I received the following email as a forward from a relative of mine, a card-carrying member of the Religious Reich. Oop, sorry, I meant the Religious Right:

2004 Election Voter Guide

Depending on the way you lean, the following information could have bearing on decisions you make November 2004.

Issues of Importance?

Gay Marriage
President Bush is opposed
John Kerry favors


Partial-Birth Abortion
President Bush is opposed
John Kerry favors


Restoring voluntary prayer in the public schools
President Bush Favors
John Kerry is Opposed


Assault on Mel Gibson for making film about Christ
President Bush supports Gibson
John Kerry participated in Left's assault on Gibson, suggesting possible anti-Semitism even though Kerry had not seen the film.


Assault on boy Scouts for belief in God and not allowing Homosexual Scout Leaders
President Bush supports Boy Scouts' stand
John Kerry opposes boy Scouts' stand


Asking for God's blessing on America
President Bush often asks God to bless America in his speeches
John Kerry attacks Bush for mentioning God so often


Judges
President Bush says, "We need common-sense judges who believe our rights are derived from God."
John Kerry insists on judges who support the ACLU's radical-anti-Christian, anti-God, anti-family agenda. John Kerry is insistent on blocking President Bush's federal judge appointments.


Overall Record
President Bush does not vote on issues before Congress but, based on his publicly stated positions, would receive an 85% conservative rating from the American Conservative Union if he did.
John Kerry - According to the highly respected, politically-neutral National Journal rates Kerry the most liberal U. S. Senator in 2003 -- more liberal than Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.


Needless to say, I don’t agree with the contents of this email and I am rather upset by the fact that whoever wrote this bit of propaganda is justifying intolerance by saying that it’s the “Christian” thing to do. Apparently I read a different Bible than the members of the Religious Wrong, because the Jesus I have come to know and love doesn’t preach intolerance and doesn’t give us permission to judge one another and is known more for His benevolent and universal forgiveness than He is for his swift and terrible judgment. And so, for your viewing pleasure and edification, I would like to present:

2004 Election Voter Guide: REMIXED!

Depending on the way you lean, the following information could have bearing on decisions you make November 2004.

Issues of Importance?

Gay Marriage The right of the United States Government to dictate with whom you are allowed to fall in love:
President Bush favors
John Kerry opposes

Don’t go and tell me that homosexual marriage is abhorrent to God. Eating pork is also abhorrent to God, according to the same Old-Testament rules that forbid homosexuality. Our Messiah came and told us to “love your neighbor as yourself”. NOT “love your neighbor as yourself, unless your neighbor is gay.” Jesus did not come to teach hate or to spread homophobia…he spent his days hanging around with prostitutes and tax collectors, for Patricia’s sake!


Partial-Birth Abortion The right of rich white men to tell women just exactly what they can and cannot do with their uteruses:
President Bush favors
John Kerry opposes

Nobody is pro-abortion. Nobody is out there telling girls “get knocked up and then kill the baby, you’ve never HAD such fun!” Kerry, like me, is pro-CHOICE because, as males, we have no right whatsoever to tell a woman, any woman, what she is allowed to do with her reproductive equipment. If we encourage men to think that they are entitled to tell any and all women what they are permitted to do with their bodies, we start getting into the realm of a totalitarian patriarchy. Today a ban on partial birth abortions, tomorrow a ban on abortions, next Thursday forced female circumcision and legalized rape.



Restoring voluntary prayer in the public schools Ensuring that public schools will continue to be a safe and comfortable place for people of any religion or no religion to learn:
President Bush opposes
John Kerry favors


Assault on Mel Gibson for making film about Christ
President Bush supports Gibson
John Kerry participated in Left's assault on Gibson, suggesting possible anti-Semitism even though Kerry had not seen the film.

There are no facts presented in the email to support this claim, and I don’t know anything about it, so I’m going to leave it alone. I will caution you to make sure that you get all the facts about this and everything else before you swallow what this guide (either in its original or its remixed form) has to say.


Assault on boy Scouts for belief in God and (John Kerry has never said that he opposes the Boy Scouts for believing in God) not allowing Homosexual Scout Leaders Unfounded homophobia:
President Bush supports Boy Scouts' stand
John Kerry opposes boy Scouts' stand

Where in the life and teachings of Jesus do we see him supporting inequality? Where in the Bible does Jesus tell us we should be quick to judge one another?

Asking for God's blessing on America
President Bush often asks God to bless America in his speeches
John Kerry attacks Bush for mentioning God so often

If you want to keep the state out of the church, keep the church out of the state. The last time the Church was allowed to run a country, people were burned at the stake. The last time a government was allowed to rule the doctrines of the Church…people got burned at the stake. I have no problem at all with the President praying and making decisions based on his faith and how he feels led…but religion is now and always should be a private matter. Forced faith is no faith at all.


Judges
President Bush says, "We need common-sense judges who believe our rights are derived from God." The judges that President Bush appoints, however, support him in his efforts to rob Americans of their civil rights with legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act and the proposed constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage. Should judges that believe that our rights come from God be taking those same rights away?
John Kerry insists on judges who support the ACLU's fight to preserve the Bill of Rights, the only thing keeping the US Federal government from becoming an abusive totalitarian regime. John Kerry is insistent on blocking President Bush's federal judge appointments.


Overall Record
Neither candidate wears overalls all that often, but why do we really care?

So…would you rather have a president that claims to believe in less government and more freedom when it comes to providing services such as welfare, Social Security and Medicare while infringing upon your Constitutionally-protected rights to free speech and privacy, or a president that will make sure that those who cannot support themselves will be taken care of, while keeping the government out of your private life and even letting you marry the person of your choice?



I noted with satisfaction that the original Voter’s Guide did not mention anything about President Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive military action. This post is much, much too long already, so I will simplify my thoughts on the Religious Right’s support of the Iraq war by quoting a bumper sticker available from http://www.northernsun.com:

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

No required reading today, I had to spend my day off at work so I didn’t get a chance to find one for you. Blame Chef Tim.

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