Before we begin let me offer my prayers for the victims of
the tornados in Oklahoma. I urge anyone
reading this post that lives close to the area and can to volunteer to offer
their help in the cleanup. I also urge
those that can to contribute money towards the cleanup but be careful to give
your money to reputable charities that will get the money to the victims. I recommend the Red Cross or Samaritans
purse. Glen Beck also has people on the
ground helping. If you cannot volunteer
or contribute money, do as I am doing, pray for all things are possible with
God, even recovering from a tragic tornado.
Let me begin by stating how important I believe the first
amendment is. The first amendment
prohibits the government from establishing a religion and preventing us from practice
our religions. The first amendment also
gives citizens the right to free speech, which includes the right to speak out
against our government when we feel it is violating the Constitution. The first amendment also guarantees a free
press that can inform citizens about what the government is doing.
The recent admission by the IRS that it targeted
conservative groups has expanded to groups outside the Tea Party. We now also know that they targeted religious
groups and contributors to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. Here are a few examples.
James Dobson’s Focus on the Family does great work promoting
family values. As a Christian organization,
they have taken a pro-life stance and a stance against gay marriage. When they applied for 501 c 4 tax exempt
status with the IRS they were stonewalled and told by the IRS rep that their
application would not be approved because, “ you’re a right wing
organization, and you’re political, and you’ve been critical of the
President and we don’t think you give other people an opportunity to
express their views, and besides that – you’re not educational.” (1)
The first amendment protects Mr. Dobson’s organization
through both its freedom of religion and free speech clauses. However, this is unimportant to the
administration that now appears to have used the IRS to target organizations
such as Focus on the Family in an attempt to silence opposition voices. Focus on the Family threatens The Obama
Administration’s pro-choice and pro-gay marriage policies and therefore, in
their opinion, must be silenced.
The IRS also abused its audit powers by targeting Anne
Hendershott. Mrs. Hendershott is a
sociology professor at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio and a
columnist for the Wall St. Journal.
During her 39 years of marriage, the IRS has never audited her and her
husband but after writing columns opposing the policies of the Obama Administration,
the IRS audited them. After the IRS
admitted to targeting conservative organizations, Mrs. Hendershott and her
husband believe they too were victims of the IRS. (2) Mrs. Hendershott was only exercising her
first amendment right to free speech and the addressing of grievances she had
with the policies of the Obama Administration.
When testifying
before the House, outgoing IRS director Stephen Miller stated that the
targeting of conservatives was “Absolutely not illegal.” (3)
Once again, we see a pattern in this administration of a total disregard for
the Constitution and the Rule of Law. However,
applications for 501 c 4 tax exemptions for non-conservative organizations
received swift approval.
One example is the expedited approval of the application for
Obama’s half-brothers organization the Barack H. Obama Foundation during a
27-month period when no tea party applications were approved. In fact, the IRS backdated the application so
contributions received prior to approval would be tax-free. (4)
It has also been discovered that the now-chief counsel of
the IRS, William Wilkins helped Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright get
out of an IRS probe in 2008. The
investigation revolved around allegations that Rev Wright used his church to
engage in political speech and promote a candidate when candidate Obama
referred to his presidential candidacy in a talk during a 50th anniversary
celebration at Rev. Wright’s church.
Nonprofits engaging in such activities can lose their tax-free status
but Rev. Wright’s church was found not guilty of any wrongdoing. (5)
It would appear that agreeing with this administration does have its
benefits.
This scandal is not the problem but a symptom of an out of
control government and administration.
In fact, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, in a speech given to the
Virginia Republican Party convention said, “This president has grown the size,
the scope, the debt, and the power of the federal government to such
irresponsible proportions… that this is the inevitable result.” (6)
Governor Jindal went on to say, “Anyone who participated in this targeting of
Americans for their political beliefs, anyone who knew about it, anyone who
simply looked the other way, and anyone under whose watch this occurred needs
to be fired,” (7)
Governor Jindal went on to say, “But in this instance, it is the IRS, people in
a position of public trust, who have violated the Constitution of the United
States of America,… You cannot take the freedom of law-abiding Americans,
whether you disagree with them or not, and keep your own freedom. When you do
that, you go to jail." (7)
The attacks on our constitution, rights, and liberties need
to stop. We need to appoint a special
counsel to keep this investigation independent of the White House. (8) We must not let liberal, progressive,
statists shred our Constitution for it is the only thing protecting the
citizens of the United States from tyrannical government.
1. heine, Debra. James Dobson: IRS Stonewalled
Christian Family Org for Being 'Critical of the President. breitbart.com. [Online]
Breitbart.com, May 18, 2013. [Cited: May 20, 2013.]
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/05/18/IRS-Rep-Told-Dr-James-Dobson-His-Application-Was-Rejected-Because-He-Had-Been-Critical-Of-President.
2. Berry, Susan.
CATHOLIC SCHOLAR: IRS ASKED WHO PAID ME TO WRITE ANTI-OBAMA ARTICLES. breitbart.com.
[Online] Breitbart.com, May 18, 2013. [Cited: May 20, 2013.]
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/17/Noted-Catholic-Scholar-Who-Opposes-Obama-Administration-Policies-Among-Those-Audited-By-IRS.
3. Halper, Daniel.
IRS Commissioner: Activity 'Absolutely Not Illegal'. m.weeklstandard.com. [Online]
The Weekly Standard, May 17, 2013. [Cited: May 20, 2013.]
http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/irs-commissioner-activity-absolutely-not-illegal_724747.html.
4. Fitzgerald,
Sandy. IRS Stalled Conservatives While Giving Liberals a Pass on Tax
Exemptions. www.newsmax.com. [Online] Newsmax, May 15, 2013. [Cited: May
21, 2013.]
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/irs-tea-party-liberal/2013/05/15/id/504614?s=al&promo_code=13804-1.
5. Boyle, Matthew.
CHIEF IRS COUNSEL GOT JEREMIAH WRIGHT'S CHURCH OUT OF IRS PROBE BEFORE JOINING
AGENCY. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart, May 20, 2013. [Cited: May
21, 2013.]
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#st=p&x=irs&n=90b1cc89-baac-4b1e-8a5a-196c4008d3a9.
6. Lee, Tony.
JINDAL: OBAMA SCANDALS CAUSED BY BIG GOVERNMENT. www.breitbart.com. [Online]
Breitbart, May 18, 2013. [Cited: May 21, 2013.]
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/18/Jindal-Obama-Scandals-a-Result-of-Big-Government.
7. —. JINDAL: SEND IRS
OFFICIALS WHO TARGETED CONSERVATIVES TO JAIL. www.breitbart.com. [Online]
Breitbart, May 18, 2013. [Cited: May 21, 2013.]
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/18/Jindal-Send-IRS-Officials-Involved-in-Targeting-Conservatives-to-Jail.
8. Mali, Meghashyam.
Sen. Portman: IRS will need special counsel. thehill.com. [Online] The
Hill, May 19, 2013. [Cited: May 21, 2013.]
http://thehill.com/video/senate/300613-sen-portman-irs-will-need-special-counsel.
No comments:
Post a Comment