Brain Trust - Rachel Sheffield

Rachel Sheffield is a Research Assistant for the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, with a focus on welfare, marriage and family, and education. She joined the Brain Trust to discuss marriage in America. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

How unhealthy is the marriage situation in the U.S.?

We just got a research study saying that the percentage of married adults has fallen to a record low.

Only half of Americans are married. This has significant impact, for individuals and for the nation as a whole.

What effect does this have on poverty?

With this declining marriage, and also the unwed birth rates, it has a huge effect on poverty. 

A child in a single-parent family is much more likely to be poor than a child in a two-parent family.

Marriage is the biggest antidote to poverty. I don't think people realize how big of an impact this has on children's lives.

What about crime?

Children who are raised in impact families are much less likely to get into crime. They are more likely to have better psychological, emotional, even physical health.

How does marriage affect poverty?

We see the major breakdown of relationships in low-income communities. We need to start by telling these young men and women about the importance of marriage.

Think about how much we stress the importance of not dropping out of high school, and where we would be today if we didn't. We should tell them the same thing about marriage.

We have to begin by spreading that message of the importance of marriage.

Who should be spreading that message?

I think it needs to be done at every level, but certainly down at the churches, the schools.

They need to tell this message to their youth and children. The president can certainly explain why marriage is important. It's a message that everyone needs to share.

Is this toothpaste out of the tube? Can it be reversed?

I think we definitely have a long road ahead of us. But we have to start somewhere, or the problem is certainly going to become a lot worse.

Brain Trust - Kevin McCullough

Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of The Kevin McCullough Show & Baldwin/McCullough Radio, and a blogger at Townhall. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss . Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Do you have predictions for Iowa?

I don't know if anyone's paying attention, but Ron Paul has now taken the lead in six different polls. 

I think there's some real trouble to the Republican establishment there.

If Ron Paul ends up winning Iowa, it could really throw the race into a tailspin.

There's so many people that I have talked to in the primary states that say his foreign policy stance is so off-the-wall that he'll never chance. But Romney can't seem to get more than 22%.

If we don't see a leader come forward, Ron Paul might actually be the guy who is looked to as the non-Romney.

What's your take on Virginia's ballot?

Rick Perry's group is saying that Virginia changed the rules on them and didn't notify them. But in reality, you cannot expect to run a successful campaign if you don't pay attention to things like this.

Gingrich especially should know how important this is at the federal level.

What I want to know is that if someone who is not Mitt Romney wins Iowa and South Carolina, is Virginia really going to ban them?

Is there any possibility that someone like Bobby Jindal or Chris Christie could jump in?

I don't know if that's as much of a possibility, because you'd have to drum up an entire campaign staff and crew.

What I'm wondering is if we will see something like a brokered convention if this continues to splinter and be the fractured process that we've seen thus far

I think we've had too many debates. Romney has his core support, but no one else has anything sewn up.

And if, say, Bachmann wins Iowa, Paul wins South Carolina, and someone else wins Florida, and we get to the end and no one has secured the nomination, we might see something like a brokered convention.

Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. He joined the Brain Trust segment of the show to talk about Ron Paul. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Tell us about your recent article on Ron Paul.

It's in the Washington Times. The article is titled "Ron Paul's Presidential Dance: Cute, But Unstable."

Basically, I'm pointing out and hopefully alerting conservatives and Christian evangelicals that Ron Paul is a likable guy, but no conservative.

Ronald Reagan had his "three-legged stool" of conservatives: strong national defense, strong social values, and strong economic values.

Ron Paul is strong on economic values, I will give him that. But he is a social liberal, and he's a pacifist; essentially, an isolationist.

Is his economic policy the reason he's leading in Iowa?

I will give him that. On the economic issues, he makes a lot of sense. He is resonating with people because of the dire straits we find ourselves in economically.

But he goes completely off the rails when he talks about radical Islam, especially in Iran. Where you stand on economics kind of becomes a moot point.

What about the allegations that he's a racist?

That will sink him, I think. He has an active, devoted base of supporters. He may win the Iowa caucuses, but strange things happen in Iowa.

I think the GOP establishment is freaking out, thinking that if Ron Paul wins, their credibility is sunk.

This presidential race has been, if nothing else, all over the board. This week and next week may be Ron Paul's 15 minutes. But when the dust settles, I think clearer heads will prevail.

But hey, it's getting exciting. It's fun to watch, no doubt about it.

Brain Trust - Pat Fagan

Patrick F. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute with the Family Research Council.

He joined The Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust segment to discuss FRC's "Index of Belonging". Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

What is this "Index of Belonging" all about?

When children grow up, they need to belong to their family. And when they do, they thrive.

The biggest rejection in the family happens between mom and dad, when they split, or when they have a baby and don't get married.

What proportion of our kids have grown up in a family where everyone belongs? The good news is that almost 45% of our kids grow up in a family like that.

The bad news is that 55% grew up in a family where mom and dad rejected one another.

What is the difference in the social health of the family between now and 1950?

This is a guesstimate, but I would say that in 1950 about 88% of our kids reached 17 with mom and dad belonging.

The depression-era parents raised their kids well. The baby boomers and their kids are much, much different. 

Is there a difference as far as ethnicity goes?

Actually, the black family is in real bad shape. Only in in 16.7 black children reach age 17 with mom and dad belonging. 88% do not.

What can we do about it?

Three things: restore chastity among teenagers. It's a Christian way of relating to the opposite sex.

The second thing is to restore marriage. They go hand in hand.

The third thing is to attend weekly worship of God, and prayer.

Brain Trust - Hunter Baker

Hunter Baker is an Associate Dean at Union University, and a blogger at First Things. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show for the Brain Trust segment. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Who is your Person of the Year?

One name came to mind immediately, and that would be Paul Ryan. He stands almost alone among our elected officials in trying to find an answer to our fiscal problem.

Why all the backlash against Newt Gingrich?

Yeah, this is quite a striking development. I'm especially taken aback by National Review's move. They are basically saying there are only three acceptable people: Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, and Rick Santorum.

I don't know if listeners know this, but National Review declined to endorse Dwight Eisenhower, saying he wasn't conservative enough. And now they are pretty close to endorsing Mitt Romney.

The backlash against Gingrich is very interesting to me. I think there are a lot of people who are Washington insiders and Conservative insiders who are saying that this is a very bad idea. Obviously they have very bad memories of 1994.

What could be the repercussions of National Review's denial of Gingrich?

This was a very risky move for them. If Gingrich goes on to win the nomination, which really could happen, what is National Review going to do?

How are they going to recant their firm denial of Gingrich? And have they given free advertising to the other side with this?

Obama apparently thinks he has had an "accomplished presidency."

I was astounded by that. That quote about healthcare, that no one is going to go bankrupt because of healthcare, I was thinking that while no individual may go bankrupt, the entire nation might.

I don't see that he has made any tough choices. I really don't see that he has made up any solutions to problems. He simply delegated decisions to Congress.

Our economy seems like it's locked in ultra-slow growth mode, so slow that you can barely see it happening.

How would you rank Obama in the lineup of our presidents?

I think that he would like to be in the line of FDR and Johnson. The presidency that he had is not the one he wanted.

He wanted to be the third person in the trinity of the welfare state, starting with Roosevelt and going on to Johnson.

We may turn around and say that it's a blessing that these have not been great economic times, because who knows what he might have done if we had had money.

Brain Trust - Warren Smith

Warren Smith, Associate Editor of World Magazine, joined the Brain Trust to discuss the presidential race. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

In the recent GOP debates, Gingrich seems to like this format of debating one-on-one.  

There are two things that play in Gingrich's favor here.  First, he is very good in this format.   

Last night they were discussing foreign policy and he came out very well, even though Huntsman is considered an expert on foreign policy.   

Secondly, he wants to eventually debate Obama one-on-one. He also knows if it comes down to him and Romney for the GOP they will be paired together in this style of debate.  

Why are these other front runners afraid of him?

I just think they realize that he is very good in this format.  He comes across very well.   

In this format he had the chance to give more extended answers.  In a larger debate setting you tend to get media sound-bytes when you have 6 or 7 candidates.

It appears Romney is nervous about this surge by Gingrich.

I think you're right.  Gingrich is finally polling at 30%, which has proven to be a difficult number for any of the candidates to sustain thus far in the campaign.   

In Iowa it will be less about who wins, but rather who loses in that primary.  I think after Iowa and New Hampshire, we will see a couple of candidates get out of the race.   

Once we see the support of those candidates re-shuffle we will see what it looks like. This has been the fall-out of the Herman Cain situation; we have seen a lot of Cain's support go over to Gingrich

What do you make of this speech Obama recently made in Kansas?

Some have said it was the start of his reelection campaign.  In reality he is merely trying to shift the focus off of his failed presidency. 

He will attempt to make this a race about two competing visions for America.

Brain Trust - Patrick Knudsen

Patrick Louis Knudsen is the senior budget expert at the Heritage Foundation. He joined the Brain Trust to discuss Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget reform proposals. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Is Paul Ryan's work too radical or not radical enough?

In my own view, I wouldn't call any of his work radical either way. I do think he's on the right side of the conservative slate.

He's working on getting spending under control to change the relationship between individuals and the government.

How do you write something like this without going too far?

That's the political scale that's almost instinctive, I think. Chairman Ryan has always had a very good grasp of the issues he explored, and that gives him confidence when he's talking about it.

There are few politicians with that that instinct, but I think he is one of them.

 Is there any value in doing something like this when it won't pass?

The answer is yes, and he knows it. Here's why. Everyone can see that over the past couple years, the Congress budget system has completely broken down.

Chairman Ryan understands that most policies do not pass right away.

If you keep advocating the policies, if you keep saying what needs to be said, the people will get it. And if the people get it, the politicians will eventually catch on. 

I think he's making progress.

Does Rep. Ryan care about all the loopholes in the budget?

For instance, there's a loophole called the emergency loophole, so that if there are wildfires or tornadoes as there always are, Congress can spend an unlimited amount of money.

Chairman Ryan cares about all those things. You have to remember, though, that while they're degrading to the budget process, they're still relatively small issues.

Talk to us about changing the retirement age.

When Social Security started and the retirement age was set at 65, most Americans weren't living long past 65.

We're talking about programs that were established 80 years ago. Why not raise the retirement age to a more reasonable level? It wouldn't solve the entire problem, but it would certainly help.

Brain Trust - Gregg Harper

Congressman Gregg Harper (R, MS) came on The Matt Friedeman Show today to discuss the issues currently facing Congress. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

There's a strained relationship between the House and the Senate.

It is a huge divide that is between the House and the Senate, and of course the White House.

We've had probably 25 bills that we've passed out of the House this year that are not even going to be looked at by the Senate.

The Senate is just lethargic or nonexistent, and intentionally putting the brakes on things that would make things go better.

If I didn't know better, I would say that the President and the Democrats sort of want things to shut down so they can shift the blame to the Republicans.

The President said recently that "Reaganism didn't work." Comments?

It is just such a divisive technique that the President has taken. He has been in full campaign mode since the so-called "Jobs Speech" back in September.

It's remarkable to watch him. We just need to get some things done and they obviously do not want to do that.

Is the tax burden going to increase soon?

If the payroll tax deduction doesn't pass, the average family will probably see an increase in taxes of about $1000 a year. That's real money in real pockets.

Is there no law about having to pass a budget?

It's just understood, both the House and the Senate are supposed to pass a budget every year.

Obviously they don't have to, because the year Nancy Pelosi was Speaker, they didn't pass one. I think the numbers were so bad that they were just too embarrassed.

Brain Trust - Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger, a Senior Editor at National Review, joined the Brain Trust today to discuss his to-be-released book on the Nobel Peace Prize, Peace, They Say. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

You call the Nobel Peace Prize the most famous and controversial prize in the world. True?

I imagine the Oscars are as famous, so probably they're tied. In fact, in one year, Al Gore won both.

But I definitely think the Nobel is certainly the most controversial, because of the nature of peace. People disagree about what peace is, and what adds to it and subtracts from it.

What has been the theme of the last few prizes?

I think we've had two very good Nobel Peace Prizes in a row, which has to be some kind of record.

In 2010 they gave it to Chinese dissenter Liu Xiaobo, although he wasn't allowed out to receive the prize. That was last year.

And this year they've given it to three campaigners for women's rights and human rights in general. Two are from Nigeria, and one is from Yemen.

I think this is a good prize. What I remind my readers, and frankly remind myself, is that women's rights are old hat here, but in other countries they are very new hat or even no hat at all.

Of the Nigerian women, one is a woman named Leymah Gbowee. During the second civil war there in Nigeria, she organized a Christian women's peace movement to appeal to the dictator. Later other women of other faiths joined this peace effort.

The other is the woman who became president after the civil war. She's a very canny politician.

If they keep giving out meritorious peace prizes, I'm going to have to change my tune.

Brain Trust - Tricia Raymond

Tricia Raymond is an author, speaker, and expert on the history of the Pledge of Allegiance. She joined the Brain Trust to talk about her book, Saving One Nation Under God. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

How important is the Pledge of Allegiance?

It's hugely important, because it speaks to the fabric of our nation. 

You were talking about Barack Obama, and how there might be some ideas of his that we can agree with. I definitely agreed with him when he said that words are important, that words have meaning. 

Words do have meaning, and the words in the Pledge of Allegiance have great meaning for our country. Not even just the words, but the history of the words.

Tell us about the backdrop of the Pledge.

We have to go back to the late 1800s. America was a country divided, at each others' throats. The election of 1876 was an election decided by one vote. There was an immigration problem. We were in the second dose of the Industrial Revolution.

At that point, the most popular book in America was Looking Backwards, a book predicting that by 2000, America would be a socialist nation.

People were interested in that happening. You had men and women and children working in factories. We had never had anyone become wealthy other than by inheriting it or taking over another territory. The workers and laborers were treated unjustly.

Carl Marx thought that society would be frozen in time, that we would always have the very wealthy and the very poor. There was no vision of the growing middle class.

This book just captured the interest of America, so much so that the American started clubs to figure out how to pursue this dream of socialism.

That book really started the establishment of the socialist movement in America.

How did the Pledge come about?

Enter James Upham with his idea to put the flag in front of schools all over America, and to have a Pledge to go with the flag.

The Pledge was penned by Francis Bellamy, who called himself a "Christian socialist." There was an awful lot going on in America that was very unjust.

As a Baptist minister, he felt like the gospel was more socialist than it was free market. He propagated the idea that Christianity was a socialist idea, that Jesus was a socialist.

1892 was the 400th anniversary of America's discovery. James Upham's idea was to have these townspeople come together under the flag and celebrate in their own way. So in 1892, approximately 12 million schoolchildren recited the Pledge for the first time.

As the deadline approached for the celebration, Upham still didn't have a Pledge. So, as the story goes, he told Francis Bellamy to go into his office and write something.

After a couple of hours, Francis Bellamy came out with the first draft. "I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Every other author likes to point out that there was no mention of God in the original Pledge of Allegiance. But in the program that came out, there was a Scripture Reading or Prayer.

How important has the Pledge proved to be in the last hundred years or so?

It has tied us together as a nation. It goes to the fabric of our nation.

If words are important, and they are, then One Nation Under God is an incredible set of four words that helps this nation stay together.

If we take God out of the Pledge, we're basically saying we don't need God anymore. It's up to us whether we become One Nation Under God again.

You can purchase One Nation Under God here.

Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. He joined the Brain Trust segment of the show to talk about the Republican debate and Occupy Wall Street. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell us about last night's debate.

It's interesting; all the talk today is about Gingrich and his immigration policy. But it seems like the dust from that is dying down and it's down to the final three candidates.

It looks like it's boiling down to Romney, Gingrich, and Cain here in the final stretch. It'll be interesting to see where this thing ends up.

I just don't think the American people are going to be fooled by Mitt Romney, with his finger in the wind.

Will Gingrich take a hit for his immigration stance?

I myself have kind of evolved on this immigration issue. There is a reality of the existing problem; the toothpaste is out of the tube.

Do we just load everyone up on buses and ship them back? Or is there a way that is logistically possible and compassionate?

This is a tough issue, but it probably does hurt him with the conservative movement, especially with all the other candidates jumping on him. The reality is that he is going to take a hit for this.

Does the Occupy movement actually benefit conservatives?

I completely agree with that. I've said that the Occupy Wall Street movement, for conservatives, is the gift that keeps on giving. 

They can't even vocalize a position on any of the issues; it's just anarchy. Let them continue to be anarchists! 

President Obama said that the Occupy Wall Street movement was the reason he was elected. He's exactly right. 

We need to start calling the OWS camps ObamaCamps, because that's what they are.

Brain Trust - Hunter Baker

Hunter Baker is the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Union University, and a blogger at First Things. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show for the Brain Trust segment. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Would you have predicted the Gingrich/Romney match up at the top?

Not in a million years. Gingrich, a few years ago, went on Dr. Dobson's show, made his big mea culpa for the divorces, said he was a "new man".

In 2008, he raised no interest at all. I thought it would be the same this year. And yet here he is.

He has positives as well as negatives, though.

That's definitely true. On the positive side, he was a big part of the GOP getting Congress in 94. Also, some of the best policies we've seen in the last 30 years came when he was Speaker of the House.

The thing that really pulled him down was having an affair during the same time that Clinton was busy being impeached.

Explain the Herman Cain phenomenon.

First of all, this is the most unsettled field I have ever seen.

Basicallly, there's Romney, who has been running for president for about 6 years. He  sounds presidential, he looks presidential, but the Republican party is not satisfied with him.

So they're kind of cycling through the options. Almost everyone has gotten a chance on top.

Is Romney going to end up on top?

He has been very patient, he's done a good job of not getting desperate. I think one of the problems Michelle Bachmann had was that she got increasingly desperate and strident in her attacks on him.

What Romney would have going for him is that the sentiment against President Obama is completely different than it was 4 years ago.

What are your predictions for this race?

I think that Romney is ultimately going to win. There's no one else in the Republican field who is able to knock him off.

It's going to be down to Romney vs. Gingrich, and I think Gingrich's baggage will weigh against him.

But there are always second acts in politics. Gingrich may have a second act, and convince people that he is a new man.

Brain Trust - James Jay Carafano

Dr. James Carafano is the director of Heritage Foundation's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies. He came on The Matt Friedeman Show as the Brain Trust of the day. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell us about the upcoming debate.

I'm pretty jazzed. This is the first presidential debate hosted by think tanks, so the candidates are going to be challenged by difficult questions.

They're going to have to lay out what their role will be as president in foreign policy.

When you have a 90 minute debate on one subject, no candidate can use the excuse that voters don't know their positions.

Everything you want to know about the debate, you can find on the Heritage website.

 What kind of questions are going to be asked?

This is an open-book test. Nobody has an excuse to say they weren't prepared, or they didn't know what would be asked.

These questions are going to be straightforward questions. How are you going to lead this country?

I think if you cherry-pick throughout all the debates, probably most of the questions have come up at some time.

These are questions these guys have heard before. But candidates answer the question they want to answer, not necessarily the question that is asked.

These men and women have ninety minutes to state their positions on how they're going to keep America safe and free.

The day after the debate is the report of the super-committee. What's going to happen there?

I think this is the untold story: regardless of what happens with the super committee, President Obama has already made enough defense cuts that we are going to have a smaller and less prepared military than we had when he went into office.

The savings that they're spending, they're not reinvesting. They're going to have a real readiness problem. 

Brain Trust - Janice Shaw Crouse

Janice Shaw Crouse is a columnist and senior fellow for the Beverly LaHaye Institute. She joined the Brain Trust segment to share her perspective on Mississippi's failed Personhood Amendment. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

What did we learn from the Personhood Initiative?

I think we learned that there are not many good political solutions to problems like this. Our major challenge is to change attitudes, and I think we are winning in that department.

We do have a long way to go. We still have a lot of people who aren't comfortable with the legal realities of abortion. We've got to win the public over more before we can make any legal headway.

The general public doesn't see the numbers. They don't see the problem as big as it is. We've got a big job ahead of us to bring that home and help people see that as it really is.

It's about how you perceive things. We've got to have an understanding in this country that this is a matter of human rights; this is a matter of decency. It's not something people can be blase about.

We have to recognize that the comfort level is there, and work to make people understand the severity of the problem, that it is a life-or-death issue.

Quite frankly, I can't tell you how many people want to keep it there in case their children or grandchildren need it.

We've made it quite easy to be a Christian these days. The standards aren't very high. We've got our work cut out for us to convince people that your beliefs touch your behavior.

In spite of the defeat, I think we are winning this war. We lost that battle, but in the overall war, we are winning.

Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to talk about Initiative 26 and the presidential campaign. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell us about the opposition to Initiative 26.

What our adversaries do is use the worst possible examples. I had a man ask me the other day, "What if a ten year old got raped?"

I was offended by that question. That you would use the rape of a ten year old girl to win a political battle, which is what he was trying to do.

Do you think the initiative will pass?

I do believe it will be successful.

I believe this is a battle of biblical proportions. I believe Christians need to step out and make their voices heard.

I can tell you, this is a battle where God puts you in a position and says, "Will you stand for me?"

Do you have any pressure on you not to touch this issue?

Every day people will tell me to stay out of this, and stick to the job creation problem.

That's the way the Democrats always try to spin this, is that we have "more important" things to worry about.

I cannot imagine what would be more important than stopping the murder of innocent babies.

If this fails to pass, what could a Republican governor do to work against abortion?

That's why we're working so hard to elect Republican governors throughout the nation.

Republican governors can help pass legislation to make abortions more difficult.

I think that being able to speak out with passion about the lives of those children is crucial.

We could kill a child legally in the United States at 7, 8, 9 months, without a trial or the child being able to defend himself.

What are your thoughts on the presidential race?

It is dangerous to be the front-runner, because the media automatically targets that person.

It astounds me that now that we have a African-American front-runner in the Republican race, you don't hear the media talking about how forward-leaning the GOP is.

The media wants to pick the nominee for the Republican party, and that would be the nominee they think Barack Obama can beat.

And at this point, I think that's Mitt Romney.

Brain Trust - Diane Katz

Diane Katz, is a research fellow in regulatory policy at The Heritage Foundation.She joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss Congress's recent move to legislate bank fees. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

Regions has revoked its debit card fee. Why is that such big deal?

Banks are in business, and they're in business to make money for their shareholders. One of their ideas was to invoke a monthly fee on debit cards.  

The problem is that while consumers are upset, they're upset at the wrong people. They're looking at the banks as if they're the bad guys, when in fact it's what Congress did that caused this to occur. 

The banks are saying that because of consumer backlash, they're revoking this policy . We would be so lucky if Congress were that quick to pay attention to us.

What are the effects of this legislation?

Banks cannot stay in business if they're going to give up billions and billions of dollars.

As consumers, we're going to see new restrictions and higher costs.

How do we fight back?

Ultimately, we have to fight back against the root cause, which is the government regulation.

The recession was not caused by debit cards. It's just been an excuse to impose controls on banking.  

That's the real problem.

Brain Trust - Janice Shaw Crouse

Janice Shaw Crouse, columnist and senior fellow for the Beverly LaHaye Institute, joined the Brain Trust segment to share her perspective on marriage and Herman Cain. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

You say you can pinpoint three things that harm marriage. What are they?

Well, there are three major things, and I imagine your listeners have come into contact with one or all of them.

The first is promiscuity, which is so prevalent in our culture, beginning at very young ages.

That cultural trend is very harmful to marriage, because our kids are with so many people before marriage that they don't know how to establish a lasting relationship.

The second is cohabitation. So many of our young people think that little slip of paper doesn't matter.

What they don't understand is that cohabiting relationships don't work very well at all. Cohabitation is also a recipe for divorce.

And then we all know of the threat that same-sex marriage is. A very small portion of our population is trying to dilute the tradition of marriage.

A stable mom and dad, married for life, is the best way for a couple to thrive together and for their kids to become productive citizens.

Are you encouraged or discouraged about the progress of these issues?

I think we're making headway.

The only places that same-sex marriage is legal are where judges have forced it through. All 31 states where this has come up, the people have voted to keep marriage between one man and one woman.

What's your perspective on the allegations against Herman Cain?

I hope it's not true. I suspect it's probably a "high-tech lynching", and I also suspect Herman Cain has not seen the end of these attacks. For some reason, the liberals cannot stand the thought of a black conservative.

This is something in our culture that I find very reprehensible and disgusting. I hope that these allegations are untrue.

Will the liberals who defended Bill Clinton defend Cain?

Oh, heavens, no. In your dreams. That is so laughable. It's so ironic and so disappointing that you can laugh at a question like that, because everybody knows they will not.

Are you encouraged about the Republican prospects?

I think we have some fabulous candidates in the GOP lineup. I find it very encouraging to see the opposition to the liberal agenda.

We do need a change in November, and I think there are some great options out there to choose from.

Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. He joined the Brain Trust segment of the show to discuss several current issues. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Why is Occupy Wall Street perceived more favorably than the Tea Party?

It's because we have a massive mainstream media that has embraced this anarchist vision that the Occupy Wall Street mob seeks to impose by their lawless behavior.

The media is portraying them as freedom fighters, the next civil rights movement. But I don't recall rapes happening at Tea Party events.

It's an increase of left-wing radicalism that's happening around the world.

Is the Tea Party still alive and well?

I think the Tea Partyers are waiting in the wings, biding their time as we approach the next election.

I think they will come out of the woodwork as an organized cogent answer to this Occupy Wall Street mess that we're seeing.

[Occupy Wall Street's philosophy] didn't work in Communist Russia; it didn't work in Nazi Germany; it's not going to work in the United States.

Does the Republican nomination inevitably go to Romney?

I hope not. Speaking as an individual, I have to say look at the mainstream media, and see who their pick is. Who does the Obama Administration want to run against?

It's Romney. I think it's because they recognize that he is that establishment Republican who will keep them in the White House.

I don't think it's inevitable, though.

Does Cain have any staying power?

I've seen a Fox News poll that has Cain several points ahead of Romney.

The game is still very much on. Herman Cain seems to continue to defy all the odds.

Do we give Obama credit for eliminating bin Laden and Gaddafi?

I guess there's some credit due, but I was opposed to his circumventing Congress and illegally go into Libya and get Gaddafi.

Sure, there's a certain element of credit that has to go to him because he happens to occupy the position of commander in chief.

But really, the credit goes to our fighting men and women who are getting the job done.

Brain Trust - Gregg Harper

Congressman Gregg Harper (R, MS) came on the Matt Friedeman Show today to discuss the issues currently facing Congress. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment

Is Congress getting heat from the people to pass the jobs bill?

I can't speak for other congressional districts, I can just tell you in our district, we're not getting pushed in any way.

Most people realize that this is just a shorter version of the stimulus.

Experience lets you realize a mistake the second time around.

How well is the blame game going to work for Obama?

This is purely a political move by the president, introducing a bill that cannot pass so he can pass the blame on.

We had four energy bills we passed that would create jobs that stalled over on the Senate side.

You and I have discussed the difficulty of trying to shrink the size of government.

But claiming that the government creates jobs is some kind of strong fiction.

Is the super committee going to dip into our 401k's?

I cannot imagine that any of the six Republican members would go for that.

But they are looking for any place they can find a pot of money. The 401k is a place where people have poured their savings for years.

If you try to change the rules, what a mess that would be.

What should we be paying attention to in Washington?

Keep your eye on the president's whirlwind tour on the jobs bill.

Also, on the plus side, the three trade bills that passed yesterday are going to be real positive things for the economy.

Brain Trust - Warren Smith

Warren Smith, Associate Editor of World Magazine, joined the Brain Trust to discuss the Republican presidential hopefuls and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Thoughts on tonight's debate?

I am not sure if it really is do-or-die for Perry, he has had a great period of fundraising.  He does have to do well tonight though.  I don't think people are expecting him to suddenly transform into a great debater, but Rick Perry must do better tonight.   

Herman Cain is very interesting, he is great in the debates, he is good for media sound-bytes.  But in the end whoever raises the most money is likely the one who wins this contest. Perry and Romney have shown they have what it takes in this regard.   

I am not sure Herman Cain can raise the kind of money it will take to win the whole thing.  Barack Obama and his friends are going to raise close to a billion dollars to fund his re-election campaign.  I only see two GOP candidates that can compete with that level of money: Romney and Perry

Is Romney's Mormonism a problem for him?

If you look at his last run at the nomination I believe that his Mormonism was a real reason that he didn't make it farther in spite of his tons of money raised and spent.   

I do think that enough of the conservative evangelical voters have enough doubts that it eventually really hurts Romney.  And I might add, that it must be an enthusiastic movement of conservative voters before this issue will really trip of Romney. 

What is the impact of Occupy Wall Street?

I think the backlash is going to become a real positive for the Republicans.  It isn't really the 99% against the 1%, over 47% of Americans didn't even pay income tax last year.   

So when the facts start to come out, due to the excessive media coverage, will shine the light upon the negatives of the underlying philosophy of these folks sitting out there on the streets.  

Live from the Values Voter Summit - Star Parker

Star Parker is the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE). She joined The Matt Friedeman Show live from the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

Is there enough emphasis on poverty?

I think the Values Voter Summit and the people attending are a clear example of what to do

These are just the decent people from communities all over America. 

There is some emphasis on being an example. The emphasis isn't as broad as I would like, but that's why I'm here.

How bad is it for America?

It's not good at all. In my column this week, I'm addressing that issue. 

Family values have eroded in our country. People go very quickly to government.

I myself got caught up in that trap, and spent seven years in and out of welfare. 

How did you get out of that "trap"?

I met some Christian people who confronted my lifestyle, and told me it wasn't pleasing to God.

It got my attention, even though I didn't want to confront myself about what I was doing. 

Then I went to church and heard the gospel, and I accepted it. I started on the journey to have a biblical worldview in my life.

What should Christian ministries be doing?

They need to be fighting with us to remove the government from those peoples' lives. 

What happens is that we have ministers and ministries who have bought into the idea that the redistribution of wealth is Christian.

 We have to get them to understand that the government has no role in this relationship.

How can we fix the fatherlessness problem?

Get the government out of charity works.

We pay people to have children out of wedlock. There is a message of sexual revolution, coupled with the war on poverty. 

We're telling people that they can do whatever they want sexually, and then we'll pay for the consequences.

What happens when you raise children in single-headed households is that the child learns that commitment is not necessary. 

Who is the strongest presidential candidate on these issues?

I think there's a little bit of all of it in one or two of them. 

We are at a crosspoint in our history. We can't go on like this. We are either going to be a moral, free, responsible people, or we're not. 

Live from the Values Voter Summit: Gary Bauer

Gary Bauer, who formerly served in Ronald Reagan's administration, is now the president of American Values. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show live from the Values Voter Summit. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

You're a former presidential candidate. Who's your pick out of the list we've got now?

I keep hearing the major media say that everyone's dissatisfied, but I think we've got a pretty good slate of candidates. 

I think any one of them would do a heck of a lot better job than the guy sitting in the Oval Office right now.

We've got to be careful we don't let the media pick our nominees, or make us think less of the candidates.

How about Herman Cain?

It has been surprising. I think it's evidence of the fact that the frontrunner, Mitt Romney, is a good guy, but he hasn't closed the deal, especially where Values Voters are concerned.

We'll see if the Herman Cain phenomenon has staying power. It's really tough, though, to raise the billion dollars you need to make a go of it.

Is it bothersome that you need that much money to be a possibility?

It is. It's intimidating, it's dismaying, and it's depresssing.

If you're going to have a real campaign staff, you have to have paid people in every state. You have to have media people. You have to have television ads. It's a huge obstacle that every candidate has to deal with.

Do we have any "Reaganesque" candidates?

I get this question a lot, and I understand it, because people do want another Ronald Reagan. But I think he's probably in a category of his own.

All of these candidates have the same opinions Reagan had on almost all of the major issues. I think it's whether they have the same manner.

There was just a feel to the man, that he knew what America was, he was confident in Western Civilization. I'm not sure the candidates in the field now have that same assurance.

If one of these candidates would start presenting himself or herself as the exact opposite of President Obama, in that they believe American has hope, I think they would skyrocket to the top.

How important are these "values" issues?

I believe all these issues are linked together. Having said that, while the election will probably turn just on the economy, it will be in part about the life of the unborn child, and marriage between one man and one woman.

Every city is suffering from fatherlessness. Instead of trying to figure out how to get fathers into these kinds of households, the liberals are pushing marriage between two men or two women.

Brain Trust - Phil Bryant

Mississippi Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant came on The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss the economy and the Mississippi voter initiatives. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

What is the mood of voters right now?

It differs. Of course, jobs are the number one concern. As I talk to people, I see tears in their eyes as they say, "I'm about to lose my job."

This economy is on everyone's mind.

How difficult is it to work with this economy?

We've done a remarkable job in the last ten years. We've brought up the average income for a family by 30%. That makes a huge difference.

The Obama administration appears to be deliberately trying to collapse the free-market system. It's hard to explain ObamaCare any other way.

Mississippi is doing better than most states. We're rated 9th in the nation for manufacturing. We're number one in investing in oil and gas.

Realistically, Mississippi is doing better than a lot of other states. But even with all of that, it suppresses people's willingness to get out and vote.

They feel like the government isn't listening to them.

Tell us about the initiatives on the Mississippi ballot.

Of course, there is the pro-life initiative, the Personhood Amendment. We have got to speak up for the unborn. You're going to hear a lot of arguments from the pro-abortion crowd and Planned Parenthood.

Then there's a property rights issue, eminent domain, whether the government can take your land away and give it to someone else simply because they can pay more taxes.

Then there's a voter ID initiative, that says simply when I go into the voter box to cast my vote, I have to show my identification. That will add security to our vote.

It's critical to pass all three of these.

"When we pose the question, 'How much is enough?' we never really get a good answer. "

Lindsey Burke is a Senior Policy Analyst in Domestic Policy Studies with the the Heritage Foundation. She joined the Brain Trust to discuss the ongoing impact of No Child Left Behind. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her segment.

How successful has No Child Left Behind been?

Unfortunately, not very successful at all. It's been around in various iterations over the years, but in the past 45 years, we have not seen very much improvement at all.

It's very disappointing, because we've spent more and more money on it.

We aren't getting much bang for our buck.

You're absolutely right. When we pose the question, "How much is enough?" we never really get a good answer. 

Graduation rate is still the same as it was in the 70s. Even in affluent school across the country, performance is still mediocre compared to other countries.

Where does all the money go?

Only about 60 cents to the dollar actually makes it to the classroom. 

I think the best things we could do is ask how we could get that money into the hands of parents. We need to allow money to be used in school choice, and the children to be able to access those options. 

We're seeing school choice take hold across the country. It's the most effective reform that we could make.

Is school choice a possibility?

I think it is. I do think that 20 years from now, the school choice landscape will look entirely different than it does now. I hope that every state will have robust school choice options.

What role does online learning play?

We have a great study that came out from the Department . of Education. It found that children who take courses online coupled with classroom experience actually performed better than children in a traditional public or private school.

Brain Trust - Connie Mackey

Connie Mackey is the President of the Family Research Council Action's Political Action Committee. She joined The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss the FRC's upcoming Voter Values Summit. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of her segment.


How are things shaping up for your Voters Values Summit later this week?

We have seen an very large number of registrations for this years event. Many conservative candidates and high-profile speakers are going to be there in an attempt to get their message out as well.  

With all of the focus on our economic problems, do people still see these "values" driven issues as being as important?

Our organization certainly thinks so, we have been trying to push the idea that the social issues that provide the underpinnings of a society are more crucial to a civilization than its economic policies.   

If you have solid values and solid families the economic situation can't help but improve.  Intact families are really the answer to so many of the economic issues we are facing.

Why is that we can't get these issues out there?

I firmly believe that Personnel is Policy.  In voting for Barack Obama this nation got exactly what it wanted.  At our organization we really vet people before we will endorse anyone.   

We are concerned with people who have acted on what they have said.  We want people that have lived out their beliefs.

What are the issues at this Values Voters event?

Protection of life in all its forms.  Protection of traditional marriage.  There has been extensive research on the impact of intact families on our society done by our organization. 

We are going to be emphasizing the necessity of smaller government; promoting life and religious liberty.  Our event's goal is to continually remind people of these issues.

How consequential is this next election cycle?

Barack Obama certainly believes that it is a crucial and defining election cycle. 

The liberals have their "values" and this cycle is very crucial to determining what model our country is going to follow -  more of a socialist, European model or the model that our country's founding fathers envisioned, with economic freedom and limited government at its core.

Brain Trust - Matt Barber

Matt Barber is Director of Cultural Affairs with Liberty Counsel and also serves as Associate Dean with Liberty University School of Law. On today's Brain Trust segment, Barber talked about the current political scope. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

How about Herman Cain?

He's really looking strong. We know that there's a bunch of malarkey trying to paint conservatives and Tea Partiers as racists. There's a long way to go, but he's really going strong. If he starts looking like he'll go all the way, expect the media to pull out the long knives.

He would take probably a third of the African-American vote away from Obama. And if that happens, it's done. President Obama is president no more. Then we'll see who the real racists are. The only people who can't tear themselves away from the race issue are the leftists.

What will people start saying about Herman Cain?

"He's just an Uncle Tom, he's working for the man, he doesn't really represent his people." Which is all racist.

They cannot accept the black Americans who pick themselves up by their bootstraps and make themselves successful.

Is Obama going to retain the African-American vote?

We saw with Rep. Waters, she was really frustrated. He's condescending. His whole voice changes when he's addressing that kind of crowd. Why can't he just speak like he always does?

It's condescending, it's patronizing. I think they're starting to wake up to this.

Are Americans going to fall for the jobs bill ploy?

I don't think so. I think they see it for what it is. It's a straw man theory. "Those obstructionist Republicans."

It's a cynical political ploy. He knows his bill can't pass, he knows it won't work, but this way he has someone else to blame.

What about the education budget?

I don't understand it. When are people going to realize that throwing billions of dollars at this problem isn't going to work?

This is not about education, it's about power. We've seen that this centralized education plan hasn't worked. This experiment in socialized education has been a failure.

Your prediction for the election?

I think Herman Cain is gong to continue to gain some momentum.

It's definitely too early to say who's going to win. These polls are a flash shot at the moment of what's going on right now.

Brain Trust - Janice Shaw Crouse

Janice Shaw Crouse, columnist and senior fellow for the Beverly LaHaye Institute, joined the Brain Trust segment to share her perspective on recent cultural and political issues. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of her interview.

A new study says that evangelical youth are having sex almost as much as non-Christians. Has the Church done something wrong?

I think it's very obvious that we have. This goes hand in hand with the fact that we're losing our young people when they go to college.

It's absolutely appalling how difficult it is in college for Christian young people to do anything socially. Oftentimes the Christian groups are very shy; the meetings are not announced; it's just a small group of people who meet in the background. The prospects of a social life without sex are very dismal.

How do you hand your values down to your kids?

I think primarily parents do try to pass their values along to their kids. But what they don't understand is the overwhelming peer pressure, and the loneliness when you have to leave a party because you don't approve of the conduct there. Even in the classroom, they're getting professors who are making fun of their beliefs.

Young people face an uphill battle, and they've got to have support from their family. Many young people have gotten into situations that they are ill-prepared to handle.

What's your opinion on the presidential candidates?

Don't we have a really good slate of candidates? Everyone of them is pro-life, and against same-sex marriage. They all take the same stand publicly. That's a very unusual thing. I think we've got a number of great people on the GOP field.

It's going to be very interesting, because the race is really going to tighten up.

Brain Trust - Ken Klukowski

Ken Klukowski serves as the Director of the Center for Religious Liberty for the Family Research Council. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview as today's Brain Trust.

Is it a bad thing to have a Bible study in your house? Is that illegal now?

It isn't supposed to be, but in a California town we have an issue with an ordinance that is targeting religious and non-profit organizations that are attempting to met in residential areas.  

Can they do that?

They aren't supposed to be able to do this.  In theory some ordinances might, legitimately, impact some religious groups, but this case the law is not being applied properly

Did this come about by someone complaining?

We really aren't sure in this CA case.  The records of the case are obscure.  Someone contacted the authorities, but we aren't sure as to the nature of that complaint or contact.

With the increased interest in home churches, what does this type of conflict/issue look like?

While I am not sure of the actual police procedure for this CA town, I do realize that throughout the history of the Christian church small groups meeting in individual homes has been crucial.  

Furthermore, our nation's constitution is there to protect this free assemblage of people.

How is this legal drama playing out?

It has been taken to court, but not yet to the district level. This is, however, a violation of the constitutional "free-exercise" clause.  So it has significance on a federal level.  

This particular ordinance targets the assembly of religious groups in residential zones.

Even if this ordinance didn't target religious groups, the limitations of people to meet freely would appear to be infringement upon the individual's rights.

The MFShow Audience Quotes

Wanda from MS - God doesn't make mistakes when people are born. People just have problems with their identity sometimes.

Chris from KY - I want to address the debate issue. I think we get caught up with how the candidates look. In the Bible, David was chosen not because of appearance, but because of substance. I think we're missing the substance of the candidates.

David from TX - It's amazing to me how many people in the church would rather go with their sentiments than what the Scriptures say. About the sanctity of life, and about divorce. Where's the passion in the Church for the scriptures?

Tammy from FL - The only thing I have against Mitt Romney is what he doesn't believe in.

Ben from NC - Many times people don't realize that God has established the government to carry our His wrath. God uses them to execute the wrath that he desires.

Jimmy from TX - I believe Rick Perry does believe in Christ. But I don't understand why he continues to engage with criminals, and educate their children at our expense.

Robert from AR - [Rick Perry] needs to start talking about what he's going to do for the United States.

Ricky from AL - [The Mormon] faith is unbelievable. I don't think any Christian in his right mind would vote for Mitt Romney.

Scott from OH - I called to caution the Christian audience that it's not so much about what [a particular candidate] looks like or how he sounds....we don't need a great orator, we need a godly president.

Sherry from IL - It occured to me what our standard is. When Barack Obama was elected...I feel like he was elected for his image. We need to know the issues and be informed.

The MFShow Audience Quotes

BJ from NV - I think [Barack Obama] knows exactly what he's doing, and he's proud of his work. I think he's doing it intentionally.

Robert from IN -  In the Bible it talks about Israel misusing its resources to become friendly with other nations. I think we could take that as an example of what we should be careful of in America.

Jim from IN - If Obama's confused, and [Bill] Clinton's confused, what are we supposed to be?

Matt from OH - For a long time, most people based their political choices on a set of priorities. As a Christian, my #1 priority is pro-life. As a Christian, my position is to emulate Christ.
Jack from OH -

Brain Trust - Patrick Fagan

Patrick F. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute with the Family Research Council. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show's Brain Trust segment to discuss the impact of the breakdown of the family. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

We've seen the national SAT scores falling. Talk to us about that.

Well, it's a gradual decline. Yes, they're continuing to fall.

We can see that the human capital is falling as well.

It's all related to the family breakdown.

When kids are raised in a family other than their mother and father, the majority of them are weaker adults.

Some would say that it's not nice, lacking compassion, and even bigoted to say that.

Anyone who denies reality is not being very nice, is being bigoted, and lacks compassion.

The work I've been doing seems to some people to be inflammatory.

But it's very dull, basic work. I'm gathering data and showing people what's out there.

By now, the breakdown of the family has been ignored so long that it's having long-term effects.

You can see it in the decline of the SAT scores and the human capital.

Public schools get a lot of blame; is it their fault?

God bless the public school teachers. They're doing very tough work.

They have to play the hand that's dealt them.

What can the teachers do to help?

There's two things we have to look at: long-term and near-term.

Long-term, what teachers have to start pushing for is parents taking responsibility for their children.

Pull that off, and the kids are going to thrive.

Near-term, they do the best they can.

Brain Trust - Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry has served as the Editor of National Review since 1997. He is a syndicated columnist and a commentator for the Fox News channel. He joined the Brain Trust segment of the program to discuss the current political scene. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Presidential sweepstakes: Is Rick Perry in the driver's seat, or is he vulnerable?

Somewhere in between.

He's a much more natural nominee than Mitt Romney.

Although I haven't been as hard on him as other people have about his debate performances, he definitely had a few stumbling points in the second debate.

It looks like a two-man race to me.

The president is proposing 1.5 trillion in new taxes, and a special tax for millionaires. Is he serious?

He's trying to bait the Republicans mostly. These kinds of ideas have been bouncing around for a long time.

They aren't going anywhere. They're just campaign talking points.

Ultimately, if you want to get a lot of revenue, you have to reach down into the middle class. And that is exactly what they want to avoid as a political strategy.

What's the best response from the Republicans?

It's not something you want to do in this economy.

Also, it's kind of gimmicky, and it doesn't address the fundamental problem, which is that we need tax reform.

[Obama] has created a disaster for the short-term.

Where are we with the Solyndra debacle?

It's been such a huge selling point for the administration.

And it's a heck of a lot of money at stake.

The mainstream media is engaged on this one. There's been a lot of good reporting over the last week or two.

At the least, it's an intellectual and political scandal, a policy scandal.

What's your reaction to the new congressman in NYC?

It's amazing. It's a sign of the discontent that is running rampant among the voters, even the Democrats.

Brain Trust - Hunter Baker

Hunter Baker is the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Union University, and a blogger at First Things. He joined The Matt Friedeman Show for the Brain Trust segment. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his interview.

Talk to us about the GOP debate: What's going on?

[Rick Perry] has a big advantage from being the governor of TX.

Mitt Romney looks better than him in the debates to me, but Perry has a huge advantage. Romney is still the one-term governor of Massachusetts.

We'll have to see. I thought Perry looked terrible in the first debate, but in the second he was stronger.

The word is that he's a fast learner. I'm looking for him to step up again in the third debate.

You can tell Michele Bachmann really has her eye out for her main chance.

She very briefly rose to the top of the heap, then Perry displaced her.

She's circling him like a shark in the debates now.

Does the New York Nine election tell us anything about the mood of voters in general?

I think it does. This is a district that has been Democrat for about a hundred years.

This was a very solid Democrat district. It's a very Jewish district.

I think [the Jews] are sufficiently alarmed about Obama's views on Israel that they are reconsidering.

Are there other people groups that Obama should be concerned about?

He probably is a lot stronger with American Muslims.

The big question is Latinos, and whether or not Republicans can win the Latino vote.

It's tough to say what their vote will be.

Is Obama staying in or going out?

If we get the right nominee, he'll probably be defeated. If not, he'll stay in.

And the right nominee is?

I think Mitt Romney can beat him. I'm not sure Perry can.

Brain Trust - Robert Rector

Robert Rector, a Heritage Foundation Senior Research Fellow, is a leading national authority on poverty, the U.S.welfare system, and immigration. Here are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

Tell us about the report that just came out on poverty.

Well, yesterday's census reported that in America, 46 million people were "poor".

The report is accurate in that it measures the level of unemployment, and a lot of people in the working class have been hit very hard by the recession.


But to the average American, poverty means you don't have enough food to eat, or a house to live in.

The reality is that only one percent of the "poor" are homeless.

The typical home of a poor American has air conditioning and cable TV.A quarter of them have a TiVo.

96 percent of parents who are poor say that their child was never hungry because of lack of food in the home.

A poor family in the U.S. today is struggling to pay for the cable, the air conditioning, the computer, rather than struggling to put food on the table.

Do we have too low of a bar?

When these polls are done, they don't count any of the assistance that poor people receive - the cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services targeted at poor Americans.

These polls are designed to exaggerate the state of poverty in the U.S. in order to engender greater welfare spending.

A third of poor people now have a plasma TV. A poor child is much more likely to live in a home with a cable tv, a computer, and a tevo set than they are to be hungry.

These are things that we should feel good about. Poor people are living much better than anyone expects.
Those that are hungry are a pretty small percentage of the poor.

We as taxpayers are paying an awful lot to support the poor, and we're not getting much credit in this annual poverty report.

The MFShow Audience Quotes

"My husband and I have really had the opportunity to reach out to Muslims through the foreign exchange program. Our exchange student comes to church with us every week and asks questions."

"Why does President Obama think that now people are going to believe in somebody who's done nothing but social work?" - Monty from VA

"[Obama's speech] just seems to be political theater to me. It's exactly what he wants the American public to see. He wants to put the image in the public mind that he's got ideas, and Congress just sits on its hands and does nothing." - Dan from VA

"I feel like the Tea Party is just the extremist groups of the Conservatives". - Gary from MS

"I was a Muslim for 30 years, and I just want to say, if Christians would read the Koran more, it would be easier for them to express the concept of Jesus being God." - Shukriyya from TN

"The big difference between the enemies we have as Christians and the enemies of Satan is that we wish to help our enemies, while Satan tries to destroy his." - Ronny from AR

"Our country suffers from a low Knowledge Quotient. We have low knowledge of God, low knowledge of morality". - Brad from KY

Brain Trust - Fred Jackson

Fred Jackson serves as the News Director for American Family Network. He came on The Matt Friedeman Show to discuss last night's Republican debate. Below are the "CliffsNotes" of his segment.

It doesn't look like the debate changed the race much.

I don't think there's any question about that.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney stood next to each other on the stage last night, and looking at all the reports this morning, everyone is saying the same thing. The reality is that at least for the next several weeks, this is a showdown between Mitt Romney and Rick Perry.

Last night, everybody wanted to hear what they had to say.

At one point, Michelle Bachmann didn't speak for twenty minutes.

Everybody was listening to Romney and Perry.

Is that fair?

I think at this stage, you want to hold on as candidates.

 At some point, you have to decide when it stops being worth it, monetarily speaking, to stay in the race.

Like Tim Pawlenty said, "It just wasn't worth the investment anymore."

It is possible that Perry or Romney would have a fatal political fall that would allow someone else to rise to the surface.

The mood of Republicans right now is that they're looking for a governor.

Right now, I would say that the polls are showing that conservative Republicans are saying, "We believe Rick Perry is the guy that can beat Barack Obama."

Talk to me about the civility, or lack thereof, in the political arena.

We can't say on the air what Jimmy Hoffa said about the Tea Party.

He basically said, "Take them out."

The White House has said nothing about this kind of language.

On and on this is going. You'll remember when Congresswoman Giffords was shot, the first thing that was said was that conservative talk shows were to blame for the shooting.

The White House is not showing leadership in this issue.

Listener Quotables from the MFShow

Mike from VA - When people ask me what religion I am, I tell them I'm a Christ-follower. Some people call that a Christian.

Ben from NC - The key element to the word of God is truth, not religion. Religion is ideology, concepts, and tradition to me.

Roger from TX: I think the people expect too much when they expect the President to create jobs. The President can't do anything about creating jobs.

John from VA - The government is designed for a specific cause, just like the body of Christ. Each member has a certain purpose.

Debbie from LA - I have a lot of reservations about [the Constitutional Convention]. I just don't want to give anyone carte blanche like that.

Alec from AR - I can see a pattern of [Obama] coming up with excuses...too late.

Jeff from KY - The reason Obama's approval rating is the way it is is because of the lack of education in this country.

Dave from OH - I think that [illegal immigrants] are taking a lot of jobs away from Americans.