Monthly Archives: May 2017

Des Moines Register editorial: Give churches freedom of speech, but why freedom from taxation? – Mason City Globe Gazette

Posted: May 18, 2017 at 2:07 pm

It's not clear what Lyndon Johnson was thinking in 1954. The then-U.S. senator introduced an amendment to a bill that prevented some tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from engaging in political campaign activity. Congress adopted it without debate. Lawmakers later strengthened the ban. Courts have upheld it.

None of this means the statute makes sense. There is certainly a case to be made that free speech rights should not be tied to tax status for any organization. And Congress can certainly vote to change the law if it chooses.

But President Donald Trump is still figuring out how this "branches of government" idea works.

Last week he signed an executive order he said would free churches from restraints imposed by the law. Seeking to garner as much attention as possible, the signing was staged in the Rose Garden with activists, faith leaders and nuns. They were serenaded by a string quartet.

The order will "prevent the Johnson Amendment from interfering with your First Amendment rights," Trump declared.

Well, no it won't. The executive order does essentially nothing.

In fact, groups preparing to sue over what they expected the document to contain said there was no need after they saw the final version. The American Civil Liberties Union called the order "an elaborate photo-op with no discernible policy outcome." Even conservative groups recognized it as little more than a "gesture."

Then again, the Johnson Amendment is little more than a gesture. It is essentially meaningless because it is not enforced.

Some religious leaders have intentionally flouted the provision in law, trying to draw attention to themselves annually on "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." They tell their congregation which political candidates to support and face no consequences from the Internal Revenue Service.

"We record our sermons, as have many several thousands of pastors, and then send their sermons to the IRS in hopes of provoking a lawsuit. But we have not been successful," a California pastor told CNN last year.

The IRS could take action. It could revoke the preferential tax status of churches. But it doesn't. After being starved by Congress for several years, it doesn't have the staff. It also likely doesn't have the stomach for the certain political backlash. And the IRS may not even know some churches exist, as they are not required to apply for tax-exempt status and are generally not required to file annual forms with the agency.

A 2014 report from the Government Accountability Office noted budget cuts at the IRS have led to "a steady decrease in the number of charitable organizations examined." In 2011, the examination rate was 0.81 percent; in 2013, it fell to 0.71 percent, lower than the examination rate for other types of taxpayers, including individuals and corporations.

Translation: Pretty much anyone can open a "church," avoid taxation and engage in political activities with no fear of repercussions. And with pressure from the president to leave these entities alone, the IRS is even less likely to scrutinize them.

The question Trump should be asking: Why are churches exempt from taxation in the first place? That could spur the larger conversation this country needs to have about reforming the entire, antiquated federal statute on tax-exempt status. Use of the exemption has run amok.

About 1.6 million organizations, including about 400,000 religious entities, do not pay taxes. That drives up the federal deficit, hurts local governments and forces the rest of us to pay more to compensate. Among the activities our additional tax contributions support: politicking pastors who proudly and loudly violate federal law.

Washington policymakers should ensure everyone has freedom of speech, but revisit who gets freedom from taxation.

This editorial appeared in the May 11 edition of theDes Moines Register.

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Des Moines Register editorial: Give churches freedom of speech, but why freedom from taxation? - Mason City Globe Gazette

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Column: The slippery paradox of free speech – LaSalle News Tribune

Posted: at 2:07 pm

I hope you watched the News and Noise series of presentations last month at Illinois Valley Community College and La Salle Public Library.

I joined two other journalists in a panel discussion for the last session. During audience questions, a comment about freedom of speech has kept me thinking about it.

Free speech came up as we discussed the recent proliferation of false news stories whole-cloth fakeries, not-so-subtle tools of propaganda and online revenue generators, so-called fake news. I mentioned, Its tough, though, because freedom of speech has to win. And for freedom of speech to win, we cant be snuffing voices and muzzling people.

An audience member said, I dont know if I agree with that. I know we need free speech but I think the censors of the old days, maybe had a point. He said, and I paraphrase here, was that letting bad ideas spread might not be good, such as news reports leading to copycat crimes.

This got to the core of the issue. Do we defend free speech, even free speech that is false or offensive? I said, not too successfully, that false ideas have no societal value, and that public shaming once tamped them down.

We moved on, wishing to let other audience members ask questions. But three weeks later I am still pondering it.

The current info-climate seems to welcome fakery into the public square. False claims are a case where public shaming should reduce our exposure. The fakers, withering under fact-laced speech, might become reluctant to step into the light.

If I could go back and continue the discussion, I would say that in a nation of protected free speech, the best defense against false claims, bad ideas and words you find offensive, is more free speech.

This is a paradox that leads to hypocrisy defending free speech, except speech we dont like. It emerges with the tag, fake news. Its a good tag for fakery and a bad one for journalism. Some use it for news they dont like. But if the story was not written to deceive and contains facts, you will have to label it something else. As I said in the panel discussion, facts dont care about your feelings.

U.S. courts know when speech causes harm and incites violence. The courts and judges also are wary of picking and choosing words we like and dislike.

In 1978-79, French professor and Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson claimed the gas chambers did not exist. Under French law, he was convicted. U.S. intellectual Noam Chomsky did not support Faurissons claim, but defended his right to say it.

Chomsky explained there is no contradiction between supporting the right to free speech, and opposing the claims of a Holocaust denier. Suppressing free speech, Chomsky said, is to adopt a central doctrine of the Nazis.

The news can be noisy, as in News and Noise, but our free speech is even noisier. We need to learn how to sift out bad and false ideas, without suppressing the right to say them.

That right is the noisy sound of freedom.

Jeff Dankert can be reached at (815) 220-6977 or lasallereporter@newstrib.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_LaSalle.

(NOTE: Any opinions appearing here or elsewhere in the NewsTribune ornewstrib.comdo not necessarily represent the views of the NewsTribune.)

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Atheists More Intelligent Because They Can Override Instinctive Religious BeliefsBut It Will Be Their Downfall – Newsweek

Posted: at 2:06 pm

Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people because they are able to rise above the natural instinct to believe in a god or gods, scientists have said.

But according to Edward Dutton, from the Ulster Institute for Social Research in the U.K., and Dimitri Van der Linden, of the Rotterdam University in the Netherlands, this could also lead to their declinein the same way high intelligence appears to have played a role in the fall of the Roman Empire.

Dutton and Van der Linder build on the theory that religion is instinctive, and it evolved as a behavior that helped humans become the highly successful species they are today.

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There has been a great deal of research into how religion originated, with the most prevalent idea being it evolved to help societies to form believing there was heaven and hell, for example, would ensure cooperative, social behavior over fears of eternal damnation.

But now society has developed, why does religion still exist?

Ancient Greek and Roman texts show that even thousands of years ago, the link between intelligence, religion and atheism had been formed. More recently, scientific studies suggest a clear correlation between lower intelligence and religiousness.

In a study published in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science, Dutton and Van der Linden say the link between higher intelligence and atheism, and lower intelligence with religion, can be accounted for by our instincts.

According to the study, our genes mean belief in religion is instinctiveit did, after all, help us develop as a species. Having a higher intelligence, they say, allows people to override these instincts and engage in more rational, and therefore enhanced problem-solving behavior.

Atheists at the Reason Rally on the National Mall in 2012 in Washington, DC. Study says atheists are more intelligent than religious people because they can ignore their instincts. AFP

But this is not all good news for non-believers, nor does it mean heightened intelligence will be selected, eventually leading to a species full of hyper-intelligent atheists. Instead, the ability to override your instincts would likely lead to a decline in intelligent, atheist people, because they are more likely to be antisocial and to have fewer childrenor to not have them at all.

Its true that people who are less intelligent tend to have more children than people who are more intelligent, Dutton tells Newsweek . And intelligence is negatively associated with religiousness. So on that basis, you would expect religiousness to increase.

If you have higher intelligence, youre less instinctive. Youre lower in what you might call evolved instincts that have evolved over thousands and thousands of years until the Industrial Revolution, when natural selection slowed down.

He says that with intelligence being around 80 percent genetic, eventually there will be a decline in intelligenceand, as a resulta rise in religiousness. And this, he adds, could eventually lead to the fall of society. It was commented on at the end of Rome, that the upper class werent having any children. Its the same now, he says.

Before the Industrial Revolution, parish records show that it used to be the richer, more intelligent people survived and had more children. As a result, society became more and more intelligent, up until the point of the widespread innovation of the Industrial Revolution.

But these [breakthroughs] can only be sustained if we continue to have a certain level of intelligence, so if intelligence is decreasing then eventually the inventions that our ancestors were capable of coping with, well no longer be able to cope with. Well go backwards, Dutton says. Thats what happened with the Romans.

As a society becomes less religious, and more intelligent, we begin to lose the benefits religion brings in terms of group society. If a society becomes too intelligent, it becomes antisocial and stops breeding, and it eventually declines.

Next, Dutton plans to look more closely at the genetics of atheism, not only that it reflects high intelligence and low instincts, but that our instincts might be changing. If natural selection is becoming weaker, there may be a propensity towards instincts that would have been removed under natural selection. These instincts may have been disfavored because of their association with poor genetic health, he explainsand atheism could be an example of this.

I think most people think it is rational to be an atheist, he says. But the reason why people are atheist is not necessarily some logical reasoned choice.

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Atheism might be more common than assumed…but it’s complicated – Science Daily

Posted: at 2:06 pm


Science Daily
Atheism might be more common than assumed...but it's complicated
Science Daily
Widely-cited telephone polls (e.g., Gallup, Pew) suggest U.S. atheist prevalence ranging from 3% to 11%. But in the US, there's heavy stigma leveled against religious disbelief, which might make people reluctant to disclose their lack of belief over ...
Atheism May Be More Common Than We Think, Study Finds - PatchPatch.com

all 2 news articles »

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France, Germany resist US plan for bigger NATO role against Islamic State – Reuters

Posted: at 2:04 pm

By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS France and Germany are resisting a plan by U.S. officials for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, in line with calls from President Donald Trump for the alliance to do more to combat terrorism.

Many alliance members hope the plan will be announced in Brussels next Thursday, when Trump attends his first NATO summit. But France and Germany have misgivings, allies involved in the discussions said.

Among the concerns: NATO might be caught up in another costly, Afghan-style deployment, irk some Arab countries or risk confrontation with Russia in Syria.

"They are not buying it," said a senior European NATO diplomat, who said some other nations including Greece and Italy were also wary of the plan.

"They want to know what difference would it make. All 28 NATO allies are already part of this effort," the diplomat said, referring to a 68-nation U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State that includes all NATO members.

French and German officials declined to comment, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel left open the possibility of NATO as an institution joining the coalition when she met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week. Both ruled out any combat role for NATO in Syria and Iraq.

France's new President Emmanuel Macron will have lunch with Trump - who last month withdrew his earlier charge that NATO was 'obsolete' because it was not 'taking care of terror' - before the Brussels meeting next Thursday.

While Islamic State is on the verge of defeat in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, and bracing for an assault against its de facto capital in Raqqa, Syria, U.S. officials are concerned fleeing militants could leave a vacuum that could prompt Arab tribal fighters to turn on each other to gain control.

U.S. officials say the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as an institution could contribute equipment, training and the expertise it gained leading a coalition against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. NATO military chiefs favor the move, said General Petr Pavel, chairman of the alliance's military committee.

Diplomats said this could mean NATO using its surveillance planes over Syria, running command-and-control operations and providing air-to-air refueling.

SYMBOLIC STEP

One compromise would be for NATO as an institution to formally join the coalition at the dinner with Trump next week, but leave the details of any involvement to a later stage.

"If allies can be convinced that it is only a symbolic step, a deal should be possible," said a second NATO diplomat. "Trump goes home with a message that NATO is joining the coalition and NATO doesn't have to do anything extra, at least for now."

A broader hesitancy among European allies stems from the long mission that NATO has undertaken in Afghanistan, taking over the United States' bid to defeat militants in 2003 after the attacks on New York and Washington two years earlier.

Given Russia's concerns over NATO expansion in eastern Europe, and its role in Syria as the key military ally of President Bashar al-Assad, some allies also worry that deeper NATO involvement there could be taken by Moscow as a provocation.

But a stronger role in Iraq and Syria could also address concerns expressed by Mediterranean allies, such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, that NATO lacks a strategy for tackling the root causes of the migrant and refugee crisis.

Stoltenberg has talked about NATO's "untapped potential" in building up armed forces. Options include more NATO training of Iraqi troops and police, as well as strengthening government departments in areas taken back from Islamic State.

"NATO is the only security organization with the skills and breadth to take on this task," wrote Hans Binnendijk and David Gompert in a paper for the U.S. think-tank RAND Corporation.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

ISTANBUL Turkey is ready to retaliate if it faces a threat from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia and will not shirk from launching a military campaign if need be, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco [IPO-ARMO.SE] is due to sign deals with 12 U.S. companies on Saturday during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

BAGHDAD Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitaries captured an air base from Islamic State militants on Thursday, gaining a strategic foothold in the western desert as they push toward the Syrian border.

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Merkel Re-Election Bid Roiled by Trump’s NATO Spending Demands – Bloomberg

Posted: at 2:04 pm

A German military exercise in 2016.

Germanys Social Democrats zeroed in on an election-year line of attack against Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying they reject a NATO defense-spending goal pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Fresh from a string of electoral defeats, the SPD candidate for chancellor, Martin Schulz, stepped up his campaign against a major boost in military spending as the party works out its platform for the German election in September. National polls suggest the SPD trails Merkels CDU-CSU bloc by as much as 12 percentage points.

Photographer: Kay Nietfeld/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photos

While the SPD has campaigned for weeks against the alliances target for all member countries to move toward spending 2 percent of economic output, Schulz now made it clear that he rejects it. Germany spends about 1.2 percent of gross domestic product on defense and Schulz said reaching the NATO goal would require as much as 30 billion euros ($33 billion) a year in additional outlays.

This most definitely wont happen with me and the SPD, Schulz told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Schulzs predecessor as SPD chairman, called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization benchmark nonsensical a day earlier.

Its a sign of growing partisan tension within Merkels government as she prepares to meet fellow leaders of NATO countries in Brussels on May 25 -- including Trump, who has said Germany owes vast sums of money on security. The Trump administration has demanded that members of the military alliance detail how theyll reach the 2 percent goal by 2024.

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Schulz and Gabriel said Germany has an obligation to increase defense expenditure, but balked at the 2014 pledge by NATO governments, which calls on those that dont meet the target to move towards the 2 percent guideline within a decade. The SPD leaders have said such spending levels are unrealistic for Germany and would provoke tension in a European Union already wary of German economic power.

Its a classic Social Democratic move,Jan Techau, head of the Richard C. Holbrooke Forum at the American Academy in Berlin, said by email. Trying to cash in on the assumed pacifism of Germans is an old strategy.

Merkel backs the NATO target, though she has recently stood up more assertively to Trump, reinforcing her point that security isnt only about military outlays.

Volker Kauder, head of Merkels Christian Democratic-led caucus in parliament, said Germany has been on the hook for some time.

The Americans have already pointed out before Trump that the German military has to be in better shape, and thats what well do, he told broadcaster N24.

In a draft campaign platform released this week, the Social Democrats reaffirm that NATO is an indispensable pillar of the trans-Atlantic partnership at a time of new international insecurities and challenges. They also express support for the preparedness and defense capability of our country and the trans-Atlantic alliance.

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The NATO Chiefs of Defence committed to keeping NATO, ready, relevant and able – NATO HQ (press release)

Posted: at 2:04 pm

The Allied Chiefs of Defence gathered in Brussels on 17th May 2017 for their second meeting of the year, ahead of the Heads of State and Government meeting on 25th May 2017. Discussions on the threats and challenges facing the Alliance emanating from the South, the implementation of Projecting Stability and enhancing NATOs role in fighting terrorism framed the morning sessions. The RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission beyond 2018, recommendations on capability development and resource requirements and the NATO Command Structure review were the focus of the afternoon.

Meeting for the second time in 2017, the Chiefs of Defence took the opportunity to provide additional military advice on ongoing work strands and recommendations on the way forward for evolving initiatives. Throughout the days discussions, the Chiefs of Defence stressed their commitment to keeping NATO ready, relevant and able.

The morning sessions centered on the South, more specifically further implementation of the Framework for the South, Projecting Stability and enhancing NATOs contribution to fighting terrorism. The Chiefs of Defence reiterated their strong support for NATOs Projecting Stability as part of the broad efforts of the International Community, including continuation of NATOs Defence Capability Building in Iraq, and

the need to have a consistent, coordinated and coherent approach which enables NATO to provide more assistance to Partners. They also addressed the potential for joining the Global Coalition against ISIL.

On Afghanistan, the Chiefs of Defence reiterated their long term commitment to the RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission building the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF), including by assisting the ANDSF to fulfil their four year Roadmap. They recommended the RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission remain conditions-based and flexible taking into account the challenging security environment.

The Chiefs of Defence also developed recommendations on capability development and resource requirements to continue to underpin NATOs current and future tasks, operations, missions and activities relating to both Defence and Deterrence and Projecting Stability.

Speaking at the closing Joint Press Conference, General Pavel stated: What is crucial is that the military advice we provide is clear, concise and importantly, able to deliver the desired strategic effects.

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Experts present new report on improving governance and delivery of commonly funded capabilities – NATO HQ (press release)

Posted: at 2:04 pm

On 18 April 2017 a Group of Senior Experts (GSE) delivered a report on how to improve NATOs delivery of common funded capabilities.

Link to the report: PDF/1.2Mb

The Group of Senior Experts was appointed by the Secretary General on 20 October 2016 to provide independent advice and recommendations, in response to two recent performance audit reports by the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN), which highlighted the need for improved governance arrangements. (List of Performance Audit Reports by the International Board of Auditors for NATO (IBAN)

The thirteen GSE experts came from NATO nations with a variety of backgrounds and experience gained at senior level in the military, defence, and academic worlds.

The IBAN audit reports and the report from the Group of Senior Experts are highly valuable. The Alliance is committed to taking the actions required to ensure that the right capabilities are delivered in the most timely and efficient manner to military commanders.

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NATO Mulls Arctic and Atlantic Command to Counter Russia – Wall Street Journal (subscription)

Posted: at 2:04 pm


Wall Street Journal (subscription)
NATO Mulls Arctic and Atlantic Command to Counter Russia
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
BRUSSELSThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization may revive a Cold War naval command to counter Moscow's increased submarine activity in the Arctic and protect Atlantic sea lanes in the event of a conflict, according to allied diplomats and officials ...

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Mattis Praises Norway as Important US, NATO Ally – Department of Defense

Posted: at 2:04 pm

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2017 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis yesterday met with Norwegian Minister of Defense Ine EriksenSreide at the Pentagon, where he praised the longstanding defense relationship between the United States and Norway, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White.

Extensive Military-to-Military Cooperation

Mattis and Sreide reaffirmed the extensive military-to-military cooperation between the U.S. and Norway as NATO allies that have resulted in effective combined operations on the battlefield, White said.

White said the secretary also thanked the minister for the opportunity for a limited U.S. Marine Corps rotational force to conduct cold-weather training in Norway to strengthen readiness and interoperability.

Norway, from our perspective on this side of the Atlantic, is an essential NATO ally with invaluable expertise in the North Atlantic and the Arctic, and we want to thank you for sharing that expertise with us, and for supporting the U.S. Marine Corps cold weather training taking place today in Norway, Mattis told Sreide.

White said the secretary thanked the minister for Norway's commitment to international security, including its significant contributions to NATOs Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, the defeat-ISIS campaign and its leadership on security in the Nordic-Baltic region and the North Atlantic.

You are absolutely right in the fact that we are strengthening our relationships, Sreide told Mattis. We are entering into cooperation that will only deepen in the years to come, and we have a longstanding history of decades of cooperating in crucial areas, where I think that we can say that we mutually contribute to things that we could not do alone.

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