Poor Mike Huckabee: "Congress Doesn't Like Religion...Whine Whine Whine"

Old Proverb:
If Money Is The Root Of All Evil,
Why Do Churches Beg For It?

Even Older Proverb:

Poor Mike Huckabee. He thinks that Congress' stimulus bill is the Democrats' way of being anti-religion.

(From USA Today, By: Mark Memmott and Jill Lawrence)

“You would think the ACLU drafted this bill,” the former Arkansas governor writes.

He urges people to protest to their members of Congress in the short term. “In the long term, we need to kick the Democrats out of Congress,” he says.

His pitch: Make contributions, make phone calls, forward his e-mail to 10 supporters. "Let those on Capitol Hill know that we’re outraged that they would take such a cheap shot at people of faith," Huckabee concludes.

O.K. So what's the beef about?It bans the use of higher education construction grants to modernize, renovate or repair facilities "used for sectarian instruction, religious worship … or a school or department of divinity; or in which a substantial portion of the functions of the facilities are subsumed in a religious mission." In other words, giving money to organized religion (churches which do not pay taxes!) is un-Constitutional.

What Huckabee's rant really means is that he's pissed that churches (of the Southern Baptist variety) aren't getting any of the stimulus money directly. Even though they've been staunch conservatives, it seems America's churches never did think much of "trickle down" economics. They want money, they want to be tax exempt, they want prayer in all schools. They want, they want, they want! Rather greedy lot, wouldn't you say? Hmmm.

Let's take a tiny look at how the stimulus bill actually gives money to education and training:

- $53.6 billion for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund... which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes; $5 billion to states as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education; and $8.8 billion to states for high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education and for modernization, renovation and repairs of public school facilities and institutions of higher education facilities.

- $12.2 billion for Special Education/IDEA to improve educational outcomes for disabled children. This level of funding will increase the Federal share of special education services to its highest level ever.

- $15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $500. This aid will help 7 million students pursue postsecondary education.

- $3.95 billion for job training including State formula grants for adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs (including $1.2 billion to create up to one million summer jobs for youth).

(Hat Tip: Think Progress)

So it all comes down to money: who's giving it out and who's getting it. If over 7 million students are able to go to college as a result of the stimulus bill, it's worth every penny. If it prevents cutbacks and layoffs, and repairs the infrastructure of schools - it's priceless.

Mike Huckabee where is your soul? Oh, I forgot. It's in the church bank vault.

Just a thought.

And He Still Keeps on Making Us Laugh!

(From: Think Progress)

Former White House chief of staff Andy Card said today that President Bush may jump into social networking, as he is “very technologically connected to the world.” When Politico asked if Bush would join Facebook and Twitter, Card left the door open, saying, “I don’t know that he’ll invite me to be his friend on Facebook.” Watch it:

A good start for Bush would be to figure out how to use “the Google” first.

What a card that Andy is! "Technologically connected to the world!" LOLOLOL! Oh well, anything's possible, I guess. The question is: does the world want to be technologically connected to George W. Bush? I think not. He could be a very lonely clown out there in cyberspace.

I don't think he'll even get spam!