To Saudi, with love.

Not that we, as Americans, have the right to tell anyone else what to do with their lives (but we will anyway, dammit), but this goes just too far. A Saudi woman, after accepting a ride from a man, was taken to his home; gang raped, and became pregnant. Her sentence? (Of course, she must have a punishment; she wasn’t smart enough to grow a dick) One year in prison, plus 100 lashes once the child is born. Just to be clear, this woman will go through childbirth in prison, then will have her hands tied above her while a guard whips her 100 times. For comparisons sake, a man caught smoking on a commercial flight was given 30 lashes for his crime, and an army officer that used his cell phone on a plane on an airplane was given 70 lashes. So, for the record, that’s

Smoking on plane...... 30 lashes

Cell phone on plane....... 70lashes

Getting gang raped and becoming pregnant............. One year in prison and 100 lashes

Oh, and.......Priceless

While we often categorize the terrorists as extremists, and therefore not indicative of the Muslim people as whole, the examples above are not of this group. These were judicial rulings handed down in a court of law; not by the same groups that flew planes into the towers or attack ships. There were no protests outside the courthouse, no ACLU to argue the case, no petitions signed, and no politician standing up for a change. This is the norm; and if there are those with reservations, they are certainly not going to put their lives on the line for the cause. It is simply a matter of social laws being dictated by religion.

And the issue of religious involvement came to the fore this week with the introduction of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. With the announcement, the Obama administration has gone to great lengths to be clear that this organization will work with all groups, “no matter their religious or political beliefs,” despite the fact that the majority of the council members are deeply rooted in religion. These include Rabbi David N. Saperstein, Director & Counsel for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Dr. Frank S. Page, President emeritus, Southern Baptist Convention; Rev. Otis Moss, Jr., Pastor emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church; Eboo S. Patel, Founder & Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Corps; and Dr. William J. Shaw, President, National Baptist Convention, among others. This seems odd.

Certainly, one can understand the political reasons to maintain at least the illusion that one is working in the best interests of religion. Many have been the presidential candidates that have suddenly found god just prior to a run for higher office. However, this is a blatant disregard for separation of church and state. Ignoring the enormous cost of setting up this new “office” and the 11 actual offices and staff needed, this “office” the first step in the Obama re-election campaign for 2012. The 40 million evangelicals that could always be counted on by the Republican Party as guaranteed votes might think twice now that a Democrat has set up a religious office. If you thought he scored a mandate last November, you haven’t seen a thing yet.

The last thing we need is more religious influence in our government. However, we have gone a step further now by actively funding faith-based activities, using tax-payer dollars in the name of Christ. No matter how honorable the cause, it is just the next step on the road to abortion warranting jail time and homosexuality resulting in a death sentence. Seem far-fetched? Just how long do you think it will take for those 40 million votes to become 60 million? Or 80?

Come to think of it, maybe the fact that “faith-based” is in the title really doesn’t mean anything. I am sure there would be no issue getting the “White House Office of Atheist Affairs” started.