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The privateers and the puppet masters
want to have their promises both ways. Bush is set to announce his Budget for
the coming year, and it contains some Draconian cuts into major parts of
American society. These are serious times, and tough budgetary decisions are
called for; the question now is how much prayer, and which promises are really
at issue?
In addition to this, Bush & Company
are offering a raise to the military while failing to show the real costs that
his military fantasies have created. He also promised to restructure the tax
code and cut the deficit in half. This might seem like sheer madness, but there
is a way he can do everything: believe it or not, there is a way that all of the
above can be done. The price however - involves the true status of religion in
all of American society.
Since his first day in office, back in
2001, Bush has tried to remove health and welfare from government responsibility
and has attempted to give that to the churches, along with the tax dollars to
pay for it. That has not succeeded yet. This was then followed by other
outrageous violations of the provisions of the First Amendment to the US
Constitution, especially the part that calls for the clear separation of the
church from the state.
"Article One, The First Amendment
to the US Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting
the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances."
The First Amendment, as anyone can see
has lost most of its powers. Being "At War" we now have government
censorship and control by the corporatocracy over free speech. The press should
be answering for the lies they mouth from the jaws of this government without
even the bare minimum of questions from the Fourth Estate. As for the right of
free assembly, tell that to those who have tried for years to confront this
president anywhere-see the free speech zones miles away from any cameras. If the
petition for the redress of our grievances has anything to do with the results
of elections here, then the last two election thefts certainly obviated that
final part of this most important Amendment to the US Constitution.
Bush has basically rewritten the
Constitution by presidential fiat - but in doing so he overlooked a major
revenue resource. Because the churches and religions of the USA were initially
separate from the functions of government (by law) and by way of compensation
they have enjoyed a tax-free status. Now however they are heavily involved in
all phases of politics, political and partisan speech, and the use of the
airwaves for political purposes. Those who have done this are no longer a
religious group; they have become an illegal political party. Hence all
religious groups and churches must now be taxed, and taxed retroactively back to
2001 - when this new status became effective.
If this is not done, then the body
politic will be supporting a huge and illegal political machine - one that
obviously has a political agenda, and one that is not paying for its real part
in this society. As churches or religions, this aspect of life was exempt from
taxation, because they were supposedly apolitical-in the sense that they were
concerned with higher matters-or at least in matters that lay outside those of
the state's interests. Once that boundary was crossed, then all religions became
political and now must pay their own way. Their "books" have be opened, for all
the world to see, and they should be assessed and taxed heavily because of a few
that now seek to replace the laws of this land with the Bible, a document that
has nothing to do with governing a land as diverse as this one is.
Article Quest or Conquest
When the status of religion changed, so
did their exemption from taxes. The taxes that are owed by the churches, from
this legal and necessary correction of the tax burden could more than offset the
national debt. Given the many interests of all religions (their land & real
estate holdings, their tax sheltered ventures, the art and treasures in the
Vatican, their silent partnerships throughout the business world, both here and
abroad; as well as all their divergent business interests): All of that which is
held and made possible by their exemption from taxes-will have to be taxed;
whether or not the particular churches were part of the Evangelista's world view
or not. Given the penalties, the fines and the compounded interest going back
the full four years, on top of the assessed taxes - this amount could indeed be
staggering. The only way this might be avoided is if the other religions came
together and declared the Evangelistas to be a political party and not a
religion.
Is this all just a part of some secret
weapon that Dubya will use to cut the deficit in half, in order to have his way
with the current budget as well? After all, the puppet cannot run again so his
fair-weather supporters are no longer needed. Technically he and his true
masters can just throw them to the taxman with impunity - Yes?
It's one thing to co-opt these faux
religions for political purposes, but it's another thing altogether to allow
them to remain tax-exempt in their newfound status. The Evangelista's cannot
have it both ways. Either they can be religions, interested in the beliefs and
spiritual health of their followers, or they can play Messiah to the wider
world, garbed in robes fashioned from the American Flag. They cannot do both and
pay for neither.
Some of us in the world do not relish
having our thoughts dictated to us through the mouth of the government,
especially when those thoughts are actually coming from a pulpit that we do not
recognize as having any value whatsoever.
But the transgression of this extreme
right, religious aberration goes far beyond just outlandish behavior. The very
tenets of their so-called faith call for them to convert everyone else to their
world-view, while simultaneously denying all others the right to choose what
they want to believe in. This contravenes the entire point raised by the First
Amendment - which implies freedom FROM any religion, to those who seek that. In
effect the very existence of the Evangelistas is an affront to the laws of our
non-sectarian society, and must, by the wording of their own claims be outlawed!
When these aggressive imposters try to
hide behind "religious freedom" in order to attack those who refuse to
crumble before their onslaughts: then something is not right. When the
Evangelistas seek the protection of the First Amendment, while they hack their
way into the halls of government, and into the bedrooms and boardrooms of the
country - then it is time to review this bizarre behavior: because when they do
this for their petty political aims, they corrupt all religious efforts of all
the churches and religions of which they are technically a legal part.
Free people have the right to be free
from any interference by unwanted religious convictions-especially when that
comes from eccentric zealots of any stripe.
Part of the beauty in this nation, was
the idea that each of us was free to think what we choose to think about, so
long as we were not plotting the overthrow of the nation - then our thoughts
could always be our own. Under this "new government" the bible is
about to become something that all citizens will be forced to live by: that was
never the intent behind this nation. In fact the First Amendment was designed to
prevent this very thing from ever becoming part of life in the USA. That is why
it was written to grant the people freedom FROM religion, and not as a license
to force, any particular religious belief system upon the whole nation.
Congress needs to hold public hearings,
and send the Treasury Department out to look at how much we have coming from all
the churches, for this outrageous theft of our rights, our privileges and the
even the very foundation of our government. That sounded good, but everybody
knows that congress has been pre-paid, so stuff like this will probably never
happen. This whole affair has become about promises to be kept, or promises to
be broken: How this goes down in history will determine what kind of nation we
really are.
Can we all now look forward with
pleasure to the Bush PROMISE to cut the deficit in half; (knowing that he always
keeps ALL his promises) and "knowing" that in the bargain we shall rid the
nation of this curse of the religious zealots among us? The drawback of course
is that someone big will need to lead this charge, and in this sold-out
government, that now seems doubtful.
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