Posted on 04/27/2015 12:53:16 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
But when you take a look at the organizations these religious leaders represent, you’ll see that these religious types are political progressives who’re using the cover of religion for their political activism. The websites of these organizations who oppose Walker’s drug-testing legislation all, in some form or another, uses words or phrases immediately identifiable with progressive- rather than religious- causes. Such terms and phrases found were “social” and “economic” justice, “peacemaking,” “solidarity,” and “human community”; “restorative justice,” “united for justice.” One website even had a “living wage campaign” and “resources for justice seekers.”
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently proposed a policy that would impose mandatory drug testing for people who received certain types of government aid. The policy makes sense- if someone is going to receive welfare benefits and other forms of government aid, government gets to set the parameters and prerequisites that qualify or disqualify people from receiving such benefits.
But so-called religious leaders in Wisconsin released a letter saying that they’re against Gov. Walker’s proposal because they claim that subjecting beneficiaries of government-provided welfare unfairly stigmatizes the poor.
“In our respective religious traditions poverty and joblessness are not indicators of bad character,” the letter read, addressing Walker’s proposal to drug test recipients of FoodShare, BadgerCare Plus health care and Unemployment Insurance programs. “We do not believe it is just to craft policies that punish those who face these trials while also suffering from the illness of addiction. Nor is it fair to treat those who seek employment, health and nutritional assistance differently than those who need financial help with educational costs, starting a business or obtaining child care.”
Actually, drug testing these recipients isn’t punishment because testing them might be the difference between welfare recipients ending their “illness of addiction” and that illness killing them.
“Drug abuse occurs at all income levels,” the letter stated. “Tying drug testing only to certain forms of public assistance unjustly holds those applicants to a higher standard of accountability than the rest of us.”
“All of our faith traditions teach that human beings are made in the image of God and need to be treated with dignity,” Rabbi Bonnie Margulis, the head of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, said. “When you subject people to these shaming procedures that have no efficacy … its only purpose is to shame the poor. That robs people of their dignity and inner godliness. We’re putting up barriers that are keeping people hungry and in poverty, and not addressing their needs.”
Signatories of this letter include Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, the Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, and the Wisconsin Council of Churches.
Requiring welfare recipients to prove they’re not on drugs isn’t discriminating against or stigmatizing the poor. It’s a trade off that beneficiaries are subjected to as a result of receiving welfare. If they don’t want to be drug tested, then they have to find another form of sustenance. If they need government assistance, they won’t use drugs. It really is that simple.
That said, this letter signed by these “religious leaders” is ridiculous. Saying that “religious leaders” are against Gov. Walker’s proposition is intentionally misleading. “Religious leaders” or as the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel puts it, “A broad coalition of religious organizations representing thousands of Wisconsin congregations” is made to sound as if most, if not all, religious leaders in the state of Wisconsin are against Gov. Walker’s proposed legislation, and that he is on the wrong side of morality.
But when you take a look at the organizations these religious leaders represent, you’ll see that these religious types are political progressives who’re using the cover of religion for their political activism. The websites of these organizations who oppose Walker’s drug-testing legislation all, in some form or another, uses words or phrases immediately identifiable with progressive- rather than religious- causes. Such terms and phrases found were “social” and “economic” justice, “peacemaking,” “solidarity,” and “human community”; “restorative justice,” “united for justice.” One website even had a “living wage campaign” and “resources for justice seekers.”
So there’s no “broad coalition” of religious leaders. It’s a coalition of groups represented by people who’ve attempted to synthesize leftism with a watered-down version of religion that opposes Walker’s proposal.
Further, the notion that in their, “… respective religious traditions poverty and joblessness are not indicators of bad character” is a lie and is a very clear case that the Bible isn’t their guide book. The Old Testament, which both Jews and Christians revere is peppered with verses that indicate some forms of poverty are a result of bad character and bad habits like sloth, lack of wisdom, daydreaming and scheming. Proverbs 6:10-11 says that poverty comes from too much relaxation and sleep; Proverbs 10:4 says poverty is a result of being lazy; Proverbs 13:18 says that poverty results from a lack of discipline; Proverbs 21:5 says poverty results from hasty rather than diligent decision making. If that’s not enough look at Proverbs 21:17, 24:33-34, and 28:19- among many others- to see that though all poverty isn’t the result of bad character traits, some of it most definitely is.
Most people agree that there should be some form of an economic social safety net for those who’re in need. But there should also be standards set and enforced for those seeking benefits. Proving one isn’t on drugs is an obvious one. That so-called religious leaders are trying to thwart the implementation of Gov. Walker’s legislation is in my opinion a clear case of what low regard progressives (political or religious) have for the very people they claim to help. What these religious fakes are actually saying is that by simply being in an economic underclass- for however long- trumps one’s ability to resist the temptation of using drugs. In other words- they’re poor and can’t help it.
For progressives it’s always about class and never about the intrinsic value of the people in the varying economic classes they hold in contempt. So much for ‘justice.’
The bigotry of low expectations coupled with the Democratic Party's long standing position that dependent people are useful and keep them in power.
The real eye opener for Millennials, like this "young conservative" author, will be (is) the social welfare tab they have to pay prevents them from realizing the American Dream.
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Kevin D. Williamson (National Review) does a great job of connecting the dots - describing the Millennial condition and contrasting it to Gen X and Baby Boomers. It is WELL WORTH a full read [broken into 3 sections so be sure to keep reading; total length no longer than a 2 1/2 page printed article].
"Generation Vexed: The downwardly mobile Millennials may be waking up at last"
"...............Conservatives will never out-snark, out-mock, or out-tweet the popular culture that embraced Barack Obama as a semi-religious icon. But Millennials are right at the beginning of what promises to be an unpleasant, extended encounter with the facts of life, and it may be that they will soon figure out that there is more to understanding those facts than snark and emojis. Mocking them would be easy, while persuading them will prove difficult and frustrating, because conservatism, unromantic disposition that it is, is in the end an exercise in calculating a balance of human imperfections. The Millennials do not understand that — not quite yet."
persuade them we must. Or all is lost. Their are moral absolutes. This must be brought back.
every insane new transgender or gay sex indulgence is called “progressive” by the millennials. we must destroy this word along with “empowerment”, when I figure out what exactly it means.
The cold hard truth is America can Never give everything to all. That never works and never will.
That’s Utopia. And we will see it when we die. Not before then.
“All of our faith traditions teach that human beings are made in the image of God and need to be treated with dignity,”
Truer words were never spoken. Unfortunately drug abusers are not treating them selves with dignity. Being held accountable might be the very best thing for them. Most are very manipulative users of the system.Perhaps they will be forced to use their ingenuity to create a productive life.
Why dont they complain actual,workers are unfairly dehumanized by companies drug testing them?
i know i have problems btumi amso glad i do not have these peoples probles, they cant even determine good from bad.
Half or more of the churches you all attend are transporting illegals ...and most of them have not been vetted in any way.
Have you checked your church lately?
Drug abuse is a tax.
I propose we drug test all those elected to Federal, State and Local government offices - after all, our tax dollars support their cushy jobs. Why should just those receiving benefits from the taxpayer be subjected to drug testing - when our elected officials are also supported by tax dollars? Those who are addicted will NOT stop using - they will turn to stealing. Crime rates will increase.
As Walker explores a 2016 presidential bid, the proposal being included in the governor's Feb. 3 budget bill will help him sell himself to GOP primary voters as a leader committed to overhauling the core programs of government.
For the first time Thursday, Walker committed to drug testing recipients of BadgerCare Plus health coverage and also pledged free treatment and job training for those testing positive for drugs.
But the governor offered no details on how the state would cover the costs of that or the testing or whether he expected it to cost the state money overall, as a similar program did in Florida, or save tax dollars. The budget, he said in a statement, would also drop to four years from five the limit on how long a recipient could be in the Wisconsin Works, or W-2, program, the replacement in this state for traditional welfare.
"We know employers in Wisconsin have jobs available, but they don't have enough qualified employees to fill those positions," Walker said. "With this budget, we are addressing some of the barriers keeping people from achieving true freedom and prosperity and the independence that comes with having a good job and doing it well."
The governor said the drug-testing proposal would apply only to able-bodied adults, not the elderly or children, and would include transitional jobs initiatives. Walker wants to test all FoodShare and BadgerCare applicants but limit the drug testing for unemployment benefits to certain applicants.
The idea expands on another requirement passed by Walker and Republicans in 2013 to make able-bodied FoodShare recipients receive job training.".....
I have checked my church. It is a good church but like most churches today, our congregation is largely unaware of the danger we are in as a society..We hardly hear of the Christian persecution taking place, even here in the US and we never hear of issues like this one concerning the fake churches which are political organizations promoting what might be a Marxist revolution in America. My Sunday School class is different, though we have a couple of progressive academics in there. It just happens that yesterday’s lesson came from the prophesy of Habakkuk, which addressed the injustice and societal ills from his era which are the very ones we see in America today..It was hair raising but instructive to know that God allowed the armies of Babylon to bring punishment upon his people then for their sins and some of us believe that he may act in a similar way against us because our pastors are not speaking out against the sin and injustice of our time..Is the word “sin” banned yet. Our church hardly speaks of it anymore.
if they wanna drug test everyone receiving govt benniesm then I say go for it
Make it part of the requirement to apply for social security! Catch all those narco-geezers
Want a govt backed student loan? Pee in the cup
Want a VA loan? Drug test required
Want an EIC tax handout? File a drug test with your tax forms
I’ll go one further. Drug test anyone receiving gummint cheese and especially drug test everyone who holds public office.
Just a consistency test for you libtards... mandating that welfare parasites take drug tests for their unearned benefits is bad, mandating every university adhere to perverted federal policies for their funding is good. Thanks for clearing that up.
SS is not a government bennie. It's the government taking our money and giving some of it back when we are older. The rate of return is about 1%. If I invested that same money in the stock market, the average rate of return, over one's lifetime, is 7%.
Quit relying on government money to fund your charity and then you can give all of it to anyone you wish without any strings attached or you can then realize that money is limited and you need to reach those that it really helps and not just fund people and lifestyles that were diametrically opposed to your stated beliefs just a few short years ago.
“SS is not a government bennie. It’s the government taking our money and giving some of it back when we are older. “
Unfortunately, no. That is not the case. It is government taking our money and giving it to others today, and then in the future taking money from someone else to give some back to us then.
Plus, they have spent the difference over the years when they took more than they needed.
Big difference.
What libtards are really afraid of is screening of one type of self-destructive behavior such as drug addiction may lead to questioning another type such as homosexual activity.
Good points both.
II Thess. 3:10 - “...if any would not work, neither should he eat...”
I Thess. 4:11 - “...work with your own hands...”
In my “work days” I had to have a CDL. Random drug testing was required.
First, those receiving SNAP or other aid who are able to work should have to. Second, random drug testing for SNAP receipents is no different from that imposed on CDL holders.
Why not drug test all university students and high school students? They are certainly the demographic group most in need of intervention and you cannot deny that the state is providing them with financial support in the form of a subsidized education.
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