From morons.org today

Axis of stupidity member Focus on the Family is telling President Bush that government endorsement of religion must come with no strings attached…

This story is especially apropros today as I’m writing from Colorado Springs where Focus on the Family is based. In response to President Bush’s call for more "faith-based" program support from the government (which actually amounts to a handout of tax dollars to promote religion), Focus on the Family insists that government promotion of religion must come with no strings attached.

Mike Haley of Focus on the Family’s "ex-gay" fraud program said, "Due to the dependence we have on Christ to minister, it is imperative that we hire individuals with traditional biblical views, especially of God’s design for sexuality." Focus on the Family worries they could be required to hire non-bigots if they take government handouts. Haley is apparently John Paulk’s replacement as Focus on the Family’s "ex-gay" poster boy. We should start a pool on how long it is before Haley’s sipping drinks and trolling for sex in a gay bar.

The organization’s vice president of public policy, Tom Minnery said, "We do not want to have a stream of funding that will subject us perhaps to later strings."

The solution is simple, Tom. Don’t take the money. Tax dollars should not be used to fund hate programs, no matter who’s running them. If we presume that government funding of "faith-based"
programs is legitimate, then it’s the responsibility of whoever takes that money to administer it to provide a valuable social service. There must be strings attached with full oversight. It’s not that we don’t trust Focus on the Family… wait, yes it is. We do not trust Focus on the Family to behave responsibly.

Focus on the Family is naturally quite eager to take as much taxpayer money as they can get their hands on. Their ongoing budget problems are putting a squeeze on their ability to proliferate hatred. Federal dollars with no strings attached would make a welcome new revenue stream to support their wasteful propaganda.

—Nick