Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, sat down with Fox’s Chris Wallace to discuss several issues pertaining to her campaign on Sunday.
With Benghazi playing a major theme in the attacks against Clinton, Wallace played a video clip from the Republican National Convention (RNC) of Pat Smith blaming Clinton for her son’s death . . .
Wallace asked Clinton about Smith’s comments that Clinton lied to her and the other families on the day when the Benghazi victims’ bodies returned to the United States.
“I don’t hold any ill feeling for someone who in that moment may not fully recall everything that was or wasn’t said,” Clinton said.
Clinton responded by saying that her heart went out to the families of the Benghazi victims and that she understands the grief that the families are going through. She then tried to discredit Smith’s narrative by saying that the families of the other victims didn’t hear Clinton make the comment about the Youtube video. (Read more from “Clinton: I Am Not Responsible for What People Do or Do Not Remember From Benghazi” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/19289075809_37c7f22148_b.jpg504706Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 01:39:312016-08-01 01:39:31Clinton: I Am Not Responsible for What People Do or Do Not Remember From Benghazi
Most of us have never witnessed an economic “recovery” this bad. As you will see below, the average rate of economic growth since the last recession has been the lowest for any “recovery” in at least 67 years. And unfortunately, the economy appears to be slowing down even more here in 2016. On Friday, I talked about how the U.S. economy grew at a painfully slow rate of just 1.2 percent in the second quarter after only growing 0.8 percent during the first quarter. And last week we also learned that the homeownership rate in the United States has dropped to the lowest level ever. This is not what a recovery looks like. Instead, it very much appears that a new economic downturn has already begun.
But don’t just take my word for how painful this economic “recovery” has been. The following comes from a Wall Street Journal article that was just posted entitled “Seven Years Later, Recovery Remains the Weakest of the Post-World War II Era“…
Even seven years after the recession ended, the current stretch of economic gains has yielded less growth than much shorter business cycles.
In terms of average annual growth, the pace of this expansion has been by far the weakest of any since 1949. (And for which we have quarterly data.) The economy has grown at a 2.1% annual rate since the U.S. recovery began in mid-2009, according to gross-domestic-product data the Commerce Department released Friday.
The prior expansion, from 2001 through 2007, was the only other business cycle of the past 11 when the economy didn’t grow at least 3% a year, on average.
This entire seven year stretch has come while Barack Obama has been in the White House. After more than seven and a half years, he is solidly on track to be the only president in U.S. history to never have a single year when the U.S. economy grew by at least three percent.
And unlike many presidents, he has had two terms in which to try to accomplish that feat.
One of the industries that had been doing fairly well during this recovery was the auto industry, but now in early 2016 they have found themselves struggling too…
Now, the auto sector, which has propped up GDP growth for years, is slowing down. For the first six months, total car and light truck sales, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 17.5 million vehicles, are lagging behind last year by 100,000 units. Over the first half, fleet sales to rent-a-car companies and big fleet buyers were up industry wide. But retail sales fell 2%.
All over the corporate world, earnings are down.
In some cases, they are way down.
It is being projected that this will be the fifth quarter in a row when corporate earnings have declined, and even mainstream analysts are now admitting that it is “evident” that we have entered “a global slowdown”…
“Earnings season in the U.S. confirms the overall macro picture that we have. We have a global slowdown. It’s evident in all of the major economies,” said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, on a Bloomberg podcast.
Of course I have been saying this exact thing for the past 12 months, but a lot of people have tuned me out because the stock market in the United States has been doing so well.
But the stock market is not an accurate barometer for the real economy. It never has been, and it never will be.
If stocks accurately reflected the health of the U.S. economy, they would have already crashed really hard a long time ago. At this moment, stock prices are completely disconnected from economic reality, and this has many of the most respected names on Wall Street scratching their heads. One of them is Jeffrey Gundlach, the chief executive of DoubleLine Capital. Just check out what he told Reuters on Friday…
Noting the recent run-up in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index while economic growth remains weak and corporate earnings are stagnant, Gundlach said stock investors have entered a “world of uber complacency.”
The S&P 500 on Friday touched an all-time high of 2,177.09, while the government reported that U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter grew at a meager 1.2 percent rate.
“The artist Christopher Wool has a word painting, ‘Sell the house, sell the car, sell the kids.’ That’s exactly how I feel – sell everything. Nothing here looks good,” Gundlach said in a telephone interview. “The stock markets should be down massively but investors seem to have been hypnotized that nothing can go wrong.”
If you follow Gundlach, you probably already know that he has been dead on accurate with regard to the financial markets over the past couple of years.
So when he says that the stock market “should be down massively” and that it is time to “sell everything”, we should all take him very, very seriously.
All throughout history, a huge decline in corporate earnings has almost always resulted in a huge decline in stock prices. As Jesse Felder has noted, “we have never seen a decline in earnings of this magnitude without at least a 20% fall in stock prices” during the last 50 years.
To any rational observer, it is quite obvious that stock prices should have already started collapsing quite some time ago.
And to a large extent this has already happened around the planet, but here in the United States stocks continue to defy the laws of economics.
But at this point it isn’t going to do much good to warn people about this. Those that could see the danger coming have already pulled their money out of stocks, and most of those that want to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that things are somehow going to be different this time are not likely to be persuaded this late in the game.
In the end, we should all be grateful that this absurd financial bubble has lasted for as long as it has, because stability is much more pleasant than instability. The U.S. economy and the U.S. financial system have enjoyed a prolonged period of stability that has defied all the odds, and let us hope that it lasts for at least a little while longer… (For more from the author of “Painful to Watch: This Is the Weakest U.S. Economic ‘Recovery’ Since 1949” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/dollar-941246_960_720-4.jpg720960Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 01:34:062016-08-01 01:34:06Painful to Watch: This Is the Weakest U.S. Economic ‘Recovery’ Since 1949
Alaska implemented a broad new education law that has Planned Parenthood hopping mad while making Common Core foes happy.
HB 156 was passed back in May, but has since sat on the desk of independent Gov. Bill Walker while he considered whether to veto it. Finally, on Thursday, Walker allowed the bill to become law without signing it, saying the bill was a “very close call” for him.
The law influences several different aspects of schooling in Alaska, but of particular note is its provisions on sex education and standardized tests. The law states that sex education may only be taught by a certified teacher, or by an outside instructor approved by the local school board. One major goal of the provision is to keep teachers from bringing in representatives of Planned Parenthood to provide sex education lessons.
The provision was backed by Alaska Sen. Mike Dunleavy, who previously pushed a bill that would have explicitly banned any abortion provider from providing sex education in public schools. That bill failed to pass, but Dunleavy managed to insert the provision into HB 156 as an amendment, where it was then modified into the form that became law this week.
Dunleavy says the law empowers parents by giving elected school boards greater influence on sex ed. (Read more from “Alaska’s New Sex Ed. Law Has Planned Parenthood Furious” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/2809961438_56d48f9969_b.jpg8051024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 01:13:472016-08-01 01:13:47Alaska’s New Sex Ed. Law Has Planned Parenthood Furious
Hillary Clinton defended the bereaved parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain, saying Donald Trump has a “total misunderstanding” of American values and has inflamed divisions in American society. Her comments came after the Republican nominee refused to back down from his criticism of the Gold Star parents’ remarks.
Making her most extensive statements about the Khan family since Trump criticized their Thursday night convention appearance, Clinton expressed concerns about the GOP nominee’s character, saying he repaid a family that made the “ultimate sacrifice” with “nothing but insults” and “degrading comments about Muslims.”
“I do tremble before those who would scapegoat other Americans, who would insult people because of their religion, their ethnicity their disability,” she told parishioners in a Cleveland church on Sunday morning. “That’s just not how I was raised.” (Read more from “Backlash Against Trump Continues in Fight With Slain Army Captain’s Family” HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/5440603914_97c06d6eaa_b-4.jpg6831024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 01:07:292016-08-01 01:07:29Backlash Against Trump Continues in Fight With Slain Army Captain’s Family
Mark Cuban has been pretty politically open this presidential election, using Twitter as his primary tool to share reflections. When asked by major media outlets, he’s weighed in on the situation and given his thoughts about each candidate, at times praising both candidates and while other times being critical.
Friday he surprised some people when he tweeted out his presidential endorsement.
. @_LaLas_Land I will vote for Hillary and do my best to convince every one I know to vote for Hillary. You should to
Until recently, the Dallas Mavericks owner has been on the fence. He told Fox Business last month that if Hillary Clinton chose Sen. Elizabeth Warren as her running mate, he would vote for Donald Trump. Cuban also mentioned he was open to running as the VP pick for both political parties — describing himself as “fiercely independent.”
The billionaire investor publicly stated last year that Trump was a breath of fresh air for politics, mentioning his candid responses to media questions and not giving prepared answers. Cuban even said that his preference was to be Republican, but he couldn’t because of the social stances the GOP takes:
The Republican Party does everything possible to discourage leadership. They want dogma. They want conformity. They want to conserve their romanticized past. That’s a shame. I wish they wanted to conserve the best of what America is today and find a leader that can take us to new places that make our future better.
Even though Cuban and Trump are both billionaires, the Mavericks owner thinks the Clintons are better negotiators and smarter business people. A couple of days ago he tweeted out that because Trump had refused to release his tax returns, he believes Trump has actually made less money than the Clintons and is trying to hide it. (For more from the author of “Mark Cuban Finally Endorses a Presidential Candidate” please click HERE)
In yet another case of party members changing their allegiances, Caroline McCain, the granddaughter of Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, has announced she will vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in November.
Writing an article for Medium.com, McCain cited several factors which led her to the decision to leave the Republican Party.
She recalled Trump questioning whether her grandfather was actually a war hero.
Saying her grandfather responded to the incident gracefully and with forgiveness, she admitted to still holding a grudge for Trump’s remarks.
“He insulted my grandfather and attacked the very qualities — loyalty, bravery and selflessness — that he and countless other POWs embody,” she said.
She also blamed the Republican Party itself for being instrumental in her decision, writing, “The party I grew up in, the party I want to work in and change and push to be more inclusive, betrayed me and countless others.”
McCain asserted that loyalty to country is more important than party loyalty.
She goes on to write that she wants nothing to do with the Republican Party if it is willing to have as its presidential nominee a man she called a “racist” and “misogynist” who she says wants to ban Muslims and try to keep immigrants from entering the country.
McCain said that while watching the Democratic National Convention this week, she made the decision to leave her party and support Clinton, despite issues she has with the nominee.
These issues include questions about the Clinton Foundation’s finances and her unwillingness to speak with the press.
She admitted that these are not the candidates she wanted, nor is this the election she hoped for.
“So I’m not a Democrat — at least not yet. But this year, ‘I’m With Her,’” she concluded.
McCain was a college student when her grandfather ran against Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election. At that time, she said in an interview that if George W. Bush had been running for re-election against Obama, she would have voted for Obama because Bush “does not represent the true face of the U.S.” (For more from the author of “McCain Family Member Decides to Support Clinton” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/John_McCain_-_Guard_Association_of_the_United_States_General_Conference-2.jpg6811024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 00:53:402016-08-01 00:53:40McCain Family Member Decides to Support Clinton
Martin Luther King Jr. said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
If the 2016 Democratic National Convention (DNC) was any indication, the party of Robert Byrd and Woodrow Wilson has little desire to turn King’s vision into reality.
To look over the guest list and listen to the proclamations of the DNC’s various speakers is to see a clinic in identity politics geared explicitly away from focusing on content of character and towards the physical attributes with which one is born and over which one has no control.
Each and every speaker from a paraplegic Hispanic female to the parents of various black males shot by cops was hand-selected as a political prop to perpetuate a narrative geared towards specific constituencies and an overall theme. The same could be said of the way each and every substantive soundbite was tailored.
The Democrats reverse-engineered their convention in such a way that their speakers would activate every last constituency necessary to win in November.
At some level one has to admire them for having a goal and developing strategies and tactics to achieve it, in spite of a woeful lying criminal of a presidential candidate, the manipulation of sympathetic individuals and the Democrats’ gratuitous pandering. This is politics, and the people seem to not only abide it, but revel in it.
And what the Democrats’ shameless efforts indicate is that winning is paramount, and not so for Republicans except when it concerns our own primaries, and perhaps the race Donald Trump is running.
The core of the Democrats’ message is that Republicans are evil and Democrats are good. Republicans hate and Democrats love. Republicans divide and Democrats unite.
In practice however, Democrats seek to evoke emotional and tribal sentiments completely antithetical to this message. Dividing Americans by race, class, gender and “identity” is the implicit aim of who Democrats highlight and what they say.
The Democrats’ entire campaign, starting with the “I’m with her” slogan is intended to make their constituents focus on voting with their groups against evil Republican oppressors. Democrats seek to signal to voters that everyone who looks like them votes a certain way. Peer pressure to go along with a message relentlessly pushed in the media and academia is a strong force. When many Democrats are wholly unaware that there is another perspective, voting the same way for life is a near certainty.
Regrettably, the individual, the most precious minority of all, is an afterthought versus the aggrieved group, and the collective.
Democrats have to play up race, class, gender and “identity” because the results of their policies in every place where Democrats predominate are so abysmal. I defy any Democrat to name a failing urban area run by Tea Partiers for the last 40 years. When you can’t win on reason, win on emotion.
There certainly are voters who are in the Democrats’ pocket and for which no matter how devastating the effects of their policies – be it in broken homes, failing schools or rampant crime – nothing will ever cause a change of heart because they fundamentally believe the Democrats’ agenda is in their self-interest.
But for others, appeals to empathy, guilt and envy triumph in spite of the apparent and overwhelming evidence of Democratic depredation.
This is a profoundly sad commentary in light of what Martin Luther King Jr. was advocating. Content of character over color of skin means judging people individually, not in terms of a group or a collective. Content of character over color of skin means judging people on their merits, not their genes. Content of character over color of skin means focusing on substance and fact over style and narrative.
Identity politics may enable Democrats and politicians of all stripes to win elections. Appealing to the worse angels of our nature appears to resonate most in our declining culture. But the damage done to the fabric of the country will last for lifetimes, and ultimately tear it apart absent a profound change in American society. (For more from the author of “The DNC Illustrated Devastating Identity Politics – Consequences to America Be Damned” please click HERE)
Earlier this month, the Republican Party approved what many are calling its most conservative platform ever – including top priorities of social conservatives. Despite a socially moderate presidential candidate in Donald Trump, the GOP platform explicitly calls for the unborn to be legally considered human, demands greater liberty for pastors, and continues to oppose redefining marriage.
This is in direct contrast to the 2016 Democratic platform. While God was put back in after removal in 2012, the platform explicitly calls for repealing laws that limit taxpayer involvement in abortion. Additionally, the LGBT agenda is fully embraced, even when it violates the rights of private business owners.
For conservative Christians, the platforms could not be more different. But according to Jason and David Benham, it’s going to take more than words on paper to move America in a direction where family, life, and liberty are respected.
Known colloquially as the Benham Brothers, Jason and David are real estate entrepreneurs and leaders in the evangelical Christian community. They held a prayer rally at the 2012 Democratic Convention, and have unreservedly spoken out to urge Americans to return to Christian values on sexuality, life, and other matters of spiritual and biblical importance.
Now, the Brothers have published their second book, Living Among Lions: How to Thrive Like Daniel in Today’s Babylon. Buttressing their 2015 book, Whatever the Cost, Living Among Lions examines the biblical Daniel, who along with his friends was pressured and persecuted – to the point of a death sentence – to give up his faith in God.
Famously, David survived his death sentence, with the lions who were supposed to feast upon him not harming a hair on his head. According to the Benhams, America is heading in the same direction, with government pressure being implemented against nuns, priests, bakers, pro-life advocates, and schools to implement the LGBT and abortion agendas.
In an e-mail interview, the brothers told me that the solution is to go back hundreds of years, to the Babylonian exile.
Dustin Siggins: Any comments on the RNC platform, which explicitly calls for defunding Planned Parenthood and protection of the unborn at the moment of conception?
Benham Brothers: It’s about time! Now, if we could elect leaders willing to stand on this platform, we’d see significant change in our nation. In the Evangelical community, there was a general fear the platform might capitulate in several key areas like life, marriage, and religious liberty. Thankfully, it was pushed through and now stands as one of the most conservative platforms in history.
DS: Conversely, the DNC platform draft indicates Democrats will call for elimination of federal measures that limit federal funding for abortion, including the Hyde Amendment. Any comment on this platform?
BB: It doesn’t surprise us. When the DNC held their conference in our hometown of Charlotte in 2012, they removed all references to “God” from their platform. After eight years of the most liberal president in American history, coupled with a rapidly declining moral culture, we’ll continue to see the Democratic platform be shaped by the sexual revolution.
DS: Across the country, pro-life groups and individuals are being targeted for their beliefs — whether pharmacy owners in Washington, nuns by the federal government, and pro-life pregnancy care centers in California. How would Daniel handle this kind of pressure?
BB: First, Daniel had conviction that transformed his heart. He knew God. His faith wasn’t a cultural trend to follow. Second, Daniel had commitment that transformed his lifestyle. He wasn’t a Sunday morning believer, but a committed man of faith all week that knew God’s word and submitted his life to it.
Third, Daniel had courage that transformed his world. Loaded with conviction and commitment, Daniel stood with courage when the cultural winds shifted and no longer favored his convictions. He didn’t just survive in the midst of this type of environment – he thrived! When a law was passed that targeted his faith he publicly targeted it back by praying with his windows open, in full defiance to the unjust law. We may find ourselves in a situation to do this very thing soon, so we must be people of conviction and commitment now – then, we’ll stand with courage.
DS: Democratic VP candidate Tim Kaine is a Catholic who says he personally opposes abortion, but he won’t tell women they cannot have abortions. Do you believe that one can be personally against, but publicly for, abortion, and be consistent with Christian ethics?
BB: This is a trap into which many Christians fall today. Unfortunately, we have many professing believers but functional atheists. In other words, they claim to have faith but refuse to make it a framework through which they live faithfully to God…in every area of life. We cannot divorce our faith from the decisions of life (marriage, finances, raising children, education, civic duty, etc.). In light of that, God’s word is clear that His people are to be a voice for the voiceless. So if Tim Kaine ignores this vital aspect of his faith, what other parts will he ignore as he seeks to lead this country?
DS: Any advice for pro-life groups and individuals inside the Democratic Party, like Democrats for Life, that really are Daniel surrounded by lions?
BB: Why are you a Democrat, with a platform clearly bent on killing babies? But if you’re gonna be one, then stand strong and speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves! Don’t fear. Don’t hold back. Don’t be silent. Be strong and speak – the babies deserve your voice.
DS: Finally: You organized prayer rallies and other events at the 2012 Democratic Convention. Any insights for pro-life groups like Created Equal that will aim to raise awareness about life at the 2016 Convention?
BB: Keep your message centered on the Gospel of life, not just the issue of abortion. In other words, it is God who created us equal, born and unborn. And it is He who will open the eyes of the most hardened sinner bent on ending the lives of unborn babies. The more you bring Him into the, the more power you have to see captives set free. Abortion is of Satan, and no amount of good strategy can replace the power of the Spirit.
(For more from the author of “Benham Bros, Fired by HGTV, Have a Message for Social Conservatives” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Benham_Brothers.jpg720960Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 00:26:262016-08-01 00:26:26Benham Bros, Fired by HGTV, Have a Message for Social Conservatives
Send a link to everyone you know. It’s time to take action and reveal who the Clintons really are. The revelations will especially torque off Bernie Sanders fans, guaranteed.
(For more from the author of “THIS IS IT: Watch the Entire Movie “Clinton Cash” Now!” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/Bill_and_Hillary_Clinton_at_1997_inaugural_parade_1-1.jpg10121524Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-08-01 00:17:402016-08-07 00:47:41THIS IS IT: Watch the Entire Movie “Clinton Cash” Now!
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is not your typical teenager.
The 16-year-old hip-hop artist and global warming activist with the nonprofit Earth Guardians has been dubbed the “anti-Bieber.” He “rallies supporters of every age and creed through school presentations, his unique brand of eco hip-hop, and heartfelt speeches,” according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Xiuhtezcatl, from Boulder, Colorado, also is petitioning the presidential candidates to implement policies eliminating the use of all fossil fuels in America by 2026. He challenges them to “be the leader [his] generation demands.”
But what would happen if politicians actually cut off all use of so-called fossil fuels—including coal, natural gas, and petroleum—in the next 10 years, as this idealistic teenager exhorts the next president to do?
What if the government implemented policies, mandates, and taxes to restrict Americans’ energy choices artificially?
Conventional fuels, in many respects, are the backbone of the American way of life. Artificially eliminating them would have an enormously negative impact.
It’s fairly common knowledge that Americans use coal and natural gas to power homes, vehicles, businesses, schools, and hospitals. In fact, the United States gets 81 percent of all its energy from oil, coal, and natural gas.
What’s less known is that conventional fuels go beyond providing energy for Americans. Petroleum and natural gas are used to make thousands of everyday items—aspirin, toothpaste, sunglasses, shoes, tires, shag rugs, and tennis balls, to name a few.
In fact, roughly 20 percent of oil refined in the U.S. is used for plastics, chemicals, and rubber products. Indeed, America relies on natural gas and oil for a vast variety of uses.
Ultimately, policies that prohibit the use of conventional fuels would impede these lesser known but no less valuable uses.
What’s more, the push to eliminate conventional fuels ignores the fact that these fuels, especially natural gas, are efficient, abundant, and environmentally sound sources of energy. There will be no shortage of these resources anytime soon, and more are being found all the time, thanks to advances in technology.
Even if these resources were to run out soon, prices would reflect that and markets would shift to finding innovative alternatives borne out of necessity rather than arbitrary restrictions that keep resources in the ground.
And as producers of electricity, both coal and natural gas have higher efficiency rates—the “capacity factor”—than other energy sources such as wind and solar. Oil-based gasoline is 33 percent more powerful than ethanol.
Policies to eliminate conventional fuels also would put a lot of folks out of work.
Roughly 538,000 Americans work in the oil and natural gas industry. Around 75,000 work in the coal industry. Millions more have jobs that are supported by these industries. Nearly every product and service made in America at some point relied on conventional energy sources.
Americans not only would face significant lifestyle changes, many would lose their entire livelihoods. It’s not just the American way of life that would be lost, either—fossil fuels have raised people around the world out of poverty and into healthier, safer lives.
The kicker is, while forgoing all of these benefits, policies forbidding the use of conventional energy wouldn’t have the impact on global warming that Xiuhtezcatl Martinez hopes for. If the U.S. eliminated all carbon dioxide emissions, only 0.137 degree Celsius would be averted by the year 2100.
Arbitrarily banning all conventional fuels isn’t the answer. Young or old, Americans should be wary as their government considers such drastic, harmful policies. (For more from the author of “What If the Government Actually Banned Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas?” please click HERE)
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/7007043860_70b0864fbc_b.jpg6821024Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2016-07-31 23:51:152016-07-31 23:51:15What If the Government Actually Banned Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas?
