Poor Obama, him and his Church become more and more questionable…lol
IRS investigates Obama’s denomination
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer
Tue Feb 26, 8:58 PM ET
NEW YORK - The IRS is investigating the United Church of Christ over a speech Sen. Barack Obama gave at its national meeting last year after he became a candidate for president, the denomination said Tuesday.
Obama, an Illinois Democrat, belongs to the 1.2 million-member Protestant group through his Chicago congregation.
In a letter the denomination received Monday, the IRS said reasonable belief exists that the circumstances surrounding the speech violated restrictions on political activity for tax-exempt organizations.
Obama, a member of Trinity United Church of Christ, spoke about faith and public life at the denomination’s June 2007 General Synod in Hartford, Conn.
The IRS said in the letter that it was concerned about articles posted on the church’s Web site and on other sites stating that Obama had addressed nearly 10,000 people at the event. The agency also said Obama volunteers had staffed campaign tables outside the center to promote his campaign.
The Rev. J. Bennett Guess, a spokesman for the Cleveland-based denomination, said a group of Obama volunteers was outside the Hartford Civic Center, where the event took place, but that they were told they could not enter the meeting.
The UCC had invited Obama to speak a year before he announced he was running for president because of his involvement in the denomination, Guess said.
Church leaders consulted with lawyers before the event on following IRS rules. Before Obama spoke, a top church official told the crowd that the senator’s talk was not a campaign-related event and that no leaflets or other signs of political support would be allowed.
Nonprofits are barred from endorsing candidates or providing support for campaigns, although groups are allowed to invite candidates to address them and many do so. Guess said no other presidential candidates were invited because Obama was the only one active in the UCC.
The Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the denomination, called the inquiry disturbing.
When the invitation to an elected public official to speak to the national meeting of his own church family is called into question, it has a chilling effect on every religious community, Thomas said in a statement.
Amy Brundage, an Obama spokeswoman, insisted the speech was not a campaign event. In the address, Obama spoke about his personal spiritual journey and had said that faith had been misused in the past to divide Americans, partly because of the Christian right.
The IRS has stepped up its monitoring of the political activity of nonprofit groups during the 2008 election. It is more common for individual congregations to be targeted, not entire denominations, but very large ministries have been investigated in the past.
The inquiries can take years. Punishments can range from a financial penalty to loss of tax-exempt status — an outcome that church attorneys call the death penalty for nonprofits.
The IRS does not comment on investigations because tax information is confidential.
J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which defends religious groups against government interference, called the timing of the investigation peculiar. But he said he generally has found the IRS to be nonpartisan.
They have not gone after the left or the right or one party over another, Walker said. Both sides have accused the service of doing that, but my impression is that they’ve done a pretty good job being nonpartisan.
____
United Church of Christ, link to IRS letter:
http://www.ucc.org/news/obama-speech-in-2007-prompts-1.html
News Paper Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_el_pr/obama_church_irs
McCain made the decision to pull out of Michigan without consulting or advising Palin. In fact, she had to learn about this decision by reading newspapers, not from McCain. What does this say about his trust or lack of trust in Palin? How can Americans trust her if McCain has no faith in her?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_el_pr/mccain
What ’strategy’ is he referring to? Massive death?
Does anyone feel like McCain has really shown his ignorance about war by even suggesting this?
Thoughts.
aboutpublicrelations.net
Did he not realize the press would actually do their jobs and check up on his story? LOL. So it seems this guy is not really telling the whole truth. Do you think he deliberately tried to throw Obama for a loop as part of the McCain campaign strategy or is he like Homer Simpson and just got in over his head?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081016/ap_on_el_pr/joe_the_plumber
bls.gov
Obama called McCains foreign policy naive because he believes we need to finish what we started. Obama believes pulling troops out of Iraq and sending them to the mountainous Afghanistan where we have no strategic advantage is the best way to deal with Al Quaeda.
So, McCain’s strategy, we’ll be out of the mess in Iraq by 2013, Obama’s strategy, pull out of Iraq and Al Quaeda will disappear from there. We march to Afghanistan and they’ll surrender…
Right.
Who’s really being naive?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080516/ap_on_el_pr/obama_mccain_14;_ylt=AkZ6DxgG97GpVEGA.aaw6Rhh24cA
Hey, great one how many Iraq lives were saved the day we ousted Sadam Hussein? To me, that’s worth a couple military casualties. Especially since as a male, living in Ohio, aged 18-24 I’ve got a better chance of dying by a violent crime or drunk driver than I would of getting injured in Iraq. If you want to complain about American casualties, complain about Detroit or LA where cops are too scared to go.
Via Yahoo! News:
Mon Jun 16
Obama, who said Friday night, If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080616/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_strategy;_ylt=AolMrrbqjCk6ZnoANW0oiL2s0NUE
What’s amusing here is, if Obama were to get his way, no American would be allowed to own firearms. He wants to demolish the 2nd Amendment:
* In 1996 Obama favored a “ban [on] the manufacture, sale, and possession of handguns.”
* In 1998 Obama stated a desire to “ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.” (Semi-automatic firearms are the most common firearms sold in America today)
Obama’s desire to ban “all forms” of semi-autos would include a ban on most common rimfire target pistols, including those used in Olympic competition.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/an-illustrated-guide-to-obamas-gun-grabbing/
Also, something tells me that BHO wouldn’t know which end of the gun points where. I’ll wager he has never even fired one before.
He wants the entire Primary process for the Democrats to be held behind the scenes and controlled by insiders.
Is that democratic?
Dean’s supporters say he’s working behind the scenes to resolve some of the issues. He’s been consulting with party stalwarts about how to wrap up the nomination quickly after the voting ends in June,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080328/ap_on_el_pr/dean_interview
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080803/ap_on_el_pr/presidential_debates;_ylt=AtkPeAbJA9gHC.AkIVlybu9snwcF
The problem may be that Obama is just not a good debater(Maybe the worst debater).
What do you think about, will Obama’s political strategy work ?
@Joyce. : How debate do you need ? It’s not an answer…Are you a bad debater too ?
@Ana K : I don’t agree, Obama has never been a great debater.
@Pro Deus Et Patria : Can I sing Kum-Ba-Yah with you ?
And you have a really short memory, during the democratic primaries, Obama was clearly not a great debater…Thanks to media’s help.
@@Pro Deus Et Patria :Example of a great debater :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pod1Kr-q6us