Yearly Archives: 2008

Political guideline for pastors and churches

Staff Report

Friday, 31 October 2008
It happens near every election. Anti-religious organizations attempt to scare people of faith into not discussing public policy as it impacts moral issues. People of faith do not scare that easily, but that doesn’t keep Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State from cluttering mailboxes and fax machines.

In response, Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law said, “Lynn’s attempt to scare pastors is as hollow as a Halloween Jack-O-Lantern. The truth is that pastors and church leaders do not need to violate IRS regulations on political activity in order to impact the 2008 election. There are a wide variety of permissible activities to activate voters and encourage them to vote their values.”

While churches may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office, pastors can preach on biblical and moral issues, such as abortion and traditional marriage, can urge the congregation to register and vote, and can overview the positions of the candidates. Churches may distribute nonpartisan voter guides (which can identify the policy positions of all candidates), register voters, hold candidate forums and introduce visiting candidates.

Since 1954, when the political endorsement/opposition prohibition was added to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), only one church has ever lost its IRS letter ruling, but even that church did not lose its tax-exempt status. ImageChurches, unlike other nonprofit organizations, do not need an IRS letter ruling to be tax-exempt. That case involved the Church at Pierce Creek in New York, which placed full-page ads in USA Today and the Washington Times opposing then-Governor Bill Clinton for President. The ads were sponsored by the church and donations were solicited. The IRS revoked the church’s letter ruling but not its tax-exempt status.

The church sued, and the court ruled that churches are tax-exempt without an IRS letter ruling. The court noted that "because of the unique treatment churches receive under the IRC, the impact of the revocation is likely to be more symbolic than substantial." Not even this church lost its tax-exempt status, and not one donor was affected by this incident.

Churches may promote and endorse pending legislation or marriage amendments or initiatives. The only limitation is that churches not devote more than a "substantial" part of their overall activity to lobbying. Since 1934, when the lobbying restriction was added to the IRC, not one church has ever lost its tax-exempt status for engaging in too much lobbying. This is not surprising, considering that, with all the other meetings and activities undertaken regularly, churches would have to lobby constantly in order to violate the lobbying restriction.

"Pastors should throw away the muzzle of fear and replace it with a megaphone of boldness. It was sermons of pastors that fueled the American Revolution. America needs her pastors to once again speak up and address the religious and moral issues of the day. Pastors can preach biblical truths and educate their congregations about the critical moral issues at stake in this election without violating any IRS rules. America is at a crossroads and her pastors must address the moral issues of our day," Staver said.

Liberty Counsel has voter guides suitable for distribution in churches available at http://www.lc.org/.

Last Updated ( Friday, 31 October 2008 )

Radio rock failed fans

Luke Harrington

It’s been said by some that the recording industry as we know it is not long for this world—crumbling from the inside out, a victim of its own greed and inability to adapt. It’s not my job to root for this or help it along, but Friday night I had the opportunity to witness a little piece of it.

The Tulsa Convention Center was host to three of the biggest names currently circling through the playlists on “active rock” and “mainstream rock” radio: hard rock/nu metal outfits Papa Roach, Seether and Staind. The concert was not particularly entertaining, but it was a moment of insight into what’s happening with the music industry and why more and more musical acts are eschewing it altogether.

Sitting in the audience, I was treated to forty or so of the least interesting rock songs ever written. There were, evidently, three different bands that played that night, but every song was essentially the same three-chord dirge, played with the same down-tuned power chords, and (for the most part) about the same standard-issue angst.

These are the bands we ask to fill arenas? These are the bands we give countless hours of radio airtime to? Is this really the best that American music has to offer? Well no, of course it’s not – as anyone reasonably familiar with independent music will tell you – and yet, this is the material that the industry chooses to market to the masses so aggressively.

After a brief performance from little-known band Red, Papa Roach opened the evening, taking the stage in an arena that was barely half-full. “What the f— is up, Tulsa? Get out of your f—ing seats, this is a f—ing rock show!” screamed lead singer Jacoby Shaddix, proving that he’s one of the more obnoxious people currently working in rock music (though Fred Durst probably still has him beat).

The band then played through a dozen or so of their three-chord songs, including {mosimage}“Scars” (which features the bewilderingly amateur chorus “I tear my heart open / I sew myself shut / My weakness is / That I care too much”), “Forever” (which Shaddix said was “going out to all the little dirty girls in the audience here”) and “Last Resort”, also introducing new songs like “Hollywood Whore” (“Is anyone else sick of b–ches like Britney Spears?”—well yeah, we were—five years ago). Then Shaddix finished out the set with a “Thank you! We are—Papa Roach! Papa Roach!” – essentially begging the crowd to start chanting their name (they did). Really, guys? Really?

Things improved a bit when South African band Seether took the stage, and things were allowed to be a bit more fun (their drum was covered in Christmas lights—tell me that’s not cool). Unfortunately, without the abrasiveness of Roach, the show just became plain dull, and dragged from there on. The only interesting moment was arguably when they played their radio hit “Fake It,” which is probably one of their more creative songs, in that the usual plodding thump has been replaced by a catchy swing beat; for the live performance, guitarist Troy McLawhorn even attempted a solo. (It fell flat, but I had to appreciate the effort.)

The evening was rounded out by the Massachusetts-based outfit Staind, who asked us yet again “What the f— [was] up” (do people really think the so-called f-bomb actually still has shock value? seriously?). Fortunately, Staind was a band that wasn’t afraid to play an acoustic number or two, and we were able to enjoy our three-chord nuggets sans screaming feedback for a few minutes. Staind is also a band that understands a bit of subtlety, and there were a few introspective moments during songs like “Outside” and “It’s Been a While,” even as the light show exploded to seizure-inducing proportions. Then with a pleasant “Have a great rest of your evening” from lead singer Aaron Lewis, the show was over.

There’s something jarring about being hard-sold teen rebellion for three hours, only to have lights come up and be reminded that the whole time you were sitting in an arena financed by government money, and surrounded by security guards and people munching nachos mass-produced by some faceless corporation. Therein lies the problem: the whole evening was about being sold a product. The songs sounded identical to their album counterparts (perhaps because they had to time them perfectly with the light show), and every jump, flail and f-word was preplanned and timed exactly.

It’s not that I expected more; this was, after all, an evening of what can only be called “radio rock”—i.e., heavy metal and grunge distilled down to their least interesting elements so that they can be mass-produced and marketed directly to an undiscriminating demographic. The point, though, is that no amount of marketing can make bad music good. Everything gets old eventually, and a bunch of white guys playing three chords on their guitars in front of a flashy light show was pretty much played out 20 years ago. This is why the arena was nowhere near full, despite the presence of three bands that have sold millions. They sell so well due to aggressive marketing, not quality, and while a handful of teens might currently be content to go to the concerts, crowd surf, and pretend to be rebellious – there’s no way they’ll tune into these songs on oldies radio 30 years from now.

About the author:

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Luke Harrington currently resides in Tulsa and works in the {mosimage}aerospace industry–but, at any given moment, would probably rather be reviewing movies and music. In his spare time, he’s off playing blues piano, pretending to be Assistant Editor for MovieZeal.com, or reviewing the many musical events in Northeastern Oklahoma for Tulsa Today.

Edit note:
Tulsa Today welcomes invitations to live music shows throughout Northeastern Oklahoma. Coverage of any event is dependent on staff availability, but every effort is made to faithfully represent the tremendous variety, accomplished skill, growing international reputation of local and regional musicians. These stories are not removed from the Internet and remain available without expiration. Musicians are welcome to contact our office by calling (918) 592-NEWS to arrange coverage.

Back Porch Mary interview

Luke Harrington

In case anyone was worried, country music is alive and well. Thursday night at Cain’s Ballroom, the stage was taken by the Turnpike Troubadours (who could easily be a top-notch bluegrass band if they didn’t use electric instruments), the Brandon Clark Band (who combine great rock ‘n roll with a honky-tonk swagger), and Back Porch Mary, one of the most original bands to combine country with punk rock in recent memory. Before the show (which was excellent), I sat down with Back Porch Mary lead singer Mike Krug to find out more about the band.

Tulsa Today: Tell me about Back Porch Mary. You guys have been together almost a decade now?

Krug: Well, we’ve been touring in our present form for about six years, but the band was always an idea I had in my head.

Tulsa Today: Your press notes tell me that you were originally inspired to form a band by Guns ‘n Roses. Is there any truth to that?

Krug: Yeah, they were a big part of it. In a lot of ways, Appetite for Destruction was the catalyst that got me into music. You’re probably too young to remember it.

Tulsa Today: Yeah, I was about two years old when it came out.

Krug: Yeah, so you might not entirely get it. But the early 80’s were basically the era of pointy guitars and makeup—silly stuff that I really didn’t like. I grew up in central Kansas, of course, and there was nothing like GnR there. And then I heard them for the first time—and of course, this was the era of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, and in comes this band that’s openly doing drugs and smoking and drinking on stage, and it blew my mind. Really, though it was the music. Slash’s guitar technique was just incredible—he was an inspiration.

Tulsa Today: So, explain this to me: you’re inspired by a metal band, so you start a country band?

Krug: Well …

Tulsa Today: Okay, maybe it’s not entirely fair to refer to you guys as a country band.

Krug: Well, I don’t know if referring to them as a metal band is the whole story, either.

Tulsa Today: Fair enough.

Krug: I mean, with Back Porch Mary, if you’re a metalhead, we’re a country band to you. If you’re into Tim McGraw, you’ll probably see us as a little bit more of a rock band. What we are is really a matter of perspective.

Tulsa Today: That’s true. What I really liked about the album …

Krug: You liked the album?

Tulsa Today: Yeah, I’m a big fan. Is that a surprise?

Krug: Yeah, I guess not. A lot of times, the interviews we do aren’t with big music fans.

Tulsa Today: Oh, okay. But anyway, what I liked about the album is that you mix country and rock, but it still sounds new. It’s not Garth Brooks, or the Eagles, or Sheryl Crow.

Krug: Well, our major difference is the addition of punk rock, and we’re not the first to do that. Jason and the Scorchers and The Beat Farmers were two of the first; later on, bands like The Bottle Rockets and Slobberbone developed it. Our major contribution is probably the addition of some southern rock to the mix.

Tulsa Today: Let’s go back to Guns ‘n Roses for a second—this is somewhat timely because Chinese Democracy, their sixth album that’s been in development since 1994 is finally launching a month from now, and the title single was just recently released to radio. Have you heard it?

Krug: Yeah, I went online and listened to it—I wasn’t really into it at all. Guns ‘n Roses just hasn’t done anything great since Appetite. They were really one of those street-level bands that suddenly made it big, but didn’t know how to deal with it, and then just imploded.

Tulsa Today: That’s true. Does that have anything to do with why you guys have stayed independent over the years?

Krug: Well, maybe subconsciously. But the industry is so different right now—really it comes down to the fact that we don’t need anything that the industry has to offer. Once it became possible to make your own CDs, there was just no need for the recording industry anymore. Really, it’s all just based on a f—ing lie: there’s absolutely nothing that a record label can do for you. All you need is to write good songs and form a good band, and then take it to the people. No promoter or amount of money will make you famous. A lot of my friends were in bands that quickly signed with recording labels, and they just tore them apart—it’s just a lot of pressure and baggage, and there’s absolutely no reason to do it anymore. We just want to play music and meet people, and we’re able to make a living at it—we’re not millionaires, but we all eat. We all own houses. But the industry’s just so different now—it’s all driven by the bottom line without any thought given to quality music. The Beatles, U2, Guns ‘n Roses, Led Zeppelin—none of them could make it in the modern music industry. No modern label would give U2 a chance to record several albums before delivering a Joshua Tree.

Tulsa Today: So would you say the music industry as we know is essentially a thing of the past?

Krug: Absolutely. It’s done. Anymore, when it’s possible to record a hit song from your bedroom, what could a label possibly add to that? If you put a good song up on YouTube, people will listen. That’s the point: the Internet is such a big thing. If you put a song up there, and it’s really a good song, it’ll travel through complete word of mouth. The music industry just can’t understand the impact that the Internet has had. They’re all busy worrying that people are downloading albums, but album sales are up. They’re up. Yeah, okay, CD sales are down, but total album sales are up, and if the industry is so worried about losing sales on a format that wasn’t a very good format to release music on to begin with, it gives you a pretty good idea of how out-of-touch they are. We’re not afraid of people downloading our music; the point is to get the music out there. If people hear it and like it, maybe they’ll come to the show, or they’ll buy a t-shirt, or they’ll even buy a CD. Again, we’re all making a perfectly good living at this. We’re just a working-class band.

About the author:

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Luke Harrington currently resides in Tulsa and works in the aerospace industry–but, at any given moment, would probably rather be reviewing movies and music. In his spare time, he’s off playing blues piano, pretending to be Assistant Editor for MovieZeal.com, or reviewing the many musical events in Northeastern Oklahoma for Tulsa Today.

Betrayed by popular culture

Byron Spires

Editorial: It has been our fear of big brother that has fueled the fright of a government that becomes all-inclusive in our lives. George Orwell, in his book, 1984, set the stage for what some have since coined the “big brother,” or “Orwellian,” fear that has set the groundwork for the subtle way in which our minds and thoughts have been taken over.

Over the past fifty or so years it has been a government held by a one party system that Orwell warned us about that we expected to tear away our rights and leave us destitute for both a true history and our civil liberties. Instead, the very institution to which we have depended on to guard our rights has been the very institution that has chiseled away at those very rights.

I am speaking of the mass media, especially news conglomerates both printed and broadcast plus the entertainment industry.

Ironically it has been with little fanfare that we have caved into the sublime stroking of our subconscious, that like herded animals we have accepted the prodding. I remember a friend of my son who owned a Border Collie, a herding dog used around sheep. The friend invited my son over for a party at his home and as the guest mingled together the dog would gently nudge the guest until he had every one of them cornered in one room.

The dog knew exactly what he was doing, the guest, however had no idea what had happened even after they were in the room for a considerable amount of time. Only a couple of people including my son realized what the dog had done. He was extremely subtle about how he corralled them, never jumping on them, just a gentle nudge in the direction he wanted someone to go. We have been nudged along over the past few years until we have reached a point in which many of us cannot make a decision without facing the Mecca of Mass Media and paying homage.

Whittled away over the years has been our ability to decide what is good and what is bad or even better, what we need. It is no longer in vogue to disagree with the status quos. Instead we are chastised if we find ourselves on the wrong side of an issue.

For most of my life it was contemplated that it would be a right wing ideology that would lead to Big Brother. And that “free,” thinking would be a punishable crime. In my opinion it has been exactly the opposite that has sent us to this point in our American history.

It has been the Left or Liberal political establishment that has pointed us in this direction.

A week before the presidential election and based on what is in the major media print and the national broadcast organizations our president has already been elected.
No matter what the voters may decide, the national press has picked our next president, Barack Obama. If they have, then we will see some more chipping away of our now growing limited amount of rights in the near future.

And I want you to understand something. I am not saying presidential candidate Obama could not be elected in his own right. At issue is the now inflated power of the press (mass media) to control our voting habits and especially our decisions. With this added power will come an expansion of power into our lives like we have never seen before.

By controlling the politics of this country, you control the country and especially the future direction in which you want this country to head. It is scary, especially when you hear well-known, Hollywood stars make comments that it is the kiss-of-death, job wise, if those in charge find out you may have some conservative ideals.

Can it be stopped, to be honest, I really am not sure if it can be at this point. The only hope I think is that enough people realize that it is a real threat and take a stand. I believe everyone has a right to their opinion and most importantly, they should have a right to express that opinion without fear of retaliation.

As a note of interest about my opinion, take a few minutes to read up on the last 18 months worth of media mergers that have taken place. Most states have a press association and most of those will have archived material on who now belongs to whom. It will be give you a real shock and add to my case about what we are experiencing. At the current rate of buy outs, we’ll be down to a half dozen news sources nationwide in the next ten years.

If that doesn’t wake you up, then maybe it is too late.

About the author:Bryon Spires is the editor of the Havana Herald of Quincy, Florida and contributes news and editorial for Tulsa Today. Spires may be reached by e-mail to windingroads@netzero.com.

‘Imagine’ … small business united

Terry Neese

About 70 million people work for small businesses. These people make up one-third of the entire population of U.S. voters. Those are numbers that can wield incredible influence in any election. Imagine what can happen if somehow small businesses and their employees could unite around a few key reforms.

In fact, regardless of polls, any candidate that can make his case in support of small businesses could walk away with the presidency on November 4.

Small business owners have suggested in recent surveys that the economy is their top concern, and 38% say economic policy will sway how they vote in November. Two-thirds of small business owners say they’ve been affected by the credit crunch. And they’re carefully listening to what the candidates are saying about taxes, health insurance and other key issues.

John McCain emphasizes lowering corporate taxes, making permanent the Bush tax cuts, and lowering the capital gains tax. Barack Obama would raise capital gains and income taxes on individuals making over $250,000, but would exempt small businesses from capital gains.

On health care, Sen. Obama provides tax credits to employers paying insurance premiums, but allows individuals who can’t afford insurance to buy a government plan. Sen. McCain establishes refundable health care credits for individuals to purchase their own insurance available across state lines.

Both candidates acknowledge the need for flexible workplaces so parents can balance family with work. For all their disagreements, this agreement could actually have tremendous positive implications for the future of the American workplace.

Small business is the economic engine that drives our country. Each year, small businesses create two-thirds of all new jobs, and contribute nearly half of the national GDP. Policy changes that help small business grow and prosper will help America grow.

In unity, there could be strength. Consider: The U. S. Chamber of Commerce has a membership of three million small businesses, with 3,000 state and local chambers, and 830 associations.

Contrary to their reputation assigned by national news media, chambers of commerce are not generally creatures of big business. In fact, 96% of chamber of commerce membership encompasses businesses with fewer than 100 employees. The National Federation of Independent Business, likewise, has a membership of 350,000.

Imagine what might happen if somehow small businesses and their employees could unite around a few key reforms. Specifically, the next president should work to eliminate the alternative minimum tax, lower corporate tax rates from 35% to 25% and eliminate the capital gains tax entirely. Those are the types of policy changes that small business owners and employees will embrace.

To borrow a few lines: “You may think I’m dreaming, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us” — in support of America’s job-creating engine, the women and men in small businesses.

About the Author:
Terry Neese is a Distinguished Fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis and is a small business owner.