I hate to say this, but it seems to me that you need to file whatever it is you are going to file now I'll be interested to see what comes of it-nothing good, I believe. I don't expect any organization to release details of internal investigations. You've read as much as the press is likely to publish about what actually happened. You are a federal taxpayer, I assume, so perhaps you have standing. What precisely do you expect to hear that you make you stand down and not file?
_____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2007 4:47 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [UC] Tom Fenton on ABC News In a message dated 5/24/2007 4:27:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I think Sharrif already answered that very well. UCD's accountable to the people who are paying for it to exist. It's a private entity. In order for it to be beholden to "the people who live in the area bounded by the UCD" it would have to be funded by the public. Until that time, they can do whatever they feel like as long as their funders are happy and don't stop sending checks. With respect to political activity, that's incorrect. As a 501-(c)-3 operation, UCD is tax exempt and therefore is getting support from the taxpayers as a group. The IRS has strict rules prohibiting partisan politics, the violation of which can not only take away the tax exemption but make them liable for back taxes and penalties. We're talking about a serious issue here, and big bucks. Thiose rules are there for a reason, and have been in place long enough to have been honed by experience -- including judicial decisions. The "non-profit" and "not-for-profit" sector is neither the "public" nor the "private" sector, but something in between. The managers of organizations in the non-profit sector have an obligation to ensure that they strictly follow the tight constraints under which they operate without paying taxes, and therefore get indirect support from those who do. Wendell Lewis may try to shove this off onto John Fenton and make a scapegoat or sacrificial lamb of the guy. But Wendell is ultimately responsible for operating the organization in such a way that this serious infraction (serious as defined by the IRS) could happen -- if indeed it did happen as the reports appear increasingly strongly to indicate. And, of course, the reason I'm being such a nit-picker about it has to do with the fact that it exposes the potential for abuse the NONID faction has been pointing out since long before the NID initiative got onto the table. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny _____ See what's free at AOL.com <http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503> .
