Courier Commentary

Obama puts social justice in the forefront

2010-04-26T09:24:00.001-07:00

Deacon Gordon Richard
Dolen, SD

I am enthused by the recent passing of the Health Care Bill. It has been the dream of may previous presidents and this one delivered. It is not a perfect bill but it is most certainly taking us in the right direction of health care for all. I also feel if it had not passed this president would have been crippled in other legislative efforts. And, I believe, President Obama will move further to help all Americans and not just the well off. He may prove to be one of the most social-justice oriented presidents ever. Those years organizing in poor communities gave him a wealth of human rights experiences and a 'helping the least among us' philosophy.

I wish that the Catholic hierarchy would dialogue with him more and come to a fuller understanding that the Church has many of the same important issues as does the president. With regards to the whole abortion issue: many have said that a potential funding for abortion in the just past bill was a "phantom", plus the political maneuvering of those pro-life Democrats in getting Obama to render that Executive Order was masterful. He will not likely go back on that.

Again, this president has much of our Catholic/Christian social justice belief in his very being and we need to work with him as the best chance to help all people.

Isn't this a one-vote-per-citizen country?

2010-03-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

By Lorraine Redig
Winona, MN

Investor owned profit-maximizing corporate agreements are not living, breathing people. In January 2010, our nation’s Conservative majority Supreme Court found voting rights for “corporate persons” in the Constitution where our nation’s founders did not put them!

They declared that “corporate persons” could vote by spending as much as they want attacking or promoting political candidates. That’s legalized bribery!

A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll revealed that 85% of Democrats, 81% of Independents and 76% of Republicans oppose that decision.

In this one-vote-per-citizen country, those corporation owners already have their vote (if they are citizens).

Corporate CEO’s get at least some of their wealth by creating poverty among producers through traditional discrimination akin to slavery called “supply and demand”. They short-circuit the whole economy by paying farmers and labor less than a human rights return for their production. That underpayment prevents farmers and labor that produce new wealth from “demanding” some family and business needs, so good jobs to “supply” those needs don’t materialize.

The Federal Reserve Board says that by 2007, the top 1% of Americans owned more of this country’s wealth than the bottom 90%.

Let’s take our country back so we can start working to end discrimination by putting every producer into the Private Enterprise system. Please sign Public Citizen’s petition at www.DontGetRolled.org, for a constitutional amendment to fight the corporate takeover of our democratic republic.

If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Take Care of Creation

2010-03-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

Reaction to Suzanne Belongia's column in the January 2010 Courier - page 12 of the following PDF file link:
http://www.dow.org/documents/10JAN_web.pdf

Suzanne Belongia (If You Want to Cultivate Peace ... January Courier) has it partially right: if you want to cultivate peace, promote human development.

At the core of John Paul and Benedict's environmental vision is the human person. Technology is the currency of human progress. Increased energy usage is both the precursor to and result of robust economic activity directed to benefit man and his environments. Carbon dioxide is a glorious result of human economic production and in turn serves as a feedstock for further plant growth; it is not a pollutant but a vital necessity for all life on Earth. We hinder it at our peril.

Primitive societies such as Haiti, seemingly more "natural" and environmentally friendly, use largely biomass (e.g. wood and dung) to produce minimal carbon dioxide which translates to low economic output, shoddy infrastructure and poor qualities of life. Developed economies consume greater amounts of energy, produce commensurate amounts of carbon dioxide and yet foster healthier natural environments with efficiency and conservation inherent in the free market. The human person greatly benefits from living happier, safer, more productive, less environmentally damaging lives in such advanced surroundings.

If you want to take care of creation, take care of the human person.

Barry P. Bruss

Rochester MN

Courier Commentary

2010-03-08T09:11:00.000-08:00