"Face it. They're just doing everything they can to make life for poor people more difficult."

Agreed.

It's the inbred-cousin of vote suppression, all around the same central lie:

An additional barrier to (vote, get benefits) won't be an additional barrier to (vote, get benefits).

"As a Christian, I accept that America has no state religion."

Christmas is a national holiday. Name a belief other than Christianity whose most sacred day is a National Holiday.

"Christians do not get to impose biblical law on everyone else"

That doesn't stop them from trying. Heck, they'll literally MISINTERPRET the Bible to justify their fascist actions. For example, the Bible talks about "the quickening" as the beginning of life; fascists will overrule God to say moment of conception.

"There are radical Islamist movements that openly advocate bringing Sharia into government and public life."

And there are radical Christian movements who believe husbands should be able to strike their wives, and every household should have only ONE vote: the man's. Frankly, neither will get any traction.

"Religious freedom does not mean the right to impose religious law or religious requirements on everyone else."

So you believe a woman should decide whether she gets an abortion?

"Muslims in America have the same religious freedom, but they also have to accept the same constitutional limits."

Can you show us a single current instance of Muslims getting MORE Constitutional rights than you? Please be specific.

"Here, when religious demands cross constitutional boundaries, the courts will determine where those boundaries are."

Yep. And if you remember, SCOTUS ruled Hobby Lobby didn't have to pay for women's reproductive services, since the owner of Hobby Lobby claimed it was against his religion.

"My concern is that some Americans who are strongly anti-Christian and anti-Israel may become so eager to oppose Christians and Jews that they excuse or support demands from Islamic groups that they would never tolerate from Christians."

Well then, the answer would be to give them no future reason to distrust you or hate you. Start working alongside, and stop called Muslims "them".

Treating minorities like crap is never a good idea, especially if folks who look like you are destined to be in the minority.

"what exactly are they asking for?"

Ideally, anything that doesn't pass the smell test.

Is she wearing designer clothes? Is she driving a new $80,000 car? Does she live in a neighborhood where the property taxes are more than most people's rent?

I've seen where people have listed their monthly bills, and that amount was considerably over the income they were claiming.

Frankly, investigating stuff like that is exactly what I hope happening.

Literally two days ago, I had to cut out actual W-2s and return them to a tax client's home state to prove state taxes had been withheld. It could be for any number of reasons why the state thought he had zero withheld instead of $8K, but none of them were ours.

Which reminds me: if a taxpayer files a paper tax return and the IRS loses it, that's legally on the taxpayer, who would then be responsible for substitute proof.

"Lemme guess ... you think that's asking too much?"

No, not at all. As long as they weren't chosen for scrutiny because, say, they're a poor person who was gifted an iPhone.

"Perhaps you can explain why they should pay more for an entitlement they won't receive"

Because with tax cuts they're getting the value of up-front money, assumed to compound 8% annually.

Meanwhile, SS recipients get the equivalent of a 2% bond with a 25yr maturity.

"What does "more documentation" mean? what exactly are they asking for?"

They want to see her W-2s and her tax return.

Regardless, more hurdles to jump will ALWAYS lower the percentage of eligible people enrolled.

"Nothing is above the Constitution."

Trump kidnapped and deported folks without Due Process.

Now is your chance to condemn.

"Being fellow countrymen does not mean everyone else must accept having one group's religious practices broadcast into their homes."

So Jewish people shouldn't be subjected to Church Bells?!?

"We need to nip this in the bud now before they become politically entrenched in American society."

Note the "We" and "They" delineation. US versus THEM! BillJ isn't just treating "certain" others as the least of his brethren, he's CREATING a "least" of his brethren. Of course, BillJ wants them to pay taxes...just not be represented.

"They do not have a special right to ignore noise laws or require an entire neighborhood to accommodate their prayer schedule. Neither does any other religion."

When will you be demanding Christian Churches stop ringing their bells???

"Or, did both parties just sign off on it."

Nope. Dubya and Cheney reset America's fiscal sights without Dems voting for it.

Since then, Republicans have blocked every effort to address revenue, and each successive Republican-authored Tax Code has made it worse.