Bush Administration Church/State Entanglement Movement

2005, Apr 14: Whistleblowing on sexual health anti-intellectualism

By the Bush administration. Chris Mooney of The American Prospect had a piece entitled Misleading.gov reprinted at AlterNet.org, in which he examines how a government web site, www.4parents.gov, carries the sexuality disinformation of the religious right. He writes of it, in part:

. . . sponsored by three separate branches of the Department of Health and Human Services: the Office of Public Health and Science, the Office of Population Affairs, and the Public Health Service. The site is described as "part of a new national public education campaign" to help parents help their teenagers make "the healthiest choices." "Part of a new misinformation campaign" would be more accurate. A massive list of sexual health research and advocacy groups and other organizations have slammed the site, arguing that it amounts to a thinly veiled brief for pro-life moral values and abstinence education. An analysis of the site's content shows that their complaints are more than justified.

Return to chronology 14 Apr 2005

2005, June 01: Whistleblowing on Church/State entanglement

By the church. One Nation Under God's Interpreters, by David Rossie, and which was reprinted at CommonDreams.org, details a number of civil liberties violations and antidisestablishment actions by religionists. Possibly the most troubling is an indication that some ultra-rightists now seem to be equating George Bush jr with Jesus Christ.

"If you are tired of secularists telling you that The Lord has no place in our government and our public institutions, then show them that you disagree."

And how do we show them? With a car magnet in the shape of a fish, the symbol of Christianity. You've seen them, I'm sure, the simple fish outline wrapped around the word Jesus.

Understated but eloquent.

This one's different. The fish design's the same, but Jesus has been replaced by "Bush."

[This constitutes a clear and present violation of the First Commandment -- I am the Lord, thy God, thou shalt have no gods before me -- and the words of Christ mandating a clear and present separation of church and state -- render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and render unto God that which is God's, for my Father's kingdom is not a kingdom of this earth, it is the Kingdom of Heaven. The first is blasphemy, and the second makes antidisestablishmentarianism a false doctrine; a heresy. --MN]

Return to chronology 01 Jun 2005

2006, March 24: Abstinence-only education repudiated

By the Rhode Island Department of Education. This department banned an abstinence-only-until-marriage program from public schools because it was found to violate students' rights, embrace sexist stereotypes, isolate GLBT youth, and, in accompanying materials, promulgate religious views. James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, commented about the move, "We've known for some time that abstinence-only is bad science, bad policy, and a blatant violation of medical ethics and basic human rights. And as more people find out what is being taught and what is being censored in these ineffective programs, more and more of these 'stay pure or we don't care about you' programs will be banned from public schools." According to the source article for this entry, any decision to continue using such programs is even more difficult to defend, given that:

• Curricula used by a majority of abstinence-only-until- marriage programs provide false and misleading information, according to the House of Representatives' Committee on Government Reform - Minority Staff;

• State evaluations from across the country show these programs don't work to delay sexual initiation;

• The nation's most trusted medical organizations, such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM), all support comprehensive sex education.

Mr. Wagoner was further quoted about the entire movement: "Now it's time for Congress to declare an immediate moratorium on federal funding for these programs. It is a national scandal that we have already spent over $1.1 billion of taxpayers' dollars on programs that don't work and that censor vital public health information for young people. It is time to restore sanity and common sense to our public health policy."

Return to chronology 01 Jun 2005

2006, June 03: Promulgating the "activist courts" propaganda

By George Bush jr. This latest incident in the long running battle against the recognition of human rights for homosexuals involved the president himself spreading the outright lie about "activist courts". It was uttered during his weekly radio address; specifically: "Unfortunately, activist judges and some local officials have made an aggressive attempt to redefine marriage in recent years. An amendment to the constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice." Keep in mind that this is the authority who is personally responsible for loading the Supreme Court with political appointees who will act as activists in favour of ultra-conservativism. Also keep in mind that the principle function of the Bill of Rights in the American Constitution, is to constrain government in its interactions with the people, not to allow the government to restrain the people. This statement was made in support of constitutionalizing misohomonism, but is unlikely to be adopted by the states at this juncture; although thirty-eight percent of states have enshrined anti-homosexualism in their constitutions, it would take a 2/3 majority to adopt a new amendment.

[See my commentary on this issue. Off hand, I'd say this one is a sop to Christo-fanatics (and Molly Ivins is much of the same opinion). Whether it is or not, it's a further indication that Bush is a lousy president. --MN]

[Addendum (10 Jun 2006:) On 07 Jun, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting issued a media advisory titled Amendment Proposal Needs Serious Attention. In it, the organization pointed out that most media discussion of the issue was focused on the political maneuvering, but few reports examined what the effects of the proposed amendment would be. The media advisory also questioned the effectiveness of such a ploy, comparing this action with a previous one from the 2004 election. --MN]

Return to chronology 03 Jun 2006