Pat Robertson had an op-ed in the WSJ outlining his opposition to the proposal as outlined. Yesterday on CSPAN, I watched some of the press briefing of Ari Fleischer, the W.H. Press Sec.- he gave weaselly non-responses to reporters questioning contradictions betwen DiIulio's words as quoted in the Washington Post on Sunday (loved him calling evangelicals [by inference mostly Protestant] bigoted, he is Catholic...) and Dubya's more recent utterences. For those wishing to keep track on Marvin Olasky see this URL for the magazine he edits. http://www.worldmag.com/world/home.asp And here is how, Robertson ends his WSJ op-ed. Michael Pugliese I propose a modest modification to the Bush plan. Those faith-based organizations that desire federal assistance could request an audit by the new Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. The audit would be based on objective criteria not the least of which would be financial integrity, record-keeping, supervision, and basic accountability. Assuming these organizations were performing approved services for the less fortunate, they could be listed in an annual government registry, along with those projects that the government wishes to support. Then private individuals and corporations could make donations to the faith-based institution of their choice among those listed, and the donations could, in turn, be designated by the donor for desired worthy projects. The charity would then be required to segregate these designated funds and be prepared to document the fact that the donated funds were used in the manner specified. In turn, the government would not be making direct grants of federal money, but would offer dollar-for-dollar tax credits (not deductions) to the donors who give to approved projects. In this way, and in the spirit of volunteerism, a vast private network of caring citizens would be participating in, and having a degree of oversight over, the thousands of faith-based initiatives throughout the land. As a consequence, a new swarm of federal regulators would not be required to monitor this program, the government would not be forced to intrude upon the religious activities of worthy charities, and the government would not be placed in the position of directly subsidizing religious practices that might seem anathema to most Americans. I want the Bush faith-based plan to succeed. With slight modification, it will. Otherwise, I see trouble down the road. -----Original Message----- From: Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 2:31 PM Subject: [PEN-L:9009] Genesis of Dubya's Faith Based initiative >Michael Pugliese wrote: > >>Milwaukee Genesis >>Where George W. Bush's "Faith-Based" >>initiative really comes from >> >>Much has been written about George W. Bush's new >>"faith-based" initiative, but a look behind the curtain >>finds the same old conservative-Republican philanthropies >>and their funding recipients behind the whole movement. >>And most media and pundits have missed the main thrust >>of the faith-based initiative, which is meant to destroy >>public-sector unions, build a Republican patronage system >>in poorer communities of color, and to convince citizens >>that they shouldn't look to their government to provide for >>the "general welfare." > >in yesterday's paper, there was a story that because of right-wing >religious opposition to FBI (faith-based initiatives), including that from >Pat Robertson, Dubya had organized a panel to study them (i.e., had tabled >them). The problem is that the religious types (including Marvin Olasky >(sp?), once Dubya's guru) were afraid that the religious organizations >would be corrupted, turning into branches of the government bureaucracy. > >Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine >
