JMO - Faith Iniatitives

I read the column in the Wall Street Journal about the differences between former President' Bush and President Obama's Faith Based Initiatives program. I was against Bush's and still am against it in principle, and yes against Obama's. It's simply a political ploy to appease the religious voters.

But in reality it's a waste of taxpayers money, and any organization geting funds from grants from this program can get them from existing programs. They can still be faith organizations, they only have to work under those rules than special rules for faith organizations and other ones who still have religous people, just not as their mission.

And that's why I'm against them in any form or manner. They're simply unnecessary for government to help people and they've demonstrated they do more harm than good. They take government money for their own work which violates the separation of church and state. Government shouldn't be supporting religious organizations period.

I find the arguments by conservative Christians who oppose government intervention in their property, personal, privacy and other rights while they support government support to Christian charter schools and faith-based organizations absurb on its face. You can't argue government's responsibility against your personal values and beliefs on some issues and not on other issues solely because it benefits you and not the rest of us.

And I find the arguments by those folks for government's support of Christian programs while not only denying but protesting support of other religious organizations, from local to national equally absurb . If they want the faith-based initiative program, are they willing to not only to provide equal access but equal funding for Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and other religious organizations who also help people? Or have I heard their protests they indoctrinate people against Christians?

There isn't much more to add to my view and opinion. These organizations don't do anything other ones already do and they have a history of promoting religion and discriminating against minorities and other groups. They don't need my tax money. And no improvements in the program are worth its existence. It's simply religious pork barrel at its worst.

And if President Obama can't make it work as he promised, and as the aritcle noted, the program should be abolished. If he wants one over my objections (like that matters), then make it religion-neutral, which means simply remove religion from it, and makes it a duplication of government service, and then better done by other programs. That's government waste.

In short, the government should stay out of religion and stay away from religious organizations with our money.