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Charity watchdog: Clinton Foundation a ‘slush fund’ By Isabel Vincent The Clinton Foundation’s finances are so messy that the nation’s most influential charity watchdog put it on its “watch list” of problematic nonprofits last month. The Clinton family’s mega-charity took in more than $140 million in grants and pledges in 2013 but spent just $9 million on direct aid. The group spent the bulk of its windfall on administration, travel, and salaries and bonuses, with the fattest payouts going to family friends.

Rick Santorum was the returning champion at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition forum on Saturday. But inside Waukee, Iowa’s Point of Grace Church, it certainly didn’t feel like it. After his upset victory in the 2012 Iowa caucus – driven largely by the state’s powerful evangelical voting bloc – many expected the former Pennsylvania senator to be welcomed back with open arms. But compared to the other eight Republican candidates present at the Des Moines-area conference, Santorum’s speech fell strangely flat. The audience didn’t clap much, and when they did it was usually polite and perfunctory. Lines that felt...

Legal clutter from our litigious society. It’s everywhere. The legalese. The lawyers’ gobbledygook. The hocus‑pocus and mumbo‑jumbo from a generation dominated by the legal profession. It’s the fallout from our litigious society. The warning labels and messages are everywhere: on ladders, cigarettes, and lawnmowers, on prescription drugs and alcoholic beverages. Most of these warnings are expected. We hardly recognize them any more. We’ve become jaded and mesmerized by them. Manufacturers go to laughable lengths to protect their customers from harm, bombarding them with ridiculous warning labels or stunningly obvious explanations of how their products work. Why else would a...

As someone who both cares about the mission of the church and leads a research organization, I watch the trends in the church and the culture. Occasionally, someone asks me to share some thoughts on the big picture, in the case of the North American context, questions related to "streams" of Protestantism. Based on research, statistics, extrapolation, and (I hope) some insight, I notice 3 important trends continuing in the next 10 years. Trend #1: The Hemorrhaging of Mainline Protestantism This trend is hardly news—mainliners will tell you of this hemorrhaging and of their efforts to reverse it. Mainline Protestantism...

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann wants the United States to address its issues with rape and domestic abuse. And whether the sporting world knows it or not, fans are given the opportunity to do just that during the 2015 NFL Draft and the upcoming Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight. Jameis Winston is dealing with allegations of sexual assault and Mayweather has five instances of domestic abuse on his criminal record. Yet, Winston is looking like a lock at the No. 1-overall pick, and Mayweather continues to box in the arguably highest profile event in the history of boxing.

In all the daily conflict we see between progressive liberal activists, secular humanists, atheists, gay activists, and radical Muslims versus Christians—I am speaking to Christians—as followers of Christ, we must always be mindful of our marching orders, and from whom those marching orders come. Do not rejoice at our victories, and do not despair at our defeats.  The culture war isn't about you anyway. It’s about the souls of those who are perishing. Persecution in all forms will come to us as Christians.  Jesus said it would happen. Speaking to His disciples, Jesus said in John 16:32, “A time is...

Supporters of traditional marriage will participate in the third annual "March for Marriage" on Saturday, three days before th U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on gay marriage. The Washington, D.C.-based National Organization for Marriage is organizing the event. "The 2015 March for Marriage is our last, best opportunity to reach the U.S. Supreme Court before they decide whether marriage as it has existed throughout our history is unconstitutional," reads the event's website. Attendees will first gather at the National Mall on Saturday morning and then after hearing from assorted speakers will march towards the Supreme Court building off First...

Will the Left circle its wagons around the Clintons, or ride off into the sunset without them? The Clinton Foundation announced this week that they would conduct a voluntary internal audit after the exposure of their failure to properly declare millions of dollars from foreign governments to the IRS. A leading progressive group, Common Cause, says that’s not good enough (via Instapundit and the Washington Examiner): Citing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the influence of hidden overseas donors, Common Cause called on presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Clinton Foundation today to commission an independent and...

We still don’t know what happened to Freddie Gray in Baltimore earlier this month, aside from the general agreement that he died in police custody with a nearly severed spine. The city’s leaders have been out in front of this, delivering information to the public as it comes in and investigating every aspect of the incident. There is clearly the possibility that there was police misconduct – or at least negligence in prompt medical care and safety precautions – going on, but the facts are still being gathered. Following yet another press conference where the mayor and the police...

The Clintons took in more than $140M in 2013 but spent just $9M on direct aid.....the bulk spent on travel, salaries and bonuses, with fat payouts going to family and friends. On 2013 tax forms, most recent available, they claim $30 million on payroll/employee benefits; $8.7 million in rent/office expenses; $9.2 million on “conferences, conventions and meetings”; $8 million on fund-raising; and nearly $8.5 million on travel. Significantly, none of the Clintons are listed on the payroll, except for first-class flights paid for by the Foundation. The tax-exempt came under fire following reports that then-Secy of State Hillary Clinton allowed...

And all members of Worldcon get the Hugo Voters package, soft copies of the nominated works. Read them, and make your own decisions on the best SF and Fantasy of 2014. https://sasquan.swoc.us/sasquan/reg.php

Racial protests supposed to be peaceful quickly turned into violent riots on Saturday evening, closing down the city of Baltimore for some time—and creating a panic for thousands of people as just 50 miles away elites in Washington partied with President Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Personally, I wasn’t supposed to be on the job tonight as a reporter. After a long news week and as several of my contemporaries lived high on the hog down in D.C. at the so-called “Nerd Prom,” me and my brother left D.C. to go see our Boston Red Sox play...

<p>Not much was expected from Bryant Jennings in Saturday’s heavyweight title fight with Wladimir Klitschko at Madison Square Garden.</p> <p>Klitschko’s advantages in height (three inches, at least) and weight (more than 20lb) were foreboding enough, but nothing compared to the gulf in experience. The 39-year-old from Ukraine had more successful title defenses than Jennings had pro fights. The oddsmakers had made the upstart from North Philadelphia as a 10-1 underdog in Klitschko’s first fight on US soil since 2008.</p>

WAUKEE, Iowa — When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took the stage at 9:30 p.m. Saturday night, the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's spring summit was an hour behind schedule. He promised the crowd of more than 1,000 at the evangelical Point of Grace Church he would keep his remarks brief so everyone could get home, get to bed and get up for church in the morning. He'd be doing just that, he added, back home in Wauwatosa. Wearing a suit — with no mention of whether it was from Kohl's — and pacing the stage, Walker was at ease, peppering...

Relief efforts in Nepal are intensifying after more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst earthquake there in more than 80 years. Rescue missions and aid material have started arriving in the country. Seventeen people have been killed on Mount Everest by avalanches - the mountain's worst-ever disaster. Meanwhile a powerful aftershock was felt on Sunday in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, and more avalanches were reported near Everest. The 6.7-magnitude tremor, centred 60km (40 miles) east of Nepal's capital Kathmandu, sent people running in panic for open ground in the city. As military helicopters hovered over Kathmandu and ferried...

This week, President Obama expressed regret for two western hostages held by Al Qaeda and accidentally killed in an "anti-terrorist operation." The deaths of these two men — American consultant Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto, both of whom had been held by Al Qaeda for several years — were indeed tragic. It would be bad enough if they were the only innocent victims killed by the US in the "War on Terror." But they aren’t. Over a thousand civilians — including dozens of Westerners — are among the thousands of people who have died in US...

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The Talk Shows April 26th, 2015 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Peter Schweizer, author of a book about the Clinton family foundation.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark.; David Boies and Ted Olson, the lawyers who argued before the Supreme Court for overturning a California proposition that banned same-sex marriage.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio; New York Police Commissioner William Bratton and the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, John Miller; Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.THIS WEEK...

That California’s catastrophic drought is a result of global warming has become a commonplace of contemporary political rhetoric. That truism isn’t true: Most scientific accounts of California’s current dry spell link recent low precipitation to naturally occurring atmospheric cycles, not to global warming. Indeed, most of the global-warming models relied upon by those advocating more-invasive environmental policies predict that warming would leave California with wetter winters — winter precipitation being critical to the snowpack-dependent state — rather than the drier winters at the root of the state’s current water crisis. What some studies do suggest is that warmer temperatures make...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible Saul New International Version (NIV) 18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on,...