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Mike Gonzalez Exposes BLM Leaders & Agenda in New Book <[link removed]> – The George Floyd protests that have precipitated great changes throughout American society were not spontaneous
events. Americans did not suddenly rise up in righteous anger, take to the streets, and demand not just that police departments be defunded, but that all the structures, institutions, and systems of the United States—all supposedly racist—be overhauled. The 12,000 or so demonstrations and 633 related riots that followed Floyd’s death took
organizational muscle. The movement’s grip on institutions from the classroom to the ballpark required ideological commitment. Both were provided by the various Black Lives Matter organizations. This book examines who the BLM leaders are, delving into their backgrounds and exposing their agendas. They are shown to be avowed Marxists who say they want to dismantle our way of life. Along with their fellow activists, they make savvy use of social media to spread their message and organize marches, sit-ins, statue-tumblings, and riots. In 2020 they seized upon the video showing George Floyd’s suffering as a pretext to unleash a nationwide insurgency. Heritage expert: Mike Gonzalez <[link removed]>
Texas Gets Election Reform Right, Mainstream Media Gets It Wrong <[link removed]> – The Texas bill makes it clear that election officials cannot remove observers unless they are interfering in the voting process. Again, why would liberals and the media object to transparency? Shouldn’t observers be able to see what is actually going on in precincts? Texas also added something it has not had before, which is an opportunity for voters to correct defects in their absentee ballots. Many absentee ballots are rejected because voters make mistakes. For instance, they forget to sign the ballot or they don’t provide all the required information. This bill requires election officials to give voters the opportunity to correct any such problem. This expands voting opportunities in the state. It’s certainly not “restrictive.” Finally, among many other improvements in the administration of the election process, the Texas bill extends the state’s in-person voter ID law to absentee ballots. Keep in mind that the state’s current voter ID law has been in place for years and was approved by the courts as nondiscriminatory. Moreover, Texas provides a free ID to anyone who doesn’t already have one and has an exception for anyone who had a “reasonable impediment” that prevented them from obtaining the free
ID. Heritage expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
Biden’s Taliban Gamble and Over the Horizon Mirage <[link removed]> – Far from ending the “forever war,” the U.S. pullout has handed Islamist terrorists an opportunity—as well as munitions and money—to intensify their brutal attacks. Afghanistan now will revert to being a sanctuary for a wide spectrum of Islamist terrorist groups who are determined to escalate their jihad against multiple targets, including the U.S. homeland, Americans overseas, and many U.S. allies. The Biden administration should not dig itself into a deeper hole by trusting the Taliban to defend U.S. and Western interests against ISIS-K. Washington must now spend scarce resources, time, and energy in establishing a new framework for containing the dangerous spillover effects of its disastrous Afghanistan policy. The American pullout, which was supposed to enable a U.S. pivot to Asia, is likely instead to enable an ISIS pivot to Afghanistan. Rather than free up resources to meet the growing challenge of China, the pullout will more likely trigger cascading negative consequences that will boost terrorist threats, undermine the trust of allies in U.S. leadership, and benefit China as well as other adversaries. Heritage expert: Jim Phillips <[link removed]>

<[link removed]> <[link removed]>Fact-checking the pundits as a new school year begins <[link removed]> – As students head back to school, we can check some predictions made last year about how COVID would change K-12
classrooms. First, teacher unions forecast that schools would close in large numbers without additional federal spending. In June 2020, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told Fox News, “We need the money for PPE [personal protective equipment],” and “We need the money for extra teachers; we need the money for extra cleaning and extra buses.” Washington obliged. Since March 2020, the federal government has committed some $200 billion in COVID relief funds to K-12 schools. Apparently, the schools didn’t need it. Or if they did, they had a funny way of showing it. According to research from Dan Lips at FREOPP, $180 billion of those funds remain unspent. That’s a point worth emphasizing: Schools around the country opened this month, even in the midst of the uncertainties caused by the Delta variant, and they still have not spent most of the money teacher unions said would be required to get schools running
again. We can safely say this first prediction was wrong. Heritage expert: Jonathan Butcher <[link removed]>
<[link removed]>Seven Hard Truths Americans Should Know About Social Security in 2021—and Five Ways to Strengthen Social
Security <[link removed]> – The 2021 annual report by the Social Security Board of Trustees may provide the most compelling case for Social Security reform yet. A $3 trillion increase in the combined Social Security and Disability Insurance programs’ unfunded obligations in 2020 alone, and a 2033 date of insolvency for Social Security, indicate that everyone except the most elderly Americans will likely suffer from Social Security’s shortfalls. The situation is dire, but there are ways to improve Social Security for current and future workers. Policymakers must act now. Heritage expert: Rachel Greszler <[link removed]>

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