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ALERT: A MUST READ

5 Dec

From Perry Stone’s FB page:

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TERROR ALERT: Since the 1980’s groups of Muslims have been provided finances from their governments (including Morocco) to come to America, getting visas and finding jobs, to eventually participate in an American “Jihad.” They are given a phone number to call. There are warehouses in all 50 states with weapons, and when “the word” is given, they will be given an address to go to pick up their weaponry, and as one Muslim said, “America will burn.” W…hen Obama opened the Mexican border numerous Muslims, some speaking Spanish, posing as Mexican immigrants came into America. Obama is demanding to allow Syrians, (98% Muslims) to enter America – with untold numbers who could be possible terror agents. There are hundreds of sleeper cells, including cells in Knoxville, Tennessee, Lexington, Kentucky and throughout the Southeast, including in the mountains of West Virginia. Recently, two Muslims with Kentucky tags was spotted locally video taping numerous buildings, including churches. I received a message -connected with the U.S. military, that when a radical leaders says publically, “Last days brothers-last days,” the United States won’t know what hit them! They are targeting places around the holidays.
It is time to get security in all malls, schools and churches, and visit “Smith and Wesson” and get your conceal and carry permit. Report suspicious activity, and yes, get a security team that WILL PROFILE individuals when needed. Israel is not afraid to profile anyone at anytime, and this is why they have stopped numerous attacks. When a knife wielding radical comes toward anyone in Israel, to stab them, they will be shot dead by police or a “packing” Israeli. Christians, get your head out of the sand and realize terror has come to America and it is only beginning. Benjamin Netanyahu told me, “They will use your laws to get inside the country then use your freedoms against you!” There is much but I will restrain from sharing it on an open page. Please PREPOST THIS to everyone – to be alert and be in prayer and ask God to expose these ungodly and dangerous individuals – and God bless our MILITARY and GOD BLESS ALL POLICE OFFICERS who are doing their job! I am counting the days when the incompetent D.C. leadership will be replaced – hopefully with someone who will defend the nation, the Constitution, and stop the non-sense we have endured for 7 years!

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Mark Caserta: Liberal Democrats offer false solutions

5 Dec

  • Dec 4, 2015mark 1
  • Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

A famous quote I once heard seems to define the liberal Democrat movement in our nation today. “Society’s needs come before the individual’s needs.” It seems that nearly every policy offered by Democrat leadership embodies the spirit of this quote.

I’m continually amazed at how liberals posture themselves during a campaign season as champions for the middle class, and then keep gouging them with their progressive, socialist policies.

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Believe me when I tell you, it’s never been about liberal Democrats being more compassionate for the lower or middle class. It’s about buying their votes! As we draw closer to the 2016 presidential election, it’s important to understand the strategy behind the empty promises offered by the left.

The next progressive step involves offering “compassionate” solutions they propose will bring fairness to the system and provide more opportunity to those being suppressed by the evils of capitalism.

Finally, progressives and the complicit liberal media combine to demonize any entity or individual who decries progressive policies as the deceitful betrothals they are. And as the voter base in the expanding government safety net increases, the liberal narrative begins to take root and no longer depends on truth or legitimacy.

Consider this. As the full weight of the Obamacare employer mandate is felt (it requires employers to provide healthcare to full time-employees), do you suppose businesses will just take the hit on their back page?

As the minimum wage increases, do you suppose restaurants, retail businesses or the service industry will simply absorb the additional costs? As the EPA continues to levy ridiculous regulations on industry, do you expect businesses to continue operating passively in the red?

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Let me be clear – they will not. Some businesses cannot and others will not accept a narrower profit margin. Many small businesses already have slim profit margins and wouldn’t survive.

 

So who do you suppose will make up the difference? You will. You will pay more for that trip to the restaurant. You will pay more at the grocery store. You will pay more for utilities and services. We’re seeing it already.

So, when the smoke clears around that shiny new entitlement liberals handed you, you’ll find the government got their share by taxing it. Businesses got their share by charging you for it. And you got the shaft from liberal Democrats who told you it was raining as the dog wet on your leg.

So the next time a liberal Democrat promises you a free lunch, take a moment and thoughtfully consider the offer. Because in these scenarios, it isn’t business or the government that loses; it’s you.

Oh, the aforementioned quote: Adolph Hitler, April 12, 1921.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Kevin Rice: Obama and the Christian Terrorist

1 Dec

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Free State Patriot welcomes Kevin Rice as the newest contributor to Free State Patriot.

About the author:

Kevin M. Rice is a master-level medical and scientific writer and Basic Science division Director at the Center for Diagnostic Nanosystems at Marshall University, with 12 years of writing experience, 6 years of editorial experience and an extensive scientific background with 12 years of basic science experience in the fields of geriatrics, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, nano-technology, sepsis, ischemia, physiology, and animal based drug intervention. He has over 62 peer reviewed journal articles which have received over 868 citations and over 87 conference presentation. He is the husband the father of 4 children and is a former pastor with 7 years of pastoral experience and 25 years of ministerial experience.

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12.1.15

During a White House press briefing addressing the Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic shooting on November 28, 2015, Barack Obama called the shooter, 57-year-old Robert Dear, a “Christian Terrorist.”

“A gun in the hands of just one Christian terrorist has resulted in the loss of life of a police veteran, father, and volunteer pastor; two civilians, injuries to five of Colorado’s brave law enforcement officers, and four innocent civilians.”

OBAMA AND DEAR

Obama’s rhetoric is once again directed toward the undermining of the foundation on which this great nation was founded. To call the acts of one man a terrorist attack sanctioned in anyway by the Christian populous is both ludicrous and absurd. A nation founded on the Judeo -Christina ethics of morality, forgiveness, mercy and grace is what gave rise to this man’s actions. Notwithstanding, as a collective, the Christian populous is in great need of repentance. Not simply because of the action of one disturbed individual who took it upon himself to perform an act of violence and terror, but for allowing our great nation to sink to such debauchery, disdain and ignorance of Christianity.

We have elected to the office of president, a man who lacks the moral compass or fortitude required to lead this great nation back to God. He instead sows seeds of religious discord and hatred. To what end or what purpose is served by labeling the actions of a single individual as a religiously sanctioned act?

There was no terrorist cell plotting the attack on the Planned Parenthood Clinic. There is no directed recruitment taking place by any Christian organization to radicalize people to commit such acts of terrorism. This was the action of one disturbed man. The only foreseeable purpose in the terminology used by Mr. Obama is to further the agenda of religious intolerance within the American population.

We live in a time where “that which is wrong is called right” and “that which is right is called wrong”. But we cannot place the blame on the politicians, the media, or society. We must step up to the altar and take the weight of this generation upon our own knees. Mr. Obama did not elect himself. We played a role in it, by either refraining to cast a vote and remaining silent, by voting for him, or by failing to rally enough support for a God-fearing candidate to be elected to office.

COMPLACENCY

The only way this nation can be healed is if we repent and change our course. Otherwise, we are headed for a complete annihilation of religious liberties.

Our rights as Christians are a target of this administration and many other special interest groups. It is time to exercise the remaining freedom we have before it also is challenged. We have lost the radical nature that once raged within the hearts of the early church. We have lost the motivating force that drove men to give their lives for the cause of Christ. Now we cower behind the fear of political correctness – afraid to offend someone with our beliefs.

If we are offended of Him, He will be offended of us.

If we are to be labeled “Christian Terrorists”, then let us take on the active role that we should have been fulfilling in the first place. Let’s take the battle to the front lines! We battle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and wickedness enthroned in high places. Let’s plan a “terrorist attack” on the kingdom of Satan on our knees. Every hour of every day we need to have someone actively engaged in this battle for our homeland, our religious liberties, and for our spiritual existence.

Let’s speak the Word of God without fear once again! Let’s proclaim the acceptable year of our Lord to all mankind. This great nation was founded on liberty and “freedom of religion”, not “freedom from religion”.

We have allowed the enemy of our soul to rob this great nation of our religious liberty and freedom.

It is now time to take it back.

 

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Mark Caserta: Obama’s ideology risks American lives

29 Nov

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Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

Nov 27, 2015

Why is Barack Obama deliberately gambling with the lives of Americans?

Following the terrorist attacks on our nation on Sept. 11, 2001, our nation’s leadership had a resolve to leverage the most powerful military force in the world in defeating the threat of Islamic terrorism.

President Bush and our military commanders initiated a “shock and awe” strategy that would eventually decimate Al-Qaida in Iraq and send a clear message to radical Islamists that the United States would not tolerate their antics.

But enter stage left, Barack Hussein Obama, vowing to deliver America from “Islamophobia,” who removes our military presence from the region, creating a vacuum for the blood-thirsty, radical Islamists known as ISIS. In the infancy of the threat from the Islamic State, the president even referred to the terrorist group as the “Jayvee team,” attempting to downplay the legitimacy of the rise of Islamic terrorism on his watch. To this day, the president remarkably refuses to utter the words “Islamic terrorism.”

 

Now, as a result of President Obama’s lack of leadership, not only has the Islamic State become the most ominous terrorist threat known to mankind – they may have sleeper cells right here in the U.S.

According to FBI Director James Comey, there are over 900 ongoing investigations of ISIS activity in America. According to numerous reports, the Islamic State, which vows to destroy all who refuse to adhere to Sharia Law, has terrorist “sleeper cells” all across the United States just waiting for activation.

 

In less than two years, ISIS has expanded into what Director Comey calls a “chaotic spider web.”

 

“Those people exist in every state. I have homegrown violent extremist investigations in every single state. Until a few weeks ago there was 49 states. Alaska had none which I couldn’t quite figure out. But Alaska has now joined the group so we have investigations of people in various stages of radicalizing in all 50 states,” Comey said.

Now, one would think the rationale would be to control our borders and restrict the rampant entry of unknown individuals into our nation. But this president is far from being rational where protecting America is concerned.

 

Despite lacking an authentic vetting process, Obama plans to admit some 10,000 Syrian refugees into the United States. Now if you were a terrorist looking for a secluded entry point into the U.S., wouldn’t you consider entering under the guise of a Syrian refugee? In fact, following the recent terrorist attack in Paris, a Syrian passport was found near the body of one of the slain assailants leading investigators to believe one of the terrorists did indeed enter as a Syrian refugee.

 

Obama’s weak-kneed strategy against ISIS is failing miserably, yet he refuses to change his approach. And now, he plans to clear a path for potential Islamic terrorists to enter the U.S. and risk attacks on innocent citizens – maybe your family!

 

It’s time for Congress to step up and squelch this president’s radical ideology before we have a tragedy of devastating proportion.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Mark Caserta: Writer reflects on father’s legacy after loss

25 Nov

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Robert L. Caserta

1937-2015

The late father of Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

Nov 20, 2015

     Some moments in life are simply too difficult to describe in words – moments for which we can never be adequately prepared to handle. I recently had one of those moments. Last weekend, I received a phone call that my father had passed away. And it was truly devastating.

Ever since we lost our mother in 2009, Dad had been grieving. One could hardly have a conversation with him without him speaking of how much he missed his wife and companion of 52 years. I suppose when one builds their world around a pillar, life can begin to crumble as the pillar collapses. But the foundation on which our parents built our family will never be shaken.

A Marine Corps veteran, my father built his legacy around three steadfast principles. He honored his God, his country and his family. And he wouldn’t flinch in defending any of the three with his life. He truly was a “man’s man.”

Born and raised in a coal mining community in Man, West Virginia, he grew up during The Great Depression. Times were beyond difficult. My grandfather worked long, arduous hours to put food on the table and to keep a few meager clothes on their backs. My father learned early of the value of hard work and doing your very best at whatever task was set before you. Growing up, I often recall Dad saying, “Son, any job worth doing is worth doing right.” I suppose my sons are as tired of hearing it from me now as I was from him then.

Throughout our early years, I watched my father work some very difficult jobs and some very long hours, but I never recall him complaining. I remember him working as a crane operator at ACF and recall how much he enjoyed the job. He had a keen eye which allowed him to become very proficient at operating a crane. That keen eye had served him well in the military. He earned several marksmanship awards, at one time coming close to breaking the Marine Corps point record on the firing range.

And Dad loved his country. He made darn sure each of us knew that voting was not optional. Determined to make a difference, he even took a “one-time” stab at running for political office. It didn’t take long for him to realize he wasn’t called to politics! “Political correctness” was not in my father’s repertoire! Just like on the firing range, the only way he knew to “shoot” was “straight.”

Looking back, and probably more from his actions than his words, Dad instilled in each of us a sense of duty and obligation. He made sure we realized that giving anything less than our best would be doing ourselves, our family and our God a disservice.

Now, although grieving over the loss of my hero, I rejoice in knowing he is where he has wanted to be for over six years – in the arms of his wife and our Heavenly Father.

Godspeed Dad. We sure will miss you.

 

Robert L. Caserta received full military funeral honors, which included the folding and presenting of the United States burial flag and the playing of taps. Mark was honored to receive the flag on behalf of his family.

Mark Caserta: US future depends on support of Israel

29 Oct

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Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

I firmly believe that a major contributing factor to the prosperity of the United States has been our relationship and support of Israel.

Genesis 12:3 clearly depicts the benefits of supporting God’s people.

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

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For years, Israel has been a critical ally to the U.S. in the Middle East, where hostility toward the Israeli people has been rampant. And now all indications from the Obama administration suggest that President Obama is abandoning our steadfast relationship with Israel despite their partnership in democracy in the region.

Obama’s incessant push for a nuclear deal with Iran was perhaps the tipping point for ongoing relations with the Israeli people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal with Iran “a bad mistake of historic proportions,” as reported in a July Fox News article.

“Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons. Many of the restrictions that were supposed to prevent it from getting there will be lifted,” Netanyahu said before a meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister in Jerusalem. “Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world.”

While it’s true that some of the nuclear restrictions remain in place for the next 25 years, time does not dismay Iranian leadership in their vow to destroy Israel. Following the deal which involved the U.S. and five other countries, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, taunted Israel with a threat of colossal proportion.

Referencing the 25-year time frame in an Iranian state-run media report, the Ayatollah predicted the extinction of Israel by the end of the deal’s terms. “I’d say (to Israel) that they will not see (the end) of these 25 years,” said the Ayatollah, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency. “God willing, there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years.”

But there is no new news here. Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, Iranian leadership has sought its destruction and referred to the U.S. as the “Great Satan” for our support of the Jewish people.

Obama’s disdain for Israel is very troubling. Following the wave of violence where innocent Israelis were being stabbed in the streets by anti-Semitists, the Obama administration accused Israel of participating in terrorism while acting to protect their people.

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“Individuals on both sides of this divide are – have proven capable of, and in our view, are guilty of acts of terrorism.” State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters following the spike in violence as reported by Kellan Howell in the Washington Times.

I believe in many ways the U.S. is now experiencing the repercussions of abandoning our support of Israel. Our next president must work diligently to re-establish our bond with the Jewish state.

Our future hangs in the balance.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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DOUG SMITH: Candidates winning Iowa: Good or bad omen for becoming POTUS?

8 Apr

DOUG SMITH

DOUG SMITH: Author, historian and Free State Patriot regular contributor

Today, Jim Geraghty notes in National Review Online that the GOP elite both hate and fear Iowa. Yet none of them seem to have the necessary body parts to criticize Iowa. Well, buckle up, Hawkeyes. I m a Republican, barely (yea, I criticize them too), I’m not running for President, and I “ain’t scared of no Hawkeyes.”

So, brrrrrt, Iowa. (That is a raspberry). By virtue of holding the first caucus in the primary season, and lots of chicken dinners, Iowa has become quite the state celebrity. Everybody goes there; hat in hand, tail between legs, checkbook in shirt pocket. They promise, and deliver, ridiculous amounts of everyone else’s money (never their own!)to Iowa for farm subsidies, and pay farmers to grow corn for ethanol, which drives up corn prices, and gasoline prices, produces a less efficient fuel, creates more pollution to make a gallon of ethanol laced fuel than burning the gallon of unleaded regular would produce, all for the hope that maybe the stiff necked dirt farmers will smile on them. Amazingly, those who end up getting elected actually fulfill their promises, and pour all that money into Iowa.

And the dirty little secret is, very few Presidents actually won Iowa. Statistically, the best thing a candidate could do is land in Iowa, tell them they stink, and that Professor Harold Hill had the right idea, and dare them to vote for him. Winning in Iowa is a death knell for a campaign. Yet every four years, off they trudge.

Oh for a candidate, who will lose Iowa, so that he may win the White House, and will pledge to end the ethanol subsidy? Perhaps Rand Paul could suggest to Iowans that if they want their corn in ethanol they should sell it to Kentucky Distilleries so it can end up in Kentucky Sour Mash.

Or, perhaps West Virginia should move to an early caucus system, and demand kickbacks to remove restrictions on coal, or mandates to use it, or, how about forcing Iowans to pay a Carbon Tax to turn coal into a food? After all, if we are going to use corn as a fuel, why not eat coal? We could trade coal for corn, and let the Iowans turn the coal into fuel oil, while we turn their corn into cornbread, or make moonshine out of it. Hey, with our mountains and our moonshine stills, we could fuel a rocket and sell tourist excursions into space for a million dollars a pop. Tourism, baby! Or, how about the other 49 states get together and sign a pledge that we will not vote for any candidate who campaigns in the rubber chicken circuit in Iowa. Perhaps a lottery system like a football pool, with each primary assigned randomly every four years by chance.

We have had an awful lot of weird tossed into the political process by those stiff necked Hawkeyes. Perhaps it is time for the rest of us to embrace the weird. Or perhaps it is time to let it go.

How about it, 2016 Presidential candidates? Common sense, anyone?

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Mark Caserta: Hillary nomination will be troublesome

20 Mar

…If not impossible

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FSP EDITOR – MARK CASERTA

Mar. 19, 2015 @ 02:01 AM

If Hillary Rodham Clinton is all the Democratic Party has for the 2016 election, liberals must be getting pretty nervous. I don’t know of any other potential candidate, in either party, carrying an equivalent amount of baggage into a presidential bid.

While I’m not a huge fan of Jeb Bush, the thought of “another Bush” in the White House pales in comparison to the thought of another Clinton. Let’s ignore for a moment that Hillary’s accomplishments as four years as Secretary of State were, shall we say, minimal; she and Bill are never very far away from scandal.

In fact, it’s worth a trip down memory lane.

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The White House travel controversy, sometimes referred to as “Travelgate,” was the first major ethics controversy of the Clinton administration. It began in May 1993, when seven employees of the White House Travel Office were fired and replaced with associates from Arkansas. The administration stated the firings were done because of financial improprieties, but never produced supporting evidence. Heavy media attention forced the White House to reinstate most of the employees in other jobs and remove the Clinton associates from the travel role.

“Whitewater” was the popular nickname for a series of investigations of Bill and Hillary Clinton that lasted nearly seven years involving a fraudulent land scheme while Hillary was a partner of the Rose Law Firm of Vince Foster and Webster Hubbell. Hubble was later indicted, tried and convicted for tax fraud. Foster, a material witness for then independent counsel Ken Starr’s criminal investigation, mysteriously turned up dead in Fort March Park. His death was ruled a suicide.

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Emerging from the same Ken Starr criminal investigation was the infamous Monica Lewinsky scandal, which would cause Bill Clinton to become only the second president in U.S. history to be impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives. Clinton was impeached on two counts: perjury and obstruction of justice.

In 1996, in what was labeled “Chinagate,” the Clinton-Gore campaign allegedly received illegal financial contributions from the Chinese government to help its dwindling poll numbers by siphoning funds into the Democratic National Committee. Investigations revealed the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., was used for coordinating the contributions in violation of the law forbidding non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents from giving monetary donations to politicians and political parties.

And most recently, “Emailgate,” in which Hillary may have violated the Federal Records Act and circumvented the Freedom of Information Act by choosing to delete 30,000 emails from a personal account on a private server.

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Why take the time to delete 30,000 emails if she has nothing to hide?

But then, the Clintons are in the business of hiding things, hence the need for a private server.

At this point, I believe it’s very premature for anyone to believe Hillary is a shoo-in for the Democrat nomination.

But if she indeed gets the call from her Democrat peers, given the scandalous “Clintonesque” tradition, even the liberal media may not be able to spin Hillary Clinton into the Oval Office.

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Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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Mark Caserta: Obama’s denial emboldens terrorists

12 Feb
 Why will this president go to any length to protect the Islamic religion?
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FSP Editorial
Feb. 12, 2015 @ 12:01 AM

Displaying a level of brutality, shocking even by the standards of the previous horrific murders committed by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS, First Lieutenant Muath al Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian pilot, was recently burned alive inside a locked cage in the name of radical Islam. The barbarous act, which shocked the world, clearly defined the group’s willingness to viciously propagate the violent extremism of the Islamic State.

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But two days later, rather than simply condemn the act as a violent display of Islamic terrorism, Barack Hussein Obama used the bully pulpit at the National Prayer breakfast to persuade the world that violence rooted in religion isn’t exclusive to Islam, but has been carried out by Christians as well. In fact, he compared the ISIS atrocity to violent acts committed by Christians in the Crusades. He also said Christ was used as justification for slavery and radical discrimination in the United States.

“Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. Unless we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ,” the president said.

The comments were considered outrageous to many.

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“The president’s comments this morning at the prayer breakfast are the most offensive I’ve ever heard a president make in my lifetime,” said former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore, a Republican. “He has offended every believing Christian in the United States. This goes further to the point that Mr. Obama does not believe in America or the values we all share.”

Catholic League’s Bill Donohue says Obama should apologize for using the Crusades as an example of “terrible acts” by Christians, saying the crusades fought against Islamic jihad.

“The president should apologize for his insulting comparison,” Donohue said. “Obama’s ignorance is astounding and his comparison is pernicious.”

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Now, this president has always dismissed the idea of American exceptionalism. And frankly, his decision over the past six years to have the White House avoid the term “radical Islam” has brought to question Obama’s loyalty to America and the foundational principles on which our great nation was built.

Yet, anyone honestly assessing terrorism can easily conclude that Islamic extremism is at the very heart of murder and destruction in the world today. In fact, according to the non-partisan website, The Religion of Peace, over the last 40 years there have been 74 attacks on American soil by Islamic terrorists resulting in the murder of thousands of innocent people. We just simply don’t see attacks of this magnitude in the name of any other religion.

Let’s be clear. Islamic terrorism is flourishing under this president’s rule. His purposeful choice not to properly identify our enemy is indeed emboldening their mission.

As Obama continues to reject the notion that America is in a religious war based on the fundamental beliefs of the Islamic State, American’s lives are increasingly being placed at risk.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

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OBAMACARE PENALTY COULD BE LARGER THAN EXPECTED

19 Jan

Some people will have no insurance and still have to pay their “shared responsibility” payment to Obama!

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Those Americans who didn’t get health insurance last year could be in for a rude awakening when the IRS asks them to fork over their Obamacare penalty — and it could be a lot more than the $95 many of them may be expecting.

The Affordable Care Act requires those who didn’t have insurance last year and didn’t qualify for one of the exemptions to pay a tax penalty, which was widely cited as $95 the first year. But the $95 is actually a minimum, and middle- and upper-income families will actually end up paying 1 percent of their household income as their penalty.

“People would hear the $95, quit listening, and make an assumption that that was what their penalty was going to be,” said Chuck Lovelace, vice president of affordable care for Liberty Tax Service. “I think that a lot of people will be surprised when they get in there and find out that their penalty is [based] on their household income.”

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The penalty is designed to prod Americans to buy insurance and the penalty for not having it is scheduled to rise considerably: to a $325 minimum or 2 percent of income in 2015, and to a $695 minimum or 2.5 percent of income in 2016.

This Aug. 21, 2014, file photo shows health care tax forms 8962, … more >

Tax experts said those stung by a higher penalty the first year may buy plans to escape the penalty the next year.

“We will be showing them what the penalty is,” said Jackie Perlman, principal tax research analyst at The Tax Institute at H&R Block, said of this year’s customers. “But we will also be telling them, ‘How do we not go down this road next year?’”

The tax industry and government officials have been trying to prepare filers for the changes since the Affordable Care Act was signed in 2010, but tax preparers still expect to get strange looks when they inquire about their customers’ health insurance.

“You might think it’s a question that a tax preparer shouldn’t be asking, but we have to ask that,” Ms. Perlman said.

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Tax experts said mixing Obamacare with the annual tax filing season is a major adjustment, and it comes even as the IRS, blaming budget cuts, says it won’t be able to even answer a majority of help calls, and those who do get through will have to wait an average of 30 minutes.

Gearing up for the challenge, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell spoke to more than 100 volunteer tax preparers Friday.

Most taxpayers will only have to check a box asserting they had their own insurance, usually through their employer. But those who bought insurance on the Obamacare exchanges with the help of federal subsidies will have to reconcile their payments with their income level.

Some people will get money back, although those who failed to report raises or bonuses to their respective health exchanges will pay back some amount of subsidy.

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HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange that serves 37 states, started to mail out 1095-A forms to customers last week, and state-run exchanges say they will meet the end-of-month deadline to postmark theirs.

But the subsidies were paid directly to insurers, and not the Obamacare customer, so filers might not remember them or realize they need the form.

It’s a short wait for the 1095-A — about two weeks — but tax experts fear some taxpayers, looking to get a jump on the process and with a W-2 already in hand from their employers, will file without waiting for the Obamacare form, causing problems and delaying their refund.

“Hopefully, we’ve communicated that to our customers,” Mr. Lovelace said. “But as a general rule, I’m not sure that the population out there is understanding it.”

obamacare 3 years later Affordable Care Act Fair Draws Floridians As Enrollmnent Deadline Looms

Filers who ignored the exchanges, or couldn’t get insured through government programs or a job, may qualify for an exemption from the individual mandate and avoid penalties.

Some of the exemptions are baked into the law — ones for prisoners, members of Indian tribes or the Amish, for example — while others may qualify for far-reaching “hardship exemptions” from the Obama administration.

Mark Steber, chief tax officer for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, noted that filers can only apply for certain exemptions on their actual tax forms, making it one of the trickier aspects to navigate under Obamacare.

Someone who doesn’t take advantage of an exemption will end up paying more than they should.

“I would say the exemption area is one opportunity for missteps,” Mr. Steber said, “both by a taxpayer or a tax preparer.”

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