As America discovered Wednesday night, Rand Paul is a principled Libertarian — no matter where those principles take him:

A recent Daily News editorial supported the Federal Fair Housing Act. At first glance, who could object to preventing discrimination in housing? Most citizens would agree that it is wrong to deny taxpayer-financed, “public” housing to anyone based on the color of their skin or the number of children in the household.

But the Daily News ignores, as does the Fair Housing Act, the distinction between private and public property. Should it be prohibited for public, taxpayer-financed institutions such as schools to reject someone based on an individual’s beliefs or attributes? Most certainly. Should it be prohibited for private entities such as a church, bed and breakfast or retirement neighborhood that doesn’t want noisy children? Absolutely not.

Decisions concerning private property and associations should in a free society be unhindered. As a consequence, some associations will discriminate…

A free society will abide unofficial, private discrimination — even when that means allowing hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin.

So Mr. Paul wrote on May 30, 2002 — a letter to the Bowling Green Daily News. If you’ve never met a Libertarian in the wild, that’s exactly what they sound like.

On the other hand, the Libertarians we’ve met don’t exactly sound like this:

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Rand Paul releases the most astonishing pledge of the 2010 campaign season:

“I unequivocally state that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

Glad that’s settled. Now to the next question: If it’s not Ayn or the Corporation, what is it?

[via Political Wire]

Today’s report from the New York Times:

A senior Vatican priest speaking at a Good Friday service compared the uproar over sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church — which have included reports about Pope Benedict XVI’s oversight role in two cases — to the persecution of the Jews, sharply raising the volume in the Vatican’s counterattack.

Today’s retort from Rome:

Noted Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, commented this week that the recent defamatory reporting on Pope Benedict XVI, especially by the New York Times, was “prompted by the devil.”

Now that Tiger dropped Ari Fleischer, did the Vatican hire him?

At Vatican Service, Persecution of Jews Is Invoked [NYT]

Satan behind media attacks on the Pope, asserts Italian exorcist [Catholic News Agency]

Catholic League President Bill Donohue buys an NYT ad: “The Times continues to editorialize about the ‘pedophilia crisis,’ when all along it’s been a homosexual crisis. Eighty percent of the victims of priestly sexual abuse are male and most of them are post-pubescent.” [Towleroad]

Judicial deadbeat, California Secretary of State candidate, real-estate agent, and Demon Dentist Orly Taitz is padding her overflowing resume with a new item: healthcare-reform victim. All those Republican state AGs don’t hold a candle to the master’s lawsuit:

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Tiger Woods hires Ari Fleischer as advisor. Invasion of Arnold Palmer Invitational imminent. [NY Post]

With DC’s gay-marriage law coming into effect Wednesday, Catholic Charities faced a dilemma: Do the right thing, or act like shitheads?

Hey, don’t get ahead of us:

Starting Tuesday, Catholic Charities will not offer benefits to spouses of new employees or to spouses of current employees who are not already enrolled in the plan. A letter describing the change in health benefits was e-mailed to employees Monday, two days before same-sex marriage will become legal in the District.

“We looked at all the options and implications,” said the charity’s president, Edward J. Orzechowski. “This allows us to continue providing services, comply with the city’s new requirements and remain faithful to the church’s teaching.”

We’d be curious to know whether they previously withheld benefits to Protestants or remarried Catholics, but we don’t have time today to shoot fish in a barrel.

Same-sex marriage leads Catholic Charities to adjust benefits [WaPo]