The Religious Right (to Steal)

According to the WaPo, we've got another crook in the White House. Or we did, anyways, until Claude Allen resigned abruptly on February 9th citing the need to spend more time with his family, including future cellmates.

The Honorable Claude Allen (yes, that was his title while he was the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services) seems to have been ripping off Target and Hecht's stores to the tune of 5 grand, cuz, ya know, $161,000 per year doesn't go as far as it used to. Investigators have documented at least 25 occasions where Mr. Allen received fraudulent refunds, for which he could be locked away for 15 years (which is almost twice as long as Duke Cunnigham's pokey appointment). Don't fret - this will all be cleared up as soon as the truth comes out:

His lawyer, Mallon Snyder, denied the charges. "His returns and refunds were exactly what they should have been," Snyder said yesterday, saying that the charges stem from a series of misunderstandings.

Right.

King George's notoriously right-wing top domestic policy adviser is also on record as being a homophobe while working for former bigot and U.S. Senator, Jesse Helms (R-Mars). King George was unpleasantly suprised by this turn of events:

"If the allegations are true, Claude Allen did not tell my chief of staff and legal counsel the truth, and that's deeply disappointing," Mr. Bush told journalists after a White House briefing on Iraq.

I guess he stopped short of saying "nobody could have seen this coming..." Regardless, it's a damn good thing that this clown wasn't allowed to sit on the bench of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That he was even nominated by Bushco, speaks volumes to their selection and vetting process. Fortunately "liberal" Senators blocked his nomination.

But let's talk about what's really important here. We have another high-profile member of the Religious Right getting caught in the act of voilating the laws that they themselves lord over our heads everyday. I remember when the "Moral Majority" really got underway and my parents would say "the Moral Majority is neither". I'm saying the same now about the Religious Right - it is neither Religious nor Right. Jesus would not run refund scams. Jesus would not reform welfare so that many more people suffered. Jesus would not call people "queers" and Jesus would not lie about it later to cover his ass. Frankly, Jesus would be ashamed to be associated with any... ah - forget it. Go here and read what a true, honest and honorable Christian says about the state of the Religious Right these days. ed-the word "honest" is linked in the off-chance that a Republican will read this.

I'll bet once he spends a few lonely nights in jail, Claude will have wished he supported condom use as a policy... Mr. Allen, just take the advice I give to people regarding your policies on welfare and abstinence: "Relax and it won't hurt so much."

UPDATE: According again to the WaPo:

Claude A. Allen has said his mother warned him that as a black man he risked ruining his life, or at least his career, by becoming a Republican.

The moral of this is that mothers always have sage advice - LISTEN to them regardless of your race!!