A few reads

Nat Hentoff deplores the lack of public attention to the Darfur genocide. With the world focused on flare-ups in other areas, God only knows where this will end.

When the violence began, it was Muslims targeting Christians. Now, it's Muslims targeting Muslims who happen to have darker skin and Subsaharan features. (Oh, did I mention the oil?) I'd really love to see some of those theorists who assert the unity of all Islam to explain this one.

A letter exchange between Luana Stotlenburg, an activist who now regrets her abortions and the editors of Ms. Magazine.

feminine genius, well-armed with irony, relates a case of side effects from the contraceptive patch, while the manufacturer looks the other way. There's something about these ladies' writing style that I like!

The Ironic Catholic launches an Iron Theologian competition and posts the first installment if a list of '100 Ironic Reasons to be Catholic.' One of her commentors was Sister Mary Martha, whom I decided to check out and have thus far found pretty funny. Like some other people around here, she couldn't seem to resist social commentary on Mel Gibson's troubles, either.

Mrs. Darwin at DarwinCatholic discusses the moral status of the tarot deck and other occult paraphernalia and It put me in mind of some issues I've been thinking about (and discussing) recently, but that's for another post.

I did recall that back when I was a plaid-skirted second grader at Catholic school, we had a number of donated board games on the cloakroom shelf for rainy-day recess use. It was the first time in my life I'd ever seen--or heard of-- a Ouija board (who in the Sam Hill let that one into the building, I wonder? I remember the Sisters being a little more on the ball!) Anyhow, nobody summoned up any spirits or created a need for a consultation with an exorcist (wouldn't that have gone over well? Our diocese wasn't taking any orthodoxy prizes as it was, even then. Well, especially then. It was the late '60s...but I digress.) A number of the boys, however, who had a little knowledge about the mechanics of the thing, found an entertaining use for it:
Small,nerdy-looking necktied Catholic Schoolboy:
Ouija Board, who is Pattie in love with?
(very brief pause)
M...A...R...K...
For some reason, the mediums (media? medii?) in the movies always seem so much more laborious in their use thereof. Was it youthful energy, or did some of those guys have an in with the spirit world?...