Ash Wednesday & Lent in Two Minutes

Dorothy Stang, SND de Namur, Apostle of the Landless Poor

Fr. Jim Martin: "Seven years ago today, Dorothy Stang, an American Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, was martyred in the Amazon as a result of her work with the landless poor there. When two hired gunmen met her on a muddy path they asked if she was carrying a weapon. In reply, she took out a Bible and began to recite the Beatitudes. "Blessed are the poor in spirit...blessed are the peacemakers." Then she was shot. This video shows some of her generous spirit and the love that the people had for her.  The first few minutes are particularly affecting, and will remind you of so many of the women religious who have a passion for the Gospel and for the poor."

The Americans no one wants to talk about

Michael Gerson: "But many Americans are being overlooked in this bipartisan conspiracy of economic abstraction. A significant and growing portion of the population lives in poverty. In 2007, the rate was 12.5 percent. By 2010, it was 15.1 percent. The share of Americans in extreme poverty — with an income less than half the poverty line — is the highest in the 35 years that the Census Bureau has kept such records."

More Selections From Ron Paul’s Newsletters

TNR: "Ron Paul has recently suggested there was only a “total of about eight or ten sentences” of “bad stuff” in the newsletters that he regularly used to publish under his name. This assertion was patently false: As TNR has shown, the newsletters contained dozens of statements marked by bigotry and conspiratorial thinking. In light of Paul’s continuing evasions about the newsletters, and with hopes of clarifying the matter definitively, TNR is now making more of them available."

Pope says selfishness, individualism fed economic crisis

CNS: "Pope Benedict told the civic leaders that among the causes of the financial crisis is "individualism, which obscures the relational dimension of the person and leads him to close himself off in his own little world, to be attentive mostly to his own needs and desires, worrying little about others."

Where Are the Liberals?

David Brooks: "If Democrats can’t restore Americans’ trust in government, it really doesn’t matter what problems they identify and what plans they propose. No one will believe in the instrument they rely on for solutions."

A lot of good points in this article.  I would say the most important change that is needed is electoral reform: redistricting reform, primary reform, and campaign finance reform.  For people to trust the government, we need to start electing trustworthy representatives.  We need institutional changes to make that more likely.     

Santorum and the Lobotomization of Subsidiarity

Vince Miller: "David Brooks and Michael Gerson find in Rick Santorum a hopeful departure from the current radical Republican presidential contenders who range from neoliberal to libertarian.  They celebrate his embrace of subsidiarity as a more robust political philosophy than the rest of the field.  I share much of their desire, but little of their optimistic read of the political thought of the former Pennsylvania Senator. 

It is hard to believe that the former lead Senate liaison in the K Street Project is guided by a political philosophy significantly different than the Republican mainstream.  Indeed, Santorum stands firmly with them.  He supports both Paul Ryan’s budget and the Balanced Budget Amendment.  He would cap Federal expenditures at 18% leaving a government little able to render subsidium when needed in times of crisis."

The liberty of local bullies

Noah Smith: "Not surprisingly, this gigantic loophole has made modern American libertarianism the favorite philosophy of a vast array of local bullies, who want to keep the big bully (government) off their backs so they can bully to their hearts' content. The curtailment of government legitimacy, in the name of "liberty," allows abusive bosses to abuse workers, racists to curtail opportunities for minorities, polluters to pollute without cost, religious groups to make religious minorities feel excluded, etc. In theory, libertarianism is about the freedom of the individual, but in practice it is often about the freedom of local bullies to bully. It's a "don't tattle to the teacher" ideology.

Therefore I see no real conflict between Ron Paul's libertarianism and his support for the agenda of racists. It's just part and parcel of the whole movement. Not necessarily the movement as it was conceived, but the movement as it in fact exists."

Santorum Trying to Steal Racist Voters from Ron Paul?

Santorum: "It just keeps expanding - I was in Indianola a few months ago and I was talking to someone who works in the department of public welfare here, and she told me that the state of Iowa is going to get fined if they don't sign up more people under the Medicaid program.  They're just pushing harder and harder to get more and more of you dependent upon them so they can get your vote. That's what the bottom line is...

I don't want to make black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money; I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money."

Ron Paul’s quest to undo the party of Lincoln

Michael Gerson: "Let us count the ways in which the nomination of Ron Paul would be groundbreaking for the GOP.  No other recent candidate hailing from the party of Lincoln has accused Abraham Lincoln of causing a “senseless” war and ruling with an “iron fist.” Or regarded Ronald Reagan’s presidency a “dramatic failure.” Or proposed the legalization of prostitution and heroin use. Or called America the most “aggressive, extended and expansionist” empire in world history. Or promised to abolish the CIA, depart NATO and withdraw military protection from South Korea. Or blamed terrorism on American militarism, since “they’re terrorists because we’re occupiers.” Or accused the American government of a Sept. 11 “coverup” and called for an investigation headed by Dennis Kucinich. Or described the killing of Osama bin Laden as “absolutely not necessary.” Or affirmed that he would not have sent American troops to Europe to end the Holocaust. Or excused Iranian nuclear ambitions as “natural,” while dismissing evidence of those ambitions as “war propaganda.” Or published a newsletter stating that the 1993 World Trade Center attack might have been “a setup by the Israeli Mossad,” and defending former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and criticizing the “evil of forced integration.”

My 20 Favorite Tweets from Fr. Jim Martin in 2011

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 26 Feb

Gospel: When Jesus says to become like a child, he may mean not only a childlike trust in God, but a child's sense of play, wonder and joy.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 5 Mar

Gospel: Jesus knows better than to engage in arguments with people who already have their minds decided against him. Good advice for us too.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 25 Mar

I had chicken on a Friday in Lent since it was a Solemnity and technically 'allowed.' But I still felt guilty. Thus I must be very Catholic.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 14 May

Gospel: Joy is an underappreciated Christian virtue. The best way to draw others to God is to live your own vocation joyfully Joy attracts!

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 10 Jun

Gospel:Jesus asks Peter about love three times to allow Peter to make up for his triple denial of Jesus. God always gives us second chances.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 19 Sep

Gospel: You think you won't be held accountable for those grudges, or for those mean comments or putdowns you make on the web? Think again.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 11 Oct

Gospel: Jesus tells us that if there is ever a conflict between laws and love, love wins every time.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 15 Oct

Evening prayer. God, sometimes I do something so stupid it makes me wonder who I am. Thank you O God of second, third and fourth chances.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 23 Oct

Gospel: Jesus offers a triad of love: of God, neighbor and self. Don't forget the last one. Respect yourself and do not dishonor yourself.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 15 Nov

Gospel: Jesus offers to dine at Zacchaeus's house before Zacchaeus changes his ways. God doesn't wait until we're perfect to meet us.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 22 Nov

Gospel: Jesus's prediction of the Temple's end was shocking to hear. Yet mere buildings, people and institutions are all subordinate to God.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 23 Nov

Gospel: One unpleasant secret about living the Christian life--loving, forgiving, being charitable: Some may hate you for it. Do it anyway.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 27 Nov

Gospel: Jesus's metaphor isn't hard to interpret. Your life may end at any moment. Is your soul ready to meet the Lord? If not, shape up.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 29 Nov

Gospel: Jesus says that God doesn't care what words you use in your prayers. God cares that you do God's will in your life.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 2 Dec

Gospel: Are you blind to the suffering of the poor? To the sadness of the lonely and those who mourn? Let Jesus open your eyes...and hearts.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 6 Dec

Gospel: Those whom you disdain because they're not leading "good lives" are those whom God seeks most ardently. They are God's beloved too.

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 22 Dec

Gospel: Mary on income redistribution. "He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he has sent away empty."

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 28 Dec

3. Don't try to get people to like you. Love can't be manipulated. Real friends like you for who you are. #12stupidthingsineverwantodoagain

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 28 Dec

5. Don't obsess about your outside. Pants too long? Too short? Who cares? Pay attention to your inside. #12stupidthingsineverwanttodoagain

James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 29 Dec

6. Don't work constantly! Resist thinking that you are what you do. Be a human being not a human doing. #12stupidthingsineverwanttodoagain

Follow Fr. Jim: James Martin @JamesMartinSJ 

News Bulletin: Ron Paul Is a Huge Racist

Jonathan Chait: "Paul may be a dissident from the main thrust of Republican policy-making but this is not because he’s more tolerant or more sensible than the leaders of the GOP. It’s because he’s crazier."

Inside Syria: A rare look into the uprising

Down with Assad!

Paul Krugman: "Now, the tax ideas I’ve just mentioned wouldn’t be enough, by themselves, to fix our deficit. But the same is true of proposals for spending cuts. The point I’m making here isn’t that taxes are all we need; it is that they could and should be a significant part of the solution."

When Did the GOP Lose Touch With Reality?

David Frum: "Conservatives have been driven to these fevered anxieties as much by their own trauma as by external events. In the aughts, Republicans held more power for longer than at any time since the twenties, yet the result was the weakest and least broadly shared economic expansion since World War II, followed by an economic crash and prolonged slump. Along the way, the GOP suffered two severe election defeats in 2006 and 2008. Imagine yourself a rank-and-file Republican in 2009: If you have not lost your job or your home, your savings have been sliced and your children cannot find work. Your retirement prospects have dimmed. Most of all, your neighbors blame you for all that has gone wrong in the country. There’s one thing you know for sure: None of this is your fault! And when the new president fails to deliver rapid recovery, he can be designated the target for everyone’s accumulated disappointment and rage. In the midst of economic wreckage, what relief to thrust all blame upon Barack Obama as the wrecker-in-chief."

Excellent article with a ton of great points.   

When Did Liberals Become So Unreasonable?

Jonathan Chait: "Of the postwar presidents, only Johnson exceeds Obama’s domestic record, and Johnson’s successes must be measured against a crushing defeat in Vietnam. Obama, by contrast, has enjoyed a string of foreign-policy successes—expanding targeted strikes against Al Qaeda (including one that killed Osama bin Laden), ending the war in Iraq, and helping to orchestrate an apparently successful international campaign to rescue Libyan dissidents and then topple a brutal kleptocratic regime. So, if Obama is the most successful liberal president since Roosevelt, that would make him a pretty great president, right?

Did liberals really expect more? I didn’t. But when you dig deeper, liberal melancholy hangs not so much on substantive objections but on something more inchoate and emotional: a general feeling that Obama is not Ronald Reagan."

Herman Cain Stumbles On Libya Questions (Generous Headline)

Europe’s debt crisis and the danger we can’t see

Matt Miller: "There are plenty of reasons to be freaked out by the banking and sovereign debt crisis now reaching a crescendo in Europe. But one factor that’s gotten little attention could turn this Very Bad Situation into a True Calamity.

It’s this: Regulators here and in Europe have no idea — repeat, no idea — of the full extent of the derivatives exposure that could be triggered by an “official” Greek default, or by the failure of a major French bank. And if the people in charge have no clue as to the fallout from what may be trillions of dollars in side bets waiting to be triggered in a catastrophic cascade, they’re basically flying blind."

Leonard Seidman: A Remembrance

Jonathan Chait: "My grandfather, H. Leonard Seidman, died yesterday. My family loved him, but beyond that, I thought it would be worth writing about his life, because it intersected with some of the great struggles of the twentieth century."

Jim Webb's Criminal Justice Overhaul Commission Blocked Again In Senate

HuffPo: "Sen. Jim Webb's effort to reform criminal justice in the United States has once again been blocked in the Senate.  On Thursday afternoon, the proposed National Criminal Justice Commission Act, which the Democratic senator from Virginia put forward as an amendment to a wide-ranging appropriations bill, failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster. The vote was 57-43.

Webb's bill would establish a bipartisan commission charged with taking a hard look at the drug war and prison overcrowding, among other criminal justice issues, at the national, state, local and tribal levels. Its findings and recommendations would then be released in the first comprehensive report since 1965 on the state of criminal justice in America."

Family economics

EJ Dionne: "Beyond the gay marriage battle, we need a bargain: Liberals should acknowledge, as Obama has, that strengthening the family is vital to economic justice. Conservatives should acknowledge that economic justice is vital to strengthening families.

For example: Our national policies on sick leave and family leave are among the most anti-family in the developed world. When faced with a choice between the needs of the family and the needs of employers, we nearly always tilt toward employers. Western European nations, influenced by both pro-family Christian Democrats and pro-labor Social Democrats, have done far more to make work compatible with family life."

Lincoln points Obama to the high ground

EJ Dionne: "In their time, the abolitionists were radicals, too. Lincoln, a shrewd politician, understood that public opinion in the North did not fully embrace their cause but was moving in their direction. Lincoln remained a moderate at heart, but he abandoned moderation on slavery when this proved to be morally and politically unsuited to the imperatives of his moment. By following Lincoln’s example and acting against the injustices of our time, Obama could also come to occupy the high ground."

Obama’s Jobs Plan As a Case Study for Fatalism

Jonathan Chait: "We construct narratives assigning Obama’s success or failure to his own decisions or his own character because cold structural explanations are not simple or satisfying enough. We crave stories about presidents as masters of their fate. But the reality is far less satisfying than that."

James Martin: Faith leads to joy

Faith & Leadership: "Too many people think that religion is all about being serious. I wanted to remind people that faith leads to joy. On the first Easter, for example, the disciples were joyful. The Christian message -- life is stronger than death, hope stronger than despair and love stronger than hatred -- is one of joy. Christ has risen, and that’s good news."

Troy Polamalu At Wax Museum

Paul Ryan, American Values and Corporatocracy

Jeffrey Sachs: "My new book, The Price of Civilization, describes why America needs a "mixed economy," one where a more effective federal government regulates business and invests alongside the business sector. In his review of my book, Congressman Paul Ryan, an avowed libertarian, describes my book as anti-American in its values. Ryan is wrong: my book describes how we can restore politics to the true mainstream of American values, rescuing democracy from the clutches of corporate power that Ryan champions in deeds if not in words."

On Top of Famine, Unspeakable Violence

Nicholas Kristof: "As Somalis stream across the border into Kenya, at a rate of about 1,000 a day, they are frequently prey to armed bandits who rob men and rape women in the 50-mile stretch before they reach Dadaab, now the world’s largest refugee camp."

The Limits of Empathy

David Brooks: "People who actually perform pro-social action don’t only feel for those who are suffering, they feel compelled to act by a sense of duty. Their lives are structured by sacred codes. 

Think of anybody you admire. They probably have some talent for fellow-feeling, but it is overshadowed by their sense of obligation to some religious, military, social or philosophic code. They would feel a sense of shame or guilt if they didn’t live up to the code. The code tells them when they deserve public admiration or dishonor. The code helps them evaluate other people’s feelings, not just share them. The code tells them that an adulterer or a drug dealer may feel ecstatic, but the proper response is still contempt. 

The code isn’t just a set of rules. It’s a source of identity. It’s pursued with joy. It arouses the strongest emotions and attachments. Empathy is a sideshow. If you want to make the world a better place, help people debate, understand, reform, revere and enact their codes. Accept that codes conflict."

Mitchell Wilson Suicide: Boy's Death Raises Bullying Concerns

HuffPo: "The death of an 11-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy months after his assault by a bully has shined a spotlight on bullying in Canada's schools. Muscular dystrophy left Mitchell Wilson struggling to do simple things like walking around the block or climbing stairs. He also had to use a walker at school. Doctors had urged him to exercise regularly to stave off the disease's effects, something that was growing increasingly difficult for the boy. Wilson was mugged last November by a 12-year-old boy from his school. The assailant was after the iPhone Wilson borrowed from his dad. The bully was arrested and removed from the Pickering, Ont. school they both attended."

Must See TV: Elizabeth Warren on Class Warfare

Jonathan Cohn: "The video above, from Elizabeth Warren’s campaign tour in Massachusetts, has been circulating online. And if you haven’t watched it yet, you should.

One worry about Warren, the Harvard Law School professor challenging incumbent Republican Senator Scott Brown, is that she won’t be able to connect with average voters. As you’ll see, that very plainly that is not the case."

What Class Warfare Looks Like

Tim Noah: "You know what isn't class warfare? Progressive taxation, as in, say, expecting billionaires to pay at least as much in taxes as their secretaries. Ideally, in fact, they should pay more. Progressive taxation, social welfare programs, antitrust law, health and safety regulation--these were all advanced by middle-class reformers a century ago with the idea that they would prevent class warfare. You could look it up."

It’s not ‘class warfare,’ it’s Christianity

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite: "The Christian approach to economics is to be the conscience of the nation and to insist that we regulate capitalism so it does not become reckless and destructive. Christians must call on the nation’s politicians to have us share the burdens and the sacrifices, as President Obama is doing, in order get to the “freedom from want” that is in our democratic values and our faith values."

Ty Burrell: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

How much has Obama learned?

EJ Dionne: "Now we face a fundamental divide over the most basic questions: Is government good or bad? Can public action make the private economy work better, or are all efforts to alter the market’s course — by Congress, the president, the Federal Reserve — doomed to failure?

When politicians and their supporters believe the other side is pursuing policies that would destroy all they cherish, compromise becomes not a desirable expedient but “almost treasonous,” to use the phrase tossed about by Gov. Rick Perry of Texas.

Under these circumstances, taking enormous risks with the country’s well-being, as House Republicans did in the debt-ceiling rumble, is no longer out of bounds. It’s a form of patriotism. When your adversaries’ ideas are so dastardly, it’s better to court chaos, win the fight and pick up the pieces later.

And to make matters worse — and more confusing — the two sides are not equally distant from the political center. We are in an age of asymmetric polarization.

Precisely because they believe in both government and the marketplace, Democrats are always more ready to compromise. Obama’s economic address last Thursday was seen as tough and firm because he finally called out Republicans in Congress. Progressives liked the new fortitude, and also the relatively large sums Obama would mobilize to jolt the economy back to vibrancy.

But there was nothing remotely radical (or even particularly liberal) about Obama’s ideas: tax cuts, many of them business-friendly, and new spending for such exotic projects as, well, schools and roads. As the president said, his proposals have all drawn Republican support in the past.

He was, however, talking about a Republican Party that existed before it was taken over by a new sensibility linking radical individualism with a loathing for government that would shock Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln and, for goodness’ sake, Robert Taft."

Do Happier People Work Harder?

Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer: "Working adults spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else. Work should ennoble, not kill, the human spirit. Promoting workers’ well-being isn’t just ethical; it makes economic sense. Fostering positive inner lives sometimes requires leaders to better articulate meaning in the work for everyone across the organization. Sometimes, all that’s required is that managers address daily hassles and help with technical problems. If those who lead organizations — from C.E.O.’s to small-team leaders — believe their mission is, in part, to support workers’ everyday progress, we could end the disengagement crisis and, in the process, lift our work force’s well-being and our economy’s productivity."

What the Left Doesn’t Understand About Obama

Jon Chait: "Liberal critics of Obama, just like conservative critics of Republican presidents, generally want both maximal partisan conflict and maximal legislative achievement. In the real world, those two things are often at odds. Hence the allure of magical thinking."

Looking for Revenue? Tax Booze

Amitai Etzioni: "A review of 72 studies and reports published in The Journal of Preventive Medicine found “strong evidence that raising alcohol taxes is an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms.” The authors noted that “increased alcohol taxes are associated with decreased overall consumption, decreased youth consumption, decreased youth binge drinking, reduced alcohol-related motor-vehicle crashes, reduced mortality from liver cirrhosis, and reduced violence."...

For starters, the tax on alcohol should be based on a percentage of the price at which the product is sold, not on a fixed fee that lags behind rising prices. In this way, those who insist on gulping it down will contribute more to cutting the deficit and will stop benefiting from the fact that as most costs rise, booze costs can be kept down, as the government taxes become less burdensome over time."

Eastern Congo’s rule by the ruthless

Michael Gerson: "In America, we are engaged in a debate about the size and role of government. But eastern Congo demonstrates the consequences of government’s absence. A state of nature — even an Eden of bougainvillea and natural wealth — is ruled by the most ruthless. Resources become a curse, propping up corrupt elites. Houses are surrounded by barbed wire, potholes consume the streets, the electricity flickers and helplessness becomes a habit. 

Eastern Congo is both a tragedy and a lesson in political philosophy. Human beings need bread and justice and freedom. And all are made possible by orderly, responsible government."

Religious Right Lipstick on a Reaganomics Pig

Nick Sementelli: "The key is to recognize that the dependency critique indirectly alleges the same character defects as the "moocher" narrative. It's just a kinder, gentler way to say the poor are government-enabled welfare addicts who are too lazy to work. So long as they can live large on the taxpayer's dime, the theory goes, they have no incentive to change. "Breaking the cycle" then means cutting them off cold turkey like parents kicking out a shiftless adult to give him the motivation to finally get a job."

Rick Perry Fights Redistribution

Jonathan Chait: "Perry's hatred of redistribution puts him perfectly in step with the current Republican Party, for whom opposition to the (downward) redistribution of wealth is the lodestar."

Dope, Joke, and Fraud

Politico: "The problem, in shorthand: To many conservative elites, Rick Perry is a dope, Michele Bachmann is a joke and Mitt Romney is a fraud."

The Republicans’ new voodoo economics?

Greg Ip: "Liberals and conservatives in the United States have long differed on how much the government should meddle in individual markets, whether for energy or health care. But they have largely agreed that the government should have at least some role in smoothing out the ups and downs of the business cycle — what economists call “macroeconomic stabilization,” that is, containing inflation in good times and boosting employment in bad. But this is the consensus that many Republicans in effect now reject."

The Texas Unmiracle

Paul Krugman: "What Texas shows is that a state offering cheap labor and, less important, weak regulation can attract jobs from other states. I believe that the appropriate response to this insight is “Well, duh.” The point is that arguing from this experience that depressing wages and dismantling regulation in America as a whole would create more jobs — which is, whatever Mr. Perry may say, what Perrynomics amounts to in practice — involves a fallacy of composition: every state can’t lure jobs away from every other state."

The Ten Weirdest Ideas In Rick Perry’s ‘Fed Up’

Matthew Yglesias: "Almost Everything Is Unconstitutional: Regrets the existence of jurisprudence construing the Commerce Clause to permit “federal laws regulating the environment, regulating guns, protecting civil rights, establishing the massive programs and Medicare and Medicaid, creating national minimum wage laws, [and] establishing national labor laws.” Perry makes a partial exception for laws barring racial discrimination which he says fulfill “the intent behind the passage of the Reconstruction Era amendments.”

Jobs Program? Here Are 3 Essential Ingredients

Jonathan Cohn: So there you have it. The ideal jobs package would inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy as quickly as possible – but in a way that paid for itself over the long run and, ideally, diminished automatically once a strong recovery is under way. The administration could do a portion of this on its own, whether by using Fannie Mae to help distressed homeowners or getting China to help U.S. exports by revaluing its currency. The Fed could obviously lend a hand, maybe a big hand, as well. But to meet these criteria, Congress would have to take some action.

Obama Must Get Bold, Tell Republicans ‘It’s On’

Jonathan Alter: "Obama must work on two tracks -- one idealistic, the other practical. The moment calls for him to offer a big vision for how to fix the economy, even if it doesn’t have a prayer of passage. Then he should unveil smaller actions that could win congressional approval, plus a few imaginative executive orders that might let him move the needle on employment unilaterally."

All-time Great Daily Show Segment- On "Class Warfare"

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Texas Tax System Heavily Burdens Poor Residents

HuffPo: "Texas, in particular, is "extremely imbalanced" in its reliance on sales and property taxes, the report concludes. Even without having to pay income tax, the poorest fifth of Texans ended up paying about 12 percent of their income in taxes in 2009, ITEP reports. The wealthiest 1 percent of Texans paid only 3 percent of their income in state and local taxes."

Chait on Stephen Moore

Jonathan Chait: "I have a bit of a weakness for insulting people's intelligence. I recognize this and try to restrain myself. When I read Stephen Moore's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today, I thought that I would give restraint a try. There's simply no way to honestly analyze this piece without commenting on the author's intelligence. I suppose, to be charitable, I should refine that to mean Moore's analytic intelligence; there are many kinds of intelligence, and perhaps Moore is gifted with great social intelligence, or artistic intelligence. And yet the relevant point is that Moore is the lead economic editorial writer for the country's leading economic newspaper and yet he lacks even a rudimentary understanding of economics."

Economy Must Work For Man, Says Pope

RTT: "The economy should work for man and not just for profit, Pope Benedict XVI said on Thursday as he traveled to Spain.  "The economy does not only work with a self-regulated market, but needs an ethical way of reasoning in order to work for man," he said during his flight to Madrid.  "Man must be the center of the economy and the economy is not to be measured solely according to achieving maximum profits."