[Boston-editorial] submission

[Matthew Williams]

Hello Don --

Thanks for your submission. We have put out a newspaper in the past, 
but it is currently on hold while we raise money to fund it. You can, 
however, self-publish this column (and anything else you write) on our 
website, http://boston.indymedia.org , by going to the website and 
clicking on the link near the top that says "post an article". The 
website is open-publishing, which means anyone can post a story there 
without needing to go through a list or some other form of moderator 
approval (although we do edit after the fact, choosing which stories to 
features and hiding ones that have inappropriate content, i.e. ads or 
hate speech).

Thanks,
Matt
Boston IMC editorial collective member

On Mar 3, 2005, at 1:47 PM, monkerud wrote:

> Do you put out a newspaper or do I post to this list?
>
> best, Don
>
> Please consider publishing the following column.
>
> Bush Commits Government to Support Religion
> By Don Monkerud
>
> After recent criticism for not doing enough to promote his faith-based 
> program, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to erode barriers 
> against religion in government-supported programs and to grant more 
> money to religious groups. The President made his pledge Tuesday 
> before 250 religious leaders at a White House-called conference in 
> Washington D. C.
>
> The commitment follows closely on the heels of his State of the Union 
> address, where Bush called for the passage of his faith-based 
> initiatives to transform America "one soul at a time." Deciphering or 
> restating the sometimes confusing double-talk helps us understand the 
> intent of this seemingly benign program.
>
> At the conference, the President revealed that government funding of 
> religious groups increased over the past year to $2 billion-ten 
> percent of federal charity funds now go to some 600 religious 
> organizations-which he said "isn't perfect," but "progress."
>
> "It's a revolution," said Jim Towey, director of the White House 
> faith-based office. "There's a change under way. It takes time to take 
> root, but philosophically we have to end discrimination against 
> faith-based groups. They've been treated like second-class citizens in 
> the public square."
>
> The President said religions could not discriminate based on 
> religion-a Catholic recovery program cannot discriminate against 
> Methodists-and that people would not be "forced to choose a 
> faith-based provider." Carefully hedging his remarks for bringing 
> religion into government programs as "expanding individual choice," 
> Bush bragged that his administration allowed religious groups to use 
> federal money to rebuild churches, fund groups filled with religious 
> leaders on their boards, and fund buildings used for religious 
> services. Using government funds to support religion in these ways is 
> a radical break with the American tradition of not funding religion 
> and keeping religion and government separate.
>
> Throughout his speech, the President used code words to reiterate his 
> drive to allow religious intrusion into government-funded programs. 
> Using the word "faith" over 60 times, Bush said the best way to quit 
> drinking is to "go to a place that changes your heart," and he lauded 
> a "tough love" treatment program that made a woman feel as if she had 
> an "angel sitting on (her) shoulder." Bush continually used the terms 
> "faith-based and community groups," as if they were the same, although 
> community groups have always been allowed to apply for government 
> funds. He spoke fondly of "the armies of compassion" as if they were a 
> military operation (armies of the Lord), and said he could think of no 
> better role for government than supporting such armies.
>
> "We stand ready to help energize that army," Bush said. "I want to 
> thank you for being generals, lieutenants, sergeants and privates in 
> the army of compassion."
>
> As for using government funds to support religious programs, the 
> President said that if a program works "because of a belief in the 
> Almighty, give it a shot." In short, programs that save souls or lead 
> people to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior-paid for by tax 
> dollars-are fine because they work. Critics point out that there are 
> almost no studies of whether these programs work or not because the 
> government has never before supported these programs.
>
> "You can't promote religious activity and worship on government 
> money," said Jim Towey. "But we aren't going to require you to alter 
> your identity. That could rob you of the very effectiveness of your 
> program."
>
> Bush laid out a program that will lead to even closer religious ties 
> to government. He is sending several proposals to Congress which would 
> increase funding for religious sponsored drug and alcohol treatment 
> programs, push state and local governments to fund more religious 
> social service groups, allow religious programs to discriminate in 
> hiring by employing only those from the same religion because they 
> have "shared values and religious identity," allow write offs for food 
> donations, and allow retirees to make tax free contributions from 
> their IRAs to religious groups. If Congress fails to pass these new 
> laws, Bush pledged that he would make the changes by as executive 
> orders.
>
> "It's a simple change, but it's a substantive change to law," Bush 
> said. "They don't need the tax law to encourage tithing, for example. 
> But it always helps on the margin to have good tax law."
>
> Whether Bush's proposals are pandering to the religious right-as some 
> contend-or reflect a heartfelt desire to "save souls," the awarding of 
> government contracts to religious groups is unprecedented. By 
> manipulating language and phrasing questions in a seemingly 
> well-meaning and innocent way, Bush pays back his religious supporters 
> and blurs the lines between religion and government.
> The End
> Copyright 2005
>
> Don Monkerud
> 2220 Pleasant Valley Road
> Aptos, CA 95003
> 831-724-2059
> Monkerud at Cruzio.com
>
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