From the Huffington Post:
"Popes have traditionally looked doctrinaire and absolute. That's how they've gotten away with having a point of view at odds with reality and popular opinion--because they look like popes. We've excused them, in some sense because they've just been doing their job. But the pope exception probably ceases to work when the pope starts looking like a fool:

"In his short reign, Pope Benedict has managed to insult Muslims, women, and Holocaust survivors, writes Robert S. McElvaine, a professor at Millsaps College in Mississippi. But his latest controversy, telling Africans that condoms increase the spread of AIDS, is the last straw. "I am a Catholic and the idea that such a man is God's spokesperson on earth is absurd to me," writes McElvaine in the Washington Post."

McElvaine further writes that he wants to impeach the pope and replace him with a woman!!!

The Vatican, and the Catholic church, is facing a situation potentially more transformative than the death of God: a knuckle-headed pope who can't keep his mouth shut:

Vatican Insiders Call Pope 'a Disaster'

One member of the Vatican told the Telegraph that Benedict is "a disaster" who is "out of touch with the real world," citing his recent explosive remark that condoms aggravate the AIDS crisis. Benedict's lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who questioned the Holocaust, along with inflammatory remarks about Islam and homosexuality, have unleashed a torrent of bad press for the Vatican. The Holy See's reluctance to embrace the Internet and long traditions of secrecy have made matters worse, said one source in Rome, who lamented, "The Vatican is far removed from the reality on the ground."

Infallibility can only survive so many gaffes:

From a media perspective, it's really stunning that the popes have, collectively, made it this far. It's been the combination of great ritual and antiquated language and highly negotiated interactions with the press that has kept each modern pope a unique and even charismatic figure--in his own right, a star."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates the Nazi Bastard. While his predecessor was helping Jews escape from Poland, he was goose-stepping with the Nazi Youth. Papal apologists say that "he had no choice," which sounds a lot like the rational of Nazi officers in charge of exterminating Jews at Auschwitz; "Ve vere chust following orders..."

Put in it's historical perspective, today's catholic church is the smoking ruin of the once mighty Holy Roman Empire, all the more reason to not mix religion and politics. No longer a political power in the world, the church continues to manipulate people by pushing it's antiquated and irrelevant doctrines onto yet another generation of gullible young people, looking for meaning and purpose in this crazy world. You may as well have Charles Manson be pope, for all the good the church is doing in the world.

So far, this administrations fiscal policy seems to be summed up thus: "Throw money at it, maybe it'll go away."
From Reuters, Thu Mar 19, 6:19 pm ET The Obama administration pledged up to $5 billion on Thursday to immediately assist auto suppliers whose health is crucial to the survival of stricken U.S. car manufacturers.

The emergency aid is the first act of the government's autos task force, which is overseeing the restructuring of General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC that includes a new bailout request from the two of nearly $22 billion.

Wait- didn't we bail out Chrysler once already? WTF?? How many effing times do we have to bail the sucker out before it becomes a viable company? Besides, now that all the US manufacturers are having their parts made overseas, new cars should be cheap, right? And those two wars in the middle East have solved the oil supply problem, and now gas is cheap again too, right?

It's the lobbyists for the auto industry that should be taken out in a field and shot. Banned from Washington forever. No more lobbyists. Our representatives in Washington should be representing us, not them. Fuck them, they haven't done anything for you and I, get rid of 'em.

If the auto unions would step forward and take a pay cut, half the issues would be resolved. Why does a guy that tightens nuts all day on an assembly line make like $20 or more per hour, and minimum wage is less than a third of that. It's not a terribly technical job, it's worth about $8-10 per hour. But no, the unions are only interested in themselves, and don't care about the workers they supposedly represent. Fuckers. Why should we support Detroit's overly inflated wages?

Bastards.

According to the Associated Press, American International Group paid bonuses of $1 million or more to 73 employees, including 11 who no longer work for the company, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday. Sounds like corporate welfare, not a "bailout" to me. How can lawmakers be so naive as to give bailout money without any strings attached?
In addition to prosecuting the AIG execs who received and distributed the money, we should also prosecute the lawmakers who arranged for this handout.
According to Cuomo, "AIG also claims that retention of individuals at Financial Products was vital to unwinding the subsidiary's business," Cuomo wrote. But AIG has been unwilling to provide their names, despite his subpoena for the list, making it impossible to test that claim.
They got a frickin' SUBPOENA, for chrissakes, just send in the Storm Troopers and GET what they need. If it was you or I, do you think WE could get away with this crap?
According to Reuters, "With one senator remarking that top AIG managers might even consider suicide, some lawmakers proposed slapping a surtax on the $165 million in bonuses for dozens of executives at a company that was once the world's largest insurer,"
I have two questions, how high is your tallest building, and would you rather jump or be pushed?