Smashing the Mythical Republican Ideals of Personal Freedom and Fiscal Responsibility

'Lion, Witch and Wardrobe' blitz serves up message with Florida's blessing

By Frank Cerabino

Palm Beach Post Columnist

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Now, this is what I call "intelligent design."

When you can combine the forces of Disney, the McDonald's Happy Meal and Gov. Jeb Bush in one tidy package — all of them working together to cram thinly veiled Christian theology down the gullets of Florida's schoolchildren — you've got yourself a hell of a plan.

This December, just in time for Christmas, the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be in theaters everywhere, much to the delight of Christian evangelicals, who see the children's tale as it was intended — a way to subtly introduce the Christ story to young people.

The C.S. Lewis allegory will also be in Florida classrooms everywhere, in book form, thanks to Gov. Bush, as part of Just Read, Florida!

Yes, of all the books the state might encourage children to read, Bush just so happened to pick the book that coincides with the Disney movie, which just so happens to be co-produced by Walden Media, which just so happens to be owned by a Colorado billionaire, who through his family and foundation has donated nearly $100,000 to the Republican party. But that's just the icing on the cake.

This is about the biggest Christian media event since The Passion of the Christ.

'Opportunity for communicating the gospel'

I have read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a bedtime story to my son. It's a charming story, and it can be read simply as a fable.

But Lewis, who wrote it and dozens of other books about his Christian faith, meant the story to be so much more. And that's why religious proselytizers are already celebrating the upcoming release of the film.

Evangelical churches are organizing group trips to theaters and generating discussion materials to be used by scout leaders and schoolteachers. The Mission America Coalition, an evangelical organization whose quest is to preach that Jesus is "the savior of the world," has called the movie a national evangelism opportunity.

The group quotes Lewis' words about the story: "I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a man in our world, became a lion there, and then imagine what would happen.' "

(Hint: The Jesus-lion allows himself to be tortured and killed to spare the life of a selfish little boy.)

The Mission America Coalition says: "As we begin to realize the potential impact of a blockbuster movie based on this premise, one that would have vast popular appeal in our culture as an epic struggle of good versus evil, but yet retain the 'deeper magic' of bedrock Christian themes such as sacrifice, resurrection and redemption, we quickly came to view the film — as we have viewed the books — as a huge opportunity for communicating the gospel message."

Marketing from Disney to McDonald's

Which is fine for them. That's their keyhole on the world.

And Disney, usually on the bad side of these culture warriors for being tolerant to homosexuals, will be happy to take their money. And McDonald's, which is making action figures based on the story's characters, will be happy to piggyback on the gravy train with its fat-saturated food for the enlightened.

And the movie will spill into marketing opportunities for breakfast cereals, video games, dental hygiene products and a long line of other marketing tie-ins.

But what's the state of Florida doing in this cabal of Christian commerce?

Oh yeah, that's right. We're opening up the public schools to some backdoor catechism lessons in the guise of getting kids to read.

Maybe, if Floridians agree to a "Choose Jesus" license plate, they'll leave our children alone.



Head Start Can Make Hiring Decisions Based on Religion, Says U.S. House

Niko Kyriakou, OneWorld US Sun Oct 16,11:59 PM ET

SAN FRANCICSO, Oct 16 (OneWorld) - An amendment to the new funding bill for Head Start promotes discrimination on religious grounds and would deal a devastating blow to some one million low-income children and their parents who are dependent on the program, according to a large and varied coalition of U.S. organizations.
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Late last month, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted 231-184 in favor of the so-called School Readiness Act, which renews funding for the anti-poverty preschool program Head Start.

Wide bipartisan support for the bill's reauthorization through 2011 melted down after the attachment of politically charged amendment, introduced by Rep. Charles W. Boustany, Jr., (R-Louisiana), and Rep. John A. Boehner (news, bio, voting record), (R-Ohio).

The added provision allows federally funded Head Start centers with religious affiliations to hire and fire workers and parent volunteers based on religious grounds. A similar bill approaching a Senate vote does not yet include any such amendment.

In 2004, Head Start served about 900,000 children on a budget of $6.775 billion.

"Teachers and staff working at Head Start programs housed in religious organizations could immediately be fired because of their religion," said the democratic values advocacy group People for the American Way.

"Tens of thousands of already at-risk children could lose their teachers. And Head Start could lose thousands of parent volunteers essential to the success of the program merely because those parents do not share the religious beliefs of the host federally funded religious organization," the group said in a statement on their Web site.

The "yes" vote marks the first time that the House of Representatives has voted to repeal civil rights protections in a floor amendment without committee hearings, debate, and testimony from experts.

Representative Boehner, chairman of the House education committee, explained the amendment, saying that he wants to "ensure faith-based organizations can compete for federal Head Start grants without surrendering their constitutionally protected right to take religion into account in their hiring practices."

President Bush also argued in support of the bill.

"Such provisions should be applied to all federally funded social service programs, so that faith-based organizations may operate on an equal level with secular organizations in competing to provide services that are funded by Head Start," said a White House statement, released just before the bill came before the House.

But hundreds of civil rights, labor, women, and religious rights advocacy groups say religious institutions already have equal access to funding as secular organizations, and disagree that the constitution protects the right to consider religion when hiring for federally funded programs.

Current law requires Head Start providers to comply with federal policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation or beliefs, according to the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

"The Boehner Amendment would create an exception for religious organizations," the group said in a statement opposing the bill released after the House vote last month.

"Our concern is that if such a provision were passed into law, the same opportunities to participate in the lives of their children and their children's education would not be available to parents of minority religions," the coalition of some 1,050 congregations said.

Under current law, religious organizations and houses of worship, which administer more than five percent of all Head Start programs, are only allowed to consider religion as a hiring factor when using their own private money.

The original non-discrimination requirements were signed into law by President
Richard Nixon back in 1972, and President
Ronald Reagan approved the current anti-discrimination language in 1981.

For many groups, the program's 33-year history of bipartisan support makes the Boustany/Boehner amendment a particularly unfortunate addition.

"Head Start should be about putting qualified teachers in the classrooms, and not about using public money to require people to pass a religious litmus test," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in their Washington Legislative Office.

"The success of Head Start is based on its commitment to helping underprivileged students and not pushing a political agenda," she said.

Head Start provides children from low-income families and under the age of five with academic preparation, socialization, nutrition, health, parental involvement, and family support, and currently serves about 60 percent of eligible 3-to-5-year-olds. It is not part of the federal welfare program.

Some 50 groups known as long-time supporters of the Head Start program have also come out against the bill, including the National Head Start Association (NHSA), the advocacy organization that supports and conducts trainings for Head Start providers.

In a statement released September 23, NHSA president and CEO Sarah Green praised many of the bill's provisions but said her group opposed the bill due to the Boustany/Boehner amendment because children shouldn't "be taught that discrimination is a good thing--just because Congress favors it."

Many of these groups worry that the amendment associates the government with promotion of a religious mission, and removes safeguards that protect the program's beneficiaries from unwanted proselytizing. It also de-emphasizes the quality of care, according to Americans United, a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington.

"Publicly funded programs ought to hire the best qualified applicant," says Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of the group.

"Why on earth would we encourage discrimination in a tax-funded program? It's simply unacceptable," he said.

Lynn pointed out that since Head Start does not teach religion, there is no need for religious groups to engage in discriminatory hiring practices.

Many of the groups opposing the bill, such as the National Education Association (NEA), a 2.7-million-member organization, actually supported much of the legislation.

For example, groups like NEA were pleased that the School Readiness Act does not allow for block granting of Head Start funds to states.

Many were also happy that the bill would align Head Start curricula with K-12 education while preserving the non-academic services provided by the program.

The new bill forces Head Start centers to compete for grants as well, and addresses concerns over cases of financial waste in the program that have surfaced nationwide by requiring greater disclosure of how money is spent.

But many groups took issue with aspects of the Readiness Act besides the Boustany/Boehner amendment.

For example, the NEA voiced concern that the bill would require teachers to have higher academic degrees, without providing for a substantial increase in funding either for professional development or compensation.

HR 2123 also does not suspend the National Reporting System, which the
Government Accountability Office recently identified as unacceptable given its focus on math, literacy and language testing but not social and emotional development.

Charges that the introduction of the Boustany/Boehner amendment was politically motivated take credence from an unlikely source.

David Kuo, former Deputy Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, testified before the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources last June, stating: "[M]any members of the president's own party expressed equal parts apathy and antipathy towards this agenda. Money for the poor? Why, it will just get wasted, they said. We just need to cut the funds and let the private sector take over. We don't need more funds, all we really need to do is make sure that we have a huge political fight over religious charities' right to hire and fire based on their own faith. That way, as I have heard time and time again, Republicans will be seen as fighting for religions and Democrats will be seen as fighting against it."