House OKs Faith As Head Start Hiring Issue

[zimv20]

link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050922/ap_on_go_co/head_start;_ylt=AssxrQYAOQwyBGPQUFcvrQNp24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl)


WASHINGTON - The House voted Thursday to let Head Start centers consider religion when hiring workers, overshadowing its moves to strengthen the preschool program's academics and finances.

The Republican-led House approved a bill that lets churches and other faith-based preschool centers hire only people who share their religion, yet still receive federal tax dollars.

Democrats blasted that idea as discriminatory.

Launched in the 1960s, the nearly $7 billion Head Start program provides comprehensive education to more than 900,000 poor children. Though credited for getting kids ready for school, Head Start has drawn scrutiny as cases of financial waste and questions about academic quality have surfaced nationwide.

Overall, the House bill would insert more competition into Head Start grants, require greater disclosure of how money is spent, and try to improve collaboration among educators in different grades. Yet on Thursday, the dispute over religion eroded the bipartisan support for Head Start's renewal.

The House passed the bill 231-184; only 23 Democrats voted for it.

GOP lawmakers, with backing from the White House, contend that preschool centers should not have to give up their religious autonomy in order to receive federal grants.

(more)

"Mr. Bush, tear down that wall!"

oh, the irony.

[katie ta achoo]

link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050922/ap_on_go_co/head_start;_ylt=AssxrQYAOQwyBGPQUFcvrQNp24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl)


"Mr. Bush, tear down that wall!"

oh, the irony.

Ow... my first amendment!!
So, why are they receiving federal money?

[zimv20]

So, why are they receiving federal money?
combination of GOP's self-professed desire for smaller gov't, penchant for privatization, and overtones of christian charity being the best charity there is, imo.

and now they can discriminate and direct their resources to only christian kids!

[katie ta achoo]

combination of GOP's self-professed desire for smaller gov't, penchant for privatization, and overtones of christian charity being the best charity there is, imo.

and now they can discriminate and direct their resources to only christian kids!

204 days until I can help vote them out (not the nearest election, how many days until I'm 18)

only 204 days...

Come on voting! w00t w00t!

[mactastic]

But of course there's an explosion of whining every time some teacher has to put their crucifix in their shirt...

But go ahead and discriminate the other way. That's cool. :rolleyes:

[Blue Velvet]

Genuine question: What happened to the notion of 'checks and balances' supposedly inherent in the US political system?

This was something I was taught about in history at school...

[Verto]

Genuine question: What happened to the notion of 'checks and balances' supposedly inherent in the US political system?

This was something I was taught about in history at school...

Who is going to keep them in check? The Republican-led Executive Branch, the Republican-led Legislative Branch, or the weak Judicial?

[Zaid]

Who is going to keep them in check? The Republican-led Executive Branch, the Republican-led Legislative Branch, or the weak Judicial?

Yeh who guards the guardians

[mactastic]

Genuine question: What happened to the notion of 'checks and balances' supposedly inherent in the US political system?

This was something I was taught about in history at school...
Well theoretically those checks don't come into play just because Congress passes a bill. The president could choose to veto the bill rather than sign it into law (yeah right) and Congress could still go over his head with a two-thirds vote in both houses.

Once it becomes law, an aggrieved party could bring a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law, and seek to have it overturned by the courts.

The checks and balances are still there, they just don't come into play just yet in our system.

[emw]

Genuine question: What happened to the notion of 'checks and balances' supposedly inherent in the US political system?

This was something I was taught about in history at school...
Interesting that you learned that in history class and not in your civics class (or current events, or political science, or...)

[takao]

Interesting that you learned that in history class and not in your civics class (or current events, or political science, or...)
quite normal... history and geography/economic science were the main classes for politics...

personally we never got to US politics/history at all ... perhaps because there never were colonies of austria in north america

[emw]

quite normal... history and geography/economic science were the main classes for politics...

personally we never got to US politics/history at all ... perhaps because there never were colonies of austria in north america
Sorry, my comment was a poor attempt at humor - that she learned about the checks and balances in "history" class, as in something that existed previously but no longer.

[solvs]

I had a friend withdrew her child from a head start school because they were pushing religion when they said they weren't. It bothers me that my tax dollars go to pay for stuff like this. Religion is fine and all, but I'd like to keep it separate from government.