According to the Associated Press, Indiana Governor Mike Pence spent part of his Wednesday meeting with the Catholic Archbishop of Indianapolis in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to assist in the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family. Apparently, Pence was prompted when the archdiocese announced on Tuesday that “it had donors willing to pay for the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family expected to arrive in Indiana later this month after a two-year vetting process.”
I don’t want to get into a theological debate here, but I think the Holy Bible is clear on the importance of looking after refugees. It’s clear that the archdiocese is following the spirit of their faith.
I think that Hunter over at Daily Kos contextualized this situation quite well.
Imagine you’re a family fleeing your town in the midst of a very, very bloody civil war. You make it to the refugee camps, you wait two years for “vetting” to prove your family isn’t a menace—and as you get final approvals to resettle in some American state, you hear that your possible arrival has mustered the top elected official in that state into efforts to move heaven and earth to prevent your family, specifically, from entering. He’s giving speeches. He’s summoning the people who are helping you flee the war into his statehouse office, and demanding that they stop, because God only knows what perils America would face if you are allowed sanctuary there.
I’m not the judge of who is and isn’t a good Christian, and being a good Christian isn’t necessarily the right measure of who is a good governor.
I just don’t think Mike Pence is a good governor.
I’ve thought a bit about this. As I have made clear, I oppose illegal immigration and also job visas.
However, this is a systematic and sensible refugee situation. It is not illegal immigration, nor visa job theft. So, I support the kind of reasonable, sensible, well-checked refugee process going on here. The US government is doing the right thing. It is, however, an expensive program, which I am not all that happy about. Nonetheless, I support this program.
Republicans should support it as well. If you oppose illegals, that has nothing to do with government-sponsored refugees.
In fact, Detroit has a lot of empty houses. Perhaps some Syrians could be settled there.
Yeah, that will happen just as soon as Governor Rick Snyder and the Republican legislature finish building a huge wall around the entire area.
After all, he already has the perfect and successful blueprint for that.
BBC — How Dark is Your Personality quiz. Or how evil are you.
Gah – thanks Marie. I usually love this stuff, but it turns out I am infrequently vile. Which of course means occassionally vile, so no thanks.
But it’s all relative, right?
“Infrequently vile” is one of the possible scores? Or are you just being self-critical without taking the test?
I did take the test and admitted to all my vileness, but shall speak of it no more.
But you get an A for honesty; so, there is that.
The test hit on why work sales assignments are not only not my forte, but also why when I couldn’t avoid them that they made me physically ill. The day my then boss Bob (wasn’t a good working relationship) informed me that he and Bill (the department Sr. VP) had decided to send me on a nationwide marketing stint to sell the computerized financial model that we’d built (Bob had the personality of a wet noodle and his few efforts at this had been miserable failures), I immediately marched myself into Bill’s office and announced, “I’m willing to build crap for a paycheck, but I draw the line at selling crap.” The model was Bill’s baby and until that moment couldn’t hear any of my critiques that his vision probably couldn’t be done and if it could be done to some limited extent, it wasn’t what Bob had constructed.
Moderately nefarious.
Strong on machiavellianism (red zone)
Weak on narcissism (blue zone)
Moderate on psychopathy (mid-line)
How in the world do they get that last line?
I call B.S. What they probably call Machiavellian is ordinary prudent survival traits.
It’s labeled as “just for fun.” However, IMO the construct of the test appears to be fairly good. Checking out authoritarian, manipulative, and self-centered impulses and behaviors.
Con-artists regularly report that the easiest mark is another con. That’s counter-intuitive but true.
I know. I passed it on to my (angelic) sister and my daughter (of Satan). The results should be interesting.
I’m a compulsive test taker.
Huh. I got “shockingly saintly” — midrange on the Machiavellian score and way to the blue left on narcissism and psychopathy. It’s a wonder I’ve survived this long.
Darn, neglected to record my sub-sores. Only recall that they were all low and didn’t differ much. So, I must be a bit higher on narcissism and/or psychopathy than you, but lower on Machiavellian.
Pence, Is Christian In “Name” Only —- He’s A Very Shallow Human Being —- These GOP Governors Are Not Very “Elastic” In Their Thinking In General —- “Nuance” Is Something COMPLETELY Foreign To Their Very BEING! —- CONSERVATIVES Are Not Designed For Complicated Situations. Screw Them!!!
He must continue in assisting to ramp up the fear, the Republican fascination du jur. (Or du decade.) Religion has become a pick and choose buffet.
Is he up for re-election?
Pence is not a Christian.
Not for the Jesus that worked to help ‘ the least of us’.
Pence is a shallow, scumbag panderer who, like many of his ilk, never read further than the old testament.
Actually the Old Testament places far more emphasis on caring for the stranger than the New. It’s more important than God. Don’t tell the Israeli government that, though.
Matt Yglesias’ takedown is always relevant when the topic is Mike Pence. I just wish I didn’t still have frequent cause to link to it 7 years later.