Odds and Ends

1. Our colleague over at Restore DC Catholicism, shows that the the USCCB is involved in a "Circle of Protection" which is aimed at protecting cuts from a variety of social programs. When I saw that phase it seemed odd and that I had heard it before. Well, I did. I guess the folks over at USCCB did not do a search on the term but it is one used by Wiccans. Of course, those of you into the MAGIC game, will also recognize that term too. Would the phase "Circle of Dunces" be more appropriate?

2. Not only do we have VOTF in the Archdiocese but also Pax Christi. Although the goal of peace is a laudible one, their belief is to gut the military. I personally think we should begin to gut some some of the wasteful social programs first. Social programs account for a larger amount of the US budget when combined, than the US military. The "War of Poverty" has been around since the late 1960's but i don't see a defeat in it yet. It is the longest "war" the US has been involved in. All I see is that we are pumping more money into social programs, via tax revenue, and then being asked to donate on top of that, adds insult to injury, and yet there are no results. (Heads up to Restore DC Catholicism.)

3. Did you make not of the Social Ministry Conference in the Archdiocese? Heavily pushed in the Catholic Standard, it looked like it may have hit the couple of dozen mark in attendance. (Photos do not begin to show the huge attendance numbers. I guess the camera lens was just too small to get the full depth of the crowd.) However, the Catholic Standard noted that one of the key concerns of the Social Justice Conference was 'gun control.' Now, depending upon who you are, will determine if you support gun control. If you are a criminal, you do, because you know the only people who respect restrictive gun laws are law abiding citizens. Criminals do not. Or if you are one of those who believe that guns kill, people do not. I believe that good gun control means being able to hold your revolver/semi-automatic, with either one or two hands, and hit your target dead on.