His staff made recommendations as to the what programs should be funded. The number one program on the list was a youth group in San Diego whose goal it is to keep kids out of gangs. The program was NOT funded because the kids are also given sex education and condoms.

Flores also never funded any programs for gay youth.

I do not want my tax dollars in the hands of people whose goal is to enforce their religious beliefs thru government.

Faith based initiatives have been a big wolf in sheep's clothing, beefing up the right wing communication channels and bolstering their individual careers as well as their organizations and infrastructure.  Some portion of the public money goes to useful causes; too much of it is used to promote our opponents' political agendas.  I'm not sure we can back away from the initiatives, given the supposed good the programs (should) do in our country.  I think the best solution is to catch cheaters like this and engage more of the country's liberal faith organizations to utilize these grants instead.

As far as the Joshua Generation outreach goes, I think it's an excellent way to undermine the misinformation that is part of the Republican machine, from talk shows to those right wing emails and Christian mailings that millions of people read and believe.  It's not about empowering corrupt evangelists to continue their nasty work, it's about reaching the youth in that group before they're brainwashed by slogans and misinformation about Obama and/or progressive changes.  Imagine middle aged parents talking to their teens or adult children about Obama's Muslim roots, and the kids come back at them with a picture of Obama swearing in on the Bible, not the Koran after all.  Or they'll say they want to vote for McCain because he's the only one who can protect us from terrorists, and they'll reply with some good left wing talking points about diplomacy as the true use of our strength.  Most importantly, it'll be harder for churches to break the law and promote GOP politicians if a big chunk of their audience is already sold on Obama.  

What better way for the Obama campaign to redirect the conversation among evangelists that to support an intergenerational discussion on that front.  In this case, it may even result in subverting that discussion, to the extent that youth who join the "Yes We Can" movement are more likely to support what they hear from Obama if they're personally invested in his candidacy.  

I know, I know, we don't know if Obama is REALLY a progressive.  But as I've said before, this is more about the people who support him and the agenda we have for change.  Perhaps evangelists will expect pay back for supporting him, but the best case scenario is a whole new generation might stop thinking that their religious beliefs get to be forced on the rest of the country.  Wow.

As always, I hope for (and work for) the best outcome.