Thursday morning links

Little Barry's Wonderful World"

Don't know much about Ben Gazhai
Don't know much climatology
Don't know much 'bout wiretapping the press
Don't know much about the IRS

But I do know that I love you
And I know that you must love me, too
What a wonderful world this would be

Don't know much about running guns
Don't know much deficits
Don't know much about algebra
Don't know what a budget is for

But I do know one and one is three
And if this one could be with you
What a wonderful world this would be

#1 wirraway on 2013-05-16 09:54 (Reply)

"I do not understand why any political 501(c)(3)s are legal".

I don't understand why any 501(c)(3)'s are legal. This is all about special rights in a country where we are all supposed to be equal. If anyone or any group wants to do something let them do it within the existing constitutional framework that applies to everyone. No special tax treatement either for the donor or donee. Let everyone from the poor to middle class to Bill Gates pay their taxes on all their income and then give to whatever cause charitable or political they choose to with money they paid taxes on.

#2 GoneWithTheWind on 2013-05-16 09:58 (Reply)

There are legitimate reasons for filing for tax exempt status. As an example, the local Amateur Radio Operators are organizing to establish a ARES/RACES group (Amateur Radio Emergency Service/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service) to build a VHF/UHF repeater system for Lexington County which will link up to the [url=http://scheart.us/irlp_web/main/SCHEART[/url] repeater system providing wider area coverage in the Midlands to the Western Highlands. We can't do that if we aren't tax exempt because this is going to cost us pretty close to $15,000 by the time its all said and done - not to mention ongoing operational costs a small part of which will be picked up by the State, the rest out of our own pockets. We have to be a formal group, raise funds through contributions and at least get some relief in terms of our own personal contributions to keep it running and operational costs.

We're not going to get the contributions we need to accomplish this if we aren't tax exempt, but we're not a business, we're a volunteer organization providing a public service in times of emergency.

#2.1 Tom Francis on 2013-05-16 11:46 (Reply)

I truely do not believe that any and all of the tax exempt entities could not do what they do if they had the same tax status as everyone else; same as a corporation perhaps. But more to the point; Why should they have a tax exempt status? Why shouldn't I have a tax exempt status? Either we are all equal or we are not. And these organization are not being good nieghbors and good citizens. They exempt themselves from the costs to support and protect them and force these costs on the unsuspecting tax payers who are being good citizens. Do good things or do bad things but live and work under the same rules as the taxpayers do.

#2.1.1 GoneWithTheWind on 2013-05-16 17:44 (Reply)

Along the lines of what GoneWithTheWind wrote, I appreciate there may be quite a bit of expense involved in your project---and it does seem like it may be a worthwhile one---but if your group is seriously committed to doing it, its members could pay for it out of pocket instead of doing fund raisers, in which case there'd be no tax issue and thus no need for your group to get a tax-exemption. Alternatively, if the public service is as valuable as you say, perhaps its something your local government can/should be convinced to do. In that case, donations to the local government to fund the construction and operation of the service might even be tax deductible.

#2.1.2 Agent Cooper on 2013-05-16 18:36 (Reply)

PS: Sorry, but I pulled the trigger on my previous comment too fast. I meant to conclude with the statement that I think such special tax carve-outs as these 501(c)(3)s are open to far too much abuse, no matter how well intentioned some of them are, and to that extent I agree with GoneWithTheWind.

#2.1.2.1 Agent Cooper on 2013-05-16 18:44 (Reply)

O.K. I'll go along with no 501(c)(3)'s - and thus, essentially, no tax deductions for charitable contributions - if the Federal government in turn will stop funding various social action groups. If the govenment can take my tax money for "community organizations" and Planned Parenthood and other such organizations, I need to be able to get at least some tax relief when I contribute to organizations that attempt to promote social changes I approve of.

#2.2 RonF on 2013-05-16 15:57 (Reply)

The scandals are coming fast and furious.

#3 feeblemind on 2013-05-16 10:02 (Reply)

This is what happens when the "senior white house advisors" are a bunch of second rate political hacks from Chicago.

#4 Santay on 2013-05-16 10:56 (Reply)

Maybe Jon Stewart isn't mad at Obama for proving "us" right, he's mad at himself for being a sucker.

If that feeling sinks in amongst the Snarking Class, Obama really will be toast.

#5 T.K. Tortch on 2013-05-16 11:05 (Reply)

Last night, with Olympia Snowe, Stewart just shut her down on bipartisanship. "Nothings going to happen. With the way things are going, You have a better chance of impeachment than background checks right now"

#5.1 JKB on 2013-05-16 11:43 (Reply)

Liberals are taking this in stride, at least the ones I know. It's a low level IRS problem. The Republicans are blowing it up way out of proportion. Nobody understands Benghazi anyway.

I expect the mainstream media, no matter what was done to the AP, to fall into line.

Liberals simply cannot let those mouth-breathing red-neck low-class Republicans be proved right.

I honestly believe that it's all about status for liberals (very much including the media). They have to see themselves as smarter, better and kinder than the Republicans. And they prove it by backing a lovely black man like Obama.

The real question is: will the average American buy the liberal line again? They don't get the same status charge from it that the liberal gentry do.

#6 Park Slope Pubby on 2013-05-16 12:44 (Reply)

I honestly believe that it's all about status for liberals (very much including the media).

It's a pratfall of the creed; Liberalism as the faction of activist, competent and enlightened government. They all want to be in the Philosopher-King Party and imagine themselves competent for the position.

#6.1 T.K. Tortch on 2013-05-16 17:26 (Reply)

Well put! The desire to be a philosopher king is exactly the vanity at the base of liberalism.

It is also a class issue. They truly believe that Republicans are dumb mouth-breathers.

Sometimes I think that the Civil War never ended. Liberals are northerners who think that conservatives are dumb southerners. I happend to be a northern conservative, surrounded by liberals, and I'm intelligent, but when they figure out I'm a conservative, liberals invent some way to explain it. It could never be that conservatism is the logical choice for an intelligent northerner.

Like all matters of faith, liberalism is not susceptible to logic.

#6.1.1 Park Slope Pubby on 2013-05-16 19:20 (Reply)

A bit of an aside. Today, I googled "federal employee oath"

To return was

QUOTE:

Oath - Office of Personnel Management
www.opm.gov/constitution_initiative/oath.asp‎
A description for this result is not available because of this site's robots.txt – learn more.

Click through, they forward you to a page that does have the oath but is archived with this disclaimer at the top

QUOTE:

You have reached a collection of archived material.

The content available is no longer being updated and may no longer be applicable as a result of changes in law, regulation and/or administration. If you wish to see the latest content, please visit the current version of the site.

I searched for "employee oath" on the OPM site but all the links were into parts of manuals and such, nothing so cleanly or easily located as the "content not longer being updated"

BTW, I'd have to check the US Code but the oath was:

QUOTE:

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

5 U.S.C. §3331

If the actions by the IRS employees had been sexual in nature, the whole IRS if not Treasury would be hip deep in sexual harassment seminars by now. Why no seminars on the Constitution, rule of law, "support and defend", etc.?

They could hire some of those groups they hassled whose purpose was to educate on the Constitution and Bill of Rights to do the training as a sort of compensation.

#7 JKB on 2013-05-16 13:40 (Reply)

Cut Chris Matthews some slack. He's White. He should know about White Supremacy. At least in MSNBC!

I certainly don't.

Santay @ #4: Second-rate? My, you are overly generous!

#8 Sam L. on 2013-05-16 14:14 (Reply)

If there is any difference in the worldview and thinking of Chris Matthews and that of the KKK, I'm hard pressed to see it.

#9 Agent Cooper on 2013-05-16 19:00 (Reply)

When you have lost Jon Stewart, you've lost America.

#10 B Moe on 2013-05-16 19:23 (Reply)

And that says a lot.

#10.1 BillH on 2013-05-17 10:58 (Reply)

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Thursday, May 16. 2013

Thursday morning links