Examiner Editorial: Liberals ready to use government power against Tea Party

Sen. Chuck Schumer's endorsement of President Obama's use of the IRS to target and harass Tea Party, conservative and evangelical nonprofits is further evidence that many contemporary liberals are comfortable using government power to squelch political opponents. They are even willing to steamroll one of America's most cherished rights -- freedom of speech -- to thwart people with views contrary to their own. Speaking to the Center for American Progress last week, Schumer decried the Tea Party's influence on House Republicans and declared that “there are many things that can be done administratively by the IRS and other government agencies -- we must redouble those efforts immediately.”

Read more at the Washington Examiner Read More......

David Barton: No need for pastors to fear IRS

ONENEWSNOW, 10/14/2010 by Becky Yeh - A Christian constitutional expert thinks the Internal Revenue Service's lack of response to a recent initiative shows there is no longer any reason for pastors to be silent on political issues when standing behind the pulpit (See earlier story).

Current law prohibits pastors from speaking on politics or endorsing a political candidate, but David Barton of WallBuilders says the IRS's intimidation of removing a church's tax exemption status is unconstitutional. Even though some pastors have intentionally crossed the line, Barton does not think the IRS wants to take them to court because it may lose.

"The IRS doesn't have any interest in doing this because if they do, I believe they know they are going to lose. And if they lose, you have 370,000 pastors in America who suddenly find out that there's no restriction on them," Barton suggests.

The WallBuilders president explains that churches are guaranteed tax exemption status under the Constitution, but he believes many pastors are afraid to speak about politics because they fear they will lose their letter of tax exemption.

"You cannot lose your tax exemption as a church because as a church, you have a constitutional standing for tax exemption," he points out. "So with that basis, losing your letter means absolutely nothing -- and that's something pastors are now figuring out."

Barton argues that the pulpit was and should continue to be the news perspective for America, so he encourages all pastors to speak out and stand for truth. Read More......

Liberals plot to ‘Turn off Fox News’ in public places

Say you are ‘drinking liberally’ in a bar and out of the corner of your eye, an insidious FOX logo keeps floating across the screen. ∴ Yeah, you could ask the bartender to change the channel, but why not convince the manager to ban the Fox News channel altogether? Read more about this plot to silence Fox News at the San Francisco Examiner... Read More......

WSJ: Court Tosses Out FCC Rules to Curb Indecent Speech

A federal appeals court threw out the FCC's rules on indecent speech Tuesday, in a big win for broadcasters that could lead to a new Supreme Court test of the government's power to control what is said on television and radio. Read more at Wall Street Journal... Read More......

AIM: Save Savage Nation

From BCRW December 2007 posts
AIM Urges Action to Save "The Savage Nation" Radio Talk Show

WASHINGTON, December 10, 2007 -- Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid is urging Americans nationwide to contact the companies which have been identified as dropping advertisements from The Savage Nation radio program featuring Michael Savage. The ultimate question, Kincaid said in a recent column, is: “Will Sharia law or the First Amendment prevail in the U.S.? The fate of Michael Savage will provide the answer.”

Savage is being accused of making anti-Islam comments and has been found guilty of “hate speech” by a radical Muslim group that calls itself the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). As part of this campaign, CAIR has urged advertisers to drop their support of the show. But experts say that CAIR is attempting to impose Islamic-style Sharia law on the U.S. “This is a religious test being applied to talk show hosts and it is un-American,” Kincaid said.

The companies are Citrix Systems, Inc., Trusted I.D., Office Max, JCPenney, AutoZone, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Universal Orlando Resorts, and Sears. These companies may not understand, Kincaid said, that they are being used and exploited in a campaign to impose Sharia law in the U.S. “They must be urged to reinstate their advertising on The Savage Nation and proclaim their support of the First Amendment,” Kincaid said.

As for CAIR, Kincaid said that the organization “pretends not to understand the American tradition of free expression and political liberty. Its apparent preference for Sharia law in the United States must be exposed and stopped. Those companies which have bowed to its pressure campaign against Michael Savage should be educated -- and quickly -- about the need to resist the imposition of Islamic-style foreign law on America.”

“It is entirely proper for Americans to boycott U.S. products, services and personalities in order to make a political point,” Kincaid went on to say. “But this case involves a special interest group with foreign connections that wants to place its own holy book, which itself contains many hateful utterances, above well-established American traditions and principles. We must do everything in our power to stop them. Our Constitution hangs in the balance.”

Download contact information for companies here.

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Left: Hypocrites

Flopping Aces (Blog), September 5, 2007 posted by Todd Anthony

[...] We’ve heard for years now that President Bush, Vice President Cheney and his hoards of neocons have used stormtrooper-like tactics to usurp the Constitution, thus creating a police-state (I can’t make this stuff up). “Respected” media institutions like the New York Times, in a outright act of sedition, exposed a secret NSA electronic wiretapping program in 2005.

Yet, in one of the most frightening forms of legislation ever witnessed, we’ve seen the Democrats attempt to stifle free speech with HR 192, prepared for presentation to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. This bill, essentially, would stifle free RELIGIOUS speech. According to Brad Dacus, as cited in World News Daily, “the misuse of "hate crimes" laws that give those claiming "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" discrimination special legal rights, pointing out that such a maneuver recently was used, as WND has reported, by the Hindu American Foundation to label a long list of Christian ministry websites who promote Christian beliefs and offer the choice of those beliefs to those involved in other religions as "hate speech." Continued...

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HB 2893: Trampling on Free-Speech

At the request of the AFL-CIO, Rep. Michael Schaufler (D-Happy Valley, Dist. 48) sponsored House Bill 2893 with 10 additional representatives (all Democrats) and 6 senators as co-sponsors . As described, the bill prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings or participate in communications concerning the employer's opinion about religious or political matters (see the full bill here).

A religious group lobbying against the bill argued that, as written, it was so sweeping in scope that it could even bring about a ban on the opening prayer in the legislature. Democrats argued that this was not so thought they could not demonstrate how this tradition would not be affected. Others called the bill a blatant infringement on free-speech.

On April 18, 2007 by a straight party-line vote, 100% of the House Democrats carried the measure 31-27 with 2 Republicans excused.

Senate Schedule for HB 2893:
04/19 (S) - First reading. Referred to President's desk.
04/24 (S) - Referred to Commerce.
05/09 (S) - Public Hearing held.
05/31 (S) - Work Session scheduled cancelled.
(Check here for current status: Click House Bill, enter 2893 and then click 'search')
Update: Oregon AFL-CIO drops prayer provision in bill (See May 8, 2007 Oregonian article.)

No question the bill still faces opposition, where it's scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. Employers argue that employees want to know how particular legislation or ballot measure could affect their business. This bill would prohibit all such communications, either through mandatory meetings or letters stuffed with payroll checks.

Besides HB 2893, the Senate committee will also hear fellow labor-friendly house bills 2891 and 2892. HB 2891 would make it easier for unions to organize by striking a second round of ballots; HB 2892 would prohibit state contractors from using public money and public buildings to promote or deter organizing efforts.

All were introduced at the request of the AFL-CIO.

Find your legislators here if you'd like to let them know what you think or have any questions about this bill. Read More......