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The Pew Charitable Trusts are actually made up of 7 individual charitable trusts established by the family of Sun Oil founder Joseph Pew that were consolidated into a single IRS designated "Public Charity" in 2004. And they were designated as IRS designated 501c(3) "Independent Foundations" when this sham campaign was formed. What does that mean? It means they broke the law, as an organization designated by the IRS as a tax-exempt charitable organization may NOT engage in lobbying or other such political manuvering. It would also seem that they may have also violated IRS charitable disbursement requirements. Based on this, the IRS would be justified in looking into Pew to determine if this is organization should lose it’s tax-exempt status and recieve a new designation (527 perhaps)
Written By: shark URL: http:// |
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I’m really not surprised by this. It’s a natural progression of
lobbying and does anyone really think this is the first time this sort
of manipulation has occurred? Or that it will be the last? The root problem is that not enough voters think for themselves. Too many people are too willing to defer to perceived experts and authority. They are lazy, complacent, and willfully ignorant. Fix that and all this bullshit goes away. How to fix it, I don’t know. I’ve heard more money for public schools will fix everything. Written By: David Andersen URL: http:// |
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It’s a natural progression of lobbying and does anyone really think this is the first time this sort of manipulation has occurred
Let them lobby on their own dime. These organizations recieve LUCRATIVE tax breaks to conduct CHARITABLE activities, not political ones. And not just Pew, other organizations mentioned in the article like Carnegie and Soros also routinely cross that line. It’s a disgrace....
Written By: shark URL: http:// |
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I agree with you Shark. I don’t mean it’s an acceptable progression of lobbying when I say natural, just that it’s unsurprising and expected, given the nature of the power structure and human nature. I think the bastards should go to prison for breaking the law, not just have their tax-exempt status revoked. Written By: David Andersen URL: http:// |
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Personally, I’m annoyed at the media for not following the money when
this was under consideration, which now makes me annoyed at the 3
official and 1 unofficial branches of government over their handling of
McCain Feingold. Written By: Jody URL: polyscifi.blogspot.com |
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Personally, I’m annoyed at the media for not following the money when
this was under consideration." The MSM had a compelling interest in CFR because it exempts them. They had no incentive to expose anything that would harm its passage. I’m think that - as well as laziness, ideology, and lax morality - explains 90%+ of the reason the money was not followed. Written By: David Andersen URL: http:// |
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And the politicians had a compelling interest in protecting their
incumbency. Just because I understand what motivated their actions
(which I think you list nicely), it doesn’t mean that I’m not annoyed
by their actions. Written By: Jody URL: polyscifi.blogspot.com |
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Quite galling that the very interest groups promoting stricter campaign
finance reforms were themselves violating the existing laws governing
lobbying regulations on tax-exempt nonprofits. IRS guidelines for 501c(3) group lobbying: http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=120703,00.html Are any commenters aware of the complaint process one would need to go through to get the IRS to look into this case? Written By: Anonymous URL: http://www.qando.net |
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Jody, pardon. I didn’t mean to imply you shouldn’t be annoyed. I’d say annoyed is a bit too mild, if anything. Written By: David Andersen URL: http:// |
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David - no offense was taken (my apologies if it came off that way). "Annoy" is probably too weak a term for most people, but I tend to understate my emotions. Written By: Jody URL: polyscifi.blogspot.com |
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Journalists don’t seem to know google, but maybe they need to get familiar with www.activistcash.com
Or even a check of foundation tax returns at www.guidestar.org Or a check of grants lists at www.foundationcenter.org Or on the goddamn Pew Trusts website.
Written By: shark URL: http:// |
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Frankly I’m somewhat surprised the media (or at least TV) didn’t follow the money more closely since (in theory) advertising dollars were on the line. For broadcasters every other October brings a bonanza which must be like watching manna fall from heaven. Written By: Anonymous URL: http://www.qando.net |
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