Kudos to Pope Leo for holding his ground on opposing the war in Iran, conceived of and waged by a group of knuckleheads who neither read nor understand history. As the Pope told reporters yesterday, “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do.”
The Pope went on to say, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”
Congratulations to the four Artemis II astronauts, commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and mission specialist Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, who touted the unity that made their successful voyage to the moon and back a necessity. And a special shout-out to pilot Victor Glover, a devout Christian, husband and father of four who stood tall (and matinee-idol fine) amid the ongoing onslaught on Black excellence. Twice as good.
“Here on Earth, our children will learn the names of these pioneers,” President Biden said, when he met with the astronauts at the White House months after their selection in December of 2023. And he’s absolutely right.
In Europe, Péter Magyar unseated the right-wing white supremacist Viktor Orbán, who has had a stranglehold on Hungary, that continent’s poorest country, for 16 years. Magyar, from the Tisza party, will sail into his new role as prime minister, buoyed by a two-thirds majority in parliament.
Orbán, a darling of the U.S.’s twisted right wing, got the non-star power of J.D. Vance last week before his feckless trip to Islamabad. Perhaps Vance was too tired from his trip to Hungary to support a racist prime minister who has tanked his country’s already faltering economy to negotiate his way out of a war no one can understand how we got into in the first place. And that includes the president, who is too busy grifting, demeaning the Pope and posting memes of himself as Jesus—blasphemy.
For those Americans looking for coherent leadership, assuming we survive the dangerous clowns in the current administration, Hungary’s election results are aspirational. Some 3.3 million Hungarians voted for Tisza, the highest number any Hungarian party has ever received. So many people voted that the results were unambiguous. We need to do the same in the U.S. In the streets Hungarians sang, Queens’ “We are the Champions.” Yes, they are.
And finally, hats off to Reverend Al Sharpton, whose 35th annual National Action Network conference last week at New York City’s Sheraton hotel featured all the presumed 2028 Democratic presidential candidates. I attended the gathering last Friday when hopefuls Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Vice President Kamala Harris rallied the crowds with their assessment of the current “leaders,” and Congressman Jim Clyburn recounted the early days of civil-rights activism that landed him in jail. Speakers on other days included governors J.B. Pritzker (IL) and Josh Shapiro (PA), with a rousing sermon by Senator Cory Booker (NJ), in which he called for citizens to mobilize and organize. Yes, we must.
In these last few days it has seemed like the good guys are winning again. But then there’s always tomorrow….
