Lies, Damned Lies, & the News
The Catholic Church in the United States is not, ought not be, & never shall be an arm of the Republican Party. The Church's teachings disagree with many aspects of Republican policy, & Church leaders have no responsibility to endorse the initiatives of any particular Republican politician, neither Representative Paul Ryan nor any other. That said, to describe the faculty of Georgetown University as "Catholic leaders" when they attack a policy proposal of Mr. Ryan's is akin describing P.F.C. Bradley Manning, he of WikiLeaks infamy, as a "leading voice" in the United States Army. It lends their partisan behavior a cachet of impartiality that it does not deserve. The B.B.C. ought to be ashamed of themselves for their religious exploitation, but of course they won't be, since anti-Catholicism is still formally enshrined in British law. They ought, however, as reporters, to be ashamed of their shoddy reporting: Titus Oates would be proud-link.

Postscript (4:18 P.M.): Since the morning, the front-page headline for the above B.B.C. article has seen the words "Catholic leaders" changed to "Catholic academics." Click on that link & the headline has changed from "Catholic leaders skewer Ryan budget plan" to "Georgetown faculty members skewer Ryan budget plan." Apparently, I was not the only reader to note & take umbrage at the B.B.C.'s assertion that the faculty of Georgetown speak for the leadership of Holy Mother Church. Of course, because there is no explicit mention on the B.B.C. website of these changes, they could well be accused of having subjected their earlier errors to damnatio memoriae; corrections are to be commended, but it is unseemly for reporters to attempt to sweep their misconduct under the rug.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day: SKApril
King Apparatus, "Hold Me Down" from Marbles (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Better than you have tried and failed to hold me down."