With the invasion of Ukraine by Putin and his Russian army, we are witnessing yet another in a series of acts of fundamental weakness demonstrated by U.S. under Joe Biden.
A brief review:
- The disastrous haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan;
- The failed Iran nuke deal which rewarded Iran for violating the original Obama-Biden weak agreement with billions and billions of sanctions relief paid to Iran. It is proven that the money doesn't go to the Iranian people, but to fund international terrorism. The new Iran agreement if submitted will not be approved by the U.S. Senate, but it will pave the way for a nuclear arsenal in Iran and make war more likely in the Middle East.
- Biden has misspoken so often on foreign policy, by sending mixed signals, like most recently saying "Russia will be held accountable if it invades ... and it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor invasion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, etc."
- And our other enemies are watching like China who covets Taiwan and is being encouraged by American weakness to invade.
Ronald Reagan was spot on correct regarding peace through strength:
"We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted."
The American Values Agenda
TCR Comment: This essay is one of the best outlines of current common sense conservatism in America, please read it and share with your friends.
The following is from Gary Bauer's American Values Agenda: ouramericanvalues.org/american-values-agenda
As you may know, I recently published an opinion piece entitled, "What Conservatives Are For." (If you missed it, you can read it here.) I wrote the column in response to Joe Biden's constant efforts to demonize and divide us.
We got a very positive response to that column. At the same time, many people expressed frustration that Washington doesn't seem to work for the common good anymore. Too few politicians proudly make the case for what they are for, while too many congressmen and senators just fight all the time and little gets done.
Well, the truth is that there are many issues that could bring large majorities of the American people together. But those issues aren't on the left's radical agenda.
Here are ten issues where most Americans find broad agreement. I call them "The American Values Agenda." Use this platform in discussions with friends and family members. Share it with local activists and officials in your community. Urge them to take action on issues that unite us around our shared values.
THE AMERICAN VALUES AGENDA
Defend Innocent Life
The American people do not support abortion on demand.
- 71% of Americans support restrictions on abortion.
- 80% believe abortions should be illegal after the second trimester.
- 58% oppose taxpayer subsidies for abortions.
Protect Religious Liberty
The American people strongly support the First Amendment right of religious liberty.
- 83% of Americans believe the freedom to express religious beliefs is essential.
- 71% of Americans believe religious organizations should eligible for government funding.
- 60% of Americans believe that religious student groups should be able to choose leaders who follow the teachings of their faith.
Support Law Enforcement
Liberal policies on bail reform and efforts to defund the police have been disastrous.
- More than a dozen major cities hit all-time homicide records in 2021.
- 88% of Americans are concerned about violent crime.
- Only 16% of Americans support defunding the police.
Secure The Border
Border security and national sovereignty matter.
- 1.7 million illegal aliens crossed our borders in 2021.
- 76% of Americans want secure borders, while only 24% support open borders.
- Only 20% support "sanctuary city policies."
- 79% support an immigration system based on merit (a person's skills and education) rather than family status.
- 73% of Americans support making English our official language.
Ensure Election Integrity
The American people overwhelmingly support commonsense election integrity measures.
- 88% of Americans support laws removing dead people from the voter rolls.
- 85% support voter ID laws.
- 82% support laws requiring ballots to be received by Election Day in order to be counted.
- 70% of voters oppose private organizations (the Zuckerberg foundation) influencing official elections offices.
Offer Educational Choice
Approximately 70% of parents support school choice options.
- Support for school choice is highest among black (73%) and Hispanics (72%) parents.
- By a 20-point margin, 58% to 38%, Americans reject the teaching of critical race theory in the public schools.
Protect Girls Sports
Most Americans want to protect the hopes and dreams of their daughters.
- Only 28% of Americans support allowing biological males to compete against girls in female athletics because it is fundamentally unfair. It is a form of cheating, causing young girls to lose college scholarships to boys.
Pass Term Limits
Americans are increasingly frustrated with "politics as usual," and they want reforms to ensure accountability.
- 82% of Americans support term limits for members of Congress.
- 70% of Americans support term limits for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.
Hold China Accountable
The American people understand that communist China is not just a trading partner, but an enemy of freedom.
- 76% of Americans believe it is important to contain communist China's global ambitions.
- 75% of Americans believe trade should be influenced by national security and human rights concerns.
- 72% of Americans believe China lied about the origins of COVID, and 76% want China to pay reparations.
Stand With Israel
The American people understand that Israel is a beacon of liberty in the Middle East that shares common values with the United States.
- 75% of Americans believe we should maintain a strong alliance with Israel.
- 75% of Americans have a favorable view of Israel.
- 56% of Americans support providing Israel with military aid.
The Ends Do Not Justify The Means By Brian Ettinger, Contributing Editor
No matter which side of the political aisle you are on you should be frightened of how the federal government and its elected and unelected bureaucracy employees are taking away our Constitutional rights and poisoning our democratic principles. They bring up Watergate which happened in 1972 and was the cause of President Nixon's resignation. Reporters Bernstein and Woodward won Pulitzer Prizes because of their reporting and were essential figures in its breaking to the public. President Nixon won re-election by winning 49 states: a landslide. The break-in and coverup was minor in retrospect to the real reason President Nixon resigned. He tried to destroy the foundation of our two-party system. President Nixon used the Federal government agencies, IRS, FBI, CIA and DOJ to go after big contributors of the Democratic Party. They used IRS audits and investigations to stop these contributors from contributing to the DNC and their candidates.
As an example, large Democratic contributors were audited by the IRS and told to contribute to Republican committees and hire attorney Maurice Stands and their audits would go away. This is the real reason President Nixon needed to be stopped, because if you destroy the opposite political parties and points of view, you have no real democracy. A right-wing conspiracy. The country moved forward and elected multiple Presidents and Congress from conservative and liberal leaders in the manner outlined under our Constitution, a peaceful transition of power. Now over 40 plus years later in 2016 the Clinton campaign targeted candidate Trump and then President Trump, creating a false narrative of Russian collusion to take down a duly elected President and destroy his Presidency, two impeachment trials, media spreading false narratives, use of the Federal agency bureaucrats, FBI, CIA, Director of Intelligence, DOJ lawyers and the media, all conspiring to destroy the Presidency of President Trump and destroy our two party system. This leads to restrictions on Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression, limitations on individual rights and government overreach because of this leader's desire to hold onto power at the expense of individual rights. Opposition parties are good for our country as one-party rule leads to power corruption. A left-wing coup. The left used to be the protector of individual rights and blames right-wing extremists as taking away these rights. Now it has come full circle. The left likes authority as long as we think the way they do or take these individual rights away. The problem is the ends do not justify the means if it takes away individual rights, privacy and freedom. This ruling class, plus federal bureaucrats overwhelming left leaning views does not accept individual rights, especially including one that disagrees with their views. They need to respect each other's views and certainly not put restrictions on opposite views or we will find a situation where our Democratic Republic system of government will be gone and a one-party bureaucratic rule will be in power with no stopping it.
So when you see opposition peaceful protests, whether you agree with them or not, do not support any system to shut them down. Question the government and its elected and unelected officials, this is what is needed to hold them accountable. If not, then we become Canada, China or Russia and you see how they deal with their Opposition leaders. Lock them up, poison them, freeze their bank accounts or charge them with crimes for exercising their individual rights. So resist any restrictions on your rights, thoughts and views, but in a respectful manner. Vote these people out of office and elect people who have a moral compass and support term limits for elected officials and the unelected bureaucrats, otherwise political power corrupts. The elected officials should not serve more than eight years, 4 terms in Congress, two terms in the Senate, 12 years, and all government employees need to be subject to termination after ten years. Former government Officials should have a 3-year restriction being employed by any private company doing business with the government and going to work for media companies. In addition to this restriction, all media companies, including social media should be liable for false and misleading stories and also have a disclaimer on news stories as opposed to programs pointing out certain views. The public needs transparency, not based on a network or media company's political bias. Make them accountable.
Brian Ettinger is a practicing attorney and contributing editor to TCR. He is a strong conservative who is concerned about America's future.
How Biden Could Save His Presidency, But Won't By Bruce Bialosky, Contributing Editor
When columnists choose to advise elected officials and others from the opposing party how they might improve their political status, I have no objection. Typically, this is done by someone who is an "enlightened" columnist for a Left-wing publication disguising themselves as an independent voice providing observation from 10,000 feet looking down on the plebeians. This column is about as close as I have ever gotten to writing a column of this type. It is not to suggest a course of action for President Biden, but in my opinion what he needs to do. No expectations here.
President Biden marched into New York City, a hot bed of America's current crime explosion. The city elected a new mayor with a cop background to clean up the mess created by his predecessor, the worst mayor in America. Unfortunately, they simultaneously elected a new DA in their largest and most famous borough, Manhattan, who is against prosecuting criminals for nearly all crimes. That includes criminals resisting arrest by the cops for whom he is supposed to be working. After the murder of two cops - neither of whom were white oppressors against whom the DA is fighting - DA Bragg reversed course a smidgeon. It is not ok to kill cops, just the rest of the residents.
President Biden laid out his plan to attack the core of the crime problem – guns. He particularly came down against ghost guns, but he apparently has endorsed ghost criminals because the guns shoot themselves. Across the country, San Francisco's police chief stated the cops will no longer work with the DA regarding prosecutions of cops. This is based on the prejudice by the DA's underlings by withholding evidence in cases that would aid the cop being prosecuted.
President Biden misses what is going on in America. The cops want to do their jobs - the jobs that their residents want and are overwhelmingly demanding them to do. Simultaneously, enlightened members of Biden's party masquerading as DAs are either stopping the cops from doing their jobs or they are failing to prosecute the criminals that are arrested, letting them out on no bail even for violent crimes.
Jen Psaki, Biden's paid mouthpiece, is routinely confronted with questions. Instead of the made-up issues she likes to discuss in the White House Press room, occasionally reporters ask questions about real concerns. Night after night, she states Biden has never been in favor of defunding the police. She virtually never says what he is for, evidenced by his recent visit to New York. Stopping gun crimes.
His "solution" comes out of the standard Democrat playbook: Make it more difficult for millions of Americans who legally own guns and legally maintain guns to get those guns, keep those guns and get ammunition for those guns even for the purpose of properly practicing how to properly shoot those guns. At the same time, do not discuss the folks illegally obtaining guns and using those guns to commit crimes.
Democrats accuse Republicans of ignoring the means in which these criminals obtain the guns they use. Yet, Democrats have no explanation except for the fact that many are stolen from people's homes during robberies. You know - the robberies the Democrat DAs refuse to prosecute.
Biden has yet to pick up the phone and call one of these marauding DAs and tell them that their policies are not working or to stop what they are doing because it is harming the party of which Biden claims he is the leader. During the campaign in 2020, after he self-designated his position as leader of the Democrats, I suggested he pick up the phone and call the mayors of Portland and/or Seattle. He should have told them to stop the behavior in their cities; it was embarrassing their party. Biden never did. He skated through the election due to an international pandemic he said he would solve for Americans.
President Biden is currently nosediving in the polls for a multitude of reasons. The most significant of which is crime exploding across the American landscape. This is largely due to left-wing Democrats who have produced the ridiculous idea that not prosecuting criminals and letting them out of jail works as public policy and is beneficial for their constituents.
Here is my suggestion. Mr. Biden picks up the phone and calls one of these woke DAs and tells them unless these failed policies are stopped, the President will publicly call them out and come out against them. He can start in Los Angeles with George Gascon. Gascon is facing a recall where the signatures are being collected. He is certain to face a very tough recall election to save his job.
Mr. Biden needs only to say Gascon must enforce the laws that he was elected to uphold. None of these lawless DAs (who are self-proclaimed defenders of righteousness) are doing their jobs. Biden must state as much. He can come to Los Angeles and take a picture of the Union Pacific rail lines littered with the trash from criminals stealing merchandise on the train. At the very least, members of his party would be offended by the scene as they would be afraid the trash would hurt the local seagulls.
Mr. Biden can inform Gascon that he will personally campaign for his replacement unless his policies that have harmed both of their constituents are reversed. Any replacement will likely also be a Democrat, but one can hope for a sane one. Do you think that would be a big national story? And for months? If Mr. Biden did this with just one DA, the others might just get the hint.
Ok, the chances of Biden doing this are slim to none. Not only are his policies failing, but he and his crew have made so many politically tone-deaf decisions that it seems unlikely they would now change their stripes. This would go a long way to mitigate the Armageddon they are facing in November.
Political analysts always lead by stating that crime is a local issue. Not anymore. This issue is nationwide, and it is being exacerbated by policies of one party. President Biden is the head of that party. As Eldridge Cleaver said, "If you are not part of the solution, you must be part of the problem."
Bruce Bialosky is the founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and a former Presidential appointee. You can follow Bruce on Twitter @brucebialosky.
TCR on the Air
Gary Polland is now a regular on "What's Your Point?" hosted by Greg Groogan on Fox 26 Houston, appearing every other week. Tune in or set your recorder for 7:00 am Sundays.
Red, White, and Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland on Fridays at 7:30 pm on Houston Public Media TV 8, replaying Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 8, Monday at 11:30 pm on Channel 8.2 and on the web at www.houstonpublicmedia.org.
Red, White & Blue returns in who knows?
About Your Editor
Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his twenty-sixth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last twenty-one years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 18 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his 21st year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on Houston Public Media TV 8 PBS Houston, longest running political talk show in Texas history. Gary serves on the Board of Directors of American Values, a national pro-family, pro-faith, conservative organization supporting the unity of the American people around the vision of our founding fathers and dedicated to reminding the public of the conservative principles fundamental to the survival of our nation. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.
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