USCCB Speaks Out Against Refugee Ban

Last updated on: January 28, 2017 at 4:47 pm By Mary Pezzulo

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops just released the following statement on their Facebook page, which I quote in its entirety: USCCB Committee on Migration Chair Strongly Opposes Executive Order Because It Harms Vulnerable Refugee and Immigrant Families January 27, 2017 Regarding the Executive Order’s halt and reduction of admissions, Bishop Joe S. Vasquez of Austin, Texas, chairman of the Committee on Migration, stated: -We strongly disagree with the Executive Order’s halting refugee admissions. We believe that now more... Read more

Trump’s “Muslim Ban” is Not Just A Refugee Ban, And It’s Not For Safety

Last updated on: January 28, 2017 at 4:19 pm By Mary Pezzulo

Yesterday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the same day Vice-President Pence told the March for Life demonstrators that “life is winning in America,” President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning the entry of refugees to the United States for four months, banning refugees from Syria indefinitely, and barring all people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for ninety days. The president did not ban people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Colombia or Venezuela– even though, as... Read more

Dabbling Ducks

Last updated on: January 27, 2017 at 11:56 pm By Mary Pezzulo

There are too many ugly things in the world right now. We shouldn’t ignore them, but we mustn’t ignore the beautiful either. Let’s take a moment to think about something truly beautiful and innocent. Let’s think about ducks. My friend Emma posted the loveliest status today. She gave me permission to post it: You simply cannot beat a bird-book for comfort in troubled times. Look up ‘Mallard’ in the incomparable ‘Field Guide to Birds’ by Dr Walter Cerny, translated by Margot Schierlova... Read more

Life Needs So Much More than a March

Last updated on: January 27, 2017 at 4:04 pm By Mary Pezzulo

I am told that Mike Pence is the first vice president to speak at the March for Life. Well, good for him. I am also against abortion. It’s good to find some middle ground with someone who seems so different. I hope he’s serious about being pro-life and truly pro-life, rather than just throwing a bone to the people who voted for him. If only defending life were as simple as a march and a rally, saying the right words... Read more

Trump Orders Weekly List Of Crimes Committed By “Aliens”

Last updated on: January 27, 2017 at 1:42 am By Mary Pezzulo

As I reported yesterday, the USCCB wasted no time condemning President Trump’s executive order to go ahead with the border wall, prisons and deportations he’d promised during the election. What they didn’t mention was a paragraph included in that order, which has just now come to my attention. Here it is: To better inform the public regarding the public safety threats associated with sanctuary jurisdictions, the secretary shall utilize the Declined Detainer Outcome Report or its equivalent and, on a... Read more

USCCB Speaks Out Against Trump’s Immigration Orders

Last updated on: January 25, 2017 at 11:48 pm By Mary Pezzulo

Earlier this evening, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops posted a link to the following statement on President Trump’s executive orders regarding deportations and a border wall, which I quote in its entirety: WASHINGTON—President Donald J Trump today issued executive orders to construct a wall at the U.S./Mexico border, to significantly increase immigrant detention and deportation, and to disregard/preempt/overrule the judgment of state and local law enforcement on how best to protect their communities. The U.S. /Mexico border, spanning approximately 2000... Read more

Androids, Emails and Oedipus Rex

Last updated on: January 25, 2017 at 5:24 pm By Mary Pezzulo

I’m back with a few more items here. It was pointed out last night that Donald Trump’s famous tweets are still coming from his Android, which we last heard he gave up for security reasons five days ago. Today, news sources are confirming that he still has that android. You know, a private and unsecured phone. It has also been confirmed that Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner, Sean Spicer and Steve Bannon all have active email accounts on an RNC email system. The one... Read more

Eight Increasingly Horrifying Takes on Trump’s First Days In Office

Last updated on: January 25, 2017 at 2:52 pm By Mary Pezzulo

Forgive the radio silence, my friends. Every time I go to write, the thing I planned on writing is already old news five minutes later, not to mention so depressing I don’t want to talk about it. Still, we really do have a duty to keep abreast of what’s happening if we can. Let me try something different, and see if I can re-construct the events of the weekend in an itemized list, with commentary if I can muster any.... Read more

Desert Stones

Last updated on: February 17, 2018 at 4:53 pm By Mary Pezzulo

It was my lover at the door. I heard his voice so low I could not make out words. I saw his hand at the latch dripping myrrh. When I opened for him, he was gone. I went out to search for him, street after lonely street, the whole world being at rest. I saw the city watchmen, and foolishly I asked, “Have you seen the one my heart loves?” The watchmen beat me they raped me they took... Read more

Let’s Examine President Trump’s Pro-Life Agenda

Last updated on: January 20, 2017 at 9:43 pm By Mary Pezzulo

So, remember a couple months ago when I mistakenly thought that then-President-elect Trump had taken down his pro-life policies from his campaign website just after winning the election, but it turned out that he’d never had any pro-life policies listed there begin with, we all just figured he had? And I looked incredibly foolish for trusting that he’d ever claimed to be pro-life, and indeed I was very foolish? Well, now that he’s the Commander in Chief, he’s got a new website.... Read more