Shutting down religion.... for the greater good...

I expect political hardball on any legislation as important as the health care bill.

I just didn’t expect it from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Who elected them to Congress?

The role the bishops played in the pushing the Stupak amendment, which unfairly restricts access for low-income women to insurance coverage for abortions, was more than mere advocacy.

They seemed to dictate the finer points of the amendment, and managed to bully members of Congress to vote for added restrictions on a perfectly legal surgical procedure.

And this political effort was subsidized by taxpayers, since the Council enjoys tax-exempt status.

When I visit churches in my district, we are very careful to keep everything “non-political” to protect their tax-exempt status.

The IRS is less restrictive about church involvement in efforts to influence legislation than it is about involvement in campaigns and elections.

Given the political behavior of USCCB in this case, maybe it shouldn’t be.

-Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) is co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus-

If there is a church group, like most Northeastern Protestants that support socialized medicine, will they too be audited? And as Woolsey asserts, is the separation between church and state, one in which religious organizations are not allowed to opine or be involved at all in legislation? Maybe the IRS should audit all churches that were against the war(s) in Iraq and Afghanistan too.

I am under the impression, that it is preaching from the pulpit to support one political party over another that is the position that calls into question a religion's tax-exempt status as this misguided legislator states but in order to bring people in line, this government official argues that the IRS needs to attack churches for a broader portfolio of political offenses. It will be a lovely situation since this will open the door to attacking religious speech completely.

But attacking religion is part of Socialism and Communism....

"Religion is opium for the people. Religion is a sort of spiritual booze, in which the slaves of capital drown their human image, their demand for a life more or less worthy of man."

"Impotence of the exploited classes in their struggle against the exploiters .. inevitably gives rise to the belief in a better life after death "

"are taught by religion to practice charity while on earth, thus offering them a very cheap way of justifying their entire existence as exploiters and selling them at a moderate price tickets to well-being in heaven."

-Vlaimir Lenin, Russian socialist-

See, according to those that want to create the perfect Utopian society, it is important that religion does not get in way of making the government the center of population's spiritual life in addition to its economic life. And there are others that used the idea that a religious fanaticism towards government as an assisting tool for their domination.....

The greatness of every mighty organization embodying an idea in this world lies in the religious fanaticism and intolerance with which, fanatically convinced of its own right, it intolerantly imposes its will against all others.

- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf Vol. 1 Chapter 12 -

Sounds like Democrats and their attitudes towards socializing medicine. So, a controlling central government needs to create a spiritual replacement to God that manifests in a charismatic leader such as a Hitler, Mao, Kim, Lenin, Stalin, etc. But in addition, the central government cannot tolerate trouble coming form the church an typically will try to marginalize or keep it out of political, social or economic debate...

Hitler did attack the church indirectly by enforcing all sorts of ridiculous paralyzing financial transactions, laws against proselytizing, imprisonment when anyone dared to speak or even hint at opposition.

Germany already had a history of anti-Catholic persecution under Otto von Bismarck and the Rheinland in particular came under persecution in the 1870's. Priests were often in hiding from the Berlin regime which was (supposedly Lutheran), but also managed to find the more conservative Lutherans unacceptable and persecuted them too. The laws which these persecutions came under were known as the "May laws." Eventually they were all overturned as it caused chaos.

Here. Democrats need to shut down people that may not be completely for every aspect of their Utopian societal meddling, whether it be through IRS harassment or through the "Fairness Doctrine" that intends shutting down the voice of conservatives.

Good luck America, you have traded greatness for mediocrity.