I'd like your opinions about this

[a new day]

I'll try to be brief, but there's some background you need to understand.

My three grandchildren range in age from 4 to 8, and all of them take part in the various programs offered by their local YMCA. So, when my daughter-in-law looks for contributions to benefit these programs, my spouse and I are happy to give a generous contribution. We have done so for three years, now.

Early this year, it was announced in their newsletter that the YMCA was hosting a prayer breakfast on Good Friday, and the speakers were to be Don and Barbara Hodel.

If you don't know of the Hodel's, Don Hodel was the Secretary of Energy under Reagan, and since leaving the Reagan administration has been an executive of two organizations who make it a point of endorsing candidates and lobbying for inserting religion into government in various ways. Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, and Focus on the Family, James Dobson group. Both, are key movers in the politicization of religion and their movements' push to force everyone to live their lives as they interpret the scripture to mandate. Barbara Hodel is a trustee of Patrick Henry College, an institution along the lines of Bob Jones University, that reveals in its "Statement of Faith" that "The Bible in its entirety (all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the inspired word of God, inerrant in its original autographs, and the only infallible and sufficient authority for faith and Christian living" and teaches the quackery of Intelligent Design in its biology program. Both are principles in Summit Energy Group, a consulting firm that works to deregulate the petroleum industry.

I was alarmed that people with such a clear political agenda would be included at such an event, and called the head of the YMCA to complain about it. He told me that I was the first person to ever question the appropriateness of a guest at one of these prayer breakfasts, and assured me that politics was totally off base at them. He told me that guests like the Hodels helped him greatly to raise funds by generously contributing their time to the YMCA and help to attract turn-out to the breakfasts. I backed off.

Yesterday, I received a solicitation from "Focus on the Family Action", a PAC that states in its cover letter: "The courts, the IRS, and the FEC are joining forces to squeeze nonprofit organizations such as Focus on the Family, by making it risky to express disagreement with those in power... no politician who is considered to be a candidate for public office can be mentioned in any context anytime in the 12 months prior to an election by a nonprofit like ours." They go on to request money so that Focus on the Family can continue its work to ban abortion and gay marriage, and to allow the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings.

You might be able to discern from what I have said so far, that receipt of such a plea in our household is unusual. So unusual, that my wife and I have wracked our brains trying to figure out how we could have gotten on Hodel's mailing list. The only way we can see how is, because of our complaint about the Hodel's speaking at the prayer breakfast, the YMCA provided him our names along with those of the attendees. The inclusion in the letter of a form note from Don Hodel stokes that suspicion. In it I am assured that "Your gift will help expand this effort, which I hope and pray will inform, inspire and rally believers to deeper involvement in the great moral, cultural and political issues of our day!"

Well, I'm still seeing red and trying to figure out what, if anything, I should do about it. The Director of the YMCA lied to me, as I see it. I don't imagine that the $23.00 seats at the breakfast were nearly as valuable to improving the programs my grandkids participate in, as a list of known contributors to the YMCA was to Focus on the Family Action.

What would you do?

[Misunderestimator]

1. I believe that the YMCA probably gave their entire mailing list to Hodel.

And you should see if that's legal to have done so. Did you ever sign anything with YMCA that indicated that you did not wish your name or information to be given to other parties?

[Not_Giving_Up]

2. I would contact the YMCA

and tell them to take you off the mailing list, and to not give out your information to anyone else. Then contact the people who were given your info, and tell them to take you off their lists as well.

It's my understanding that if your personal information is going to be given out to anyone else, they are supposed to have your permission.

[immoderate]

3. I guess I'd ask if your name was supplied to the Hodels.

And if it was, raise a little hell.

--IMM

[Demit]

4. Write a letter to the Director of the YMCA asking explicitly:

Does the YMCA sell or share its mailing lists, as you suspect. Wait for a reply. If he admits they do, inform him that your generous charitable contributions will be going elsewhere, to organizations that are more respectful of their contributors' privacy, and give him your regrets.

[SheilaT]

5. You do realize that

the YMCA is the Young Men's Christian Association, don't you? It's always been a Christian group, is a private organization, and if you're not in some kind of sympathy with it, you need to be not involved with it.

What I would do is sever my connection with the YMCA and try to find secular programs for the grandchildren. You could send a letter to the Hodel organization telling them that what they want to do is to violate separation of Church and State as guaranteed by the First Amendment, but of course they won't care about what you think. Maybe you could send a donation in their name to the ACLU.

[a new day]

6. Certainly

I'm not objecting to the religious nature of their programs nor, specifically, that they host prayer breakfasts on religious holidays. Many persons, all over the country, participate in YMCA and YWCA activities who are Jewish, Muslim, Hindus, atheists, etc. In a multicultural society, it is a good thing, I think, that there isn't a need to have a Red Crescent organization in the U. S. in addition to the Red Cross.

My concern is that, after a lifetime of looking at these institutions as benign and non-political, it is now becoming accepted that they are agents to break down the separation of church and state. This YMCA, a natural beneficiary of faith based programs the current regime is so fond of, is becoming a political player. That's a different thing from the kids saying a prayer before a game.

Tell me, what secular organization in your town runs soccer, baseball and hockey leagues? In my experience, YMCA programs for these activities are ubiquitous. Are we to have competitions between the Saints and the Sinners? Between Mullahs and the Tong?

[SheilaT]

8. In my town,

(Overland Park, Kansas) all the sports leagues are run by secular groups. Local Parks & Recreation divisions of the various municipalities, to be precise. I take it in your town it's church groups that run these things.

The problem with thinking of organizations such as YM and YWCA as benign and non-political, is that you're overlooking the fact that they are neither benign nor non-political.

[a new day]

7. What do you night shift guys think??? n/t