So, I began this blog to get my thoughts, rants and things onto the internet. I couldn't so much as cough in the airways without stumbling into this little gem.
Fox News: Taking Away Liberties
Are you really surprised? I'm beginning to think that getting material for this blog from Fox News may be a bit too easy. Maybe I should take a challenge, something worthy of me scouting around a bit...
naaaah, I'm living in the middle of the Apocalypse right now, so I could use an easy outlet.
He said the government can tax your life and can tax your death, but they’re not supposed to tax your church.
And that’s exactly what he said is happening in Mission.
“The city of Mission is taxing churches,” he said. “And that’s clearly unconstitutional.”
This is one of the many reasons I rage so hard. not only is it ignorant, it's an absolute lie, spread entirely by those that live in this so called "Christian Nation." If these people would pull their heads out of their asses for two seconds, maybe, just maybe they'd stop cherry-picking documents to suit their fancy. Here's more
The purpose of the “Transportation Utility Fee” is to raise money for public works projects in Mission like street construction and road repair.
It’s unpopular among residents, some of whom have put up protest signs on their yards.
But it’s particularly controversial because the town has included churches in the program.
GOOD! This is a GOOD thing. A step in the right direction. CHURCHES SHOULD BE TAXED. The Idea that some building shouldn't be taxed because it makes people feel good about themselves is asinine. Now, I'm not saying that this TAX is a good thing. I think taxing buildings for driveway traffic is kind of ridiculous. What pisses me off, is that Fox News seems to be upset that churches don't get some miraculous free pass. The Tax exempt status of churches has gone on unchallenged for FAR to long. to quote the constitution.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
The tax exempt status of churches certainly falls under the "respecting an establishment of religion," part of that sentence. If your going to use the constitution as the backbone of your argument the LEAST you can do is not insult the document with your ignorance. The government is suppose to neither support nor deny any particular religion. The tax exempt status is exactly what is unconstitutional. These people are so thick headed about their religion being the most important thing in the world that not only have they stained our country with it's name, but they have somehow convinced themselves that regardless of how many times it is read to them and presented to them, that the constitution is in their favor. The "Clearly Unconstitutional" Tax is absolutely anything but. Erik Stanley, next time you spout off a word like "Clearly," Make sure it doesn't come back to make you look like a blissfully ignorant prick. ~ZU
To quote some important Supreme Court decision I learned about in APUSH that I have since forgotten the name of, "The power to tax is the power to destroy." With that precedent in place,taxing churches does interfere with the free exercise clause.
ReplyDeleteOr at least, that's the common theory. One problem with it is that you could make the same argument against taxing, say, printing presses or guns. In several cases so far, however, the Suprememe Court has ruled that these are not equivalent, stating that churches are soviern bodies constitutionally outside of the authority of the government.
http://travonfree.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/map_jesusland_liberty.gif?w=350&h=360
ReplyDelete^ sums it up