Author: Jeff Cassman
The Catholic Church’s Teaching on Voting and Political Discernment
Gerry Matatics is a internationally recognized scriptural scholar and apologist for the traditional Catholic faith who was once a Presbyterian minister. He graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, studied at Biblical Interpretation from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, has taught at Christendom College, Aquinas College, St. John’s in New York, Notre Dame Graduate School of Theology, St. Joseph University, University of San Diego, and Our Lady of Guadalupe International Seminary and now writes, lectures and teaches in defense of the Catholic faith.
I had an opportunity to interview Gerry this morning regarding the 2016 Presidential election tomorrow. He explains in detail what the Catholic Church teaches about:
- Our obligation to vote
- The ‘lesser of two evils’ argument
- Whether Donald and Hillary are both unacceptable choices
- How to commit a mortal sin in the voting booth
It’s an interesting topic. Let me know what you think!
Anti-Gouging Laws Hurt the Vulnerable and Increase Suffering
The approaching Hurricane Matthew has led to news reports that governments are warning residents and businesses in Florida about price gouging. It brings up a question related to my recent post on FB about a narrow question of economics. Do anti-gouging laws actually hurt people? Or is that just a myth of the cultural Marxists to scare people from helping one another and turn instead to benevolent Uncle Sam for rescue?
Here’s the very real scenario: people hit the stores to stock up on the essentials: beer, milk, bread, etc. Consequently, the stores run out of those essentials. Entrepreneurs who are beyond the danger zone of Hurricane Matthew see an opportunity, buy up beer, milk and bread, buy coolers and ice, load up their trucks and vans, and drive into the danger zone to sell these supplies.
Naturally, they do not sell them at the same price they bought them for. They want to make a profit. First, they add the cost of the ice, the cooler, and the gas, and if they are smart, they add the value of their time for the shopping, loading, driving and working, meals on the road, lodging, and then they set a price above this amount which would represent some hoped-for profit margin. The price could easily be double or triple the normal price.
Now, the state would consider this gouging. Many on the Left and Right rage against the practice. And yet, aren’t these entrepreneurs actually doing the consumer a fabulous service?
Celebrating Labor Day? Don’t
President Cleveland created Labor Day on June 28, 1894 in an attempt to quell a strike by 150,000 railroad workers that had crippled the country’s economy. The striking laborers refused to go back to work and eventually clashed with federal troops. Their leader, Eugene Debs, was sent to prison, where he eventually became a Marxist.
The common ideology of the unions and the socialists made for a profitable long-term alliance. Each sought to overthrow the existing order, each proclaimed an entitlement to the property of others, and each was quick to resort to violence when lawful means were unproductive. Within two years of the institution of Labor Day, a quarter of a million workers in Chicago walked off their jobs, demanding a shorter work week (but the same pay). As so many strikes do, this one resulted in violence when police attempting to disperse the crowd at the Haymarket Square were attacked with a dynamite bomb. Seven police officers were killed. They would be the first victims of the new century of union, socialist violence.
The unions have long cultivated the myth that their reason for existence is the promotion of workers’ rights, but from their earliest days the opposite has been true. Shortly after the Civil War, as black Americans flooded northern industrial areas in search of jobs, labor unions such as The Brotherhood of Railroad Firemen and Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen prohibited the admission of black members. They also banned Catholics. Consequently, the railroads employed almost exclusively white … Read the rest
Top Ten Causes of Death for 2016
As of August 25, these are the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States.
| Abortion | 690,193 |
| Heart disease | 400,589 |
| Cancer | 385,820 |
| Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease | 95,918 |
| Accidents | 88,714 |
| Stroke | 86,790 |
| Alzheimer’s | 60,994 |
| Diabetes | 49,874 |
| Influenza and Pneumonia | 36,011 |
| Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis | 31,394 |
As a percentage of the total:
| Abortion | 36% |
| Heart disease | 21% |
| Cancer | 20% |
| Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease | 5% |
| Accidents | 5% |
| Stroke | 5% |
| Alzheimer’s | 3% |
| Diabetes | 3% |
| Influenza and Pneumonia | 2% |
| Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis | 2% |
How many people have died from each cause today:
| Abortion | 2,899 |
| Heart disease | 1,683 |
| Cancer | 1,621 |
| Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease | 403 |
| Accidents | 373 |
| Stroke | 365 |
| Alzheimer’s | 256 |
| Diabetes | 210 |
| Influenza and Pneumonia | 151 |
| Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis | 132 |
Sources: CDC, Guttmacher Institute