Plus, Defending Faith, Family & Freedom   Fighting For Faith, Family & Freedom Wednesday, August 23, 2023 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer The Real Threat Former constitutional law professor John Eastman surrendered yesterday in Atlanta, Georgia, on state RICO charges for contesting the 2020 election. Asked by reporters outside the Fulton County jail whether he still believed the 2020 election was stolen, Eastman replied, “Absolutely. No question in my mind.” “America’s Mayor” Rudy Guiliani surrendered today on the same charges. Tomorrow, former President Donald Trump will “proudly be arrested” for his efforts to defend the integrity of our elections. Think about that for a moment. We are watching in real time -- yesterday, today and tomorrow -- as prominent individuals are being arrested for the crimes of expressing opinions about an election and attempting to find constitutional ways to address their concerns. This only happens in dictatorial nations where the elections are always corrupt and is it against the law to question the regime in power. That is not something democratic nations do. Democratic nations are supposed to have free and fair elections. They are supposed to allow people to express their opinions. You don’t go to jail for questioning election results in a free country! But a group of fellow Americans who are, broadly speaking, on our side are now facing ruin and serious jail time for precisely that. I wonder if anyone at the Republican National Committee or on the debate stage tonight thought about this? The juxtaposition here is astonishing. The candidates on the debate stage tonight will be expressing their free speech rights while Biden and the left attempt to throw the previous Republican president in prison. And people like the former governors of Arkansas and New Jersey think the real threat to America is Donald Trump! One might wonder if some of these folks got confused and thought they were competing for the Democrat nomination. I’m sure the Fox News hosts moderating tonight’s debate will ask a lot of interesting questions. But here’s what I would like to see tonight: No matter what they are asked, I hope none of the candidates utter one word of criticism toward Trump. Instead, I hope they all direct their fire toward the real threat we’re facing: The neo-Marxist left that is determined to fundamentally transform America. Debate Night Assuming North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is able to attend, eight GOP candidates will participate in tonight’s debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Even though he won’t be on the stage tonight, in many ways Donald Trump has already won the debate and the battle for the Republican Party. Breitbart News sent the candidates 10 detailed questions about immigration policy, and I am pleased to report that all of the candidates who responded to Breitbart indicated that they would finish the border wall. I remember how the establishment reacted when Donald Trump first suggested building a border wall. It was slammed as “nonsense” and “impractical.” Now, almost every GOP contender embraces it, as well as other Trump immigration policies. By the way, Joe Biden is taking his open borders policies to a whole new level. Not only is he selling off unused sections of the border wall, he’s also welding the gates open! Eris Is Coming! In all the machinations going on to interfere in the 2024 elections, there is evidence that the left is gearing up for another “COVID emergency” that would justify, among other things, all the same election changes, like mail-in voting, that make cheating easier. Several weeks ago, I noticed multiple reports warning about a “winter tripledemic.” Then came reports of a new COVID variant named “Eris.” Ironically, the “experts” may have finally gotten something right. In Greek mythology, Eris was the goddess of discord and strife! It’s too early to know if that’s where they are headed, but we’re already seeing the return of mask mandates. At least one Hollywood studio just ordered masks back on, as well as daily COVID testing. And Morris Brown College in Georgia announced this week that it was reimposing mask mandates on students and staff. Curiously, the college is taking this action without a single case of COVID on campus (cases were reported at other Georgia colleges) and in spite of the science that shows most masks are completely ineffective. Yesterday, I got an alert on my phone from my pharmacy. It was warning me to come in as soon as possible to get multiple shots to prepare for the difficult winter ahead. The alarmism and fearmongering are growing. Conservative officials are going to have to stand tough. We must resist the left’s hysteria and tyranny. Crucial Court Victories Parental rights and religious liberty scored crucial victories in two federal courts recently. Last year, Alabama passed legislation protecting children from so-called “gender affirming care.” These radical medical experiments are neither “affirming” nor are they health care. They deny biological reality and only succeed in mutilating and sterilizing children. Unfortunately, far-left groups sued and the law was temporarily blocked by a federal judge. The state of Alabama appealed the injunction. This week, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (all Trump appointees) ruled unanimously that the law can go into effect while a legal challenge on the merits of the law continues. Several years ago, the city of East Lansing, Michigan, passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Of course, no one wants to be “for” discrimination, and many well-meaning people reflexively support such laws. But the issue is how these laws are enforced by the intolerant left. In 2017, the city of East Lansing banned Christian farmer Steve Tennes from selling his produce at a local farmers’ market because he refused to rent out his orchard for same-sex weddings. This week, a federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush ruled that the city’s ban on Tennes was a violation of his First Amendment religious liberty rights. As the concept of LGBTQ “rights” expands, it always shrinks the right of religious liberty and, increasingly, free speech. But, as we have noted repeatedly, no society is “values neutral.” The left believes the most important values are its identity regime based on sexual orientation, gender identity or race. The left insists that those “rights” have supremacy over faith and free speech. I know many people really wish we could just find middle ground and get along. But there is no middle ground here. Somebody is going to win and somebody is going to lose. The only reason we won these two cases is because the right judges were appointed. If left-wing judges get appointed, we will lose important cases like these. Men and women of faith cannot be passive bystanders in the culture war for the heart and soul of America. And any politician who says he “doesn’t do culture wars” doesn’t deserve your vote. What he’s really saying is, “I won’t fight for your freedom.” Defending Faith, Family & Freedom In this week’s “Defending Faith, Family and Freedom” podcast for the James Dobson Family Institute, I talk about the left’s relentless war on faith. The issue is making headlines once again as the state of Massachusetts seeks to ban faithful Christians from serving as foster parents, putting radical LGBTQ ideology ahead of the Constitution and our First Amendment freedoms. The neo-Marxist totalitarian left is the real threat to freedom. MAKE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION NOW SHARE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions may be mailed to the following address: American Values 2800 S. Shirlington Road Suite 950 Arlington, VA 22206 Phone: 703-671-9700 Email Gary End Of Day Sign Up End Of Day Archives Truth Social Bauer & Rose Podcast   American Values | ouramericanvalues.org American Values | 2800 S. Shirlington Road, Suite 950, Arlington, VA 22206 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]