The Pope's politics deciphered.

"“Absurd,” said Julio Barbaro, a former Argentine congressman who studied at the San Miguel Jesuit college with Francis in the 1960s.

The pope, Barbaro said, is a “Peronist” whose views don’t fit into the left-right boxes of the U.S. political divide.

Gen. Juan Perón ruled Argentina from 1946 to 1955, and again briefly in the 1970s, and Peronism has endured as a dominant force in the country’s political life. It attempts to bridge class divides through the combination of a strong, authoritative leader, a highly centralized and generous social welfare state, and heavy doses of quasi- religious nationalist sentiment. Even after her death in 1952, Perón’s wife Evita was a figure of adoration among the country’s working poor.
Peronism’s appeal for many postwar Argentines, including the young Francis, was its rejection of both Marxism and laissez-faire capitalism. “It was a way to help the poor that doesn’t believe in class struggle,” Barbaro said. “It believes in capitalism but with limits.”
Perón was a classic Latin American strongman, too, stifling dissent and styling himself as the embodiment of Argentine national pride; the Peronism of Francis’s childhood did not exalt individual freedom or free markets. But his “third-way” policies and personal touch endeared him to working-class Argentines who were suspicious of wealthy elites yet wary of international leftism at the same time."

Read the whole piece here

The Pope is an authoritarian statist. The left loves and worship authoritarians. The Constitution was written to protect us from authoritarianism. 

Hey liberal Jews are you ready to live as a "protected class"? The 1930's Nazi's reborn as Muslims.

‘American Great Satan’: While Obama Aims to Sell Iran Deal at Home, Here’s What Iran’s Supreme Leader Is Telling Iranians

While President Barack Obama aimed to sell Congress on the Iran agreement, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was working on his own domestic front, releasing a book detailing his plan to eliminate the “cancerous tumor” Israel.

Journalist Amir Taheri obtained a copy of the 416-page book entitled “Palestine,” published last week in Tehran, in which Khamenei also denied the Holocaust, an event he described as “a propaganda ploy.”

“If there was such a thing … we don’t know why it happened and how,” Khamenei wrote, according to Taheri who posted translated excerpts in the New York Post and the Gatestone Institute website.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gives a speech Tuesday June 23, 2015. (Photo: Office of Iran’s Supreme Leader)

In the book, Khamenei used three words to describe how Israel is to be destroyed, which translate to “annihilation,” “fading out” and “effacement.”

Iran’s supreme leader noted that eliminating the Jewish state did not require one use military means or “massacre the Jews.” Instead, he suggested low-intensity conflicts to push Jews to leave Israel.

He called for a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, that is, a single state called “Palestine” under Muslim rule where only some Israeli Jews could live as “protected minorities.” The rest would have to leave.

“Khamenei makes no reference to Iran’s nuclear program. But the subtext is that a nuclear-armed Iran would make Israel think twice before trying to counter Khamenei’s strategy by taking military action against the Islamic Republic,” journalist Taheri observed.

Taheri reported that Khamenei made clear that his objective of destroying Israel was not rooted in anti-Semitism, but rather in “well-established Islamic principles” — that is, a land that once was ruled by Muslims can never be ruled by non-Muslims.

Khamenei asserted that Israel is an “enemy” of Iran, for one, because it’s an “ally of the American Great Satan.”

Taheri noted that the book’s blurb about its author described Khamenei as “the flagbearer of jihad to liberate Jerusalem.”

Murder is what Obama's open borders policy has wrought. Illegals seem to count for more then Americans. ICE as a co-conspitior.

Ohio Judge Says He ‘Can’t Set a Bond High Enough’ to Illegal Immigrant Accused of Murder and Attempted Rape

An Ohio judge got emotional and angry at the hearing for Juan Razo, an illegal immigrant accused of murdering one woman, shooting another women and attempting to rape a 14-year-old girl.

On July 27, police say Razo, 35, attempted to rape his teenage niece before shooting a woman in the arm. He is also accused of fatally shooting Margaret Kostelnik who was 60-years-old, before participating in a brief shootout with police in Painesville, Ohio,

“I can’t set a bond high enough,” Judge Mike Cicconetti bristled, setting the price at $10 million.

Judge Mike Cicconetti told the illegal immigrant accused of murdering a 60-year-old woman and injuring others that he “can’t set a bond high enough.” (Image source: WKYC-TV)

During the Friday hearing, Razo said with the help of an interpreter that he did not have a license, identification or passport. His also said his birth certificate is in Mexico.

“I have somebody who we don’t even know who he is, why he is in this country, why he is here illegally and why he allegedly committed a murder,” Cicconetti said.

Razo pleaded not guilty and will appear at a preliminary hearing on Monday, according to CNN.

The Latino grassroots organization HOLA attempted to shift the blame to Razo’s mental health instead of his immigration status, according to WKYC-TV.

“Juan Razo’s family has grappled with his serious mental health issues for many years,” Veronica Dahlberg, Executive Director of HOLA Ohio said in a statement to WKYC. “His acts do not represent our community.”

Dahlberg claimed in the statement that Razo’s father was a legal U.S. citizen, making Razo “not a random illegal alien” as he was waiting for his green card. WKYC reported that the status of Razo’s father’s citizenship could not yet be confirmed.

Dahlberg told WKYC that Razo suffered from bipolar disorder.

“Thus, this is not an issue about immigration; rather it is about the problems associated with adults with mental illness,” Dahlberg said. “We are disappointed to see leaders exploiting this tragedy to promote a political agenda.”

Juan Razo, an illegal immigrant, is accused of murdering a 60-year-old woman in Ohio. (Image source: WKYC-TV)

As CNN reported, this is the second man in July who has been accused of murder after authorities discovered he was in the country illegally and yet did not detain nor deport him.

Earlier in July, police say Juan Francisco Lopez fatally shot a 31-year-old woman who was walking along a pier in San Francisco with her father. Lopez, who also pleaded not guilty, was an illegal immigrant who police had previously detained.

However, unlike in San Francisco, Painesville is not a “sanctuary city.”

Watch Judge Cicconetti’s remarks and WKYC’s report below.

That Boss Who Set Minimum $70,000 Salaries for All Employees? Here’s How That’s Working Out So Far

Dan Price got a lot of kudos a few months back after establishing minimum $70,000 salaries for all employees at his credit card processing company, Gravity Payments, in Seattle.

Dan Price, after the big announcement in April. (Image source: New York Times screenshot)

“Income inequality has been racing in the wrong direction,” he told the New York Times. “I want to fight for the idea that if someone is intelligent, hard-working and does a good job, then they are entitled to live a middle-class lifestyle.”

But it appears Price’s fight hasn’t been a cakewalk.

Apart from the hit his own salary took — $1 million down to $70k — Price began renting out his house to help with his diminished income. He also had to hire a dozen new employees at much higher wages to handle new clients intrigued by his stance. And then some older clients backed out believing fee spikes were around the corner, while others walked away because they took Price’s announcement as political.

More from the Times:

Two of Mr. Price’s most valued employees quit, spurred in part by their view that it was unfair to double the pay of some new hires while the longest-serving staff members got small or no raises. Some friends and associates in Seattle’s close-knit entrepreneurial network were also piqued that Mr. Price’s action made them look stingy in front of their own employees.

Then potentially the worst blow of all: Less than two weeks after the announcement, Mr. Price’s older brother and Gravity co-founder, Lucas Price, citing longstanding differences, filed a lawsuit that potentially threatened the company’s very existence. With legal bills quickly mounting and most of his own paycheck and last year’s $2.2 million in profits plowed into the salary increases, Dan Price said, “We don’t have a margin of error to pay those legal fees.”

Brian Canlis, co-owner of his family-named restaurant, is a Gravity Payments client and isn’t exactly on board with Price’s new minimum $70,000 salary, which “makes it harder for the rest of us,” he told the Times.

Gravity’s Leah Brajcich told the paper some customers claimed Price harbors communist and socialist agendas and was endangering other businesses whose employees would feel entitled to a much higher minimum wage.

“What’s their incentive to hustle if you pay them so much?” Brajcich told the Times customers asked her, though adding that most were impressed by the dedication of Gravity workers.

More from the Times:

As for other business leaders in Mr. Price’s social circle, they were split on whether he was a brilliant strategist or simply nuts. As much as they respected him, they were also disturbed. “I worry how that’s going to impact other businesses,” said Steve Duffield, the chief executive of the DACO Corporation, who met Mr. Price through the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Seattle. “We can’t afford to do that. For most businesses, employees are the biggest expense and they need to manage those costs in order to survive.”

Roger Reynolds, a co-owner of a wealth management company, said his discussion of the pay plan with Mr. Price got heated. “My wife and I got so frustrated with him at a cocktail party, we literally left,” said Mr. Reynolds, who complained that Mr. Price unfairly accused him of measuring his self-worth solely in terms of money and trying to hold somebody else down. Everyone may have equal rights, but not equal talent or motivation, Mr. Reynolds said. “I think he’s trying to bring in some political and aspirational beliefs into the compensation structure of the workplace.”

Maisey McMaster has been working for Gravity for five years and in that time became financial manager, helping Price calculate the new minimum salary for employees — but now she’s seeing something else going on.

While a good number of people at the company benefitted from the higher wage, others were left feeling unrewarded.

“He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump,” she said.

More from the Times:

The new pay scale also helped push Grant Moran, 29, Gravity’s web developer, to leave. “I had a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. His own salary was bumped up to $50,000 from $41,000 (the first stage of the raise), but the policy was nevertheless disconcerting. “Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me,” he complained. “It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”

Mr. Moran also fretted that the extra money could over time become too enticing to give up, keeping him from his primary goal of further developing his web skills and moving to a digital company.

And the attention was vexing. “I was kind of uncomfortable and didn’t like having my wage advertised so publicly and so blatantly,” he said, echoing a sentiment of several Gravity staff members. “It changed perspectives and expectations of you, whether it’s the amount you tip on a cup of coffee that day or family and friends now calling you for a loan.”

Several employees who stayed, while exhilarated by the raises, say they now feel a lot of pressure. “Am I doing my job well enough to deserve this?” said Stephanie Brooks, 23, who joined Gravity as an administrative assistant two months before the wage increase. “I didn’t earn it.”

Read the entire New York Times article here.

Ask yourself who might be celebrating this murder?

Black Memphis Police Director Has Chilling Message After White Officer was Fatally Shot During Traffic Stop

Speaking to reporters after Officer Sean Bolton was fatally shot during an apparent traffic stop Saturday night, Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong had a message for the community.

“As a community we say so often as a theme — black lives matter. And at the end of the day, we have to ask ourselves, do all lives matter?  Regardless of race, creed, color, economic status, what profession that person holds,” Armstrong said. “All lives matter. And this is just a reminder of how dangerous this job is.”

Image source: WMC-TV

“One life is too many, but how do you put a value on somebody’s life? How do you say one life is more important than another,” Armstrong said later during the press conference. “So, again, what we need more than anything right now is just your prayers again for this MPD family as well as this officer’s family.”

Police say the white 33-year-old officer was shot multiple times during an apparent traffic stop and had been with the department since 2010. Armstrong said they received a call to report the shooting from a citizen who used a police radio.

Bolton’s death is the third police officer death in four years with Armstrong at the helm of the police force, he said during the press conference. In December 2012, Officer Martoiya Lang was killed; Officer Timothy Warren’s life was taken in January 2011.

“We’ve been here before, sadly to say,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been here before.”

After Lang’s death, Armstrong had some strong words to say as well. 

“So often we get side tracked with some of the other things that go on, we have an officer who goes out and does something inappropriate and it gets all the media attention,” he said in 2012. “But at the end of the day, we have officers like this officer who leaves her small kids at home, come put it all on the line.”

Police have not released a description of the gunman — or gunmen — responsible for Bolton’s death, but the suspect is apparently still at large.

Watching Armstrong’s remarks below.

WMC Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee

People make neighborhoods dangerous. Want to know why aspirins cost so much at hospitals. Because someone has to pay for the medical treatment these folks require on an emergency basis.

9 shot after gunfire erupts at Brooklyn house party

Thirteen people were injured during a barrage of gunfire at a backyard house party in Brooklyn early Sunday — one of four shooting incidents overnight, cops said.

A group of unidentified men opened fire on the Stanley Avenue house party in East New York around 2:25 a.m. after an argument, cops said.

Six women were struck in the legs and arms and three men were hit—one in the neck, cops said. They were all taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive.

Four others were hauled away by EMS for injuries sustained by debris launched by the flying lead, police said.

A nearby deli worker heard the mayhem, which spilled onto the street.

“I got shot! I got shot!” one woman was heard screaming.

“Big pools of blood in the street. Nine people were laying out here in the street bleeding. This is a bad neighborhood, very dangerous but never see this kind of thing before,” said Mahdi Alabdi, 52, the overnight clerk at Gourmet Deli.

One of the nine shooting victims transported himself to King County Hospital two and a half hours after the gunfire erupted, sources said.

“You have summer weather, young men, alcohol and competition for pretty girls and the guns come out,” one police source said.

Meanwhile, a 46-year-old man was shot multiple times in the Whitman Houses courtyard. He was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital, cops said.

Also in Brooklyn, a 15-year-old boy was shot in the stomach in a drive-by shooting in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens around 3:45 a.m. on Flatbush Avenue and Lincoln Road, cops said.

Three more people were hit in a Bronx shooting inside the Space Time Playground at Bolton Avenue and Lafayette Street in Soundview around 1:30 a.m., cops said.

Christian Garcia, 20, was fatally shot in the chest, a 25-year-old man was shot in the leg and a 17-year-old girl was shot in the buttocks, cops said.

No suspects have been caught as of early Sunday, cops said.