Monthly Archives: May 2012

CATHOLICISM: Catholic Cardinal Says Church Is Willing To Let Poor People Starve In Protest Of Contraception Mandate (MUST WATCH VIDEO)

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Cardinal Timothy Dolan has made it very clear that he doesn’t like President Obama’s contraception mandate. And apparently, he and the Catholic Church are prepared to let poor people starve to death if President Obama doesn’t give in to their demands.

In an appearance on Martin Bashir on MSNBC on Tuesday, Dolan said that the Church would abandon Jesus’ effort to help the sick and feed the poor in protest of the contraception mandate that only applies to insurance companies and not the Church itself.

“If these mandates kick in, we’re going to find ourselves faced with a terribly difficult decision as to whether or not we can continue to operate,” Dolan said. “As part of our religion — it’s part of our faith that we feed the hungry, that we educate the kids, that we take care of the sick. We’d have to give it up, because we’re unable to fit the description and the definition of a church given by — guess who — the federal government.”

Bashir then pointed out that the Catholic Church had taken a staggering $2.9 billion from the federal government to pay for the charitable efforts the Church provides. “They don’t seem to bristle at the hand of government when it comes to money, do they,” Bashir commented.

Continue reading, and watch video . . .

PHILOSOPHY: Marxism, Morality, and Human Nature

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[…]

. . . [I]t is hard to believe that morality is nothing more than ruling-class ideology. Most people become socialists [underline added] because they think that some things should be opposed not just because they threaten their own material interests, but because they think they are wrong in and of themselves—racism and sexism, imperialist wars that kill hundreds of thousands of people, a system that destroys people’s lives in order to make a tiny number of people fantastically rich.

[…]

IN HIS Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 and elsewhere, Marx starts with a very different understanding of human nature. In this conception, we are not naturally competitive, rather, we are social creatures who cannot survive without cooperating with each other. Modern science confirms this view. Humans did not evolve as a collection of atomized individuals constantly at war with one another, but in social groups that depended on mutual support.

[…]

Warfare became a feature of human society only as a consequence of specific historical developments—crucially the establishment of permanent settlements with accumulated wealth, and the emergence of “social hierarchy, an elite, perhaps with its own interests and rivalries.” Rather than war being the expression of some general human propensity towards violence, it reflects the interests of those at the top of society who are most likely to benefit from it.

Evidence of this kind supports the view that human beings are not naturally violent, selfish, competitive, greedy, or xenophobic, it is not natural for human societies to be organized hierarchically or for women to have lower social status than men, and capitalism does not exist because it uniquely reflects human nature, as its defenders often claim.

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APHORISM: “On Presidential Prerequisites” / Madison S. Hughes

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By Madison S. Hughes (05.22.2012)

Reality Check! During a press conference at the 2012 Chicago NATO Summit President Obama has finally spoken truth to the long-standing myth that executive business experience brings added value to the Presidency as he said, “when you’re president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country has a fair shot.” Do not for one New York second believe that he, or any other political puppet of the corporate state, is not on the former sides of the conditionals in the post title. He also blew a whole in the myth of military experience being a significant factor in execution of Commander-in-chief duties (puns intended). Do not for one New York second believe that he, or any other political puppet of the corporate state, is not on the sides of the military industrial complex either. Need we discuss the industrial police state . . . neither did I.

SOCIAL ACTIVISM: Harvey Milk Day Recognizes Fallen San Francisco Hero (PHOTOS)

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LGBT activists all over the country will celebrate the third annual Harvey Milk Day on May 22, a holiday honoring the pioneering San Francisco supervisor who served as the first openly gay elected official in the United States.

A bill authored by California State Asseblyman Mark Leno and signed into law by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created Harvey Milk Day in 2009.

While California is the only state to officially honor the legislator, whose tragic assassination at the hands of fellow Supervisor Dan White was depicted in the Academy Award-winning 2008 film “Milk,” people all over the country also participate. In 2010, groups in 28 other cities followed the Golden State’s lead and held events honoring the legislator.

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SOCIAL ACTIVISM: Harvey Milk Day

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“Harvey served less than a year in public office before his brutal assassination but his life profoundly changed a city, state, nation and a global community.  His courage, passion and sense of justice rocked a country and stirred the very core of a put down and pushed out community, bringing forward new hope and a new vision of freedom”
~ Harvey Milk Foundation.

Harvey Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978)

After three unsuccessful campaigns, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. His election was a landmark event. The reason? Harvey Milk was gay, and his election was the first of an openly gay elected official in the United States. To win the election, Milk had to gain the support of all segments of his district.

On election night, Harvey Milk reminded his supporters: “This is not my victory — it’s yours. If a gay man can win, it proves that there is hope for all minorities who are willing to fight.”

[…]

Milk knew that his position as a San Francisco Supervisor advocating gay rights placed him in danger. Hate mail began to pour into his office. With chilling foresight Milk made a tape recording on November 18, 1977, with instructions to have it read only if he died by assassination. In it he says, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.” On November 27, 1978, Supervisor Milk and Mayor Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, a former police officer who had clashed with Milk over gay issues. After shooting the mayor, White entered Milk’s office and shot him five times at his desk.

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