Monday, March 30, 2015
From: Gary L. Bauer
Deal Or No Deal?
News broke over the weekend that Western and Iranian negotiators had reached a “tentative agreement” regarding Iran’s nuclear program. But reports late last night indicate that the Iranians are now demanding additional concessions.
Iran had agreed to surrender its uranium stockpile to Russia so that it could not be processed into material for a nuclear weapon. Now the Islamic Republic is insisting it be allowed to keep its uranium.
During an interview over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the negotiations, saying, “The dangerous accord which is being negotiated . . . confirms our concerns and even worse.”
Netanyahu said the negotiations amounted to “a reward for Iran’s aggression,” and warned that Iran’s ambitions were “dangerous for all of humanity.”
Iranian Defector Blasts Talks
It’s not surprising that Israel’s leader has harsh words for these negotiations. His nation faces an existential threat from a nuclear-armed Iran. But if you question Benjamin Netanyahu’s objectivity, consider what Amir Hossein Motaghi has to say about the negotiations.
Motaghi is the former editor of the Iran Student Correspondents Association. According to various reports, Motaghi was a personal aide to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during the 2013 elections and may have served as his campaign’s communications director. He was in Switzerland covering the nuclear negotiations until he defected over the weekend.
Motaghi says that journalism in Iran is a sham and that the media are heavily censored by the regime. No surprise there. He also blasted the Obama/Kerry team, saying, “The U.S. negotiating team are mainly there to speak on Iran’s behalf with other members of the 5+1 countries and convince them of a deal.”
If a former top campaign aide to the Iranian president says our negotiators are representing Iran’s interests, then Prime Minister Netanyahu is right — this is a really bad deal.
By the way, what explains the impulse of Obama Administration officials to speak in Arabic? This time it is Secretary of State John Kerry. While reportedly shopping for chocolate in Switzerland, Kerry was approached by an individual who told him that friends in Iran are optimistic about a deal. Kerry responded, “Inshallah!,” which means “if Allah wills it.”
Servergate
Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, told reporters Friday that Secretary Clinton’s lawyers failed to provide any new documents in response to a subpoena, even after they had been given a two week extension in order to comply.
Gowdy added, “We learned today, from her attorney, [that] Secretary Clinton unilaterally decided to wipe her server clean and permanently delete all emails from her personal server.”
During her March 10th press conference, Hillary admitted that tens of thousands of personal emails were deleted. But she also acknowledged that she delivered 55,000 pages of emails related to her service as secretary of state after the State Department had requested she hand them over.
That request came near the end of October, so we know the server was cleaned sometime after that, after there were demands for the information contained on the server.
The House of Representatives voted to establish the Benghazi Select Committee on May 8, 2014. As a lawyer, Hillary certainly understood that any information in her possession related to Benghazi was subject to congressional subpoena.
Whether or not Hillary was trying to obstruct the committee may be irrelevant. Legislation she voted for in 2002 created a new criminal offense known as “anticipatory obstruction of justice” — destroying documents in order to frustrate a potential future investigation.
Faith Under Fire
The debate over Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act intensified over the weekend. The radical left is determined to make an example of Governor Mike Pence and shut down this debate as more than a dozen other states are considering similar legislation protecting religious liberty.
Appearing yesterday on ABC’s “This Week,” Pence held his own against former Clinton apologist George Stephanopoulos. The governor denounced the “shameless rhetoric” that has been used to distort the law and accused Stephanopoulos of engaging in it. Rush Limbaugh devoted an hour of his show today to this subject, and praised Pence’s defense of the law.
Just as disturbing as the media’s willful distortions are the threats from some large companies. Major corporations — including Apple, Salesforce and Angie’s List — are essentially accusing Governor Pence and state legislators of resurrecting Jim Crow laws.
They are attempting to extort the people’s elected representatives by threatening to boycott the state. They are demanding that Indiana legislators restrict religious liberty in order to comply with the demands of the radical left and its intolerant agenda. At a time when strong economic growth is still elusive, this pressure is a powerful weapon.
But it is an opportunity for pro-family officials too. They should tell left-wing corporate bosses to take a hike!
While conservatives support free markets, lower taxes and less regulation, they also stand for religious freedom and family values. Big business has no more right to dictate the values of Indiana’s families or restrict religious liberty than do unelected left-wing judges!
It can be hard to influence mega-companies like Apple. But Angie’s List may be vulnerable to a backlash. Our family called today to cancel our Angie’s List membership because our faith is more important than saving a few bucks on a home repair. There are competing services available, including a new one launched just today by Amazon.
Crossdressing Gate Crashers?
Washington, D.C., was on edge today after two men, dressed as women, attempted to crash through the gates of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland. An armed guard shot both men, killing one and critically wounding the other.
Officials were quick to downplay terrorism as a motive. But unless crossdressers crashing the gates of our most sensitive intelligence facilities is more common than I realized, investigators should not eliminate anything until their investigation is complete.
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