John Keats fans will remember the headline of this blogpost, but I’ll have to circle round to get him into the traffic pattern here.

My colleague Peter Reilly, CPA, asked me a couple days ago (hi, Judge Holmes) if I meant to report on Aegis For Dreams, Docket No. 29876-21X, filed 7/19/21. My reply was, I fear, a trifle brusque, but Mr Reilly, always a gentleman, took no offense. I replied “No. There was never a dispositive order, much less an opinion. The 7/19/22 Stip just says IRS and Aegis for Dreams agreed that Aegis for Dreams is a 501(c)(3). No facts, no background, no story.” Mr Reilly said he would follow, as Section 501 is always under-the-radar.

In fact, reviewing the stipulated settlement leads me to some interesting speculation, in return for a trifling investment of fact.

Ch J Kathleen (“TBS = The Big Shillelagh”) Kerrigan finds fault with the caption of the stipulated decision proffered by the parties, recharacterizes it as a stip of settlement, and enters the agreed result accordingly. Might not Ch J TBS be saying “Guys, it’s your deal. I’m not reviewing it, commenting on it, or blessing it. Have a nice day.”?

I suppose the indefatigable Mr. Paul Streckfus, much traveled in the realms of non-gold that comprise not-for-profit entities, is again perturbed that the backstory for this deal remains hidden. Did IRS’ counsel give away the ranch? Were the Dreamers injured innocents mired in the swamp of the TE/GE? Or had TE/GE nailed the villains, who went free because the constable blundered?

All valid questions.

I wish I could offer Messrs. Reilly and Streckfus better consolation. Again, I fear I have bad news. Neither OCC nor any trusty attorney for any 501(c)(3) claimant is going to give away their negotiating strategy or their battle plans. Unlike Keats’ pearl fisher, they will not “go naked to the hungry shark.” I am sure the petition is artfully drafted to assign the barest minimum of error, and state the barest minimum of fact, to get to court. And the rest is silence, until the real deal emerges, shrouded in the mist from which it came.

In the immortal words of The Man From Mumbai, “As it was in the beginning, Is today official sinning, and shall be forevermore.”