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Critical Race Theory Weakens Society and Breeds Hate, Minorities Say <[link removed]> – Robby Starbuck, a director and producer, spoke about how critical race theory mirrors how Marxists have used
racial division in other countries to empower their ideas. Starbuck, who is Cuban American, said Cuban communists used racial division to seize power in that Caribbean island nation. Another way radicals usher in revolution is through the changing of shared language, he said, and that is one of the core tenets of
critical race theory. Starbuck cited the word “Latinx”—widely used as a gender-neutral stand-in for “Latino” and “Latina” in left-wing academic circles—that has now become commonly used in the media. That’s despite the fact that very few Hispanic people
actually want to be called that, he said. Despite many of the concepts and ideas of critical race theory being unpopular, the constant exposure to them, Starbuck said, “creates reality for people.” Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman <[link removed]>

Mississippi abortion: US Supreme Court to hear major abortion case <[link removed]> – The Supreme Court has finally granted cert. after a year’s worth of conference considerations in Dobbs, which has conservative jurists and scholars energized at the thought of a possible overturning of Roe v. Wade and its progeny, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. While limiting consideration of the issues to only the first, namely, whether or not an abortion ban prior to 15 weeks is unconstitutional, the Court is providing an opportunity for Justice Amy Coney Barrett to vote in alignment with her stated opposition to abortion. The composition of the Court has changed significantly with her appointment, and Roe is most decidedly in the cross-hairs. Heritage expert: Sarah Perry <[link removed]>

2 Actions US Must Take in Wake of Colonial Pipeline Crisis <[link removed]> – The Colonial Pipeline ordeal has shown that Americans face real consequences when cybercriminals attack our
infrastructure. In times like this, the proper response is not to panic or to advocate expanding government’s control. Rather, the government should aid—not micromanage—the private sector and help build a layered cybersecurity response that isn’t bloated with bureaucracy. At the same time, the government can promote a resilient energy and infrastructure economy by further opening both markets and keeping them free and diversified. Heritage expert: Dustin Carmack <[link removed]>
A new history curriculum or anti-American propaganda? <[link removed]> – CRT eschews economic classifications because they are too fluid. People can change their stations in life — and under capitalism, they often do. Critical Theorists readily concede this point as being one of the downsides of trying to start a revolution with classes that are not immutable. Critical Race Theory wants to solve this problem by adding race to Marxism. CRT teaches young minds to focus on nothing but skin color and power, and how one influences the other in public and private life. It promotes racial stereotypes and assumes that humans act according to their category, not as individuals. This pernicious ideology is already making its way into classrooms across the country — even without the proposed stimulus of federal grants. One example is the Learning for Justice curriculum, a K-12 civics program created by an organization of the same name that operates under the Southern Poverty Law Center. Heritage experts: Lindsey Burke <[link removed]>, Mike Gonzalez <[link removed]>, Jonathan
Butcher <[link removed]>
Collaboration Between CDC and Teachers Union Doesn’t Help Our Kids <[link removed]> – While a flurry of school choice proposals passed in
nine states this year rebuked teacher unions’ meddling, it should not take a global pandemic to make meaningful education reform happen. Moving forward, policymakers should ensure that policies are not shaped by teachers unions’ self-interests. Specifically, states should make sure that teachers know
that they are no longer required to become union members, in keeping with the Supreme Court’s Janus ruling. At the same time, more states should empower families with greater education choice, such as education savings accounts or open enrollment. Student-centered education funding is the key to breaking the union monopoly and giving parents a greater role in education decision-making. Policymakers should collaborate with families to ensure that education reforms aim to help children, not protect union jobs. Heritage expert: Jude Schwalbach <[link removed]>
COVID-19: Effects of the Response on Health Insurance Coverage in 2020 <[link removed]> – The data show that health insurance enrollment remained relatively stable in 2020 despite widespread economic dislocation caused by government responses
to the COVID-19 pandemic. That suggests that Congress’s health reform agenda going forward should focus on reducing costs by expanding choice and competition. In addition, rather than simply expanding eligibility and subsidies, the better approach for addressing the residual uninsured population is through reforms that help those already eligible access available coverage. Today, those individuals are essentially “functionally insured”—meaning that they seek and receive free medical care when and as needed—but are not “formally insured.” The main benefit of identifying and enrolling those individuals in formal coverage, particularly through private managed care plans, is that they will be more likely to get care sooner and in
more appropriate settings. Heritage expert: Ed Haislmaier <[link removed]>
Biden Administration Promotes LGBTQI Rights in Foreign Policy, Threatening International Religious Freedom <[link removed]> – The United States can and should defend the
inalienable human rights of all individuals. And it should encourage other countries to do the same. But that is not the same as penalizing them for rejecting an ideological agenda. Another executive action designed to advance the special interests of a particular group under the guise of human rights will unnecessarily risk religious freedom at home and abroad, and illustrate progressive prejudice against faith and tradition. Heritage expert: Grace
Melton <[link removed]>
Bernie Sanders’ Attack on US Defense Spending Gets the Facts Wrong <[link removed]> – Sanders also dusted off an erroneous cliché that appears impossible to kill, asking, “Why
should we give the military more money when the United States already spends more money on its military than the next 12 countries combined?” This is a grossly flawed comparison that fails to account for the actual purchasing power of any of these countries, the lack of honest reporting by countries like China and Russia, or even the vast
differences in interests and obligations. It does not take any economics education to know that American soldiers are paid vastly more than the conscript-style Chinese soldiers, nor a B.A. in global affairs to understand that by treaty the U.S. has kept the world safe from global conflict since World War II. Heritage expert: Frederico Bartels <[link removed]>
Senators, Not Senate Rules, Are the Problem <[link removed]> – The scholars claim that the Senate is “the world’s only legislative body with an effective supermajority
requirement for common legislation.” They say this because, while a simple majority can pass a bill, a supermajority is required to first end debate on that bill. The scholars give the false impression, however, that every bill requires both votes. While a final vote is necessary every time, a formal vote to end debate is used only when the majority and minority refuse to cooperate. Cooperation is a choice. Senators choose whether extended debate will be a positive or negative feature of the Senate’s legislative process. They choose whether extended debate will encourage or discourage deliberation and consensus. If there is a filibuster problem today, both the blame and the solution lie with senators, not Senate rules. Heritage expert: Thomas Jipping <[link removed]>

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