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Josh Hawley loves to tout his Missouri hometown. Residents split over loving him back
LEXINGTON, Mo. — From the front windows of his Lexington, Missouri, home — a historic brick building where in 1861 Confederate sympathizer Maj. Gen. Sterling Price planned a rout of Union troops — Greg Hildreth can see the bone-white Lafayette County Courthouse and its grassy square. "That's where Josh Hawley filmed a campaign speech. He was talking about his hometown of Lexington," said Hildreth, who, until five years ago, identified as a lifelong Republican. "I've told everybody, I wish I had known then what I know now, I would have hung a big Nazi banner or something off of my building" in ...
The Kansas City Star
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Mary Schmich: A Catholic pastor speaks out about Trump. Some parishioners walk out
On the Sunday morning after the deadly riot at the United States Capitol, Father William Corcoran put on his black suit and clerical collar and stepped into St. Elizabeth Seton church in the Chicago suburb of Orland Hills to celebrate the 7:30 a.m. Mass. When it was time for the homily, he stood in front of the “celebrant’s chair” on the altar and removed his mask so that he could be clearly heard. He looked out at the 140 or so masked parishioners who sat in the sanctuary, which was still ornamented for Christmas. He had a feeling this might not go well. At the 5 p.m. Mass the day before, nin...
Chicago Tribune
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Martin Schram: When the Oval Office was between its masters
It happens only on the rarest of occasions. But there have been moments when the Oval Office is truly between its masters. And I have been there, standing alone in the Oval Office doorway, on two occasions – precisely at noon, on two of those few quadrennial Inauguration Days when the United States has been peacefully transferring the power of the presidency from one political party to another. It was an assignment I gave myself, back on January 20th of 1977 and 1981. Because, back in that more innocent era, I wanted to witness just whatever there was that could be seen or felt when the Oval O...
Tribune News Service
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Martin Schram: GOP hid truth from terrorist 'true believers'
Joe Biden is standing in front of his official blue backdrop Thursday, framed by those white lettered reminders that he’s in his “Office of the President-Elect” – right where he constitutionally belongs. “Out of all the peril of this moment, I want you to know … I remain so optimistic about America, as optimistic as I’ve ever been,” Biden is saying. “… Come Wednesday, we begin a new chapter …” But as much as we want to be reassured by Biden’s words, we cannot stop thinking about what we know – and he knows – is mainly on our minds: At noon Wednesday, Biden will be taking the inaugural oath in ...
Tribune News Service
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Bible podcast tops downloads in virus-hit US
New York (AFP) - A Catholic priest's podcast about the Bible was topping downloads Thursday in the United States, filling a niche for the faithful as the pandemic restricts in-person mass. The voice of "The Bible in a Year" -- which has been downloaded over four million times in a matter of weeks -- is charismatic priest Mike Schmitz. The podcast, which is to include 365 daily episodes, features him reading and discussing the Good Book. "The Bible in a Year" topped US downloads within 48 hours of going live January 1, according to a spokeswoman for Ascension, the Catholic publishing and educa...
AFP
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No procession, but Filipinos turn out in droves for Black Nazarene
Hundreds of thousands of devotees turned out in Manila on Saturday to hear Mass honouring a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ in place of the Philippines' largest religious procession, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Black Nazarene is a wooden statue of Jesus Christ crowned with thorns and bearing a cross. Devotees believe the statue grants prayers and wishes to the faithful. The annual procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila is usually attended by millions. This year, 15 Masses were held throughout the day instead, until late into the evening. Devotees generally...
DPA
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Martin Schram: Safeguard us all, GOP – shift Trump's powers to Pence
Rev up Barry Goldwater’s car. Put Mitch McConnell in 1974 Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott’s seat. Put Kevin McCarthy in 1974 House Minority Leader John Rhodes’ seat. And put in Goldwater’s seat, any of today’s famous Republican senators you can trust to remain patriotic and true-to-his/her-word for a full 24 hours. (Sadly, John McCain would tell you, this rules out his pal, Lindsey Graham). Then put pedal to metal and drive today’s three Republican elders on the same route those 1974 GOP elders rode back on Aug. 7, 1974 – when they made their famous short drive to the Nixon White House. In 1...
Tribune News Service
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Martin Schram: Was Trump’s most moving speech too inciting?
We stared for hours at our news screens Wednesday afternoon, unable to look away, but unwilling to actually believe what we were seeing. Yet, in one sense, it was a sight we’d been seeing for ages – wild insurgents, some with guns, running over a weak excuse for police. But it was always happening in faraway third world countries. And we knew it couldn’t be happening here. Could it? But there it was, all over our news screens – happening this time beneath that iconic white dome that Abraham Lincoln had made sure would be constructed and completed despite the Civil War. Because Americans needed...
Tribune News Service
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Seattle archbishop is stonewalling push for more transparency of church sex-abuse cases, group contends
SEATTLE — Their ranks include ex-federal prosecutors, a retired judge, a one-time assistant police chief, even a former priest. But a group of prominent Catholics say they still can’t get an audience with Seattle’s new archbishop in their push to address the fallout of a lingering scandal. Members of Heal Our Church, a Seattle-based alliance of practicing Catholics who seek a public review of how the Roman Catholic Church’s worldwide sexual abuse scandal secretly festered within the parishes of Western Washington, contend they’re being stonewalled by Archbishop Paul Etienne. Since requesting a...
The Seattle Times
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The US asylum system is broken. How could it be reimagined?
SAN DIEGO — The U.S. asylum system is often cited as part of a noble legacy tied to the message on the Statue of Liberty, offering freedom to the "huddled masses." But the truth is much more complicated and decidedly less noble. Over its 40-year history, the U.S. asylum system has never meted out refuge evenly or in the full spirit behind its creation. As The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported over the last year in an in-depth investigation, disparities, capriciousness and bias plague the system, subjecting asylum-seekers to excruciating waits and making it difficult to predict the outcome o...
The San Diego Union-Tribune
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