by CKR
FEMA says it's going to reimburse faith-based groups that have offered food and shelter to hurricane victims. This is the first time such a thing has been done.
The hardline free-enterprise theory is that people will contribute voluntarily to charities so that the government doesn't need to run programs that provide food and other kinds of support to people in difficult circumstances. But it's "our" taxes that FEMA plans to use--you know, the ones they want to give back to "us," or at least the more privileged among us.
No, let me start again. Freedom of religion means that we're all free to believe any silly thing we want, like the world was created by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, so we have to get dull science like evolution out of the schools. Freedom of religion also means that the government will fund the churches. Yeah, that way everyone can be funded to promulgate everything. I hope the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is in there making out the FEMA forms.
But wait a minute. The No Child Left Behind Act says that government funds the schools, so government will demand accountability in subject matter areas. Does this mean that FEMA's support will require subject-matter accountability by the churches? Will they develop Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, and Flying Spaghetti Monster accountabilities.
At least they can't be accused of tax-and-spend, like the Democrats. They're just spending.