Daily links, March 6, 2012: Class war update: Ann Romney isn’t rich; single moms a threat to Wisconsin

Leading with Lent: Catching up on my blog reading after a quick vacation, I see that Julia Smucker at Vox Nova isn’t entirely crazy about the “Ashes to Go” offered by some Episcopal churches at train stations, etc., on Ash Wednesday. Having blogged about that one myself, I get her concerns but think lightening up a bit liturgically can’t hurt.

Now for the daily class war update: David Cruz-Uribe, also at Vox Nova, has an enlightening graphic on the ratio of worker to exective pay (USA clocks in a 475:1), while a Wisconsin state senator has introduced a bill that would emphasize “nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.” Take that, single moms! In other news, Ann Romney doesn’t consider herself wealthy.

Class warfare score for today: Rich: 2; Poor: 0; Ann Romney: clueless (seriously, whose idea was it for her to say that?). OK, maybe she just misspoke. But seriously, if you or a member of your immediate family is worth a $250,000,000 (aka A QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS), you are rich. You may also be virtuous and kind and generous, but you are also rich. And not just a little. LIke, seriously rich. Maybe not Bill Gates or Warren Buffett rich, but still fabulously, outrageously, curl-your-hair, you-can’t-be-serious rich. Rich with a capital R. As in Romney.

Back to links: Cardinal Archbishop and conference president Timothy Dolan has sent a letter to his brother bishops promising a further fight with the administration about the HHS mandate (you know which one); it is typographically interesting in that every time the phrase “religious freedom” appears, it is italicized. In other news, the Brooklyn diocesan newspaper is opposing high taxes in an embarrassing editorial because they limit Catholic’s religious freedom to donate to Catholic charitable efforts. (HT to dotCommonweal.)