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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: From saints to sinners [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-27
We begin today with Jason Horowitz of The New York Times reporting on the funeral of Pope Francis.
Heads of state, royals and religious leaders sat with an array of Catholic prelates in brilliant red robes around a closed cypress coffin holding the body of Francis, who died Monday at 88. Atop his coffin, the pages of an open book of the gospels fanned in the breeze. Hundreds of thousands of faithful filled and spilled out of St. Peter’s Square and streamed down the long avenue to the Tiber River. In the previous days, about 250,000 waited on long lines to say farewell to the pope, whose body was dressed in red vestments and scuffed black shoes, as he lay in state before the basilica’s altar. As the cardinals arrayed around him prepared to head into a conclave next month to choose Francis’ successor, Cardinal Re avoided obvious political overtones but highlighted Francis’ pastoral and inclusive approach and his humble style as key to the esteem in which Francis was held inside and outside the church. Francis had spread the faith with a sense of joy, a “great spontaneity and an informal way of addressing everyone,” he said, and a spirit of “welcome and listening.” But Francis also “truly shared the anxieties, sufferings and hopes of this time of globalization.”
As I was watching the papal funeral (some of it live), I recalled in 1978 when me, my brother, and my cousin were first enrolled in a Jesuit middle school a few blocks from our home (well, I guess they had an elementary school in the same building!). Within that first month of attending that new school, Pope John Paul I passed, rather suddenly. Many of my classmates, the nuns, and the priests were very visibly mourning.
Based on the instructions that I received from my Protestant (and Apostolic) aunt about Catholic worship, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel or if I should feel anything at all.
I don’t recall whether I ever “mourned” the death of Pope John Paul I. I do know that I felt really sad for the people, classmates and teachers that had lost a leader of their church.
One of the bishops of the church I was raised in, Bishop C., passed away a few years later and in spite of having rejected the teachings of that church, I felt really sad then, too.
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling of The New Republic says that since DOJ threatened ActBlue, donations through the online platform have skyrocketed.
On Thursday, Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to investigate the online donations platform, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into Republican allegations that ActBlue had allowed “‘straw’ or ‘dummy’ contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees.” ActBlue is a crucial fundraising tool for Democrats, as almost all party candidates use it in both primary and general elections. The announcement inspired donors across the country to open their wallets, handing the Democratic Party a massive financial boost as some PACs more than quadrupled their fundraising within 24 hours of Trump’s memorandum. “PACs that typically raise $3,000 to $6,000 on a message raised $25,000 and counting,” Turn Left PAC senior adviser Randy Jones told The New Republic Friday. [...] But anxiety over the future of ActBlue under a second Trump administration persists. Despite assurances from ActBlue that service would continue, Democratic strategists and their teams are “drafting contingency plans and evaluating other options,” wary of a president who has expressed complete disregard for the rule of law, according to Jones.
Naomi Forman-Katz and Kirsten Eddy of Pew Research Center says that Americans are concerned about press freedoms but (like everything else) those who are worried about press freedoms have changed.
Overall, seven-in-ten Americans are at least somewhat concerned about potential restrictions on press freedom – a right that is enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This includes 43% who say they are extremely or very concerned. These numbers are almost identical to the findings of an April 2024 survey, when 41% said they were extremely or very concerned and an additional 29% were somewhat concerned. But in many cases, it is not the same people who are worried. In 2024, during the Biden administration, 47% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said they were extremely or very concerned about restrictions on press freedoms. Fewer Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (38%) said the same. Today, under the new Trump administration, a majority of Democrats (60%) are highly concerned about press freedoms – about double the share of Republicans (28%). The survey comes as the Trump administration has taken several actions against U.S. news organizations that have alarmed press freedom advocates. For instance, the White House banned the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One over an editorial dispute over the name “Gulf of Mexico” – an issue that is now making its way through the legal system after a judge ruled it a First Amendment violation. Trump also has filed multiple lawsuits against media outlets he has accused of defamation and election interference.
Josh Levs of The Contrarian points out that ABC News continues to play the celebrity game with the presidency.
So it’s significant–and pathetic–that ABC’s This Week recently decided one of the top political stories in the country is the possibility that a celebrity might maybe, possibly, someday, run for president. “Will he or won’t he?” the network teased, setting up its “exclusive” interview with sports analyst Stephen A. Smith, who just happens to work for the same company (ESPN, part of Disney). Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying Smith is like Trump. And, to his credit, he, not ABC News, pointed out how ridiculous it is that his name is being floated. Here’s an idea: How about the media instead uses its power and reach to educate Americans about what the U.S. presidency is: the ultimate temporary job. One that involves running the economy in a way that should work for everyone and keeping the nation safe. Overseeing operations that we pay for with our tax dollars. And what if the media—far-fetched, I know—focused on the knowledge and skills needed? This Week didn’t ask Smith about any of that. Journalists at big media outlets rarely do. They’re invested in boosting celebrities’ profiles, partly because it helps their corporate parents, and partly because they themselves want to feel like celebrities, or at least celebrity-adjacent. That's how we get the madness of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which longtime NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw once described this way: “What we're doing with that dinner… is saying, ‘We're Versailles. The rest of you eat cake.’”
Look...I don’t think that I am quite ready for President Stephen A, OK? Still trying to get over the celebrity we have in office now.
I mean, can’t we find some experienced politicians like, say, a research scientist like Angela Merkel or a math lecturer like Peru’s Alberto Fujimori (yeah, I’d better scratch that one but you get the idea)...or a Woodrow Wilson without all the racist baggage?
Penelope MacRae of the Guardian outlines some of the decisions facing India and Pakistan as a result of an attack in Kashmir that killed 25 people.
The brutality of the assault in one of Muslim-majority Kashmir’s marquee tourist spots – and its national resonance – leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi needing to signal strength, but without triggering uncontrolled escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, analysts say. “The outpouring of anger has been widespread,” said Brahma Chellaney, a veteran Indian commentator. “The victims came from all over India, from at least 15 different states. Modi is trying to assuage national anger, which has been intense.” [...] The government must now weigh a response that balances domestic fury with strategic restraint. India and Pakistan have fought three wars – two over Kashmir – and have repeatedly come close to the brink. Underscoring the danger, Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Friday there was risk of “all-out war” if India opted for a forceful military response. [...] Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based analyst, said that while there was “much anger and tough rhetoric”, the government’s “actual response is likely to be careful and deliberate”. He said the government would “want to ensure any such action is well-planned and effective”.
Finally today, today’s APR goes from saints to “Sinners” (as in the new horror film) with Aallyah Wright of Capital B News writing about the decline and historical significance of “juke joints” across the rural South.
Across the rural South, only a few juke joints remain — whether it’s Teddy’s in Louisiana or Wild Bill’s in Tennessee. For many places, integration and migration to larger cities, urban renewal programs, and gentrification contributed to the demise of juke joints. The owners of such places, specifically in the Delta, have passed away, leading to closures. Some argue that these factors, in addition to the push for blues tourism by Mississippi’s leaders, have paved the way for commodification of its culture by white people. Today in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the blues, locals often leave for entertainment, traveling to the casinos in Tunica County, near Memphis. Part of this is a generational shift. Younger Mississippians seek out venues that play other genres — Southern soul, hip-hop or R&B — because some equate traditional blues to the era of sharecropping. [...] While Mississippi posits blues tourism as a way to revitalize the area, the industry is largely controlled by white people who only focus on Jim Crow-era blues, residents said. One state tourism report found that tourists spent more than $68 million in Coahoma County, where Clarksdale is located. But, some in the predominantly Black community of 14,000 say they don’t see the economic benefits. Like many other rural counties, Coahoma County faces food insecurity and a series of health, economic, and social inequities. Despite these challenges, the vibrant music culture and history hangs in the balance. Blues musicians, residents, and artists fear that the art — and their ownership of it — could be lost forever.
Everyone try to have he best possible day!
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