We have all read about growing public frustration with deadlock in Washington, bitter partisanship in both Washington and state capitals, and the lack of civility in politics.
Increasingly, the conversation on these topics has triggered renewed interest in an old subject — the process by which states redraw congressional and legislative districts after each census.
We can’t live out our vocation as faithful citizens unless we are also active between elections, when the hard work of making laws and policies is done.
Some of that hard work will take place in the next few weeks when the Joint Committee on Finance schedules its hearings on Governor Scott Walker’s state budget proposal. Those hearings will give Catholics and others a chance to influence the content of that budget. It is a chance we should exploit.
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II both described the Catholic Church as an “expert in humanity.” This term recognizes the truth that through its long history Catholicism has engaged and reflected on the fullness and complexity of the human experience.
The Church’s insights on human experience provide a valuable resource to any generation seeking to craft more humane policies and more just societies.
Popes Paul VI and John Paul II both described the Catholic Church as an “expert in humanity.” This term recognizes the truth that through its long history Catholicism has engaged and reflected on the fullness and complexity of the human experience.
Labor Day is past and the fall election season begins in earnest. As in previous years, party leaders and political commentators see Catholics as swing voters. That means people will be paying attention to us. This attention provides an opportunity to explain and witness our values and to express them in ways that elevate, not coarsen, the debate.
But our witness is effective only when we practice what we preach amongst ourselves. The reality is that faithful Catholics are both Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, partisans and independents. And, even as we discuss our political differences, we ought not to lose sight of our shared values and common humanity that bind us together as persons created in the image of God.
It is difficult to think of a scandal as a good thing. But the scandal triggered by violations of election and lobby laws 10 years ago, that led to reforming state regulation of both activities, had a positive effect.
One such reform merged the State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board into a new Government Accountability Board (GAB) with different membership. This has proven to be a very good thing.
Most members of the former Elections Board were designees of partisan leadership in the legislature. Board members did their best, but they had limited powers and were often expected to represent the interests of partisan leaders who appointed them.
For over 30 years, Associate Supreme Court Justice William Brennan was among the most influential members of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, he and Earl Warren led the court’s “liberal wing” through the 1960s. Brennan’s background was somewhat unusual in that his prior judicial experience occurred not in the federal courts, but on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
As the U.S. Supreme Court became more conservative, Brennan began urging lawyers and other advocates of individual liberty to pursue what he called a “new Federalism.”
Normally this column addresses state policy issues. This time it speaks to a national question — the scope of religious liberty in our national health care reform legislation.
Wisconsin’s public policy makers have increasingly focused on education reform. They do so for good reason.
Significant improvement in our education system could help alleviate many of the problems currently plaguing our state, such as skilled labor shortages and the high cost of incarceration. With “Catholic Schools Week” upon us, it’s fitting to reflect upon the Church’s approach to education reform and the unique role Catholic schools play in our community.
A year ago, the first thing the newly elected Legislature did was to adopt its scheduling resolution for the 2011-12 legislative session.
This resolution defined the floor periods during which the Legislature would meet to debate and pass legislation. In so doing, the legislators determined that they would convene for three “general business” floor periods between January 17 and March 15 in 2012, the last day of regular business for the year.
When they adopted that resolution, our lawmakers had no way of knowing that their session schedule would mesh with Wisconsin’s first ever recall of a governor and recalls of several state senators. But that is what appears will happen and it will affect what lawmaking takes place in these final floor periods.
