First it was the Patriot Act, which aims to limit our free speech as Americans, and now it’s the “faith-based initiative,” with a mission of creating a single Christian Right American Churchstate (hereby dubbed CRAC). Does BushCo honestly believe this CRAC is what the Founding Fathers intended?
New York Times / The Disappearing Wall:
The centerpiece is President Bush’s so-called faith-based initiative, which disregards decades of First Amendment law and civil rights protections. Mr. Bush promised that federal money would not be used to support religious activities directly, but it is. The program has channeled billions of taxpayers’ dollars to churches and other religion-based providers of social services under legally questionable rules that allow plenty of room for proselytizing and imposing religious tests on hiring. The initiative even provides taxpayers’ money to build and renovate houses of worship that are also used to offer social services.
Here’s something funny, in a rip-your-patriotic-heart-out-and-spit-on-it sort of way: Just last week, BushCo’s State Department decided to kill the publication of an annual report on international terrorism. Why? Well, because the government’s top terrorism center concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985. Isn’t that hilarious? Isn’t that heartwarming? Your tax dollars at work, sweetheart.
Two years ago today we were Rebuilding Together.
1 response so far ↓
1 Jonty // Apr 27, 2005 at 10:18 am
I hate to be one of those people who says things like, “I heard….”, But I’ve that the only organizations that have successfully applied for and received federal funds are Evangelical Christian groups favored by the President.
Now, on the face of it, I really don’t have a problem with the initiative. I just wish that it were applied evenly such that other religious groups could receive money as well.
I see no violation of the Church State seperation clause of the Constitution based on the wording of Bush’s initiative. I see gross violations in its application.
Just my two cents.