One of many troubling events

Posted by on

Back in October Benito Mussolini’s granddaughter won the highest number of votes in elections for Rome’s city council. Rachele Mussolini, who won over 8,200 votes, belongs to the far-right party Brothers of Italy. (The Guardian 7 Oct 2021)

My comment: Extremists are popping up in greater numbers, but pose the most immediate danger in the US. Epicurus might not have liked politicians, but I am sure, we’re he alive today, he would advocate locking up the coup-lovers and racists in order that we all can enjoy true liberty. Fascism, in whatever country, is violent, cruel and corrupt and is the forerunner of national decay, if not violence and collapse.

Careless of lives or just plain stupid?

Posted by on

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced yet another challenge from within his own Conservative Party when Brexit Minister David Frost resigned effective immediately from Johnson’s cabinet Saturday. Frost, a member of the House of Lords, had planned to resign next month, but moved his timetable up to protest Johnson’s new COVID restrictions. Instead of implementing vaccine passports, Frost wrote in his resignation letter, the U.K. should “learn to live with COVID.” Earlier this week, 99 Conservative members of parliament voted against the passports in the largest defection of Johnson’s premiership. Frost urged Johnson not to be “tempted by the kind of coercive measures we have seen elsewhere.” [The Associated Press, BBC]

“………… learning to live with covid? Words fail me. I don’t know what these people learn or are told when they go to church, but since when has any religion advocated the selfish refusal to get vaccinated and to wear a mask? When I was a child I learned that christians should have compassion and care for those around them. One wonders what message nowadays comes from the pulpit. The rules laid down by most nations of the world, faced with omicron, simply reinforce the rather obvious – don’t endanger others, whereas “Look after yourself and to hell with everyone else” seems to be the latest message?

Vatican announces new restrictions on Latin Mass

Posted by on

A Vatican document released last Saturday imposed further restrictions on the pre-Vatican II liturgy, including a prohibition on listing Latin Masses in parish bulletins. A preference for the old Mass is often associated with political conservatism and with a lack of support for Pope Francis.

In his introduction to the document, Archbishop Arthur Roche, the head of the Vatican’s liturgy office, said clergy “must not lend ourselves to sterile polemics, capable only of creating division, in which the ritual itself is often exploited by ideological viewpoints.” Critics have accused the pope of punitively targeting small groups of devout, traditional Catholics while allowing modernist liturgical irregularities to run rampant. [National Catholic Reporter, Reuters]

My comment: In my humble opinion liturgy is unimportant compared with
personal behaviour. By this I include compassion, kindness, generosity, thoughtfulness, politeness, acceptance of diversity, patience, sense of humor; in fact, all the good characteristics of a person trying to live up to Epicurean ideals. There is no Epicurean “liturgy”; decent behaviour, respect and tolerance of the opinions of others are key.

(And, by the way, if I argued that Epicureans should speak ancient Greek when discussing Epicurus you would giggle hysterically. I have nothing against Latin; I scraped through a Latin exam to be accepted by my college many years ago. But speaking it every Sunday is, well, un- modern and faintly ridiculous. The Pope is right).

In the realm of the weird

Posted by on

Duck recorded speaking to human
Scientists have recorded the first known instance of a duck that has learned to mimic human speech. The duck in in Australia – called Ripper – said: “You bloody fool.” Parrots, songbirds and hummingbirds were thought to be the only birds thought to be able to mimic human speech, though several mammals such as whales, dolphins, seals, bats and elephants can also imitate sounds. (Washington Post 22 September 2021)

My comment: Amazing how some people spend their adult lives. Imagine being a scientist whose only acclaimed triumph is to record a duck speaking to him.
Questions arise, for instance, was alcohol involved?

Tax everyone fairly!

Posted by on

Not only do billionaires pay lower tax rates than working Americans, they also get to pick and choose when to pay taxes at all. Because they only pay taxes when they sell assets, if they don’t sell their assets, they don’t pay any taxes. That’s how many billionaires ended up with so little annual earnings that many actually had income low enough to qualify for stimulus checks last year (remember, the cutoff was $75,000 a year of income).

So next time the mega-rich whine about how they’re being unfairly persecuted, remember that all we’re asking them to do is pay taxes just like everyone else. This country values a dollar made off a rich investor’s money more than a dollar made off your sweat. We’re not targeting billionaires, we’re saying we want them to play by the same rules as the rest of the country. They’ve just gotten so used to special treatment that an equal playing field looks unfair. (The Patriotic Millionaires, 11 Nov 2021)

My comment: One law for the rich, another for the poor. One of the things that Epicureans have complained about for as long as there has been written history. Others applaud them as they buy legislation that suits their interests. This is not just; it is not acceptable.