Every week I come across a few articles, blog posts, what have you, that strike me as particularly interesting. Since there’s lots of stuff out there and nobody manages to catch everything, I thought that, as I have time – weekly I hope – I’d start sharing some of the “thinky” articles with you – I’ll add a short summary or a quote from the text that underlines why I think it’s valuable to read.  

I don’t necessarily agree with the thrust of all of these articles or with specific arguments they put forward, but I do find them provocative. Nor do I expect that you all will absolutely agree either. If anyone who reads this wants to discuss any of the articles or to suggest some good reading that I’ve missed – or the importance of which I’ve failed to appreciate – please make use of the comments.

Follow the Dark Money, Andy Kroll (Mother Jones, July/Aug. 2012).  “The down and dirty history of secret spending, PACs gone wild, and the epic four-decade fight over the only kind of political capital that matters.” A Telling quote:

Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel at the pro-reform Campaign Legal Center, says Bopp’s use of the culture wars to attack political money regulations is central to understanding his influence and success. “Bopp recognizes something that few on the left recognize: that campaign finance law underlies all other substantive law,” Ryan says. “If you can deregulate money in politics, you can buy the policy outcomes you prefer.”

This Is What a Businessman in the White House Looks Like, Ben Adler (The Nation, June 21, 2012). Mitt Romney says we should elect him because his proven business skills can be effective in government. In response, Adler looks at how poorly business men in government have fared in the past, as well as at Mitt Romney’s claims:

Ultimately, governing is about policy choices, not creating wealth. Romney has embraced the economic platform of career politician Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI). That includes budget-busting tax cuts and unspecified spending cuts and tax reforms that are supposed to offset them. In other words, his business career notwithstanding, Romney’s economic policy would be indistinguishable from other far-right Republican ideologues.

Why History Matters to Liberalism, E. J. Dionne, Jr. (Democracy, Summer 2012). Dionne takes on the issue of who controls the historical narrative that animates our collective political life:

While the right was talking about history, liberals were talking about-well, health-care coverage, insurance mandates, cap-and-trade, financial reforms, and a lot of other practical stuff. One can offer a sympathetic argument here that progressives were trying to govern in a rather difficult moment and didn’t have time to go back to the books. But the left’s default was costly, and it was noticed by an editor of this journal in the spring of last year. “Beyond the circumscribed world of academic journals and conferences,” Elbert Ventura wrote in these pages, “history is being taught-on TV and talk radio, in blogs and grassroots seminars, in high school textbooks and on Barnes & Noble bookshelves. In all those forums, conservatives have been conspicuous by their activity-and progressives by their absence.” Ventura ended with this alarming coda: “If we don’t fight for history, progressivism itself will be history.”

Selling destructive ideology, George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling, (Salon, June 23). “Why conservatives sell their wildly destructive ideology better than Democrats.” The takeaway quote:

Where Romney talks morality (conservative style), Obama mainly talks policy. Where Romney reframes Obama, Obama does not reframe Romney. In fact, he reinforces Romney’s frames in the first part of his speech by repeating Romney’s language word for word – without spelling out his own values explicitly.

Losing on Health Reform, Paul Waldman (The American Prospect, June 21, 2012). “Perhaps it was impossible to win the battle over public opinion.” The perspective from which Waldman starts:

When the Supreme Court issues its ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, we’ll begin a new chapter in this saga, one that will probably (well, maybe) involve sorting through how the law’s implementation will work once the individual mandate is struck down. But we’ve reached the point where there’s no denying that the fight over public opinion has been lost, and that ground may never be regained no matter how hard the Obama administration or progressives might try.

The Washington Monthly (January/February issue). The link here is to the contents page of an entire issue of the journal. This issue examines what would happen to each component of our political life if Obama loses in November – it’s older than the articles above, but a chilling must-read. To give you an idea of what it’s all about, here’s a list of the relevant articles (you can link to them from the contents page above):

–What If Obama Loses?: Imagining the consequences of a GOP victory. By the Editors

–Campaign Promises: What they say is how they’ll govern. By Jonathan Bernstein

–The Tea Party: Picking the candidates and writing the agenda. By Dave Weigel

–Congress: The good news is… no more gridlock. By Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein

–The Courts: The conservative takeover will be complete. By Dahlia Lithwick

–Foreign Affairs: The “more enemies, fewer friends” doctrine. By James Traub

–The Environment: The end of the EPA as we know it. By David Roberts

–Financial Regulation: Back to the good ol’ days of 2008. By Michael Konczal

–Obamacare:  It’s toast. By Harold Pollack

…the establishment clause.

Because if you’re in a sort of religious majority, not being able to use the institutions of government to proselytize people who don’t want what you’re selling makes you a victim.

The right wingnut cult of the victim, via Representative Todd Akin (r):

66 Members of Congress Call Attention to Alarming Pattern of Attacks on Faith in the Air Force

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO) along with Congressman Diane Black and Congressman Randy Forbes, sent a letter signed by 66 Members of Congress urging Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to investigate a pattern of hostility towards faith in the United States Air Force. The letter calls on Secretary Panetta to issue clear Department of Defense policy guidance, consistent with our Constitution, to preserve the place of religious expression in the military at large….

And, guess who else signed the letter? Yep, Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [pdf].

Representative Hartzler has a broad view that religious freedom means imposing one religious belief system on everyone else:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler ‏@RepHartzler

Many have written me opposing the #HHS mandate. I stand w religious liberty & will fight for conscience rights for all. #Fortnight4Freedom 2:34 PM – 22 Jun 12

From the Military Religious Freedom Foundation:

Religious Freedom & the Military: An Ongoing History

….All Americans have the right to worship as they see fit within the bounds of the law, but no one has the right to use the government , military, or power of the state to endorse or promote his or her religious beliefs or demand help in spreading sectarian messages. Given that, it is imperative that when military professionals take the oath to support and defend the Constitution, these democratic principles are what they are promising to protect.  On September 1, 2011 the Chief of Staff, General Norton A. Schwartz sent a memorandum for all commanders, the subject was “Maintaining Government Neutrality Regarding Religion.”  In this memo he states, “Leaders at all levels must balance Constitutional protections for an individuals free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and its prohibition against governmental establishment of religion”. Further “They must avoid the actual or apparent use of their position to promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.” To do so, he states, “Commanders or supervisors who engage in such behavior may cause members to doubt their impartially and objectivity. The potential result is a degradation of the unit’s morale, good order, and discipline. Thus the flagrant proselytizing of subordinates by superiors, non voluntary evangelizing of members by chaplains and public prayer in official, mandatory settings, outside of voluntary worship, are at the root of what the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is fighting against….

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation was founded by Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer, as a reaction to the religious harassment and proselytizing he and his sons received while attending the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Via Twitter:

Jason Kander ‏@JasonKander

Conversation I just had: “You’re really gonna shake every hand in this park, aren’t ya?” “Yes, Ma’am.” “You’re gonna win.” 2:46 PM – 23 Jun 12

On the other side, Rex Sinquefield can just contribute sufficient money to a republican candidate so they can have someone shake hands for them.

[Marion, Indiana]

Mike Earnest: Out of the blue one day we were told to build a thirty foot stage. Gathered the guys and we built that thirty foot stage, not knowing what it was for.

[Mitt Romney and Bain Capital purchased the paper plant.]

Just days later all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse.

[The company was profitable with three shifts working.]

A group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed and all of you are fired.

I looked both ways. I looked at the crowd and, uh, we all just lost our jobs. We don’t have an income.

[“there’s little question he made a fortune from businesses he helped destroy.” New York Post 2/19/11]

Mitt Romney made over a hundred million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives.

Turns out, that when we built that stage it was like building my own coffin. And it just made me sick.

[If Mitt Romney Wins, the middle class loses.]

Announcer: Priorities USA Action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

[Priorities USA Action is responsible for the content of this advertisement. Paid for by Priorities USA Action and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. PioritiesUSAAction.org]

Any questions?

Judy Baker’s (D) campaign for lieutenant governor released a video:

Judy Baker (D): Missouri is a great state with great people and a bright future. But we’ve gotta get serious about the real challenges that face our state.

This means the time for petty political games is over. We have to find better ways to create jobs and strengthen our schools, help seniors get the services they need to stay healthier and independent longer, and to help our veterans as they transition back to our communities as we welcome them home.

From my earliest childhood to my days in seminary to when I was serving you in Jefferson City I have always seen public service as a mission, a chance to serve a higher call. I learned this from my parents. My dad was a career Navy doctor and my mother a public school teacher.

So if I get the chance to be your lieutenant governor I will stay focused on the things that really matter, the things that will make a difference, by taking on the real challenges that face Missouri families.

We’ve heard nothing but jobs from members of the not-so-loyal opposition party – although when they decide to get busy, the project rarely seems to involve getting unemployed Americans back to work. We certainly get the job-talk from all our Missouri GOP politicos – while most of them are also on the record for supporting the outsourcing of American jobs in some way or another – which, I think, is the opposite of job creation. Just google the GOP pol’s name and add “outsourcing,” and you’ll see what I mean.

True to the playbook, Mitt Romney, the GOP presidential nominee-to-be, has decided to run on a platform that requires that every fifth word be “jobs.” He actually doesn’t have much of a job creation record – Massachusetts didn’t do so well in that regard under his leadership – but then he’s also been very careful to avoid specifics.

However, those specifics have a way of creeping up on you, no matter how you try to avoid them. Romney not only has lots to explain about his role as a “job-creator” (of course, he is rich and most Republicans think that the wealthy are, ipso facto, job-creators), but he has a lot in common with our Missouri outsourcers too. When it comes to his outsourcing proclivities, The Washington Post is responsible for rounding up the specifics that have come home to roost; Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, has, however, expanded the roster of facts and translated it to video and sent it out into the world:

It’s not hard to understand why so many GOPers are big for outsourcing – it’s good for the American corporate bottom line and American corporations are good for compliant politicians’ campaign bottom lines. Take a look, for instance at which politicians the Chamber of Commerce, a big proponent of a “free market” base that is located offshore, likes to throw its money.

Remember when Newt Gingrich’s former sugar daddy, Sheldon Adelson, announced that he was winging his wallet Romney’s way? Then stop and consider the talk – from none other than John McCain among others – about Adelson’s Chinese connections and the implication that he is putting his support where it can buy influence for China, one of the leading destinations for offshored American jobs. Makes it easy to understand just why Romney might be willing to be, in the President’s words, the “outsourcer-in-chief.”

Rep. Todd Akin (R-2) takes umbrage regularly. Social trends, government, what-have-you, they all get him worked up. And what does he do about it? Often he writes letters. Sometimes his letter-writing zeal makes us laugh. Just consider that, Akin, one of the serious, for-realsies, candidates for the Senate of the United States actually seems to believe that the EPA is flying spy drones across Missouri farmland? According to Rep. Akin, the EPA wants to harass farmers. And, of course, he wrote the EPA a letter expressing his how deeply “disturbed” he was about this silly, totally false, right-wing, boogy-man story.  

Akin’s letters aren’t always so funny, as Michael Bersin’s recent post shows us. Bersin quotes from a letter that Akin, together with two of his House colleagues, wrote to the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. In the letter the three alleged that the Air Force is promulgating a “culture that is hostile toward religion.”

What prompted this outpouring from Akin – which was signed by 66 of his fellow travelers in the House, including as Bersin pointed out, Missouri’s Vicky Hartzler? Essentially, Akin is attempting to turn back the clock to a time when evangelical Christians enjoyed a privileged status in the Military and officials turned a blind eye to that situation.

Specifically Akin et al. are responding to corrective measures undertaken by the Air Force after numerous complaints from Air Force Academy cadet became public. The cadets accused the the school of discriminating against non-Christians and subjecting them to proselytizing and  “religious harassment.” Just to underline the point, 3,500 cadets responding to a survey indicated that they had heard slurs and jokes at the academy that they considered to be indicative of religious bias during their time at the academy. For the record, similar complaints have also been increasingly surfacing in other branches of the military.

The Air Force, to its credit, investigated the complaints and in 2005 adopted guidelines that stipulate (quote via The New York Times):

Supervisors, commanders and leaders at every level bear a special responsibility to ensure their words and actions cannot reasonably be construed as either official endorsement or disapproval of the decisions of individuals to hold particular religious beliefs or to hold no religious beliefs.

These are the words of a the “culture that is hostile towards religion”?. If you don’t read the text of the letter , Akin’s statement of his goals seem quite compatible:

When our sons and daughters join the military, they are not signing away their First Amendment right to religious liberty. Unfortunately, it seems that some parts of the military are intent on prohibiting religious expression rather than protecting it. I hope that the Secretary of Defense will respond to this strong letter from over sixty Members of Congress by issuing clear protections for the religious liberty of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.

To which I say, “Amen.” I expect the Air Force to continue in its efforts to model neutral and professional behavior for its young trainees, one in which Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists and what-have-you, feel free to pursue their religious faith in a way that respects their fellows’ diverse beliefs. And I am emphatically sure that this doesn’t happen when one religion is allowed to engage in triumphalist acts of the sort that Akin wishes the Air Force to permit. I’m glad that this seems to be exactly what the Air Force intends to continue doing:

An Air Force spokeswoman denied that the service is hostile to religion, and said it was dedicated to creating an environment where people of any belief system could prosper.

“Airmen are free to exercise their Constitutional right to practice their religion-in a manner that is respectful of other individuals’ rights to follow their own belief systems; and in ways that are conducive to good order and discipline; and that do not detract from accomplishing the military mission,” Maj. Jennifer Spires said in an email.

Previously:

Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 16, 2012)

Attorney General Chris Koster at Missouri Boys State 2012 – Q and A (June 17, 2012)

Governor Jay Nixon (D) and Kansas City Mayor Sly James at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 18, 2012)

Kansas City Mayor Sly James at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 18, 2012)

James Carville at Missouri Boys State 2012 – photos (June 19, 2012)

James Carville at Missouri Boys State 2012 (June 19, 2012)

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) spoke at Missouri Boys State in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri on Thursday evening:

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D) speaking at Missouri Boys State

in Hendricks Hall on the campus of the University of Central Missouri on June 21, 2012

The transcript:

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D): …. And I want to break it down in, really, to three questions. They seem kind of basic. But it turns out basic questions are really the ones we have to ask ourselves that end up making the difference in how we live or lives.

And the first question seems incredibly simple. Who are you? You might tell me your name, you might hand me your resume. Doesn’t really tell me much about you. Doesn’t tell me about what you value, what your principles are, what you hold dear, what you’re passionate about. You might tell me that you’re a Boys Stater, that might be an Eagle Scout, or somebody on the track team, might be a basketball player, an honor roll student. If I answered those questions I’d tell you I was a fifth generation Missourian, I’m a lawyer, run a few marathons, have a cattle farm, like to fly airplanes. That doesn’t tell you much about me and what I value. These descriptions are useful, but what’s more useful is what’s inside. And what motivates us and keeps us going. It’s our goals….

…You know, when I took this job as Secretary of State, one of the things I have to do is hire a lot of people, so plenty of resumes come in. And it’s gonna, it’s gonna be interesting if you look at resumes. I don’t know how many of y’all have done this. But a lot of times people’s, you know, credentials, they’re all pretty impressive. The real question is which one of them has the integrity and the passion to do what I need ’em to do. That’s never on that piece of paper. I remember talking to a guy who ran a, a HR shop in a big company and he told me that integrity was such an important part of what they looked for when they hired people that he asked this question in every interview. He asked, has there ever been a time in your life when you stood alone on the side of what was right and it cost you something? [pause] That is sort of a telling moment, isn’t it? When you’re doing something that isn’t along with what everybody else does, or isn’t what the crowd, or isn’t the easy choice. And yet, in the end, that is what tells you who you are inside. And that is what ends up mattering to people the most. The best part about that is that you get to decide those things. It’s sort of an amazing thing how many choices you have in life. And I know when you’re young it seems like they’re just so many choices. It is so cool that you get to decide your path. That’s a great thing about America, is we don’t live in this place where where you’re born is where you end up. We live in a place where you have the choice and you’re empowered to do those things.

You know, there’s a great story about a couple of young men that were born not too far from each other in Germany back in the late eighteen hundreds. They were alike in a lot of ways, they were born like two hundred miles apart, they were both altar boys at their church, both really creative, one was big into the arts and another was into music. Both of them wrote books. At one point in their lives they talked about their life’s philosophy. One of the young men, he wandered around Europe as an artist and tried to sell all of his stuff and failed at that and went back and joined the army, found out that he was really good at leading people and went on to do that. His name was Adolph Hitler. [voices: “Oh.”] Another guy who grew up two hundred miles away from him, liked music. Very, very talented. He became a master organ builder. One of the most, foremost authorities about Bach. Earned a degree in theology and philosophy. He had all this talent and everybody in his town thought he could do anything he set his mind to do. The world was his oyster. But here’s where the story gets interesting. This young guy, when he was in his mid twenties made a couple of really profound decisions about his life. He decided that until he was thirty years old he was only going to study things he was really, really interested in. When he got to be thirty he was gonna go to medical school. After he got done with medical school he decided to go to Africa. He started a leper colony and a hospital. People back home in Europe couldn’t understand how this brilliant mind was being wasted. That he had made the choice to waste his life. He has so much to offer in Europe, and yet he went to equatorial Africa to be a doctor. Anybody know who I’m talking about? Albert Schweitzer. You’re right. Albert Schweitzer, a man who went on to make a huge difference in the lives of millions of people and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. These are two people who grew up in very similar areas, who made life choices that were dramatically different fro the world.

Just like you they had to make a choice about who they were. The choices that you make are profound for your community and for your country. Second, second question, told you there were three. Second question, again, pretty simple. Reminds me of another story of a scientist, I love this. It’s about Albert Einstein. He was a professor at Princeton University. The story goes that he was on a train going someplace and the conductor comes down and starts taking tickets, to all the people on the train and came to Dr. Schweitzer [Einstein] and, and he couldn’t find his ticket. He’s looking around, he’s looking in his pockets, he can’t find his ticket, he’s looking in his briefcase, he can’t find the ticket. The conductor says, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry about it, I know who you are, don’t worry about it, I’m sure you bought a ticket, you’re fine. Conductor went on, going down the aisle, taking the rest of the tickets and he’s about to leave the car, when he turns around he sees Einstein, like on the floor looking around still. And so he rushes back and says, Dr. Einstein, really, we know who you are, I know you bought a ticket, don’t worry. And Einstein got up and stopped and looked at him and said, young man, I, too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going. You can laugh at that, that’s supposed to be a joke. [laughter] Come on. [laughter] I actually thought was sort of funny. [applause] You’ve never had that happen before. [applause] You guys. Ah, should have told a joke first. Okay. No, but it’s true.

You gotta know where you’re going. It’s a question that haunts everybody. Doesn’t matter who you are, the goals and directions that make a difference,
people struggle with those. Sometimes they don’t even bother because it’s such a hard thing.

It’s sort of fortunate I grew up in this family, you heard from my bio, people involved in politics. I discovered at an early age that people in my family didn’t really didn’t struggle with having big dreams. Have ’em all the time. Sometimes we’d get, we, sometimes we achieve ’em, sometimes we don’t, but we never lack for having a big dream. And I know that one of the stories I love is when my grandfather, I was growing up. He was born in the late eighteen hundreds, he was one of nine kids, he was the only one that went to college, went to become a school teacher, but he had these big ideas about what he wanted to do. Even though there was no real reason to think any of this would ever come true, but he still had ’em. And this great story, about the day he walked in to the house and announced to my grandmother that he intended to run for Congress. Well you can imagine my grandmother’s surprise. She thought this was a terrible idea and said so. She said, don’t do it, you can’t win. He’s a big dreamer, hard headed, went to the neighbors, told the neighbors he intended to run for Congress. They said, ah, don’t do that, you can’t win. Told the local politicians he intended to run for Congress, they’re all like, no, no, don’t do that, you will never win. Well, he was a dreamer, went on, ran for Congress anyway. And guess what happened? [voices: “He won.”] He lost. They were right. [applause] He lost. He didn’t win. But it turns out that’s not the end of the story. Because, of course, it was a setback not to win, but that didn’t change his ultimate goal just because there was a setback. Two years later he ran for Congress again and he won. And he kept winning and serving in Congress for fourteen years. Went on to be a delegate to the United Nations and served as an ambassador in west Africa under President John F. Kennedy. It’s a long way from where he started.

Goals and dreams have a way of keeping you on track and giving you a purpose even when they’re hard. And for those of you in this room, this is especially important, having those goals and having the direction, because the chances are, there are gonna be people behind you wanting to follow in your footsteps. And so you all knowing where you want to go will make a difference not just in your life, but in the lives of all those around you.

Okay, last question. What difference will you make? [pause] You ever notice there are some people who seem to live their lives, they wake up in the morning, they go to work, they go home, have dinner, watch television, collapse into bed, and do that same thing again the next day. Their lives are focused narrowly, just on what they can do for themselves, and sometimes they’re pretty successful. But there are other people who not only figure out ways to succeed but they also figure out ways to help others. These are the ones that volunteer at the school, these are the ones that are here at Boys State helping, these are the ones that lead Boy Scout troops, or get involved in campaigns, or help clean up a polluted stream, or get involved at church or a local hospital. You know those people.

You know, the ancient Rabbis had a name for this, they called it tikkun olam. It means repair the Earth. [pause] To me that seems like an incredibly powerful mission to repair the Earth. To right the wrongs that mankind has done to each other and to our planet. And for some of you in this room repairing the Earth might mean running for office, it might mean joining the military, it might mean volunteering at a homeless shelter, or coaching a little league baseball team. Each of you is in a very unique position. To serve. And I hope before you leave here this week you figure out how you can do that when you go back home. ‘Cause service isn’t just about some big idea. It can be small things.

When my father was Governor of Missouri one of the things he did to repair the Earth he never talked about. Live out in the country, and he would go for a walk along our county gravel road he always had a plastic bag with him. He was picking up trash. The Governor of Missouri was picking up trash. He was busy reforming education, doing other things to get money and change things around to make the state better, but he also picked up trash.

So don’t think that you can’t find a way to serve. [applause]

So, that’s my message tonight. Three questions. Now, my challenge to you is to answer those questions for yourself. Who am I? Where am I going? And what difference will I make? And as you do that I hope you’ll consider the words of President Kennedy who said, with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth and lead this land that we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on Earth God’s work must truly be our own.

So, thank you all very much. [applause]

I hope you all took note of the letter to Governor Nixon from the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO urging him to veto SB749 – the latest slap at women’s reproductive freedom mounted by our state legislature. If you haven’t, Michael Bersin has posted its text here at SMP. The letter cogently outlines the basic threats posed by this legislation.

The AFL-CIO is not alone in its objections to a law that would permit religious organizations and individuals with public functions to penalize those whose beliefs do not coincide with theirs – which is exactly what SB749 would do. Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club have mobilized against it (you can send a letter to Governor Nixon via the Sierra Club urging him to veto SB749 here). According to the Kansas City Star, as of last Saturday letters urging the Governor to veto the bill outnumbered those in support of it by two to one.

Such pressure is very important in this case since Governor Nixon has a record of letting obnoxious bills intended to restrict reproductive rights become law without his signature, evidently hoping that by not taking a stand, he’ll anger fewer people overall. The sweep of this bill is so wide and so unfair, though, that we cannot allow our leaders to ignore its consequences – particularly since the supporters of SB749 are determined to ensure that politicians take note of their ability to pack a mighty wallop. The two to one ratio of anti vs. pro letters could easily shift.

The folks who have drummed up this whole “religious freedom” frenzy, a group of politically conservative Catholic Bishops, kicked off their counter campaign, the so-called “Fortnight for Freedom,” yesterday. In Missouri the action took place at a rally at the Capitol:

More than an estimated 1,000 people, nearly all of them wearing red, crammed into the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday in Jefferson City. Their intent was to rally for religious liberty and protest President Barack Obama’s policy requiring insurance companies to cover the costs to provide free birth control to women working at religious-affiliated institutions such as hospitals and colleges. Numerous religious leaders addressed the crowd, drawing cheers and loud applause and several “Amens” throughout the rally.

Although drawing upon the usual, crazed anti-abortion, right-wing protestants to swell their ranks, the locus for this piece of churchly agit-prop is a 12 page document, “Our First, Most Cherished Liberty,” approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Administrative Committee in March. While it contains a few points that might give those cooperative. right-wing protestants pause – it also singles out immigration laws such as Alabama’s that would punish religious people for sheltering the undocumented, for instance – it, for the most part, attempts to puff up the anti-sex and anti-women hysteria of the bishops into a dignified religious crusade.  

Further, this crusade has as its goal political extortion of the sort that resulted in Missouri’s SB749.  And it’s well enough funded so that it can come down on politicians with sufficient force.  Expect to see TV ads, Facebook campaigns and lots of hoopla The source of the funds to pay for all this outreach, however,  while not entirely clear has been questioned in the context of partisan politics.

Lest you doubt the motivation, just consider what it is that the Bishops are wailing so vociferously about. The source of all this angst, the Obama birth control mandate, does not extend to church affiliated bodies that are strictly religious in their activities, or that are not supported in whole or part by U.S. tax dollars. If the Catholic Bishops object to their affiliated educational, medical and charitable organizations following  the same  rules as  every other tax supported entity and wish to continue asserting their intrusive religious authority,  all they need to do is stop taking our  tax dollars. Voila! – a solution that preserves their “religious freedom,” such as it is.

But don’t wait for the bishops to give up all those dollars by taking a real stand for conscience. Nor do I expect to see anyone challenging the Church’s tax-exempt status on the basis of the overtly political nature of the bishops’ campaign. What we can do, though, is keep track of how much noise they manage to generate on the topic of SB749 with their “Fortnight for Freedom” – and make sure that we keep on making our own noise in return.

 

Today, one of the republican candidates for Secretary of State gets a really big contribution – reported at the Missouri Ethics Commission:

C061132 06/22/2012 SCHOELLER FOR MISSOURI Rex Sinquefield 244 Bent Walnut Westphalia MO 65085 Retired Retired 6/22/2012 $150,000.00

[emphasis added]

It’s definitely not an investment in promoting reading comprehension.