American Scene

Pastors encouraged to violate IRS ban

NEW YORK — Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction.

The Alliance Defense Fund will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If an IRS probe results, the legal group will sue to overturn the 1954 federal rules.

Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak. However, they cannot endorse a candidate, and their political activity cannot be biased for or against a candidate, directly or indirectly.

The Alliance Defense Fund yesterday called the regulations an unconstitutional limit on freedom of speech and religion, and said about 100 pastors have expressed interest in participating.

“I think that there is a lot of fear and intimidation and disinformation about the parameters,” said Mike Johnson, senior counsel for the fund.

June Cleaver wins poll of TV moms

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A poll indicates June Cleaver of TV’s classic “Leave It to Beaver” is the mother Americans would most like to have.

The online Harris Interactive poll of 2,529 U.S. adults, conducted April 7-15, found most respondents chose Wally and the Beaver’s mother, played by Barbara Billingsley, as the TV character they most wished was their actual mother.

Claire Huxtable of “The Cosby Show” came in second in the poll followed by Carol Brady of “The Brady Bunch” and Marion “Mrs. C” Cunningham from “Happy Days,” Harris reported yesterday. Donna Stone of “The Donna Reed Show” completed the top five.

’Funeral day’ thief found guilty

PLATTE CITY, Mo. — A burglar who authorities say used the obituary pages to select his targets was convicted of 10 counts of burglary yesterday.

Prosecutors say Dane S. Johnson and a co-defendant who pleaded guilty burglarized more than 30 Kansas City-area homes, picking their victims by reading real estate listings and obituaries, hitting model homes, homes on real estate tours or homes where owners would be attending funerals.

“It’s hard to imagine a more cruel and heartless burglary scheme,” Platte County prosecutor Eric Zahnd said.

In one of Johnson’s five convictions, a man was at a funeral for his wife while Johnson burglarized his home. Johnson, 35, could get 78 years in prison.

Pro-choice speaker disinvited at parish

MINNEAPOLIS — A University of Minnesota professor’s invitation to speak at a Roman Catholic parish was rescinded because his abortion views clash with church teaching.

Dr. Steven Miles, a medical ethicist, was supposed to speak at an adult education class before tomorrow’s sermon at the St. Joan of Arc Church.

But a statement from the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said Dr. Miles could not speak because of his “public advocacy of abortion.” Dr. Miles said he was surprised because he was to speak about torture and had no plan to mention abortion.

Racist e-mails blamed on Secret Service

New evidence was filed yesterday in a long-running civil rights case against the Secret Service, including e-mails that portray an offensive image of a naked black man and racist jokes.

Among the 10 e-mails submitted to the court were jokes circulated within the agency that made fun of the way a “20-year-old 5th grader” in Harlem spoke and a black golf caddy’s work ethic.

“We are deeply disappointed by any communication or action on the part of our employees that exhibits racial or other insensitivity,” Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said. “We do not and will not tolerate bias and discrimination of any kind.”

In 2000, a group of black employees filed a lawsuit saying that since at least 1999, black agents have been passed over for promotions because of their race. The plaintiffs also claim the agency has a racist culture, saying white colleagues and supervisors regularly use racial epithets to refer to criminal suspects and foreign leaders who are black.

Lawmakers want probe in tanker deal

Several Democratic senators asked the Bush administration yesterday to verify the claims of a European-led consortium that it would create 48,000 U.S.-based jobs by building a fleet of Air Force tankers.

“We are troubled by the inconsistent job projections” made by Airbus and its partner, the Northrop Grumman Corp., “and have questions about what types of jobs will be created in the United States,” wrote Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

From wire dispatches and staff reports.