Right Wing fires another salvo of lies in an effort to obstruct stimulus

[ck4829]

"I will be the first to admit that understanding Congressional legislation is not the easiest thing in the world. The language is generally arcane and convoluted and often makes reference to sections that don't appear in any coherent order or even in the legislation itself.

I've been doing this for nearly ten years and even I generally have a hard time parsing just what various pieces of legislation will actually do from just reading the text of the bill. But I also have enough experience with this sort of thing to recognize when right-wingers are trying exploit this fundamental problem to serve their own ends.

For instance, take this American Center for Law and Justice press release about the economic stimulus bill:

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, today called on the U.S. Senate to remove a discriminatory provision in the economic stimulus package that unfairly targets religious activity at universities and colleges that receive federal stimulus funds. The ACLJ discovered a little-known provision in the stimulus package that prohibits higher education facilities that accept federal stimulus funds from permitting religious groups and organizations from using those facilities.

Nowhere does the legislation say anything like that and how the ACLJ got the idea that students would be barred from using university facilities for Bible study is beyond me. By their logic, since the legislation also prohibits universities from using the money to repair their athletic stadiums, student athletes would likewise be barred from using any university facilities if the school accepts stimulus funds."

http://rightwingwatch.org/content/aclj-demands-non-existent-threat-be-stripped-stimulus-bill