West was a conservative from FL who was a Col. in the Army. He had to get some info out of a captured Islamic fighter and made the mistake of threatening to kill him. Saved his troops, but got discharged from the Army.
It doesn't surprise me in the least. And your constructive criticism about posting links is good too and I'll try to do more of that. Here is what the garbage district looks like, but my daughter says nothing can capture the smell.
And, of course, if you have been paying attention, you know I am against all tax write- offs for charitable deductions. You are quite right about the fundraising done by many 501(c)(3)s. The United Way after 9/11 is a good example. The best defense of this position that I know of is by Alan Keyes who ran against Obama for the Senate in IL (I think). That is one reason I believe that people who support a particular charity, particularly in 3rd world countries, should actually go and take part themselves in the mission of the charity.
I have three ministers in my family, and I constantly ask them if it is charity if you can write off 70% of the donation which was the effective income tax rate for much of my youth. It was also the estate/gift tax rate until relatively recently.
If charities are worthy, plenty of people will support them, and I believe find joy in the giving. If churches want to preach against, say, abortion, the leverage that the government has comes from the tax deductibility of the collections. My attitude is "Why grant the government that kind of power over you?" or maybe "If you lie down with dogs, you get fleas."
I agree with you, and that should be no surprise if you've been paying attention. But why not increase the force of your argument with some facts? Overall, if you trigger someone's bullshit meter enough times, you're gonna end up fact-checked regularly. Not sure what else you'd expect.
And, of course, if you have been paying attention, you know I am against all tax write- offs for charitable deductions. You are quite right about the fundraising done by many 501(c)(3)s. The United Way after 9/11 is a good example. The best defense of this position that I know of is by Alan Keyes who ran against Obama for the Senate in IL (I think). That is one reason I believe that people who support a particular charity, particularly in 3rd world countries, should actually go and take part themselves in the mission of the charity.
I have three ministers in my family, and I constantly ask them if it is charity if you can write off 70% of the donation which was the effective income tax rate for much of my youth. It was also the estate/gift tax rate until relatively recently.
If charities are worthy, plenty of people will support them, and I believe find joy in the giving. If churches want to preach against, say, abortion, the leverage that the government has comes from the tax deductibility of the collections. My attitude is "Why grant the government that kind of power over you?" or maybe "If you lie down with dogs, you get fleas."
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