Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today.Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
Government officials need to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S. <[link removed]> - At an Oct. 24 press conference on “significant national security cases,” Attorney General Merrick Garland announced several developments involving Chinese Communist Party espionage on U.S. soil. Noticeably absent was any mention of TikTok <[link removed]>, China <[link removed]>’s most valuable spying tool, which is used every day against American citizens. Since its inception, Beijing <[link removed]> has used TikTok <[link removed]> to steal personal information about its users and influence the direction of our country. The app’s “surreptitious data practices” include the mass collection of browsing histories, keystroke patterns, biometric identifiers, draft messages, and metadata as well as the text, images, and videos that are on a device’s clipboard. Capitalizing on the paralysis of U.S. regulators, ByteDance has used its ever-expanding social media reach to access critical information, posing a direct threat to our national security. The initial delay to ban TikTok <[link removed]> from the devices of U.S. service members jeopardized troop movements and the data of our military men and women. While the application is now banned from the devices of military personnel, many Americans are still being targeted. Heritage Expert: Jake Denton <[link removed]>
EXCLUSIVE: Midwife Conference Bans Pro-Life OB-GYNs Amid Threats to Decertify Those
Who Spread Abortion ‘Misinformation’ <[link removed]> - Medical organizations in the birthing field have vocally endorsed abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s
reversal of Roe v. Wade <[link removed]>. A prominent group of pro-life obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs) found itself excluded from a national midwifery conference over its views on abortion, The Daily Signal can exclusively reveal. The pro-life group is also raising the alarm about the potential decertification of medical professionals who refuse to toe the line on abortion. The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) held its Midwifery Works Conference last month, but the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) had no presence there for the first time in 6 years. AAPLOG, a non-sectarian organization, operated as a “special interest group” within the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for 40 years before ACOG discontinued the designation. Now, ACNM, ACOG, and the organization responsible for certifying OB-GYNs, the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ABOG), have embraced pro-abortion stances. “One of the greatest threats to maternal health care is the rabid pro-abortion activism <[link removed]> currently being displayed by both ABOG and
ACOG,” AAPLOG CEO Dr. Donna Harrison told The Daily Signal. “Three national studies have revealed that somewhere between 75% and 93% of OB-GYNs do not perform abortions in their practices.” Heritage Expert: Tyler O’Neil <[link removed]>
Biden to Give Speech Wednesday Night About Threats to Democracy <[link removed]>
- Claims by Biden and other Democratic leaders that common sense reforms like voter ID or ensuring accurate voter rolls are a "threat to democracy" are irresponsible and wrong. Reforms intended to ensure fair and honest elections are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans regardless of their political affiliations or race. The real threat to democracy is posed by false, reckless claims such as these that may scare voters and deter them from turning out to cast a ballot. Heritage Expert: Hans von Spakovsky <[link removed]>
7 Facts Biden Ignored About Social Security in His Speech to Florida Retirees <[link removed]> – Social Security reform is difficult, and Americans need to recognize that. Disingenuous proposals have no place in much-needed discussions and action to preserve and improve Social Security. While there’s no way to undo past excesses that have made Social Security so popular and so indebted, the good news is that there’s a way <[link removed]> to protect the most vulnerable Americans while improving Social Security for current and future generations. Congress can refocus the program on its original purposes; namely, providing financial security and protecting seniors from poverty. By reducing Social Security’s drag on personal incomes and nest eggs, it’s possible to make more people—and the entire economy <[link removed]>—better off. Heritage Expert: Rachel Greszler <[link removed]>
Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation <[link removed]> – CISA is responsible for
cybersecurity and critical infrastructure, not the content of information. Per the U.S. Constitution, which states Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, no part of the federal government should be the arbiter of truth. CISA was created to secure the .gov domain and to communicate with the private sector regarding critical infrastructure. There are valid needs for those functions. The problems arose, however, when CISA staff left their lanes of authority. Preventing such gross abuse requires transparency, oversight, ethical leaders, and accountability. DHS is not prioritizing protecting Americans from foreign terrorism. The Biden Administration has opened our southern border, allowing aliens from over 150 nations into the U.S. An additional 1 million known gotaways have entered the U.S. and the administration admits to apprehending about 100 aliens on the terror watchlist. Heritage Expert: Lora Ries <[link removed]>
The Biden Administration’s electric vehicle gambit is illegal and costly <[link removed]> - Congress has repeatedly rejected radical climate change <[link removed]> policies that would increase the price of energy. Now, President Joe Biden is circumventing the legislative branch by moving to force people into using electric vehicles <[link removed]> . This plan would impose the costliest regulatory burden ever inflicted on the public. The vast majority of people don’t support phasing out and eventually banning the sale of internal combustion engine cars. At a time of record high inflation <[link removed]> and a very expensive new and used vehicle market, these regulations raise the cost of gas-powered cars to push people toward EVs that are, on average, $18,000 more. The
opening gambit of Biden's plan has three main components. First, the Environmental Protection Agency promulgated new emissions standards for cars and trucks — standards that can be met only by electrification of at least 17% of the new fleet. Second, the EPA and the Department of Transportation worked together to bless California’s reimplementation of its separate (and illegal) greenhouse gas vehicle emissions standards and electric car mandate. Third, the Transportation Department set fuel-economy standards that cannot be achieved without electrification and that explicitly incorporate California’s electric car quota into their “baseline.” Manufacturers that don’t sell enough EVs have to buy credits or pay fines, increasing the price of all nonelectric cars. The EPA estimates the price hikes will reach thousands of dollars per car. Heritage Expert: Derrick Morgan <[link removed]>
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