"James V. Blakely" <jamesvblakely@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:cVRUc.222910$OB3.208336@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...

Hey Michelle, can I ask you a question? Yeah, I know, I already did!

I've been lurking in this news group for about 6 months, and your name

always caught my eye but I couldn't put my finger on why. I've finally
figured it out: There is a journalist with a name identical to yours.

Are you that journalist? I'm curious because although I've heard of the
journalist, I've never read any of her work, but I was always under the
impression that she was of a conservative bent. Your posts here seem to

be

definitely liberal.

I apologize if this question is too personal or if you've covered this
before.

I have covered it before, but what the heck. I am definitely not that

right wing bimbo. I have read many of her columns and find them, for
the most part, to be despicable. Aside from that, my ancestry is Russian-
Jewish and hers is Philippino. The only definite thing I can say about her
is that I wish I was as pretty as she is.

"Michelle Malkin" <hypatiab7@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:UuqdnQUPgLcebb_cRVn-hw@comcast.com...

Bush 'Faith-Based' Agenda Spreading In Federal Government,

Finds

Initiative Ignores Constitutional Principles And Civil Rights
Protections, Says Americans United

A new study of the "faith-based" initiative raises troubling

questions

about the Bush administration's disregard for constitutional and civil
rights protections, according to Americans United for Separation of

Church

and State.

The report issued today by the Roundtable on Religion and Social
Welfare Policy lists the many executive actions President George W.

has

taken to fund a wide range of religion-based social services. The

sweeping

changes in federal policy, the report indicates, have come without
congressional authorization.

The report by the Roundtable, which is a project of the

Rockefeller

Institute of Government in Albany, N.Y., reveals that religious groups

"are

now involved in government-encouraged activities ranging from building

strip

malls for economic improvement to promoting child car seats."

Americans United, which has spearheaded opposition to the

faith-based

initiative, said the report is a useful, but alarming, overview of the
administration's actions on this issue.

"The report shows an administration obsessed with seeking

faith-based

solutions for almost everything," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn,

director of Americans United. "I am deeply troubled that vital
constitutional and civil rights protections are being shoved aside as

the

faith-based crusade advances."

Bush unveiled the faith-based initiative soon after taking

but

it stalled in Congress due to constitutional and civil rights

To

circumvent Congress, Bush issued executive orders to implement
administratively as much of the proposal as possible.

The Roundtable report studies the numerous federal agencies that

are

now offering public dollars to churches and other religion-based

service providers and finds that new regulations created under the
faith-based initiative "mark a major shift in the constitutional

separation

of church and state."

In particular, the research notes that the regulatory changes
"encompass two reversals of longstanding policy on Constitutional
interpretation. The federal government now allows faith-based groups
receiving federal funds to consider religion when employing staff, and

to

build and renovate structures used for both social services and

religious

worship."

Said AU's Lynn, "The faith-based initiative is bad policy on

numerous

fronts. Taxpayers should never be forced to pay for the building or
renovating of houses of worship. And the federal government should

subsidize groups that engage in employment discrimination."

The report notes that in May the administration issued an

"incomplete

yet revealing tally of grants" to faith-based and community

organizations

at

a number of federal agencies. The administration's figures, the report

says,

"indicate a significant increase in the availability of federal

to

faith-based social service providers."

To see the full report, visit the Roundtable's website at
http://www.religionandsocialpolicy.org/.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a

liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the
organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state
separation in safeguarding religious freedom.



--
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
Michelle Malkin (Mickey) aa list#1
alt.atheism atheist/agnostic list name collector
BAAWA Knight & EAC Bible thumper thumper
http://questioner.www2.50megs.com
^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never
stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and
neither do we." George Bush, Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004