IRS proposes churches, other nonprofits get Social Security numbers from donors

An Obama administration proposal to have some nonprofit charities report the Social Security numbers of donors giving at least $250 in one year is raising concerns about security, government overreach and another episode of IRS targeting.
“There's a big caution here. There's a big yellow light that should be flashing for a couple of reasons,” Illinois Republican Rep. Peter Roskam tells Fox News.
“Number one, the IRS has not demonstrated its capacity to hold this type of information from confidentiality and a security point of view.”
The change would impact organizations that fall into the 501 (c)(3) category, which includes churches and other religious or charitable groups.
The Internal Revenue Service states the proposed change would be optional. But skeptics question whether it will eventually become the only option.
“It's the No. 1 regulation that people are commenting upon,” attorney Cleta Mitchell recently told Fox News.
Mitchell argues that the IRS cannot be trusted and that the change could have a devastating impact on charities’ ability to collect enough money to survive.
“It would have a dramatic effect on donors' decisions on whether or not to contribute,” she said. “You'd see a lot of $249.99 contributions to every charitable organization in America. It's preposterous.”
The IRS has responded to such arguments by recently releasing a statement that attempts to clarify “major misimpressions and inaccuracies.”
The agency said the change was proposed in September in part because some taxpayers who were being audited -- or “under exam” -- say they lost their donation records and that charities also having a record would help them verify deductions.
“This project was prompted because some … organizations and donors were interested in using this option,” the agency stated. “This proposal would impose no mandatory changes to existing rules.”
Mitchell represents the conservative-leaning group TRUE the VOTE, which says it has already been harassed by the IRS, the federal government’s tax collector.
The agency admitted in 2013 that it had from roughly April 2010 to April 2012 targeted Tea Party and other conservative-leaning groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Some of those groups included those under the 501(c)(3) status.
That tax-exempt status strictly forbids them from participating in political campaigns, though they can spend a fraction of their efforts on such activities as lobbying on legislative issues and holding forums and publishing voter-registration records.
The 2013 revelation led to the firing of an IRS commissioner and probes by the Justice Department, Congress and others. However, no criminal charges were brought.
The deadline is Dec. 16 to submit public comment to the IRS on the proposed change.
Roskam also argues that the request for a full Social Security number comes at a time when banks, utilities, cable TV companies and others are asking customers for only the last four numbers, amid widespread identity theft.
“When the whole rest of the world from a technological view is moving away from using Social Security numbers, the IRS is moving toward them,” he said. “I think we ought not go that route right now.”
Roskam and others are also concerned about the nonprofit groups’ ability to protect the private information they will collect from donors.
“Charities are not well equipped to deal with this,” he said. “We've had for-profit companies -- some of the biggest companies in the world -- that have spent millions and millions and millions of dollars trying to protect their confidential data. And it's been hacked and it's been breached.”

Iran tests another mid-range ballistic missile in breach of UN resolutions

Obama was told over and over this would happen. So whats new.

Iran has carried out a new medium range ballistic missile test in breach of two United Nations Security Council resolutions, a senior U.S. official told Fox News on Monday.
Western intelligence says the test was held Nov. 21 near Chabahar, a port city in southeast Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province near the border with Pakistan.  The launch took place from a known missile test site along the Gulf of Oman.
The missile, known as a Ghadr-110, has a range of 1,800 – 2000 km, or 1200 miles, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The missile fired in November is an improved version of the Shahab 3, and is similar to the precision guided missile tested by Iran on Oct. 10, which elicited strong condemnation from members of the U.N. Security Council.
“The United States is deeply concerned about Iran's recent ballistic missile launch," Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said in a statement after the last Iranian ballistic missile test in October.
President Obama mentioned the Iranian missile test during a press conference on Oct. 16 and said the United States was preparing to brief the U.N. sanctions committee. He added that it would not derail the nuclear deal.
"I think what we'll be doing is we'll review, as we have in the past, any violations of U.N. resolutions, and we'll deal with them much as we have in the past," Obama said of the October incident.
A senior administration official told Fox News on Monday the White House
was "aware" of reports of the missile test, but had "no further comment
at this time."
Iran appears to be in a race against the clock to improve the accuracy of its ballistic missile arsenal in the wake of the nuclear agreement signed in July.
One day after Tehran and six world powers signed that nuclear accord, the UN passed resolution 2231, which compels Iran to refrain from any work on ballistic missiles for 8 years. UN Security Council Resolution 1929 was passed in 2010 and bans Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests.

The Security Council is still debating how to respond to Iran's last test in October.

Trump calls for 'complete shutdown' on Muslims entering US

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump defended his decision Monday to call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” touching off an outraged response from his rivals for the nomination and Muslim groups.
“We have no idea who is coming into our country, no idea if they like us or hate us,” Trump told supporters in South Carolina. “I wrote something today that is very salient…and probably not very politically correct. But I don’t care.”
Trump added that his proposal is “common sense” and “we have no choice”.  He warned the crowd that “we can be politically correct and stupid but it’s going to get worse and worse.”
The proposed ban would stand "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on," his campaign said in a statement earlier Monday.
The statement added that Trump's proposal comes in response to the level of hatred among "large segments of the Muslim population" toward Americans.
It also comes five days after a radical Muslim couple killed 14 people and injured 21 at a Christmas party in San Bernardino, Calif.
“Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Trump said in a statement.
A recent Fox News poll found that both a majority of Democrats and Republicans believe at least one Syrian refugee coming into the U.S. will likely carry out an attack.
Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the Associated Press that Trump's proposed ban would apply to "everybody," including Muslims seeking immigration visas as well as tourists seeking to enter the country.
Trump did not respond to questions about whether any ban would also include Muslims who are U.S. citizens and travel outside the country - or how a determination of someone's religion might be made by customs and border officials.
In response to a request for additional detail, Trump said via a campaign spokeswoman: "Because I am so politically correct, I would never be the one to say. You figure it out!"
Meanwhile, his rivals for the Republican nomination wasted no time weighing in.
"Donald Trump is unhinged," Jeb Bush said via Twitter. "His `policy' proposals are not serious."
Carly Fiorina said, "Trump's overreaction is as dangerous as President Obama's under-reaction."
John Kasich slammed Trump's "outrageous divisiveness," while a more measured Ted Cruz, who has always been cautious about upsetting Trump's supporters, said, "Well, that is not my policy."
Southern Baptists denounced Trump's comment.
“Anyone who cares an iota about religious liberty should denounce this reckless, demagogic rhetoric," said Ethics and Religious Liberty Commision President Russell Moore. "Make no mistake. A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies."
Muslim-American groups also expressed their outrage.
“Mr. Trump's anti-Muslim immigration proposal is disappointing, unconstitutional, and empowers extremist ideology. It has no place in civilized American discourse,” Qasim Rashid, national spokesperson for Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA told FoxNews.com.
"This type of knee jerk, if not demagogic policy stance, is unmitigated surrender to the Islamist global narrative that they, ISIS, and all the Islamist theocrats of the world own what is and is not Islam and faithful Muslim," said Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy.
Trump's plan also drew criticism from the heads of the Republican Party in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the first three states to vote in next year's presidential primaries.
New Hampshire GOP's chairwoman Jennifer Horn said the idea is "un-Republican. It is unconstitutional. And it is un-American," while South Carolina chairman Matt Moore said on Twitter, "As a conservative who truly cares about religious liberty, Donald Trump's bad idea and rhetoric send a shiver down my spine."
There are more than 5,800 servicemen and women on active U.S. military duty and in the reserves who self-identify as Muslim and could be assigned to serve overseas. Trump said in an interview Monday night on Fox News, "They'll come home." He added, "This does not apply to people living in the country, except that we have to vigilant."
It was also unclear whether Trump's ban would apply to Muslim allies in the fight against Islamic State militants. Ari Fleischer, a former aide to Republican President George W. Bush, tweeted, "Under Trump, the King Abdullah of Jordan, who is fighting ISIS, won't be allowed in the US to talk about how to fight ISIS."
But at Trump's rally in South Carolina, the proposed ban struck supporter Shelley Choquette as reasonable, because "it's not going to be forever. I think everybody needs to be checked."
Religion can factor into immigration decisions, but that typically happens when people are fleeing religious persecution. People of a particular religion may get favorable treatment by the United States, as when Russian Jews sought to leave the Soviet Union.
In the late 1800s, Congress passed legislation broadly aimed at halting Chinese immigration. But said Leti Volpp, a University of California expert on immigration law, "there is no precedent for a religious litmus test for admitting immigrants into the United States."
"Excluding almost a quarter of the world's population from setting foot in the United States based solely upon their religious identity would never pass constitutional muster," Volpp said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest accused Trump of playing on people's fears and trying to tap into "a darker side, a darker element" of American society.
From the Democratic presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders said "Trump and others want us to hate all Muslims" and Hillary Clinton called the proposal "reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive."
On Capitol Hill, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said, "It's just foolish."
But will it hurt Trump in the campaign? "I have no idea," McCain said. "I thought long ago that things he said would hurt his prospects, and he continues to go up."

Obama isis Cartoon

Exclusive: New Jeb Bush Super PAC ad uses Paris, San Bernardino images

Right to Rise USA, the pro-Jeb Bush super PAC will be airing a new TV ad in early voting states and the battleground state of Ohio that uses images from the Paris & San Bernardino attacks to depict President Obama as a weak president on terrorism and the former two-term Florida governor as a “tested and proven leader who won’t try to contain ISIS.” 
It is the first campaign ad to utilize the images of both Paris and San Bernardino.
“A horrific terror attack in Paris then a brutal act of terror here at home.” The 30 second ad starts off as it flashes images from both locations.
“It is time for tested and proven leader who won’t try to contain ISIS,” the announcer continues as Obama flashes on the screen.
Bush has been increasing his focus on national security and anti-terrorism positions and has been severely critical of the president’s position on threats from ISIS and other terrorist organizations.
"The threat of global terrorism is the threat for our country. And every day that the caliphate exists is another day that they win and they can recruit terrorists, “ Bush said to Special Report anchor Bret Baier on Thursday night.

Exclusive: Miami billionaire spearheads anti-Trump newspaper ads

A leaked memo by the National Republican Senatorial Committee argued earlier this week that GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump should be emulated instead of condemned, but one billionaire donor isn’t taking that route.

Mike Fernandez, a Miami health care magnate

Mike Fernandez, a Miami health care magnate and Jeb Bush donor, ran a full-page ad in McClatchy’s Miami Herald Sunday and will run the same ad on Dec. 14 in Des Moines and Las Vegas slamming Trump and calling on voters to “'see the "hater' for what he is-- insecure, narcissistic BULLYionaire with a hunger to be adored.”
Fox News exclusively obtained the ad late Saturday in which Fernandez likens Trump to “despotic leaders" like Mussolini, Hitler and Peron.
"Mr. Trump portrays himself as someone who can do no wrong, unblemished by almost any human faults--indeed, the paragon of smarted and greatest. But his worst and actions tells who is who he really is-- a destroyer,” Fernandez adds.
Fernandez, a noted Bush donor, didn’t mention him in the ad or any other candidate from either side of the aisle. Fernandez told the Miami Herald Friday he didn’t run his plan by the Bush campaign, but heard an earful when they learned of his plan.
Fernandez is the founder of MBF Healthcare Partners. He immigrated from Cuba in 1964 when he was 12. He donated $3 million to the former Florida governor earlier this year.
"In my home, my county, I cannot stand by and accept demagoguery that would separate us-rich vs. poor, minority vs. Majority, red vs. Blue. Our nation stands today more divided than ever,” Fernandez says.
"Surely, we are better people than to agree with this man's sound bites and raucous rallies and think the worst in U.S. is right for this country."

Clinton says term 'radical Islam' an injustice to vast majority of Muslims

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton declined Sunday to say that a “radical” form of Islam is behind terror attacks connected to the Islamic State and other such attacks committed by fringe members of the Muslim religion.
“I don't want to do that because, No. 1, it doesn't do justice to the vast numbers of Muslims in our own country and around the world who are peaceful people,” she told ABC’s “This Week.”
Clinton spoke four days after Muslim husband-wife couple Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik shot and killed 14 people and wounded dozens of others at an office complex in San Bernardino, Calif.
Her comments are among the latest in an intense debate on whether to call Muslims who commit terror strikes such as the recent ones in California and Paris and the one on Sept. 11, 2001, “radical Islamists” or “Islamic extremists.”
President Obama, set to make an Oval Office address to the America public Sunday night about domestic terror, has also been criticized for not using either term. He has instead used the term “violent extremists,” using an argument similar to Clinton’s.
On the 2016 presidential campaign trail, leading GOP candidate Donald Trump recently called out Obama on the issue.
“Radical Islamic terrorism,” Trump said at an event Friday. “We have a president that refuses to use the term. …There's something going on with him that we don't know about."
On Sunday, Clinton also defended saying publicly, as secretary of state, that the Benghazi terror attacks were inspired by an anti-Islamic video, blaming “the fog of war.”
Recently released emails from Clinton reveal intelligence suggested the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on a U.S. outpost in Benghazi, Libya, were terror related.
Other emails indicate Clinton knew the attacks were terror related, then told the American public otherwise.
Four Americans were killed in the attacks.
Clinton acknowledged Sunday that the San Bernardino massacre was a “terrorist attack” and predicted that Obama will announce an "intensification" of existing strategy to fight ISIS, a move she supports.
“Nobody is arguing with that,” she said.
Still, Clinton said the recent massacre, in which the couple appeared to have used legally purchased assault-style rifles, underscores the need for tighter gun control.
“We have to take account … our gun laws and the easy access to those guns by people who shouldn't get them," she said.
She cited the mentally ill, fugitives, felons and Congress “continuing to refuse to prohibit people on the ‘no-fly’ list from getting guns, which include a lot of domestic and international terrorists.”
As Clinton has in the past, she also called for comprehensive background checks for potential gun buyers.
“We need to close the gun show loophole, close the online loophole … and end the liability for gun sellers,” she said.

Intelligence report commissioned by White House says ISIS not contained

A new intelligence report commissioned by the White House says that the ISIS terror group will grow in numbers and territory unless it suffers significant losses in Iraq and Syria.
The findings sharply contradict previous statements by President Obama and other White House officials that ISIS has been "contained" by a program of U.S.-led airstrikes and the deployment of approximately 3,500 U.S. forces to train and otherwise aid moderate Syrian rebels and Kurdish fighters.
On Sunday, a U.S. official told Fox News that ISIS has been able to effectively recruit and attract affiliates despite losses on the ground, and has now supplanted Al Qaeda as the primary global jihadist threat.The official said that going forward, the entirety of the ISIS threat must be addressed, and the group's main base of operations in Syria must be “degraded.”
The findings were first reported by The Daily Beast, which said the White House asked for the assessment prior to the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, in which ISIS militants killed 130 people in a series of coordinated shootings and suicide bombings.
In response to the report, The Daily Beast said President Obama had directed Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford to come up with new strategies against ISIS.
One recommendation, announced by Carter Tuesday, is a special operations cell with the ability to capture senior ISIS leaders in the hope of finding out more about their networks.
However, the Daily Beast reported that Carter's announcement took military planners by surprise, since they had yet to finalize important details, including the rules of engagement under which such raids would be carried out.
The eight-page report was compiled by a team of analysts from the CIA, NSA, and other agencies, the website reported.
"This intel report didn't tell us anything we didn't already know," an official told The Daily Beast. "It was lots of great charts showing countries highlighted across the globe, with some groups having pledged allegiance to ISIS and others leaning towards it."
The report also described how the terrorist group with aspirations of founding an extremist Islamic caliphate already has a network of groups that have pledged allegiance or are vying for membership in a dozen countries.