To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

BREAKING NEWS: CNN reports that Iranian fighter jets last week fired on a U.S. drone operating in international airspace over the Persian Gulf. The drone was not hit. According to CNN, “the United States protested the incident but has not heard back from Iran.”

Back To Benghazi

With the election over, members of Congress are coming back to Washington, D.C. They have a lot on their plates — the debt ceiling, preventing “taxmageddon” and stopping the country from going off the fiscal cliff. Add the Benghazi debacle to that list.

Both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees will hold hearings next week regarding the attack that killed our ambassador and three other Americans. According to Fox News the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, CIA Director General David Petraeus and Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, are expected to testify.

Among the issues likely to be discussed at these hearings is the lack of security that was provided to the consulate in view of the repeated attacks against it. More than 50 House members recently sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding to know whether two bombings at the consulate this year — on April 6 and June 6 — were included in the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

Clearly, the consulate was a jihadist target, and the attack on the anniversary of September 11th should not have come as a great surprise to anyone.

Obama’s Energy Decision

As Barack Obama prepares his second term agenda, some in the media are talking about his legacy. How will the history books remember him? Freed from the burdens of reelection, will he pivot to the right and compromise with the conservative House to get something done, as Bill Clinton did?

You may recall that a year ago the Obama Administration punted on the Keystone XL pipeline. Rather than approve the project, which has been in the works since 2008, the administration called for more studies. That time is coming to an end. Soon Obama will have to make a decision.

Left-wing environmentalists aren’t taking any chances. Tuesday night radical environmental groups announced plans for a protest in Washington on November 18th to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline. And they are also, of course, calling for higher taxes in the form of a new carbon tax to fight global warming.

But keep this in mind, friends. A tax on carbon is a tax on energy. We need energy for a growing economy. So in reality, a carbon tax is a tax on economic growth. And when you tax something you often get less of it. Consider this excerpt from a Bloomberg report yesterday:

“Barack Obama may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. … North American [carbon] discharges fell 1.3 percent last year amid slowing economic growth.” [Emphasis added.]

The connection is undeniable. Carbon emissions (energy usage) correspond with economic growth or the lack of it. If we’re in a recession, the economy uses less energy so less carbon is released. As the economy grows, we use more energy and more carbon is released. Now, if you buy into the radical green ideology, that’s bad for the environment. Therefore, economic growth is bad. So tax carbon. But how does less growth help generate more revenue to pay down the deficit?

This is a really bad idea, my friends, especially in an economy struggling to regain its footing.

The Intolerant Left Strikes Again

Stockton Springs Community Church in Waldo County, Maine, was vandalized earlier this week because its pastor is an outspoken advocate of the biblical definition of marriage.

“Our congregation has taken a loving and respectful stand for traditional marriage in our community,” said Reverend Steve DeGrof, “but those who disagree want to silence and intimidate us. We can’t be apathetic, and can’t be bullied.”

“I was shocked and horrified when I arrived at the church [Tuesday morning] and saw swastikas painted all over our property. Clearly, those who want to redefine marriage also want to redefine tolerance,” added DeGrof.

Such despicable tactics are nothing new. Churches and businesses all over the country have been subjected to vandalism and protests simply for exercising their First Amendment rights. The “tyrants of tolerance” are incredibly intolerant when it comes to traditional values and religious liberty.

But the greater danger is the legal discrimination and intimidation that comes from major institutions and Big Government with the advance of the radical homosexual rights agenda. Just ask Dr. Angela McCaskill, or Dr. Frank Turek or Elaine Huguenin.

These are not isolated incidents. This is not hyperbole. In a report on the clash between gay rights and religious liberty, even NPR acknowledged, “same-sex couples are beginning to challenge policies of religious organizations … and so far, the religious groups are losing.” And that was four years ago.

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