Paul Ryan to teach Economics and Catholicism at Notre Dame, no joke!!!

There was a certain irony and sadness watching Notre Dame burn and learning Paul Ryan will be guest teacher at the University of Notre Dame.

Focusing on Paul Ryan, here's the surreal bit of news:

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan will teach at the University of Notre Dame next school year ... a guest lecturer on "the fundamentals of American government, the current state of political polarization." He'll also teach economics.

Here's what Ryan will teach...?

I guess it's always good to hear from "both sides," even when the losing side won't admit failure. In a normal reality, having been proven wrong to this degree ideologically and economically, most people would slip quietly out of the spotlight. Not Paul Ryan. Here's an NPR interview where Ryan's claims predictions of trillion dollar deficits are wrong:



Pope Critic Paul Ryan teaches his version of Catholicism at a Catholic College: You can't make this stuff up. Yes, he'll also teach topics including Catholicism ...

Ryan: “As an Irish Catholic from the Midwest ... it is an honor to be part of a University where Catholic principles, robust debates, academic freedoms and diverse viewpoints are allowed to flourish.”

Ryan's not so Catholic principles hit the sh** fan awhile back. So for those who don't remember how bad check out the story below. Notre Dame should be embarrassed, and maybe read the paper from time to time:

Paul Ryan visited Georgetown University, the flagship Jesuit school and decidedly hostile terrain for Ryan's strain of economic libertarianism … sought to justify his budget priorities in terms of the Catholic principle known as "subsidiarity." "Subsidiarity" has been central to how the church envisions a just and equitable society functioning in a world dominated by big business and big government, both of which can dehumanize individuals and undermine the common good. "The principle of subsidiarity protects people from abuses by higher-level social authority and calls on these same authorities to help individuals," says the Vatican's Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

University of Dayton theologian Vincent Miller called (Ryan's) interpretation the "careful lobotomization of subsidiarity." In his 1961 encyclical, Pope John XXIII articulated another element of subsidiarity, writing that, "In a system of taxation based on justice and equity, it is fundamental that the burdens be proportioned to the capacity of the people contributing."

When the bishop chairing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' said the GOP budget Ryan spearheaded failed to meet a basic moral test -- and described cuts to programs that fell heavily on children and other vulnerable populations as "unjust and wrong" -- Ryan curtly dismissed those concerns as not reflective of all church leaders.

Pope Francis argued in May, imploring followers instead to focus on combating trickle-down economics and the world of inequality it produces. Ryan has a more condescending response to a pope who blasts "trickle-down" theories as "naïve" and denounces "an economy of exclusion and inequality." "The guy is from Argentina," he scoffs. "They haven't had real capitalism in Argentina. They have crony capitalism in Argentina. They don't have a true free enterprise system."

Paul Ryan's theories have been tested in the real world and failed, over and over again, from the Kansas Comeback to the current corporate tax cut specifically designed to force cuts to our social safety nets. Real Catholic-like:

David Campbell, Notre Dame's Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and chair of the department of political science, said in a statement that the chance for students to learn from what the school calls "professor of the practice" is unique to the university. "Having former officials in the classroom provides important insights for students — an opportunity to put the theories we study to the test.”

Catholic Hospitals Okay Obamacare Birth Control Plan.

There’s no reference in the Bible about birth control. None. Any ban on birth control is a choice by that religious organization. This should guide the Affordable Care Act’s policy on contraception.

So the following decision is a fair compromise, where no compromise was really needed:

WisGazette: In a split with U.S. bishops, a trade group for Catholic hospitals said this week it can accept the Obama's administration latest compromise on birth control coverage by religious employers. "We are pleased that our members now have an accommodation that will not require them to contract, provide, pay or refer for contraceptive coverage," said the Catholic Health Association.

However, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are suing to overturn the entire requirement, saying it trespasses on freedom of religion. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the bishops' conference, said … the bishops have also sought a religious exemption for owners of for-profit businesses.  

The argument against birth control is a reach by anyone’s standard. It was once used as a way of populating and increasing a churches membership. I would hope we were beyond that now, leaving such medieval thinking far behind.

I found this explanation at Desiring God.Org, just one of many opinions that makes practical sense:

Is birth control consistent with the truth that children are a gift from the Lord?

It is very important to delight in the reality that "children are a gift of the Lord." But some people go further and argue from this that since children are gifts from God, it is wrong to take steps to regulate the timing and number of children one has.

In response, it can be pointed out that the Scriptures also say that a wife is a gift from the Lord (Proverbs 18:22), but that doesn't mean that it is wrong to stay single (1 Corinthians 7:8). 

Father James Martin on Ryan Budget: "You really can't say it's Catholic." Ezra Klein Breaks it down to a matchbook cover.

You know, I've got to admit, everything that's being said about how outrageous Paul Ryan's budget plan is, is not getting through to conservative voters. I'll bet most of the information in the video below has never been explained to Republican radio listeners. My gut feel is that they believe so strongly in the truth of their ideology, that if it fails, it's means they haven't gone far enough. That's just crazy...and true.

Father James Martin points out what Paul Ryan missing, and Ezra Klein sums up beautifully the Ryan plan. Great stuff, and something Democrats should memorize and repeat to death.

Catholic Church tests Religious Influence and Control over U.S. Constitution.

What a set up. Even if insurance companies are required to provide contraception to all Americans, the Catholic Church is still claiming they’ll end up paying in some small way for the pills. What’s to stop the church from telling insurers what they can or cannot provide in general. How about the co-mingling of their insurance premiums with a company that provides contraception to different groups of policy holders?

If the church wins this one, they will have found a way to manipulate and set in place religious dogma into the Constitution. That’s why they have a full court press on now to win the big one.

Never mind that contraception has other medically necessary uses.

CBSNews: Roman Catholic leaders opened a new front against the Obama administration mandate that employers provide workers birth control coverage, filing federal lawsuits Monday on behalf of dioceses, schools and health care agencies that argued the requirement violates religious freedom. Among the plaintiffs is the University of Notre Dame, which in February had praised President Barack Obama for pledging to accommodate religious groups … Rev. John Jenkins, said the school had since decided to sue because "progress has not been encouraging" in talks with administration officials. The lawsuits have been filed in eight states and the District of Columbia by the Archdioceses of Washington and New York, the Michigan Catholic Conference, Catholic Charities in Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Indiana, health care agencies in New York and two dioceses in Texas.

The authoritarian hand of the Catholic church, and its tyrannical Bishop Robert Morlino

The folks in Platteville never liked the “traditionalist” priests that took over their parish, and they made that very clear from the beginning. Bishop Morlino’s iron fisted control over his flock has now officially turned ugly. Simply put, Morlino prefers a Medieval approach to Catholicism.

Forget the First Amendment, we’re dealing with the ultimate authoritarian religion. And it's happening at a time when we seem to be witnessing a conservative authoritarian takeover of our government. You will not speak freely, and you will not protest!!!

WSJ: Madison Catholic Bishop Robert Morlino has moved to quell a backlash against a group of conservative priests in Platteville since June 2010 by warning parishioners they risk formal church censure unless they stop spreading "rumors and gossip."

The action by Morlino, which two Catholic scholars called highly unusual, appears to include the possibility of offenders being prohibited from taking part in church sacraments such as communion, confession and burial.

The Platteville community exercised their First Amendment rights by sending a profound monetary message:

Within months, church donations fell by more than half, and about 40 percent of the church’s 1,200 members signed a petition seeking the priests’ ouster. The church’s 77-year-old school is set to close June 1 (because of the changes).

The penalty in the land of the free?

The letter, in which Morlino raises the prospect of invoking the church’s Code of Canon Law against dissenters, has stunned many parishioners. "There’s almost shock and awe," said Myron Tranel, a member of the church’s finance council.

Where there are those who work to "incite hatred," there "may need to be more formal warning and action," Morlino wrote. An addendum cites many church laws, including one in which anyone who publicly incites animosities or hatred toward church authorities "is to be punished by an interdict or other just penalties."

The frightening followers who see nothing wrong with serving their declared authority, love the idea of punishment.

Others applaud the bishop’s move, saying decisive action was needed because criticism had gotten out of hand. "This is a warning shot across the bow — you either want to be a Catholic or you don’t," said Gregory Merrick, a member of the church’s pastoral council. 

And the targets of religious persecution (is this really happening in America)?

Terry Busch wonders if he’s a target of the bishop’s message. "There’s nothing I’ve ever said that isn’t true, but it sounds like if you say anything about the priests or the church, they’re coming after you," he said. "Now I don’t know exactly what that means. Do they send you to hell or take you to court?"

Madison's Bishop Morlino bucks Church, Supports Ryan; "This is an issue where the congressman speaks well for himself."

It's one thing for Paul Ryan to know more about religious doctrine than the Catholic bishops, who have spoken out in unity against the inhumane policies of Ryan's "Path," but it's another thing for Bishop Robert Morlino, of the Madison Catholic Diocese, to continues to inject his partisan political brand of Catholicism into the mix in support of Ryan.

The story from WKOW states Morlino is staying completely out of the controversy, but that's just not true. Especially after seeing his statement on the Ryan controversy. Morlino is a Republican Party hack.

Ryan Flops at Georgetown University pt 2

Ed Schultz did a great job of collecting and correcting many of the comments Paul Ryan made to the Georgetown University crowd the other day.

The first clip shows Ryan bragging that he brought his own plan so he could have a fact based conversation. It's nice when Ryan's "facts" are the only ones available, huh? He suggests that mere interpretations of his budget are not to be taken seriously.

Another sick moment shows Ryan snickering to the silent crowd when he jokingly brings up Obama's "social Darwinism" comment. Not exactly a laughing matter. Was the audience gasping?



Ryan also tried to dress up his bad judgement with this snake like justification:

"I feel it's important to discuss how, as a Catholic in public life, my own personal thinking on these issues has been guided by my understanding of the churches social teaching." 

Ryan is basically turning Catholic doctrine into just another point of view, that he doesn't necessarily agree with...except when it comes to the churches opposition to insurance coverage for contraception.

And finally, this outrageous comment:

Ryan: "...government safety net programs have been stretched to the breaking point in recent years." 

Maybe we should look at what caused that "stretching" first?

Ryan Flops at Georgetown University, insists his plan the only true religion. Pt. 1

This is a must see take down of Paul Ryan, who visited Georgetown University today and bombed trying to make his case. In the clip below, Ryan repeats to the crowd how this is "his" vision of his faith, and that its okay to debate the moral and ethical issues leveled at him. That he hopes will let him off the hook...it doesn't.  Catholics United James Salt and Sister Simone Richards are outstanding in their criticism. Rob Zerban, Ryan's congressional challenger, I hope you're taking notes.



Here's a great detailed primer on the issue from USA Today:

Paul Ryan visited Georgetown University, the flagship Jesuit school and decidedly hostile terrain for Ryan's strain of economic libertarianism, where he argued for his budget's priorities despite vocal and visible protests by faculty and students … sought to justify his budget priorities in terms of the Catholic principle known as "subsidiarity," but the evidence shows his platform and that principle just don't match up.

"Subsidiarity" since at least the 19th century, has been central to how the church envisions a just and equitable society functioning in a world dominated by big business and big government, both of which can dehumanize individuals and undermine the common good.

As theologian Meghan Clark noted, "is perhaps one of the most crucial and most misunderstood in Catholic social teaching." It's not just a matter of ever smaller government, or reflexively devolving responsibilities downward, but of making sure that key societal functions are provided for. "The principle of subsidiarity protects people from abuses by higher-level social authority and calls on these same authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfill their duties," says the Vatican's Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

In recent years, Catholic conservatives, and especially those like Ryan with a libertarian bent, have focused almost exclusively on the first part of the formula to present a kind of laissez-faire version of Catholic economics. In this reading, government-sponsored universal health care and social service programs, among other things, would violate Catholic teaching and infringe on the individual's freedom and duty to work hard and contribute to society.

University of Dayton theologian Vincent Miller called this interpretation the "careful lobotomization of subsidiarity," while the National Catholic Reporter's Michael Sean Winters memorably likened it to "mere subsidiarity run amok or, better to say, subsidiarity in drag."

Ryan doubled down on his version when he compared subsidiarity to "federalism," "meaning government closest to the people governs best." Even a number of Catholic conservatives were prompted to correct the House Budget Committee chairman on that score. Stephen P. White of the Ethics and Public Policy Center explained that "subsidiarity is not about exercising power at the lowest possible level so much as it is about locating social responsibility in its proper place…The goal or end of subsidiarity is the proper ordering of society for the common good."

Moreover, theologians and church leaders point out that subsidiarity without the corresponding principle of solidarity leaves people to fend for themselves, the weak falling prey to the powerful. "The right ordering of economic life cannot be left to a free competition of forces," Pope Pius XI wrote in the 1931 encyclical, "For from this source, as from a poisoned spring, have originated and spread all the errors of individualist economic teaching."

In his 1961 encyclical, Pope John XXIII articulated another element of subsidiarity, writing that, "In a system of taxation based on justice and equity, it is fundamental that the burdens be proportioned to the capacity of the people contributing."

Ryan even thinks the Catholic Bishops are trying to Divide the country over their criticism of his plan.

This is a great collection of Paul Ryan clips, where he "disagrees" with the bishops, because after all, the bishops are trying create a chasm in the Catholic community and divide Americans.

This guy is one of the most uncompromising authoritarian Representatives I've ever seen, and no, I haven't forgotten Tom Delay. Ed Schultz gets it all right, and Prof. Michael Eric Dyson perfectly states the case against Ryan. What I like most about the video is how dramatically it exposes Ryan's ego.