FireUpChips10

FireUpChips10's Journal

July 31, 2013

Summers as Fed chair? It looks like a no-go

This should go a long way toward dissuading White House advisers that President Obama should nominate Larry Summers to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

“Given the level of opposition to Larry Summers within our caucus, confirming him would be a huge challenge and probably a pretty ugly process,” a Senate Democratic leadership aide tells TPM.

For the past week or so, news reports have caused Fed watchers and progressives to conclude that Summers had become the leading contender to replace Ben Bernanke, surpassing Fed vice chair Janet Yellen, who had been the odds-on favorite for months.

This concern was bolstered by a public relations push by Summers allies, though the White House’s official position is that Obama has made no decision, a decision was never imminent, and won’t be coming until the fall.

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/07/senate-dem-leadership-summers-fed-confirmation-fight-would-be-ugly-perhaps-impossible.php

July 30, 2013

How Christianity Became Cool Again

Hallelujah! 2013 may be the year that it became cool again to be a Christian.

Given the last several decades of political domination of Christianity by a coalition that described themselves as 'the religious right', it is hard to remember that there was a time in the 20th century when Christians were cool and spoke with a powerful, prophetic voice to the major issues of our day.

...

Well, 2013 may be the year that changes.

This week has been a particularly cool Christian week. To start with the amazing Pope Francis took advantage of his time in Rio for World Youth Day to make sure he visited the nearby favela (slum), a prison, and a drug addict center. While there, he continued his habit of speaking about the poor and inequality in a powerful, focused way that no world leader of any kind has for a long time:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/christianity-pope-francis-gays_b_3671060.html

July 29, 2013

Pope on gays: "Who am I to judge?"

Pope Francis reached out an olive branch to the gay community Monday, saying that he won't "judge" gay priests.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" the pope said.

The pope's predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, authored a document that said men with homosexual orientations should not be priests. Francis is softening that position, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven.

The pope was speaking to reporters on an overnight flight as he returned to Rome from a week-long trip to Brazil. The Wall Street Journal reported that Francis discussed the issue after a reporter asked about a report in an Italian magazine purporting that a Vatican monsignor named Battista Ricca engaged in gay sexual relationships years ago while living in Latin America.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/29/pope-gay-priests/2595255/

July 29, 2013

Korean TV station mocks KTVU with fake American pilot names after Southwest landing

You probably remember KTVU’s royal eff up with reading obviously fake Asian names for the pilots of the Asiana crash. Names like “Wi To Lo” and “Ho Lee Fuk”.

It looks like a Korean news agency is having some fun at KTVU’s expense. After the landing gear failure of the Southwest flight at LGA they showed this graphic with American pilot names “Captain Kent Parker Wright”, “Co-Captain Wyatt Wooden Workman”.

They even went as far as making up fake names for people to interview. Flight instructor “Heywood U. Flye-Moore” and skeptical passenger “Macy Lawyers”.

Well played Korean TV, well played.

http://slothed.com/2013/07/23/korean-news-station-pokes-fun-at-ktvu-with-fake-american-pilot-names-after-southwest-airlines-landing-gear-failure/

July 28, 2013

Avlon: Pope Francis’s Lessons for the GOP

Pope Benedict always seemed to be the Dick Cheney of pontiffs. The longtime Vatican insider and master of papal politicking was beloved by conservative theologians for reaffirming strict doctrine and famously arguing that a smaller church of more devout believers would be more desirable than what might be called a “big tent.”

In contrast, Pope Francis is the ultimate outsider, the first South American pontiff in centuries, reflecting and embracing the demographic changes transforming the Catholic Church. He is an unapologetic believer in building a big tent, telling bishops in Rio, “We cannot keep ourselves shut up in parishes, in our communities, when so many people are waiting for the Gospel. … Let us courageously look to pastoral needs, beginning on the periphery, with those who are farthest away, with those who do not usually go to church.” This is a pope who remembers what so many self-styled conservatives often forget: that the essence of evangelism is winning new converts.

...

But what does any of this have to do with the Grand Old Party? Much of the modern Republican Party is seems content preaching to a smaller and smaller choir. They seem, unfairly or not, more concerned with the head than the heart. Absolute faith in the power of tax cuts takes the place of alternative plans to alleviate poverty or expand the ranks of the middle class. This is not just a problem with communication; it is a problem with policy content that appeals outside the base.

Efforts to connect with young voters or the Hispanic community are fought by self-styled conservatives instead of embraced. And the overwhelming emphasis on opposition rather than proposition leads to a negative perception that has driven public approval of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to record lows. A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that “just 22 percent of Americans “believe the GOP is interested in unifying the country in a bipartisan way, versus 45 percent who say the same about Obama.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/28/pope-francis-s-lessons-for-the-gop.html

July 24, 2013

Woman sentenced to five Christmases in jail

A former employee of the deputy registrar’s office in Gahanna will spend her next five Christmas holidays in jail for issuing state ID cards and driver’s licenses to immigrants who entered the country illegally.

Betina Young, 44, of Bancroft Street in the Linden area, pleaded guilty in May in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to five counts of tampering with records.

Young accepted payments from license applicants to falsify records showing that they presented the necessary documentation to verify immigration status, Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Bond said.

Judge Michael J. Holbrook placed Young on probation yesterday for five years and ordered that she spend a minimum of three days in jail each Christmas while on probation. The exact number of days will be determined in consultation with the probation department. He also imposed a $3,000 fine.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/07/22/BMV-scam-sentence-5-Christmases.html

July 24, 2013

Ohio choir honored with lots of butter

This year’s butter sculpture at the Ohio State Fair pays tribute to the All-Ohio State Fair Youth Choir and the man who founded it, Glenville Thomas.

The sculpture was unveiled at noon at the newly renovated Dairy Building at the fairgrounds. The 2013 version of the traditional butter cow also was introduced to the public.

One block of butter is carved to depict choir members, another block is of a pianist, and a third is of Thomas.

The choir was founded 50 years ago, and alumni have been invited to attend the fair to honor Thomas, who died in 1991. The alumni reunion on Aug. 2 and 3 will include concerts in his honor.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/07/23/state-fair-butter-sculpture.html

July 24, 2013

Some conservatives don't seem too happy that Francis isn't a culture warrior

Pope Francis has created an incredible amount of enthusiasm during his young papacy. His persistent focus on the poor and vulnerable is helping to reshape the image of the Church. Many who had drifted away from the Church have turned their gaze back to it. Even atheists are writing articles expressing their fondness for Francis. And many of us in the pews are even more excited.

This enthusiasm has seemingly created a unique period of unity within the American church, which has often been heavily fractured. The only outward displays of discontent seemed to be coming from the ‘trads’, traditional Catholics who strongly dislike Francis’ penchant for the simple rather than the baroque. Yet the change in emphasis (if not doctrine) initiated by Francis was bound to ruffle some feathers.

And now it seems as though the whispers on the Catholic Right are starting to grow. The critiques have begun to escape the privacy of intimate conservations and circulate more widely. And now Archbishop Charles Chaput has confirmed that the right-wing of the Church generally has “not been really happy about his election.”

Opponents of abortion and euthanasia have an ally in Pope Francis. But those who want to wage a culture war do not. Francis rejects the confrontational, caustic approach favored by many right-wing Catholic culture warriors. It was inevitable that many would turn against him for inadequate ardor in defense of their causes.

http://millennialjournal.com/2013/07/23/is-the-catholic-right-turning-against-pope-francis/

July 22, 2013

Woman takes horse to McDonald's, gets denied at drive-thru

A woman has been fined for taking her horse into a McDonald's restaurant in Greater Manchester.

Police said the woman, who has not been named, was in the saddle when she was initially turned away from the drive-through kiosk on Bury New Road.

The woman then led the animal inside, where it "ended up doing his business on the floor", a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) spokesman said.

McDonald's said it was unable to serve customers on horseback.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-23403935

July 22, 2013

Couple wounded in Aurora shooting marries on anniversary

Two people injured in the theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., one year ago marked the anniversary Saturday afternoon by getting married.

Eugene Han and Kirstin Davis said they wanted to turn July 20 into a celebration.

Friends who also survived the shooting took part in the ceremony at Village East Baptist Church in Aurora as senior pastor Robert McClendon gave a prayer for the couple and for those still grieving.

McClendon said the time is "both happy and sacred."

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/national_world&id=9179902

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