Faith-Based Security

The White House establishes a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the Department of Homeland Security. Among its tasks is the "development of innovative pilot and demonstration programs to increase the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal as well as State and local initiatives". I feel comforted that, should I ever be on a hijacked place, there will probably be a group of people paid by the government to fervently pray that I don't die.

Meanwhile, in the Army, Gregg Martin has been made brigadier general. General Martin may be best known for his classic work of military strategy: Jesus, the Strategic Leader, some of which is encapsulated in the following diagram:


[Click for increased biggerness.]

In hopes of being an equal opportunity curmudgeon, I present the news that the Chinese Communist Party is cracking down on its religious members. The whole letter is intriguingly Orwellian, though to me it's clear that the Party is not so much supporting atheism as it is replacing devotion to religion with devotion to the Party:

"The “three disciplines and eight attentions” (san da ji lu, ba xiang zhu yi) are so deep that religious doctrines cannot reach their depth. Why can’t [the Communist Party] carry out propaganda that is superior to that of religion?"

Ebay

Whole lotta Pagan Publishing stuff: $997. Seems way extravagant, but then again it appears that someone's willing to pay $88 just for Delta Green.

For comparison, it'll be interesting to see what this run of the first 7 years of Amazing Stories finally goes for.

Then there's John Pelan's auction of the first 98 issues of Crypt of Cthulhu.

And lastly, the Necronomipotty.