Obama presents a new plan to streamline the Pentagon. Obama’s Cordray move causes political stir, raises Constitutional questions. Is celibacy relevant in the Catholic church today? Panhandlers bring out your inner (fill in the blank).
Obama presents a new plan to streamline the Pentagon
As a pair of long running wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, the Pentagon is now facing a new kind of threat - a financial overhaul designed to retain our armed forces’ ability to maintain a strong national defense within the constraints of a leaner Federal budget.
President Obama presented the plan today at a Pentagon briefing saying, “The tide of war is receding. But the question that this strategy answers is what kind of military will we need after the long wars of the last decade are over.” It’s a delicate balance for the Obama administration, as the plan - based on months of study at the Pentagon - will likely provide fodder for hawkish Republicans in an election year.
Will the new measures affect the U.S. military’s long-standing ability to wage as many as two major wars simultaneously? Can advanced military technology offset a smaller, leaner fighting force?
Guests:
Anna Mulrine, Pentagon correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor
John Arquilla, Professor and Chair of the Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. Author of "Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits: How Masters of Irregular Warfare Have Shaped Our World."
Obama’s Cordray move causes political stir, raises Constitutional questions
Yesterday, President Barack Obama bypassed the U.S. Senate’s formal approval process and appointed Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Obama was able to do this as the Senate is in recess.
This political maneuver is nothing new, Clinton appointed 95 positions while Congress was in recess, and George W. Bush made 99. The thorny issue here is that this particular appointment occurred during a break of less than three days, and a president hasn’t moved so swiftly in such a short period since 1949.
Obama is drawing fire from some critics who feel this will only infuriate Republicans in Congress. That could cause a problem as other appointments must be made in the future, and bipartisan approval is required. But others welcomed Obama’s new fighting stance, and see it as a declaration of his readiness to rumble with Republicans as part of his 2012 re-election campaign.
What are the strengths of this type of strategy? Is Obama making a good move, or should he have waited for the Senate’s seal of approval? And, furthermore, is this even constitutional?
Guest:
Kate Andersen Brower, White House Reporter for Bloomberg News
Karl Manheim, Professor of Law, Loyola Law School
Is celibacy relevant in the Catholic church today?
Celibacy is a discipline, not a doctrine, and some think it's time it was abolished. Critics of the practice point to scandals of long-time sexual abuse by priests that have emerged in recent years, and suggest that enforced celibacy is a contributing factor.
Most recently, the Vatican has accepted the resignation of a Los Angeles area bishop who disclosed that he had fathered two children. Bishop Gabino Zavala, who was auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, had kept his children a secret until confessing the transgression to his superiors in early December.
Catholic priests are expected to be celibate as a condition of the priesthood in order to fully dedicate themselves to the service of God, the church and their parishioners. Priests are expected to follow the example of Jesus Christ and to be "married" to the church. Historically, the practice goes back as far as the Middle Ages, by some accounts as early as the fourth century.
Senior Research Associate in Religion at Hofstra University Phyllis Zagano said the fourth century is when a connection between holiness and celibacy was established. "You have writers arguing that marriage is not a good thing," she said. "That marriage brings with it such terrible problems that it’s almost impossible to be a good Christian." But according to Zagano, the early church had many married bishops. "They figured out that if no one got married, you wouldn’t have much of a church after awhile," she continued.
Still, support for celibacy eventually grew. "It's not until the 11th century that there is really an argument that anyone who celebrates the sacred mysteries, anyone who is a priest who touches the holy should not touch women,” she added.
Bishop Zavala is certainly not the first to flout the rules when it comes to sexual relationships – or secret children. Which begs the question: how relevant is celibacy to the modern Catholic church? A.W. Richard Sipe, writer on celibacy and former Catholic priest, did a 25-year ethnological study on the celibacy practice between 1960 and 1985. He concluded that at any one time, no more than 50 percent of Roman Catholic priests bound by this vow are faithful to the practice. "It's not surprising that priests and bishops have sex," he said. "If all the bishops who had sex, are having sex, are having sexual relationships with women or men resigned, then the hierarchy of the church would be decimated."
According to Sipe, reasons for maintaining the discipline are for economic gain and maintaining authority. "It doesn't take as much money to supply the life care of a priest or a nun as it would with a man with a family," he said. "And control. If you can control a person's sexual life, you can control them."
Guests:
Phyllis Zagano, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate-in-Residence, Department of Religion, Hofstra University, and author of "Women & Catholicism: Gender, Communion, and Authority," which investigates questions regarding women in the Catholic Church.
A.W. Richard Sipe, a former Benedictine monk and Catholic priest and retired psychotherapist who has extensively researched the sexual and celibate practices of Roman Catholic bishops and priests. His many books on the subject include "A Secret World" and "Celibacy in Crisis."
Panhandlers bring out your inner (fill in the blank)
For every creative cardboard sign drawn by a beggar there is a creative city ordinance to try to deal with beggars. This week, a Las Vegas county official introduced a new restriction to vex panhandlers. The ordinance would ban pets on the Strip in Vegas, because more beggars are using animals for sympathy donations. "Panhandlers aren't blind to the effect a sad-faced puppy or little kitten has on a passer-by," reported the Las Vegas Sun.
With new bans, come new workarounds. The city of Tampa, Florida criminalized begging just two months ago. Now the homeless and poor sell a weekly newspaper on the streets instead. In some cities, such as New York, they just require that panhandling be unobtrusive. As our listeners know, with sparse foot traffic in Los Angeles, off-ramps and street corners are solicitation hot-spots.
Depending on how much you're out and about, you might feel overwhelmed by the infinite need. Then there are the anecdotal surveys suggesting some just pretend to be hard-up for cash. Police, the "professional homeless," and journalists who've gone undercover-poor say you can make up to $300 a day in a prime spot.
WEIGH IN:
How do you react when someone asks you for money? Do you make judgments based on the out-reached hand, or do you have a blanket rule? Do you factor in your other charity giving? Does it matter to you how your spare change might be spent? Why do we sometimes feel guilty even after we give?
Guest:
Randy Cohen, Author of the forthcoming "Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything" to be published by Chronicle this fall. For 12 years, Cohen wrote "The Ethicist" weekly column for "The New York Times Magazine"