As mentioned at Vox Nova, the Web site Catholic Vote Action, has endorsed Sharron Angle, who is running to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate. Here's one of her SNL fake TV ads campaign commercials:I can't decide which part is more hilarious: the stock footage of vaguely Hispanic-looking gangbangers (minute :21) or the two vaguely Hispanic-looking construction workers (minute: 25) who seem to be caught off-guard by the viewer--doubtless in the middle of plotting anti-Anglo violence--and glare menacingly into camera as if to say, "That's right. I've got your job. What are you gonna do about it?"But, yes, Morning's Minion is right. Angle's ad is pure xenophobic pandering. As the church has always taught, agreeing with the president of Mexico on immigration issues could lead to separation from Christ.Next up, the bishops of Minnesota: Today, just in time for the midterm elections, they sent an anti-gay-marriage DVD to four hundred thousand of their parishioners. The package includes a letter from the Minnesota Catholic Conference, a six-minute video message from Archbishop Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and a twelve-minute video produced by the Knights of Columbus. The mailing was sponsored by an unnamed donor.Here's Nienstedt's message:There's nothing surprising in the archbishop's message. As Catholics know, the church teaches that marriage is defined by the union of one man with one woman. What some Catholics might be surprised by, however, is the way Archbishop Nienstedt frames the question of how gay marriage might be made legal:

If we are to change our societal understanding of marriage, it should be the people themselves, and not politicians or judges who should make this decision. It is for this reason that the archdiocese believes that the time has come for voters to be presented directly with an amendment to our state constitution to preserve our historic understanding of marriage. In fact this is the only way to put the one-man-one-woman definition of marriage beyond the reach of the courts and politicians.... Thirty-one states have passed marriage amendments, and it's time for Minnesotans to have their say. A question as important as the future of this great social institution should not be decided by a ruling elite, but by the people of Minnesota themselves. The church's position is simple: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman, and to protect this truth, it is time in Minnesota to let the people speak.

Ruling elites bullying the muzzled masses. You'd almost think the people of Minnesota hadn't elected their own legislators. Where have we heard that sort of rhetoric before...?