Cause and Effect

1. The likely effect of an expanded government role in social services is the reduction in religious practice among Americans. This is yet another reason to be dubious about the "reforms" proposed in Washington.

2. New York is not the only state facing a state version of FOCA -- one is moving forward in Illinois as well.

3. An excellent overview on the need to regulate the IVF industry, as the State of Georgia is now proposing. Most people don't realize that this industry is very tightly regulated in Europe, in contrast to the Wild West situation here in the United States.

4. It's very important that we understand the broad agenda of attacks on the Church, with the statute of limitations repeal and the attacks on conscience rights. (Kudos to our own Dennis Poust of the New York State Catholic Conference for making this clear to the reporter). And this article doesn't even address the threat posed by the recognition of same-sex marriages.

5. The indispensible Fr. Thomas Berg writes about the effect of social networking sites on our brains and our relationships. I'd send the link to my kids, but they haven't put me on their "friends" list.

6. Interesting article about the different levels of religious belief and activity between women and men. They find that women pray more than men. Of course, that's because the women are praying for their men, and it's a good thing too.

7. I don’t follow football, but it sounds like the Jets' quarterback is one of the good guys, giving public witness to his Catholic faith.