Stan the Stupid Virus and Barack go to church...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12461951@N03/


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Separation of church and state, and all that.

does not suggest that a candidate is not allowed to speak in a church. They are still citizens acting in what is largely a private capacity; barring them from doing so would violate the "free exercise thereof" clause.

has a tax-exempt status, they cannot endorse a candidate.

It's my understanding that if a church is tax-exempt, they cannot endorse a candidate and say 'you vote for this person here...'

They have to be really careful.

Although I do find it amazing that the IRS seems to initiate investigations against the more liberal-leaning churchs, than they do the conservative ones.

If they don't, it would appear that they are endorsing one candidate over another.

My main concern, though, is that the IRS seems to be very selective (and not in a good way) in terms of deciding which churches they investigate for violating their tax exempt status.

For example, the IRS investigated this one church who had a guest minister about 2 days before the 2004 election. He never told the congregation at all who to vote for, but he spoke against the war in Iraq, saying he believed Jesus would be against it. The IRS investigated and told the church their tax exempt status was at risk.

If my memory serves me correctly, there were no charges filed against the church, however, and I don't think their exempt status was revoked.

Yet, there was another minister (Rev. Herbert H. Lusk II) who allowed a pro-Samuel Alito rally to be held at his church, before Alito's confirmation hearings. He said he didn't know whether Alito was qualified to be on the Supreme Court, but George W. Bush is his (the pastor's) friend, so he allowed a pro-Alito rally to be held at his church. I don't believe he was investigated by the IRS.

...if the candidate walks through the doors and the pastor/priest/pariah invites them up to say a few words it does not violate any laws or rules. I think they kick in when a church does work, such as telephone banks, stuffing mail or buying ads for specific candidates that they run afoul of the non-profit laws. But if I were running an np I
d sure as hell not go by my opinion alone!

tell all of us that I am simply anti-Obama. Look at all of them. Keep your mind open and above all be honest. After you look at the entire gallery, come back and say I am picking on one specific person or another. I pick on tings I believe are stupid acts, irrespective of the perpetrators ID or origins. Agree or not, you will find I am fairly broad-minded and open.

At any rate have the intellectual and personal honesty to view all of the works.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12461951@N03/1381545132/


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