Plus, An Apology, Sort Of. . . Monday, October 25, 2021 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer The Gathering I was honored to speak at this year's "The Gathering," an annual event hosted by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, where they bring together leaders in the fight for Judeo-Christian values and many generous people who have supported their efforts. There was an all-star lineup of speakers, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Eric Metaxas, General Michael Flynn, and former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. For three days, we immersed ourselves in the issues confronting our country and what we, as men and women of faith, can do to defend our values. As many of you know, I have worked with Dr. Dobson for decades. We co-authored "Children At Risk" 30 years ago, and it has proven prophetic. The meeting was off the record and closed to the media, so I can't give specific quotes. There was much singing, praying and joyful worship. That said, we were also very aware of the fact that every liberty we have is under attack by America's Bolshevik wannabes. Make no mistake about it, my friends, while it's easy to laugh at this doddering administration that often seems like "Weekend At Bernie's," we're facing a serious threat from woke corporate chieftains, Silicon Valley billionaires and a growing socialist, Marxist movement in the United States. Our liberty is more at threat now than virtually any other time in our history. As we have regularly documented, there is a constitutional crisis on the southern border. While the federal government has not just the authority but the responsibility to secure the border and to enforce immigration laws, Joe Biden is not doing it. He and his entire administration are ignoring the law. That's an emergency, and a much bigger emergency than anything that happened on January 6th. We're also facing threats to our liberty from government mandates at all levels regarding how best to fight the pandemic. We're facing threats from Marxist critical race theory and other radical agendas being pushed in our public schools in the name of "equity," which has nothing to do with equality. Obama's Big Lie Former President Barack Obama was in Virginia Saturday. During a rally, Obama said, "We don't have time to waste on these phony trumped-up culture wars, this fake outrage, the right-wing media pedals to juice their ratings." I try not to get angry every time some left-wing socialist makes an absurd statement. But this one really burns me up! During his presidency, Obama pushed racial divisions to the brink, and he pushed the culture war by redefining the meaning of marriage to a whole new level. Now he's telling us the culture war is "phony"? To say he is "gaslighting" people is seriously understating the situation. The culture wars are raging across Virginia right now, and it's all because of the left. It's the radical left that is pushing critical race theory in our schools. And in Loudoun County, Virginia, it isn't just critical race theory, which is teaching people to hate. The radical transgender agenda resulted in the rape of two girls by a boy who used his transgender rights to gain access to the girls' restrooms. When one father demanded justice for his abused daughter, Loudoun County school board officials denied the assault ever happened. They lied about it and covered it up. Then they smeared the father, who was dragged out of a school board meeting, saying he was violent, and possibly a "domestic terrorist." The local prosecutor tried to have him thrown in jail over misdemeanor charges of "disorderly conduct" and "resisting arrest" – you know, the kinds of charges that are routinely dismissed against Antifa thugs who riot and burn down businesses. Only later did we find out that his daughter was traumatized and scarred for life. And the former president of the United States has the gall to tell the people of Virginia that it was all just "a trumped up, phony issue." This is just another example of the left accusing their opponents of exactly what they are doing. It's the left that changes pronouns and then silences you if you refuse to lie and dare to speak the truth. It's the left that puts pornography into your public school library. It's the left that allows boys into girls' restrooms. On and on it goes. But if you dare object, they accuse you of stoking "fake controversies." An Apology, Sort Of. . . Late Friday, the National Association of School Boards (NASB) issued an apology for its shameful letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland that compared concerned parents to "domestic terrorists." But it wasn't a genuine apology. To begin with, the apology was from the NASB's board of directors to its own members, meaning school boards around the country. While acknowledging that there was "no justification for some of the language included in the letter," it never specified what language was so offensive nor did it apologize to the parents of America. Perhaps most importantly, the NASB's board of directors has not, to my knowledge, requested that Merrick Garland repeal his memo directing the FBI to investigate parents who attend local school board meetings. His outrageous action was based entirely on the NASB's letter, and Garland was unable to cite any justification for ordering the FBI to take action beyond the content of the letter itself. By the way, Attorney General Garland claimed to be totally unaware of the Loudoun County rape case I mentioned above. He told members of Congress under questioning last week, "It sounds like a state case, and I am not familiar with it." Garland added that the FBI was not investigating that case of sexual assault in a high school girls' bathroom. But the girl's father is likely under FBI investigation because Merrick Garland thinks concerned parents at school board meetings represent a dangerous threat. Once again, my friends, our freedoms are under siege. Nevertheless, the fact that the National Association of School Boards is in retreat is good news. Your activism and the truth carried the day! It's a small victory, but a victory to be sure. Taxing Wealth As you know, congressional liberals are struggling to get Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" agenda across the finish line. They have reportedly pared it down to about $2 trillion but they have run into trouble with how to pay for it. The latest idea that seems to have the most support among Senate Democrats is a modified wealth tax on the unrealized capital gains of billionaires. It would reportedly apply to approximately 700 people, and may well be unconstitutional. While I haven't done a precise count, I suspect the vast majority of those 700 people are left-wing liberals like George Soros, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. So, by all means, tax away! But we know that every confiscation of wealth always starts by going after the very top and in short order, when it doesn't work as expected because there aren't enough wealthy people to pay for everything the left wants, it starts creeping down to middle- class and working-class Americans. Moreover, wealth taxes generally don't work. Most European nations have tried them, and most have repealed them. Ideas and proposals for the left's reconciliation bill are changing by the minute as Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer scramble to keep their side together. Whatever this ends up costing, $3 trillion, $5 trillion or $1.75 trillion, keep this in mind: There's been zero Republican input. It was drafted behind closed doors by the administration that said it was bringing openness and transparency to Washington. It is being amended behind closed doors at Biden's Delaware home. No one is asking Republicans for their input, not even "moderates" like Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney, who are always tempted to give Biden their votes. There is zero interest from Biden's gang in bipartisanship, unless it means total capitulation to their agenda. MAKE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION NOW 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 PO Box 1223 Merrifield, VA 22116-1223 Phone: 703-671-9700 SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT"  VISIT END OF DAY ARCHIVES EMAIL GARY BAUER FOLLOW GARY ON PARLER American Values | ouramericanvalues.org ‌ ‌ American Values | PO Box 1223, Merrifield, VA 22116-1223 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]