https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/kavanaugh-hearing-signals-cultural-shift-moment
MGB: Even if Kav was not a virgin, he is accused of attempted rape at worst or some degree of sexual battery at best if he put his hands on her body. Whether the two actually knew each other seems to be the key point. She says he did, he says he did not know her. An FBI investigation will find the truth or at least we hope so. Kav should not be used a scapegoat for all horsing high school and college students who go too far, either in jest or reality (both or wrong) or who rape drunken women. If he is lying about knowing her, it may be a memory lapse. If he is lying about molesting her, even if he does not remember, he needs to withdraw from consideration and resign from his post on the appellate court.
Whether or not his silence about Bush Administration information is due to ignorance (many items crossed his desk, he likely did not read most), due to the secrecy of the matter (which he could not even disclose, then or now), the fact that Cheney's treachery on torture did not come to Bush's attention until DOJ lawyers threatened to go to the Post or that he deliberately lied is probably not knowable until the Bush papers are fully declassified.
Whether he is a Trump flunkee does matter. If he is, he should be voted down.
The outcome of this process will have as much or as little impact as the Thomas confirmation did on the re-election of George H.W. Bush - which is none at all. Bush was seen as cold in not dealing with the slowdown caused by the S&L crisis and other impacts of too many tax cuts for the rich. It also had nothing to do with his no new taxes pledge. Clinton simply out emoted Bush, which was easy, while still taking enough big money from donors to get his message out. He was no Mondale and no Dukakis. He was more a Carter with style.
Polls are now showing that not even tax policy is important for the election. It is simply whether people think that Donald J. Trump is either corrupt or an idiot (or both). Most voters do and are excited about getting rid of him (even independent Republicans). This is an existential crisis for the Republican Party. Only Trump's resignation will turn it to a simple rout, ala 1974. In the minority, the GOP would be advised to put women on the Judiciary Committee, provided they are not decimated into minor party status.
The reason Trump did not meet with Rosenstein yesterday was that he suspects, probably correctly, that the DAG has a copy of the Muller Report and knows that once it is out, Pence will likely have to invoke the 25th Amendment on a deranged President.
If this happens, the Kavenaugh nomination will likely be pulled, with Pence putting forward someone who will vote to overturn Roe, let that person be defeated and them nominate Merrick Garland. Only Pence knows whether he will make deals with a new Democratic majority or be a veto machine like Gerry Ford, but he would likely be only a half term President.
Even if Kav is confirmed, there is likely only one vote to repeal Roe and no votes to give the power to regulate personhood to the states, simply because it is not constitutionally theirs and, unless the 14th Amendment is repealed, never will be. This is not like Plessey, which itself was badly decided because it ignored the 14th Amendment and gave primacy to state's rights in violation thereof. More than a generation of lawyers who have done to real law schools (not Ave Maria or Liberty) can cite chapter and verse the logic behind Roe. It is a done deal, only worth mentioning to pander to either feminists of fundamentalists on election day.
Will this impact future nominations? Maybe, but any grilling about either drinking or sexual activity will be handled in the confidential hearing after the formal hearing is complete, although background checks will likely be much more thorough.
Elite Catholic boys schools should become coeducational and made non-elite. This will happen if they seek public funds and accept any Catholic student, which will require both acceptance of teachers unions (even the pro-choice ones - because, like I said, abortion is really non issue) and the repeal of Blaine Amendments which forbid such funding due to an unconstitutional anti-Catholic bias.
The Church must also get into the adult education business (now currently left to community colleges) and votech education (ending the bias toward pre-college students), which usually does not start until public community college. Sometimes getting students out of an academic track may mean the difference between graduating high school and a life of low wage labor or criminal activity. Adding religion class to such a curriculum will lead to more educated Catholics of all classes.
Senator Flake did throw a wrench into the confirmation process and Rosenstein, Mueller and Pence may derail it altogether or may not. As Rachel Maddow says, "watch this space."
Friday, September 28, 2018
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Links for 9/27/18
.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-92718
MGB: The Gosat story is only funny if he loses. Even sadder are those Republican bishops who think that going to an ICE prison camp is against their side politically. Such bishops have no moral authority.
Originalism is not in the realm of philosophy or theology. It is a matter of legal reasoning, pure and simple. It has evolved from the fanaticism of Scalia to a decent respect for the history and evolution of legal concepts. In that light, all judges are originalists.
The term middle class means nothing if everyone, including the rich, think of themselves that way. It is the label that is toxic, as the statistical standard deviations (and they are skewed rather than normal with most people at the poorer end with a long tail for the more well off) are ignored. A better distinction is professional class and working class, except that this offends working class people who think that any class consciousness at all makes them Marxian atheists.
Governor Rossello is a moron. Cruz should be attacking him and not Trump. Indeed, her party probably votes in the Republican presidential primaries.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-92718
MGB: The Gosat story is only funny if he loses. Even sadder are those Republican bishops who think that going to an ICE prison camp is against their side politically. Such bishops have no moral authority.
Originalism is not in the realm of philosophy or theology. It is a matter of legal reasoning, pure and simple. It has evolved from the fanaticism of Scalia to a decent respect for the history and evolution of legal concepts. In that light, all judges are originalists.
The term middle class means nothing if everyone, including the rich, think of themselves that way. It is the label that is toxic, as the statistical standard deviations (and they are skewed rather than normal with most people at the poorer end with a long tail for the more well off) are ignored. A better distinction is professional class and working class, except that this offends working class people who think that any class consciousness at all makes them Marxian atheists.
Governor Rossello is a moron. Cruz should be attacking him and not Trump. Indeed, her party probably votes in the Republican presidential primaries.
.Conservatives must face John Paul II's legacy in sex abuse crisis
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/conservatives-must-face-john-paul-iis-legacy-sex-abuse
MGB: Humanae Vitae has everything to do with this debate, as does its follow-on by St. John Paul (mentioning his papal title is not necessary in referring to him and he was not great - his infirmity should have brought abdication, not canonization). The problem is that people who would have been called objectively disordered in the old Rubric, Asexuals, who are now just called differently ordered (and are rarer than homosexuals, except in the clergy), are writing about something they know nothing about and resist with every fiber of their being - sexual love.
Homosexual priests like Archbishop McCarrick, go along to get along because the Asexuals don't understand them either, but they don't want to draw attention to themselves. For too long asexuals have clung to the charism for celibacy rather than exploring their own sexual beings, which did lead to abuse. Statistics show that heterosexuals (which are considered in these calculations to be anyone but gays) are more likely to be abusers, especially if they lack sexual formation. Of course, if asexuality is counted as a separate orientation, then probably all the abuse can be laid at their feet, since they are the ones who are largely unformed, even to themselves. John Paul glorified them when he should have looked at the issue more closely, including his own make up and how it infected doctrine from sacred continence to birth control to not ordaining women..
As for the fringe right-wingers who defame our Holy Father, they are not worth listening to or commenting about. Weigel's been passe' ever since John Paul passed on. I won't waste ink on him.
MGB: Humanae Vitae has everything to do with this debate, as does its follow-on by St. John Paul (mentioning his papal title is not necessary in referring to him and he was not great - his infirmity should have brought abdication, not canonization). The problem is that people who would have been called objectively disordered in the old Rubric, Asexuals, who are now just called differently ordered (and are rarer than homosexuals, except in the clergy), are writing about something they know nothing about and resist with every fiber of their being - sexual love.
Homosexual priests like Archbishop McCarrick, go along to get along because the Asexuals don't understand them either, but they don't want to draw attention to themselves. For too long asexuals have clung to the charism for celibacy rather than exploring their own sexual beings, which did lead to abuse. Statistics show that heterosexuals (which are considered in these calculations to be anyone but gays) are more likely to be abusers, especially if they lack sexual formation. Of course, if asexuality is counted as a separate orientation, then probably all the abuse can be laid at their feet, since they are the ones who are largely unformed, even to themselves. John Paul glorified them when he should have looked at the issue more closely, including his own make up and how it infected doctrine from sacred continence to birth control to not ordaining women..
As for the fringe right-wingers who defame our Holy Father, they are not worth listening to or commenting about. Weigel's been passe' ever since John Paul passed on. I won't waste ink on him.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Links for 9/25/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-92518
MGB: Ed's ilk go back to Nixon and opposition to Kerry after he joined the peace movement. His ilk comes from the Birchers and the Klan, even if he does not personally go back there. They put party before country. He is human slime. That is all we need to say about Ed.
The GOP has its head in the sand on Trump. It is why Pelosi is not vocally talking about impeachment, but the candidates are. Don't tell the GOP voters they won't have a party next year. Texas is an example, both in the Senate and the Governor's race, although the Dems need to move as if Trump is not there and work hard to win.
Using abortion on this confirmation is a way for the pro-choice movement to look busy. The Catholic Church is fair game if it keeps this issue alive. Kav is pro-Roe and has said as much, meaning he is the seventh such justice. 5-4 is a tactic to raise money and keep a dead issue alive. As Kav is a Kennedy acolyte, I believe him. Another nominee would be worse, but Kav is no gentleman. You can't do gang rapes in High School and think no one will notice. A gentleman would have ended this by now and no male who is not does not belong on the Court.
Employee ownership and its internationalization is the only way rid ourselves of capitalist trade policy, which is the safety valve against organization. Such organizations must attract the best people and innovate more so that, even if they lose money on currency conversion, they win overall.
Whether fighting a disaster or a control board, a competent Governor is essential. It does not have one and attacking Trump, while needed, will not help them get one. That is on them.
We need to move cities, build dikes (and stick Trump's head in them) and revoke flood insurance for those people who insist on living by the beach, or at least limit the payback.
MGB: Ed's ilk go back to Nixon and opposition to Kerry after he joined the peace movement. His ilk comes from the Birchers and the Klan, even if he does not personally go back there. They put party before country. He is human slime. That is all we need to say about Ed.
The GOP has its head in the sand on Trump. It is why Pelosi is not vocally talking about impeachment, but the candidates are. Don't tell the GOP voters they won't have a party next year. Texas is an example, both in the Senate and the Governor's race, although the Dems need to move as if Trump is not there and work hard to win.
Using abortion on this confirmation is a way for the pro-choice movement to look busy. The Catholic Church is fair game if it keeps this issue alive. Kav is pro-Roe and has said as much, meaning he is the seventh such justice. 5-4 is a tactic to raise money and keep a dead issue alive. As Kav is a Kennedy acolyte, I believe him. Another nominee would be worse, but Kav is no gentleman. You can't do gang rapes in High School and think no one will notice. A gentleman would have ended this by now and no male who is not does not belong on the Court.
Employee ownership and its internationalization is the only way rid ourselves of capitalist trade policy, which is the safety valve against organization. Such organizations must attract the best people and innovate more so that, even if they lose money on currency conversion, they win overall.
Whether fighting a disaster or a control board, a competent Governor is essential. It does not have one and attacking Trump, while needed, will not help them get one. That is on them.
We need to move cities, build dikes (and stick Trump's head in them) and revoke flood insurance for those people who insist on living by the beach, or at least limit the payback.
Monday, September 24, 2018
US bishops won't restore trust with announced plans to stop abuse
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/us-bishops-wont-restore-trust-announced-plans-stop-abuse
MGB: The bishops cannot police themselves. All the options to seek better accountability that MSW suggests are meaningless for that reason. They will do the minimum they can on abuse and as much as they can to protect their office.
The Vatican could police and finally quit fighting the proposition that the Holy See is responsible financially when they err in their responsibilities. Time to sell all that art that shows the Holy Family as white Europeans, which they were not. They looked like modern Palestinians - the poor ones). Putting their money where their mouth is will get the Vatican to act quickly. Step one, fire the lawyers representing the bishops. They obstruct change while trying to protect the public image of the Church.
The other option is to undo the Medievalism that infected the Church when kings, lords and vassals were the only way to restore order to the Dark Ages before Chivalry, when knights were more brigand that noble. Returning accountability of bishops to clergy and the faithful (approximately the way the Anglicans have), with the faithful, through elected deacons administering each parish, dealing with all cases of abuse, including writing checks to victims for actions of the priests they bring into the parish.
This is not congregationalism. In congregationalism, the Eucharist is a symbol, not an encounter with the Christ. Administrative reform will in no way damage the deposit of faith. It will merely do what the Medieval Church did, follow the governmental culture of the time. There is nothing distinct or Catholic in holding onto present arrangements. I have said all this before and it is time to quit reforming arround the edges as MSW would do. The Church will not survive it. Indeed, change cannot be avoided any more.
MGB: The bishops cannot police themselves. All the options to seek better accountability that MSW suggests are meaningless for that reason. They will do the minimum they can on abuse and as much as they can to protect their office.
The Vatican could police and finally quit fighting the proposition that the Holy See is responsible financially when they err in their responsibilities. Time to sell all that art that shows the Holy Family as white Europeans, which they were not. They looked like modern Palestinians - the poor ones). Putting their money where their mouth is will get the Vatican to act quickly. Step one, fire the lawyers representing the bishops. They obstruct change while trying to protect the public image of the Church.
The other option is to undo the Medievalism that infected the Church when kings, lords and vassals were the only way to restore order to the Dark Ages before Chivalry, when knights were more brigand that noble. Returning accountability of bishops to clergy and the faithful (approximately the way the Anglicans have), with the faithful, through elected deacons administering each parish, dealing with all cases of abuse, including writing checks to victims for actions of the priests they bring into the parish.
This is not congregationalism. In congregationalism, the Eucharist is a symbol, not an encounter with the Christ. Administrative reform will in no way damage the deposit of faith. It will merely do what the Medieval Church did, follow the governmental culture of the time. There is nothing distinct or Catholic in holding onto present arrangements. I have said all this before and it is time to quit reforming arround the edges as MSW would do. The Church will not survive it. Indeed, change cannot be avoided any more.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Founders' ambivalence on natural equality gave way to white supremacy
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/founders-ambivalence-natural-equality-gave-way-white-supremacy
MGB: Originalism is about Scalia's insistence that decisions be based on something and the response was to bring more history into written opinions. Most lawyers and judges have a good idea of history, just as historians and social scientists must have some understanding of law.
History showed that the founders thought slavery to be a temporary problem because at the time, cleaning cotton was so labor intensive as to be uneconomic. As the book points out (and every high school freshman knows) Eli Whitney changed that and the Slave Culture overtook the South, controlling African slaves, poor whites and doing violence, including murder, to anyone in the south that advanced abolition. Part of cultural control was segregated worship, which is still with us to this day, although it gave rise to a black church and limited black literacy and the biblical imagery equating the slaves of America with the slaves of Egypt. This was still the case in Dr. King's last speech where he talked about getting to the promised land.
Racism existed in its own right, but it is forever linked to classism, including class relations with the white race. It was the glue that help poor whites in check, when their class interests should have been with the slaves (and in rare occasions, they were, at least in the Free State of Jones). Property rights were a justification of capitalism where human beings were the machines (although Marx calls it a separate thing, although the use of blacks as machinery continued under the color of law until automated cotton harvesting was invented. To treat people as machines, they must be dehumanized. Dred Scott was simply the last constitutional racism, which needed all three Civil War amendments to overcome - and Plessey showed that only a change of heart, or federal troops or election monitors, can guarantee such rights.
Securing women's rights were not even attempted by even Frederick Douglas and child labor lasted in law until the early twentieth century, except in the agricultural sector when cotton needed harvesting. Even now, there are converture laws on the books that essentially treated women as property. Some judges still do. The 1960s were not about sexual excess, as reactionaries would have us believe, they were about emancipation of women from men. This is not complete, as the Kavanaugh arguments show. It is also why the pro-choice movement is so sensitive to the historic treatment of women. To a great extent, undoing Roe would also undo progress of women out of being property themselves.
Current efforts to disenfranchise both blacks and students have their roots in the denial of the franchise to freemen, which was either official or informal through the Klan. That Republicans, the heirs to the racist south, still go to this tactic to try to win elections is simply a continuation of past racism. It never really stopped. Efforts to restrict bankruptcy rights and to issue predatory loans to African Americans who qualified for much better terms is another sign that racism exists in places one would think would be immune from it. It does not even make business sense.
MGB: Originalism is about Scalia's insistence that decisions be based on something and the response was to bring more history into written opinions. Most lawyers and judges have a good idea of history, just as historians and social scientists must have some understanding of law.
History showed that the founders thought slavery to be a temporary problem because at the time, cleaning cotton was so labor intensive as to be uneconomic. As the book points out (and every high school freshman knows) Eli Whitney changed that and the Slave Culture overtook the South, controlling African slaves, poor whites and doing violence, including murder, to anyone in the south that advanced abolition. Part of cultural control was segregated worship, which is still with us to this day, although it gave rise to a black church and limited black literacy and the biblical imagery equating the slaves of America with the slaves of Egypt. This was still the case in Dr. King's last speech where he talked about getting to the promised land.
Racism existed in its own right, but it is forever linked to classism, including class relations with the white race. It was the glue that help poor whites in check, when their class interests should have been with the slaves (and in rare occasions, they were, at least in the Free State of Jones). Property rights were a justification of capitalism where human beings were the machines (although Marx calls it a separate thing, although the use of blacks as machinery continued under the color of law until automated cotton harvesting was invented. To treat people as machines, they must be dehumanized. Dred Scott was simply the last constitutional racism, which needed all three Civil War amendments to overcome - and Plessey showed that only a change of heart, or federal troops or election monitors, can guarantee such rights.
Securing women's rights were not even attempted by even Frederick Douglas and child labor lasted in law until the early twentieth century, except in the agricultural sector when cotton needed harvesting. Even now, there are converture laws on the books that essentially treated women as property. Some judges still do. The 1960s were not about sexual excess, as reactionaries would have us believe, they were about emancipation of women from men. This is not complete, as the Kavanaugh arguments show. It is also why the pro-choice movement is so sensitive to the historic treatment of women. To a great extent, undoing Roe would also undo progress of women out of being property themselves.
Current efforts to disenfranchise both blacks and students have their roots in the denial of the franchise to freemen, which was either official or informal through the Klan. That Republicans, the heirs to the racist south, still go to this tactic to try to win elections is simply a continuation of past racism. It never really stopped. Efforts to restrict bankruptcy rights and to issue predatory loans to African Americans who qualified for much better terms is another sign that racism exists in places one would think would be immune from it. It does not even make business sense.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Links for 9/20/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-92018
MGB: Starting a union a union is wonderful, but eventually it has to join in unity with others, while bring something new to the table, like working as part of employee-ownership and cooperatives.
The best thing the Democrats can do is point out that abortion is no longer an issue in the Supreme Court because at least six members (the liberals plus Alito and Roberts - and maybe Gorsuch and Kavanaugh - if he survives) if not 8 who view Roe as decided law. The issue is impeachment, not life or even taxation. Abortion and taxes are for the primaries. They will have nothing to do with the general election, which will be about getting rid of Trump. The only way for the GOP to have it otherwise is to rid us of that meddlesome president by making him resign or declaring him disabled because he has been arrested for obstruction of justice.
It is not the Gift that should scare Napa, but his comments decrying the reduction in social security systems - not just retirement but assistance to families and especially poor families as well as his condemnation of multinationalism that makes the poor poorer. Conservatives are only conservatives because they shoot from the hip and learn from "approved sources" rather than seeking the truth. That goes double for those who deny the methodology of the Puerto Rican mortality study.
Let us hope that the Florida gubernatorial election has more to do with economics than demographics. Well I can dream, can't I?
I doubt the mood in Eastern Europe is like Rawanda or Bosnia. It is more like these nations experienced pursuant to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, except Ribbentrop is our feckless president.
MGB: Starting a union a union is wonderful, but eventually it has to join in unity with others, while bring something new to the table, like working as part of employee-ownership and cooperatives.
The best thing the Democrats can do is point out that abortion is no longer an issue in the Supreme Court because at least six members (the liberals plus Alito and Roberts - and maybe Gorsuch and Kavanaugh - if he survives) if not 8 who view Roe as decided law. The issue is impeachment, not life or even taxation. Abortion and taxes are for the primaries. They will have nothing to do with the general election, which will be about getting rid of Trump. The only way for the GOP to have it otherwise is to rid us of that meddlesome president by making him resign or declaring him disabled because he has been arrested for obstruction of justice.
It is not the Gift that should scare Napa, but his comments decrying the reduction in social security systems - not just retirement but assistance to families and especially poor families as well as his condemnation of multinationalism that makes the poor poorer. Conservatives are only conservatives because they shoot from the hip and learn from "approved sources" rather than seeking the truth. That goes double for those who deny the methodology of the Puerto Rican mortality study.
Let us hope that the Florida gubernatorial election has more to do with economics than demographics. Well I can dream, can't I?
I doubt the mood in Eastern Europe is like Rawanda or Bosnia. It is more like these nations experienced pursuant to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, except Ribbentrop is our feckless president.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Historian confronts complexities of early America's self-evident truths
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/historian-confronts-complexities-early-americas-self-evident-truths
MGB: The opinions of liberal scholars have nothing to do with the use of originalism, that is the realm of judges, who are increasingly and appropriately utilizing history in ruling on cases. This did not begin with Scalia and won't end because he is gone. Such arguments are informative (like foreign law) but not controlling, as is precedent, which is a complicated word for history. The evolution of culture is factual, which answers Scalia's of question of how we can use it to rule. Usually the evolution of law takes care of this, but sadly, reactionaries like Scalia and his friends in the legislature hold onto old prejudices.
The Gettysburg Address captures the why of the quote, from which it is drawn, and the context is not the founders, it is the Civil War itself. Still, speeches don't make law. The better work to analyze law in this period is Democracy Reborn by Garrett Epps,. Scalia would never cite it because Epps calls Scalia an idiot in so many words.
Sadly, while the 14th Amendment passed, even Franklin Douglass told his allies in the women's movement that both black and female suffrage was too much to pass. The 14th Amendment was gutted by Plessey v. Ferguson until the Warren Court dusted it off, while the Progressive Amendments enacted the income tax, senatorial election, women's suffrage and alcohol prohibition in the 1910s. It is amazing at that time, it was easier to get an Amendment passed than move the Court.
The founders thought they could finesse the race question due to the difficulty in processing cotton. Eli Whitney, by making cotton easy to process, ended that possibility and de facto slavery (Read Blackman's Slavery by Another Name_) kept blacks in bondage (including children) until automated cotton manufacturing was developed.
Social class bowed to economics, as it does with immigration reform, which keeps migrants out of the law and exploitable. Capitalist consider them property, as were both slaves and wives (who were kept out of the labor force unless they were in the underclass, to keep them subject to their husbands. The Sexual Revolution was more about their emancipation than unbridled lust.
Modern conservatives, including pro-lifers, dislike the 14th Amendment. The founders, who were Masonic as a civic virtue, were not anti-Catholic for this reason. Indeed, it is the Catholic Church that was anti-Mason - a stupid dictate we still suffer from. Democracy was also considered a heresy (although more in Italy) as Mirare Vos demonstrates. An oppressive Catholic Church made anti-Catholicism rationale, though inconsistent with the founding. It was the marginalization of the Pope in Europe that made equality for Catholics possible. It was not constitutionalized until evolving law moved the First Amendment to the states, with the 14th guaranteeing religious liberty as well. That evolving law protects the Church while Scalia railed against it is the ultimate irony for originalism.
MGB: The opinions of liberal scholars have nothing to do with the use of originalism, that is the realm of judges, who are increasingly and appropriately utilizing history in ruling on cases. This did not begin with Scalia and won't end because he is gone. Such arguments are informative (like foreign law) but not controlling, as is precedent, which is a complicated word for history. The evolution of culture is factual, which answers Scalia's of question of how we can use it to rule. Usually the evolution of law takes care of this, but sadly, reactionaries like Scalia and his friends in the legislature hold onto old prejudices.
The Gettysburg Address captures the why of the quote, from which it is drawn, and the context is not the founders, it is the Civil War itself. Still, speeches don't make law. The better work to analyze law in this period is Democracy Reborn by Garrett Epps,. Scalia would never cite it because Epps calls Scalia an idiot in so many words.
Sadly, while the 14th Amendment passed, even Franklin Douglass told his allies in the women's movement that both black and female suffrage was too much to pass. The 14th Amendment was gutted by Plessey v. Ferguson until the Warren Court dusted it off, while the Progressive Amendments enacted the income tax, senatorial election, women's suffrage and alcohol prohibition in the 1910s. It is amazing at that time, it was easier to get an Amendment passed than move the Court.
The founders thought they could finesse the race question due to the difficulty in processing cotton. Eli Whitney, by making cotton easy to process, ended that possibility and de facto slavery (Read Blackman's Slavery by Another Name_) kept blacks in bondage (including children) until automated cotton manufacturing was developed.
Social class bowed to economics, as it does with immigration reform, which keeps migrants out of the law and exploitable. Capitalist consider them property, as were both slaves and wives (who were kept out of the labor force unless they were in the underclass, to keep them subject to their husbands. The Sexual Revolution was more about their emancipation than unbridled lust.
Modern conservatives, including pro-lifers, dislike the 14th Amendment. The founders, who were Masonic as a civic virtue, were not anti-Catholic for this reason. Indeed, it is the Catholic Church that was anti-Mason - a stupid dictate we still suffer from. Democracy was also considered a heresy (although more in Italy) as Mirare Vos demonstrates. An oppressive Catholic Church made anti-Catholicism rationale, though inconsistent with the founding. It was the marginalization of the Pope in Europe that made equality for Catholics possible. It was not constitutionalized until evolving law moved the First Amendment to the states, with the 14th guaranteeing religious liberty as well. That evolving law protects the Church while Scalia railed against it is the ultimate irony for originalism.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Not all church reforms are equal or advisable
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/not-all-church-reforms-are-equal-or-advisable
MGB: Sadly, it is not PC to note that both the Pennsylvania and Vagano revelations are old news. Indeed, some are very old news. Most of the bishops and popes involved are retired or dead. If bishops are ignoring the Dallas Accords, then they must be removed, but opportunism on this issue is contemptible because it reopens wounds for the survivors.
The upcoming Napa Institute conference seems to about to give voice to the old saw that homosexuality is the cause of abuse and that Humanae Vitae was a good idea. That is reactionary, not libertarian, so it is easily ignored as fringe, not a real call for reform or even more involvement of the laity.
MSW still thinks that this is Congregationalism (and maybe it is), but it can also mean an end to Medievalism. No one is arguing for ending the apostolic role of the bishops in proclaiming the Resurrection, but that does not mean they should control the property and finances of the diocese or that they are de facto agents of Rome in doing so. If the laity held the diocesan checkbook, bishops could no longer cover up abuse. This is a crisis of structure, not culture. Criticizing clericalism is simply not enough.
Rome can teach, but the Roman Inquisition (aka the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith) should be done away with. We can now think for ourselves. . Synodal decision making is not adequate if the problem is the members of the Synod. MSW thinks everything is fine under Francis. It is an improvement, but it is not enough. He won't be pope forever, nor his wonderful homilies.
Finally, who is MSW to say that the Spirit is not working through the reformers to craft the changes to bring about reform in the Church. The Church was not always Medieval. That time is surely passed.
MGB: Sadly, it is not PC to note that both the Pennsylvania and Vagano revelations are old news. Indeed, some are very old news. Most of the bishops and popes involved are retired or dead. If bishops are ignoring the Dallas Accords, then they must be removed, but opportunism on this issue is contemptible because it reopens wounds for the survivors.
The upcoming Napa Institute conference seems to about to give voice to the old saw that homosexuality is the cause of abuse and that Humanae Vitae was a good idea. That is reactionary, not libertarian, so it is easily ignored as fringe, not a real call for reform or even more involvement of the laity.
MSW still thinks that this is Congregationalism (and maybe it is), but it can also mean an end to Medievalism. No one is arguing for ending the apostolic role of the bishops in proclaiming the Resurrection, but that does not mean they should control the property and finances of the diocese or that they are de facto agents of Rome in doing so. If the laity held the diocesan checkbook, bishops could no longer cover up abuse. This is a crisis of structure, not culture. Criticizing clericalism is simply not enough.
Rome can teach, but the Roman Inquisition (aka the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith) should be done away with. We can now think for ourselves. . Synodal decision making is not adequate if the problem is the members of the Synod. MSW thinks everything is fine under Francis. It is an improvement, but it is not enough. He won't be pope forever, nor his wonderful homilies.
Finally, who is MSW to say that the Spirit is not working through the reformers to craft the changes to bring about reform in the Church. The Church was not always Medieval. That time is surely passed.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Links for 9/13/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/links-91318
MGB: MacArthur give lip service to condeming white racism, but he denies that the sin still exists, especially in public policy on neighborhood integration, school integration, criminal justice policies meant to jail and disenfranchize black voters and welfare policies that break up families - all of these created for blatantly racist purposes. He is providing cover for the new racism and its reactionary views, even within Christianity. He is baptizing Trumpism and the new GOP, as well as the election of Obama.
The Knights of the Republican Party have spoken again. They think Kavanaugh is lying when he says Roe is settled law. In essence, they are throwing the unborn under the bus. On Anderson, he seems to be trying his best to be a different kind of Knight. Of course, the continued identification of Columbus and the subsequent genocide says it all. In defense of MacArthur, supporting a nominee is not supporting a candidate.
Part of education is working on standing up for yourself and your ideas. The only way out is to educate parents. Black Power and Black Lives Matter are part of that education, but state sponsored remedial education should be in the picture as well.
Father Z is as much a Republican activist as MacArhur and Anderson. And they laughed when Hillary talked of a vast right wing conspiracy. Got it?
Unless Busch is in favor of the authentic reform demanded by Jesus in Matt 20: 25-26, he is an opportunist and a reactionary.
The Umpires on the group need to police themselves and fire the idiot who cost Serena a championship. They should also look to see if they rigged the game against her.
Jesus was West Asian, neither white nor black. He was as ethnically an Arab as anything else. The Vatican needs to dump all that art that makes Jesus and Mary look like northern Italians and put the proceeds into a fund for victims and diocese who suffered because of the sins of their bishops (and keep firing those bishops).
MGB: MacArthur give lip service to condeming white racism, but he denies that the sin still exists, especially in public policy on neighborhood integration, school integration, criminal justice policies meant to jail and disenfranchize black voters and welfare policies that break up families - all of these created for blatantly racist purposes. He is providing cover for the new racism and its reactionary views, even within Christianity. He is baptizing Trumpism and the new GOP, as well as the election of Obama.
The Knights of the Republican Party have spoken again. They think Kavanaugh is lying when he says Roe is settled law. In essence, they are throwing the unborn under the bus. On Anderson, he seems to be trying his best to be a different kind of Knight. Of course, the continued identification of Columbus and the subsequent genocide says it all. In defense of MacArthur, supporting a nominee is not supporting a candidate.
Part of education is working on standing up for yourself and your ideas. The only way out is to educate parents. Black Power and Black Lives Matter are part of that education, but state sponsored remedial education should be in the picture as well.
Father Z is as much a Republican activist as MacArhur and Anderson. And they laughed when Hillary talked of a vast right wing conspiracy. Got it?
Unless Busch is in favor of the authentic reform demanded by Jesus in Matt 20: 25-26, he is an opportunist and a reactionary.
The Umpires on the group need to police themselves and fire the idiot who cost Serena a championship. They should also look to see if they rigged the game against her.
Jesus was West Asian, neither white nor black. He was as ethnically an Arab as anything else. The Vatican needs to dump all that art that makes Jesus and Mary look like northern Italians and put the proceeds into a fund for victims and diocese who suffered because of the sins of their bishops (and keep firing those bishops).
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Worldliness is the very heart of the Catholic Church's crisis
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/worldliness-very-heart-catholic-churchs-crisis
MGB: Of course they like the rich. They are the rich. Their current structure and election is designed after the office of Medieval lord or duke (your Excellency, your Grace, Monsignior litterally means My Lord). Removing such titles would be good. Going back to priestly and election, with votes by lay elected deacons as well would fix the rot. Parishes need to be non-profits rather than the property of the bishop, either held in trust or directly. This would end the pay-offs. Laity in control is a good thing, as long it does not give prefernece to the rich laity.
There is one more scriptural quote that iluminates this issue: "But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant...(Matt 25-26)
MGB: Of course they like the rich. They are the rich. Their current structure and election is designed after the office of Medieval lord or duke (your Excellency, your Grace, Monsignior litterally means My Lord). Removing such titles would be good. Going back to priestly and election, with votes by lay elected deacons as well would fix the rot. Parishes need to be non-profits rather than the property of the bishop, either held in trust or directly. This would end the pay-offs. Laity in control is a good thing, as long it does not give prefernece to the rich laity.
There is one more scriptural quote that iluminates this issue: "But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant...(Matt 25-26)
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Links for 9/11/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-91118
MGB: Rich people like putting their names on things and dealing with people that agree with them, or seem to. The richer you are, the more loyalty replaces truth. He is right that more lay control is necessary, but wrong that it should be the donor class that provides the laity.
I will not bother to read about feuds between Robbie George and MSW. Take it outside, boys.
I suspect Hugh is the useful idiot for CNN. Garland was no danger to the Constitution. The equal protection and due process law under the 14th Amendment has become sacrosanct with large majorities, regardless of what each side of these issues say. If this were more widely known, fundraising would end and the hyper-partisan pelvic think tanks would go under. As for the rest, the administrative state and capitalism will go along as before under a nearly unanimous Court. Capital punsihment is more a theoretical issue, as no one is making drugs for the death machine any more.
Efforts to overturn the Blaine amendments are as cautious as those seeking marriage equality. Everyone spent so much time trying to read the tea leaves on Court composition to actually put forth a power and obvious case that these provisions are anti-papist trash, but if no one files suit, nothing will happen. As for religous facades and highway crosses, they are much ado about nothing. Unless the Court wants to make every billboard be licensed for content, the crosses are safe. History is history, although it is sad when Churches cannot raise money for their own renewal, probably due to payhing lawsuits against pedophile priests. Either way, the law is made and changed by cases, not judges. Trivial suits make trivial law.
Sadly, racist dog whistles still get votes in Florida and no one has a right to stop them or fortunately to stop us from finding out about them.
King Don the Moron is also probably loathe to mention his mother's irregular status when he was born. If not for his parents' marriage, he would be an anchor baby.
The Times is not covering new news on money laundering. It has always been an open secret. This is the last shoe to drop and I suspect that the current interviews are just corroborating what Mueller already knew. Goodbye Moron. The only real question is if the GOP gets rid of him before the election in order to save itself from total annihilation on election day.
MGB: Rich people like putting their names on things and dealing with people that agree with them, or seem to. The richer you are, the more loyalty replaces truth. He is right that more lay control is necessary, but wrong that it should be the donor class that provides the laity.
I will not bother to read about feuds between Robbie George and MSW. Take it outside, boys.
I suspect Hugh is the useful idiot for CNN. Garland was no danger to the Constitution. The equal protection and due process law under the 14th Amendment has become sacrosanct with large majorities, regardless of what each side of these issues say. If this were more widely known, fundraising would end and the hyper-partisan pelvic think tanks would go under. As for the rest, the administrative state and capitalism will go along as before under a nearly unanimous Court. Capital punsihment is more a theoretical issue, as no one is making drugs for the death machine any more.
Efforts to overturn the Blaine amendments are as cautious as those seeking marriage equality. Everyone spent so much time trying to read the tea leaves on Court composition to actually put forth a power and obvious case that these provisions are anti-papist trash, but if no one files suit, nothing will happen. As for religous facades and highway crosses, they are much ado about nothing. Unless the Court wants to make every billboard be licensed for content, the crosses are safe. History is history, although it is sad when Churches cannot raise money for their own renewal, probably due to payhing lawsuits against pedophile priests. Either way, the law is made and changed by cases, not judges. Trivial suits make trivial law.
Sadly, racist dog whistles still get votes in Florida and no one has a right to stop them or fortunately to stop us from finding out about them.
King Don the Moron is also probably loathe to mention his mother's irregular status when he was born. If not for his parents' marriage, he would be an anchor baby.
The Times is not covering new news on money laundering. It has always been an open secret. This is the last shoe to drop and I suspect that the current interviews are just corroborating what Mueller already knew. Goodbye Moron. The only real question is if the GOP gets rid of him before the election in order to save itself from total annihilation on election day.
Monday, September 10, 2018
The bruised and bloodied church will be reborn -- or it won't
https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/bruised-and-bloodied-church-will-be-reborn-or-it-wont
MGB: Ecclesiastical authority indicts itself, as a Cardinal once told Bonaparte, if the bishops have not destroyed the Church in two Milena, no outsider can. If the Church starts following what Jesus said about not claiming honors, but really taking on service, it will be no loss. We can manage the assets and think for ourselves.
The system of papal anachronism, which Francis seems to reject out of hand, puts loyalty and authority above truth. The idea that the Pope can declare what truth is, rather than relying on arguments based on history, experience and the nature of man is the apex of Relativism. It is truth for the few by the few, not Truth for the many.
It is no surprise that those who put loyalty to the Church above acting truthfully have covered up the abuse of minors, going with ritual over responsibility. Sadly, there are those in the pews who see no problem with this, unless it can be used to attack a pope they consider to be disloyal to their Church of the Holy Anachronism. As for Vagano and his supporters, he is more responsible for the cover-ups continued on this watch. He was the manager in charge, not either Benedict or Francis.
The Pope and Bishops are the heirs to those who actually saw the risen Lord. They must witness this in their actions, using words if necessary. I am only seeing words from the opponents of Francis, and not the words of Christ. Their words are about loyalty to their brand of Church, which is entirely expendable. Even Rome is expendable (and will actually be supplanted). As long as Orthodoxy survives, the promise of Christ is realized.
MGB: Ecclesiastical authority indicts itself, as a Cardinal once told Bonaparte, if the bishops have not destroyed the Church in two Milena, no outsider can. If the Church starts following what Jesus said about not claiming honors, but really taking on service, it will be no loss. We can manage the assets and think for ourselves.
The system of papal anachronism, which Francis seems to reject out of hand, puts loyalty and authority above truth. The idea that the Pope can declare what truth is, rather than relying on arguments based on history, experience and the nature of man is the apex of Relativism. It is truth for the few by the few, not Truth for the many.
It is no surprise that those who put loyalty to the Church above acting truthfully have covered up the abuse of minors, going with ritual over responsibility. Sadly, there are those in the pews who see no problem with this, unless it can be used to attack a pope they consider to be disloyal to their Church of the Holy Anachronism. As for Vagano and his supporters, he is more responsible for the cover-ups continued on this watch. He was the manager in charge, not either Benedict or Francis.
The Pope and Bishops are the heirs to those who actually saw the risen Lord. They must witness this in their actions, using words if necessary. I am only seeing words from the opponents of Francis, and not the words of Christ. Their words are about loyalty to their brand of Church, which is entirely expendable. Even Rome is expendable (and will actually be supplanted). As long as Orthodoxy survives, the promise of Christ is realized.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
Nuances of constitutional originalism leave originalism behind
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/nuances-constitutional-originalism-leave-originalism-behindMGB: On Wenesday, I pointed out that the Origionalism of Kavanaugh and Scalia has changed, although we are not telling the right winger's that, lest they withdraw the nomination. Originalism is what the members of the Court say it is, not what Catholic philosophers want it to be. Now that my summer vacation is complete, I can quote Corey Robin's book, The Reactionary Mind regardomg Scalia and this concept, which is addressed in Chapter 10, Affirmative Action Baby (referring to Scalia). Robin says that
The problem the reactionaries have is that they have no program to advance society and they hate any such advancement. They can elect vocal minorities to power in more than half the states but not always among have the citizenry. If this was just a debate on values, this would not be a problem. It is more than that, it is a battle of individual rights versus the establishment and that those aggrieved need not wait for the turn of the legislative tide. They can demand justice for themselves based on the promises of the Constitution rather than the will of the supposed majority.
The ACLU does not have some program to corrupt the nation, rather it represents those whose rights are abused, as does the Southern Poverty Law Center. Originalism is a demand to ignore the rights of the aggrieved by hiding behind constitutional purity. So far, most conservative judges have ignored partisanship and have found for individual rights. Kavanugh is likely in that camp, although Gorsuch may not be. The law as taught at Ave Maria and Liberty will never be the law of the land.
Robin points out that, instead of philosophy, even modern Jurists look to the history of statutes and constitutional provisions. He quotes Tribe's paraphrase of Dwarkin with the comment "We are all originalists now." Scalia has a part in that change, but I suspect he did not like the result, as Gorscuh and Kavanaugh likely agree with five of the other justices that the history of the 14th Amendment jurisprudence demands that Roe, et al be considered settled law.
in Scalia's view, it is not intentions tjat goverm is. ot os tje Constitution, the text as it was written and rewritten through amendment.,,,How are we to understand a Constituton that evolves? By looking at the polls, the philosophy of John Rawls, the teachings of the Catholic Church? If the Constitution is always changing, what constraints can we impose on what counts as an acceptable interpretation? None, Scalia says. When 'every day' is 'a new day' in th elaw, it ceases to be law.That pretty much destroys any link between originalism and Catholic moral theology. Indeed. Pope Gregory XVI denounced democracy, although he cared more about Italy and his own rights than the United States. Americanism still scared the papacy, although the word had a different meaning from its current patriotic use, referring instead to a way of interpreting doctrine in a way consistent with American civil values among the American bishops. The bishops assured Rome that this was not the case, however Vatican II adopted what would have been understood as the Americanist heresy when it canonized most of Fr. Murray's understanding of free thought in promulgating Dignitas Humanae. The American ideals of freedom have overcome the Church's commitment to anachronism much more than the other way around.
The problem the reactionaries have is that they have no program to advance society and they hate any such advancement. They can elect vocal minorities to power in more than half the states but not always among have the citizenry. If this was just a debate on values, this would not be a problem. It is more than that, it is a battle of individual rights versus the establishment and that those aggrieved need not wait for the turn of the legislative tide. They can demand justice for themselves based on the promises of the Constitution rather than the will of the supposed majority.
The ACLU does not have some program to corrupt the nation, rather it represents those whose rights are abused, as does the Southern Poverty Law Center. Originalism is a demand to ignore the rights of the aggrieved by hiding behind constitutional purity. So far, most conservative judges have ignored partisanship and have found for individual rights. Kavanugh is likely in that camp, although Gorsuch may not be. The law as taught at Ave Maria and Liberty will never be the law of the land.
Robin points out that, instead of philosophy, even modern Jurists look to the history of statutes and constitutional provisions. He quotes Tribe's paraphrase of Dwarkin with the comment "We are all originalists now." Scalia has a part in that change, but I suspect he did not like the result, as Gorscuh and Kavanaugh likely agree with five of the other justices that the history of the 14th Amendment jurisprudence demands that Roe, et al be considered settled law.
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Links for 9/6/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-9618
MGB: In DC, we don't use equivications. All politics is race. It has been as soon as the first slave ship arrived in Virginia. Second is capitalism, which is properly understoon as the control of the society and economy by elites. The third is, of course, sex. The Boston race shows the evolution of all three. Welcome to the new Millenium.
Sadly, in Florida, racist dog whistles work. That is why the GOP and Trump use them, no matter who gets hurt. I am assured that the FBI and possibly Mueller are investigating the border situation. Trump's legal strategy is delay. He keeps abusing his power so Mueller has to keep investigation it.
It is hard to know who the leader is, Trump or Miller. It is all you need to know.
Don't report on anything Longnecker says. It is not nice to pick on the weak minded.
The way the Anachronists keep money and power is to have us talk about sex. It has been since they invented Sacred Continence out of whole cloth. As for the current scandal, it is what we need to make the Holy See responsible for the legal debts of its bishops.
The press is only free if you own one and the news sometimes reflects the owners biases through who he hires to edit it. Sadly, most news consumers, including Trump, don't realize this.
The drive to unionize was all in good fun until St. Michael broke up the party and sent all the rebels to be human cardinals.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt. The Church of the Holy Anachroinism is doing quiet well among some of the laity. It is not only confined to certain popes and bishops and it definitely impacts how the Mass is said and what is said about sexuality. People never noticed before, so the same garbage that did not affect the laity then has been smelling since the Council delayed action on Humanae Vitae and did not see its implications on ordaining women.
MGB: In DC, we don't use equivications. All politics is race. It has been as soon as the first slave ship arrived in Virginia. Second is capitalism, which is properly understoon as the control of the society and economy by elites. The third is, of course, sex. The Boston race shows the evolution of all three. Welcome to the new Millenium.
Sadly, in Florida, racist dog whistles work. That is why the GOP and Trump use them, no matter who gets hurt. I am assured that the FBI and possibly Mueller are investigating the border situation. Trump's legal strategy is delay. He keeps abusing his power so Mueller has to keep investigation it.
It is hard to know who the leader is, Trump or Miller. It is all you need to know.
Don't report on anything Longnecker says. It is not nice to pick on the weak minded.
The way the Anachronists keep money and power is to have us talk about sex. It has been since they invented Sacred Continence out of whole cloth. As for the current scandal, it is what we need to make the Holy See responsible for the legal debts of its bishops.
The press is only free if you own one and the news sometimes reflects the owners biases through who he hires to edit it. Sadly, most news consumers, including Trump, don't realize this.
The drive to unionize was all in good fun until St. Michael broke up the party and sent all the rebels to be human cardinals.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt. The Church of the Holy Anachroinism is doing quiet well among some of the laity. It is not only confined to certain popes and bishops and it definitely impacts how the Mass is said and what is said about sexuality. People never noticed before, so the same garbage that did not affect the laity then has been smelling since the Council delayed action on Humanae Vitae and did not see its implications on ordaining women.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Kavanaugh hearings prompt a closer look at originalism
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/kavanaugh-hearings-prompt-closer-look-originalism
MGB: Private to MSW. Kevin Walsh is still correct. Look at Corey Robin's book, The Reactionary Mind, which has a chapter on Nino and the evolution of Originalism. This is not some theoretical concept you can find in law journals or theology. It is an actual theory by real people. The Justices are unanimous on what it now means. Even Ruth Bader Ginsburg considers herself and originalist. If you want to know what the Justices mean, read the book. It also has a great chapter on the Gauche Decorator in Chief.
There are many misunderstandings on this nomination that have nothing to do with the nominee. The controversy on Roe is the most glaring and is ginned up to fundraise on both sides. As I said at Georgetown a few years ago at your symposium, Roe is not a 5-4 matter. It looks like Kavanaugh will follow Roberts, who voted with Kennedy and Alito on the point that Roe is settled law, in that they refused to follow Scalia's lead in not overturning the Partial Birth Abortion law. The law was a stalking horse to do just that. Whether Gorsuch follows Roberts or Thomas will be determined when they get a case That is very unlikely. Precedents are very clear.
There is no real path for a case to get to the Court and the appellate courts will quash anything that tries. There are not even enough justices to get Certiori. Any new case will be either 8-1 or 7-2 in favor of Roe being settled. Both sides know this and lie about it, again, for fundraising and rabble rousing. It is shameful. Of course, if the leaders of the right to life movement are not knowledgeable, they may make Trump withdraw the nomination if he speaks the truth, but he will likely avoid it. He is young enough the know why Roe is settled law because he actually went to law school and had to answer the question of why this is so. It is legal, not theological.
The only possible exception would be action by Congress redefining when legal personhood occurs, giving the unborn standing before the law. Such a law would probably leave the first trimester pregnancies out, else every miscarriage would be considered the death of a citizen, as well as any abortion. That is how equal protection works. If you investigate abortion, you have to investigate anything. If you don't, Planned Parenthood will be reporting lots of miscarriages. Then there is tort law. In either case, it would be horrendous to watch Ave Maria and Liberty law graduates making cases on either side to get their GOP reputations as being pro-life.
What is left is making adjustments to later term abortions, which will likely follow existing practice and won't make the bishops happy because it will allow abortion of fetuses who cannot survive to birth. The bishops forbid this because they believe only God can make that decision, although God has decided already. Of course, like on suicide, they believe God to be an Ogre.
Any such law is based on the 14th Amendment and within the power of Congress to make. That issue would carry the day by the same margins as Roe would be affirmed, roughly 7-2. Questions of law do not depend on the result, but instead on the process. Until the bishops learn that (and MSW as well) they will support a strategy that cannot win, which is overturning Roe.
One last point. The Democrats either have too many documents to read or need more. They cannot have it both ways. They certainly have no right to routing memos to the POTUS, which is a ministerial function. If they want to get the real story on what went on with the Iraq War, they need to read the book Angler, which is all about Cheney and his private war policy, which Bush and Kavanaugh did not know about until DOJ lawyers threatened to take the issue of torture to the press. Any discussions involving Kavanaugh are privileged or history, but they are not relevant to the nomination, even if Kavanaugh was covering for what he could not talk about publicly.
There will be much public performance on this nomination, but the reality is that anyone else Trump would nominate will be far worse that the nominee. I am sure that the White House Counsel snuck this by Trump. He is incapable of understanding the concepts involved.
MGB: Private to MSW. Kevin Walsh is still correct. Look at Corey Robin's book, The Reactionary Mind, which has a chapter on Nino and the evolution of Originalism. This is not some theoretical concept you can find in law journals or theology. It is an actual theory by real people. The Justices are unanimous on what it now means. Even Ruth Bader Ginsburg considers herself and originalist. If you want to know what the Justices mean, read the book. It also has a great chapter on the Gauche Decorator in Chief.
There are many misunderstandings on this nomination that have nothing to do with the nominee. The controversy on Roe is the most glaring and is ginned up to fundraise on both sides. As I said at Georgetown a few years ago at your symposium, Roe is not a 5-4 matter. It looks like Kavanaugh will follow Roberts, who voted with Kennedy and Alito on the point that Roe is settled law, in that they refused to follow Scalia's lead in not overturning the Partial Birth Abortion law. The law was a stalking horse to do just that. Whether Gorsuch follows Roberts or Thomas will be determined when they get a case That is very unlikely. Precedents are very clear.
There is no real path for a case to get to the Court and the appellate courts will quash anything that tries. There are not even enough justices to get Certiori. Any new case will be either 8-1 or 7-2 in favor of Roe being settled. Both sides know this and lie about it, again, for fundraising and rabble rousing. It is shameful. Of course, if the leaders of the right to life movement are not knowledgeable, they may make Trump withdraw the nomination if he speaks the truth, but he will likely avoid it. He is young enough the know why Roe is settled law because he actually went to law school and had to answer the question of why this is so. It is legal, not theological.
The only possible exception would be action by Congress redefining when legal personhood occurs, giving the unborn standing before the law. Such a law would probably leave the first trimester pregnancies out, else every miscarriage would be considered the death of a citizen, as well as any abortion. That is how equal protection works. If you investigate abortion, you have to investigate anything. If you don't, Planned Parenthood will be reporting lots of miscarriages. Then there is tort law. In either case, it would be horrendous to watch Ave Maria and Liberty law graduates making cases on either side to get their GOP reputations as being pro-life.
What is left is making adjustments to later term abortions, which will likely follow existing practice and won't make the bishops happy because it will allow abortion of fetuses who cannot survive to birth. The bishops forbid this because they believe only God can make that decision, although God has decided already. Of course, like on suicide, they believe God to be an Ogre.
Any such law is based on the 14th Amendment and within the power of Congress to make. That issue would carry the day by the same margins as Roe would be affirmed, roughly 7-2. Questions of law do not depend on the result, but instead on the process. Until the bishops learn that (and MSW as well) they will support a strategy that cannot win, which is overturning Roe.
One last point. The Democrats either have too many documents to read or need more. They cannot have it both ways. They certainly have no right to routing memos to the POTUS, which is a ministerial function. If they want to get the real story on what went on with the Iraq War, they need to read the book Angler, which is all about Cheney and his private war policy, which Bush and Kavanaugh did not know about until DOJ lawyers threatened to take the issue of torture to the press. Any discussions involving Kavanaugh are privileged or history, but they are not relevant to the nomination, even if Kavanaugh was covering for what he could not talk about publicly.
There will be much public performance on this nomination, but the reality is that anyone else Trump would nominate will be far worse that the nominee. I am sure that the White House Counsel snuck this by Trump. He is incapable of understanding the concepts involved.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Links for 9/4/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-9418
MGB: Murray could never spew shut tripe if his bishop did not let him. Nucio Pierre, call your office! Note to MSW. Please ignore First Things. You just attract trolls and send people to their site.
I would have said both/and to Mike Lewis, but there are some of the faithful who are reflexive Republicans, especially some bishops, while there are others who treat every past incidence of child abuse or the whiff of it as new news. Like Me Too, this has been out of control for a while. I hope we get to minute 16 quickly. AlsoThe Martinites are so minor, I wish you would ignore them.
I am upset about His Excellency's removal, not because of his ineffectiveness at child protection, although that merits attention because he may be collaborating with the leader of the Congregation for Priests, but because no one has been examined for speaking the truth, at least as they see it, in the theological world. Hopefully his replacement will notice my overt challenge to papal authority and excommunicate me and not latae sententiae, I demand a full blown trial to make them deal with what I say. Also, I need the book sales this would bring. The title of the book is "The Catholic Left takes on the Papal Anachronists." Tell an inquistor near you! Send Rome a copy!
I would trust Buffett to spread the money around. I would not trust most other billionaires.
MGB: Murray could never spew shut tripe if his bishop did not let him. Nucio Pierre, call your office! Note to MSW. Please ignore First Things. You just attract trolls and send people to their site.
I would have said both/and to Mike Lewis, but there are some of the faithful who are reflexive Republicans, especially some bishops, while there are others who treat every past incidence of child abuse or the whiff of it as new news. Like Me Too, this has been out of control for a while. I hope we get to minute 16 quickly. AlsoThe Martinites are so minor, I wish you would ignore them.
I am upset about His Excellency's removal, not because of his ineffectiveness at child protection, although that merits attention because he may be collaborating with the leader of the Congregation for Priests, but because no one has been examined for speaking the truth, at least as they see it, in the theological world. Hopefully his replacement will notice my overt challenge to papal authority and excommunicate me and not latae sententiae, I demand a full blown trial to make them deal with what I say. Also, I need the book sales this would bring. The title of the book is "The Catholic Left takes on the Papal Anachronists." Tell an inquistor near you! Send Rome a copy!
I would trust Buffett to spread the money around. I would not trust most other billionaires.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Viganò's latest statement part of concerted campaign to attack papacy
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/vigan-s-latest-statement-part-concerted-campaign-attack-papacy
MGB: Vagano's opposition to this Pope has more to do with his decision not to join the constitutional fight on gay marriage in the United States than any doctrinal differences. No amount of pressure from the right wing pews will ever reverse this decision, which is integral to the concept of individual rights in this country. His cabal of bishops poured their hearts, our treasure and their best doctrinal arguments to the battle against gay marriage and were horribly humiliated. Not even George W. Bush, who made this issue his major thrust in 2004 did not care so much about this loss. It was simply one of many issues to him. It was foundational for the cabal.
You can believe or not believe in the timeline for Vigano's story, although if he thought Francis was worse than his friend in Minneapolis, he should have resigned. The fact that his friend and Kim Davis were both anti-gay marriage, at least civilly, and Francis stated that if two cardinals had partnered up in the Vatican that it was not his place to judge is most likely the cause of his attitude. That his firing and exile (rather than a recall to Rome) are temporally close to the Kim Davis episode is indicative that MSW is correct.
Sour grapes over gay marriage likely have more to do with anything having to do with McCarrick in Vegano's opposition to this Pope. That it caused him to feel pain in writing the letter was his conscience poking him. Too bad he did not listen.
Obamacare and the resulting fight over contraception were similar embarrassments, which led to retribution against some of the Sisters who dissented from the bishop's position on these issues. Such pettiness is damaging to the Church, not Francis or even the likelihood that gay Catholic weddings are a natural step for us. Whether they act from love or pettiness is up to them. They are making their own suffering and history will forget them in short order.
MGB: Vagano's opposition to this Pope has more to do with his decision not to join the constitutional fight on gay marriage in the United States than any doctrinal differences. No amount of pressure from the right wing pews will ever reverse this decision, which is integral to the concept of individual rights in this country. His cabal of bishops poured their hearts, our treasure and their best doctrinal arguments to the battle against gay marriage and were horribly humiliated. Not even George W. Bush, who made this issue his major thrust in 2004 did not care so much about this loss. It was simply one of many issues to him. It was foundational for the cabal.
You can believe or not believe in the timeline for Vigano's story, although if he thought Francis was worse than his friend in Minneapolis, he should have resigned. The fact that his friend and Kim Davis were both anti-gay marriage, at least civilly, and Francis stated that if two cardinals had partnered up in the Vatican that it was not his place to judge is most likely the cause of his attitude. That his firing and exile (rather than a recall to Rome) are temporally close to the Kim Davis episode is indicative that MSW is correct.
Sour grapes over gay marriage likely have more to do with anything having to do with McCarrick in Vegano's opposition to this Pope. That it caused him to feel pain in writing the letter was his conscience poking him. Too bad he did not listen.
Obamacare and the resulting fight over contraception were similar embarrassments, which led to retribution against some of the Sisters who dissented from the bishop's position on these issues. Such pettiness is damaging to the Church, not Francis or even the likelihood that gay Catholic weddings are a natural step for us. Whether they act from love or pettiness is up to them. They are making their own suffering and history will forget them in short order.
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