California Churches Found to Have Donated to Political Campaigns

The LA Daily News reported that the nonprofit status of numerous houses of worship throughout California was put at risk when financial donations were given to political candidates that came from collection plates. These cases of campaign contributions clearly act as political campaign activity. Some church officials cited in the article claimed they were unaware of the problem until the candidate returned the money.

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Challenge to BCRA Dismissed

A lawsuit by the Christian Civic League of Maine (CCLM), challenging the electioneering communications provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was dismissed yesterday. CCLM argued that the provisions are unconstitutional; pertaining to an ad they wanted to air last spring, titled the "Crossroads." The ad identified Senator Snowe, a candidate in the June 13 primary. The court rejected the challenge because the ad campaign was on legislation that had already been voted on. Read the BNA Money & Politics (subscription required) story.

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Found To Have Not Supported Terrorism, Scholar Still Denied Visa

U.S. clears Tariq Ramadan of being a supporter of terrorism, but maintains that he will not be granted a visa. Ramadan is a highly regarded, leading Muslim scholar and currently a fellow at the University of Oxford. In January 2004, he was offered a position at the University of Notre Dame and was granted a specialized nonimmigrant visa, but was then informed by the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland that his visa had been revoked. This exemplifies a harsh consequence for giving to a charity with alleged connections to Hamas, before Hamas was designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

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Scarce Low-Income Voter Registration Opportunities in Ohio

An AP story reported that a federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland charges that Ohio’s Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and Barbara Riley, the Director of the Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requiring that voter registration opportunities are available in public assistance offices. Their research has found that low income Ohio citizens were not given assistance in registering to vote, especially in the most populous counties.

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Documented Influence

It is interesting to note that the Secret Service yesterday released White House visitor records of certain Republican activists, including Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Democratic National Committee (DNC). The Abramoff investigation indicates that lobbyists had access to the White House through conservative activists like Norquist and Reed.

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Photo ID Law Passes In House

This afternoon the House passed H.R.4844, the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006," which would require all citizens to present a photo ID when voting. After voters have faced wide spread trouble at the polls through the primary season caused by human errors or by voting machines, an additional barrier could be in place if this would become law. Many Americans, such as the elderly or those who do not drive might not easily be able to attain the proper identification.

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Congressmen Accurately React to IRS Political Activity Compliance Initiative (PACI)

On Monday September 18, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service expressing great concern over its Political Activity Compliance Initiative (PACI). They intently warn that the IRS initiative could be a harmful obstruction to an exempt organizations' capacity to discuss matters of public policy. They are asking that the IRS alter the political intervention rules to be clearly well defined for nonprofits.

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American Muslim Relief Group Faces FBI Investigation

Yesterday the FBI along with the Joint Terrorism Task Force raided the Southfield, Michigan offices of a well respected American Muslim relief organization, Life for Relief & Development. The search warrants were obtained for criminal reasons, but no further reasoning has been disclosed. The charity is cooperating with this investigation, but there is concern about its timing. In less than a week Ramadan will begin, an important time for donations that would normally rise during the holy month.

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An Insignificant Number of Black Churches Gain from Faith-Baised Initiative

After the establishment of President Bush's faith-based initiative program in 2002, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies recently conducted a survey of over 700 black churches, concluding that black churches have only been minimally affected. This is detrimental to a vital and successful source of social service programs, especially in the northeast. However, despite some political concern that churches which ideologically support Bush would overwhelmingly be helped, liberal churches were more likely to apply for the grants.

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A Pasadena California Church In Defense of 2004 Antiwar Sermon

The Internal Revenue Service informed the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena California that they have until September 29 to turn over all documents it produced during the 2004 election year that have references to any political candidate. In response to this investigation the rector will seek legal aid. All Saints came under IRS scrutiny shortly after Regas, the church's former rector, delivered a sermon that depicted Jesus in a mock debate with then-presidential candidates George W. Bush and John F. Kerry. The sermon did not endorse either candidate. . . .

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