Church & state

From an NPR story this morning:

“Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa. — Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s hometown — went further at the meeting. He suggested the bishops use ‘canonical measures’ — such as denying Communion — to make their point.”

But that’s nothing new – churches have been bullying politicians with that threat for years. Here’s where it gets scary:

“A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him ‘constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil.’”

So now priests aren’t just bullying the politicians they don’t agree with, they’re putting the screws to ordinary citizens who chose to vote for politicians the priest disagrees with (note: this is only one priest. Other Catholic priests disagree with this stance).
I believe in freedom of speech and religion, so I say let the priest deny whatever rituals he chooses. However, I think this clearly violates the grounds his church stands on to claim tax-exempt status. More disturbingly, though, this also puts it closer to being a cult, where obedience to the leader is total and disagreement is forbidden.

It’s a new day in America

(note: sorry for the delay in posting – out here in “flyover country,” Internet access is less than dependable – DB)

Knowing how historic this day would be, I wanted to make sure I was fully present in a way I could relate to my grand- (and maybe great-grand-) children. I watched the election results on Comedy Central’s “Indecision 2008,” hosted by my favorite comedians/political analyists, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I knew I’d get coverage at least as accurate (if not more so) than the MSM, and a hell of a lot more entertaining. I was not disappointed.

When, at 10 p.m. CST, Stewart announced that Obama had won, it was a feeling I will never forget. Tears came to my eyes, and my heart was filled with joy, pride, and most of all, relief. After eight years of smirking fascism, it was like we had finally opened our eyes and sobered up.

Ruth Rosen posted that in California and other places, people were literally dancing in the streets. We weren’t so exuberant here in Arkansas, which went with McCain. But I am surprised that now, for the first time in my life, I am proud of my country.

Of course, Obama is only human. He’s only the president of the United States, not king of the world. I think many of us have made him into a sort of messiah who will fix every problem on earth. When he inevitably fails to do so, there’s going to be a let-down, perhaps even a resentful backlash against him. And yet, despite those limitations, the amount of respect and goodwill he has (both at home and abroad) will likely make it much easier for him to accomplish things.

I am positive that even though he might not be able to fix everything, there is a great change in the air. As Gary Kamiya writes at Salon:

“We have taken our country back.

We have taken it back from the mean-spirited demagogues who were willing to tear the American people apart to stay in power.

We have taken it back from the apostles of selfishness who pretend naked greed is noble individualism.

We have taken it back from the deluded hawks who cavalierly sent our youth off to die in a war that should never have been fought.

We have taken it back from the incompetent officials who lived up to their antigovernment credo by bungling everything they touched.

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We have taken it back from the reactionaries whose intolerance, xenophobia and religious zealotry have been encouraged by a distorted Republican Party for far too long.”

Blessings to all of you,

DB

The new issue of Ms. Magazine

The new issue of Ms.is out, and, not surprisingly, it’s got a financial guru on the cover – the irrepressible Suze Orman. She doles out practical, common-sense advice for women (or anybody, really) that have investments, savings accounts and other forms of income besides wages. I can’t really call “classism” on the article because for one, that’s her job: giving financial advice. And for another, Orman doesn’t let the government off the hook for its role in creating this crisis:

“I don’t understand how a government can find the money to fund a war [but] can’t find that exact same money to solve the health insurance crisis, the Social Security crisis, the Medicare crisis, the poverty crisis and the educational crisis. There’d be a lot we could do if we had an administration that cared about the middle class dying as much as they do about supposedly protecting us against a terrorist attack, which all of this money is not protecting us [against].” – Suze Orman, as quoted in Ms. Magazine.

The very next article is by Julianne Malveaux, also an economist and president of Bennett College for Women. Malveaux gives five solid things the government could do to jump-start the economy. Her #1 perscription: job creation. She recommends replicating the programs we used to get out of the Great Depression, most notably, the Works Progress Administration. And she claims that at a cost of $50,000 per job, 100,000 jobs could be created at a cost of $5 billion. Yes, that’s a lot of money – but it’s a fraction of what we’re spending in Iraq each month. And, as she puts it, “Imagine the libraries, child-care centers and health agencies that could benefit from programs like that today!”

Her other recommendations include making college more accessible and affordable, investing in infrastructure and public works, creating a national health care plan, and giving tax credits to low-income mortgage holders. These are all good, common-sense approaches for creating and maintaining a broad base of wealth, instead of concentrating it at the top, as has been the policy for at least 20 years. To those who cry, “socialism,” I say: “what do you call the bank bail-out?” I have to agree with Malveaux: “The Bush administration has already tried to provide economic stimuli by cutting taxes, sending small checks and bailing out corporations – why not try a stimulus that goes directly to working people and invests in our economy?”

Amen, sister.