hmmm.
that´s gruesome news indeed.
been pondering about it all day long, too.
and keep asking myself wether it be possible he might be in need of some
assistance.
or if not exactly in need of, perhaps still could at least make use of any.
i mean - even to properly keep up working at his current projects, let alone set up and run a tour, there should be some bucks at hand, now shouldn´t they?
he sure is right, he´ll certainly make it to re-down his nest sooner or
later anyway.
but can´t we try think of some strategies how to help a little?
call me naive, but considering that he is just one and we are so many...
there should be some smart ideas, if only we got hold of them. (?)
1st thought which comes to my mind is - are there any such things in the
U.S. like non-profit oganisations (societies, associations, whatevers...)
which´s declared aims, statutes and articles make them be entitled of full
tax exemption?
i know that there are quite a lot of such "clubs" in some european countries. charitable assosiations, religious circles of whatever coleur, self-help groups, etc.
so IF such "tax-shelters" generally can be set up in the U.S. as well,
wouldn´t it be a considerable strategy to set the U.S. lawyers amongst us onto it = to have them squeeze their commercial law collegues for all the information we´d need, to found such an organisation, too?
i know that in parts of europe such congregations pretty often are nothing else than neatly shrouded money-making / money-washing machines, whose heads nonetheless succeed to hold ground against every - no matter how cunning - tax investigator they meet, and who milk their clueless members until their udders wrinkle...
so if this even works for bogus sheperds who exploit "their" cattle despite
of feeding them nothing than blatant lies - shouldn´t it be possible to
embrace the same concept to set up something useful, expecially if there be cattle which downright begs to be milked a bit?
sadly i´m neither an economist nor a lawyer and worse - have no idea bout U.S. laws whatsoever.
so my idea might be totally worthless.
yet if it at least might serve to inspire any of you more learned ppl. to a
practicable different plan, do count me in by all means!
according to those above mentioned european laws - at least to my knowledge - it would be required to have the non-profit organisation start out with a minimum of 40 founder members.
if parts of them turn tail after their club be properly registered, no
damage whatsoever.
the society still remains entitled to tax exemption...
all they need do in the forefront is, to satisfactorily show how beneficiary
their aims are to manhood (or even to just parts of it), how
non-profit-headed they are, etc.
so if there are similar corporate systems in the U.S., can´t we for instance
found kind of a self-help society of ... xyz
f.i. why not saddle those ridiculous but widely accepted clichees about Cohen-Fans and declare ourselves to be something like "melancholy persons who for their health of mood depend on their poet to live decently well".
(to be shaped into some catchy slogan, of course...)
if this be molded into neat and weatherproof society statutes, it should
offer a glorious range to financially maneuvre.
it could collect money which leonard could use - be it to cover spendings
for a possibly pending tour as well as costs of this current lawsuit, etc.
if european and U.S laws don´t differ all too badly on this, we´d even be
entitled to officially hand out receipts of donations to charity for every $
we´d receive. after all every donation would greatly help to guarantee our
own needy health of mood...
PLUS it´d downright oblige leonard to make thorough use of the donations
account, after all he´d hardly wish to drive his everso fragile-minded fans
into darkness of mood, now would he?
well - i shall leave it at that for now.
just meant to put in my 2 cents to the calamity.
as i said above - if what i suggested ain´t practicable in the U.S. or no
good idea by any other reasons, just ignore it, but then let´s at least
think over, if there be anything else we could do...
i for one owe leonard lots, as without him and his books and songs there´s severe reason to doubt wether I had not committed suicide latest some 30 yrs ago or so….
and i kind of trust, by far not to be the only one around to who his work served as such a lifeline...
judith
the word is between quotations marks, which means that what is meant, it is all the contrary. Look carefully. 
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