Finally, Some Good News: US Household Debt Burden Hits Record Low

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A measure of the burden of U.S. household debt sank to a record low in the fourth quarter, offering more evidence of improving household finances that should lend support to consumer spending and the economy.
The household debt-service ratio – an estimate of the share of debt payments to disposable personal income – fell to 10.38 percent, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.

That was the lowest since the series started in 1980. In comparison, the ratio, which takes into account outstanding mortgage and consumer debt, was 10.56 percent in the third quarter. It peaked in the third quarter of 2007, shortly before the U.S. economy fell into recession.

“Household balance sheets are improving and that lays the foundation for more spending, which in turn can lead to a virtuous cycle of more business investment and hopefully more jobs,” said Dana Saporta, director of U.S. economics research at Credit Suisse in New York.

U.S. households built up a massive debt load as the housing bubble expanded. Efforts to pay down those debts have been a restraint on spending and the economy’s recovery.

Now, it appears that process of deleveraging may have run its course. Data from the Fed last week showed household debt rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the fastest since early 2008, while a report last month from the New York Federal Reserve Bank said consumer debt rose in the last three months of 2012 for the first time in four years.

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Intelligence Director: Surprise! ‘Arab Spring’ Has Benefited Islamists

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The “Arab spring” has benefited Islamists rather than democracy advocates, while political transitions and unrest in the region have provided opportunities for terrorists to mount attacks against U.S. interests, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told lawmakers Tuesday.

Delivering the intelligence community’s annual report on threats facing the United States, Clapper gave what amounted to a downbeat assessment of the upheavals that many initially viewed as a promising movement towards greater democracy in a region dominated by long-ruling autocrats.

“Islamist actors have been the chief electoral beneficiaries of the political openings, and Islamist parties in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco will likely solidify their influence in the coming year,” he told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in a written statement.

“Although some countries have made progress towards democratic rule, most are experiencing uncertainty, violence, and political backsliding. The toppling of leaders and weakening of regimes have also unleashed destabilizing ethnic and sectarian rivalries.”

Clapper said the transitions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen, and unrest in Syria and Mali had offered opportunities for terrorists to target American interests.

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Cruz: Let’s See if Obama’s Willing to Shutdown Gov’t to Fund Obamacare

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Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced an amendment on Wednesday that would cut off all funds for Obamacare, a step he said Republicans should support and, if it were to pass in the House as well, could be sent to President Barack Obama to see if he’s “willing to try to shut the government down” over funding of the Affordable Care Act.

“I think it’s the right position for Republicans to be taking,” Cruz told CNSNews.com. “And I think it would be exactly the right decision to then send it back to Harry Reid and President Obama and ask if Harry Reid and President Obama are willing to try to shut the government down in order to insist that Obamacare be fully funded now, even though it could well push us into a recession.”

“I think that is an important stand for principle that makes a difference in the lives of those who are struggling the most,” said the senator.

On Wednesday, Cruz introduced his de-fund Obamacare amendment to the continuing resolution (CR), which is a massive “must-pass” bill to keep the government funded for the rest of this fiscal year, from late March through the end of September.

Last week, the Republican-controlled House passed a $982-billion CR, but the GOP leadership set the rule and did not allow the must-pass CR to include language prohibiting funding for Obamacare or for de-funding the controversial Obamacare mandate that requires nearly all health plans to offer contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs without co-payments.

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Rep. Bridenstine on Obamacare: ‘Just Because The Supreme Court Rules On Something Doesn’t Necessarily Mean That That’s Constitutional’

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After just over two months in office, Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine has already set the tone for his first two-year term in Congress as a leader who cares more about principle than party.

For instance, the 37-year-old native of Tulsa, Okla. did not vote for John Boehner to be Speaker of the House and tried last week to get the House to vote to defund Obamacare despite push back from House leadership.

Before coming to Congress, Bridenstine served his country by flying combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He never ran for public office before deciding with his friends in his living room to challenge Republican Rep. John Sullivan, who had voted to increase the debt limit. Bridenstine surprised many by defeating Sullivan in the primary before cruising to victory in the general election last November.

Bridenstine says Obamacare “is a government takeover” and says Chief Justice John Roberts is “incorrect” on the Affordable Care Act being a tax. He says he wants “Congress to take back its constitutional authority.”

“Just because the Supreme Court rules on something doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s constitutional,” he said.

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“Catholic” Joe Biden To Lead U.S. Delegation To Greet Staunchly Pro-Life Pope Francis

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Never mind that Vice President Joe Biden has been rebuked by his own bishop over his pro-abortion views, he will lead the U.S. delegation to the installation of Pope Francis, the White House said today.

Biden is the first Catholic to serve as vice president and he will represent the United States at the installation Mass for Pope Francis on March 19, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Tom Rosica confirmed today.

Biden’s own bishop has had to correct the pro-abortion politician on his misstating the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.

In the interview with the Delaware News Journal, Biden continued to misrepresent the position of the Catholic Church on abortion in a way that has gotten him in trouble.

“But throughout the church’s history, we’ve argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it’s almost a gradation,” Biden claimed.

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Sequester Meat Shortages Months Away, Says USDA Secretary

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The sequester likely won’t cause meat and poultry shortages for a while—thanks, in part, to union negotiations and USDA inspectors’ lack of email access.

Furloughs to Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at the U.S. Department of Agriculture could force meat and poultry plants to stop production–with no inspectors to approve products, they can’t be sold—but today Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told the House Agriculture Committee that those furloughs probably won’t happen until later this year.

“We are looking at a several-month period, if you will, before a furlough will be imposed,” Vilsack said, depending on negotiations with the inspectors’ union. A drawn-out notification process will prevent the furloughs from happening right away, Vilsack said.

“This week we will send out notices to the union reps that a furlough is possible, and one of the challenges is that not every one of our workers in this particular area has email, so we actually have to hand-deliver a letter or written notification to those employees. That has to be followed up … with oral conferences to take place with any employee who requests an oral confirmation–that will happen at the local level,” Vilsack said. After all employees are notified, Vilsack said, USDA will negotiate with union representatives over how the furloughs will be implemented.

But if furloughs do happen, Vilsack warned their impact could be particularly severe.

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H&R Block Error May Delay Hundreds of Thousands of Tax Returns

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If you haven’t received your tax refund, it could be due to an issue by the nation’s biggest tax preparer.

According to the Wall Street Journal, H&R Block “bungled more than 600,000 tax returns, delaying refunds by as much as six weeks.”

The website MarketWatch reports H&R Block “improperly filed Form 8863, leaving a mandatory field blank.” The form is used to claim educational credits. The error apparently impacts about 10 percent of the 6.6 million tax returns containing Form 8863.

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Biden: ‘I’d Rather Have An Ex-Felon Have Access To A Weapon’ Than A Fugitive

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Vice President Joe Biden told city leaders in his pitch for new gun control laws on Tuesday that he would prefer an ex-felon over a fugitive have access to a weapon.

“The one person I don’t want to have a weapon is a fugitive from justice,” Biden said. “I rather have an ex-felon have access to a weapon than someone fleeing the justice system.”

Biden, speaking at the annual meeting for the National League of Cities in Washington, D.C., told attendees that he and President Barack Obama want Congress to pass a “universal background check” so that “every single gun sale must first go through a check to see if the buyer can legally have a gun.”

“And by the way, some of you know in your states – we’ve gotten into this – there’s somewhere in the order of 2 million people who’ve been adjudicated in your home state as not being able to own a weapon, Biden said.

“Yet their names are not in the national information system that people have to check when they sell you a gun at a gun show,” Biden said.

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‘Killing Jews Is Worship That Brings Us Closer To Allah’: Outrage Over Anti-Islamic Ad Campaign Launched In San Francisco

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Photo Credit: Daily Mail

Several anti-Islamic ads featuring the photographs and quotes of Osama bin Laden, the Times Square Bomber, and the alleged Fort Hood shooter have caused outrage in San Francisco after their release today.

The ads, which will run for the next month, are featured on 10 buses in the Bay Area and have caused a stir in the community, sparking a fierce debate between free speech and hate speech.

The ads were paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. One of the spots contains a quote attributed to Hamas, the militant Islamic group, and reads: ‘Killing Jews is worship that brings us closer to Allah.’

Another ad features Osama bin Laden’s explanation of why he decided to take down the Twin Towers on 9/11. ‘The first thing we are calling you to is Islam,’ the quote reads.

It is accompanied by a picture of the former Al Qaeda leader, who was killed in a covert operation a year and a half ago.

Yet another shows would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and says how jihad involving ‘weaponry’ is an ‘obligation and duty in Islam on every Muslim.’

San Francisco civil officials and Arab and Muslim leaders alike were quick to denounce what they said was ‘racist’ and offensive ads.

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Texas Legislation Signals that Texas Nationalist Movement is Becoming a Political Force

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A bill filed by a state legislator to reaffirm Texas’ intent to defend its state sovereignty raises for the first time the potential of defending that sovereignty by leaving the Union.

On March 7, State Representative James White (R-Woodville) filed House Concurrent Resolution 77. The resolution effectively spells out a defense of state sovereignty under both the U.S. and Texas constitutions and echoes almost word-for-word the resolution that members of the Texas Nationalist Movement have been lobbying for introduction since January.

“The question was recently asked by the mass media if the Texas Nationalist Movement is becoming a political force,” Texas Nationalist Movement president Daniel Miller said in a message e-mailed to group members. “Members of the Texas Nationalist Movement and the general public will recognize the text of this legislation as a virtual duplicate of the legislation proposed by the TNM to the 82nd Legislature and hand delivered to members of the Texas House of Representatives, the Texas Senate and the Lieutenant Governor on the opening day of the 83rd session of the Legislature.”

Miller said the group had wanted a call for a non-binding referendum on independence and was “disappointed” that language calling for such a vote was not included in the measure introduced by White, but TNM is fully supportive of the resolution nonetheless.

“While we in the Texas Nationalist Movement are disappointed that the legislators have declined at this time to give the people of Texas a measurable voice on the issue of independence in accordance with Article 1 Section 2 of the Texas Constitution, we are pleased that this legislation was filed,” he said. Miller said the language introduced by White is important in that it serves as a platform for further movement toward independence.

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