Jan's Stinkin Blog: May 2012

Sunday, May 27, 2012

BANKING REGULATIONS ARE NEEDED...

I feel a need to preach on economics once again since the headlines announced that JP Morgan Chase (my bank) lost $2Billion and probably much more, on some as yet unknown, financial shenanigans and why that should matter to us.

Rana Foroohar who writes THE CURIOUS CAPITALIST column for TIME Magazine made some very important observations in her THE CASE FOR BANKING REGULATION (June 4, 2012).

I have written in the past how after the 1929 crash the GLASS-STEAGALL BANKING LAW (1933) separated the banking industry into regular banking (loans to people) from investment banking (gambling).

The law worked very well until it was repealed in 1999 largely by banks pressuring Congress to allow them to do both; regular banking and investment banking.

Our recent decent into financial chaos (2008) was, in my opinion, due in part to unregulated banking/investing/insurance etc. people in Congress realized that regulations need to be implemented to prevent financial chaos from happening again and so the DODD-FRANK bill came to life.

The bill had what was called the VOLKER RULE which prohibited banks from gambling with depositor money. Well the banking industry must be very powerful because it appears that they control Congress and so weakened Dodd-Frank regulations to the point of meaninglessness.

Let me also make the point here that Republicans hate regulations and especially when the regulations try to regulate business and that is a purely capitalist attitude which I like but not when capitalism in this country is harmed by the lack of regulations; people are a greedy lot and will do anything to make more and more money including placing your hard earned dollars at RISK.

I want my money (deposits) to be held at a bank that makes money the old fashioned way, by making smart and secure loans to people who need money to buy homes, cars, etc. I do not want my bank to be also an investment bank like JP Morgan Chase is.

Now for those who like to gamble with their money, deposit that money in an investment bank where at least, you will know the risks you are taking.

JP Morgan lost $2 Billion plus and probably does not really know how it lost the money but if the bank collapses, it will come to us with its hand out looking for a bailout…not this time buddy.

Tell our politicians to go back to the good ole’ days and make banks behave like banks again and to do that we need commercial banks separated from investment banks…once again…why do we let history repeat itself…have we learned nothing?

Friday, May 25, 2012

RACE FOR THE CURE VS. WAR ON WOMEN

There was an especially poignant article in the Detroit News this morning titled: WHY I’M SITTING OUT THIS YEAR’S ‘RACE FOR THE CURE’.

As you all know, this is the Susan G. Komen Foundation event to help find a cure for breast cancer; a very, very righteous goal.

And as many of you also know, the foundation found itself in a lot of trouble when its leadership decided to bow to political/religious right-wing pressure and stop funding the work of Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood was targeted because one of its services is to provide abortions for those who want one. This is only a tiny portion of the medical services that they provide and a big service is breast exams to women who cannot afford one.

I am a big supported of efforts to find a cure for breast cancer and especially since my sister Barb has had the cancer and is a survivor after a mastectomy.

The author of this article, Jenn MCKEE is and has been a great supporter, participating in Races for the Cure for two decades, having lost a mother to the disease.

BUT she is not running this time because even though the Komen Foundation had reversed its decision to cut off support to Planned Parenthood and eventually fired the CEO who pushed for the decision, the fact that the decision was made in the first place, has tarnished their image to the point where their best and most loyal supporters, cannot bring themselves and their consciences to forgive and forget.

Although this whole affair is very, very sad especially for the people with breast cancer, the growing awareness that conservative politicians and religious leaders are engaged in a war against women and their welfare can no longer be denied…it is a blatant fact and must be fought anywhere and everywhere it is detected and the Komen Foundation is a place to start and to set an example that actions against women will not be tolerated by women and those of us that love those women.

GOOD PRIESTS: Past and Present...

One of my favorite religion writers, The Rev. Harry Cook (retired) wrote an article in the Detroit Free Press titled: A SERVANT TO PEOPLE AND JUSTICE about the death of Father John Nowland, an activist priest who actually stood for and marched on behalf of justice for all, and especially for those that he felt did not receive justice.

These days, when all stories about priests tend to be bad, it is somewhat of a relief to read about some that were good for our society by doing things worthwhile for others.

Rev. Cook also mentions some area Catholic priests of the past and present that are worth mentioning for their good and productive deeds including the famous Father Gabriel Richard who helped build Detroit, served in Congress and was one of the founders of the University of Michigan.

More recent and familiar was Father Bill Cunningham, founder of Focus: HOPE and Msgr. Clement Kern who helped struggling Hispanic immigrants.

Another priest mentioned by Cook is Bishop Thomas Gumbleton (82), my wife’s favorite peace activist, who is internationally known for his work for peace.

I wonder what these past and present priests of renown think of the current condition of the Catholic hierarchy and its insane preoccupation with power and image, willing to break laws both secular and divine, to maintain control.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

ONE PRIEST THAT DID NOT GET AWAY...

Since I have been reporting a lot about the Catholic priestly abuse scandal and decrying the fact that I am not seeing any punishments being handed out, only more and more cover-ups and lame excuses; I am glad to report about a case where justice was done and a priest did not get away with it.

The Associated Press has reported that a jury in Texas has sentenced a former Catholic priest to 60 years in prison for plotting the death of a man who accused him of sexual abuse.

Now this is not the justice that I have been talking about but is justice just the same and I will relish it anyway.

Fr. John M. Fiala (53) hired a hit man for $5,000 to kill a man accusing him of sexual abuse when he was growing up in West Texas. At the time, Father Fiala told the boy that he would hurt his family if he ever told about the abuse.

It is fortunate for the young man and his family that the assassin the priest hired was also an undercover cop.

I am sure that if Father Fiala had just kept quiet, he would have been taken under the protective wing of the Catholic Church and its leaders and just moved to another parish with new, unsuspecting children to abuse…sometimes things go in the right direction…

PHILADELPHIA'S TOP PRIEST: I did all I could...

There has been a pretty important trial going on in Philadelphia for over two (2) months now involving priestly sex abuses in one of the largest Catholic dioceses in the country.

More specifically it is the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, who is not charged with child molestation but is charged with endangering the welfare of children and conspiracy since he was in charge of priests that he knew abused children and did nothing about that and in fact, enabled those priests to continue to molest children in the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Lynn was Secretary of the Clergy in Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004 at which time there were many allegations of priestly sex abuse brought to his attention. Today, the Philadelphia diocese continues to grapple with fresh cases of priestly abuse but this time, the Catholic authorities have reported the allegations to local police authorities whereas in Msgr. Lynn’s time, Catholic authorities kept such allegations under wraps.

Msgr. Lynn has pled not guilty and his defense as well as the title of the article in the Wall Street Journal (May 24, 2012) was: TOP PRIEST: DID BEST I COULD.

He said that the then Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who died this January, was the only one with the power / authority to transfer priests or to remove them from ministry and his policy was NOT to tell anyone about the abuse and to just keep it quiet; Msgr. Lynn said that he complied with the policy as instructed to.

Lynn said that he did recommend psychiatric treatment for certain priests but in the end, they were allowed to continue their ministry after the treatments ended and in most cases, that meant a continuation of abuse against innocent children.

Lynn claims he did what he was ordered to by a superior and he could not go against those orders just like a private in the army must heed orders from his superiors; just the way it is…

And here I have to interject the subject of CONSCIENCE.

Are priests not drilled over and over again, with the concept that they are servants of God doing his good work here on earth? They are the ministers of their charges or flocks and in charge and responsible for their flock’s spiritual welfare and eventual salvation…even I know that!

It appears that once some priests enter the “system” they are left to their own devices and in some cases, those devices have something to do with what drew them to the priesthood in the first place; the position of authority and trust as well as access to children and young adults who look at them as representatives of Jesus on earth with all the loving and caring attributes of Jesus himself.

I do not claim to know what all is entailed in why some priests abuse children and young adults and others do not but I do know that the priests in charge, those that are not pedophiles themselves, have to recognize right from wrong and even if they are ordered by superiors to sweep abuse allegations under the rug, their consciences should not allow them to stand by and allow innocent children to be molested.

During the Vietnam War there was an incident called the MY LAI MASSACRE of 1968 where US troops killed around 500 civilians (women, children and the elderly); it was a massacre. BUT some soldiers rebelled against the orders to kill and some tried to prevent more killings while others wrote to their superiors after the incident wanting something to be done about the ones who did the massacre; some soldiers have consciences which do not allow them to blindly follow orders that they KNOW are WRONG; shouldn’t the soldiers of God (priests) have consciences also? It appears that many of them don’t and yet they are our teachers as to how to get to heaven…really?

I don’t know how the trial will end and how the jury will judge Msgr. Lynn but to me, the old ‘I followed orders’ excuse is not good enough anymore or ever; you need to pay the consequences for not protecting children in your care and pay dearly…

The Vatican is trying its darned best to protect other clerics in charge that followed orders from on high by moving them into the Vatican proper where secular law cannot reach them. To me this is a crime against humanity perpetrated by those claiming to look after vulnerable humans and should be punished to the full extent of the law and that includes the pope who in my eyes, was COMPLICIT in all the abuse through the ages…I would also try the popes that are now dead but can be proven to have been complicit also in covering up priestly abuse, in absentia.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

CATHOLIC CHURCH SUES OBAMA?

A new headline popped up recently: CATHOLIC DIOCESES, GROUPS SUE ON OBAMA BIRTH-CONTROL RULE.

As we all know now, Obama’s healthcare plan mandates that employers provide workers free birth control as part of their health insurance. A well know medical fact is that birth control promotes maternal and child health by allowing women to space their pregnancies.

The Catholic Church, as we all know now, does not give a shit about maternal or child health, all they care about is their “sacred” beliefs supposedly , according to them, passed on from God; most Catholics practice contraception because it is the logical human thing to do.

The Catholic Church had other “sacred” beliefs passed down from God that through time, have become less sacred and eventually abandoned all together. I still remember when eating meat on Friday was such a bad sin. How about cremation; banned because the Church at the time, really believed that all bodies will be resurrected at the end-time and so not having a body in the ground meant you were never resurrected. The Catholic Church quietly let that superstition drop after they could no longer logically and theologically support such nonsense.

How about the ole’ purgatory belief… the Catholic Church made a lot of money selling indulgences to get your grandmother out of jail (purgatory)…only $5 gets her time reduced. How about if a baby dies on its way to baptism, it is forever dammed to hell…really?

What about suicide and the days when those that committed suicide were anathema to the Church and could not get any Catholic services like a burial mass and actual burial in a Catholic cemetery but as witnessed in the deaths of some very Catholic Kennedys, it’s OK now; hell you can disagree with all Church teachings and its OK…now.

The Catholic Church has had many “silly” beliefs they touted as “sacred” in the past and they defended those beliefs as representatives of Jesus on earth and therefore with divine authority to pontificate any which way they wanted.

Contraception is such a benefit to human kind that being against it is somehow anti-human but like I said before, the Church does not really give a shit what benefits contraception provides to mothers and children; it’s all about their current “sacred” beliefs.

Obama has been sensitive to “religious beliefs” and has agreed to accommodate those beliefs by structuring the mandate in such a way that no religious group will have to pay for contraceptive services or provide them directly, it will be all done by insurance companies.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said that Obama is trespassing on his First Amendment right of practicing his religion / freedom of religion and no compromise is possible; his way or the highway…

Since the Catholic Church runs hospitals, schools and charities and employs many people who are not all Catholics, it is an EMPLOYER first and a CHURCH second and as such, must obey federal rules mandated on ALL EMPLOYERS unless granted special dispensation by the courts for specifically HOUSES OF WORSHIP…only.

So, as you can see, I have problems with this issue on many levels. First, all employers must obey validly enacted federal legislation that mandates certain practices pertaining to health insurance provided by the employers and that includes Catholic employers.

Second, the Church stance on contraception is stupid and silly and anti-human and no, I do not respect other people’s religious beliefs if they are against human nature and welfare and since most Catholics do not respect the Church’s position on contraception, why should anybody.

Suing the federal government in court costs money and the Church makes, no takes, money from its parishioners and I hope those parishioners make some noise about the Church wasting their hard earned money on issues they themselves do not support!!!

Cardinal Dolan’s plan is to get the issue decided by the ALL CATHOLIC SUPREME COURT but he should not count on a victory there because the United States was founded on a SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE and it would be unconstitutional to have the Church interfere in how the country is run…it has worked for us for this long; we are not about to change that constitutional mandate to please some silly-ass cardinal and his “silly-ass” religious beliefs.

Christian Gays?

We all have been reading a lot about gay marriage lately and especially how Christians were and are fundamentally against gay marriage as an abomination as taught by “their” Bible which they cannot go against.

The realities of gay marriage on the ground today, is that many people, religious or not, feel that gays should be allowed to marry if they are in a “loving” relationship and vow to remain in one just like heteros.

Yes, it feels abnormal and against the natural order but if nature created gays than they must be treated as part of our natural society and as part of humanity on earth.

The religious aspect of homosexuality has always interested me and a recent article by Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald (May 4, 2012) entitled: A CHRISTIAN FINDS ACCEPTANCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE BIBLE, has prompted me to look at the issue a little closer.

The article actually talks about a young man named Mathew Vines who is a Christian and grew up in a conservative evangelical church in Kansas and now is a Harvard undergrad and also gay. He has a very compelling but long video on his position as a gay and a Christian on YouTube “THE GAY DEBATE; THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUALITY…very compelling.

Vines tackles the notion that if the Bible says its wrong than you have to believe homosexuality is wrong. I have always maintained that basically ALL issues can find support in the Bible even such issues as the approval of slavery as well why women should not be given the right to vote.

There are only six (6) passages in the Bible that deal with homosexuality even though homosexuality, the life style, was not really known in those days but obviously existed; male gang rape of other males was an accepted practice to humiliate and shame the losers of a battle.

The Old Testament Book of LEVITICUS is usually quoted as a condemnation of homosexuality when it calls it an ABOMINATION. The book of rules for the Jewish nation also proscribes stoning a child to death if he sasses his parents. The logic here is if we don’t accept the death of our children for misbehaving why should we accept similar logic about homosexuality? The rules were made for Jews and are not binding on Christians.

The Old Testament also contains the story of SODDOM AND GOMORRAH which is also oft quoted as a condemnation of homosexuality.

Actually Biblical scholars will tell you that the incident at Sodom and Gomorrah, when translated correctly, is about towns that were extremely inhospitable to strangers or outsiders and were very arrogant in their behavior which God sought to punish and the Old Testament sought to make example of.

The NEW TESTAMENT which addresses Christians directly and not Jews, is said to have a problem with translation on the issue of homosexuality. Remember the New Testament was originally in Greek but was then translated countless times into Latin and eventually into English. Also, please be mindful of the fact that years ago, the New Testament saw many, many errors passed on by people that were copying the book manually and in candle light.

Parts in question include St. Paul’s letters to the ROMANS, TIMOTHY, etc. Here Vines argues about translations and interpretations and he makes a good point in his exegesis and well worth listening to…see the YouTube video.

I did like his use of a GENESIS passage where in creating mankind on earth, God saw Adam and said that it was not good for man to be alone and He decided to create a person that would be a suitable partner to Adam. Naturally God made Eve and the rest is history but Vines argues, if God says it is not good for man to be alone than clearly gays finding suitable partners can only be good and according to God’s wishes.

You can never really tell people what the Bible says or doesn’t say, they will believe what they want to, just like Christian slave-owners did and their Christian ministers who supported slavery on biblical evidence, so finding an answer to today’s issues in the Bible is problematic if not impossible since everything in the Bible is subject to personal interpretation.

No I leave it to Mother Nature to get my answers; if she created gays than it is OK to welcome them into our society as equals.