Good morning . . .
The funeral for John Paul II was a spectacular and moving event. 300,000 pilgrims including heads of state saw the Mass from St. Peter's Square. Another 700,000 from the streets surrounding the Vatican, and millions like me saw the event on television. I must admit that due to the early hour I missed some of the festivities by dozing off, but I saw the majority of the Mass.
The eulogy of the Pope was moving and heartfelt.
It was the the largest funeral in history.
Now the College of Cardinals will begin preparation for the election of the new Pope starting April 18. There are favorites including at least two cardinals from Third World countries. Since the Conclave is sequestered, only the cardinals and their small staff will know what is happening inside the Sistine Chapel. Will the cardinals select an older interim Pope or will they seek someone like John Paul II to continue his legacy? Or will the 117 voting eligible cardinals be deadlocked?
The new Pope will have many issues to deal with after selection. Will the Church allow women and married men to become priests? How will the Church continue to deal with the sex abuse allegations in the United States? Will the Church change its views on abortion, divorce, and homosexuality? Frankly, with the exception of the role of women in the Church and the possibility of married men becoming priests, nothing is likely to change for the 1 billion Catholics worldwide.
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Get your scorecasrds. . you can't tell the players without a scorecard. Well, you can follow, but it is a bit murky even for Washington.
The left-leaning Campaign for America's Future has begun a campaign to have the House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, fired by his colleagues. Now, the liberal policy group is looking into the relationship between DeLay and Brian Darling.
Darling is the former chief counsel for Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL) who wrote the "talking points" memo on the Schiavo case. The memo "suggested" that the case would be a good political move for Republicans. Martinez says he never read the memo, but somehow passed it to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA). From Harkin it found its way to the Washington Post and ABC News. Harkin does not know how that happened. (Yeah, right!)
Folks, that is the simple part of the story. Brian Darling once worked for a lobbying firm that is "heavily connected to Tom DeLay."
Through a complicated set of twists and turns and relationships and knowledge, the Campaign for America's Future says that the connection between Darling, Delay, the lobbying firm, and a few smoke and mirrors demonstrates poor and possibly illegal ethics. What it really shows is the "normal" complicated relationships and in-breeding that happens in Washington. Plus the "get DeLay" crowd will say anything to embarrass Delay and Republicans.
Today's Attack on Tom DeLay Involves Guilt by Association -- 04/08/2005
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Not be be outdone by Kansas, a conservative group of Minnesota voters says the state is ready for a marriage amendment.
Minnesota for Marriage is launching a media campaign to garner support for a statewide amendment.
The Minnesota legislature is currently reviewing a bill that would allow voters to have their say on the issue. A similar measure failed last year.
On Tuesday voters in Kansas said "yes" to an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage ands civil unions. Kansas is one of 18 states with a constitutional amendment on marriage.
Minnesota Group Rallies Support for State Marriage Amendment -- 04/08/2005
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Lawyers for "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla want the Supreme Court to step in and rule on his military detention.
In papers filed Thursday, the lawyers argued that the high court needs to rein in the administration's conduct of the war on terror. "Delay increase the chance Padilla could be faced with a unconstitutionally coerced choice - whether to plead guilty . . . or to give up other rights to avoid further detention," Padilla's lawyers wrote.
A federal judge ruled in favor of Padilla, saying that a ruling in favor of indefinite detention as the government wants "would not only offend the rule of law and violate this country's constitutional tradition," it would be a "betrayal of this nation's commitment to the separation of powers that safeguards our democratic values and individual liberties."
Padilla was arrested in 2002 after returning from Pakistan. The government says that he received weapons and terror training from Al-Qaida. The government views Padilla as a militant who planned to attack the US with a "dirty bomb" device.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case last year.
Yahoo! News - Padilla's Lawyers Seek High Court Review
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More later.
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