Friday, May 29, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Sotomayor vs. The Fireman
Barack Obama’s decision to nominate leftist judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court has put Senate Republicans in a precarious position. Hispanics are the fastest-growing voting bloc, and, according to Big Media, attempts to block Sotomayor’s nomination could alienate this group even further from the Republican brand. So what should Republicans do? In a column today, Charles Krauthammer offers one suggestion: Call Frank Ricci as their first witness during Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings.
For those of you don’t know, Frank Ricci is a firefighter in New Haven, Connecticut. Ricci suffered from a serious case of dyslexia that hampered his academic success in high school. Ricci studied fire science at a local community college and fulfilled his duty as a New Haven firefighter for several years. When an opportunity for promotion came up, Ricci quit his second job so he could spend up to 13 hours a day studying for the promotional exam. Because of his dyslexia, he spent $1,000 on books and hired someone to read the text to him. Ricci’s hard work and determination paid off -- he finished sixth on the lieutenants’ exam.
All his hard work was for naught, however, as he and others were denied their promotions by the city council because not enough minorities placed well enough on the exam. Ricci and 19 other firefighters sued the city for ignoring the exam results, and their case was heard by Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor sided with the city.
Frank Ricci believed in the American dream – that success comes through hard work and determination. But Ricci’s career suffered because of a judge’s belief in “empathy” and “real-life experiences” that didn’t include him. Washington elites have praised Sotomayor’s nomination because of her life story – growing up in a housing project of New York City before attending some of the most prestigious universities in the country. Shouldn’t Frank Ricci be rewarded for his life story, too?
Success in the United States should not be determined by one’s race, but instead by whether a person is truly deserving of a certain honor. The public deserves to hear Mr. Ricci’s story and see the damage that is done to decent people because of someone else’s idea of “empathy.” By calling Frank Ricci as a witness during Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings, the American people would be able to get a glimpse of the liberal judicial philosophy to which she adheres.
Is This Venezuela?
You may recall that on Election Day last year, three members of the Black Panthers showed up at a polling location in Philadelphia with clubs and intimidated white voters and people with McCain stickers. The Justice Department began prosecuting the Panthers who, according to court records, engaged in “coercion, threats and intimidation, ... racial threats and insults, ... menacing and intimidating gestures, ... and movements directed at individuals who were present to vote.” But today we learned that political appointees at the Justice Department overrode the career lawyers who were prosecuting the case.
Now who do you think broke the story that shows gross political corruption and suggests we are going down the road of Venezuela? Was it the New York Times, the Washington Post or the paragons of truth and virtue at MSNBC? No. It was the conservative Washington Times, with its smaller budget and staff. Were Big Media even looking? Of course not.
Congressional conservatives cannot let the Black Panther travesty go unanswered. While they have limited authority as the minority party, every time a Justice Department official testifies on Capitol Hill, no matter what the issue, any member of Congress who cares about colorblind justice, the right to vote and the integrity of our elections should demand answers as to who dropped this case and why.
Will Obama Trigger The “Nuclear Option”?
This week it became clear that President Obama’s choices may end up triggering the “nuclear option.” I’m talking about Obama’s foreign policy choices, which are prompting tyrants the world over to thumb their noses at our new president and in some cases to test their nuclear capabilities.
In my Human Events column today I try to determine whether President Obama’s empathy extends to maniacal foreign tyrants. Either way, one thing is clear: it will take more than eloquent words to compel America’s enemies to behave. You can read and comment on my column here. Thank you.
* * * * *
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 28 09
Thursday, May 28, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Left’s Assault On Freedom
After insulting the integrity of the men and women of the CIA by accusing the Agency of lying to Congress about what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew it, Speaker Nancy Pelosi jetted off to communist China. She’s there to engage real torturers and abusers of human rights in Beijing about the urgent need to combat climate change. In fact, the need is so urgent that, according to Speaker Pelosi, “Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory ... of how we are taking responsibility.”
I’ve written before that the massive “cap and trade” bill pending in the House right now would be a radical government power grab impacting virtually every economic activity in the country. Pelosi’s now admitted it. Under the guise of helping the environment, the radical Left wants to subject “every aspect of our lives” to the power of Big Government. And the assault is across-the-board.
We’re seeing it with health care in Obama’s plans to ram through Congress socialized medicine, whereby bureaucrats would dictate to your doctor what treatments you can and cannot get. We’re seeing it with plans for the government to decide salaries in the financial industry. We’re seeing it in the auto industry with the emergence of the new and not necessarily improved GM – “Government Motors.”
The Left’s desire to control your life is insatiable. In California, there is a proposal to ban plasma TVs. Congress has passed legislation banning incandescent light bulbs in favor of more expensive bulbs filled with toxic mercury. Liberal politicians in New Hampshire voted down a “gay marriage” bill because it contained too many protections for religious freedom. And, believe it or not, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said this week that the “transformational” Obama Administration wants to “coerce people out of their cars.”
Dealergate?
There is a lot of buzz on the blogosphere suggesting that Washington may be on the verge of the biggest political scandal since Watergate. The Wall Street Journal has noticed the developing story too.
As we all know, the Obama Administration has taken extraordinary steps to nationalize the auto industry – firing the head of General Motors, publicly attacking bondholders and giving preferential treatment to the unions. As Chrysler is struggling through reorganization, dealer franchise owners are taking a very hard hit. Nearly 800 of them were recently notified that their franchises are being revoked and their stores are being shut.
But the dealer pink slips appeared to be rather arbitrary. So much so that some dealers are suing. Leonard Bellavia, an attorney for the disgruntled dealers, recently deposed the president of Chrysler and issued the following statement: “It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers. It really wasn’t Chrysler’s decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President’s automotive task force.”
What possible considerations could be at play in deciding which dealerships survive and which don’t? To paraphrase a famous movie quote from the Godfather, “It’s not business, it’s just politics.” There appears to be some evidence to support the contention that the dealerships are targeted based upon the political philosophy of the individual owners. Consider the following two examples.
Vern Buchanan is the owner of the 23 dealerships in Florida and North Carolina. In the past decade, Mr. Buchanan donated more than $175,000 to Republican candidates and party committees. He also happens to be Representative Vern Buchanan, a conservative Republican representing Florida’s 13th Congressional District. His dealerships are being shut down. (Click here to read more about GOP donors on the dealer “hit list.”)
Now, consider the example of RLJ-McLarty-Landers. According to the Washington Examiner, “the RLJ-McLarty-Landers chain of Arkansas and Missouri dealerships aren’t being closed, but many of their local competitors are being eliminated.” The “RLJ” in the partnership refers to Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, who has given more than $100,000 to Democrat candidates and party committees in the past decade. If “Arkansas” and “McLarty” ring a bell, you’ve got a good memory because that is Mack McLarty, Bill Clinton’s former White House Chief of Staff.
It’s too soon to say whether “Dealergate” will make it onto the front pages of the New York Times or Washington Post. But given the way the Left works, it’s not too much of a leap to think politics might be at work. After its loss at the ballot box last year, the militant homosexual movement wasted no time in targeting businesses that supported Proposition 8. It even published an online list of Proposition 8 donors. ACORN is well known for targeting businesses and busing protestors to the homes of corporate executives. And liberal economics is all about politicians and Big Government picking winners and losers, rather than letting the free market decide.
Good News
Thank you to everyone who took the time to contact Kindred Healthcare in reaction to yesterday’s report. This morning I received this statement from the company. Here’s an excerpt:
“Kindred Healthcare is proud of its history of supporting our employees and their families who have served our country through military service. We are sincerely sorry that one incident between two employees gave the perception that we do not respect the flag or the sacrifice it represents. …This is not in keeping with the spirit and culture of Kindred Healthcare. We routinely celebrate the blessings bestowed upon us by honoring our veterans and active military through a variety of benefits and service programs. …We support our employees’ first amendment rights and have invited the employee to rehang her flag.”
If you would like to send Kindred Healthcare a note of encouragement for its support of our flag and our veterans, please click here.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Left’s Assault On Freedom
After insulting the integrity of the men and women of the CIA by accusing the Agency of lying to Congress about what she knew about waterboarding and when she knew it, Speaker Nancy Pelosi jetted off to communist China. She’s there to engage real torturers and abusers of human rights in Beijing about the urgent need to combat climate change. In fact, the need is so urgent that, according to Speaker Pelosi, “Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory ... of how we are taking responsibility.”
I’ve written before that the massive “cap and trade” bill pending in the House right now would be a radical government power grab impacting virtually every economic activity in the country. Pelosi’s now admitted it. Under the guise of helping the environment, the radical Left wants to subject “every aspect of our lives” to the power of Big Government. And the assault is across-the-board.
We’re seeing it with health care in Obama’s plans to ram through Congress socialized medicine, whereby bureaucrats would dictate to your doctor what treatments you can and cannot get. We’re seeing it with plans for the government to decide salaries in the financial industry. We’re seeing it in the auto industry with the emergence of the new and not necessarily improved GM – “Government Motors.”
The Left’s desire to control your life is insatiable. In California, there is a proposal to ban plasma TVs. Congress has passed legislation banning incandescent light bulbs in favor of more expensive bulbs filled with toxic mercury. Liberal politicians in New Hampshire voted down a “gay marriage” bill because it contained too many protections for religious freedom. And, believe it or not, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said this week that the “transformational” Obama Administration wants to “coerce people out of their cars.”
Dealergate?
There is a lot of buzz on the blogosphere suggesting that Washington may be on the verge of the biggest political scandal since Watergate. The Wall Street Journal has noticed the developing story too.
As we all know, the Obama Administration has taken extraordinary steps to nationalize the auto industry – firing the head of General Motors, publicly attacking bondholders and giving preferential treatment to the unions. As Chrysler is struggling through reorganization, dealer franchise owners are taking a very hard hit. Nearly 800 of them were recently notified that their franchises are being revoked and their stores are being shut.
But the dealer pink slips appeared to be rather arbitrary. So much so that some dealers are suing. Leonard Bellavia, an attorney for the disgruntled dealers, recently deposed the president of Chrysler and issued the following statement: “It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers. It really wasn’t Chrysler’s decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President’s automotive task force.”
What possible considerations could be at play in deciding which dealerships survive and which don’t? To paraphrase a famous movie quote from the Godfather, “It’s not business, it’s just politics.” There appears to be some evidence to support the contention that the dealerships are targeted based upon the political philosophy of the individual owners. Consider the following two examples.
Vern Buchanan is the owner of the 23 dealerships in Florida and North Carolina. In the past decade, Mr. Buchanan donated more than $175,000 to Republican candidates and party committees. He also happens to be Representative Vern Buchanan, a conservative Republican representing Florida’s 13th Congressional District. His dealerships are being shut down. (Click here to read more about GOP donors on the dealer “hit list.”)
Now, consider the example of RLJ-McLarty-Landers. According to the Washington Examiner, “the RLJ-McLarty-Landers chain of Arkansas and Missouri dealerships aren’t being closed, but many of their local competitors are being eliminated.” The “RLJ” in the partnership refers to Robert L. Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, who has given more than $100,000 to Democrat candidates and party committees in the past decade. If “Arkansas” and “McLarty” ring a bell, you’ve got a good memory because that is Mack McLarty, Bill Clinton’s former White House Chief of Staff.
It’s too soon to say whether “Dealergate” will make it onto the front pages of the New York Times or Washington Post. But given the way the Left works, it’s not too much of a leap to think politics might be at work. After its loss at the ballot box last year, the militant homosexual movement wasted no time in targeting businesses that supported Proposition 8. It even published an online list of Proposition 8 donors. ACORN is well known for targeting businesses and busing protestors to the homes of corporate executives. And liberal economics is all about politicians and Big Government picking winners and losers, rather than letting the free market decide.
Good News
Thank you to everyone who took the time to contact Kindred Healthcare in reaction to yesterday’s report. This morning I received this statement from the company. Here’s an excerpt:
“Kindred Healthcare is proud of its history of supporting our employees and their families who have served our country through military service. We are sincerely sorry that one incident between two employees gave the perception that we do not respect the flag or the sacrifice it represents. …This is not in keeping with the spirit and culture of Kindred Healthcare. We routinely celebrate the blessings bestowed upon us by honoring our veterans and active military through a variety of benefits and service programs. …We support our employees’ first amendment rights and have invited the employee to rehang her flag.”
If you would like to send Kindred Healthcare a note of encouragement for its support of our flag and our veterans, please click here.
* * * * *
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 27 09
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
A Voice For Our Values
Our phones started ringing off the hook yesterday as major reporters from leading news agencies rushed to get our reaction to the president’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The widely read Washington insider publication Politico asked for a column with my take on the nomination. Today, the Washington Times published an op-ed I wrote encouraging senators to thoroughly scrutinize Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy and temperament.
For those of you new to our work, here’s some history you may not know. I have spent the past 30 years working in and out of government fighting for the values we cherish. I spent eight of those years in President Ronald Reagan’s Administration, including serving as his chief domestic policy advisor and Under Secretary of Education with Bill Bennett.
Over that time, I have developed many personal and professional relationships with many reporters. Quite a few journalists also know my background in key judicial battles. I was in the Reagan White House when the Left declared war over control of the courts and savaged Judge Robert Bork during his confirmation hearings. I learned from that fight and served as chairman of the Citizens Committee to Confirm Clarence Thomas. Putting principle above politics, I was a leading critic of the Harriet Miers nomination.
It is times like these when our work is so important. Supreme Court nominations are a teachable moment for the country offering significant lessons about civics, government and the proper role of the judiciary in our republic. It is only because of your generous support that we are able to carry on our vital work of being a voice for our values in Washington. These are difficult times, and I pray you will continue to stand with me on the front lines as we “fight the good fight” for faith, family and freedom!
What’s the Rush?
President Obama and Senate Democrats are demanding a quick confirmation vote on the Sotomayor nomination to the Supreme Court. But before we have another “NO TIME TO READ, VOTE NOW” embarrassment like the stimulus bill, I think we ought to slow down and seriously consider the importance of this lifetime appointment. For example, in today’s Washington Times, I argue that President Obama’s selection of Sonia Sotomayor was an ideological choice intended to produce desired political results rather than to promote the best and brightest legal scholars.
I’m not the only one to reach that conclusion. Jeffrey Rosen, a legal analyst for the liberal publication The New Republic, authored a column earlier this month entitled “The Case Against Sotomayor.” Here’s an excerpt:
“Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking to a range of people who have worked with her, nearly all of them former law clerks for other judges on the Second Circuit or former federal prosecutors in New York. Most are Democrats and all of them want President Obama to appoint a judicial star of the highest intellectual caliber who has the potential to change the direction of the court. Nearly all of them acknowledged that Sotomayor is a presumptive front-runner, but nearly none of them raved about her. They expressed questions about her temperament, her judicial craftsmanship, and most of all, her ability to provide an intellectual counterweight to the conservative justices, as well as a clear liberal alternative.”
Today we discovered that the Supreme Court has reversed 60% of the decisions issued by Judge Sotomayor that reached the high court. That means that more often than not, according to the Supreme Court, Sotomayor got it wrong! And most legal observers expect the Supreme Court to reverse Sotomayor yet again when it issues its decision in the Ricci case I mentioned in yesterday’s report. Clearly, a thorough investigation of her judicial record and philosophy is in order and the Senate ought to demand it.
National VAT in Our Future?
In what has become a common theme of the political Left, liberals are continuing to look for every way possible to take more of your money. The “new idea” that they are proposing is a national sales tax or “value added tax.” Many conservatives, including me, have supported a national sales tax, because it would allow for a much simpler and more efficient tax system. But this would be the case only if the current income tax code were eliminated. Not surprisingly, the Left wants to impose a national sales tax in addition to your income taxes!
What is the reasoning behind implementing this type of policy? Liberals argue that it is one way to help balance the budget, but they also insist that they can use the VAT to pay for their socialized medicine scheme. (One of the leading VAT advocates is Ezekiel Emanuel. If that last name sounds familiar to you, that’s because he is the brother of current White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.)
Already in President Obama’s first 100 days we have seen that he wants to raise income taxes on “high earners” and impose new restrictions on businesses. Apparently those tax hikes alone were not enough for the liberal Left.
Enough Is Enough!
There is a very disturbing report today out of Texas that will make your blood boil. Just before Memorial Day, Debbie McLucas, a hospital supervisor in Mansfield, Texas, hung an American flag in the office she shared with other hospital supervisors. Mrs. McLucas’ husband and sons are veterans and her daughter is serving in Iraq.
Unbelievably, one of her co-workers, an African immigrant, complained that the flag was “offensive,” and hospital officials told Mrs. McLucas that she would have to remove the flag. This episode is just one more example of how the rot of political correctness that has infected our educational institutions has spread to corporate America and is being used to squelch expressions of traditional values, such as faith and patriotism, in the public square.
This situation in Texas is a travesty. But it will continue unless good people speak up. If you would like to share your thoughts with the hospital’s corporate headquarters, please call Kindred Healthcare at 800-545-0749 or click here to send an E-mail.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 26 09
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Justice Sotomayor?
Today, President Obama announced Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to replace retiring liberal Supreme Court Justice David Souter. We know Judge Sotomayor is a liberal who once declared that the courts are “where policy is made.” Obama assured us during the campaign for the presidency that he would appoint judges with “empathy” – judges who knew, in the president’s words, “what it’s like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old.” Sotomayor certainly fits that description.
Sotomayor has a compelling biography – a true American success story. Sotomayor is a Hispanic woman who grew up in the Bronx. Her father died when she was young, but her mother pushed her to excel in school. She graduated from Princeton and finished at the top of her law class at Yale. She now serves on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. But the classic “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” bio found little favor among Senate Democrats during Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings.
And far from believing the ideal of a meritocracy, where one succeeds based on their merits, Sotomayor appears to have very radical ideas when it comes to affirmative action and quotas. A case pending before the United States Supreme Court involves a suit brought by Frank Ricci, a white firefighter in Connecticut.
In that case, Ricci took and passed a promotion exam, but the city of New Haven refused to promote Ricci, and, according to one press account, “threw out results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough.” Of that injustice, liberal Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “Ricci is not just a legal case but a man who has been deprived of the pursuit of happiness on account of race.”
A liberal columnist saw the injustice of the Ricci case, but Sotomayor sided with the city of New Haven, and her opinion was thrashed by a fellow judge for “ignoring the constitutional claims at the core of the case.” How could she so easily ignore the constitutional issues at stake? Because it’s all about “empathy.” She, like Obama, seems to care more about desired political results and her sense of “fairness.”
And what are we to make of this Sotomayor statement: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Can you imagine the reaction of Senate liberals if a white male candidate had dared to suggest that well-educated men could reach better conclusions than black or Hispanic women?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life fighting for the day when we would judge one another based on the content of our character, not the color of our skin. Americans of all political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds should be repulsed by Sotomayor’s comment and deeply concerned about her commitment to colorblind justice.
You can read more of my thoughts on the Sotomayor nomination in a column posted today at Politico.com.
A Victory For Common Sense
In the day’s other breaking legal news, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved amendment that reversed an earlier decision by the California Supreme Court redefining marriage. In upholding Proposition 8, the justices declared that it wasn’t their job to determine whether or not it was sound policy, just whether or not it was legally enacted.
Why couldn’t they have reached that same conclusion regarding the state’s traditional marriage law in the first place? Sadly, that’s the problem with liberal judicial activists. In their zeal to remake America and redefine our cherished values, they simply cannot resist the temptation to exercise raw political power from the bench.
And even after the public rebuke at the ballot box, this court went only half way in correcting itself. By ruling that thousands of homosexual “marriages” performed last year would remain legally valid, the court sent a not-so-subtle suggestion that it still thinks it was right to redefine marriage in the first place.
How the militant homosexual movement will demonstrate its tolerance for the legal process remains to be seen. After Proposition 8 passed, that movement displayed an ugly and intolerant hatred for people of faith who exercised their rights in the political process to govern themselves. If you need a reminder, you can watch it here and here.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Justice Sotomayor?
Today, President Obama announced Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee to replace retiring liberal Supreme Court Justice David Souter. We know Judge Sotomayor is a liberal who once declared that the courts are “where policy is made.” Obama assured us during the campaign for the presidency that he would appoint judges with “empathy” – judges who knew, in the president’s words, “what it’s like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old.” Sotomayor certainly fits that description.
Sotomayor has a compelling biography – a true American success story. Sotomayor is a Hispanic woman who grew up in the Bronx. Her father died when she was young, but her mother pushed her to excel in school. She graduated from Princeton and finished at the top of her law class at Yale. She now serves on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. But the classic “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” bio found little favor among Senate Democrats during Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearings.
And far from believing the ideal of a meritocracy, where one succeeds based on their merits, Sotomayor appears to have very radical ideas when it comes to affirmative action and quotas. A case pending before the United States Supreme Court involves a suit brought by Frank Ricci, a white firefighter in Connecticut.
In that case, Ricci took and passed a promotion exam, but the city of New Haven refused to promote Ricci, and, according to one press account, “threw out results of a promotion exam because too few minorities scored high enough.” Of that injustice, liberal Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote, “Ricci is not just a legal case but a man who has been deprived of the pursuit of happiness on account of race.”
A liberal columnist saw the injustice of the Ricci case, but Sotomayor sided with the city of New Haven, and her opinion was thrashed by a fellow judge for “ignoring the constitutional claims at the core of the case.” How could she so easily ignore the constitutional issues at stake? Because it’s all about “empathy.” She, like Obama, seems to care more about desired political results and her sense of “fairness.”
And what are we to make of this Sotomayor statement: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” Can you imagine the reaction of Senate liberals if a white male candidate had dared to suggest that well-educated men could reach better conclusions than black or Hispanic women?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life fighting for the day when we would judge one another based on the content of our character, not the color of our skin. Americans of all political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds should be repulsed by Sotomayor’s comment and deeply concerned about her commitment to colorblind justice.
You can read more of my thoughts on the Sotomayor nomination in a column posted today at Politico.com.
A Victory For Common Sense
In the day’s other breaking legal news, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, the voter-approved amendment that reversed an earlier decision by the California Supreme Court redefining marriage. In upholding Proposition 8, the justices declared that it wasn’t their job to determine whether or not it was sound policy, just whether or not it was legally enacted.
Why couldn’t they have reached that same conclusion regarding the state’s traditional marriage law in the first place? Sadly, that’s the problem with liberal judicial activists. In their zeal to remake America and redefine our cherished values, they simply cannot resist the temptation to exercise raw political power from the bench.
And even after the public rebuke at the ballot box, this court went only half way in correcting itself. By ruling that thousands of homosexual “marriages” performed last year would remain legally valid, the court sent a not-so-subtle suggestion that it still thinks it was right to redefine marriage in the first place.
How the militant homosexual movement will demonstrate its tolerance for the legal process remains to be seen. After Proposition 8 passed, that movement displayed an ugly and intolerant hatred for people of faith who exercised their rights in the political process to govern themselves. If you need a reminder, you can watch it here and here.
* * * * *
Friday, May 22, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 22 09
Friday, May 22, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
“Never Forget”
This weekend marks Memorial Day, a national observance first known as Decoration Day. It was meant to be a time to remember and honor our Civil War dead simply by decorating their graves. Over time, the holiday’s significance extended to honor all those who paid the ultimate price for our nation. Now, as America is at war, Memorial Day also provides an opportunity for us to reflect on and give thanks for the sacrifices of our soldiers still in harm’s way.
We face many dangers today—terrorist attacks, Iranian belligerence, international health epidemics. But the greatest danger of all is the one that still doesn’t make many headlines – our collective national amnesia. Our history textbooks are sanitized to be politically correct and give our children virtually no sense of the greatness of the nation they live in.
In my talks at hundreds of high schools during the 2000 campaign, I was struck by how often decent American kids had nothing good to say about their country. Most had virtually no knowledge of the sacrifices made to establish and preserve their liberty. They are the recipients of the greatest freedom and opportunity that any society has ever produced; yet they are unaware of the price in flesh and blood that was paid for it.
In America today, Memorial Day weekend has become more of an occasion for rest and relaxation than for reflection about our heroes and the values they died to preserve. This weekend, I hope and pray that we can learn to do both – relax and remember. Let’s go the ballgame, have that picnic, hug our kids, and have some fun at the beach. But let’s also remind ourselves, and our children, about what happened at Concord Bridge; the fields of Antietam; at the beaches of Normandy. Let’s explain to them why there was a Berlin Wall, what happened at Okinawa and the price that was paid to stop Hitler. Because the same resolve that allowed us to persevere in those conflicts will be necessary if we are to overcome our current challenges.
In short, let’s take at least a moment to teach our children and grandchildren to love the things we love, and honor the things we honor. Finally, let’s remind ourselves as well as our children that all liberty is a gift from God and that each generation has paid in flesh and blood to preserve it.
For those of you who want a place to start, try reading to your kids and grandkids these words from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:
“We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
Our next report will be Tuesday, May 26th. Thank you for all you do to make our work possible. I, and everyone at American Values, depend on and appreciate you more than you will ever know!
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
“Never Forget”
This weekend marks Memorial Day, a national observance first known as Decoration Day. It was meant to be a time to remember and honor our Civil War dead simply by decorating their graves. Over time, the holiday’s significance extended to honor all those who paid the ultimate price for our nation. Now, as America is at war, Memorial Day also provides an opportunity for us to reflect on and give thanks for the sacrifices of our soldiers still in harm’s way.
We face many dangers today—terrorist attacks, Iranian belligerence, international health epidemics. But the greatest danger of all is the one that still doesn’t make many headlines – our collective national amnesia. Our history textbooks are sanitized to be politically correct and give our children virtually no sense of the greatness of the nation they live in.
In my talks at hundreds of high schools during the 2000 campaign, I was struck by how often decent American kids had nothing good to say about their country. Most had virtually no knowledge of the sacrifices made to establish and preserve their liberty. They are the recipients of the greatest freedom and opportunity that any society has ever produced; yet they are unaware of the price in flesh and blood that was paid for it.
In America today, Memorial Day weekend has become more of an occasion for rest and relaxation than for reflection about our heroes and the values they died to preserve. This weekend, I hope and pray that we can learn to do both – relax and remember. Let’s go the ballgame, have that picnic, hug our kids, and have some fun at the beach. But let’s also remind ourselves, and our children, about what happened at Concord Bridge; the fields of Antietam; at the beaches of Normandy. Let’s explain to them why there was a Berlin Wall, what happened at Okinawa and the price that was paid to stop Hitler. Because the same resolve that allowed us to persevere in those conflicts will be necessary if we are to overcome our current challenges.
In short, let’s take at least a moment to teach our children and grandchildren to love the things we love, and honor the things we honor. Finally, let’s remind ourselves as well as our children that all liberty is a gift from God and that each generation has paid in flesh and blood to preserve it.
For those of you who want a place to start, try reading to your kids and grandkids these words from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:
“We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
Our next report will be Tuesday, May 26th. Thank you for all you do to make our work possible. I, and everyone at American Values, depend on and appreciate you more than you will ever know!
* * * * *
Capital Prayer Alert 05 22 09
Friday, May 22, 2009
To: Friends
From: Carol Bauer
As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a prayer alert about once a month. We hope you will share Carol’s writing with your friends and fellow worshippers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. – Gary
Capital Prayer Alert
Six weeks have passed since the last Capital Prayer Alert. Life in the Bauer family has taken a difficult turn since then. If you follow Gary's daily report regularly you know that about a month ago his mother passed away. She had lived with us for nearly 8 years and suffered from severe arthritis and Alzheimer’s Disease. But, she was a fighter who pushed herself to join us for dinner each night and joked with our son, Zach, as he headed back to college on Easter night, just hours before she died. There was no sense that the end was near. But that's life, isn't it? We can hope and plan and busily chart our own way, but all the while the Lord may have a very different path in mind for us.
We appreciate the hundreds of cards, emails, phone calls, flowers and other expressions of sympathy we have received from so many of you. They have meant a great deal to us.
Since Gary is an only child who lost his father almost 20 years ago, the recent loss of his mother moves us into a different season. Gary has been able to steal a few minutes here and there to go through old letters, papers, photos and family mementoes. Many of you have walked this same road and in the process have caught glimpses of the challenging lives of those who are fondly referred to as the Greatest Generation. They lived through a Depression, suffered in war and built a country where individual initiative and hard work could lead you to the top.
That retrospective process, that legacy each of us will have, prompts us to take an inward look at our own lives. What will be our legacy? How will our children and grandchildren remember us? Since Gary and I were recently blessed to learn we will be first-time grandparents in November this self-examination is all the more timely.
This is my prayer --- to be challenged by the efforts of the Greatest Generation to continue to fight for our beliefs in times of trial, to uphold our values when the going gets rough, and to articulate that which we believe to be best for the country in such an effective, winning and thought-provoking way that we make others stop and think. Will the way the country is headed today make us a more solid nation in the years ahead, not perfect, but aiming to be a shining example to the world? Or, are we sowing the seeds which will weaken us from within and make us more vulnerable to outside forces that would do us harm?
As you ponder what your legacy, I challenge you first to think about where your expertise lies. If you are a teacher, you can speak with some authority to the problems facing American education. If you are in business, you have a pretty good idea of the negative impact of various proposed energy taxes on business hiring and growth. If you are a physician or nurse, you can speak to the impact of various health care proposals on patient care and its cost. You may not think of yourself as an expert, but you know more about your field of endeavor than most people not in your field.
Our country's future is being written right now in the halls of Congress and in every state legislature. Sweeping changes are afoot, and most are at odds with the values on which America has grown and thrived. The time for discouragement and disengagement is past. A major election is behind us and we are now living with the ramifications. Another is just 18 months away. These are the days when our personal legacies are being written.
Go to our Heavenly Father in humility prompted by introspection. Express your desire to God to make a positive mark on future generations of your family and your community. Seek His guidance. Ask Him to show you a path that acknowledges and uses your individual expertise, resources and network of influence. Ask for boldness, creativity and a desire to be open to the road ahead. Finally, ask God to bless your efforts if they are in line with His will. And, if He has another role in mind for you, seek to learn from Him what He would have you do to strengthen our country from within.
* * * * *
To: Friends
From: Carol Bauer
As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a prayer alert about once a month. We hope you will share Carol’s writing with your friends and fellow worshippers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. – Gary
Capital Prayer Alert
Six weeks have passed since the last Capital Prayer Alert. Life in the Bauer family has taken a difficult turn since then. If you follow Gary's daily report regularly you know that about a month ago his mother passed away. She had lived with us for nearly 8 years and suffered from severe arthritis and Alzheimer’s Disease. But, she was a fighter who pushed herself to join us for dinner each night and joked with our son, Zach, as he headed back to college on Easter night, just hours before she died. There was no sense that the end was near. But that's life, isn't it? We can hope and plan and busily chart our own way, but all the while the Lord may have a very different path in mind for us.
We appreciate the hundreds of cards, emails, phone calls, flowers and other expressions of sympathy we have received from so many of you. They have meant a great deal to us.
Since Gary is an only child who lost his father almost 20 years ago, the recent loss of his mother moves us into a different season. Gary has been able to steal a few minutes here and there to go through old letters, papers, photos and family mementoes. Many of you have walked this same road and in the process have caught glimpses of the challenging lives of those who are fondly referred to as the Greatest Generation. They lived through a Depression, suffered in war and built a country where individual initiative and hard work could lead you to the top.
That retrospective process, that legacy each of us will have, prompts us to take an inward look at our own lives. What will be our legacy? How will our children and grandchildren remember us? Since Gary and I were recently blessed to learn we will be first-time grandparents in November this self-examination is all the more timely.
This is my prayer --- to be challenged by the efforts of the Greatest Generation to continue to fight for our beliefs in times of trial, to uphold our values when the going gets rough, and to articulate that which we believe to be best for the country in such an effective, winning and thought-provoking way that we make others stop and think. Will the way the country is headed today make us a more solid nation in the years ahead, not perfect, but aiming to be a shining example to the world? Or, are we sowing the seeds which will weaken us from within and make us more vulnerable to outside forces that would do us harm?
As you ponder what your legacy, I challenge you first to think about where your expertise lies. If you are a teacher, you can speak with some authority to the problems facing American education. If you are in business, you have a pretty good idea of the negative impact of various proposed energy taxes on business hiring and growth. If you are a physician or nurse, you can speak to the impact of various health care proposals on patient care and its cost. You may not think of yourself as an expert, but you know more about your field of endeavor than most people not in your field.
Our country's future is being written right now in the halls of Congress and in every state legislature. Sweeping changes are afoot, and most are at odds with the values on which America has grown and thrived. The time for discouragement and disengagement is past. A major election is behind us and we are now living with the ramifications. Another is just 18 months away. These are the days when our personal legacies are being written.
Go to our Heavenly Father in humility prompted by introspection. Express your desire to God to make a positive mark on future generations of your family and your community. Seek His guidance. Ask Him to show you a path that acknowledges and uses your individual expertise, resources and network of influence. Ask for boldness, creativity and a desire to be open to the road ahead. Finally, ask God to bless your efforts if they are in line with His will. And, if He has another role in mind for you, seek to learn from Him what He would have you do to strengthen our country from within.
* * * * *
Thursday, May 21, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 21 09
Thursday, May 21, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Islamofascist Plot Busted
Late yesterday, four New York City men, apparently recent converts to Islam, were arrested by the FBI and charged with plotting to blow up a synagogue, which also held a school, and use surface-to-air missiles to down U.S. aircraft. The men had been under investigation since last June. They purchased explosives and missiles, but the material had been altered by the FBI to render them harmless.
Details are coming out slowly, but already we have information that raises serious concerns. First, the men met while in prison together and became “radicalized.” We have been warning for years that radical Islamists have a growing presence in our prison system. A full investigation is needed. What prison were they in? Who is the prison imam? One suspect said he wanted to hurt America because Muslims were being killed in Afghanistan. So why does he want to blow up Jews at worship and Jewish kids at school?
I can think of many targets that make much more sense if you want to “hurt America.” Of course, we all know the answer – virulent anti-Semitism is a central tenet of Islamofascism. This is why President Obama’s effort to force the creation of a Palestinian state is so ill-conceived. They could not care less about a Palestinian state. These people won’t be satisfied until every Jew is dead and every other “infidel” is in chains.
While the media are trying to ignore the Muslim connection, here are some facts from the government’s indictment:
* James Cromitie, also known as “Abdul Rahman,” explained that his parents lived in Afghanistan prior to his birth and that, because of his connection to Afghanistan, he was upset about the war there. He also expressed interest in returning to Afghanistan and said, “if he were to die a martyr, he would go to paradise.”
* Cromitie said he “would be interested in joining Jaish-e-Mohammed (a terrorist group) to do jihad.”
* Referring to his goals, Cromitie said, “I hate those motherf-----s, those f---ing Jewish bastards. I would like to get a synagogue.”
* While conducting surveillance outside a possible target, Cromitie pointed to people walking on the street in the vicinity of a Jewish community center and said that if he had a gun, “he would shoot each one in the head.”
Finally, I can’t help but notice the timeliness of these arrests. It is a reminder that we must still track down terrorists here, just as Obama is making the case today for releasing terrorists we already have at GITMO. His “catch and release” policy is good with trout, but not with murderous thugs.
Style vs. Substance
As you probably know, by coincidence today President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney delivered major speeches on national security within minutes of each other. The dueling speeches could best be summed up as a battle of style versus substance. The liberal media will spin the news as being all about Obama and will do their best to ignore Cheney. But Obama’s problem is not Dick Cheney -- it is reality, and he will continue to be mugged by reality. I hope no Americans will die in the process. Just look at reality this week:
• Obama used his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an opportunity to reach out yet again to Iran. What does Iran do? It test fires a missile that can not only hit Israel but also U.S. military facilities throughout the Middle East and southern Europe.
• He argues for closing the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for releasing some prisoners into the United States. The reality is that the Democrat-dominated Senate voted 90-6 against the idea and the Pentagon released another report noting that one out of seven of the supposedly “reasonable” detainees who could be released returned to the battlefield to wage jihad against the U.S.
• The president says we are not at war with Islam. The reality is that radical Islam is at war with us. Four more followers of the “religion of peace” were just arrested for trying to blow up Jews and shoot down planes to “hurt America.”
Pastors, Are You Paying Attention?
Yesterday, the path to “gay marriage” in New Hampshire took a sudden and even more disturbing turn. Governor John Lynch, described in some media reports as a “centrist Democrat,” sent a “gay marriage” bill back to the legislature with an amendment. He asked the legislature to provide legal protections for pastors and clergy who do not want to be forced to perform same-sex “marriages” in violation of their faith. Without those protections for pastors, Governor Lynch indicated he might veto the bill.
Guess what happened? Conservative politicians voted against the bill on principle out of opposition to the radical notion of men “marrying” other men. But enough liberals in the state House of Representatives also voted against the bill and it failed 186-to-188. These liberals were not voting against “gay marriage,” but were instead voting to kill the religious protections Gov. Lynch requested. Pastors, I hope you are paying attention to the cultural war raging in America today. The “tyrants of tolerance” have put a bull’s eye on your pulpits. From the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the Senate to the state-by-state push to redefine marriage, faith is under fire.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Islamofascist Plot Busted
Late yesterday, four New York City men, apparently recent converts to Islam, were arrested by the FBI and charged with plotting to blow up a synagogue, which also held a school, and use surface-to-air missiles to down U.S. aircraft. The men had been under investigation since last June. They purchased explosives and missiles, but the material had been altered by the FBI to render them harmless.
Details are coming out slowly, but already we have information that raises serious concerns. First, the men met while in prison together and became “radicalized.” We have been warning for years that radical Islamists have a growing presence in our prison system. A full investigation is needed. What prison were they in? Who is the prison imam? One suspect said he wanted to hurt America because Muslims were being killed in Afghanistan. So why does he want to blow up Jews at worship and Jewish kids at school?
I can think of many targets that make much more sense if you want to “hurt America.” Of course, we all know the answer – virulent anti-Semitism is a central tenet of Islamofascism. This is why President Obama’s effort to force the creation of a Palestinian state is so ill-conceived. They could not care less about a Palestinian state. These people won’t be satisfied until every Jew is dead and every other “infidel” is in chains.
While the media are trying to ignore the Muslim connection, here are some facts from the government’s indictment:
* James Cromitie, also known as “Abdul Rahman,” explained that his parents lived in Afghanistan prior to his birth and that, because of his connection to Afghanistan, he was upset about the war there. He also expressed interest in returning to Afghanistan and said, “if he were to die a martyr, he would go to paradise.”
* Cromitie said he “would be interested in joining Jaish-e-Mohammed (a terrorist group) to do jihad.”
* Referring to his goals, Cromitie said, “I hate those motherf-----s, those f---ing Jewish bastards. I would like to get a synagogue.”
* While conducting surveillance outside a possible target, Cromitie pointed to people walking on the street in the vicinity of a Jewish community center and said that if he had a gun, “he would shoot each one in the head.”
Finally, I can’t help but notice the timeliness of these arrests. It is a reminder that we must still track down terrorists here, just as Obama is making the case today for releasing terrorists we already have at GITMO. His “catch and release” policy is good with trout, but not with murderous thugs.
Style vs. Substance
As you probably know, by coincidence today President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney delivered major speeches on national security within minutes of each other. The dueling speeches could best be summed up as a battle of style versus substance. The liberal media will spin the news as being all about Obama and will do their best to ignore Cheney. But Obama’s problem is not Dick Cheney -- it is reality, and he will continue to be mugged by reality. I hope no Americans will die in the process. Just look at reality this week:
• Obama used his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an opportunity to reach out yet again to Iran. What does Iran do? It test fires a missile that can not only hit Israel but also U.S. military facilities throughout the Middle East and southern Europe.
• He argues for closing the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for releasing some prisoners into the United States. The reality is that the Democrat-dominated Senate voted 90-6 against the idea and the Pentagon released another report noting that one out of seven of the supposedly “reasonable” detainees who could be released returned to the battlefield to wage jihad against the U.S.
• The president says we are not at war with Islam. The reality is that radical Islam is at war with us. Four more followers of the “religion of peace” were just arrested for trying to blow up Jews and shoot down planes to “hurt America.”
Pastors, Are You Paying Attention?
Yesterday, the path to “gay marriage” in New Hampshire took a sudden and even more disturbing turn. Governor John Lynch, described in some media reports as a “centrist Democrat,” sent a “gay marriage” bill back to the legislature with an amendment. He asked the legislature to provide legal protections for pastors and clergy who do not want to be forced to perform same-sex “marriages” in violation of their faith. Without those protections for pastors, Governor Lynch indicated he might veto the bill.
Guess what happened? Conservative politicians voted against the bill on principle out of opposition to the radical notion of men “marrying” other men. But enough liberals in the state House of Representatives also voted against the bill and it failed 186-to-188. These liberals were not voting against “gay marriage,” but were instead voting to kill the religious protections Gov. Lynch requested. Pastors, I hope you are paying attention to the cultural war raging in America today. The “tyrants of tolerance” have put a bull’s eye on your pulpits. From the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the Senate to the state-by-state push to redefine marriage, faith is under fire.
* * * * *
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 20 09
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Burning Bibles?
After weeks of rumors, Jake Tapper of ABC News has confirmed that Bibles sent to U.S. troops in Afghanistan were confiscated and destroyed. The Bibles were translated into the predominate Afghan languages and were intended as gifts U.S. soldiers could give to the people. The Pentagon said the Bibles were a violation of regulations prohibiting proselytizing and could endanger the lives of our forces in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
But even if that argument is compelling, it is outrageous that the Bibles were burned or destroyed in some other way. The U.S. military has been ordered to go to extraordinary lengths not to “defile” a Koran. At GITMO our soldiers are required to wear gloves when handling that book so as not to offend Muslims. Is it too much to ask that orders be issued that Bibles be handled with as much respect?
When a Koran is mishandled Muslims riot all over the world. In contrast, when the Bible is defaced there are no riots in the Bible Belt, because we tend to remember the teachings of Christ that urge us to “turn the other cheek.” Frankly, I am running out of cheeks.
And Don’t Quote It Either!
It is a bad week for the Bible. GQ Magazine has published a hit piece on former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Among his “sins” exposed in the lengthy article is that when Rumsfeld sent top secret briefings on Iraq and national security to President Bush, the front page often included – are you ready for this? – a BIBLE VERSE!!! Egad! Horror of horrors! Appoint a special prosecutor! Call the ACLU! Horsewhip him!
God bless Secretary Rumsfeld. In the middle of a war against death worshippers, he thought it was good to remind the president of the God who is the author of our liberty with “Seek the Lord and His Strength; seek His face continually,” (1 Chron 16:11) or “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Golden State Taxpayers Revolt!
The Golden State is going bankrupt, and yesterday outraged voters shot down an attempt by California politicians to “pass the buck” for the state’s fiscal crisis. A special election was called to deal with an unprecedented $20 billion deficit. Several measures were put on the ballot designed to raise taxes, take on more debt, shift funds from various trust accounts and mildly restrain spending. They all went down to defeat by an average vote of 65%. The one ballot measure that passed (with 74% of the vote) bans politicians from getting a pay raise when the state is running a deficit.
Now California politicians will have to begin the difficult task of prioritizing what spending they can afford and what programs must be cut or eliminated. The voters made it clear that they were not willing to be taxed more or borrow more. Presumably, the politicians in Sacramento will now focus their attention on more serious issues, rather than indoctrinating kindergarteners about homosexual activists like Harvey Milk. Just think about the irony, friends. Many of the same voters who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama (61%-to-37%) only six months ago, just rejected the tax and spend Big Government agenda! What’s next? Maybe Californians will decide to tap the offshore oil wealth that lies within their grasp.
Sadly, it is far more likely that the people of Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, North Carolina and elsewhere will be taxed to bailout California’s failed experiment in Big Government. Then President Obama can treat California like he has the auto companies and banks: He can fire Governor Schwarzenegger, appoint a liberal puppet and give the government employees union a majority of seats in the state legislature. Then again, how could anyone tell the difference!
By the way, according to state records, groups that supported the tax hikes outspent those opposed by an 8-to-1 margin. With each tax and spend measure going down to defeat by an average of 65%, I wonder if the media and liberal politicians will concede that there is something more to the Tea Parties than just “Astroturf.”
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Burning Bibles?
After weeks of rumors, Jake Tapper of ABC News has confirmed that Bibles sent to U.S. troops in Afghanistan were confiscated and destroyed. The Bibles were translated into the predominate Afghan languages and were intended as gifts U.S. soldiers could give to the people. The Pentagon said the Bibles were a violation of regulations prohibiting proselytizing and could endanger the lives of our forces in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation.
But even if that argument is compelling, it is outrageous that the Bibles were burned or destroyed in some other way. The U.S. military has been ordered to go to extraordinary lengths not to “defile” a Koran. At GITMO our soldiers are required to wear gloves when handling that book so as not to offend Muslims. Is it too much to ask that orders be issued that Bibles be handled with as much respect?
When a Koran is mishandled Muslims riot all over the world. In contrast, when the Bible is defaced there are no riots in the Bible Belt, because we tend to remember the teachings of Christ that urge us to “turn the other cheek.” Frankly, I am running out of cheeks.
And Don’t Quote It Either!
It is a bad week for the Bible. GQ Magazine has published a hit piece on former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Among his “sins” exposed in the lengthy article is that when Rumsfeld sent top secret briefings on Iraq and national security to President Bush, the front page often included – are you ready for this? – a BIBLE VERSE!!! Egad! Horror of horrors! Appoint a special prosecutor! Call the ACLU! Horsewhip him!
God bless Secretary Rumsfeld. In the middle of a war against death worshippers, he thought it was good to remind the president of the God who is the author of our liberty with “Seek the Lord and His Strength; seek His face continually,” (1 Chron 16:11) or “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Golden State Taxpayers Revolt!
The Golden State is going bankrupt, and yesterday outraged voters shot down an attempt by California politicians to “pass the buck” for the state’s fiscal crisis. A special election was called to deal with an unprecedented $20 billion deficit. Several measures were put on the ballot designed to raise taxes, take on more debt, shift funds from various trust accounts and mildly restrain spending. They all went down to defeat by an average vote of 65%. The one ballot measure that passed (with 74% of the vote) bans politicians from getting a pay raise when the state is running a deficit.
Now California politicians will have to begin the difficult task of prioritizing what spending they can afford and what programs must be cut or eliminated. The voters made it clear that they were not willing to be taxed more or borrow more. Presumably, the politicians in Sacramento will now focus their attention on more serious issues, rather than indoctrinating kindergarteners about homosexual activists like Harvey Milk. Just think about the irony, friends. Many of the same voters who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama (61%-to-37%) only six months ago, just rejected the tax and spend Big Government agenda! What’s next? Maybe Californians will decide to tap the offshore oil wealth that lies within their grasp.
Sadly, it is far more likely that the people of Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, North Carolina and elsewhere will be taxed to bailout California’s failed experiment in Big Government. Then President Obama can treat California like he has the auto companies and banks: He can fire Governor Schwarzenegger, appoint a liberal puppet and give the government employees union a majority of seats in the state legislature. Then again, how could anyone tell the difference!
By the way, according to state records, groups that supported the tax hikes outspent those opposed by an 8-to-1 margin. With each tax and spend measure going down to defeat by an average of 65%, I wonder if the media and liberal politicians will concede that there is something more to the Tea Parties than just “Astroturf.”
* * * * *
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 19 09
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Bibi-Barack Confab
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama were scheduled to meet for an hour yesterday. Their private meeting went 30 minutes longer than planned. Then top advisors joined both men for another hour of talks. Finally, reporters were invited in for a half-hour question-and-answer session. The time ended with the prime minister, the president and their staffs having lunch in the “Old Family Dining Room.”
Everyone did their best to “spin” the meetings as productive, but there was no doubt that the two men see the world in starkly different ways. Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear he will defend the security of his country. He better mean it. I believe the evidence is already clear that Barack Obama is clueless about Israel’s security and, for that matter, America’s enemies.
The most disturbing development in recent weeks has been media reports in Israel, Europe and the United States that the Obama Administration has repeatedly warned Israel not to take military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Obama revealed yesterday that his plan to deal with Iran was “all carrot and no stick.” The toughest thing he said was, “We’re not going to have to talk forever,” and he added that Iran shouldn’t interpret his willingness to talk as a sign of weakness. But that is exactly how it is being perceived by Ahmadinejad, who is now saying in virtually every speech that Obama’s “outreach” is proof that Iran is winning and America is losing.
Here is what Obama and the American Left do not understand. When you negotiate with Iran, you aren’t negotiating with a country – you are negotiating with a cause. Countries can be convinced to make concessions. But a “cause,” in this case the creation of a worldwide Islamic caliphate, does not make concessions or follow the rules of diplomacy. Ahmadinejad and groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad see themselves as warriors for Allah. To them, every Western concession is further proof that Allah is bringing them victory; it is further justification for terrorism and other barbaric tactics. Israel understands this. Sadly, our president does not.
America’s Pro-Life Majority
A Gallup poll released Friday finds that for the first time since Gallup began asking Americans whether they were pro-life or pro-choice, a majority of Americans (51%) identify as “pro-life,” while 42% identify as “pro-choice.” One year ago, the numbers were 44% pro-life and 50% pro-choice – a 15-point swing. While 51% is just a bare majority, Gallup probes further in its survey and finds that 23% believe abortion should be illegal and 37% would keep abortion legal “only in a few circumstances.” That means 60% of Americans wants major restrictions to the nation’s existing abortion regime, which allows the destruction of an unborn baby even in the last months of pregnancy. This poll shows just how out of touch the Left is with its extreme abortion-on-demand position.
It also demonstrates the fundamental flaw of allowing unelected judges to impose their morality on the American people. Courts make controversial rulings from time to time. And in most cases, the people will reconcile themselves to the rulings over time. But occasionally the Supreme Court has made a decision so morally flawed that the public just could not come to terms with it. Twice in our nation’s history the Supreme Court has declared that some human beings – black Americans and unborn children – have no rights we are obligated to respect. The American people could not reconcile themselves to the evil of slavery and the Dred Scott decision, which declared that some men and women could be the property of others.
The same evil was inherent in Roe v. Wade when the Supreme Court said 36 years ago that a woman could dispose of her unwanted child as if he or she were a Styrofoam cup. Pro-life conservatives are on the right side of history!
First Bailout, Then Bankrupt
I don’t get it. First, we’re told that we have to bailout the auto industry with billions of taxpayer dollars because “bankruptcy is not an option.” Where is Chrysler today? Is there anyone who doesn’t believe that GM will be in bankruptcy court soon? After delaying the inevitable with billions of our dollars, President Obama today put another nail in the auto industry’s coffin by dictating tougher efficiency and emissions standards that will add thousands of dollars in new costs to every vehicle and make it harder for these struggling companies to compete in an economic downturn.
The tougher standards will also force the car companies to make vehicles that many Americans don’t want. Only three vehicles today could meet these new standards – the Honda Civic hybrid, the Toyota Prius and the Ford Fusion hybrid. Sure, some folks do want fuel efficient cars. But the auto companies make minimal profits on small cars – they make money on trucks and SUVs. Those were the vehicles Americans were demanding in large numbers until the Left’s oil embargo against America caught up to us and gas spiked to $4.00 a gallon.
But as usual, Washington learned the wrong lessons and is now imposing its ideas on the marketplace. Rather than developing our own energy sources, Washington is telling us to pay more for new cars and get less – less space, less safety, etc. It’s a prescription for disaster that will end up bankrupting the auto industry even faster or require the nationalization of the whole industry.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Bibi-Barack Confab
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Obama were scheduled to meet for an hour yesterday. Their private meeting went 30 minutes longer than planned. Then top advisors joined both men for another hour of talks. Finally, reporters were invited in for a half-hour question-and-answer session. The time ended with the prime minister, the president and their staffs having lunch in the “Old Family Dining Room.”
Everyone did their best to “spin” the meetings as productive, but there was no doubt that the two men see the world in starkly different ways. Prime Minister Netanyahu made it clear he will defend the security of his country. He better mean it. I believe the evidence is already clear that Barack Obama is clueless about Israel’s security and, for that matter, America’s enemies.
The most disturbing development in recent weeks has been media reports in Israel, Europe and the United States that the Obama Administration has repeatedly warned Israel not to take military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Obama revealed yesterday that his plan to deal with Iran was “all carrot and no stick.” The toughest thing he said was, “We’re not going to have to talk forever,” and he added that Iran shouldn’t interpret his willingness to talk as a sign of weakness. But that is exactly how it is being perceived by Ahmadinejad, who is now saying in virtually every speech that Obama’s “outreach” is proof that Iran is winning and America is losing.
Here is what Obama and the American Left do not understand. When you negotiate with Iran, you aren’t negotiating with a country – you are negotiating with a cause. Countries can be convinced to make concessions. But a “cause,” in this case the creation of a worldwide Islamic caliphate, does not make concessions or follow the rules of diplomacy. Ahmadinejad and groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad see themselves as warriors for Allah. To them, every Western concession is further proof that Allah is bringing them victory; it is further justification for terrorism and other barbaric tactics. Israel understands this. Sadly, our president does not.
America’s Pro-Life Majority
A Gallup poll released Friday finds that for the first time since Gallup began asking Americans whether they were pro-life or pro-choice, a majority of Americans (51%) identify as “pro-life,” while 42% identify as “pro-choice.” One year ago, the numbers were 44% pro-life and 50% pro-choice – a 15-point swing. While 51% is just a bare majority, Gallup probes further in its survey and finds that 23% believe abortion should be illegal and 37% would keep abortion legal “only in a few circumstances.” That means 60% of Americans wants major restrictions to the nation’s existing abortion regime, which allows the destruction of an unborn baby even in the last months of pregnancy. This poll shows just how out of touch the Left is with its extreme abortion-on-demand position.
It also demonstrates the fundamental flaw of allowing unelected judges to impose their morality on the American people. Courts make controversial rulings from time to time. And in most cases, the people will reconcile themselves to the rulings over time. But occasionally the Supreme Court has made a decision so morally flawed that the public just could not come to terms with it. Twice in our nation’s history the Supreme Court has declared that some human beings – black Americans and unborn children – have no rights we are obligated to respect. The American people could not reconcile themselves to the evil of slavery and the Dred Scott decision, which declared that some men and women could be the property of others.
The same evil was inherent in Roe v. Wade when the Supreme Court said 36 years ago that a woman could dispose of her unwanted child as if he or she were a Styrofoam cup. Pro-life conservatives are on the right side of history!
First Bailout, Then Bankrupt
I don’t get it. First, we’re told that we have to bailout the auto industry with billions of taxpayer dollars because “bankruptcy is not an option.” Where is Chrysler today? Is there anyone who doesn’t believe that GM will be in bankruptcy court soon? After delaying the inevitable with billions of our dollars, President Obama today put another nail in the auto industry’s coffin by dictating tougher efficiency and emissions standards that will add thousands of dollars in new costs to every vehicle and make it harder for these struggling companies to compete in an economic downturn.
The tougher standards will also force the car companies to make vehicles that many Americans don’t want. Only three vehicles today could meet these new standards – the Honda Civic hybrid, the Toyota Prius and the Ford Fusion hybrid. Sure, some folks do want fuel efficient cars. But the auto companies make minimal profits on small cars – they make money on trucks and SUVs. Those were the vehicles Americans were demanding in large numbers until the Left’s oil embargo against America caught up to us and gas spiked to $4.00 a gallon.
But as usual, Washington learned the wrong lessons and is now imposing its ideas on the marketplace. Rather than developing our own energy sources, Washington is telling us to pay more for new cars and get less – less space, less safety, etc. It’s a prescription for disaster that will end up bankrupting the auto industry even faster or require the nationalization of the whole industry.
* * * * *
Monday, May 18, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 18 09
Monday, May 18, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Biden’s Uncontrollable Mouth
He has done it again. Vice President Joe Biden has added yet another verbal foul-up to a long list of gaffes, embarrassments and slip-ups. The problem is that this one is more than just silly or stupid. In fact it has implications on national security. The story comes to us from Eleanor Cliff, a liberal and contributing editor for Newsweek magazine. She reports that a few weeks ago at the annual Gridiron dinner, an annual event that brings together media and political elites, VP Biden told his dinner mates the exact locations of the secret bunker that Vice Presidents are taken to in a national emergency. As a result, he has put himself and every future Vice President at higher risk.
You will recall that the Vice President was selected by Barack Obama to be his running mate because the President concluded that Biden had gravitas plus the knowledge of foreign policy that Obama did not have. During the campaign Biden made so many gaffes that he was “demoted” on the campaign trail. Since the new administration has taken office, Biden has provided consistent verbal entertainment. Now he is entering buffoon territory.
Torture and Christ
I was interviewed last week by the Associated Press on torture from a Christian perspective. The question breathlessly being asked by people who normally say that religion should have no role in public policy is, “Would Christ torture?” (Funny how they now want to ask what Jesus would do.) I suggested the more accurate question is what would Christ have us do in situations filled with moral ambiguity. If we have a terrorist in our custody who we believe has knowledge of literally a “ticking bomb” that will kill thousands of innocent people in a U.S. city, what can we legitimately do, both legally and morally, to get the information? Some on the religious left and virtually everyone on the political left are suggesting we can do nothing other than provide the prisoner with a Koran, an ACLU attorney, three square religiously approved meals and a sleep comfort mattress and hope he is so overwhelmed by our kindness that he gives us the information we need.
I disagree. I think it is legally permissible and morally required that we employ physical and mental stress to save our fellow citizens. I think it would be morally obscene to give greater weight to the prisoner’s comfort than to the lives of our fellow Americans. We have a moral obligation to defend the weak and innocent from thugs, criminals and terrorists.
The left wing blogosphere is in meltdown over my comments. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has once again named me as one of the three “worst people in the world.” To which I respond: “Bring it on!” Between the choice of saving an innocent American and giving foreign terrorists constitutional rights, I’ll choose saving the American every time.
Other Tidbits! – All Good!
--The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 today that former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller could not be sued for alleged prison abuse of Muslim detainees after the 9/11 attack. (Justice Kennedy joined the four conservatives to form the majority.)
--More surprising news from Gallup : Republicans have pulled even with Democrats in party identification. The country is now 34% independent, 32% Republican, 32% Democrat. When leaders are forced to choose the results are Republicans and Democrats tied at 45%. The country appears to be headed back to the narrow divide of recent years.
--USA Today poll favorability ratings: CIA gets 63% favorable, Nancy Pelosi gets 35% favorable. My observation: Being forced to watch a Pelosi press conference is torture.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Biden’s Uncontrollable Mouth
He has done it again. Vice President Joe Biden has added yet another verbal foul-up to a long list of gaffes, embarrassments and slip-ups. The problem is that this one is more than just silly or stupid. In fact it has implications on national security. The story comes to us from Eleanor Cliff, a liberal and contributing editor for Newsweek magazine. She reports that a few weeks ago at the annual Gridiron dinner, an annual event that brings together media and political elites, VP Biden told his dinner mates the exact locations of the secret bunker that Vice Presidents are taken to in a national emergency. As a result, he has put himself and every future Vice President at higher risk.
You will recall that the Vice President was selected by Barack Obama to be his running mate because the President concluded that Biden had gravitas plus the knowledge of foreign policy that Obama did not have. During the campaign Biden made so many gaffes that he was “demoted” on the campaign trail. Since the new administration has taken office, Biden has provided consistent verbal entertainment. Now he is entering buffoon territory.
Torture and Christ
I was interviewed last week by the Associated Press on torture from a Christian perspective. The question breathlessly being asked by people who normally say that religion should have no role in public policy is, “Would Christ torture?” (Funny how they now want to ask what Jesus would do.) I suggested the more accurate question is what would Christ have us do in situations filled with moral ambiguity. If we have a terrorist in our custody who we believe has knowledge of literally a “ticking bomb” that will kill thousands of innocent people in a U.S. city, what can we legitimately do, both legally and morally, to get the information? Some on the religious left and virtually everyone on the political left are suggesting we can do nothing other than provide the prisoner with a Koran, an ACLU attorney, three square religiously approved meals and a sleep comfort mattress and hope he is so overwhelmed by our kindness that he gives us the information we need.
I disagree. I think it is legally permissible and morally required that we employ physical and mental stress to save our fellow citizens. I think it would be morally obscene to give greater weight to the prisoner’s comfort than to the lives of our fellow Americans. We have a moral obligation to defend the weak and innocent from thugs, criminals and terrorists.
The left wing blogosphere is in meltdown over my comments. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has once again named me as one of the three “worst people in the world.” To which I respond: “Bring it on!” Between the choice of saving an innocent American and giving foreign terrorists constitutional rights, I’ll choose saving the American every time.
Other Tidbits! – All Good!
--The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 today that former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller could not be sued for alleged prison abuse of Muslim detainees after the 9/11 attack. (Justice Kennedy joined the four conservatives to form the majority.)
--More surprising news from Gallup : Republicans have pulled even with Democrats in party identification. The country is now 34% independent, 32% Republican, 32% Democrat. When leaders are forced to choose the results are Republicans and Democrats tied at 45%. The country appears to be headed back to the narrow divide of recent years.
--USA Today poll favorability ratings: CIA gets 63% favorable, Nancy Pelosi gets 35% favorable. My observation: Being forced to watch a Pelosi press conference is torture.
* * * * *
Friday, May 15, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 15 09
Friday, May 15, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Conservatives Standing Firm
Since January, I have heard from many supporters upset over the speed and severity with which President Obama has enacted his anti-life agenda. Many of these concerned conservatives have also blamed conservatives in Congress for not doing enough to defend pro-life, pro-family policies. But while there are some conservatives who want to downplay or even abandon conservative positions on social issues, most conservative leaders understand that our positions on social issues are among our most popular with the public. Even if it doesn’t usually make the nightly news, conservatives in Congress are working hard to defend our values.
As proof of that, key conservatives in the House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama this week, outlining their agenda on health care reform, an issue the president has said he wants to address this year. While the letter—signed by many conservative leaders, including Minority Leader John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Chairman of the House Republican Conference Mike Pence—expresses conservatives' desire to find common ground with the president on health care reform, it is also firm when it comes to the right to life. The letter makes it clear that House conservatives will consider only those proposals that “maintain current law provisions regarding restrictions on federal funding of abortion services, restricts federal funds from flowing to abortion providers, and does not impose mandates either on insurance carriers or medical providers to participate in activities that violate their religious and moral beliefs."
At a time when President Obama is seeking to implement the most radically anti-life agenda ever, it’s good to know conservative leaders are standing firm in support of our pro-life, pro-family values.
Join Me In D.C.
Please consider attending the third annual Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., September 18th-20th. Last year’s event saw thousands of Americans descend on our nation’s capital to hear from some of the most prominent names in the conservative movement. This year’s theme is "Rise to the Challenge, Rally to the Cause." The summit will feature sessions on a wide variety of topics including the sanctity of human life, the battle for traditional marriage, threats to religious liberty, illegal immigration and much more.
But don’t wait too long to register. Early Bird registration—which is $79, a savings of $20—ends today. For more information, please visit our website at www.ouramericanvalues.org. Or you can register by calling 1-877-372-2808. Please don’t delay. Hotel rooms are going fast, so make your reservation today!
Secularism’s Sin Taxes
During the presidential campaign, one of the most commonly-heard refrains was that the Obama tax plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, and that only the rich -- only families earning more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000 -- would see their taxes increase. Everyone else would pay less in taxes. Full stop. But in their first few months in power, President Obama and his allies have enacted and proposed a spate of new taxes that will affect all Americans, and often disproportionately those 95 percent of Americans Obama spoke so much about during the campaign.
In my Human Events column today, I discuss a sad irony: How the Left's taxes on the sins of secularism—energy consumption, smoking, drinking, eating fatty foods, etc.—will be devoted to financing a government-run health care system that subsidizes authentic sins like abortion and physician-assisted suicide. You can read my column at www.humanevents.com. Thank you.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Conservatives Standing Firm
Since January, I have heard from many supporters upset over the speed and severity with which President Obama has enacted his anti-life agenda. Many of these concerned conservatives have also blamed conservatives in Congress for not doing enough to defend pro-life, pro-family policies. But while there are some conservatives who want to downplay or even abandon conservative positions on social issues, most conservative leaders understand that our positions on social issues are among our most popular with the public. Even if it doesn’t usually make the nightly news, conservatives in Congress are working hard to defend our values.
As proof of that, key conservatives in the House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama this week, outlining their agenda on health care reform, an issue the president has said he wants to address this year. While the letter—signed by many conservative leaders, including Minority Leader John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Chairman of the House Republican Conference Mike Pence—expresses conservatives' desire to find common ground with the president on health care reform, it is also firm when it comes to the right to life. The letter makes it clear that House conservatives will consider only those proposals that “maintain current law provisions regarding restrictions on federal funding of abortion services, restricts federal funds from flowing to abortion providers, and does not impose mandates either on insurance carriers or medical providers to participate in activities that violate their religious and moral beliefs."
At a time when President Obama is seeking to implement the most radically anti-life agenda ever, it’s good to know conservative leaders are standing firm in support of our pro-life, pro-family values.
Join Me In D.C.
Please consider attending the third annual Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., September 18th-20th. Last year’s event saw thousands of Americans descend on our nation’s capital to hear from some of the most prominent names in the conservative movement. This year’s theme is "Rise to the Challenge, Rally to the Cause." The summit will feature sessions on a wide variety of topics including the sanctity of human life, the battle for traditional marriage, threats to religious liberty, illegal immigration and much more.
But don’t wait too long to register. Early Bird registration—which is $79, a savings of $20—ends today. For more information, please visit our website at www.ouramericanvalues.org. Or you can register by calling 1-877-372-2808. Please don’t delay. Hotel rooms are going fast, so make your reservation today!
Secularism’s Sin Taxes
During the presidential campaign, one of the most commonly-heard refrains was that the Obama tax plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, and that only the rich -- only families earning more than $250,000 and individuals making more than $200,000 -- would see their taxes increase. Everyone else would pay less in taxes. Full stop. But in their first few months in power, President Obama and his allies have enacted and proposed a spate of new taxes that will affect all Americans, and often disproportionately those 95 percent of Americans Obama spoke so much about during the campaign.
In my Human Events column today, I discuss a sad irony: How the Left's taxes on the sins of secularism—energy consumption, smoking, drinking, eating fatty foods, etc.—will be devoted to financing a government-run health care system that subsidizes authentic sins like abortion and physician-assisted suicide. You can read my column at www.humanevents.com. Thank you.
* * * * *
Thursday, May 14, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 14 09
Thursday, May 14, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
More On Those Photos
Today’s Washington Post sheds light on President Obama’s flip-flop on releasing the disputed photos of alleged prisoner abuse by the U.S. military. According to the Post, “Obama agreed less than three weeks ago [to release the photos], but he changed his mind after viewing some of the images and hearing warnings from his generals in Iraq and in Afghanistan that such a move would endanger U.S. troops deployed there.”
Clearly, our apprentice president is contending with quite a learning curve. Evidently, when Obama agreed to release the photos, he had not even viewed them. And he didn’t even consult with military officials before deciding to release them. What kind of a leader makes decisions without first viewing the material at issue and without seeking the advice of key counselors? An ideologue who can’t be bothered with reality. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed – for now.
Cheney Vs. Obama
There is an angle to this story that the media are missing. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is about as unlike Barack Obama as you can get. He’s not a great orator, his negative ratings are still very high and the former vice president is “charismatically challenged.” Despite those drawbacks, Cheney has scared the White House with an aggressive media presence, warning Americans that this administration is making us less safe. Cheney has not minced words. He has looked interviewers in the eye and stated that if America is attacked again, Obama will bear direct responsibility.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos conceded this morning that, “Dick Cheney isn’t the most popular messenger, but his arguments have started to get some traction, and you are seeing the president move more toward siding with the military on this thicket of issues.” On the photo flip-flop, the White House says it was influenced by military commanders. But I have to wonder how willing those commanders would have been to speak up if it weren’t for Dick Cheney and his clear understanding that the president has an obligation to govern as commander-in-chief, not as the ACLU’s lawyer-in-chief.
“Do What You Have To Do”
Just as the Congress begins the political witch hunt over the people and policies that kept us safe after the atrocities of September 11th, an unlikely source is providing some much-needed common sense in this debate. Audio of a June 2004 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is making the Internet rounds right now. The speaker is directing his comments to then Attorney General John Ashcroft regarding the interrogation of suspected Al Qaeda terrorists. Here’s what he says:
“Take the hypothetical: If we knew that there was a nuclear bomb hidden in an American city and we believed that some kind of torture, fairly severe maybe, would give us a chance of finding that bomb before it went off, my guess is most Americans and most senators, maybe all, would say, ‘Do what you have to do.’ So it’s easy to sit back in the armchair and say that torture can never be used. But when you’re in the foxhole, it’s a very different deal.”
The speaker is none other than Senator Charles Schumer, a liberal Democrat from New York. Once upon a time, and not that long ago, there was a bi-partisan consensus to do whatever it took to defend this country.
Media Bias
If you need yet another example of media bias, our friends at NewsBusters have found a real gem. When veteran journalist Andrea Mitchell was looking to do an interview about Obama’s invitation to address the University of Notre Dame, who did she invite on her show to debate Catholic politics? Dan Savage, whom Mitchell introduced as the “editorial director for Seattle’s weekly newspaper, The Stranger, he’s also a political commentator and social critic.” Let me set the record straight: Savage is an atheist, a sex columnist and a militant homosexual activist.
Savage infiltrated my campaign during the 2000 Iowa primary. He later wrote that he intentionally licked cups, doorknobs, keyboards, etc., in our office hoping to get me and others sick with the flu. He admitted to voting in the Iowa caucus, even though he wasn’t a resident of the state. He was convicted of voter fraud, fined and sentenced to 50 hours of community service. Of course, none of that came up in the interview. But what on earth made Andrea Mitchell think that Dan Savage was qualified to lecture the Catholic Church?
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
More On Those Photos
Today’s Washington Post sheds light on President Obama’s flip-flop on releasing the disputed photos of alleged prisoner abuse by the U.S. military. According to the Post, “Obama agreed less than three weeks ago [to release the photos], but he changed his mind after viewing some of the images and hearing warnings from his generals in Iraq and in Afghanistan that such a move would endanger U.S. troops deployed there.”
Clearly, our apprentice president is contending with quite a learning curve. Evidently, when Obama agreed to release the photos, he had not even viewed them. And he didn’t even consult with military officials before deciding to release them. What kind of a leader makes decisions without first viewing the material at issue and without seeking the advice of key counselors? An ideologue who can’t be bothered with reality. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed – for now.
Cheney Vs. Obama
There is an angle to this story that the media are missing. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is about as unlike Barack Obama as you can get. He’s not a great orator, his negative ratings are still very high and the former vice president is “charismatically challenged.” Despite those drawbacks, Cheney has scared the White House with an aggressive media presence, warning Americans that this administration is making us less safe. Cheney has not minced words. He has looked interviewers in the eye and stated that if America is attacked again, Obama will bear direct responsibility.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos conceded this morning that, “Dick Cheney isn’t the most popular messenger, but his arguments have started to get some traction, and you are seeing the president move more toward siding with the military on this thicket of issues.” On the photo flip-flop, the White House says it was influenced by military commanders. But I have to wonder how willing those commanders would have been to speak up if it weren’t for Dick Cheney and his clear understanding that the president has an obligation to govern as commander-in-chief, not as the ACLU’s lawyer-in-chief.
“Do What You Have To Do”
Just as the Congress begins the political witch hunt over the people and policies that kept us safe after the atrocities of September 11th, an unlikely source is providing some much-needed common sense in this debate. Audio of a June 2004 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is making the Internet rounds right now. The speaker is directing his comments to then Attorney General John Ashcroft regarding the interrogation of suspected Al Qaeda terrorists. Here’s what he says:
“Take the hypothetical: If we knew that there was a nuclear bomb hidden in an American city and we believed that some kind of torture, fairly severe maybe, would give us a chance of finding that bomb before it went off, my guess is most Americans and most senators, maybe all, would say, ‘Do what you have to do.’ So it’s easy to sit back in the armchair and say that torture can never be used. But when you’re in the foxhole, it’s a very different deal.”
The speaker is none other than Senator Charles Schumer, a liberal Democrat from New York. Once upon a time, and not that long ago, there was a bi-partisan consensus to do whatever it took to defend this country.
Media Bias
If you need yet another example of media bias, our friends at NewsBusters have found a real gem. When veteran journalist Andrea Mitchell was looking to do an interview about Obama’s invitation to address the University of Notre Dame, who did she invite on her show to debate Catholic politics? Dan Savage, whom Mitchell introduced as the “editorial director for Seattle’s weekly newspaper, The Stranger, he’s also a political commentator and social critic.” Let me set the record straight: Savage is an atheist, a sex columnist and a militant homosexual activist.
Savage infiltrated my campaign during the 2000 Iowa primary. He later wrote that he intentionally licked cups, doorknobs, keyboards, etc., in our office hoping to get me and others sick with the flu. He admitted to voting in the Iowa caucus, even though he wasn’t a resident of the state. He was convicted of voter fraud, fined and sentenced to 50 hours of community service. Of course, none of that came up in the interview. But what on earth made Andrea Mitchell think that Dan Savage was qualified to lecture the Catholic Church?
* * * * *
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
End Od Day Report 05 13 09
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
If It Moves…
What do these things have in common: health benefits provided by your employer, soft drinks, the money you hope to pass on to your children, electricity, heat, profits on a stock that goes up, cigarettes, your income, beer, Social Security and gasoline? All of these items and more are targets for tax increases by the Obama Administration and liberal politicians in Congress. And the list doesn’t include a spate of new taxes being proposed at the state and local level.
Years ago, Ronald Reagan summed up the liberal philosophy of Big Government when he said, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Our Apprentice President
The White House has found itself engulfed in yet another firestorm of protest from intelligence and military officials over the release of previously classified materials. At issue this time was the impending release of photos from detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan that purportedly show U.S. military personnel abusing Muslim detainees. In the spirit of “transparency” and “openness” that candidate Obama talked so much about, and in response to a lawsuit by the ACLU, the administration had agreed to release the photos by May 28th.
Yesterday, after meeting at the White House with General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, President Obama reversed course. The White House issued a statement saying, “…the president strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing U.S. forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Once again, our apprentice president is learning on the job. While this is a welcome reversal, he is not likely to change course on other bad ideas like massive cuts in defense spending, closing Guantanamo Bay, bringing al Qaeda sympathizers to this country, pressuring Israel into creating another terrorist state in the Middle East and appeasing Iran’s Holocaust-denying dictator. But at least he is uncomfortable with needlessly supplying the terrorists with more propaganda.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the ACLU or liberal politicians who accused our Marines of “cold blooded murder” and declared the war “lost.”
Miss California 1, Homosexual Movement 0
We don’t win many battles in the media culture wars, but after watching the Miss California controversy these last few weeks, I don’t think there is any doubt that she won, that we won, and that the radical homosexual movement lost. Once again, they were exposed as bigoted, mean-spirited and intolerant. It was great to see Perez Hilton, a flaming hater, elevated as a spokesman of that movement.
Yesterday, Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA pageant, declared that Carrie Prejean would keep her crown as Miss California, saying that her answer on marriage was no different than President Obama’s. But Prejean said something telling in an interview yesterday. The beginning of her answer was really awkward and it wasn’t just nerves. She confessed that she was halfway through giving the politically correct answer when she stopped and reversed herself.
She knew what was on the line, and she was almost too afraid to express her belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. That is the chilling effect the militant homosexual rights movement is trying so desperately to create in this country today. It wants to silence men and women of faith. It wants to embarrass us, to make us afraid to be bold in defense of our values.
At a press conference yesterday, Prejean spoke powerfully about what is at stake and why it is so important for men and women of faith to speak up:
“My grandfather served under General Patton in World War II and is someone I admire greatly. He never spoke about the Battle of the Bulge that he participated in as a rifleman, or the honorary medals he received because of his bravery. But he did speak about the freedoms he fought for, and taught me to never back down and never let anyone take those freedoms away from me. On April 19th on that stage, I exercised my freedom of speech and I was punished for doing so. This should not happen in America! It undermines the constitutional rights that my grandfather fought for.”
All of us who fight for faith, family and freedom should be encouraged by Miss Prejean’s boldness and marvel at the mysterious ways God can use anyone of His choosing – an adulterer like David, a beauty queen or even you – in a time such as this. Again, I encourage everyone to put action behind your prayers. Talk to your children and grandchildren, friends and family. Engage them, politely but firmly. Write letters to the editor, attend political meetings, organize meetings, register new voters and support organizations that fight for your values!
Most importantly, our pastors must find their voices in the culture war that threatens to silence men and women of faith. And they should be encouraged by a new ruling from the IRS that the First Amendment still prevails, that pastors can speak freely on moral values and encourage their congregations to vote their values. But there are very real threats to those freedoms, as Miss Prejean’s experience demonstrates, and we must fight back!
MEDIA NOTICE
Those of you who tuned in to the Focus on the Family radio broadcast expecting to hear me discussing the dire state of public policy issues in Washington instead got an incredibly inspiring message from Dr. Ken Hutcherson about his battle with cancer. I hope you listened because that’s the kind of courage and boldness that can transform America into a “shining city upon a hill.”
That said, please tune in to tomorrow’s show to hear Dr. Dobson and me discuss the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the United States Senate. To find station listings or listen online, please visit www.focusonthefamily.com.
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
If It Moves…
What do these things have in common: health benefits provided by your employer, soft drinks, the money you hope to pass on to your children, electricity, heat, profits on a stock that goes up, cigarettes, your income, beer, Social Security and gasoline? All of these items and more are targets for tax increases by the Obama Administration and liberal politicians in Congress. And the list doesn’t include a spate of new taxes being proposed at the state and local level.
Years ago, Ronald Reagan summed up the liberal philosophy of Big Government when he said, “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
Our Apprentice President
The White House has found itself engulfed in yet another firestorm of protest from intelligence and military officials over the release of previously classified materials. At issue this time was the impending release of photos from detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan that purportedly show U.S. military personnel abusing Muslim detainees. In the spirit of “transparency” and “openness” that candidate Obama talked so much about, and in response to a lawsuit by the ACLU, the administration had agreed to release the photos by May 28th.
Yesterday, after meeting at the White House with General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, President Obama reversed course. The White House issued a statement saying, “…the president strongly believes that the release of these photos, particularly at this time, would only serve the purpose of inflaming the theaters of war, jeopardizing U.S. forces, and making our job more difficult in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Once again, our apprentice president is learning on the job. While this is a welcome reversal, he is not likely to change course on other bad ideas like massive cuts in defense spending, closing Guantanamo Bay, bringing al Qaeda sympathizers to this country, pressuring Israel into creating another terrorist state in the Middle East and appeasing Iran’s Holocaust-denying dictator. But at least he is uncomfortable with needlessly supplying the terrorists with more propaganda.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the ACLU or liberal politicians who accused our Marines of “cold blooded murder” and declared the war “lost.”
Miss California 1, Homosexual Movement 0
We don’t win many battles in the media culture wars, but after watching the Miss California controversy these last few weeks, I don’t think there is any doubt that she won, that we won, and that the radical homosexual movement lost. Once again, they were exposed as bigoted, mean-spirited and intolerant. It was great to see Perez Hilton, a flaming hater, elevated as a spokesman of that movement.
Yesterday, Donald Trump, who owns the Miss USA pageant, declared that Carrie Prejean would keep her crown as Miss California, saying that her answer on marriage was no different than President Obama’s. But Prejean said something telling in an interview yesterday. The beginning of her answer was really awkward and it wasn’t just nerves. She confessed that she was halfway through giving the politically correct answer when she stopped and reversed herself.
She knew what was on the line, and she was almost too afraid to express her belief that marriage is between one man and one woman. That is the chilling effect the militant homosexual rights movement is trying so desperately to create in this country today. It wants to silence men and women of faith. It wants to embarrass us, to make us afraid to be bold in defense of our values.
At a press conference yesterday, Prejean spoke powerfully about what is at stake and why it is so important for men and women of faith to speak up:
“My grandfather served under General Patton in World War II and is someone I admire greatly. He never spoke about the Battle of the Bulge that he participated in as a rifleman, or the honorary medals he received because of his bravery. But he did speak about the freedoms he fought for, and taught me to never back down and never let anyone take those freedoms away from me. On April 19th on that stage, I exercised my freedom of speech and I was punished for doing so. This should not happen in America! It undermines the constitutional rights that my grandfather fought for.”
All of us who fight for faith, family and freedom should be encouraged by Miss Prejean’s boldness and marvel at the mysterious ways God can use anyone of His choosing – an adulterer like David, a beauty queen or even you – in a time such as this. Again, I encourage everyone to put action behind your prayers. Talk to your children and grandchildren, friends and family. Engage them, politely but firmly. Write letters to the editor, attend political meetings, organize meetings, register new voters and support organizations that fight for your values!
Most importantly, our pastors must find their voices in the culture war that threatens to silence men and women of faith. And they should be encouraged by a new ruling from the IRS that the First Amendment still prevails, that pastors can speak freely on moral values and encourage their congregations to vote their values. But there are very real threats to those freedoms, as Miss Prejean’s experience demonstrates, and we must fight back!
MEDIA NOTICE
Those of you who tuned in to the Focus on the Family radio broadcast expecting to hear me discussing the dire state of public policy issues in Washington instead got an incredibly inspiring message from Dr. Ken Hutcherson about his battle with cancer. I hope you listened because that’s the kind of courage and boldness that can transform America into a “shining city upon a hill.”
That said, please tune in to tomorrow’s show to hear Dr. Dobson and me discuss the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the United States Senate. To find station listings or listen online, please visit www.focusonthefamily.com.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 12 09
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama’s Lovers
The weekend White House Correspondents Dinner was a veritable “love fest.” Adoring reporters could hardly control themselves as their heroes, Barack Hussein Obama and Michelle, entered the room. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said his fellow reporters acted like schoolgirls in the presence of a rock star. It’s fortunate no one fainted.
There was a moment that really stood out for me. The president looked out at the crowd of panting journalists and said, “Most of you covered me (during the election) and all of you voted for me. Apologies to the Fox [News] table.” Without any shame, the room erupted into one of the loudest rounds of applause of the night. Barack was their man in November and he is their man now. Objective journalism is dead.
Confused About “Cap And Trade”?
If you’re confused about the term “cap and trade,” don’t worry – you’re not alone. In recent weeks I’ve gotten several emails from good folks who don’t know what the term refers to, why people are so upset or excited by it or why they should care. As it turns out, only 24% of likely voters understand the term correctly, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen found that 30% have no idea what “cap and trade” is, while 29% thought it has something to do with regulating Wall Street and 17% said health care reform.
In general, the term “cap and trade” refers to a plan to regulate energy production and the use of fossil fuels across the entire economy. It is a huge new government mandate. The “cap” refers to government plans to cap or limit the amount of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse” gases that companies can emit. It would hit energy companies especially hard, since half of our nation’s electricity is produced with coal and another 30% comes from other sources like oil and natural gas. All fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burned for energy. The “trade” half of the plan refers to the government mandates that force a company to trade or buy permits to emit more carbon dioxide if it exceeds its “cap.” The permits would be issued by the government, so it’s a tax on energy production and energy use, which would be passed on to consumers – you and me.
Representative John Dingell (D-MI), put it best when he said, “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it’s a great big one!” He’s right. As we have noted in previous reports, one estimate suggests that “cap and trade” could result in more than $3,000 in additional expenses to the American family every year, which is why many people refer to the plan as “cap and tax.” But don’t take my word for it. In January of last year, candidate Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle: “So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted. …you know, under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”
President Obama’s budget, which virtually every liberal in Congress voted for, calls for a “cap and trade” scheme that raises hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes. White House aides have told Senate staffers that the plan could raise as much as $2 trillion in new taxes. Just think about that for a moment. Here we are in the middle of a recession and this White House and liberal politicians on Capitol Hill are scheming to impose one of the biggest tax increases in history. And it will affect every American who turns on a light switch, drives to work or consumes products, since just about every economic activity involves the use of fossil fuels!
MEDIA NOTICE
Be certain to tune in to tomorrow’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast. I am scheduled to be one of the guests on the show discussing the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the United States Senate. We were joined by two members of Congress who were so passionate in their concerns about the dangers of this legislation that Dr. Dobson and I let them do most of the talking! While the Left says this bill is just about violent crime, don’t believe it. Just consider the character assassination of Carrie Prejean, Miss California, who dared to defend traditional marriage before a national audience. This is all about ideas and speech: the Left’s intolerance of traditional values and its efforts to force expressions of faith into the closet and out of the public square. To find station listings or listen online, please visit www.focusonthefamily.com.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama’s Lovers
The weekend White House Correspondents Dinner was a veritable “love fest.” Adoring reporters could hardly control themselves as their heroes, Barack Hussein Obama and Michelle, entered the room. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said his fellow reporters acted like schoolgirls in the presence of a rock star. It’s fortunate no one fainted.
There was a moment that really stood out for me. The president looked out at the crowd of panting journalists and said, “Most of you covered me (during the election) and all of you voted for me. Apologies to the Fox [News] table.” Without any shame, the room erupted into one of the loudest rounds of applause of the night. Barack was their man in November and he is their man now. Objective journalism is dead.
Confused About “Cap And Trade”?
If you’re confused about the term “cap and trade,” don’t worry – you’re not alone. In recent weeks I’ve gotten several emails from good folks who don’t know what the term refers to, why people are so upset or excited by it or why they should care. As it turns out, only 24% of likely voters understand the term correctly, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Rasmussen found that 30% have no idea what “cap and trade” is, while 29% thought it has something to do with regulating Wall Street and 17% said health care reform.
In general, the term “cap and trade” refers to a plan to regulate energy production and the use of fossil fuels across the entire economy. It is a huge new government mandate. The “cap” refers to government plans to cap or limit the amount of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse” gases that companies can emit. It would hit energy companies especially hard, since half of our nation’s electricity is produced with coal and another 30% comes from other sources like oil and natural gas. All fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burned for energy. The “trade” half of the plan refers to the government mandates that force a company to trade or buy permits to emit more carbon dioxide if it exceeds its “cap.” The permits would be issued by the government, so it’s a tax on energy production and energy use, which would be passed on to consumers – you and me.
Representative John Dingell (D-MI), put it best when he said, “Nobody in this country realizes that cap and trade is a tax, and it’s a great big one!” He’s right. As we have noted in previous reports, one estimate suggests that “cap and trade” could result in more than $3,000 in additional expenses to the American family every year, which is why many people refer to the plan as “cap and tax.” But don’t take my word for it. In January of last year, candidate Obama told the San Francisco Chronicle: “So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted. …you know, under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”
President Obama’s budget, which virtually every liberal in Congress voted for, calls for a “cap and trade” scheme that raises hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes. White House aides have told Senate staffers that the plan could raise as much as $2 trillion in new taxes. Just think about that for a moment. Here we are in the middle of a recession and this White House and liberal politicians on Capitol Hill are scheming to impose one of the biggest tax increases in history. And it will affect every American who turns on a light switch, drives to work or consumes products, since just about every economic activity involves the use of fossil fuels!
MEDIA NOTICE
Be certain to tune in to tomorrow’s Focus on the Family radio broadcast. I am scheduled to be one of the guests on the show discussing the so-called “hate crimes” bill now pending in the United States Senate. We were joined by two members of Congress who were so passionate in their concerns about the dangers of this legislation that Dr. Dobson and I let them do most of the talking! While the Left says this bill is just about violent crime, don’t believe it. Just consider the character assassination of Carrie Prejean, Miss California, who dared to defend traditional marriage before a national audience. This is all about ideas and speech: the Left’s intolerance of traditional values and its efforts to force expressions of faith into the closet and out of the public square. To find station listings or listen online, please visit www.focusonthefamily.com.
* * * * *
Monday, May 11, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 11 09
Monday May 11, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
An $89 Billion “Whoops”
The White House today announced more growth, but unfortunately it was in our deficit, not in jobs or GDP. It seems that the estimate they made in February, roughly 80 days ago, was slightly off—by $89 billion. One billion equals 1,000 million, so this is real money not just a rounding error. Just more debt that will end up on the backs of our children.
Every day, the president announces many things. He even took time last week to remind us to wash our hands. But this little $89 billion pothole announcement was left to the White House bureaucrats to make. This also kept the president away from another announcement today—that we won't stop losing jobs until sometime in 2010. The president’s only personal announcement today was his new health care initiative—more billions in future spending.
Is Same-sex “Marriage” Inevitable?
Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, thinks so. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Romero says, “Clearly, the momentum is on our side,” and he calls the nationwide legalization of same-sex “marriage” a “sure thing.” According to Romero, the issue is the ACLU’s top priority, “behind only national-security issues.” That’s very telling. The ACLU has been leading the charge to expose our national security secrets in the war against Islamofascism, shutting down GITMO and pursuing the absurd notion that terrorists captured on a foreign battlefield deserve the same constitutional protections as American citizens. Undermining our national security is the ACLU's first priority; undermining our cultural security, its second.
While it is undeniable that the drive for same-sex “marriage” has picked up steam in recent months, it is also undeniable that the upsurge is a direct consequence of recent elections. The militant homosexual rights movement had a very clear strategy to fundamentally alter the political environment in key states by defeating pro-family, pro-traditional marriage legislators. If just one or two of them could be defeated, it would send the message that supporters of traditional marriage had a bull’s eye on their backs, creating a chilling effect on sympathetic politicians. If enough could be defeated, it could potentially change the makeup of the state legislature, putting pro-homosexual rights candidates in control – politicians who would use their power to prevent marriage protection amendments from getting on the ballot. That is exactly what happened as a result of the 2006 elections in Iowa and in other states where “gay marriage” has advanced in recent months.
Is same-sex “marriage” inevitable? Romero is right when he says that the momentum is on his side. But, I’m not willing to concede that the coast-to-coast redefinition of marriage in America is “inevitable.” As we saw in California, the courts do not get the final say. The United States Supreme Court once declared slavery to be legal. But the people, through the democratic process, amended the Constitution to guarantee no man could be held as property. The Supreme Court declared in 1973 that our unborn children had no rights we were bound to respect. But men and women of faith have fought the good fight for more than three decades, and, as recent polls indicate, we are changing hearts and minds.
If pastors speak up and if men and women of faith and of all races and backgrounds unite to defend the institution of marriage as it has existed from the dawn of civilization, I believe we will prevail. The culture war is real and the public policies that we must all live under are determined by the men and women we elect to public office. This is why it is so important for men and women of faith to remain engaged in the public policy battles and to speak up and defend their values.
“We’d Been Had”
Back in February, President Obama met with 9/11 families and the families of American sailors who died in the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole. The meeting was necessitated by the administration’s soft stance in prosecuting the war on terror, the president’s promise to shut down the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the decision to drop charges against Abu Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspected mastermind of the Cole bombing. Faced with a potential onslaught of negative publicity from the victims’ families, the Obama White House went into campaign mode and invited 40 family members to the White House. One of those in attendance was Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America.
Last week, Ms. Burlingame released an op-ed recounting her experience at the meeting and reviewing some of the administration’s actions since that February day at the White House. She said the president warmly greeted the families of the Cole victims and called them the “conscience of the country.” President Obama assured them that he would “seek swift and certain justice” for those responsible for the terrorist atrocities on 9/11 and Cole bombing, which killed 17 American sailors. According to Ms. Burlingame, the families pushed back – making the case for GITMO and reiterating the problems with prosecuting terrorists in U.S. courts. The president sought to “assuage their fears” and told the families, “This isn’t goodbye, this is hello,” promising an open line of communication if they had future concerns.
Seventeen days later, the administration announced that it was releasing Binyam Mohamed from GITMO. Mohamed had been recruited and trained by Al Qaeda to carry out post-9/11 attacks in America ranging from attacking subways (as Al Qaeda did in London), to spraying cyanide gas in night clubs, to blowing up gas tankers or bringing down apartment buildings with a natural gas explosion. Ms. Burlingame notes other administration actions, including its plans to release some GITMO detainees in America, and concluded, “We’d been had. …Given all the developments since our meeting with the president, it is now evident that his words to us bore no relation to his intended actions on national security policy and detainee issues. … I asked Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (captain of the USS Cole) why some of the Cole families declined the invitation to meet with Barack Obama at the White House. [He replied] ‘They saw it for what it was.’”
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
An $89 Billion “Whoops”
The White House today announced more growth, but unfortunately it was in our deficit, not in jobs or GDP. It seems that the estimate they made in February, roughly 80 days ago, was slightly off—by $89 billion. One billion equals 1,000 million, so this is real money not just a rounding error. Just more debt that will end up on the backs of our children.
Every day, the president announces many things. He even took time last week to remind us to wash our hands. But this little $89 billion pothole announcement was left to the White House bureaucrats to make. This also kept the president away from another announcement today—that we won't stop losing jobs until sometime in 2010. The president’s only personal announcement today was his new health care initiative—more billions in future spending.
Is Same-sex “Marriage” Inevitable?
Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, thinks so. In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Romero says, “Clearly, the momentum is on our side,” and he calls the nationwide legalization of same-sex “marriage” a “sure thing.” According to Romero, the issue is the ACLU’s top priority, “behind only national-security issues.” That’s very telling. The ACLU has been leading the charge to expose our national security secrets in the war against Islamofascism, shutting down GITMO and pursuing the absurd notion that terrorists captured on a foreign battlefield deserve the same constitutional protections as American citizens. Undermining our national security is the ACLU's first priority; undermining our cultural security, its second.
While it is undeniable that the drive for same-sex “marriage” has picked up steam in recent months, it is also undeniable that the upsurge is a direct consequence of recent elections. The militant homosexual rights movement had a very clear strategy to fundamentally alter the political environment in key states by defeating pro-family, pro-traditional marriage legislators. If just one or two of them could be defeated, it would send the message that supporters of traditional marriage had a bull’s eye on their backs, creating a chilling effect on sympathetic politicians. If enough could be defeated, it could potentially change the makeup of the state legislature, putting pro-homosexual rights candidates in control – politicians who would use their power to prevent marriage protection amendments from getting on the ballot. That is exactly what happened as a result of the 2006 elections in Iowa and in other states where “gay marriage” has advanced in recent months.
Is same-sex “marriage” inevitable? Romero is right when he says that the momentum is on his side. But, I’m not willing to concede that the coast-to-coast redefinition of marriage in America is “inevitable.” As we saw in California, the courts do not get the final say. The United States Supreme Court once declared slavery to be legal. But the people, through the democratic process, amended the Constitution to guarantee no man could be held as property. The Supreme Court declared in 1973 that our unborn children had no rights we were bound to respect. But men and women of faith have fought the good fight for more than three decades, and, as recent polls indicate, we are changing hearts and minds.
If pastors speak up and if men and women of faith and of all races and backgrounds unite to defend the institution of marriage as it has existed from the dawn of civilization, I believe we will prevail. The culture war is real and the public policies that we must all live under are determined by the men and women we elect to public office. This is why it is so important for men and women of faith to remain engaged in the public policy battles and to speak up and defend their values.
“We’d Been Had”
Back in February, President Obama met with 9/11 families and the families of American sailors who died in the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole. The meeting was necessitated by the administration’s soft stance in prosecuting the war on terror, the president’s promise to shut down the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the decision to drop charges against Abu Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspected mastermind of the Cole bombing. Faced with a potential onslaught of negative publicity from the victims’ families, the Obama White House went into campaign mode and invited 40 family members to the White House. One of those in attendance was Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America.
Last week, Ms. Burlingame released an op-ed recounting her experience at the meeting and reviewing some of the administration’s actions since that February day at the White House. She said the president warmly greeted the families of the Cole victims and called them the “conscience of the country.” President Obama assured them that he would “seek swift and certain justice” for those responsible for the terrorist atrocities on 9/11 and Cole bombing, which killed 17 American sailors. According to Ms. Burlingame, the families pushed back – making the case for GITMO and reiterating the problems with prosecuting terrorists in U.S. courts. The president sought to “assuage their fears” and told the families, “This isn’t goodbye, this is hello,” promising an open line of communication if they had future concerns.
Seventeen days later, the administration announced that it was releasing Binyam Mohamed from GITMO. Mohamed had been recruited and trained by Al Qaeda to carry out post-9/11 attacks in America ranging from attacking subways (as Al Qaeda did in London), to spraying cyanide gas in night clubs, to blowing up gas tankers or bringing down apartment buildings with a natural gas explosion. Ms. Burlingame notes other administration actions, including its plans to release some GITMO detainees in America, and concluded, “We’d been had. …Given all the developments since our meeting with the president, it is now evident that his words to us bore no relation to his intended actions on national security policy and detainee issues. … I asked Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (captain of the USS Cole) why some of the Cole families declined the invitation to meet with Barack Obama at the White House. [He replied] ‘They saw it for what it was.’”
* * * * *
Friday, May 8, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 08 09
Friday, May 8, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama Vs. The Democrats
After proposing a $3.5 trillion budget with massive spending increases, President Obama yesterday announced with a straight face $17 billion in spending “cuts,” which amount to one half of one percent of his total budget. As it turns out, even this isn’t really a cut – the money was just going to be diverted to other spending programs.
But get this headline on the front page of today’s Washington Post: “Democrats Assail Obama’s Hit List.” Even this “cut” of one-half of one percent is too much for the tax and spend liberals now running Capitol Hill, who just a few months ago ran against Republicans by accusing them of wasteful spending and fiscal irresponsibility.
Here’s something else to consider. A significant percentage of “values voters” bought into the idea that Obama was a moderate and wouldn’t be a radical on values. But as we know, he has repealed virtually every restriction on taxpayer-funding of abortion. We spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to support Planned Parenthood every year, but yesterday Obama zeroed out funding for abstinence education, money intended to help parents reinforce their values and teach our children to avoid sexual activity until marriage.
By the way, everyone knew the trillion-dollar “stimulus” bill was full of wasteful projects, but Obama personally confirmed it yesterday with his list of budget “cuts.” USA Today reports that among the projects that Obama now says he wants to eliminate as “ineffective” are five programs that received $500 million in stimulus money. That’s half a billion dollars of your money that Obama and the liberals insisted on spending for ineffective programs in the “NO TIME TO READ, MUST PASS NOW” stimulus bill!
The bottom line is this: When congressional liberals “cut” the budget, they slash defense and gut the priorities of values voters just so they can increase spending in other areas. Moreover, they intend on confronting the historic $1.5 trillion deficit by raising taxes, and not just on the wealthy. Obama is taking us down the road of European-style socialism, where effective marginal tax rates in England are at 60%! And like their socialist counterparts in Britain, liberal politicians will use the massive debt they created as an excuse to take more money from the productive citizens of society.
Pelosi Knew
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been one of the most outspoken politicians demanding investigations of the Bush Administration for alleged “war crimes” and “torture.” But when news leaked that Pelosi was one of the congressional leaders first briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” she denied any knowledge of waterboarding.
Yesterday, the office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report detailing all the briefings given to members of Congress related to the interrogation of Al Qaeda suspects and the use of “EITs,” enhanced interrogation techniques. The report lists 40 such congressional briefings, including one on September 4, 2002, for then House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and the ranking Democrat member of the committee, Nancy Pelosi.
According to ABC News, the September 2002 Goss-Pelosi briefing is described as a “Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of particular EITs that had been employed.” That description is quite clear. Porter Goss said that during the briefings he received, no one ever complained about the tactics used. In fact, he said, “Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing. And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement.”
Let me repeat: If Speaker Pelosi wants to have a public debate about what is appropriate to do in defense of our country, I welcome that debate. And if she and other members of Congress have changed their minds about the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” since 2002, I believe the American people deserve to know why.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama Vs. The Democrats
After proposing a $3.5 trillion budget with massive spending increases, President Obama yesterday announced with a straight face $17 billion in spending “cuts,” which amount to one half of one percent of his total budget. As it turns out, even this isn’t really a cut – the money was just going to be diverted to other spending programs.
But get this headline on the front page of today’s Washington Post: “Democrats Assail Obama’s Hit List.” Even this “cut” of one-half of one percent is too much for the tax and spend liberals now running Capitol Hill, who just a few months ago ran against Republicans by accusing them of wasteful spending and fiscal irresponsibility.
Here’s something else to consider. A significant percentage of “values voters” bought into the idea that Obama was a moderate and wouldn’t be a radical on values. But as we know, he has repealed virtually every restriction on taxpayer-funding of abortion. We spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to support Planned Parenthood every year, but yesterday Obama zeroed out funding for abstinence education, money intended to help parents reinforce their values and teach our children to avoid sexual activity until marriage.
By the way, everyone knew the trillion-dollar “stimulus” bill was full of wasteful projects, but Obama personally confirmed it yesterday with his list of budget “cuts.” USA Today reports that among the projects that Obama now says he wants to eliminate as “ineffective” are five programs that received $500 million in stimulus money. That’s half a billion dollars of your money that Obama and the liberals insisted on spending for ineffective programs in the “NO TIME TO READ, MUST PASS NOW” stimulus bill!
The bottom line is this: When congressional liberals “cut” the budget, they slash defense and gut the priorities of values voters just so they can increase spending in other areas. Moreover, they intend on confronting the historic $1.5 trillion deficit by raising taxes, and not just on the wealthy. Obama is taking us down the road of European-style socialism, where effective marginal tax rates in England are at 60%! And like their socialist counterparts in Britain, liberal politicians will use the massive debt they created as an excuse to take more money from the productive citizens of society.
Pelosi Knew
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been one of the most outspoken politicians demanding investigations of the Bush Administration for alleged “war crimes” and “torture.” But when news leaked that Pelosi was one of the congressional leaders first briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” she denied any knowledge of waterboarding.
Yesterday, the office of the Director of National Intelligence released a report detailing all the briefings given to members of Congress related to the interrogation of Al Qaeda suspects and the use of “EITs,” enhanced interrogation techniques. The report lists 40 such congressional briefings, including one on September 4, 2002, for then House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss and the ranking Democrat member of the committee, Nancy Pelosi.
According to ABC News, the September 2002 Goss-Pelosi briefing is described as a “Briefing on EITs including use of EITs on Abu Zubaydah, background on authorities, and a description of particular EITs that had been employed.” That description is quite clear. Porter Goss said that during the briefings he received, no one ever complained about the tactics used. In fact, he said, “Among those being briefed, there was a pretty full understanding of what the CIA was doing. And the reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement.”
Let me repeat: If Speaker Pelosi wants to have a public debate about what is appropriate to do in defense of our country, I welcome that debate. And if she and other members of Congress have changed their minds about the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” since 2002, I believe the American people deserve to know why.
* * * * *
Thursday, May 7, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 07 09
Thursday, May 7, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
National Day Of Prayer
Today marks the 58th annual National Day of Prayer. The theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer is, “Prayer, America’s Hope,” based on Psalm 33:22, “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you…” Tuesday, I had the privilege of addressing the 2009 Texas State Prayer breakfast in Austin. It was a fantastic event with nearly 1,000 people. Men and women of faith will gather coast-to-coast today to pray for our nation and the “seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.” There is much to pray about.
But with all this activity, there will be no event at the White House. President Obama -- who had no problem praying for 20 years in Jeremiah Wright’s church where all kinds of hate was spewed from the pulpit -- evidently decided he can’t invite the Jim Dobsons and Chuck Colsons of America into his White House. It is his loss.
That’s It?
President Barack Obama has fulfilled his campaign promise to scour the budget line-by-line to come up with a comprehensive list of savings for the taxpayers. Today, the White House released the results of its efforts – 121 items totaling $17 billion in proposed cuts. That amounts to one half of one percent of the president’s $3.5 trillion budget.
Here’s some information on those proposed cuts. About half of the cuts are coming from the Pentagon, and according to ABC News, “one program the White House wants to kill now gives money to the states to lock up illegal immigrants who commit a crime.” That gives you some idea of the administration’s priorities.
Now, before you get your “hopes” up about the “change” that Obama is saving, consider this excerpt from the Associated Press: “Those savings are far exceeded by a phone-book-sized volume detailing Obama’s generous increases for domestic programs that will accompany the call for cuts. And instead of devoting the savings to defray record deficits, the White House is funneling them back into other programs.” So, he’s not really cutting spending at all, which is one reason why this year’s deficit is expected to be more than $1.5 trillion.
Not In My Back Yard!
Last month, the Obama White House requested more than $80 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Included in that request was $80 million in funding to shutdown GITMO and relocate the prisoners, 100 of whom could end up in the United States, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Two members of Congress are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) are sponsoring legislation that would prohibit taxpayer money from being used to bring GITMO detainees to U.S. soil. Chambliss and Tiahrt are in good company -- the American people overwhelmingly agree with them. As I reported earlier this week, 75% of voters do not want GITMO detainees released into the United States, and that includes 64% of Democrats and 76% of independent voters.
Militant Homosexual Movement Demands More
In his first one hundred days in office, Barack Obama has done much to appease many of the leftwing special interest groups. He bailed out Big Labor, and the United Auto Workers in particular, with billions of taxpayer dollars for the auto industry. He made the pro-abortion lobby happy by issuing executive orders allowing the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions overseas and lifted some limitations on public funding of human embryonic stem cell research. He appeased the radical anti-military activists at MoveOn.org and Code Pink by ordering GITMO closed and suggesting he was open to the prosecution of Bush Administration officials.
But one group feeling left out is now making demands – the militant homosexual rights movement. Spurred by recent victories, the homosexual rights lobby believes now is the time to launch a full-scale assault on traditional values, and it wants more action on its agenda from the president. Today’s New York Times reports in a front page story that key leaders of the homosexual movement have been invited to the White House for a meeting next week to plot strategy.
Among their demands are repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule, hate crimes legislation, redefining marriage so that men can “marry” other men, and the possible appointment of the first open homosexual to the United States Supreme Court. The militant homosexual movement is determined to force its morality on the American people, and they will succeed unless you speak up.
TAKE ACTION: Call your senators at 202-224-3121 and urge them to defend religious liberty by voting against the so-called “hate crimes” bill.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
National Day Of Prayer
Today marks the 58th annual National Day of Prayer. The theme for this year’s National Day of Prayer is, “Prayer, America’s Hope,” based on Psalm 33:22, “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you…” Tuesday, I had the privilege of addressing the 2009 Texas State Prayer breakfast in Austin. It was a fantastic event with nearly 1,000 people. Men and women of faith will gather coast-to-coast today to pray for our nation and the “seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.” There is much to pray about.
But with all this activity, there will be no event at the White House. President Obama -- who had no problem praying for 20 years in Jeremiah Wright’s church where all kinds of hate was spewed from the pulpit -- evidently decided he can’t invite the Jim Dobsons and Chuck Colsons of America into his White House. It is his loss.
That’s It?
President Barack Obama has fulfilled his campaign promise to scour the budget line-by-line to come up with a comprehensive list of savings for the taxpayers. Today, the White House released the results of its efforts – 121 items totaling $17 billion in proposed cuts. That amounts to one half of one percent of the president’s $3.5 trillion budget.
Here’s some information on those proposed cuts. About half of the cuts are coming from the Pentagon, and according to ABC News, “one program the White House wants to kill now gives money to the states to lock up illegal immigrants who commit a crime.” That gives you some idea of the administration’s priorities.
Now, before you get your “hopes” up about the “change” that Obama is saving, consider this excerpt from the Associated Press: “Those savings are far exceeded by a phone-book-sized volume detailing Obama’s generous increases for domestic programs that will accompany the call for cuts. And instead of devoting the savings to defray record deficits, the White House is funneling them back into other programs.” So, he’s not really cutting spending at all, which is one reason why this year’s deficit is expected to be more than $1.5 trillion.
Not In My Back Yard!
Last month, the Obama White House requested more than $80 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Included in that request was $80 million in funding to shutdown GITMO and relocate the prisoners, 100 of whom could end up in the United States, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Two members of Congress are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) are sponsoring legislation that would prohibit taxpayer money from being used to bring GITMO detainees to U.S. soil. Chambliss and Tiahrt are in good company -- the American people overwhelmingly agree with them. As I reported earlier this week, 75% of voters do not want GITMO detainees released into the United States, and that includes 64% of Democrats and 76% of independent voters.
Militant Homosexual Movement Demands More
In his first one hundred days in office, Barack Obama has done much to appease many of the leftwing special interest groups. He bailed out Big Labor, and the United Auto Workers in particular, with billions of taxpayer dollars for the auto industry. He made the pro-abortion lobby happy by issuing executive orders allowing the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions overseas and lifted some limitations on public funding of human embryonic stem cell research. He appeased the radical anti-military activists at MoveOn.org and Code Pink by ordering GITMO closed and suggesting he was open to the prosecution of Bush Administration officials.
But one group feeling left out is now making demands – the militant homosexual rights movement. Spurred by recent victories, the homosexual rights lobby believes now is the time to launch a full-scale assault on traditional values, and it wants more action on its agenda from the president. Today’s New York Times reports in a front page story that key leaders of the homosexual movement have been invited to the White House for a meeting next week to plot strategy.
Among their demands are repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule, hate crimes legislation, redefining marriage so that men can “marry” other men, and the possible appointment of the first open homosexual to the United States Supreme Court. The militant homosexual movement is determined to force its morality on the American people, and they will succeed unless you speak up.
TAKE ACTION: Call your senators at 202-224-3121 and urge them to defend religious liberty by voting against the so-called “hate crimes” bill.
* * * * *
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Enf Of Day Report 05 06 09
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama Brings More “Change”
Staying true to his campaign mantra of change, President Barack Obama is changing the way this year’s National Day of Prayer events will be observed. President George W. Bush hosted a White House reception for the National Day of Prayer during his administration. This year, President Obama is not. He is issuing a proclamation recognizing the event, but there will be no White House ceremony, and the president is avoiding publicly associating himself with the day’s activities sponsored by the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
Shirley Dobson, chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, issued a statement saying, “We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama Administration. At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.” Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, was more direct, saying, “Hopefully we’ll have millions of people around the country that will make up for the void we see at the White House on the National Day of Prayer.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended Obama by noting that he is simply modeling his practices after those of Bill Clinton, who also declined to participate in the day’s events.
What A Waste!
The White House recently spent nearly $330,000 of your money to scare the daylights out of the residents and workers of New York City to get some photos of Air Force One and the Statue of Liberty. It created panic in the streets and forced the evacuation of several office buildings, but we were told not to worry, it was just a photo-op.
Ever since this happened, the White House has refused to release the photos. Yesterday, Robert Gibbs was adamant that they would not be released. Was there no film in the camera? Did they leave the lens cap on? If the White House decides it cannot use the pictures, then it just wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
What’s the issue? This was supposed to be a photo op, which by nature implies that the pictures would have been released. And this White House has no problem publishing previously classified CIA memos and releasing photos of “detainee abuse” over the objections of key intelligence personnel. Those photos and memos being in the public domain could very well be used against U.S. troops or to harm our national security. There are good reasons to keep them classified.
As we are getting to release this report, there is news late this afternoon that the White House is caving to the pressure and will release the pictures. Stay tuned…
Dems Diss Specter
Arlen Specter, who recently switched parties because he feared he couldn’t win the Republican primary, may be a wily politician, but he’s evidently a very poor negotiator. After handing the Democrats the magical number of a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority, Democrats dissed their newest member by stripping him of his three decades of seniority.
According to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Specter will be the junior Democrat on every committee he serves on but one, “the chamber’s Special Committee on Aging. On that committee, he will be next to last in seniority.” I wonder how the 79 year-old Specter enjoys his junior status in his new party!
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama Brings More “Change”
Staying true to his campaign mantra of change, President Barack Obama is changing the way this year’s National Day of Prayer events will be observed. President George W. Bush hosted a White House reception for the National Day of Prayer during his administration. This year, President Obama is not. He is issuing a proclamation recognizing the event, but there will be no White House ceremony, and the president is avoiding publicly associating himself with the day’s activities sponsored by the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
Shirley Dobson, chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, issued a statement saying, “We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama Administration. At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.” Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), co-chairman of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, was more direct, saying, “Hopefully we’ll have millions of people around the country that will make up for the void we see at the White House on the National Day of Prayer.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs defended Obama by noting that he is simply modeling his practices after those of Bill Clinton, who also declined to participate in the day’s events.
What A Waste!
The White House recently spent nearly $330,000 of your money to scare the daylights out of the residents and workers of New York City to get some photos of Air Force One and the Statue of Liberty. It created panic in the streets and forced the evacuation of several office buildings, but we were told not to worry, it was just a photo-op.
Ever since this happened, the White House has refused to release the photos. Yesterday, Robert Gibbs was adamant that they would not be released. Was there no film in the camera? Did they leave the lens cap on? If the White House decides it cannot use the pictures, then it just wasted hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
What’s the issue? This was supposed to be a photo op, which by nature implies that the pictures would have been released. And this White House has no problem publishing previously classified CIA memos and releasing photos of “detainee abuse” over the objections of key intelligence personnel. Those photos and memos being in the public domain could very well be used against U.S. troops or to harm our national security. There are good reasons to keep them classified.
As we are getting to release this report, there is news late this afternoon that the White House is caving to the pressure and will release the pictures. Stay tuned…
Dems Diss Specter
Arlen Specter, who recently switched parties because he feared he couldn’t win the Republican primary, may be a wily politician, but he’s evidently a very poor negotiator. After handing the Democrats the magical number of a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority, Democrats dissed their newest member by stripping him of his three decades of seniority.
According to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, Specter will be the junior Democrat on every committee he serves on but one, “the chamber’s Special Committee on Aging. On that committee, he will be next to last in seniority.” I wonder how the 79 year-old Specter enjoys his junior status in his new party!
* * * * *
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
End Of Day Report 05 05 09
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Does Obama Worry You?
A few recent Rasmussen polls on national security issues have attracted my attention. It seems President Obama’s actions are beginning to worry the American people.
Last week, pollster Scott Rasmussen reported that public support for the war on terror – or “overseas contingency operations” as the Obama White House calls them – has fallen significantly in recent weeks. In fact, under President Obama’s leadership, support for the war on terror is down to its lowest level in nearly a year at just 42%.
Meanwhile, 28% of likely voters say that the “terrorists are winning.” According to Rasmussen, “That’s the highest number offering that pessimistic assessment since October of 2007.” What has happened in recent weeks to give folks such a pessimistic outlook? Let’s review.
* Immediately after taking office, President Obama issued an executive order closing the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay – without any plan as to where those thugs would be put after GITMO was shut. Then the administration dropped charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, suspected of masterminding the 2000 suicide bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors. (Diane McDaniels, mother of one of those 17 sailors, expressed regret for voting for Obama.)
* In mid-March, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that some of the GITMO detainees might actually be released in the United States. How many? Secretary of Defense Robert Gates suggested as many as 100 might end up in the U.S. Even worse, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said we might have to give them welfare.
* Next, Obama goes overseas and apologies for America before European and Turkish audiences, and bows before the Muslim king of Saudi Arabia. His Secretary of Homeland Security drops the phrase “terrorism” in favor of “man-made disasters” and then releases a report that seems more worried about pro-life activists and veterans than Islamic terrorists. Whoops! I mean “sponsors of man-made disasters.”
* Then, against the advice of his CIA director and four former CIA directors, President Obama releases classified CIA memos regarding our interrogation methods. Even worse, he bans methods that the CIA said produced information that prevented a “second wave attack” on Los Angeles after 9/11.
* Last, but certainly not least, the president indicates his openness to prosecuting the people who, and criminalizing the policies which, kept us safe after 9/11.
How do the people feel about all this? According to Rasmussen:
* Only 36% of voters support closing GITMO;
* 75% of voters do not want GITMO detainees released into the United States;
* 64% of Democrats and 76% of independent voters do not want GITMO detainees released here.
* 74% oppose giving them taxpayer money if they are released into the United States;
* Only 28% of voters thought releasing the CIA memos was the right thing to do;
* Only 28% of voters want more investigations of Bush-era security policies; and
* A Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans who have closely followed the interrogation story felt that the “harsh techniques” were justified.
Given what the Obama Administration is doing, and how concerned the American people are about it, it’s not surprising that a Rasmussen poll released yesterday finds that Americans are increasingly interested in “national security/war on terror” issues. According to Rasmussen, 70% of Americans now say that those issues are very important to them – up ten points from February and “the highest level found since September 2007.”
The people are paying attention, and when it comes to national security, they don’t like the “change” Obama and the liberal Democrats are making. If voters don’t like the policies being made in Washington, there is only one solution: Change the politicians making those policies!
Confusion Abounds
More evidence of the administration’s confusion in foreign policy and national security was offered recently when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat was somehow connected to more Israeli concessions in the so-called “peace process” with the Palestinians. In case there are doubts as to the administration’s position on that issue, the Jerusalem Post reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reiterated the point this weekend in a briefing to pro-Israel activists.
This is very discouraging news for many reasons, not the least of which is that Iran’s Holocaust-denying dictator wants Israel “wiped off the map” and Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Last week, General Ataollah Salehi, commander of the Iranian army, said in a televised interview, “I don’t think we will need more than 11 days to wipe Israel out of existence.”
Israel is a key ally, a democratic republic on the front line in the war against Islamofascism. Iran is an Islamic theocracy led by a fanatical madman who is frantically seeking nuclear weapons. Israel is facing an existential threat and a second Holocaust from Iran. And yet we are pressuring Israel to make concessions to the Jew-hating terrorists in Hamas in exchange for support in confronting Iran. It’s like being told to pick your poison.
And what kind of state are we asking the Israelis to help create? Consider this report from last week’s Jerusalem Post:
“…a Palestinian Authority ‘military court’ on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian man to death by hanging after finding him guilty of selling land to Jews. The verdict came shortly after the PA’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, issued yet another fatwa (religious decree) banning Muslims from selling land or houses to Jews. …The man sentenced to death is Anwar Brigith, 59, from the village of Bet Umar, north of Hebron.
“The three-judge panel found the defendant guilty of violating PA laws that bar Palestinians from selling property to ‘the enemy.’ In its ruling, the court, which convened in Hebron, said that Brigith had acted in violation of a Palestinian ‘military law’ dating back to 1979, which states that it is forbidden for a Palestinian to sell land to Jews. The accused was also found guilty of violating a law dating back to 1958 that calls for a boycott against Israel, as well as another law from 1953 that bans trade with Israelis.
“The judges issued the verdict unanimously and pointed out that the defendant did not have the right to appeal…” This is the evil we are demanding Israel make concessions to in exchange for support in dealing with Iran. It is obscene, but I bet you didn’t hear about it from Big Media, because it completely undermines the administration’s push for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Shlomo Mostofsky, president of the National Council of Young Israel representing 150 synagogues in the United States, issued a statement demanding action from the Obama Administration.
He said, “The United States cannot in good faith engage in a conversation about peace with the Palestinians while they continue to advocate a policy that is so deeply rooted in hatred. Before the U.S. can contemplate partnering with the Palestinian Authority … it must insist that they abandon these bigoted policies that incite hatred and ill-will against the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”
I couldn’t agree more.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Does Obama Worry You?
A few recent Rasmussen polls on national security issues have attracted my attention. It seems President Obama’s actions are beginning to worry the American people.
Last week, pollster Scott Rasmussen reported that public support for the war on terror – or “overseas contingency operations” as the Obama White House calls them – has fallen significantly in recent weeks. In fact, under President Obama’s leadership, support for the war on terror is down to its lowest level in nearly a year at just 42%.
Meanwhile, 28% of likely voters say that the “terrorists are winning.” According to Rasmussen, “That’s the highest number offering that pessimistic assessment since October of 2007.” What has happened in recent weeks to give folks such a pessimistic outlook? Let’s review.
* Immediately after taking office, President Obama issued an executive order closing the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay – without any plan as to where those thugs would be put after GITMO was shut. Then the administration dropped charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, suspected of masterminding the 2000 suicide bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors. (Diane McDaniels, mother of one of those 17 sailors, expressed regret for voting for Obama.)
* In mid-March, Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that some of the GITMO detainees might actually be released in the United States. How many? Secretary of Defense Robert Gates suggested as many as 100 might end up in the U.S. Even worse, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said we might have to give them welfare.
* Next, Obama goes overseas and apologies for America before European and Turkish audiences, and bows before the Muslim king of Saudi Arabia. His Secretary of Homeland Security drops the phrase “terrorism” in favor of “man-made disasters” and then releases a report that seems more worried about pro-life activists and veterans than Islamic terrorists. Whoops! I mean “sponsors of man-made disasters.”
* Then, against the advice of his CIA director and four former CIA directors, President Obama releases classified CIA memos regarding our interrogation methods. Even worse, he bans methods that the CIA said produced information that prevented a “second wave attack” on Los Angeles after 9/11.
* Last, but certainly not least, the president indicates his openness to prosecuting the people who, and criminalizing the policies which, kept us safe after 9/11.
How do the people feel about all this? According to Rasmussen:
* Only 36% of voters support closing GITMO;
* 75% of voters do not want GITMO detainees released into the United States;
* 64% of Democrats and 76% of independent voters do not want GITMO detainees released here.
* 74% oppose giving them taxpayer money if they are released into the United States;
* Only 28% of voters thought releasing the CIA memos was the right thing to do;
* Only 28% of voters want more investigations of Bush-era security policies; and
* A Gallup poll found that 61% of Americans who have closely followed the interrogation story felt that the “harsh techniques” were justified.
Given what the Obama Administration is doing, and how concerned the American people are about it, it’s not surprising that a Rasmussen poll released yesterday finds that Americans are increasingly interested in “national security/war on terror” issues. According to Rasmussen, 70% of Americans now say that those issues are very important to them – up ten points from February and “the highest level found since September 2007.”
The people are paying attention, and when it comes to national security, they don’t like the “change” Obama and the liberal Democrats are making. If voters don’t like the policies being made in Washington, there is only one solution: Change the politicians making those policies!
Confusion Abounds
More evidence of the administration’s confusion in foreign policy and national security was offered recently when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested that dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat was somehow connected to more Israeli concessions in the so-called “peace process” with the Palestinians. In case there are doubts as to the administration’s position on that issue, the Jerusalem Post reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reiterated the point this weekend in a briefing to pro-Israel activists.
This is very discouraging news for many reasons, not the least of which is that Iran’s Holocaust-denying dictator wants Israel “wiped off the map” and Hamas refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist. Last week, General Ataollah Salehi, commander of the Iranian army, said in a televised interview, “I don’t think we will need more than 11 days to wipe Israel out of existence.”
Israel is a key ally, a democratic republic on the front line in the war against Islamofascism. Iran is an Islamic theocracy led by a fanatical madman who is frantically seeking nuclear weapons. Israel is facing an existential threat and a second Holocaust from Iran. And yet we are pressuring Israel to make concessions to the Jew-hating terrorists in Hamas in exchange for support in confronting Iran. It’s like being told to pick your poison.
And what kind of state are we asking the Israelis to help create? Consider this report from last week’s Jerusalem Post:
“…a Palestinian Authority ‘military court’ on Tuesday sentenced a Palestinian man to death by hanging after finding him guilty of selling land to Jews. The verdict came shortly after the PA’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, issued yet another fatwa (religious decree) banning Muslims from selling land or houses to Jews. …The man sentenced to death is Anwar Brigith, 59, from the village of Bet Umar, north of Hebron.
“The three-judge panel found the defendant guilty of violating PA laws that bar Palestinians from selling property to ‘the enemy.’ In its ruling, the court, which convened in Hebron, said that Brigith had acted in violation of a Palestinian ‘military law’ dating back to 1979, which states that it is forbidden for a Palestinian to sell land to Jews. The accused was also found guilty of violating a law dating back to 1958 that calls for a boycott against Israel, as well as another law from 1953 that bans trade with Israelis.
“The judges issued the verdict unanimously and pointed out that the defendant did not have the right to appeal…” This is the evil we are demanding Israel make concessions to in exchange for support in dealing with Iran. It is obscene, but I bet you didn’t hear about it from Big Media, because it completely undermines the administration’s push for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Shlomo Mostofsky, president of the National Council of Young Israel representing 150 synagogues in the United States, issued a statement demanding action from the Obama Administration.
He said, “The United States cannot in good faith engage in a conversation about peace with the Palestinians while they continue to advocate a policy that is so deeply rooted in hatred. Before the U.S. can contemplate partnering with the Palestinian Authority … it must insist that they abandon these bigoted policies that incite hatred and ill-will against the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”
I couldn’t agree more.
* * * * *
End Of Day Report 05 04 09
Monday, May 4, 2009
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Values And The GOP
Twenty years ago, the public generally, and young adults in particular, were significantly in favor of legal abortion. You can’t say that anymore. The shift has been steady, but a new poll suggests it might be accelerating. According to the most recent Pew Research survey, 46% of American adults favor “legal abortion” in all or most cases, while 44% favor the pro-life position that abortion should illegal in most or all cases. That represents the lowest level of support in over a decade for legal abortion measured by Pew and the ABC-Washington Post polls.
Here’s some more encouraging news: Among those aged 18-to-29, 47% favor legal abortion, while 48% oppose it. That represents a shift of five points toward the pro-life view since Pew’s August 2008 poll. Among self-identified Independents, 44% favor legal abortion, while 45% oppose it. That represents a shift of 11 points toward the pro-life position since August 2008.
At worst the country is split right down the middle on this contentious issue. But if you measure intensity, which in politics is a tremendously important factor that influences activism and voting, the pro-life advantage is significant. It was a significant advantage even when the polling showed the pro-life view to be a minority position, because voters who said abortion was their most important issue were more likely to vote pro-life. As I have often reported, pro-life intensity has helped Republican candidates much more than it has hurt them. In view of all this evidence, it is a sign of particular stupidity that some people in the Republican establishment are toying with the idea of attracting young and independent voters by downplaying social issues.
The politics of the issue aside, the GOP should be pro-life because it is the only position that is consistent with the roots of the Republican Party. The first Republican president was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln made the argument that slavery was inconsistent with the promise contained in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So too is the destruction of more than one million children every year.
Candidates should not feel like this is a “radioactive” position. In fact, I think it is a more attractive position for the party than some of the economic positions it often takes, which can appear irrelevant to “Joe Six-Pack.” But the fundamental fairness of the right to life is not a difficult concept to grasp.
I assume most of you know this, but let me remind you again: Campaign for Working Families will not support a candidate who is not pro-life. As we have seen in recent days, candidates who are committed pro-family, pro-life conservatives are far more likely to be committed economic conservatives. But if a candidate is not committed to a core value like the right to life, why should we expect them to be any more committed to any other issue?
Obama’s Opinions Versus The Facts
At a press conference last week, President Obama claimed that his so-called “stimulus” bill had “already saved or created over 150,000 jobs.” He made that claim on the same day that government figures showed the U.S. economy shrinking at more than 6% in the first quarter of 2009. Needless to say, a lot of folks were scratching their heads trying to reconcile Obama’s statement with the facts. Even some in the liberal media had to question this one.
Here are the facts: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in the two months after Obama took office (February and March), 1.3 million jobs were lost. Many economists predict at least 500,000 more job losses in April. So, how does President Obama claim that his “stimulus” bill “saved or created over 150,000” jobs? Well, it’s mostly spin. No one is really certain how the White House measures a “saved” job.
As for the 150,000 figure, FactCheck.org reports, “It turns out that the president’s claim is really an estimate of what is economic advisors think the stimulus bill is doing, and not based on any evidence of its actual effects. … there’s very little hard data on where the money is being spent, let alone how many jobs may have resulted from the legislation.”
The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) once remarked that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. This White House seems to believe otherwise. Click here for another example of President Obama playing fast and loose with the facts.
Good-bye, Jack
This weekend, former quarterback, congressman, Cabinet secretary and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp passed away after a battle with cancer. Jack was a friend of mine, and, while he is remembered for supply-side economics and empowerment zones, I believe his greatest legacy is not nearly as well known.
After Watergate, Gerald Ford became president and lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter. During those post-Watergate years, the Republican Party was in the wilderness much as it is today. There was a glimmer of hope on the horizon in Ronald Reagan, but he was in California and out of office at the time. The man who held the banner during those years in Washington, D.C., was Jack Kemp, and he made many in the GOP establishment uncomfortable talking about tax cuts.
Sure, he was concerned about deficits, but he knew Americans didn’t see life through green eyeshades. He knew they understood taxes and he knew that tax cuts created economic growth. Back then, Ronald Reagan’s claim to fame was a tough stance on foreign policy, but Jack Kemp sold Reagan on tax cuts and supply-side economics. Just four years after the 1976 defeat, Reagan won a landslide victory. I have often wondered how history might have been different if Kemp had been Reagan’s running-mate in 1980.
* * * * *
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Values And The GOP
Twenty years ago, the public generally, and young adults in particular, were significantly in favor of legal abortion. You can’t say that anymore. The shift has been steady, but a new poll suggests it might be accelerating. According to the most recent Pew Research survey, 46% of American adults favor “legal abortion” in all or most cases, while 44% favor the pro-life position that abortion should illegal in most or all cases. That represents the lowest level of support in over a decade for legal abortion measured by Pew and the ABC-Washington Post polls.
Here’s some more encouraging news: Among those aged 18-to-29, 47% favor legal abortion, while 48% oppose it. That represents a shift of five points toward the pro-life view since Pew’s August 2008 poll. Among self-identified Independents, 44% favor legal abortion, while 45% oppose it. That represents a shift of 11 points toward the pro-life position since August 2008.
At worst the country is split right down the middle on this contentious issue. But if you measure intensity, which in politics is a tremendously important factor that influences activism and voting, the pro-life advantage is significant. It was a significant advantage even when the polling showed the pro-life view to be a minority position, because voters who said abortion was their most important issue were more likely to vote pro-life. As I have often reported, pro-life intensity has helped Republican candidates much more than it has hurt them. In view of all this evidence, it is a sign of particular stupidity that some people in the Republican establishment are toying with the idea of attracting young and independent voters by downplaying social issues.
The politics of the issue aside, the GOP should be pro-life because it is the only position that is consistent with the roots of the Republican Party. The first Republican president was Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln made the argument that slavery was inconsistent with the promise contained in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So too is the destruction of more than one million children every year.
Candidates should not feel like this is a “radioactive” position. In fact, I think it is a more attractive position for the party than some of the economic positions it often takes, which can appear irrelevant to “Joe Six-Pack.” But the fundamental fairness of the right to life is not a difficult concept to grasp.
I assume most of you know this, but let me remind you again: Campaign for Working Families will not support a candidate who is not pro-life. As we have seen in recent days, candidates who are committed pro-family, pro-life conservatives are far more likely to be committed economic conservatives. But if a candidate is not committed to a core value like the right to life, why should we expect them to be any more committed to any other issue?
Obama’s Opinions Versus The Facts
At a press conference last week, President Obama claimed that his so-called “stimulus” bill had “already saved or created over 150,000 jobs.” He made that claim on the same day that government figures showed the U.S. economy shrinking at more than 6% in the first quarter of 2009. Needless to say, a lot of folks were scratching their heads trying to reconcile Obama’s statement with the facts. Even some in the liberal media had to question this one.
Here are the facts: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in the two months after Obama took office (February and March), 1.3 million jobs were lost. Many economists predict at least 500,000 more job losses in April. So, how does President Obama claim that his “stimulus” bill “saved or created over 150,000” jobs? Well, it’s mostly spin. No one is really certain how the White House measures a “saved” job.
As for the 150,000 figure, FactCheck.org reports, “It turns out that the president’s claim is really an estimate of what is economic advisors think the stimulus bill is doing, and not based on any evidence of its actual effects. … there’s very little hard data on where the money is being spent, let alone how many jobs may have resulted from the legislation.”
The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) once remarked that everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. This White House seems to believe otherwise. Click here for another example of President Obama playing fast and loose with the facts.
Good-bye, Jack
This weekend, former quarterback, congressman, Cabinet secretary and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp passed away after a battle with cancer. Jack was a friend of mine, and, while he is remembered for supply-side economics and empowerment zones, I believe his greatest legacy is not nearly as well known.
After Watergate, Gerald Ford became president and lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter. During those post-Watergate years, the Republican Party was in the wilderness much as it is today. There was a glimmer of hope on the horizon in Ronald Reagan, but he was in California and out of office at the time. The man who held the banner during those years in Washington, D.C., was Jack Kemp, and he made many in the GOP establishment uncomfortable talking about tax cuts.
Sure, he was concerned about deficits, but he knew Americans didn’t see life through green eyeshades. He knew they understood taxes and he knew that tax cuts created economic growth. Back then, Ronald Reagan’s claim to fame was a tough stance on foreign policy, but Jack Kemp sold Reagan on tax cuts and supply-side economics. Just four years after the 1976 defeat, Reagan won a landslide victory. I have often wondered how history might have been different if Kemp had been Reagan’s running-mate in 1980.
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