On August 4, 2010, the Goodtime Amusements Company took down a game that allowed patrons to spend a dollar to take six shots at a figure who very much resembled President Barack Obama. The African American figure held a "Health Bill," and his belt buckle was adorned with what appeared to be the presidential seal. Targets were on the forehead and heart, but there was no target on the health bill.

The company had been using this "Alien Attack" game for six or seven weeks. It was so named because the figure had two alien antennas on his head.

The owner of the company received one complaint about the game when it was first used. He withdrew the game on August 4 after another complaint was lodged and the Secret Service looked into it. It appears that he first defended the game on the grounds of "free speech."

The game was last used at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Borough of Roseto, Pennsylvania. The Big Time Carnaval was to raise money for the parish school. According to a spokesman for the Diocese of Allentown, no one associated with the parish had any idea the offensive game was part of Goodtime's offerings.

The incident is interesting for a number of reasons.

Although the parish did not ask for an anti-Obama game, this unfortunate incident is a reminder that the Catholic Church fought the health care bill and , in the eyes of some, probably crossed the line separating issue advocacy and partisan politics.

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference has been busy spreading the story that the recent health care legislation opens the door for federal funding of abortions. This simply is not true, and those who make the claim can only reply with suppositions and unsupportable interpretations of the legislation.

The bishops claimed that money the act gives to community health centers (CHCs) could be used for abortions. Abortions are not now performed in them, and CHCs come under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) whose regulations forbid CHCs to carry out abortions except in the case of incest of saving the health of the mother.

There was the fear that a court might claim that abortions can be provided by these agencies because (PPACA) money did not come to them directly through an HHS appropriation act.

A handful of courageous pro-life Democrats, including Kathy Dahlkemper of the Third District of Pennsylvania, addressed this concern by prevailing upon President Barack Obama to write an executive order prohibiting the use of funds under this law from being used for abortions in CHCs and elsewhere. Critics quickly responded that executive orders have no legal force, which is simply wrong. Others said, Obama could later change his mind. He could, but he would be making a terrible political mistake.

The time has come for the bishops to admit that their political allies have sold them a bill of goods. Maybe they should also admit that they may have even gone too far toward participation in partisan politics.

In the Third Congressional district,at the other end of Pennsylvania, those who have are playing the abortion card for political purposes are working against Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper, a sincere, pro-life Democrat. Even though she played an important role in forcing the president to issue an executive order that addressed the concerns of anti-abortion critics, People for Life in Erie continued to attack her for "supporting" abortion. The fact is that she opposes abortion but interprets the law in a different way than those good people. It is possible that they were carried away by partisanship and bad information. They should have said that their interpretation of the law was different from hers. Then they should have cited chapter and verse to show support their claims.

Very briefly, they launched a tasteless attack on the three main congregations of religious sisters in Erie, sugggesting the nuns care about enemies killed in war more than about abortion. That of course is not true. These sincere folks had the decency to remove that comment from their site.

Now, People for Life are about to receive $300,000 from the Susan B. Anthony List to spend in the campaign against Dahlkemper. The Susan B. Anthony List has followed policies that suggest it has become a front for the Republican Party. It also features a picture of Representative Michele Bachman, head of the Tea Party Caucus.

Now Republicans are trying to inject new life into the abortion/health care argument with a poorly written opinion from the Congressional Research Service that might say that neither the Hyde amendment, the health care legislation, nor Obama's sweeping order might be enough to prevent state high risk pools from covering abortions. Whether federal money can be used is another matter. HHS has already said abortions cannot be covered under Pre-Existing Condition Plans. That should settle the matter, but there is now much excitement about the drafting of a regulation to clarlfy this.

The point of debate has become smaller and smaller, and is very hard to nail down. Nevertheless, the Republicans continually hype and fan it because it could decide elections in places like Allentown and Erie. The churchmen and the pro-life activists need to carefully examine their consciences and be very certain that the claims they are urged to make are true and that they are not being abused for partisan purposes. For the moment, the Right has the political momentum. Things may change someday, and those now on the short end of the abuse of religious power may conclude that more should be done to prevent the misuse of non-profit organizations and the pulpit.

The final point of interest here is that the head of the amusement company said he had voted for Barack Obama. That supports the thesis that many Americans who usually would not vote for a black did so momentarily when it looked like the nation would slide into a deep recession. Later, they reverted to their former attitudes.