In Heated Midterm Contests, GOP Candidates Explore a Move to the Middle

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Photo Credit: WNDIn a midterm election year in which the political climate and map of battleground states clearly favors Republicans, many GOP candidates are nevertheless embracing some Democratic priorities in an effort to win over skeptical voters.

The shift is evident in some of the most contentious Senate and gubernatorial races — in traditional swing states as well as decidedly conservative ones such as Alaska and Arkansas — where Republican nominees have endorsed increases to the minimum wage, legalizing medical marijuana or granting in-state college tuition to some illegal immigrants.

Even on social issues, an area where the GOP traditionally has hewed to the wishes of its evangelical Christian base, many Senate hopefuls have backed same-sex marriage or over-the-counter access to birth-control pills.

Buoyed by President Obama’s deep unpopularity, the Republican Party is positioned to reclaim a national governing majority for the first time in nearly a decade by winning control of the Senate. But Republicans have little margin for error, and most key races remain tossups.

That’s in part because many of those same polls show that voters favor Democrats on several issues, including pocketbook economic concerns and women’s reproductive health issues. This has led many Republican candidates to take steps — some only in recent weeks — to project a more moderate image and try to inoculate themselves from attacks portraying them as extremists.

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Texas Clinics Say Goodbye to Planned Parenthood

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Photo Credit: TownHallPlanned Parenthood continues to lose momentum in the state of Texas. Planned Parenthood Association of Hidalgo County, now named Access Esperanza Clinics, has ended its partnership with Planned Parenthood. Patricio C. Gonzales, CEO of Access Esperanza, explained the significant move:

“Changing our name and affiliation allows our agency to apply for state health programs and make low-cost services more available for thousands of our low-income women, men and teens,” said Patricio C. Gonzales, CEO of Access Esperanza, in a letter posted on the group’s website, where she added that it was “a difficult but practical solution.”

In summary, renouncing its association with Planned Parenthood now gives Access Esperanza the opportunity to receive government funds.

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Tax Refunds Will be Cut for ACA Recipients

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Photo Credit: Tim Boyle, Getty ImagesA significant benefit of the Affordable Care Act is the opportunity to receive money-saving tax credits up front to cut the overall cost of HEALTH INSURANCE, but now hundreds of thousands of consumers could owe back some of that money next April.

Those affected took advance payments of the premium tax credit for HEALTH INSURANCE. Some married couples could owe $600 or $1,500 or $2,500 or even more. It might feel like a raw deal for some who are already suffocating under the escalating costs of HEALTH INSURANCE.

“Health insurance is confusing enough, and now they’re adding the complexities of the Tax Code,” said Lorena Bencsik, a member of the Michigan Association of CPAs and owner of Prime Numbers in Ferndale.

When you file that 2014 tax return next year, the Internal Revenue Service will compare your actual income for the year with the amount you estimated when applying for exchange-based health insurance under the HEALTH INSURANCE LAW.

The next open enrollment period begins Nov. 15. But notices were sent this week to some consumers whose incomes don’t match up to such things as 2012 tax return information.

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Top-Level Turnover Makes it Harder For DHS to Stay On Top of Evolving Threats

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Photo Credit: Jim Watson / AFP / Getty ImagesAn exodus of top-level officials from the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY is undercutting the agency’s ability to stay ahead of a range of emerging threats, including potential terrorist strikes and cyberattacks, according to interviews with current and former officials.

Over the past four years, employees have left DHS at a rate nearly twice as fast as in the federal government overall, and the trend is accelerating, according to a review of a federal database.

The departures are a result of what employees widely describe as a dysfunctional work environment, abysmal morale, and the lure of private SECURITY COMPANIES paying top dollar that have proliferated in Washington since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The department’s terrorism intelligence arm, for example, has cycled through six directors during the Obama administration, decimating morale and contributing to months-long delays in releasing intelligence reports, according to interviews and government reports.

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Ted Cruz: Democrats 'Have Become an Extreme Party'

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Photo Credit: APThursday will go do as a “dark day” in Senate history, with Senate Democrats blocking GOP legislation addressing the Islamic State (ISIS) and President Obama’s threat of executive amnesty.

“Unfortunately the Senate Democrats have become an extreme party,” Cruz said in an interview backstage at the Liberty Political Action Conference (LPAC) in Alexandria, Virginia. “They have become a party that has abdicated their responsibilities. Under Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats, we have a do-nothing Senate. There are over 350 bills the House of Representatives has passed and they’re all sitting on Harry Reid’s desk. He will not allow a vote on them.”

The interview with Cruz aired on Breitbart News Saturday on Sirius XM Patriot.

Cruz has introduced two pieces of legislation designed to protect Americans both from U.S. citizens who join the terrorist organization ISIS and from President Obama’s amnesty. The ISIS bill would revoke U.S. citizenship from any American who joins ISIS, a concept that enjoys support from almost everyone in politics, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). But when Cruz sought unanimous consent to bring the bill up for debate and a vote, Senate Democrats—through Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)—blocked it.

“So the legislation I introduced was to address this crisis we’re facing with ISIS. ISIS is the face of evil,” Cruz told Breitbart News. “They are crucifying Christians, they are beheading children, they are beheading American journalists—and they have pledged to take jihad back to America to murder Americans here at home. There are roughly 100 Americans fighting alongside ISIS who have taken up arms in jihad against America.”

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ObamaCare Architect Ezekiel Emanuel has Announced the 'Optimal Age of Death – and You Won't Like It (+video)

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Photo Credit: CainTVBy Robert Laurie.

Democrats seem to love death. Whether they’re yammering about ABORTION or “end of life” planning, they just can’t get enough of talking up the myriad ways people can exit life’s stage. They always claim this is simply a discussion about personal responsibility and individual choice but, since they despise those ideals in virtually every other matter, it’s a hard argument to buy.

Enter Ezekiel Emanuel.

Emanuel was one of the chief architects of ObamaCare and is, of COURSE, the brother of Rahm. Over at The Atlantic, he’s penned an article about his own death and he’s made a shocking announcement about the perfect age at which he hopes to die. While he very specifically rules out euthanasia, Emanuel says he hopes his ticker shuts down at the not-particularly-old age of 75.

The reason? 75 is, apparently, the perfect age for a human to buy the farm. According to Emanuel, people who live longer than that risk struggling through a less-than-perfect existence.

Doubtless, death is a loss. It deprives us of experiences and milestones, of time spent with our spouse and children. In short, it deprives us of all the things we value.

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Study: Obamacare ‘Family Glitch’ Could Hit Up To 2 Million People

By Sarah Hurtubise.

Close to 2 million Americans could be restricted from Obamacare’s coverage expansions due to the health-care law’s so-called “family glitch,” according to a study from the American Action Forum.

Obamacare has expanded eligibility to Medicaid in 27 states and Washington, D.C., and the health-care exchanges offer subsidies and coverage to those who aren’t offered affordable, employer-based coverage nationwide.

The “family glitch,” instituted by an IRS ruling, occurs when an employer offers individual coverage through that Obamacare regulations deem affordable (less than 9.5 percent of their income), but doesn’t extend it to their workers’ spouses or children.

The IRS requires this “affordable” coverage only for individuals — meaning that when workers’ families aren’t offered affordable coverage, they’re not eligible for exchange or MEDICAID COVERAGE instead.

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Veteran's 11-Year Old Daughter Told by School Not to Wear 9/11 T-shirt

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Photo Credit: John Moore / Getty ImagesThe stepdaughter of a U.S. veteran was told last week that she was not allowed to wear to school a T-shirt to honor the men and women who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

According to CBS 13, Tim Foster was told by administrators in the Orangevale school system that his stepdaughter, 11, who is in the sixth-grade, would be violating the dress code if she wore the T-shirt, which the family has worn every year since the attacks. The shirt lists the names of those who lost their lives that day in the shape of the twin towers.

We “wear it to honor what had happened on 9/11 and all the people that have perished and the lives that were changed on that day,” Foster, who has served for nearly 25 years, including two tours in Iraq, told the station.

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Seven Illegal Aliens Who Had Been Deported for Sex Crimes Arrested in Arizona

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Photo Credit: APSEVEN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO HAD BEEN DEPORTED FOR SEX CRIMES ARRESTED IN TUCSON

By WILLIAM BIGELOW.

The Tucson Sector Border Patrol has arrested seven illegal immigrants in the last two weeks for sex crimes; all seven had been deported from the United states before they returned.

Rape, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and soliciting or engaging in child prostitution were the prior charges against three of the men, who came from Mexico…

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Photo Credit: BreitbartCops Searching for Teenage Illegal Alien for Cartel Assassination Attempt in Texas

By ILDEFONSO ORTIZ.

Cops are on the hunt for a previously deported 14-year-old illegal alien suspected of trying to execute a teenaged human smuggler on the Texas border in an apparent cartel hit. The victim in the case had a lengthy criminal history that had already resulted in two deaths.

While details remain unknown, investigators with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office began looking into the case on Sunday when they found a 16-year-old with a gunshot wound to the head inside a crashed vehicle. The victim survived the hit but ended up dying on Monday morning; Justice of the Peace Luis Garza pronounced the teen dead at a local hospital and ordered an autopsy.

Read more from this story HERE.

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Photo Credit: BreitbartDHS CHIEF CONCEDES BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR AMNESTY WOULD NOT CATCH CRIMINALS

By CAROLINE MAY.

The requirement that illegal immigrants must come forward and subject themselves to background checks to attain legal status as required under various amnesty proposals likely would not catch criminals, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged Wednesday.

Speaking before the House Homeland Security Committee, Johnson conceded, under pressure from Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), that criminals in the country illegally would not voluntarily undergo background checks.

Barletta questioned the DHS secretary about the Obama administration’s pursuit of amnesty in the wake of ongoing concerns about terrorism in the United States and used the convicted 1993 World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima as as example of a terrorist who received amnesty in 1986 by claiming to be an agricultural worker.

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Another Standoff Brewing? Law Enforcement Nervous as Militia Members Plan to Block Bridges Going into Mexico

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Photo Credit: WND By TPNN.

Law enforcement officials in Texas are preparing for what might end up as a stand-off between militia members and law enforcement agents as militia members are planning a demonstration that would block-off bridges that span between the U.S. and Mexico.

On September 20th, militia members are reportedly threatening to stage a protest against illegal immigration by blocking-off pathways between the two nations that span across the Rio Grande River.

KRGV in Texas reports:

Officials say they received word that members of a militia are threatening to block ports of entry.

In Starr County, international bridge authorities met with Customs and Border Protection officials Thursday. Their goal was to discuss the potential problem and find a plan of action.

Read more from this story HERE.

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TEXAS POLICE PREPARE TO DEFEND INTERNATIONAL BRIDGES FROM MILITIA GROUPS

By Bob Price.

Authorities prepare to use “whatever force is necessary” to defend international bridges between Texas and Mexico from U.S. based militia groups. The preparations by Texas law enforcement agencies are in response to recently discovered plans by militia groups to attempt closing several international bridges. The militia groups’ plans are intended to be protests against the federal government’s failure to secure the border between the U.S. and Mexico. The plans call for militia groups to begin blocking traffic on an undisclosed number of international bridges in the Rio Grande Valley on Sept. 20th, 2014.

“We will not allow these groups to disrupt the economic commerce of our region and we are prepared to use force to keep the bridges open,” said one law enforcement officer who spoke with Breitbart Texas on the condition of anonymity. The officer explained that the bridges are not symbols of illegal immigration, but rather, they are vital parts of the local economy. “We cannot allow them to be shut down by lawless behavior from people who claim to be promoting the rule of law.”

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Former Secret Service Agent Slams D.C. Insider Culture With A Message That Goes Beyond Politics

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Photo Credit: IJ ReviewFormer Secret Service Agent Daniel Bongino, who is running for U.S. Senate, recently slammed D.C. insider culture with a message that goes beyond politics.

Over the weekend, Bongino was at a press conference on Capitol Hill for the family of one of the victims of the Benghazi terror attacks. And what he witnessed helped him realize how out of touch the Beltway is to Main Street America.

Bongino posted to his Facebook page:

Over the past few weeks I’ve read a number of articles about DC insiders, from both the elected and bureaucratic-classes, being “surprised” by American public opinion on a range of topics.

Whether it be the “surprise” backlash against the proposed presidential amnesty plan, or the “surprise” at the shift in public opinion on ISIS, the DC elites seem to be consistently caught flat-footed.

They may be surprised, but I’m not. While on Capitol Hill this week, and speaking at a press conference with the family of one of the victims of the Benghazi terror attacks, I watched a number of Capitol Hill staffers and members walk by with that smug, smart-ass look, that only an insulated career in Washington DC can impart upon their out-of-touch faces.

You see, to them this is all a game. A grieving family’s request for simple answers about the death of their son is nothing more than a smug look and a “phony-scandal” sound bite to them.

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