Well like the good father says, "it's all about the Benjamins," which I guess is proof he understands street slang, and he understands what "snuff out" means among his (can you call a gaggle or a pack a "flock"?)
So what about the Benjamins, Mike? And why shouldn't your ability to apparently exploit tax laws the rest of us are forced to obey be snuffed out?
What am I talking about? Well, Mike's "church," St. Sabina, is a 501(c)(3) corporation.
That means, as a church, it's exempt from filing taxes, and contributions are tax deductible. But that also means, in order to qualify for this exemption, certain conditions must be adhered to. Per IRS Publication 557, Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization, Chapter 3. Section 501(c)(3), "Application for Recognition of Exemption":
The organization will not, as a substantial part of its activities, attempt to influence legislation (unless it elects to come under the provisions allowing certain lobbying expenditures)...When we look at the section on "Lobbying Expenditures," it says:
In general, if a substantial part of the activities of your organization consists of carrying on propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, your organization’s exemption from federal income tax will be denied.
Father Mike's monomaniacal "crusade" against people being able to protect themselves was evidenced not only by his appearance at the rally, not only in his pledge to continue harassing lawful businesses and the citizens who operate and patronize them, and not only by a history of disarmament advocacy (Google search terms "Michael Pfleger" gun).
All one really needs to do is look at the St. Sabina webpage:
He certainly doesn't make much effort to separate "Gun Legislation to Support in Illinois" from the rest of the church's mission, does he?
And what legislation would that be? Why don't we take a look:
What are those 501(c)(3) restrictions again?
But wait--there's more. We also see a link for "The Beloved Community, Inc." which a little searching also reveals to be a 501 (c)(3) for which contributions are tax deductible:
It might not be out of line to ask why they're listed as the "bullet" (hah!) for:
Save Our Children - STOP Gangs - Killing - Guns - Drugs - What Can I Do? Download the flier and Stop signespecially since they answered "NO" on their 2005 Form 990, Part III, "Statement About Activities," question 1:
During the year, has the organization attempted to influence national, state or local legislation, including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter or referendum?
(I could present a picture of the form in question here, but that would violate the terms of use for the information source--but the IRS will know where to find it.)
But it probably doesn't matter anyway--because the links to the information and fliers are dead (but curiously, went to St. Sabina webpages anyway, not to the "Beloved Community" site.)
Fortunately, we have one of my favorite resources, The Wayback Machine, that archived the page in question. From it, you can download their flier:
You can print out their sign:
You can "Call legislators and tell them to pass common sense gun laws..." (How very compliant with 501(c)(3) restrictions!)
You can call the anonymous hotline (paid for with tax deductible contributions?)!
And you can even get "REWARDS!"
We will offer rewards to people who call in to our anonymous hotline 773-483-HELP (4357) and give us information that leads to finding and getting guns out of our community.Hmm. I wonder if the funds for those were taken from tax deductible donations to the church, and how much was paid out?
These are just rhetorical questions I'm asking, mind you. I personally could never sic the IRS on anyone, as I view the entire agency to be a usurpation and a betrayal of the intent of the Founders. My purpose in posting this was merely to point out some questions that deserve to be answered.
Of course, were someone from the government to use this information and "snuff out" Mike Pfleger's ability to apparently circumvent rules the rest of us must follow, well...
23 comments:
Wow, David--you nailed that one!
Thanks for the link, by the way.
Funny thing about the Catholic Church -- everyone (yes, even His Holiness, the Pope) is accountable to someone else. In the case of the "good father", that someone would be His Eminence, Cardinal Francis Eugene George, Archbishop of the Diocese of Chicago -- who's office can be contacted here: http://www.archchicago.org/contact.shtm
I wonder what his Eminence will think when he sees what one of his priests is preaching...
I'll be writing them a nice, long e-mail in a bit, with links to your post, David.
If anyone else wants to do the same, well, who am I to stop you?
--Cousin G.
He may be a Catholic priest, but he sure as fuck is no Christian.
You're welcome 45s--thanks for alerting me to this. And thanks for spreading the word on all those forums. I appreciate the kind sentiments.
Cousin G--His "Eminence" wasn't very eminent when he ordered Pfleger transferred back in '02 and Mikey refused to go--even threatened to quit the church and take his parishioners with him--he got "the community" involved and Cardinal George backed down. So much for the Church exercising authority over its own.
This guy is a punk of the 1st order--defacing signs for alcohol and tobacco--and then his "community" jury nullified the law because Mikey claimed moral authority to vandalize.
What I equate this to is Marxist thuggery along the lines of Hugo Chavez--if Pfleger had the power, I wouldn't expect to see anything different.
Anyway, feel free to share your email if you want me to post it--although it will surprise me if the Archbishop will have the stones to do anything about this.
And straightarrow--blunt and to the point as usual, I see...
maybe someone will look into it, if only for infringing on their territory.
So much for the Church exercising authority over its own.
And it looks, according to
this story, as if that trend is to continue.
James Accurso, a spokesman for the Chicago Archdiocese, said he was not aware of the rally or Pfleger's participation in it until after it took place Saturday.
He told Cybercast News Service that the church had no plans to take disciplinary action against Pfleger.
"If the reports are accurate and he did make a threat - and we're not certain of that - we feel this should be handled by the civil authorities," Accurso said.
The article also tells of Pfleger's minions using the predictable "he didn't know what 'snuff' means" defense.
Excellent, David. I'll post on this right now with link.
Thanks BG.
This is the climate we face in "The Peoples Republic of Illinois". Hypocrisy is just business as usual in Chicago and Illinois. Even as an Illinois native, I often regret moving back from Texas, but at the same time, glad to be in the fight for our rights. My advice to other constitutional supporters is to avoid this state or come help me in our fight to maintain our rights.
Let me say this first,"Str8arrow" It sounds like you're an expert on that... I've read the comments on this page and a few questions came to mind. One,how many of the people posting has ever been to that area in Chicago? I mean everybody is speaking as if they have first hand knowlege about the whole situation.Now correct me if I'm wrong,but "Mikey" didn't go to the gunshop by himself. There were a bunch of people...FROM THAT AREA...that were with him,including the lady who's son was shot in the head on a CTA bus,trying to protect someone.Has anyone made the effort to call "Mikey's" church and find out firsthand why he used such foul language?? I'll put money on it...ya didn't...and ya won't. Can you name one person who's speaking up for the families who LIVE in that urban jungle? Why would anyone do THAT!!?! It's not MY problem. It takes courage to approach someone you don't understand.Even if you don't agree with them,when you "snuff" 'em out you can do so with self gained intelligence,and not someone elses opinion who's agenda you have no knowlege of.Uhh,David...you sound like a Burger King CME church member. You want it your way,and attend church on Christmas,Mother's Day,and Easter. This Pfleger guy shouldn't be so disrespectful of the law!! I can tell by everything YOU blogged that you've been to Mikey's church several time. YOU GOT FIRST HAND KNOWLEGE ABOUT THIS JERK!!!...Yeah,right..and there are WMD's in Iraq.Defacing signs for Alcohol,and tobacco!!??! How rude!! He shouldn't have done that.However,M.A.D.D.,and truth.inc,saw the move as radical,and encouraged him...along with those poor,uneducated,savages that go to his church. Yes indeed we have our rights to bear arms because you KNOW that we have to protect ourselves from people like those gangbangers. By the way,you know who else is pissed with Pfleger? Those rappers!! You know like SnoopDogg,and 50cent?! Yeah,THOSE thugs are mad at Pfleger too! Why!!? You wouldn't understand. But have a good one!! Keep shootin'!!!(smile)
Oh yeah,I chose the blog name to fit in with the surroundings...
Oh, look, an anoymous troll speaking of courage.
Yawn.
Source: Online Compendium of Federal and State Regulations for U.S. Nonprofit Organizations
http://paperglyphs.com/nporegulation/lobbying.html
Which 501(c)(3) Organizations May Elect to Lobby Under 501(h)?
IRC 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are permitted to lobby beyond an "insubstantial" degree only if they elect to qualify under IRC 501(h) by submitting IRS Form 5768, and obey the associated laws and regulations. However, not all IRC 501(c)(3) organization are permitted to make that election. The only organizations that may elect to lobby under IRC 501(h) are those described in IRC:
* Section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) (relating to educational institutions),
* Section 170(b)(1)(A)(iii) (relating to hospitals and medical research organizations),
* Section 170(b)(1)(A)(iv) (relating to organizations supporting government schools),
* Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (relating to organizations publicly supported by charitable contributions),
* Section 509(a)(2) (relating to organizations publicly supported by admissions, sales, etc.), or
* Section 509(a)(3) (relating to organizations supporting certain types of public charities) [except that for purposes of this subparagraph, section 509(a)(3) shall be applied without regard to the last sentence of section 509(a)].
and which are not:
* (A) Described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(i) (relating to churches),
* (B) An integrated auxiliary of a church or of a convention or association of churches, or
* (C) A member of an affiliated group of organizations (within the meaning of section 4911(f)(2)) if one or more members of such group is described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
In summary, only certain classes of public charity may elect to qualify under IRC 501(h) and therefore engage in a substantial amount of lobbying activity. Religious institutions, their auxiliaries and affiliates, and private foundations do not qualify under IRC 501(h) and therefore are prohibited from more than an insubstantial amount of lobbying.
So in summary, had Pfleger merely spoken out against guns, I wouldn't be raising this issue, but would have gone after him with gun advocay arguments.
But he devotes and has devoted considerable effort toward promoting specific legislation, and beyond that, has threatened to take his organization and followers and not just "snuff out" the gun shop owner, but also to snuff and intimidate legislators who don't vote his way--using his following as the means to back up his political demands.
"So in summary, had Pfleger merely spoken out against guns, I wouldn't be raising this issue,
"but would have gone after him with gun advocay arguments."...
THAT'S the REAL issue. One guy is concerned about guns killing kids. There have been 28 murders of school kids in Chicago THIS summer.They weren't strangled,or sliced.They were killed in SHOOTINGS!! Not that YOU care anything about kids dying because "It's not MY kid,and not MY problem..." No it's not your problem...until it hits YOUR house. THEN it'll be an issue."OH!! we MUST find the jerk that shot my kid and fry 'em!!" Another thing,Jesse Jackson is a preacher too!! Why aren't you puking on him too!!? Is it because Pfleger happens to be a white man addressing an issue that's not our problem. I mean,we don't have a gang problem in our neighborhoods. I wouldn't have a problem with your "opinion" if you had a intellegent...or ANY solution to the problem of these kids gitting killed.It seems that all you're worried about is huntig season,and "..the right to bear arms.." . If I'm going to destroy a person for a view I don't agree with,at least I'd have a different solution to the issue. No alternative leaves your argument incomplete. In America the right to protest has come under fire.This guy can't protest issues that affect the actual lives of people in his neighborhood,but you can raise hell over an issue of convience without threat.
I own a house,and a Master's Degree...Trolls live under bridges.
Go ahead, Whitehood!
Man, what are these idiots on? Alternate reality pills? "Take the blue pill, Neo." I love when people opinionate about dangerous issues from a safe distance. And when they read other folks' opinions and become all righteously indignated. Because we all know they know firsthand what they are talking about, right. They're in the hood every day, speaking their minds on the street corners against Father Pfleger, and on the rights of those poor gun shop owners. And of course, they do it without police protection or the media. And without a gun. But even if they did do that, they then get to go back to the relative "safety" of their "hoods". Hoods...hah. I made a funny. But still, you gotta love dem folks that live in those horrible crime ridden neighborhoods like Lake Geneva, or Crystal Lake, or Flossmoor, or North Shore...no disrespect meant to any real, caring citizens of those areas, who are actively trying to make a difference in places other than their posh surroundings.
Tell you what, straightarrow and "David Codrea"...real name, right? When I see you on the nine o'clock news, taking a bullet for a poor girl in the line of fire from an illegally sold gun, or greiving for the loss of your only child to gang crossfire, or even showing your face and speaking your mind in person with those you believe are in the wrong about this, I will respect your opinion. Because with all the nice rules and laws that you like to bring up as fodder against Father Pfleger, guess what? There are no rules that neatly protect children in the inner city. And no one else who's willing to enforce them if there were ones that work. Police? Many do their best, some don't. Legislators? Not hardly. Teachers? Pretty busy trying to teach AND stay alive in inner city schools. So, it has always been, and always will be the job, the mission, the desire of the Church, to stand and fight for it's congregation, it's neighborhood, and anybody else who doesn't have a voice loud enough to be heard. St. Sabina has been about that from the very beginning. And NOBODY has taken up the mantle better than Father Pfleger. I'm speaking from fristhand knowledge, cause I don't live in Fantasyland, USA.
. . . "David Codrea"...real name, right?
So--David Codrea is a pseudonym? I bet your family will be surprised, eh, David?
And CG Whitehood/Not the Neo said...’s point would be … what? Even if they are not the same troll (after all, most leftist trolls sound the same), once you cut through the bluster, there’s nothing left. Oh, there are some assumptions, but they are variously hypocritical, dishonest, violative of the constitutional rights of people whom the troll and Fr. Pfleger disagree with, empirically irrelevant to the argument, and racist.
Merely turning down the volume and revealing those assumptions shows how indefensible they are.
1. Only people from St. Sabina’s parish may talk about the problem of gun violence in that parish, Second Amendment rights, or criticize Fr. Pfleger. Does that mean that the troll, other leftists, or people from the parish will remain silent regarding those issues elsewhere? Of course, not! (BTW, we have no reason to believe that the troll lives in the parish or has ever even been there.) Only people from St. Sabina’s and their sympathizers from elsewhere have First Amendment rights;
2. Fr. Pfleger is not obliged to obey any laws that he feels impinge on his ability to represent his constituency;
3. People’s Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and to legally sell arms may be violated with impunity;
4. Whenever a minority child gets shot in St. Sabina’s parish, it is due to a white gun shop owner deliberately selling a weapon illegally.
Violating people’s Second Amendment rights has never led to a reduction in gun crimes. On the contrary, it usually leads to more gun crimes, as the law-abiding public is disarmed, while criminals are not.
The insinuation or outright claim that crooked gunshop owners are responsible for inner city shootings is a lie, pure and simple. It is also a piece of racist rhetoric that seeks to absolve violent, predominantly minority criminals of responsibility for their crimes, and instead blame innocent, majority white gunshop owners.
In case someone says that it is unfair to hold up some anonymous troll as representative of Fr. Pfleger, first of all, if the troll can post moronic statements, I can eviscerate them. Secondly, as I have previously shown, Fr. Pfleger’s logical capabilities are no better than the troll’s.
http://geocities.com/nstix/
obamafaith.html
And by the way, Fr. Pfleger has no constituency. He has a congregation. If he seeks a constituency, he needs to run for office. He is abusing his role as spiritual shepherd, which makes him corrupt as a politician, and corrupt as a priest.
Nicholas Stix
The interpretations of the 501c-3 rules are way off here. You really need to dig a little deeper. In short there are two different ways charitable organizations can declare their lobbying activities to the IRS. It is correct in the fact that Church's can not use the section that was pulled related to the substantial activity test. There is a second test that churches use, which does not require a separate filing document. They have a legal right to lobby, but there are limits to amount of time and resources related to the rest of their budget. Fr. Pfleger is a Catholic and if you look at the website for the US Catholic Conference of Bishops, you will also see many direct and indirect lobbying messages. Do your research before posting crap like this and making assertions about someone breaking the law.
Right--an anonynmous poster comes in with unsubstantiated opinion, ignores the research not just on this page but in related posts.
Your argument seems to be the Catholic church gets away with "direct" lobbying so that settles it? Hey, so do a lot of nonprofits--but Americans United for separation of Church and State come unglued and sic the IRS on a fundamentalist who tells his congregation that Mormonism is satanic, and thus a vote for Romney is evil. If he can't do that, why should Pfleger be able to devote substantial resources, obtained through tax-deductible contributions--to lobbying for specific legislation and supporting candidates like Obama using his title and parish in his endorsment?
Why aren't you accusing the Separatists of "crap"? I think it may be because much of it is coming from you.
In all fairness, he probably meant "rub out". You know, what he does on the faces of altar boys after Sunday services.
You should NOT make a comment about someone if you don't know the someone personally.
What, you mean like Snuffy Pfleger telling a mob to "Snuff out John R-I-G-G-I-O"?
Phuck Pfleger. I've written him and explained why he's a schmuck and memtioned I'd like "5 minutes alone with him".
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