Religious Liberty?

Today's New York Times highlights the efforts of many of America's Catholic bishops to fight for their "religious liberty." In doing so, Archbishop Timothy Dolan accuses our culture of trying to "neuter" religion, by pushing "religion back into the sacristy."

It is no secret that the Modern philosophers as far back as Hobbes and Locke viewed dampening religious zeal and removing it from the public realm as a cornerstone of their cultural project. But I place much of the blame on 21st century America's resistance to organized religion on people like Dolan, whose resistance to gay rights and other social issues places them at odds with modernity.

The head of the Bishop's committee on religious liberty, William Lori, exhorted his flock to stand up for the rights of their religion -- most notably, the right to deny gay couples their right to adopt children. In fact, Lori claims that laws which make it illegal for state funded adoption agencies to deny gay parents adoption rights infringes on their religious liberty, and forces Catholic agencies into insolvency. Apparently, these agencies would rather help no one, and let scores of children remain in foster care, than to let gay couples adopt them.

Focusing on issues like gay adoption not only shows overt prejudice but also demonstrates seriously twisted priorities. In the words of the liberal Catholic, John Gehring, "The bishops speak in hushed tones when it comes to poverty and economic justice issues, and use a big megaphone when it comes to abortion and religious liberty issues."

When unemployment remains above 9 percent and with poverty rates at tragically high levels, how can anyone take seriously people who claim that the real ills our country face result from gays being allowed to adopt. These skewed priorities are what is moving religion back into the sacristy, as the Bishops' concerns become less relevant to everyday people.

So the next time Dolan and Lori claim to be victims of progressive culture, they shouldn't blame others. Instead of looking to the left for reasons why religion is becoming irrelevant to many Americans, they should stare straight ahead into a mirror.

The Unjustified Deification of Paterno

Comparisons between the Penn State and Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals are right on point. But the analogy extends beyond the nature of the crime. Fans treat sports like religion, and deify those who participate in them. Saturday and Sunday are no longer Sabbath days, but are days to watch college and pro football for millions of Americans.

The fan's reverence of sport - and of those who play on and coach their team - is no more evident than in the responses of the Penn State student body who came out in droves after their canonized coach was fired. Paterno had been deified by the PSU faithful for decades, and, in their eyes, could do no wrong. Rather than confronting the uncomfortable, yet undeniable reality, the student body averted their collective consciousness. Instead, they decided to sink back into the comforts of their delusion, blaming the media, the Board of Directors, and anyone else who attempted to elucidate the truth - that all men, even ones as revered as Paterno, are fallible.

More from Governor Gaffe Machine

In owning up to his epic gaffe last night at the Republican debate, Rick Perry claims that "I'm kind of proof positive that...people make mistakes when they make statements" Governor Perry proved his point in the very next sentence by stating that his "conservative beliefs about getting this country back on track are very deep founded." Deeply founded, anyone?

I guess, along with which agencies he wants to demolish, Perry has forgotten what most English speaking people in America over the age of 13 should know-- the difference between adverbs and adjectives. No wonder the Department of Education is on the Perry's chopping block.

Into the Danger Zone

Two days ago, the Financial Times published an article highlighting the fact that, with Italian bond yields at 6.68, Italy has entered "the danger zone." In response, Paul Krugman muses in his blog that "the next few days could be very interesting." And indeed they have been.

Yesterday, in an attempt to calm the markets, Berlusconi announced that he would resign once the Italian budget is passed. The S&P 500 rose yesterday after the announcement, encouraging observers to draw connections between the two events where there were none, confusing correlation with causation. And sure enough, the S&P opened more than 20 points down, erasing any gains that may have been related to the Berlusconi announcement.

But the importance of this metric in gauging Italy's troubles pales in comparison to that of the aforementioned bond yield. Italy has sunk deeper into the "danger zone" as yields increased to 7.4 today. It is clear that the prospect of Berlusconi's resignation did absolutely nothing to restore confidence in the Italian bond market. He has been a pitiful Prime Minister and a national embarrasment, but Italy's problems run deeper than one man.

Cain's Response

For those who have not been paying attention, Herman Cain's response to his sexual harassment controversy is just as incoherent and asinine as his tax plan and abortion stance. Cain blames the "Democrat Machine" for charges of sexual harassment that came 15 years prior to his run for President. According to the logic, his accusers - obviously card carrying members of the Democrat Machine- must have know 15 years ago that Cain wished to run for President as a Republican, and made their claims to destroy his eventual political career. This Liberal Cabal was so sneaky in their two-decade long plot against Cain, that they managed to file suit against The Godfather of Pizza and convince his attorneys to settle outside of court all without him knowing.

Despite the Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, Cain is "in it to win it." He's not giving up anytime soon. And one must admire Cain's persistence - no one can stop the Cain Train. But then again, persistence might not be the best quality to be projecting when accused of sexually harassing multiple women.

Spare the Rod?

After the recent release of a video showing a Texas Judge abusing his child and the death of three children at the hands of parents in possession of a book which promotes the virtue of corporal punishment, physical discipline within the household is coming under increased scrutiny. The book, titled To Train a Child, is written by an evangelical pastor and his wife, Michael and Debbie Pearl, and has sold nearly three quarters of a million copies throughout the United States, schooling its readers on the proper way to beat a child into submission.

Given the book's wide fan base and the small number of deaths - three confirmed - it doesn't make sense to directly attribute the deranged actions of the few solely to the guidance of the Pearls. This, however, does not excuse the authors who have made a career out of cloaking their affinity toward child abuse under the veil of religious zeal.

Pearl attempts - and ultimately fails - to make a comparison between his book and the Alcoholics Anonymous hand book. "If you find a 12-step book in an alcoholic's house, you wouldn't blame the book." No, of course you wouldn't because the 12-step book is designed to guide people away from their affliction. Pearl's book, on the other hand, only encourages the impulses of the deranged, giving them biblical justification to indulge in their abusive urges.

Infrastructure Bill Fails to Advance

The Democratic infrastructure bill failed to pass the hurdle of a Republican filibuster today, as the minority party managed to halt the bill despite the fact that it received a majority of Yea votes. The bill featured 60 billion dollars in infrastructure spending, including a 10 billion dollar infrastructure bank which Republicans have historically supported - unless, of course, Barack Obama is President and he chooses to fund the Bank with a 0.7% surtax on incomes over a million dollars.

Sensing that Obama will claim - with justification - that Republicans have obstructed job creation efforts so that millionaires can keep an extra 0.7% of their income, Mitch McConnel has claimed that "Democrats are more interested in building a campaign message than rebuilding roads and bridges." Rather audacious words coming from the man who once proclaimed that "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President."

Such partisan bickering from McConnel is disheartening, but has become all to familiar in today's political climate. Perhaps Zero Hedge says is the best: "America decouples right on schedule: Senate Fails to Advance Democrats' $60 BLN Infrastructure Plan." But let's not pretend that both parties are equally complicit in fracturing our country's politics, and in letting our infrastructure to continue to crumble.