Habemus Papae Americae!

Well, that was unexpected!  An American Pope, and on the third round of voting.  Who would have thought it?  Certainly not I!  Dare I say that it certainly put a spring in my step?  Or, should I say, for now, because:

Leo is America’s first pope. His worldview appears at odds with ‘America First.’ - POLITICO
I mean, if we get Francis-lite, it's an improvement, albeit not really, in the winning the Special Olympics way.  One sees the social media and one worries, but then one reads about how moderate he is -- sort of like the last guy, but less so, more traditional, more Papal, more diplomatic, not a Jesuit (an Augustinian; guess I need to brush up), etc.  As one friend and I discussed, if the whole concept is "He is better than the last guy," he is, and that is fine, but it's also hunting dairy cattle, and that is NOT fine.  I guess I am willing to give him a chance to see what we are getting.

GOP may be closer than ever to enacting a massive rule-busting bill - POLITICO
Dare I say that this is a good thing?  I don't think we will cut spending enough, but some reforms are better than none, less government spending is good, and if we can enact some actual conservative policies... at the end of the day you have to take your wins when you can, and this just might be it.  To use the previous example, something is better than nothing, and while it is not that fine, it is... fine enough for now.

‘He needs to resign’: Democrats react with quiet shock to damning John Fetterman profile
Is it me, or is this the third Dem this week about which we have had questions about their mental health?  There was the rep in CO, Joe Biden is back, and now this -- mind you, there have been questions about him since Day One, and the Dems voted for him anyways, so... but the same people who said Joe Biden was all there were also the ones saying that he was all there, and at the end of the day.... the GOP should be pressing them and reminding them -- and the people as a whole -- about this every day.