Posted on 09/09/2006 9:09:48 PM PDT by AVNevis
I am proudly disturbed by the article written by Mr. Todd Milbourn, Bee Staff Writer and the grab bag of specious allegations made against the non-profit organization Move America Forward, of which I am Chairwoman.
This story should never have been written. It quotes anti- military liberal activists who have found themselves in the crosshairs of a pro-America, pro-troop movement.
The gist of Mr. Milbourn's piece is that the IRS is cracking down on 'nonprofit organizations that stray into party politics.' But no where in Milbourn's piece is one shred of evidence that Move America Forward has EVER violated any rules, regulations or shown the intent to do so. Even the author has admitted there is no connection to any political party, according to his search of public records.
Our organization is hyper-vigilant about staying within the confines of the rules and regulations governing 501 (c) 3's. If Mr. Milbourn has a problem with the way the law is structured, he needs to write a story about campaign finance laws and direct his inquiries to Senators McCain and Feingold.
On the eve of Move America Forward's efforts to produce a commemorative rally for the 9/11 victims at the state Capitol in Sacramento, this article strikes me as an effort to smear our good name.
All of the 'critics' quoted in Saturday's article are themselves affiliated with suspect organizations like moveon.org, whose own finances deserve close scrutiny, including Cindy Sheehan's Gold Star Families for Peace, which until this date, has never provided any documentation that it has filed the required 990 forms such as our organization has provided to the IRS on a continuing basis and is available to the public for inspection.
As usual, what is left on the editor's clipboard is a far more telling story that what actually appears in print. Including this fact: as MAF's Chairwoman, I have NEVER accepted a dime in compensation for my work on behalf of my organization, nor did Howard Kaloogian, the former Chairman until he stepped down in order to prevent any conflict of interest when he chose to run in a special election in San Diego.
I also informed the Bee that in addition to zero compensation for my work, I have never accepted any monies for expenses. In fact, I have contributed substantially my own personal funds to the important work of supporting our troops and their mission, while fighting in hellish conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I was aghast at the conflation of figures he quoted from the IRS that purported to show that MAF used it's funds to send 'talk-show hosts' to Iraq.
I spent more than $7,000 of my own money for my trip to Iraq. For me to accept payment from any outside organization (including the U.S. Government) would be a violation of ABC corporate policy, for whom I work. Mark and Holly Williams (formerly of KFBK) wrote a personal check totalling more than $15,000 to report live and direct on what our troops were saying, without the usual mainstream media filter. Buzz Patterson, of RightTalk, Martha Zoeller of WDUN, the documentary film producers,including Brad Maaske of Bakersfield, Marc Flagg, whose parents were murdered by the Islamic Jihadists who crashed an American Airlines flight into the Pentagon, also spent their own money.
Again, NONE of the talk show hosts accepted any renumeration from Move America Forward, and to write we did so is an outright lie.
I anticipate a correction from the Sacramento Bee. I doubt that I will get it.
Thanks for that post about the decline of the liberal media and their circulation numbers. Made me smile!
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