Sunday, May 31, 2026
Roads to the Great War: The Incredible 32 Days of June 1916
Roads to the Great War: The Incredible 32 Days of June 1916: Stretch June 1916 a little, adding a day at each end—31 May and 1 July. This minor astronomical adjustment allows adding two monumental even...
Pope Leo and the Just War Theory.
To all of this, the media and digital dimensions are adding new and decisive elements. Communication networks, fragmented information environments and algorithms that reward conflict can magnify polarization and resentment, increase propaganda and make shared discernment more difficult. Thus, war is not only fought, but also culturally conditioned through simplistic narratives, a friend-or-foe mentality, disinformation and fear. When historical memory fades and the ethical principles that protect civilians and the most vulnerable are weakened, it becomes easier to justify violence as necessary, inevitable or even “sanitized.” It is in this context that humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts. Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated. [182] Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations.
Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas.
When first released, almost all of the attention given to Magnifica Humanitas was on his discussion of Artificial Intelligence, but then somebody noticed is comments on the Just War Theory, and now people are freaking out. Conservative Catholic pundits have already come out with the "Pope is wrong" commentary, and even an Anglican journal came out with an article to the same effect.
He isn't wrong.
And this isn't really new.
First of all, the Just War Theory was always that, a theory. It's not doctrine, and in some quarters its never been accepted. Moreover, since World War Two the Church has really made significant modifications to what can be considered a "just war".
So, what did Pope Leo really say here.
First, what's the Just War Theory hold?
Well, let's look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It states:
According to CCC 2309, the following conditions must be met in order for war to be just:
(1) The damage inflicted by the aggressor must be lasting, grave, and certain.
(2) All other means of putting an end to it must have shown to be impractical or ineffective.
So, presently, those are the criteria set out in the Catechism. Will this be changed? I suspect it will be modified. And frankly, based on prior statements by the last three Popes, the Catechism does not support the view that the Pontiffs have been stating. The thing that they've repeatedly stated is that war is only justifiable for defensive purposes. Hence the comment; "Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the “just war” theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated."
So, with this in mind, what we might suppose (although I'm treading on dangerous grounds here as I'm not a theologian) is that the Church would modify the material set out above to read:
A country may legitimately act in self defense when:
(1) The damage inflicted by an attacking aggressor must be lasting, grave, and certain.
(2) All other means of putting an end to it must have shown to be impractical or ineffective.
(3) There must be serious prospects of success.
(4) The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated (the principle of proportionality).
Is that a big change in what the Popes have been saying? Not really.
But does it effect some sort of a change? Well, yes. A clarifying one, in my view.
What I think the Pope's statement makes clear that the moral laxity in interpreting the Just War theory is not justified. It never has been, but all too often those citing it go on to hold that whatever war they're speaking of is kind of sort of justified by the theory. That should not have been the case, and it needs to come to an end.
It's needed to come to an end for a long time.
There's no way that, for example, the US and Israeli war upon Iran is a just war. No way. At least from the U.S. prospective, it's an illegal war as it defies the requirements of the U.S. Constitution for Congress to declare war, making it immoral to a certain extent from the onset. But the criteria required for a just war even as the CCC states it cannot be met. The first criteria alone, that Iran was inflicting damage upon the United States in a way that is lasting, grave, and certain, was never met. The repeated baloney that "they've been attacking us for 47 years" didn't come close to meeting this criteria. Yes, Iran is a sponsor of terrorism. Terrorism, however, is an act of the weak and is largely ineffectual. Launching a massive offensive against Iran was not justified by the fact that Iran acts immorally.
Indeed, on that score, the war does not meet, in my view, the requirements of the forth criteria. And it never met the requirements of the second criteria either.
A war launched to change the regime, which was an earlier excuse for the war, was certainly not justified.
And it turns out that the third criteria cannot be met either. The war has actually made the regime more hard line. The only chance for success would require a massive ground invasion of the country, which is certainly not proportional to the hoped for outcome.
What Pope Leo has clarified is something that other Popes have said, to some degree, and which follows the history of the discussion on the death penalty. Pope St. John Paul the Great made statements to the effect that the death penalty could not be justified in the modern world. The following two Popes amplified that. Catholic conservatives have still refused to accept that, but that's completely correct. In the modern world, the criteria which would allow for the imposition of the death penalty simply to not exist.
And with Pope Leo's statements, it seems fairly clear that the criteria for launching an offensive war never exist either. That's been somewhat presumed all the way back to the 1940s, but now its clear.
And, it should also be clear, this is not a mere academic discussion.
War is killing people and breaking things. There's no two ways about it. Killing people intentionally is gravely evil, except in self defense. Supporting killing people except in self defense is likewise gravely illegal. The same Catholic beliefs that hold that murder is immoral, that abortion is immoral, lead directly to war and the death penalty being immoral. You cannot, no matter how much you might want to stretch it, supporting abortion if you are a Catholic, and frankly at this point, you cannot support immoral wars.
It was Pope St. John Paul, I think, who instructed that Catholic lawyers should not represent people in divorces. Judges can still preside over them however. Which brings us to this next point.
Catholic politicians can clearly not support immoral wars. When people like Chuck Gray and Megan Degenfelder come around seeking votes, as they are Catholic, their position on this war should be asked of. If they support it, as Trump supports it, they're willing to condemn their souls to Hell for their ambitions, or at least risk that. Those Catholics in the Trump administration supporting the war, and we don't really know who they are (we know that Vance wasn't in support of it) are doing the same, to a larger degree. The military raid on Venezuela that occurred earlier likewise presents the same problem. Any invasion of Cuba, which it seems likely we will do, poses the same situation.
But beyond that, can Catholic servicemen morally serve in these wars?
I'm sure opinions will vary, but I don't think they can.
And that is a real change. And given that war involves death, that's a change for the good.
Related threads:
Just War 101: Catholic Teaching for a Dangerous Moment
Monday, May 31, 1976. Syria invades Lebanon.
It was Memorial Day for 1976.
Indeed, it's probably just a trick of the calendar and memory, but this year's Memorial Day seemed freakishly early to me. We probably went fishing.
I was a newly minted teenager as of a few days prior.
Syria invaded Lebanon, occupying part of the country until 2005. In the weird way that history works, the first column which was targeting Sidon was stopped by the PLO, a second by the Lebanese Army, and a third column by Christian militias.
That says something about how crappy the Syrian Army was, and frankly always was. They endured huge casualties.
The goal was to annex Lebanon into Syria. They'd never achieve a full occupation of the country, but they would over time expand the amount of territory they were occupying.
The Indonesian installed "People's Assembly of East Timor" voted unanimously in favor of the "Act of Integration" to make East Timor Indonesia's 27th province.
The UK and Iceland entered into negotiations to end the Cod Wars.
Last edition:
Thursday, May 20, 1976. Kleptocracy.
Labels: 1960s, 1967, 1970s, 1976, baseball, Congo, Disaster, Expo 67, Kleptocracy, Personalities, Quebec (Montreal), The Second Trump Administration, Zaire
Wednesday, May 31, 1911. "Moriré en México"
Porfirio Díaz, declaring "Moriré en México" (I shall die in Mexico), departed the country forever on board the steamer Ypiranga.
His statement, which seems delusional now, was not wholly irrational. Large elements of the Mexican Army supported him, and Mexico's prior history had seen at least one exiled leader, Antonio López de Santa Anna, return.
The White Star liner RMS Titanic was launched from Belfast at 12:13 pm. The ship was incomplete and was towed to a berth to have its superstructure and the interior completed.
Terrorists bombed the Nicaraguan Army barracks at Fort La Loma, killing 130.
Last edition:
Tuesday, May 30, 1911. The first Indianapolis 500.
Labels: 1910s, 1911, Automobile racing, Automobiles, Crime, Mexican Revolution, Texas, Texas (Barstow)
The Best Posts of the Week of May 24, 2026. Going Feral, The Feral Week
The best posts of the week of May 24, 2026.
We dug through Trump’s recent stock trades. The timing will shock you.
The Feral Week:
Endangered Species Act protections for pygmy rabbits? Groups sue Trump administration over missed deadlines.
Last edition:
The Best Post of the Week of May 17, 2026. Going Feral, the Feral Week of May 17, 2026. The Agrarian's Lament, the Agrarian Week of May 17, 2026.
The 25th Amendment Watch Eighteenth Edition. The devalued currency edition.
This is completely sick.
Or evil.
On the sick item, a recent video shows Donald Trump getting off of Marine Corps 1 (which frankly shouldn't be a thing) and veering all over as he walks.
FTD is notoriously hard to diagnose while a person is alive. It's slow moving as a rule and the person afflicted with it often just seems weird and mean before it's really advanced. It's horrific to watch up close. Pneumonia ends up being what kills most people with FTD.
A person with the affliction shows these signs.
Socially inappropriate, impulsive, or repetitive behaviors
Loss of interest in normal daily activities
Emotional withdrawal from others
Trouble planning and organizing
This is what Trump appears to have.
It if isn't this, then he's otherwise severely mentally ill, or actually seeking to sabotage the country for some reason, with being a foreign agent the only good explanation. This would fit into that, as it would seriously impair the value of U.S. currency.
The good news, if there is any, is that this would take an act of Congress and it appears to be unlikely that smiling sycophant Bessant aside, anyone is going to be able to convince a sufficient number of Congressmen to go along with this, particularly by July 4, 2026.
May 31, 2026
The "yips"?
Trump spent last night absolutely freaking out. It was an endless stream of bizarre tweets.
The man is clearly mentally unstable. Failure to do something about it by Congress is abject cowardice.
Yes, Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, this means you. Have some coffee, or take a belt, or whatever it is that you do, and find your spine.
Last edition:
The 25th Amendment Watch List, Seventeenth Edition: The Doctors are In.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
The 2026 Election, 12th Edition. The late on ramp edition.
May 29, 2026 is the last day to declare a candidacy in one of the two "major parties".
We will, therefore, likely be learning of some new candidates in the upcoming days for the first time.
And we might be surprised that some who stated they were running, but who haven't filed, don't.
May 21, 2026
Two Democrats, Ana Cordova and Sergio Maldonado Sr. have entered the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. It seems that a third, Libertarian Ryan Shollenberger, will. They join existing GOP candidates Tom Kelly, Chad Auer and Steve Harshman.
Shollenberger doesn't have to file by May 29, as Libertarians are not a "major party". It's worth noting here that a Libertarian candidate for this office makes darned near no sense whatsoever.
Democratic candidates do, however, and both of the declared Democrats have experience in education. Maldonado ran against Degenfelder last time, and given here throwing roses to MAGA, which she sort of did and sort of didn't, while in that position, he frankly would have been a saner choice.
Harshman is highly likely to win against the two carpetbagging competitors he faces and is a really solid choice. This race might actually feature two really good candidates and a throwaway.
Columnist Rod Miller wrote in Wyofile to advance an idea that I've been backing here for quite some time, that being getting rid of party identification and affiliation in the state's elections.
Open letter to the Joint Corporations Committee
He points out that our state constitution is silent on party affiliation, and I frankly feel our current primary system is unconstitutional. I wish somebody would file a lawsuit over the issue.
May 23, 2026
The more I've read on this, the more it seems clear this fellow is not eligible:
This will be a test for Chuck, who hasn't been very good at passing tests so far.
Chuck also met with some discontent outside a legislative committee meeting:
Of course, Chuck tagged the protest as hoard of radical leftist, as he does, a hoard apparently meaning any group of people exceeding one person and a leftist being anyone who disagrees with him.
May 24, 2026
Updates as we reach the filing deadline.
U.S. Senate:
Republican Party.
Harriet Hageman. On our no go list.
Jill M Edwards. A new name, no idea who she is.
Jimmy Skovgard
John Allan Holtz. Perennial GOP candidate who was apparently a judge at some point and just can't get the message that no one wants him as an office holder.
"Okay, Boomer".
Sam Mead. Best GOP candidate so far.
Democrats.
Billy Benavidez. A new name. No idea who he is.
James Byrd.
On this race, State Rep. Campbell, running for reelection, came out and boldly branded Hageman a threat to public lands, which she is. That took guts.
May 27, 2026
Lisa Engebretsen, a Casper real estate agent, has announced a bid for Senate District 29, which is currently held be uber extreme Wyoming Freedom Caucus commando Bob Ide. She's running as a conservative candidate.
The more power to her. Ide was even in Washington D.C. on January 6, although he wasn't a rioter. He need to be voted out.
Another menace to the state, Chuck Gray, is getting no love from the legislature:
Wyoming lawmakers unmoved by Gray’s calls to reexamine electoral maps
In Texas, which has the stupidest politics in the country, Ken Paxton defeated John Cornyn in the Texas Republican runoff and boisterous GOP annoyance Chip Roy was defeated in his bid to replace Paxton as attorney general.
In at least the first race, the nomination of Paxton gives the Democrats, whose fortunes are overall reviving in Texas, a chance of taking Cornyn's seat and gives Cornyn the chance to go whole hog on the Senate on seeking revenge against Trump. Trump's recent actions in the 2026 race are not only boosting Democrats, they're freeing up current office holders to act against him.
May 28, 2026
Occasional Casper Mayor Ray Pacheco has announced for Natrona County commissioner, which would mean that two former mayors are running for positions on the commission.
Balow has commenced running her ads.
It's notable that the three candidates who have really been spending money in the House race, Gray, Friess and Rasner, all have wealth or family wealth. It raises the obvious comment that if they're conservatives as they claim, or populists as they really are, they can afford to hold their positions, which is something to consider.
The median income in Wyoming is $76,000/year.
May 29, 2026
Freedom Caucus member Scott Smith announced to challenge Treasurer Curt Meier, who is seeking reelection to the office.
He was mysteriously endorsed by the Make Liberty Win group of far right wingnuts before he announced.
Jillian Balow ads have started running. An example of them is:
Today is the last day to announce to run for the 2026 elections.
May 30, 2026
And now all the names are in.
Governor:
The Democrats have completely thrown in the towel on this race as Casner, who is so old that he attended the Lincoln Douglas debates, has no support and probably is in the category of having negative support. They gave up on this race completely. Casner ought to do everyone a favor and drop out.
A new name appears in the form of Curt Blake. I have no idea who he is.
This is a race between Barlow, Bien, and Degenfelder, with Bien and Degenfelder both vying for the far right. Bien isn't really even trying for the middle, but he'll draw votes away from Degenfelder. Barlow is by far the best candidate and the primary will determine the election due to the Democratic tragedy of not having a real candidate for this office.
U.S. Senator:
The only real change here was the addition of Billy Benavidez to the Democratic slate. That's unfortunate as Benavidez has less than 0 chance, but it does distract from the candidacy of James Byrd, who is a really good candidate.
Ideally Same Mead would take the GOP nomination and the race would be between Mead and Byrd. Mead would win. Hageman has the advantage, however, in spite of her far right anti public lands positions. Byrd will pull quite a few votes in the fall, assuming he's the nominee on the Democratic side, if Hageman is the Republican nominee, but Mead likely has a better chance than people might suppose. There's a fair amount of discontent with Hageman who was only elected to Congress on a visceral reaction to Liz Cheney thinking independently.
Jill Edwards is a complete unknown in this race. Holtz is an other antiquated baby boomer who just can't get over not being needed.
U.S. House of Representatives.
A real surprise here as longtime Natrona County politician Keith Goodenough reappears for the first time in quite awhile seeking the position of Congressman. It's really surprising as the race is pretty far along already, with Jillian Balow starting her campaign in earnest, and with Steve "my daddy was rich so I can afford to be a conservative" Friess, Chuck "everyone against me is a communist, fascist, Marxist, monarchist, podiatrist Gray, and Reid "I say abhorrent weird things" Rasner, violently throwing money at each other.
Rasner's campaign, we'd note, has been sufficiently weird that there's actually an article in the Cowboy State Daily in which WFC chief John Bear explains that its not a joke, no really it isn't, it's weird, sounds like a parody, but, um, it's not a joke.
A new Democrat has emerged as well, although I know nothing about her. She's taking on Lisa Kinney, who is once again in the old as dirt category and who should be staying out of the race.
Secretary of State
More new names on the Republican side here.
A lot of these candidates are completely unknown. Robert Short is likely the best candidate and Rachel Williams, who was in the legislature as Rachel Sanchez Williams (you have to wonder if she learned that the WFC, of which she is a member, doesn't approve really of brown people), a complete no go.
Other Statewide Races
The rest of these races we've already reported on.
In legislative races, Senate District 9 has only a Democrat as a registered candidate, incumbent Rothfuss. That's unusual. Senate District 17 also only has a registered Democrat.
In other news, Trump endorsed Pam Evette in South Carolina’s Republican primary for governor throwing Nancy Mace under the bus.
Mace voted to release the Epstein files. There's a real pattern here of Trump going after everyone who did.
In yet more news, we have this:
It probably will be dismissed, but at least in my view, our partisan primary system is in fact violative of the Wyoming Constitution It'll be interesting to see how it progresses. The case is filed in the State's 7th Judicial District in Natrona County.
Thursday, May 30, 1946. First post war Indianapolis 500.
The Indianapolis 500 was run for the first time since 1941. George Robson, took the race.
Robson was killed in a racing accident that September.
Over 90 passengers were killed in a railway accident at Hengyang, China.
The day prior the Senate had defeated a really badly thought out plan by Truman to draft striking rail workers.
Last edition:
Saturday, May 25, 1946. Jordanian independence, Railroad strike ends.
Labels: 1940s, 1946, Harry S. Truman, Jordan, Labor unrest, Monarchy, Railroads, Strike Wave of 1945-1946, Unions
Sunday, May 30, 1926. An oral arrangement.
In an oral arrangement, Turkey gave up claims to Mosul in exchange for 10% of the regions oil production for a period of twenty five years.
Last edition:
Wednesday, May 26, 1926. Riffians surrender.
Tuesday, May 30, 1876. Coup in Constantinople, Ems Ukaz in the Russian Empire.
A bloodless military coup d'état deposed Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz, and resulted in the the appointment of Murad V as the Sultan. Midhat Pasha would preside over a constitutional committee for the next two years, a period known as the First Constitutional Era.
Czar Alexander IIsigned the Ems Ukaz to eliminate the Ukrainian language from the cultural sphere and limited it with domestic use.
Last edition:
Monday, May 29, 1876. Start of the Yellowstone Expedition.
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