participate

Fool me twice . . . rethink your approach to truth

Yesterday I quoted from a book by a priest whom I know. In it he said: Let me submit to you, therefore, that the great spiritual battle of our time is not a struggle between believers and atheists. Rather, it is a struggle between pride and humility. We expect and even demand humility in almost all other areas of life–what really matters is what is objectively true, not what any of us might happen... [Read more]

Gov. Brewer and “full faith and credit”

Father Orthoduck would like to applaud Gov. Brewer of Arizona for vetoing the bill out of Arizona which would have required every Presidential candidate to personally file multiple proofs of natural-born citizenship with the State of Arizona. In vetoing this “birther” bill, she commented that this was a “bridge too far.” And it was, but Father Orthoduck would like to argue that... [Read more]

terms

Wisconsin and calculating a living wage

Yesterday I commented that an answer to calculating a living (or “just”) wage is found in one of the place where people least tend to look, and that is at missionary societies who send workers overseas. Why these missionary societies? Let me speak out of personal experience as a former multi-term missionary. Missionary societies have many of the tasks of a business, while at the same time... [Read more]

On Wisconsin and a living wage

Father Jensen’s answer to my post included so many references to a living wage, that I urge you to go back to my post, “The withheld wages cry out . . . ,”  and re-read his comment. Let me again state that it is very good. As Father Jensen deals with the idea of a just wage or a living wage, he asks the perfectly proper question as to what should be defined as a living wage or as... [Read more]

Medical errors and approaches towards workers

This post is an aside from the ongoing discussion of Wisconsin and Catholic Social doctrine, but one that will perhaps feed into it. You may not know that since 10 years ago, there has been a significantly increased emphasis on patient safety in hospitals. A study published back then, Crossing the Quality Chasm, began a whole set of mandatory safety initiatives from Federal and State governments, as... [Read more]

suggest

Wisconsin and Catholic Social doctrine

I received a highly thoughtful reply to my post on the withheld wages of workers from Fr. Gregory Jensen, who has his own blog, called Koinonia. And, though he was objecting to some points I made and asking probing questions about others, it was a pleasure to read him because he had gone to the trouble of doing some of his own research. I will not quote his entire post, so please do go back to the... [Read more]

A simple comic that explains the “rich” problem

Father Orthoduck does not have time to write this morning. But, the two comics above point out what part of the problem is. Yesterday, Father Ernesto pointed out that wages have stagnated or dropped while business owners are getting ever larger bonuses. The comic above points out that wealth is being increasingly centralized in groups of the super-rich. This is not the result of increased earnings... [Read more]

handbook

The withheld wages cry out to the Lord of hosts

From Saint James 5: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back... [Read more]

This is your future if the Tea Party gets all it wants

This is from a news report today: House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan said Sunday he will unveil a Republican budget for 2012 this week that proposes dramatic changes to Medicare, Medicaid and other political lightning rods. The plan, to be released Tuesday, calls for a controversial overhaul of Medicare, the health care program for seniors, and would impose deep cuts in Medicaid, which provides health... [Read more]

international

Lack of government involvement means increased deaths

Two stories have been published recently that have to do with government oversight of medical items. The first one began to come out in very early March of this year: It took fast-acting doctors at a Colorado hospital to flag problems with tainted alcohol wipes now tied to a massive recall and growing reports of potentially deadly infections, including the case of a 10-year-old boy already battling... [Read more]

news