Meanwhile, Daily Kos member dogemperor has been researching possible tax abuse by Focus On The Family and published a dKos diary, last night, that deserves a look, especially from dKos members with expertise in nonprofit tax law. Is there enough substance to dogemperor's analysis to merit the filing of tax-status abuse forms with the IRS ?
In the larger picture, the abuse of tax status is not the only area we need to fight back on ( see my analysis: Establishment Clause Adult Attention Deficit Disorder ). GOP political officeholders are beginning to (more) brazenly abuse political office for partisan political gain and blatantly violate established lines of church/state separation : see the recently memo leaked from the office of Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline ( Here's the full text of memo, and please see Jews On First for a fuller writeup of the leaked Kline memo story. The Interfaith Alliance and Americans United For The Separation, fyi, are working to publicize the memo. ) Also, Daily Kos member moneysh has provided information on a letter, signed by local Kansas clergy Mainstream Voices Of Faith:
(excerpt)
We, the undersigned clergy persons and religious leaders, are incensed by the recent memorandum that was leaked from Attorney General Phill Kline's office, the authenticity of which has been confirmed by his staff. It is evident that in his quest to garner contributions and votes from conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist congregations, Kline has asked churches to walk dangerously close to the line drawn by the Internal Revenue Service that prohibits nonprofit organizations from supporting political candidates. In fact, Kline has asked them to cross that line.
Phil Kline scripts his role at church sponsored events ( from the Kline Memo:
vi. Work to help the host know how to ask for money and volunteer support. Do not leave it up to me only. They know the hosts -- a host, or someone local standing up and stating that they are giving and this is why and offering a challenge is effective. Try to arrange every time and let me know who that person is and how this will take place before the event.
vii. Always give me the names of the sponsors and hosts before the event so that I know who to thank. Also, should have names of any electeds or county chairs, etc. so I can mention.
viii. Get me out. I should not be the last of our campaign to leave an event. Usually we end with a plea for help. Someone from the campaign should stand up and say that they will remain to pick up pledge sheets, etc. someone should be assigned to get me out the door. I am spending too long at these events. Last night went to 9:30. Manhattan went for 2 hours.
ix. Do not schedule me for social lunches. Only working lunches were we can obtain either media, money or crucial support.
Focus On The Family's Partisan Diatribea particularly egregious example of blatant partisanship from James Dobson tax-exempt Focus On The Family, as published in FOF's September 2006 edition of Citizen Magazine and written by Dennis Prager, host of a weekday talk show on KRLA 870 AM in Los Angeles.
9-11 was terrible for America. But it's been devastating for liberals... For all its tragedy, at least one good thing came out of 9-11. It exposed the Left's incapacity to deal with evil.... Why won't the Left label and confront evil?
The reasons are not only psychological (fear of confrontation, fear of fighting, fear of dying, loathing of authority figures whether parental or divine, etc.)...
All this leftist aversion to talk about evil has come to the fore since 9-11. In that sense, 9-11 was a catastrophe for the Left. It told most Americans exactly what the Left does not want Americans to believe: that there is major evil in the world which only America can truly fight; that America is not the Great Problem and, even worse, that the Great Problem regards America as its primary enemy; that sometimes only moral violence can end immoral violence; that people do terrible things for reasons having nothing to do with economics; that the U.N. is morally worthless; that America really is exceptional, and that there really is such as a thing as evil and those who fight itare better than those who fight the fighters.
9-11 was terrible for America. But it has thus far been devastating for the Left. That is one reason the Left so hates George W. Bush; and why, in their hearts, they have to hope he--and therefore we--lose in Iraq.
Comments are closed on this story.