larry
>From this morning's Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43774-2004Aug5.html
Falwell on 'Thugs' and Taxes
By Brian Faler
Friday, August 6, 2004; Page A06
Jerry Falwell says he has had it with "left-wing thugs."
The Christian right leader said he is tired of being accused by civil
liberties groups of abusing his ministry's tax-exempt status just
because he has a few things to say about the direction of the country.
So this year, he's fighting back. Falwell told the Associated Press he
intends to organize a conference in September to explain to
conservative preachers what they can and cannot say about the nation's
politics, without threatening their tax-exempt status. Churches that
enjoy such tax breaks must abide by certain restrictions on their
political activities and advocacy.
"Because this is an election year and because of the controversy over
the right of churches to be involved in moral and social issues, we
will have constitutional attorneys there to explain to pastors what
they may and may not do," Falwell told the AP. "We're going to be
careful not to break the law, but we are also going to be careful not
to be intimidated by left-wing thugs, not to let them intimidate
evangelical pastors into silence."
Don't expect Barry Lynn to attend. The executive director of Americans
United for Separation of Church and State -- a group that complained
last month that Falwell was promoting President Bush's candidacy --
issued a statement mocking the proposed conference. Noting that
Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour" was fined in the 1980s for its
political activities, Lynn said: "The scriptures say, if the blind
lead the blind, they both will fall into the ditch. Or in this case,
into the hands of the IRS."
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