RedState's WaterCooler! Tuesday, 1/3/2017 - Open Thread - Strange Fruit; The Pope; January Calendar

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President-elect Donald Trump has extended an invitation to Rebecca Ferguson, a former X-Factor UK contestant, to sing at his upcoming inauguration celebration. She has accepted his invitation with the condition she can sing the song of her choice, Billie Holiday’s Strange Fruit. Warning: The video is graphic. There is a multitude of other renditions; this one seems to relay the inspiration behind her emotional lyrics.

“Rebecca Ferguson the former teenage mum who became an X Factor singing sensation, revealed to Fern Britton how her Christian faith got her through troubled times, both on the show that brought her overnight fame and in the years that followed. From being the victim of fraud to being left to bring up a child on her own.” – Wikipedia

Pope Francis issued a mandate to his Bishops: “zero tolerance” for “the sufferings, the experiences and pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests.” The letter released Monday was sent to the Bishops late December. The pope is likely responding to a few who doubt his commitment to ending the abuse and cover up that nearly destroyed the church across many countries and over multiple decades.

“The pontiff himself has received mixed reviews on how the Vatican handles sex abuse. Francis has laid out procedures to oust bishops for negligence if they mishandle investigations into alleged abuse. But he dismayed advocates for abuse survivors by appointing a Chilean bishop accused of covering up for a notorious pedophile.”

The letter is nice; “A” for effort.

“Expressing the church’s regret, and begging forgiveness, the Pope denounced the ‘sin of what happened, the sin of failing to help, the sin of covering up and denial, the sin of the abuse of power.’”

“F” for integrity in action.

Calendar January 2017

January 3: 115th Congress sworn in.

January 5: Senator John McCain to hold first hearing on Russia’s election-year hacking.

January 10: President Obama to deliver Farewell Address in Chicago.

January 17: Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the case Loretta E. Lynch Attorney General v. James Garcia Dimaya. The Supreme Court will decide whether a burglary is a “crime of violence” specifically as it applies to an illegal immigrant, Dimayo. If burglary is held as a “crime of violence,” the illegal immigrant will be deported.

January 18: Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the case of Lee v. Tam whose decision may likely affect the Washington Redskins trademark dispute. Lee v. Tam involves a rock band whose trademark request, “The Slants” the PTO rejected as “disparaging.” The court will decide whether the PTO is violating a First Amendment right to free speech.

January 20: Presidential Inauguration

January 29: Pro Bowl in Orlando, Florida