Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy inside the Catholic Church

Spoiler alert--if you have been paying attention at all, there is nothing in here that is ground breaking. Shocking, yes. The depth of the corruption and how it has infiltrated our government and the governments of Europe is well laid out but on reflection, not surprising. The first thing to note about Opus is the tremendous amount of research that went into the project. This involved serious attention to many published works on the prelature, personal interviews with present and former members of Opus Dei (including significant leadership figures), and archival research materials. The resources are fully a quarter of the pages of the book. Some things I didn't know were that Opus Dei was founded in 1928 to be an association of mostly lay Catholics who would seek holiness through their daily activities and secular jobs. Most members are supernumeraries, which means they can be married and live independently, in their own homes; others are numeraries, making a promise of celibacy and living in Opus Dei centers in the community. The author started to investigate them because he was interested in the collapse of a Spanish bank in 2027--but it turned out that was literally the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the influence the group wields, and how Pope Francis was not under their sway being the sole bright light within. The author structures his book around three complementary narratives: one financial, one political and one ecclesial. He is on the strongest ground with following the money, and then where that leads in terms of political influence. It is pretty awful and demonstrates that we are very far from a separation of church and state.

The Othering of America

It is unacceptable. Our neighbors are being taken and we don't know where they are being taken. As we start our 249th year as a country, we are in the midst of a movement of "othering" black and brown people in general and immigrants specifically. ICE agents, wearing masks, tactile gear, semi-automatic weapons, and dark glasses, operating without badges or warrents are very similar to kidnappers. The "process of othering" involves categorizing people into groups and emphasizing differences to create a distinction between an "us" and a "them," often leading to the marginalization and stigmatization of the "them". This process frequently involves assigning negative stereotypes and reinforcing power imbalances. Here's a breakdown of the process: 1. Categorization: . Individuals or groups are categorized based on perceived differences, such as ethnicity, religion, gender, or other characteristics. 2. Othering: . This categorized group is then positioned as fundamentally different from the "in-group" or "us". 3. Dehumanization: . In extreme cases, this can lead to dehumanization, where the "othered" group is seen as less than human, potentially justifying discrimination, abuse, or even violence. 4. Reinforcement of Identity: . The process of othering helps solidify the identity of the "in-group" by defining itself in opposition to the "out-group". Othering can have serious consequences, including human rights violations, prejudice, and social exclusion. It is a common tactic used to justify conflict, discrimination, and violence. Understanding the mechanisms of othering is crucial for promoting inclusivity and challenging these harmful practices. Having just watched "I'm Still Here" about the disappeance of people the government wanted to silence in Brazil, I am struck by how many times history has repeated itself. The Nazi playbook holds a lot of appeal for the Republican party. It is time to do what they do, which is othering those who do not agree with them, calling them by labels that largely don't fit--as a twist on their playbook, just be truthful. Their policies are racist. They are White Supremacists. They are fascists. They disregard the Rule of Law. They are terrorists. Call your congress people and ask them to do their jobs, but know who they are. Morally bankrupt. There is no healing this, there is only protesting for the country that my ancestors founded.

Patriot by Alexei Navaltny

This is a tragedy in the form of a memoir. Alexei Navalny knew how it would end: “I’ll spend the rest of my life in prison and die here.” He was right. On 16 February 2024, the Russian authorities announced the death of its highest profile political prisoner in colony FKU IK-3, north of the Arctic Circle. He was 47 years old. By the time it was published we definitively knew the outcome--that Putin killed Navalny. He had after all tried once and failed. When Navalny recovered and returned to Russia, everyone knew where it was headed. In the meantime he demonstrated conclusively that the Russian state had put a hit on him. The documentary that chronicles this story is remarkable--it also shows why Navalny was so dangerous for Putin. He was a smart, charismatic and handsome man who was charming, self-effacing, and the leader that Russia needed and arguably at one point at least, deserved. Having watched the documentary that won the Academy Award in 2024 and followed Navalny's return to Russia, his imprisonment, and his slow death there, the front end of this memoir was more gripping for me. It tells Navalny's rise to a much feared opposition leader, which included he and his extended family being targeted by the Russian government. The depth of corruption in Putin's Russia and the corruption it thrives on is well detailed here and he is a good writer to boot. This is a difficult read, and one that is unlikely to change any minds, but well worth reading.

Pope Leo IVX--First American Pope

First things first. Since we all watched Conclave, we have some idea of the politics that were at work in the conclave that took place this week. If you missed the movie in the run up to the Oscars, you could watch it between Pope Francis' funeral and today. The debate around where the next pope would lie in terms of church doctrine and direction as well as where he would hail from were widely discussed. In terms of politics, the choice was more non-commital than decisive, and an American was a bit of a surprise. Some things to say--first, he is not that American. He lived in Peru for decades and has Peruvian citizenship. He is fluent in Spanish and Italian, so he can speak to much of the world's Catholics. Second, he is in N ugustinian order, meaning that he is not all about pomp and circumstance, he thinks all humans walk together, and he has a commitment to the poor. Third, he has a math and science education, and he has good leadership experience, and he might be smart. He is seen as a unifier and while not necessarily rooting for the church, it would be good for it not to go downhill and for it to mend fences. Lastly, he told Vance that he did not know what the hell he was talking about when he talked about Jesus--it was obvious to anyone who has read the New Testament that Vance was more in line with Pontious Pilate that Jesus, but it is good that the next pontiff let everyone who was in doubt know what he thought. So, not a terrible choice, it seems, and a quick decision to boot.

Your Body, My Choice

This is the mantra that flooded X after the 2024 election, and while I hate almost everything about it, the thing I love is that it makes it crystal clear that the agenda is NOT "pro-life" or even "pro-birth" (because afterall, the GOP agenda is about not supporting life after birth), it is about power and control over women. Period. Any talk of when life begins and what various religions might and might not support or prohibit is just a distraction, a way to put a pretty bow on an ugly message, which is that men who are attracted to the GOP messaging want to have power and control over women. No wonder it is causing trouble in people's homes. Nobody wants to be a slave to anybody, and the impulse to control people is in itself very unattractive. But at least now it is out there on the table for all to see. This is what you voted for and this is what you want. Is it any wonder that many of us are upset to find out that over half the voting public wants this?

Happy Halloween! An estimated 67% of Americans will give out candy today, according to the National Retail Federation. Tomorrow is the day that those who celebrate will venerate their dead, followed by turning our clocks back an hour on Sunday, and voting on Tuesday, where hopefully we will not turn the damn country back a 100 years or more. 1. Election countdown With five days until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both have viable paths to the White House. Polls show the race is neck and neck — and could be decided by small numbers of voters in a single battleground state. The candidates are focusing on seven key states in their final campaign sprint: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Georgia. Trump was in Wisconsin on Wednesday, where he broke out the props and seized on a garbled remark by President Joe Biden that seemed to insult Trump voters as “garbage.” Biden has denied calling Trump supporters “garbage,” saying his comment on a call Tuesday had been misinterpreted. 2. It's The Economy Several economists and officials have told CNN the economy has finally pulled off a soft landing, in which inflation is tamed without a recession — an exceptionally rare achievement. Gross domestic product, which measures all the goods and services produced in the economy, expanded at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That’s a slightly weaker pace than the second quarter’s 3% rate and above the 2.6% rate economists projected in a FactSet poll. Wednesday’s report comes after earlier data showed the economy added a whopping 254,000 jobs in September, inflation is a whisper away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and consumer confidence jumped this month by the fastest clip since March of 2021 — all signs of a robust economy. The bad news is that this doesn't seem to sway voters, but it will make the initial path for the next president easier. 3. Extreme weather At least 95 people have been killed by severe flash floods in Spain, according to authorities on Wednesday, as emergency responders scramble to find dozens of missing people. In the worst-affected region of Valencia, 92 people were killed and around 1,200 are thought to still be trapped, local officials said. Separately, Taiwan’s largest storm since 1996 made landfall today with heavy rains and damaging winds equivalent to a Category 3 Atlantic hurricane. The storm, known as Typhoon Kong-rey, has killed at least one person and injured dozens of others. This will be a task for the next administration to face--will they be up to it? So have fun today because the next week gets very scary indeed.

Never Forget

September 11th, 2001 We were like everyone else--maybe more aware because we were not at work--glued to the television, watching planes hit one then the other tower of the WTC in New York City. It was a shocking event and all Americans remember what they were doing that day--the similar day for me was Kennedy's assasination, but I remember it because cartoons were cancelled the day after he was shot and that was what my 4 year old self was struck by. In addition to what everyone was feeling, I was also watching my youngest son get his last dose of chemotherapy. He had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 15 months before, and had undergone surgery, radiation, followed by a grueling year of chemotherapy. I was, and remain, grateful for the medical care he received as well as the research that went on before his diagnosis to give him the chance at living beyond 5 years old, but it was the hardest thing that I have ever done. The terrosit attacks on our country cut short any sort of celebration that was planned to mark the momentous day, but in some ways that turned out to be fitting. When treatment ended so too ended the prolonged periods of compromised immunity, bloow transfusions, deadly infections, and prolonged hours in the hospital, but it began what every family who has had a family member survive cancer--the waiting period. The time is fraught with anxiety, and almost nobody gets it. The general public thinks the hard part is over, and it is true that the physically grueling part is (hopefully) behind you--but the emotionally draining part continues. So today we celebrate the 23 year anniversary of a successful end of cancer treatment.

Disillusioned by Benjamin Herold

This book follows five families from five different parts of the country addressing the trials and tribulations associated with disappointment with living in the suburbs in the United States. These are families of color that sought comfort and promise in America’s suburbs over these past couple of decades, they live outside these metropolis': Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. In each of these communities, he zeroes in on the schools, in large part because education captures the essence of what attracted these families: the prospect of something better for their kids was a primary motivator for moving, and how their expectations were not met with the reality. This is a sprawling book, which is its virtue and the source of its occasional misfires. Five families are a lot to keep track of. I found myself confused at times, and not sure that other than the good geographic distribution they are all needed as the stories have a lot of overlap. Finally, here’s someone to take us to the places that early on served as an escape valve, mostly for white families fleeing the changing demographics of urban America, the places where many Americans imagined a kind of social and economic utopia. The crux of the matter is that suburbs were largely designed to accommodate white families who wanted to step back in time and avoid a changing social structure, and that is not a place designed for all people.

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here by Jonathan Blitzer

This is a sweeping, all-inclusive investigative reporter style book about Central America, immigration, and the United States. While politicians in general and the GOP especially characterize this as a problem at best and a humanitarian crisis at worst that is of Central America's making, the truth is that we are the alpha and the omega of the issue. We are the beginning because we have chronically interfered in the politics, the government, and the economics of Central America and then we are the end because much of what is driving violence in the region is drugs and those drugs are coming to the United States, and then also because we are seen as the promised land, where all will be solved, and as we know that is truly never the case. Only Fox News makes the life of the immigrant seem unduly idle and rewarded, and that is solely for the purposes of fanning the flames of fury against brown skinned people, not that they believe it to be true. The story is overly long and complex, and perhaps by necessity, so is this book. The tentacles of United States businesses in Central America is so widespread as to be hard to believe. "How did this happen" would be a reasonable question that is largely not answered and too big for the scope of the book, which is already sweeping. Unfortunately sometimes the most important message, which is that the Trump administration with the white supremacist Steven Miller at the helm, did unspeakable things to immigrant families for money, political power, and probably no small amount of sadistic pleasure, and at some point, we need to really try to fix the enormous problem that we have no small part in creating rather than pointing fingers of blame elsewhere, and have the expectation that it will only marginally improve because we have made such a mess of it.

The Burial (2023)

I think when all is said and done that this is a better storty than it is a movie. Here's the story--a southern gentleman who has a string of family owned funeral homes is in deep financial trouble because he made some bad investment choices, lost a lot of money, and while he avoided going to jail, the person he invested with did not, and he lost not just his money but also other peoples. He had thirteen kids and he is trying to save the business he inherited from his father so that he can pass something on to his kids. So his lawyer, who is unlikable in the movie and probably in real life, a privledged southern good old boy who wears his racism front and center, hooks him up with a flashy potential buyer of three of his nine funeral homes, so that he will again be liquid, not loose his ability to sell funeral insurance, which is where he makes most of his money, and all looks to be good except for one thing. The big corporate saviour doesn't sign the contract, and drags everything out so that the southern gentleman is in danger of loosing it all. He doesn't see it coming, but his son's friend, a young black freshly minted lawyer does and they decide to get a flashy attorney and take on corporate America. You see where this is going, and really this is not a spoiler because you can see it coming a mile away. It is a'90s inspirational courtroom drama pitched to extreme comedy, and it comes as simple and sweet as a cool summer breeze when flashy personal injury lawyer Willie E. Gary (Jamie Foxx) arrives in Mississippi to defend the mild-mannered Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones). These two heavy hitters portray both a battle and a friendship that warms the heart, even if there are no surprises.

Democracy's Data by Dan Bouk

This is yet another look at the systemic racism in the United States--the book focuses on the 1940 census for some in-depth reporting but has a sub-text of the whole process of the census. It this is a powerful bit of protest against centuries of Black people being misidentified, undercounted and downright erased from the public record. The author is a historian who has also studied computational mathematics, and he believes passionately in the ideals of the census, but reveals in abundant detail how badly it has failed society. Native Americans were long excluded and ethnic classification abetted among other horrors the roundup of Japanese Americans to internment camps and the deportation of Mexican immigrants. In theory, counting the population seems so basic, so neutral: a math problem that requires meticulous attention to detail. But the numerical is political, with representation and resources at stake, so of course it has been manipulated. Bouk shows how, from its beginnings, the census has been subject to partisan interests, which continues up to and including the last census. I am reminded of the quote that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. It is a messy business when you look at it closely and it is miraculous that it works at all.

The Freedom of Privacy

I came of age in what was apparently a golden age of women being near equal citizens to men in the United States. The Supreme Court, illigitimately composed by the GOP voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, saying that it was a 50 year long mistake that needed rectifying by a majority that includes a rapist, a sexual harrassing misogynist who's wife should be prosecuted for plotting the overthrow of the government, liars all at their confirmation hearings. It is gauling and appalling that my granddaughter's face more restrictions than I did. The Handmaid's Tale was actually a blueprint for the future that the current SCOTUS took to heart to make a reality rather than a work of fiction. What remains to be seen is what will voters do about it. We already know that Republicans are surpressing the ability of black and brown people to vite, and that they control state government in many states, even purple ones. So in order to turn the tide against this tyranny, it will take overwhelming nmumbers of people who do not usually vote to trun out. Will this and the January 6th inquiries light that kind of fire under voters at the midterm elections? I hope and pray they do, because it really an emergency. I am so very angry. Who will join me?

Earth On Fire

What comes around goes around. I met some people I work with face to face this week for the first time. We did it outdoors and we have all been vaccinated, and while the delta variant is raging all around us, people are once again dying unnecessarily, and it may not have been altogether perfectly safe, we did it anyway. In a couple of weeks it probably wouldn't happen would be my guess, but it was good to finally talk to each other. One of the things people who are relative strangers do in this scenario is to talk about their families, and it made me thing back to when I started having kids. It was something I definitely did not want to do. The Cold War was coming to a close, but there were still a lot of nuclear weapons in the world, and the fact that one of them might bring about the end of a habitable planet was something I had to face, but I wasn't sure I wanted to bring someone into the world to face. I was and still am hopelessly in love with my spouse and so we did indeed have kids. What I did not see coming at the time, but is now abundantly clear, is that we don't have to detonate a bomb to ruin the planet, we just have to go about business as usual, making few if any changes in how we operate, and the planet will self incinerate. Today is my youngest child's birthday, a child who survived cancer when he was five, only to face this. I hope he can grow old on this planet, but to do so will require real change.

Mask Up!

Today is the birthday of one of my parents, and both of them are quite elderly. They followed all the recommendations to a tee. They barely left their house all through the pandemic, I did not see them without a mask and I did not eat with them for over a year. Today I want to remind you all that today, right now, in the case of COVID, it is the unvaccinated who are getting sick and dying. Almost to a one. So the lies being told about the vaccine are killing people and COVID is the vector. So no matter what, in a health care setting, where there are people who have compromised immune systems, it is mandatory that we all wear mask. Do it for the people who you care about. And stop harrassing health care workers. Health care should be a right, but acting any way you want is not.

Super Spreaders

Heather Cox Richardson touched on the subject of disinformation and it's spread. The algorhythms that are used on social media to feed you information that is tailored to your beliefs and interests are being manipulated in such a way to promote the development of deeply felt beliefs, some of which are founded on lies. The vaccine lies have been traced back to 12 liars, the super spreaders. The motives they might hold, be they nefarious or immature, matters less than the effect they have. I get that if they are designed to weaken America, like the Russian disinformation campaign that led to Trump being elected, the motive matters, but I think it matters less than what in fact happens. In this case, the combination of people who are deeply afraid of the vaccine and the spread of a COVID variant that is highly infectious is leading to pockets of infection that are overwhelming rural communities where not being vaccinated is a point of prideand mask wearing was never in vogue. So there is a direct link between the lies and people dying. It is hard to see how this helps conservatives. but much like all the other lies, it is hard to let go of, even when it is hurting them.

Damn Afghanistan

The decision of how to leave Afghanistan has been made by several presidents, and the work of winding down and backing out has been underway almost since the beginning, almost to no avail. The decision of when to pull the plug, to say that there is nothing more that can be done that will actually change the outcome in Afghanistan was hard because it would always look like failure. So that can has been kicked down the road, until now. Why so? The Taliban wouldn't cut a deal because time is on their side, and they merely have to wait it out until the US leaves. Despite spending more on Afghanistan than on rebuilding Europe after World War II, little progress has been made. It would not be surprising if the Taliban controlled all of Afghanistan within a decade. So Biden's move was both bold and also doomed.+ Afghanistan is a notoriously difficult country to govern. Empire after empire, nation after nation have failed to pacify what is today the modern territory of Afghanistan, giving the region the nickname “Graveyard of Empires, ” even if sometimes those empires won some initial battles and made inroads into the region. If the United States and its allies decide to leave Afghanistan, they would only the latest in a long series of nations to do so. As the British learned in their 1839-1842 war in Afghanistan, it is often easier to do business with a local ruler with popular support than to support a leader backed by foreign powers; the costs of propping up such a leader eventually add up. The closest most historical empires have come to controlling Afghanistan was by adopting a light-handed approach, as the Mughals did. They managed to loosely control the area by paying off various tribes, or granting them autonomy. Attempts at anything resembling centralized control, even by native Afghan governments, have largely failed. We are in good company, if that is any consolation.

Boycott Option

I am not one to rush into a political discussion, and I do not follow politics beyond reading articles. I don't have a politics blog that I prefer, and I walk away from discussions that get too heated for my taste. That said, I have been reading and thinking about democracy and what can threaten it. Certainly the insurrection in Washington, DC on January 6th this year, incited by the loser of the election and our president at the time, is something to reckon with. Any politician who supported such a blatant attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government is suspect, and any corporation that supports such a policitian is potentially problematic. Toyota gave $55,000 to 37 GOP objectors this year, and that is definitely a problem for me, even though it is not a lot of money when you think about the huge sums of money in politics. Why? That is a quarter of the bloc that voted to nullify President Biden's win after the Capitol siege. Toyota gave more than twice as much — and to nearly five times as many members of Congress — as the No. 2 company on the list, Cubic Corp., a San Diego-based defense contractor. The Japanese automaker's donations this year included a February contribution to Rep. Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who has been one of several vocal election conspiracy theorists. A Toyota spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Axios: "We do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification." Why not? Seriously, why not? That is a litmus test for your belief in our form of government.

George III and Edmund Burke

What was the role of King George III in the abruption of America from Britain? Was the revolution against a tyrannical and possibly mad leader? Probably not the whole story. George had some strikes against him from the get go. He was reportedly crippled by shyness, which is a hard row to hoe for a future king. His mentor and teacher became more powerful when George assended to the thrown at age 12, and played an outsized role even after he reached the age of majority. There have been a lot of theories about King George III, that he was a devoted family man and poorly understood, but a prominent politician of the time, Edmund Burke, the so called father of conservatism, thought he was the devil incarnate, a cruel leader and a poor politician. The retaliation of England towards America in the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party led to hardening opposition to Britain's rule. King George III was blamed but really it was the attitude of Parliament couple with an underestimation of the strength of the foe that led to the Declaration of Independence. Was King George in control of his faculties? In 1969 it was proposed that the episodic madness suffered by King George III (1738–1820) resulted from an acute hereditary porphyria, variegate porphyria, caused by deficiency of protoporphyrinogen oxidase. The diagnosis was based on the historical archive and a re-examination of the medical evidence and the appearance of new historical material have suggested that porphyria did indeed exist in the Royal Houses of Europe. The more recent analysis of hair obtained from George III contained no genomic DNA, but metal analysis revealed high concentrations of arsenic. Since arsenic interferes with heme- metabolism, it might have contributed to the King's unusually severe and prolonged bouts of illness. He may have gotten arsenic in the context of the medication George III received from physicians.

Representation and Taxation

The Boston Tea Party continues with valuable lessons even to today. It all started when the British decided that the colonists were not pulling hteir weight and that they should to start paying their fair share of public expenses. Depending on how you look at it, they had a point. Defense of the colonies, from the French and the people who already lived there, had cost a pretty penny and if you were looking at it as investment property in the short haul, then you were definitely not getting your money's worth. If the long view was that in order to benefit from the land you had to retain it, then making the few people who lived there cover the upfront costs was going to be a hard sell. The colonists themselves weren’t opposed to taxation in principle; they were angry that they had no official say in the matter, since they had no seats in the British Parliament. So it brought to the forefront the unfairness of taxation without representation, which is essentially what Washington, DC has today. The fact that we didn't have a vote in what happened to us led us down the path to revolution. It would behoove those who are actively seeking to restrict voting and thereby tax and fail to allow representation to remember our past.

Take PRIDE

I cannot even say just how much I love this photo, featuring Dr. Kevo Rivera! I am so proud to work with them! So many great things have happened in my work place this year, and all in the year of COVID, which was very bad indeed, so a true rainbow, sun shining through clouds as the rain storm passes. My only regret is that it has taken me this far into June to say how proud I am of what has happened in my life time to protect the civil rights of LGBTQIA+ Americans. Writing this on the heels of Juneteenth, and seeing where we are vis-a-vis the civil rights of the descendents of slaves, it is sobering how poorly we have done in that realm, and even more impressive the strides forward, all the while recognizing that it took altogether too long. I know that I make mistakes, I use the wrong pronouns sometimes, I am not always aware of my biases and how my language affects others, but I am working on it and I am excited to see what is coming. I know it will be colorful.