RCO is an obscure procurement agency that was created in 2003 to speed up getting military weapons systems. Its old unit patch was unremarkable, aside from the eye-catching Latin on the bottom: "Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus." That translates to "Doing God's Work with Other People's Money." A few months ago, Jason Torpy, head of the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers, stumbled across the little logo while he was looking for contact information for Air Force chaplains. (His group wants them to offer services for atheists and humanists.) Torpy sent a few emails -- six or seven over a couple months -- saying, essentially, "I'm surprised you have a motto that says you're violating the Constitution, would you mind changing it?" he recalls. "And apparently they did." Now it reads: "Miraculi Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus," which means, "Doing Miracles with Other People's Money." (He pointed out the difference on MAAF's website, at left.) He didn't get a call or a returned email or anything, and didn't think too much about it. "I don't want the drama, either. This wasn't in the top 100 priorities," he says, adding his group is more focused on getting more resources and acceptance of people who believe like they do. The Atlantic Wire contacted Air Force public relations for a comment Wednesday morning and were told they were working on a statement, trying to figure out the origin of the original motto. We haven't heard back yet.

But even in this conflict, it looks like there's opportunity to find common ground. Rep. Forbes' official bio says, "Randy has rejected Washington political rhetoric and has instead focused on solutions-based leadership to tackle issues such as economic recovery, health care, tax reform and government spending… In addition, Randy has introduced legislation to improve efficiency in government agencies, and he has been named a 'Hero of Taxpayers'." We have doubts about a couple of these assertions. But if Forbes wants to cut spending -- and these are budget-cutting times -- one place to do it might be a little government agency that's pretty proud about throwing around taxpayers' money. But the RCO patch makes it clear that while atheists make it nervous, when it comes to budget cutters, it's fearless.

Mismanagement of government funds? Isn't that something everybody's against? Alas, the outrage is spreading. "In the liberal world of political correctness, I guess the motto is 'Offend the Masses,'" writes Bobby Eberle at GOPUSA. "To these liberal elites, it's much better to support a complainer than to take a stand and support the majority... This is yet another example of political correctness gone crazy, and it must stop!" But Bobby Eberle, you've written so movingly about the need to cut spending. "The federal government spends too much money! Spend less, tax less. What's so hard to understand about that?" We understand, Bobby, Why don't you make your case to the Rapid Capabilities Office?

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.