Filing your taxes just got a little plicated. The IRS recently announced new guidelines for charitable deductions to be introduced for the 2007 tax year. Beginning next tax season, “taxpayers must provide bank records or other information when claiming deductions for charitable donations of money.” These records can include credit card statements and canceled checks. And in addition, taxpayers “may also submit a munication from the charity with the organization’s name, the date of the transaction and the amount of...

There can be little doubt that one of the greatest political and economic problems in the US is the way that our Congress “earmarks” billions of dollars for special projects that benefit lawmakers in their bid for personal security and re-election. The system works in a very straightforward way. Congress can pass massive spending bills and all the while representatives can add “earmarks” that benefit projects and people in their district or state. It is a form, quite often, of...

over at National Review Online. ...

Pat Fagan of the Heritage Foundation summarizes the research on religious practice and social es. Religious practice is a protective factor against divorce, out-of-wedlock child-bearing, domestic violence, drug abuse and suidical tendencies. Religious practice is associated with more positive interactions between parents and children and husbands and wives, as well as with better health over a lifetime.  ...

Rev. Robert Sirico examines the nature of giving, which keeps us all so busy during this Christmas season. “Without exchange, without private property and a moral sense of its foundation, giving would be limited, impossible or morally dubious,” he writes. Read mentary here. ...

Just say “No!” to corporate welfare. That’s a pretty good motto, I think. And it seems that one form of corporate welfare, the vast system of farm subsidies, is getting some increased critical mainstream coverage. In today’s WaPo appears a story with this headline: “Federal Subsidies Turn Farms Into Big Business.” I’ve seen quite a few stories in this vein over the past few months, exploding the mythical image of the down home family farmer. Here are some unintended consequences...

In a much discussed op-ed for CNN last week, hipster church leaders Marc Brown and Jay Bakker (the latter’s profile, incidentally, immediately precedes that of yours truly in The Relevant Nation…a serendipitous product of alphabetical order) lodge plaint against Christianity that doesn’t respect the call “love others just as they are, without an agenda.” Speaking of Jesus, Brown and Bakker write, “The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help...

I’ll post the link to this story on an eco-friendly church being built in the Philippines with only one ment: I am very surprised at the claim that this is the “world’s first-ever environmentally-friendly church.” Obviously it all depends how one defines “eco-friendly,” but still, I’m skeptical that this is the first church building to incorporate the features listed in the article. Surely some progressive congregation somewhere has already set the standard in this field? ...

“The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives…” Psalm 37:21 That verse is a pretty good introduction to the issues facing people who declare bankruptcy but want to continue to give to the church. As noted on this blog previously, there was some controversy over the legalization and regulation of the inclusion of charitable donations and tithes when filing for bankruptcy. In yesterday’s BreakPoint, Chuck Colson weighs in, supporting the efforts of the...

In light of Iran’s Holocaust Denial conference, you’d think we would hear something from some of the authors who have made a name for themselves attacking the Catholic Church for not doing enough to prevent the Holocaust. Where is John Cornwell, author of Hitler’s Pope, a scurilous attack on Pius XII for not doing enough to save Jews? While we wait to hear from John Cornwell or James Carroll (author of Constantine’s Sword) or Susan Zuccotti (author of Under His...