Jul 13, 2020
Good morning. As summer rolls on, parents and teachers across the country are wondering if schools should open later this summer. Heritage’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission says they should, and offers 10 key recommendations on how they can. Also, Heritage believes that the violent attacks on statues across the country are more than just vandalism. Read about what the mobs really want to destroy. Plus, we are learning more and more about the Marxist agenda of the Black Lives Matter organization. Our experts take a deeper dive into the group’s origins. Keep reading to learn more!
Defend US Statues and Monuments: Here’s What the Mobs Really Want to Destroy <[link removed]>
The radical left has hijacked debate over America’s monuments to wage a cultural war. Their goal: to deny the moral legitimacy of our democratic republic, according to Nile Gardner, director of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, and Joseph Loconte, director of Heritage’s Simon Center for American Studies. “Violent attacks on statues and memorials aren’t mere vandalism. They are an assault on the United States itself and the values upon which this great nation stands. We should all stand united as Americans in the defense of our heritage, culture and the rule of law,” write Gardner and Loconte in their latest commentary. Read the full article to find out why the leftist assault on statues is an assault against the rule of law and American values. <[link removed]>
10 Recommendations for Reopening K-12 Classrooms <[link removed]>
After months of school closures and forced homeschooling due to COVID-19, the rallying cry from our leaders and affected families can be summed up in a recent tweet from President Donald Trump: “SCHOOLS MUST OPEN IN THE FALL!!!” While homeschooling has been working well for many families, there’s a strong desire to reopen schools to help children’s lives return to normal and to help parents return to work. Thankfully, Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, has compiled 10 recommendations, recently released by the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, that are aimed specifically at helping schools to reopen safely as soon as possible. “Students can’t afford to have their education put on hold, and parents, as taxpayers, should have access to the money that is spent on behalf of their children in schools across the country. These 10 recommendations will help quickly get American education back on track, safely and more effectively than ever,” Burke writes. Read the full article to learn more about how local school leaders in the public and private sectors can help schools reopen safely <[link removed]>.
The Agenda of Black Lives Matter Is Far Different From the Slogan <[link removed]>
Many see the slogan “black lives matter” as a plea to secure the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans, especially historically wronged African Americans. They add the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to their social-media profiles, carry signs at protests, and make financial donations. Tragically, when they do donate, they are likely to bankroll a number of radical organizations, founded by committed Marxists whose goals aren’t to make the American Dream a reality for everyone—but to transform America completely, according to Heritage Senior Fellow Mike Gonzalez and Coalition Relations Director Andrew Olivastro. “The group’s radical Marxist agenda would supplant the basic building block of society—the family—with the state and destroy the economic system that has lifted more people from poverty than any other. Black lives, and all lives, would be harmed,” write Gonzalez and Olivastro. Read the full article to find out more about the true goals of the Black Lives Matter organization and its affiliates. <[link removed]>
We Will Not Sit Idly By <[link removed]>
Our members are committed—in the face of intense opposition—to the principles that made our country great. Defend the vision of our founders and advance conservative policy solutions when you join the Heritage Foundation today <[link removed]>.
HAPPENING AT HERITAGE
The Supreme Court ruling in favor of Little Sisters of the Poor finally allows the nuns to live out their faith. “Shame on those who created these mandates and thanks to those who fought so valiantly for so long to end them. This ruling preserves fundamental religious liberties and is good news for all Americans, regardless of faith,” says Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James. Keep reading the statement <[link removed]>.
Heritage applauds the Supreme Court decision to protect religious school autonomy. “The Supreme Court was right to affirm that the First Amendment protects the freedom of religious schools to determine who will teach their religious beliefs to the next generation as well as what they will teach,” said Emilie Kao, director of Heritage’s DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society. Read the full statement <[link removed]>.
UPCOMING WEBINARS 
TUESDAY at noon, Heritage will host a virtual conversation on the triumphs of our American history, and ways to debunk the narratives of revisionist history. The webinar kicks off Heritage’s "America's History of Hope" series and will be hosted by Angela Sailor, vice president of Heritage’s Feulner Institute. Additional speakers include Thomas Krannawitter, president at Speakeasy Ideas; Lucas Morel, a professor of politics at Washington and Lee University; and Katharine Cornell Gorka, director of Heritage’s Feulner Institute. Register for the webinar <[link removed]>.
TUESDAY at 1 p.m., Heritage will host a webinar to discuss if the United States withdrawing from the 1992 Treaty on Open Skies was a good thing. Featured speakers include Tim Morrison, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute; Peter Brookes, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation; and Pranay R. Vaddi, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace. Register for the webinar <[link removed]>.
WEDNESDAY AT 10:30 a.m., Heritage will host a webinar on how to make the Pentagon work better and cost less. The event's featured speaker is Peter Levine, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses and former under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Register for the webinar <[link removed]>.
THURSDAY at 2 p.m., Heritage will host a conversation on values-based education and the success sequence. The webinar is the second part of Heritage’s “Education in America” series and will be hosted by Lindsey Burke, director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy. Register for the event <[link removed]>.
HERITAGE PODCASTS
This week on “ Heritage Explains,” Daily Signal columnist Jarrett Stepman, author of “The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America's Past,” explains why statues should stand. Listen to the episode <[link removed]>.
In the final episode of this season of “SCOTUS 101,” Heritage legal experts GianCarlo Canaparo and Amy Swearer discuss the blockbuster cases handed down this week, which addressed whether President Trump must release his tax returns, whether nearly half of Oklahoma is, in fact, an Indian reservation, whether the Little Sisters have to provide contraceptives in violation of their religious beliefs, and more. Listen to the podcast <[link removed]>.
HERITAGE IN THE NEWS
Here are highlights from Heritage experts on TV. This week they talked about reopening schools, the left’s war on history, China, the Supreme Court, and more. Watch the clips <[link removed]>.
POLICY PICTURE
In President Trump’s speech at Mount Rushmore, he said we are reckoning with a generation of anti-American indoctrination. Do you agree? Email us at  [email protected] <[link removed]>.

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