LETTERS
To the Editor:

When the Founding Fathers created the US Constitution, they thought that law making was so important that they listed it in Article I., Section 1, as the new government's very first responsibility: "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States ..." In modern times, regrettably, Congress has demonstrated a rather cavalier attitude toward this responsibility. Perhaps the most obvious sign of this blatant disrespect for the design of the Founders is that members of Congress routinely pass huge and complicated bills which none of them has read. And if that shocks you, you should really be alarmed to learn that sometimes printed copies of a bill are not available before a vote; and the content, effects, and cost of a bill are often not known. But do not despair. There is hope. A group calling themselves Downsize DC is on a campaign to pass the "Read The Bills Act" (RTBA), which addresses the problem. Key provisions of the RTBA require each bill to be read aloud in both the House and Senate, require every member of Congress to swear (under penalty of perjury) that he/she has either personally read or heard read the entire bill, and require that every bill must be published on the internet (exposing it to the "Sunshine Test") at least a week before the vote. Obviously, the RTBA has the potential to bring about some profound positive changes in the way Congress operates. If you're interested in this effort, learn more at www.downsized.org.

Cordially,

Chuck Esposito

Suches, GA

To the Editor:

We live now in a time when a socially malodorous stench permeates out beautiful North Georgia Mountains. Some commentators, cloaked in a false mantle of righteous Christian indignation, are in truth guilty of the sin of hatred, and seek only to bend men's minds to their anti-Catholic obsession. Their "I'm not anti-Catholic" disclaimer defies believability, and is contrived to evade any hint of bigotry, which in itself is an affirmation by default of precisely that. This sort of denial always seeks to fabricate hoped for credibility. And the logic we see employed can only be seen as disingenuous.

Take for example the nonsensical syllogism: "All Catholics are alcoholics. John Smith is Catholic. Therefore, John Smith is alcoholic." The major premise fails of truth, and therefore cannot produce a truthful conclusion. Sheer hypocritical demagoguery is what it is. Words mean what their sententious authors intend, without regard to honesty, and characterized by a rambling and redundant litany of inaccurate irrelevancies, urging upon reader a crazily twisted logic, as did Lewis Carroll's Humpty Dumpty in his 1821 "Through the looking Glass" sequel to "Alice in Wonderland:" "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more not less."

I think that anti-Catholic commentators should exercise more restraint than has heretofore been demonstrated. Of the something over 3,000 Christian religions worldwide, albeit mostly in the U.S., each believes itself to be God's true religion. In the age of Oliver Cromwell, it was believed by extremist Reformers that if a person were truly "saved" he could accurately interpret the Bible. Further, he might experience a spontaneous inspiration to preach God's Word, any time and any place. And many did exactly that, but the practice was soon discouraged as a bit awkward: soldiers were found in the middle of combat to be suddenly standing and preaching, and those surrounding them felt obliged to stand and listen, while musket balls flew. It was found difficult to maintain troop strength. That vignette was shared by the celebrated historian and author Barbara W. Tuchman in her book, "Bible and Sword." Ms. Tuchman is not Catholic.

Sincerely, Tom McKevitt