Rev. Al Sharpton owes taxes, shills for the Iran deal
As if he doesn't have enough to do – reverending, headlining a little-watched television show on a little-watched network, popping up at every civil wrongs demonstration that will feature him – the Rev. Al Sharpton has undertaken a new gig: diplomatic and government advocate. Not letting his usual vast lack of knowledge stopping him, Sharpton has decided to urge black churches to lobby for his pal President Obama's Iran deal. As he explained to a reporter for the Huffington Post:
"We have a disproportionate interest, being that if there is a war, our community is always disproportionately part of the armed services, and that a lot of the debate is by people who will not have family members who will be at risk," Sharpton said.
"I am calling on ministers in black churches nationwide to go to their pulpits Sunday and have their parishioners call their senators and congressman to vote yes on the Iran nuclear plan."
Well, not that the truth ever influenced Rev. Al, but according to recent data, Sharpton's community is not "always disproportionately part of the armed services," especially the part that is at greatest risk, according to an article in last week's USA Today:
Many of the Pentagon's elite commando units - including the Navy SEALs - are overwhelmingly led and manned by white officers and enlisted troops, a concern at the highest levels of the military where officials have stressed the need to create more diverse forces to handle future threats.
Black officers and enlisted troops are scarce in some special operations units in highest demand, according to data provided by the Pentagon to USA TODAY. For instance, eight of 753 SEAL officers are black, or 1%.
An expert at the Pentagon on the diversity of commando forces said the lack of minorities robs the military of skills it needs to win. (snip)
The lack of diversity in special operations forces stems largely from the choices young recruits make when they join, not overt bias, the official said. (snip)
Of its enlisted men, 45 SEALs are black, or about 2% of the 2,242 members of its elite force. There are more SEALs - 99, or 4% of the enlisted force - who are Native Americans or Alaska natives. (snip)
To reverse the trend, the SEALs have had extensive outreach efforts into minority communities, Copenhaver said. At least for now, the data provided by the Navy show limited results of that effort.
Hmm, maybe all that black-on-black crime and black-on-black murder and the feeling among blacks that #BlackLivesDon'tMatterAmongBlacks that infects Al Sharpton's community also has something to do with the low numbers. However, could Sharpton's foray into diplomacy be related to the nearly $5,000,000 he owes in back taxes, debts, and liens? We haven't heard too much about that lately. Hmmm. In last year's Fox Business, we learned:
According to a New York Times' review of government records last fall, the MSNBC host and civil rights activist personally faces federal tax liens for more than $3 million in back taxes owed, and state tax liens of $777,657. So in total, Sharpton reportedly owes more than $3.7 million in back taxes. His other two for-profit businesses, Raw Talent and Revals Communications, (both now defunct) owe anywhere from $717,000 to more than $800,000, based on state and federal tax liens, reports from the Times and National Review indicate. Revals Communications also either didn't file its tax returns, or underpaid its tax bills from 1999 to 2002.
Sharpton's National Action Network also owed more than $813,000 in federal back taxes as of December of 2012, according to the nonprofit's recent filings. At one point, the National Action Network's tax liability more than doubled last decade, jumping from $900,000 in 2003 to almost $1.9 milion in 2006. In 1993, Sharpton also had entered a guilty plea for the misdemeanor of failing to file his New York State income-tax return. Sharpton has also said the National Action Network had once given him a loan to pay for his daughters' tuition, which is a violation of the law.
As they further pointed out:
Serial tax avoidance appears to be a hallmark of Al Sharpton's operations. But there's a warning here: Others have gone to prison for lesser amounts. The list includes rock legend Chuck Berry, Grammy winner Lauryn Hill, Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers, Survivor reality star Richard Hatch, hotel queen Leona Helmsely, and baseball's Pete Rose.
Yeah, but how many of them shilled for the president about an agreement most people – except the president – don't want?
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