Three Cheers for Americans United

Last Wednesday, September 24th, Americans United sent out a press release that read as follows: Houses of worship that flagrantly violate federal tax law by taking part in a Religious Right-led effort to politicize America’s pulpits this Sunday will be promptly reported to the Internal Revenue Service, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Religious Right legal group based in Arizona, is urging pastors to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit on Sept. 28, even though IRS regulations forbid tax-exempt groups from intervening in political campaigns. Reportedly, about 30 churches will participate.

“Taking part in this reckless stunt is a one-way ticket to loss of tax exemption,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “We’ll be watching, and pastors who violate the law can expect their churches to be reported to the IRS the first thing Monday morning.”

Since 1996, Americans United has sponsored Project Fair Play, an effort designed to educate religious leaders about the requirements of federal tax law. AU has filed complaints to the IRS about 85 houses of worship and religious non-profits. One church lost its tax exemption, some have been audited and others have received IRS warnings.

Lynn noted that tax exemption is a privilege and it comes with certain limitations.

“Houses of worship exist to enrich people's spiritual lives, not act like political machines that issue marching orders to voters,” Lynn said. “They are tax-exempt because their work is religious and charitable, not political.”

Earlier this month, prominent Washington tax attorneys and former IRS officials Marcus Owens, Mort Caplin and Cono Namorato told the IRS that the ADF’s scheme is a “mass violation of federal tax law” and clearly violates the ethics rules governing practice before the IRS. They called for an IRS investigation and appropriate penalties for the ADF.

Meanwhile, Americans United is circulating a letter to churches advising religious leaders on the rules governing tax-exempt entities and politics. Churches should not participate in the ADF’s “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” scheme if they want to hold on to their tax exemption.

Many clergy have opposed the ADF’s plan for this Sunday.

Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami released a statement indicating that none of his Catholic churches or priests will participate in the initiative.

The Rev. Eric Williams of North Congregational United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio, urged clergy all over America to give sermons in support of church-state separation and against partisan politics in houses of worship.

Americans United’s Web site, http://www.projectfairplay.org/, educates pastors, laypeople and others about the requirements of federal tax law. It also serves as a place to report tax law violations to Americans United.

Added Lynn, “Pastors who are thinking of joining the ADF’s gambit still have time to change their minds and I urge them to do so.”

Err, What Does That Plank Say Again?

The Republican Party platform adopted 3 weeks ago explicitly opposes government bailouts of private companies. Here is the pertinent language (from the section titled "Rebuilding Homeownership"):

We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself. We believe in the free market as the best tool to sustained prosperity and opportunity for all.

But true to their elephantine ways, many Republicans (including head honcho W) are not beyond completely abandoning their supposed "principles" to grab more power.

Satire from Roger Ebert

I enjoyed Ebert's piece titled Creationism: Your Questions Answered. He uses creationist's own beliefs to satirically swat them upside the head. Really, it is funny... click over there and read it.

And yes, I know it is satire. Of course, I'm sure the drooling ID fools will try to use it as proof that another intelligent person embraces their stupidity. But one only needs to look briefly at Ebert's writings to understand his intelligence (that is, of a non-designed nature).

The Latest "Nigerian" e-Mail Scam

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

W - Four Massive, Country Changing Failures

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow suggested on Monday that the continuing debate among historians about whether George W. Bush will find a place in the presidential failure hall of fame alongside Herbert Hoover and Warren G. Harding "is over."

"Barring yet another disaster of unimaginable scale, we now know that the presidency of George W. Bush will be defined by four massive, country-changing failures," stated Maddow .

She went on to cite 9/11, the "mendacious launch of the Iraq War," the drowning of New Orleans, and now an economic meltdown in which "we're borrowing $700 billion dollars, probably mostly from China, to stem off utter collapse."

"Eight years, four crises, each one awful enough on its own to brand any presidency an abject failure," Maddow quipped. "And we got them all done with just one guy. Bargain."

McCain to protect offshore tax havens

(Not So) Stupid Church Signs #3

Kudos to the Northwest Assembly of God, for getting it 100% right... albeit, most likely, inadvertently.

But I gotta wonder, what were they thinking? Were they trying (badly) to disparage reason...

Neo-cons and W Privatize Profits and Socialize Losses

The bailout of Wall Street’s largest players by the federal government is another example of the Bush administration pursuing a corporate agenda at the expense of average Americans, a prominent author argued on Friday.

In a Friday night interview on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Naomi Klein said President Bush’s $700 billion proposal to rescue the financial sector stems from a profiteering streak that has dominated the last eight years.

"The disaster is far from over," Klein said. "The disaster was on Wall Street and they have moved the disaster to Main Street."

This cannot continue without bankrupting the US.