Of Popes, Presidents, and war casualties
Contrasting images from mid April: the Roman Catholic Pope visits the American President in Washington -- pomp, circumstance, celebrations of the Pope's birthday, all in full measure
White House photo by Eric Draper.
The Adminstration's version of all this available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/papal/ --which, understandably, downplays the small fact that the Pope is not going to the festive state dinner in honor of his visit and his birthday, preferring to meet with American bishops instead (and that's a late addition to his schedule--as of last week, he was not attending but had nothing else scheduled).
Meanwhile, the casualty rate for Americans has passed 4000 in Iraq, while the number of verified civilian deaths in Iraq has passed 90,000. Details at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/
That makes photos like this one, from a car bombing yesterday in Kerkouk, all too common.
Associated Press photo by Adem Hadei
And the sectarian violence continues--an Associated Press photo by Karim Kadim shows the result of street clashes this morning in Sadr City, Baghdad.
Daily reports of the violence in Iraq are posted by the McClatchy Newspapers at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/212/story/33879.html
The Pope's opposition to the Iraq war is well known. But he and the President apparently didn't get to that topic in their chat today; according to the White House press release, "During their meeting, the Holy Father and the President discussed a number of topics of common interest to the Holy See and the United States of America, including moral and religious considerations to which both parties are committed: the respect of the dignity of the human person; the defense and promotion of life, matrimony and the family; the education of future generations; human rights and religious freedom; sustainable development and the struggle against poverty and pandemics, especially in Africa."
That is, if one reads past the language: no abortion, no gay rights, no sex education, and safe topics like 'religious freedom' -- which for these leaders doesn't mean freedom from religion -- and continued battling poverty in Africa, but apparently not elsewhere. Like, for example, Washington, D.C., where last fall a report noted that employment rates for African American adults fell from 62 percent in the late '80s to 51 percent in 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102302230.html
And that was during the boom time that's now ended.
Meanwhile, the Iraq war is costing roughly 341 million dollars each day. (And full details of the war's costs at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home)
What's wrong with our nation's priorities, as set by the Administration and funded by the Congress, as is clear now without regard to which political party is in the majority?
White House photo by Eric Draper.
The Adminstration's version of all this available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/papal/ --which, understandably, downplays the small fact that the Pope is not going to the festive state dinner in honor of his visit and his birthday, preferring to meet with American bishops instead (and that's a late addition to his schedule--as of last week, he was not attending but had nothing else scheduled).
Meanwhile, the casualty rate for Americans has passed 4000 in Iraq, while the number of verified civilian deaths in Iraq has passed 90,000. Details at http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/
That makes photos like this one, from a car bombing yesterday in Kerkouk, all too common.
Associated Press photo by Adem Hadei
And the sectarian violence continues--an Associated Press photo by Karim Kadim shows the result of street clashes this morning in Sadr City, Baghdad.
Daily reports of the violence in Iraq are posted by the McClatchy Newspapers at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/212/story/33879.html
The Pope's opposition to the Iraq war is well known. But he and the President apparently didn't get to that topic in their chat today; according to the White House press release, "During their meeting, the Holy Father and the President discussed a number of topics of common interest to the Holy See and the United States of America, including moral and religious considerations to which both parties are committed: the respect of the dignity of the human person; the defense and promotion of life, matrimony and the family; the education of future generations; human rights and religious freedom; sustainable development and the struggle against poverty and pandemics, especially in Africa."
That is, if one reads past the language: no abortion, no gay rights, no sex education, and safe topics like 'religious freedom' -- which for these leaders doesn't mean freedom from religion -- and continued battling poverty in Africa, but apparently not elsewhere. Like, for example, Washington, D.C., where last fall a report noted that employment rates for African American adults fell from 62 percent in the late '80s to 51 percent in 2006. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102302230.html
And that was during the boom time that's now ended.
Meanwhile, the Iraq war is costing roughly 341 million dollars each day. (And full details of the war's costs at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home)
What's wrong with our nation's priorities, as set by the Administration and funded by the Congress, as is clear now without regard to which political party is in the majority?
Labels: Bush, Iraq War costs, Pope
posted by aim | 10:15 PM
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