A Deeply Fractured US

[lenaitch]

OK, then - maybe now I'M wearing the papist foil hat?

So far, the info-machine for Big Catholic Church seems to be leaning toward this guy.

Pope prays for Charlie Kirk and bereaved family - Vatican News

Pope Leo XIV expresses concern about political violence and is praying for the late American activist Charlie Kirk, his wife, and two children, ...

www.vaticannews.va

Homilists across U.S. address Charlie Kirk assassination

Catholic priests around the country have discussed the assassination of Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk during their homilies in the last week.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Cardinal Müller calls Charlie Kirk a ‘martyr’ for Christ

German Catholic Cardinal Gerhard Müller referred to Charlie Kirk as “a martyr for Jesus Christ” and condemned the “satanic celebration” of his death.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Report: Charlie Kirk was ‘this close’ to becoming Catholic prior to his death

Slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was reportedly strongly considering becoming Catholic just prior to his assassination, according to a bishop.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

I'm seeing this narrative track out there, now ....

Surgeon calls Charlie Kirk ‘man of steel’ — reveals ‘miracle’ factor that likely prevented more from being hurt

“Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him. Remarkable. Miraculous,” said a Turning Point USA spokesman.

nypost.com

Charlie Kirk ally reveals 'absolute miracle' that may have saved lives during fatal shooting

Charlie Kirk died after being shot at a Utah university last week, with doctors calling it miraculous the bullet remained in his body, his friend said.

www.foxnews.com

Turning Point USA Spokesperson Says Charlie Kirk Didn’t Have an ‘Exit Wound’: A ‘Miracle’

More details about the circumstances of Charlie Kirk’s death have come to light. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Kirk’s Turning Point USA and an executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, claimed to have recently spoken with a doctor who treated Kirk’s fatal injuries. “I want to address some...

www.yahoo.com

Cardinal Dolan hails Charlie Kirk as ‘modern-day Saint Paul’

“He was a missionary, he’s an evangelist, he’s a hero,” New York’s archbishop said of Kirk.

nypost.com

Charlie Kirk's Sainthood speculation gains steam after New York Cardinal's St Paul link; ‘he's a hero’

Timothy Dolan, the New York cardinal, compared Charlie Kirk, the slain conservative political commentator, to a ‘modern-day St Paul’.

www.hindustantimes.com

Could only the crustiest, most jaded of political cynics consider all this even the tiniest move in this direction?

What’s a ‘miracle’? Here’s how the Catholic Church decides

The Catholic Church has set in place rigorous criteria for determining if a person can be named “Saint,” including performance of a miracle. But how does the Church determine what is a miracle?

dornsife.usc.edu

How does someone become a saint?

Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII will be declared saints by Pope Francis on Sunday. The BBC looks at the steps required for an individual to become a saint.

www.bbc.com

Canonization - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Now, technically, if he reportedly came >>>this<<< close to converting, my understanding is that he can't be declared a saint. Still, there may be some wiggle room out there:

Are there any non-Catholics that the church recognizes as saints? - Busted Halo

While I am unaware of any canonized saints who the Church would not consider in union with the Catholic faith, I do know that we…

bustedhalo.com

Could a Non-Catholic be Canonized by the Catholic Church?

It is theoretically possible that the Church could canonize a non-Catholic, because canonization is simply an official acknowledgment that a particular person i...

www.catholic.com

Can the Church Recognize Non-Catholics as Saints?

No doubt many saints are in heaven who were not Catholics here on earth. But it is not likely that any non-Catholic Christian denomination would present one of...

www.catholic.com

Folk saints, canonized or not, champion liberation for all

Folk saints, canonized or not, stand as champions of the people, and embody hope for a more just and equitable world.

uscatholic.org

I'm far from being a theological scholar, and am closer to an atheist than an agnostic, but from what little I saw of Kirk's public positions, he struck me as very much an Old Testament, literal-interpretation Evangelical type of Christian. I'm quite surprised anyone within the current Catholic church would find much common ground with him.

 

[Altair]

Except people aren’t forests and those people drag everyone else into the mix.

Easier to deradicalize than it is to try and let them ‘burn out’. Address why they have issues and usually the cause dies on it’s own.

The US would really benefit from a third political party which doesn’t cater to the extremists on both ends. Unfortunately with their defacto two party system it captures way more people under one umbrella than it really should and it gives way more power to a small but vocal minority than it should.

I used to think that.

Then we got France. A country used to one party ruling or the other party ruling. then we got Macron who came in and crushed the socialists and Republicans parties leading to his centrist bloc that is now being squeezed on their flanks by more extreme versions of the Republicans and socialists, all having around the same number of seats in parliament.

Putting in a third party in a system not designed for one ends up breaking the system.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Suffice to say, the democrats are the ones that don't give a shit about freedom of speech.

I find both sides are attacking freedom of speech while claiming to be it's sole champion. Trumps saving grace, if you could call it that, is what you mentioned earlier. He doesn’t hide his efforts to circumvent or attack free speech. He just goes full send.

Ideally Republicans can rise above 'its our turn', where democrats under Biden failed.

There are a whole bunch of liberals and conservatives who had that same attitude in Germany when the red shirts and brown shirts were battling it out in the streets.

That's a great point. They failed to take decisive action when the brown shirts and red shirts were otherwise preoccupied and ended up becoming irrelevant. You could even say their failure to act supported Hitlers rise to power.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'm far from being a theological scholar, and am closer to an atheist than an agnostic, but from what little I saw of Kirk's public positions, he struck me as very much an Old Testament, literal-interpretation Evangelical type of Christian. I'm quite surprised anyone within the current Catholic church would find much common ground with him.

Pretty strong pro-life lean plus some of his "enough of this modern shit" tone might be appealing to the crustiest conservative wings of Big Vatican, maybe?

 

[Remius]

Jimmy Kimmel's show to return to air after suspension over Charlie Kirk comments, says Disney

The comedian's late-night talk programme will resume on Tuesday following "thoughtful conversations", says the entertainment giant.

www.bbc.com

Looks like Kimmel is back on the air

 

[Retired AF Guy]

I'm seeing this narrative track out there, now ....

Surgeon calls Charlie Kirk ‘man of steel’ — reveals ‘miracle’ factor that likely prevented more from being hurt

“Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him. Remarkable. Miraculous,” said a Turning Point USA spokesman.

nypost.com

Charlie Kirk ally reveals 'absolute miracle' that may have saved lives during fatal shooting

Charlie Kirk died after being shot at a Utah university last week, with doctors calling it miraculous the bullet remained in his body, his friend said.

www.foxnews.com

Turning Point USA Spokesperson Says Charlie Kirk Didn’t Have an ‘Exit Wound’: A ‘Miracle’

More details about the circumstances of Charlie Kirk’s death have come to light. Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Kirk’s Turning Point USA and an executive producer of The Charlie Kirk Show, claimed to have recently spoken with a doctor who treated Kirk’s fatal injuries. “I want to address some...

www.yahoo.com

Even Alex Jones is calling that crazy!!

Alex Jones mocks Charlie Kirk 'Superman' bullet claim: 'Easter Bunny has more credibility'

Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA declared that there was a "miracle" involved in the late commentator's killing, but noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones isn't buying his MAGA allies' explanation.Raw Story reported on Sunday that a TPUSA spokesman had said that, despite Kirk being shot to death...

www.rawstory.com

 

[The Bread Guy]

Meanwhile ....

Jimmy Kimmel show returning to air after suspension for Charlie Kirk comments, Disney says

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is returning to air on Sept. 23, Disney said in a statement, a week after ABC suspended the show.

www.usatoday.com

 

[The Bread Guy]

I'm far from being a theological scholar, and am closer to an atheist than an agnostic, but from what little I saw of Kirk's public positions, he struck me as very much an Old Testament, literal-interpretation Evangelical type of Christian. I'm quite surprised anyone within the current Catholic church would find much common ground with him.

Just spotted this as well from the broader Catholic info-machine ....

Trump, Vance among those honoring Charlie Kirk’s Christian legacy

U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and many others honored the late Charlie Kirk and his efforts to proclaim the Gospel on campus.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Seems to glide around POTUS47's more Old Testament-y revenge "hate my opponent" bits, even after quoting the widow and the Veep telling the crowd to love their enemies.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Jimmy Kimmel's show to return to air after suspension over Charlie Kirk comments, says Disney

The comedian's late-night talk programme will resume on Tuesday following "thoughtful conversations", says the entertainment giant.

www.bbc.com

Looks like Kimmel is back on the air

Guess the ratings didn’t suck quite enough to keep him off air …

 

[Kilted]

I'm far from being a theological scholar, and am closer to an atheist than an agnostic, but from what little I saw of Kirk's public positions, he struck me as very much an Old Testament, literal-interpretation Evangelical type of Christian. I'm quite surprised anyone within the current Catholic church would find much common ground with him.

He attended a denomination that was a Pentecostal off-shoot. Very much not Catholic.

 

[HavokFour]

Among all the other wild and out of place things people said at that memorial service, Tucker Carlson couldn't help himself either.



Tucker Carlson appears to blame Jews for killing Charlie Kirk with story on Jesus’ death

 

[Eaglelord17]

I used to think that.

Then we got France. A country used to one party ruling or the other party ruling. then we got Macron who came in and crushed the socialists and Republicans parties leading to his centrist bloc that is now being squeezed on their flanks by more extreme versions of the Republicans and socialists, all having around the same number of seats in parliament.

Putting in a third party in a system not designed for one ends up breaking the system.

They are breaking apart in France due to Macrons poor decision to dissolve government when he didn’t have to. He could have kept his moderate government and pushed the reforms needed but because of his own stupidity they are now extremely fractured.

Odds are if he had waited he would have been able to shift the balance one way or the other by addressing issues. Instead he threw a election in there and basically killed their ability to fix anything well taking all the blame.

Very different from why America is fracturing.

A moderate party in America would force the other two (or at least one of them) to tone down to attract the middle which is where most votes are. The one which remains extreme would likely fade away to nothing.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Yeah, I'm sure the House'll take care of that - oh, wait ....

https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/09/18/congress/house-oversight-rejects-bid-to-subpoena-fccs-brendan-carr-00571727

I'm sure the Senate or courts'll lap it up shortly, though ... I'll wait ...

It's not Carr's fault that nobody thinks it's worth looking at.

You sound disappointed the state doesn’t consider your angst worthwhile.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

So Carr's actions won't be officially scrutinized (maybe).

Kimmel makes it back on the air.

Much ado about nothing.

 

[Altair]

They are breaking apart in France due to Macrons poor decision to dissolve government when he didn’t have to. He could have kept his moderate government and pushed the reforms needed but because of his own stupidity they are now extremely fractured.

Odds are if he had waited he would have been able to shift the balance one way or the other by addressing issues. Instead he threw a election in there and basically killed their ability to fix anything well taking all the blame.

Very different from why America is fracturing.

A moderate party in America would force the other two (or at least one of them) to tone down to attract the middle which is where most votes are. The one which remains extreme would likely fade away to nothing.

If all the moderates end up in the center, and all that's left of the fringes are the AOCs and MTG, do you foresee a lot in terms of compromise?

 

[lenaitch]

Pretty strong pro-life lean plus some of his "enough of this modern shit" tone might be appealing to the crustiest conservative wings of Big Vatican, maybe?

But I don't think crusty conservatives have been much in favour in the Vatican the past few years.

eems to glide around POTUS47's more Old Testament-y revenge "hate my opponent" bits, even after quoting the widow and the Veep telling the crowd to love their enemies.

Vance's Catholicism is fairly well established but I've never been convinced that Trump's profession of faith is anything other then political pandering to his base.

Guess the ratings didn’t suck quite enough to keep him off air …

Of they got a little spooked that Disney stock went down about 7% since he was suspended.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Guess the ratings didn’t suck quite enough to keep him off air …

If the cost of his show is comparable to Colbert's, they're losing millions annually. ABC might be miscalculating: if the people threatening boycotts are mostly not already consuming the product in the first place, caving gains very little. (They won't be the first to make the miscalculation in judging whether to bend to left-activist pressure.)

ABC can put the offering back in its time slot, but they can't compel affiliates not to pre-empt with their own programming. Sinclair has already indicated it will continue to do so, absent Kimmel meeting conditions they have set.

Media owners (TV, papers, etc) have shown remarkable tolerance these past few years for taking losses on behalf of egos in the departments that produce content, but not indefinite tolerance.

 

[Altair]

If the cost of his show is comparable to Colbert's, they're losing millions annually. ABC might be miscalculating: if the people threatening boycotts are mostly not already consuming the product in the first place, caving gains very little. (They won't be the first to make the miscalculation in judging whether to bend to left-activist pressure.)

ABC can put the offering back in its time slot, but they can't compel affiliates not to pre-empt with their own programming. Sinclair has already indicated it will continue to do so, absent Kimmel meeting conditions they have set.

Media owners (TV, papers, etc) have shown remarkable tolerance these past few years for taking losses on behalf of egos in the departments that produce content, but not indefinite tolerance.

Doesn't matter what losses ABC takes.

Is Disney was the collateral damage here, that's the kicker.

Star wars, Marvel, Disney proper, that's a loss they cannot stomach. A boycott there costs the parent company hundreds of millions.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

At least I know who Jimmy Kimmel is now.....

 

[FJAG]

At least I know who Jimmy Kimmel is now.....

I used to watch him on "The Man Show." MAGA would have loved it.