I can't remember whether it was here or elsewhere that I pointed out that the Christians who were so hot for "faith based initiatives" were perhaps forgetting that what's sauce for the goose etc.
Pat Robertson mentions a few denominations he isn't all that willing to fund with his tax money. He is as opposed to funding them as i am to funding his, in fact! He forgot to mention some others. For example, the tax-exempt church, The Church of Satan.
Really! -- churchofsatan.com
And the Wiccans are a faith, too! The fastest growing "faith" in the US is Islam.
May Allah, the soon-to-be majority deity, bless Reverend Robertson for sticking up for those of us who don't like our taxes funneled to religious groups, however "non-main stream" or "main." We don't care a fig about "mainness." (Although I must say that I feel a certain "religious" fervor coming on that feels very like a base for initiatives.)
TELEVANGELIST RIPS BUSH PLAN
New York Post Thursday,February 22,2001
By MARILYN RAUBER
------------------------------------------------------------PAT ROBERTSON: Against funding holy fringe
WASHINGTON - Televangelist Pat Robertson yesterday blasted President Bush's plan to funnel federal bucks to religious groups, warning it could result in Uncle Sam propping up fringe groups like Hare Krishna.
"This thing could be a real Pandora's box," Robertson warned on his "700 Club" TV show.
"What seems to be such a great initiative can rise up to bite the organizations as well as the federal government," he said.
Robertson said he's worried that non-mainstream organizations like the Church of Scientology, the Unification Church or Hare Krishna will jump on the funding bandwagon. [LOL! -- E]
Under the Bush plan, federal agencies would be barred from discriminating against religious groups seeking federal funding for social-services programs for the needy.
The type of religion "is a moot point," the program's deputy director Don Eberly told The Post when asked on Tuesday if all religions would be welcome to apply.
"There is this myth that the federal government is getting into proselytizing . . . My guess is that when it comes to [providing] social services the characteristics [of all groups] would be surprisingly uniform," he said.
White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Bush "is very committed" to the program and insisted it's "based on sound principles, and it is the right thing to do."
But opposition from the conservative Robertson is a big blow for Bush, who has come under fire for trying to blur the line between government and religion.
It "means Bush's plan is in enormous political trouble," claimed Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
Meanwhile, Bush, stumping for his education-reform package in Tennessee, called for a $1.6 billion hike in federal funding for elementary and high schools next year, saying it was "the right path for America to take."
Under his budget blueprint, education would get the biggest spending hike of any agency. Bush has told Republicans he wants to limit overall growth of the 2002 budget to about 4 percent.
nypost.com |
