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May 18, 2004
100 or so comment spam messages later. . .
Well, that was fun. And almost enough to convince me to learn to write regular expressions.
And that was just the first "You gotta be fuckin' kidding" moment of the evening. From Sisyphus Shrugged:
Texas comptroller decrees narrow definition of godUnitarian Universalists have for decades presided over births, marriages and memorials. The church operates in every state, with more than 5,000 members in Texas alone.
But according to the office of Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, a Denison Unitarian church isn't really a religious organization -- at least for tax purposes. Its reasoning: the organization "does not have one system of belief."
Uh-huh.
Unlike the rigorous, internally-consistent other religions out there.
Also ran across some hideously homophobic commentary I'm not even bothering to link to, because those idiots always decide to come back here.
And I really ain't in a welcoming mood right now.
Sitting at the Heartland Cafe, abusing the free WiFi again. I really should be using it to read something intelligent or interesting instead.
Update: But instead, I find a non-registration link to the story.
Bradenton.com: Texas official says Unitarian church not a tax-exempt religion:
But the denials of the Red River Unitarian Universalist Church in Denison, the North Texas Church of Freethought in Carrollton, and an earlier denial by Sharp for the Ethical Culture Fellowship of Austin, were ordered because the organizations did not mandate belief in a supreme being.The disputed tax dollars don't amount to much, but the comptroller has taken a stand on principle, Ancira said.
"The issue as a whole is, Do you want to open up a system where there can be abuse or fraud, or where any group can proclaim itself to be a religious organization and take advantage of the exception?" he said.
Those who oppose the comptroller's "God, gods or supreme being" test say that it can discriminate against legitimate faiths. For example, applying that standard could disqualify Buddhism because it does not mandate belief in a supreme being, critics say.
Snarkiness fails me.
D'you think Mexico would take it back?
Since, you know, we'd be including the residents?
Posted by Aaron at May 18, 2004 09:07 PM
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