Moccasin Creek Minutemen

This past weekend millions of Catholics were read a letter from their Bishop in response to the HHS mandate (partial list below). CV Blogger John White published an excellent post on how we can help our shepherds. I thought you would enjoy it, and so we are featuring it today. -Brian]

Pray for our Bishops.

Because they need it, they need lots of it.

And they need it now.

Many American bishops have publicly spoken out against the Obama administration’s recent declaration of war against the Catholic Church. So far, the response from the episcopate has been widespread, clear, and strong. We should all be encouraged by the readiness on the part of these bishops to lead the American Church in this fight for freedom.

But we ought not take this leadership for granted. So often it seems, when something Church-related gets us upset, we are all too ready and willing to focus our outrage on the local bishop. Granted, the last ten years have certainly reminded us that bishops can make poor, even seriously harmful, decisions. And the accounting for those transgressions is still underway.

But too often the bishops suffer our wrath over the fact that the state of the Church (in our parish, our diocese, or our country) isn’t just the way we want it to be. Expecting faithful leadership from the bishop is one thing. Calling up the chancery (which you have on speed dial) because Father Bob failed to mention Hell in his homily is something else.

It gets lonely at the top, or so they say.

The same thought has been echoed by high-ranking military officers, or their biographers, who speak of the “loneliness of command.” When you’re the top dog, or the top brass, or the top guy in the diocese, you get to call the shots. But that means that you also bear the responsibility, alone, for the shots you call.

In the case of bishops, it means that every day they are asked to make decisions, issue statements, and take actions with one thing in mind – the salvation of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of souls. That’s a sobering dose of responsibility. And as a bonus, these shepherds carry out their vocation with the certain knowledge that no matter what they do, a good percentage of the souls they are charged with will be left disappointed, upset, or outraged. At them. That’s not a job anyone should envy. Certainly not one that we should take for granted.

A Chesterton quote, on St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast we just celebrated:

His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with the welcome news that he would never be a Bishop.

Welcome news indeed. And now things just got really fun if you have “Most Rev.” in front of your name. At the end of the day (and that day, if we want to be precise, is August 1, 2013), the HHS mandate doesn’t force most of us (unless we own a small business) to do anything. The bishops aren’t so lucky. Yes, the laity have a responsibility to engage this threat wherever and however they can. The ways for doing this are numerous and varied, and have been ably put forth on CatholicVote’s site.

But in most cases, the actual responsibility for the decisions that will need to be made regarding the cold hard consequences of the mandate lies squarely on the shoulders of the bishops. Thus has it been, from St. Ignatius of Antioch to St. Thomas Becket. These successors of the Apostles, these shepherds of souls, these men clothed in black cloth and human weakness have been called through the ages to stand on the ramparts of the Church under siege and take the first blow from the enemy’s sword.

Thus has it been, and thus shall it be. The bishops will be the ones who will have to stand tall, just as St. Polycarp and St. John Fisher did before them, and say, with dire consequence, ”We cannot, and we will not.” And they will be the first to suffer. One American prelate, Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago, made this stark and rather chilling observation of the current state of affairs:

I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square.

Pray for them.

Here is a partial list of statments released by Bishops across the country in opposition to the HHS mandate:

Bishop Thomas Olmsted – Diocese of Phoenix, AZ:

http://www.diocesephoenix.org/uploads/docs/RELIGOUS-LIBERTY-INSURANCE-LETTER-012512.pdf

Bishop Paul Coakley – Diocese of Oklahoma City, OK:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s24/sh/332a7fb7-08a0-4433-abb2-2444fe824122/cd81e947d83be1aa109f190dd71a21f9/res/7535b381-c9c7-41b4-86f6-44e6329d8e88/ArchOKCHHS.pdf

Bishop Richard Malone – Diocese of Portland, ME:

http://www.portlanddiocese.org/newsroom.php?nid=786

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien – Archdiocese of Baltimore, MD:

http://www.archbalt.org/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=59746

Archbishop Allen Vigneron – Archdiocese of Detroit, MI:

http://www.aodonline.org/AODOnline/News+++Publications+2203/Press+Releases+2303/HHS.htm

Cardinal Roger Mahony – Archbishop Emeritus, Los Angeles, CA:

http://cardinalrogermahonyblogsla.blogspot.com/2012/01/federal-government-mandate-for.html

Archbishop Gomez – Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA:

http://www.the-tidings.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1984:a-time-for-catholic-action-and-catholic-voices&catid=101:viewpoints&Itemid=389

Bishop Paul Loverde – Diocese of Arlington, VA:

http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/news.php?id=333

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr – Archdiocese of Cincinnati, OH:

http://www.thecatholictelegraph.com/a-letter-from-archbishop-dennis-m-schnurr-concerning-hhs-edict/5749

Bishop Joe Vasquez – Diocese of Austin, TX:

http://www.austindiocese.org/resources/general/4793.pdf

Bishop Kevin Vann – Diocese of Fort Worth, TX:

http://www.fwdioc.org/Documents/english_joint_statement1-27-12.pdf

Bishop Kevin Ferrell – Diocese of Dallas, TX:

http://www.fwdioc.org/Documents/english_joint_statement1-27-12.pdf

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo – Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, TX:

http://www.archgh.org/blog/main.asp?Tid=597&cat=Cardinal%20DiNardo&id=39

Bishop William Medley – Diocese of Owensboro, KY:

http://rcdok.org/news/?news_id=6462016576018701406

Bishop Anthony Taylor – Diocese of Little Rock, AR:

http://www.dolr.org/bishop/hhsletter_012512.pdf

Bishop Joseph Bambera – Diocese of Scranton, PA:

http://www.dioceseofscranton.org/2012/01/27/bishop-bambera-issues-letter-about-serious-threat-to-religious-liberty/

Bishop David Zubik – Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA:

http://www.diopitt.org/hhs-delays-rule-contraceptive-coverage

Bishop Patrick McGrath – Diocese of San Jose, CA:

http://www.dsj.org/about-us/bishops/bishops-statements/us-health-and-human-services-ruling

Archbishop Thomas Wenski – Archdiocese of Miami, FL:

http://www.miamiarch.org/ip.asp?op=Article_1212510574188

Bishop Daniel Jenky – Diocese of Peoria, IL:

http://bishopdanielrjenky.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post.html

Bishop James Conley – Diocese of Denver, CO:

http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/7518

Bishop Walter Nickless – Diocese of Sioux City, IA:

http://www.scdioceseschools.org/about.cfm?subpage=1418097

Archbishop Jerome Listecki – Archdiocese of Milwaukee, WI:

http://www.livingourfaith.net/ThoughtfortheWeek.htm

Bishop David Ricken – Diocese of Green Bay, WI:

http://www.thecompassnews.org/news/local/2937-bishop-ricken-calls-on-area-catholics-to-fight-hhs-ruling-on-religious-liberty.html

Archbishop Wilton Gregory – Archbishop of Atlanta, GA:

http://www.archatl.com/offices/communications/press_releases/2012.01.30-hhs.html

Bishop Peter Libasci – Diocese of Manchester, NH:

http://www.catholicnh.org/about/news/news-releases/obama-mandate/

Bishop Frederick Campbell – Diocese of Columbus, OH:

http://www.colsdioc.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=0PdlIXK1DZ0%3d&tabid=36

Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan – Archdiocese of New York, NY:

http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-013.cfm

Archbishop John Myers – Archdiocese of Newark, NJ:

http://www.rcan.org/images/2011hhs.pdf

Bishop William Callahan – Diocese of LaCrosse, WI:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/817573/Bishop%20Callahan%20Sunday%20Mass%20Letter%20Jan%2029%2C%202012.pdf

Bishop Leonard Blair – Diocese of Toledo, OH:

http://www.toledodiocese.org/

Bishop Paul Eitenne – Diocese of Cheyenne, WY:

http://bishopsblog.dioceseofcheyenne.org/?p=1870

Archbishop Robert Carlson – Archdiocese of St. Louis, MO:

http://stlouisreview.com/article/2012-01-23/pastoral-message

Bishop Thomas Paprocki – Diocese of Springfield, IL:

http://ct.dio.org/bishops-column/text/41-new-hhs-ruling-violates-our-first-amendment-rights.html

CV Blogger Thomas Peters is compiling a list of Bishops’ statements against this HHS mandate at http://www.catholicvote.org/discuss/index.php?p=25591. Is your bishop not on this list? Please check with your diocese to see if a statement has been made by your bishop, and if not, respectfully ask him to do so! If they have issued a statement, please email us at info@catholicvote.org.
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Investor’s Business Daily
Posted 01/26/2012 08:18 AM ET

Andrew Malcolm
Political News & Commentary

http://news.investors.com/Article/599002/201201260818/obama-white-house-staff-back-taxes.htm

36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes
How embarrassing this must be for President Obama, whose major speech theme so far this campaign season has been that every single American, no matter how rich, should pay their “fair share” of taxes.
Because how unfair — indeed, un-American — it is for an office worker like, say, Warren Buffet’s secretary to dutifully pay her taxes, while some well-to-do people with better educations and higher incomes end up paying a much smaller tax rate.
Or, worse, skipping their taxes altogether.
A new report just out from the Internal Revenue Service reveals that 36 of President Obama’s executive office staff owe the country $833,970 in back taxes. These people working for Mr. Fair Share apparently haven’t paid any share, let alone their fair share.
Previous reports have shown how well-paid Obama’s White House staff is, with 457 aides pulling down more than $37 million last year. That’s up seven workers and nearly $4 million from the Bush administration’s last year.
Nearly one-third of Obama’s aides make more than $100,000 with 21 being paid the top White House salary of $172,200, each.
The IRS’ 2010 delinquent tax revelations come as part of a required annual agency report on federal employees’ tax compliance. Turns out, an awful lot of folks being paid by taxpayers are not paying their own income taxes.
The report finds that thousands of federal employees owe the country more than $3.4 billion in back taxes. That’s up 3% in the past year.
That scale of delinquency could annoy voters, hard-pressed by their own costs, fears and stubbornly high unemployment despite Joe Biden’s many promises.
The tax offenders include employees of the U.S. Senate who help write the laws imposed on everyone else. They owe $2.1 million. Workers in the House of Representatives owe $8.5 million, Department of Education employees owe $4.3 million and over at Homeland Security, 4,697 workers owe about $37 million. Active duty military members owe more than $100 million.
The Treasury Department, where Obama nominee Tim Geithner had to pay up $42,000 in his own back taxes before being confirmed as secretary, has 1,181 other employees with delinquent taxes totaling $9.3 million.
As usual, the Postal Service, with more than 600,000 workers, has the most offenders (25,640), who also owe the most — almost $270 million. Veterans Affairs has 11,659 workers owing the IRS $151 million while the Energy Department that was so quick to dish out more than $500 million to the Solyndra folks has 322 employees owing $5 million.
The country’s chief law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice, has 2,069 employees who are nearly $17 million behind in taxes. Like Operation Fast and Furious, Attorney General Eric Holder has apparently missed them too.
As with ordinary people, the IRS attempts to negotiate back-tax payment plans with all delinquents, whose names cannot be released. But according to current federal law, the only federal employees who can be fired for not paying taxes are IRS workers.

Obama’s Vision for a Spartan America

BY JONAH GOLDBERG

President Obama’s State of the Union address was disgusting.

The president began with a moving tribute to the armed forces and their accomplishments. But as he has done many times now, he celebrated martial virtues not to rally support for the military, but to cover himself in glory — he killed Osama bin Laden! — and to convince the American people that they should fall in line and march in lockstep.

He said of the military: “At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together. Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach.”

That is disgusting.

What Obama is saying, quite plainly, is that America would be better off if it wasn’t America any longer. He’s making the case not for American exceptionalism, but for Spartan exceptionalism.

It’s far worse than anything George W. Bush, the supposed warmonger, ever said. Bush, the alleged fascist, didn’t want to militarize our free country; he tried to use our military to make militarized countries free.

Indeed, Obama is upending the very point of a military in a free society. We have a military to keep our society free. We do not have a military to teach us the best way to give up our freedom. Our warriors surrender their liberties and risk their lives to protect ours. The promise of American life for Obama is that if we all try our best and work our hardest, we can be like a military unit striving for a single goal. I’ve seen pictures of that from North Korea. No thank you, Mr. President.

Of course, Obama’s militaristic fantasizing isn’t new. Ever since William James coined the phrase “the moral equivalent of war,” liberalism has been obsessed with finding ways to mobilize civilian life with the efficiency and conformity of military life. “Martial virtues,” James wrote, “must be the enduring cement” of American society: “intrepidity, contempt of softness, surrender of private interest, obedience to command must still remain the rock upon which states are built.” His disciple, liberal philosopher John Dewey, hoped for a social order that would force Americans to lay aside “our good-natured individualism and march in step.”

This is why Obama’s administration believes a crisis is a terrible thing to waste. This is why Obama has been prattling about “Sputnik moments” and sighing over his envy of China and its rulers. This is why his spinners endeavored to translate the death of bin Laden as some sort of vindication of his domestic agenda: because he cannot lead a free people where he thinks they should go.

At the end of his address, Obama once again cast the slain bin Laden as the Vercingetorix to his Caesar. (Vercingetorix was the defeated Gaulic chieftain whom Caesar triumphantly paraded through Rome.) “All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves,” Obama rhapsodized.

The warriors on the ground “only succeeded . . . because every single member of that unit did their job. . . . More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other — because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s somebody behind you, watching your back. So it is with America.”

“This nation is great because we worked as a team. This nation is great because we get each other’s backs.”

No. Wrong. It is not so with America. This nation isn’t great because we work as a team with the president as our captain. America is great because America is free. It is great not because we put our self-interest aside, but because we have the right to pursue happiness.

I don’t blame the president for being exhausted with the mess and bother of democracy and politics, since he has proved so inadequate at coping with the demands of both. Nor do I think he truly seeks to impose martial virtues on America. But he does desperately want his opponents to shut up and march in place. And he seems to think this bilge will convince them to do so.

What I can’t forgive, however, is the way he tries to pass off his ideal of an America where everyone marches as one as a better America. It wouldn’t be America at all.

— Jonah Goldberg is editor-at-large of National Review Online and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute . You can write to him by e-mail at JonahsColumn@aol.com, or via Twitter @JonahNRO. © 2012 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

_______________________________________________

As always, thank you for your support and please don’t hesitate to call or write if you have questions or comments. I can be reached at polivett@nationalreview.com or (814) 883 – 8067.

Paul Olivett, Associate Publisher

National Review, Inc.

Dear Friends,

Don’t watch the State of the Union alone! This is an experience best shared with like-minded friends, refreshments and a dose of reality!

You are invited to our program, the “Real State of the Union and North Carolina”, featuring Dallas Woodhouse, State Director of Americans for Prosperity; Roy Cordato, Vice President for Research and resident scholar at the John Locke Foundation; and Francis De Luca, President of the Civitas Institute. They will discuss the “real” state of the Union and the State of North Carolina and invite questions.

Then, view the President’s State of the Union with a gathering of like-minded activists. Join us for information, open discussion, and refreshments as we watch and counter President Obama’s impressions of the state of the Union. REGISTER HERE to save your seat.

Program: The Real State of the Union and North Carolina

and

Viewing: President Obama’s State of the Union Address

John Locke Foundation Building

200 W. Morgan Street

Raleigh, NC 27601

Tuesday, January 24

8:00 pm

I was impressed by the turnout tonight and the speakers we had were very informative. We had several new people and need to continue to grow. This is a very important year at which we need to be informed of who is running, what they stand for. Get to know the candidates, help them get their message out. We do not endorse candidates, but we bring them in to our meetings so we can get to know them. We have a Debate coming up March 31st at the Zebulon Community Center between the candidates running for the 13th district. More info will be coming out as we get closer, but get the word out so more people see who is running. I bet there will be bunches of candidates trying to get your vote in the primary’s. We will have BBQ while the candidates get warmed up. Spread the word. More to follow. Tell a friend.

Now that the local elections are over, we can either stick our heads in the sand, or fight for what we believe. I hope that some not quite awake will wake up. That being said we need to come together as a group to do what is needed to educate the public on what our Constitution and Declaration of Independence is, and why it is a great document.
Do you have a Pocket copy of Constitution, and Declaration of Independence? If yes do you carry it as reference, or is it stuffed somewhere and forgot about. I always have one with me so if necessary I can show what it states, and even give it away(gave my last one out the other day so I ordered 100 more from The Heritage Foundation. Note that there are some out there that are incorrect, so only get from a trusted site. Hillsdale College is out there and wants to get them out to everyone if you can donate. If you need a copy or would like you can call me and I will be more than happy to give anyone in need a copy I would like to figure out a program to educate students at local schools with a incentive to reward classes (So not just the better students get the reward) Judged by Some one with David Barton’s knowledge of these historical importance documents. I know this will take $ but to educate these documents to our children may excite them to pass to the parents. Let me know what you think.

Sincerely
Larry Schug
919-665-0697

This info provided by Patriot Dee Sams; I thought it was worth passing along.

Salary of retired US Presidents ………….$180,000 FOR LIFE

Salary of House/Senate ……………………..$174,000FOR LIFE

Salary of Speaker of the House ………….$223,500 FOR LIFE

Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders …… $193,400 FOR LIFE

Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN $38,000

Average income for SOCIAL SECURITY seniors $12,000

I think we found where the cuts should be made! If you agree..Pass it on!

Do you believe in what the school board have done over the last 2 years. I have been to those meetings and saw first hand the obstruction the left put on. I firmly believe that while not perfect they have done for our children/grandchildren, and if you do not have children in public schools they have used your money as best as possible. They have added teachers in a down time, raised SAT scores, lowered suspensions. Now if we loose the seat Heather Lasordo is in a runing off against, almost guaranteed if taxes are not raised teachers will get laid off. It’s our choice to get up and SUPPORT HEATHER LASORDO.

As all of us know the local elections are upon us from our local towns to the school board. These past 2 years the school board has made great strides in higher SAT scores, lower suspensions, reducing spending without losing teachers. With that said we need to get out and support the candidates that support education, and not special interest of growing the administration, and unfunded programs that do not work. The new board and superintend found that a person given a contract for their job, hid $10 million, she/he resigned. How many more do we have in the school system that are stealing tax payer $ (remember that is your money) We need to help them continue fighting to educate our children so they grow to future of opportunity. Call Bessie Brantly and let her know what you can do at 919-210-6161 and leave a message she will get right back with you if she is not able to answer.

This was sent to me by a Texas friend. Not an endorsement by MCMM

In case you were wondering…………
—————————————–
Who Is Rick Perry?

He is a fifth generation Texan, the son of hardscrabble west Texas tenant farmers – Democrats but conservatives through and through. He grew up in a farm town too small to be on the state map. Life was so hard that he was six years old before his house had indoor plumbing. His mother sewed his clothes, including the underwear he wore to college.

He is an Eagle Scout. After Paint Creek High School , he attended Texas A&M, graduated, and was commissioned into the Air Force where he became a C-130 pilot.

Now 61 years old, he has won nine elections to four different offices in Texas state government. In the first three elections he ran as a Democrat then switched to the Republican Party. He is currently the 47th governor of Texas – a position he has held for 11 years, the longest tenure of any governor in the nation.

He has never lost an election.

Rick Perry was the Lieutenant Governor to whom Governor George Bush handed over the office after winning the 2000 Presidential election. Since then, Perry won gubernatorial elections in 2002, 2004, and 2010, the last time by 55% against a field consisting of a Democrat, a Libertarian, a Green Party, and an Independent.

Since he became its Governor, Texas – a right to work state that taxes neither personal income nor capital gains – has added more jobs than the other 49 states combined. In the last two years, low taxes and little regulation led his state to create 47% of all jobs created in the entire nation. Five of the top ten cities with the highest job growth in the nation are in Texas . People follow jobs, so in the last four years for which data are available, Texas led every state in net interstate migration growth.

Perry signed ground-breaking “loser pays” tort reform and medical litigation rules that caused malpractice insurance rates to fall. Some 20,000 doctors have since moved to Texas .

Texas boasts 58 of the Fortune 500 companies – more than any other state. Since May 2011 Texas resumed its pre-recession employment levels. Only two other states and the District of Columbia have done that.

Texas ships 16% of the nation’s export value. California trails at 11%. Of the 70 companies that have fled California so far in 2011, 14 relocated in Texas .

In this year’s Texas legislative season, Perry got most of what he wanted. With no new taxes, a fiscally lean state budget was passed leaving $6 billion in a rainy day fund even as other states around the country struggled to balance budgets and avoid more deficit borrowing. A voter ID bill passed that was designed to prevent ballot box fraud and illegal voting. A bill passed that makes plaintiffs pay court costs and attorney fees if their suits are deemed frivolous.

Perry scored points even in his legislative failures. He failed to get sanctuary cities banned – Texas towns in which police cannot question detainees about their immigration status. The blame fell on the legislature. Perry also failed to get a so-called “anti-groping” bill passed that would put Transportation Security Administration agents in prison if they touch the genitals, anus, or breasts of passengers in a pat down. Federal officials threatened to halt all flights out of Texas airports and the bill died in special session. That endeared Texans even more to TSA employees living in Texas .

Perry jogs daily in the morning. He has no bodyguard with him, but his daughter’s dog runs by his side and he carries a laser-guided automatic pistol in his belt. Last year while jogging in an undeveloped area, a coyote paralleled his jogging route, eyeing his dog. He drew his pistol and killed the animal with one shot, leaving it where it fell. “He became mulch,” Perry said. Animal rights groups protested, but Perry shrugged it off. “Don’t come after my dog,” he warned them.

Recently, Obama asked Perry to delay the July 7 execution of Humberto Leal in order to comply with the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Perry refused. Therefore Obama asked the US Supreme Court to delay the execution because it would damage US foreign relations. The Court refused 5-4 and Perry ordered the execution to go forward as scheduled. Over the howls of diplomats, politicians, and the UN, Leal was administered a lethal injection at 6:20 p.m. Before he died, he admitted his guilt and asked for forgiveness.

The case has special implications for Perry, who is considering a run for the presidency in 2012. Even his critics resent federal interference in a Texas execution, which is related to a state, not a federal, crime – an alcohol and drug-fueled rape and murder 17 years ago by an illegal whose family brought him into the country 35 years ago as a child. The interference hinges not on the man’s guilt, which Leal’s advocates acknowledged, but on a technicality – failure to inform Leal that he could have gotten legal representation from the Mexican consulate in lieu of the court-appointed attorneys who represented him. Independent Texans saw Obama’s interference as another intrusion of federal power into the affairs of a state, which could cost Obama support in other states.

Needless to say, Perry is a hard-edged conservative and a ferocious defender of 10th Amendments rights (“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”) – an explicit restriction of the federal government to only those powers granted in the Constitution. Perry accuses the federal government, especially the Obama administration, of illegal overreach.

Perry said “no thanks” to the feds whose stimulus offered taxpayer dollars for education and unemployment assistance. The strings on “free money” from Washington , he said, would restrict Texas in managing its own affairs. Perry even depleted all state funds to fight recent wildfires before asking Washington for disaster relief. His request has been ignored, which comes across as an unvarnished federal power play, further pitting Perry and Texans against the federal government.