Publisher's Synopsis
This volume on Rights and Liberties covers the true hot spots of the Culture Wars: the constitutional arguments on abortion (and whether they allow for the legal protection of the unborn), the Affordable Care Act, the Bishop's opposition to contraceptive coverage under the Act and to Marriage Equality. For me, many of these questions are not about religious freedom, but the attempt by the Church to have the law recognize religious power over its employees and the faithful.
Current case law has not (yet) considered the question in this way. Part of the reason for my comments is to widen that discussion. I argue against attempts to recognize the rights of the unborn under the criminal law, while encouraging a radical expansion of the child tax credit, both in terms of amounts and refundability. Catholic Social Teachings back the social democratic reforms that many Republicans call socialist. I also draw the distinction between negative rights to not be executed with positive rights to support and to not be murdered (and how the latter must - and cannot - be enforced). Michael's opposition to Libertarianism is included in this volume as well, both regarding social liberty (which I favor and he does not) and economic libertarianism (which I also oppose) and which were featured at the Erroneous Autonomy Conferences sponsored by Catholic University and the AFL-CIO, as well as the activities of the Napa Institute at the University and its school of business. From 2008 to 2010, I was a frequent troll on the America Magazine online version, often commenting on Michael Sean Winters' posts. In 2010, he moved to National Catholic Reporter and I began commenting daily there, cross posting my comments on my Christian Left page. MSW balances his more traditional doctrinal leanings with more liberal politics. I throw radicalism into the mix in both areas. If you are looking for in depth coverage on the culture wars in the Church and politics, there is no better place to look than Michael's column and my comments. At some point, Michael's columns and my comments would make a good point-counterpoint collection, but it could only be published by NCR, since they own the rights to Michael Sean's side. This assumes that anyone cares about what my side is. If you buy the book, you will find out if my arguments are worthy. If you have Kindle Unlimited, finding out will cost you nothing. Posts are sorted by subject, rather than by publication date, making it easier to follow how my POV on each issue evolved. This adds enough value for to buy the book rather than reading it online.
