You Might Be Surprised By Which State Grabbed the Top Spot for “Well-Being”

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When it comes to well-being, Alaskans nabbed the top spot in the United States, according to an annual ranking. . .

Hawaii and South Dakota followed Alaska in spots two and three. And Kentucky stayed in the 49th spot, where it’s been for a number of years.

The 2014 rankings, released Thursday, are based on over 176,000 phone interviews with people in all 50 states. The Index measures how people feel about and experience their daily lives, and looks at their health across five categories: purpose, social, financial, community and physical.

Over the past seven years, Alaska has ranked in the top 10 four times. And Alaskans are having a good year for a reason, according to Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

“They do a lot of the blocking and tackling, as far as taking care of themselves and making good choices, but also demonstrating good holistic well-being in ways that extend beyond the conventional physical wellness,” Witters said. (Read more from, “You’ll be Surprised about Which State Grabbed the Top Ranking” HERE)

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Ron Paul: Predicts Break-Up of the Nation, Says Secession is Happening

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By Andrew Kaczynski. Former Republican presidential candidate and congressman Ron Paul says secession is happening and it’s “good news.” Paul later predicted the states would stop listening to federal laws.

“I would like to start off by talking about the subject and the subject is secession and, uh, nullification, the breaking up of government, and the good news is it’s gonna happen. It’s happening,” Paul, the father of potential Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul, told a gathering at the libertarian Mises Institute in late January. The event Paul was speaking at was titled “Breaking Away: The Case for Secession.”

Paul said secession would not be legislated by Congress, but would be de facto, predicting “when conditions break down…there’s gonna be an alternative.” (Read more about Ron Paul saying it was good that secession is happening HERE)

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Here’s Why Ron Paul Thinks the U.S. Didn’t Want to Catch Bin Laden

By Andrew Kaczynski and Megan Apper. Former Republican presidential candidate and congressman Ron Paul says he doesn’t believe the United States government wanted to catch Osama Bin Laden because they needed him as an excuse to build up the military and invade Middle Eastern countries.

“Matter of fact, can’t you just see the difference that might have occurred. Ya know, they knew where Bin Laden was. I don’t think they really wanted to catch him because he was used as the excuse for us, you know, invading various countries and building up the military,” Paul said on Scott Horton’s radio program. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Student Visas from Saudi Arabia Increase Ten-Fold Since 9/11

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What is happening to our Republic?

Countries like Mexico are able to dictate our immigration policy.

Illegal aliens are able to disrupt congressional proceedings with impunity.

And now, Saudi Arabia is able to control our colleges.

Did Americans ever cast a vote at the ballot box to cede control of our higher education system to Saudi Arabia?

As we learned from the 9/11 attacks, our biggest vulnerability is not our air or naval defenses, it is our immigration system. Yet, not only have the politicians failed to deal with these vulnerabilities, they have blithely ignored the massive expansion of immigrant and non-immigrant visas from Middle Eastern countries since 2001. On average, we’ve issued over 100,000 new green cards to individuals from predominantly Muslim countries every year over the past decade.

Perhaps, the most jarring increase comes from student visas issued to Saudi Arabian nationals. According to the Institute of International Education, based on data compiled by the State Department, we have granted roughly 54,000 student visas to Saudi Arabian nationals during the 2013/14 academic year. This represents an eye-popping 935% increase since 2001. Saudi Arabia is now the 4th leading country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., with the rate of increase growing every year. In total, we have admitted 221,316 students from Saudi Arabia since 2001.

Why the sudden explosion in Saudi student visas, especially given the fact that Saudi Arabian nationals accounted for 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11?

In 2005, terror-supporting Saudi King Abdullah started a scholarship fund which essentially pays for his citizens to attend universities in the U.S. With the rapid rate of increase, and no caps in place on F-1 student visas, Saudi Arabia can theoretically buy out hundreds of thousands of visas in the coming years. This is a pretty good racket for Saudi Arabia because it coincides with their ubiquitous funding of Middle Eastern studies in departments of major American universities. They fund the curriculum and send their foreign nationals to change the environment on our major college campuses.

And what are the results?

Well money can’t buy you love, but it can buy hate and propaganda. The period of growing Saudi influence and concentration in our universities has corresponded with a precipitous rise in anti-Semitism on many major college campuses. When coupled with the broader increase in Muslim immigrant and non-immigrant visas in recent years – to the point that Arabic is the fastest growing language at U.S. colleges – our universities are rapidly becoming ‘little Europes’ for Jewish students.

As we noted earlier, while only a small percentage of these foreign students are likely potential security threats, the growing population from Islamic countries creates the environment that breeds this insidious ideology. It also contributes to the growing anti-Semitism, something we don’t need in this country.

The Institute of International Education also details the fields of study popular among foreign students. Forty-one percent of Saudi students are enrolled in programs within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Roughly 80% of all Iranian foreign students are pursuing degrees in STEM. So when you hear the political class drone on about the need to award more green cards to foreign students graduating in STEM fields, just know that a large portion of them hail from the Middle East. Indeed, U-Mass just took the prudent step of barring all Iranian students from studying nuclear sciences – only to relent after pressure from Muslim community-organizing groups.

And now, in an Orwellian turn of events, a group of radical Islamic leaders are able to meet at the White House and influence our domestic and foreign policies concerning the fight against “extremism.”

When do We the People get a vote? When do we get to decide the future of our country? (This article, “Student Visas from Saudi Arabia Increase Ten-Fold Since 9/11”, reposted with permission from HERE)

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Daniel Horowitz is the Senior Editor of Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @RMConservative.

TYRANNY ALERT: Obama’s ATF Moves to Ban Common AR15 Ammunition

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Photo Credit: Guns BuzzThe work of anti-gun zealots is never done. When outright bans fail to materialize, the conversation soon shifts to backdoor methods of gun control. Those who abhor an armed citizenry never ever give up; they just retreat, regroup and find another route of attack.

In recent years, that has been working to reduce the availability of ammunition. After all, what good is one of those oh-so-scary “military-style assault weapons” if one cannot fire them?

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has released a proposal to reclassify SS109/M855 5.56 NATO ammunition as “armor-piercing” and ban the import, sale or manufacture of the common rifle round used in AR15 rifles and pistols based on the AR15 platform.

The ATF claims that they can ban the M855 ammo under an obscure provision in the Gun Control Act of 1968 which deems that ammo can be marketed to civilians which is “primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes.”

However, the move is clearly an effort to reduce the availability of ammunition to AR15 owners and to drive-up the cost of shooting, a position the NRA-ILA holds in a new press release who said that the move was “clearly intended by the Obama Administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s and other .223 caliber general purpose rifles.” (Read more about the ban on AR15 Ammunition HERE)

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First Open Homosexual Chosen for Pentagon Chief of Staff; Ban on Transvestites to be Lifted

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By Richard Sisk. New Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has chosen former acting Air Force Secretary Eric Fanning to become his chief of staff and the first openly gay man to hold the post.

Fanning, currently the Air Force undersecretary, was a key member of the transition team along with Army Maj. Gen. Ron Davis that guided Carter through his Senate confirmation hearings to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

As chief of staff, Fanning will have major sway over Carter’s schedule and access to his office. Davis was expected to become military adviser to Carter.

In his brief remarks after his swearing in ceremony at the White House on Tuesday, Carter noted the presence of Fanning and Davis in the small audience and thanked “Eric and Ron.”

In response to the Fanning announcement, Chad Griffin, president of the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement Wednesday that few were as qualified as Fanning to serve as Carter’s chief of staff. (Read more about the selected homosexual who was chosen for the Pentagon chief of staff HERE)

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Air Force Secretary Wants to Lift Transgender Ban

By Susan Page. Now that the U.S. military has opened more jobs to women and allowed gay men and lesbians to serve openly, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted.

“Times change,” she told Capital Download, saying the policy “is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” Asked whether dropping the ban would affect military readiness, she replied: “From my point of view, anyone who is capable of accomplishing the job should be able to serve.”

In a wide-ranging interview at the Pentagon, James also described progress in the bombing campaign against the radical group Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, and said the U.S.-led military coalition has gotten help from an unlikely source: Iran.

The Pentagon last week confirmed Tehran has conducted airstrikes against ISIS targets in eastern Iraq, creating a de facto alliance with the United States despite the lack of formal relations between the two longtime adversaries. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama’s Use of Muslim Gang Sign Reminds Americans of His 2008 Gaffe About His “Muslim Faith” [+video]

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Is President Obama a Muslim? A lot has been written about this, but if photographs speak louder than words, then a photo taken at last August’s U.S.-African Leaders’ Summit in Washington D.C. might shed considerable light.

It shows Barack Hussein Obama flashing the one-finger affirmation of Islamic faith to dozens of African delegates.

The Associated Press took this astonishing photo as the African dignitaries joined Obama, who hosted the event, in a State Department auditorium for a group photograph. It was published in an article in Britain’s Daily Mail, and it was the only use ever of the photo.

The one-finger display is the distinctive Muslim gang sign: The index finger points straight up while the thumb wraps underneath and presses against the digital phalange of the middle finger. The remaining fingers are squeezed against the palm in order to highlight the extended forefinger. The extended finger is symbolic of the one-God concept of Muhammad and is understood by all believers to be a symbolic shahada, the Muslim affirmation of faith: There is but one God and Muhammad is his messenger.

Thus when believers stick their index finger in the air, they demonstrate they are partisans of Muhammad’s God concept. And they also affirm their belief in Muhammad’s claim he was the interface between God and man. They also demonstrate they are part of the umma, the exclusive transtribal supertribe of believers that Muhammad started 1,400 years ago. (Read more about Obama using the Muslim gang sign HERE)

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Obama Discusses His “Muslim Faith”

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Montana Lawmaker Introduces License Plate Reader Ban That Could Have Nationwide Effect

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Following a recent string of reports suggesting law enforcement officers have used license plate scanners to track and monitor drivers without cause or warrant, state lawmakers in Montana have decided they’re having none of it.

State Rep. Daniel Zolnikov, a Republican, introduced legislation Jan. 28 “prohibiting the use of a license plate scanner by the state or a local government.” His bill was approved Feb. 13 by the Montana House Judiciary Committee in an 11-10 vote, though still has a long way through the state legislature before it becomes law.

“The purpose of this legislation is to severely limit Montana’s consideration of purchasing and implementing these devices. We have a very short period of time before the state likely starts implementing license plate scanners and starts sharing it with the Department of Justice,” Zolnikov said.

The bill does make certain exceptions, however: Scanners could still be used in parking regulation enforcement, and the Montana Department of Transportation would be allowed to use the scanners at designated virtual ports of entry, weigh station ramps that use screening systems and virtual weigh stations that use motion technology.

But the information collected under these exceptions would remain anonymous, restricting the state from identifying the vehicle, the vehicle owner, the driver of the vehicle or any passengers in the vehicle. (Read more about the law the Montana Lawmaker introduced HERE)

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Get Ready for $10 Oil

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At about $50 a barrel, crude oil prices are down by more than half from their June 2014 peak of $107. They may fall more, perhaps even as low as $10 to $20. Here’s why.

U.S. economic growth has averaged 2.3 percent a year since the recovery started in mid-2009. That’s about half the rate you might expect in a rebound from the deepest recession since the 1930s. Meanwhile, growth in China is slowing, is minimal in the euro zone and is negative in Japan. Throw in the large increase in U.S. vehicle gas mileage and other conservation measures and it’s clear why global oil demand is weak and might even decline.

At the same time, output is climbing, thanks in large part to increased U.S. production from hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling. U.S. output rose by 15 percent in the 12 months through November from a year earlier, based on the latest data, while imports declined 4 percent.

Something else figures in the mix: The eroding power of the OPEC cartel. Like all cartels, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is designed to ensure stable and above-market crude prices. But those high prices encourage cheating, as cartel members exceed their quotas. For the cartel to function, its leader — in this case, Saudi Arabia — must accommodate the cheaters by cutting its own output to keep prices from falling. But the Saudis have seen their past cutbacks result in market-share losses.

So the Saudis, backed by other Persian Gulf oil producers with sizable financial resources — Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — embarked on a game of chicken with the cheaters. On Nov. 27, OPEC said that it wouldn’t cut output, sending oil prices off a cliff. The Saudis figure they can withstand low prices for longer than their financially weaker competitors, who will have to cut production first as pumping becomes uneconomical. (Read more about $10 oil HERE)

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Phil Robertson to Receive Free-Speech Award at CPAC for his Outspoken Statements on Homosexuality

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Fourteen months after he sparked a major controversy for making remarks widely perceived as anti-gay, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been named the recipient of a free-speech award from Citizens United, an organization routinely disparaged by Hollywood liberals.

Robertson will receive the “Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award” at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, which is better known as CPAC and is one of the biggest annual events for prominent movers and shakers on the right . . .

“Even when the entire mainstream media demanded he disavow his beliefs and attempted to have him fired from his own hit show for expressing these beliefs, he stood firm in his faith,” Citizens United president David Bossie said.

Bossie’s group is most famous for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that blocking the airing of the group’s documentary film Hillary: The Movie was a violation of free speech. The FEC had argued, unsuccessfully, that the movie should adhere to laws governing political advertising, given that it was a critical look at Hillary Clinton scheduled for release when she was seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. president. (Read more about the free-speech award HERE)

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Scott Walker Attends Private Dinner With Ex-Reagan Advisers in New York

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is scheduled to attend a private dinner Wednesday with longtime advocates of supply-side economics.

The gathering, set for the upscale “21” Club in Manhattan, is the latest effort by the potential Republican presidential contender to bolster his relationships with the GOP’s anti-tax wing. It also reflects the interest business-friendly conservatives have in his possible candidacy, in spite of the recent ascent of former Florida governor Jeb Bush.

Economists Larry Kudlow, Arthur Laffer, and Stephen Moore will host Walker, according to several people with knowledge of the event.

For decades, that trio of friends — all associated with President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies — have been high-profile proponents of using tax cuts to boost economic growth.

Laffer is best known for authoring the “Laffer curve,” an argument for increasing federal revenue by lowering taxes. Moore, a former Wall Street Journal editorial writer and founder of the Club for Growth, now works at the Heritage Foundation. Kudlow, a fixture on cable television, was one of Reagan’s advisers on fiscal and economic matters. (Read more about the dinner with the ex-Reagan advisers HERE)

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