Monday, Monday: Links for 5/14/12

Happy belated Mother's Day to all the mamas out there.  Since very few of them are likely reading this blog, go ahead and pass along our best wishes to your mother, when you get the chance.  No, that wasn't a backhanded joke.  Here at Conflict Revolution, we're nothing if not genuine.

No one would ever confuse Monday with Sunday, glorious bastion of the fun day.  Still, here's hoping you got a little bit of rest last night, so that the 9:00 hour isn't treating you too terribly.  Or who knows, maybe you're just waking up.

Stephen has gone fishin' for the day (when your office is in Tampa, FL, you do business in weird places), so in a break from our normal routine, you get a left-leaning start to your work week.  Whether you're just getting to your desk, just waking up, or have no plans to do anything at all today, dive into some CR morning links to get your Monday started off right:

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1) The New York Times explores our generation's big, ugly sleeping giant of student loan debt in an ongoing series.  Something should probably be done about this - but what?  ["A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College," NYT, 5/12/12].

Also see: Should Higher Education Be Free? 

2) Liberal Catholic E.J. Dionne takes the Freedom From Religion Foundation to task for targeting liberal Catholics in a new ad, but reserves some harsh words for the conservative wing of the Church as well.  As a liberal, intermittent church-going Catholic myself, I can attest to often feeling like I'm stuck between an ecclesiastical rock (the Church's hard-line position on social issues) and an ideological hard place (the outright skepticism - if not open hostility - of many on the left toward organized religion).  Dionne navigates this contradiction well, showing that ultimately, neither side is well-served by constantly being at each other's throats... sadly, these sorts of narratives are beginning to sound depressingly familiar ["I'm not quitting the Church," Washington Post, 5/14/12].

Also see: Just When You Thought the Culture Wars Were Over...

3) Are billionaire dual citizens choosing to give up their US citizenship in order to avoid paying higher taxes?  Will this factor into a broader case for overall tax reform, or just convince more on the Right to advocate for deeper cuts on existing rates?  ["Facebook Co-Founder Saverin Gives Up U.S. Citizenship Before IPO," Bloomberg, 5/11/12].

4) Speaking of the Right, leading the House of Representatives into the ideological abyss wasn't enough for the Tea Party, so they've now got their sights set on the Senate ["For Tea Party, Focus Turns to Senate and Shake-Up," NYT, 5/13/12].

5) Finally, the latest presidential tracking polls continue to show a close race - Rasmussen has Romney with 48% of the vote to Obama's 44%, while Gallup shows Obama with a 1 point advantage (46% - 45%) [Real Clear Politics Poll Average, 5/12/12].

Pop, lock and drop Conflict Revolution into your Bookmarks Toolbar for more updates later in the day, when we'll post Part II of Stephen's and my ongoing debate on the current state of the U.S. economy.

Stay dry out there, folks.

Obama Supports Marriage Equality - What's Next?

In case you missed it, the big news from yesterday was Barack Obama coming out in support same-sex marriage.  Regardless of how you personally feel about the president or even about the issue overall, it is hard to deny the significance of a sitting president declaring his support for a historic expansion of civil rights.  I for one, feel similar to how I felt when Don't Ask, Don't Tell finally got repealed: truly proud to be an American, and not only because this is a watershed moment for liberals.  Proud because any time our country does itself one better in terms of actually living up to our lofty ideals, it should be something to celebrate.

 

Of course, the president's backing won't actually extend full marriage rights to any one single person currently lacking them.  It is merely a statement of support.  And it will be interesting to see what actions might follow this announcement.  Obama tempered his words by noting that while he supports gay marriage personally, he continues to believe that states should decide the issue.  And with the GOP in control of the House, any legislative activity will indeed have to come from the ground up, as it has since Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004. 

Still, it matters what presidents say.  This one just set the tone for his entire administration, the entire federal government, and the future platform of his political party by coming down on the side of the civil rights pioneers.

Friday Links: Heresy, Innovation, and Disappointing GDP

Ice Cube knows it, you do too.  What?


That's right, it's Friday.  So get your open containers ready because Conflict Revolution Daily Links are about to go DOWN.  Let's take a look at what's in the news today:

1) The United States economy grew at a disappointing rate of 2.2% on the first quarter of 2012, lower than the median rate of 2.5% forecasted by economists and lower than the 3.0% growth between October and December of 2011.  Some silver lining?  Consumer confidence hit the highest level in a year, indicating improving demand, while household purchases ticked up by 2.9%, exceeding even the most optimistic estimates.  Also, Germany and Japan's economies are shrinking, and Britain is officially in a double-dip recession... so at least we're not them. ["Economy in US Grew Less Than Forecast in First Quarter," Bloomberg, 4/27/12]

2) Stephen Siena, CR's other esteemed writer, has long argued that modern, Western secularism is deeply rooted in Judeo-Christian thought and stressed that this really makes the US a Christian nation. So is Western secularism just another in the long line of Christian heresies? ["Bad Religion," Slate, 4/19/12]

3) CNN's John Avlon gives a well-reasoned perspective on tax reform, but how anyone sees the Republicans and Democrats as being equally intransigent is completely beyond me.  Call me when 95 percent of congressional Dems sign a pledge to NEVER cut spending. ["Why tax reform talk a dead end," CNN, 4/17/12]

4) Former Bush speechwriter David Frum on what Barack Obama can learn from Lyndon Johnson ["Read this book, Obama!," The Daily Beast, 4/15/12"]

5) Finally, from an excellent blog on urban living, why cities with lower carbon emissions are more innovative ["What Makes Some Cities Greener Than Others," The Atlantic Cities, 4/22/12]

The British economy is in recession, but so is the time left in your work week.  Kick back but don't switch back... the Conflict Revolution will not be televised, but it is available on the internet.

Over and out.

Daily Links: Priests, Undercooked IPOs, and America v. Europe

Links from today, and the past week, in your Thursday internet roundup:

1) Color me a bit surprised: despite the emerging liberal narrative (endorsed by yours truly) that the rigid and uncompromising Catholic opposition to the Obama contraception mandate signals a church in decline, new ordinations in the priesthood are up over the past decade ["Traditional Catholicism is Winning," The Wall Street Journal, 4/12/12]

2) Speaking of the Catholic Church, the good news is that they don't ONLY care about contraception. Give credit where credit is due... ["Catholic Bishops Criticize Ryan Budget Cuts to Food Stamps," The Hill, 4/17/12]

3) The Carlyle Group, the second biggest private equity firm in the country, may be "the most undercooked IPO of 2012," according to Stephen ["Carlyle is Said to Seek Value of up to $8 Billion in IPO, Bloomberg, 4/11/12]

4) Barack Obama tries to channel Ronald Reagan to argue for his millionaires' tax, but fudges on the facts ["Obama's Misleading Reagan Reference," CNBC, 4/13/12]

5) Nazi lobbyists? No, seriously... ["Nazis Get Their Own Lobbyist," US News, 4/13/12]

6) The Weekly Standard's Irwin Stelzer compares the relative resilience and divergent debt reduction policies of the US vs. European economies. Mr. Stelzer alludes to America's deficit challenges toward the end of his article, but am I wrong to interpret him as being somewhat sympathetic to Keynesian intervention in the short term, given how poorly austerity has worked out for Europe so far? ["America vs. Europe," The Weekly Standard, 4/14/12]

If you haven't already, don't forget to check out my take on Tuesday's DC space shuttle flyover. Stephen and I are working on two simultaneous email debates, so stay tuned for more Conflict as you count down the hours to the end of another workweek.

Happy Thursday!

An Absurdly Broad Definition of Religious Freedom

Today the United States Senate defeated legislation that would have allowed ANY employer or health insurer, religious or secular, to opt out of providing health care coverage to which they have a moral objection.

Blunt Amendment Defeated in Senate (POLITICO)

The amendment, pushed by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Scott Brown (R-MA) has been in the works for a few weeks now, and is obviously a response to the Obama administration mandate that religiously-affiliated organizations provide free coverage for contraceptive services to their female employees. It failed on a mostly party-line vote of 51-48, with three Democrats voting with the GOP and one Republican crossing over to the Democratic side.

It remains to be seen whether the Republicans will continue to push their case that religious freedom apparently gives anyone the license to refuse to do anything with which they disagree. Under this amendment, a Fortune 500 company with a pro-life CEO could theoretically decide that none of their company's female employees should have contraception, because it's against the CEO's beliefs. A business leader who is a Jehova's Witness could decide not to cover blood transfusions. Some Christians believe in "faith healing" - the idea that any medical treatment at all is wrong and that ailments should be cured through prayer. Could they get away with not providing health care coverage at all?

Just When You Thought the Culture Wars Were Over...

I came across an interesting article during my lunch break today about how Republicans and Democrats alike are both eager to turn the recent dispute over health care coverage for birth control into a big-time election year issue.

The contraceptive fight is not the only indication that social issues have returned with a vengeance. The past three weeks have also seen the nation’s leading breast cancer research foundation defund a leading provider of breast cancer screenings over an issue (abortion) that has nothing to do with breast cancer, then restore that funding after succumbing to intense public pressure.And while it’s becoming increasingly clear that almost nobody likes Mitt Romney, does anyone really think it’s a coincidence that Rick Santorum has catapulted to the top of GOP primary polls? This recent flap over “religious freedom” could not be any more in his wheelhouse.  

The difference between this and prior culture war battles, however, is that for arguably the first time, public opinion has taken a hard left turn away from the conservative viewpoint.