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Church And State? What About Church and Pentagon?
Forty years ago I told one of my pals in the JAG office that Roe vs. Wade would be worse than Vietnam when it comes to divisions in America. Was I close?
Coming Soon: Turning Military Facilities into Abortion Clinics?
August 23rd, 2010 by Americans United for Life 
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Every American opposed to taxpayer-funded abortion should be aware of a major legislative battle coming in September. When the Senate reconvenes, debate is expected to begin on this year’s Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization bill. Last May, when the Senate Armed Services Committee was putting this bill together, Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) added an amendment that would strike a provision in the U.S. Code that prohibits DOD medical personnel or facilities from performing abortions.
The Burris amendment would – simply put – turn U.S. military facilities into abortion clinics.
Advocates for the amendment argue that the change would not amount to taxpayer funding for abortion, but this is completely false. American taxpayers will be footing the bill for elective abortions by paying for these military facilities, additional equipment, and the use of needed military personnel to perform abortions. Further, more money may be used to search for, hire, and transport new personnel to perform those abortions. From 1993 to 1996, when President Clinton allowed abortions in military facilities, the administration had to seek out civilians to perform the abortions – all military physicians refused to perform or assist in elective abortions.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), arguing on the floor of the Senate that “abortion now is going to be performed in military hospitals,” temporarily stopped this bill from moving forward. But this was only a delay and the Senator is preparing to lead this fight again in the fall. We expect at least one amendment to be offered on the Senate Floor to strike the Burris Amendment. We’ll keep you updated on this important issue. For more information, check out the website of our sister organization, AUL Action.
Suicide Rates Still Climbing
Suicides in the Armed Forces and the National Guard and Reserves are still alarmingly on the rise. With all the due diligence and immense outreach that is ongoing in all 50 States, we cannot seem to abate the savage spirit that invades and intrudes the soul of our young veterans of war.
Sixty-five members of the Guard and Reserve have taken their lives in the first six months of 2010. This figure does not include veterans or the Navy and Marines. Even more alarming.
We have an epidemic of mental health issues in the military that all best efforts are not touching. Or, they are, and the numbers could be larger were it not for the ubiquitous prevention programs both in and out of the Armed Forces. Everyone in the veteran advocacy business is on the look out for the signs of depression and deep despair.
I am trained in crisis and suicide prevention work and remain constantly vigilant through my contacts and network of associates. We man 24 hour hot-lines and spend endless hours on the phone assuring our comrades, who have weathered the horrors of war, that there is light on the other side of those nightmares. Yet so much is related to place and timing. So few ever seem to be around when that dreaded moment and savage god enters the picture.
Just this week a Wisconsin National Guard Soldier, Matthew Magdzas, a 23 year old married man took the life of his pregnant wife and his dogs and then ended his own mortal life. Impulse or plan? Flashbacks or internal rage? Who in God’s name knows. It is when the antecedent conditions are not apparent that we remain impotent in the realm of prevention. And of course the victim and victims are generally unaware moments before the act. How is that to be prevented?
I have the experience of 7 suicides in my life. Four of them Vietnam Veterans. One of them was my roommate Joe Herman, who had the world on his side, talent, looks, money. And the demons of war intruded one night and put a bullet in his head. Could I have prevented it? I say yes. But again, we are never there, right there, when needed. How can you be there before those one car accidents when the vet elects to just run off the road, as was the case in the years from 1975-90.
58,000 died in Vietnam. It has been reported by Pointman Ministries and other Veteran Outreach programs, that another 110,000 committed suicide during those years; twice the fatalities in the war.
32 soldiers including 11 in the Guard and Reserves took their own lives in the month of June. That is a rate of one a day and at level only matched by the period after the Vietnam War. How do we address this as a citizenry not a military? And mind you, those are figures for active duty, not veterans who have been discharged.
Are we, are we, our brothers keeper? Are we able to even address in polite company such a taboo subject? Are the figures simply so daunting that we are just left in a numbness of mind that has no direction of home. When it was reported back in 2008 that a full 50% of the suicides amongst veterans were in the ranks of the Reserve and the Guard, did they slow down the deployment of these young men and women until we got a grip on the nuances of the Guard traninng? No, we needed numbers, big numbers for the General’s, “Surges”, all of them. And now they are surging home, and the ghosts of war are at our doorstep. In the last two articles I asked our readers if we are ready for a reception that may not be as rosy as we wish.
Is it possible to have every neighborhood trained and armed with a compassionate platoon of listeners and go-to people for times of distress? We cannot just live behind the bumper stickers of support. we have to have some feet…or cliche as it sounds, some boots on the ground. We need a “surge” of families and friends who will be at the vets side in a heartbeat. The now running national TV advertisement with all the Medal of Honor recipients, beseeching the young soldiers to get help, as many of them acknowledge they wish they had done, is a laudable move in the right direction.
The trail into the woods of suicide is dark and booby trapped. No single hypothesis has ever touched the ambiguous and complex motives that lead to suicide. Literature is strewn with attempts to grapple with the under-belly of this human particular. From Judas Iscariot, to the writings of, T.S. Elliot’s Wasteland, the Myth of Sisphus, Sartre’s “No Exit,” Soren Kierkegaard’s concept of despair that surpasses all clinical definitions of depression, to the endless tomes of poetry from the Greek tragedies to the modern Sylvia Plath, no one has captured the monster in a cage for lengthy study. It is time to come out of the closet and dance with the demons of war. so as to escort them off the floor.
“The passion for destruction is also a creative passion.” Michael Bakunin
The massive amount of material from sociologists and clinical psychiatrists only adds to a pile of documentation for professional journals and epidemiologists and not one iota of helpfulness for the layman. And most all of the research is ipso post facto. Prevention is vacant.
It may well be that no one wants to enter the shabby, chaotic, tortured and agonizing world of suicide. With all of our revered Research Foundations and think tanks- the Heritages the Cato’s the Enterprise Institutes the Rand’s, et al, is there not a one of them that could side-step long enough to research what is killing the souls of our young warriors?
Is this the arena for the Jeff Bazos and Bill Gates clan to direct their foundation monies?
Is the business of life and death to subconsciously abhorrent for study?
Life and death is the reason for war. One side must win. Suicide apparently elects to not take sides.
Only the dead know the end of war.
Surprise The War Is Over!
While we slept peacefully last night in our cribs of freedom and prosperity, the last of the combat troops in Iraq cruised over the border into Kuwait; with papers of course, and unarmed. Much unlike our borders.
As I learned of this event by email tonight, I cannot help but think how odd it is that I was in the living room in California of my Sergeant from Vietnam, in March of 2003, as we witnessed the invasion of Baghdad with the 3rd Infantry Division and the 7th Marines with whom we served. Neither one of us ever thought we would see a pre-emptive war again in our lifetime. Particularly one based on questionable data. And here I am back in California with my pal, 7 1/2 years later watching the withdrawal of troops, leaving the people of Iraq with questionable data. No question that Saddam had to go, but 13 Centuries of Suni domination morphed into a Shiite democracy, is assuredly questionable. The 50,000 troops that are remaining coupled with some handsomely paid private contractors,(men with guns), will now fuel are 24/7 cable news for the next 7 years.
Officially, 440 troops of the Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division will be calling themselves the exit crew. An exit that has a great deal more honor and record of accomplishment than is reported. There are no helicopters being tossed overboard and no one fleeing Embassy compounds for safety. This is an ordered exit. Is it a surprise? Well of course. Is it part of a grander plan? Well of course.
I think I now see why the National Security Advisor and former Commandant of the Marine Corps; General James Jones, got the job. This is a clear handing off of the baton from the Rumsfeld Department of Defense to the currently finely tuned State Department who will now be charged with stabilizing this nation that is ruled by the Tower of Babel.
Community policing, and guiding a judicial system is not the role of an Army. The very reason the Marine Corps balked at their continued use in Iraq and were shortly thereafter deployed to Afghanistan.
We stopped a civil war, maybe, we toppled a dictator, ooorah, and we have spent more training their cops than the entire nations GDP. I do believe it is time to turn over the show to the locals. Pray that the locals will stay, and that some of the millions of middle class, highly educated Iraqi’s will return. If they can get visas. How is that for an American irony? Visas to get back in the county to be with their own families! Let’s also hope that the thousands of interpreters, and third party contractor grunt labor; Phillipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, can safely be escorted out. Or? Remember the Vietnamese refugee boats?
We created the space and the opportunity for them to recreate their homeland. I do believe that was done by us. But can the coalition governing body hold off Iran? The other irony, Saddam did that for us. Now they are flying solo.
In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh was more than prepared to govern and had no one to hold at abeyance once we were gone.
For now, the grim news of successes, that were like cotton candy, the cascade downward of American tolerance for war, ( not being attacked on our own turf is not a very enduring motive), and the domino effect of public opinion, can now take a rest as we focus on the “other” war in Afghanistan. And we wonder why there is no money to create jobs!
Will the Iraq people feel that we are abandoning them? No more than the unemployed American plumber.
Welcome home men and women of faith and freedom. I hope we are ready for you.
Ecstasy And War Resistant PTSD
Combat veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters of war are set for some new excitement–Ecstasy! Retro man!
Recently the FDA has approved the use of Ecstasy, on a trial basis coupled with ongoing psychotherapy, for the treatment of resistant forms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Some say this experiment is a step forward in the treatment of PTSD. Au contraire, says me and a handful of my combat veteran pals; all of whom experience chronic PTSD and have been beneficiaries of alternative treatment programs sans the pharmaceutical cafeteria.
The Denver VA appears to be the premiere location for the administration of this new zapping treatment. The premise is that the conventional treatment regimens of anti-depressants, psychotherapy and support groups have expired their usefulness. I am not a scientist, but I had plenty of science course work in Nursing School to question both the leaps of logic and the lack of scrutiny with the variables involved with pills, psychologists and the people involved in the support groups. For brevity, lets call this the PPP approach to treatment.
I have something to say about the spiritual dimension of the wounded warrior, which is outside the parameters of drugs and Doc’s, but I will reserve that for last.
As for the variables, pills are intended to ameliorate the symptoms of a condition so as to peel back the behavioral and bio-chemical roadblocks to our insight into the core causes of the initial imbalance. The pills are a means to an end, not the cure.
The current claim in the use of Ecstasy is that the initial results are excellent. So how long is “initial?” And do the families of the veterans report the same results?
Timothy Leary, Dr. Richard Alpert and Dr. Albert Hofman reported some dramatic results with the use of LSD in the early 60’s. The theory that you can re-boot the brain and create a clean slate with Ecstasy is identical to the hypothesis of the early apostles of LSD. Its proponents included the former OSS officer turned spy; Captain Afred Hubbard, the Johnny Appleseed of LSD, Richard Helms, CIA Director, Major General William Creasy, chief officer of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps,Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, chief of CIA Technical Service Staff who ran the ran the super secret MK-Ultra program in the 1950’s. Much of the testing was conducted and financed by millionaire William Mellon Hithcock at the Millbrook Estate in New York. These men were of the ilk that you had to “blow your mind to know your mind.” Essentially clearing the slate,(temporary amnesia), so that new programing could occur. Ergo, the reason for its potential use in International espionage work. These men also spoke of the use of LSD for the cure of a myriad of brands of mental conditions. The revolution and abuse of this drug that followed was not their intent. Can history repeat itself with the use of Ecstasy?
There are tomes of documents to read about the use of mind altering chemicals by the Department of the Army and the CIA. My observations are of a different order as they relate they relate to the use of powerful chemicals in treatment programs for our returning combatants. However there is clearly an uncanny and alarming similarity to the experiments with LSD with our soldiers at the Presidio in the early 1970’s.
Back to the variables and the experimentation that is required to determine the efficacy of any treatment program. Keep in mind that experimentation and diligent examination of variables takes time. Time is money to the Veterans Administration. And drugs cost a ton of money,(except the ones from Canada). PTSD is diagnosed as a chronic condition, meaning the time line for the medications for a veteran could be decades. The motivation for a “zapper” drug is quite high. Just when some of the variables are being worked out for other drugs.
By example, the use of Prazosin, which once went by the name of Mini-Press and was marketed for high blood pressure, has now become one the vogue drugs of choice for the treatment of PTSD. It has been discovered to remedy many of the hyper-vigilant symptoms of PTSD and somehow abates the bizzaro dreams and nightmares embedded in the brain of the combat soldier. That took time–easily decades to come to that scientific conclusion, inclusive of longitudinal studies and reports back from the veteran community. The VA does not have that kind of time in the budget, particularly when we remain to be the Star Wars protectorate of the galaxy.
We are an instant gratification nation, with low tolerance for pain, both psychological and financial. The drive to find a “Lourdes” like cure for the ravages of war is at the genesis of the use of Ecstasy. Its efficacy and value will soon be known, yet I suggest that we remain vigilant with a prejudice, as there is a truckload of social engineering occurring as we sleep. To many, a medicated America is a safe America. Look out Second Ammendmenter’s, your bullet casings may have an aerosol!
Note, that I said nothing about the potency of Ecstasy. It may well be the elixir of day. I am just making a siren caveat emptor call to be reminded of the widespread availability of alternative treatment programs for PTSD that do not fall in the zapper column and whose efficacy is known. They are not driven or guided by the Pharmaceutical industry. Watch closely the stock in the manufacturer of Ecstasy. With our luck the Chinese will buy the company! Headline; China has cure for American Soldiers.
But my final musing is about the true nature of PTSD. It is first and foremost a violation of the soul. The bio-chemical stuff is secondary.
“We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are” Talmud
War at its root is an agent of negation. Our bodies and minds as warriors are the primary weapons of mass destruction. They need to be to survive. I was once one of those lean, mean, killing machines perfectly honed to warrior perfection by the Marine Corps. There is some conflicting Catholic guilt in the admission that I liked it, as I was always in the service of God, Country and Corps. However, when the show is over, the reconciling of love and death is a daily chore and a balancing act that takes decades of practice.
War remains encased in the barbed wire heart for many a moon. War enslaves your imagination,(the Soul), in a bunker that no pill can penetrate. It is our soul that seeks love and intimacy. It is my body that was trained to kill. They need to re-unite. No pill can accomplish this. No pill can touch the heartstrings like some of the Native American rituals that know well the travels of the soul. Curiously, the VA uses many of the ceremonies of the Lakota Sioux in their treatment programs.
The Natives knew well that the terror of war makes the soul flee from the body. It is too dangerous to stay, so the soul leaves and gets stuck somewhere. I am not so sure that Ecstasy is the agent of the reunification of the soul and the body.
So, before trying the snap, crackle, pop of Ecstasy, I would suggest reversing the order of your existential triage. Try some of the Retreat programs first. Many are free.
Plato spoke of soul as the seat of imagination. Attend a Retreat tailored for combat veterans and let your imagination run wild with fellow veterans. There is a high probability that you will experience your soul hopping back in your body, in the safe and secure environment of combat weary veterans. The validation of this collective experience exceeds any session with a non-combat psychologist or intern; (one of the variables).
To me, ecstasy, is the gut level laughing, crying and pain releasing roaring of battle buddies gathered together for the “soul” purpose of transcending our war.
I am not so sure that God wants us to forget war. What would that soul look like?
Resource: Merritt Center Veteran Program/ Basic Training For Life
Merritt Retreat Center. Payson, Az. 800-414-9880– 928-474-4268
POW/MIA Issues Still Haunt US
I am often asked why I keep the POW/MIA sticker on the passenger van I use to transport disabled veterans. I, in turn ask, “why would anyone use the word, ‘keep?” Does that not connote that somehow the topic is old and dated. It is not.
I then remind all that the POW/MIA flag is the only flag allowed to fly beneath the American flag. Might that say something?
I still carry the bracelet of a downed pilot in Vietnam. Lt Curran/USMC
How many POW/ MIA’s are there currently in Iraq and Afghanistan? If you do not know, then you know why the issue is timely and compelling.
Remains of U.S. Army helicopter pilot from Billings found in Vietnam
Remains of U.S. Army helicopter pilot from Billings found in Vietnam JAN FALSTAD Of The Gazette Staff The Billings Gazette | Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 2:14 pm | (39) Comment
The remains of U.S. Army 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers of Billings and his gunner from Oklahoma, missing for almost four decades after their helicopter was shot down during the Vietnam War, have been positively identified and are being returned to their families.
Magers, who lettered in track and wrestling at Billings Central Catholic High School, was killed in action in 1971 in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, while flying an AH-1 Cobra. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Donald L. Wann of Shawnee, Okla.
Fred Magers of Billings, the oldest of six children, said his brother graduated from Central High in 1963, finished college at Regis College, a Jesuit Catholic school in Denver, and planned on attending medical school. Magers was married in 1969 to Beverly Mohatt of Sidney, Neb., and he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Attending officer training school at Fort Benning, Ga., Magers graduated in the top 10 percent of his class to qualify as an aviator, his brother said.
“He didn’t necessarily want to be a pilot, but that, too, was tough and he liked that,” Fred Magers said. “If it wasn’t tough, it wasn’t worth doing.”
His brother had been in Vietnam less than two weeks when he flew his last mission, Fred Magers said.
On June 1, 1971, Magers and Wann were flying their Cobra during an emergency rescue of an Army Ranger team in Quang Tri, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. After the Rangers were picked up and delivered to safety, the Cobra was ordered to destroy claymore mines that had been left behind in the landing zone. During this mission, ground fire hit Magers’ helicopter, which crashed and exploded. Then the Cobra’s ordnance detonated, tearing the aircraft apart. Pilots who witnessed the explosions said no one could have survived, according to the Defense Department. A ground search was impossible because of enemy soldiers in the area.
The first leads to finding and identifying the airmen came in 1990. Search teams from the U.S and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam surveyed the suspected crash site in 1993 and 1998. Excavation started the following year, but stopped because of bad weather. Then the Vietnamese government, citing security concerns, banned U.S. personnel from Quang Tri Province.
In 2008, artifacts and some human remains were recovered by a Vietnamese team. More remains were found the next year.
Maj. Tim Crowe, public affairs chief for the Montana Army National Guard, said the two men were identified by teams who specialize in returning the remains of military personnel.
“We do everything we can to bring MIA soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines back home,” Crowe said.
The remains of Magers and Wann were identified in March. The Magers family learned of the positive ID of Paul Magers in June, about the time they got their usual yearly update on his status. A U.S. Army officer formally briefed the family in mid-July and the news that Magers and Wann had been found was released Wednesday. The complexity of the process caused the four-month lag, Crowe said.
“These cases are within a pretty formal investigation cycle, so there are a lot of details to do to get this together,” he said. “As you can imagine, they want to get this right.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he is pleased that Lt. Magers is being returned home with dignity and he extended condolences to the family.
“He will be laid to rest with honor and respect,” Tester said.
The Magers family moved from Denver to Billings in 1958, said Fred Magers, who does custom framing at his Billings business, Framing by Fred.
“He (Paul) would deliver The Gazette in the morning. Then when the ditch was dry he and another fellow or two, whoever he could find, would run the ditch,” Fred Magers said. “You know how hard it is to run in wet sand? It’s tough.”
But his playful side led Paul to endlessly tease and play with his nieces and nephews. And that is the spirit his family wants to see at his funeral. Well-wishers should bring smiles and dress in 1960s and ’70s clothes, including paisley, Fred Magers said.
“This is a joyous occasion and if anybody at the services comes wearing somber colors, Mom might just cuss them out and at 92, she has earned the right to do this,” he said.
Both men will be buried with full military honors. Wann’s burial will be Aug. 21 in Fort Gibson, Okla.
A vigil for Magers will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at Dahl Funeral Home in Billings. Funeral services are planned for at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 27, at Holy Rosary Church in Billings. Then Magers will be buried at the Yellowstone County Veterans Cemetery in Laurel.
Contact Jan Falstad at jfalstad@billingsgazette.com or 657-1306.
Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans Transitioning Home From War
When Johnny and Joan come marching home to their beloved United States of America after service in Iraq and Afghanistan, are we prepared?
Very soon tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airman and marines will be rotating to their hometowns. They will be physically rotating home but their battle minds may be lagging behind a bit. Are we prepared?
Some of us crusty Vietnam vets recall the days when, “Peace With Honor,” was being implemented and our troops started rotating home in large numbers. The transition to civilian life was not the joy filled experience that many anticipated.. Given, the times have changed radically. I believe the operative word here would be respect. There is no question about the notable respect we have for our troops and the zeitgeist of gratitude that fills the air. We have learned much from the tumultuous 60’s and 70″s. The most salient of all learning being the ability to separate the war from the warrior. But can the warrior do that? And, I say again, our we prepared to help them in that separation of parallel lives they will lead for at least a year or two?
The times are no less adverse and probably more so in the polarization of political positions. Are we prepared to submerge our intractable penchant to have opinions when in the company of a soldier who may just want to be left alone? Can Americans shut up long enough to be a bridge of support for these returning troops?
“Think where man’s glory begins and ends, And say, “My glory was I had such friends.” -William Yeats
Many of these soldiers will be looking for work, many will not find work. Are we willing to be at their side while they struggle? The unemployment statistics for OEF/OIF veterans are not good. Add them to the ranks of the currently unemployed and we have a cinder box, not unlike 1973.
Where are the bridges? Who are the bridge people? Maybe Tucson could have the first and finest program in the nation for training bridge people to welcome these men and women back into polite society. Platoons of caring people trained at all the libraries in the city, with long office hours, even night shift workers, ready to listen and help.
“When you’re weary, feeling small/ When tears are in your eyes/I will dry them all/ I’m on your side/ When times get rough/And friends just can’t be found/ Like a bridge over troubled water/ I will lay me down. -Paul Simon
I challenge Tucsonans and the leadership to the task of making Tucson, Arizona one of the friendliest places in the nation to return home from war. I declare that Tucson is a Bridge City.
Beware Dear Veterans Of Those Who Come To Help
Veteran Advocacy often entails some vigilance. This story just burns me, as I know of other Out Reach Programs that have been in existence since right after the invasion of Iraq that have left the radar screen under the smallest amount of scrutiny. I am not inclined to name them as even bloggers can be sued for not fully corroborating evidence. I am happy to give an educated observation however, but only privately. Intuition alone can guide many donors. Yet, so many unsuspecting good souls have their heartstrings tapped in the name and honor of our soldiers. It is hard to imagine how one sleeps at night who engages in such fraudulent behavior. It seems to me they should be drafted to clean the honey pots for our warriors.
God bless Vietnam Veterans of America for alerting us.
To All:
For your information!
Bill Meeks, Jr.
Chair, VVA Membership Affairs
From: Dick Purdum
Sent: Saturday, July 31, 2010 7:42 PM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: The United States Fallen Heroes Foundation
Got this from LtGen, USAF (retired) Brett Dula
Subject: The United States Fallen Heroes Foundation
IT APPEARS THAT THE SUBJECT NAMED ORGANIZATION IS A FRAUD.Begin forwarded message:
I just wanted to let you know about something that I’ve been working on for a few months that is finally coming out. This group, The United States Fallen Hero Foundation, is a complete fraud. They’ve been using the families of our fallen brothers and sisters to raise money for a phony Memorial that was to be built in Texas . The PR firm they hired approached me to set up a meeting with me and Jan to get our advice on building a National Memorial, but things seemed fishy from the start. The PR firm later became suspicious of the founders activities and came back to me again for advice on how to proceed. We notified the Texas Attorney General and the FBI, but did not want to go public until we were sure. They have contacted thousands of families who have gotten very excited about this project and we didn’t want to risk hurting them until we were positive this guy was a dirt bag. Well, the Attorney General’s subpoena tipped of a Dallas TV reporter and he asked to have an exclusive. His story aired last night. I’m not sure if you guys want to do anything to actively warn people, but I just wanted to let you know about it. His website is still up and he’s still raising money. He’s claimed to have raised over $2 million.Here is the Story. Just let me know if you want any more detail.
http://www.wfaa.com/news/investigates/Unanswered-questions-about-plans-for-military-memorial-99437514.html
I have also informed the leadership of American Legion, VFW, and IAVA.
*********************************************************************************************************************
Unanswered questions about plans for military memorial
by BYRON HARRIS
WFAA
Posted on July 27, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Updated Wednesday, Jul 28 at 8:42 PM
NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES
KENNEDALE — Questions are swirling around a $50 million project in Kennedale to honor veterans who have died since the September 11 terrorist attacks.
The Texas Attorney General is looking into documentation behind the United States Fallen Heroes Foundation.
- What exactly is the United States Fallen Heroes Foundation?
- Why does its founder use two names?
- And is it a tax-exempt organization?
The memorial project was introduced to the public during a slick presentation at a news conference two months ago. An animation showed 15 acres of land in Kennedale that would be the site of a memorial. A Web site honoring veterans was set up, and TV spots in which families of vets were used to solicit money.
“This memorial will also include all military personnel that have died post-9/11 and have died as a result of combat and non-combat injuries and trauma,” said Walter Coleman, who said he was chairman of the U.S. Fallen Heroes Foundation.
But while Coleman was happy to be on TV to raise money then, he canceled two appointments with News 8 to discuss the organization. When he finally did show up, he would not let us record an interview.
“I’ll be interviewed, but not on camera,” he said.
Coleman did not want to be interviewed about his application to the IRS for tax-exempt status. The IRS has no record of the the U.S. Fallen Heroes Foundation.
News 8 discovered Coleman signs documents with two signatures and two names: “Evan Coleman” and “Walter Coleman.”
“I’m both,” he said when asked about the dual identity. “I’m Walter Raleigh Evan Coleman Jr.”
He said his use of one name of the other “depends on the documents.”
Records indicate that Coleman used “Walter” as a first name after a credit union sued him for $10,000 in debt under the name of “Evan Coleman.
Another question surrounds Coleman’s military record. Kennedale City Manager Bob Hart is one of several people who say Coleman represented himself as a veteran.
“My impression is that he would have served in Vietnam, because he’s made comments in that regard,” Hart said.
But when pressed, Coleman told News 8 he was never in the military.
He runs the Fallen Heroes Foundation from his home in Mansfield, which until recently was also the home of the Texas/Louisiana Fallen Heroes Foundation.
Although Coleman has given documents to the City of Kennedale which include a non-existent employer identification number, or EIN, Coleman passes it off as an innocent error.
In Kennedale, construction crews are already working on a new road that would have gone by the memorial. The City of Kennedale says it will now investigate the background of the Fallen Heroes Foundation.
The city has signed a contract to sell 15 acres of land to the foundation, but Hart says Kennedale has not lost any money in the deal. “They’ve signed the contract, yes. But the contract allows for an 18-month window in which to raise funds to acquire the land,” Hart said.
The Texas Attorney General has asked the Fallen Heroes Foundation for all of their records.
The man who says he is “Walter Raleigh Evan Coleman Jr.” says he has only collected $1,000 for his $50 million project. But he’s the only one who knows the real total.
This article was in the Fort Worth Star Telegram this morning. It is about the supposedly scam that I previously sent out
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/02/2378827/manfield-mans-past-questions-about.html
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This message was sent by jimwboyd@vvaft.org via http://addthis.com. Please note that AddThis does not verify email addresses.
Spectacular Job Training Service For Veterans
With the number of men and women rotating home, this could not be more timely.
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Automatic Revocation of Non-Profit Exempt Status
I am a subscriber to Guidestar and have used them faithfully for about 15 years. They are a wonderful resource for non-profits, as they match you up with philanthropists and charitable foundations. I used them when I was the Director of the Fan Kane Foundation for children with head injuries. We often forget there are as many folks looking for places to give as there are people in need. America is a very charitable nation.
I bring this to you now, as it may well impact many veteran outreach programs. Most all are reputable, yet as human behavior is what it is, there are a few con jobs.
My take is that Homeland Security has a small hand in this effort to weed out the chaff.
Automatic Revocation of Nonprofits’Tax-Exempt Status
What Nonprofits, Grantmakers,
and Donors Need to Know
Updated July 27, 2010
Linda M. Lampkin
ERI Economic Research Institute
© 2010, GuideStar USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.guidestar.org
Automatic Revocation of Nonprofits’ Tax-Exempt Status
Introduction
So are there really close to 2 million tax-exempt
organizations operating in the United States—or
not? Soon we will be closer to a more accurate
picture of the sector.
For decades, once an organization received its
determination from the IRS as tax exempt, that
status was final—it remained in effect unless
affirmatively revoked by the IRS.1 Although
hundreds of thousands of nonprofits had to file an
annual information return (Form 990, 990-EZ, or
990-PF) with the IRS, a significant number failed
to do so, and the majority of exempt organizations
were not required to file because they did not meet
filing thresholds.
For many years, these non-reporting organizations
remained listed as tax exempt, but it was unclear
whether they were active and didn’t meet the
reporting thresholds, met the reporting thresholds
but neglected to file, or were in fact no longer
operating (had merged, achieved the mission, or
not, and/or stopped activities). When IRS attempts
to contact non-reporting organizations went
unanswered, the only recourse available to the
IRS was to revoke those organizations’ tax-exempt
status. The IRS was reluctant to take this step.
The situation changed with the passage of the
Pension Protection Act in 2006. Among the law’s
numerous provisions was a new requirement for
almost all exempt organizations to file information
with the IRS annually, starting in 2008 for
activities from January 1, 2007, on. And the IRS
is now required to revoke the tax exemption of any
organization required to file that doesn’t do so for
three consecutive years. Revocations will affect not
only the organizations that lose their exemptions
but also the donors and funders that support them
and the audiences that rely on their services.
Just How Many Tax-Exempt
Organizations Are at Risk?
In a word—lots! Some nonprofits still are not
required to file, including religious congregations
and state institutions.2 But the remaining exempt
organizations now must submit a return to the IRS
each year. The IRS created a new form, Form 990-N,
for smaller organizations that previously did not
meet the thresholds to file. See the appendix for
more information about Form 990-N and the
mechanics of filing it.
In April 2010, as the first filing deadline that
would trigger automatic revocations drew
near, GuideStar analyzed the IRS Exempt
Organizations Master File (also known as the
Business Master File or BMF) to determine
how many organizations might be at risk. The
April BMF listed more than 1.3 million exempt
organizations required to file an annual return
with the IRS. Of that number, more than 373,000
had never filed, and another 73,000 were at least
three years in arrears with their filings.
Note: These materials are intended to provide only a general summary and overview of this topic as it
pertains to nonprofits that have been granted tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code. These
materials are not to be considered legal advice applicable to any particular situation, and organizations
and individuals needing specific advice and counsel on these matters should always consult with
knowledgeable counsel.
2
3 www.guidestar.org
What Does “Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status” Mean?
May 17, 2010, was the first filing deadline that
led to automatic revocations. At the end of the
following month, the Urban Institute’s National
Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) estimated
that almost 300,000 small nonprofits had not yet
completed the 990-N and were in jeopardy. Fiftyeight
percent of the organizations were 501(c)(3)
public charities. The remaining nonprofits at risk
were tax exempt under other 501(c) subsections.
The NCCS estimates that about 16,000 additional
organizations are part of a group return; these
organizations are not required to file if their
national offices file on their behalf.
In July 2010, more than 355,000 nonprofits
appeared to be facing revocation. A new NCCS
report found that more than 292,000 small
nonprofits still need to file Form 990-N.3
GuideStar’s analysis of the July 2010 BMF
revealed that more than 63,000 larger nonprofits
have failed to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, or
990-PF during the past three years.
Organizations that registered with the IRS
between 2008 and 2010 still have time to file
within the three years and are not yet subject
to revocation.
What Does “Revocation of Tax-Exempt
Status” Mean?
Revocation has a drastic and expensive impact
on a nonprofit. If it’s a charitable organization,
it will no longer be able to accept tax-deductible
contributions. Whatever type of exempt
organization it is, it will need to pay federal
income taxes. It may also incur penalties for failure
to pay income taxes, to say nothing of the loss of
the trust of its donors, members, and clients. Plus,
most grantmakers (such as private foundations
and government entities) will only give grants
to charitable organizations, i.e., those that are
tax exempt under section 501(c)(3). Obviously,
well-run organizations should be meeting their
reporting obligations.
So revocation is very serious—and if an
organization wants to regain tax-exempt status,
there are forms to fill out, fees to pay, and usually
some time to wait before it is granted again.
What Happens if I Give to a Charity
That Has Lost Its Exemption?
As long as the charity has not received a revocation
letter from the IRS, your contribution will still
be deductible. Once the charity receives the
letter, however, donations to it will no longer be
deductible.
The IRS is waiting until 2011 to start sending
revocation letters. At that time, it will also post
a Web page of nonprofits that have lost tax-exempt
status because they failed to file with the IRS for
three consecutive years.
“Revocation has a drastic and
expensive impact on a nonprofit. If
it’s a charitable organization, it will
no longer be able to accept taxdeductible
contributions. Whatever
type of exempt organization it is, it
will need to pay federal income taxes.
It may also incur penalties for failure
to pay income taxes, to say nothing
of the loss of the trust of its donors,
members, and clients.”
4 www.guidestar.org
Impact of the Revocations on Grantmakers
What Impact Will the Revocations Have
on Grantmakers?
Private foundations and sponsors of donor-advised
funds face much the same situation as donors.
Grants and disbursements made to a charity
that has lost exempt status but has not received
a revocation letter will still be qualifying
distributions, i.e., charitable gifts that reduce the
amount of federal tax a grantmaker pays. Payouts
made to a charity that has received a revocation
letter will no longer fall into this category, and
a grantmaker that declares them as qualifying
distributions could be subject to excise taxes.
Foundations may be permitted to make gifts to
organizations that are not public charities under
certain conditions. The foundation’s governing
documents must permit this activity, and the
foundation must assume expenditure responsibility
for these grants. Foundations electing to assume
expenditure responsibility for a grant must satisfy
a complicated set of rules and reporting obligations.
Failure to meet these rules could also subject the
foundation to excise taxes.
Once the IRS makes the revocations public,
grantmakers will need to amend their pre-grant
due-diligence processes. This new era of nonprofit
revocations has made relying on the IRS letter
of determination an incomplete and ineffective
process to protect a grantmaking foundation from
possible excise taxes.
GuideStar recommends that before making
a payout, grantmakers confirm that grantees
have not lost tax-exempt status, in addition to
verifying charitable status in IRS Publication 78
and consulting the IRS Business Master File (or
a third-party provider of BMF data that meets
the criteria outlined in IRS Revenue Procedure
2009-324 ) to identify supporting organizations.
Although IRS revocations will affect small
nonprofit organizations disproportionately, the
data confirm that tens of thousands of larger and
seemingly more established nonprofits will also
be removed from the IRS BMF.
IRS Response to the First Round
of Revocations
When the May 17 filing deadline passed and the
number of Forms 990-N received was drastically
short of expectations, IRS Commissioner Doug
Shulman made the following statement:
Now that the May 17 filing deadline has
passed, it appears that many small tax-exempt
organizations have not filed the required
information return in time. These organizations
are vital to communities across the United
States, and I understand their concerns about
possibly losing their tax-exempt status.
The IRS has conducted an unprecedented
outreach effort in the tax-exempt sector on the
2006 law’s new filing requirements, but many
“Once the IRS makes the revocations
public, grantmakers will need to
amend their pre-grant due-diligence
processes. This new era of nonprofit
revocations has made relying on
the IRS letter of determination an
incomplete and ineffective process
to protect a grantmaking foundation
from possible excise taxes.”
5 www.guidestar.org
What Donors and Grantmakers Need to Do
of these smaller organizations are just now
learning of the May 17 deadline. I want to
reassure these small organizations that the
IRS will do what it can to help them avoid
losing their tax-exempt status.
The IRS will be providing additional guidance
in the near future on how it will help these
organizations maintain their important taxexempt
status—even if they missed the May
17 deadline. The guidance will offer relief
to these small organizations and provide them
with the opportunity to keep their critical
tax-exempt status intact.
So I urge these organizations to go ahead and
file—even though the May 17 deadline has
passed.5
The IRS issued the guidance on July 26, 2010,
noting, “This one-time relief benefits Form 990-N
(e-Postcard) and Form 990-EZ filers only.
Organizations required to file Form 990 or
Form 990-PF are not eligible and are automatically
revoked if they fail to file for three consecutive
years.” The guidance also specifies that this onetime
relief is available to organizations whose
returns were due on or after May 17 and before
October 15, 2010, and reiterates that nonprofits
that do lose tax-exempt status must re-apply if
they want their exemptions restored.6 See the
appendix for more information.
What Nonprofits Need to Do
If your organization has been given tax-exempt
status by the IRS (that is, it has received an IRS
letter of determination), consult the IRS list of
filing exceptions to determine whether you need
to file an annual return. If you do, assess which
IRS form you should file by checking out the
requirements on the IRS Web site .7 Then file what
is required when it is due. Be aware that extensions
are available for Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF
but, with the exception of the one-time relief
announced in July, not for Form 990-N.
“The impact of revocation is dramatic—
donors can’t deduct their contributions,
grantmakers and funders won’t commit
funds, and the nonprofit will have to pay
federal income tax. If it is a charitable
organization, donors must be told that
contributions are no longer deductible.”
What Donors and Grantmakers
Need to Do
Stay abreast of the situation. The IRS is posting
updates in the Charities & Non-Profits section
of its Web site.8 GuideStar has created a nonprofit
resource center that provides an overview of the
issue and links to several resources, including a
Form 990-N filing status database; information
on filing exceptions, filing thresholds, and filing
deadlines and extensions; and FAQs.9 Independent
Sector is monitoring developments on the IRS
Oversight page of its site.10
Once the IRS makes the revocations public,
private foundations and sponsors of donor-advised
funds will need to add verification of continued
tax-exempt status to their pre-grant due-diligence
practices. GuideStar Charity Check, GuideStar’s
due-diligence tool for grantmakers, will incorporate
revocation information, providing a potential
grantee’s IRS Publication 78 record, BMF data,
and exemption information in a single report.
6 www.guidestar.org
Conclusion
The Revocation Process
The IRS has yet to detail the ongoing revocation
process, other than to say that it will publish the
initial list of organizations that have lost exemptions
for failure to file on its Web site in 2011.
The impact of revocation is dramatic—donors
can’t deduct their contributions, grantmakers and
funders won’t commit funds, and the nonprofit will
have to pay federal income tax. If it is a charitable
organization, donors must be told that contributions
are no longer deductible. If the organization wants
to regain tax-exempt status, it must reapply for
exemption and pay fees based on revenue level.11
If professional assistance in filling out the form is
needed, then fees for those services must also be
added. Private foundations and sponsors of donoradvised
funds will need to take an extra step in
this time of uncertainty and change to avoid
excise taxes.
Conclusion
The revocation of tax-exempt status by the IRS
as required under the PPA will have a tremendous
impact on the nonprofit sector. GuideStar’s
analysis of the July 2010 BMF indicates that as
many as hundreds of thousands organizations may
be at risk.
The long-term benefits of the revocation process
are much clearer than the short-term impact. The
increased transparency will lead to a more accurate
picture of the nonprofit sector, as almost all active
organizations will be reporting. The IRS will be
able to allocate its education and enforcement
resources more efficiently. Donors, funders,
members, clients, and other sector stakeholders
will have confidence that the organizations that
receive their support have reported as required
and deserve their trust.
This is a time of transition for nonprofit
reporting. It may be difficult for the many small
organizations with volunteer officers, but the
IRS has made many resources available on its
Web site, www.irs.gov, to help. In 2011, there
will be more information on whether this change
represents primarily a cleanup of the IRS files
or whether revocations have affected many
functioning organizations. But more transparency
and accountability can only help increase the trust
necessary to improve the nonprofit sector.
7 www.guidestar.org
There is no late fee if the e-Postcard is not filed on
time, but a failure to file an e-Postcard, Form 990,
or 990-EZ for three consecutive years normally
will lead to revocation of tax-exempt status.
How to File Form 990-N
Filing is online only and accessible at http://
epostcard.form990.org. There is no charge.
The form is short and only requires eight pieces
of information:
• legal name of the organization,
• any name under which the organization operates
or does business,
• mailing address and Internet Web site address
(if any),
• taxpayer identification number,
• name and address of a principal officer,
• evidence of the organization’s continuing basis
for its exemption from the generally applicable
information return filing requirements (typically
certifying that annual gross receipts are less
than $25,000), and
• notice of termination, if the organization no
longer exists or is going out of existence.
If a 990-N filer’s EIN (Employer Identification
Number) is not in the IRS system, a call to IRS
Customer Account Services at 877-829-5500
will be necessary.
Advice for Smaller Nonprofits That
Missed a 2010 Filing Deadline
Start by checking the IRS list of organizations
at risk of revocation, available at http://www.irs.
gov/charities/article/0,,id=225889,00.html. If
you find your organization on the list and its
gross receipts are less than $25,000, an officer
Who Files the e-Postcard and When
Exempt organizations that do not fall under a
filing exception and whose annual gross receipts
are normally $25,000 or less are required to submit
Form 990-N.12 They can also choose to complete
a Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, but the Form 990-N
is much simpler and quicker to fill out. Although
nonprofits with less than $5,000 in annual gross
receipts are not required to apply to the IRS for
tax-exempt status, typically they must now file a
990-N.
The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of
the 5th month after the close of the organization’s
tax year. For example, if the tax year ends on
December 31, the e-Postcard is due May 15 of the
following year. This means that if an organization
with gross receipts of $20,000, for example, has a
tax year that coincides with the calendar year (ends
December 31), it should have filed a Form 990-N
by May 15, 2008, for its 2007 activities, by May 15,
2009, for its 2008 activities, and by May 15, 2010,
for its 2009 activities. And if no form was filed for
each of the three years by May 15, 2010 (actually
Monday, May 17, 2010, because May 15 fell on a
Saturday), then the IRS is required to revoke the
nonprofit’s tax-exempt status.
According to the NCCS, almost 100,000 nonprofits
submitted their e-Postcards to the IRS before the
May 17 deadline. Since then, another 45,000 have
filed, with an average of 1,000 filing every day
through June 15. Although more than two-thirds
of small nonprofits operate on the calendar year
and had a deadline of May 17, 2010, IRS data
show that there are 67,000 nonprofits that must file
the e-Postcard by deadlines between July 15 and
December 15 and another 25,500 that must file by
April 15, 2011.
Appendix. Form 990-N and Filing Relief for Small Organizations
8 www.guidestar.org
You will be required to pay a fee of $100, $200,
or $500, depending on the amount of your 2009
gross annual revenues.
If your organization is required to file Form 990
or Form 990-PF and has missed the deadline for
filing your 2009 return, you cannot participate in
the Filing Relief Voluntary Compliance Program.
You must re-apply to the IRS if you wish to regain
your exemption.
from the organization should file Form 990-N
at http://epostcard.form990.org.
If your organization’s revenues are $25,000 or
greater, view the information on http://www.irs.
gov/charities/article/0,,id=184445,00.html to
determine whether your organization qualifies
to file a Form 990-EZ. If it does, follow the
instructions on http://www.irs.gov/charities/
article/0,,id=225704,00.html to participate in
the Filing Relief Voluntary Compliance Program.
Appendix. Form 990-N and Filing Relief for Small Organizations
Linda M. Lampkin is research director of ERI Economic Research Institute (www.erieri.com), a company that
provides Form 990 compensation data for use by nonprofits, and former director of the National Center for
Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute.
1. For more background and detailed descriptions, see Technical Explanation of H.R. 4, the “Pension Protection Act of 2006,” as Passed by the
House on July 28, 2006, and as Considered by the Senate on August 3, 2006, http://www.jct.gov/x-38-06.pdf.
2. Exceptions for certain types of organizations are still in force (churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of
churches; the exclusively religious activities of any religious order; section 501(c)(1) instrumentalities of the United States; section 501(c)(21) trusts;
an interchurch organization of local units of a church; certain mission societies; certain church-affiliated elementary and high schools; certain
state institutions whose income is excluded from gross income under section 115; certain governmental units and affiliates of governmental
units; and other organizations that the IRS has relieved from the filing requirement pursuant to its statutory discretionary authority). For a list
of filing exceptions, see http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=152729,00.html.
3. “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: A Look at Organizations That May Have Their Tax-Exempt Status Revoked,” http://www.urban.org/
UploadedPDF/412135-tax-exempt-status.pdf.
4. See IRS Revenue Procedure 2009-32, Reliance Criteria for Private Foundations and Sponsoring Organizations, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/
rp2009_32.pdf.
5. Statement of IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman on the Filing Deadline for Small Charities, http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/
article/0,,id=223609,00.html.
6. http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=225705,00.html.
7. See Annual Exempt Organization Returns, http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=152728,00.html, for the requirements, forms,
and instructions.
8. See Tax Information for Charities & Other Non-profits, http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html.
9. Nonprofit Resource Center: Automatic Revocation of Tax-Exempt Status, http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/update-nonprofit-report/nonprofitresource-
center-automatic-revocation-of-tax-exempt-status.aspx.
10. IRS Oversight of Charities and Foundations, http://www.independentsector.org/irs_oversight.
11. See IRS Form 1023, Application for Recognition of Exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, http://www.irs.gov/
pub/irs-pdf/f1023.pdf; IRS Form 1024, Application for Recognition of Exemption under Section 501(a), http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/
f1024.pdf; and User Fee Program for Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division, http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=121515,00.html.
12. The IRS defines gross receipts as the total amount the organization received from all sources during its annual accounting period, without
subtracting any costs or expenses. See Gross Receipts Defined, http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=177784,00.html. See also Gross
Receipts Normally $25,000 or Less, http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=177338,00.html.