Saturday, August 29, 2020

MAHER - DEMOCRATS 'SEEM TO BE HESITANT' TO CONDEMN LOOTING - BUT WHO IS LOOTING BUT BLACK LIVES LOOT???

 Maher: Democrats ‘Seem to Be Hesitant’ to Condemn Looting

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On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher stated that Democrats “seem to be hesitant, in some ways…to condemn the looting.”

Maher said President Donald Trump seems to be running for re-election as “the law and order candidate. And are the Democrats facing that right? They seem to be hesitant, in some ways, for example, to condemn the looting. Because they understand what causes people to have the rage that would make them loot. Although, I don’t know why looting is always associated with the rage. I mean, sometimes they’re just taking shit, and it’s not people you would even think would need the shit.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett


Black National Convention Ratifies Platform Seeking Black Liberation– ‘America Does Not Value Black Lives’

Fists were raised in memory of Breonna Taylor during a rally in her honor on the steps of the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., Thursday, June 25, 2020. The rally was held to demand justice in the death of Taylor who was killed in her apartment by members of …
AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley
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On Friday night, radical Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists held a Black National Convention, which aimed to “reach and engage four million Black voters across the US, build infrastructure of Black political engagement that transcends the 2020 election season, and create and ratify a policy platform for the first 100 days of the next administration.”

Tens of thousands participated Friday in the virtual 2020 Black National Convention (BNC) hosted by the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), a coalition that includes dozens of radical organizations including Black Lives Matter (BLM).

The live stream was the first national political convention for black Americans in nearly 50 years and was intended to create “a vision for Black Lives before the biggest election of our time, and long after,” according to M4BL’s website.

Friday’s broadcast included policy proposals on issues such as voter suppression, reproductive rights, housing insecurity, public education inequality, and inter-communal violence, according to its agenda which was shared exclusively with the Associated Press.

Organized by the radical defund-the-police-promoting Electoral Justice Project (EJP), a project of M4BL that focuses on electoral strategy, the 2020 BNC focused on organizing black political power through the political process in order to ensure community demands are met. 

“The uprising in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and countless other murders from police and vigilante violence along with the alarming Black death rate due to COVID-19 has exposed what we can no longer hide—America does not value Black lives,” said M4BL organizer and political strategist Jessica Byrd, who leads the Electoral Justice Project (EJP). “But we also know that rising up and taking action is how Black communities have secured our rights and dignity throughout this nation’s divided history.” 

The event paid tribute to the 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, which introduced a national black agenda. The convention hosted prominent radical black leaders including Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, as well as Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale.

“It’s time to build a BLACK united front” read one M4BL tweet, which included a video promoting the convention. 

The convention featured keynote speakers such as Patrisse Cullors, the self-proclaimed Marxist and Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder; Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement; and Phillp Agnew, co-founder of Dream Defenders, a radical Israel-boycott-promoting and anti-police organization. 

In 2016, the M4BL coalition released its radical “Vision for Black Lives” policy platform, which included early proposals for defunding the police. The convention sought to ratify a new agenda, updating much of the original platform with new proposals including some that could eventually abolish the criminal justice system entirely.

As Breitbart News previously reportedafter a year-long process of convening local and national groups and only three months prior to the 2016 presidential election, the M4BL group released its radical platform which states, “We recognize that some of the demands in this document will not happen today. But we also recognize that they are necessary for our liberation.”

Arguing that “Black people will never achieve liberation under the current global racialized capitalist system,” the platform lays out “six core planks” concerning criminal justice, reparations, investment and divestment, economic justice, community control, and political power. 

BLM — not a civil rights movement:

BLM “is not a civil rights movement,” civil rights pioneer Clarence Henderson told Fox Business Network’s Making Money with Charles Payne on Thursday, adding that the group is composed of Marxists seeking to “tear down the fabric of America.”

Henderson, who spoke at the Republican National Convention (RNC) Wednesday night, added that America has made “great progress” since he took part in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, claiming today’s efforts only stoke racism.

Describing Hollywood, the media, and universities as dangerous sources of falsehoods concerning what the U.S. is all about, Henderson emphasized that America has a legal system based on due process which works to carry out the necessary change.

Henderson also questioned protester motives in a country that has become much like a court of public opinion.

 “My question is: what are you trying to achieve?” Because we have the law of the land now,” he stated. 

In his RNC remarks, Henderson touted the progress America’s black communities have made under Trump, arguing that the president has achieved more for black Americans in four years than Joe Biden has in 50.

Breitbart News will cover the revised platform that will guide BLM and over 100 black activist groups.

Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.

Is Black Lives Matter Putting its Fiscal Sponsors' Tax Exemptions at Risk?


I reported previously that Black Lives Matter Global Networks was campaigning openly against President Trump on its web site, and also in a CNN appearance by BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, while accepting 501(c)(3) tax exempt resources from fiscal sponsor Thousand Currents. BLM also has a donation page that goes through ActBlue Charities, which also is 501(c)(3) tax exempt. Thousand Currents recently handed off BLM's fiscal sponsorship to the Tides Foundation.

BLM Knows or Should Know it is Not Allowed to Campaign with 501(c)(3) Resources

Elle Reynolds' "BLM Co-Founder Appears To Violate IRS Laws On CNN" at The Federalist (June 26, 2020) reports, "The Black Lives Matter Global Network and the IRS did not return requests for comment." It is no surprise that the Internal Revenue Service did not respond because, as stated in the instructions for Form 13909, "Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint (Referral)," "Federal law prohibits the IRS from providing you with status updates or information about specific actions taken in response to the information you submit."

More to the point is however BLM's apparent failure to modify its behavior after Reynolds brought this issue to its attention. On or about August 20, more than seven weeks later, Cullors appeared in another video as reported by the Washington Post: "Patrisse Cullors: We can cheer Biden and Harris — but still must challenge their problematic past." Cullors does make remarks critical of the Democratic nominees but focuses explicitly on working to defeat President Trump: "I think we can call for Biden and Harris to be challenged for their past, while also being the cheerleaders for them to win the election Nov. 3. There are so many reasons why we must beat Trump. …Our work to defeat Trump also helps us defeat the white supremacists he has galvanized…" (When last I heard, by the way, white nationalist Richard Spencer endorsed Joe Biden who, to his credit, rejected the endorsement.)

The National Council of Nonprofits explains how fiscal sponsorship works. "The fiscal sponsor must first determine that serving as a fiscal sponsor is consistent with its mission (and does not jeopardize its own tax-exempt status)." The same organization adds that a "hot button" issue with the Internal Revenue Service is, "Not to participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office…" This suggests that BLM's open campaign against President Trump is to the IRS what a waving red flag is to a bull.

If BLM did not know previously that it is not allowed to campaign while using 501(c)(3) resources, it knew or should have known this when The Federalist's columnist contacted it for comment. Cullors nonetheless went ahead and made the video that appeared on the Washington Post's web site and, as of August 27—about two months later—BLM's web page that calls openly for Trump's defeat is still online. "As disheartening as this was, we are reminded that the 2020 election is around the corner. We can make our voices heard by voting this Administration out of office." So is the page that compares Trump to "a Nazi trying to hide a neck tattoo."

The Tides Foundation itself explains further, "In a typical fiscal sponsorship relationship, a nonprofit organization confers its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to groups that are engaged in activities that serve the host’s mission, typically for a fee." This suggests that Tides is allowing BLM Global Network to use Tides' own 501(c)(3) status. While Tides' mission and vision statement says "We embrace risk," I doubt this extends to the potential risks associated with funding campaign-related activities with tax-deductible money.

This is emphatically not legal or tax advice from me, as I am not an attorney or tax professional. The Federalist however consulted Cleta Mitchell, "an expert on campaign finance regulation and tax laws governing charitable organizations." I am assuming from context that this is the same Cleta Mitchell who "… advises nonprofit and issue organizations, corporations, candidates, campaigns, and individuals on state and federal campaign finance law." The Federalist quotes her as saying that Black Lives Matter "must comply with all the rules that govern 501(c)(3) organizations" which it does not appear to be doing.

The IRS's "How to lose your 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (without really trying)" adds explicitly, "All 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate running for public office. The prohibition applies to all campaigns at the federal, state and local levels."

The IRS's "The Restriction of Political Campaign Intervention by Section 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Organizations" adds, "…public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity.  Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. …voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention."

I was unable to find a sample fiscal sponsorship agreement at the Tides Foundation but they did host a white paper by Attorney Joshua Sattely. "The activities of all nonprofits, not just those practicing fiscal sponsorship, must operate in accordance with a stated tax-exempt purpose. If a project’s mission is not compatible with that of its sponsor, that sponsor is not serving its exempt status and its 501(c)(3) classification could be jeopardized."

The Internal Revenue Service might not be the only agency to have issues with BLM's anti-Trump campaign under the fiscal sponsorship of the Tides Foundation and previously Thousand Currents, both of which are headquartered in California. "California AG Becerra Hints at Crackdown on Nonprofit Political Activity" by Andrew Garrahan (May 2017) warned that Becerra intends to "… pursue nonprofit organizations that he believes 'abuse' their nonprofit status for political purposes." CalNonprofits adds that nonprofits can tell people to "vote with your mission" but also "A charitable nonprofit organization cannot tell people – directly or indirectly – for whom they should vote."

ActBlue and ActBlue Charities (the latter is the tax-exempt entity) are however in Massachusetts.

How BLM Could Deliver a November 3 Catastrophe to the Democrats

The Washington Post reports "The Democratic Party fully embraced the imagery and themes of the Black Lives Matter movement on its convention's first night Monday," thus tying its own fortunes to that of BLM. If it turns out that BLM Global Networks' anti-Trump campaign does in fact constitute misuse of 501(c)(3) tax exempt resources, this issue could expose the entire movement as a fraud on the trust of the American people and make the entire Democratic Party a party to the fraud in question just in time for Election Day. We must all publicize this issue as widely as possible to make this happen.

 

Civis Americanus is the pen name of a contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. He or she is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.

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