Ever seen this guy?

That's "Bill The Butcher" as portrayed by the great actor, Daniel Day Lewis in the film "Gangs Of New York". The film takes some liberties with the character such as William Poole (the Butcher) getting killed in the NY Draft Riots of 1863 rather than eight years earlier in a shooting but, that's Hollywood! Bill The Butcher was a leader in the Know Nothing party, a group of Nativists who fancied themselves more American than any other Americans, were against immigrants and, the Catholic church.

Does that remind you of anyone today?

If you said: "The republican party", you win!

I'm not Catholic and I'm certainly not religious and that makes me an awful, awful American because I also believe in the freedom of  and from religion. You should be able to practice whatever religion you like as long as it doesn't physically hurt anyone. Or, you can not practice. That's a right too. I'll add too that you need to understand that the founders set it up that America would never have an official or state religion. You can look it up.

So, when Pope Francis speaks about the dangers of global warming and how capitalism has let down hundreds of millions of people, my non-Catholic self has to applaud the man. I think he's sincere. There's no money in what he's saying. In fact, the big money would be in him defending corporate interests on the subject of environmental and corporate abuse. But, this man does the opposite and republicans hate him for it! Instead of dining with Congress, he opted to lunch with homeless people. Who would do that? Well, Jesus comes to mind....

Someone described him as a new salesman re-packaging an old, tired product. I don't think so but, even if so, it's about damn time. The Catholic church is as silly as any of the other major religions who all can compete with hocus-pocus, skulduggery and flim-flamming fecundity. Essentially they are mostly working off of the same story and it's presumed that one of them may be the right one. But, that's like four guys at one intersection, all proclaiming themselves to be Jesus. True, they can't all be Jesus but, that doesn't mean that one is.

Back in the day when I worked nights, I used to watch Oprah in the morning. Her show was more talk-showy then and I always figured that if Jesus returned, he might be hip enough to return on OPRAH!  I then imagined that a woman in the audience (perhaps from the suburbs) might be skeptical and Oprah might sidle over to her with the microphone for the woman to demand: "Well, who died and made you boss?" To wit Jesus might reply: "Well...me?"

Pope Francis is the first Pope in 600 years to succeed a living Pope. This totally cheats all of us from an idiot like Ted Cruz standing on the Senate floor and demanding of Pope Francis: "Well now, who died and made YOU boss?!"

Ted still could and he might but, it wouldn't be quite as delightfully ironic. Ted and a whole slew of conservative republican presidential wannabees and politicians think a religious leader has no business telling America what to do. Even Mike Huckabee said so but, he might have been looking in the mirror at the time.

Francis is making suggestions rather than orders. Good ones too. Actually very good Christian ones, regardless of which franchise you belong to. Take care or the earth, take care of the poor, take care of each other, and don't go to war- all good advice. Only in America could conservatives find fault with a religious man saying such things.

Bunch of fucking Know Nothings!