It's official! Via Kos, from yesterday's Executive Order:

Executive Order: Responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security with Respect to Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America...

[Pause for hearty laughter]

... and in order to help the Federal Government coordinate a national effort to expand opportunities for faith-based and other community organizations and to strengthen their capacity to better meet America's social and community needs, it is hereby ordered as follows:

(a) The Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall establish within the Department of Homeland Security (Department) a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (Center).

Sec. 2. Purpose of Center. The purpose of the Center shall be to coordinate agency efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the provision of social and community services.

Curiously, or not, the "Center" is set up in DHS, but its grant of authority is very broad, and doesn't have any specific homeland security duties. I wonder why? Read on:

Sec. 3. Responsibilities of the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. In carrying out the purpose set forth in section 2 of this order, the Center shall:

(a) conduct, in coordination with the WHOFBCI Director, a department-wide audit to identify all existing barriers to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the delivery of social and community services by the Department, including but not limited to regulations, rules, orders, procure-ment, and other internal policies and practices, and outreach activities that unlawfully discriminate against, or otherwise discourage or disadvantage the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal programs;

And procurement, especially procurement. That's Mullah Dobson's slush fund!

(b) coordinate a comprehensive departmental effort to incorporate faith-based and other community organizations in Department programs and initiatives to the greatest extent possible;

That's the blank check part, the grant of total authority. Please don't tell me "coordinate" is weak, and these guys will have no real authority; we already know, from NSA, that the Republicans have no respect for the Constitution, or the law.

(e) develop and coordinate Departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and other community organizations with respect to programming changes, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives, including but not limited to Web and Internet resources.

And that's the catapult the propaganda part (which, besides polluting our discourse with more media whorage, is another slush fund for Mullah Dobson.

So what "barriers" would there be to having the Christianists participate, anyhow? Just imagine! Maybe the presence of gay people? Maybe the presence of women who aren't married? Who wish to keep their private lives private? The absence of daily prayers led by management? Think of the possibilities!

And just think of the opportunities opened up by "the greatest extent possible"! At last, the Christianists and the Minutemen can hookup--and get paid for it with your money! Heck, let's set up a Christianist Praetorian Guard, to protect His Holiness from evildoers at all times! Or maybe we could send out congregations to gather intel! The sky's the limit!

And let's not forget the propaganda. Those "web and Internet resources" have a mighty big reach...

You know, I always wondered what agency the Republicans were going to use to do their lady parts monitoring. I think I have my answer.

FTF, FTF, FTF....