Tuesday, October 05, 2004

President Bush and John Kerry on the Issues Important to Catholics

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

In their brochure, "The Challenge of Faithful Citzenship, A Call To Political Responsibility", the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops posed 10 questions to the Campaigns. It is evident that upon review and deep reflection as Catholics that we have found that John Kerry is RIGHT for Catholics on these issues that have been raised by our Bishops. Right not only as a Catholic, but as a compassionate human being. On the other hand we find Bush to be extemely lacking and WRONG for Catholics on all of these issues raised by our Bishops. We ask Bush; "Where is the Compassion"?

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1. After September 11, 2001 how can we build not only a safer world but a better world, more just, more secure, more peaceful, more respectful of human life and dignity?

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RIGHT: John Kerry voted for a comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
RIGHT: John Kerry cosponsored landmine elimination and victim assistance bill in 2001.
RIGHT: John Kerry cosponsored the U.S. code of conduct on arms transfers.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports preemptive war only when the U.S. is so threatened.
Right: John Kerry understands that the war on terrorism is different than the war in Iraq and both require different strategies.
WRONG: Bush rejected negotiation towards a peaceful settlement with Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
WRONG: Bush while Commander in Chief of the U.S. military, an estimated 20,000 Iraqi civilians and over 5,000 Afghan civilians have been killed in U.S. military operations. Over 500 children in Afghanistan have been killed by unexploded cluster bombs dropped by U.S. military forces.
WRONG: Bush created doctrine of preemptive war.
WRONG: Bush withdrew from the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty and has supported the research and development of low yield tactical nuclear weapons and "mini-nukes".

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2. How will we protect the innocent in our midst~innocent unborn children? How can our nation not turn to violence to solve some of it's more difficult problems~abortion to deal with difficult pregnancies; the death penalty to combat crime; euthanasia and assisted suicide to deal with the burdens of age, illness, and disability, and war to address international disputes?

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RIGHT: Kerry opposes the use of the death penalty in all cases except convicted terrorists.
Right: John Kerry supports social programs which give women the choice to have their babies.
Right: John Kerry supports multilateralism to build strong effective global institutions to combat global problems.
Wrong: Bush, while Governor of Texas, presided over almost 1/5 of the nation's abortions in 2000.
WRONG: Bush supports the death penalty for all capital crimes, including those committed by persons with mental retardation and by juveniles. As governor of Texas, signed 152 execution warrants
WRONG: Bush created doctrine of preemptive war. Practices a policy of preemptive war in order to further American interests.
Wrong: Bush supports a policy of unilateralism which does not fairly share the burden
of national security.

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3. How will we address the tragic fact that more than 30,000 children die every day as a result of hunger, international debt, and lack of development around the world?

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RIGHT: John Kerry supports hunger policy that sets a goal of eliminating hunger among children and the elderly. Supported a policy of universal free meals in schools.
RIGHT: John Kerry supported the 2002 Farm bill that provides commodity payments and price supports for major export crops.
RIGHT: John Kerry sponsored Hunger to Harvest Bill-focused on reducing hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing food and medicine and committing U.S. resources to global health, AIDS, education, agriculture, free market, and debt relief (House Resolution Sponsorship 01-HCR102 April 4, 2001).
RIGHT: John Kerry opposed to capping foreign aid at only $12.7B (0.7% of federal budget) in 1999 (H.R.2606 Conference Report, Bill HR2606).
WRONG: Bush signed the the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) about which the Catholic Bishops Conference in the US and in Central America have expressed concerns.
WRONG: Bush backed the the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). The US and Central American Bishops and Human Rights Watch have stated that CAFTA lacks the sufficient labor protections.
WRONG: Bush called for cuts in funding to WIC Farmer Market program and the food commodity supplemental program. Supports welfare legislation that will allow states to cut access to Food Stamps and cash assistance.
WRONG: Under Bush hunger and food insecurity has increased over the last three years.

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4. How can our nation help parents raise their children with respect for life, sound moral values, a sense of hope, and an ethic of stewardship and responsibility? How can our society defend the central institution of marriage and better support families in their moral responsibilities?

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RIGHT: John Kerry supports raising the federal minimum wage and indexing the minimum wage to inflation.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports expanding public school choice programs to provide parents and students more educational options.
RIGHT: John Kerry voted for the Broadcast Indecency Act of 2004.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports the creation of an Education Trust Fund to fund education as an automatic budget transfer.
WRONG: Bush opposes an increase in federal minimum wage.
Wrong: Bush has taken away overtime pay to anyone who earns over $23,000/yr.
WRONG: Real wages have grown less than 2% (or $0.15) in the four years of the Bush presidency, largely because the U.S. economy has lost over 1 million jobs during the Bush presidency.
WRONG: Bush’s FY 2004 budget under-funded the “No Child Left Behind” programs by $8B (0.35% of budget). Proposed eliminating funding for 46 education programs.
WRONG: In Bush’s FY 2005 budget request he proposed funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) at half the level of funding that Congress committed to paying when IDEA was first adopted. The IDEA act is meant to guarantee all children with disabilities a free and appropriate education.

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5. How will we address the growing number of people without affordable and accessible health care? How can health care better protect human life and respect human dignity?

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RIGHT: John Kerry supports buy-in to health insurance through creating a federally subsidized plan.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports creating a group option to buy into the federal employee benefits program with a tax credit for uninsured individuals.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports limiting premiums to expand state programs for low- and moderate-income families, and provide a tax credit for small firms.
WRONG: Bush proposed a refundable tax credit for low- and moderate-income individuals and families who are not covered by their employers’ health insurance program. The proposed credit is $1,000 for individuals and $3,000 for families. Average family health care costs are estimated to reach $14,500 by 2006.
WRONG: Outside estimates find that the Bush proposal would cover 10% of the uninsured.
WRONG: Under Bush in 2003 there were roughly 45 million Americans without health insurance all year, and roughly 70 million who were uninsured at some point during the year.

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6. How will our society combat continuing prejudice, overcome hostility toward immigrants and refugees, and heal the wounds of racism, religious bigotry, and discrimination?

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RIGHT: John Kerry in the Senate, cosponsored the Fair Pay Act, which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require employers to provide equal pay for work in jobs that are comparable in skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
RIGHT: John Kerry cosponsored the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would provide remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports the full restoration of benefits for legal immigrants.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports a proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to legalize their status if they have been in the United States for a certain amount of time, have been working, and can pass a background check.
WRONG: Bush reduced funding for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency that enforces federal laws against discrimination and upholds the equal pay.
WRONG: Bush backed away from the foreign policy goal of reinforcing religious freedom in favor of support for the “War on Terror”.
WRONG: In the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, the Bush State Department did not name Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam as "countries of particular concern," despite their systematic abuse of religious freedom, which is described in the report itself. Bush Considers many of these countries are considered important allies in the war on terror.

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7. How will our nation pursue the values of justice and peace in a world where injustice is common, desperate poverty widespread, and peace too often overwhelmed by violence?

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RIGHT: John Kerry Sponsored Hunger to Harvest Bill-focused on reducing hunger in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing food and medicine and committing U.S. resources to global health, AIDS, education, agriculture, free market, and debt relief (House Resolution Sponsorship 01-HCR102 April 4, 2001). Sponsored Vaccines for New Millenium Act-focused on boosting contributions to the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.
RIGHT: John Kerry opposes the Central American Free Trade Agreement, about which the Bishops in the US and Central America have expressed concerns.
RIGHT: John Kerry advocates more cooperation with U.N. and other international bodies as essential elements for bringing peace to Iraq.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court, an effort to create an international body to try human rights abuses.
RIGHT: John Kerry supported renewing the assault weapon ban.
WRONG: Bush refused to support legislation that would have renewed the assault weapon ban.
WRONG: Bush reduced funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria from $550 million appropriated by Congress for 2004 to $200 million for 2005, a 64 percent reduction.
WRONG: Bush signed the the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) about which the Catholic Bishops Conference in the US and in Central America have expressed concerns.
WRONG: Bush initiated the war in Iraq without a United Nations Security Council Resolution.
WRONG: Bush stated that he would still have invaded Iraq in March 2003 even if he knew at the time that there were no WMD in Iraq and that there was no link between President Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda.

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8. What are the responsibilities and limitations of families, community organizations, markets, and government? How can these elements of society work together to overcome poverty, pursue the common good, and care for creation?

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RIGHT: John Kerry favors allowing faith based community organizations to provide federally funded social services. Does not support their exemption from federal anti-discrimination safeguards. These safeguards do not allow funding to organizations that discriminate based on race, faith, gender, or sexual orientation.
Right: John Kerry will Protect Our Health By Reducing Dangerous Air Emissions.
Right: John Kerry will Restore America's Waters.
Right: John Kerry will Create Cleaner, Greener Communities.
Wrong: Bush failed to protect 3 million acres of th Tongrass National Forest from logging.
Wrong: Bush has made repeated attempts to legalize oil drilling in the National Wildlife Refuge.
Wrong: Bush has weakened enviormental laws and has allowed big business to pollute our enviroment.
WRONG: Bush liminated anti-discrimination safeguards that prevented faith based community organizations from receiving federal funding. These safeguards do not allow funding to organizations that discriminate based on race, faith, gender, or sexual orientation.

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9. When should our nation use or avoid the use of military force for
what purpose, under what authority, and at what human cost?

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RIGHT: John Kerry Supports preemptive war only when the U.S. is so threatened that it is required for the security of our country or for the accomplishment of some extraordinary humanitarian goal
WRONG: Bush created doctrine of preemptive war. Practices a policy of preemptive war in order to further American interests.

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10. How can we join with other nations to lead the world to a greater respect for human life and dignity, religious freedom and democracy, economic justice and care for God's creation?

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RIGHT: John Kerry advocates more cooperation with U.N. and other international bodies as essential elements for bringing peace to Iraq.
RIGHT: John Kerry voted to strengthen enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Supports reducing automobile emissions by increasing the production of renewable energy like wind and solar power.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports a repeal of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans but supports middle class tax cuts and low income tax credits such as the child credit and the elimination of the marriage penalty.
RIGHT: John Kerry supports increasing tax revenues to provide additional funding for health and education programs.
WRONG: Bush initiated the war in Iraq without a United Nations Security Council Resolution. 3 of the 5 permanent members opposed the invasion of Iraq.
WRONG: Bush backed away from the foreign policy goal of reinforcing religious freedom in favor of support for the “War on Terror”.
WRONG: According to the Census Bureau, during the Bush tenure in office, median family income has declined $1,535 to $43,318.
WRONG: Under Bush the number of Americans living in poverty has increased by 4.3 million, and a record 45 million Americans are without health insurance coverage. Programs to promote affordable housing, child care, environmental protection and veterans’ health receive less than a .01% increase in FY 2005.

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