First Amendment Rights
June 26, 2022
Hey, SCOTUS!
You just imposed the religious will of a small group of Fundamentalist Christians onto our entire nation.
Did you not know the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that everyone in the United States has the right to practice his or her own religion, or no religion at all?
Tax Exempt for Religious Purposes
June 15, 2022
This property – a 50-unit vacation destination – was acquired by the Church of Scientology FLAG Service Organization in 1996. Although it is currently assessed for $2.3 Million, it has been off the tax rolls since 2013. That’s right. This 50-unit waterfront motel is tax exempt for religious purposes.
The property is now gated and clearly not accessible to the public, yet it appears to be well-maintained and suitable for its intended use as temporary housing for travelers.
In a post from November 2020, Mike Rinder looked deeply into the concept of awarding tax exemption to the Church of Scientology (Scientology’s Tax Exemption (mikerindersblog.org)
I am resident, voter, property owner and taxpayer in Clearwater, FL where the Church of Scientology has directly and indirectly acquired hundreds of properties, taking many off the tax rolls thus shifting the tax burden to others.
I don’t wish to debate the validity of the religious exemption Scientology won from the IRS, yet I do want to debate the practice of hiring and using an army of lawyers to fight property assessors who attempt to determine that some of the properties owned by Scientology are not used for religious or charitable purposes, and thus not eligible for property tax exemptions.
I also question many of the activities of Scientology which seem to confer ‘excess benefits’ to Chairman Miscavige and others who occupy senior positions in the Organization.
Having received tax exemption from the IRS as a religious organization, the Church of Scientology and its many affiliates are also exempt from filing an annual Form 990 “Information Return” with the IRS:
‘They are encouraged to file, but not required to file.’
The 990 provides a treasure trove of information, including executive compensation, benefits, governance, etc.
If I was a gangster posing as a religious leader, I would want to be exempt from any public disclosure, including the requirement to file a 990.
If I was an honest, fair, selfless religious leader I would hope to be fairly compensated for my education, wisdom and service so that I had adequate shelter, nutrition and safety for me and my household, but I wouldn’t object to disclosing the financial affairs of my organization, which would include disclosure of my personal compensation and benefits.
This goes well beyond Scientology as there are more than a few Exempt Religious Organizations which opt into the nondisclosure arena.
Despite that loophole, a rather large number of religious organizations which have received tax exemption from the IRS continue to file their 990 forms every year.
This seems to be another serious, dangerous and egregious loophole in our Federal Tax Code that needs to be addressed.
We, The People, ought to know what is going on behind the curtain, particularly because we are left paying the piper when those few tax-exempt organizations every year stray from the garden path.
Donald Trump, American Monster
June 13, 2022
In her recent opinion piece published in the NY Times (6/11/2022: ‘Donald Trump, American Monster’) Maureen Dowd compared Donald Trump to Frankenstein, suggesting that Trump willfully planned to overthrow our government.
Maureen has been in her business for a very long time, and – like a good marksman — she rarely veers far from center of the target.
There is an overwhelming body of evidence which confirms that Donald Trump is self-centered and lacking in empathy, the basic ingredients of a narcissistic personality.
Over the years, Trump developed an entire repertoire of very effective coping mechanisms which allows him to ‘fool some of the people all the time’, enabling him to convince about 30% of American people (mostly of European ancestry) that he actually cares about them. And, that he understands their frustrations related to the growing influence of immigrants and other non-Europeans on U.S. society and our economy; and the growing influence of ‘the deep state’ which blocks the voice of the people.
In her essay, Dowd acknowledges Trump as a narcissist, and she comes quite close to the bullseye.
What she may have missed is that Trump is the most dangerous of the species, what some have called, ‘the toxic narcissist’.
Clinical psychologist John Mayer, PhD. describes a toxic narcissist: “… continually causes drama in others’ lives at the very least and causes pain and destruction at the very worst.” Mayer notes that a subset of toxic narcissists, known as psychopaths, are ‘unstable, aggressive – often violent — and will show no remorse for their behavior’.
Dowd seems to have veered slightly off the trajectory toward the bullseye when she allowed the possibility that “Trump was deadly serious about overthrowing the government.”
Although Maureen is correct that his actions (if successful) would result in an overthrow of our government, it’s doubtful that idea never ever entered Trump’s mind. He was, is and continues to be focused on the potential personal shame of losing. As a Toxic (and likely Psychopathic) Narcissist, Trump won’t back down and/or stop until he is abducted by aliens or is reinstated to the oval office.
Meanwhile, Trump has helped to inspire and energize a (mostly quiet) army of people – often identified as members of the Evangelical Christian faith — who just want everything to return to the American Promise of 1957.
Until these wayward folks can be helped to understand that our world in 2022 is much different from 1957, they are an extremely dangerous factor and they must be very carefully dealt with as the January 6 Commission saga continues to emerge.
More on: Restricting Women’s Rights
February 2, 2022
It’s no secret that open access to comprehensive reproductive rights – including birth control and abortion – has evolved into an extremely acrimonious and hostile issue across American society.
The 1st amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” When people bring their personal religious beliefs or values into any public debate, they risk imposing unwanted or restrictive religious practices and beliefs on others who have the right to pursue their own – but different — beliefs or practices.
I have no interest in debating religious or cultural positions on contraception or abortion. My interest is to encourage a deep look into how and when restricting open access to comprehensive reproductive health care services becomes an economic and human rights issue. When a small group of people — highly committed to their own religious beliefs – engages in persecution of others who do not share their religious beliefs and practices, that results in a violation of the 1st amendment, each and every time.
A recent Pew Research survey found that the majority of Americans (61%) say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. When religion is included in the demographics of survey participants, 77% of white evangelical Protestants say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. Recent Gallup polling found similar results.
In fact, the loudest voices opposing abortion and open access to comprehensive reproductive health care services in the U.S. seem to come from a +/- 20% minority comprised of predominantly college educated white evangelical Christians.
Yet, the vast majority of people who are adversely impacted by rules, laws or practices which restrict access to the full range of reproductive health care services are socially and economically disadvantaged women, almost always members of a protected class.
The longitudinal negative social and economic impacts on women who are denied access to a voluntary abortion — and the children who are born as a result — are devastating. The spillover of these social and economic impacts into the larger society is chilling.
I’m truly surprised that the current debate on open access to comprehensive reproductive health care services remains centered on religious grounds, when in fact, citizens of the United States have an ironclad guaranty in the U.S. Constitution to freedom from religious persecution.
Florida HB 5: Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality
January 18, 2022
HB 5 will be presented in the Florida House ‘Professions & Public Health Subcommittee’ on January 19, 2022.
This proposed bill has a very clever title.
The real purpose of the bill is to codify into Florida law, “A physician may not perform a termination of pregnancy if the physician determines the gestational age of the fetus is more than 15 weeks.”
HB 5 is a direct affront on the rights of all women to make personal decisions relative to their own lives.
Whenever arbitrary restrictions are imposed on open access to comprehensive reproductive health care services, the actual outcomes have disproportionate adverse economic impact — and direct deprivation of human rights — on young women; low-income women; and women of color.
These are socially and economically disadvantaged women, almost always members of a protected class.
The great majority of published public opinions opposing open and unrestricted access to comprehensive reproductive health care over the past 4 decades – including both contraception and abortion – center on personal ethical, moral or religious values.
Nationally, the loudest voices opposing open access to comprehensive reproductive health care services come from a small minority of predominantly college educated white evangelical Christians.
When people bring their personal religious beliefs or values into any public debate, they risk imposing illegal, unwanted or restrictive religious practices and beliefs on others who have been granted the Constitutional right to pursue their own – perhaps significantly different – beliefs.
I am aware of no rational person who considers abortion to be a primary means of family planning or birth control. Abortion is a last resort, a means to be employed only when all other options have failed.
I’m hopeful that you will reach a conclusion similar to mine on this Bill: Florida’s government should focus on supporting our residents and improving health care, not taking away their rights, especially rights that can materially impact their health, livelihoods, and futures.
I encourage you to join me in asking members of the Florida Legislature to carefully and objectively examine the broad implications of HB 5 prior to taking a position on the Bill.
Trump issues executive order ending family separations
June 20, 2018
This event — June 20, 2018 — represents a fabulous ‘photo op’ for Trump, and it results in a Pyrrhic victory for oppressed and victimized mothers and their minor children who are fleeing horrific conditions in their homelands of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala -the so-called Northern Triangle.
Read between the lines of Trump’s Executive Order and you will find little change in the draconian American policy of abusing and torturing women and children.
Trump and his administration have embraced a tactical wholesale approach to focus, apprehend and detain the most vulnerable – and least dangerous – people who seek asylum in the U.S.
Trump has – and continues to – proclaim that “..most immigrant families and minors from Central America who arrive unlawfully at the border cannot be detained together or removed together – only released. These are crippling loopholes that cause family separation which we don’t want.”
Probably not true, and even if true, completely irrelevant.
Statistics tell us that: (1) Immigrants who come to United States seeking asylum from horrible conditions in their countries of origin are generally women with minor children who pose little to no criminal or other risk to the U.S.; (2) Immigrants who come to the U.S. seeking work to support families left behind in their country of origin are predominantly men who strive to make enough money to send for the rest of their family to bring them into a positive environment.
Yes, each of these scenarios illustrates a likely violation of current U.S. immigration laws.
However, let’s not lose sight that the foundation of immigration laws of the U.S. is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, sometimes known as the McCarran–Walter Act. Yes, 1952.
Parts of that Act remain in place today. It has been amended several times and was modified substantially by the Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965. Yes, 1965.
No doubt, there exist a small percentage of people who illegally enter the U.S. with nefarious intent. It seems that most of these ‘bad actors’ do not travel with children; are not female; and do not enter over the southern border.
If Trump — and his band of complicit Republican cronies – really desire to improve our national security through better immigration strategy and policy, they need to focus on fact-based, root cause analysis, and to invest in solutions which utilize “evidence-based targeting,” an approach which uses objective data to focus limited resources toward those individuals who pose the highest risk of danger to the U.S.
Evidence-Based Targeting is a strategic approach which requires planning; careful research; and a blind approach to race, religion, gender, national origin or other irrelevant factors.
Yes, Mr. Trump, we are in lock-step with you on secure borders. We – even those of us who are not registered Republicans – demand secure borders and we want to have modern policies and procedures in place which keep bad actors out of the U.S.
That said, we need to ask you to stop acting as a bully, stop picking on defenseless women and children, and start focusing on Evidence-Based Targeting to help protect our domestic security.
And, concurrently, it would be really great if you could work with Congress to modernize that 1952 McCarran–Walter Act which probably made sense back then, but seems to need some tweaks to address the huge demographic changes which have occurred since then.
Please, Mr. Trump: Stop the puerile ‘Beavis & Butt-Head’ rhetoric and start acting like a leader.
Trump’s Accidental Legacy
April 1, 2018
A half century ago, the Baby Boomer generation entered adulthood with plenty of energy and commitment to help make our world safer and better. As they set forth to establish families of their own, careers and all of the rest, they faced some unexpected head winds. The rapidity of technological change combined with growing economic and social divides put extraordinary pressure on these young families, and they became self-absorbed.
The direct socioeconomic impacts of American suburbanization didn’t really begin to take hold until the 1970’s. The resulting economic and racial segregation shielded the next generation(s) of middle class young people growing up in suburbia, away from their less affluent peers who were left behind in urban neighborhoods. They lost touch with each other, not able to see common ground.
Somehow, things have begun to change for the positive.
Maybe Trump’s legacy will be as the unconscious ‘uniter’ of the people of good will — Americans who reject corruption, self-dealing and bullying — who regardless of hair color, height, weight, economics, gender, race, skin tone, religion, sexual orientation, learning and/or mobility differences, and many more… — refuse to participate in the Trump Swamp.
This emerging generation, evidenced by the Parkland students, are showing signs of unity under a new paradigm of The American Dream, where the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are honestly and equitably recognized and applied.
To date, Trump has certainly distinguished himself as the polar opposite of genuine American values.
While it’s still too early to celebrate any victories, I am betting on the young people who have taken an active role in the March For Our Lives movement — and the millions of their supporters (average age 48!) — to continue to energize and inspire the vast majority of U.S. citizens and residents who want to see common sense prevail.
Random Thoughts Following Pope Francis U.S. Visit
September 26, 2015
I am not a Roman Catholic, although I know many who are.
I wasn’t prepared for what Pope Francis had to say, nor how he chose to convey his message.
I am quite pleased to have observed and listened to most of the things Pope Francis subscribes to. No doubt that the Roman Catholic Church in America has lost a great deal of its luster over the past couple of decades for a variety of reasons.
I think if the American R.C. church (and many other religious institutions) can find a way to embrace some of the values this Pope advocates for; our country could come closer to healing.
Related to this observation, the John Boehner thing came as a bit of a surprise, and for a few moments, I was pleased.
Now that some of the background has been exposed, it seems that Boehner has tried very hard to create an environment where civil discussion and debate was at least possible.
It also seems clear that there is a vociferous contingent of ultra-conservative elected officials in D.C. who share a common thread: ‘Take no prisoners: it’s our way or the highway. We don’t negotiate or compromise, ever.’
I guess I knew before the Boehner announcement on 9/25 that there were at least a few elected characters in our Congress who are mean, rigid, callous and intractable.
I just never would have guessed that there were enough of these bigots and curmudgeons to create an environment toxic enough to drive John Boehner back to Ohio, for good.
I guess the Koch Brothers (and some others) are gaining some real traction from their ‘investments’.
Goes to show: You don’t personally need to wear the white hood if you can write enough checks to mobilize an army of fringe fundamentalists who are willing to align with your doctrine.
There are dozens – hundreds – of examples throughout history which support this theory, perhaps the most frightening of which is the rise of Nazism under the leadership of Adolph Hitler.
Perhaps the spirit of Pope Francis will engage and mobilize enough folks who seem to perpetually sit on the sidelines hoping that – magically or mysteriously – the right things will happen.
History tells us that the right things will only happen when people of good will mobilize in a positive way to stop the fringe fundamentalists from taking control of our economy, government and society.
Gov. Cuomo’s Tax Credit Boondoggle
June 14, 2015
Bowing to extraordinary pressure from both the Catholic Church and Orthodox Jewish blocs, NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo has put his weight behind an ‘education Tax Credit’ proposal that is just plain wrong.
No matter how you slice this, it is not just wrong, it is also unconstitutional.
Our federal and state constitutions mandate certain services be provided to all residents and citizens, services which include public education.
Sometimes, economists view the shifting a tax burden required to provide sufficient funding to ensure provision of adequate and acceptable services from one taxing entity to another in order to create the illusion of a tax cut or a public cost savings as a “Zero Sum Game.”
This proposed tax credit program is certainly NOT a zero sum game.
The sole beneficiaries of this proposed tax credit charade will be those families – and their allies and supporters – who elect to eschew the free and publicly supported education system which is intended and expected to provide all children in New York State the opportunity for a “sound basic education,” defined as a meaningful high school education that prepares students for competitive employment and civic participation .
When Rhode Island adopted an education tax credit program a few years back, it resulted in a windfall for the state’s two Jewish day schools. Between them, their students received some $400,000 in scholarship money in the program’s first year.
In Florida, tax credit legislation has resulted in nearly $10 million annually for scholarships for Jewish day schools and yeshiva students.
Now New York, which has some 150,000 Jewish day school and yeshiva students — more than all the other states combined — has a chance of getting an education tax credit program that could deliver millions of dollars annually to Jewish day school families.
Another primary beneficiary of this proposed tax credit program will be supporters of private Catholic schools which have been plagued with declining enrollment and decreased core funding from the Church for several decades.
Offering a small number of self-selecting individuals the option to designate (Read: Divert) up to 75% of their NY State Tax Liability to fund private religious schools is just plain wrong.
The Lies We Believe About Iraq
July 2, 2014
Charles Lewis has had a long and distinguished career as an investigative reporter for a number of credible and main-stream print, broadcast, video and internet sources.
Charles Lewis’s book, 935 Lies will be released this week. In his book, Lewis provides some interesting and provocative commentary on why facts, logic and reason are often missing in the rush to war.
His book inspired me to think, “Come on, Rep. Darryl Issa and Rep. John Boehner: Let’s get the House Select Committee to investigate the real Root Causes of how and why the U.S. is embroiled in a religious war in the Middle East.”
We can pretend that the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi was the premier event of our 21st Century, and is singularly the responsibility of Hillary Clinton, with additional culpability on President Barack Obama.
Or, we might want to take a serious look at what occurred in Washington following the atrocities of September 11, 2001, and the incredible subterfuge which was created by President George W. Bush and his team which led to our military intervention into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Bush, Cheney and Company willfully brought the U.S. into religious wars in the Middle East which have been seething since 3,100 B.C.
No matter what we do as a nation, we will never be able to enable peace, harmony and tranquility in a region fraught with the residual effects of multiple centuries of social, religious and cultural nuances which defy explanation to those who are from outside.
Much like Marie Antoinette from 18th Century France, Bush and Cheney were ignorant, audacious and fully disconnected from the realities of the real world of everyday people when they foolishly launched their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They deliberately and willfully misled the Congress and the American people to create a real world replication of the 1998 movie “Wag the Dog”.
Now, some 13 years later, a majority of Republican elected officials in Congress are fixated on a variety of meaningless and inconsequential issues, i.e. “What else about Benghazi is the Obama administration still hiding from the American people?”
The American people really ought to be demanding that Congress get to work to ensure that our nation is fully prepared to prosper in the 21st Century. Something tells me that the events which led to the deaths of ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya are directly attributable to the actions which took place in 2001-2003 when the U.S. orchestrated the escalation of a Religious War in the Middle East.
So, why is it that House Republicans continue their assault on the Obama administration, when it seems to be perfectly clear that the real root cause of all of this mess in the Middle East traces directly back to bad choices and failures of the Bush/Cheney administration?
I’m thinking that a great deal of the problem is attributable to our failed public education system in the U.S. which seems to graduate young people who have never been exposed to critical thinking skills.
walrus51 