Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

Versatile actor Paresh Rawal is not just vocal about his choice of films, but also his political view. With the advent of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the film industry is also going through a tax change and has affected the livelihoods of many workers, especially in regional cinema. But Rawal thinks that if the movie industry had put up a united front then they could have convinced the government to change the tax bracket. I dont know much about GST, but the film industry is affected by it. First of all, we are dealing with piracy, which is a major setback to us and then with the advent of these web-portals, even my driver can watch a movie on his mobile. We dont have a unified voice. When I asked Siddharth Roy Kapoor (Producer) to take a united voice from Rajnikanth to Aamir (Khan) to Prabhas and even the Federation to go together and talk about the tax rate, no one turned up, says Rawal.

The south film industry seems to have taken then hit, as in addition to 28% GST they are also required to pay 30% municipal tax. The Guest Iin London actor will also essay the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but has not locked on a script yet. Talking about Modis relationships Rawal says, Camaraderie between PM Modi and Amit Shah is not as unique as you guys perceive. Modi has had many other meaningful relationships especially with his gurus in his formative years. Modi sahab hamesh akele rahe hai, vo kabhi bhi chamcho ke saat nahi baithe rahe hai. He doesnt believe in loose talks and will always be a loner.

When asked about controversial aspects of PM Modis life, Rawal said, With this biopic I am not worried about peoples reaction, I am concentrating on the events that happened in his life and what was the reason behind certain decisions that he took. We will even touch upon the 2002 riots and break peoples incorrect notions.

Rawal has never shied away from expressing his views on the political situation in India and recently even faced a lot of flak after he tweetedthat writer Arundhati Roy should be tied to an army jeep, suggesting she be used in a manner similar to theKashmiri man an incident which had occured in April. I firmly believe in whatever I said about Arundhati Roy. I am not afraid of repeating it as well. You cannot run down my country or my army. As simple as that. Let people say whatever they want, Rawal dismissed any relation to the tweet being a hate speech.

If we post something it is polarising, but her speech is not. If she had not said all that, then I would not have posted all this. From which angle do you think that what I have said is inciting violence? If you are a sympathiser of stone pelters and if I have tied you to the jeep then why would anyone throw a stone at you? Even the army will know how helpful Arundhati is to them, and even she will know what all the army goes through every day. It is a win-win situation, says Rawal.

Albeit with the incidents of hate crimes rising in the country, the actor doesnt believe in any religion or religious text to be the reason for violence. It is pathetic when you start believing in society being a temple and people as god, then such hate crimes wont happen. Since we are born we are thought about the teachings of Bible, Quran, and other holy books. Every book promulgates only good things, still, these books havent been able to influence them. Whether you are Hindu or Muslim, when you lynch someone you are killing a human being. We should bring out a strict law and judiciary should also implement it quickly, says the Member of Parliament.

Link:
Paresh Rawal is proud to be politically incorrect - Free Press Journal

Just about everything David Granger despises about a changing America, his son, Hank, venerates.

David is a profanely politically incorrect Vietnam veteran who rails against multiculturalism and anti-gun liberals and refers to hijabs as Muslim torture devices.

Hank is a young art dealer who must apologize for his fathers Archie Bunker worldview, telling one perturbed stranger that Dad needs help acknowledging his privilege.

Their relationship is a long, awkward Thanksgiving dinner with extended family that keeps veering toward politics.

And yet, David Granger cant cut off the conversation not with a granddaughter in the picture, the 7-year-old Ella with whom hes not too proud to share dainty playtime tea. Plus he cant just write off his son.

If he werent mine, I would probably despise Hank Granger, but he was the closest Id ever get to producing an heir, so my emotions continue to betray me.

In The Reason Youre Alive, David Granger must confront what divides him and his son. A car crash forces the matter, with subsequent medical tests revealing brain tumors.

Hank comes to his widowed fathers unwelcome aid just as his own life is careening off track. His wife, in his fathers words, has just taken off with another man forsaking her maternal duties for a sex romp through Europe.

Its funny, a miserable Hank tells his father. I tried to do the opposite of everything you did, Dad, and yet here we are, both alone.

Author Matthew Quick traffics heavily in such life-worn souls, oddballs trying but failing to reach one another, until circumstances leave them no choice. His characters dont connect so much as collide, more times than not with sharp comedic effect.

One of Quicks prior novels, Silver Linings Playbook, which became an Oscar-nominated film, pulls this all off brilliantly as a romantic comedy.

Its a formula that Hollywood continues to buy. Several of Quicks novels have already been optioned for film, including this one, months before its release.

That could be a turnoff in some literary circles, but in this case it shouldnt be. The role of David Granger may someday be played by an Oscar-hungry actor. But that shouldnt distract from the vivid, high-definition protagonist that already glows from the page.

Here, Quick sets David on a mission to come to terms with the demons of the Vietnam War as he seeks to return something of value to a fellow soldier, mysteriously known as Clayton Fire Bear.

Recollections of Vietnam and on Vietnam factor heavily in this slim novel.

David remembers how he and his own father, a World War II vet, are brought closer by that conflict. On the beaches of Normandy, David presents his father with a Rolex to replace the watch he lost in combat there.

Davids war, in contrast, has estranged him from a son he thinks knows nothing about the war or his life.

That candor and honesty gives this first-person narrative its potency.

It also supplies the humor, with David emphatically reminding us he is not a bigot or a racist, even as he tramples on societal discretion.

He marvels when his black friends bedroom has no leopard-skin blankets or black fists on the walls or red-green-and-black Africa cutouts or anything like that. Later, he asserts that you never see gays move into a neighborhood and make it worse.

Amid these cringe-inducing moments, Quick asks us to take a deeper look at David and his decency, most often expressed through his yearning as a grandparent. Hank also is forced to reassess his father, encountering unexpected revelations in the process.

At a hilarious dinner party, for example, Hank learns that his father has for years had a deep relationship with a gay couple, who sends him a card each Veterans Day.

But ultimately, this voyage of discovery has darker places to go. David must face truths about not only the war, but his deceased wife. More challenging still, the cantankerous father must share many of those truths with his seemingly distant son.

Still, this is not a story about crossing political bridges or of meet-me-halfway accommodations.

Theres no changing David, who will continue to call his Vietnamese friend a little yellow woman, as surely as his son will continue eating kale salads.

What this novel offers instead is a hope that we have the capacity to get beyond what offends us about one another.

Perhaps, at this particular political moment, thats plenty.

The Reason Youre Alive

A novel by Matthew Quick

Published by Harper, 226 pages, $25.99

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Profane veteran grapples with son, modern life in 'The Reason You're Alive' - STLtoday.com

Well the property tax bill is here again. Another year and nothing has been done. What are our state representatives doing? I know what Rep. Tim Hennessey is doing, nothing. He is all for property taxes. We need someone who will work for us, not against us. This person is not Tim Hennessey,

A Senior

All 13 judges on the Ninth and Fourth Circuit Courts who ruled against President Trumps travel ban were all appointed by a Democratic president. How can they all be that stupid or is it political judicial activism at work because a good high school student knows the Constitution better than that? We still have a lot of draining to do yet in Washington.

Truth Be Told

Why did they put rusty guard rails along Industrial Highway? Maybe they will paint them bright yellow yet.

This place is politically incorrect. We say Merry Christmas and One nation under God. We salute our flag and give thanks to our troops. If this offends you, leave. Happy Birthday America.

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For Sanatoga Sam the only thing that Trump is trying to do is to get the Federal Reserve under his control to line his greedy little pockets far far more than they already are. He is truly a thief. Keep following him and youll be on the outside looking in. Also, for the Revolutionist, you cannot lose something you have never had.

Former Republican

During the campaign, Donald Trump said he could go out in the street and shoot someone and wouldnt lose any votes. So picture this Trump supporters: youre walking down the street with your family, Trump comes out and shoots somebody. You turn to him and say Thank you sir, Im sure they all deserved it. I could actually see that happening.

Just remember the names Smith and Flynn with Russian collusion for Trump.

Jay Miller

This is in response to Sanatoga Paul Reveres comments about the lefties holding Trump back. The Republicans have the House, the Senate and the White House and they cant agree on anything, yet you have to be like Trump and blame it on the lefties and the Democrats. You like Trump probably cant even have a family reunion because it would break out in a horrific fight.

Last Saturday night I wanted to go to the baseball game but my wife wanted to go to the movies. I was outvoted 1-1 again.

Sarcastic Sam

This is for Fact. Under Obamas watch there were a great number of elderly veterans who died waiting to get into the VA because of the ineptitude run under Obama and the red tape. And heres another thing Fact, check out the veterans and the last three years under Obama who committed suicide. Wait till you Google that number. Its all there. So check it out and then why dont you get back to us and tell us what those numbers were because we do have it here.

Moms Mobley

Besides his hair color, charitable donations, sexual assaults, the law, health care, ISIS, Obama, Clinton, the properties he owns, his tax returns, his golf score, the fake Time magazine covers, the amount of money he got from his dad, Russia and making America great again, he hardly lied about anything believe me.

As an American I would like to ask you a question. How safe and secure can we feel knowing that our leaders have a problem with the truth and the facts? Can you go to sleep at night without worrying about what your leader is going to tweet at 4 a.m.? The truth is about the nation of our great nation and it looks like the foundation is crumbling.

KM

On July 4 I watched the movie Independence Day and its too bad that our current president isnt like the president in that movie, Mr. Whitmore, played by Bill Pullman. We need a president like him.

Jean

To the person that tried to compare heroin to opioid painkiller abuse, give it some real thought. Painkillers are pills taken by mouth. Heroin you put in a needle to inject it. Theyre not the same. Stop trying to compare it and stop trying to say how painkillers lead to that. Theyre not the same in any way. Get the facts straight.

I am a Democrat and yes Donald Trump is my president. I just wish he would start acting like one and stop acting like hes still in the second grade. Grow up, be a man and man-up. Just do your job.

I dont really believe these stories about genetically modified food being bad for you. I just had a delicious leg of flounder and I feel fine.

Jim Fitch

Sound Off is a forum to spur dialogue from residents of the communities we serve on topics of interest in those communities. Fair game are comments that raise issues of note or amplify ongoing debates.

We will not publish comments that are potentially libelous, slanderous, mean-spirited, vulgar or inappropriate. Publications of Sound Off comments are at the sole discretion of the publisher.

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Saturday's Sound Off - The Mercury

TheSpec.com

Reason You're Alive is a feel-good experience TheSpec.com The author of "The Silver Linings Playbook" introduces readers to David Granger, a politically incorrect Vietnam veteran who takes pride in the fact that he's basically too ornery to die. By book's end, everyone will wind up loving the camouflage ...

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Reason You're Alive is a feel-good experience - TheSpec.com

Michael Smerconish, a CNN host and SiriusXM personality, made news Thursday forsaying that people who act like a bigot or racist online should be outed, yet his own past writingmay reflect attitudes that the Left considersracist.

While Michael Smerconish has expressed a number ofliberalviewsin recent years, many of his past columns endorse ideas that, by the standards of the American Left, could be seen as racist. (RELATED:CNNs Michael Smerconish: Media Should Out Anonymous People If They Say Bigoted Things [VIDEO])

In a blog post from November 2009published at the Huffington Post, Smerconish explicitly promotes racial profiling, something that would surely be found racist and Islamophobic by his left-wing peers.

He writes, Profiling. Lets look for terrorists who look like terrorists. Those who threaten us have similarities. In virtually every instance, they have race, gender, ethnicity, religion and appearance in common. Those characteristics should be considered as we seek to prevent terrorist strikes against the United States. Everyone needs to be screened, but some more than others. When the terrorists start looking like Thurston Howell, III, we will change accordingly.

In the same column, Smerconish also endorsed immigration policy that was positively Trumpian.

He said, Immigration. Our borders are porous. They need to be closed. Only when they are closed should we make decisions as to what to do with the millions who are already here illegally. It is impractical to believe we will ship them back to wherever they came from. But through attrition, and by ensuring no more of their friends and relatives join them, we will probably diminish the herd.

This isnt Smerconishs only writingabout immigration. He also penned a 2007 articlefor the Huffington Post where he writes,Our borders are porous, and Congress wont act. The closest theyve come was to approve 700 miles of fencing, but without funding. Meanwhile, the quality of life in Hazleton declines.

Smerconish also wrote an article in 2006 for HuffPost positively reviewing Pat Buchanans book, State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America.

In the article, he cites a fact Buchanan pointed out about illegal aliens criminality, saying, One in every 12 people breaking into the United States illegally has a criminal record.

He also notes Buchanans claim about white people becoming a minority, saying, By 2050, the U.S. population of European descent will be a minority, as it is today in California, Texas, and New Mexico.

Smerconish writes, Those coming here are disproportionately poor, uneducated and criminal. And the fact that they are emigrating from countries that have themselves never been fully assimilated into the First World, is what separates this group from our forefathers. They are breaking in, not playing by the rules. Most important, many have no desire to be American. So why does it continue?

The status quo is enabled by multinational corporations anxious to topple sovereign borders, a Hispanic media that depends for its survival on the perpetuation of bilingualism and gutless politicians. Political correctness is a major factor. Witness how many seek to dismiss Buchanans analysis as the work of a white guy uncomfortable with the realization that his kind is losing its dominance and control. Or they try to label him a racist or xenophobe.

Finally, he ends the column by saying, State of Emergency, indeed. Its time to close and defend our borders.

Smerconish also wrote a sardonic 2006 article for HuffPost that seemed to criticize illegalimmigrants for their lack of assimilation and the political correctness that prevents people from talking about it.

He also advocated a position that many leftists would seemingly find Islamophobic in a 2005 column for HuffPost. In the article, he speaks approvingly of flushing the Koran down the toilet to intimidate Muslim Gitmo detainees.

He says, When I first read the Newsweek blurb that said our interrogators were threatening the flushing of the Koran as a means of getting information out of bad guys at Gitmo Bay, it didnt even register. It was that tame, at least to me. After all, what were talking about here is the use of non-physical means to extract information from suspected al Qaeda members in the context of a war on terror.

He adds, Those depicted on my set are willing to work themselves into a lather while burning our flag over reports of the American Standardizing of the Koran, and look about one small step removed from the terrorists who cut off Nick Bergs head or flew airplanes into the Twin Towers. These enemies of the United States are lunatics, and the depravity of radical Islam knows no bounds. If the toilet act doesnt work, lets try a menstruating American GI, riding a pig, if available.

CNN drew outrage this week afterits reporter Andrew Kaczynskitracked down thecreator of the pro wrestling gif tweeted out by President Trump and the network seemed the threaten to reveal the mans identity. Many saw CNNs behavior as blackmail. (RELATED:Extremely Unethical CNN Draws Backlash After Threatening To ID Reddit User Behind Trumps WWE Video)

However, Smerconish had a different take, saying on his SiriusXM show Wednesday that because the creator of the gif may also have made postings that were racist and anti-Semitic, he deserves to be outed.

If he continues to be a racist, if he continues to be a bigot, if he continues to be anti-Semitic, theyre gonna out him. Yeah, I like that, he asserted. He should be outed.

Smerconish also said on Thursday that people who promote hate, also sacrifice any right to privacy that you otherwise would have had.

By saying this, Smerconish essentially endorsed doxxing anyone who can be perceived to be a racist or bigot, effectively leaving them jobless and open to harassment and threats. (RELATED:CNN Analyst: You Dont Have The Right To Be Anonymous)

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CNN Host Who Wants All 'Racists' Outed Has His Own Past To Worry About - The Daily Caller

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Officer Miosotis Familia was murdered, assassinated point-blank and in cold blood, without provocation, on a corner in the Bronx where she was making a difference defusing fear and racial tension.

Her killer, Alexander Bonds, taken down by two other police officers in pursuit after he fired on them and hit a bystander, was both mentally ill and a cop hater. His illness does not explain, or negate, his hate.

By all accounts, Officer Familia was a great cop, and a great human being. She was the kind of cop police chiefs and do-gooders alike dream of. She knew the people on her beat and reached out to them, often in Spanish. She raised three kids and took care of her mother, who lived with her. She was, said a nephew, a warrior in life as well as work.

Officer Familia was the first female New York Police Department officer killed in the line of duty since 9/11, and the third female officer killed in a combat situation in the departments history.

Why does someone like that have to die like that?

This is what the New York City police commissioner, James P. ONeill, said: Make no mistake: Officer Familia was murdered for her uniform and for the responsibility she embraced.

Was she? Wasnt she killed because hate consumed the mind of a crazy man?

Would the chief put it quite this way given time to reflect and consider his words?

Or would he point out that the reason a sick mind and a heart filled with hate targeted a cop is that cops are too often disrespected and misunderstood in America?

Most of us have no idea what a police officers life is like. We dont comprehend what an officer risks every day on the job. We cant know the knot in the belly of every cop as he approaches every car he stops. (Will this be the day? Will this be the one?) We dont see the reality of many of the people police officers deal with daily. Many are people who have never known lifes value, never seen that value treasured or expressed. That often makes them unpredictable and dangerous people.

Being a cop has always been tough. It is tougher than ever today.

And most of us have no idea. None.

We mostly never will because few of us have ever really talked to a police officer. All we know about police work is what we have seen on TV, where good guys and bad guys alike shoot straight and the bad guys act with rational motives.

And how insane has our political culture gotten when it is considered controversial or politically incorrect to say that both black lives and blue lives matter? Of course they do. Of course they are linked. Author Heather Mac Donald has summarized the irony: There is no government agency that has saved more black lives over the last two decades than the police.

The death of Officer Familia is an American tragedy and that the commissioner thinks what he thinks about her death is a second tragedy. Many cops believe their communities often do not have their backs. They feel the blue brotherhood is their only real extended family.

Obviously, every police force, in every American city, should have every possible resource it needs. And when a police officer is assassinated simply for being a cop, all the resource questions must be asked and all procedures reviewed.

But beyond this, our police officers deserve our deeper understanding, our curiosity, our sympathy, and our undying appreciation. And when one falls, our abiding sense of loss and grief.

The rest is here:
A blue wall of grief - Toledo Blade

Posted By Thaddeus McCollum on Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 7:00 AM

Its gotta be difficult getting opposing sides of the culture war to despise you for completely different things, but Bill Maher, longtime host of HBOs Real Time, has somehow managed it. While the right has long despised Maher for what they view as smarmy liberal elitism he famously critiqued the characterization of terrorists as cowardly on his former talk show, Politically Incorrect, and starred in the documentary Religulous, in which he derides organized religion as a scam. But this year, Maher has had to duck swings from the left after booking internet hatemonger Milo Yiannopolous on his show, a move which critics say lent legitimacy to Yiannopolous particularly vile brand of jackassery. Then, just last month, Maher flippantly referred to himself as a house you-know-what on live TV a gaffe that Maher attempted to address head-on the following week. Expect to hear his side of all this and more when Maher takes the stage at the Dr. Phillips Center this week for a night of politically charged comedy. And hey, a guy who can unite the political divide in this country on anything has to be doing something right right?

Saturday, 8 p.m. | Walt Disney Theater, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia St. | 844-513-2014 | drphillipscenter.org | $45-$110

Tags: Bill Maher, Dr. Phillips Center, Image

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Bill Maher brings his politically charged comedy to Dr. Phillips Center - Orlando Weekly (blog)

The Reason Youre Alive by Matthew Quick; Harper (240 pages, $25.99)

In The Reason Youre Alive, Matthew Quick performs a nifty literary magic trick.

The author of The Silver Linings Playbook introduces readers to David Granger, a politically incorrect Vietnam veteran who takes pride in the fact that hes basically too ornery to die. By books end, everyone will wind up loving the camouflage-wearing, knife-carrying sociopath.

Turns out hes really not such a bad guy once you get to know him.

The Reason Youre Alive (Harper, $25.99) is Granger telling his life story: going rogue and committing atrocities in the Vietnam jungle, coming home to a military psychiatric facility, marrying a woman more unstable than he is, and always at odds with his now-grown ignorant liberal art-dealer son.

Our protagonist ultimately goes on a mission to atone for an old transgression. He feels compelled to return a knife he stole nearly 50 years ago from his Vietnam nemesis: Clayton Fire Bear.

When readers make it to the Capra-esque final pages, they are almost certain to shed a feel-good tear or two. Our hero would bust their chops for all the boohooing and girly-man behavior, but so be it.

Quick is adapting his book into a screenplay. Film rights were sold last year to Miramax.

Continued here:
'Reason You're Alive' is a feel-good experience - Arizona Daily Star

Blogs | Jul. 6, 2017

It is refreshing to hear of a politically incorrect prelate, by modern standards, being honored in an era such as ours.

Not everyone gets to receive a present on their220thbirthday.

But on the Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Archbishop John Hughesthe first Archbishop of New Yorkwas honoredin his home parish of Clogher, in County Tyrone, Ireland, when the Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, unveiled a special Blue Plaque to commemorate Dagger John, the immigrant laborer who founded Saint Patricks Cathedral and Fordham University.

The Blue Plaque, generally, is a special honour organized by a group called The Ulster History Circle to commemorate men and women whohave, in a public way, contributed to the history of the northern part of the island of Ireland.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, in St Macartans Church, in the Diocese of Clogher (Clogher also being the name of the parish), Archbishop Martin communicated a taste of the life and times of Archbishop Hughes, who was just a young man, still in his teenage years, when he left Ireland for America in 1816.

Archbishop Hughes became a dedicated pastor and a forthright preacher who was determined to lift the lid on the struggles and grievances of Catholics at home in Ireland and in America, Archbishop Martin said.

Hughes life story, he continued, intersects with major issues of that timefrom Catholic Emancipation in Ireland, to the right to faith based education in New York; from wrangles over the Union and Constitution of the United States to disagreements over the abolition of slavery, from the plight of thousands of Irish immigrants fleeing the famine, to the nativist riots in Philadelphia and elsewhere.

When you look through these windows to the past from a distance of two hundred years, Archbishop Martin said, it is difficult to unravel the complexity and appreciate the nuances of that time which, although quite unlike our own, is in some ways strangely familiar.

One of those strangely familiar ways that Archbishop Martin alluded to is, of course, the political attacks on the Faith, and in particular, the attacks on Catholic education, which he has to deal with nowjust as Archbishop Hughes had to deal with themin his day.

Before he left Ireland, the legacy of the anti-Catholic Penal Laws meant that the future Archbishop of New York needed to attend a hedge school.

Later, as Bishop of New York, he came up against other obstacles to Catholic education, most notably in the form of the Public School Society.

Now, in a strangely familiar way, back in Ireland, again, Archbishop Eamon Martin is being confronted with the prospect of a law that would openly discriminate against Catholic parentsand thisin a country that's predominantly Catholic.

The twin themes of education and attacks on the Faith were also taken up by Monsignor Joseph McGuinness, the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Clogher.

Speaking of the link between Archbishop Hughes and Blessed John Henry Newman, Monsignor McGuinness noted that Archbishop Hughes regarded John Henry Newman as the greatest man in the Church in his time. It was of course Cardinal Newman, he said, who was to come to Dublin in 1854 to set up the Catholic University which Archbishop Hughes had so willingly enabled through his support for the fundraising in New York. In Dublin, he said, Newman sought to give practical expression to his idea of a university.

In the thought of Newman and in the action of Hughes, the Monsignor said, we see a clear recognition of the value of intellectual formation and its centrality to the dialogue between faith and society that was current then, and is so urgently needed now. In the midst of political attacks on the faith in his time, Archbishop Hughes, like Newman, placed great emphasis on education and, like the gardener that he was, on the cultivation of the mind, which enables full-hearted engagement with profound ideas.

In another parallel between the present time and that of Archbishop Hughes, a group of Irish and American Catholics have taken up the task of giving practical expression to the idea of a university that Blessed John Henry Newman had initiated in response to the wishes of Blessed Pius IX, almost 200 years ago. The new Newman College Ireland is now entering its fourth year!

On a lighter note, Archbishop Eamon Martin also recalled that, People laughed when Archbishop Hughes began to plan a Cathedral on what was then the remote 51st Street far out on 5th Avenue. They called it Hughes' Folly but time would show that, as on many other issues, Archbishop Hughes was ahead of the rest in anticipating the growth and future strategic importance of mid-Manhattan.

As the words of the song go, Who, who, who, whos got the last laugh, now?

Finally, as Monsignor McGuinness, pointed out, To some, (Archbishop Hughes) appeared stubborn and pugnacious. Critics had claimed that the cross with which he, in common with all bishops, prefaced his signature, was, in his case, really a dagger. But, Monsignor McGuinness claimed, these were qualities which were put to good use in the service of his people.

Neither were his views narrowly sectarianindeed he had a horror of bigotry and discrimination. He also hired a Protestant, James Renwick, as the architect for the building (of Saint Patricks Cathedral) and managed to secure funds from many Protestants for the project, despite the turbulent political and religious feuds of the time.

Whatever ones views of the man, it is perhaps refreshing to hear of a politically incorrect prelate, by modern standards, being honored in an era that seems to impose an increasingly tight blueprint on the expectations of the personalities of our senior Churchmen.

Cardinal Dolan's Message

The following is a special message from Cardinal Timothy Dolanthe tenth Archbishop of New Yorkwho conveyed his good wishes on the occasion of the unveiling of the Blue Plaque to honour the late Archbishop John Hughes.

It is a joy to send greetings from the Archdiocese of New York on the auspicious occasion of the unveiling of a blue plaque to commemorate Archbishop John Joseph Hughes in his native parish. His achievements, coming from a humble background in Co Tyrone, Ireland, from where he emigrated to the United States, are worthy of special mention. He distinguished himself by becoming the first Archbishop of New York, founding Saint Patricks Cathedral, as well as Fordham University (formerly Saint Johns College). Here in the United States, we owe Archbishop Hughes a great debt of gratitude, and so it is only right that we reflect with pride on his life. May I wish you every success with your plaque unveiling to a truly deserving figure who became one of the most influential men of his time and won the respect of many. We just put up a bronze bust of him at the entrance to the Basilica of Old Saint Patricks Cathedral, so we are united in this tribute to a great man.

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Archbishop John Hughes Honored With 'Blue Plaque' in His Native Ireland - National Catholic Register (blog)

The North Korean dictator's first successful intercontinental ballistic missile test on Monday did more than shake up strategic calculations in the Pacific.

It presented Trump with his first real test on the global stage as he flies off to meet far more experienced leaders at the G20 summit in Germany, some of whom are ill-disposed to help him and don't have the US's best interests at heart.

It's a trip that will now be judged on Trump's capacity to secure not just international condemnation of North Korea's actions, but to advance US efforts to change the strategic calculation in Pyongyang.

The mission will test Trump's skill at wielding US power, building international coalitions behind American foreign policy goals and framing innovative policy approaches that haven't yet been tried and that don't fit neatly into the "America First" doctrine that is driving his foreign policy.

Forget the tweetstorms, slams at "fake news" journalists and morale boosting rallies before crowds who thrill to Trump's politically incorrect rhetorical blasts.

This is what being President is really about.

In one sense, the July 4 pyrotechnics from the isolated state ushered in an alarming new reality, one Trump is the first President to face -- the prospect that in theory, Pyongyang could soon hit the US with a nuclear-capable missile.

But what makes Trump's job so difficult is the unpalatable set of options available to try to halt North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. If those fail, an equally unpleasant option would await -- accepting the reality the United States is in Pyongyang's crosshairs.

In other words, Trump is under intense pressure to solve what may be an insoluble foreign policy problem.

He would have to decide how to contain the threat from the North Korean program or to deter the use of a weapon, effectively accepting that in theory at last Pyongyang had the US in the crosshairs.

"There is an argument to be made that everything has changed and nothing has changed," said Jim Walsh, senior research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program, adding that the test had demonstrated new North Korean capabilities and taken the US across a psychological and political threshold.

But Walsh said the options for the US to respond "really haven't changed. Today's options are no different from yesterday's options, and yesterday's options weren't very good."

Given that military attempts to halt North Korea's nuclear march all risk a horrific confrontation that could kill millions on the Korean peninsula and beyond, Trump has few alternatives but to seek a diplomatic outcome to the showdown with Pyongyang.

Yet there are few approaches that other presidents have not already tried.

One route the administration is taking is a familiar one -- seeking a Security Council condemnation of the test launch on Wednesday at the UN and new sanctions on the already heavily sanctioned North. US and South Korean forces are also conducting exercises in the region in response to the test.

Trump came to office slamming the "strategic patience" strategy pursued by the previous Obama administration on North Korea -- involving tough sanctions and a refusal to talk to Pyongyang until it renounces nuclear development.

But he has yet to diverge substantially from the approach of the last few administrations.

His preferred initial tactic was also a familiar one -- a charm offensive to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he will meet in Germany, to pressure Beijing's recalcitrant neighbor into halting its nuclear and missile programs.

But now the President, only three months after meeting Xi at his Florida resort, appears to have concluded that effort has failed, further narrowing his options.

"North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?" Trump tweeted after Monday's launch.

"Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!"

On Wednesday, Trump added: "Trade between China and North Korea grew almost 40% in the first quarter. So much for China working with us but we had to give it a try!"

There are differing interpretations as to how much Beijing has so far done to pressure the North Koreans, following its decision to halt coal exports to the Stalinist state and a temporary freeze on oil supplies.

And Washington may be overestimating China's capacity to change the behavior of the volatile North Korean leader.

Many experts also believe that China is reluctant to try the kind of prolonged oil embargo that could really pressure Kim because of a fear it could collapse his regime and ignite a chaotic situation on the peninsula. Beijing also has no interest in a solution that would lead to a unified Korea in alliance with the US on its borders.

Whatever China's motivations, however, it seems unlikely that its leaders will be swayed by Trump tweets, hence the need for a prolonged and comprehensive diplomatic push by the administration starting at the G20.

"This is really a good opportunity for the President to show leadership, and to show the type of leader he is," said Harry Kazianis, Director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest, who argued that Trump's tweets were merely a type of "strategic signaling" not the extent of US policy.

If Trump's powers of persuasion with other world leaders fall short, he and his administration will be left with some tough decisions.

One option would be to expand secondary sanctions on Chinese firms that do business with North Korea to try to tighten an economic chokehold around Pyongyang.

"We really need to focus on the players in China, Chinese banks. the people that are aiding and abetting the money laundering," said Kazianis, who also advocates stepping up cybersecurity operations against Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.

Widening sanctions on China's firms is a logical next step, one of the few new approaches that the administration could pursue.

But such a move would also create a whole new foreign policy headache by triggering a sharp deterioration in relations with China, a scenario that could have unpredictable results and significantly increase regional tensions in Asia.

Another option for Trump -- actually talking to the North Koreans -- has been tried before, and is problematic, since Pyongyang has in the past agreed to nuclear freezes and walked away from the deal. Kim, having watched the demise of other dictators who gave away their nuclear programs, believes that his atomic weapons are the only guarantor of his survival.

"They will never give up their nuclear weapons program. They will never give up their missile program. That discussion is off the table," said Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA North Korea analyst, on CNN on Wednesday.

Whatever path he eventually chooses, it's clear that tough talk and tweets are unlikely to provide breakthroughs and that managing escalating tensions will consume the administration for as long as it is in office.

"The main danger here, contrary to some expectations, is not that North Korea is going to suddenly attack the US," Walsh said. "The danger is that there will be a war, but it will happen through miscalculation or misperception."

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North Korea's missile test gives Trump his biggest challenge - CNN