Iraq takes center stage in Lieberman debate

Iraq takes center stage in Lieberman debate - Yahoo! News

HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record), the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000, took a hammering over his support for the
Iraq war on Thursday in a debate with an antiwar rival whose race for the Senate is seen as a battle for the heart of the Democratic Party.

Amid Pomp, Bush Is Pumped and Chat Is Candid - New York Times

STRELNA, Russia, July 17 — For anyone who has ever wondered what President Bush sounds like when the microphones are off, the answer, at least at lunchtime on Monday, was blunt to the point of profane, laced with a wise-guy edge and, like anyone forced to make small talk, willing to fall back on safe topics like air travel.

IRS warns churches against campaigning - Yahoo! News

Tue Jul 18, 1:51 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - The
Internal Revenue Service has been warning churches and nonprofit organizations that improper campaigning in the upcoming political season could endanger their tax-exempt status.
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In notices to more than 15,000 tax-exempt organizations, numerous church denominations and tax preparers, the agency has detailed its new enforcement program, called the Political Activity Compliance Initiative, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

Under the initiative, the IRS plans to expedite investigations into claims of improper campaigning, no longer waiting for an annual tax return to be filed or the tax year to end before launching a probe. A three-member committee will make an initial review of complaints and then vote on whether to pursue the investigation in detail.

"While the vast majority of charities and churches do not engage in politicking, an increasing number did take part in prohibited activities in the 2004 election cycle," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a statement. "The rule against political campaign intervention by charities and churches is long established. We are stepping up our efforts to enforce it."

Since 2004, the IRS has investigated more than 200 organizations, including All Saints Church in Pasadena.

Two days before the 2004 presidential election, the Rev. George F. Regas, the church's former rector, delivered a guest sermon that pictured Jesus in a debate with George W. Bush and
John Kerry. Although Regas didn't endorse a candidate, he said Jesus would have told Bush that his pre-emptive war policy "has led to disaster."