Tony Soprano

Jun 2 2008, 02:33 PM

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Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church and Parish in Chicago has received
15 MILLION DOLLARS in FEDERAL FUNDS from taxpayers FOX has reported.

Wright said he considers the money as compensation for years of mistreatment of Blacks.

Wright just had a multi-million dollar mansion built for himself. A coincidence, I'm sure.


Taxpayers screwed again!

I'm sure Pfleger is drinking from the same money fountain - a lot of grants for underprivileged kids, areas at risk, and a lot of other names that disguise free-giveaways.


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Tony Soprano

Jun 2 2008, 02:51 PM

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This is the information reported on Wright's PERSONAL home that is just being finished:


"Public records of the sale show Trinity initially obtained a $10 million bank loan to purchase the property and build a new house on the land.

But further investigation with tax and real estate attorneys showed that the church had actually secured a $1.6 million mortgage for the home purchase, and attached a $10 million line of credit, for reasons unspecified in the paperwork."

15 Million dollars in Federal Funds IN -- and a 10 Million dollar line of credit obtained to build Wright's Personal home and pay a lot of incidentals evidently. Hey, he needed to furnish it right?

Tony Soprano

Jun 2 2008, 02:56 PM

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Yeah to your point, retiredLEO:


"Because churches are classified as private businesses, Trinity isn’t required to reveal its intended use for the line of credit. Nor, because it’s a non-profit entity, is it required to provide that information to the IRS."

The Perfect Scam! Add to it the Millions pouring in from the State and Federal Government - and it's an untouchable empire.

Baldo

Jun 2 2008, 03:28 PM

The problem is our government taking away taxes they shouldn't have and spending it on progams that shouldn't support.

Once real inspection is carried out on Trinity, its Pastors, and members I think we will see they worked to get every bit of local and federal funds. I don't believe Government should be passing out money to churchs or to their programs; left, center, or right.

Quote:

 

http://www.theocracywatch.org/faith_base.htm

Faith-Based Initiative

"We want to fund programs that save Americans
one soul at a time."
President George W. Bush, January, 2004, in a speech in New Orleans

In this section:

Transformation from Secular to Religious Government
Faith-Based Politics
Faith-Based Bias
Faith-Based Fiat
Faith-Based Foray
Faith-Based Victory
Faith-Based Failure
'Faith-Based' Orders
Faith-Based Sex-Education
Faith-Based Lock Up
Faith-Based Parks
Faith-Based Coercion
Compassionate Conservatism
Proselytizing
The Civil Rights Act, 1964
Political Manipulation
more links

Updates
Transformation from Secular to Religious Government

Under the Bush administration, our country is experiencing a major transformation from a secular to a religious government. The President's faith-based initiative is central to this transformation and raises serious questions about church-state separation. "Slouching toward theocracy. President Bush's faith-based initiative is doing better than you think," by Bill Berkowitz, 2/6/04 provides an overview of this transformation.

In his State of the Union address, Bush renewed a call for Congress to make permanent his faith-based proposals that would allow religious organizations to compete for more government contracts and grants without a strict separation between their religious activities and social service programs.

On February 4, 2004, the U.S. House of Representatives voted for provisions in a social services bill that allow religiously based job discrimination in publicly funded programs run by churches.

How Much Money?

How much are taxpayers paying for what Barry Lynn, Executive Director of American's United calls "federally subsidized employment discrimination?" According to Daniel Zwerdling who produced two programs on faith-based initiative for Bill Moyers TV show NOW in September, 2003, "administration spokesmen say they can't break down how much money has gone so far to religious groups .. they claim they don't keep that information."

The March, 2004, issue of Church and State reports that the "Faith Czar" Jim Towey announced to reporters that $40 billion dollars was now available to religious charities.

By studying White House press releases and the White House web site, Daniel Zwerdling found that religious groups could apply to more than a hundred federal programs that gave out more than $65 billion. In addition, religious groups could apply for more money through state-administered programs.

From the Washington Post, January 4, 2005:

.. in 2003, groups dubbed "faith-based" received $1.17 billion in grants from federal agencies, according to documents provided by the White House to the Associated Press.

That's not enough, said H. James Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. An additional $40 billion in federal money is given out by state governments, he said..

This is the text of an executive order signed by Bush on June 1.

On September 22, 2003, the White House announced new rules making $28 billion available to religious charities that proselytize and discriminate in hiring. Susan Jacoby, director of the Center for Inquiry in Metro New York claims "The White House has taken what may be its boldest step yet to blur the constitutional separation of church and state." While the White House announced these controversial new rules, the media hardly paid attention.

While religious charities receive billions of dollars, federal programs are experiencing funding cuts. The largest federally funded after-school program, the $1 billion-a-year 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is threatened with a budget reduction of $400 million for the Fiscal Year 2004. The resulting cuts in Washington D.C. alone could eliminate after-school services for 2,902 District children.

As reported in the Washington Post, Congress has ordered more than $3 million in grants since 2001 earmarked for respected former Redskins cornerback Darrell Green's Youth Life Foundation, with the goal in part of opening more Green learning centers here and in other cities. But his center is directly serving only 38 kids, in a city where 35,000 live in poverty.
From Church and State editorial, March 9, 2004:

The Corporation for National and Community Service has allocated $324,000 in Americorps funding for staffing at four daycare centers run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.

But The Children's Crusade, a mentoring program that has won national honors, lost all its budget of half a million dollars. The group had hoped to partner 35 young adults with poor minority children. That won't be happening now.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been following Bush's Faith-Based Initiative since he assumed the office of President. They have filed lawsuits, and their magazine, Church and State, has many important, in-depth articles.

From Americans United, August 17, 2004:

A new study of the "faith-based" initiative raises troubling questions about the Bush administration's disregard for constitutional and civil rights protections, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

The report issued today by the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy lists the many executive actions President George W. Bush has taken to fund a wide range of religion-based social services. The sweeping changes in federal policy, the report indicates, have come without congressional authorization.

Philadelphia Church That Endorsed Bush Gets $1 Million 'Faith-Based' Grant
Wednesday June 23, 2004

"The Rev. Lusk endorsed candidate Bush, and wound up getting a $1-million faith-based grant from the Bush administration," [Barry] Lynn said. "Now there's a heavenly payoff."

"Faith-Based Fiat," January, 2003, Church and State:

"On Dec. 12, speaking to over 1,000 religious and charitable leaders gathered at the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, George W. Bush launched another major offensive in his drive to implement his controversial "faith-based" initiative. Circumventing a reluctant Congress, which has refused to enact the administration's scheme, Bush announced a sweeping package of executive actions to encourage churches and other religious groups to apply for billions in government contracts to help the disadvantaged."

"Faith-Based Foray," From Church and State, October, 2002,

"Not willing to let a skeptical Congress delay its plan for government-funded religion, the Bush administration is moving ahead with the faith-based initiative anyway."

etc...