Close To Death, Former Nebraska Senator, Ben Sasse, Is Interviewed By "60 Minutes"

 

Dear F,

Thanks for sending the  "60 Minutes" interview with Ben Sasse. 

I've always seen Sasse as an okay outlier in the Republican Party.

But anybody -- particularly "conservative" "Christians" -- who does not shout from the parapets that "there is a categorical, qualitative difference between rational people and Trump's gang of mobsters" fails, in any meaningful way, to champion the centrality of Truth.

I realize that The Lizard People are children of God.

And, I believe none of them ("at the end of the day") are "going to hell."

Compendium Of Christianity Posts: Why "Conservative" "Christians" Are All Going To Hell (If There Is A Hell...Which I Don't Believe)

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2023/10/coompendium-of-christianity-posts-why.html

But! 

I think it is categorically wrong to cut these folks ANY political slack.

It is they -- and HUGELY disproportionately "they" -- who are ALWAYS at the forefront, chanting "We're #1" and "America First!' whenever -- and yet again! -- deluded (and/or, evil) old men send young men off on stupid, swashbuckling, murderous missions.

Einstein was right when he observed that "Nationalism is a childhood disease of humankind."

And James Talarico is right in his "Sermon Against Christian Nationalism."

Short form of Rev. James Talarico's Sermon Against Christian Nationalism

Https://x.com/Alex_Verveek/status/1820775522307056100

Long Form of Rev. Talarico's Sermon Against Christian Nationalism As A Betrayal Of Jesus of Nazareth

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2025/08/james-talaricos-sermon-against.html

These are the same people who enable -- in fact, DEMAND -- an educational system that keeps "the young bucks" stupid enough to welcome the murderousness that the murderers normalize.

Republican Vision Of A Reading List That's Acceptable For Public Instruction (And "A Failsafe Way To Restore Integrity And Vigor To America's Sick Body Politic: Two Years Of American History - Taught Dialectically - As A Prerequisite For High School Graduation")

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-most-direct-way-to-restore.html

(This post references Ben Sasse.)

Plato And The Foundational Role Of Music In Education: We've Got A Lot Of Catching Up To Do With The 6th Century B.C.

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2025/10/plato-and-central-role-of-music-in.html

At minimum, why doesn't Sasse say?

"Look at Popes Francis and Leo. And then look at the grotesquerie of Donald Trump and his mafia of murderous, democracy-killing thugs."

Just point it out.

He doesn't even have to take a side.

Just point it out.

Not rocket science...

Love

A

PS I'm copying friend Whitney, who is a Ben Sasse fan.

On Sun, Apr 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM Frances Vito <fvitobd@gmail.com> wrote:

(Ben Sasse, who is) on the clock with pancreatic cancer just gave a wonderful interview on 60 Minutes with an extension on you tube.

He's 52 and a Calvinist who seems to be liberated to tell the truth by his diagnosis and limited time. Very enlightening and thoughtful piece.

Check it out.

Love

F

Trump Knows That The Chinese Are Waaaaayyyyyyyyyy Smarter Than He, And So - Rather Than Be Revealed As The Doltish Oaf He Is - His Malignancy Has Done Nothing To Impede China's Ascent To Global Hegemony, Focusing Instead On Wacko Projects Like Refusing To Release The Epstein Files, And His Bewilderingly Dunderheaded War On Iran

Recently, I discovered a webpage specializing in brief video explanations of what's going on in the world, explanations that go beyond the scope and the depth of "The Official Story."

I am consistently impressed.

Very impressed.

Unfortunately, I cannot locate the following video, "The Real Winner Of The Iran War Is Not Who You Think," on the YouTube page that hosts "The Parallel Truth."

So, here is the Facebook video which discusses "The Real Winner Of The Iran War": https://www.facebook.com/reel/1636106667622192

And here is "The Parallel Truth's" YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@theparalleltruthofficial (Hopefully, Parallel Truth's YouTube page will upload "The Real Winner." In the meantime, here is Parallel Truth's "5000 Years Of Iran's History In 7 Minutes": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vms_bJgu-jE Check it out: it will give you a good succinct idea of Parallel View's capability and quality.)

*****

If you want to read the New York Times' version of China's unimpeded (even facilitated) rise to Global Hegemony decades before anyone thought possible, check out "La Industria Electrica De China podria salif beneficiada de la Guerra en Medio Oriente." To read this article in English, click on the "Read In English" button immediately under the authors' byline. https://www.nytimes.com/es/2026/04/13/espanol/negocios/china-industria-electrica-guerra-beneficio.html

And don't miss this companion piece to the New York Times in which Toyota, Honda and Ford are all ready to "cry uncle" while Ford's CEO confesses his reluctance to stop using a Chinese EV. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/not-survive-toyota-honda-ford-104500441.html

America’s winner-take-all politics and economics is getting its comeuppance from the new Global Hegemon, China, which has learned how to play "the winner-take-all game" from Uncle Sam himself.

A Strong Argument Can Be Made That Disproportionate Responsibility For Cole Thomas Allen's Assassination Attempt Lies With Trump's Cabinet Which Fails/Refuses To Invoke The 25th Amendment. (Meanwhile, The Supreme Court Pretty Much "Stands By" While The Moral Monster Signs New, Daily Pacts With Moloch, Beelzebub And The Prince Of Darkness)

 

Alan Archibald

odSnsrpoet0aah52384lm8ttufu5ai2g69g7atl4ua1i2f18ftgc3094t907 ·

Shared with Public

Alan: A strong argument can be made that disproportionate responsibility for this assassination attempt lies with Trump's cabinet which fails/refuses to invoke The 25th Amendment.

Trump is a murderous Mad Man - a psychopath - a malignant narcissist.

Meanwhile, his invertebrate cabinet just sits there, asslicking.

Excerpt from the shooter's manifesto: “I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial. I’m not a schoolkid blown up, or a child starved, or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes... I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes."

independent.co.uk

White House Correspondents’ Dinner suspect sent anti-Trump manifesto to family

My Family's Experience With Emergency Medical Care In Spain (And Pope Leo's Support For Universal Healthcare As A Right, Not A Privilege)

Alan Archibald

Shared with Public

On a couple of occasions, members of my extended family and I have had opportunity to seek help at Spanish hospitals.

After treatment, when we asked hospital personnel about payment, they looked at us as if we were extraterrestrials.

They could not fathom what we were talking about.

The reasoning behind our inquiry was inconceivable to them: "Why would we think we owed them money?"

There is no “financial office” inside any Spanish hospital.

There is no cash register.

There is nobody who might even accept money, even if we wanted to "leave a tip.”

Spanish hospitals -- and hospitals throughout Western Europe -- are filled with top-quality physicians and nurses whose only mission is to heal people.

The notion of "putting profit ahead of people" is not part of Europeans' psycho-social make-up. (An aside... A year into his papacy, Pope Leo XIV is "getting his footing," and his emerging emphasis on "the common good" and people's right to healthcare. Here is how Google AI summarized Pope Leo's position.

https://www.google.com/search?q=does+pope+Leo+advocate+on+behalf+of+healthcare+as+a+right%2C+not+s+oaid+orivekege&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#lfId=ChxjMe

We Americans live in SUCH a sick society.

It has become a real - and a crucial - question whether the world would be a better place if (what we call) "American civilization” were to collapse.

Check out "The Veronika Animation" at: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1643171660263733

(This installment is about an American getting healthcare in Europe. It coincides precisely with my experience.)

Larry Cimino: "How Did You Make The Decision To Attend The Western Year Program At St. Mike's?"

 

Dear Larry (Cimino),

Thanks for your email, and the highly engaging, informative article about St. Mike's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_St._Michael%27s_College

As to my reason for attending St. Mike's...

I am the child of Depression-era parents, William Wellington Archibald (farm boy), and Mildred Mary (Noll) Archibald (carpenter's daughter), whose family cultures inclined them to frugality and thrift from the get-go.

As soon as my parents and I learned that St. Mike's (like UT "at large") provided ALL students with the same government-subsidized tuition as native-born Canadians, my decision to attend was a no-brainer. (What a remarkable thing for the Canadian government to do! I often say that living in Canada taught me the difference between "civilization" and "barbaria.")

I am also a graduate of Aquinas Institute, a Basilian-operated high school in Rochester, New York, whose priests brought St. Mike's to my attention as a very high-quality educational institution, with world-class staff, and a current "U.S. News Best Global Universities" ranking of #16. When I entered Western Year, Marshall McLuhan was the most celebrated professor on campus, although Rev. J. Edgar Bruns (author of "God as Woman, Woman as God" and "The Christian Buddhism of St. John") was my all-time favorite. https://archive.org/details/christianbuddhis0000brun

Since Aquinas Institute is such a remarkable community, I will mention that the Basilian spirit is most evident (to most Americans) through the work of celebrated graduate Robert Wegman, founder of Wegman's Grocery Stores, which (in 2005) was ranked #1 on Fortune magazine's list of "best companies to work for." Robert turned over the reins to Danny Wegman who is still at the helm, with Danny's daughters Colleen and Nicole positioned to take over.  

https://www.aquinasinstitute.com/ 

I currently live in central North Carolina where Wegman's has established a rapidly-expanding presence. Whenever I interact with Wegman's exceptionally well-trained, remarkably cheerful, helpful, service-oriented staff at the company's Chapel Hill store, I let them know that their admirable ethos goes back to the education-and-formation of Robert Wegman who graduated AQ in 1937. https://share.google/aimode/odRzhK0ehV4pwpfi8

Wishing you well.

Credo quid quid dixit dei filius.

Alan (Archibald)

Western Year, 1965-'66

Living As If God Is Love - Pope Francis And The Inviolable Wholeness Of Love... And Nothing Else. This Postulate May Not Be Objectively True, But If It Is Not True, What Other Bedrock Value-Choice Offers More Greater Goodness?

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2021/09/pope-francis-living-as-if-god-is-love.html

Fr. Thomas Merton Explains -- In 16 Words -- Why "Christian" "Conservatives" Are Always Wrong

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/08/fr-thomas-merton-explains-in-16-words.html

On Thu, Apr 23, 2026 at 9:02 AM Larry Cimino <ciminolc@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear St. MIchael’s Western Alumni,

Making the decision of where to attend university is one of the earliest and most significant life decisions one makes, often affecting many aspects of one’s life henceforth (values, career, fields of study and expertise, domicile, hobbies and interests, life-long friendships, etc.) As you know, we are in the process of reconstructing the history of the Western Year Program. For decades, the Western Year Program was a highly selective program at St. Mike’s that attracted excellent students from provinces outside of Ontario, from the the US,  and from many countries around the world. We believe that capturing the stories of how the St. MIke’s Western alumni heard about the program and ultimately made the decision to apply and attend is an important aspect of the history of the Western Year Program and something that we want to capture and preserve in the Archives.

In 1963, Time Magazine ran a story in their Education section about colleges featuring Yale and the University of Toronto with a special emphasis on the Western Year Program at St. Michael’s College. This article had a significant effect on applications to St, MIke’s for several years thereafter. Attached is a copy of that article which you might enjoy reading.

How did you find out about St. MIchael’s College and the Western Year Program, and what were the factors involved in your own decision to attend? Many of you have already shared stories about your arrival at St. MIke’s, your college experience, and the effect it has had on your life. Those stories have all been forwarded to the archives for preservation. Can you reflect briefly on your decision process that brought you to St. Mike’s and the Western Year Program? These stories will also become part of the Archives Western Year Collection to be preserved and curated for posterity.  

Capturing the history of the Western Year Program over the several decades of its existence is a monumental task which will be an ongoing project for the foreseeable future. Please feel free to share your memories and artifacts that you believe might enhance the collection. 

And plan to attend the upcoming All-Western Reunion on June 19 and 20 in conjunction with the St. MIke’s Spring Reunion. Registration will open soon, so you might wish to contact your old friends and classmates and start making plans to come home to St. MIke’s on this special occasion. For those with a special sense of nostalgia, rooms for both men and women will be available in Loretto College at a very reasonable price that weekend on a first-come-first-serve basis.

With best regards to all,

Larry Cimino

7T3

Alumni Association Board of Directors

Chair, Reunion Committee

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=945ee769b9&attid=0.1.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1863266468990010411&th=19dba6fb460bc42b&view=att&zw&disp=inline

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=945ee769b9&attid=0.1.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1863266468990010411&th=19dba6fb460bc42b&view=att&zw&disp=inline