On Sept. 27, 2006 Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) introduced the Religious Freedom Act of 2006 (S. 3957), to protect houses of worship or meditation from losing their tax-exemption when they speak out on "public issues, election contests, and pending legislation made in a theological or philosophical context." Inhofe has introduced this legislation with the backdrop of recent IRS investigations into churches alleging that partisan politics was mixed into sermons. However, current law already allows religious organizations to discuss the issues of the day, but not to endorse or oppose candidates.

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.

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a specialized nonimmigrant visa, but was then informed by the U.S. Embassy in Bern, Switzerland that his visa had been revoked.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.

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.