Thursday, August 20, 2020
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary Bauer
Trump Takes Action
President Trump announced late yesterday that the U.S. intends to reimpose "virtually all of the previously suspended United Nations sanctions on Iran."
President Trump blasted the disastrous 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which gave the ayatollah hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief and more than $1 billion in cash, which Iran used to fund "chaos and the bloodshed and the terror in the region."
Trump added, "My administration will not allow this Iran nuclear situation to go on. They will never have a nuclear weapon."
Speaking of Iran, the media went nuts several weeks ago over unconfirmed reports that Russia may have put bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan. Well, there are new reports that Iran did pay the Taliban to kill our soldiers – the same Iranian regime that Obama rewarded in 2015 and that some progressives want to reward again.
The Trump Administration is also fighting Iran in another very important way: It is aggressively combatting the Islamic Republic's militant anti-Semitism, which I have made a special focus of my work on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Portland Beating
You've probably seen video of the horrible attack that took place Sunday night in Portland. Adam Haner was viciously beaten when he attempted to help a woman who was being robbed. If you haven't seen the video, you should. And it should make you angry because this is the evil the left has unleashed.
Portland authorities are searching for Haner's attacker, Marquise Love. Not surprisingly, Love has been arrested multiple times for theft, criminal trespassing and domestic assault.
After assaulting Haner, Love posted on social media, "Might go to jail for murder tonight for a racist when all I did was fight him."
There was no fight. This was a brutal beating. Portland prosecutors should charge Love with attempted murder and hate crimes. But I'm not holding my breath.
The Left vs. Law & Order
Rudy Giuliani transformed New York City with a simple view of law enforcement known as "broken windows." It was a forerunner to the concept of community policing, and based on the theory that enforcing laws against minor crimes goes a long way toward restoring law and order by preventing even bigger crimes.
With that in mind, it's worth remembering some of the things that have been taking place in recent years.
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Before the virus hit, social media was filled with police officers being humiliated by mini-mobs, often getting doused with water and other liquids. New York politicians did nothing.
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"Fare avoidance" became a cause celebre among the left. Radical activists decided that the subway system should be free and started jumping turnstiles every day. Riots often erupted when the police attempted to intervene.
And during the Obama years:
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Remember the knockout game? You're walking down a city street and a group of young people have a little bet going as to whether they can knock you out with one punch. People died in this "game." (Here and here.)
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Then there were flash mobs. Some were innocent with people emerging out of nowhere singing in a mall. Others were not so innocent. Dozens of people would pour into a store all at once, grabbing whatever they could and running off in all directions.
The first man of color was president then, and we had two black attorneys general. The left was in charge of everything, as they have been for decades in Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle, yet we were already seeing nihilism on the streets and a war on cops.
But as Rudy Giuliani demonstrated, it doesn't have to be this way. And I am pleased to report that Trump Administration is cracking down on violent crime. Attorney General William Barr announced yesterday that Operation Legend has resulted in nearly 1,500 arrests and federal charges against 220 thugs.
"That's more than 90 suspected killers who might still be on the streets without Operation Legend," Barr said. "Our work is just getting started."
A Mixed Report
Weekly unemployment claims offered a mixed report on the economy this morning. Sadly, first time unemployment claims bounced back above one million to 1.1 million.
On the plus side, continuing claims (people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for at least two weeks) fell, which suggests that people who became unemployed are finding work somewhere.
Fortunately, we appear to be on the right road. The waning of the virus, along with the announcement of vaccines and other treatments in the months ahead, will cause the economy to take off like a rocket.
Day Three
I'm not going to dwell on last night's big convention speeches. Far more interesting is what you did not see, mainly because the media aren't showing it. And that is what is taking place during the convention's day time policy meetings. For example:
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The words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance were skipped in at least two DNC caucus meetings.
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During the Environment and Climate Crisis Council meeting, a delegate added a word to the pledge, saying, "with liberty and justice for all, someday."
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Pastor Frederick Haynes III, a Louis Farrakhan supporter, condemned the border wall and warned voters, "Jesus will say, 'America, if you don't get your act together, you may well go to Hell!'"
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During a meeting of the LGBTQ+ caucus, a transgender activist, who identifies as "they/them" and as a Mermaid queen-king, wondered why people just can't imagine a world without police and prisons.
