Gary Bauer Speaks the Truth

August 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

From: Gary L. Bauer

BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump is in Erie, Pennsylvania, for a campaign rally. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus made a surprise appearance on stage and delivered a full-throated endorsement of the party’s nominee.
Priebus told the crowd, “Don’t believe the garbage you read. This man is going to win!” He urged all Republicans to come together in order to save the country from Hillary Clinton and Obama’s “fundamental transformation” of America.

Is Clinton In The Clear?

After FBI Director James Comey refused to pursue charges against Hillary Clinton for her “extremely careless” handling of classified information on her private email server, many assumed that she was clear of any legal jeopardy that might hamper her presidential ambitions. That may not be the case.

According to The Daily Caller, “Multiple FBI investigations are underway involving potential corruption charges against the Clinton Foundation. . . The New York-based probe is being led by Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara’s prosecutorial aggressiveness has resulted in a large number of convictions of banks, hedge funds and Wall Street insiders.”

It is worth noting that Bharara is not afraid of going after big name Democrats. He successfully convicted former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-NY), and is actively investigatingthe administrations of Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.   –  Stay tuned!

Trump’s Promise To America’s Pastors

Donald Trump addressed a gathering of hundreds of pastors yesterday in Florida. Once again, he promised to repeal the IRS prohibition, known as the Johnson amendment, that has effectively muzzled many of America’s pastors when it comes to values issues and politics.

“Your power has been totally taken away. I mean, I don’t want to insult anybody, but your power has been totally taken away,” Trump said. “So, we’re going to get your voice back. We’re going to get it back.”

Trump promised, “One of the early things, one of the absolute first things I’m going to do is work on totally knocking out the Johnson amendment.”

My friends, for all of Trump’s flaws, when was the last time a Republican presidential nominee promised pastors he would fight to repeal the Johnson amendment? When was the last time a Republican presidential nominee publicly said he would appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court? I couldn’t get George W. Bush to do that during the 2000 Republican primary.

Come next January, either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton will be president of the United States. It is inconceivable to me how any conservative voter could sit out this election or not vote for the only candidate who is promising to fight for religious liberty, save the Second Amendment and appoint pro-life judges to the Supreme Court.

Then & Now

More than 40 years ago, the nation was shocked by the leak and subsequent publication of the Pentagon Papers. What they revealed was that the Nixon Administration had been lying to the American people about the Vietnam War and how difficult that conflict truly was.

What was scandalous then — misleading the public on matters of national security — is the way Obama and Clinton routinely conduct business now.

When Obama and Hillary negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, the administration lied to reporters about secret negotiations and misled Congress and the American people.

Every prisoner in the terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was subject to a thorough security evaluation conducted by the CIA when they were captured. The terrorists who represented the greatest threat were clearly labeled as unsafe for transfer. Under Obama, those security evaluations are being rewritten so they can be transferred.

Mark my words: Before Obama leaves office, he will do everything he can to empty Gitmo, even if it means more Americans may die.

When we paid Iran a ransom for the release of American hostages, the Obama Administration acted like a crime syndicate — secretly flying $400 million in foreign currency, loaded onto an unmarked cargo plane, to Tehran in the dark of night. The cash was a portion of $1.7 billion Iran was claiming as its own. The administration has acknowledged that the rest of the money was transferred too, but it is refusing to answer legitimate questions about how it was done.

When Al Qaeda terrorists murdered four Americans in Benghazi, Obama and Hillary blamed it on a video. When Islamists blow us up, they blame work place violence and try to insist it is anything other than radical Islamic terrorism.

When Russia began executing aggressive military maneuvers — buzzing U.S. ships and flying bombers to the edge of U.S. airspace — the Obama Administration tried to prevent the public from knowing about it. This really is a serious issue. Obama’s weakness is routinely mocked in Russian media.

A congressional taskforce concluded that critical intelligence information related to the war against ISIS was manipulated to paint a far rosier picture than actual events on the ground warranted.

When it comes to our security, Obama and Clinton have constantly lied in a way that puts the country in greater danger. That danger will persist even if Hillary loses the presidential race.

Fighting Christian Genocide

Earlier this week, I joined a coalition of religious leaders and conservative activists in calling upon the national media to devote more attention to the plight of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. We are constantly subjected to stories about alleged bigotry against Muslims in America. Often the reports are as silly as bacon being found at a mosque.

And while the media obsess over pork products, Christians in much of what is called “the Islamic world” are facing genocide. They are subject to rape, torture, beheadings and crucifixion. Churches, homes and schools are bombed and burned. Religious sites are desecrated.
Yet the media rarely report on these atrocities. And, just like the left’s aversion to the phrase “radical Islamic terrorism,” the media almost never call it what it is — genocide.  –  You can read our letter here.

Join Me In D.C.!
Join me for the 2016 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., September 9th — 11th. The Values Voter Summit is sponsored by my public policy organization American Values, along with AFA Action, the Center for Christian Statesmanship, the Family Research Council, FRC Action, First Liberty and United in Purpose.   Speakers at this year’s Summit include:

  • 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump
  • Gov. Matt Bevin (R-KY)
  • Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR)
  • Dr. James Dobson
  • Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R-NC)
  • Sen. James Lankford (R-OK)
  • Lt. Col. Oliver North
  • Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and many more.

    Breakout sessions will include a wide range of topics from engaging the Millennial generation and mobilizing the Christian vote to defending religious liberty and how the United States deals with Iran. Saturday evening will feature a gala dinner honoring my friend Dr. Bill Bennett for his decades of service on cultural, education and political issues.

    Click here to learn more or to register online.   –  I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Filed Under: RANDOM

Why Does the IRS Need Guns?

June 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment

By TOM COBURN and ADAM ANDRZEJEWSKI

(An article from the Wall Street Journal)

After grabbing legal power, bureaucrats are amassing firepower. It’s time to scale back the federal arsenal.

Special agents at the IRS equipped with AR-15 military-style rifles? Health and Human Services “Special Office of Inspector General Agents” being trained by the Army’s Special Forces contractors? The Department of Veterans Affairs arming 3,700 employees?

The number of non-Defense Department federal officers authorized to make arrests and carry firearms (200,000) now exceeds the number of U.S. Marines (182,000). In its escalating arms and ammo stockpiling, this federal arms race is unlike anything in history. Over the last 20 years, the number of these federal officers with arrest-and-firearm authority has nearly tripled to over 200,000 today, from 74,500 in 1996.

What exactly is the Obama administration up to?

On Friday, June 17, our organization, American Transparency, is releasing its OpenTheBooks.com oversight report on the militarization of America. The report catalogs federal purchases of guns, ammunition and military-style equipment by seemingly bureaucratic federal agencies. During a nine-year period through 2014, we found, 67 agencies unaffiliated with the Department of Defense spent $1.48 billion on guns and ammo. Of that total, $335.1 million was spent by agencies traditionally viewed as regulatory or administrative, such as the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Mint.

Some examples of spending from 2005 through 2014 raise the question: Who are they preparing to battle?

• The Internal Revenue Service, which has 2,316 special agents, spent nearly $11 million on guns, ammunition and military-style equipment. That’s nearly $5,000 in gear for each agent.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs, which has 3,700 law-enforcement officers guarding and securing VA medical centers, spent $11.66 million. It spent more than $200,000 on night-vision equipment, $2.3 million for body armor, more than $2 million on guns, and $3.6 million for ammunition. The VA employed no officers with firearm authorization as recently as 1995.

• The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service spent $4.77 million purchasing shotguns, .308 caliber rifles, night-vision goggles, propane cannons, liquid explosives, pyro supplies, buckshot, LP gas cannons, drones, remote-control helicopters, thermal cameras, military waterproof thermal infrared scopes and more.

• The Environmental Protection Agency spent $3.1 million on guns, ammunition and military-style equipment. The EPA has put nearly $800 million since 2005 into its “Criminal Enforcement Division.”

• The Food and Drug Administration employs 183 heavily armed “special agents.”

• The University of California, Berkeley acquired 14 5.56mm assault rifles and Yale University police accepted 20 5.56mm assault rifles from the Defense Department. Texas Southern University and Saddleback College police even acquired Mine Resistant Vehicles (MRVs).

Other paper-pushing federal agencies with firearm-and-arrest authority that have expanded their arsenals since 2006 include the Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education Department, Energy Department, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, National Institute of Standards and Technology and many others.

People from both ends of the political spectrum have expressed alarm at this trend. Conservatives argue that it is hypocritical, unconstitutional and costly for political leaders to undermine the Second Amendment while simultaneously equipping nonmilitary agencies with heavy weapons, hollow-point bullets and military-style equipment. Progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders have raised civil liberties concerns about the militarization of local police with vehicles built for war and other heavy weaponry.

Meanwhile, federal authorities are silent on the growing arsenal at federal agencies. In fact, we asked the IRS for an asset accounting of their gun locker—their guns and ammunition asset inventory by location. Their response? “We don’t have one [an inventory], but could create one for you, if important.”

Our data shows that the federal government has become a gun show that never adjourns. Taxpayers need to tell Washington that police powers belong primarily to cities and states, not the feds.

Dr. Coburn is a physician and former U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He is the honorary chairman, and Mr. Andrzejewski is the founder and CEO, of OpenTheBooks.com, a repository of public-spending records.

Filed Under: NEWS, OPINION, POLITICS