The Open Door

This week we will be talking with American Solidarity Party candidate Brian T. Carroll. You can check out his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Carroll4Congress/ and his website https://sites.google.com/view/carroll4congressca22/ (April 5, 2019)

This week we will be talking with American Solidarity Party candidate “Average Joe” Schriner. You can check out his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/voteforjoe2020/ and his website https://www.voteforjoe.com (March 29, 2019)

This week we will be discussing issues regarding access to water. We will discuss: -History of water crises, especially in the US -Hetch Hetchy Dam: http://savethewater.org/2014/08/14/hetch-hetchy-valley-dam/ -Cochabamba Water Wars https://www.gwp.org/en/learn/KNOWLEDGE_RESOURCES/Case_Studies/Americas--Caribbean/bolivia-the-water-war-to-resist-privatisation-of-water-in-cochabamba-157 https://www.y...

This week we will be talking about the need for clean air, water and soil. What is going on with the environmental issue affecting people today and what does the Solidarity Party have to say about it. From the platform: Stewardship of the Environment We believe in the responsibility of every generation to serve as stewards of the Earth. We recognize the intrinsic value of nature. We must work to f...

This week our friend Prof. Peter Redpath rejoins us. We want to look closely at the ambitious project of reuniting philosophy and science, as well as reuniting science and wisdom. If the project succeeds, technology will be able to wear a human face! Our discussion will lead us to consider “scientific naturalism.” We’ll also turn our attention to broadly Darwinian theories of evolution. Prof. Redp...

This week we will be asking our guests, Vasil Cvetkovski and Chase Padusniak, to revisit the topic of socialism. We will ask: How do you define socialism? How do you define capitalism? Can you be a free market socialist? Is the American Solidarity Party socialist? Is it capitalist? Is it distributist? Is there a third way economics? Is the American Solidarity Party a populist political movement? I...

This week we will be asking our guests, Patrick Harris, Mario Ramos-Reyes, and Matt Cooper about the Solidarity Party’s Foreign Policy and what would it mean for Venezuela? What is solidarity? Does solidarity entail the defense of human rights? The defense of democracy? Do the US need to change its past relationship with Latin America? Does the US have any responsibility for Latin America today? W...

This week our special guests are Fr. David Poecking (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish) and Muntadher Aljabery, Imam of Alfatimiah of Pittsburgh. We will explore the document Human Fraternity issued by His Holiness Pope Francis and The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb. (The quotations below are from this document.) The questions we will consider include the following. How might we act on the co...

This week our special guest is Prof. Peter Redpath, Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Great Ideas. He is one of today’s foremost Catholic thinkers. Prof. Redpath will explore the topic “Why Western Culture Needs to Reunite Philosophy and Science and Science and Wisdom, and How This Reunion can be Achieved.” The questions we hope to ask him include the following. What counts as Western C...

This week, with Christy Yao in the lead, we’ll take a look at the Socialist Party of America. Our special guest is Vasil Cvetkovski. Our questions will include the following. What is the Socialist Party of America? Just what is socialism? What got you involved in the SPA? Why is it more attractive than the two major parties? How does the SPA differ from other Socialist parties? How is the SPA simi...

This week, with Christy Yao in the lead, we’ll discuss the 2019 March for Life in Washington, D.C. and the OneLife LA March in Los Angeles. Here are the questions we’ll explore. What are some of the memorable experiences of the events that participants are reporting? Was media coverage of these pro-life events satisfactory? How can major pro-life events be catalysts for the ongoing pro-life strugg...

This week our panel will discuss learning lessons and building bridges in the context of a new politics of solidarity. Our special guest will be Chase Padusniak, of Patheos and Princeton. Here are some of the questions we’ll explore. 1. What lessons can the American Solidarity Party learn from Dorothy 2. Does the American Solidarity Party have anything to learn from Karl Marx? 3. To what extent ar...

This Friday let's first discuss some main points of Catholic teaching on nature and the environment. I'm attaching below a helpful PDF from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Gabriel Meyer's recent presentation at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. Both documents are fairly long. I invite you to focus our discussion by calling attention to a couple of points from ei...

Catholic Teaching and the Death Penalty Catholic teaching offers a unique perspective on crime and punishment. It begins with the recognition that the dignity of the human person applies to both victims and offenders. It affirms our commitment to seek justice, comfort and support victims and their families, while acknowledging the God-given dignity of every human life, even for those who do great...

From a Catholic perspective, let's first discuss the question of nuclear weapons. (See below a recent statement coming from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.) Then we'll take some time to update efforts by "solidarity minded" candidates for public office in California! USCCB An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind...

Let's first explore, from a Catholic perspective, the significance of work. We can take our lead from Francis, Benedict, and St. John Paul II. Not surprisingly, our thoughts will turn to what might be involved in a politics of work! Work should be the setting for this rich personal growth, where many aspects of life enter into play: creativity, planning for the future, developing our talents, livi...

Let's begin by exploring, from a Catholic perspective, the links between friendship and politics. Three questions come to mind straightaway. 1. If there is a relation between friendship and the political order, what is its basis?2. Is the political order of instrumental value only?3. Does true political order depend on solidarity and subsidiarity? Please find below a link to a helpful reflection b...

During the Fall of '17, we worked through the American Solidarity Party Platform. We also explored what's involved in bringing our platform into "on the ground" politics. This week's agenda has two parts. First, we need to look at just what solidarity is, in the mind of the Church. Second, we need to discuss what solidarity means for our politics. Let's begin with a few passages from Pope Francis,...

First, we can look at a pair of principles that follow the platform preamble. 1. Family, local communities, and voluntary associations are the first guarantors of human dignity and the cultivators of mutual care. 2. We must share and protect natural resources and the environment, as held in trust for the benefit of all, present and future. Second, we can begin a reflection of Distributism, an econ...

December 8, 2017 1. Revisit the platform preamble. We are a party that seeks the common good, on common ground, through common sense. We believe in the sanctity of human life, the necessity of social justice, our responsibility to care for the environment, and promotion of a more peaceful world. We cherish the individual rights and separation of government powers protected by the U.S. Constitution...

1. Revisit the Platform Preamble. We are a party that seeks the common good, on common ground, through common sense. We believe in the sanctity of human life, the necessity of social justice, our responsibility to care for the environment, and promotion of a more peaceful world. We cherish the individual rights and separation of government powers protected by the U.S. Constitution, and recognize t...

Special on-location broadcast event on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at 2:00 pm Eastern / 11:00 am Pacific live from Biola University with Dr. Jim Hanink and friends! It's back-to-back Open Door with a special Friday/Saturday combination on the Right to Life! (This show will also air on Friday, November 24, 2017, as our Thanksgiving weekend show.)

Right to Life. We believe that respect for the dignity of human life is the most basic tenet of a civilized society. This dignity is unconditional; it is never reduced by factors such as usefulness or "wantedness." From the moment of conception until natural death, every human being is entitled to protections under the law, to just treatment, and to equitable consideration. We, therefore, support:...

Banking and Finance in the Public Interest. Access to capital is necessary for families and small businesses to prosper. Ensuring widespread access to credit on fair lending terms is essential to building shared prosperity and stable communities. We, therefore, support: The operation of credit and similar financial institutions in the interests of borrowers and lenders, not stock market speculator...

Civil Rights. We believe in the vigorous enforcement of civil liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights. We believe that the persistence of unjust discrimination in our society must be acknowledged and addressed. The state has a role to play in protecting marginalized groups from unjust discrimination, and should pay particular attention to the effect that policy proposals will have on vulnerable...