more facts. Check out especially Part 6. ! Enjoy! http://www.propublica.org/article/six-facts-lost-in-irs-scandal
I think the original propublica link I posted. The one with all the juicy details, may have been taken down for legal reasons. Can anyone still access it? I can't. This is the link I am referring to: http://www.propublica.org/article/h...-public-welfare I'm guessing this is the Propublica post where they included names of organizations whose applications had not yet been approved by the IRS. (Propublica made the decision to redact financial data for these. They wouldn't have known to do that had they not figured out that these few applications the IRS was not supposed to have given them because they had not been approved yet. Once they are approved they are in the public domain.) This may be an IRS screw-up that explains why that particular IRS employee from the Cincinnati office was reported as planning to take the 5th. If so, this is a matter unconnected to the issue of the IRS questioning these groups applying as "social welfare organizations".
I've got the link working now. This is the original article with all the detail. http://www.propublica.org/article/h...lions-on-elections-and-call-it-public-welfare They look the same, but this link works and the one above doesn't. It was a problem associated with copying the link from one post to another.
You seem sincere, so I am just going to assume you are incredibly naive. One goal of Obama, Soros and the thugs who work for them is to silence opposition or if that is not possible, to imitmidate their opponents into withholding financial support. One way of doing that is by getting the names of large donors, who then can be subjected to pressure campaigns. The law is that donors to these 501c(4) groups can remain anonymous. The left acts like this is an outrage, but they didn't feel that way when the Supreme Court ruled that states could not force the NAACP to reveal its membership. The Court saw that allowing the names of people who support controversial groups to be made public has a chilling effect on exercise of First Amendment rights. It's the exact same reason most people post political commentary on the internet under assumed names. We know from repeated incidents that these concerns are not over blown. The cited article recounts a case of Target caving into pressure from gay activists over political contributions. Since the IRS scandal has surfaced, many people have come forward with credible accounts of being subjected to harrassment from not only the IRS but other government agencies after their political opposition to Obama became known. People from Chicago do not have to have this spelled out for them because it is standard operating procedure in the thuggish politics of that city. Every businessman doing business with the city knows the risks of not contributing to the right candidates. The IRS scandal has at least two dimensions. One is the pattern of targeted harrassment of Tea Party and like-minded groups, with the obvious goal being to deny them the ability to exercise First Amendment rights. The other is to use the IRS to leak sensitive information to liberal front groups like ProPublica, which then pass it on to other soros groups with less scruples about how it is used.
AAA - you need to be aware that when you address piezoe, you are addressing an educator, either of the public school system or a university (if memory serves) and someone who has been brainwashed, and brainwashed others for decades (again, if memory serves, piezoe has been around). He is unabashedly a defender of the administration, liberal policy and a Federal Reserve apologist. He is very strong on the surface of his talking points, but when you dig deep and expect him to back those assertions up with real world data - or to explain that data in specific context, he short circuits, and falls silent (as most like him do). However, he is not malicious, and is generally a cheery soul. He just wouldn't know truth if it kicked him in the gonads. Just thought you might like the background on this individual.
I'm not into any of the stuff you mention. I only care about facts, and the Propubilca site seems entirely unbiased and detailed. They solicit contributions from the public to fund their site. Have no political affiliation. Soros by the way is a champion of open government, meaning he thinks governments are best when they operate in the pubic eye, without secrecy or deception. So it makes sense to me that Propublica might be just the kind of organization that he would enthusiastically support. I don't know if he does. It doesn't matter. I put these links out here because I haven't seen anything else quite so detailed re the issue of 501(c)4 and what officially is required to qualify by IRS rules. (I suppose the IRS code has it all, but really, who wants to wade through that. These Propublica articles cut to the chase.)
You can't make this stuff up. I still believe piezoe is sincere. I respect the fact he doesn't descend into the ad hominem attacks so common for those on the left. The propublica site does a nice job of purporting to be non partisan. It's just that all the people they "expose" are conservatives. Must just be a big coincidence. Either that or they know who pays their bills. Soros.
Beltway, That's not really correct it seems.. Go to the sight and check it out. Click on "about us". Pretty interesting. The guy that started this outfit is apparently a former managing editor of WSJ. Not exactly left leaning. I think it is just about as balanced as you'll find anywhere. That's what I like about it. Very high standards with regard to writing, it seems. I'm really happy I found this site.