Gallup: Higher Marriage Rate Could Boost the Economy

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Photo Credit: APMarried Americans spend more than their unmarried counterparts, suggesting that if the marriage rate increases, overall spending in the U.S. might also increase, benefiting the U.S. economy.

Those are the findings of a Gallup Daily tracking survey conducted Jan. 1-Sept. 30, 2013 among 135,537 adults contacted randomly by telephone in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

To get an estimate of discretionary spending, Gallup asked Americans to report how much money they spent the prior day, excluding payments for normal household bills and major purchases such as homes or cars.

The survey found that married Americans report a daily spending average of $102, followed by $98 among those who are living in domestic partnerships, $74 by divorced Americans, $67 by those who are single and never married, and $62 by those who are widowed. Across all age groups, those who were married spend more than those of other marital statuses.

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‘Who Can Possibly Stand Against Them?’: Buck Sexton Highlights ‘Chilling Effects of NSA Domestic Surveillance Programs

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Photo Credit: TheBlaze TVTheBlaze’s national security expert Buck Sexton appeared on The Glenn Beck Program Monday to discuss the alarming quantities of information the U.S. government is gathering on its citizens, and the ramifications it may have on the future of the country.

Sexton began by referencing a Wall Street Journal report that he says highlights how “NSA-derived data has officially been used in a criminal prosecution.”

“This was against a suspected would-be terrorist, somebody who was going to travel overseas allegedly to join the fighting in Syria,” Sexton said. “But in the court documents given over to his lawyer, it’s become clear that some of the knowledge that the government had derived from the NSA.”

“This was not with some special warrant,” he continued. “This was just – the NSA had this stuff, they decided to give it to criminal authorities.”

Sexton said that the government always starts with using information against “the worst of the worst,” but that it’s only a matter of time before the government starts using “this massive trove of data that’s just at its fingertips” in other ways.

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Rand Paul Warns Eugenics on Horizon Unless Conservatives Stand Up Against Abortion Rights

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Photo Credit: Reuters Tea party hero Rand Paul warned scientific advancements could lead to eugenics during a Monday visit at Liberty University, looking to boost the political fortunes of fellow Republican Ken Cuccinelli’s bid for governor.

During a visit to the Christian school founded by Jerry Falwell, Paul looked to energize conservative supporters by warning that genetic tests could identify those who are predisposed to be short, overweight or less intelligent so that they could be eliminated. With one week remaining before Election Day, Cuccinelli is hoping the joint appearance with the U.S. senator from Kentucky will encourage the far-right flank of his party to abandon third-party libertarian spoiler Robert Sarvis.

“In your lifetime, much of your potential – or lack thereof – can be known simply by swabbing the inside of your cheek,” Paul said to a packed sporting arena on Liberty’s campus. “Are we prepared to select out the imperfect among us?”

Some states ran eugenics programs that sterilized those considered defective in the 1900s, though all were abandoned by the 1970s after scientists discredited the idea.

Campaigning later in the day on Virginia Tech’s campus, Democrat Terry McAuliffe renewed criticism of Cuccinelli as a candidate who doesn’t believe in science and sought to remind voters that Cuccinelli unsuccessfully sued a University of Virginia researcher under the state’s anti-fraud law.

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Syria Weapons Inspectors Miss Deadline for Visiting All Declared Sites

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/Dusan VranicInternational inspectors overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile have missed an early deadline in a brutally tight schedule after security concerns prevented them from visiting two sites linked to Damascus’ chemical program.

The chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog disclosed for the first time in a report obtained by The Associated Press that Syria has declared 41 facilities at 23 chemical sites where it stored approximately 1,300 tons of precursors and agents, and over 1,200 unfilled munitions to deliver them.

Ahmet Uzumcu said in his first report to the U.N. Security Council that inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had corroborated the information provided by Syria at 37 of the 41 facilities.

But the OPCW said inspectors were only able to visit 21 of the 23 sites because of security risks — which means the tight timeline for visiting all declared sites by Oct. 27 was missed.

While there are no consequences for missing the deadline, the group’s failure to meet it underscores the ambitious timeline as well as the risks its inspectors face in carrying out their mission in the middle of Syria’s civil war.

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Dispelling Liberal Myths: The Tea Party is Not Racist and the Right is Not the Realm of Homophobes and Misogynists

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Photo Credit: Irish Central When Niall O’Dowd invited me to be the voice of the right at IrishCentral, I was met with complaints from those who didn’t like having a different opinion disturbing their peace and quiet…. But I was also greeted with welcome from those who felt they had not previously been given a voice. One priest even commented “praise God for Ed Farnan,” after I came aboard.

I have seen the myths put forth by my liberal colleagues, repeating stereotypes to paint all on the right with. If you repeat something often enough, it becomes the truth, even if it is not.

The myths that are particularly galling though, are the ones claiming the Tea Party is a racist organization and the right is a breeding ground of homophobia and waging a “war on women.”

Of course, in any group there will be fringe elements, but that should never be a basis to label an entire political movement with.

For me there is nothing better than to talk to those who are directly involved in a subject in order to get their opinion…..Especially the ones that would be feeling the brunt of the racism and discrimination, if there was any.

I called Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, someone I have deep respect for. Reverend Peterson is the founder of BOND Action and The South Central LA Tea Party, which self-identifies as “a black-led organization that loves and supports America,”

During our phone call Reverend Peterson, couldn’t be more emphatic that the Tea Party is composed of regular American citizens, who only want to see a responsible government and fiscal sanity restored to our country. His Tea Party chapter is:”not only popular in my own community;” he said: “I was surprised at the number of members throughout the US who joined, including many Hispanics and African Americans.”

Reverend Peterson was recently outraged when he saw claims made by Democrat Congressman Alan Grayson, comparing the Tea Party to the Ku Klux Klan. Reverend Peterson demanded that the “race baiting Grayson apologize to Black Americans and the Tea Party for his outrageous lies.”

“Alan Grayson is playing on the worst fears of Blacks in an attempt to continue the brainwashing tactics of the Democratic Party. He knows that for more than 160 years it has been the Democrats who have used the Ku-Klux-Klan, Jim Crow, and failing liberal policies to keep many blacks on the liberal Democrat’s plantation.” Read more here.

My next contact was Richard Grenell. Richard is a conservative, registered Republican, openly gay and appears frequently on Fox News as a foreign policy/security expert. He has been interviewed on CNN, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News and many other media outlets.

I asked Richard for his opinion as a gay man in the conservative world, if he faces discrimination:

“First of all, I classify myself as a consistent conservative. I consistently want government out of my life. I recognize that government must act when there is no market force but should stay out when there is a desire from the private sector to do something.”

“But generally I say that the far left and the far right are both intolerant. I have experienced it first hand. The far left hates the fact that I am a gay conservative. They want to keep gays in an ideological box. They alone get to decide when we get to speak up and on what issue.”

I contacted Jana Neweley. Jana has co written articles with me in the past and has helped research for upcoming interviews. Jana is a freelance writer of conservative political commentary. Follow her political tweets at PimpingtheUS.

“As a Black, Conservative woman, I have experienced racism and intolerance over the years, encountering both White and Black racists. So, how is it possible for any one group to say to another, “You’re racist?” Yet, the Democratic Party has accused The Right of just that. Well, I accuse The Left of being intolerant, because Liberal-Dems have zero tolerance for me. Sure, they’re okay with the color of my skin, but not with the fact that my conservative values are in direct conflict with their political agenda. If there was anything I could share with the American People, it would be Blacks ARE NOT automatically liberal.”

I had calls in to Carly Fiorina, Melissa Meyers and Meg Whitman, all former and present CEO’s of top American corporations. I wanted to get a first hand account of the conservative’s war on women intended to keep them “barefoot and pregnant”….but their busy schedules prevented a comment in time for this article.

A woman is considering a run for president; hopefully she’s a conservative. Women are governors, senators, members of congress and very powerful in the Republican Party. Women have assumed leadership roles in all strata’s of society, there is no one telling them they can’t do something. It is just another liberal fallacy to claim there is a war on women.

It’s easier to call someone a name or label them as an extremist instead of having to answer real questions about your failing policies.

_____________________________________

Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

‘Hostage Talker’ Invited to White House (+video)

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photo credit: _skender_Recent estimates that Iran may be just one month away from producing enough enriched uranium to facilitate a nuclear weapon are likely on target, and the likelihood of Iran achieving success is enhanced by an insincere charm offensive by new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani was touted as a surprise winner in Iran’s recent presidential elections. Since then, he has projected a desire to soften the tone with the United States and open a new dialogue between the two nations. But the man who first warned the world of Iran’s latest quest for nuclear weapons told WND this public relations campaign by Iran is just a giant smokescreen.

“President Rouhani is actually more dangerous than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad because he creates the perception as though he’s going to be someone different, as though he’s willing to talk to the West and come into some kind of an agreement meaning that he would abandon some aspects of the Iranian nuclear program and that he would come clean,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, which is the formal name for the Iranian parliament in exile.

“If we look at the whole structure of the Iranian regime, Rouhani is just the player that only carries out the mission of the supreme leader. All the issue related to national security, particularly the nuclear file, are totally in the control of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei,” said Jafarzadeh, who also noted that Rouhani is no innocent newcomer to the international chess game over Iranian nukes.

Rouhani was one of the first Iran negotiators once the NCRI exposed the nuclear program in 2002. Jafarzadeh said Rouhani’s duplicity has been evident since the start of this impasse.

Read more from this story HERE.

Trick or Treat – The 142 Trillion Pound Monster is Back from the Grave

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Photo Credit: Joe BalyeatAs Halloween approaches, an old familiar monster rises from the grave like Freddy Krueger in “Nightmare on Elm Street.” But, unlike the famous fictional character, this beast is real and threatens to choke off our children’s future, consigning our great grandchildren to lifetimes of bondage. The 142 trillion pound monster in the room is America’s mushrooming national debt, and the October surprise is that Congress must once again raise the debt limit only 6 months after raising it to $17.3 trillion.

Consider these alarming facts: the $17.3 Trillion national debt employs Enron-style accounting and ignores government’s major unfunded liabilities including Social Security, Medicare, and government pensions. As a practicing CPA, I assure you that private sector companies would be forced to include these obligations on their balance sheets. So, the true national debt including unfunded liabilities is really $142 Trillion dollars. $142 trillion divided amongst every single taxpayer in America is $1.25 million dollars each. If you thought your family was debt-free… surprise! – you really owe $1,250,000 for every taxpayer in your household.

As your young son or daughter enters the workforce, excited to start building their nest-egg; they’re not starting from ground zero, they’re starting with a 1,250,000 pound weight about their neck – an enormous burden dragging down America’s economy and our children’s future. Sadly, our generation elected spineless politicians who simply didn’t have the backbone to say no to wasteful, excessive government spending.

Alaska Senator Mark Begich, while insisting that he doesn’t vote party-line, has repeatedly voted straight Democrat on numerous party-line votes which defeated US House attempts for lower spending on the continuing budget resolution… Including voting against attempts to simply delay Obamacare (with its $1.8 Trillion pricetag) for one year. Our elected officials are by-and-large still asleep during this living nightmare. According to OECD data, America’s deficit to GDP ratio was second worst worldwide in 2010 and 2011 and fourth worst in 2012. The World Economic Forum also ranked America’s debt to GDP ratio as 140th out of 144 nations, 5th worst in the entire world!

Prior to 2009, historically, 17% of federal government spending was deficit spending. Since 2009, a whopping 53% of government spending is now debt-financed deficit spending. The $3.5 trillion spent annually is almost $28,000/yr for every household in America. Is all this spending necessary, or have zombie-like politicians simply become so dollar-drunk and power-mesmerized that they’ve lost all self-control?

Consider these boondoggles:

·$376 million in White House renovations, including construction of a temporary pseudo Oval Office for the President to use only temporarily while the regular Oval Office is being renovated.

·US Navy spent $681,387 on one “scientific” study confirming that men look taller, stronger, and manlier when carrying a firearm, $300,000 to conclude the first bird on earth was probably black-feathered, and almost a half-million to determine that unintelligent robots can’t hold a baby’s attention.

·$188 Million wasted by the TSA on 5,700 pieces of security equipment sitting unused in storage.

·The IRS spent $4.1 Million on an extravagant conference for 2,600 IRS employees, including $50,000 for line-dancing and Star Trek parody videos, $135,350 for outside speakers, $64,000 in conference “swag” for the employees, free meals, cocktails, and hotel suite upgrades… Meanwhile, IRS discriminates against TEA-Party groups which oppose this wasteful spending.

Is profligate spending by “Washington Gone Wild” enough to tank history’s greatest economic engine – the American economy? Consider this: In roughly the same time period in which politicians ramped up deficit spending to more than half of the federal budget from 2008 to 2012, the median household income in America dropped 8.1%. That’s $4,400 less income per household annually. In that same timespan, a 21% increase in number of Americans in poverty, a 70% increase in number of people on food stamps, and the median net worth of American families plunged 39%.

It’s time America wakes up and realizes that excessive, wasteful government spending is seriously deteriorating our future economic stability. Stand up for our grandchildren’s future; petition Washington for real spending cuts now that will eventually balance the federal budget.

“Government is like a baby: an alimentary canal with a big appetite at oneend and no sense of responsibility at the other end”. (Ronald Reagan)

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Joe Balyeat is a National Merit Scholar, national award-winning CPA, and former Chairman of the MT Senate Business and Economic Affairs Committee. He is a part-time Alaskan residing near Anchor Point, and is an acting Co-Director for Americans For Prosperity- Alaska. ([email protected]).

Obamacare Site Designer CGI Federal Executive Spent ‘Christmas with the Obamas’

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Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton, facebook.com/tonitwhitley
Michelle Obama’s relationship with Princeton classmate Toni McCall Townes-Whitley, whose company earned the no-bid contract to design the disastrous Healthcare.Gov Obamacare website, continued after the Obamas moved into the White House.

Townes-Whitley and her husband even enjoyed “Christmas with the Obamas” at the White House in December 2010, according to a Facebook album created by Townes-Whitley.

Although neither Michelle Obama nor Townes-Whitley has discussed their relationship, the Christmas event took place just seven months after Townes-Whitley joined CGI Federal as a senior vice president.

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‘Extortion’: Holder Abuses Law to Enrich Former Employer, Target Republicans

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Photo Credit: AP

We are going to punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us. –President Barack Obama, October 2010.

The Obama Justice Department has increased Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement actions over 65% compared to the prior administration, a dramatic shift that stands to benefit Attorney General Eric Holder’s former law firm Covington & Burling—the firm that helped write the law and describes itself as “a leading voice” on FCPA enforcement and compliance. Several FCPA investigations by the Obama Justice Department have included companies headed by top Republican donors including Koch Industries, Las Vegas Sands, Inc., Walmart, News Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard.

Government Accountability Institute (GAI) President and Breitbart News Senior Editor-At-Large Peter Schweizer makes the stunning charges and lays out the evidence in his new book, Extortion: How Politicians Extract Your Money, Buy Votes, and Line Their Own Pockets. Schweizer appeared last week on 60 Minutes and Hannity after the New York Times published two articles on the book’s investigative findings.

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was created in 1977 to ban American companies doing business overseas from bribing foreign officials. Executives found guilty of violating the law can face up to 20 years in prison. The law was written with the help of lawyers at Covington & Burling, the former law firm of Attorney General Eric Holder and former DOJ Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer.

On its website, the firm boasts, “Covington lawyers have a unique command of anti-corruption laws, in part due to our role in helping draft the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977.” The firm describes itself as “a leading voice in the private bar on US legislation and policy guidance relating to FCPA enforcement and compliance.” Breuer has since left DOJ and gone back through the revolving door to Covington where he makes nearly $4 million as vice chair of the firm. His duties, of course, include helping clients navigate “anti-corruption matters.”

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Reid: Rich Want to Pay More in Taxes (+video)

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Photo Credit: Townhall The rich don’t mind high taxes, in fact, they want to pay more, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claimed during a radio interview with KNPR radio Thursday.

The host asked Reid if he would be willing to make concessions on Medicare and Social Security in a long-term budget deal. Not only did Reid instruct to “stop talking about that” and “get something else in your brain,” he also had these words of wisdom:

“…the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The rich know that. The rich are willing to pay more. They’re not the ones out here saying, ‘please don’t tax me.’ The only people who feel there shouldn’t be more coming in to the federal government from rich people are the Republicans in the Congress. Everybody else, including rich people, are willing to pay more. They want to pay more. So, yeah, but we’re going to have to have mainstream Republicans step up again.”

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