I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
(Photo: coba via Flickr.com)
A conservative organization’s plan to encourage pastors to defy the Internal Revenue Service by endorsing a presidential candidate at the pulpit this Sunday likely will attract little attention in the nation’s Capitol, where lawmakers are focused on averting a financial calamity.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a legal group based in Arizona, has recruited ministers for “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” to violate a 54-year-old provision of the tax code that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, like churches, from engaging in partisan politics.
But even Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), who has introduced legislation to repeal this section of the tax code, had not received any calls from reporters about the movement until Thursday.
“I’ve been working on this for years and yes, I heard about this coming, but no one questioned me about pros and cons,” Jones, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said. “I’m going to watch this carefully and see what happens.”
No churches in Michigan are participating, according to Greg Scott, the communications director for the ADF. He told the Michigan Messenger that a few churches from the state did apply but “none of them made the final cut.”
The North Carolina congressman renewed his efforts to find bipartisan support for his bill after reading media reports about “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” in the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.
Jones found several fellow lawmakers, including former GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), to cosponsor his bill, which has languished in the Ways and Means Committee.
The IRS, which could investigate the activity and revoke a church’s tax-exempt status, does not pro-actively seek out violators.
“We are aware of recent press reports, and will monitor the situation and take action as appropriate,” Nancy Mathis, an IRS spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
Mathis explained that religious leaders are allowed to speak for themselves about political and policy issues. They cannot, however, make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official functions.
The regulations (pdf) governing church political activity are available at the IRS Web site.
Jonathan E. Kaplan is Washington correspondent for the Center for Independent Media’s network of online news sites. Michigan Messenger fellow Ed Brayton contributed to this report.
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter