Christian Civic Education | Capital Commentary

Christian Civic Education | Capital Commentary by Arlen Koppendrayer.  MGB: When I was in Catholic high school civics, we used a book and a course which mostly would have been the same as we would have had in public school.  Nothing theological intruded.  That was probably a good thing, as the teachers may have bristled.  I certainly had different opinions then.  They have even evolved since college.  I suspect that college and the Internet are more fertile places for such arguments, although I mostly don't argue with school friends on these topics, unless they themselves discuss them.  We keep it friendly instead.

Obama’s Journey from Oslo | Capital Commentary

Obama’s Journey from Oslo | Capital Commentary by John Carlson.  MGB: As I have said before, most presidents are presented with the options as they arise.  Moral vision often goes by the wayside.  Most arguments about vision v. realpolitick are best held in college class rooms and staff development seminars.  Unless we really push to expand our union to our allies and then the entire world as it develops into a more free society, we are stuck with a responsive foreign policy.

Incremental Immigration Reform: Give the Undocumented a Voice | Capital Commentary

Incremental Immigration Reform: Give the Undocumented a Voice | Capital Commentary by Julia K. Stronks.  MGB: I had not heard about ACHIEVE.  It might be a short term compromise until comprehensive reform gets done, or we simply do away with immigration regulation altogether.  I do fear, however, that anything which takes those who are abused by employers and ignored by police out of the shadows will be resisted by bad actors in the food and law enforcement/prison industries.

Thoughts on the Newtown Massacre | Capital Commentary

Thoughts on the Newtown Massacre | Capital Commentary by Aaron Belz.  MGB: Well done essay on Newtown. Let me underline that if we have a society that does not reach out to either help or prevent those who might perpetrate these evils, then the evil is in us, not them.

Stewardship and the Fiscal Cliff | Capital Commentary

Stewardship and the Fiscal Cliff | Capital Commentary by John E. Anderson.  MGB: The stewardship required is of man's resources, not God's - except to the extent that the current system rewards ownership of the work of others more than the actual workers themselves. Under any concept of justice, this cannot be allowed to continue. Long term tax reform should work to end THAT if it wants to conform to the teachings of Christ. This must always be remembered when addressing the taxation of dividends and capital gains and how much tax is paid on these items.

Reflections on Justice from Hurricane Sandy | Capital Commentary

Reflections on Justice from Hurricane Sandy | Capital Commentary by Joanna Stephens.  MGB: On Sandy, we must also be concerned with efficiency and effectiveness - not to be accusatory but to always improve. I also agree that there are very real environmental justice issues on the possibility that global warming may bring us this type of storm on a more regular basis.

Cliff Notes from the Edge | Capital Commentary

Cliff Notes from the Edge | Capital Commentary by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: As Christians, we must fundamentally champion the needs of the poor, both for redistributive justice through adequate family pay (even if it involves tax subsidies) and restorative justice through education of those who were not reached by the educational system in their youth - both male and female.  I'm not sure the last minute compromises to avert the fiscal cliff will help that.  Indeed, the atheists who support more for the poor in the socialist movement believe we should go off the cliff so that everyone pays more taxes with no service cuts.  They may have something there.

The Environmental “Cliff” | Capital Commentary

The Environmental “Cliff” | Capital Commentary by Stephen E. Meyer.  MGB: Technology caused the problem and it will likely solve the problem.  I am a bit more sanguine on the possibility that someone will invent a new power source that will have a lower carbon footprint.  Helping governments facilitate these advances is a good role for Christians.

Peering into the Bird’s Nest of Public Service Unions | Capital Commentary

Peering into the Bird’s Nest of Public Service Unions | Capital Commentary by Brian Dijkema.  MGB: Public sector unions only survive as long as there is  public sector.  If we shift services to families to employers or private sector institutions, the current membership of public sector unions will  join private sector employee-owners, who should retain a union structure in the future, not to bargain with management, but to represent members in corporate decision making in a more socialized workplace.

Sad Christmas Songs Say So Much | Capital Commentary

Sad Christmas Songs Say So Much | Capital Commentary by Aaron Belz.  MGB: Sad Christmas songs help bring about catharsis that may help the depression of shortening of the days.  As for the fiscal cliff, most families can handle a little tax increase - rather than a smaller subset feeling the pain of deep budget cuts.  Sadly, this crisis does not seem to be useful in coming to a longer term agreement on tax and spending policy.  The GOP must soon realize that they will have to submit, as Obama has a far better hand.

A More Inclusive Republican Vision | Capital Commentary

A More Inclusive Republican Vision | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: I don't see how either Ryan or Rubio departed much from the standard GOP message that did not do so well this year.  Ryan seems to think that just because solutions are better at the local level, that this does not mean that some type of mandatory financing is not still necessary.  Indeed, it is much more expensive to education TANF clients than to teach them to be a nursing assistant.

Why Nunn-Lugar Matters | Capital Commentary

Why Nunn-Lugar Matters | Capital Commentary by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson.  MGB: Let's hope it does not mean he wants to keep the nukes.

Faith and Corporate Social Responsibility | Capital Commentary

Faith and Corporate Social Responsibility | Capital Commentary by Michael MacLeod.  MGB: Investing in funds is a partial solution.  It is now time for Christians to look toward enabling worker cooperative ownership of their workplaces.  This can be done through more concentrated union pension fund investing or through diverting a portion of social insurance to the purchase of employer voting stock.  Employee owned firms could then do more for their employees on the consumer side, as well as on the production side, including providing education, finance and even housing.  That kind of radical action is more in the spirit of the Church of the Apostles.

The Fragile Path toward Peace | Capital Commentary

The Fragile Path toward Peace | Capital Commentary by Mary E. Black.  MGB: Gaza needs to be ceded to Egypt.  I don't see any path in which the citizens of Gaza can be integrated into the Jewish state, even if it were secularized.  As for the lack of room for discussion - it is easier to be a peace advocate in Israel than to say anything politically against the Jewish State in the United States - including in private conversation.  In the end, there must either be a two state solution with the Arab portion of Israel united in one contiguous nation or incorporated into a larger Hashemite Kingdom (which would also rule Syria, Lebanon and Iraq) OR peace in Israel in a secular state which honors Torah provisions about welcoming the alien (although I suspect most Palestinians are Samaritans who converted to Christ and then Islam) so that the Ark of the Covenant can be returned from Axum, where it now resides.

Winner Take All or Splitting the Difference: Lessons from Switzerland | Capital Commentary

Winner Take All or Splitting the Difference: Lessons from Switzerland | Capital Commentary by David T. Koyzis.  MGB: In looking at basic reform, I would suggest regional government, with each region having roughly the same electoral voting strength, a regional Vice President and two Senators from reach region.  Much of domestic government, as well as domestic civil and military spending, would occur at this level, with the national executive (elected by the Vice Presidents and Senators) dealing with diplomatic and military issues, monetary and larger fiscal policy (mainly advising the regions on taxing and spending levels), protecting civil rights at all levels of government and industry and the advancement of science - from building a better electric car to space to medical research.  The POTUS would be selected every two years while RVPs and Senators would have six year terms, with all having a twelve year limit.

Could the Syrian Civil War Spread? | Capital Commentary

Could the Syrian Civil War Spread? | Capital Commentary by Paul S. Rowe.  MGB: I did not think expansion was possible. This article changed my view.  I still believe, however, that the end of this crisis lies in the return of the Hashemite Dynasty to Damascus to lead a federation of democratic countries in the region, from Lebanon to border of Iran and including the Palestinian portion of an Israeli two-state solution (with Gaza going to Egypt).

Why Stagnation? | Capital Commentary

Why Stagnation? | Capital Commentary by Steven E. Meyer.  MGB: Stagnation is extremely good for fundraising, which is why it continues.  Until one party becomes so obstructionist that it will sign up to no compromise, which now seems to be the case with the Republicans, the system is in equilibrium.  Now is the time for a new party to emerge, and it should work on a new social contract - however, I would prefer that it focus on the economic contract and look to more radical solutions on both employee-ownership of the workplace as well as employer provided services to replace those aspects of the State that are in constant contention.  This appeal to sphere sovereignty should definitely include the Evangelical Center at CFPJ.

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary by Bryon Borger. MGB: E.J.'s book is on my shelf at home in books to be read.  Reviews welcome in the comment section.

Hope in the Face of the Fiscal Cliff | Capital Commentary

Hope in the Face of the Fiscal Cliff | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: Sequestration is only on the table if they kick a deal on taxes down the road.  It does not make sense to describe both of these taking place automatically.  If a deal were made on taxes, the sequester would be cancelled.  Only if the tax part can't be agreed to will the sequester take effect.  Additionally, it is not the case that tax increases always increase revenue.  Indeed, when Clinton raised taxes on just the wealthy, growth went up.  In addition, if most workers were to face a tax increase, most employers would offset it with an increase in gross wages.  No one likes an under-motivated workforce.

Suicide and Narrow Social Agendas | Capital Commentary

Suicide and Narrow Social Agendas | Capital Commentary by Jack Hanke.  MGB:  This is a well done treatment of the issue.  From a Catholic perspective, St. Thomas More actually included assisted suicide in his Utopia.  As for abortion and gay marriage, they are not really political issues because the determination of rights is with judicial bodies, not legislatures, and these bodies must be impartial rather than reflecting the beliefs of the appointing officials.  Mostly this is the case, much to the aggravation of the general public (and the delight of those who make money off of people who think the political system can provide a different answer).  The question of suicide brings up a profound theological question - does God have needs and rights or is the whole of morality an act of Love for the good of mankind?  If you believe in a perfect God, I think the answer must be that morality is a gift and must ultimately be humanistic - not from a selfish base but a humanism designed by a loving Creator.  The Catholic myth used to be that human suffering added to the merits of Christ, which is hubris designed to both sell indulgences and extract obedience to the hierarchy.  It is on the order of the pride of Lucifer in his music, which he believed exceeded the merits of Christ.  Since the merits of Christ are infinite, they cannot be added to at all, even by someone dying a painful death.  Dying in the face of persecution is meritorious.  Suffering to find God is equally meritorious to find grace, but once you are in grace, it serves no purpose.

Bringing Order. Establishing Justice. Treating Water. | Capital Commentary

Bringing Order. Establishing Justice. Treating Water. | Capital Commentary by Katie Tarara.  MGB: The fall of man and the New Jerusalem are both myths, not histories and predictions.  They both identify human weakness and our utter reliance on the power of God, both here and hereafter.  Just as there is no Republican or Democratic way to pay for and run a sewer, there is not a secular or Christian way.  Most are simply public enterprises which run on fees.  Indeed, if there were a Christian way to run a water authority, the poor would not be charged at all.

The Xenophobia of Argo | Capital Commentary

The Xenophobia of Argo | Capital Commentary by Josh Larsen.  MGB: I had no desire to see this over dramatization.  There has already been a movie about this that was quite good.  No need to do another one to gin up war fever.

Christian Politics as Critical Loyalty? | Capital Commentary

Christian Politics as Critical Loyalty? | Capital Commentary by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: Sadly, both so-called Orthodox Catholics and Mega-church Evangelicals have gotten so wrapped up in Republican politics and wedge issues that they have put politics before Christ.  This will not end well for them, as is obvious in this week's USCCB meeting.

Questions on Christians and Politics | Capital Commentary

Questions on Christians and Politics | Capital Commentary by Stephanie Summers.  MGB: We must first recognize that we have a lot of work to do on rebuiliding the American community.  The re-election of America's first president of African origin has awakened a conversaton on race that was thought to have been buried.  Before we do anything, we must cope with this, as it has never been settled, only removed from polite conversation.  It is now time to speak up.  No conversation about sphere sovereignty can exist if those who use governmental services are thought to be "the other" when that is not actually the case, as our current economy shows.

Post-Election Cooperation: The Opportunity of a Fresh Start | Capital Commentary

Post-Election Cooperation: The Opportunity of a Fresh Start | Capital Commentary by Michael J. Gerson. MGB: I suspect that many of the Tea Party firebrands in the House will be chastened by the fact that without gerrymandering, they would not have been back.  This may strenghten the position of the Speaker in forging a grand bargain with the President.  I do not fear the Fiscal Cliff, as many employers who are sitting on large cash reserves may simply raise wages in order to keep employees once tax rates return to Clintonian levels.  Should there be no extension of the Bush cuts, the need for a sequester ends and it can be dispensed with.  The fact that for most people, the fiscal clilff may really be harmless will force the Republicans to deal on taxes, which should not be hard as the Romney position and the Simpson-Bowles position are not far from each other.  I am sure the revenue committees, which are traditionally more non-partisan, will hammer something out to be passed either during the lame duck or soon after the start of the new fiscal year.

Why There Are No Women Voters and No Women’s Issues | Capital Commentary

Why There Are No Women Voters and No Women’s Issues | Capital Commentary by Lauren Swayne Barthold and Brian Glenney.  MGB: There are women's issues because many in the society and especially in the Church, treat women differently.  If women could be ordained in all church ministries in all Churches and were never denied equal pay, gender would not be an issue.  While it is, there certainly are women voters - although in some nations, even this is a recent phenomenon.

Whitman: “I am with you, and know how it is.” | Capital Commentary

Whitman: “I am with you, and know how it is.” | Capital Commentary by Aaron Belz.  MGB: I think Romney's most obnoxious comment was what he quoted from his father, that you should not go into politics if you need to work to make a mortgage payment.  While it is good advice, it is classist and shows a disdain for those of us who do have to work and are still political.

Evaluating Abortion in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Evaluating Abortion in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Mary Crotwell-Kirtley.  MGB: First off, abortion is not really an issue - as the abortion law is based on constitutional principles, not legal enactment.  It is unlike what our European partners have done by legalizing abortion by statute.  No one ever passed it at the federal level and the states are not allowed to act - so the biggest reform in the debate is to stop calling it an abortion law at all. Abortion is not an issue because there is no reasonable bill on the table and no likelihood that either Roe will be overturned (as Alito and Roberts refused to when given the opportunity in hearing the partial birth abortion case) or that a human lilfe amendment will be passed.  While Congress could extend person-hood to an earlier time, that time should not be conception and probably can't be any time before the end of the first trimester, as the prevalence of miscarriages in that time adds very real complications to making first trimester embryos legal people.  Any bill that includes bans on criminal investigation of miscarriage will likely give Planned Parenthood such a big exemption that the ban would be useless and no one seems to want to penalize mothers for seeking such services, which is impossible under equal protection principles in the criminal law (unless all murders for hire are made legal).  Likewise, tort relief would complicate malpractice insurance worse than it already is and lead to the denial of first trimester care by most providers at the behest of insurers.  Of course, exempting the first trimester and any abortion for the life or health of the mother (given a negative prognosis for the pregnancy it is unsafe to continue one which is doomed prior to birth) will cause the pro-life base to revolt (although the Democrats would surely accept it - and might enact it this next term to stop the debate).  If abortion is not an issue under real consideration, no politician's opinion on it is at all important.  Period.  Stop.  End the discussion.

Religious Freedom in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Religious Freedom in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Stanley Carlson-Thies.  MGB: The contraception mandate is an overblown issue, because it has been required of all people with third party insurance since December 2000 when the insurance covers preventative care.  This includes some Catholic agencies - who likely provided such care even earlier (I know Catholic Charities USA did).  We vote morally because God gives us the freedom of choice as individuals to do so.  That is where our rights are expressed.  I find it odd that the Catholic Church is using a Freedom argument to restrict the options of its non-Catholic employees - or even its Catholic employees who disagree with them.  This is an employee rights matter and the Church is on the wrong side compared to its prior positions on employee rights and freedoms.  It needs to walk what it talks on this issue and respect the moral judgment of its employees.  As for the immigrant case, it was badly botched - possibly with Valerie Jarrett's urging, however the Church should have protested the grant announcement before submitting its bid.  These are not political questions, however, but judicial ones - as is marriage equality especially.  The liberties of the few are not subject to the whims of the many in a society that calls itself free.  That especially includes the right to marry.  Indeed, if you modernize the text from both Genesis and Mark on what a family is meant to be as a separation from the parents and a cleavage to the other as one person, the biblical understanding should favor, rather than object to gay marriage, since the alternative is the legal infantalization of gays and lesbians and a denial of their rights to form the families of their choice.  Churches mainly resist this because they know that largely gay clergies will gladly bless such unions - and may indeed prefer them rather than join a celibate priesthood.

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary by Byron Borger.  MGB: Post-election reading, although the piece on religious freedom might have been useful to the discussions on contraception last spring. Of course, if Obama wins, the topic will still have currency.

How Should We Vote? | Capital Commentary

How Should We Vote? | Capital Commentary by Paul Brink.  MGB: I would add, and give a fairly high value to, voting respectfully of the moral freedoms of others.  We should avoid to the greatest extent possible the making of choices on personal morality of others - especially when imposing public morality makes a police state necessary.  This is especially the case in the War on Drug (Users).  On the other hand, we should also vote communally so that some kind of group solution is possible when individuals cannot provide for themselves - and not just when due to poverty. The provision of both health care and education are usually too much for any family to bear in any year, so pooling in some cooperative way - whether it be private or public - is a necessity for society.  We must also vote for peace (which is part of voting biblicly - as is voting communally).

Education Policy & the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Education Policy & the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Dr. Ted Williams III.  MGB: The issue of school choice could largely be settled if a requirement to receive funds under the program were some kind of teacher representation, if not outright unionization.  This might do the teachers unions some good, since it would mean that not every local would be dominated by Democratic Party politics - which is a particular Republican concern.  Breaking the power of the NEA and ATF is part of the Republican educational agenda and this is an essential fact of education policy that must be noted.  As for improving education - until under-served parents are paid to undertake remedial education, whether it is for English literacy or remediation to replace welfare reform - there is not much else that will work.

How Big Is Too Big? | Capital Commentary

How Big Is Too Big? | Capital Commentary by Stephen V. Monsma.  MGB: There is a difference between stupid libertarianism and smart libertarianism. Stupid libertarians believe that if only government were ended, people would do the right thing as free people. Smart libertarians first develop non-governmental alternatives, such as a private law practice to fund suits against polluters, coordinated institutions to raise money for PEPFAR, business associations to do non-governmental standard setting so the government does not have to and a living wage in employee owned companies so that each family can afford an additional child (with a tax redistribution scheme to make sure it happens in firms which don't).


As for abortion, the question is not whether liberals favor abortion rights but whether the conservatives have any well developed proposals (or even a vision statement) to actually change the status quo (they really don't). On contraception, this was a stunt on both sides, considering that policies that include preventative care have all included contraception since 2000 according to EEOC regulations. All that is changing is the copayment.

Republican Arguments for Social Mobility and the Common Good | Capital Commentary

Republican Arguments for Social Mobility and the Common Good | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: The problem is not so much current K-12 schools.  Usually when Republicans mention these, they are about to attack teacher unions.  The real problem is that the parents of low income schools have deficient educatons.  Educating them rather than training them for low wage jobs or prison industries will yield stronger results.  While Catholic schools can certainly play a part in that (although they have been decidedly absent from the adult education, votech world), massive reform is necessary to undo what Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton agreed on in 1997.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters, Part III: Democracy in Tunisia | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters, Part III: Democracy in Tunisia | Capital Commentary by Chris Seiple.  MGB: We need to send representatives who are either Muslim or who have the respect of Muslims.  General Wes Clark comes to mind as a special emissary for both MED and Afghanistan-Pakistan.

Honoring God on Election Day and Beyond | Capital Commentary

Honoring God on Election Day and Beyond | Capital Commentary by Amy E. Black.  MGB: A good tool for voting is partisanship, as the electoral slate of candidates from a party share views on a variety of issues and are supported by a constituency which also agrees on these views.  If you are still unsatisfied with the mix of views and cannot support any one party, then the necessary next step is working with others who share your views to establish one, as there are likely others who share your views.  This seems to be the next step in the Christian Democratic movement in the United States, which might be the lynch pin in bringing in both the Libertarians and the Greens into a single coalition.  This will be easier as the Republican Party moves toward minority status of aging white mailes.

Environmental Policy in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary

Environmental Policy in the 2012 Presidential Election | Capital Commentary by Rusty Pritchard.  MGB: The biggest burden comes from cars and until a reasonable alternative is found, people won't give up their gas guzzlers.  Luckily, one is avaiable.  We could create a system of electric cars powered from overhead lines which also control their routing using existing technology with far fewer emission sources.  If hydorelectric and nuclear are maximized, this could be done with zero emissions.  Until oil is actually gone, however, there will be no movement in this direction absent truly bold leadership.  Neither technocrat in the race will go that far.

Religion, Abortion and the Role of Government | Capital Commentary

Religion, Abortion and the Role of Government | Capital Commentary by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: The author misses the point on why abortion is legal.  Privacy applies to a relationship to which no third person is a party, that person being the child, because the child is not recognized as a person before the law.  Until the movement puts forward a cogent proposal to change that status, there is no real issue to discuss on abortion.  More in keeping with a Christian Democratic soluton, supportive care to parents can be provided to not only get through the pregnancy, but to support the child until maturity without the parents having to give up their future - necessitating a much more robust program of income support than is currently customary in the United States - although it is quite common in European democracies.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part II: Dialogue with Islamists and Salafis | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part II: Dialogue with Islamists and Salafis | Capital Commentary by Chris Sieple.  MGB: In the end, when dealing with traditionalists, one must address the question of the role of egotism in religious practice - a belief that you are doing something to meet the needs of God, which cannot be true.  Islam is actually better on this question because of its attitude of surrender to God - however to go the next step of imposing external order in God's name is an extreme act of egotism because it implies that God needs us to do his bidding - just as Satan thought that his worship was supreme to the worship of Jesus because Jesus took the form of a mortal.  All that God does for us is for our benefit, not for His.  That kind of humility is necessary to address why we have moved away from religiously insprired law to mandate conformity within the law, with police structures to enforce them rather than moral suasion. 

Principles for Health Care Policy: A Guide for Voters | Capital Commentary

Principles for Health Care Policy: A Guide for Voters | Capital Commentary by Leah Anderson.  MGB: The bottom line is that no part of Obamacare should be repealed unless something of sufficient detail is passed in its place.  I suspect that because Obamacare is based on Romneycare, the universe of changes will be small.  What is telling about this debate is that Romney states that its main fault is that it taxes the middle class too heavily.  As far as we know, however, the only real tax increase is an expansion of Hospital Insurance taxes and an additional health care levy on non-wage (or unearned) income for families making more than $250,000.  If this is Romney's idea of being middle class, it is very telling on how he sees society, since one must be in the top 2% of taxpayers to make that much money.  That may be middle class in Romney's neighborhood - however others call that at least well-off if not simply wealthy.

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part I: Democracy Matures from Within | Capital Commentary

Evangelical-Islamist Encounters on the Frontlines of Change, Part I: Democracy Matures from Within | Capital Commentary by Chris Seiple.  MGB: Wise words in a world dominated by the 24-hour news cycle (with al Jazeera being no exception).

Election Guide 2012: Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary

Election Guide 2012: Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary by Ruth Melkonian-Hoover.  MGB: Determining Romney's position on any issue is a dubious exercise and sadly he appears in part to be pandering to his base.  This issue really has some teeth in more local races for House, Senate and state government offices.  It is largely where the parties differentiate themselves regardless of the top of the ticket.  Efforts by the GOP to torn back the hands of time will not bear fruit in either the short or long term, in much the same way that their attempts at voter ID as voter suppression will also fall flat with voters, particularly Latinos.

French-style Polarization in the U.S.? | Capital Commentary

French-style Polarization in the U.S.? | Capital Commentary by David T. Koyzis.  MGB: The biggest dividing line is not so much religion as age.  While there are certainly young trads and Randians and old liberals, by and large the split in the culture and the seismic shift in social relations is on the lines of age.  Religion will, of course, survive, but it will not be organized along the models the old hierarchs cling to, especially in the Catholic Church.

The Case for the Crime Victims’ Rights Amendment | Capital Commentary

The Case for the Crime Victims’ Rights Amendment | Capital Commentary by Mark D. Jansen.  MGB: A VRA seems like a good idea, which I support.  I wouild also add, however, an advocate for the well-being (rather than the victory) of the offender and the option to include a response (not defense) of guilty by reason of insanity (to include drunkenness), where the offender is sentenced to treatment for the same period as the minimum sentence for the crime or until recovery is in place (whichever comes last).  Under such a schema, most cases would never actually come to trial and the tort and criminal proceedings could be negotiated and concurrent.

Campaign Outreach to Religious Voters | Capital Commentary

Campaign Outreach to Religious Voters | Capital Commentary by Kimberly H. Conger.  MGB: The interesting aspect of religious outreach this year is that it points to a fault line between what religious leaders and people in the pews think about both contraception and marriage equality.  I suspect that Chicago has decided that picking a fight with leaders would be counter-productive, so past voters are being targeted as such rather than with a religious angle.  Bishops and pastors would be wise to not stress these issues this time, because they may have more to lose than Obama, who seems likely to win given the Electoral College math.  Of course, such a discussion may actually do some sects some good if they create a vocal prophetic response on these issues.

Accommodating Faith-Based Organizations in HIV/AIDS Services | Capital Commentary

Accommodating Faith-Based Organizations in HIV/AIDS Services | Capital Commentary by Stanley Carlson-Thies.  MGB: One other fact is important.  Condoms in Africa are often bad - meaning that they are allowed to sit on docks awaiting customs clearance in the hot sun until they lose their effectiveness.  The objection can be made on practical grounds without picking a fight over religious freedom.  The real answer in Africa is to provide economic opportunity and education to young girls so they no longer have to resort to prostitution.

Addressing the Opportunity Gap | Capital Commentary

Addressing the Opportunity Gap | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: I very much agree.  Sadly, policies on crime and welfare have sent many working class fathers to jail and mothers to low wage jobs.  Even paying welfare mothers to stay home, as long as they keep their kids out of trouble, is better than letting adolescents lose on the streets.

The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: A Just Conflict? | Capital Commentary

The Chicago Teachers’ Strike: A Just Conflict? | Capital Commentary by Brian Dijkema.  MGB: I completely disagree about the justice of the Chicago teachers' strike.  It is all about justice - as the Chicago teachers are being held to account for the poor performance of students when such performance is highly correlated with the family economics of the students.   To put in plainly, unless we also teach the parents and pay them for their educational time (to cover their opportunity costs) it is certainly possible to train the children, but it is most difficult.  There is also some question as to how such standardized tests are conducted.  For example, in Virginia, the learning objectives for the math test were not released until March.  The Reading objectives for the May test for next year will not be released until next March.  These are hardly fair tests and some of us believe that this is done to sabotage union pay to make up for budget shortfalls.  Such subterfuge is not worthy of either a free society or an ostensibly Christian one, especially if the goal is to move people to for-profit charter schools.

Hope in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Capital Commentary

Hope in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | Capital Commentary by Stephen B. Monsma  MGB: Unity of the Israeli Arabs and the Palestinians must indeed be part of the solution, although I find it hard to imagine that a just God would allow the Ark of the Covenant (which the Ethiopian Coptic Church claims is in their possession in Axum) will ever be returned or the temple restored until justice is granted to the Arabs.  Further, unless we can find history of a massive Arab migration, it is likely that today's Palestinian Arabs are yesterdays Palestinian Christians who were both Jew and Samaritan before they accepted Christ, and before that they were people of the Northern Kingdom and were originally Canaanite.  Once this common ancestry is realized, peace should be easy to achieve.

Waiting for Superman—and Self-Sacrifice—in Public Education | Capital Commentary

Waiting for Superman—and Self-Sacrifice—in Public Education | Capital Commentary by Ron Larsen.  MGB: I am struck by the need not so much for self-sacrifice as justice.  Many teachers don't want to be held accountable for test scores which are highly correlated with family poverty, especially when that family poverty makes their entire school district poorer.  We must always remember that justice is not charity and that doing justice cannot be left to volunteerism.

Wrapping Opportunity in the Flag | Capital Commentary

Wrapping Opportunity in the Flag | Capital Commentary by Michael Sherratt.  MGB: There are many who consider the Democrats and Republicans part of a well funded duopoly, with cosmetic differences on issues like abortion put forward to make sure that a hidden oligarchy is in real control of the country.  Whether this is true or not depends on how the system responds to fundamental change from either side.  So far, it does not look good.

Justice for the Cyborg: The Policy Implications of Robotic Prosthetics | Capital Commentary

Justice for the Cyborg: The Policy Implications of Robotic Prosthetics | Capital Commentary by Jason Summers.  MGB: I don't think the level of enhancement in technology is relevant to whether someone who is dependent on the technology is owed some level of protection for their condition - if only because most technologies are prone to occasional failure, as biological systems are as well.  The important factor is what is good for the person, even from a community perspective.  We should all have the desire to ameliorate human suffering, even if it takes unconventional forms.

The Question is Government, Not Personalities | Capital Commentary

The Question is Government, Not Personalities | Capital Commentary by James Skillen.  MGB: Proportional representation is particularly good at combating apathy, which is very much a problem at local levels and a bit less so at the national level - and it would empower better congressional district boundary drawing so that no party may maintain their majorities by gerrymandering, as both attempt to do. I suspect that this year, the idea of a party running together, at least on the one side, is about to fall apart as it will be every candidate for himself or herself.  While candidate personalities are important, so is the team they surround themselves with - and I cannot foresee trusting the trailing candidates staff to govern, especially in the Patriot Act era.  Indeed, how a candidate staffs says a lot about the candidate himself, which goes back to their personality.

Individuality or Community: A False Choice | Capital Commentary

Individuality or Community: A False Choice | Capital Commentary by Harold Heie. MGB: While the Democrats clearly are not as bad at pursuing community, they also bow to Mammon a bit too much than is good for the polity at large.  It is why we need a Christian Democratic or Christian Libertarian - or maybe a Christian Democratic Libertarian - alternative that honors all of human dignity.

Rights, Regulation and Human Dignity | Capital Commentary

Rights, Regulation and Human Dignity | Capital Commentary by Paul Brink.  MGB: In the cases cited, the instigator of the violence was clearly mentally unbalanced - not in such a way that removed culpability or made the person entirely dysfunctional - but enough to be seen as dangerous.  Likewise, many who die in gun violence do so because of suicide or because they are either drinking and kill loved ones while enraged or are committing crimes in relation to either the drug trade or to obtain money to buy drugs.  Looking toward gun regulation is not nearly as fruitful as looking at how difficult it has made to intervene on people having mental health crises or addiction issues - which often demand criminality, surrender or complete dysfunction for any action to occur.  I submit we need to make it easier to provide care against one's wishes if we want to make any progress in these areas.  This is where the paradox of freedom is starkest - how free can anyone be if they are locked in mental dysfunction?

Should We Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff? | Capital Commentary

Should We Jump Off the Fiscal Cliff? | Capital Commentary by Prof. Todd Steen.  MGB: The automatic spending cuts and the already booked defense cuts resulting from the end of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars were meant to be offsets for making a portion of the Bush tax cuts permanent for the middle and working classes.  The problem is that one party refused to do so.  It was never intended to let all the tax cuts expire and do spending cuts as well.  While some entitlement cuts may be made, they are mostly designed to preserve the Medicare Part B and D programs by raising premiums or paying for increases by booking cost savings implicit in health care reform but which were not able to be estimated when the Law was passed.  This leaves the question of increased revenues from either a consumption tax, higher taxes on the wealthy or some combination of the two (possibly with working class families not having to file taxes at all in the future while still getting a child tax cut as a benefit through employers).

The question of who is really responsible for paying back future debt is crucial to answering the question.  As it stands now, the debt is backed by the ability to do an income tax - with the payment of those taxes being skewed to the rich.  Therefore, temporary tax cuts in a deficit environment can be seen as a future income tax increase.  Using a consumption tax to pay down debt is self-defeating, because it shrinks the economy where income taxes do not - especially on dividends and capital gains.  Indeed, the current low levels of these taxes give an implicit incentive to cut labor costs and have corporate management be rewarded with either stock or wage bonuses to pocket some (if not most) of the savings (as it can be argued that labor costs savings have no impact on the need to pay normal dividend returns).  If you buy the logic of these statements, the way forward is clear - even to wealthier taxpayers - since it is not all of our children who bear the burden of the debt, but primarily the children of the debt.  It is all of us who work or want to work, however, who bear the burden of tax cuts on the rich.

By the way, the answer is that, yes, we should jump.  Employers will make up the income loss to taxes for most working families and the rich will simply pay.

First Principles and the Election | Capital Commentary

First Principles and the Election | Capital Commentary by Prof. William Edgar.  MGB: Missing from the sphere sovereignty discussion is economics and the workplace, which is where the interesting discussions about both control and property occur. That is why the birth control question is hard.  The question of gay marriage is where the spheres of religion, family and the government meet.  Ultimately, the right to marry is the right to form a family - and if individuals are sovereign in making families, then they can certainly call those families marriages and insist the other spheres do so as well.  To treat some families as legitimate and some as not is a problem - as the rights of the spouse in dealing with the family of origin of their partner should know no gender distinction - they are absolute whether it is a wife in dealing with her husband's family, a husband dealing with his wife's family, a husband dealing with his husband's family and a wife dealing with her wife's family.  I can't lay it out any more simply than that.  The teachings in both testaments about spouses being of one flesh apply equally here - even though that was not contemplated when that particular passage was written in Genesis during the exile, or by the Gospel writers in the first century.  The underlying truth still remains and we can claim it as coming from God.  It had nothing to do with sexuality and everything to do with spousal rights - and still does.

The Deep Divide | Capital Commentary

The Deep Divide | Capital Commentary by Aaron Belz.  MGB: How poetry is ultimately subversive.  That is why prophets often write in verse.  Possibly they simply started as poets.

The Failure of Partisan Approaches to Economic Opportunity | Capital Commentary

The Failure of Partisan Approaches to Economic Opportunity | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: Tax policy is the nexus of the problems in the labor market. When taxes on the return on investment (dividends and capital gains) are too low, as they are now, determined efforts are made to cut labor costs to reward investors - leading to personal rewards for CEOs (either through stock, dividend or wage compensation).  The higher the tax, the less the incentive.  Given anemic wage growth since the Bush tax cuts, reversing these is the first step in recovery, especially at the higher end.  The second is to increase tax benefits for families (the one thing Bush did well).  We need to consolidate such tax benefits into one place (including the mortgage interest deduction) so there is an explicit incentive to do more in terms of family support (which also solves our demographic issues in Social Security in the long term).  Such tax reform could also be used to channel money directly to private accredited schools and health care - so that available public services increase without increasing government.

Elections for Sale | Capital Commentary

Elections for Sale | Capital Commentary by Ray Clouser.  MGB: The important thing to remember about Citizens United is that rights circumscribe governmental powers.  The Court was not glorifying the plutocracy, as some contend.  They were saying that imposing power over their speech is a dangerous step that could yield more power to the state.

The answer is not to increase the power of the state over speech but to decrease the power of wealth over society, particularly in the area of employment. Empowering workers to own and control their own companies so that the wealthy can no longer "buy them" would solve a myriad of problems and would not do violence to the Constitution.

Rising above the Rights-based Abortion Debate | Capital Commentary

Rising above the Rights-based Abortion Debate | Capital Commentary by Michelle Crotwell Kirtley. MGB: First all, privacy is about autonomy, not just confidentiality - just to be clear.  Much of the debate is undertaken as if this is a legislative issue. It is not unless the Congress acts to extend personhood to some stage earlier than birth, which is what is in the plain language of the Constitution.  Doing that is not exactly easy if you want to go anywhere into the first trimester and help out embryos (you were only a fetus in the second trimester), largely because miscarriages are common and making miscarried embryos legal individuals is problematic if your only way to stop abortion is to make them people.  Making embryos people means abortion cannot be treated as a prohibited medical procedure but some form of homicide, with punishments accruing to all involved and an expansion of tort liabilities as well.  Any exemptions to treating miscarried and aborted embryos differently will not stand the test of equal protection, just as treating embryos recognized under law differently than children will not either.  Exemptions to investigation will simply allow providers to keep going as they currently do.  Dodging the question, however, means that 90% of abortion occur as present and many of the other 10% will be covered by exemptions for the life and health of the mother (the latter if the fetus is essentially doomed by defects - although Downs babies will be saved).  Of course, such a compromise will not be acceptable to the pro-life movement.  The bottom line is, for those of us who are pro-choice, that until a first trimester bill is actually drafted that deals with the miscarriage problem in a way that meets equal protection problems and somehow deals with them - THERE IS SIMPLY NO REAL ISSUE!  The onus is on those who change the status quo to come up with such a bill.  So far, it has not happened.

The other option is to deal with the circumstances that lead to abortion.  Many abortions happen because conservative parents are covering the fact that their kids are sexually active.  You can focus on sex or life.  If you want to focus on life, then having sex must be a judgement free zone and a human right.  If you keep it shameful, you get abortion.

Economics are even more important.  Helping adoption happen is not enough, nor is supporting pregnancy only.  The Christian response (even if abortion is not the issue) is to assure all families have a living family wage which increases with the addition of every child - and that teens who have children can do so and get the same wage for continuing their studies - both a base wage for them and an add on for their kids.  I say their because both the father and the mother need a subsidy to keep studying.  Make it economically possible to have a family and most boys will realize that chastity is a virtue.  We must end the conversation that teen pregnancy is a godsend for infertile couples.  Society needs to support teen parents instead, as nature and evolution intended.  Would you have forced Mary of Nazareth to put Jesus up for adoption?  Biologically, we are the same as we were 2000 years ago.

Moving Juvenile Justice Towards Restorative Justice | Capital Commentary

Moving Juvenile Justice Towards Restorative Justice | Capital Commentary by Rachel B. Livingston.  MGB: Most crimes, while not excused by insanity, are in some way caused by either mental illness, alcoholism or addiction - with illiteracy as a confounding factor.  Both children and adults should be treated as patients, not prisoners or even penitents.  While children can't be locked up with the key thrown away, neither should adults.  Life without parole for anyone basically guarantees death by the state - but a slow lingering one.  All convicts should be held both until they are safe and for what amounts to the minimum sentence for their crime should they plead or are found guilty by reason of insanity (a new and much needed plea to avoid most trials - as long as the innocent are not railroaded to take it).  After that improvement, age segregation will matter less, although is likely still appropriate.

Same-Sex Marriage and the Political Task | Capital Commentary

Same-Sex Marriage and the Political Task | Capital Commentary by Paul Brink.  MGB: I agree that gay unions need to be recognized by the state, however they should be called marriages because they are marriages.  The resistance to this is simply an attempt at political correctness in dealing with religious people.  That kind of PC is outdated and not justified, as the genesis of the need for marriage often comes because of profound disrespect paid to gay spouses in end-of-life situations, although currently that is declining.  As importantly, the Church needs to celebrate these unions for the sake of the education of the families - not because the State tells them to but because it is the right thing to do.  In for a penny....

Reflections on the Institution of Marriage | Capital Commentary

Reflections on the Institution of Marriage | Capital Commentary by Amy Black.  MGB: In response, the words of both Genesis and their use by Jesus can be updated to account for gay marriage, as the becoming of one flesh applies not only to sexual union but also to the legal one. Marriage is the basic building block of families, including gay families with children from adoption, inheritance, a prior union or the wonders of modern procreative medicine.  Such unions are no less worthy of protection than marriages between those past their child bearing years.  Indeed, there would be no such demand for these unions had hospitals, particularly religious ones, honored the wishes of the gay partner as they would the married one vis-a-vis the family of origin.  Had these relationships been honored when it mattered most, the demand for marriage would not be so strong.  There are those who say marriage should be only a religious matter.  This is also mistaken.  Marriage is the basic unit of family law.  Without it, the State must make the end-of-life decisions now reserved to next of kin.  It is time for us to realize that we can as a society and must change how marriage is constituted and move on before the Courts do it for us.  Likewise, churches will eventually celebrate these unions, not because the state says so, but because doing so is good for the families, just as it is good for heterosexual marriage.

Good News for Voters? The Paul Ryan Effect | Capital Commentary

Good News for Voters? The Paul Ryan Effect | Capital Commentary by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: The fact is, however, that Ryan's Libertarianism, with the implicit belief that if we make things bad for the poor they will improve themselves, is not at all in line with Catholic social teaching (or the Gospel for that matter).  Ryan fails to see that seniors in nursing homes will be wards of the states for the remainder of their lives and must be treated with dignity.  Of course, unless the Obama campaign points out that fact, Ryan and Romney may get away with it.  Finally, if Ryan becomes a liability, it will like be too late to replace him, as CEO Romney would naturally be wont to do.  More on how the libertarian vision of the economy is not consistent with doctrine can be found at http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/cult-capitalism-1

Navigating the Election Season with Humility, Grace, and Reason | Capital Commentary

Navigating the Election Season with Humility, Grace, and Reason | Capital Commentary Prayer is required to get into the mindset to do the other things Amy Black suggests, especially if your research finds that your side is preaching distortion.  Sadly, I am not sure how well houses of worship help in this process - some can be fairly uniform politically - or if they are diverse (like Catholics) there is a definite divide between the hierarchy and most regular attendees and those that go less frequently or go to more liberal parishes (or are younger).  In the end, God's will is done in the results, much as that is vexing at times.

Does Civility Work? | Capital Commentary

Does Civility Work? | Capital Commentary by Harold Hele.  MGB: Sadly, it has become a turnout election, which means that parties are exciting their bases rather than trying to convince the undecided.  Of course, if they go too far, they may excite the base of their opponents in swing states.  We also can't ignore that there are some very rich people funding all of this vitriol.  If we want to change civility, we must examine why they are funding all of this incivility and work on that.  Both sides are not equal in this regard.  There really is one side whose economics are all wrong from a Christian perspective.  This should not go unmentioned.

Holding Tight: Biblical Principles for Economics | Capital Commentary

Holding Tight: Biblical Principles for Economics | Capital Commentary by Eric Hilker.  MGB: There is also a wealth of scripture about dealing with the hired man and with slaves (who were more akin to paid laborers than chattel).  These are equally applicable to capitalism and its evils.

Challenging the Escalation of Negative Politics | Capital Commentary

Challenging the Escalation of Negative Politics | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  MGB: If she was forced into second class insurance because the plant closed and Romney profited from that style of capitalism that closed it (that he brought to the firm from day one), than that view of capitalism is an issue. It never used to be this bad, mostly because the money was not there to do it.  Willie Horton ads, thanks to Karl Rove (whom Gerson served with in the Bush White House) had a lot to do with it, but Lee Atwater and Jesse Helms had something to do with it too - although certainly the nuclear war ad against Goldwater was probably the first shot.

Scripture from the State | Capital Commentary

Scripture from the State | Capital Commentary by Matthew Arildsen.  MGB:   It is not the Court's business to determine the political or moral righteousness of the Health Care Law, even though the four conservative justices were chomping on the bit to do so. The Chief Justice was quite correct in deferring any suc

h change to the political process - although given the likely requirement that repeal meet a 60 vote point of order because it would increase the deficit, such a political repeal, even during reconciliation, is highly unlikely. The constitutionality of the social welfare state was secured with the passage of the income tax in the 16th Amendment, even though it took time to build practical majorities to enact it (and yes, the progressives did contemplate health care reform, even then). A good source in analyzing the moral righteousness of the social welfare state is over 100 years of Catholic Social Teaching (not the same as the Evangelical social gospel - as it is based on reason, not just scripture - although there are scriptural bases for it). In every papal letter on the subject, the passage of public social programs has been seen as a good thing - and their repeal a tragedy. The current Pope was quite explicit on this in Caritas in Veritate. I recommend a thorough reading to anyone who would engage in this issue.

A Non-messianic Presidency | Capital Commentary

A Non-messianic Presidency | Capital Commentary by David Koyzis.  MGB:  There was a great deal of debate over the 10th Amendment about inserting the word "expressly" before the word enumerated.  The strict constructionists lost that one and the government has been growing in scope ever since.  Once the income tax and a directly elected Senate were added, a much more responsive government was assured.   Habits of presidential supremacy also became ingrained when the legislature decided it was more libertarian to spend most of its time outside Washington, letting the executive fill the gap.   Giving the Electoral College no independent power base also doomed it to being overcome by the eventual populist desires that would turn it into essentially an elected office.  If indirect election of the president is desired, the best way would be to form regions of equal electoral vote strength and have each elect two legislators and one regional vice president, whom as a body would select the President from time to time.  If regional offices each ran every six years, with one regional officer being elected every two years, then every two years a third of the electoral college would be replaced, meaning you could have a presidential election that frequently (or force a confidence vote).  Regional government could also shift most day to day government action and funding, including funding the non-deployed military, to a more local level - producing a more manageable and smaller government.  It is easy to demand low grazing fees if the national government you get for your area is paid for by rich people in Los Angeles, New York and the DC metro area.  Of course, it would take a bit of a messianic president to bring forward such changes.

Taking Aim at Gun Control | Capital Commentary

Taking Aim at Gun Control | Capital Commentary by Prof. Roy Clouser.  MGB: Co-opting the NRA into gun control is an interesting idea worthy of merit, however it would not have stopped many of the mass shooting incidents.  Even Suspect A's university knew there was a problem - but erred on the side of not interfering with his freedom to reject treatment, although the local gun master may have denied him a license to buy firearms, given his reaction to the voice mails left at his range .  Still, as long as individuals get the benefit of the doubt on judging their own sanity, we will have such incidents - maybe with explosives instead of firearms.  As Christians, we must err on the side of compassion, which may trump the liberty rights of those whose freedom is impaired by their own illness.

Religious Freedom for Muslims | Capital Commentary

Religious Freedom for Muslims | Capital Commentary by Chelsea Langston.  MGB: I suspect that the opposition is as much about race as it is about religious affiliation, with the racists operating under the self-justification provided by September 11th.  It would not be too hard to guess that some of the members are probably finding difficulty finding the housing they want as well.

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary by Byron Borger on Os Guinness' The Call.  MGB: This looks like a primer political theory for Evangelicals, although I am sure progressive Catholics will find value as well.

Let’s Talk Politics | Capital Commentary

Let’s Talk Politics | Capital Commentary by Clay Cooke.  MGB: I suspect the reason that face to face political confrontation is rare is that, by and large, our positions are due as much to our group identities as they are by any individual initiative.  We mostly join with people who share our beliefs rather than seek out people so that we can change their opinions.  We will not find a confessionally Christian Democratic movement in either party - we must create one - in essence we must build it and they will come.  While we can certainly go to other groups to poach members, we won't be taking over any other side.  With the Republicans appearing to go off the deep end by reducing themselves largely to a group of older white males marked more and more by the politics of resentment, there may even be an opportunity to organize a new alternative.   Indeed, it is why I am going on the internet discussing issues, rather than simply chosing a tribe (likely the Democrats) and following the party line.

WikiLeaks and the Internet: Ushering in an Era of Corporate Censorship | Capital Commentary

WikiLeaks and the Internet: Ushering in an Era of Corporate Censorship | Capital Commentary by Melissa Steffan.  MGB: Ultimately, the problem is over-classification itself and the election of political leaders willing to allow the national security state to thrive.

The Decline of the American Family: An Economic Catastrophe | Capital Commentary

The Decline of the American Family: An Economic Catastrophe | Capital Commentary by Ted Williams.  MGB: The problem with the American family is the explicit racism in the design of social welfare programs which were loathe to give any assistance to men, especially black men, regardless of their need. We need to get beyond that and assure a tax supported living wage for everyone who either works or is in training - regardless of gender, race or productivity.

God, Caesar and the Presidential Elections | Capital Commentary

God, Caesar and the Presidential Elections | Capital Commentary by Tom Sherratt.  MGB: I'm not sure either party can meet Wright's requirement to put care for the poor above care for the imperial plutocracy, although the President is at least making a show of it. A more Christian (even Catholic) libertarian socialist message would be better - but it is hard to get that word out because Caesar does not want this heard.

Juvenile Sentencing & Community Values | Capital Commentary

Juvenile Sentencing & Community Values | Capital Commentary  MGB:  Well done!  We need to move from a culture of punishment to a culture of societal health. While some juveniles seem irredeemable, with time and education most can be saved if we don't brutalize them first in prison.

Arizona’s System to Verify Residency Status | Capital Commentary

Arizona’s System to Verify Residency Status | Capital Commentary  MGB: The problems occur on both equal protection and religious grounds, which shows the extent Christian doctrine has made it into our civil discourse - if only some Christians would honor that!

Expansion of the U.S./Mexico Border Fence | Capital Commentary

Expansion of the U.S./Mexico Border Fence | Capital Commentary MGB:  I prefer a libertarian perspective on this issue to a Christian one, although the two are identical. If all immigration restrictions and right to work laws are removed, then workers won't be brought in to toil in exploitative situations (why import a worker who will have the same union rights as a domestic worker?). Indeed, imported workers should also have the same rights as domestic workers to a share in the profit and ownership of the employing firm - so a Christian Libertarian Socialist perspective is the best solution - but don't look for it from Obama either.

Should We Care about a Candidate’s Religion? | Capital Commentary

Should We Care about a Candidate’s Religion? | Capital Commentary by Kevin den Dulk.  MGB: It is not th candidate's actual beliefs they care about, but what they profess.  Profession is much more about group identity than the inner life, so it is no accident that this enters into electoral politics.  Of course, it is odd that anyone on the GOP side would have trouble with Mormon politicians, because there is no more solid group of Republicans on earth.  This simply shows the strength of the sectarian impulse and how that does do well for building coalitions, which is essential in successful electoral politics.  In the politics of exclusion, however, it is no surprise - and lately the GOP base is all about excluding people that are not exactly like them. This is a different kind of purity than the purity of heart Jesus was talking about - a purity that has everything to do with inner life and nothing to do with profession.

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary

Politics & Prose | Capital Commentary  Amy Black's book is essential to my book proposal as a competing work.  Harris' piece is interesting precisely because Obama, as the son of an African graduate student rather than American slaves breaks the mold of the standard black power politician.  Before he was elected I blogged that anyone who claimed vindication for the descendants of west African slaves due to his election would be wrong (as Obama's white ancestors actually owned slaves).  Now that the color line has been broken, however, the whole idea of impossibility has been broken.  Expect that with the reverse migration back to the South that one day a black southern governor may find his way into the White House.

In Support of Thicker Walls, Wider Doorways on Immigration | Capital Commentary

In Support of Thicker Walls, Wider Doorways on Immigration | Capital Commentary  by Timothy Sherratt.  MGB: This is largely a Republican fight with itself.  The best answer is repealing right to work - which is the tool which employers use to keep unions out and hire the cheapest workers, as well as limitations on undocumented workers - which allows employers to deport workers who complain to the government or try to organize a union.  It was no accident that when Jeff Sessions was about to become the 60th vote on immigration reform, the issue of matter of right citizenship came up to derail the deal.  I have no doubts that the food industry ginned up the whole controversy because it likes the situation just the way it is.

Capital Commentary: Why Should Christians Care About Public Education?

Capital Commentary: Why Should Christians Care About Public Education? by Ted Williams, III.  MGB: There are several things we can do as a Christian community and as individual Christians to help the public schools.  One basic thing is to make sure any movement to school choice also includes a demand for increased public revenue for eduction, so that taxes go up at least as much as the tuition that would no longer have to be paid if the schools were still private, if not more to handle the further strains on the system.  We also need to not make it be about breaking the power of teachers unions or as a back door way to keep out or marginalize minority students.  This is true for Evangelical, Protestant and Catholic Schools.  We also need to share why private Christian and Catholic schools are better. 

A main reason is that there is less standardization and more parental control.  Individual schools are not dependent on system statistics or standards.  There are no "No Child Left Behind" goals for them to meet or teach to.  They can simply teach and be responsible to the parents of the children they serve.  Without standards, there is little need for central office administration to develop either curricula or teacher enrichment and certification.  Private schools are also freer and most likely wiser in dealing with discipline issues.  No one is suspended from private school for taking an asprin. 

Finally, as far as how the U.S. ranks in the OECD, the correct measure is to compare various states to other OECD members, at least the European ones.  The US as a whole can be compared to the EU as a whole or China as a whole.  If you want to compare Ireland and Finland, the correct units of measure are Iowa and Mississippi (two state systems who could not be more different in terms of population, funding or teacher quality).

North Korea: Clear Evil, No Clear Solutions | Capital Commentary

North Korea: Clear Evil, No Clear Solutions | Capital Commentary by Judd Birdsail.  MB: The author was interviewed on BookTV a few months ago.  His story is chilling and shows how the entire society has been affected by the Kim dictatorship.  A society cannot be freed from the outside, however, as we are finding in Egypt.  People must free themselves.  Until they realize this, we really can't help them.  The spell must be broken from within - although we came close to doing so in post-war Germany, but at the cost of total war.

Science in Political Discourse | Capital Commentary

Science in Political Discourse | Capital Commentary by Jason E. Summers.  MB: While some scientists are become more fluent in the sociology of science, others are are too humble in branching out into metaphysics when dealing with ethical issues, such as when human life begins.  While science certainly cannot define it through the scientific method, it offers profound clues to a response and it is false humility to not broadcast that fact. (for those interested, Gastrulation seems to be the best marker for the begining of life, when regulative development begins under the DNA of  both parents - where prior to that only maternal DNA controls the growth of the blastocyst).  Whatever life energy that starts there is what continues until death.  Neuroscience has demonstrated that consciousness is not the seat of the soul, but a reflection of what happens in the brain earlier.  If there is a soul, it is in the energy of thought, not the perception of it, which means that one need not be capable of consciousness to be considered as having posession of a soul.

Two Half Answers to Poverty | Capital Commentary

Two Half Answers to Poverty | Capital Commentary by Steve Momsa.  MGB: My platform in Americans Elect actually dealt with poverty intelligently by paying people to become literate and give them the same tax advantages I would give workers and the same health care the training provider gets.  Current poverty numbers are badly estimated because they exclude government support - but even then, more people are truly poor than the current metrics show.  Also, government programs could be much better.  For the record, liberals do not like requirements that deny benefits to intact families,time- limit eligibility (which encourages abortion) and are designed to steer people into low wage work rather than real careers.  Indeed, a look at training grant programs by HHS shows a bias toward nurses aid training, which is dirty work on the best day.  The idea that we are sending a primarilty minority population toward such bodily care to rich old white people is telling on the extent that race is still an essential element in American politics.

The True Genius of the U.S. Constitution | Capital Commentary

The True Genius of the U.S. Constitution | Capital Commentary by David Koyzis.  MB: The true genius of the Constitution is also wrapped up in an enlightened elite, although that enlightenment is certainly not universal by any means - and certainly wasn't during segregation.  The Bill of Rights does not poll well among the citizens, however it does a fairly good job among modern elites, particularly graduates of major law schools.  Sadly, some think that such education is not a virtue.  They could not be more wrong.  Indeed, at one point, graduates of a set of substandard law schools were prized by one party because of their orthodoxy over their ability - and this has damaged their movement beyond measure in todays debates about marriage equality and contraception.  This has happened on occassion to the left, but not to the extent it now affects conservatism.

From Principle to Policy: Navigating the Moral Terrain of Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary

From Principle to Policy: Navigating the Moral Terrain of Immigration Reform | Capital Commentary by Paul Brink.  MGB: It is troubling that the rhetoric on this issue is less than Christian, however that is the case with most discourse nowadays. It would be good to enter into a debate that humanizes immigrants, where enforcement resources, including local ones, were dedicated to finding the victims of human trafficking and directing them to federal help, including special visas for such victims, rather than simply trying to deport as many as possible. I fear that instead local law enforcement calludes with traffickers by looking the other way when economic interests are served by cheap labor and only enforcing the law when workers begin to make trouble by demanding their rights to fair wages and decent working conditions.


The problem is not our borders. People have a right to enter, they just don't have a right to stay. If right-to-work and immigration laws were repealed, there would be no jobs for workers in the shadows, so people would not overstay their welcomes in a manner that disrupts the domestic workforce. Given the choice between hiring a unionized immigrant and a unionized citizen, most employers would likely prefer the citizen. This will force home countries to deal with their own problems rather than send them here. Unnatural immigration limits are not needed - and are in fact dehumanizing because they turn people into numbers and create a shadow workforce.

Border law cannot be a state responsibility. Enforcement is only necessary because illegality pays, making this largely a problem between Republican business owners who are honest and want more legal workers, those who benefit from illegality and those who are truly xenophobic - although the second group stokes the passions of the third to keep their profit margins low. Eventually, the immigrants will find a home in the Democratic Party and no one will care about GOP intercene warfare. This will allow adequate funding of immigration services, eliminating the backlogs that help keep people in the shadows. My German ancestors came, signed papers and became Americans. There is no reason that Latino immigrants need any more process than that.

An Economy Built on Affection | Capital Commentary

An Economy Built on Affection | Capital Commentary by Emily Belz.  Wendell Berry shows that austerity and community cannot coexist in the public space.  Bravo!

Reforming Public Pensions for the Common Good | Capital Commentary

Reforming Public Pensions for the Common Good | Capital Commentary by Michael Gerson.  Pension reform shojld mean limiting abuses, not turning employee futures over to defined contribution plans which benefit fund managers more than employees and retirees.  The defined contribution movement has largely been a mistake and can only be justified if employers pay the administrative costs of these plans rather than plan income.  That is true for both public and private plans - and is an argument for more employee-ownership shares in these plans (up to two-thirds) and privatization of public services so that they can be employee-owned whereever possible.  Such firms, however, should democraticly managed rather than heirarchical, so that this does not simply become a dodge to reward elites at the expense of employees (since whomever makes the rules generally gets the gold).

“I didn’t know that!” – How Health Care Reform is Beginning to Control Costs | Capital Commentary

“I didn’t know that!” – How Health Care Reform is Beginning to Control Costs | Capital Commentary by Clarke Cochrane.  MGB: Interestingly, Dr. Cochrane's brother teaches at my Alma Mater, Loras College, in the field where I graduated. 

On a more sour note, it is not certain that mandates and cost cutting are adequate to keep private insurance in business once reform is fully implemented.  If too many people elect to take the penalty rather than the policy, the whole system could collapse and be replaced with either a subsidized public option or full on single payer (or at least single payer catastrophic).  Still, the $250,000 figure cited reflects the cost of care in the last year of life.  Shifting payments to retirees may result in de facto death panels or simply people not getting the treatment that might just continue their life or at least make passing easier. 

One wonders what "payment for results" means when the Pater Familius is lying in intensive care in a coma after a heart attack where he was brought back, but not all the way, and later dies - this being the story of my father's passing.  I am sure that this care given today would have been close to $1 million.  Indeed, the reason for the low $250,000 figure is that some get extreme care and others get nothing because they die quickly.  We can certainly save money by not bringing people back (like my father) who had no prognosis of success - the question is, do we want to make that a matter of financial necessisty.  Of course, if modern cryogenic techniques had been used, he might be around today berating me for my support of Obama and the danger he would see that this presents to my soul.

American Exceptionalism—In God’s Eyes | Capital Commentary

American Exceptionalism—In God’s Eyes | Capital Commentary  MGB: American Exceptionalism, in the eyes of culture theory, is the unique confluence of Liberty and Equality.  In much of Europe, rights come from the state rather than from God, so in a very real sense, our exceptionalism is God given.  We are still a work in progress and imperialism, both military and economic, do not fit in well with our founding narrative (not that the founders did not want us to be a great power, they certainly did).  If we are true to our ideals, however, we must abandon world supremacy and stand up for the ideals of liberty and equality that make us different in the first place - shunning those who don't share those views if we must.  Think of what the world would be like if our views on God given liberty and equality were universal to the planet!