Charlie Daniels Celebrates Our Nation's Birthday: My Beautiful America

I have just completed a leg of our 2015 tour that has taken me across the entire heartland of America, Pacific to Atlantic, and once again I'm deeply touched by what this country means to me.

As the 239th Birthday of the greatest nation the world has never known approaches, I can think of no better way to use the Soapbox space this week than by celebrating the greatness of the blessed United States of America, by sharing a piece I wrote years ago that describes my feelings for my homeland.

This soapbox will be the most current until Monday July 6th.

Happy Fourth of July, my brothers and sisters and I hope you'll enjoy "My Beautiful America”.

My Beautiful America

Have you ever spent the late afternoon

Watching the purple shadows deepen in the Arizona desert?

Or seen a herd of Elk plough their way

Through waist deep snow on a cold Colorado dawn?

Did you ever see the sun go down in Hawaii

Or seen the stormy waves break over the rockbound coast of Maine

Or have you ever see an eagle fly up out of the mists of Alaska

Or a big October moon hanging full over the still Dakota badlands?

Have you ever tasted the gumbo in New Orleans, barbecue in Carolina

Or the chicken wings in Buffalo?

Have you ever had Brunswick stew in Macon, or cornbread in Birmingham?

Or briskets slow cooked over hill country mesquite wood?

Did you ever drink the water from a gurgling branch in Utah,

Or stand on the mountain above El Paso Del Norte

And see the lights twinkling clear over into Mexico

Did you ever jingle horses in the pre dawn stillness of a perfect Texas day

And watch their shod hooves kicking up sparks on the volcanic rock?

Or tended a trot line on a foggy Carolina morning,

Or heard the distant love song of a lovesick whippoorwill

On a pristine Tennessee late night?

Have you seen the faces on Mount Rushmore or stood at the Vietnam monument?

Have you ever crossed the mighty Mississippi,

Or been to the Daddy of ‘Em All in Cheyenne, Wyoming

Or seen the mighty Vols run out on the football field on a chilly autumn afternoon?

Did you ever see the Chicago skyline from Lakeshore Drive at night

Or the New England foliage in the fall,

Or the summer beauty of the Shenandoah valley,

Or Indiana covered with new snow?

Did you ever see a herd of wild horses running free

Across the empty spaces of Nevada?

Or catch a walleyed pike out of a cold Wisconsin stream,

Or marveled at the tall ships docked in the harbor at Baltimore?

Did you ever see the early morning dew sparkling on the bluegrass,

Or the wind stir the wheat fields on a hot Kansas afternoon

Or driven the lonely stretches of old Route 66

Have you ever heard the church bells peal their call to worship

On an early Sunday, in some small town in the Deep South?

Or passed through the Redwood Forest just as the sun was going down?

Have you ever been to Boise or Baxley or Beaufort or Billings?

Have you ever passed through Sanford or Suffolk or San Angelo

Have you ever seen the falls at Niagara

The Ice Palace in Saint Paul

Or the Gateway to the West?

This then is America!

The land God blesses with everything

And no Eiffel Tower: No Taj Mahal,

No Alps, No Andes

No native hut, nor Royal Palace

Can rival her awesome beauty,

Her diverse population, her monolithic majesty.

America the Free

America the mighty

America the beautiful

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

And to the republic for which it stands

One nation under God, indivisible

with liberty and justice for all.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, and for the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

Via: CNS News

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AEI: Obama White House Pays Women 15.8 Percent Less Than Men

The Obama White House pays its female staffers 15.8 percent less on average than its male staffers, according to an analysis by American Enterprise Institute. 

AEI economics scholar Mark J. Perry looked at the salaries of all White House employees, which are publicly available, and averaged out those who were male and female.

Female staffers earned on average $65,650 a year to male staffers' $78,000, Perry found.

Special: Prepare for Obamacare Nightmare in 2016

"Therefore, female staffers in the Obama White House currently earn 84.2% of the median salary for male staffers, or 84.2 cents for every $1 men earn, and there is a 15.8% gender pay gap at the White House," Perry wrote. "That pay gap is slightly smaller than the 17.9% gender pay gap at the White House last year, but is still almost two times the average gender pay gap for Washington, DC of 9.2% according to the most recent data from the Department of Labor."

Still, Perry noted, President Barack Obama makes presidential proclamations annually for National Equal Pay Day. This year, Obama marked April 14 as the date at which a woman must work into 2015 to earn the same as a man earned by Dec. 31, 2014.

"On average, full-time working women earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, and women of color face an even greater disparity," Obama said at this year's proclamation. "I call upon all Americans to recognize the full value of women's skills and their significant contributions to the labor force, acknowledge the injustice of wage inequality, and join efforts to achieve equal pay."

Women working at the White House have to work only until March 14 to achieve parity with men, Perry said, but still might want to complain.

Perry said that Obama and gender activists constantly lecture the public on gender pay gap disparities being the result of discrimination. If that is true, he said, the Obama White House is being hypocritical on the issue.

"President Obama can’t have it both ways," Perry said, "either: a) there are gender pay differences throughout the economy and in any organization including at the White House, which can be explained by factors other than gender discrimination including age, years of continuous work experience, education, differences in positions, hours worked, marital status, number of children, workplace environment and safety, industry differences, etc., or b) any gender pay gap in aggregate, unadjusted salaries automatically exposes gender discrimination — including the White House — and Obama needs to explain why he is 'waging a war on his women staffers' by paying them less than men on average."

Via: Newsmax

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Notes from a gathering of conservatives and candidates

BY HUGH HEWITT | JUNE 28, 2015 | 5:45 PM 

This weekend, I attended the Centennial Institute of Colorado Christian University's annual Western Conservative Summit in Denver. The red-eye flight on Saturday night to D.C. gave me plenty of time to sort my impressions before appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" the following day, during which host Jake Tapper went out of his way to over-allocate time to me — perhaps as a sort of welcome to an ambassador from fly-over land. Here's what I reported to him:

1. While there is considerable division within conservatives generally and among Republican activists specifically on whether state legislatures and electorates ought to allow for same-sex marriage, there is near unanimity among all on the center-right that it was judicial imperialism to impose it by the majority vote of nine unelected justices, not one of whom, as Justice Scalia pointed out in his dissent, is an evangelical Protestant or even from other than an Ivy League background. Justice Kennedy would not be denied his "hero status," even if his otherwise long-defended federalism jurisprudence had to be disfigured to accomplish his own song of self.

RELATED: Complete coverage of the Western Conservative Summit 2015

Same-sex marriage advocates lacked confidence in their ability to persuade, so they went the route of judicial diktat. Even as the issue fades from political debates, the manner of its deciding won't. The Supreme Court and Hillary's potential four appointees will be center stage from now until November 2016.

2. All of the GOP would-be nominees at the gathering — Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Scott Walker — received warm welcomes, but hallway chatter clearly pointed to Fiorina and Walker as "winners," as Fiorina again proved the ability to convert previously uncommitted activists and Walker proved adept at confirming incipient commitments to himself. Dr. Carson gave a rousing speech as well, but the attendees buzzed the most about Carly, and the "we must nominate a winner" chatter tilted heavily to the Wisconsin governor.

3. The Washington Examiner's Byron York quizzed most of the contenders, and I quizzed Walker (my other designated candidate, George Pataki, fell ill and could not make it). York ought to be on his network's debate panels. He knows the questions Republican primary voters want asked and answered, and he moves through them deftly and with courtesy and firmness. York is also as I like to think of myself, relentlessly fair to all of the GOP would-be nominees and a model of integrity in his grilling.

4. I asked Walker, as I did Jeb Bush on my radio show Friday, if he would push Senate Republicans to break the filibuster using the "Reid Rule" employed by Harry Reid to pack courts last year in the event that this is necessary to repeal Obamacare root and branch. Bush said he might go that far if necessary; Walker emphatically confirmed that he would. Thus did these two steal a march on the field. I think this issue of repeal, even at the cost of smashing the legislative filibuster, will be a defining issue for some voters. The four senators seeking votes will have to publicly choose the rules of the Senate or repeal before Iowa caucuses get underway, and with great consequence if they defend extra-Constitutional tradition over repeal of a law most conservatives believe unconstitutional.

Via: Washington Examiner

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Record Number of Americans Renounced Their U.S. Citizenship in 2015

(CNSNews.com)— Between January and March of 2015, a record 1,336 Americans renounced their U.S. citizenship, according to a quarterly report by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that was published in The Federal Register.

The list includes long-term permanent residents who are considered American citizens under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPPA), the IRS noted. The previous record was 1,130 in the second quarter of 2013, according to Treasury Department data.

A record total of 3,415 Americans renounced their citizenship last year, according to the “Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen To Expatriate.”

In a survey conducted by the University of Kent between December 2014 and January 2015, 1,546 U.S. citizens and former citizens were asked why they no longer wanted to be Americans. Survey participants stated that high taxes were the primary reason for renouncing their citizenship. But the survey also found that contrary to popular belief, income was not a key factor in their decision.

“Of those who have renounced or relinquished US citizenship (142 of the total respondents), nearly half (43%) have annual pre-tax household incomes of under $100,000 (USD). There is, similarly, very little difference in renunciation intention between those with lower incomes and those with higher incomes: of US citizen respondents with annual household incomes under $100,000 (USD), 28% are actively thinking of renouncing; of US citizen respondents with incomes above $250,000 (USD), 33% are actively thinking of doing so.”

In 2014, the government raised the fee for those wishing to formally relinquish their U.S. citizenship from $450 to $2,350. But nearly a third of those surveyed say they are still thinking about doing it anyway.

“Of the US citizen respondents, 31% have actively thought about renouncing US citizenship and 3% are in the process of doing so,” the survey noted.

The record number of American natives who have renounced their U.S. citizenship is in sharp contrast to the much larger rise in immigrants coming to America. An estimated 41.3 million immigrants, both legal and illegal, currently live in the United States and their numbers grew by 1.4 million people between 2010 and 2013, according to the Census Bureau. The largest number - 11.6 million – are from Mexico.

According to the American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau in 2013, 54.9% of the foreign-born population are not citizens of the United States, and only 15.6% speak English exclusively.

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) explained that during the next decade, immigrants will make up the largest share of the U.S. population ever recorded in American history:“The [Census] Bureau projected the future size of the immigrant (foreign-born) population and found that by 2023 immigrants will account for more than one in seven U.S. residents (51 million).

Via: CNS News

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If Supremes slap ObamaCare, it’s health insurers who lose

Photo: Reuters

This week health insurers announced they will hike premiums on ObamaCare plans by double digits in 2016. Yet it’s not ObamaCare buyers who are getting gouged.

For the most part, what consumers have to pay is calculated based on their income.

They don’t pay the sticker price. It’s you — the taxpayers — who get taken to the cleaners, because you foot the bill for the subsidies paid directly to the insurers.

That makes the Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell, expected this month, even more consequential. It will determine the fate of these subsidies in 37 states.

Without subsidies, ObamaCare buyers in those states will have to pay the actual — and unaffordable — sticker price of ObamaCare. And you — taxpayers — will not have to fork over hundreds of billions of dollars to subsidize insurers over the next decade.

But the dirty secret is that insurers stand to lose the most from King v. Burwell.

The Affordable Care Act compels the public to buy their product, and forces taxpayers to subsidize it. What a sweetheart deal.

The giant players — United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, Anthem and Humana — have seen stock prices double, triple, even quadruple since the law was passed in 2010. The coming ruling threatens to put an end to their gravy train.

Democrats are predicting disaster if the court rules against President Obama.

Republicans will “rue the day” they let millions of people lose their subsidies, says Nancy Pelosi. That’s crazy talk.

No one will lose their coverage immediately, the poor will be unaffected and the biggest losers will be insurance companies.

Employers, job-seekers and taxpayers actually stand to win here.

In addition, most Republicans in Congress are inclined to compromise with the president to provide some type of financial help for insurance buyers. If the Supremes gut ObamaCare, there will be many more winners than losers. Here’s how it shakes out:

Via: New York Post

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Another accomplishment -- Obama first President to have a Triple Crown winner since Carter

 

Dan Pfeiffer‏@danpfeiffer

Another accomplishment -- Obama first President to have a Triple Crown winner since Carter

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3:59 PM - 6 Jun 2015

AMERICAN PHAROAH BECOMES FIRST TRIPLE CROWN WINNER SINCE '78

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah accomplished one of the rare feats in sport Saturday, becoming the first horse in 37 years and just the 12th horse ever to win the Triple Crown.

The heavily favored colt completed the quest by running away from seven rivals in the Belmont Stakes, three weeks after a rain-soaked dash in the Preakness and five weeks after a gritty,stretch-duel victory in the Kentucky Derby.

American Pharoah's name now moves into the history books alongside equine immortals like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Citation and War Admiral. And horse racing finally has the superstar it has hungered for – a fluid athlete with a massive stride who seems to float over the ground.

The last horse to win all three of North America's biggest races was Affirmed in 1978. Since then, 13 horses have come to this historic track having won the first two legs of the Crown. All had failed (with I'll Have Another scratched prior to the 2012 running), raising doubts whether the quest was still attainable for the modern thoroughbred.

View photo

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Victor Espinoza reacts after crossing the finish line with American Pharoah to win the Triple Crown. (AP)

In front of a roaring crowd, American Pharoah eradicated those doubts in stirring fashion, going wire-to-wire at the Belmont, beating second-place finisher Frosted by 5½ lengths.

Pharoah didn't break well from the gate, but it didn't matter. Jockey Victor Espinoza steered him to the lead, which he never relinquished.

As he came down the stretch, American Pharoah never slowed, widening his lead to win going away in a time of 2:26.65 – the quickest Belmont time since 2001.

The result gave triumphant closure to trainer Bob Baffert's 18-year quest to win the Triple Crown. Three times previously, he had won the Derby and Preakness only to encounter Belmont heartbreak. In 1997, his Silver Charm was passed in deep stretch. In '98, Real Quiet was nipped at the wire. And in 2002, front-running War Emblem stumbled leaving the gate and was never a factor.

Now the 62-year-old Californian finally has his Triple.

Via: Yahoo Sports

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Memorial Day 2015

We need to remind ourselves that Memorial Day is not just another three-day weekend or a day when all manner of sales are offered to those who want to go shopping. It is a day set aside to honor the ultimate sacrifice of those who have fought to defend our nation and take military action in foreign nations. We honor, too, those who suffered wounds and returned home.

We like to think of America as a nation that has gone to war only when we had to, but a new book, “America Invades: How We’ve Invaded or Been Invaded with Almost Every Country on Earth” tells a different story based on history.

As documented by its authors, Christopher Kelly and Stuard Laycock, America, “has invaded or fought in eighty-four out of 194 countries (countries recognized by the United Nations and excluding the United States) in the world. That’s 43 percent of the total. And it hasn’t been militarily involved with just ninety or a hundred countries. It has had some form of military involvement with a spectacular 191 out of 194. That’s more than 98 percent.”

“Most people,” the authors note “would probably agree that much of what America has done around the world has clearly been wise and noble (as in helping liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny.) Some, however, have been wrong and/or unwise. And some of what America has done has been in-between. In some sense, it’s like looking at the history of one’s own family. And, indeed, all of it—the liberations, the fiascos, and follies—is, in some sense, part of the history of every American citizen.”

That’s why it is a good idea to pause on Memorial Day because as an American it is part of your history. “Americans are always hoping for peace but usually preparing for war” says the authors who remind us that “the American eagle is an ambivalent bird holding arrows in the talons of one foot and an olive branch in the other.”

Via: Canada Free Press

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Ban says people feel 'planet's wrath' over warming

(Reuters) - People around the world are feeling the "wrath of a warming planet", U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday, urging almost 200 governments to take tougher action to reach a deal in 2015 on fighting global warming.

Ban told environment ministers at climate talks in Warsaw they had a steep climb ahead to agree to cut rising greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say fuel more extreme weather.

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The Warsaw talks are struggling to lay the foundations for a new global accord, meant to be agreed in 2015 and enter into force from 2020, that looks likely to be a patchwork of pledges by national governments rather than a strong treaty.

Many developed nations are more focused on spurring sluggish economic growth than fixing global warming, despite scientists' increased certainty that human emissions will cause more heatwaves, droughts, floods and rising sea levels.

Developing nations, led by China and India, insist that the rich must continue to lead while they focus on ending poverty.

"All around the world, people now face and fear the wrath of a warming planet," Ban said, referring to extreme weather events such as Typhoon Haiyan that killed more than 3,900 people in the Philippines this month.

Current pledges for curbing global warming were "simply inadequate", Ban said. "Here, too, we must set the bar higher."

He said governments needed to step up aid to help poor nations slow their rising emissions of greenhouse gases and to adapt to the impacts of warming.

Via: Reuters

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