Romney ‘rented’ Mormon church’s tax exemption status to defer taxes for 15 years

Romney used the tax-exempt status of a charity — the Mormon Church, according to a 2007 filing — to defer taxes for more than 15 years.

Read entire story here: Bloomberg News: Romney ‘rented’ Mormon church’s exemption to defer taxes for 15 years | The Raw Story

Study: 20 Percent of U.S. Adults Have No Religious Affiliation

 by Sandi Villarreal 10-09-2012 | 9:40am 

Image: DBE

One-in-five adults in the United States — and a third of adults under 30 — say they have no religious affiliation. The numbers are out in a new report called “’Nones’ on the Rise,” put out by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. That 20 percent of the population is up from 15 percent just five years ago.

But while our church membership rolls may be shrinking, “unaffiliated doesn’t necessarily mean wholly secular,” said senior researcher Cary Funk at the Religion Newswriters Association Conference in Bethesda, Md., on Saturday. 

In fact, two-thirds of the 46 million Americans self-identifying as having no religion also say they believe in God. And 21 percent of them say they pray every day. A large portion of this group — 37 percent — say they consider themselves “spiritual but not religious.”

The increase in disaffiliation goes hand-in-hand with an overall lack of trust in American institutions across the board, from the government to the news media, and now, to our houses of worship.

The “nones” overwhelmingly say religious institutions are too concerned with money and power, and 67 percent say they both focus too much on rules and are too involved in politics. 

So where are the “nones” coming from? That uptick in those checking “nothing in particular” comes largely from a shrinking number identifying as evangelical or mainline Protestant — a decline from 53 to 48 percent since 2007. An influx of Latin immigration has supplanted any decline of Catholic affiliation.

But another source is simple generational replacement, as the unaffiliated are overwhelmingly concentrated in the millennial generation.

Millennials Drop the Labels

Pew Forum senior researcher Greg Smith said not only are millennials more likely to be unaffiliated, but “they’re more likely to be unaffiliated than previous generations were at their age” — meaning, the group is unlikely to change as they get older. 

Thirty percent of millennials overall (age 18-31) identify as unaffiliated. But when you break that down to younger millennials (age 18-25), a full third of our youngest voting bloc says they have no religion. 

This is in large part to the fact that unaffiliation among parents is on the rise. Much of the millennial generation was raised in household with no religion. 

Political implications

The group —which also includes atheists and agnostics — largely swings left. More than six-in-ten say they are Democrat and 38 percent identify as liberal. And that divide is on the increase.

In 2008, 75 percent of the “nones” voted for the Democratic candidate, up from 61 percent in 2000. “In the future, unaffiliated vote may be as important to the Democratic party as traditional religions are to the Republican Party,” said John Green, senior research adviser for Pew.

The unaffiliated — as with young Millennials — don’t vote at the same rate as those in traditional religions, and neither candidate has been able to mobilize the group. 

But the “nones” are the Democratic Party’s single largest religious group. If mobilized effectively, they could become critical in November.

Key statistics

• 88 percent of “nones” are not looking for a religion
• Since 2007, unaffiliated have risen from 17 to 24 percent of all registered voters who are or lean Democrat
• The number of unaffiliated has increased consistently across demographics — college educated and not, male and female, high and low income, and in all regions of the country.
• Only 27 percent of “nones” say they do not believe in God or a universal spirit.
• 52 percent of “nones” say religious institutions “protect and strengthen morality” compared with 76 percent of the U.S. general public
• 72 percent of “nones’ say abortion should be legal in all or most cases
• 76 percent of “nones” say homosexuality should be accepted by society, and 73 percent say they are in favor of same-sex marriage

Sandi Villarreal is Associate Web Editor for Sojourners. You can follow her on Twitter @Sandi.

John Lennon's 20 Best Quotes In Celebration Of His 72nd Birthday

 

October 9th is a big day for one of the first families of music. Not only is it the 37th birthday of John and Yoko's only son, Sean Lennon, John Lennon would have turned the ripe old age of 72 today.

The late Beatles legend, who passed away at the age of 40, wrote some of the band's most famous songs and had an uncanny ability of speaking in timeless quips. Today, on John's birthday we're pouring some out and offering him one of his best, “Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”

In celebration, we've collected some of the singer's most insightful, eloquent, and famously controversial quotes. Take a look below:

1. "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

2. "As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."

3. "Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it."

4. "You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!"

5. "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity."

6. "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."

7. "Rituals are important. Nowadays it's hip not to be married. I'm not interested in being hip."

8. "It doesn't matter how long my hair is or what color my skin is or whether I'm a woman or a man."

9. "You have to be a bastard to make it, and that's a fact."

10. “Declare it. Just the same way we declare war. That is how we will have peace... we just need to declare it.”

11. “I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people.”

12. "Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground."

13. "If there's such a thing as genius — I am one. And if there isn't, I don't care."

14. "Before Elvis there was nothing."

15. "What we’ve got to do is keep hope alive. Because without it we’ll sink."

16. "If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace."

17. "Happiness is just how you feel when you don't feel miserable."

18. "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it."

19. "You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die."

20. “If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”

The Huffington Post  |  Posted: 10/09/2012 8:06 am EDT Updated: 10/09/2012 11:22 am EDT

The 10 Most Dangerous Religious Right Organizations

Source: Church & State Magazine / By Simon Brown

October 2, 2012
Links added by DBE

 

The religious right is more powerful than ever, using its massive annual revenue and grassroots troops to promote a right-wing ideology and undermine church and state separation.

 

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues.aspx

The movement known as the Religious Right is the number-one threat to church-state separation in America. This collection of organizations is well funded and well organized; it uses its massive annual revenue and grassroots troops to undermine the wall of separation in communities nationwide.

 

Americans United staff members have carefully researched this movement, and here are the 10 Religious Right groups that pose the greatest challenges to church-state separation.

 

Most of these organizations are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, but the financial data includes some affiliated 501(c)(4) lobbying organizations operating alongside the main organizations. The figures come from official IRS filings or other reliable sources.

1. Jerry Falwell Ministries/ ­Liberty University/Liberty Counsel

Revenue: $522,784,095

Although Jerry Falwell, a Religious Right icon and founder of the Moral Majority, died in 2007, his empire is going strong thanks mostly to Liberty University, a Lynchburg, Va., school now run by his son, Jerry Falwell Jr. Following in his father’s footsteps, Falwell Jr. regularly meddles in partisan politics – from local contests to presidential races. This year, he invited Republican White House hopeful Mitt Romney to give Liberty’s commencement address, introducing him as “the next president of the United States.” A second Falwell son, Jonathan, is pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, a mega-church in Lynchburg. Liberty Counsel is a Religious Right legal outfit founded by Mat Staver that is now based at Liberty University, where it launches lawsuits undermining church-state separation and encourages pastors to get involved in partisan political activity.

2. Pat Robertson Empire

Revenue: $434,971,231

Known for his years of involvement in far-right politics, TV preacher Pat Robertson has forged a vast Religious Right empire anchored by the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). Robertson also runs Regent University and  a right-wing legal group, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). (Attorney Jay Sekulow heads ACLJ, as well as his own quasi-independent legal outfit, Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism.) CBN, which brings in the bulk of Robertson’s revenue, broadcasts far-right religious and political invective laced with attacks on church-state separation, a concept Robertson has called a “myth” and a “lie of the left.” His “700 Club” TV program is a powerful forum for the promotion of right-wing ideology and favored politicians. Robertson has been welcomed into the halls of government. The current governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell, is a Regent U. graduate.

3. Focus on the Family (includes its 501(c)(4) political affiliate CitizenLink)

Revenue: $104,463,950

Fundamentalist Christian James Dobson founded Focus on the Family to offer “biblical” solutions to family problems. Dobson, a child psychologist by training, soon branched out into the dissemination of hardcore right-wing politics with an international reach. Dobson has been a major player in the halls of power in Washington, D.C., and Focus-aligned “family policy councils” pressure lawmakers and influence legislation in 36 states. In fact, the Colorado-based organization frequently plays a key role in fighting gay rights and restricting abortion at the state level. Jim Daly is now president of Focus; Dobson left the organization in 2010 but remains active on the political scene.
  
4. Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund)

Revenue: $35,145,644 

The ADF may have changed its name, but it still promotes a familiar Religious Right agenda. The Arizona-based organization, which was founded by far-right TV and radio preachers, attacks church-state separation, blasts gay rights, assails reproductive freedom and seeks to saturate the public schools with its narrow version of fundamentalism. In recent years, the ADF, headed by Ed Meese acolyte Alan Sears, has worked aggressively to overturn a federal law that bars tax-exempt churches and other nonprofits from intervening in partisan elections. The group says church-state separation is not in the Constitution and calls the church-state wall “fictitious.”

5. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Lobbying Expenditures: $26,662,111 

The USCCB for years has lobbied in Washington, D.C., to make the hierarchy’s ultra-conservative stands on reproductive rights, marriage, school vouchers and other public policies the law for all to follow. This year, the USCCB escalated its efforts in the “culture war” arena, forming the Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty. Led by Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, the committee seeks to reduce Americans’ access to birth control, block efforts to expand marriage equality and ensure federal funding of church-affiliated social services, even if the services fail to meet government requirements. American Catholics often disagree with the hierarchy’s stance on social issues, but the bishops’ clout in Washington, D.C., and the state legisla­tures is undeniable.

6. American Family Association

Revenue: $17,955,438

Founded by the Rev. Donald Wildmon, the Tupelo, Miss.-based AFA once focused on battling “indecent” television shows. When that failed, the group branched out to advocate for standard Religious Right issues such as opposing gay rights, promoting religion in public schools and banning abortion. In recent years, AFA staffer Bryan Fischer has become notorious for making inflammatory statements. Fischer has asserted that Adolf Hitler invented church-state separation and has proposed kidnapping children being raised by same-sex couples. The AFA, designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, frequently announces boycotts of companies that don’t give in to its demands. The organization says it operates nearly 200 radio stations nationwide.

7. Family Research Council

Revenue: $14,840,036 (includes 501­(c)(4) affiliate FRC Action)

This group, an offshoot of Focus on the Family, is headed by GOP operative and ex-Louisiana legislator Tony Perkins. It is now the leading Religious Right organization in Washington. Every year, FRC Action sponsors a “Values Voter Summit” to promote far-right politicians and rally Religious Right forces nationwide. The 2012 edition hosted many top Republican politicians and drew about 2,000 attendees. The organization frequently assails public education, political progressives, reproductive justice and the church-state wall and seeks to form a far-right coalition with the Tea Party. FRC is also known to engage in harsh gay bashing and has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

8. Concerned Women for America

Revenue: $10,352,628 (includes 501­(c)­(4) affiliate CWA Legislative Action Committee)

Founded to counter feminism, Con­cerned Women for America (CWA) claims to be “the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.” Its mission is to “bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy.” CWA was organized by Tim and Beverly LaHaye in 1979 to oppose the Equal Rights Amendment, and when that issue faded, it moved on to other Religious Right agenda items. The group attacks public schools for allegedly promoting “secular humanism” and supports the teaching of creationism in science classes. It also vehemently opposes abortion and gay rights.

9. Faith & Freedom Coalition

Revenue: $5,494,640

This 501(c)(4) advocacy group was founded by former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed. He formed the organization after his run for lieutenant governor in Georgia was derailed because of his ties to disgraced casino lobbyist Jack Abramoff. In just three years of operation it already boasts more than 500,000 members and claims affiliates in 30 states. Reed is infamous for exaggerating his organizations’ clout, but his latest group is certainly making political waves. In 2012, it hosted forums for GOP presidential hopefuls in four states. Faith & Freedom Coalition claims to have budgeted $10 million in 2012 to lure conservative religious voters to the polls.

10. Council for National Policy

Revenue: $1,976,747

The Council for National Policy exists to do just one thing: organize meetings of right-wing operatives, Religious Right leaders and wealthy business interests at posh hotels around the country to share ideas, plot strategy and vet GOP presidential candidates. Membership is by invitation only, and the group seeks no media attention. Despite its small size and shadowy operations, the CNP – founded by Religious Right godfather Tim LaHaye – wields a great deal of influence, showing that even organizations with modest budgets can have a significant impact. U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), after his now-infamous “legitimate rape” comment, showed up at the next CNP meeting to ensure ongoing financial support as he runs for the U.S. Senate. Heritage Foundation Vice President Becky Norton Dunlop currently serves as CNP president, with Phyllis Schlafly and FRC’s Tony Perkins also taking leadership roles.          
 

Jindal Approval Sinks Like A Stone - School Vouchers Opposed By Majority

Source:  http://dailykingfish.com/2012/10/02/jindalsinking/

64-61-51

Those are Bobby Jindal’s last three approval numbers in a SMOR Survey.

This is what a flailing Governor looks like.

Jindal is watching his political career tumble down the drain, and he has started to panic.

Earlier this week Jindal announced a very startling staff shake-up, dumping his Chief of Staff without a cited reason:

In two weeks, Gov. Bobby Jindal will have a new budget adviser and a new chief of staff.

The governor’s chief of staff, Stephen Waguespack, announced his resignation Monday, severing career ties with the governor that began during the 2007 campaign.
“From the beginning of our work to build a better Louisiana, Stephen has been by my side as a trusted adviser and a friend. He helped shepherd through monumental policy reforms that will have a lasting and positive impact on our state,” the governor said in a prepared statement.Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater will replace Waguespack on Oct. 14. Replacing Rainwater will be the governor’s deputy chief of staff, Kristy Nichols.

And now a Southern Media and Opinion Research Poll Find Jindal sinking. It’s no surprise, but 89% of those surveyed don’t like Jindal’s slash and burn of the public Charity Hospital.

More startlingly, Jindal’s prized voucher program is opposed by 54% of Louisianians:

The poll shows Gov. Bobby Jindal with a 51 percent approval rating. That compares with 61 percent last spring and 64 percent a year ago.

Reductions for the LSU-operated charity hospital system are particularly unpopular. Eighty-nine percent said they were concerned by the cuts. Seventy-nine percent said the charity system would not be able to provide the same quality of health care, and 80 percent said Louisiana residents would lose access to health care as a result.
Among the poll’s other findings:

• On the issue of school vouchers, 54 percent were opposed.
• Salaries for state executives and political appointees were a hot button issue with 86 percent saying annual salaries of $175,000 and above are excessive or not justified.
• 47 percent favor eliminating tax exemptions to increase state revenue compared to 35 percent opposed, which tracks with widespread opposition to deeper budget cuts.
• 69 percent said the Legislature should be more independent from the governor

Bad news all around. #Vouchergate is going well for Team Jindal. Nor are his high-priced public employee hires.

And it looks like the tax credit monster is about to bite Jindal back…

Jindal isn’t worried, however. He’s spent the last week campaigning for judges in Iowa, in some fields of dreams.