Links for 03/17/15 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 03/17/15 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: Less material than the comment on Ross's article.  I am actually getting ready for St. Jospeph's day - although I no longer drink red ale (no food coloring required).  Sadly, Missouri wishes to take revenge on somemone who needs asylum - I guess because it can  - although hopefully it was stopped already.  The drug companies who make the toxic brew used in education have vetoed the states and the right wing states are lashing back.  In reality, execution cannot be about right v. wrong - but dangerous v. dangerous.  Life without parole in a Supermax prison is effectively a death sentence - the prisoners even agree and they would prefer something quicker - of course if some of these are not dangerous, put them in general populaiton.  If they are dangerous - however - the euthanasia is better for all concerned.  It beats life in solitary.



The Healthy Working Families Act is probably light on assistance and heavy on training for a job no one wants (say, washing bedpans).  If real education, from literacy to trade school or college were provided, with tax subsidies for children equal to those for workers (and high enough to maintain each child by middle class standards) with a much higher state minimum wage, then I would be ecstatic.  Of course, voting for what is possible is what we settle for and can hopefully be signed or the veto overridden.



Public schools and their unions are always interesting for Catholic social justice advocates to talk about - since Catholic Schools are rarely unionized - both because our Lord Bishops and Duke Archbishops resist and because of the fact that teachers unions generally are in the forefront of the political discussion to safeguard abortion rights (do teachers get paid enough to not consider birth control or worse - especially in Catholic School?)  Abortion should not be the issue here - fair pay should and decent benefits, including a sweeter for each child born - this will make public school teachers fight for the same thing (after the inevitable quandry passes).  Unless the Church is willing to talk about the impossiblity of a legislative compromise that deals with the fact that personhood in the first trimester is impossible without major problems on the tort and police side when miscarriage occurs (and equal protection means miscarriage and abortion must be treated alike in these matters) and that there is not enough left to talk about in the second and third trimester to matter (especially if your standard of decision is danger, not innocence - see paragraph one) - then we really could start useful dialogue on unions in both Catholic and public school - and the public funding of Catholic School (Blaine Amendments be damned!).



Notice how this is all related?