Before I forget

As I troll the web for articles of interest, I occasionally come across items relevant to previous Left Bank Cafe posts.  So, before I forget, here are a few notes and recent articles related to earlier posts. 

Death Penalty
Related Left Bank Cafe post: The Post I Prayed Not to Have to Write Sep 20, 2011

Connecticut joined the civilized world by abolishing the death penalty.  Governor Dannel Malloy's signature made Connecticut the 17th state to abolish the death penalty.   Unfortunately the law does not apply to those already on death row.  It's hard to believe that 33 states still have this barbarism that is virtually unknown in the rest of the Western world.

California, currently under a judicial moratorium that prevents state executions, will have a death penalty abolition question on the November ballot.  While this should cause some excitement, the chances of a popular vote abolishing the death penalty would fly in the face of past history.  As the San Francisco Chronicle's website reports: "Franklin E. Zimring, a UC Berkeley School of Law professor...writes that no state or nation ended state execution because of a popular vote, and predicts the initiative will fail."  Let's hope Californians prove him wrong.

The Economist maps US executions since 1976 by state.  Is anyone surprised that Texas accounted for more than one-third of all executions in the United States since then?  Here's the graphic.



Republican Budget and Paul Ryan's Theology
Related Left Bank Cafe post: Values April 16, 2012

Even though they invited him to speak at the nation's oldest Catholic university, the professors of Georgetown felt they "would be remiss in our duty to you and our students if we did not challenge your continuing misuse of Catholic teaching to defend a budget plan that decimates food programs for struggling families, radically weakens protections for the elderly and sick, and gives more tax breaks to the wealthiest few."  The Nation's John Nichols summarizes the events of the past few weeks, focusing on Ryan's talk to Georgetown students and faculty.  The US Conference of Catholic Bishops had earlier noted in letters to Congress that "a just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor persons."  Catholic bishops recently wrote that "the House-passed budget resolution fails to meet these moral criteria."

Perhaps the best and most succinct summary is given by Jesuit Father Thomas J. Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown.  “Our problem with Representative Ryan is that he claims his budget is based on Catholic social teaching.  This is nonsense.”

Earth Day

"Treat the earth well.  It was not given to you by your parents.  It was loaned to you by your children."

Native American proverb

Ever since mankind first orbited our planet more than 50 years ago, "Spaceship Earth" has been a popular image.  Viewed from the near reaches of space, the Earth is seen as the oasis that it is - fragile, life-supporting, an integrated whole without boundaries or divisions.  In all of the 6 trillion trillion square miles of the solar system, it is the only place intelligent life has ever evolved.

It wasn't long after the first manned moon landing that 20 million Americans took to the streets on the first Earth Day - April 22,1970.   Coming at the end of the turbulent '60's, Earth Day was the brain child of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson.  After witnessing the damage done by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, Nelson announced his idea of a national "teach-in" on the environment.  Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, the enviroment could become part of the national political agenda.  (The Earth Day Network website has a great clip on the NBC news report of the first Earth Day.)

Earth Day went global in 1990 and remains as relevant as ever today.  Climate-change deniers and environmental-regulation reversers are out in full force.  The ongoing economic crisis has shunted environmental concerns to a lonely siding. 

As species die out and rain forests are cleared and glaciers melt, we should consider what kind of planet we are returning to our children and grandchildren.  Will they work and play pollution- and toxin-free in a sustainable world filled with natural wonders and free of all phony divisions?  I hope so.  I hope we find the political will to make it so. 

By mid-century, the world's human population will reach 9 billion souls - four times what it was a century before.  Without some amazing technological breakthroughs, market-driven capitalism dependent on non-sustainable growth simply will not work.  A new model is needed - perhaps that of "Spaceship Earth".





Values

As two competing tax bills make their way through Congress, it's pretty clear that neither will pass.  The "Buffet rule" bill favored by Democrats will be stopped in the House.  And the Republican-favored tax break for "small" businesses (defined as having less than 500 employees - that's about 99% of the total number of businesses in the country)  will be stopped in the Senate.  The Democrats' bill would raise more money that could be put to good use in helping the economy recover and helping secure the social safety net.  The Republican bill would decrease tax revenues, increase the deficit, and give the right wing more excuses to try to cut social programs. 

So the bills are clearly just stalking horses to set positions before the elections.  But the bills do point out the values that each side favors. As did Paul Ryan's budget bill.  Released with great fanfare and Mitt Romney approval a couple of weeks ago - this also, thank God, has no chance of passing the Senate.  

MoveOn's April 14 Daily Share had a great quote from George Carlin pointing out the absurdity of the Republican position on taxing the wealthy.  "Conservtives say if you don't give the rich more money, they will lose their incentive to invest.  As for the poor, they tell us they've lost all incentive because we've given them too much money." 

The NYT, referencing the Paul Ryan-authored, Mitt Romeny-endorsed budget  titled its March 29 editorial "The Cruel Budget" for good reason.  Ryan's budget would cut $3.3 billion from low-income programs over 10 years.  62% of the total budget cuts come from programs that assist low-income individuals.  The biggest cut is to Medicaid.  By eliminating the expansion of Medicaid in the health care law, cutting $1.6 trillion, it would leave another 17 million low- and moderate-income people uninsured.  In addition,  there is a 17% cut in food stamps.  Hard to see how this will work when most people run out of their food stamp allowance well before the end of the month already.

Remarkably, Ryan justified his budget based on his Catholic faith's concern for the poor and the benefit of local control. Hmmm...what a weird way to do this in the 21st century when state budgets are being slashed because of a lack of aid money from the Federal government.  Politico reported on the Wisconsin Democrat Party chair's response to Ryan's justification of his extremist budget:

“For Paul Ryan to justify his radical budget using Catholic social teaching as an underpinning either arrives from designed error or unintended ignorance,” said Graeme Zielinski, the communications director for the state Democratic Party.

“Many Catholics oppose the Ryan budget not in spite of our Catholic faith, but because of it. Catholics are taught that everyone, not just the rich, have a right to participate in our economic system. They also are taught that income inequality is a great threat to solidarity… It can be argued that a Ryan budget that clearly gives priority to capital and the super-rich over workers and the poor alters that balance in a way that offends Catholic tradition.”
I wonder if Paul Ryan was paying attention to the first reading at this Sunday's Mass.  It was from the Acts of the Apostles and discussed the state of the early Church:  "And the multitude of the believers had but one heart and one soul: neither did any one say, that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them...For neither was there any one needy among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the price of the things they sold, And laid it down before the feet of the apostles. And distribution was made to every one, according as he had need."  I'd like to hear Paul Ryan explain how cuts to medical care and food for low-income individuals to protect tax breaks for the wealthy square with this Biblical passage.