FPL Daily News Reel: August 13, 2012
The FPL News Reel is a daily round-up of the top faith and politics stories in the news. You can sign up for the email version of the News Reel here, subscribe to the RSS feed here, and follow it on twitter at @FPLNewsreel.
Paul Ryan’s budget logic is quandary for some Catholics
By Kathleen Hennessey and Lisa Mascaro — Los Angeles Times
…it is the Ryan budget — with its steep cuts to food stamps, healthcare for children and the disabled, and social programs, while sparing the Pentagon — that has put him at odds with some in his church.
Paul Ryan isn’t a deficit hawk. He’s a conservative reformer.
By Ezra Klein — Washington Post, Wonkblog
He is not primarily interested in reducing the deficit or cutting federal spending…Rather, the common thread throughout his career is his desire to remake the basic architecture of the the federal government.
Paul Ryan: Champion of Dissent
By Michael Sean Winters — National Catholic Reporter, Distinctly Catholic
Despite Ryan’s reputation as a serious intellectual, it is difficult to see how deep his intellect actually runs if he can so uncritically praise such a hateful human philosophy as Rand’s.
The Romney-Ryan Plan for America
By New York Times, Editorial
As House Budget Committee chairman, Mr. Ryan drew a blueprint for a government that would be absent when people needed it the most. Medicaid, food stamps, and other vital programs would be offloaded to the states, but the states would not be given the resources to run them. The federal government simply would not be there to help the unemployed who need job training, or struggling students who seek college educations.
Nuns Reject Vatican Takeover But Seek Dialogue on Differences
By David Gibson — Religion News Service
American nuns facing a Vatican takeover of their leadership organization on Aug. 10 rejected Rome’s plans to recast the group in a more conservative mold, but declined — for now — to respond with an ultimatum that could have created an unprecedented schism between the sisters and the hierarchy.
Vatican assessment discussed behind closed doors at LCWR assembly
By Carol Zimmermann — Catholic News Service
References to how the sisters were discerning their next steps were clear in the daily prayer sessions where the sisters were continually reminded that they were at a crossroads and should let go of fears and preconceived ideas and trust the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Talk About Poverty (#TAP): Peter Edelman’s Questions for Obama and Romney
By Greg Kaufmann — The Nation
…in a July 29 op-ed for the New York Times, Edelman takes on the popular myth first coined by Ronald Reagan, “We fought a war on poverty and poverty won.” Not so, Edelman argues. He notes work by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities demonstrating that without Social Security, food stamps, the earned-income tax credit, and the rest of the safety net, “poverty would be nearly double what it is now.”
Brewer advisers form health pact to push to expand Medicaid
By Mary K. Reinhart and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez — Arizona Republic
Two key advisers to Gov. Jan Brewer are attempting to create a coalition of hospitals, insurance plans, providers and other players to push Arizona to expand Medicaid under federal health-care reform.
Deferred deportation program starts soon; advocates say issues remain
By Patricia Zapor — Catholic News Service
Potential applicants for the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals may be anxious to submit applications as soon as the system opens Aug. 15, but as the date approached, many issues remain unsettled.
State Voting Suppression Schemes and How They’re Being Challenged
By Aura Bogado — The Nation, Voting Rights Watch 2012
This week marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. A lot has changed since then.
