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6/14/2011 | Economy

1.9 Million Fewer Americans Have Jobs Today Than When Obama Signed Stimulus

CNS News

Twenty-eight months after Congress passed President Obama’s signature economic stimulus law, and nearly one year after he declared the summer of 2010 to be “Recovery Summer,” 1.9 million fewer people are employed.

In February 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that 141.7 million people were employed. By the end of May 2011 – the last month for which data are available – that number had fallen to 139.8 million, a difference of 1.9 million.

While the number of people with jobs has increased slightly from its low point during the recession – 137.9 million in December 2009 – those 1.9 million jobs have been lost despite $800 billion in stimulus spending.

This does not mean that the economy is not creating jobs, but rather that it is not creating jobs fast enough to keep up with a combination of layoffs and people entering the job market for the first time.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

6/13/2011 | Character and Ethics

Supreme Court upholds ethics laws

Tribune Washington Bureau

The Supreme Court upheld ethics laws across the nation that forbid legislators and city councilmen from voting on matters in which they have a conflict of interest.

Reversing the Nevada high court, the justices ruled that legislators do not have a free-speech right to vote as they choose. Therefore, the court said in a 9-0 vote, the 1st Amendment does not shield a legislator who is charged with an ethics violation.

Conflict-of-interest rules "have been commonplace for over 200 years," said Justice Antonin Scalia, and they have never been thought to infringe on the free-speech rights of lawmakers, he said.

In the past, the court has said the Constitution gives legislators a right to speak freely, but it does not give them a right to cast a vote on matters if they have a conflict of interest, Scalia said. The right to vote in a legislative body "is not personal to the legislator but belongs to the people. The legislator has no personal right to it," he said.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Jeffrey Conway, Former CFO, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Coordinator of the Apolo, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Ron Ferner, Dean of the School of Business and Leadership, Philadelphia Biblical University
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Mike Gottfried, Founder, Team Focus
Bullet 333Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studie, Phoenix Seminary
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Julius Kim, Westminster Seminary California
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Fran McGowen, Founder and President , CarSense
Bullet 333David "Mac" Mcquiston, President/CEO, CEO Forum, Inc.
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Andrew Peterson, Reformed Theological Seminary, Virtual Campus
Bullet 333Vern Poythress, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gale Radebaugh, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Sciences (Ret.), Pfizer Research
Bullet 333Phil Ryken, President-Elect , Wheaton College
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

6/13/2011 | Economy

Obama Seeks to Win Back Wall St. Cash

A few weeks before announcing his re-election campaign, President Obama convened two dozen Wall Street executives, many of them longtime donors, in the White House’s Blue Room.

The guests were asked for their thoughts on how to speed the economic recovery, then the president opened the floor for over an hour on hot issues like hedge fund regulation and the deficit.

Mr. Obama, who enraged many financial industry executives a year and a half ago by labeling them “fat cats” and criticizing their bonuses, followed up the meeting with phone calls to those who could not attend.

The event, organized by the Democratic National Committee, kicked off an aggressive push by Mr. Obama to win back the allegiance of one of his most vital sources of campaign cash — in part by trying to convince Wall Street that his policies, far from undercutting the investor class, have helped bring banks and financial markets back to health.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

6/9/2011 | Governmental Control, Oil and Gas

Exxon makes major oil discovery in Gulf

The Hill.com

Exxon Mobil said Wednesday it has discovered an estimated 700 million barrels of oil equivalent at a deepwater well off the Louisiana coast, a major find that a top House Republican argued should push the administration to speed up offshore permitting.

"This is one of the largest discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade,” Exxon Mobil Exploration Company President Steve Greenlee said in a statement.

Exxon Mobil made the discovery after the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) approved an application in March allowing the company to resume exploratory drilling. Drilling at the well was halted in the aftermath of last year’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The well is located about 250 miles south of New Orleans in about 7,000 feet of water, Exxon Mobil said.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project

6/8/2011 | Economy, Taxes

Rich Libs Want Higher Taxes On Millionaires, But Won't Donate Own $$$ to Pay U.S. Debt

CNS News

A group of self- described liberal millionaires seeking to raise taxes on the top 1 percent of America’s population, refused -- when questioned by CNSNews.com -- to consider making donations themselves to a Treasury Department Web site that allows the public to make contributions to help pay down the public debt.

The “Patriotic Millionaires" group held a conference call on Monday in advance of the10th anniversary of President George W. Bush's tax cuts to encourage President Barack Obama and Congress to raise taxes for Americans who make $1 million or more annually.

CNSNews.com asked the liberal millionaires this question: “The Treasury Department has a Web site -- pay.gov -- where anyone who wants to can make a contribution at any time to pay down the federal debt. Are you willing to make a contribution to pay down the debt and, if so, how much would it be?”

Dennis Mehiel, the principal shareholder and chairman of the board of U.S. Corrugated, called the notion that he and his fellow millionaires would consider donating some of their millions to the Treasury Department to help eliminate the deficit “preposterous on its face.”

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

6/8/2011 | Governmental Control, Healthcare

30 Percent of Employers to Drop Health Coverage Because of Obamacare

CNS News

A survey of 1,300 employers finds that 30 percent will “definitely or probably” stop offering health insurance to their employees due to new requirements imposed by the Obamacare health reform law.

The survey, conducted by business journal McKinsey Quarterly, found that contrary to government estimates a large percentage of employers will drop their employee health plans, forcing employees to buy coverage on the government-mandated insurance exchanges.

“Overall, 30 percent of employers will definitely or probably stop offering ESI [Employer Sponsored Insurance] in the years after 2014,” the study found.

In fact, among companies who are most familiar with the laws mandates and regulations, 60 percent would drop employee health plans because of the law.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare Freedom
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Marjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony List
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project

6/7/2011 | Israel, Radical Islam

Syria warns of more marches on Israeli border

Associated Press

A Syrian government newspaper says marches to the border will continue and warns Israel the day will come when thousands of Syrians will return to their occupied villages.

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian and Syrian protesters Sunday, killing as many as 23 people who tried to cross into the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The Tishreen newspaper said the march was only an "introduction" adding Syrians and Palestinians were now determined to recover their territory through resistance.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Zakariah Anani, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Major Eric Egland, Author, The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help...
Bullet 333Paul "Dave" Gaubatz, Owner-Director, Wahhabi CT Publications
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jan Markell, President, Olive Tree Ministries
Bullet 333Kamal Saleem, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333Walid Shoebat, President, Shoebat Foundation
Bullet 333William Sutter, Executive Director, The Friends of Israel
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

6/7/2011 | Homosexuality

Obama Administration Youth Summit: Gov’t ‘Has Finally Come Out of the Closet'

CNS News

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius spoke at the first “Federal LGBT Youth Summit” on Monday after being introduced by a homosexual on her staff, who said the secretary “gets us” and is “tireless” in her support of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender youth.

“Your federal government has finally come out of the closet in support of LGBT youth,” said Pam Hyde, HHS administrator for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services.

“It’s great to see so many young faces out there, all gay and proud,” Hyde said.

Sebelius congratulated the teens and 20-somethings for attending the summit and said the goal of the summit was to “really tackle the issues facing the LGBT youth in our country.”

The LGBT Youth Summit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and is being held at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 6 and 7.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

6/6/2011 | Economy

True Cost of Fannie, Freddie Bailouts: $317 Billion, CBO Says

CNS News

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the real cost of the federal government guaranteeing the business of failed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is $317 billion -- not the $130 billion normally claimed by the Obama administration.

In a report delivered to the House Budget Committee on June 2, the CBO said a “fair value” accounting of guaranteeing the two defunct mortgage companies – known as Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) – was more than twice as high as the Office of Management and Budget had accounted for.

“Specifically, CBO treats the mortgages guaranteed each year by the two GSEs as new guarantee obligations of the federal government,” the CBO report said. “For those guarantees, CBO’s projections of budget outlays equal the estimated federal subsidies inherent in the commitments at the time they are made.”

“In contrast, the Administration’s Office of Management and Budget continues to treat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as nongovernmental entities for budgetary purposes, and thus outside the budget,” the report stated. “It records as outlays the amount of the net cash payments provided by the Treasury to the GSEs.”

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

6/6/2011 | Euthanasia, Healthcare

Obama Regulatory Czar Backs Off Call for Gov't to Attach Lower Value to Older People

CNS News

President Barack Obama’s regulatory czar has retreated from a 2003 academic report in which he advocated that the government assign a higher monetary value to the lives of young people than to senior citizens.

Cass Sunstein, administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, on Friday testified in front of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations about the Obama administration’s plans for reviewing and reducing federal regulations.

“I’m a lot older now than the author with my name was, and I’m not sure what I think about what that young man wrote,” Sunstein, 56, told the House panel. “Things written as an academic are not a legitimate part of what we do as a government official. So I am not focusing on sentences that a young Cass Sunstein wrote years ago. So the answer is no.”

Sunstein wrote the paper when he was a professor at the University of Chicago in 2003, only eight years ago. It was titled “Lives, Life-Years, and Willingness to Pay.”

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare Freedom
Bullet 333Marjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony List
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers

6/3/2011 | Homosexuality

Marshall asks Richmond Fed to remove rainbow flag honoring gay rights

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, is asking the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank to remove the rainbow flag flying below the American flag outside of the building, calling its presence “a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues.”

In a letter to Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker, Marshall says the homosexual behavior “celebrated” by the bank “undermines the American economy” and is a class six felony in Virginia.

“The Richmond Fed’s endorsement of costly, anti-social, immoral behavior is rejected by 6,000 years of Western Religious and moral teaching,” writes Marshall, who is among the General Assembly’s most conservative members and has long been outspoken on gay-rights issues. “You want the American people to trust your [judgment] in economic matters when your spokesperson celebrates an attack on public morals?”

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Alex McFarland, President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

6/3/2011 | Economy

U.S. Offers Foreign Aid to Countries Holding Billions in Treasury Securities

Reuters

The United States is providing hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid to countries that it borrows billions from, according to a report by Congress's research arm.

The Congressional Research Service released a report last month, a copy of which Fox News exclusively obtained, showing that in fiscal year 2010, the latest year that data was available, the U.S. handed out a total of $1.4 billion to 16 foreign countries that held at least $10 billion in Treasury securities, including China ($27.2 million), Brazil ($25 million), Russia ($71.5 million), India ($126.6 million), Mexico ($316.7 million) and Egypt ($255.7 million).

China is the largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds with $1.1 trillion as of March, according to the Treasury Department. Brazil held $193.5 billion, Russia had $127.8 billion, India owned $39.8 billion, Mexico held $28.1 billion and Egypt had $15.3 billion.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

6/1/2011 | Healthcare

HHS Says You Should Know Who's Been Looking at Your Electronic Health Records

CNS News

The Department of Health and Human Services says patients should have the right to see who has accessed their electronic health records.

On Tuesday, HHS' Office for Civil Rights announced it has proposed changes to the HIPAA privacy rule that would allow people to receive a report on who has seen their protected health information.

The proposed regulation, intended to "foster transparency and patient trust, as well as to discourage inappropriate behavior," is now available for public comment.

“This proposed rule represents an important step in our continued efforts to promote accountability across the health care system, ensuring that providers properly safeguard private health information,” said Office of Civil Rights Director Georgina Verdugo. “We need to protect peoples’ rights so that they know how their health information has been used or disclosed.”

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare Freedom
Bullet 333Marjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony List
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA

6/1/2011 | Economy

150 Economists Back US Republicans in Debt Fight

Reuters

More than 150 economists back U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's call to match any increase in the debt limit with spending cuts of equal size, according to a letter released by the Republican leader's office Wednesday.

The letter will give Boehner an important talking point as he and his fellow House Republicans meet with President Barack Obama at 10 a.m. to discuss the debt limit and other fiscal issues.

"An increase in the national debt limit that is not accompanied by significant spending cuts and budget reforms to address our government's spending addiction will harm private-sector job creation in America," the letter said.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

5/31/2011 | Healthcare

Schumer Proposes Rationing Through One-Size-Fits-All Payments for Sick Seniors

CNS News

Sen. Charles Schumer (D.-N.Y.), appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" today, proposed a reform that would ration health care for sick seniors by telling doctors the Medicare system would pay them a single flat fee for treating a particular illness as opposed to paying for the specific services needed to treat a particular patient.

The system proposed by Schumer would give health-care providers a financial incentive to withhold care from sick seniors because each and every service or treatment they provided would cut into their profit margin--or cause them to lose money.

Under the current fee-for-service Medicare system, Medicare payments are already so low that many doctors do no take new Medicare patients because it costs them too much to do so, or they transfer the costs of treating Medicare patients to private insurance holders by charging higher rates to them.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Michael Barry, Director of Pastoral Care, Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Phila.
Bullet 333Twila Brase, President and Co-founder, Citizens' Council on Healthcare Freedom
Bullet 333Marjorie Dannenfelser, President and Chairman of the Board, Susan B. Anthony List
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA

5/31/2011 | Marriage

Married Couples Represent Minority of U.S. Households for First Time in History

Associated Press

Three mornings a week, when Becky Leung gets ready for work, her boyfriend is just getting home from his overnight job. When her mother drops hints about her twin sister's marriage, she laughs it off. And when she thinks about getting married herself, she worries first about her career.

Leung, 27, cohabits in a Portland, Ore., townhome with her boyfriend but has no plans yet to wed, a reflection of the broader cultural shift in the U.S. away from the traditional definition of what it means to be a household.

Data released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau shows married couples have found themselves in a new position: They're no longer the majority.

It's a trend that's been creeping along for decades, but in the 2010 Census, married couples represent 48 percent of all households. That's down from 52 percent in the last Census and, for the first time in U.S. history, puts households led by married couples as a plurality.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Alan Chambers, President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Scott Davis, Director of Student Ministries, Exodus International
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333Dr. Janice Hollis, Bishop, Progressive Believers Ministries
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Christopher Slattery, Founder and President, EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers
Bullet 333David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Bullet 333Randy Thomas, Executive Vice President, Exodus International
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333David Wheaton, Author, Speaker, Radio Talk Show Host, TheChristianWorldview.com

5/27/2011 | Economy, Oil and Gas

Drilling moratorium -- damage is done

OneNewsNow

Today marks one year since the Obama administration announced a moratorium on deepwater drilling. But even though that moratorium has since been lifted, some believe the damage remains.

The moratorium officially lasted only five months, but Dan Kish, energy policy analyst at the Institute for Energy Research (IER), says it remained in place through what has become known as a "permitorium." A federal court has ruled the Obama administration in contempt and has ordered that permits be approved. But that has been delayed amid negotiations between the administration and one of the drilling companies.

Regardless, the U.S. is not drilling as much as it used to, which the policy analyst says means fewer jobs, less revenue, and more imported oil.

"By the end of this year, we'll have close to 400,000 barrels a day not being produced that would have been produced but for this [moratorium]," Kish explains.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

5/27/2011 | Economy, Oil and Gas

Who Owns ‘Big Oil'? Not Who You Think

CNS News

Armed with a Power Point presentation to illustrate the state of American energy, John Felmy, chief economist at the American Petroleum Institute (API), said the majority of “big oil” and natural gas ownership is in good hands – the hands of the American people.

According to a report published in 2007 by Sonecon, an economic advisory firm that analyses U.S. markets and public policy, corporate management owns only 1.5 percent of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry.

The rest is owned by tens of millions of Americans through retirement accounts (14 percent) and pension funds (26 percent). Mutual funds or other firms account for 29.5 percent ownership and individual investors own 23 percent of oil stock holdings.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

5/26/2011 | Economy, Governmental Control

Audit Report: Obama Administration Handed Out $24 Billion in Stimulus Money to Tax Cheats

CNS News

Lawmakers from both parties are calling for a fix to prevent tax cheating companies from getting federal contracts in light of a government investigation that found $24 billion in stimulus act funds went to companies owing $757 million in unpaid taxes.

“Average Americans are likely wondering why we gave such a huge amount of federal money to tax cheats when our national debt is more than $14 trillion,” Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said in a statement. “That $24 billion went to such people looks like we are rewarding people for potentially criminal behavior.”

The report by the Government Accountability Office on money from the $800 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act going to tax delinquent firms did not name any specific companies, but it gave general examples of firms with delinquent taxes receiving tax dollars.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Barry Asmus, Senior Economist, National Center for Policy Analysis
Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Dan Celia, Host, "Financial Issues Live" Radio Program
Bullet 333Phil Clements, Managing Director, Center for Christian Business Ethics Today, LLC.
Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Lou Giuliano, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (r, ITT Corporation
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Lowman Henry, Chairman & CEO, Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.
Bullet 333Larry Hunter, President, The Social Security Institute
Bullet 333Phillip Kim, Assistant Professor of Management and Human Resour, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Chuck Stetson, Co-founder and Managing Director, PEI Funds
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333John Weiser, Board Member, Westminster Theological Seminary , In Medias Res

5/26/2011 | Governmental Control, Law

Senate considers Patriot Act despite concerns

Associated Press

The tortoise-like Senate is under uncommon pressure to pass a four-year extension of the anti-terrorist Patriot Act before key provisions expire Friday. But the deadline is even tighter, because President Barack Obama is in Europe.

Any extension passed by the Senate must be sent to the House and passed there, then flown overseas to be signed into law.

So the Senate's deadline for passage is more like midweek. And that's no accident.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who not long ago vowed to have a full week of debate on the Patriot Act extension, has instead backed up the vote against a tighter deadline to limit debate over legislation some say is less necessary now that al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is dead.

Recommended Guests:

Bullet 333Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333William Devlin, National President, Redeem The Vote
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Frank Gaffney, Founder and President , Center for Security Policy
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Cliff Kincaid, President, America's Survival, Inc.
Bullet 333Jennifer Marshall, Director of Domestic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR)
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
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