Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (240077)	2/27/2008 12:42:32 AM
From: MJ	Respond to of 793970

Late evening news showed Hillary talking about the first question going to her. In our local debates, candidates flip a coin or draw a number to determine who goes first ahead of time on the first question and alternating thereafter alternating on who goes first for each question. Makes it a little more comfortable for the candidates knowing before the debate starts who goes first on the first question. If she is prepared going first is no big deal as long as there is rebuttal time to followup. Obama is definitely articulate and skilled in speaking. McCain will need to be super prepared. mj

To: greenspirit who wrote (240077)	2/27/2008 12:44:56 AM
From: KLP	Respond to of 793970

Totally agree !~ it’s about damn time somebody at the IRS noticed. IRS Investigates Church After Obama Speech February 26th, 2008 sweetness-light.com From United Church Of Christ’s website: Obama’s General Synod speech prompts IRS to investigate UCC’s tax-exempt status Bennett Guess February 26, 2008 The Internal Revenue Service has notified the United Church of Christ’s national offices in Cleveland, Ohio, that the IRS has opened an investigation into U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s address at the UCC’s 2007 General Synod as the church engaging in “political activities.” In the IRS letter dated Feb. 20, the IRS said it was initiating a church tax inquiry “because reasonable belief exists that the United Church of Christ has engaged in political activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status.” The Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC’s general minister and president, called the investigation “disturbing” but said the investigation would reveal that the church did nothing improper or illegal. Obama, an active member of the United Church of Christ for more than 20 years, addressed the UCC’s 50th anniversary General Synod in Hartford, Conn., on June 23, 2007, as one of 60 diverse speakers representing the arts, media, academia, science, technology, business and government. Each was asked to reflect on the intersection of their faith and their respective vocations or fields of expertise. The invitation to Obama was extended a year before he became a Democratic presidential candidate. “The United Church of Christ took great care to ensure that Senator Obama’s appearance before the 50th anniversary General Synod met appropriate legal and moral standards,” Thomas told United Church News. “We are confident that the IRS investigation will confirm that no laws were violated.” Before Obama spoke to the national gathering of 10,000 UCC members, Associate General Minister Edith A. Guffey, who serves as administrator of the biennial General Synod, admonished the crowd that Obama’s appearance was not to be a campaign-related event and that electioneering would not be tolerated. No political leaflets, signs or placards were allowed, and activity by the Obama campaign was barred from inside the Hartford Civic Center venue. In an introduction before Obama’s speech, Thomas said Obama was invited as “one of ours” to provide reflections on “how personal faith can be lived out in the public square, how personal faith and piety is reflected in the life of public service.” Thomas said the IRS’s investigation implies that Obama, a UCC member, is not free to speak openly to fellow UCC members about his faith. “The very fact of an IRS investigation, however, is disturbing,” Thomas said. “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 that seeks to encourage politicians and church members to thoughtfully relate their personal faith to their public responsibilities.” Don Clark, a Chicago attorney who serves as the UCC’s national special counsel, said the IRS investigation will afford the UCC the opportunity to correct “inaccuracies and misperceptions.” “It’s disconcerting, since the IRS did not communicate with us, or seek any facts from us, in advance of their coming to this understanding,” Clark said. “But we feel confident that once they are made aware of the facts that they’ll draw a different conclusion. “This inquiry will provide an opportunity for the United Church of Christ to correct any factual inaccuracies and misperceptions that may have prompted the underlying concern, and to reaffirm the importance of the constitutional rights of free speech and association that have been implicated,” Clark said… Heck, Mr. Obama even used a video of this speech on his campaign site: And of course he (and Mrs. Clinton) have also campaigned (ahem) religiously in churches across the country throughout the race. So it’s about damn time somebody at the IRS noticed.