Freethought & Rationalism Archive

hezekiah jones · 02-03-2002, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Earlier, Bush stepped into the Roosevelt Room at the White House to introduce James Towey, a 45-year-old Democrat, as the new director of his Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Towey, a Catholic lawyer and former Capitol Hill aide who spent years working for Mother Teresa, tells associates that his career goal is to get to heaven.

<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11309-2002Feb1.html" target="_blank">Bush Promotes Plans at GOP Retreat</a>

Elsewhere, Towey has been described as Mother Teresa's "personal lawyer," and has defended the illegitimate use of her name for commercial purposes:

Quote:

"This is one of the most flagrant misuses of Mother Teresa's name and likeness I've ever seen," Towey, her personal lawyer for 12 years, based in Tallahassee, Florida, said in an interview.

The man has no business to exploit Mother Teresa's name, claims Towey.

Towey told reporters Briggs never asked permission from Mother Teresa's order, the Missionaries of Charity. "This project smells of bad faith," he said.

The nuns are very particular that Mother Teresa's name is used for any fund-raising, he says. Even if permission had been sought, it would have been denied, he said.

<a href="http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/feb/11us2.htm" target="_blank">In Mother's name</a>

Towey is also the founder of "Aging With Dignity":

Quote:

Jim Towey founded Aging With Dignity in 1996 after his experiences at Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying inspired him to promote better care for people facing the end of life.

<a href="http://www.agingwithdignity.org/towey.html" target="_blank">Aging With Dignity</a>

Meanwhile Mother T. herself was whisked off to expensive Swiss clinics, IIRC.

Toto · 02-03-2002, 08:40 PM

He's a Democrat who endorsed Jeb Bush.

From <a href="http://www.au.org/press/pr020102.htm" target="_blank">Americans United's press release</a>:

Quote:

Towey, who identifies himself as a Democrat and a devout Roman Catholic, has political experience outside of his work with Aging With Dignity. He was an aide to former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles (D), but then endorsed the GOP candidacy of Chiles' successor, Gov. Jeb Bush. He also worked as an aide to former Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) and was legal counsel to Mother Teresa in the late 1980s.

The White House office Towey will be leading may be less significant than it was when created by executive order a year ago this week. On Wednesday, Bush announced that the faith-based office will be part of a new White House national service office headed by Bush aide John Bridgeland. That is a dramatic change from a year ago, when Bush said DiIulio would report directly to him.

AU's Lynn believes this shift further demonstrates the struggling nature of the president's faith-based plan.

"A year ago, this initiative was the signature domestic policy of the Bush administration," Lynn concluded. "After 12 months of criticism from the right, left and center, it's been down-graded to part of an office on volunteerism. With all of these problems, it looks like Towey will have his work cut out for him."

Hastur · 02-04-2002, 02:30 PM

Good.
Let it die the whimpering, unsung death it deserves.

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02-04-2002, 02:30 PM	#3
Hastur Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Carcosa Posts: 238	Good. Let it die the whimpering, unsung death it deserves.

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