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Christian Witness, Perspective, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political, , , , ,

Soooo…. they’re not stealing ‘our’ jobs

In the no kidding department, a recent study published by the Immigration Policy Center finds Immigration Does Not Increase Unemployment:

There is little apparent relationship between recent immigration and unemployment rates among native-born workers, according to a pair of studies released May 19 by the Immigration Policy Center.

The reports analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Census 2000 data . They are the first two installments of a three-part series, Untying the Knot, which seeks to —debunk the frequently misrepresented relationship between immigration and unemployment,— IPC said.

According to IPC, opponents of an immigration overhaul —frequently argue that immigrants ‘take’ jobs away from many native-born workers, especially during economic hard times.—

—We commissioned this report in order to take a serious look at whether or not immigration is in fact impacting unemployment among the native-born and what we have found is that scary rhetoric is not a substitute for good data,— said Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Law Foundation. IPC is the research arm of AILF.

—These findings are in line with other long-term studies conducted around the world which have shown that immigration has very little impact on native unemployment,— Johnson said. —In order to have a serious policy debate, we need good, honest numbers and that is what we believe we have provided in these reports.—

Unemployment Rates Similar in High-, Low-Immigration Areas

According to the reports, if immigrants took jobs away from native-born workers, one would expect to find a high unemployment rates in those parts of the country with large numbers of immigrants, particularly recent immigrants who are more willing to work for low wages and under worse conditions than long-term immigrants or native-born workers.

However, —analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau clearly reveals that this is not the case,— IPC said.

—The level of unemployment in the U.S. is painful, scary and difficult—”so we shouldn’t belittle it,— said Dan Siciliano, senior research fellow at IPC and executive director of the program in law, economics, and business at Stanford Law School. —However, the very notion that immigration has anything to do with unemployment does just that. It belittles the challenge of unemployment,— he said.

Siciliano said the idea that immigration is causally linked to unemployment among the native-born is a —red herring distracting from the real causes of unemployment.—

According to the report, there is —no correlation between the number of recent immigrant workers in a given state, county, or city and the unemployment rate among native-born workers.—

For example, recent immigrants make up 8.4 percent of the population in the Pacific region (including California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii) but only 2.8 percent of the population in the East North Central region (including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin). However, both regions have nearly the same unemployment rate, 10.8 percent in the Pacific region, and 10.0 percent in the East North Central region.

Another example cited in the report is between New Jersey, a state where recent immigrants make up 7.3 percent of the population, and Maine, where recent immigrants make up 0.8 percent of the population. Both states have similar unemployment rates—”8.3 percent in New Jersey and 8.1 percent in Maine, according to the report.

—Locales with high unemployment rates do not necessarily have large numbers of recent immigrants, and locales with many recent immigrants do not necessarily have high unemployment rates,— according to the report.

IPC said that on average, recent immigrants comprise 3.1 percent of the population in counties with the highest unemployment rates, which average 13.4 percent. Recent immigrants account for a higher share of the population (4.6 percent) in counties with the lowest unemployment rates (below 4.8 percent), the report found.

Immigrants Don’t Impact Minority Unemployment

Additionally, the report found that there was no connection between immigration and unemployment rates of native-born minorities, such as African Americans.

—On the question of race we find that there’s just no connection between immigration and unemployment,— said Rob Paral, senior research fellow at IPC and the principal of Rob Paral and Associates, a research consulting firm.

—The culprit when it comes to unemployment is not immigration,— Paral said.

In the 10 states with the highest shares of recent immigrants in the labor force, the average unemployment rate for native-born blacks is about 4 percentage points less than in the 10 states with the lowest shares of recent immigrants, according to the report.

Similar findings were found for the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest number of recent immigrants compared with the 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest number of recent immigrants.

—The absence of any significant statistical correlation between recent immigration and unemployment rates among different native-born racial/ethnic groups points to deeper, structural causes for unemployment among the native-born, such as levels of educational attainment and work skills,— IPC said.

As I have oft repeated, the people who complain most loudly about immigrants have other, more central issues, an animus against people of slightly darker skin tones, or against Catholics, or for a thousand other less well-informed/reactionary reasons. They’re the first to enjoy cheaper meals, lower cost construction, and the time and energy they saved not having to mow the lawn, plant the garden, or clean the house, all because José, Janek, Engjí«ll, Sonja, or Agnieszka did the work. They rarely speak against wage theft or the abuses these workers are subject to. They close their eyes, pay 10-20% less, and complain — Why can’t they just speak English?

Why? Because yes, they’re talking about you; your greed, laziness, and hypocrisy.

Huw gets it right in his I’m a bad Homosexual Activist and Californians and the Prop 8 thing… posts (thanks to the Young Fogey for the link). We stand to complain about high prices, high unemployment, unfairness from our comfort zone while the person working for us is getting squished. He says:

Making a —just for me society— instead of a Just Society is really rather sinful.

And I say Amen.

The PNCC, a Church founded by immigrants, understands the immigrant experience and honors people of all nations and cultures. The Lord asked us to go and preach to all nations because all are valuable in His sight. Human value is a totality and our call to value each person’s inherent dignity is absolute. That’s makes us, as Christians, as PNCC members, rather radical.

Christian Witness, PNCC, ,

In Rememberance

Memorial Day

The photo is from a photo essay by Danel J. Wood.

Heavenly Father, Whose care and guidance brought our forefathers to this great land, and led them through faith, courage and self-sacrifice to build the foundations of a great democratic nation, dedicated to Thy service and the rights of man, lead us, O God, in our day, as Thou didst lead our forefathers, and help us to be faithful stewards of the heritage which Thou hast entrusted to us.

Reverently, on this Memorial Day, in Thy holy presence, we pay our tribute of respect to the memory of those who gave their lives in the service of our country. We pray, that the souls of these, our heroic dead may have found perfect rest in Thee, and received the crown of an unfading life. O Thou, Eternal Lover of souls, cherish and bless them, we entreat Thee, and give unto us, the living, peace and hope as we think of them in this solemn hour.

Before Thee, O Lord God, we humbly acknowledge our debt to them, and beseech Thee to give us the strength, to go on towards the ideals for which they fought and died. Take, O Lord, the veil from their hearts, and join us in one communion with all Thy saints on earth, and in the life beyond.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. — From Memorial Day Prayers according to the Ritual of the Polish National Catholic Church

Christian Witness, Perspective, Political, , , ,

Dr. Laurence Vance – Christianity and War, Other Aspects of the Warfare State

Dr. Laurence Vance will address the Institute On The Constitution as part of its First Friday program. The program will take place on Friday, June 5, 2009, at 7pm. As with past “First Friday” lectures, this one will be held at 8028 Ritchie Highway, Suite 315, Pasadena, Maryland 21122. Doors open at 6:30pm and the lecture will begin promptly at 7pm. The event is free but because of limited space please RSVP to 1-866-730-9796. Refreshments will be provided.

Dr. Vance’s address will be streamed live, at no cost, on the Internet, June 5 at 7pm (EST).

Dr. Laurence M. Vance is a Bible-believing Christian author, freelance writer, and book reviewer. He holds degrees in history, theology, accounting, and economics. He has written and published sixteen books on the diverse subjects of theology, biblical languages, Bible history, economics, politics, and war. Dr. Vance regularly contributes articles and book reviews to both secular and religious periodicals. He is a regular columnist for LewRockwell a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the editor of the Classic Reprints series, the director of the Francis Wayland Institute, and an adjunct scholar of the Ludwig von Mises Institute.

The “Institute on the Constitution (IOTC)” is an educational effort sponsored by the Law Office of Peroutka and Peroutka of Pasadena, Maryland. It is neither an instrument of, nor an advocate for, any particular political party. Rather, it advocates the restoration of our Constitutional Republic by offering classes, lectures, and products designed to re- acquaint the American people with our history, our heritage, and our Constitution, which is the very foundation of our Republic. You will not find smoke, mirrors, or political correctness filters at our presentations — just real American history, the way it was, the way it ought to be taught.

The following is a presentation by Dr. Vance on Christianity and War at the 2008 Austrian Scholars Conference:

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , , , , ,

Polonian events in New York’s Capital Region

Parish Festival

St. Michael’s Parish Festival, 20 Page Ave, Cohoes, NY

Polish American Food, Games & Rides, Freckles’ the Clown, Children’s Activities, Vegas Games of Chance, Raffle, Chinese Auction, Dancing to the Rymanowski Brothers Orchestra and Tony’s Polka Band, Polish & American Craft Vendors, and Dance Groups

Friday, May 29th, 5pm-10pm
Saturday, May 30th, Noon – 10pm
Sunday, May 31st, Noon – 6pm

For more information please call 518-785-9002.

Screening of Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn

At Proctors Theater in Schenectady, Friday, May 22, 2009 at 2:30pm, 5:10pm & 7:45pm

This Oscar nominated film follows the story of four Polish families whose lives are torn apart when, at the outset of WWII, a great number of Polish soldiers fall into the hands of Soviet troops and later brutally become victims of Stalinism along with citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.

This war drama is not rated. This film is in Polish, Russian and German with English subtitles. This film has a total running time of 121 minutes. Tickets are $6.

Poland - Polish - Polonia, , , , , ,

Polish-Georgian veteran receives appointment as Admiral of the Polish Navy

Jerzy Tumaniszwili (Jerzy Trapper), an Oregonian living in Beavercreek, received a promotion to Rear Admiral from the President of Poland, the Hon. Lech Kaczynski. Admiral is the highest rank in the Polish Navy, equivalent to General in the Army. Admiral Jerzy Tumaniszwili is a distinguished WWII veteran of the Polish Navy, decorated with Virtuti Militari and other orders. He served as artillery officer on the Polish Navy ships (ORP) Burza, Krakowiak and Piorun, settling in the U.S. after the war.

_dsc1182_2The appointment ceremony will take place at the Polish Hall in Portland on May 31, 2009. The day’s events begin with an 11am Holy Mass for veterans of WWII at St Stanislaus Church followed by a reception and appointment ceremony at 12:15pm in the Polish Hall in Portland.

Jerzy Tumaniszwili will receive the appointment from the Polish Ambassador in Washington, Robert Kupiecki, and General Leszek Soczewica. Polonia is invited to the ceremony.

An additional note of interest is that Rear Admiral Tumaniszwili is a Pole of Georgian descent. The following video covers some of the history of Georgian officers in the Polish Army between World Wars I and II:

Perspective, PNCC, , ,

The PNCC and Labor – an old/new opportunity

A wonderful article from the Boston Review: God’s Work: What can faith-based activism do for labor?

—I came to Washington to work for God, FDR, and the millions of forgotten, plain, common workingmen,— recalled Frances Perkins. And so she did. From 1933 to 1945, Perkins helped create the core features of the New Deal state: minimum wage and maximum hours laws, legal guarantees for workers’ rights to organize and join unions, prohibition of child labor, Social Security, unemployment compensation, and fair labor standards. For all of the New Deal’s limitations, its laws and programs tamed Upton Sinclair’s —Jungle,— encouraged broad economic security and prosperity, and created, in economic terms, the most equitable America in history. And it was promoted and protected not only by strong unions but also by religious leaders, thanks to the prominence of a social gospel in the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish traditions at mid-century. During her twelve years as secretary of labor, Perkins herself spent one day a month in contemplative retreat at a convent. For her, the reference to God was not simply a rhetorical flourish.

Since the 1970s economic inequality has surged to levels not seen since the 1920s, Dickensian abuses of workers have returned, and deregulation has enabled the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression. President Obama’s Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, faces challenges not unlike Perkins’s. Yet today, as in the 1930s, crisis also creates the opportunity for a bold new direction—”a New New Deal, potentially more inclusive of the nation’s diverse labor force than Perkins could have imagined. Might the nation’s churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples again have a role in rescuing a wayward economy?

In addressing this question, Solis can learn much from Kim Bobo, founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ). Bobo’s goal is to revive America’s justice-seeking prophetic tradition, with a particular focus on economic justice…

The PNCC has a strong tradition as an advocate for working men and women. Its immigrant and democratic roots were formed by men and women who were workers, who knew degradation at the hands of mine bosses, and who looked forward to a brighter, more democratic future. John J. Bukowczyk covers a lot of history in the Labor, Radicalism, and the Worker chapter in his book: Polish Americans and Their History: Community, Culture, and Politics.

The PNCC connection is both historic and full of opportunity. Knowing what I know from my 9-5 job, Ms. Bobo is correct in her assessments:

Labor laws today are such a mess that they bewilder and deter those who need them most. As Bobo notes, they are —woefully inadequate,— —incredibly confusing,— and barely enforced. She tells the story of Anka Karewicz, a twenty-year-old Polish immigrant to Chicago who, in order to stop a single employer from cheating and demeaning her and her fellow workers, would have had to contact three different federal agencies (the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and two state agencies. Karewicz gave up.

Whatever a person’s ethnic background, whatever their status, the Church, our democratic Church, cannot stand by as the exploitation of working men and women continues. We are to stand with them, pray for them, and work together for a brighter future for all of God’s children.

Perspective, Political,

I agree with Bishop V. Gene Robinson? Yep.

From the Los Angeles Times: Gay Episcopal bishop visits Studio City

In response to a question about how the parish should respond to the passage of Proposition 8, the bishop suggested that churches could begin mending the split on same-sex marriage by having clergy get out of the civil marriage business altogether.

Robinson, who supports gay marriage, said he favors the system used in France and other parts of Europe in which civil marriage — performed by government officials — is completely separate from religious vows.

In the U.S., the civil and religious are often combined, with the cleric signing the government marriage license.

“In this country, it has become very confusing about where the civil action begins and ends and where the religious action begins and ends, because we have asked clergy to be agents of the state,” he said.

Last summer, Robinson and his longtime partner had their civil commitment ceremony blessed in the church. He said that “untangling” the roles of clergy and government in this country would focus the discussion of same-sex marriage on civil rights rather than religion.

“The church is infringing on the secular society and trying to enforce its beliefs onto the entire culture,” he said. “If we can get these two things separated, we can assure every religious group, no matter how conservative, that they will never have to bless these marriages.”

“I think we could actually gain some support from our detractors if we could make this separation clear,” he said…

The one statement I disagree with is: “…we can assure every religious group, no matter how conservative, that they will never have to bless these marriages.” No Church has to do anything the government demands of it as it is, nor can they be forced to, even under penalty of law. If Church is true to its faith — faith in God, not government, adherence to God’s commandments, not man’s, then it will reject falsehood whatever the penalty. A long line of martyrs and confessors attests to that.

To that point, I have commented on the Church’s complicity with government in prior posts and won’t re-cover that territory. In short, the co-mingling of faith, politics, and governmental administration is in-and-of-itself a wrong. The Church should encourage the good that governments do, but should do so without acquiescence to an agenda beyond that immediate good. Churches must use care so as not cloud their message. Yoking themselves with unbelievers’ (2 Corinthians 6:14) agendas detracts from the Church’s mission.

Reading Bishop Robinson I am reminded of a post by former blogger, the Rev. Jim Tucker (unfortunately his posts are no longer publicly available), in which he discusses marriage and the motivations of young couples who appear in church for the pomp and circumstance, never to cross the threshold again once married. Bifurcating civil co-habitation contracts from ecclesiastical marriages would do a lot to end the extravagance and expense associated with “marriages for show.” Do couples come to church intending to embark upon a life of faith, or do they come intending to embark on a one night party? In many cases I fear the later. They are caught in a moment blinded by expectation and rarely consider the consequences. That unthinking action, that type of marriage, is more harmful to the institution of marriage than any myriad of civil co-habitation contracts.

Do civil co-habitation contracts open the slippery slope which posits that once “gay marriages” are allowed all evil will break loose, to wit: polygamous marriages? From my perspective the same rules apply. If people want to enter into a civil co-habitation contract of any form then let them. The problem with such arrangements as practiced by fundamentalist Mormons is that they are a.) abusive and b.) an excuse for latching onto the public dole via welfare and Medicaid fraud. A good civil co-habitation contract and the enforcement of current laws would rule those options out. I don’t see many willing to enter into such a contract if it forces them to give up X% of their estate should the contract fail.

In the end a person who believes is required to subject themselves to the teaching of the Church. That choice, one we each must make with our God given freedom, doesn’t make life easy and demands sacrifice, but is essential to our call to be faithful. We are all called to make the choice, not “a” choice, but the choice.

The recent Miss USA controversy is a case in point. Miss Prejean stood by her Church and its teaching. For that she was ridiculed by those who do not believe in freedom of conscience or expression — the new communists and overlords. The words of Keith Lewis, Co-Executive Director of K2 Productions (the sponsor of the Miss California USA) in the organization’s Official statement regarding Miss CA USA 2009 final answer controversy better reflect the attitude of those who love and respect freedom (emphasis mine):

I am proud of Carrie Prejean’s beauty and placement at the 2009 MISS USA pageant. I support Carrie’s right to express her personal beliefs even if they do not coincide with my own. I believe the subject of gay marriage deserves a great deal more conversation in order to heal the divide it has created.

Freedom is beautiful. The overlords…not so much.

Miss California - Carrie Prejean Perez Hilton

Political, , ,

Meet the author — Tom Mooradian

The St. Peter Armenian Church community extends a cordial invitation to join us for a “Meet the Author” event being held at St. Peter Church on Sunday, March 29, at 12:30 p.m.

All are invited as St. Peter Armenian Church welcomes author Tom Mooradian for a presentation and book signing on Sunday, March 29, immediately following services, in the Gdanian Auditorium of the church located at 100 Troy Schenectady Road, Watervliet. Tom is the author of The Repatriate: Love, Basketball, and the KGB —” a powerful, historic, fascinating tale of his 13 years behind the Iron Curtain, sharing how he survived while waiting to obtain an exit visa. Refreshments will be served. Suggested donation is $5 per person.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call the church office at 518-274-3673.

Christian Witness, Media, PNCC, , ,

More on celibacy

From the Kennebec Journal: Celibate priests: boon or bane?

I won’t go on to quote from the article. It’s the usual set of arguments and some of the typical confusion between man-made laws like celibacy and other teachings that people would like to change even though they are immutable. I cite the article only because it contains a reference to the PNCC.

Personally, I think that the media would be just as disenchanted with the Catholic teaching of the PNCC as they are with the Roman Church’s teachings on secular culture’s hot-button issues.

If a writer were to set aside those big red arguments and develop some sort of columnar list of agreed points and differences I think they would be able to develop a compelling piece on Churches’ varied approaches to the human condition and Their understanding of God’s relationship to mankind. Of course it would take time and a lot of research. Anyone out there?

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