[image: image.png] opening thoughts: split screen Pope Frank and Lyn Ekedahl’s political poem *Out of Adjectives* I’ve run out of adjectives! What’s crueler than cruel? To call Don’s thugs mean makes me sound like a fool. The depths they will go to, just to show they are tough, Renders such adjectives meaningless fluff!
To render young men, cause they’re wearing tattoos, To horrendous conditions, and then to refuse A court order telling them they must comply, Is pure evil. Don smirks and tells lie after lie.
Some of Don’s thugs go to pose by the cages Where these young men are held in the farce Donald wages. Trump says that these men are all MS Thirteen, But offers no proof anybody has seen!
The real gang to fear—the gang that’s a killer? Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, and ICE, Stephen Miller! Their goal—disappear those not welcome—not white. Ship them off to El Salvador, in secret, at night!
To stop this gang’s crimes will require a fight, Like the fights that were fought to obtain human rights. Legal fights in the courts, peaceful fights in the street May force the Don’s gangs into sullen retreat!
I had no idea- Bergoglio (his name before he took Francis) came in second in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI in 2005
Pope Francis Obits Omit Focus on PalestineToward the end of Francis’ life, the head of the Catholic Church focused his attention on ongoing genocide in Gaza. “He used to call us at 7 p.m. every night. No matter how busy he was, no matter where he was, he always called,” George Anton, spokesperson for the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, told NPR (4/22/25 <www.npr.org/2025/04/22/g-s1-62064/pope-francis-gaza-church-palestinian-christians> ). Reuters (4/22/25 <www.reuters.com/world/gazas-christians-heartbroken-pope-who-phoned-them-nightly-2025-04-21/>) ran the headline, “Gaza’s Christians ‘Heartbroken’ for Pope Who Phoned Them Nightly.” AP (4/21/25 <apnews.com/article/pope-francis-israel-hamas-war-gaza-31f1755f8426ec81cb07b29bff3db70e>) called these communications his “frequent evening ritual,” noting that this “small act of compassion made a big impression on Gaza’s tiny Christian community.” *Part one: Texas with Attorney Joe Jaworski* Joe Jaworski is a third-generation Texas trial attorney and former Mayor of Galveston, Texas. He has served as a law clerk to the United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, and he has spent years in private practice as a trial attorney, mediator, and legal commentator. topics: House panel passes bill requiring air conditioning in Texas prisons by 2032 <www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/texas-prison-air-conditioning-bills/> Texas may study the impact of immigration again, but focus only on costsThe only time the state conducted such an assessment two decades ago, it found that undocumented Texans contributed more to the state’s economy than they cost the state. Abbott signs first bill of session into law, creating a Texas DOGEThe first bill to reach Abbott’s desk this session creates a regulation-cutting state agency under the purview of the governor. It was passed with bipartisan supermajorities *Part two: * *Robert Hockett * is an American lawyer, law professor <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_education>, and policy advocate he teaches legal, financial and some philosophical subjects at Cornell University in New York, where I am the Edward Cornell Professor of Law and a Professor of Public Policy.
*Bill Curry* was a Connecticut state senator, comptroller and two time Democratic nominee for governor who served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House. He has written for Salon, the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post and the Hartford Courant and has provided commentary on National Public Radio, MSNBC and many other news outlets.
topics:
Pope Francis…Curry writes: *Bill Curry <www.facebook.com/Bill.Curry12?__cft__[0]=AZWBMAvKJiEgsB20BffTSHNHHRgSmhjZBiwVW7SRCnL8TQAtPvOGqSnIeZsNB-2AbX_Sd7uySHicr_8STcSb5M_xM9ytD7w0W-W_K95r5LiWsGzcm2raOAZANNZ6gFbMXYHfYev2iaQw-U5N57LHCz-T&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R>*When I was a first grader at Saint Justin School, on a late spring day, my class dressed up as saints and toured the upper grades, looking, we supposed, very holy. Most of us dressed as our name saints, but as neither my mom nor Sister Elizabeth had a clue how the shadowy Saint William dressed, I was free to impersonate a saint of my choosing. I chose Saint Francis. I figured Francis loved animals and so did I. I imagined myself in a forest glade, chatting up small birds and squirrels. On the appointed day, I wore a bedsheet dyed Franciscan brown and cinched with clothesline rope. To drive home my point, I carried a small toy duck made of very innocent seeming styrofoam. When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio picked Francis to be his papal name saint, I bet he was thinking along the same lines, albeit more deeply. Like Saint Francis, he knew we are mysteriously connected to all life, and that all life is sacred. Like Saint Francis, he would risk much to defend the poor and call out reckless, greedy consumption. Pope Francis failed to lead his church to a Christian view of women and gays. I suspect he feared a global schism, but failure to curb the 19th century homophobia and mediaeval misogyny still plaguing Catholicism may have worse consequences. For a brief moment in his early papacy, one could imagine women priests, married priests, even Catholic gay marriage, but that candle soon flickered out. Given the church’s current state, I’m not sure anyone could have done more.What Francis did achieve should enshrine him forever in our hearts. His greatest legacy is the example he set of the love, forgiveness and humility that is the beating heart of Christianity. The right accused Francis of being ‘political’, but standing up for refugees and immigrants today is hardly that. In his brilliant encyclical calling on us to protect the earth, “our common home,” from the scourge of climate change, he ignored politics to defend God’s Creation. Francis wasn’t political. He was Christian. Today is Earth Day. It is all too quiet without Francis. The poor and the displaced, even the earth itself had no greater champion. Today we pray for a leader to arise to match his courage and we rededicate ourselves, as we know we must, to the causes to which he devoted his ministry.
Read the full letter from universities opposing ‘government intrusion’
Trump signs executive order targeting college accreditation process
Head of ‘60 Minutes’ exits after saying he is losing independence www. <www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/cbs-60-minutes-trump-00303605?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ2SpJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFUU2F3MWZQbWVOVlhWR2VwAR5zkIzhWDVfvaT8tNMfe4GWzfmTnf1S4HVdVSmYIeQDUyTE9SZDynz9bXEYg_aem_X_H…>
Majorities disapprove of some key Trump administration actions
Trump vs Powell: how the clash is impacting financial markets <www.ig.com/en/news-and-trade-ideas/Trump-vs-Powell-how-the-clash-is-impacting-financial-markets-250422> IG International
Trump economic approval rating falls to 37 percent: Survey
Listen online at www.wnhnfm.org/live. Listen anytime to the podcast at www.podomatic.com/podcasts/staff74238 <www.podomatic.com/podcasts/staff74238> podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179 tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie- <tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie-Arnesen-p1711842/> Arnesen-p1711842/ <tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie-Arnesen-p1711842/>Attitude with Arnie Arnesen, Lyn Ekedahl, Pope Francis, Texas, Attorney Joe Jaworski, prisons,AC, Texas DOGE, Governor Abbott, immigration, Bill Curry, Robert Hockett, economy, Powell, universities letter
To render young men, cause they’re wearing tattoos, To horrendous conditions, and then to refuse A court order telling them they must comply, Is pure evil. Don smirks and tells lie after lie.
Some of Don’s thugs go to pose by the cages Where these young men are held in the farce Donald wages. Trump says that these men are all MS Thirteen, But offers no proof anybody has seen!
The real gang to fear—the gang that’s a killer? Kristi Noem and Tom Homan, and ICE, Stephen Miller! Their goal—disappear those not welcome—not white. Ship them off to El Salvador, in secret, at night!
To stop this gang’s crimes will require a fight, Like the fights that were fought to obtain human rights. Legal fights in the courts, peaceful fights in the street May force the Don’s gangs into sullen retreat!
I had no idea- Bergoglio (his name before he took Francis) came in second in the conclave that elected Benedict XVI in 2005
Pope Francis Obits Omit Focus on PalestineToward the end of Francis’ life, the head of the Catholic Church focused his attention on ongoing genocide in Gaza. “He used to call us at 7 p.m. every night. No matter how busy he was, no matter where he was, he always called,” George Anton, spokesperson for the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza, told NPR (4/22/25 <www.npr.org/2025/04/22/g-s1-62064/pope-francis-gaza-church-palestinian-christians> ). Reuters (4/22/25 <www.reuters.com/world/gazas-christians-heartbroken-pope-who-phoned-them-nightly-2025-04-21/>) ran the headline, “Gaza’s Christians ‘Heartbroken’ for Pope Who Phoned Them Nightly.” AP (4/21/25 <apnews.com/article/pope-francis-israel-hamas-war-gaza-31f1755f8426ec81cb07b29bff3db70e>) called these communications his “frequent evening ritual,” noting that this “small act of compassion made a big impression on Gaza’s tiny Christian community.” *Part one: Texas with Attorney Joe Jaworski* Joe Jaworski is a third-generation Texas trial attorney and former Mayor of Galveston, Texas. He has served as a law clerk to the United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, and he has spent years in private practice as a trial attorney, mediator, and legal commentator. topics: House panel passes bill requiring air conditioning in Texas prisons by 2032 <www.texastribune.org/2025/04/04/texas-prison-air-conditioning-bills/> Texas may study the impact of immigration again, but focus only on costsThe only time the state conducted such an assessment two decades ago, it found that undocumented Texans contributed more to the state’s economy than they cost the state. Abbott signs first bill of session into law, creating a Texas DOGEThe first bill to reach Abbott’s desk this session creates a regulation-cutting state agency under the purview of the governor. It was passed with bipartisan supermajorities *Part two: * *Robert Hockett * is an American lawyer, law professor <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_education>, and policy advocate he teaches legal, financial and some philosophical subjects at Cornell University in New York, where I am the Edward Cornell Professor of Law and a Professor of Public Policy.
*Bill Curry* was a Connecticut state senator, comptroller and two time Democratic nominee for governor who served as Counselor to the President in the Clinton White House. He has written for Salon, the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post and the Hartford Courant and has provided commentary on National Public Radio, MSNBC and many other news outlets.
topics:
Pope Francis…Curry writes: *Bill Curry <www.facebook.com/Bill.Curry12?__cft__[0]=AZWBMAvKJiEgsB20BffTSHNHHRgSmhjZBiwVW7SRCnL8TQAtPvOGqSnIeZsNB-2AbX_Sd7uySHicr_8STcSb5M_xM9ytD7w0W-W_K95r5LiWsGzcm2raOAZANNZ6gFbMXYHfYev2iaQw-U5N57LHCz-T&__tn__=-UC%2CP-R>*When I was a first grader at Saint Justin School, on a late spring day, my class dressed up as saints and toured the upper grades, looking, we supposed, very holy. Most of us dressed as our name saints, but as neither my mom nor Sister Elizabeth had a clue how the shadowy Saint William dressed, I was free to impersonate a saint of my choosing. I chose Saint Francis. I figured Francis loved animals and so did I. I imagined myself in a forest glade, chatting up small birds and squirrels. On the appointed day, I wore a bedsheet dyed Franciscan brown and cinched with clothesline rope. To drive home my point, I carried a small toy duck made of very innocent seeming styrofoam. When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio picked Francis to be his papal name saint, I bet he was thinking along the same lines, albeit more deeply. Like Saint Francis, he knew we are mysteriously connected to all life, and that all life is sacred. Like Saint Francis, he would risk much to defend the poor and call out reckless, greedy consumption. Pope Francis failed to lead his church to a Christian view of women and gays. I suspect he feared a global schism, but failure to curb the 19th century homophobia and mediaeval misogyny still plaguing Catholicism may have worse consequences. For a brief moment in his early papacy, one could imagine women priests, married priests, even Catholic gay marriage, but that candle soon flickered out. Given the church’s current state, I’m not sure anyone could have done more.What Francis did achieve should enshrine him forever in our hearts. His greatest legacy is the example he set of the love, forgiveness and humility that is the beating heart of Christianity. The right accused Francis of being ‘political’, but standing up for refugees and immigrants today is hardly that. In his brilliant encyclical calling on us to protect the earth, “our common home,” from the scourge of climate change, he ignored politics to defend God’s Creation. Francis wasn’t political. He was Christian. Today is Earth Day. It is all too quiet without Francis. The poor and the displaced, even the earth itself had no greater champion. Today we pray for a leader to arise to match his courage and we rededicate ourselves, as we know we must, to the causes to which he devoted his ministry.
Read the full letter from universities opposing ‘government intrusion’
Trump signs executive order targeting college accreditation process
Head of ‘60 Minutes’ exits after saying he is losing independence www. <www.politico.com/news/2025/04/22/cbs-60-minutes-trump-00303605?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ2SpJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFUU2F3MWZQbWVOVlhWR2VwAR5zkIzhWDVfvaT8tNMfe4GWzfmTnf1S4HVdVSmYIeQDUyTE9SZDynz9bXEYg_aem_X_H…>
Majorities disapprove of some key Trump administration actions
Trump vs Powell: how the clash is impacting financial markets <www.ig.com/en/news-and-trade-ideas/Trump-vs-Powell-how-the-clash-is-impacting-financial-markets-250422> IG International
Trump economic approval rating falls to 37 percent: Survey
Listen online at www.wnhnfm.org/live. Listen anytime to the podcast at www.podomatic.com/podcasts/staff74238 <www.podomatic.com/podcasts/staff74238> podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179 tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie- <tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie-Arnesen-p1711842/> Arnesen-p1711842/ <tunein.com/podcasts/News–Politics-Podcasts/Attitude-with-Arnie-Arnesen-p1711842/>Attitude with Arnie Arnesen, Lyn Ekedahl, Pope Francis, Texas, Attorney Joe Jaworski, prisons,AC, Texas DOGE, Governor Abbott, immigration, Bill Curry, Robert Hockett, economy, Powell, universities letter
