The Pope is coming! The Pope is coming!
Yet he’s making Cuba his first stop—AHEAD of the United States.
(Bet that won’t happen again if Trump ends up at the controls.)
But that’s not all that’s different about this week’s Papal visit.
In better days the Holy Father flew on TWA charters which had Shepherd One outfitted, complete with a luxurious Papal bed.
The aircraft was an AMERICAN built Boeing 767.
And once on the ground, Papa was ferried through the streets in the Popemobile, a modified Mercedes-Benz.
Some of the older M-B Popemobiles are still on display at the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart.
But, oh how times have changed.
On this trip Pope Francis arrives on an Alitalia chartered jet by the Vatican.
That’s the Italian airline that faced bankruptcy in 2013 but was saved by Abu-Dhabi based UAE, Etihad Airways which acquired a 49% stake in Alitalia.
And there’s no Papal bed on board. But in all fairness they at least got him a seat in first class.
As for the aircraft itself, it’s bye-bye to American Boeing and hello to the European Airbus Industries.
That’s right, Papa is flying on an Airbus 330.
And about that Popemobile?
No more Mercedes-Benz star on the grill of the glass domed ride-a-round.
No sir! To to the best of my ID-ing, the Pope has switched his ground transportation to Hyundai.
So take THAT!
In all fairness I’ve heard that Papa will switch airlines after arriving in Washington, D.C. later this week.
He supposedly will be on American Airlines for the remainder of his trip.
Do you suppose it’s got something to do with AAdvantage frequent flyer miles? Say it ain’t so…..
As for the Pope’s visit to New York City, rumor has it that it all came down to scoring scarce tickets to see THE BOOK OF MORMON on Broadway.
Finally the big question as to whether Kansas City had been on the radar for a potential stopover?
Nobody will confirm—or deny it.
But think about it. Had the streetcar system in downtown K.C. been up and running???
Guess we’ll never know.
I personally find religious satire to be in poor taste. I wouldn’t entertain the idea of mocking the Jews, Muslims, Hindus, or Buddhists. All of that said, I don’t understand this article. That the Pope has toned down some of the extravagance? That the Pope isn’t buying American? What are you driving at?
I feel your pain, Confused, but…
I think all of the above is where Jack is heading. With a mile marker or two from the past thrown in for good measure.
hey confused…this is kc confidential…lots of fun and entertainment.
Haven’t you read the articles lately?
The conspiracy by the trombone section of the K state band to march out
of step to form testicles in their on field formation at half time. Hearne
put his “crack” investigator on that story.
Or have you read glazes 4 articles in one week where he changes his
mind each time and is WRONG each time?
come on ….loosen up. I see you want some jewish satire…here’s some:
WHAT DO YOU CALL A JEWISH GIRL ON A WATERBED? the dead
sea!
WHAT DO JEWISH GIRLS MAKE FOR DINNER? Reservations!
HOW DO YOU KNOW A JEWISH GIRL HAD AN ORGASM? She dropped
her nail file.
Okay…there’s your jewish satire.
Now mellow out. This pope is the coolest one ever and he’s hip to the
real world around him. This ain’t the wall street journal…this is the
world famous and funny and humorousand raucus KC CONFIDENTIAL!!!!!!
You’re walking a thin line here, unconfused. And I believe Confused said they find religious satire to be in poor taste — which pretty much sums up your comment.
again…paul …get a senseof humor.
no fine line…..catholic humor goesway way back
to thehusband and wife team (stiller and mera),,,
jewish humor goes back many years…
so does Christian and muslim (especially sine America
elected a “muslim” president twice. Now that’s funny
to some people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
give me a break…if you don’t like to take a little
funning with…move on.
most of the jokerson here are like the comicsat glaze’s
place…old and out of date.
laugh a little. It will help get you thru the day old
man.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul, “unconfused Jew” is actually the very confused Harley. He can change his name but he can’t change his worn out lines, spelling or grammar.
He’s just a sad example of a tortued soul; let it go.
even Porky knew it was Harley’s comments!
give me a break wisolong….my spelling and
grammar is notable here at kcc!
butwe’re waiting for your follow up story
on the trombone player conspiracy at
ksu.
We got southy to respond and he was quite
witty…but we all want more investigative
news on that piece of journalism you wrote.
and remember…momma is always right!
Your buddy and pal
Harley
Can’t believe you fell for that ksu alumni’s
b.s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
otflmao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! get it?
WOW! I feel like taking a shower after reading this…….
I agree pack j….you need a shower…your writing is
really as bad as your odor and that phony german
accent.
and pack j…do like trump says…
you’vebeen here long enough…
IF YOU’RE GOING TO LIVE IN AMERICA…
TALK LIKE AN AMERICAN!
and don’t make fun of the pope. Cool guy with
some real world ideas.
Jewish and Muslim satire is verboten on this site and most other sites. Christians are legitimate targets of hate by bloggers and the media — it makes them appear cool.
Hey, times are tough. Even the Fish-Eater-In-Chief needs to scale back a little. Man of the people, I say.
….and don’t forget to tip your waiters 🙂
Hearne; with the Pope visiting America, now seems like the perfect time for your “religious” writer, Rich Steele to offer a piece on the conflict between the Pope’s views on issues outside the church ( climate change, social issues, capitalism, etc) and how they conflict with the political views of the large number of Catholics who lean to the right. With his somewhat recent piece on Bishop Finn, he seems to have his finger on the pulse of local Catholics. I believe I saw a breakdown where slightly more than half of White Catholics lean Republican while about 3/4ths of Latino Catholics lean Democratic.
Haven’t seen Steele in a while so if not him, maybe Professor Wilson or Dwight might want to tackle the topic. Maybe Steele can’t handle the heat his offerings tend to generate.
have professor Wilsolong include his investiagation into the
pe??? formation at ksu.
I’m sure that would be the funniest thing ever. can’t
wait.