Abortion: Discuss, don't debate

Abortion: Discuss, don't debate

Before we discuss the details of abortion, we must address point of view - that is, what is the purpose of discussing abortion? The bishops would maintain that the purpose of discussion is conversion to their view. Are they open to information at all, let alone discussion. More to the point, has their view been compromised by electoral politics? If it has, there is no point in discussion within the Church. There is only condemnation on both sides.

Within the Church, the question is whether the pro-life Magisterium is short-circuited by the political and economic Magisteria of the Church. The social gospel is clear - the way to fight abortion is economic as well as political. Further, the obligation of Catholic politicians is not to back up the Church's position. The Cuomo Doctrine is supported by Dignitatis Humanae, whether this was intented by the Vatican II Fathers or not. 

That there were no Mothers involved in doctrinal development brings in the question of sexism in the Church - whether women are ordained and whether the sexual teachings of the Church are defensible at all. The foundational belief in sacred continence colors all other discussion, although calling it sacred seems to short-circuit the discussion. Can the Church survive if this discussion cannot be broached? What kind of Church is left if it does?

Would the Church be open to natural law discussion on late-term abortion? Would it consider whether any right to life is dependent on whether the child has any hope of survival or is destined to be still-born. Is a woman obligated to put the interest of a doomed child above those of her health? Even having the discussion has political risk, and by politics I mean within the clergy. Disputing doctrine has consequences for clergy, theologians and Catholic hospitals.

Then there is the question of timing. What Catholic politicians say in the primaries is different than what they say (or side-step) in the general election. It seems that the time for discussion is after one has taken office. The question remains, is discussion possible or is the question conversion v. explanation of the science and law. Must Catholic politicians even have a position on the moral law on abortion? Do they have any special qualification? Do they have an obligation to explain themselves at all? I would hope that they do, but after the election and that doing so should have no impact on their ability to receive Communion, which is a whole other foundational discussion.

Discussions of whether an embryo or a fetus (a little person) can have legal protection is the American constitutional scheme can occur, but there are realities that, once explained, lead to only one answer. There is no question on who decides. It cannot be the states. Doing so brings resurrects the ghost of Plessy v. Ferguson. That simply cannot be allowed. The question for Congress is also clear. Can it come to a pro-life conclusion in the first trimester, literally, can it get the votes and are Catholic politicians bound to vote a certain way? Must they follow their oaths or the dictates of faith? 

Equal protection cuts both ways. If children have equal protection rights in the first trimester, what does equal protection mean in securing those rights? Equal protection is a double edged sword. Certain things must happen if the child is seen as a sink of rights, both in terms of who is punished and who is investigated. You cannot finesse the question. If abortion is murder, than women must be punished and miscarriages investigated. Legal reasoning is the only reasoning that matters in such a debate and the answer is clear. It's no. Logically it must be in a constitutional republic.

The economic question is whether social democracy is socialism? It isn't by the way and the prior is both doctrinal and it already exists in the child tax credit - so the question is adequacy and how to get there. The approach taken by Senator Harris, who is not Catholic, is by far the most generous. On Eugenics issue, simply invoking the term seems to come up with the answer. Again, the Court has decided, unanimously and the answer is no, at least for now (Box v. Planned Parenthood). The question of the rights of a doomed child seems clear cut morally. The doctrine is wrong. 

As for Down's Children, we can be creative in discouraging abortion - but doing so is an expensive proposition involving respite care, adequate disability compensation and whether it is good for such children to work and what support are they owed? For conservative Catholic politicians and voters, is the answer obligatory or a matter of prudential judgment? Are they protected by Dignitats as well?

Then there is birth control. It is as, if not more, effective in preventing abortion. Scientifically, it is not murderous, because one is not an organism until one has organs, post gastrulation. Again, the Church is wrong. Will it allow discussion? St. John Paul did not think so, or at least his cardiologist seemed absolutely convinced of the medical ethics, although it was not the traditional Catholic position.

For the election and discussion, the question is whether the issue is troll bait, or even a product of electoral interference. Should the pro-life movement be drawn into a debate that may be instigated by the Internet Research Agency or is doing so cooperation with evil? I would contend that the answer is that participation is cooperation with evil. That must be discussed and discussed now, especially in regard to a president who is compromised in a way that can be considered disloyal and who is not fit to exercise the office to which is elected. Cy Vance has an opinion on that and it should be controlling. Book him, Danno.

Links for 7/30/20

Links for 7/30/20

Jubilee needs to keep up the pressure, at least for show. It lays the groundwork for 2021. Add redistricting reform to the to-do lists. The reason union voting power has declined is that politicians can pick their own voters. On unions, undoing years of bad leadership at DOL is essential, as are tax rates on the rich high enough so that union busting is not an attractive option.

If Krugman thinks that Trump had the power or ability to mess up the SARS2 response on his own, he overestimates Trump. The problem was that, for PR purposes, CDC did not want to call COVID a cold, so it ignored nasal symptoms as the precursor to the more serious immuno-responses like fever and SARS itself. The time from infection to hospitalization and serious illness is not two weeks, its four to six. Trump is only responsible for the impact of his bluster on his own reputation.

John Lewis realized that being inside was most effective, joining many others, like my old boss, Marion Barry, in doing so. He follows many into the eternal SNCC meeting, but there are some left. We still have Eleanor Holmes Norton, who needs a real vote. Add this to the 2021 list. At the top. 

The best thing that John and company did, however, was empowering the next two generations of leaders. Enter Vice President Harris and Black Lives Matter. A glance at his latest press conference notes shows that the Senator is literally at the top of his list (she is also the best on expanding the Child Tax Credit, bar none, including Warren).

The GOP's stimulus bill is flaccid and immoral

The GOP's stimulus bill is flaccid and immoral
Just to be clear, most members of the media do not emphasize that the UI kicker is in addition to base unemployment, so $200 is really $650 or so. $600 has been $1,050. The GOP bill is a marker that keeps the Senate GOP in the room during negotiations between the Secretary of the Treasury (who as a single family landlord for a variety of LLCs, wants to make sure rent is paid) and the Speaker. My guess is that the final product will be a $400 kicker, for $850 a week.

Keeping it less is important, because the supply of goods is about to be a lot smaller as money is plentiful and workers are idle. This is a recipe for hyperstagflation. The GOP understands that risk. It is not immoral to do so.

In the future, after Red states shut down again, there will be an omnibus supplemental which will likely include a lost revenue provision. This should be automatic, but that would take away the opportunity to grandstand. Watching such legislation is sausage making. It is not pretty.

The corporate rate cut makes tax policy for all employers consistent. It is an additional step toward tax reform. The main problem was the rate, but the fact that the base was not made broader. This is all about setting the stage for consumption taxes. Again, sausage.

Links for 7/28/20

Links for 7/28/20
The Court is not a finder of fact. A trial would be necessary for finding an objection to the state rule.

Biden is free under Dignitatis Humanae to not claim any affiliation with the Vatican or the bishops. They need to stay in their lane. Indeed, when they don't, because they are agents of a foreign government, discipline against him for upholding the Constitution borders on sedition. On the other side, the pro-choice vote is clearly in his column. He need not pander to it. That was Hillary's mistake. He needs to keep this in mind when selecting a VP, which means no Warren if he wants a big tent for Republicans Against Trump.

I am more concerned with the lack of people in European Cathedrals rather than their architecture. It is time to speak of forgiveness, not of the guilt of their grandparents's generation.

The new generation of civil rights workers has taken its place in the chain of the Beloved Community. Good for them. People forget how young the first civil rights generation were in their prime, just as Washington and his generals were young in the Revolution. As for the New Yorker, it needs Andrew more than Andrew needs it.

I have people buried all over New England. Probably Lebanon too.

Who still stands with Viganò?

Who still stands with Viganò?
Like Vigano', readers of the other NCR are fringe and a dying breed. Like Trump, they thrive on getting ink. Only ignoring them draws their ire, although I am sure they will troll this article. They only are contesting Vatican II because Francis is starting to give it life. St. John Paul was on their side, so they did not need to be vocal in their opposition. We all need to follow Francis and let the fringe die in obscurity, although I am glad MSW consents to my writings, since he never mentions them.

Will GOP officeholders go down with the Trump ship?

Will GOP officeholders go down with the Trump ships?
That ship in the picture was ugly when it was new, unlike the GOP, which was the first Marxist political party to take control of a national government. Compare Lincoln's actions and remarks on labor to the Manifesto sometime and you must agree. That his best general stopped a Southern counter-revolution also fits the pattern.

Members had been accepting contributions from the Trump Super PAC. Until it is widely known that this fund is very much tainted by contributions from Lev and Igor, who got the money from Ukrainian and Russian Oligarchs, they will stay in line. The second they are made to give back the money because of where it came from, they will not only drop Trump like a rock, they will probably oust him. That the connection was not made in the impeachment trial is legal malpractice by Schumer, Nadler and Schiff. It was a fatal error, quite literally, given the alleged (though overblown) impact of Trump on SARS-CoV-2 deaths.

Once SDNY hears the subpoena arguments and the judge again hints that the OLC memo is invalid, given the recent Supreme Court decision in the case, we may have hit a tipping point. An indictment of GRUdi (the President's handler) in the same district could also force Trump out. The final straw, of course, will be when Moscow Mitch's poll numbers go negative in his reelection race. Mitch cares about only one American's future. His own. Another tipping point is whatever passes as the GOP convention (wherever that will be). As Rachel Maddow says, watch this space.

Will finally getting rid of Trump help Mitch, or anyone else? No. This was always going to be a bad year for the Senate GOP. They have too many cards in their hand. The question is not how many seats will they lose, but if they will keep enough to stop whomever is left from switching parties.

Not encouraging more Senators to switch in exchange for a yes vote on impeachment was a Schumer decision. (I bet he could have gotten 14, but not the needed 20).  He wants a liberal caucus. At some point, he will have no choice but to take on the GOP refugees. If the House GOP is as badly damaged, the question will be how big the Democratic caucus can get before its two wings become too parties.

As for the Federal Secret Police, the proper term is agent, because they are mostly Border Patrol Agents, but the real term is thug. Let us hope that they are not used as election judges. Trump knows that the Secret Service will not let him stay in the White House after losing. His only way to keep office is brute force. More likely, Senate Republicans will pull him or the federal judge in New York will make it fairly clear that the can be indicted now, causing several indictments to be unsealed and the President arrested.

Links for 7/23/20

Links for 7/23/20
I am actually of the belief that the pope is still the pope is an organizational cop-out. This pope makes sense where others do not.

There are Catholics in Utah? Who knew?

We all need a third reconstruction, but for all workers. Capitalism is behind racism on both sides of the equation. Reconstruction must help everyone, including Whites whose hearts need to change.

Cotton is right, there is right-wing agitation in Portland, but it is not coming from the protesters. The same kind of thuggery has infected the State Department. George Orwell, call your office.

Some people still call the Pope Satan. It is in a hymn we now sing at Mass, Now Thank We All, Our God. Farrakahn's anti-Semitism is a cliche of itself, but toxic nonetheless. So is the trope that Trump is somehow responsible for virus spread. He only responsible for his bluster. Blame the CDC for the rest. Catholic schools need to follow the Pediatricians, who have concluded that children do not vector. As for Catholic schools, getting funding is different than just repealing Blaine. Taxes need to go up and the bishops have to recognize both union and the nature of the abortion debate.

Unalienable rights are still unassailable despite Pompeo

Unalienable rights are still unassailable despite Pompeo
Positive rights are established by the social contract, which is voluntary and includes the right to not be murdered. Women are protected by matter of right. Affirmative protection of the unborn is untenable. It is up to those who seek it to say how it would work within the context of existing rights to equal protection under law. Good luck with that.

The best hope for the unborn is the expansion of social welfare systems. This includes contraception, which prevents gastrulation and is therefore not murderous. Vatican City wins on most social welfare, but not on women's health. It fails on freedom of conscience and scientific grounds. Freedom of religion is an individual, not a group, right.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has cause to sanction the United States for manifest reasons, not only for its conduct toward African Americans and Immigrants, but also for the evolving tyranny recently undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security, which has become an Interior Ministry in opposition to the rights of migrant and its citizens. Trump has his wish. He is emulating Putin. Secretary Pompeo's report is a cruel hoax, the kind expected of tyrannies.

Links for 7/21/20

Links for 7/21/20
Laura and her echo chamber are a mutually reinforcing train-wreck, best ignored. Look for allies, not idiots.

No one heard of the Cancel Culture until very recently. It is the same old thing and only important to advertising executives who are afraid of any controversy. Ask Gov. Northam how to survive it.

Gov. Hogan is likely answering donor requests from Baltimore County. He is as bought and paid for as Ingraham.

Dimon is one of the ones buying. My guess is that he is worried more about the financial markets and his bond investments than the economy at large, although making sounds of uncertainty may spur McConnell and Mnuchin to act in his interests.

Diabetes is correlated with heart attack disease among the elderly, who get SARS instead of dying of something else. The Pro-Life Activities Committee does not break the 11th Commandments, Thou Shalt Not Get Caught or Speak Ill of Another Republican. Fauci has been treating the New Cold like Ebola. It isn't. People are dying because it is so new that no one over a certain age has enough immunity to fight it off (his translation of Novelle was incorrect, it is new, not novel). As for Trump, he has no moral agency. Blame Pence.

Bishop McElroy's hopeful vision for a church transformed

Bishop McElroy's hopeful vision for a church transformed
Bishop Ramon's background as an itinerant laborer mirrors the desperate circumstances of the Lord and his family. He has been tried by fire and found solace in faith. This faith mirrors that of Jesus, who looked beyond the nation to the Samaritans and Gentiles. Would that all priests and bishops shared such a Christ-like formation. 

The uncertainty he lived is the uncertainty we now faith, as it is the Covid fear that is preventing people form seeking help and in following the science. That fear has been imposed from on high, with the best of intentions. It is a virus in itself that only faith can cure, and not faith in science. Mistakes in virus etiology have allowed Covid free reign. This is a secret that cannot be kept, so we must adopt a forgiving heart. The Church can lead us there in the way of Christ.

Cardinal Dolan, George Weigel and the fraudulence of the neocon project

Cardinal Dolan, George Weigel and the fraudulence of the neocon project
Neo-Conservatives are usually Jewish and were in favor of banning the bomb until the Soviet's supported the Palestinian cause, including stopping emigration to Israel. St. John Paul and his acolyte, George Weigel, were never in that camp. They cannot even be call neo-Trads, because neither ever supported Vatican II. Cardinal Dolan has his finger in the air. He is simply an opportunist who believes in Pope Dolan. He is not on the selection committee, he is the candidate. The only neo-conservative in the article is the author.

Links for 7/16/20

Links for 7/16/20
The reality is that the disease model being used is wrong. It starts with a cold, which could be headed off with saline solution or a Neti Pot at the first symptoms. Still, most are doomed, CDC guidance for nursing homes kills challenge-based immunity. Giving everyone a pneumonia vaccine may help, but the die is mostly cast.

This one is not on Trump, who is not psychologically capable of moral agency, which is a constitutional crisis. For things to work in the current climate, there is no link between who is elected and the deep state permanent government. As for impeachment, we tried that already, with predictable results. Short of accusing him of and proving treason, it was never going to happen,

Naumann and the entire Office of Pro-Life Activities are a Republican front group. Until this is understood, the illusion will continue that Democrats for Life could ever be relevant.

Administrative law run by the bishop(s) is still the fox in the chicken coop running things. Jesus was very clear of what he thought of gentile style leadership, and there is nothing more gentile than a feudalistic model.

The Federalist Society is all about making the states the focus of government, not just on social issues. State government is easily managed by both hierarchical churches and business elites. No one else cares to contribute or vote. In the Supreme Court, most votes supporting capitalism are unanimous because the law is capitalist.

Americans for Prosperity too, although a case can be made that, with UI, $1000 per week is a bit much. $750 is a better rate, but it should be permanent. AFP wants workers to be hungry so that capitalists can abuse them.

Hillary Clinton, as First Lady, went to China to decry the one child policy. A state that can outlaw abortion can also force it. Until you understand that, you are missing the point.

Note that, like the AFP, the pro-life movement on the right will not raise family wages. For them, the issue really is about controlling women and the poor economically and socially.

As I have been saying, Trump may win Wyoming. He will win the South and the Southwest. Down ballot too. We will either have a constitutional majority or a centrist democratic and a social democratic party The next decade will be a debate on the soul of the Left. So far, my view is that we need a better leftist model of politics, economics and religion. I have written more than a few books about how to do this (about a dozen).

The Elizabeth Warren economic hymnal is in Biden's pew

The Elizabeth Warren economic hymnal is in Biden's pew
Biden was already a social democrat. He has always worn it on his sleeve. Still, he does not hit you with it. Warren will be a good ally in the Senate, which can be won, but we need every seat. Her governor is a Republican. Two east candidates are an unbalanced ticket, as are two elder ones. While Black women like Warren, but Obama only voters want more representative candidates. Harris got out early, like Biden in 2008. Warren stayed in until the end. In another universe, Sanders could have endorsed Warren, Biden would have sit this one out and Mayor Pete would have realized that being mayor does not cut it. We don't live in that universe.

Links for 7/14/20

Links for 7/14/20
The entire history of America is told in hate speech in one form or another. Twitter just trades hoods and masks for anonymous screen names. The worst offenders often claim equality for themselves, but not for the "other." It is interesting which side is the most anonymous. There are some who one wish would stay that way. Anything to sell papers (and ads).

Doc Bitecofer has always said that negative partisanship cuts both ways. Trump will still lose Texas. The question is whether he will win Wyoming - although a settled race hardly sells papers. Biden seems to be running a 50 state campaign - or close to it. In Washington, we are treated to ads by the Lincoln project with ads targeted at Fox's audience of one. They work if Pence resigns - which messes with Doc's numbers in a big way. Biden needs to start running against Pence.

Time for Biden to build a big tent

Time for Biden to build a big tent
It is bad enough that the pro-life movement is vague on their demands. For Democrats for Life, its inexcusable. The Never-Trumpers in Northern Virginia were key to Biden's primary victory there. As long as Trump is on the ballot, they won't waiver. What they feel about Mike Pence is the question. It's an important question, given the fact that Trump v. Vance removes the shield of presidential immunity from Citizen Trump. This takes Senator Warren out of the VP race, period. She will still be an ally in the Senate, as the latest Biden jobs plan shows.

The Supreme Court is right. That's no excuse for the church to be wrong.

The Supreme Court is right. That's no excuse for the church to be wrong.
The Court wrongly put the religious freedom of the employer against the religious freedom of employees. The most the Little Sisters should be doing is stating that using contraception could be a mortal sin (it's not, but that is another argument). Title VII has a religious exemption, which the Court should have adhered to rather than playing see no evil.

That said, the faithful needed a wake-up call. They need to feel their power and use it. I said how in a post early yesterday morning. They should not rely on Canon Law that might have been either. Here is the Cliff Notes version:

This is just as well because it puts the onus on the Faithful to take control of the Church from the hierarchy. We cannot go to the government to clean our own house. We can use this as a moment of empowerment. Indeed, we must.

Don't Leave. Our baptisms are as valid as that of any bishop or priest. Defy. As much as possible, act as if the hierarchy is simply not there. Detail and Debate, but don't hate. Always treat clergy and the consecrated as brothers and sisters in Christ. Denounce. Even in love, we must remain firm. Deploy, Defund and Dethrone. Ultimately, we are responsible for the structure of the Church. Ancient and Medieval structures were products of their ages. We now live in the age of democracy. The key feature is that they operate with our consent. It is up to us to change the rules.

Links for 7/9/20

Links for 7/9/20
Fox News pays for crazy. I never watch it. Ditto for the RNC. Both are a College Republican convention run amok. Sadly, they have true believers and people who take them seriously. What is scary is that the President of the United States is one of them. He should not be taken seriously either. Not talking about him at all would be merciful to us all. If you talk about him, he wins. Vigano' too, although I still want to know how you contract trace a cold with a 4 week incubation period before lung symptoms manifest.

The PPP implementation shows a truism in government service. If you want some thing bad, you get it bad. The people giving out the money are likely not at all happy at what they were told to do. They don't have the luxury of ignoring idiocy.

Boogaloo Boys are likely behind taking down statues. Take them seriously. Read them their rights and contact trace them. I bet you will find a young Republican. Others are anarchists. I bet you will find a Jill Stein voter. They add the term "neo" to all things liberal and do not believe in discourse. It's why they have no traction. Trumpists beware - you have a similar fate.

The moral stakes of the economic crisis

The moral stakes of the economic crisis
Libertarianism has nothing to do with the pandemic. Indeed, a libertarian bias in science puts reality above organization. We could have used a bit of that in the beginning when the government scientists were insisting COVID-19 is not a cold. Thus, they did not add cold symptoms to the list of things to look for if someone is affected.

Unfortunately, it really does start in the nose and sinuses with sneezing, with post-nasal drip carrying it to the throat and lungs, where it grows unabated with no immune reaction (or symptoms). This is the time of non-symptomatic spread between the first sneeze and the first wheeze. The narrative did not acknowledge this and the mistake was not Trump's. Masks don't stop person to person transmission, although they may prevent some community transmission. Right now, they are false security and solidarity run amok.

The second mistake was closing down parts of the country where no sneezing had occurred. Thus, reopening happened too soon, aid was delivered too soon and is now running out. The 20-20 hindsight version of how this should have been done was individual three week quarantine after the first abnormal sneeze (if not four). Kids should not have been pulled from school. If a grandparent was living at home, their immune system was fine because they were exposed to what the kids had.

The third mistake is that the first aid package was too generous and not targeted to firms in hot zones that were made to shut down. Also, enhanced UI should have been $600 per month, rather than per week - maybe $850 tops. An additional stimulus payment of $1200 a month could be made to pay rent and keep Steve Mnuchin from having to default on the bonds that hold the liens on his LLC rental properties and those of his friends (one of whom is also in the Cabinet).

As it is, we are about to have a second wave of deaths responding to how the virus was going to move in the first wave anyway. Total deaths will be between 400,000 and 500,000. There is no cure and there will be no vaccine for what really is a cold. It only kills because most have no immunity to it, unless their immune systems are in high gear from fighting off other colds.

There will be a second round of funding as soon as Mnuchin realizes that his bonds will default and when the rising death toll starts to mimic New York (although it may or may not get to these levels) and the economy closes down again. Gone are the extreme PPE and rush to ventilate. There are now treatments which any asthmatic (like me) could have told you would work (they did for me). Sadly, many still have the heroes of SARS2 in their memories and consider it a death sentence. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Unless the medical community and their talking heads do a major 180 degree turn, the fatality rate will still be excessive.

We will now be faced with the East Coast having plenty of money and, if not shut down again, the ability to sell labor. The rest of the country will probably be locked down sometime this month. When the next big bailout comes the supply of labor and goods will be much less than the last shutdown. The term for this will be Hyper-Stagflation. Lots of money, less stuff. Grocery prices are already higher. You ain't seen nothing yet.

States will demand their disaster assistance payments now, without congressional grandstanding. Any states that do not have expanded Medicaid will hear about it from their hospitals. The ACA will not be repealed. Ending mandates does not demand repeal by judge any more than not penalizing states who did not enact expanded Medicaid.  Roberts will not let it die just yet.

The goal of repeal was always about reversing the unearned income surtax on the rich. Obama should have funded ACA with a broad based tax. Hitting just the top tax brackets while using student load usury to meet baseline objections, rather than enacting a broad based payroll or consumption tax are the reasons the program was endangered. The reason for the financing that occurred was cynical electoral politics. Hopefully, this crisis will lead to a better funding mechanism as part of Medicaid for All, a Public Option, Single-payer Catastrophic or whatever compromise results from this crisis.

Picketty's book

Commonweal did a book review of Picketty's new book. It cites median retirement savings at age 65 of $58K. The average is $193K according to the same source (Vanguard). Averages are always an inappropriate figure in income economics. This is because income is so skewed. White upper middle income retirees are among those with low AGI but high assets. The working class falls in the median.

There is another way to look at medians, that is, the median dollar. Our economy is so skewed that if you split up all adjusted gross income into two piles, 90% of tax filers would get one pile and the top 10% would get the other. The top 1% have 25% of income. Can it get any worse?

Much of that income is monopoly money. It mainly provides leverage to control workers and create sociopathic children, like Trump.

The top 2.5% of income means pays about half the income taxes, which means owing more than half the public debt. Aside from government held retirement trust funds, the rich also hold the vast majority of assets holding the public debt. This is why the wealthy always call for entitlement reform. They are in the hook for paying back the trust funds but get little of the benefit.

The solution to more fiscal equality is to take leverage over workers away from the rich by ending capitalism. That turns all that cash into toilet paper (which might be very valuable next week once SARS2 death rates come back with a vengeance).

And lets not forget race:

Links for 7/7/20

Links for 7/7/20
Picketty is hoping for a workers revolution calling for better social democracy, which preserves capitalism while leaving workers in their cage. Such demands are only possible when a vigorous worker revolution is on the table. Of course, if you can mobilize the masses, why stop at social democracy? The action is in cooperative control of the workplace, which the current crop of Marxists are pushing instead of a revolution. See the work of Richard Wolff, Gar Alperovitz and yours truly. Picketty's problem, however, is that he thinks that the wealth of the rich is real rather than leverage. And his wealth tax won't work.

We consult, rather than revolt. We are environmental. We are democratic socialists, rather than social democrats.  Of course I would never forswear politics. Never, ever. And I don't have an atheism problem.

Speaking of revolution, Putin and Xi are each inviting one. They key to success of such things is an active middle class which finally tires of authoritarian tyranny. Eventually, as in America and the United Kingdom, this class forms a kinder, gentler authoritarianism (unless you have brown skin). In China, the citizens of Hong Kong would be wise to move inland and become the yeast which will have Xi rule the day. Putin thinks he will live forever - but he is a second rate Brezhnev.

Trump thinks he is in the class of Putin. He is more a second rate Jefferson Davis, but without the charisma. At some point, McConnell will have to fish or cut bait. His leadership, his wife's job and his Senate seat are at risk. He is more like Brezhnev than Putin. Anyone who discounts the possibility of a Trump ouster is not paying attention.

Weigel's 'The Next Pope' has a crimped, Americanist vision of papacy

Weigel's 'The Next Pope' has a crimped, Americanist vision of papacy
I prefer Garry Wills to George Weigel any day of the week and twice on Sundays. George pines for the anachronistic Church which feared the Enlightenment. His book sounds like the Cliff Notes version of miniseries The Young Pope, which chronicles the mythical American Pope Pius XIII. Both are a waste of time.

Scholasticism is dead.  It's last gasps were the 5 Dubya and Veritatis Splendor. I tear down the encyclicals from Mirare Vos to Vertiatis in The Illuminati Respond to the Papal Anachorinists, which is 200 pages longer than Weigel's and is better reading.  The anachronists pine for the days when the people had no access to the scriptures. Those days are gone.

The heretic hunting of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith has been replaced with its atonement for the conspiracy of silence in dealing with the abuse of children. No longer do authors like me get the free advertising that condemnation brings. Pity that.

The Church of the future will not rely on the papacy, which according to the Third Secret of Fatima and St. Malachy, is fated to end. It will likely expand the Council of Cardinals to continental patriarchies (or even Matriarchies). Francis can only take us so far. For the Church to survive, it needs to go further. It certainly will not go backward. Church Militant and its sedevacantist fellow travelers are a dying breed. The counter-revolution of St. John Paul has ended.

Remember on July 4: Greatness comes from solidarity, shared sacrifice

Remember on July 4: Greatness comes from solidarity, shared sacrifice
There are two kinds of materialism - the kind which disregards the meta-physical and the kind that is a better cage for the working class. The United States started as a deist upper class project in 1776. 150 earlier, Massachusetts Bay was founded by Puritans who were upset that the Church England was getting too Catholic. Virginia was started as a mission of colonization. and fortune. They found it in tobacco and the trafficking of human flesh. The polity is now infected with the commodification of voters, with money buying negative advertisements tinged with propaganda.

And yet, we have people marching in the streets for the sake of a better polity. America is finally seeking salvation from its original sin of racism. It is demanding a better life, one where its youth is not enslaved by debt. This is what Democracy looks like. On its best days, democracy is the exercise of divinely granted free will in search of the good. It is where Aquinas meets the Enlightenment. Franklin said we can have a constitutional republic, if we can keep it. As long as we remember that, we have something to celebrate.

Links for 7/2/20

Links for 7/2/20
Real friends of Israel believe that it must become at least a secular, if not an ecumenical society where being either Christian or Muslim affords one the full rights and dignities of citizenship, including military service and positions in the Cabinet, including Prime Minister. That is the only solution the United States should be supporting. Anything less is as wicked as Jim Crow or Apartheid.

The President is only in touch with his Moscow masters. I suspect he is agnostic about the ACA but is throwing Moscow Mitch a bone. Expanded Medicaid is one step closer to a public option or Medicaid for All. All roads lead to Canada.

Colorado Republicans deserve what they get, which will be a Democratic member of Congress. If you are going down with the ship, make the most of it!

The opposite is true with putting Warren on the ballot, especially if Pence ends up with the nomination. The sane Republicans supporting Joe as an alternative to Trump may like Mike enough to come back, especially if Elizabeth is on the ticket.

Getting rid of Blaine was a no brainer, although the Church earned the scorn it attracted under Gregory XV and Pio Nono. If only the Pope would let me follow my grandfather into the Lodge. Masonic hats beat whatever the Knights are wearing any day. The bishops now need to grow up and realize that neither their opposition to Roe, nor the NEA's support of it make any difference whatsoever to its continued existence. See more at my Christian Left blog on Espinoza and state and local budgets.

Not being Trump and pinning Trump and pro-life extremism on Pence are enough to win in November. Everyone knows already that Joe stands with the working class. It is in his DNA. Pandering is not required. As for upward and downward class trajectories, Keynes said it best - in the long run, we are all dead.

To expect an Indiana bishop to keep his thumb off the scale in favor of the right-wing is definitely to seek miracles, especially if this is the bishop who went after a Jesuit high school for not firing a gay teacher who married his husband in a civil ceremony. Unless he fires all civilly married teachers, he is also a bigot. Indeed, the bishop should give the happy couple a Cathedral wedding. Times, they are a changing.

Pro-life cause stymied, but not because of court decision

Pro-life cause stymied, but not because of court decision
Incremental abortion legislation has one purpose, repealing Roe. One way to repeal Roe is to make abortion unattainable, because somehow, having abortion available is itself a moral failing and an invitation to divine retribution.

The deeper reality is that controlling women and controlling society are the same thing. If women are not behaving correctly, can society be preserved? Women have picked up on this, which is why the feminist defense of abortion rights is more truth than hyperbole.

The other method is the insane belief that just one more justice means repeal, which is the hole in the dike of federal due process supremacy that will allow states to again be the last word in all things racial, criminal and sexual, from controlling immigrants to banning consensual sodomy. This goal is unattainable. The language of state power is the logic behind Plessy. The Court will never retreat from federal supremacy and the pro-life movement is a scam to the extent that it does not recognize this.

Protecting the unborn is not and never was the issue. The issue is governmental power. As I wrote Saturday on my Christian Left blog, calling abortion murder and asserting an equal protection right for the unborn brings with it equal protection implications on who is punished and who is investigated. There are no "special murders" where ordering the act can evade punishment nor can investigating it shield all failed pregnancies from state scrutiny.

Chief Roberts rulings are not suspect. He votes on law, not policy. How free speech exists is a matter of law and equity. Requiring a redux on which states deserve prior review is helpful, because Ohio, North Dakota and Pennsylvania are now worthy of being added to the list. The other justices are more likely to vote on policy on both sides. Roberts seems to be the adult in the room.

The bishops certainly are not behaving as adults. The landmark abortion case this term was not June, it was Espinoza. Blaine Amendments are now dead letter law. Catholic schools can now seek funding, not only through vouchers, but directly. Doing so, however, has ramifications. As I wrote yesterday in that other blog, bishops need to behave as adults in dealing with legal abortion. It is not a political issue. Civil rights should never be.

There is no logic to not accept state money for parochial schools, which have become agents of inequality because only rich parishes can support them. The demand that such schools be open to unions is reasonable in order to get public funds and the objection that the unions support abortion is irrelevant. Neither supporting or opposing abortion has no impact on its legality. It never will.