Legislature in PA Gets Gifts, of Expensive Bibles
To honor their swearing in the legislators in Pennsylvania were presented with an expensive bible to keep. Meanwhile schools and parks and empoyees in the state are suffering. The legislature pleads tradition, and I plead that they should let them all find the unemployment line.
Holy Separation of Church and State, Batman! Is there a fiscal revrsal button on my utility belt?
The state of Pennsylvania, undergoing huge budget cuts despite the relief brought by the Obama stimulus package, bought each of its state legislators, get this, a bible. Evidently this is a tradition here, to lavish beautiful gifts on the legislators. Screw them. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
With the state sinking deeper into a fiscal hole, the Pennsylvania General Assembly bought 220 Bibles and other holy books for legislators as they took the oath of office last month.
And the public paid for them - roughly $13,700 in all.
“Holy Moses,” said Eric Epstein, a Harrisburg activist and founder of RockTheCapital.org, when told about the bulk purchase. “By the time you arrive at this station in your life, you shouldn’t need the taxpayers to pay for your moral boarding pass.”
The House chief clerk and Senate secretary said yesterday that it was a tradition dating back decades for lawmakers to receive a personalized holy book, courtesy of the public, at the start of their terms.
The Pennsylvania has no business buying them bibles or the Aventures of Huckleberry Finn. Frankly, I’d like to see the Senators and House members get a book by Suze Orman, or something like that. Good fiscal responsibility and a bit of alternative lifestyle, to boot.
One word. Gideons. Free Bibles.
This illustrates why I like living in Delaware.
I enjoyed living in Narberth. The only detriment was that it is in Pennsylvania.
If I join the cult of Scientology does that mean they’ll buy me a free personalized copy of Battlefield Earth?
That works out to $68.50 per Bible.
What, do they have extra-gilded edges? With real gold?
I hope those legislators all get paper cuts.