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Republican Lawmakers Accuse Biden Administration of Targeting Federal Employees Seeking
Religious Exemptions From COVID Vaccine <[link removed]> – Republican members of Congress are accusing President Joe Biden of targeting Americans seeking religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine. “Your administration’s attempt to use the power of the federal government to single out Americans who object to the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds is inexcusable and must be withdrawn,” reads the letter, first obtained by The Daily Signal. The letter to Biden builds on a Jan. 11 report from The Daily Signal <[link removed]> that the Biden administration is testing out a policy in a small federal agency, the Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia, that would likely serve as a model for government-assembled lists of Americans who object to the COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds. Heritage Experts: Sarah Parshall Perry <[link removed]>, GianCarlo Canaparo <[link removed]>, and Mary Margaret Olohan <[link removed]>
Yes, It’s Time for Affirmative Action to End – Finally <[link removed]> – The Supreme Court has held repeatedly that “all government racial classifications must be analyzed by a reviewing court under strict scrutiny.” Now, thanks to a pending lawsuit and a new presidential
order, affirmative action is under strict scrutiny from an even higher court, the one of public opinion. Here’s hoping this renewed attention marks the beginning of the end. Affirmative action has become the gateway drug to identity politics, or the breakup of America into antagonistic “oppressor” and “subordinate” groups constantly engaging in power relations. It suborns adolescents filled with angst about not getting into the right college into ticking the right box. Heritage Experts: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]> and Mike Gonzalez <[link removed]>
China’s Xi wins Biden-Putin cage match over Ukraine <[link removed]> – When the squabbling over Ukraine <[link removed]> concludes, it’s hard to see how China’s President Xi Jinping doesn’t come out on top. His counterpoint in the U.S., Joe Biden, lacks a clear strategy to ensure that the transatlantic community emerges from the latest standoff with Moscow in a stronger and more competitive position in the ring of global geopolitics. Heritage
Expert: James Carafano <[link removed]>
Electoral act reform picks up growing bipartisan support <[link removed]> – “Other ideas for broader elections reform” sounds like a way of giving Democrats the opportunity to slide some of their changes that were stopped last week into a “bipartisan” bill. Poll workers don’t need “additional protections;” they are already protected under state laws and no additional
protection is needed. This also sounds like a potential effort to prevent holding election officials accountable for their actions and to restrict the ability of poll watchers to observe and guarantee the transparency of the election process, which is vital to fair, honest, and secure elections. Heritage
Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
The CDC Has Destroyed Public Trust By Pushing Obvious Falsehoods <[link removed]> – Both those long dubious of the government’s pandemic advice and those who have relied on it have more in common today than at any point since the pandemic’s earliest days. Both now harbor a healthy skepticism of the administration’s bromides. We should acknowledge the fears and frustrations of Americans on the far side of the cultural divide, tone down our rhetoric about theater and virtue-signaling, and seek to bridge the cultural and political chasm that the president seems determined to widen and perpetuate. Heritage Expert: Doug Badger <[link removed]>
National School Choice Week 2022 Has Arrived. Here’s Why It Matters for Protecting Your Values <[link removed]> – For parents dispirited because their child is struggling to keep up with their peers, National School Choice Week is the time to explore other
options. For children bullied by a peer or who feels unsafe, lawmakers should give them choices. And for parents who are disgusted by the idea that assigned schools would teach children how to practice racial prejudice, policymakers should enforce prohibitions on discrimination in the classroom—while also giving students the chance to learn elsewhere. Heritage Expert: Jonathan Butcher <[link removed]>
Homicide leading cause of 'unexpected' death for Baltimore children: report <[link removed]>
– A recent report released by the City of Baltimore indicates that from 2016-2020, “Homicide was the leading cause of child fatality.” Non-relative or non-caregivers killed forty-five of those children.
Of those 45, 42 were killed by gunshots. What’s particularly troubling is that as of the time of review, officials had criminally charged suspects in ONLY 8 or those 45 cases. It’s no wonder that crime, especially violent crime is skyrocketing in Baltimore where their recently-indicted rogue prosecutor refuses to do her job, which is to seek justice, including holding criminals accountable. Unfortunately, when officials don’t do their jobs, it’s often the most vulnerable members of society who suffer. Another sobering statistic from the report says that “Most of the youth killed were themselves involved in illicit activity.” Thirty-one had been charged prior to their deaths. This shows, in part, that rogue prosecutors’ efforts to undercharge youthful offenders benefits no one—including the offenders. How many would still be alive if held appropriately accountable? Sadly, while this report contains sobering statistics, it’s no surprise. Lawlessness flourishes and citizens suffer when government officials do not do their jobs. Heritage Expert: Zack Smith <[link removed]>
An Easy Fix to IRS Tax Filing Delays: Don’t Pay IRS Employees to Abandon Their Posts in Lieu of Union Work <[link removed]>– With a massive backlog of unprocessed returns, staffing struggles and added work from extended pandemic programs, the IRS has warned taxpayers of impending delays in processing their returns. Ensuring that IRS employees spend tax-filing season doing their jobs rather than working for their union is a commonsense step in the right direction. Ultimately, public-sector unions should not exist, but so long as they do, public unions should be financed exclusively by the employees they serve, not the taxpayers against whom they negotiate. Heritage Expert: Rachel Greszler <[link removed]>
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