Youth Revolution, the self-proclaimed “Voice of a Christian Generation,” has issued an voters’ guide (.pdf). It doesn’t suggest how to vote outright, instead relying heavily on endorsements from a website called Pastorspicks.com—apparently the personal choices of Joseph Fuiten, a pastor at Cedar Park Church in Bothell—and listing the endorsements of local Democratic, Republican and “Pro-Abortion” organizations.
The “Pastor’s Picks” slate of candidates features exactly zero surprises. They recommend voting the opposite of those baby-murdering Obamaphiles. For instance, Youth Revolution wants voters to reject Referendum 71 (the “gay marriage” measure, according to Youth Revolution), vote to approve Initiative 1033 (because God wants you to have lower taxes), and a vote for Susan “Hutchinson” for King County Executive (just like the Seattle Times*).
But when it comes to hell-bound, heathen Seattle, they leave out all the races. Apparently not even Robert Rosencrantz, whose vague stance on abortion led NARAL Pro-Choice Washington to take the unusual step of endorsing his opponent, is far enough to the right for a mention. But they list the providential port races, showing endorsements for conservative candidates David Doud and Tom Albro**. Good to know God cares who oversees the airport.
* Please note — The Seattle Times‘ endorsement of Hutchison jibes with the the batshitcrazy, radical religious right.
** Please note — The Stranger‘s endorsement of Albro jibes with the the batshitcrazy, radical religious right.
I live in Bothell and it’s funny to think that I might be walking past one of these batshit crazy pastors on the street and not realize.
Who am I kidding, I’d probably recognize them immediately. There’s got to be some sort of brown bat shit aura exuding from them.
What a weird election for Washington. These seem more like choices for Texas or Alabama.
Voters will have the opportunity to choose two candidates who’re obvious corporate shills–with no public policy experience–hellbent on buying their offices (Mallahan, Hutchinson);
Whether to terminate government as we know it (I 1033) at a time when more people than ever are in desperate need of city, county and state services;
And finally, to take hateful stab at the GLBT community by telling us that we’re still unwelcome second-class citizens.
Blech.
So Albro has been endorsed by evangelical preachers, East Side Business Alliance, Builders United In Legislative Development (BUILD), King County Association of Realtors, ex-Senator Slade Gorton (Republican), ex-lands commissioner Doug Sutherland (Republican), developer Kemper Freeman who is funding the attack ads on Dow Constantine, Robert Wallace (David Doud’s employer and campaign supporter), Chamber of Commerce (Alki Foundation), Seattle Republicans, and.. the Stranger?
More on what you should know about Albro at http://tiny.cc/y9uL2.
In the United States of America today, churches and religious groups are treated with enormous sensitivity and deference by politicians and the media, a deference they have not earned. Far too often, the government and society in general bends over backwards to accommodate and encourage religious beliefs even when there is no rational reason why they should do so. The most egregious example of this is the sweeping tax exemptions granted to religion.
It is not just one tax that religious organizations are excused from paying, but an entire constellation of them. Clergy are exempt from federal taxes on housing and can opt out of Social Security and Medicare withholding. Religious employers are generally exempt from federal and state unemployment taxes, and in some states, religious publications are exempt from sales tax. Church benefit and retirement plans do not require the church employer to match its employees’ contributions. Churches are automatically exempted from filing annual public informational reports on their financial status and activities, and donations made to churches are eligible for income tax deductions. And, of course, the two major tax breaks: church groups do not have to pay income tax and do not have to pay taxes on property which they own.
Although there are a great many benefits which accompany becoming a tax exempt charitable trust, there is one significant drawback which has caused quite a bit of debate and not a few difficulties: a prohibition on political activity, specifically participation in political campaigns on behalf or any particular candidate.
It is important to understand that this prohibition does not mean that religious organizations and their officers are cannot speak out on any political, social, or moral issues. This is a common misconception which some have capitalized on for political purposes, but it is absolutely incorrect.
By not taxing churches, the government is prevented from directly interfering with how those churches operate. By the same token, those churches are also prevented from directly interfering with how the government operates in that they cannot endorse any political candidates, they cannot campaign on behalf of any candidates, and they cannot attack any political candidate such that the effectively endorse that person’s opponent.
What this means is that charitable and religious organizations which receive a 501(c)(3) tax exemption have a clear and simple choice to make: they can engage in religious activities and retain their exemption, or they can engage in political activity and lose it, but they cannot engage in political activity and retain their exemption.
It’s a gray rainy day and the world is filled with batshit crazy people right now.
Well, if Pastor Joseph Fuiten house burns down we’ll know it’s divine justice, won’t we?
p.s. Insurance companies don’t pay out for acts of God, just ask all those people who lost their houses to Hurricane Andrew.
Oh goody! An inverse voting guide.
So I was checking Google News as I do multiple times daily and I live in Bothell. So the Bothell news feed popped up with the offensive titled article which was this. It worked. The title grabbed my attention and I had to read despite how ghastly I find the Stranger.
“What this means is that charitable and religious organizations which receive a 501(c)(3) tax exemption have a clear and simple choice to make: they can engage in religious activities and retain their exemption, or they can engage in political activity and lose it, but they cannot engage in political activity and retain their exemption. “
Looks like someone needs to do their homework on the subject matter at hand. As a matter of fact you stated it yourself with, “What this means is that charitable and religious organizations….” If you go to the source of of this so called “voters guide”, you would notice the disclaimer at the bottom of the page which states “These are my personal recommendations. Neither the Church nor the denomination endorse candidates.” And yes, the disclaimer does protect the church and denomination because these are his PERSONAL opnions protected by the First Amendment which people like you try to use so much. http://www.pastorspicks.com” The source can be found here:
http://www.pastorspicks.com/PDF/2009Gene…
Looks like you have a clear choice: do your due diligence or shut up. You made a very elaborate post that probably took you 20 minutes to formulate but you failed miserably to make a point because you were wrong.
“And finally, to take hateful stab at the GLBT community by telling us that we’re still unwelcome second-class citizens.”
Who said you are second-class and unwelcome? You were never called “niggers” “negro” or “colored” as a part of popular culture. You never had to drink out of seperate fountains. You never had to urinate in seperate bathrooms. You were never dragged through the streets behind trucks, your houses were never firebombed. Homosexuals were never escorted to school by the National Guard to ensure they wouldn’t be murdered because of their skin color. Sure there are isolated cases of homosexuals being beaten or murdered, but I guarantee you theres far more heterosexuals murdered and beaten everyday, so what makes you so special?
The homosexual community has never had to live in fear as the black community did for many years in this country. Your fight is nothing like theirs, so stop comparing it as such. Just because you want tax exemption and medical benefits from civil union rights does not make your fight like that in which the blacks endured. That said, I believe homosexuals should be granted civil unions by the state and recognized as having the same medical and tax benefits that heterosexuals have access to.
You so called “liberals”, who hijacked the true definition of the word, have become so intolerant of religion, heterosexual marriage, and people with differing political opinions. You have been spoon-fed idiocy. You keep taking bites of it and continue to go back for more. Think for yourselves as individuals, not as a gang that needs to find a commonality with each other to attack an institution like religion. You dont believe in God? That’s your choice, but don’t bash my religion because you don’t agree. You may try to call me a hypocrite after the rest of my post, but I didn’t put down that which was factual and true, of which I didn’t find much.