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Author: Mary Chastain

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Mary Chastain

Mary is the resident libertarian. She covers stories in every vertical, but her favorite thing to do is take on the media. She saw its bias against the right when she was a socialist.

Mary loves the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Blackhawks, tennis, cats, Oxford comma, Diet Coke, and needlework.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 26, 2017 16 Comments
Last week, The Hill reported that an FBI undercover agent in Russia accused President Barack Obama's DOJ of blocking him from speaking to Congress “about conversations and transactions he witnessed related to the Russian nuclear industry’s efforts to win favor with Bill and Hillary Clinton and influence Obama administration decisions.” His lawyer Victoria Toensing, who served as a Reagan DOJ official and chief counsel of the Senate Intelligence Committee, explained she was trying to free her client of the confidentiality agreement. It worked. The DOJ and FBI freed the informant from his confidentiality agreement, which means he may now speak to Congress about what he witnessed.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 25, 2017 19 Comments
On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that the Democrats and failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton funded the now-debunked Trump Dossier that has allegations of collusion between now-President Donald Trump and Russia. Today, the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that claims Hillary's campaign and the DNC violated campaign finance law over payments for the Trump Dossier.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 25, 2017 36 Comments
The mysteries continue to pile up when it comes to Stephen Paddock, the man who slaughtered over 50 people in Las Vegas earlier this month. Authorities still have no motive and it seems that everything new that pops up brings more questions. ABC News has reported that Paddock's laptop does not have its hard drive, meaning the authorities don't have access to a possible direction to a motive. Also, authorities in Los Angeles arrested his brother Bruce on child porn charges.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 25, 2017 21 Comments
I've been keeping an eye on tax reform and ideas to make changes to 401(k) retirement funds have caught my eye. At first, tax writers wanted to tax your earnings before you place money in the fund. Then over the weekend they floated the idea of changing the pre-tax limit to $2,400 instead of $18,000. Of course this has caused an uproar, which led President Donald Trump to tweet out on Monday that tax reform will not include changes to your 401(k). House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) has said not so fast and the option remains on the table.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 25, 2017 22 Comments
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, claims that he has a "smoking gun" email that proves the Department of Justice under President Barack Obama directed funds from settlements away from conservative groups. From Fox News:
“It is not every day in congressional investigations that we find a smoking gun,” Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Tuesday. “Here, we have it.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 24, 2017 5 Comments
In August, Iowa officials submitted a request to make changes to its Obamacare market as it faced doom due to high premiums and insurance companies dropping out. Officials wanted to make changes that would "provide consumers with age- and income-based tax credits as well as using a reinsurance mechanism for insurers for costly medical claims. Now Governor Kim Reynolds (R) and Iowa Insurance Division Commissioner Doug Ommen have announced that the state withdrew its request since it "cannot be approved under terms that would be workable for Iowa."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 24, 2017 6 Comments
Musician Kid Rock confirmed on Howard Stern's show that he is not running for the senate. The whole idea was a publicity stunt for his new album, but doesn't really regret it. From Detroit Free Press:
"F--- no, I’m not running for Senate. Are you kidding me?" Rock said on Howard Stern's SiriusXM show. "Who couldn’t figure that out? I’m releasing a new album. I’m going on tour too. Are you f---ing sh--ing me?"

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 24, 2017 84 Comments
Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake has decided not to run for re-election in 2018. He told The Arizona Republic he doesn't think there is a place for him in the Senate:
He told The Arizona Republic ahead of his announcement that he has become convinced "there may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 24, 2017 16 Comments
House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) have announced an investigation into the handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal by the FBI and Department of Justice. The two committees will also investigate why the FBI didn't announce its investigation into then-GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign associates. From The Washington Examiner:
The probe will be conducted by two congressional panels responsible for overseeing the Justice Department and government operations in general. The investigators will review then-FBI Director James Comey's various decisions pertaining to the Clinton investigation, such as his unusual announcement that she should not face indictment.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 23, 2017 9 Comments
Judicial Watch announced today that the State Department told a federal court that officials still need to process 40,000 out of 72,000 emails that belonged to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The watchdog organization filed a lawsuit to receive her emails in May 2015. The department has only processed 32,000 and released a small amount of those.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 23, 2017 21 Comments
People. Grow up. Due to the enormous amount of death threats thrown at EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the government has amped up his security. Congress has asked if this is a waste of money, but it seems a legit concern. From CNN:
The EPA's inspector general's office, which investigates threats, says Pruitt has received more death threats than any of his predecessors. The office has launched more than 70 investigations into threats against Pruitt and others, the agency said.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 23, 2017 15 Comments
Be careful for what you wish for because it may go your way, but it may also come back to bite you. The left has pressured for an investigation to find collusion between President Donald Trump and Russia, but now that investigation has brought in one of their own. Mueller's investigation now includes the Podesta Group, headed by Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta...the brother of John Podesta, failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman. The inclusion came after Mueller looked into former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's finances.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 23, 2017 14 Comments
The Hill has reported that FBI records from 2009 and 2010 show that people within the Kremlin attempted a campaign to move spies close to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President Bill Clinton, and those close to them. This happened when Rosatom, a Russian nuclear company, wanted to purchase the Canadian company Uranium One, "which controlled 20 percent of America's strategic uranium reserves."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 22, 2017 27 Comments
Last month, I blogged how Congress floated around making changes to 401(k) retirement plans in order to make up for lost "revenue" due to tax cuts. That change was taxing the earnings before a person places money into the fund. Another idea has come up and it's even worse. Now they are thinking about changing the pre-tax limit to $2,400 instead of $18,000. That's an 87% change and could force people to put even less into their retirement. It also adds fuel to Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) opposition to the Senate budget bill that passed, which allows a clearer path to tax reform, but didn't cut spending enough. Common sense tells us that he is correct.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 20, 2017 12 Comments
The Senate passed a 2018 budget on Thursday night, 51-49, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) being the only Republican who voted no. The biggest part of the budget, though, is that it provides a shortcut to tax reform using reconciliation instructions to protects a tax bill that adds up to $1.5 trillion to the deficit from a filibuster. The GOP Congress has failed to repeal Obamacare and they view tax reform as one way to save their butts. President Donald Trump has said he wants to sign something by the end of the year.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 20, 2017 22 Comments
Once a rising star at Fox News, Megyn Kelly transferred over to NBC and hosts Megyn Kelly Today, which airs in the third hour of the Today show. However, it has placed her out of her element and the ratings continue to fall. Popular host Hoda Kotb appeared on the show on Thursday, when an impromptu dance party happened. It is one of the most awkward 22 seconds you will ever see.

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 20, 2017 23 Comments
The hits keep coming against the Clintons as more information is revealed what happened during the controversial uranium deal with Russia while Hillary served as secretary of state. You know, the country that failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary claims she kept trying to warn us about. The Hill's latest report states that President Bill Clinton met with then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in 2010 after he sought permission to meet with a board director at Rosatom, Russia's nuclear energy firm, that wanted to receive "a majority stake in Canadian company Uranium One."

Posted by Mary Chastain on October 19, 2017 19 Comments
The Democrat National Committee (DNC) continues on its downward spiral as many longtime officials have lost their jobs on top committees. However, it doesn't appear it will help things since reports suggest that the progressives within the party view it as "retaliation" since they opposed DNC Chairman Tom Perez.
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