North Korea Tops Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan as Worst Place to Be Christian

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon

On the day former NBA star Dennis Rodman sang “happy birthday” to Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, a religious freedom advocacy group named North Korea the world’s worst country to be a Christian for the 12th consecutive year.

Islamic states dominated Open Doors’ 2014 world watch list, accounting for nine of the ten countries with the worst records. Of the full 50-country list released Wednesday, 36 are countries where Islamic extremism is “the main engine driving persecution of Christians,” stretching from North Africa to Brunei.

The top ten countries for persecuting Christians over the last year were: North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen.

“In no other country in the world are Christians so fiercely persecuted because of their faith than in North Korea,” said Open Doors. “Like others in that country, Christians have to survive under one of the most oppressive regimes in contemporary times. They have to deal with corrupt officials, bad policies, natural disasters, diseases and hunger.

“On top of that, they must hide their decision to follow Christ. Being caught with a Bible is grounds for execution or a life-long political prison sentence. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians live in concentration camps, prisons and prison-like circumstances under the regime of leader Kim Jong-un.”

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74% of U.S. Afghan Casualties Came After Obama Ordered Troops Increased

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Seventy-four percent of the U.S. military personnel who have given their lives serving in the Afghan War died after Feb. 17, 2009, when President Barack Obama announced his first increase in the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan, according to CNSNews.com’s database of U.S. casualties in the war.

In the more than twelve years that have passed since U.S. troops first entered Afghanistan with the aim of removing al Qaeda from its sanctuary there, 2,162 U.S. service personnel have given their lives in and around Afghanistan in support of U.S. military activities in that country.

1,593 of those 2,162 U.S. casualties—or 73.7 percent—have occurred since Feb. 17, 2009, when Obama announced the first of his multiple increases in U.S. military personnel deployed to Afghanistan.

“To meet urgent security needs, I approved a request from Secretary Gates to deploy a Marine Expeditionary Brigade later this spring and an Army Stryker Brigade and the enabling forces necessary to support them later this summer,” Obama said on Feb. 17, 2009.

MONTH-BY-MONTH CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN

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Congress Is Now Mostly A Millionaires’ Club

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Photo Credit: Larry Downing / Reuters

Photo Credit: Larry Downing / Reuters

Congress is loaded, if you weren’t already aware.

The Center for Responsive Politics analyzed the personal financial disclosure data from 2012 of the 534 current members of Congress and found that, for the first time, more than half had an average net worth of $1 million or more: 268 to be exact, up from 257 the year earlier. The median for congressional Democrats was $1.04 million and, for Republicans, $1 million even.

To calculate the net worth of lawmakers, the Center added together members’ significant assets, such as corporate bonds and stocks, then subtracted major liabilities such as loans, credit card debt and property mortgages.

Here’s the breakdown: the median net worth for all House members was $896,000 (Democrats averaged $929,000 to Republicans’ $884,000) and, for Senators, $2.5 million…

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Significant Obama Donor to Head IRS Tea Party Targeting Investigation

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The attorney heading the internal investigation into potential unfair targeting of conservative groups by the IRS is a frequent and significant donor to both the Democratic National Committee and President Obama, Rep. Darrell Issa revealed today, in what he calls a “startling conflict of interest” that jeopardizes the investigation.

Rep. Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a letter today to Attorney General Eric Holder revealing new information that reached the committee on who is conducting the internal investigations at the IRS regarding the inappropriate targeting of conservative groups. Seeking an explanation as to why the FBI has been unresponsive to the committee, Rep. Issa noted that current and former IRS officials revealed Barbara Bosserman, a trial attorney within the IRS’s Civil Rights Commission, is leading the internal investigation.

Bosserman’s leadership raises all sorts of questions about the investigation’s fairness. Rep. Issa’s investigations revealed that she has been a loyal financial backer of the DNC since 2004 and has donated multiple times personally to President Obama’s two campaigns. Her personal donation total reaches $6,750 to both the party and President Obama.

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Levin: Obama Is ‘an Economic Illiterate…Who Takes Responsibility for Nothing’ (+video)

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Photo Credit: markn3tel/flickr

Photo Credit: markn3tel/flickr

Discussing President Obama’s remarks in the White House Tuesday, Mark Levin called the president an “economic illiterate” during Tuesday evening’s radio show…

Levin: “So there’s Obama today, with about ten people behind him, which demonstrates what a failure he is, and what a failure his policies are. And, of course, they don’t even get the irony of the damn thing. And, he says among other things, cut one, go:

Obama: “But, although the economy has been growing, and we’ve been adding new jobs, the truth of the matter is, is that the financial crisis was so devastating that there’s still a lot of people who are struggling, and in fact, if we don’t provide unemployment insurance, it makes it harder for them to find a job.”

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Bombshell Documents Show One Of Chris Christie’s Top Aides Ordered George Washington Bridge Lane Closures

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By Brett LoGiurato.

Bombshell documents show that decisions that caused days of traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge — possibly in retaliation against a Democratic mayor who wouldn’t endorse Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) for reelection — reached closer to Christie than he has previously acknowledged.

Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s deputy chief of staff, sent an August 13 email to former Port Authority Director of Interstate Capital Projects David Wildstein, a Christie ally: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) had declined to endorse Christie for re-election, unlike many other Democratic municipal officials in the state.

The Wall Street Journal obtained that email and 21 other pages of emails and text messages, a series that shows coordination between the Christie administration and the Port Authority over the lane closures — and suggests the closures were politically motivated, not part of a “traffic study.”

In a text to Baroni, Sokolich had said that the problem of busing students to school was “maddening.”

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

‘Outraged’ Chris Christie DENIES knowing about aide’s order to snarl up NYC bridge traffic in revenge on political enemy

By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor.

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie broke his day-long silence Wednesday afternoon to say that a petty plan to exact revenge against a Democratic mayor by bottling up traffic in his town was carried out ‘without my knowledge.’

Christie put out a strongly-worded statement aimed at distancing himself from the growing scandal that threatens to engulf him and put the brakes on his presidential ambitions.

‘What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable,’ Christie said. ‘I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge.’

Shocking emails released hours earlier revealed Christie’s aides punished a Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse their boss by snarling commuter traffic entering his town’s on-ramp to New York City’s busy George Washington Bridge.

‘One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable,’ he said, ‘and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.’

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Christie ‘Outraged’ By ‘Unacceptable’ Email Exchanges Over GWB Lane Closures

By CBSNewYork/AP.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded Wednesday afternoon to email exchanges made public earlier in the day linking a top aide to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal that has been under investigation.

“What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” the governor said in a statement.

Hearings on the issue begin Thursday, a day after the emails were released.

As CBS 2’s Jessica Schneider reported, Christie had said previously that no one in his office or his campaign knew about the lane closures back in September.

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DoD Reviewing Its ‘Equal Opportunity’ Training–After Anti-Christian Materials Exposed

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

In response to a letter from a coalition of religious liberty advocates concerned about anti-Christian bias in Defense Department “equal opportunity” training materials, the Department of Defense says it is reviewing those materials and will decide this month whether to continue using “private organizations” as resources in developing them.

The coalition specifically cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a group the military should stop relying upon as a source for equal opportunity training.

DOD spokesman Lt. Commander Nathan Christensen told CNSNews.com on Dec. 19 that if DOD decides to continue using private groups as resources, it will also decide whether a disclaimer should be included when those organizations are cited in DOD training materials.

Christensen did not say whether DOD would agree to meet with members of the coalition concerned about religious freedom in the military to discuss their concerns.

The Restore Military Religious Freedom Coalition, a group of 23 non-profit organizations, sent their letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Dec. 6.

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Chamber of Commerce Vows to Fight ObamaCare Employer Mandate in 2014

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce vowed Wednesday to fight ObamaCare’s so-called employer mandate and other “onerous” provisions in the year ahead, even as the pro-business group acknowledged the bill as a whole cannot be repealed in the current climate.

The agenda was outlined by Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue, in his annual Washington address. Though the law’s requirement on mid-sized and large businesses to provide health coverage to workers was delayed by a year, Donohue said the Chamber still plans to lobby against that mandate in 2014.

“In 2014, we will work to repeal onerous health care taxes; repeal, delay, or change the employer mandate; and give companies and their employees more flexibility in the choice of health insurance plans,” Donohue said. He also cited immigration reform, entitlement reform and more domestic energy production as other major objectives.

“We’re not going to get rid of [the Affordable Care Act] so we’re going to have to find ways to make it work,” Donohue said afterward. “It’s a massive tax bill. It’s a massive rules-and-regulations system. And lots of people are worried about how they are going to get their health care.”

In his speech, Donohue said the health insurance cancellations that “swamped” the individual market last year are expected to hit the small business market even harder this year. And many firms are not hiring and are cutting workers’ hours because of the law’s mandates, he said — despite claims by the Obama administration to the contrary.

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Limbaugh: Obama Fiddles While the Economy Burns

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Photo Credit; Rush Liimbaugh

Photo Credit; Rush Limbaugh

RUSH: Folks, you’ve heard the old saying, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” That is true. Rome was literally burning, and he could not have cared less. What people have forgotten about it is that Nero, he didn’t just fiddle while Rome burned; he started the fire. Nero wanted to burn down Rome in order to rebuild it in his own image. But to cover it up he blamed the Christians, who were then subsequently thrown to the lions.

Now, on my first trip to Rome, the tour guide told me that didn’t happen. He was interested in Rome not having a bad impression. He said, “You’ve heard that the Christians were given to the lions. It really didn’t happen,” he said. But, for all intents and purposes, it did. Now, if you ask me, the story of Nero fiddled while Rome burned and then adding to it he started the fire sounds familiar to me.

Barack Obama has, for five years, had control over the US economy. His policies, his specific economic policies are the reason this country is in dire economic straits. Obama’s policies are the reason why there is no recovery — and if you want to call it a recovery, go ahead. If you do, it’s the worst recovery in the history of this country. So there is an analogy, I think, to Nero here. Obama, by his own admission before he took office, during his campaign and after he was immaculated, bragged about transforming this country.

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Alaska Group Takes Next Step to Legalize Marijuana

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Photo Credit: matthew kenwrick

Photo Credit: matthew kenwrick

A citizens’ group hoping to make Alaska the third state in the nation to legalize recreational use of marijuana took a step closer Wednesday, submitting more than 46,000 signatures to the state election office.

If enough signatures are verified — they need about 30,000 qualified signatures — the question of whether to make pot legal in the nation’s northernmost state will go before voters in the Aug. 19 primary. Signatures must come from at least 7 percent of voters in at least 30 House districts.

“It’s clear that Alaskans are eager to have an opportunity to express their displeasure with the current system and make a change,” said one of sponsors, Tim Hinterberger, a professor in the School of Medical Education at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

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