Wednesday, July 2, 2008

As I Sit Back And Laugh

"Change?"




"First, if you get a federal grant, you can't use that grant money to
proselytize to the people you help and you can't discriminate against them – or
against the people you hire – on the basis of their religion. Second, federal
dollars that go directly to churches, temples, and mosques can only be used on
secular programs. And we'll also ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to those
programs that actually work."

"Actually work?" By whose measure? Ensuring that the money that goes to religious organizations will only be used on secular programs? Tell me that you can see the inherent contradiction in that statement. Oh, well, he's the second coming anyway, so he might as well start promising those miracles.

Pandering for votes sure doesn't seem like "change" or "new politics" to me. I told you all he's just a slick salesman, and now you're reaping the benefits of bending over for a relative stranger.

As of now, no comment on this story yet at Pam'sHouseBlend (at least that I could find), which I find surprising considering the venom this is drawing out of the fangs at DemocraticUnderground. One blogger who is on the ball, however, is Dustin of the Bilerico Project, who makes an important point for gay voters:

Bloggers, commentors, mainstream media and Obama himself have cited the
venerable Catholic Charities as a prime example of a faith-based organization that does incredible amounts of good work for people nationwide. To a large extent, that's true. From homelessness to anti-poverty programs and more, Catholic Charities has provided services in volumes unmatched by most other organizations, faith-based and secular combined.
But in 2006 Catholic Charities in Boston opted to end its 100+ years old adoption program rather than work with LGBT prospective parents. Not working with these prospective parents would have violated Massachusetts' statewide nondiscrimination policy.

And yet Mr. Obama continues to tout Catholic Charities as a perfect example of how faith-based initiatives can do wonders.

Not for gays who hope to raise families, Mr. Obama.

This, folks, is your "change."

1 comment:

John in IL said...

You mean Obama is continuing the failed policies of the Bush administration. Tasty.

And while I'm at it, the biggest reform to the tax code I'd like to see is the elimination of the tax deduction for charitable contributions. Where is the outrage over that church/state confluence?