Good morning . . .
Democrats and their liberal friends were bashing the Bush Administration for the apparent "snub" of former president Jimmy Carter. Democrats and the liberal press were "shocked" when Carter was not present on the trip to John Paul II's funeral.
Spokespeople for President Carter and the White both confirm that Carter was invited, but declined the invitation.
This fact did not, however, deter the talking faces on PBS' Washington Week in Review from bashing the White House of this non-news story.
The facts are clear. There was an invitation, there was a decline, and there was no snub.
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Following the funeral of Pope John Paul II Friday, the College of Cardinals began a nine day period of mourning and prayer that will culminate with the begining of the Conclave to elect a new Pope.
According to Vatican spokesman Joaquin Vacarro-Valls said that during a preparatory session for the conclave the College of Cardinals voted unanimously to cease interviews and "encounters" with the media. Navarro-Valls asked the media not to "pester" the cardinals with requests.
"This invitation should not be seen as an attitude of discourtesy or disinterest with regards to the media," he added, "but rather as a gesture of great responsibility."
Inspite of the news "blackout" several Italian news services, US cable networks and others are reporting non-stop on speculation of the successor for John Paul II.
Around the world there is an outpouring of support for "immediate" sainthood for John Paul II. Vatican officials say that it will be up to the new pope to decide on the path to sainthood for John Paul II.
Cardinals Will Mourn Quietly as Media Is Shown Door
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Meanwhile one cardinal is causing some controversy. Former Boston Archbishop Bernard Cardinal Law was selected as one of the nine prelates. A prelate is a high-ranking church official selected to say one of the nine Masses to honor John Paul II.
Cardinal Law was removed from his position follow accusations that Cardinal Law had known about child abuse by priests and did little to curb the practice. Some victims say that Law "encouraged" the practice by moving accused priests from one parish to another without notifying the new parish.
A small group of protesters from the United States arrived in Rome to protest Cardinal Law's participation as a prelate. The group led by Barbara Blaine, founder of Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, was escorted by police from St Peter's Square before she and her group could distribute flyers.
The Vatican could not explain the reason for her removal.
Blaine said that she does not protest Cardinal Law's participation in the Conclave. She does protest his elevation to prelate for the Masses offered in John Paul II memory.
The group demanded that the Vatican remove Cardinal Law from this important and influential position.
By preventing the protest, the Vatican continues not to understand the depth of the problem in the United States and the harm abusive priests have done to the victims, their families, and the church.
Yahoo! News - Police Stymie Vatican Protest Over Law
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Tom DeLay is a lighting rod for criticism. His comments about judges following the Terri's Bill and his ethics problems have been rallying points for Democrats and liberals. Calling for his resignation or censure. The House Majority Leader and most Republicans have remained steadfast in their support.
Now, some of the Republican support is beginning to crumble. Republican leaders and the Vice President have distanced themselves from any "retribution" against federal judges who did not rule the "DeLay way" in the Schiavo case.
Other Republicans including Rep Chris Shays (R-CT) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) are calling for DeLay to come forward and tell what he knows about the ethics allegations. If DeLay will not come forward, Shays says he should resign.
A Delay spokesperson says the Congressmen is looking forward to meeting with the chairman and ranking member of the ethics committee. Currently, the ethics committee is in disarray because of new rules imposed by DeLay.
Yahoo! News - DeLay Draws Fire From Fellow Republicans
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Bo knows baseball. Bo knows football. Bo knows lawsuits.
Former professional baseball and football star Bo Jackson sued a Southern California paper for defamation over a story that linked Jackson's hip surgery with steroids use.
In a story published March 24, the Indland Valley Daily Bulletin quoted dietary expert Ellen Coleman saying she personally knew that "Bo Jackson lost his hip because of anabolic abuse."
Jackson responded by suing the newspaper and the reporter Jim Mohr for uspecified general and punitive damages.
"I've got nothing to hide," Jackson said. "If anyone wants to check into my medical past, go get blood tests, go check up on those blood tests and see if there was any anabolic steroids in it. You're more than welcome."
In it Sunday edition the paper retracted the part of the story about Jackson's steroid use.
"Jackson has stated publicly he has never used steroids," the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin said on its Web site. "We retract the quote and the further statement that the speaker personally witnessed this damage to his life. We apologize to Mr. Jackson, without reservation."
According to Jackson's attorney the defamation suit will continue and had no comment on the paper's retraction.
This was another case of a reporter thinking he could use false and misleading information to sensationalize a story. We hope that the paper also fires the reporter.
Yahoo! News - Newspaper Apologizes Over Bo Jackson Story
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More later.
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