Freedom

The Tax-Exempt Problem

501c3 Problems
In Bob Jones University v. United States (461 U.S. 574), the U.S. Supreme Court noted the following about the government’s intended purpose for the 501c3:

The Court asserts that an exempt organization must “demonstrably serve and be in harmony with the public interest,” must have a purpose that comports with “the common community conscience,” and must not act in a manner “affirmatively at odds with [the] declared position of the whole Government.”

Taken together, these passages suggest that the primary function of a tax-exempt organization is to act on behalf of the Government in carrying out governmentally approved policies.

State Worker Sues for Cubicle Censorship
SAN FRANCISCO -- A state government worker who alleges he was forced to remove Bible verses, a bumper sticker reading "Marriage: One Man, One Woman" and other religious or political items from the entrance of his office cubicle sued the California Department of Social Services Monday, claiming the action violated his First Amendment rights. Enoch Lawrence, who works as a disability evaluation analyst in the Roseville office of DSS, said in his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento that a supervisor told him the materials ran afoul of a two year-old department policy "prohibiting sexual harassment and unprofessional conduct." Lawrence received permission to repost the items, but only if they couldn't be seen by anyone passing by his workspace, according to the lawsuit. He was told that if he put the materials up again in public view, he could be fired for "willful disobedience and insubordination." The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian law firm that has successfully challenged the boundaries separating church from state, is representing Lawrence.

Teacher Quits After Refusing To Remove Commandments
MASON CITY, Iowa -- A five-year middle school band teacher in Mason City has resigned after refusing to remove religious items, including a poster of the Ten Commandments, from his classroom. Luke Miller said the poster, as ``well as a few other items'' of a religious nature were at the center of the discussion between him and district officials. The 35-year-old Miller said he was asked by the school administration to remove the items and he refused. He then resigned on August 20th. Superintendent Keith Sersland would not comment on the situation, except to confirm that Miller ``voluntarily resigned.''

Principal under fire for making references to God
Boca Raton -- When he speaks, Principal Geoff McKee says, he presents his true self: a man who prays to God. But to the dismay of several teachers, McKee has spoken of God at staff meetings at least three times since he became Boca Raton High School's principal a year ago. His attempt to start a Bible class for students also has made some parents question his devotion to religion-free public education.

University refuses to recognize Christian
fraternity for sticking to Christian membership
CHAPEL HILL, NC -- The Alliance Defense Fund filed suit today against officials of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on behalf of a Christian student fraternity. The university refused to recognize the fraternity because its leaders would not agree to a non-discrimination policy that would require the group to admit non-Christian members. “America’s universities are no longer the ‘marketplace of ideas,’” said ADF Senior Counsel Jordan Lorence. “The school is requiring the fraternity to admit people as members and officers who can undermine the fraternity’s very reason for existence. This is not like a ski club refusing to accept a minority student. Should a vegetarian club be required to grant membership and officer positions to meat-eaters?”

Appeals Court Gives Bible Monument a Reprieve
A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked a judge's order to remove a Bible from a monument outside a Harris County courthouse. A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a reprieve allowing the Bible to remain until all appeals are exhausted. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake had given the county until midnight Tuesday to remove the Bible from the monument outside the civil courthouse in downtown Houston.

Christians Withdraw Public Schools 'Immoral' Gibe
A Coffs Harbour private school has apologised for a pamphlet it distributed which questioned the value of public school education. The NSW Greens raised concerns about aspects of the Coffs Harbour Christian Community School leaflet, especially its description of state schools as "seed plots of future immorality, infidelity and lawlessness". The party called on the federal and state governments to suspend the school's $4 million public funding until the leaflet was withdrawn.

Dozens charged in spam, scam crackdown
Federal and state law enforcement agencies have quietly arrested or charged dozens of people with crimes related to junk e-mail, identity theft and other online scams in recent weeks, according to several people involved in the actions. The cases, which have been brought by law enforcement offices around the country, are expected to be announced by Attorney General John Ashcroft at a news conference in Washington on Thursday.

Microsoft slowly rolling on Service Pack 2 updates
Microsoft is starting to ramp up distribution of its massive security update for the Windows XP operating system. But analysts say they still expect the company to move at a relatively slow pace to avoid widespread glitches. With only a small percentage of users running Service Pack 2, analysts say they aren't seeing any unexpected problems so far. But some expect confusion to mount as more people begin installing the update.

Posted by Editor at August 26, 2004 03:48 PM