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NOGODZ20's avatar

Tony Perkkkins bleats that Democrats are trying to silence Christians.

This lie AGAIN? When has anyone EVER been able to silence Christians when they never shut up? Never stop bitching, moaning and crying about non-existent persecution? Never stop loudly demanding exclusive privilege for anything they do?

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Len Koz's avatar

If Democrats were really trying to silence Christians, would we have to hear Tony the asshole complaining about it?

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oraxx's avatar

+++ They excel at playing the poor persecuted victims of the godless left.

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Matri's avatar

They made an entire religion out of it.

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Len's avatar

Persecution is important to Christians. They believe it shows how faithful they are. When they’re not (anywhere near being) persecuted - like in America - they have to make it up.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

If they saw/experienced real persecution like their brethren overseas, they’d run screaming from it, begging to be let back into the US where they're safe, pampered and NOT persecuted.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Or rather could give them more ideas about how to get rid of "undesirables".

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Lynn Veit's avatar

More ideas, yes, and they would "improve" on them to boot.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

They think they get extra brownie points for it, or something.

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oraxx's avatar

Churches everywhere, religious broadcasters galore, and many Christian book stores. If anyone is trying to silence Christians, they're sure doing a poor job of it.

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Die Anyway's avatar

Well, tbf, they can no longer read Bible verses and The Lord's Prayer over the public school intercom every morning*. PERSECUTION!!!

* When I was in school, this was regular practice. Youngsters may not be aware of this.

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oraxx's avatar

+++ I grew up in cattle ranching country in western Nebraska. Interestingly, the Nebraska legislature outlawed prayer in the public schools back in the 1890's, so it was never an issue. I was just glad my little town didn't have a Catholic school or it would have been one more thing to scar my psyche.

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Die Anyway's avatar

> "I grew up in cattle ranching country in western Nebraska."

My condolences.

JK, maybe. I don't have any experience of 'western' Nebraska. My experience with Nebraska is a year in Omaha while stationed at Offal Air Force base. Omaha is just 2nd to San Angelo, Texas on my list of terrible places I have lived.

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Lefty Throckmorton's avatar

What was so bad about Omaha?

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Die Anyway's avatar

The stockyards. There were days that the stench was so bad that we (wife and I) had to get in the car and drive 10 or 20 miles out through the farmland just to breathe some fresh air.

The corn fields. Just a few blocks from our apartment the corn fields started. Miles and miles and miles of nothing but corn with nothing to break the monotony but the occasional farm house or grain silo.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Don't forget Christian production companies like PureFlix. You know. The guys who try to make money from being "persecuted."

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Lefty Throckmorton's avatar

And who make movies about Christian suffering 'persecution'

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Beth Sandman's avatar

They scream morals and God is on their side, when they know they are breaking the law. So many want to destroy our Constitution and make us a theocracy.

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oraxx's avatar

+++ By morals, they really mean rote conformity to their particular set of rules.

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Matri's avatar

To their interpretation of their particular set of rules.

Namely, that the rules don’t apply to them, only to other people.

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Ethereal fairy Natalie's avatar

🎯🎯

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Old Man Shadow's avatar

"They don’t have to make those details public."

There is no good reason for this.

Every church should already be operating in full transparency to the public unless they have something immoral or illegal to hide.

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Matri's avatar

They demand full transparency of everyone else.

“If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to hide.”

Just like their god Trump, demanding it of everyone but themselves.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

The real solution here is to remove the rule that unfairly privileges churches. There's no real reason to exempt the churches from completing the form aside from signaling that churches are special. They are not special. They should be treated as any other non profit organization.

We cannot do this now, however, because they've been given this unwarranted privilege and any attempt to level the playing field is now an attack to them. FRC has already claimed such.

It is telling that these organizations are supposedly based on promoting moral and ethical behavior based on the ultimate moral guide (God and the bible) and yet they work so damned hard to do things that are so clearly immoral. They also never seem to do things that are charitable.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Ah ! Pardon, but they do. They charitably protect their gullible members from the temptations caused by money, like paying their bills and saving for bad days.

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Val Uptuous NotAgain's avatar

Oh, how did I miss that?!? You are right. They're certainly doing God's work there.

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Dingster1's avatar

They should be re-classed as religious charities. But then they have to fill out the 990’s.

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ericc's avatar

They should scrap the whole distinction and do it by size; small charities and nonprofits have minimal, easy, simple reporting requirements, while large ones have more business-like ones.

I have zero problem with the local 100-congregation, 1-priest single building church not having to fill out IRS paperwork. Or maybe, at most, an "EZ" like one-pager. Places like Hillsong...entirely different beast.

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phelpsmediation's avatar

All churches should be paying taxes on their real property like everyone else and on income. Why do they get a free pass for believing in some myth(s) that are just made up to control people. Myths with no factual or evidence to support them. They all disagree on so many things they can't be right.

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Ethereal fairy Natalie's avatar

Yes, That was my feeling about it as well. Small neighborhood church doing actual charity work, minimal taxes. Big phony megachurch, Tax to the max.

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Joe King's avatar

There already is a shorter 990-ez form.

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Jelly8bean's avatar

Not to mention the Heritage Foundation is also a "non profit, not political organization " in the IRS rules so they can be tax exempted

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

"Not political?!?" Oh, BER-ROTHER! And butter wouldn't melt in their mouth, either! 😝

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Jane's avatar

Please report them, using this handy-dandy form: if we all report everyone who's robbing the IRS, maybe some of them might get shut down? We can dream anyway. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Since TST has been recognized as a religion by the IRS and given tax-exempt status, perhaps I can associate with them and rake in the bucks.

Nah. Unlike Christians, I have scruples.

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larry parker's avatar

"I have scruples" - Is there a salve for that?

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Salve Regina 😁

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Flashbacks. :)

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

(DM use a salve for her knees who stinks from several feet away. Its name ? Baume Aroma. Some people have a sick sense of humor).

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Bagen Onuts's avatar

Icy Hot has less smell. Voltaren too.

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larry parker's avatar

In the US, that's called Bengay.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

I don't think so.

Bangay

Camphor 4% (Topical analgesic), Menthol 10% (Topical analgesic), Methyl salicylate 30% (Topical analgesic)

Baume aroma

Salicylate de méthyle : 10g

Huile essentielle de Girofle : 3g (essential oil of clove)

Huile essentielle de piment de la Jamaïque : 200mg (essential oil of chili pepper)

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Always had my suspicions about Ben.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

When you said "Salve Regina," I started singing it. :D

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

The traditional version by Saint Whoopi of course ?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NNkFp4rwsc0

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Whitney's avatar

Part of me honestly wishes I could claim surprise that Christian hate groups are claiming tax exemptions they have no right to. The other part is saying "Oh, look, another day that ends in 'y' again."

However much they scream about it, the answer to this is pretty clear. Tax the churches. If the default is to tax them, you could then write some sort of loophole for measurable charitable contributions that improve the community in some way. As things currently stand, churches are where money goes to pull a vanishing act; all too often that money is never seen again because churches are allowed to completely avoid accountability. We all know churches don't do a good job of policing themselves, I see no reason that would not apply to the money their congregations give them.

Really, taxing churches and forcing them to answer to someone is doing them a favor in the long run, we just need to get past all the hand-wringing and fake tears first.

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Bagen Onuts's avatar

The vatican proved this over its banking trials. Had a huge trial to punish the perps. Meanwhile they hid cardinal bernard law behind its walls to keep him from testifying under oat in Boston's child rape trials. Sadly, the movie Spotlight did not cover this travesty.

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Len Koz's avatar

And yet the sheep in the pews just don't want to accept that the church isn't concerned for them, it's only concerned for their money.

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Matri's avatar

Half of the Vatican are “treasure rooms”, literal rooms filled with billions of dollars worth of art and valuables. The pope sits on a literal throne made of gold and liberally adorned with gems, and wears enough jewelry to embarrass Midas.

How do these morons not believe that they don’t care ONLY about the money?

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Because, officially, they only use them, they don't own them 🙄

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Len Koz's avatar

Let churches get the same tax break for charitable contributions that normal people do. Otherwise they should pay their damn taxes.

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MikeinSonoma's avatar

“We understand the importance of religious institutions to their congregants, and we believe that religious freedom is a cherished American value and constitutional right”

Bars, restaurants, and casinos are important to those that use them, that of course is not a basis for tax exemption. Freedom is a cherished American value and the words religious freedom are not in the constitution.

“ only references to religion in the constitution are exclusionary. It excludes the state from involving itself in religion (the First Amendment’s “free exercise” clause) and excludes religion from involving itself in the state (the First Amendment’s “establishment” clause: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”)”

(Excerpt From The Founding Myth)

We really should stop letting religious extremist define words for us, that includes the Democrats.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Busted!

"Trump Caught Cheering Extremist Project He Says He Knows Nothing About"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-caught-cheering-extremist-project-214117420.html

Pathological liar can't stop lying.

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Kay-El's avatar

I need to find some nondenominational “church” so I can “associate” myself with it and get free money via tax exemptions! JFC, I can’t even goof my electronic filing without the IRS and state making me jump through hoops to prove who I am and that I’m not stealing my own identity. Yet these churches that aren’t churches can get away with this sham of “association”.

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Troublesh00ter's avatar

The IRS won't even insist that they fill out a 990 form, like every other 501(c)(3). Talk about PRIVILEGE!

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Just choose to follow Ninkasi and declare bars are now churches 😁

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Now? Haven't they always been? A community of like-mended people gathering together and being one with spirits? ;)

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larry parker's avatar

Become a fan of the Chicago Cubs. Make a pilgrimage to Wrigley Field. All hail Ernie Banks!

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Yesterday, the Mariners unleashed hell on the Angels, clipping their wings and beating the Halos in their own park by a score of 11 to 0.

Whenever the Ms score a home run, they hoist a trident. :)

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

That's Bulls.

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larry parker's avatar

Bear with me.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

I am too chicken for that.

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larry parker's avatar

Then you are best off in San Diago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Chicken

Edit: Or Diego.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

I dolphin should be able to stand the heat 🤔

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Len Koz's avatar

That almost makes me wish I lived near Chicago.

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Bagen Onuts's avatar

If you call it your deeply held religious belief, tix are tax free.

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Andra Watkins's avatar

This hit my inbox at the perfect time. I'm neck-deep in researching Project 2025's various contributors. Two come from the Family Research Council. So I can link to this post in my spreadsheet.

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Jane's avatar

Heritage foundation along with FRC are all stealing from the government, therefore from the taxpayers. Please use his handy-dandy form to report them. The more reports the IRS receives the better chance we have shutting them down or at least making them start paying taxes. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf

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Ethereal fairy Natalie's avatar

Thank you for all your dedication.

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

That's why Jimmy Bakker went to prison, folks.

Took his victims' money and spent it on his wife's cosmetics line and his air-conditioned doghouse.

Oh, and paying off the women he slept with? Those dang Commandments...

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larry parker's avatar

If he spent all that money on his wife, why would he be in the doghouse? ; )

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

Keep it in your pants, Jimmy

Get down and Praise the Lord

You can't keep whippin' out that thing

Whenever you get bored

Keep it in your pants, Jimmy

Get on your knees and pray

And when you get a woody

Take it home to Tammy Faye...

A Z-100 song.

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NOGODZ20's avatar

Jim Bakker, everyone

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Jim_Bakker

Sleazeball extraordinaire

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Len Koz's avatar

He gives sleazeballs a bad name.

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Black Hole and DM mourner's avatar

Maybe rhey had a pool bo... Wrong hypocrite family. My bad.

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Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz's avatar

Never dismiss the possibility of a pool boy.

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Ethereal fairy Natalie's avatar

He was the one that liked sex-workers.

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Guerillasurgeon's avatar

Isn't he now selling some sort of survival food? I've seen a couple of reviews of it on YouTube. Some of it apparently is edible. But not much.

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Ethereal fairy Natalie's avatar

Slop buckets, that double as toilets in the apocalypse, and the supposed cure for Covid that turns you blue Colloidal silver.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

Prison? Oh, that's so old school. These days, we just let them get away with murder and pretend it's all gawd's will or something.

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

Yes, when white kids commit murder, they’re just “poor misunderstood” kids.

When black kids commit murder, they’re “dangerous savages" complete with a bone in their nose…

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Lynn Veit's avatar

True, I'm afraid. But Jim Bakker was no kid, and he did go to prison, back when wayward "pastors" who broke the law mostly faced consequences if they were found out. These days they mostly walk. Probably because there's so damned many of them and so many people are finding out how long it's been going on, it's hard to sell that "one bad apple" story anymore, so churches just try to sweep them them under the rug and mutter a lot about God's will and other such hogwash.

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

Bakker went in for his crooked finances.

When he emerged, he just went right back to grifting.

Without Tammy Faye.

She was dead.

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Lynn Veit's avatar

And IIRC, Tammy filed for divorce while he was incarcerated (?) (long time ago, can't recall exactly when on the timeline), something that should not have sat well with the flocks, and then remarried (another no-no). Not that I was sympathetic to Tammy Faye at the time, but if any woman at my church had done that, well, she wouldn't have had to leave the church, but she would have found herself with a much smaller circle of friends. I remember thinking at the time that the PTL Crowd & Co. cared more about their money than the "family values" and "sanctity of marriage" they and their GOP cronies were constantly screeching about. It underscored for me their galling hypocrisy. Alas it would be a long time before I slowly realized that such hypocrisy was part and parcel with most religious organizations.

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Kiwiwriter47's avatar

I know that comedians were snickering at the wife of an adulterous televangelist (whose attractiveness was questionably by the comedians’ standards) making a bundle from a cosmetics line.

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Joan the Dork's avatar

𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺-𝘯𝘰𝘵-𝘖𝘛- This would be 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 material for a follow-up article. Or a main article: https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ziklag-secret-christian-charity-2024-election

Introducing "Ziklag"- AKA the mother of all Johnson Amendment violations, as reported by ProPublica. While registered as a 501(c)(3) organization, it's basically a parallel shadow campaign for Seven Mountains Dominionists to sway the election for Trump:

"𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘡𝘪𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 2024 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴: 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰-𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴; 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 “𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴” 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦."

Because 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 they have an entire leg of their theocratic tripod dedicated to dicking over trans people. That's, like, 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 at this point. There's also this little nugget of grade-A fecal matter:

"𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘐 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴."

...because if there's one thing American politics needs, it's a computer programmed by fucking Nazis deciding who doesn't get to vote, 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦?

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Bagen Onuts's avatar

Project 2025 base? This s what happens when they pay no taxes

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Guerillasurgeon's avatar

You gotta admire their organisation and stick ability though. By comparison, progressives are like herding cats.

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Guerillasurgeon's avatar

It's nice that they're doing this, but a better solution would just be to tax the churches. They can deduct expenses if they're doing stuff like feeding the poor, but I guarantee most of them don't do much of that. Sorry if someone's said this before it's almost obligatory isn't it.

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Joan the Dork's avatar

I fear it'd be, at best, a symbolic gesture, and far too late. Churches and other religiously-motivated organizations have been allowed to get away with flouting the law for decades, and their influence over the political right is now so deeply ingrained that no amount of crackdown would have much impact on the state of our political landscape. The best time to air their dirty laundry and shut them down was back when the push to make conservative Christianity a political juggernaut was just getting started.

Now, it's a bit like trying to shut the chicken coop after the foxes have eaten all the chickens.

Not saying it shouldn't be done anyway, even if just to make the point... but the damage is already done. It's going to take way more than just a few audits to flush this clog in the arteries of democracy out.

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