Correspondence
Correspondence THE VALUE OF NONPROFITS JOHN J. DIIULIO JR. is a distinguished social science researcher who has challenged conventional wisdom in his fi eld. So it was surprising to read his...
...A person can stroll into a public library, read a few words, pages, or chapters of a book or borrow and read the entire volume without paying the author to consume his product of labor...
...Who would have the power to enforce this subjective standard...
...Google aims to collect money by selling advertising space on its search-result web pages...
...Librarians collect salaries for organizing books on shelves to make them more easily retrievable and by checking out books to holders of free library cards...
...RESPONDS: I do not want to put myself or Adam Meyerson or anyone else in the nonprofi t research fi eld out of business...
...THE WEEKLY STANDARD welcomes letters to the editor...
...With both libraries and Google, money changes hands in connection with open access to intellectual property whose owners, the authors, receive no compensation save the residuals paid on the one time purchase of books that may inform and entertain scores of consumers each...
...Matthew Continetti’s “Rudy Giuliani, Disciplinarian” (November 26) permits Giuliani to give full vent to his socalled strict constructionist approach to constitutional interpretation, but Continetti does not press Giuliani on the obvious contradiction implied by his tolerance of Roe v. Wade...
...It would also endanger the philanthropic foundations that fi nance such work...
...Or a new set of accreditation agencies, possibly modeled after the regional accreditation monopolies for colleges and universities...
...GIULIANI AND JUDGES RUDY GIULIANI has been linked to the concept of strict construction of the U.S...
...Current law gives substantial freedom to donors and nonprofi ts to defi ne their charitable objectives, so long as they fi t within general categories of charitable activity...
...All letters should be addressed: Correspondence Editor THE WEEKLY STANDARD 1150 17th St., NW, Suite 505 Washington, DC 20036...
...The status quo alternative is an odd one indeed for conservatives to defend without refl ection...
...Does it matter to the authors standing empty-handed on the sidelines whether their books enrich librarians or Google shareholders...
...Terry Eastland’s editorial “200 Reasons Why the Election Matters” (December 3) correctly states the nature of the contradiction between Roe and strict construction but incongruously does so in the context of Giuliani’s call for strict constructionist judges...
...December 17) incorrectly attributed to Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle support for a universal health care plan funded with a payroll tax surcharge...
...In each of these cases, it is easy to see how the freedom and philosophical diversity of research and other charitable institutions would be at risk...
...ADAM MEYERSON Washington, D.C...
...Constitution in consecutive issues of THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...GOOD FOR GOOGLE HOW DOES GOOGLE’s effort to digitize 32 million books and make snippets of copyrighted text searchable on the Internet, as described by Jonathan V. Last in “Google and Its Enemies” (December 10), differ from the public library other than in the technology employed...
...WILLIAM P. RUDLAND Greensboro, Ga...
...EARL BOHN Ben Avon, Penn...
...You may also fax letters: (202) 293-4901 or email: editor@weeklystandard.com...
...While I applaud that call, someone should point out to Giuliani that a strict constructionist, if he has any intellectual scruples, cannot support Roe v. Wade...
...The plan was backed by the state’s Senate Democrats but not by the governor...
...DiIulio’s proposal would instead require that each individual nonprofi t be ascertained as producing benefi ts for society by a governmental or quasi-governmental body...
...So it was surprising to read his December 10 article (“Nonprofi ts Without Honor”) proposing to deny tax-exempt status to nonprofi ts unless they “predictably and reliably produce signifi cant nonmember benefi ts...
...Political authorities such as the White House, mayors, and state attorneys general...
...The Internal Revenue Service...
...It is the very touchstone case of the “living Constitution” line of reasoning...
...I do, however, want us all to do real empirical research that enables us to calculate the diverse public benefi ts and subsidies enjoyed by tax-exempt organizations, including personal favorites (mine are religious and research ones...
...This proposal, among its other fl aws, would jeopardize the existence of independent, privately funded research institutions that are exploring politically or culturally unfashionable lines of inquiry...
...CORRECTION STEPHEN MOORE’s “Through the Roof...
...Letters will be edited for length and clarity and must include the writer’s name, address, and phone number...
...A new regulatory agency for charities and foundations...
...I want to “consider” and recommend (I made no defi nite proposals, but I hope to do so in due course) whatever reforms, sub sector by sub sector, seem both public-spirited and prudent...
Vol. 13 • December 2007 • No. 15
