Tax the Churches

It seems absurdly simple. We’re spending money hand over fist. Taxes will, with absolute certainty, soon rise. It seems likely to me that taxes will rise to rates never before seen in this land.

Can anyone tell me a rational reason why churches enjoyed tax-exempt status?

We absolutely need to tax all churches, as we do every other non-profit.

Check out this Web site to learn a little  more (edited 2-Sep-09) to read some more; it was the first hit Google returned when I searched.

Who’s with me on this?

The Patron Saint of Motorcyclists

This came up in conversation the other day. There’s a patron saint for most everything you can think of, and for some reason I thought that the bikers’ patron saint was Gabriel, who also looks after messengers.

But no, it’s Columbanus, an Irish saint who lived from 540 AD to 615 AD. Recurring themes in the stories of Columbanus are virtue, women and beer.

There’s much to be found on the Web about Columbanus, here’s one to get you started. And, of course, there’s a Wikipedia article.

But near as I can tell there’s no Saint Alphonzo – as in Saint Alphonzo’s Pancake Breakfast, a zippy little number by the late Frank Zappa.

The Church of Google

Look what got in my face this morning: the bold, new religion of Googlism. The Church of Google makes an interesting and entertaining case that Google is the closest thing that we have to an actual, provable God. I’m still looking it over. Go see for yourself, no matter what your faith: http://www.thechurchofgoogle.org/

I wonder if they’re making any money? Does Canada exempt churches from taxes, like we do in the US and, if so, has Matt applied for it? Hmmm….

Now, why didn’t I think of that?