John, I'm excited to share the latest from CRC with you:

• How does the Left's political machine work?
  In his 2012 book The Victory Lab, journalist Sasha Issenberg described how left-wing groups have improved their microtargeting and manipulating of voters, which helped them elect Joe Biden in 2020. Though a liberal himself, Issenberg admitted that supposedly nonpartisan left-wing nonprofits are part of the Democratic Party machine. CRC's Ken Braun describes the elections arms race between Democratic and Republican campaigns here.

• What's the Left's latest hysteria?
  Last week, I responded to a recent Popular Information article that attacked an "obscure foundation" for pushing "hysteria" about critical race theory (CRT). The authors were either unfair, lazy, or both to label all of the Thomas W. Smith Foundation's funding as anti-CRT. Of course, the Smith Foundation's real offense is funding mainstream conservative grantees. I remind the hysterical critics about the massively larger left-wing funding data here.

• Is the Texas ban on Zuck Bucks strong enough?
  Before Democratic state legislators fled Texas to prevent passage of an election integrity bill, the Texas legislature passed a bill limiting private funding of government election offices. The bill is a response to the $33.5 million in "Zuck bucks" that flowed through the Center for Technology and Civic Life and into local Texas election offices. CRC's Victoria Ydens reports that the bill isn't as strong as other states' bans.

• What would Galileo think of our scientific climate?
  After Galileo received a slap on the wrist from the authorities who weren't pleased with his scientific theorizing, he wasn't oppressed but instead continued to flourish, funded by the private sector. In contrast, scientists today live in fear of losing government funding, which increasingly directs and restricts scientific research. As Galileo shows, scientists need both an intellectual environment that allows unconventional thinking and a financial environment in which the guardians of scientific orthodoxy don't monopolize funding, as I explain here.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on how we can better serve our mission of exposing the Left's activists and donors. E-mail me at [email protected], or call me at 202.464.2044.

Best wishes,

Scott Walter, President