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.