News & Politics

North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un is ordering his military to have the rogue nation’s nuclear weapons ready to launch, and while a former Pentagon official believes the communist nation may start a war down the road, he does not see this latest action as more than an empty threat.

Jed Babbin served as a deputy undersecretary of defense for President George H.W. Bush and believes Kim’s actions are merely in response to the United Nations Security Council unanimously approving new sanctions against his regime.  He says an attempt to nuke South Korea, Japan or any other nation would be met with a devastating, immediate response.

“Their country would be vaporized immediately and, quite frankly, there ain’t much to vaporize.  That place is in the stone age.  The only place that’s even lit at night is the capital city of Pyongyang.  one decent nuke over there and the country is just gone,” said Babbin.

There’s another reason Babbin thinks this is a bluff.  He believes that, despite aggressive testing, North Korea is not yet ready to launch a nuclear missile.

“It’s a big deal to develop a nuclear weapon.  It’s a big deal to develop an ICBM.  However, to get an ICBM mated with a small enough nuclear weapon that will survive the G-forces in the takeoff of a missile and actually be able to re-enter the atmosphere and successfully detonate a nuclear weapon.  That’s probably several years beyond what these guys can do,” said Babbin.

Babbin says this is clearly Kim’s way of protesting the new UN sanctions, which are aimed restricting North Korea’s ability to import weapons or build them.

“They’ve got some bigger restrictions now.  Ships going into and out of North Korea are going to be stopped and inspected.  At least that’s the theory.  They’ve lost the opposition of the Chinese to those sorts of sanctions.  The Chinese went along with it and the UN Security Council was unanimous in putting these sanctions in,” said Babbin.

Babbin says China has a vested interest in making sure Kim’s erratic behavior does not lead to a humanitarian crisis.

“A great, great fear in the Chinese regime is for North Korea to fall for some reason and for millions of North Koreans to go fleeing across the border with China,” he said.

He says North Korea has a long history of bad behavior when it wants to attract attention.

“I think they want more money.  They want to get bribed to keep quiet for awhile again.  They’re going to be doing the things that they always do, which is run around and scream and shout,” said Babbin.

While firmly convinced this episode is no real threat, Babbin says North Korea does have plans to take hostile action.

“The real issue is when do they actually get hot enough to try to do something?  That’s the unknowable.  Someday, sometime, whether it’s tomorrow or 25 years from now, those are going to start another war.  We’re just going to have to be prepared for it,” said Babbin.

In Thursday’s Republican debate, Sen. Ted Cruz reacted to the story by outlining his plan to protect against a North Korean attack and also blaming the Clinton administration for weak negotiating that allowed the North Koreans to pursue nuclear weapons.

Babbin says that’s exactly what happened.

“Cruz was right,” said Babbin.  “(Former Defense Secretary) Bill Perry went over there and negotiated a big agreement with North Korea that provided them with oil and more as a bribe to not develop nuclear weapons.  Of course, they used the oil to power their society for a little while  and built the nukes anyway,” said Babbin.

So what is the right policy now?

“Right now, I think the sanctions are the right approach.  I think there’s not much else you can do there,” said Babbin.

He says ground action should not be considered.

“I don’t see that us invading North Korea is in any way a good idea, and I don’t think anybody else is going to.  The only thing we could do, which of course President Obama will never do, is to pressure the Chinese more to bring these guys to heel,” said Babbin.

Babbin applauds the recent UN action, but has doubts about the implementation of the new sanctions.

“I do think it’s going to be helpful if the sanctions are going to be enforced and that’s the big if,” said Babbin.  “Who is going to stop all of those ships coming in and out of North Korea?  Are people really going to follow the ban on selling them even small arms?  I don’t know that that’s going to happen.  There’s a lot of other rogue regimes in the world,” said Babbin.

He fears bankrupt Venezuela, which is a prolific producer of AK-47 assault rifles, is more than desperate and willing to violate sanctions to make money.

“That’s just one example.  There’s probably at least a dozen other countries that’ll do that sort of thing,” said Babbin.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review react to more specific allegations of Trump hiring foreign workers over Americans and that he is shifting his position on H1-B visas.  They also discuss Trump dismissing warnings that the military would refuse to carry out illegal orders such as killing the family members of terrorists.  And they slam Hillary Clinton for using footage from the Benghazi hearings to reflect her boredom in watching the debate.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is putting forward a more detailed health care reform plan, that one leading policy expert says has many strong free market features but needs amending in two critical areas.

Trump has long mentioned his desire for a full repeal of Obamacare and remove barriers so patients can shop for health plans across state lines.  Those are the first two parts of Trump’s new seven-point plan.  It also includes allowing individuals to fully deduct their health care premiums from their annual tax returns and championing Health Savings Accounts that would be tax-free for the individual and estate tax-free for their heirs.

The Trump plan would also call for price transparency from doctors and hospitals, block grant Medicaid to the states and “remove barriers to entry” for drug companies who can offer quality medications at lower prices.

Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner, an ardent opponent of Obamacare and the Clinton administration’s attempts to increase the government’s role in health care, is largely impressed.

“Many pillars of his plan are very familiar to free market advocates.  The giving people help in purchasing their premiums through tax breaks is important.  Price transparency, block granting Medicaid to the states so the states can have more control over Medicaid dollars without jumping through so many of Washington’s hoops and following so much of its red tape,” said Turner.

The additional detail came hours before Thursday’s GOP debate in Detroit and nearly a week after Sen. Marco Rubio pressed Trump to offer specific details on his plan besides a full repeal of Obamacare.

“It was obviously precipitated by the debate, when he really got backed into a corner when he didn’t have other ideas.  Most of these ideas are pretty solid ideas but they need to be developed some more,” said Turner.

But while Turner applauds tax breaks to help defray the cost of health insurance, Turner says Trump is going about it the wrong way.

“The problem with a deduction, which is what he is advocating, is that it’s worth very little to people at the bottom end of the income scale.  If you are in the 10 percent tax bracket, and you basically get a 10 percent cut in your premium, that’s very regressive,” said Turner.

“Somebody who’s in the 40-50 percent tax bracket, counting federal income taxes and state and payroll taxes, they may get a tax cut of 50 percent of the cost of their premium,” she added.  “A tax credit really can help those at the lower end of the income scale, who most need help in purchasing health insurance.”

The other area that concerns her is the removal of barriers in the pharmaceutical industry.

“Basically, he’s calling for price controls on prescription drugs.  he’s been very much of a populist.  ‘Drug prices are too high.  If we let people import drugs from abroad or let the government negotiate prices for prescription drugs, we could save $300 billion a year.  That’s absolutely not true.  What he’s advocating with those two policies is importing price controls on prescription drugs,” said Turner.

Not only does Turner believe Trump’s math is off, she says it would stifle development of new drugs.

“There is a reason that the United States is the leader in the development and introduction of new drugs into the market.  We don’t have price controls.  If we do and dry up the research budget, like so many European and other developed countries have done, then we will not have the new drugs of tomorrow,” said Turner.

Trump defenders say their candidate is referring to negotiating prices and not mandating them.  Turner says that’s not how it works.

“Government doesn’t negotiate.  It dictates prices,” she said.

Overall, however, Turner is pleased with the plan.  But she hopes this represents a serious shift toward a free market approach to health care from a candidate who has had good things to say about single payer health care in Canada and Scotland as recently as the first GOP debate.

“What worries me is that in the past, he really has been all over the map, from supporting an individual mandate to now saying he does not support the individual mandate, and everything from talking about single payer to talking about free markets and Health Savings Accounts.  The question is does he really have ownership of this health care plan or is this something his campaign put out,” said Turner.

“What really matters is whether there’s going to be some consistency in allowing this to become the basis for what could be a credible health reform plan,” said Turner.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review applaud Ben Carson for finally ending his presidential campaign…we think.  Ian gives reasons why he thinks Mitt Romney’s speech could damage Donald Trump’s candidacy while I argue Trump backers probably won’t be swayed at all.  And we react to Trump’s latest explanation for his rough CNN interview.

Persecution of Christians is intensifying around the world, possibly at its worst since the early days of the church, but the courage and steadfastness of believers in these hostile areas are a great testament to their Savior and of immense encouragement to believers around the world, according to the editor of a new devotional from Voice of the Martyrs.

Voice of the Martyrs is one of the leading organizations assisting the persecuted Christian church.  The devotional is entitled “I am n,” with the “n” referring to the symbol ISIS and other radical Islamic groups have used to designate “nazarenes” or followers of Christ.  It contains 90 days worth of devotions.

Each day’s selection includes a gripping story of a Christian refusing to renounce their faith or insisting on sharing their faith, regardless of the cost.  That is followed by commentary to help Christians apply the lessons to their own and then a prayer.

Examples of stories include Abu, a Christian in Mosul, who refused to deny Jesus, even when threatened with death and Kazim, a believer in Pakistan, who was severely beaten and stripped of his home and family but refused to stop preaching the gospel.

While the acts of courage and faith are gripping, Voice of the Martyrs Associate Vice President Dr. Jason Peters hopes readers focus on the most important takeaway.

“The hero of the story is Jesus Christ.  He gives grace in these situations that we just can’t explain from an earthly perspective,” said Peters, who adds that believers are able to endure torture and heartache because their hope is not in this world.

“That’s the heart of it.  The key to all of this  is eternal perspective.  These brothers and sisters have got an eternal perspective in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine,” he added.

While the symbol used by ISIS to identify Christians is on the cover, the devotional shares accounts from many different countries where proclaiming Christ can put one’s life in danger.  But he says those places have one thing in common.

“There are really nine Islamic hot spots around the world.  These are areas where Christians face Islamic extremists and many of them have been severely persecuted.  So we wanted to tell their stories.  That’s what we’ve been doing since 1967,” said Peters.

“We’re in the field.  We’re working all the time, meeting with brothers and sisters, hearing their stories.  Then we put 48 of those stories into a book, which I think people will find very helpful,” said Peters.

Peters says reading and understanding what Christians go through in many parts of the world will serve as a humbling, eye-opening experience for western Christians who never experience such persecution and give all believers an additional glimpse of the God they serve.

“Somehow [God] gives them grace which is really remarkable.  Some of the themes that come out from these stories are themes like sacrifice, courage, faithfulness.  Some of the stories and themes are shocking really.  Some stories about forgiveness and joy,” said Peters.

“When you think about what it would take to forgive somebody who raped your daughter or killed your husband or burned your house down.  It’s incredible,” added Peters.

He says it may be hard to for western believers to relate at first.

“They don’t have a comfortable existence.  Many have been minorities their entire lives.  Many of them live in difficult circumstances.  In one sense they’ve just trained themselves to focus on their eternal reward.  In the United States, we get a bit comfortable and it’s easy for us not to have an eternal perspective because we’re pretty comfortable here,” said Peters.

Some stories of Muslims converting to Christianity may seem unusual, particularly the frequent testimonies of vivid dreams in which Christ appears to them.  An Afghan man named John was on his pilgrimage to Mecca when he says Jesus appeared to him in a dream.

Peters admits that will strike some as odd, but he says the evidence is very strong for these accounts being true.

“It’s incredibly frequent.  We hear about dreams and visions all the time.  I’ll be honest with you.  I’ve never had a dream or a vision personally, but I’ve met those who have.  When you hear these stories, it’s really hard to deny the fact that it happened,” said Peters.

Peters says Tom Doyle, a fellow Dallas Theological Seminary graduate, has chronicled some of these accounts in his book, “Dreams and Visions.”  He shared one in particular.

“I remember the story of one guy who said, ‘I had a dream.  I started to take notes when I would wake up.  I make a note of what I heard from this man in white.”  And he said, ‘Interestingly, I found out later when I ran into a Christian and I shared my notes that it was literally the gospel of John, almost word for word,'” Peters shared.

He believes there’s a good reason accounts of dreams and visions are much more common among the persecuted.

“In many of the 68 countries we work in, the bible is in chains.  The bible is not accessible.  We have bibles everywhere.  But when you don’t have access to God’s word, I believe he works in some miraculous ways,” said Peters.

The devotional also makes it clear that whether the story ends happily, miraculously or in death, God is always sovereign.  Peters says there are always times he and other believers don’t understand why God lets things happen but he says scripture provides encouragement on that front as well, in the Genesis account of Joseph’s brothers wanting him dead and selling him into slavery.  Ultimately, God uses those circumstances to elevate Joseph to prominence in Egypt and save God’s people.

Peters says God is working in the midst of heavy persecution and is even changing some hearts among the terrorists themselves.

“There was a guy who was coming through Lebanon recently.  He was actually teaching jihad to ISIS.  He came back transiting through Lebanon.  He asked his taxi driver, ‘Do you know where I can find a bible,'” said Peters.

“[The taxi driver] was obviously a little concerned.  This fully-bearded, rogue teacher of jihad is asking him for a bible.  He said, ‘I’m sick of the killing,'” shared Peters.

“In the midst of all this evil, everything horrific that ISIS has done, God is drawing people to himself and we’re actually seeing many Muslims come to Christ after seeing some of these horrific activities and these brutal actions that ISIS is prosecuting right now,” said Peters.

Peters says persecuted believers want all other Christians to know they are prayed for, even in the midst of terrible suffering.

“They want us to pray for them.  They’ll often follow that up with, ‘And by the way, we’re praying for you because we know that you’re facing challenges too in your culture,” said Peters.

 

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Ian Tuttle of National Review wince at Donald Trump’s strong Tuesday but point out it was expected to be even stronger.  They also shake their heads as the path to someone beating Trump for the nomination doesn’t get any clearer.  And they discuss the decision of Ivy League football coaches to ban tackling in practice to minimize head and neck injuries.

Calling the upheaval in the Republican presidential race the “canary in the coal mine,” Rep. John Fleming says he is the conservative candidate in the Louisiana U.S. Senate race who can bring about real change.

Republicans hold a 54-46 majority in the Senate but are defending 24 of the 34 seats on the ballot this year as a result of big gains six years ago during the tea party wave.  Louisiana’s seat is expected to remain in GOP hands.  It is an open seat, since two-term incumbent David Vitter is not seeking re-election.

In Louisiana, all candidates from all parties will be on the ballot on Nov. 8.  If no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will advance to a run-off.  That seems likely just given the number of Republicans already in the race.  In addition to Fleming, the field includes Rep. Charles Boustany, retired Air Force Col. Rob Maness and State Treasurer John Kennedy.

The 2016 presidential race has proven this is not a typical campaign, and Fleming believes that bodes very well for him.

“I really believe the presidential race in its current state is the canary in the coal mine,” said Fleming, noting that “outsiders” like Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Ben Carson consistently combine for 60 percent of the vote or more.

Fleming says voters in his state are fed up with business as usual too and he promises to change that.

“I want to go to the United States Senate because I want to bring Louisiana conservative values to the United States Senate and, frankly, to Washington,” said Fleming.  “[Louisiana voters] are so frustrated with Washington, so it’s time we made a huge drastic change in the right direction.”

Fleming is completing his fourth term in the House and his incumbent status might seem like a vulnerability this year.  He says it would be if his conservative record wasn’t so strong.  Fleming boasts a life time 97 percent rating from the American Conservative Union.  He scores 88 percent with Heritage Action and 86 percent with Conservative Review.

Beyond that, he says he’s strong on the core issues Louisiana voters care about most.

“People tell me they want somebody who understands the economy, who’s made a payroll, who’s signed the front of a check.  I’m the only candidate in this race that has done that,” said Fleming, noting that he still employs over 500 people.

He also points to a consistent pro-life voting record and what he calls a “perennial A rating from the NRA.”

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Fleming says he is also ready to tackle all national security challenges.

“I’m a strong defender of the nation.  I believe in secure voters and a strong national defense.  There’s many examples of where I’ve stood up for that,” said Fleming.

But does that consistent voting record equal bold leadership at a tumultuous time in American history.  Col. Maness told us recently that it doesn’t.

“They’re not leaders,” Maness said of Fleming and his other GOP rivals.  “They’re not proven leaders that are going to go up and lead.”

Fleming strongly rejects allegations that he’s not driving change in Washington.

“I’m the only proven change agent, the only one who’s really proven to have leadership as an outsider against what’s happening in Washington today,” said Fleming.

He says he’s never been a go along to get along guy in Congress.

“Look I’m an outsider.  (Former House Speaker) John Boehner put me on his black list in the House of Representatives.  He tried to stop me from raising money to support my campaign.  And why?  Because I didn’t go along with his go along to get along ideas in Washington.  As a result of that, I co-founded the House Freedom Caucus,” said Fleming.

He says the House Freedom Caucus initially succeeded in stopping some bad legislation but it soon became obvious that more had to be done.

“Eventually, we forced Speaker Boehner to leave office in mid-term, the first time that’s ever happened without death, health problems or scandal.  We even blocked the second-in-command (House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy) from taking over,” said Fleming.

Fleming says this wasn’t a rash decision but one that Republican leadership forced upon conservatives.

“We tried to move leadership in the right direction.  When my colleagues and I could not get them to move in the right direction and stand up against the Obama agenda: repeal Obamacare, defund Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood, defund the Syrian refugee influx.  We just had to make a change,” said Fleming.

“No one in this race and, in fact, very few people in history have brought about the leadership for change in Washington than I have and I want to continue that in the United States Senate,” said Fleming.

If elected, Fleming already has plans to make sure Senate Republican leaders hear conservatives loudly and clearly.

“We need to create a House Freedom Caucus in the United States Senate as well.  Two of my Freedom Caucus colleagues are also running for the Senate.  The three of us will join together with the likes of Mike Lee and others and we’ll be a force for change in the Senate,” said Fleming.

“The Senate needs to do its work.  We’ve sent a number of bills from the House, which have been ignored by the Senate,” he added.  “We will change that.  We will change that once and for all.”

 

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review reveal who they voted for today and describe the atmosphere at their polling places.  Then they like a new video from Adam Carolla telling people not to vote for anyone who promises to fight for you on issues people deal with themselves.  They also shake their heads at the fact that the only way for candidates to get air time anymore is to lob crude insults at their opponents.  And they react to Donald Trump telling Sean Hannity that every immigration plan – except the wall – is negotiable.

Longtime conservative activist Richard Viguerie says the window of opportunity is closing fast to stop a narcissist from winning the Republican nomination and he has says only determined conservatives or Donald Trump himself can stop it from happening.

Viguerie has been a movement conservative for well over 50 years.  He pioneered the use of direct mail in political campaigning.  He is now chairman of Conservative HQ and is author most recently of “Takeover: The 100-Year War for the Soul of the GOP and How Conservatives Can Finally Win It.”

As voters in more than a dozen states prepare to vote on Super Tuesday, says the non-Trump candidates are losing a game of catch-up because they let refuse to define Trump much earlier.

“They did not define Trump until the last few weeks.  The law of the jungle is to eat or be eaten.  The law of politics is define or be defined.  Republicans and conservatives failed, quite frankly, failed to do a proper job of defining Donald Trump,” said Viguerie.

In last week’s debate, both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz went after Trump and that has spilled over onto the campaign trail.  Rubio is getting more attention as he uses some of Trump’s own tactics against him while Cruz has stuck largely to policy differences.  Viguerie says jokes about Trump’s tan and other characteristics is not the kind of defining that needs to be done.

“That’s irrelevant.  What does that have to do with anything.  We’re talking about electing a man (Trump) who has potentially may have serious psychological problems.  I think he’s a serious narcissist.  That should be frightening to America to put a narcissistic person in charge of our nuclear arsenal,” said Viguerie.

“I’m just very concerned about his mental stability and his moral background or lack thereof, which he brags about.  He has no grounds that drive him morally,” said Viguerie.

But while Viguerie believes Trump is definitely the wrong choice for president, he says the voter passion that is driving Trump’s success is intense and legitimate.

“They are white hot with anger at our leaders in this country, particularly Washington Republican leaders.  The Republican primary voters are just furious,” he said.  “They’re angry at the lies, the betrayal of the Republican leaders.  They’re the ones that created Donald Trump.  They can’t do anything about it now.  Only the conservatives [can].”

In addition to labeling Trump a narcissist, Viguerie also calls the front-runner a “pro-business liberal Democrat” and encourages conservative candidates and activists to do the same.

Viguerie says of the three best-performing GOP candidates, Trump is obviously in the best position to win, followed by Cruz.  Viguerie says Rubio is longest shot of the three.

“Trump’s base is his dollars, his billfold of $10 billion.  Rubio is the establishment candidate and he didn’t have that base until recently.  He’s been going up in the polls because the Washington establishment Republicans are moving his direction and Cruz’s base, of course, is the conservative movement,” said Viguerie.

“That’s what makes Cruz such a formidable opponent for Trump because conservatives make up the vast majority of primary voters,” said Viguerie.

Viguerie not only admits Trump is a heavy favorite right now but that the options moving forward look bleak for grassroots conservatives.  He says even if Republicans can somehow stop Trump at a brokered convention, Trump’s supporters would be so disillusioned that Democrats would have a big edge heading into the fall.

But not as big of an advantage, he says, if Trump is the nominee.  He says the recent David Duke flap is an example of controversies that would doom Trump in the general election.

And that’s not all.

“When the Democrat machine spends a billion dollars on defining him if he were to be the nominee, he would be hard-pressed to get 40 percent of the vote in November.  There’s no way Donald Trump can be elected after the Democrats get through defining him,” said Viguerie.

Greg Corombos of Radio America and Jim Geraghty of National Review take a mental health holiday from the latest evidence Donald Trump is thoroughly unqualified to be president to offer three pieces of good news.  They welcome the end of Melissa Harris-Perry at MSNBC and remember some of her most insane statements.  They also enjoy watching Rep. Tulsi Gabbard resign as co-chair of the DNC to back Bernie Sanders and slam Hillary Clinton.  And they react to Trump using Chris Christie’s support for about a day before telling him to go home.