Category: Government and Society

Fratelli Tutti

Here is another teaching from the encyclical of Pope Francis, about respecting each other-all the others.

#191 At a time when various forms of fundamentalist intolerance are damaging relationships between individuals, groups and peoples, let us be committed to living and teaching the value of respect for others, a love capable of welcoming differences, and the priority of the dignity of every human being over his or her ideas, opinions, practices and even sins. Even as forms of fanaticism, closedmindedness and social and cultural fragmentation proliferate in present-day society, a good politician will take the first step and insist that different voices be heard. Disagreements may well give rise to conflicts, but uniformity proves stifling and leads to cultural decay. May we not be content with being enclosed in one fragment of reality.

Cyclospora Update

The BBC reported today that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recorded a false positive when they tested produce blamed for the widespread outbreak of cyclosporiasis and that lettuce used by Taco Bell was NOT responsible for the thousands of cases being investigated.

The Guardian newspaper reports “federal agencies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have hemorrhaged staff and expertise under the second Trump administration” and “the CDC has lost about one-third of its staff, and the majority of permanent leadership positions are empty.”

Could the false positive testing be attributed to the reductions in the federal agencies set up to protect us?

Cyclospora Outbreak

• Cyclospora was officially identified July 1, 2026 and warnings were issued
• Michigan is a center of the outbreak. It normally experiences 40 to 50 cases a year. As of two days ago, Michigan has reported more than 5,000 cases.
• More than 7,000 cases are being investigated across 27 states.
• The Guardian reports “The outbreak comes after the Trump administration cut $12bn in public health funding in March 2025, including laboratory capacity, disease monitoring and outbreak investigation.”

[Headlines and information come from The Guardian, a major British newspaper.]


Fourth of July in Cambodia

It’s one hour away from the 4th of July in Phnom Penh (they’re 11 hours ahead of us) and there will be a celebration there! It’s organized by Freedom 250, though, which is the Trump administration organizing group instead of America250, the congressional bipartisan group that started planning for this anniversary in 2016, so it remains to be seen what will be the tone of the Phnom Penh celebration, whether it’s focused on the anniversary of the country or on its current president.