1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

IRS targeted and infiltrated Christian Churches

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by bobmarley, Jun 15, 2013.

  1. bobmarley

    bobmarley Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Messages:
    6,489
    Likes Received:
    318
    Obama IRS Targeted And Infiltrated Christian Churches

    The unbelievable Scandalpalooza continues on…

    Via Examiner:

    On Thursday the Examiner provided an exclusive report indicating that the Obama administration had implemented a covert program beginning in 2009 that was intended to spy on conservative, evangelical Christian churches.

    That program involved infiltration — sending in government operatives to join churches for the purpose of data collection. The government snoops would keep their eyes and ears open for criticism of the Obama administration, talk of Tea Party participation, conversations about gun ownership, and a number of other issues.

    But a special report issued today by Fox News indicates that the program went far beyond infiltration and snooping. The IRS was used to harass Christian churches if they were identified as places where large numbers of anti-Obama citizens congregated for worship.

    Keep reading…
    (Part 1)http://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-obama-snoops-allegedly-infiltrate-christian-churches
    (Part 2)http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-snoops-part-2-infiltrate-target-harass-churches
    http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013...rship-have-been-main-targets/?intcmp=HPBucket

    If the source for this is solid, this is crazy.
     
  2. Refman

    Refman Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2002
    Messages:
    13,674
    Likes Received:
    312
    They claim to have internal memos from Homeland Security initiating this activity. If so, lets see them. This seems pretty far fetched, tin foil helmet kind of stuff.
     
  3. bobmarley

    bobmarley Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Messages:
    6,489
    Likes Received:
    318
    Like I said, we shall see.
     
  4. Dubious

    Dubious Member

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2001
    Messages:
    18,318
    Likes Received:
    5,090
    Church's are tax exempt for religious purposes not political ones. How would we know if they are engaging in non-exempt actions if we don't look at them?
     
  5. Refman

    Refman Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2002
    Messages:
    13,674
    Likes Received:
    312
    You can't call it "scandalpalooza" and then act as though you are reserving judgment for when we learn what the evidence says. Is it really a scandal just based off of what some writer states on the Internet? I would think that there would need to be at least some credible evidence before it becomes a scandal.

    Without a shred of evidence of any of these so called scandals other than supposition and innuendo, the perception will be that the capital should move from Washington to Salem. If the Republicans put as much effort into putting forth good candidates as they have into trying to take down the President, maybe the party would be in better shape.
     
  6. Deji McGever

    Deji McGever יליד טקסני

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Messages:
    4,013
    Likes Received:
    952
    I have a solution: take away tax exempt status for religions and they won't be under the scrutiny. Problem solved.
     
  7. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    18,190
    Likes Received:
    8,594
    Are you seriously stating this? You believe it is perfectly acceptable for administrations to target specific groups in hopes of silencing their voice? You think its wrong to profile dark skinned people at airports in fear of terrorism but its perfectly acceptable to profile people you politically disagree with?

    It really is scary how some peoples mind works. Profiling people today. Silencing their voice tomorrow. Imprison them next week.

    And before bringing up the lame argument of them breaking IRS laws, this is about profiling, not breaking IRS laws.
     
  8. okierock

    okierock Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2001
    Messages:
    3,132
    Likes Received:
    199
    Do you really think that the GOP is somehow creating these scandals? Considering the stranglehold that Obama has on the majority of media I would tend toward there actually being more to this (and the other 3 or 4 scandals ATM) than what we are hearing.
     
  9. underoverup

    underoverup Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2003
    Messages:
    3,208
    Likes Received:
    75
    Mike Huckabee agrees with you....... sort of...... ;)

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/12/mike-huckabee-churches_n_3428481.html

    Mike Huckabee: Churches Should Reject Tax-Exempt Status

    "I think we need to recognize that it may be time to quit worrying so much about the tax code and start thinking more about the truth of the living God, and if it means that we give up tax-exempt status and tax deductions for charitable contributions, I choose freedom more than I choose a deduction that the government gives me permission to say what God wants me to say."

    Huckabee reiterated his stance in a Tuesday tweet:

    It's time for churches to reject tax exempt status completely; freedom is more important than government financial favors.
     
  10. FranchiseBlade

    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2002
    Messages:
    51,807
    Likes Received:
    20,465
    I think it depends on which of these would-be scandals you're talking about. In the case of the IRS scandal it is almost entirely made up by Issa and the GOP. They have no evidence linking it to the White House. No conservative group was denied the status, some liberal groups were. Issa promised to release the full transcripts of the interviews they did (after he released on selected comments). But Issa didn't follow through and broke his promise. Then Democrat Elijah Cummings dared Issa to release the entire transcripts stating that they would refute the selected comments Issa released. Issa threw a hissy about it and wants to stop Cummings from releasing those transcripts.

    It's clearly made up by the GOP. There is no stranglehold by Obama on the media.
     
  11. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    18,190
    Likes Received:
    8,594
    I don't agree with Huckabee at all. I do not welcome the idea of churches politicking. While I am not one of those who feel churches and Christians are the scourges of America, I do agree many Christians are gullible and ignorant. Having pastors getting up in front of people week in and week out interpreting the garbage that comes out of the main stream media would be awful.
     
  12. A_3PO

    A_3PO Member

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2006
    Messages:
    46,746
    Likes Received:
    12,269
    Stop trying to throw logic and reason into the cesspool. It's wasteful.
     
  13. bigtexxx

    bigtexxx Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2002
    Messages:
    26,980
    Likes Received:
    2,365
    Obama has truly been a pitiful president.
     
  14. Deji McGever

    Deji McGever יליד טקסני

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 1999
    Messages:
    4,013
    Likes Received:
    952
    I can respect that.
     
  15. Major

    Major Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 1999
    Messages:
    41,682
    Likes Received:
    16,206
    Do you think the IRS was in the wrong here? The Fox report linked here is an article that goes back 60 years about the IRS doing this kind of thing. It mentions MLK; it mentions one incident during the Bush admin. And it mentions one incident in the Obama admin. Looking at this latest one, the IRS investigated a Billy Graham's organization when they publicly politicked on a particular ballot measure to determine if it affected their tax status. Do you think that the IRS should have ignored this?
     
  16. conquistador#11

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2006
    Messages:
    39,179
    Likes Received:
    28,349
    you don't say! where else are the conservatives going to hangout? at church repenting their same sex affairs, that's where! not that there is anything wrong with that.
     
  17. underoverup

    underoverup Member

    Joined:
    Mar 1, 2003
    Messages:
    3,208
    Likes Received:
    75
    You left out "unbelievable" and "continues on…"

    :)
     
  18. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 1999
    Messages:
    18,190
    Likes Received:
    8,594
    You are talking about something completely different. Investigating an allegation is different than profiling a whole group in hopes to bust them.

    If an organization, regardless of who, is violating the law, then it should be dealt with accordingly.
     
  19. Major

    Major Member

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 1999
    Messages:
    41,682
    Likes Received:
    16,206
    I may be talking about something different, but I'm talking about what the article says actually happened. Everything else is anonymous conjecture that the Examiner said they were unable to verify anywhere.
     
  20. bobmarley

    bobmarley Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Messages:
    6,489
    Likes Received:
    318
    They were stating their spiritual beliefs. And the IRS investigation went nowhere.

    The Billy Graham group has the money to stand up against the IRS but most churches would be hurt badly if the IRS even sneezed in their directions.
     

Share This Page

  • About ClutchFans

    Since 1996, ClutchFans has been loud and proud covering the Houston Rockets, helping set an industry standard for team fan sites. The forums have been a home for Houston sports fans as well as basketball fanatics around the globe.

  • Support ClutchFans!

    If you find that ClutchFans is a valuable resource for you, please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Supporting Members can upload photos and attachments directly to their posts, customize their user title and more. Gold Supporters see zero ads!


    Upgrade Now