From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 12:43:13 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Taxing Churches for their views? Bad idea.
Message-ID: <199711050422.FAA04318@basement.replay.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Tim May wrote:
> At 7:10 PM -0700 11/4/97, Anonymous wrote:
> >More telling, she doesn't seem to have a problem using a religious (and
> >therefore tax-exempt) organization to push a political agenda. Apparently
> >that whole 'separation of church and state' thing only applies when it's
> >convenient.
> >
> >If religions want to play politics, the least we can do is get them to pay
> >for the privilege. I'd feel a certain guilty pleasure seeing some of those
> >bottom-feeders taxed into penury.

> Nonsense. And a dangerous course.
> 
> One can decide to "tax churches" or to "not tax churches." I have no
> particularly strong opinion on either option.
> 
> But one must definitely _not_ base the decision to tax or not to tax on the
> opinions expressed by a church!

  I feel that Tim is correct, in terms of "opinions," but the Christian
political agenda goes beyond 'opinions' and into the realm of political
activism which is regulated by law.
  It is a fact that the Moral Majority/Christian Right/Felons For Jesus,
etc., make no bones about using their tax-deductible resources to mount
political campaigns that illegally skirt the rules pertaining to the
direct support of political parties and candidates.

  If the Commie Chincs brunching at the Whithouse and sleeping in the
Lincoln bedroom tried to excuse their illegally made payoffs to the
current administration by getting a glazed look in their eye and
speaking about answering to 'a higher power', the press and the
citizens would lynch them.
  Certainly, the Christian political movement is no 'dirtier' or more
criminal than the rest of the Fools On the (Capitol) Hill, but they are
all the more hypocritical for claiming the higher moral ground in their
illegal activities.

Criminals is criminals...

JHFCMonger