FAITH ON THE FRONT BURNER:
Bush Expands His Faith-Based Initiative

In a move apparently designed to drive the ACLU and the liberal establishment in general into a state of apoplexy, President Bush has decided to give his "faith-based initiative" a big boost via Executive Order. Associated Press reports that,

Hoping to involve churches and religious organizations more deeply in government efforts to address social ills, Bush on Thursday was signing executive orders aimed at giving those groups a leg up in the competition for federal money, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) said. He was announcing the changes in a speech to religious and charitable leaders meeting here.

The president began pushing the issue on Capitol Hill in his second week in office but ran into a fierce debate over how religious groups could get government money without running afoul of the constitutional separation of church and state.

He was successful in the House but the Senate wouldn't give him even a watered-down version that mainly increased tax breaks for charitable giving.

Though he faces a more friendly Republican-controlled Congress next year, Bush decided to forge ahead on his own.

Thankfully, the President went unilateral on this one, and did not consult the U.N. first.

To read more, go HERE: Bush Moves Ahead With 'Faith-Based' Plan (AP: White House)