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.”