course, situations like the one you described have always been tough. Here are a few ideas for staying connected: First, make the most of technology. Over the past few years most of us have had at least some ...

A Black Friday Treasure Hunt

Today is the infamous Black Friday for 2023. It is alleged that on this day many businesses achieve profitability for the year as the Christmas season starts. Yet this year, just as the secular Christmas shopping season replaced Advent, it seems “Black Friday” began, with a multitude of sales, just after Halloween. What is this telling us? Perhaps one answer is found in the Gospel according to Luke (12:34) where Jesus tells his friends “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. It seems that as individuals and a nation, we essentially treasure things and ...

In Death, This Cancer Patient Helped To Erase Millions In Medical Debt

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer A New York City woman who died Nov. 12 from cancer has raised enough money to erase millions of dollars in medical debt with a posthumous plea for help. Casey McIntyre told followers in a social media message posted by her husband that she had arranged to buy the medical debt of others as a way of celebrating her life. McIntyre wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “if you’re reading this I have passed away.” “I loved each and every one of you with my whole heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I was loved,” the 38-year-old ...

A Supreme Dereliction of Duty

Punishment that causes durable impairments of the punished person’s brain surely violates the Constitution’s Eight Amendment proscription of “cruel and unusual punishments.” So, the Supreme Court’s three “liberal” justices rightly dissented against the six “conservative” justices’ decision not to hear a case concerning the all-too-common prison practice of protracted solitary confinement. Michael Johnson, imprisoned in Illinois’ Pontiac Correctional Center for home invasion and assault, was a mental wreck before prison policy made him more so. The state’s ...

A Solution to Debt? Cut Spending

Congress just passed — and President Biden just signed — the latest short-term government funding bill to keep the government running. The bill, which essentially kicks the can down the road, ensures that taxpayers will continue to pay for a bloated government until January, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “... avoiding a (government) shutdown is so very far from mission accomplished. We have a lot of work to do after the dust settles and before the next shutdown deadline comes up.” In the past, this fake scenario of a government shutdown ...