STILL REACTING TO RATZINGER
Looking at first responses to Pope Ratzinger, I still haven’t formulated my reaction except a quaint old-fashioned prejudice against anyone with Nazi affiliations, no matter how briefly they partied for the Fuhrer. For now I’m happy to leave it to Maureen Dowd in this mornings NYT, one of the only in print to not be lauding the former Hitler Youth...

"The white smoke yesterday signaled that the Vatican thinks what it needs to bring it into modernity is the oldest pope since the 18th century: Joseph Ratzinger, a 78-year-old hidebound archconservative who ran the office that used to be called the Inquisition and who once belonged to Hitler Youth. For American Catholics - especially women and Democratic pro-choice Catholic pols - the cafeteria is officially closed. After all, Cardinal Ratzinger, nicknamed "God's Rottweiler" and "the Enforcer," helped deny Communion rights to John Kerry and other Catholic politicians in the 2004 election. "

The only consolations I can find right now is that Pope Ratzinger will not be in any holy circle jerk with the fascist evangelicals, and the No-Popery Wing of the Fundamentalist Right will be praising the Lord for passing them a shitload of ammunition.

The secret word is Heil!

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Think I’ll take some pills and go to bed/Might get lucky and wind up dead." – Mick Farren
1976.