[jeffkrol]

but it seems to pass the "Mormon test".. anyways.........

The nuns aren’t the only Catholics making noise. A pair of high-profile bishops—Bishop Stephen E. Blaire and Bishop Richard E. Pates—have been sending letters to Congress about the importance of protections for the poor, speaking on behalf of the Conference of Catholic Bishops. “The bishops have said Ryan’s budget doesn’t pass the moral test,” Sister Simone says, “and we stand with the bishops on that one.”

Catholic sisters have had a busy year. Recently the Vatican cracked down on the church’s main umbrella group of U.S. nuns, called the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, or the LCWR, saying the nuns were showing signs of “radical feminism” for not vigorously promoting church teachings on issues such as homosexuality and abortion. The nuns fought back, calling the Vatican move polarizing. Last week, the sisters met with a bishop who has been appointed to oversee them, expressing their concerns.

Fox talkers have frequently expressed outrage over Nazi references made by those on the other side of the ideological aisle. Bill O'Reilly said that "it's bad." Fox talkers have also expressed outrage over Bill Maher's (Identified as "Pig Maher" on Fox Nation) snide remarks about conservative women and Christians. Yet, Fox's beloved Rush Limbaugh says that the American nuns, who are pushing back against a Vatican reprimand regarding their lack of enthusiasm for the bishop's crusade against gay marriage and abortion, "have gone feminazi on everybody." Really?

http://www.newshounds.us/20120614_rush_says_nuns_are_feminazis_where_is_fox_news_outrage
http://www.newshounds.us/20120812_fr_jonathan_morris_gushes_over_paul_ryan_s_devout_catholicism

Morris emphasized that he's not a political strategist. (But he has advised his Fox congregation not to vote for President Obama) The oh so cute little padre's baby blues were glowing when he said that he does "know that Ryan has been very serious, very deep in his explanation of why Christian moral principals must be incorporated into things like budget." Ignoring Catholic criticisms of Ryan's budget, Morris described Ryan's claim that his budget is consistent with Catholic teachings and cited how Ryan believes Catholic teachings about "the dignity of life," "the common good," and other awesome Catholic things.

He added the caveat that Ryan "realizes" that "we don't have unlimited resources" and that "sometimes cuts are necessary." Johnson added that Ryan believes that while we need to help the poor, we should only serve "those truly in need" (So you're not completely paralyzed or living on the streets - screw you!) and that - ready for it - "you need to make cuts so that the least among us" can get benefits

---

Last edited by jeffkrol; 08-16-2012 at 11:46 AM.

[jeffkrol]

Catholics pray for Paul Ryan, Joe Biden to change views

While praising the congressman's sincere faith, they say they want Ryan to have that road-to-Damascus moment and see the light that the Ryan budget goes against Catholic Church teaching on the poor.

Their press release Thursday highlights the U.S. Catholic bishops's stance that the deep budget slashes fail to meet Catholic moral criteria to protect the poor and promoted common good.

This has notably not worked with Ryan. The "Nuns on the Bus" nine-state tour this summer paused at his office to talk up the vision of a just and compassionate budget. Ryan didn't meet them there but later had a "cordial" private conversation with the leader of the tour. Sister Simone Campbell, director of a Catholic advocacy group, Network, told The Daily Beast,

We agreed to disagree. Actually, we both agreed that we care passionately about the future of this country. So we did find some common ground.

Ryan, however, is not the only contender to be the Catholic vice president. The Franciscan duo also calls for prayers for Biden that he will shift to oppose abortion and protect "the born and preborn." They back up their plea with links to the U.S. bishops.

[Ratmagiclady]

From Moveon.org, but .... check it out, even if you don't like them: all they did was put it in a list.

10 Things to know about Paul Ryan

1. His economic plan would cost America 1 million jobs in the first year. Ryan's proposed budget would cripple the economy. He'd slash spending deeply, which would not only slow job growth, but shock the economy and cost 1 million of us our jobs in 2013 alone and kill more than 4 million jobs by the end of 2014.1

2. He'd kill Medicare. He'd replace Medicare with vouchers for retirees to purchase insurance, eliminating the guarantee of health care for seniors and putting them at the mercy of the private insurance industry. That could amount to a cost increase of more than $5,900 by 2050, leaving many seniors broke or without the health care they need. He'd also raise the age of eligibility to 67.2

3. He'd pickpocket the middle class to line the pockets of the rich. His tax plan is Robin Hood in reverse. He wants to cut taxes by $4.6 trillion over the next decade, but only for corporations and the rich, like giving families earning more than $1 million a year a $300,000 tax cut. And to pay for them, he'd raise taxes on middle- and lower-income households and butcher social service programs that help middle- and working-class Americans.3

4. He's an anti-choice extremist. Ryan co-sponsored an extremist anti-choice bill, nicknamed the 'Let Women Die Act,' that would have allowed hospitals to deny women emergency abortion care even if their lives were at risk. And he co-sponsored another bill that would criminalize some forms of birth control, all abortions, and in vitro fertilization.4

5. He'd dismantle Social Security. Ironically, Ryan used the Social Security Survivors benefit to help pay for college, but he wants to take that possibility away from future generations. He agrees with Rick Perry's view that Social Security is a "Ponzi scheme" and he supported George W. Bush's disastrous proposal to privatize Social Security.5

6. He'd eliminate Pell grants for more than 1 million low-income students. His budget plan cuts the Pell Grant program by $200 billion, which could mean a loss of educational funding for 1 million low-income students.6

7. He'd give $40 billion in subsidies to Big Oil. His budget includes oil tax breaks worth $40 billion, while cutting "billions of dollars from investments to develop alternative fuels and clean energy technologies that would serve as substitutes for oil."7

8. He's another Koch-head politician. Not surprisingly, the billionaire oil-baron Koch brothers are some of Ryan's biggest political contributors. And their company, Koch industries, is Ryan's biggest energy-related donor. The company's PAC and affiliated individuals have given him $65,500 in donations.8

9. He opposes gay rights. Ryan has an abysmal voting record on gay rights. He's voted to ban adoption by gay couples, against same-sex marriage, and against repealing "don't ask, don't tell." He also voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2009.9

10. He thinks an "I got mine, who cares if you're okay" philosophy is admirable. For many years, Paul Ryan devoted himself to Ayn Rand's philosophy of selfishness as a virtue. It has shaped his entire ethic about whom he serves in public office. He even went as far as making his interns read her work.10

If there was ever any doubt that Mitt Romney's got a disastrous plan for America—he made himself 100% clear when he picked right-wing extremist Paul Ryan as his running mate. Paul Ryan is bad for America, but we can't beat him if Americans don't know everything he stands for. Share this list with all your friends by clicking here, or simply forward this email.

[GeneV]

The Romney-Ryan budget doesn't pass the math test, either. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001631-FAQ-Romney-plan.pdf
You can't cut taxes 20%, and "broaden the tax base" by cutting deductions enough to make it revenue neutral without hitting the middle class. Mr. Romney’s ‘garbage’ - The Washington Post The math doesn't work.

[Tom S.]

Ryan himself doesn't pass the moral test, so why should his budget? Of course I can say the same thing about many Democrats. I'm not prejudiced, I dislike both parties. And before someone can ask, I'm not a Tea-bagger either. IMHO, we have to a point where political parties should be disbanded and each candidate be forced to run on their own platform and merit. I would also limit the heck out of campaign spending.

[wildman]

Ryan’s budget doesn’t pass the moral test

This is news?

[jeffkrol]

HuffPost Radio: BOTH SIDES: Reagan and Matalin Debate Ryan Rollout and Voter ID Laws and Preview the Republican National Convention

Ron Reagan and Mary Matalin are at odds over two big topics: Is Paul Ryan "the boy next door" who excites the conservative base; an anti-Medicare, pro-1-percent winger who unifies the liberal base; or both? And is voter impersonation a unicorn that can't justify the undeniable disparate impact of voter ID laws on lower-income, elderly, minority Obama voters?

*On Ryan. How did Paul Ryan go from prom king and catfisherman to a buff libertarian who's an election and possibly a heartbeat away from the presidency? And how'd he do in his debut week?

We listen to his well-received opening talk in Norfolk, Va., in which he says our rights come from "God and nature" and condemns "the new normal" of 8-percent unemployment. Mary is personally thrilled with Romney's selection, citing Ryan's intellectual caliber, serious economic plans, and winning manner. "He provides a large contrast with the other side and challenges the caricature of Romney as not being bold," she says. ("Bold?" asks Stephen Colbert about the Ryan choice. "White, Christian, and male?")

Ron holds the polar opposite view, saying Ryan is a career beltway insider who postures as a deficit hawk but "voted for all the things that wrecked the budget, like TARP, two unfunded wars, and Medicare drug benefits." As for his record, "he's gotten two laws enacted in 13 years -- one naming a post office, and one on taxing hunting arrowheads, since he's an avid bowman."

I chime in:

Like the 13th chime of a clock that raises doubts about everything before, in Churchill's metaphor, three events expose a simmering electoral crisis that could dwarf Florida 2000. First, Mike Turzai, the Pennsylvania State GOP Senate leader, acknowledged to a group of donors last month that their voter ID law would "allow Governor Romney to win the state." Second, a study of 2,068 cases of alleged voter fraud found only 10 cases of voter impersonation since 2000, or less than the chance of getting hit by lightening. Third, the Republican state judge's ruling denied that voting was a "fundamental right" like free speech, which allowed him to uphold it based merely on "reasonable" arguments rather than the "compelling arguments" of a "strict scrutiny test." No one has a "right" to a drink or to drive or board a flight, but how can't the franchise, the hallmark of a democracy, not be a right?

Here are two ways out of this trap: If the concern is voter impersonation, require the voter to sign an affidavit swearing you're the voter, at risk of a criminal complaint and jail if untrue; or require the federal government to use its database to affirmatively send every citizen over 18 a valid ID card. Otherwise, what happens if we wake up on Nov. 7 and Obama has lost Pennsylvania or Florida or Ohio (and therefore the presidency) because several tens of thousands of eligible elderly black voters were tuned away since they lacked valid driver's licenses? What would that do to race relations, to the legitimacy of a new president, to the idea of America?