I'll pass on being a Catholic GOPer.

My devout Catholic Republican neighbor is all heart. I mean that sarcastically. She'd like to convert me. To Catholicism. And Republicanism. I'd rather risk going to hell. She's of a mind that the beggars outside the Vatican in Rome are fakes. Merely people ripping off the tourists. And the other day, I talked politics with her. Told her that the American conglomerate Alcoa is closing an aluminum smelting plant in Sardinia. Laying off 500 workers. Plus the likelihood that another 500 will lose their jobs in subsidiary industries. Instead, Alcoa is opening a plant in Iceland. Because it's cheaper. Alcoa plans to hire 700 workers, mostly immigrants, at a wage of $6 an hour. Meanwhile, Alcoa is showing annual profits of about $21 billion. And my neighbor says good for Alcoa. That it's a sign that capitalism is succeeding. Making money for shareholders. Of course, by shamelessly exploiting labor. A reason why the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer. No qualms of conscious about that with my devout Catholic Republican neighbor. She thinks I've gone awry. And that I'm going to hell. Because I'm a socialist and a free-thinker. I happen to think that Alcoa is obscene. Certainly not running business the way Jesus would. Little wonder that I don't wanna be a devout Catholic Republican. --Jim Broede