
I considered making Paul Krugman's column, "Helping the Poor, the British Way", my subject of this Christmas Day. I even had a snappy headline sussed out: "Let It Snow Socialism". But when it comes to using the message of the day to berate the United States, Krugman can't hold a Christmas candle to James Carroll of the Boston Globe.
Krugman took a glancing shot: "It’s the season for charitable giving. And far too many Americans, particularly children, need that charity."
Penny-ante pessimism, Paul in contrast with James Carroll's jeremiad. In his column, Carroll - a former Roman Catholic priest who has written about his bitter conflict with his military-officer father - condemns the United States in explicitly religious terms:
- "The birth of Jesus is the reversal of the imperial order. . . Empire lives in the United States of America, and, despite assumptions of many Christian Americans, Christmas still rebukes the empire."
- "The implications of Mary's statement for contemporary politics are obvious. Violence marks power as much as ever. Hunger and poverty among masses of people are inevitable byproducts of a market system that rewards the few."
- "When economic inequity becomes so extreme as to turn the global social order into an effective state of permanent war, which side is God on? The shepherds tell us, and so do the kneeling kings. Above all, Mary tells us."
That's right, folks. America is the Evil Empire. Free markets inevitably create hunger and poverty. And God is on the other side. How's that for a "Christmas Carroll"?
I wish a Merry Christmas to all NB readers.
Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.



















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Christmas is for everybody.
November 5, 2008 - 11:58 ET by Link7881Christmas is for everybody. I still remember when my dad told me that even the poorest of the poor still celebrates Christmas. You see, this season is remembering Christ, born in a manger. God is everywhere, He does not stay on one side of the world where people are rich and wealthy. He is everywhere, as the bible says, "the world is just His foot stool". If a country is in poverty, I don't think that we have to question God about it. Instead, ask ourselves "am I contributing some thing good in this place where I live in?" Merry Christmas to all in advance!
artfire.com
Carroll
December 25, 2006 - 11:43 ET by iveseenitallMERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!
We celebrate the birth of Jesus and the liberal wings of some churches continue to interpret his life and words according to their own desires. It's like the judges who interpret the law any way they wish. Fallen away and ultra-liberal Catholics are among the worst. I don't doubt this guy Carroll has many personal demons and a huge chip on his shoulder. Too bad he has the bully pulpit.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Fallen away and liberal Catho
December 25, 2006 - 11:55 ET by ncstevemFallen away and liberal Catholics aren't Catholic at all. If one doesn't subscribe to Church teaching then one ceases to be Catholic.
FWIW, according to this art
December 25, 2006 - 11:58 ET by Mark FinkelsteinFWIW, according to this article Carroll apparently still considers himself a devout Catholic.
Carroll
December 25, 2006 - 12:35 ET by iveseenitallSee what I mean. If Carroll still considers himself a Catholic, he's delusional. Pelosi, Kerry, and Kennedy also consider themselves Catholic. This is liberalism at its worst. Their sick ideology colors everything for them. And never forget--don't judge them; you have no right.
NEVER,NEVER trust a liberal
Pastoral Simplicity
December 25, 2006 - 13:10 ET by acumenThanks for the link Mark. It offers quite a view into the psyche of Carroll. As a military brat who like Carroll also grew up on and off US military bases in post-war Germany during the same time period, I am astounded at the interpretation Carroll offers the reader. His vision of the world then and now borders on delusional. Carroll has the unique inability to distinguish between nuisance and nuance. I found myself disagreeing with every concept offered by Carroll - except his his decision to leave the priesthood. As a simple Catholic layperson, I applaud that decision. Carroll seems much better suited in his present occupation as Pan, lording over Arcadia in pastoral simplicity.
That's the rub Mark--it's uni
December 25, 2006 - 16:05 ET by ncstevemThat's the rub Mark--it's unimportant if this guy claims to be a devout Catholic, if he doesn't adhere to Church teaching then he's not Catholic. However I claim no knowledge whether he does or not.
Claiming to be Catholic yet not adhereing to the Truth would be akin to someone claiming to be a mathematician yet espousing that 2 + 2 = 5. One ceases to be a mathethematician by taking such a position.
An auto mechanic can claim
December 27, 2006 - 17:41 ET by JerryAn auto mechanic can claim to be a brain surgeon. Don't make it so.
But this guy is a certifiable idiot. America, the force for good in this decrepid world, is EVIL??? Free markets that feed and enrich the world, in his mind create hunger and poverty??? God is on the other side??? Hey dufus, God doesn't choose sides, we either choose to follow God or follow man (evil).
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment
vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any
President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
"If one doesn't subscrib
December 25, 2006 - 12:19 ET by Indiana Joe"If one doesn't subscribe to Church teaching then one ceases to be Catholic."
My favorite example of this comes from Florence King, formerly "The Misanthrope's Corner" writer for National Review. She tells of meeting "Catholics" who claimed the title, but "disagreed" with the Church on abortion, birth control, and other "issues."
She told them, "Congratulations... you're Prostestants!" ;^)
Ill tell ya right now they su
December 26, 2006 - 15:28 ET by Dan The Man 2Ill tell ya right now they sure aint Southern Baptists. We have a gun in one hand and a Bible in the other. LOL Well do ya feel lucky punk, do ya?
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark. -- save my gun, shoot a liberal.
The twisted logic of Mr. Carroll
December 25, 2006 - 13:57 ET by UnsaneSo, if I am to follow the logic of Mr. Carroll, the Bible is a Socialist tome and God is a Socialist? If that is true, perhaps he can explain why it has failed everywhere it has been tried?
Religious or not, government is not a charity!!!
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
Mr. Carroll's commentary on the evil Empire
December 25, 2006 - 19:49 ET by joemg51I just wrote a letter to the editor to the Boston Globe in response to Mr. Carroll's diatribe the evil Empire a United States. I noted how he like so many others used the Bible or holy Scriptures in a twisted manner to support his attack on America and offer nothing in terms of anything valuable that America plays on the world stage and has played for over 200 years. The very freedom that Mr. Carroll demonstrates by his socialism gospel supported by Scripture, shows that what our forefathers fought for and died for was something worth after all and that was namely free speech and the ability to criticize a Republican form of Government. We are not a true democratic government in the sense that we are a representative government. Mr. Carroll's blatant use of Scripture to attack for being on the wrong side whatever, shows the shallowness of Mr. Carroll's own inner struggle with the balance of power in a great nation holds. But Mr. Carroll doesn't point to is this Scripture also suggests that our leaders are appointed by God to oversee us and to make rules and laws that govern us. Nowhere in the history for the struggle of freedom has that been demonstrated in America. If America is such an evil hated empire and is such a bad place that Mr. Carroll has to attack it and offer no suggestions for improving it and what is that Mr. Carroll leave the country and go live someplace else. This country, according to my understanding, gives more charitable dollars and offers aid and comfort to more countries than any other nation on the earth. As the sole superpower, this country has brought more democracy and freedom to hundreds of millions of people throughout the world. We are the first country to step in line to offer aid and comfort when the disaster strikes. We are also the first country to stand in line to fight for freedom and liberty against tyranny and injustice. Many of our past generations have died to free Europe and other parts of the world from tyranny and oppression but I needn't say anymore. I believe that America is a paradox of both good and bad values and I think it is because the bulk of many Christians a praying for this country that God holds back his judgment on the part of America that is blatantly ungodly. I will take America just like Jesus did when he lived in Jerusalem and the holy land, and not as he wished it would be, and continue to minister and try to make the world a better place something that is lacking in Mr. Carroll's writings. Mr. Carroll continues to write to justify his own angst and frustrations with his own military officer father and his own departure from the Roman Catholic Church which in many respects is was an empire in and of itself. Oftentimes the Catholic Church was a benevolent empire but many times it fell into common human frailties because men were running the show not God. But I don't believe in throwing the baby out with the bathwater and replacing socialism with the evil Empire is Mr. Carroll characterizes. I won't say that I know how Mary would see America or how God would see America but I know that this country is blessed beyond measure and that we do share our blessings with other countries and nations and peoples and that's why they're such a backlog of people wanting to come here to live and to take part in the great American experiment begun or over 200 plus years ago. I'm tired of all these anti-America writers going unresponded to. We who hold a different view need to speak up and challenge and hold accountable naysayers like Mr. Carroll. Stop using God as a bully Mr. Carroll. Respectfully submitted by Joseph M. Gates
Well done, sir--he looks ever
December 26, 2006 - 06:37 ET by Andrew H.Well done, sir--he looks every bit like a phony humantarian--when what he is, is middle aged fool with issues. He probably couldn't do what his father did and so resented him for it. Instead of being proud of his father, he attacks the country his father defended and loved--by extension, getting in his "last word." Not very Christain like.
Liberalism is a convenient lie.
Carroll is the worst kind of
December 25, 2006 - 20:01 ET by daveinbocaCarroll is the worst kind of defrocked priest who hates his father and his Church while hypocritically feigning not to do so. This reprobate is a so-called "cafeteria Catholic" which is to say, a heretic.
This exceptionally Oprahfied specimen has taken the false Communist agitprop that claims Pope Pius XII cooperated with the Nazis and made money calumniating his Church. John Cornwell and other heretical Catholics have done the same, while the state of Israel still considers the wartime Pope a stalwart friend of the Jews.
So Carroll is a heretic, a traitor, a liar and a parricide manque; sounds just right for a Boston Globe Op-Ed writer.
Pelosi, Kennedy, and Kerry are lapsed Catholics at best, and were I a priest I'd refuse them every sacrament until they made confession. You cannot be a Catholic and approve of abortion, even though secular progressive clergy may say you can.
I wonder what Carroll's react
December 25, 2006 - 21:44 ET by GalvanicI wonder what Carroll's reaction was to the study this year that discovered that conservatives donate more to charity than liberal. It turns out that Americans are rather generous with their donations, and the 'red staters' are more generous than the blue staters.
The problem is that Mr. Carro
December 25, 2006 - 23:12 ET by UnsaneThe problem is that Mr. Carroll wants his taxes to be seen as a charitable contribution to a government that is nothing more than a nanny and a charity. Most Leftists see government that way and I suspect that is why they are less charitable than the Right. The Right doesn't look to government as a charity because they are too busy working hard to provide muslce power and financially greasing the wheels of the REAL charities.
"Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy." -Sir Winston Churchill, British statesman (1874-1965)
Note to Mr. Carroll: I ain't
December 26, 2006 - 06:39 ET by Andrew H.Note to Mr. Carroll: I ain't buying what you're selling.
Liberalism is a convenient lie.
Is it me or is every defrocke
December 26, 2006 - 09:41 ET by The Real TonyIs it me or is every defrocked priest a little off their nut??
Fight Terrorism at home - defeat a liberal!
You mean defrocked, misguided
December 26, 2006 - 10:50 ET by VT Con ManYou mean defrocked, misguided libtard, don't you? No evidence of the real world in this guy's vocabulary. Just control of money by the almighty, as he inteprets it of course, give me a friggin break.