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October 29,

Yet another reason I won't be voting for my party of choice...
added: 10-29-2003 02:20:46PM | link | comments: 0

If you advocate comprehensive sex education for teens, then expect the Eliot Ness of the Bush administration to breathe down your non-profit neck. That's what's happen to sex ed non-profits that refused to take the abstinence-only route. They get audited -- presumably at Tommy Thompson's initiative -- while faith-based AO programs see little oversight. Even when they're found to have violated federal laws and get hauled into court over it, those faith-based programs don't attract the scrunity of the Department of Health and Human Services.

It's not just the double standard I find offensive, but the audit itself. As a strategy, it's the non-profit equivalent of IRS strong arming. Remember how the FBI got Al Capone? Not for organized crimes but for tax evasion. These audits are simply the same kind of pressure, against organizations that are critical but not criminal. And the Bush administration is hoping you won't notice.

This isn't the first time this story has come up, BTW. I'm pretty sure Alternet had a story months ago, but the tale continues because the incidence of audits has risen. And it might not end until the Bush administration gets to gloat over the demise of either SEICUS, the Advocates for Youth, or Planned Parenthood.

By contrast, God bless Representative Henry Waxman for fighting the good fight, for calling the Bush administration on their shit.

You know, some people want to Rumsfeld go. Or Ashcroft. Me, I want to see Tommy Thompson go first. He's as guilty of pressuring and weakening the infrastructure of social choice as Ashcroft. His actions are as much a threat to civil liberties as Ashcroft's.

That's why I went to AoY's No New Money for Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs web site and sent my representatives email statements. Granted, it's a small gesture against the Tommy Thompson juggernaut of social conservatism, but it's all I've got. That and the voice of this blog. Use your voice, too, OK?