https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/distinctly-catholic/revived-abuse-crisis-newfangled-simony-dominated-churchs
The problem of the Church is not going to be solved by theology. An attempt to do so is the blind leading the blind. While clericalism is a cancer eating at the Church, the clericalist problem is that we look at it as us vs them. From the top, us is the clergy with the people as them. The laity has the same problem. They see the hierarchy as the "them" that must be reformed. Clericalism is boogeyman, the same way that modernism were the boogeyman for Popes Pius IX and X. Their answer was authoritarianism, including the creation of a network of informants that would leave Fidel Castro and the East German Stasi impressed.
Archbishop Rembert Weakland documented how this authoritarianism continued under St. John Paul when Cardinal Rigali managed the culture of information during his Vatican days. The target of the modern version were homosexuals like Weakland although he never bothered children. If McCarrick had been able to live his truth, he would not have either.
The culture that sought to find homosexual scapegoats is designed to preserve the celibate norms of the Church, which have their roots in a Neoplatonic asexuality, not some imaged holiness. Such holiness lacks the humility to move forward. It also deathly afraid of the ordination of women, who would surely break the awkward boys club now running the Church. That culture gave us the bad old days when the Church was rotten on the inside but a pillar of holiness on the outside during the height of Catholic influence in the 1950. It did not last.
Holiness will not get the Church out of this problem. A warm and fuzzy culture in the clergy, in essence an escape into modernism, is as wrong headed as the Syllabi of Errors, Qudra Cua and Pascendi Dominici Gregis. The modern solution is not Gaudium et spes or Evangelii Gaudium. The only document that gets us close to a solution is Dignitatis Humanae, which utterly rejects the anti-modernists, not that it helped change the clerical culture, it simply drove it underground.
The Church's mission is to look for a savior. When the problem of child sexual abuse came to the fore, the hierarchy found its savior in its lawyers, which restricted information on the scandal to save the Church's reputation and preserve attorney-client privilege. This type of Omerta was comfortable not just in the American Church, but world wide.
What Michael Sean calls Libertarianism allows him to maintain the myth that there is only one form of libertarianism. There are, in fact, three. One is the purist libertarianism of Ron and Rand Paul. It is so fringe, that it is not a worry. There is also the social libertarianism (or left-leaning libertarianism) that is akin to social liberalism. It seeks individuality over hierarchy. It rejects regulation of homosexuals, abortion and feminism from the culture and the Church. It (we) would ordain women.
Right-wing or economic libertarianism seeks an end to government regulation over private authority. The other word for it is Capitalism. It's major innovation is a strong CEO which is legitimized by a Board of Directors that is accountable only to itself. Under capitalism, the shareholders are the Them in much the same way that the Clergy treats the Laity. It is dangerous because it is almost exactly in line with the Church's usual authoritarian culture. This would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Neither spiritual renewal among the clergy and continued shielding of responsibility through capitalist structures. In much the same way that employee-ownership is the answer to capitalism, democracy in the Church is the answer to its structural-function problems (to borrow a term from sociology for what is a social problem). I am not talking about the Congregationalism that emerged from the Puritans, which threw out both the hierarchy and the patrimony of the Church.
I seek to preserve much of our patrimony, although the sexism and crypto-asexuality should be laid bare as abnormality rather than holiness. Adding a female matriarchy to the patriarchy still preserves the division of the Church into as and them. Rather, I would, as stated before, have the people elect lay (meaning non-celibate) deacons to mange parish and charitable affairs while leaving the clergy in tact (although women would be included, as well as the married and the gay). Both clergy and laity would then elect the local Ordinary as Pastor, not governor. The Church will not be fixed by the Papacy from above, but from responsibility from below.
The Clericalists did not cause our problems. We did, both clerical and lay, in seeking the divide between us and them. All of the faithful must take responsibility for sexual abuse. The people in the pews let it happen. The victims went along with preserving the reputation of the Church. The lawyers did nothing to them,they were willing participants to preserving the reputation of the clergy. Ending the clergy v. lay divide the answer. We must end Medievalism in the Church and take responsibility for it, with the bishops rather than blaming them for this crisis. If Francis can pull that rabbit out the hat next year, there is hope. If not, we must act from below, but not by trading episcopal authoritarianism for the capitalistic kind.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Friday, December 28, 2018
Taking stock of the political life of 2018
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/taking-stock-political-life-2018
Trump is a one trick pony. Even when he is not in trouble, he goes to the wall and the Wall to play to his racist base, which includes himself. 'Even though the Democrats said that they were focussing on healthcare, they only did so because Trump was lying about it and because everyone who would vote for him knew that this was all about defanging Trump and eventually removing him from office. The Democrats were defending a huge number of seats. That they only lost four rather than the expected twelve or so (almost half) shows how much Trump is loathed by most people. This also shows that Bernie spawned the political revolution he promised. Young Bernie voters went to the polls in the midterms when usually that demographic stays home.
The Trump economy is now becoming visible, not because of the Tax Act but because just after the Act passed, the Congress made a two-year budget deal with huge increases to the deficit to make up for spending deferred during the Obama Administration. Even with low spending, because he had higher taxes, there was still growth. Spending causes growth, not tax cuts. Tax cuts for the wealthy spur asset inflation, not economic growth - even a sugar high. When offset by more spending the economy grows because government spending spurs household spending by government employees, contractors and the commercial sector, which spurs non-government investment, usually funded with debt, not stock sales.
Tax cuts are just Monopoly money (quite literally). This year the target was a Bitcoin boom. When the tax cuts were less then realized, Bitcoin went down by 80% and the stock market, which had overvalued the coming tax cuts, fell as well. The smart money got out when the budget deal was announced, buy bonds before interest rates rise. Trump is correct that the recent Fed rate hikes will damage the economy - except for investors who now must compete with corporate investment to get money. Never forget that the Fed works for the banks, not the people. Higher interest rates are also needed because consumers need more money for higher prices due to Trump tariffs, further taking money out of the stock market.
Trump is a non-entity on the military front. The Pentagon knows that it can and must ignore orders transmitted by Twitter. Trump does not. It's a good system as long as the Pentagon is fighting tyranny rather than being its instrument.
The Federalist Society is a dying breed. It, like most lawyers, is shifting away from the Scalia view of the world. Few of its members would favor a judge or justice just because he was pro-life or even pro-states rights. That ship sailed long ago. That Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, who were Kennedy proteges, were their top picks shows that they are more interested in capitalism than overturning Roe. Until the Right to Life movement champions a much higher family income for all via tax credits, it will be seen as the useful idiots of the dying Republican Party.
One wonders if Trump is pulling a Herman Cain to help kill it. Of course, the sloppy capitalism of Trump in his whoring for Russia makes that possibility less likely. Trump is going down, sooner than later. The only question is whether he will take Pence with him. Time is running out to indict Pence and get Trump to resign too to install Ryan as President. A missed opportunity for the GOP. This makes Pelosi queen or king maker if she does not take the Presidency herself. When I addressed her last year as Madam Future President, she smiled, so you never know.
For the last time, Bush Sr. did not win because of Willie Horton. Dukakis was a lousy candidate. He did not win the next time because, while he was a good President, he was out emoted by Bill Clinton. Bush only raised taxes on the highers income (the donor class). He lowered them on the upper middle from 33% to 31%.
Capitalism marches on. That it is ready to dump Trump is icing the only saving grace for the year.
Trump is a one trick pony. Even when he is not in trouble, he goes to the wall and the Wall to play to his racist base, which includes himself. 'Even though the Democrats said that they were focussing on healthcare, they only did so because Trump was lying about it and because everyone who would vote for him knew that this was all about defanging Trump and eventually removing him from office. The Democrats were defending a huge number of seats. That they only lost four rather than the expected twelve or so (almost half) shows how much Trump is loathed by most people. This also shows that Bernie spawned the political revolution he promised. Young Bernie voters went to the polls in the midterms when usually that demographic stays home.
The Trump economy is now becoming visible, not because of the Tax Act but because just after the Act passed, the Congress made a two-year budget deal with huge increases to the deficit to make up for spending deferred during the Obama Administration. Even with low spending, because he had higher taxes, there was still growth. Spending causes growth, not tax cuts. Tax cuts for the wealthy spur asset inflation, not economic growth - even a sugar high. When offset by more spending the economy grows because government spending spurs household spending by government employees, contractors and the commercial sector, which spurs non-government investment, usually funded with debt, not stock sales.
Tax cuts are just Monopoly money (quite literally). This year the target was a Bitcoin boom. When the tax cuts were less then realized, Bitcoin went down by 80% and the stock market, which had overvalued the coming tax cuts, fell as well. The smart money got out when the budget deal was announced, buy bonds before interest rates rise. Trump is correct that the recent Fed rate hikes will damage the economy - except for investors who now must compete with corporate investment to get money. Never forget that the Fed works for the banks, not the people. Higher interest rates are also needed because consumers need more money for higher prices due to Trump tariffs, further taking money out of the stock market.
Trump is a non-entity on the military front. The Pentagon knows that it can and must ignore orders transmitted by Twitter. Trump does not. It's a good system as long as the Pentagon is fighting tyranny rather than being its instrument.
The Federalist Society is a dying breed. It, like most lawyers, is shifting away from the Scalia view of the world. Few of its members would favor a judge or justice just because he was pro-life or even pro-states rights. That ship sailed long ago. That Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, who were Kennedy proteges, were their top picks shows that they are more interested in capitalism than overturning Roe. Until the Right to Life movement champions a much higher family income for all via tax credits, it will be seen as the useful idiots of the dying Republican Party.
One wonders if Trump is pulling a Herman Cain to help kill it. Of course, the sloppy capitalism of Trump in his whoring for Russia makes that possibility less likely. Trump is going down, sooner than later. The only question is whether he will take Pence with him. Time is running out to indict Pence and get Trump to resign too to install Ryan as President. A missed opportunity for the GOP. This makes Pelosi queen or king maker if she does not take the Presidency herself. When I addressed her last year as Madam Future President, she smiled, so you never know.
For the last time, Bush Sr. did not win because of Willie Horton. Dukakis was a lousy candidate. He did not win the next time because, while he was a good President, he was out emoted by Bill Clinton. Bush only raised taxes on the highers income (the donor class). He lowered them on the upper middle from 33% to 31%.
Capitalism marches on. That it is ready to dump Trump is icing the only saving grace for the year.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Links for 12/27/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-122718
Kolfage is yet another in a string of Republican operatives going back to the Birchers and the Nixon error who created Fox News and gave us the vast right-wing conspiracy against Clinton (and his wife who helped take Nixon down), became the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Tea Party and the MAGA movement. Luckily for America, it is losing more members to old age and death than it is adding,
Opposition to the Gaza Genocide or the unilateral wall on the West Bank and the continued second class status of Palestinians who get work release from behind the wall to do the dirty jobs in Israel is not anti-semitism. Last I checked, Palestinians are Semitic. Neoconservatives like Michael Sean do not appreciate that fact. Neoconservatism is all about Israel, not MAGA or No Trumpers.
There are few new cases of clergy abuse of children. The new focus is to open the files, even in cases long since settled for which the statute of limitations has expired. Reopening old wounds does survivors no good and it is more grandstanding than reform. Reform would be choosing to have the Vatican either backstop settlements, using the artistic patrimony to actually help its victims. The other option is to go to local election of bishops by lay deacon parish administrators (no promise of celibacy or obedience to anyone but the parish) and the local clergy. Many would not mind doing both. Archbishop Gregory is spot on, but the jury is out on he and Francis, who must be more radical than the USCCB or any bishops want.
World trends are better internationally, although real wins against Capitalism are few and far between. The generosity of Buffett and the Gates Foundations are nice bandaids, although the logic of having fewer brown people around as a side effect is unfortunate at best and eugenic at worst. Even NFP substitutes the same ZPG bias when a living family wage is the better path. Brooks also misses what both Marx and modern scholar Michael Harrington said about social welfare movements, which is that it helps save capitalism from itself and enables its hegemony.
The First Amendment protects against the regulation of speech by the government only. It does not protect Capitalists. Boycotts are not only not control of speech (as the Capitalists have greater resources) but they can be effective in getting consumers involved in reform, as Marion Barry and Operation Push found out when they employed this tactic to desegregate much of non-official Washington. Concurrent picket lines worked as well, but are harder to do against a mega-corp.
The Notorious RBG is not as far off on abortion being about the rights of women as Michael Sean thinks. She is not far from the herd in preserving Roe, which was upheld in the Partial Birth Abortion case, joining Kennedy, Roberts and Alito. They are likely joined by Kavanaugh and Gorsuch in considering Roe settled. It is dirty ball to single her out. Indeed, it proves her point. Catholic Social Teaching requires employers (especially Catholic ones) to pay a family wage which is sensitive to family size, with intervention by the State when the free market cannot do this alone. Run this view by most Republican pro-lifers and they will respond by saying that they don't want their tax money subsidizing the sexuality of women who would otherwise have abortions (who should face a pelvic police state instead). So yes, abortion rights really are about the rights of women in general.
Kolfage is yet another in a string of Republican operatives going back to the Birchers and the Nixon error who created Fox News and gave us the vast right-wing conspiracy against Clinton (and his wife who helped take Nixon down), became the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Tea Party and the MAGA movement. Luckily for America, it is losing more members to old age and death than it is adding,
Opposition to the Gaza Genocide or the unilateral wall on the West Bank and the continued second class status of Palestinians who get work release from behind the wall to do the dirty jobs in Israel is not anti-semitism. Last I checked, Palestinians are Semitic. Neoconservatives like Michael Sean do not appreciate that fact. Neoconservatism is all about Israel, not MAGA or No Trumpers.
There are few new cases of clergy abuse of children. The new focus is to open the files, even in cases long since settled for which the statute of limitations has expired. Reopening old wounds does survivors no good and it is more grandstanding than reform. Reform would be choosing to have the Vatican either backstop settlements, using the artistic patrimony to actually help its victims. The other option is to go to local election of bishops by lay deacon parish administrators (no promise of celibacy or obedience to anyone but the parish) and the local clergy. Many would not mind doing both. Archbishop Gregory is spot on, but the jury is out on he and Francis, who must be more radical than the USCCB or any bishops want.
World trends are better internationally, although real wins against Capitalism are few and far between. The generosity of Buffett and the Gates Foundations are nice bandaids, although the logic of having fewer brown people around as a side effect is unfortunate at best and eugenic at worst. Even NFP substitutes the same ZPG bias when a living family wage is the better path. Brooks also misses what both Marx and modern scholar Michael Harrington said about social welfare movements, which is that it helps save capitalism from itself and enables its hegemony.
The First Amendment protects against the regulation of speech by the government only. It does not protect Capitalists. Boycotts are not only not control of speech (as the Capitalists have greater resources) but they can be effective in getting consumers involved in reform, as Marion Barry and Operation Push found out when they employed this tactic to desegregate much of non-official Washington. Concurrent picket lines worked as well, but are harder to do against a mega-corp.
The Notorious RBG is not as far off on abortion being about the rights of women as Michael Sean thinks. She is not far from the herd in preserving Roe, which was upheld in the Partial Birth Abortion case, joining Kennedy, Roberts and Alito. They are likely joined by Kavanaugh and Gorsuch in considering Roe settled. It is dirty ball to single her out. Indeed, it proves her point. Catholic Social Teaching requires employers (especially Catholic ones) to pay a family wage which is sensitive to family size, with intervention by the State when the free market cannot do this alone. Run this view by most Republican pro-lifers and they will respond by saying that they don't want their tax money subsidizing the sexuality of women who would otherwise have abortions (who should face a pelvic police state instead). So yes, abortion rights really are about the rights of women in general.
Monday, December 24, 2018
God with us: In Catholic faith, the Incarnation is not an abstraction
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/god-us-catholic-faith-incarnation-not-abstraction My response is cross posted to my column at https://xianleft.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-choices.html
The story of Emmanuel (God with Us) is more a series of choices than hagiography. Whether the story happened as described or portrayed by the modern Church is immaterial to the deeper reality of the story. In reality, the Magi came first because their journey was longest. They chose to believe in Jesus as something more than an earthly king even before he was born and not because they received an angelic message.
To understand the Magi, we must admit that they were Astrologers and that they would have sought the transformational King of the Jews based on what they understood from the planetary positions of the day, including both conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn and a solar eclipse on the appropriate day. Reverse engineering their calculations places Jesus' birth day at April 17, 6 BCE.
The reason the Church placed Christmas where it is was to counter the Saturnalia of the Winter Solstice (which fell on December 25th due to the progression of the equinoxes, which was corrected by Pope Gregory). The Church failed in its endeavors. Saturnalia is still with us at Yuletide as a natural human reaction to the longer nights. It need not be suppressed. Indeed, it should not be. While we celebrate Christmas because Christ is our light, one season of Masses does not overcome a very human need for revelry. That revelry at the solstice was still happening in the England of the Seventeenth Century (and beyond). It is why the Plymouth colonists banned the celebration of Christmas and why the Jehovah's witnesses still do. Only marriage is celebrated by the Witnesses, which is why many marriages occur on Christmas day or New Years.
The real first choice, because it was made by God beyond time, was to come and personally experience human suffering (from the changing of seasons to death on a cross). Both the Incarnation and the Passion and Resurrection are essential elements of this choice.
The next choice is Mary's, who consented to be the vehicle for the incarnation. She could have said no or it would not have been an authentic choice. Then Joseph chose. He was more a poor itinerant laborer than a carpenter, according to alternate translations from the original Greek. First, he chose not to kill the child and his mother when she came back from Jerusalem pregnant by someone else. Second, he chose to believe his dream and took Mary into his home, which resulted in the birth of Salome, Thomas and Simon, Salome's sons James and John who were partners with Andrew and Peter. This is half of the Twelve. In modern times, an itinerant laborer would not have such a household, but Joseph did.
Jesus chose a life of poverty, at least for his birth. A reading of the story of the Baptizer shows that he may have been a Pharisee (as in one among you will be the chosen one). He was born to a poor family in Bethlehem in either Judah or Galilee. St. Helen directed the building of a church on the reputed site of the nativity, but Galilee has a good claim too. That the site of that ancient church is now buried under the highway to Tel Aviv actually speaks to its authenticity. Jesus choice to live among the poor also led to his discovery by shepherds. who were tending the spring sheep and lambs in the countryside. Jesus was born in a stable, but that stable was likely in a family compound. Jesus was born downstairs with the animals because childbirth was regarded as unclean.
Herod reputedly chose wrongly (although there is no evidence of the slaughter of the innocents). In the story, he rejected the infant king which was not his son. That anyone but his son had a claim to the throne, especially of the house of David, would put a crimp in his cooperation with Rome. The child must be eliminated and Herod was sure he had been. The reputed flight to Egypt (or elsewhere) of Jesus and his family to be foreign migrants (including older siblings James and Joseph) has a different meaning today, as foreign migrants in America still depend on the day labor that Joseph had to endure.
The important choice again falls to Mary. The most accurate piece of information is that she remembered all of these things and kept them in her heart. She then told Jesus, which was his first knowledge of his divinity. Being both fully human and fully divine means he was no hybrid, so his mind could not have held all of the knowledge of God. Rather, he was a man of absolute faith in what was told to him by his mother. His miracles were by faith, not power. Even the healing of the woman with constant menstrual bleeding was an act of faith on her part.
This leads us to the Cross. When Jesus gave his mother to the care of John without commissioning John to save the world, he emptied himself of both the divinity that Mary told him about as a child and the mission he had chosen. This led him to the abandonment which we feel in our lives today as he called out to Elijah in despair. That he drank the fruit of the vine in John's Gospel shows that he died in the Father's kingdom, transforming even the abode of the dead into Paradise. When we accept that divine journey, bookended by the Incarnation and the Passion, the Incarnation makes sense.
The subsequent triumph of the Resurrection is central to our faith. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we believe Jesus defeated death and that we shall rise again. That choice we make, based on what Paul relates about real people seeing a real Jesus, is the central fact of our faith. Rejecting that fact turns the Incarnation into a nice fairy tale. We believe it is not.
The story of Emmanuel (God with Us) is more a series of choices than hagiography. Whether the story happened as described or portrayed by the modern Church is immaterial to the deeper reality of the story. In reality, the Magi came first because their journey was longest. They chose to believe in Jesus as something more than an earthly king even before he was born and not because they received an angelic message.
To understand the Magi, we must admit that they were Astrologers and that they would have sought the transformational King of the Jews based on what they understood from the planetary positions of the day, including both conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn and a solar eclipse on the appropriate day. Reverse engineering their calculations places Jesus' birth day at April 17, 6 BCE.
The reason the Church placed Christmas where it is was to counter the Saturnalia of the Winter Solstice (which fell on December 25th due to the progression of the equinoxes, which was corrected by Pope Gregory). The Church failed in its endeavors. Saturnalia is still with us at Yuletide as a natural human reaction to the longer nights. It need not be suppressed. Indeed, it should not be. While we celebrate Christmas because Christ is our light, one season of Masses does not overcome a very human need for revelry. That revelry at the solstice was still happening in the England of the Seventeenth Century (and beyond). It is why the Plymouth colonists banned the celebration of Christmas and why the Jehovah's witnesses still do. Only marriage is celebrated by the Witnesses, which is why many marriages occur on Christmas day or New Years.
The real first choice, because it was made by God beyond time, was to come and personally experience human suffering (from the changing of seasons to death on a cross). Both the Incarnation and the Passion and Resurrection are essential elements of this choice.
The next choice is Mary's, who consented to be the vehicle for the incarnation. She could have said no or it would not have been an authentic choice. Then Joseph chose. He was more a poor itinerant laborer than a carpenter, according to alternate translations from the original Greek. First, he chose not to kill the child and his mother when she came back from Jerusalem pregnant by someone else. Second, he chose to believe his dream and took Mary into his home, which resulted in the birth of Salome, Thomas and Simon, Salome's sons James and John who were partners with Andrew and Peter. This is half of the Twelve. In modern times, an itinerant laborer would not have such a household, but Joseph did.
Jesus chose a life of poverty, at least for his birth. A reading of the story of the Baptizer shows that he may have been a Pharisee (as in one among you will be the chosen one). He was born to a poor family in Bethlehem in either Judah or Galilee. St. Helen directed the building of a church on the reputed site of the nativity, but Galilee has a good claim too. That the site of that ancient church is now buried under the highway to Tel Aviv actually speaks to its authenticity. Jesus choice to live among the poor also led to his discovery by shepherds. who were tending the spring sheep and lambs in the countryside. Jesus was born in a stable, but that stable was likely in a family compound. Jesus was born downstairs with the animals because childbirth was regarded as unclean.
Herod reputedly chose wrongly (although there is no evidence of the slaughter of the innocents). In the story, he rejected the infant king which was not his son. That anyone but his son had a claim to the throne, especially of the house of David, would put a crimp in his cooperation with Rome. The child must be eliminated and Herod was sure he had been. The reputed flight to Egypt (or elsewhere) of Jesus and his family to be foreign migrants (including older siblings James and Joseph) has a different meaning today, as foreign migrants in America still depend on the day labor that Joseph had to endure.
The important choice again falls to Mary. The most accurate piece of information is that she remembered all of these things and kept them in her heart. She then told Jesus, which was his first knowledge of his divinity. Being both fully human and fully divine means he was no hybrid, so his mind could not have held all of the knowledge of God. Rather, he was a man of absolute faith in what was told to him by his mother. His miracles were by faith, not power. Even the healing of the woman with constant menstrual bleeding was an act of faith on her part.
This leads us to the Cross. When Jesus gave his mother to the care of John without commissioning John to save the world, he emptied himself of both the divinity that Mary told him about as a child and the mission he had chosen. This led him to the abandonment which we feel in our lives today as he called out to Elijah in despair. That he drank the fruit of the vine in John's Gospel shows that he died in the Father's kingdom, transforming even the abode of the dead into Paradise. When we accept that divine journey, bookended by the Incarnation and the Passion, the Incarnation makes sense.
The subsequent triumph of the Resurrection is central to our faith. Despite all evidence to the contrary, we believe Jesus defeated death and that we shall rise again. That choice we make, based on what Paul relates about real people seeing a real Jesus, is the central fact of our faith. Rejecting that fact turns the Incarnation into a nice fairy tale. We believe it is not.
Friday, December 21, 2018
People's Pastoral from Appalachia is subject of new documentary
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/peoples-pastoral-appalachia-subject-new-documentary
Christ came to sew division, not unity. We must do more than simply serve the poor, we must radicalize them into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom seeks justice for the poor in this world. It cannot be the opiate of the masses, looking only to the next or to give the saved an opportunity to serve. They must lead rather than stay in their comfort zone. We must give the power a reason to crucify us.
Christ came to sew division, not unity. We must do more than simply serve the poor, we must radicalize them into the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom seeks justice for the poor in this world. It cannot be the opiate of the masses, looking only to the next or to give the saved an opportunity to serve. They must lead rather than stay in their comfort zone. We must give the power a reason to crucify us.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Links for 12/20/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-122018
Mark is always a fun read. Tax incentives do not work perfectly, but outright bans can lead to the violence of the Civil War, as did the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave the southern states the right of violence on northern soil. An inelastic tax elasticity of supply and demand can avoid a higher price, but producers will only eat so much tax before it gets passed on. Carbon taxes are, like other regulation, a way for producers to keep producing with incentives to develop cleaner means. They are a way to avoid tougher direct enforcement, which could mean plant closings or the mandatory adoption of new technologies and the use of government research to find them, funded by fines rather than taxes. Of course, the political power of energy companies can keep any solution from happening.
Economic incentives do work, however, in regulating personal, rather than corporate behavior. This is especially the case with social prohibition. Alcohol taxes work when shutting down bars only leads to organized crime. Cigarette use is down because of high taxes. Abortion prohibition did not work, it merely led to illegal abortion, travel to Mexico where abortion was legal but corruption allowed it, while giving money to families to actually support their children will surely work to end their incentives to abort, regardless of the blood lust of pro-lifers whose real goal is regulating female sexuality.
Judge Sullivan later apologized for his outrage. He put it above the need of the government to send a quick message to Trump that they will not be stopped. After the judge walked his comments back, he could have had a meeting in chambers with council and walked back the continuance as well, ratifying the deal and ending this part of the drama.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez loses nothing by being the standard bearer of the Democratic Socialists in seeking a position in the leadership. Without our boldness, the election might have been very different. The youth brought in by Bernie Sanders have awakened. We deserve a place at the table, and not for demographic reasons.
The cause of Jakelin's death is known, but whether official malfeasance was part of it is unknown. She has become a cause celeb, as have the unborn. The truth in both issues is a bit more complicated. This is another instance where the Bishops are again bowing to the impulse to read, fire and aim, rather than acting judiciously. This shows how fall prey to group dynamics rather than waiting for the Lord.
Shapiro is best ignored before he gains prominence For him, any press is good press if you spell his name right. Spend more time promoting truth rather than giving attention to silliness.
I am not sure how the governor or the financial authority can prevent a mud slide in Puerto Rico or on California. The best they can do is evacuate ahead of time so that we don't make more graves. Finding graves is secondary.
Let me add the emergence of democratic socialists in the U.S. midterms to the list. The youth vote has awoken and it will be the yeast that turns the world from isolated acts of resistance to transformation.
Never Trumpers were the rare example of reactionary right-wingers against the radicalization of the conservative movement. No one could have predicted the success of Trump or his idiocy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixgc_FGam3s
Mark is always a fun read. Tax incentives do not work perfectly, but outright bans can lead to the violence of the Civil War, as did the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave the southern states the right of violence on northern soil. An inelastic tax elasticity of supply and demand can avoid a higher price, but producers will only eat so much tax before it gets passed on. Carbon taxes are, like other regulation, a way for producers to keep producing with incentives to develop cleaner means. They are a way to avoid tougher direct enforcement, which could mean plant closings or the mandatory adoption of new technologies and the use of government research to find them, funded by fines rather than taxes. Of course, the political power of energy companies can keep any solution from happening.
Economic incentives do work, however, in regulating personal, rather than corporate behavior. This is especially the case with social prohibition. Alcohol taxes work when shutting down bars only leads to organized crime. Cigarette use is down because of high taxes. Abortion prohibition did not work, it merely led to illegal abortion, travel to Mexico where abortion was legal but corruption allowed it, while giving money to families to actually support their children will surely work to end their incentives to abort, regardless of the blood lust of pro-lifers whose real goal is regulating female sexuality.
Judge Sullivan later apologized for his outrage. He put it above the need of the government to send a quick message to Trump that they will not be stopped. After the judge walked his comments back, he could have had a meeting in chambers with council and walked back the continuance as well, ratifying the deal and ending this part of the drama.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez loses nothing by being the standard bearer of the Democratic Socialists in seeking a position in the leadership. Without our boldness, the election might have been very different. The youth brought in by Bernie Sanders have awakened. We deserve a place at the table, and not for demographic reasons.
The cause of Jakelin's death is known, but whether official malfeasance was part of it is unknown. She has become a cause celeb, as have the unborn. The truth in both issues is a bit more complicated. This is another instance where the Bishops are again bowing to the impulse to read, fire and aim, rather than acting judiciously. This shows how fall prey to group dynamics rather than waiting for the Lord.
Shapiro is best ignored before he gains prominence For him, any press is good press if you spell his name right. Spend more time promoting truth rather than giving attention to silliness.
I am not sure how the governor or the financial authority can prevent a mud slide in Puerto Rico or on California. The best they can do is evacuate ahead of time so that we don't make more graves. Finding graves is secondary.
Let me add the emergence of democratic socialists in the U.S. midterms to the list. The youth vote has awoken and it will be the yeast that turns the world from isolated acts of resistance to transformation.
Never Trumpers were the rare example of reactionary right-wingers against the radicalization of the conservative movement. No one could have predicted the success of Trump or his idiocy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixgc_FGam3s
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
In times like the trials of Cardinal Pell, media needs to check itself
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/times-trials-cardinal-pell-media-needs-check-itself
The Pell Affair is mostly a local issue. I am not sure why it needs to be addressed in the American press to the extent it has been (except that it involves sex and power - the media cares nothing for the Australian victims or the Australian Church). American media comes in blurbs. Any real coverage is on the BBC, unless they are respecting the gag order. As for the implications on the C9, the Church as a hierarchy expects rising through the ranks to be adequate vetting. It turns out that it is not. This also shows the need for married priests and bishops of all sexual orientations (although the asexuals won't marry - but they should be outed and kept away from the children). I could care less about how the right-wing commentariat views this issue. They are best ignored in their stupidity and cupidity.
The Pell Affair is mostly a local issue. I am not sure why it needs to be addressed in the American press to the extent it has been (except that it involves sex and power - the media cares nothing for the Australian victims or the Australian Church). American media comes in blurbs. Any real coverage is on the BBC, unless they are respecting the gag order. As for the implications on the C9, the Church as a hierarchy expects rising through the ranks to be adequate vetting. It turns out that it is not. This also shows the need for married priests and bishops of all sexual orientations (although the asexuals won't marry - but they should be outed and kept away from the children). I could care less about how the right-wing commentariat views this issue. They are best ignored in their stupidity and cupidity.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Links for 12/18/18
Today's Links from MSW MGB:
We do not know the justice of God either way, although I would rather be on the deceased boy than on the priest on certainly of Heaven. Of course, I also favor compassionate endings for those sure to suffer with no hope of recovery (although that is a moving target with gene therapy - which can thank fetal stem cell research for getting us to adult cell therapy).
People hate America because of Trump. They also hate capitalism, although most nations use its fruits with their eyes shut to its horrid mechanisms in China and elsewhere. The CCP needs to change the second C from Communist to Capitalist.
Oddly, the tax on church workers lays the groundwork for a later Net Business Receipts Tax on employee salaries, although parking would probably still be exempt - the parking structure would pay more tax and this would impact the price, which would lead to higher salaries (as making the tax indirect would lower gross pay, but not the net). The GOP base does not care as long as they can still demonize brown people. Repealing the Johnson Amendment would be a good corrective if anyone really notices. Better that Priests and Bishops give their biennial abortion letters and after Communion talks by actually endorsing the Republican so that we know where they stand and can ignore them appropriately (57% do anyway unless someone like Clinton tries to justify partial birth abortion rather than citing its illegality and her opponent's stupidity).
Neoconservatism is all about support of Israel. Magazines dying is about the Internet as a substitute. The Standard is likely losing out because more and more Americans see Israeli treatment of Palestinians as extremist. Ignoring genocide in Gaza in response to them shooting off bottle rockets in Israel is not a proportionate response. Neither is a Soviet style wall prior to boundary negotiations.
Mulvaney is good capitalist. He and Trump are made for eachother. Sadly, he will likely land on his feet rather than in jail after Trump is ousted, probably in the near term. The more they delay the more likely Pence will be removed with Trump while Biden, Clinton or Pelosi serve out Trump's term, with Nancy as king or queen maker.
Pope Emeritus Benedict was correct in letting evangelization grow, however we can do some weeding before we plant. While the effect of the abuse of minors must be rooted out, so must be the Medieval organizational structure and the unacknowledged asexuality of half the clergy - the half more likely to abuse and to spout nonsense as sexual doctrine for the rest of us. They need to be outed, first to themselves, starting from Francis on down. An entirely gay clergy would be better.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Puppet media claims Christian identity; it's wrong
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/puppet-media-claims-christian-identity-its-wrong
Fox News was created by Roger Ailes because no one in the main media took Nixon's side. It was meant to be GOP TV. They have succeeded in their quest and have dumbed down the GOP with propaganda rather than news. The sad part of this situation is that the current President believes the propaganda more than his "deep state" government staff. He needs to. He is an amoral businessman in a moral job that he was unprepared for. It is a sad thing that someone who should be setting the moral agenda let's a partisan news organization to tell him how to think.
As for Arroyo, he is simply part of the pro-life movement's hand in glove relationship with the Republican Party. He is a manifestation of that relationship. Sadly, the bishops are the source of this corruption and hold enough sway over Catholic voters to provide the GOP with winning margins while doing nothing for the unborn when in power. Arroyo is the symptom, not the disease.
Fox News was created by Roger Ailes because no one in the main media took Nixon's side. It was meant to be GOP TV. They have succeeded in their quest and have dumbed down the GOP with propaganda rather than news. The sad part of this situation is that the current President believes the propaganda more than his "deep state" government staff. He needs to. He is an amoral businessman in a moral job that he was unprepared for. It is a sad thing that someone who should be setting the moral agenda let's a partisan news organization to tell him how to think.
As for Arroyo, he is simply part of the pro-life movement's hand in glove relationship with the Republican Party. He is a manifestation of that relationship. Sadly, the bishops are the source of this corruption and hold enough sway over Catholic voters to provide the GOP with winning margins while doing nothing for the unborn when in power. Arroyo is the symptom, not the disease.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Black Friday and bodybuilders: Bishop Barron's crass tactics mimic the culture
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/black-friday-and-bodybuilders-bishop-barrons-crass-tactics-mimic
St. Paul told us to be all things to all (men). That he reaches beyond traditional boundaries is probably a good thing. I expect he is selling the Church as Jesus ate with sinners and cured anyone, not just fellow Jews. Barron is confident that once he gets people in the door others like him will catechize them.
Asking for money from social media is akin to sending the 72 out without money or the Jesuit practice of sending candidates for the priesthood out on a bus and with nothing with the instruction to get back on their own. It is like field survival training in ranger school without the need to kill small animals.
I am sure that Barron has hired outside help for his fundraising. He uses it because it works. My inbox gets requests for support year round, including from Catholic organizations like America.
The use of body builders is troubling, as the message that one must be beautiful is the path to self loathing. One can argue that the practice of frequent Confession does the same thing. It is faux holiness and self absorption.
Worrying about going to Hell is the heart of conservatism. It is also why we have celibacy, which is the same kind of faux holiness. It is also why abuse by priests gets more attention than incest.
People like Barron because they want both answers and certainty. They want the bottom line, not the questions or the open ended challenge that faith and Francis demands of us.
I am not a fan but I know people who are. Not all of them are conservatives.
Like most clergy he does not think outside the box. In America he compared gay marriage to marrying a relative so one could get the benefits of marriage. Of course, this ignores the sexual component of marriage. Not surprising for a celibate who is likely asexual. He also ignores the fact that family members already have kinship while marriage is created kinship and separation from the natal family.
It is that kind of rule based spirituality that is dangerous to the soul, which is my concern with Barron and those like him.
St. Paul told us to be all things to all (men). That he reaches beyond traditional boundaries is probably a good thing. I expect he is selling the Church as Jesus ate with sinners and cured anyone, not just fellow Jews. Barron is confident that once he gets people in the door others like him will catechize them.
Asking for money from social media is akin to sending the 72 out without money or the Jesuit practice of sending candidates for the priesthood out on a bus and with nothing with the instruction to get back on their own. It is like field survival training in ranger school without the need to kill small animals.
I am sure that Barron has hired outside help for his fundraising. He uses it because it works. My inbox gets requests for support year round, including from Catholic organizations like America.
The use of body builders is troubling, as the message that one must be beautiful is the path to self loathing. One can argue that the practice of frequent Confession does the same thing. It is faux holiness and self absorption.
Worrying about going to Hell is the heart of conservatism. It is also why we have celibacy, which is the same kind of faux holiness. It is also why abuse by priests gets more attention than incest.
People like Barron because they want both answers and certainty. They want the bottom line, not the questions or the open ended challenge that faith and Francis demands of us.
I am not a fan but I know people who are. Not all of them are conservatives.
Like most clergy he does not think outside the box. In America he compared gay marriage to marrying a relative so one could get the benefits of marriage. Of course, this ignores the sexual component of marriage. Not surprising for a celibate who is likely asexual. He also ignores the fact that family members already have kinship while marriage is created kinship and separation from the natal family.
It is that kind of rule based spirituality that is dangerous to the soul, which is my concern with Barron and those like him.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Links for 12/13/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-121318
The bottomless Pinocchio is for Harry Mudd, Cardinal Burke and Trump. Anyone who believes their own propaganda.
The Puerto Rican Authority was flawed from the start
The President should have picked all members st the recommendation of the Delegate and the Governor. It does not help that the Governor is an idiot.
Racism and classism are part of the reactionary tool kit. To them it is a feature, not a flaw.
Both Santa and the fence show how conservatives, especially those who came of age in the fifties, want their world tied up with a bow. They can't help themselves.
Liberalism is all things to all people, although at heart it is humanism that animates liberalism. It is a polite form of radicalism, which has existed as long as hominids left the trees, if not earlier. It is fegianve of authority. Indeed, without radicals there would be no need for reactionary authority or tradition as its champion.
As for Commonweal, it takes deep dives into issues, like Rachel Maddow does. The Church needs that.
The Curry story is important because it shows that talented athletes get inferior education if they play well.
The world's poor by the shore need inland shelter and the means to evacuate worldwide. Those who serve the rich will follow them inland. To get the rich to move or to advocate for doing something about warming simply end flood insurance for beach properties. Of course the real issue for the working class is that the rich have the money to stop this from happening until it is too late.
The great thing about the video is that Jesus is wearing Franciscan robes under his white garment.
The Puerto Rican Authority was flawed from the start
The President should have picked all members st the recommendation of the Delegate and the Governor. It does not help that the Governor is an idiot.
Racism and classism are part of the reactionary tool kit. To them it is a feature, not a flaw.
Both Santa and the fence show how conservatives, especially those who came of age in the fifties, want their world tied up with a bow. They can't help themselves.
Liberalism is all things to all people, although at heart it is humanism that animates liberalism. It is a polite form of radicalism, which has existed as long as hominids left the trees, if not earlier. It is fegianve of authority. Indeed, without radicals there would be no need for reactionary authority or tradition as its champion.
As for Commonweal, it takes deep dives into issues, like Rachel Maddow does. The Church needs that.
The Curry story is important because it shows that talented athletes get inferior education if they play well.
The world's poor by the shore need inland shelter and the means to evacuate worldwide. Those who serve the rich will follow them inland. To get the rich to move or to advocate for doing something about warming simply end flood insurance for beach properties. Of course the real issue for the working class is that the rich have the money to stop this from happening until it is too late.
The great thing about the video is that Jesus is wearing Franciscan robes under his white garment.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Backlash is not welcome; let comedians push, be funny
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/backlash-not-welcome-let-comedians-push-be-funny
Note to MSW. Puritanism is not about sex. They had plenty of that. It was about a purer faith in reaction to increasing Romanism in the Church of England. As a Plymouth descendant, I take umbrage at the misuse of the term in a derogatory manner. It is no more appropriate than using INNA (Irish Need Not Apply), or at least by someone non-Irish. Getting your Irish up is a similar phrase. Humor is tribal and for some jokes non-members need to watch themselves, especially if the tribe undergoes persecution or is still sensitive to it. By the same token, only married people can tell jokes about marriage and they must do so with no hint of misogyny.
On the Oscars, I would love to see Kevin Hart and Neil Patrick Harris co-host. It would be a clever way to deal with this.
Above all, humor cannot be spiteful. Donald Trump's humor is mean. This has signaled the MAGAts that they can follow suit. This has coarsened society.
Poking fun at the powerful is still OK. Indeed, it is necessary to shame them, especially if they abuse their power. Kenny Bruce was known for his jokes about the Catholic Church at a time that it was acting as moral gatekeeper for the larger society. I suspect many bishops pine for that age, but it was abusive to outsiders and itself. Indeed, the term puritanical is often used in reference not to the seventeenth century but in association with the post-war Catholics.
Note to MSW. Puritanism is not about sex. They had plenty of that. It was about a purer faith in reaction to increasing Romanism in the Church of England. As a Plymouth descendant, I take umbrage at the misuse of the term in a derogatory manner. It is no more appropriate than using INNA (Irish Need Not Apply), or at least by someone non-Irish. Getting your Irish up is a similar phrase. Humor is tribal and for some jokes non-members need to watch themselves, especially if the tribe undergoes persecution or is still sensitive to it. By the same token, only married people can tell jokes about marriage and they must do so with no hint of misogyny.
On the Oscars, I would love to see Kevin Hart and Neil Patrick Harris co-host. It would be a clever way to deal with this.
Above all, humor cannot be spiteful. Donald Trump's humor is mean. This has signaled the MAGAts that they can follow suit. This has coarsened society.
Poking fun at the powerful is still OK. Indeed, it is necessary to shame them, especially if they abuse their power. Kenny Bruce was known for his jokes about the Catholic Church at a time that it was acting as moral gatekeeper for the larger society. I suspect many bishops pine for that age, but it was abusive to outsiders and itself. Indeed, the term puritanical is often used in reference not to the seventeenth century but in association with the post-war Catholics.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Links for 12/11/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/distinctly-catholic/links-121118
Providence needs to sell a piece of itself to the District.
The left wing is simply flexing its muscles to let everyone know that the Sanders wing is not going away. Once the GOP implodes and a Wall Street coalition forms this wing will become a new majority party.
Ditto for some of the gay community. Once the Second Circuit case says that gay rights are already covered under protection based on sex in the civil rights act, this muscle will be used to demand real enforcement.
Fox News is exhausted and going after Soros is part of its death rattles.
Patrick is showing his ability to be Vice President, although Booker or Harris may be better choices sometime next month for either Pelosi or Clinton (unless Harris is at the top of the ticket in 2020).
Let us hope that when the caravan arrives they are greeted by a new president.
The prosperity gospel is another form of cheap grace which puts profession over reads. We have a few bishops like that. Quite a few.
I suspect that Francis has a few big ideas that will make this meeting more interesting than expected. Structural changes long needed. Trads will hate them.
Providence needs to sell a piece of itself to the District.
The left wing is simply flexing its muscles to let everyone know that the Sanders wing is not going away. Once the GOP implodes and a Wall Street coalition forms this wing will become a new majority party.
Ditto for some of the gay community. Once the Second Circuit case says that gay rights are already covered under protection based on sex in the civil rights act, this muscle will be used to demand real enforcement.
Fox News is exhausted and going after Soros is part of its death rattles.
Patrick is showing his ability to be Vice President, although Booker or Harris may be better choices sometime next month for either Pelosi or Clinton (unless Harris is at the top of the ticket in 2020).
Let us hope that when the caravan arrives they are greeted by a new president.
The prosperity gospel is another form of cheap grace which puts profession over reads. We have a few bishops like that. Quite a few.
I suspect that Francis has a few big ideas that will make this meeting more interesting than expected. Structural changes long needed. Trads will hate them.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Is our democracy more fragile than we were taught?
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/our-democracy-more-fragile-we-were-taught
As long as we have elections controlled at the local level by non-partisan volunteers and ballot counting is honest with an independent judiciary, our democracy is safe. This keeps the republic intact. Partisanship is a feature of single member districts and proportional representation at the national level would give us more gridlock, not less.
Republican hyperpartisanship will be punished by the voters, which brings progressive change followed by conservative reaction. That interplay keeps us both safe and free, preventing violent uprisings a d one party rule.
The GOP knows it has a Trump problem and will lose too many senators to have any say if they wait for 2020. They need the Mueller report ASAP so that if Pence is implicated too they ha e cover to get rid of them both and make Ryan President before the new Congress convenes. They will still hurt in 2020 but may survive. The alternative is Pelosi as queenmaker for Hillary. That may or may not hurt them in 2020, but they are not smart enough to take the hit now. They will do what is best for them, which eventually satisfies the voters. Democracy is safe.
As long as we have elections controlled at the local level by non-partisan volunteers and ballot counting is honest with an independent judiciary, our democracy is safe. This keeps the republic intact. Partisanship is a feature of single member districts and proportional representation at the national level would give us more gridlock, not less.
Republican hyperpartisanship will be punished by the voters, which brings progressive change followed by conservative reaction. That interplay keeps us both safe and free, preventing violent uprisings a d one party rule.
The GOP knows it has a Trump problem and will lose too many senators to have any say if they wait for 2020. They need the Mueller report ASAP so that if Pence is implicated too they ha e cover to get rid of them both and make Ryan President before the new Congress convenes. They will still hurt in 2020 but may survive. The alternative is Pelosi as queenmaker for Hillary. That may or may not hurt them in 2020, but they are not smart enough to take the hit now. They will do what is best for them, which eventually satisfies the voters. Democracy is safe.
Friday, December 7, 2018
Bush funeral blended symbols of church and state, seemed non-communal
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/bush-funeral-blended-symbols-church-and-state-seemed-non-communal
Neither Anglican funerals or weddings have Eucharist, nor do Catholic mixed marriages. As do their Eucharist, it is not that different than the Mass and has the same effect. Their senior bishop even carries a cross rather than a crook, like any other Catholic patriarch. The only thing I find off putting is the music, but I can say the same thing about many Masses.
As for the National Cathedral, I prefer it to the Bassilaca of the Immaculate Conception. The Jesus fresco behind the altar is too buff for my taste.
The Cathedral is high church so maybe they did not do it because it was a state occasion. Also their practice of open communion would have put the cardinal and the othodox patriarch in a touchy position as they would have been asked to concelebrate. Since at least one EP has said that the anglicans are a Church and not a western sect it could have been an incident.
Neither Anglican funerals or weddings have Eucharist, nor do Catholic mixed marriages. As do their Eucharist, it is not that different than the Mass and has the same effect. Their senior bishop even carries a cross rather than a crook, like any other Catholic patriarch. The only thing I find off putting is the music, but I can say the same thing about many Masses.
As for the National Cathedral, I prefer it to the Bassilaca of the Immaculate Conception. The Jesus fresco behind the altar is too buff for my taste.
The Cathedral is high church so maybe they did not do it because it was a state occasion. Also their practice of open communion would have put the cardinal and the othodox patriarch in a touchy position as they would have been asked to concelebrate. Since at least one EP has said that the anglicans are a Church and not a western sect it could have been an incident.
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Links for 12/6/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-12618
Income inequality is about the distribution of nice stuff, but it is much more about the distribution of power, which is why the Catholic notion is called distributism, although this concept ignores the economies of scale that larger employee-owned organizations can provide. Currently, no one is doing it right - but this can change in almost an instant. I have a book that literally is a step by step guide to doing so, but it is for client consumption only and it does not come cheap. Thus is the dilemma of fighting capitalism, you must have resources to do it.
Mulvaney is the Trumpster's Trumpster. He is only a bit more obnoxious than Clintonians like Larry Summers. Again, the problem is capitalism, not party. The Neo-Libs are only an improvement because they try to avoid capitalism destroying itself. I am not sure which is better, saving it or letting it spin out of control. This is why the left considers both options bad. Of course, collapse usually becomes an excuse for authoritarianism, so capitalism must be defeated from within, starting with unionized and employee-owned businesses. See above.
Being Latino is not monolithic. Cubans love their Republicans, especially Trump. In Florida, the GOP is more crooked than most and the state has a nasty racist streak. Running an African American candidate gets the black vote out, but is a big ask for those on the borderline. A black Panamanian might have won or might have alienated everyone. It's not the Democrats, it's Florida.
Preventing such bosses from making such demands is why we have non-discrimination laws. To ignore these laws, just have Republicans be the enforcers, or neo-liberal Democrats. This is an area where the Church's moral voice on Life is strongest. Some judges require poor women to get birth control implants as well. That is also repugnant, as is a parish priest telling an employee with lots of kids to use Natural Family Planning because he can't pay a higher wage (or a bishop for that matter).
It takes a while for a movement to begin to govern sensibly. Democratic Socialism is not used to holding power in the country. Naivete only wears off with experience - in which case the radicals think you have lost your edge.
Saint Ambrose is the father of the substitutional theory of salvation that must devolve into God being an Ogre to be bought off with blood sacrifice. This gave rise to indulgences, the belief that one must continue a pregnancy or avoid contraception if having a child would kill the mother or that one must avoid suicide if life was surely to be horrible. The philosophy of Abrose makes atheism possible.
Trump will not be President for long and the rumor mill is saying Pence is also at risk. The question is whether Ryan is put in before January or who Nancy Pelosi wants to be President. I am thinking Hillary, since she would not put in Sanders and does not seem to want the job, however last I saw her and addressed her as Madam Future President, she (Nancy) laughed. Anyone who could not see this coming has a deficit of imagination or is simply a rookie.
The neo-liberal Council on Foreign Relations, which publishes Foreign Affairs, is wrong on several points. Client change will collapse certain industries, but many will adapt or die (let us hope coal ala the Kochs are on the die list). Cars will adapt and beach front property will move inland, displacing the poor whom are employed by the rich beach goers. Deficit spending on both remediation and alternative sources (fusion is big science and big science can be done quickly if you throw enough money at it). Indeed, big deficits take money away from the capitalists who, when they have too much money, drive up asset prices without providing for a larger economy.
Income inequality is about the distribution of nice stuff, but it is much more about the distribution of power, which is why the Catholic notion is called distributism, although this concept ignores the economies of scale that larger employee-owned organizations can provide. Currently, no one is doing it right - but this can change in almost an instant. I have a book that literally is a step by step guide to doing so, but it is for client consumption only and it does not come cheap. Thus is the dilemma of fighting capitalism, you must have resources to do it.
Mulvaney is the Trumpster's Trumpster. He is only a bit more obnoxious than Clintonians like Larry Summers. Again, the problem is capitalism, not party. The Neo-Libs are only an improvement because they try to avoid capitalism destroying itself. I am not sure which is better, saving it or letting it spin out of control. This is why the left considers both options bad. Of course, collapse usually becomes an excuse for authoritarianism, so capitalism must be defeated from within, starting with unionized and employee-owned businesses. See above.
Being Latino is not monolithic. Cubans love their Republicans, especially Trump. In Florida, the GOP is more crooked than most and the state has a nasty racist streak. Running an African American candidate gets the black vote out, but is a big ask for those on the borderline. A black Panamanian might have won or might have alienated everyone. It's not the Democrats, it's Florida.
Preventing such bosses from making such demands is why we have non-discrimination laws. To ignore these laws, just have Republicans be the enforcers, or neo-liberal Democrats. This is an area where the Church's moral voice on Life is strongest. Some judges require poor women to get birth control implants as well. That is also repugnant, as is a parish priest telling an employee with lots of kids to use Natural Family Planning because he can't pay a higher wage (or a bishop for that matter).
It takes a while for a movement to begin to govern sensibly. Democratic Socialism is not used to holding power in the country. Naivete only wears off with experience - in which case the radicals think you have lost your edge.
Saint Ambrose is the father of the substitutional theory of salvation that must devolve into God being an Ogre to be bought off with blood sacrifice. This gave rise to indulgences, the belief that one must continue a pregnancy or avoid contraception if having a child would kill the mother or that one must avoid suicide if life was surely to be horrible. The philosophy of Abrose makes atheism possible.
Trump will not be President for long and the rumor mill is saying Pence is also at risk. The question is whether Ryan is put in before January or who Nancy Pelosi wants to be President. I am thinking Hillary, since she would not put in Sanders and does not seem to want the job, however last I saw her and addressed her as Madam Future President, she (Nancy) laughed. Anyone who could not see this coming has a deficit of imagination or is simply a rookie.
The neo-liberal Council on Foreign Relations, which publishes Foreign Affairs, is wrong on several points. Client change will collapse certain industries, but many will adapt or die (let us hope coal ala the Kochs are on the die list). Cars will adapt and beach front property will move inland, displacing the poor whom are employed by the rich beach goers. Deficit spending on both remediation and alternative sources (fusion is big science and big science can be done quickly if you throw enough money at it). Indeed, big deficits take money away from the capitalists who, when they have too much money, drive up asset prices without providing for a larger economy.
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Et tu, Michael Sean?
Excuse me, but what about Willie Horton? by MSW.
MGB: While for historical figures, you may eventually speak ill of the dead, but it is uncouth to do so before their funerals and even before they are in the ground. Yes, George H.W. Bush went along with his campaign staff (likely including George W. Bush and Lee Atwater - who later regretted his race baiting as he lay dying). Did it besmirch his character, may. Was it a sign of endemic racism? Probably just a tone deafness to how it would sound which is more endemic to his generation and those following (see MAGA) that is hopefully on the way out.
I would put it down to putting loyalty over moral courage. As a loyal Republican, he did make compromises because that is the nature of electoral politics. Some make the choice to go dirty, some do not,. It goes to who you surround yourself with and why. There has never been a time when everyone would play nice,. Indeed, most of America has a history of nasty political discourse. That Willie Horton and MAGA are seen as aberrations rather than the norm are a good side that the game is improving. It is also usually the reactionary side that goes negative because liberal and radical politics put their power and wealth at risk. They are also more likely to lie.
Blaming Bush's reversal of his "no new taxes" pledge was not the cause of his defeat in 1992. It was the perception that he could not relate or was not relateable. The fact that he had to state that he cared was evidence that this was a major problem, especially when running against the future Emoter in Chief, Bill Clinton. Indeed, Clinton's record was no model of political courage either. He went along with Gingrich in ending welfare as we know it and in supporting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which President Obama finally junked.
The prosperity that Clinton enjoyed started with Bush. The economic troubles on Bush's watch had more to do with the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings budget cuts than anything else. His tax policy was the start of the recovery, although Clinton's further increases fueled it. It is always good to raise taxes on the very wealthy because it takes money away from asset inflation (stocks, oil futures, speculation on bad mortgages, Bitcoin) and puts it into both governmental and family spending. This is why Bush called Reagan's policies Voodoo economics. He was right, but as a loyal soldier he backed his running mate, although his running mate was wrong. Blaming Bush for raising taxes is both bad economics and revisionist history to promote bad economic ideas. In the end, courage overcame partisanship. History will be kinder and gentler to President Bush than even his own party was.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Links for 12/4/18
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/links-12418
What Graham is saying is that the pander must be maintained at all costs. Williamson is banking on an alternative pander. What is sauce for the goose...
Trump partisans are useful idiots for capitalists, as are the neoliberals at the DLC.
Ryan may have one last hurrah if Mueller releases his report next week and it forces both Trump and Pence to resign before the next Congress meets.
The way to change philanthropy is to occupy capitalism and enable charitable contributions as an offset to a subtraction VAT.
Gay priests should not have to have a double life. Married lesbians et al should be eligible for ordination. Reform has taken long enough.
Bigness does not always indicate badness. Amazon is better than Wal-Mart which is better than Starbucks.. Facts are funny things. Polling does not measure truth, only perception.
What Graham is saying is that the pander must be maintained at all costs. Williamson is banking on an alternative pander. What is sauce for the goose...
Trump partisans are useful idiots for capitalists, as are the neoliberals at the DLC.
Ryan may have one last hurrah if Mueller releases his report next week and it forces both Trump and Pence to resign before the next Congress meets.
The way to change philanthropy is to occupy capitalism and enable charitable contributions as an offset to a subtraction VAT.
Gay priests should not have to have a double life. Married lesbians et al should be eligible for ordination. Reform has taken long enough.
Bigness does not always indicate badness. Amazon is better than Wal-Mart which is better than Starbucks.. Facts are funny things. Polling does not measure truth, only perception.
Monday, December 3, 2018
This Advent, remember the second coming
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/advent-remember-second-coming
I wrote about this topic yesterday at http://xianleft.blogspot.com/2018/12/first-sunday-of-advent-2018.html I dealt with how Advent is an evironmental Holiday. The human heart responds to the season, at least for those with mental illness and alcoholism/addiction. While many get the holiday blues, most do not. Those who do are often the ones with other issues. This is why there are more sobriety events this time of year. It is a preventative to suicide. Many of these are spiritual and not religious. That they are not religious is not on them, but on the Church of their upbringing who offered a punishing God who required that you confess your sins or burn in Hell. Most people in recovery do discuss their faults with a sponsor, although some include their priest or minister in the loop.
I take a slightly different approach to what is essential to the season. It is not so much using the season for dealing with personal sin but for doing works of justice and charity. This might stars with taking the bus even though it is cold to experience what it is like to be homeless this part of the year. We do agree that the season is about Jesus coming right now. The question is, where do we find him. To elaborate on yesterday's post, do we find him in Church or in solidarity with the poor this season.
I wrote about this topic yesterday at http://xianleft.blogspot.com/2018/12/first-sunday-of-advent-2018.html I dealt with how Advent is an evironmental Holiday. The human heart responds to the season, at least for those with mental illness and alcoholism/addiction. While many get the holiday blues, most do not. Those who do are often the ones with other issues. This is why there are more sobriety events this time of year. It is a preventative to suicide. Many of these are spiritual and not religious. That they are not religious is not on them, but on the Church of their upbringing who offered a punishing God who required that you confess your sins or burn in Hell. Most people in recovery do discuss their faults with a sponsor, although some include their priest or minister in the loop.
I take a slightly different approach to what is essential to the season. It is not so much using the season for dealing with personal sin but for doing works of justice and charity. This might stars with taking the bus even though it is cold to experience what it is like to be homeless this part of the year. We do agree that the season is about Jesus coming right now. The question is, where do we find him. To elaborate on yesterday's post, do we find him in Church or in solidarity with the poor this season.
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