Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.
Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is as wrong about Cuba as she is about American history – Communist Cuba has — does this need to be said still? — not experienced “liberation through education,” it lives under oppression. How can we teach Hannah-Jones distorted view of American history in our K-12 schools when she can be so easily duped by propaganda junkets to Cuba? Blacks have suffered greatly under the Marxists. As the black Cuban-American leader Omar Lopez Montenegro explained to the Panama Post a few days ago, the advance that blacks were making electorally in Cuba came to a halt with the revolution in 1959. “Once Cuba became a communist dictatorship, and the democratic option was lost . . . the only way to rise politically was through appointment by the party.” And that just hasn’t happened to black Cubans. Just as BLM, Hannah-Jones seems to be more interested in the ideological content of the party, and less in black lives. Too bad so many in the media appear content to give her fact-free musings such an uncritical airing. Heritage expert: Mike Gonzalez

Help Cubans access the internet – Former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Bob Gates has discussed the nonmilitary, strategic importance of the now-abolished U.S. Information Agency, which worked to counter Soviet propaganda and promote the ideals of freedom. Tools such as Radio America and Radio Europe were successfully wielded during World War II and in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. We should build off the successful track records of our past for the modern world’s communications networks. One way to do this is to harness capabilities that exist, such as the mothballed Alphabet "Project Loon" that received experimental licensing from the Federal Communications Commission in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Using stratospheric balloons flying up to 12 miles above Earth’s surface, Loon, in partnership with AT&T and T-Mobile, was able to deliver basic internet to more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans in 2017, when cell coverage on the island was for the most part destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Heritage expert: Dustin Carmack

‘Let Them Die,’ Intolerant PTA, NAACP Official Says of Critical Race Theory Foes – To say the outlook of Leete and others like her is noxious and a serious problem for a republican form of government that requires deliberation, consent, and compromise would be an understatement. It’s a more extreme form of the message that’s been sent by the militantly woke, who increasingly treat any form of opposition to their radical ideas as illegitimate and “violence.” In the minds of some, those who oppose the revolution are enemies who must be destroyed. That this message is coming from someone in a position of authority and with a significant platform like Leete is both telling and chilling. If anything, the “let them die” message of Leete is a clear-cut example of why critical race theory and the ideology that springs from it is poisonous to a free people and has no place in K-12 classrooms.  This isn’t about teaching “honest” history or in reducing actual racism. It’s about indoctrinating the young to become foot soldiers for a radical political movement that teaches people to hate themselves, hate their country, hate their fellow citizens, or some combination of all three. Heritage expert: Jarrett Stepman

Democrats’ Budget Agreement Would Burn Economy – Negotiations about infrastructure have been occurring for months, which is fully justified given the amount Democrats want to spend. Yet if Democrats can use reconciliation to obtain nearly everything they don’t get through the infrastructure bill, that turns negotiations into a “heads I win, tails you lose” proposition. Votes on infrastructure should not be tied to a spending package that would push America toward the stagnation of New York and the misery of Cuba. Instead of rushing half-baked legislation to votes for the sake of an arbitrary goal of completing infrastructure work in July, legislators should commit to the open deliberative process that major legislation deserves. In addition, rather than attempting to force a one-sized-fits-all federal approach on the country, Congress should cut red tape and empower the private sector and state governments to improve the nation’s infrastructure. That would help the economy keep cooking without the danger of overheating. Heritage expert: David Ditch

Stripping opportunity from DC's children – Washington’s so-called liberals are planning to strip away life-changing scholarships from low-income minority children in the District — just another gift from the left to the teachers’ unions. The Biden administration’s plans to follow suit surfaced in a report accompanying the FY 2022 House Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill, which approves D.C. spending. It revealed that funding for the scholarship program would continue at $17.5 million through 2022, but “the Committee expects the Administration to phase out the Opportunity Scholarship Program in fiscal year 2023.” Compared to the bloated budget proposal, the scholarship program’s cost is couch-cushion change. Yet somehow this is a bridge too far for team Biden. Perhaps the problem is that the scholarships don’t cost enough. The maximum scholarship award is $8,857 in K-8 and $13,287 for high school — chump change compared to the more than $27,000 per-child, per-year spent in D.C. Public Schools. Put differently, taxpayers spend over $350,000 per child in D.C. public schools to get them from kindergarten to graduation, yet expend a little more than one-third of that – $132,861 – to graduate a student through the D.C. scholarship program. Heritage expert: Lindsey Burke

11 Examples of Why Government Shouldn’t Go After Lawful Gun Industry – As these stories show, law-abiding Americans often rely on their right to keep and bear arms to defend themselves, their livelihoods, and their communities. Attacking the gun industry—which overwhelmingly serves the legitimate function of facilitating peaceable citizens’ exercise of their constitutional rights—is not going to make the nation safer from gun-related violence. Attacks on gun manufacturers, however, make it harder for Americans to protect themselves when the government can’t or won’t be there in time to help. Heritage expert: Amy Swearer

The Left keeps trying to codify Roe. This time, it’s also slashing RFRA – Now that the Supreme Court plans to review Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in its fall term – a case in which the high court will determine whether any pre-viability restrictions on abortion are unconstitutional – the EACH Act more clearly tips the Left’s hand on issues related to abortion policy. The bill not only intensifies the Left’s calls for abortion expansion but reminds Americans that many people, including members of Congress, believe that religious faith should be practiced only behind the church house door. With the EACH Act’s explicit exemption from RFRA’s application, thoughtful Americans might more easily recognize that, despite assertions to the contrary, abortion advocacy has never been about “safe, legal, rare.” It’s about party lines and progressive activism. It’s about demanding that all Americans assent to the view that it is okay to treat unborn lives as nothing more than a disposable inconvenience – a view all Americans should reject. Heritage expert: Sarah Perry

Catherine Lhamon’s Record, Answers Disqualify Her to Serve as Civil Rights Chief – Basic pillars of fairness—things like being presented the evidence used against you and having your case heard by an impartial party—shouldn’t be controversial, but they are to radicals like Lhamon. Her lack of fitness was perhaps most clearly on display when she doubled down on wholly inaccurate and very troubling comments she made about the current Title IX regulation, falsely stating: “The regulation permits students to rape and sexually harass with impunity.”  Not only is such an outrageous statement an outright lie, but it also sends a very concerning signal to students about their ability to be able to seek and receive justice.  Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona are entitled to a full staff, but America’s students deserve a leader in this critical role to protect civil rights who doesn’t have a long track record of opposing basic rights. The president should instead nominate a measured leader who will respect core American principles, uphold the rule of law, and protect the civil rights of all students. Heritage expert: Lindsey Burke