Focus on Focus on Family- tax-exempt "religious"

[Moses]

JUDICIAL NOMINEES
Evangelist targets Sen. Nelson in print ad

James Dobson, the evangelical leader who warned in January that some U.S. senators ''will be in the bull's-eye'' if they block President Bush's judicial nominees, has fired one of his first arrows at Florida's Bill Nelson.

The Democrat is one of 20 senators targeted by Dobson's Colorado-based Focus on the Family, which is running newspaper ads bashing Democrats for holding up Bush's most conservative judicial nominees.

In the ad, which ran in Florida newspapers, Nelson is criticized for siding with efforts to use filibusters to cut off debate over nominees.

''There is only one reason Sen. Nelson and fellow liberals are desperate to block these judges,'' the ad reads. ``They would easily be confirmed by a majority of the Senate, because they represent the president's mainstream American values.''

The ads come as Republicans prepare to change Senate rules to eliminate the filibusters, setting off a pitched battle in the legislative chamber.

A spokesman for Nelson suggested Dobson is ''acting vindictively without regard to the facts.'' Nelson, spokesman Dan McLaughlin noted, has voted for 206 of Bush's 215 nominees -- including Miguel Estrada, Bush's nominee for a federal appeals court.

Nelson, acutely aware of the GOP's desire to take his seat in 2006, joined fellow Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska in voting to end the filibuster against Estrada, who ultimately withdrew his nomination.

''This ad is completely without merit, based on Dobson's partisan vindictiveness,'' McLaughlin said.

-- LESLEY CLARK

[Moses]

February 03, 2005

Focus On Politics: IRS Asked To Review Dobson Electioneering

James Dobson of Focus on the Family isn't shy about his increasing involvement in politics. During the 2004 campaign, the Religious Right leader traveled the country, rallying evangelical voters on behalf of favored candidates and issues. He is widely credited with helping to defeat former Sen. Tom Daschle in South Dakota. Since then, Dobson has given several media interviews about his political activities.

Dobson's personal politicking is permitted, but federal tax law does not allow him to use the tax-exempt Focus on the Family (FOF) for partisan purposes. Now a progressive group based in Dobson's own back yard of Colorado Springs says he may have done just that, and it wants the Internal Revenue Service to investigate.

The group, Citizens Project, says FOF's Citizen magazine crossed the line by running a cover story comparing the positions of President George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry on three social issues - abortion, stem-cell research and same-sex marriage.

The article made it clear that Bush agrees with Focus on all three issues and Kerry does not. It blasted Kerry while praising Bush, making it obvious that the president was the preferred candidate. The bias in the article was clear, and it didn't even pretend to be even-handed.

IRS regulations prohibit non-profit 501(c)(3) groups from comparing candidates in this narrow and biased way. The IRS says non-profits can compare candidates' stands on issues, but they must do so on a broad range of issues and avoid distortions and bias. The Citizen article fell far short of that standard. After consulting with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Citizens Project decided to file the IRS complaint.

"Our organization believes that this article may have violated federal tax law with its use of code words such as 'pro-life' and with its implied support of President George W. Bush as a candidate for president," wrote Ellie Collinson, executive director for Citizens Project.

Continued Collinson, "The article's author summarizes the candidates' positions on the three issues stated above and nothing else, therefore not providing a broad presentation of the candidates' viewpoints on a larger array of issues outside of Focus on the Family's interest. Moreover, what is described as a summary of viewpoints does not provide objective and balanced coverage of each candidate's positions."

FOF officials are scurrying for cover. Tom Minnery, a longtime Focus executive, told the news media that the article does not violate the law because it was written by FOF's political arm, an organization called Focus on the Family Action.

Focus on the Family Action holds a different type of tax-exempt status, 501(c)(4), that permits it to endorse candidates and be more partisan in its approach.

"It makes this particular article free and clear, as per our attorneys," Minnery said.

But officials at Americans United say Minnery is wrong. Citizen has been FOF's flagship publication for years and has always been produced by that organization, not FOF Action. In fact, the very issue that contained the Bush-Kerry comparison article also listed this statement: "Published monthly by Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization recognized for tax-deductible giving by the federal government."

This looks like a clear admission that the article in question was produced by Focus on the Family, not the 501(c)(4) organization. In light of this, it appears FOF violated the law by printing such partisan material in Citizen. The IRS should undertake a full investigation.

-- Rob Boston

[Moses]

August 11, 2004

Suffer The Little Children: Focus On The Family And 'Hot Saucing'[/size]

Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson is controversial in part for his endorsement of spanking. The Religious Right leader's book Dare to Discipline endorsed corporal punishment at a time when many child-rearing experts were recommending other discipline techniques that did not rely on the infliction of physical pain.

Apparently, some Dobson acolytes have now concluded that a smack on the behind or striking a kid with a paddle is not punishment enough and have sought out more creative ways to inflict pain on recalcitrant youngsters. Enter "hot saucing."

The latest corporal punishment fad in the fundamentalist world, "hot saucing" consists of putting a drop of a fiery condiment on a child's tongue. According to an Aug. 10 article in The Washington Post by freelance writer Alison Buckholtz, some conservative Christian parents are using the controversial discipline technique on children as young as 2.

In case any fundamentalist parents are in doubt, "hot saucing" proponents are quick to point out that the Bible approves of the unorthodox punishment. A leading proponent of "hot saucing," former child actress Lisa Whelchel, explains it all in her book Creative Correction: Extraordinary Ideas for Everyday Discipline, published by Focus on the Family and the evangelical publisher Tyndale House

Whelchel's book provides passages from the Bible that she says back up all of her discipline techniques. For example, she also recommends pinching a child's tongue with a clothespin for swearing, saying it is supported by a passage in the Book of Proverbs that reads, "The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out."

"Hot saucing" has plenty of critics. Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist contacted by The Post, noted that hot sauces come in different strengths. The most fiery brands, he noted, can burn a child's esophagus and cause the tongue to swell, making a youngster choke.

"There are many different kinds of hot sauce on the market, and parents who say they know the dilution to use so it won't sting or say they only use one drop are wrong," Kendrick said. "It's done because it hurts. It stings. It burns. It makes you nauseous."

Not every conservative Christian agrees with the approach. "The tongue doesn't do the lying, the heart does the lying," said Tim Kimmel, an evangelical child-rearing expert. "When you direct a form of discipline to a body part that created the problem, it's like in [other cultures] when they cut off your hand for stealing."

"Hot saucing" could also get a parent into trouble with the law. Child-welfare officials in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., contacted by The Post were uniformly skeptical of the practice. While none of those jurisdictions has laws specifically banning the punishment, officials say if done repeatedly, "hot saucing" could spark a child-abuse investigation.

Religious Right activists constantly extol the virtues of the family and proclaim their love and concern for children. But, as the controversy over "hot saucing" proves, at the same time they seem to be awfully creative when it comes to thinking up new ways to inflict pain on misbehaving youngsters.

-- Rob Boston

[Ashamed 2 b American]

"Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man."

- - - Thomas Paine