Wrong tree? . . .

(Source:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/17/opinion/colinvaux-irs-taxes/index.html)
Roger Colinvaux, associate professor of law at Catholic University of America and former counsel to the U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation

The noise about IRS 'targeting' procedures should not be misinterpreted.  The real issue at hand is disclosure of donors, not tax-exempt status.  Something tells me that liberal and conservative groups are equally suspect when it comes to revealing donors, but that's just ME.

The IRS is actually in the 'targeting' business.  They are an enforcer and are supposed to go after scofflaws, cheaters and dodgers.  The guilt lies in the searching of tax returns for names like "tea party", which is clearly a specific group. What they should have done was searched for all such groups as a class, irrespective of political affiliation.

Roger Colinaux writes, ". . .  But the extra scrutiny here is less because of tax exemption and more because of other tax benefits that flow from tax-exempt status, such as the ability to receive tax-deductible contributions. Importantly, charitable organizations are not allowed to engage in any political activity, because Congress long ago decided that charity and politics are incompatible. . ."

It's campaign finance law and NOT tax law that dictates public disclosure of donors for political groups but not for social welfare organizations.  Mr. Colinaux again, ". . . After the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, it became possible for a 501(c)(4) organization to engage in unlimited amounts of political spending. It thus also became possible for a political organization to use the tax law to hide the identity of donors. After Citizens United, the abuse the IRS is tasked with policing is whether an organization that claims to be a "social welfare" organization is in reality a political organization in disguise. . ."

So its yet another polarizing issue (guess there wouldn't be so much polarization if we weren't limited to only two poles.) and also again, an issue of many barking up the wrong tree.

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Millennials. . .

 

 Okay.   That's NOT a millennial.

But. . .

(from The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska.  His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net)
  ". . . Joel Stein, a writer for Time Magazine, has recently written a lengthy article about the Millennials.  As I read it, I realized he was talking about my grandkids’ generation.  To the descriptions I just shared about my grandkids, Stein adds additional notable qualities of Millennials.  Race, sexual orientation, and gender do not matter much.  Some observers see Millennials as self-centered, selfish and narcissistic.  Their voting record (turnout) is disappointing.  They seem to be too busy with “me.”  They are able to live with a high level of chaos and are not motivated to “straighten things out.”
    I confess my German heritage pushes me to make things orderly.  I am clearly out of step with my grandkids, but I am pleased they accept me without hesitation. 
    In Stein’s article he did not burden the reader with a lot of statistics.  He simply states “I have the facts.”  Gallop, the Pew Foundation, universities, and news bureaus are getting the same numbers.  Millennials are not challenging our culture.  They are creating a new one and have not asked permission from anyone over 30. 
    Prior to the Stein article in Time, the Barna Group, a research organization that specializes in religious subjects, published the results of a massive study of Millennials with church backgrounds.  The phenomenon of the cultural changes fostered by the Millennials is hitting churches big time. 
    Researchers have verified the “rise of the Nones.”  The Pew Foundation research found that one in every five American is religiously unaffiliated.  The Barna Group wanted to know  specifically who made up the swelling tide of nones.  Over one-third of all Millennials are nones.  The Barna research became even more specific. Among Millennials who were raised in a church tradition over 50 percent are now nones. 
    The Barna studies show Millennials to be socially mobile, intellectually adventuresome, detached from institutions, and frustrated with churches.  Many Millennials are still interested in religion and want a personal faith.  Christian churches and institutions do not fit in the picture. 
    In the Barna Group research, they introduced new categories for understanding those leaving churches.  They identified sub-groups they called “nomads,” “prodigals,” and “exiles.”  I noted that the categories all indicate significant movement.  With Millennials there is no “status quo.”  They are on the move.
    What is behind all this?  Just now few are venturing a guess.  However, Joel Stein is correct.  We have the facts.  The numbers are not lying.  The patterns that are being described are reality. 
    Are Millennials a case of arrested maturation?  Has mobility produced a new kind of rootless generation?  Is this a product of the flat world dominated by computers that do not need human contacts?  Has Facebook replaced family and primary social groupings?  How does this relate to the emergence churches?
    I do not know how to explain the emerging patterns.  I do know that my grandkids are great young people.  I do not believe the Millennials will let us down.  However, I observe the chaos and get a bit nervous.  I am tempted to join Maxwell Smart and fight the evil of chaos.  Then I am reminded of the first law of chaos.  Chaos increases the possibilities.  Millennials may be the best hope for the future of humankind. . ."
               

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Spook. . .

. . . Handy

(from http://spookhandy.com/wp/biography/)
". . . Spook Handy was No Musical Genius As a Kid ~ He played no instrument, owned no records, and didn’t even have a radio until he was in high school. In fact, he didn’t make the first cut when he tried out for Glee Club in 5th grade.

But he Had a Dream ~ His love for music dates back to his first time watching the Beatles perform on TV. That day a seed was planted – a vision, a possibility of still being a fun loving person when he grew up. And little was anyone to know that one day that seed would sprout.

And The Dream Grew ~ It happened on a stiflingly humid New Jersey morning the summer after graduating Rutgers University (Phi Beta Kappa) with a major in Math and Business. Spook had been offered several lucrative jobs in the actuarial field. He had been groomed for this career by his parents and teachers because he was good at math as a child. He had three job interviews lined up for the day. But…

Spook Always Carried with him a Lust for Living “Outside the Box” ~ His “what if” and “why not” questions raised many eyebrows. His unorthodox religious perspectives got him kicked out of Catholic school after 1st grade. And somewhere in the back of his mind he never gave up on the dream he had when he first saw the Beatles. So, on that fateful morning as he stood in the mirror hopelessly trying to tie his tie, a sudden and unforgiving truth overwhelmed him. The world of convention was not his fate. Sure, math came easy. But his lessons were to be learned through his heart, not his mind. That day he gave his suit and tie to the local thrift shop, bought a used Yahama guitar for $50 and set out to follow his heart’s dream. . ."

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Person?. . .

(from www.MoveToAmend.org)
When it comes to constitutions, the application of law, and common sense, the Supreme Court of the United States could learn a thing or two from President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca of the Washington County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania.

O’Dell-Seneca overruled a previous decision that sealed a settlement between a Mount Pleasant Township family and large energy corporations, which caused the family harm because of fracking on an adjacent property to their own. The Observer-Reporter and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pressed the suit, which ultimately decided the public’s right to be informed outstripped the corporation’s right to privacy.

In fact, O’Dell-Seneca went much further than that. The judge asserted corporations have no constitutional rights:

“...the constitution vests in business entities no special rights that the laws of this Commonwealth cannot extinguish. In sum, [corporations] cannot assert [constitutional privacy] protections because they are not mentioned in its text.”

“...it is axiomatic that corporations, companies, and partnerships have no ‘spiritual nature,’ ‘feelings,’ ‘intellect,’ ‘beliefs,’ ‘thoughts,’ ‘emotions,’ or ‘sensations,’ because they do not exist in the manner that humankind exists… They cannot be ‘let alone’ by government, because businesses are but grapes, ripe upon the vine of the law, that the people of this Commonwealth raise, tend, and prune at their pleasure and need.”

Despite the mainstream media’s blackout on any reporting that calls into question corporate personhood, this recent decision is an important victory for our movement.

CELDF (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) Executive Director Thomas Linzey writes:  “The ruling represents the first crack in the judicial armor that has been so meticulously welded together by major corporations. And it affirms what many communities already know -- that change only occurs when people begin to openly question and challenge legal doctrines that have been treated as sacred by most lawyers and judges.”

Laws follow culture and the legal system adjusts as society's views shift. This case illustrates that we are collectively beginning to change hearts and minds about the appropriate role of the corporation in society, even amongst those who are entrenched in the current system.

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Award. . .

The 'most poorly phrased statement' award goes to Donald Rumsfeld.  Speaking on The Today Show
about the Congressional Republicans’ questioning of the events of Sept. 11, 2012 in Benghazi, he said. . .

“If you’re going to put people at risk, you have to try to protect them. . .”

(Seems that in order to achieve the latter, you shouldn't do the former?)

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Race. . .

. . . on over to Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery
Monday
May 20, 2013
@ 7:30PM
to hear Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano
open the Brewer's Alley Songwriters Showcase

Monday Night Songwriters' Showcase (now in its eighth year!) is held on Monday evenings in beautiful downtown Frederick, MD, except during December (when we are closed after the first Monday). The program starts at 7:30 pm with a piano prelude, followed by three or four songwriters doing three songs each (lots of variety). The featured songwriter for the evening goes on around 9 pm for around 45 minutes to an hour, followed by two or three more three-song performers. Somewhere in the mix we throw in some poetry from our resident poet, John Holly. Our MCs are Ron Goad, Todd C. Walker and Tomy Wright, frequently interrupted by Rod Deacey on sound. Most of you know all this, but this mailing is going out to some people who may be unfamiliar with our format, so please bear with me.... Our shows are FREE – we collect tips for the featured songwriter, but there is no door charge, so come and support LIVE MUSIC!

(take the elevator on the right to the 2nd floor)
124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701

Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874
 http://www.brewers-alley.com/

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Orange. . .

.

 . . . crate. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
". . . Between 1992 and 1995, (Van Dyke) Parks teamed up again with a then-reclusive Brian Wilson to create the album Orange Crate Art. Parks wrote all of the songs on the album, except "This Town Goes Down At Sunset" and George Gershwin instrumental "Lullaby", with vocals by Wilson. Orange Crate Art is a tribute to the Southern California of the early 1900s, and a lyrical tribute to the beauty of Northern California. It was recorded during a stressful period for Wilson, after being involved in court orders relating to years of psychiatric misconduct he had been subject to. According to Parks, "When I found him, he was alone in a room staring at a television. It was off." The album was met with poor commercial reception, much to the disappointment of Parks. . . "


(The album from which came. . . Movies is Magic)

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