Last week, President Joe Biden was asked whether he had any message for social media amidst a dramatic rise in the number of diagnosed COVID-19 cases thanks to the delta variant. Biden immediately responded that companies like Facebook were responsible for murder: &#8220;They&#8217;re killing people — I mean, they&#8217;re really, look, the only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they&#8217;re killing people.&#8221; Meanwhile, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that Facebook had not stopped misinformation thoroughly enough on its platform, calling misinformation a &#8220;serious threat to public health.&#8221;
None of this is accurate. Facebook is, first of all, a platform; it is not a publication with the same responsibilities of editorial oversight as a publisher. To treat Facebook as such would be to transform its purpose. Furthermore, on a purely factual level, it is simply untrue that Facebook users are disproportionately likely to avoid vaccination — in fact, according to Facebook&#8217;s statistics, vaccine acceptance in the United States among their users now stands between 80% and 85%, and 3.3 million Americans have used their vaccine finder tool to seek a location for a vaccine.
So, what&#8217;s driving the Biden administration&#8217;s finger pointing? Its broader agenda to utilize the massive market dominance of the social media platforms to squeeze alternative media sources out of existence. Before the rise of social media, most Americans who used the internet for news bookmarked a variety of pages and then visited them individually. Over time, as social media grew and as people began to access stories they liked through an algorithmically controlled newsfeed, Americans used social media for news. This centralized the mechanism for information dissemination.
Now, the left sees an opportunity: If all the news is accessed in one place, by restricting access in that place, the news monopoly once held by legacy media can be reestablished. All that will be required is labeling everyone they don&#8217;t like &#8220;misinformation.&#8221;
Kara Swisher of The New York Times, who has spent the past several years attempting to pressure Facebook into exactly such censorship, says as much openly. According to Swisher, Biden wasn&#8217;t wrong to say Facebook was killing people. Actually, writes Swisher, the problem is that Biden restricted his analysis to the coronavirus: &#8220;Attempting to stop falsehoods by claiming to offer good information is like using a single sandbag to hold back an impossibly fetid ocean. It&#8217;s like that when it comes to a range of once-anodyne, now divisive issues, from election integrity to critical race theory to whatever.&#8221;
&#8220;Whatever.&#8221; Literally any topic on which Swisher disagrees is now dangerous misinformation that must be curbed. This week, NPR went so far as to pressure Facebook to suppress traffic to my website, Daily Wire, on precisely this basis. NPR admitted that we don&#8217;t print falsehoods, that we don&#8217;t spread conspiracy theories and that we are honest and open about our conservative perspective. So, why should we be suppressed? Because, according to NPR, we cover &#8220;specific stories that bolster the conservative agenda.&#8221; And, quoting an expert, NPR reports, &#8220;If you&#8217;ve stripped enough context away, any piece of truth can become a piece of misinformation.&#8221;
There it is: even truth can be misinformation. And misinformation kills.
The authoritarianism of the left is in full swing. Americans must spot it and fight it before it destroys our ability to see anything other than that which the Left wants us to see.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.
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President Biden Speaks On The American Rescue Plan At White House

SHAPIRO: Lying About ‘Misinformation’ To Justify Tyranny

Censorship

Social Media

Tokyo Olympics

Simone Biles

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Susan Sarandon

Olympics

Capitol Riot

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&#8220;I am a woman of color, I am a mom. I am a cisgender millennial who has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder.&#8221;
If that sounds to you like perhaps the foreword to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle&#8217;s upcoming book, you would be wrong.
Actually, you&#8217;ll recall that that was actually a direct statement from a video, the CIA recruitment video, somehow — for some reason, advertising that &#8220;they&#8221; were a &#8220;cisgender mom.&#8221;
You see, they&#8217;re more accepting now, the CIA. The CIA has gone &#8220;woke&#8221; and wants more woke people to apply to their ranks to increase their &#8220;diversity,&#8221; even if the CIA should be focused on rooting out international terror threats, not rooting out white privilege in its Langley offices by staffing its desks with gender studies majors.
And then there&#8217;s the FBI. You remember they sent fifteen agents to investigate a noose in Bubba Wallace&#8217;s garage, the NASCAR driver. They&#8217;ve missed real crime and real terrorism happening in this country, threats to American families, but when it comes to a NASCAR garage pull — because that&#8217;s what it ended up being, a garage pull — they send a full team of federal agents to investigate.
Suddenly, the FBI is available because they want to address racism, and they have to be woke, they need to tell you that white supremacy, that racism is something that requires our attention — and worse, still, that its more dangerous to our national security than, say, radical Islamism or illegal immigration, problems the Biden administration has and refuses to address.
At first, the very notion of a woke &#8220;deep state&#8221; seemed funny. I&#8217;ll admit, I laughed at the CIA recruitment video, and I laughed — albeit in frustration — at the Bubba Wallace situation.
But this is really no laughing matter. The deep state&#8217;s commitment to &#8220;wokeness&#8221; is spilling over from how it staffs its ranks to how it does its job, and — make no mistake — if you&#8217;re not among those who think correctly, you could find yourself in their crosshairs. It&#8217;s a two-tiered system, where conservatives are approached with suspicion, and leftists are given liberal privilege.
If you are among those who think correctly, you won&#8217;t have to worry, even if your decisions result in the deaths of, perhaps, thousands of people.
Last week, the Department of Justice announced that they have no intention of continuing a probe into Governor Andrew Cuomo over an order he gave mandating that nursing homes accept recovering COVID-19 patients who were still contagious — an order that likely killed thousands. They&#8217;ve also dropped looking into Governor Gretchen Whitmer over in Michigan, saying that this is a topic they&#8217;re just not interested in exploring.
Speaking of Governor Whitmer, notoriously in this past week even <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kenbensinger/michigan-kidnapping-gretchen-whitmer-fbi-informant">BuzzFeed</a> is now saying that a suspected &#8220;plot&#8221; from &#8220;Trump supporters&#8221; who wanted to &#8220;kill Governor Whitmer&#8221; may have been largely driven by the FBI.
On the other hand, the Biden administration is desperate to find evidence that conservatives are plotting to overthrow the American government. Attorney General Merrick Garland even announced a &#8220;national strategy for countering domestic terrorism&#8221; pledging to root out and expose &#8220;domestic terrorists&#8221; and evil conservative &#8220;enemies of the state.&#8221;
Last month, the U.S. military&#8217;s Office of Inspector General asked for more power to &#8220;root out extremism&#8221; within military ranks. According to recent reports, suspicion of woke movements like Black Lives Matter is evidence that you might be a problem, and if you&#8217;re a problem, you can be rooted out and replaced — by the woke.
The United States military is actively looking for idealogues, people that could become unquestioningly faithful to an idea. So much so that the Constitution of the United States no longer matters. Common sense no longer matters.
That is what being woke actually means. It&#8217;s a radical approach to thinking, morality, ethics, even basic biology. Everything can be suspended because the woke believe in a greater idea, like men can be women and we need people transitioning while in the military. It doesn&#8217;t matter if those ideas are true, only that the people who believe in them are committed.
This is a recipe for disaster, a recipe for atrocity. It&#8217;s setting the stage for the kind of society where horrible atrocities against humanity can take place. It&#8217;s setting the stage for the kind of society where freedom of speech and freedom of thought are non-existent and ideas are policed by ideologues, like the kind being welcomed into the federal government&#8217;s enforcement arms.
An ideological purge is happening in America today at every single layer of our government, and it is time for all of us to stop laughing and start paying attention.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">member</a>.

Candace Owens

CANDACE OWENS: The ‘Woke Deep State’ Is No Laughing Matter

Deep State

Gretchen Whitmer

Joe Biden

Celebrities realize the ugly truth about Cancel Culture.
Love it, hate it or keep your head buried in the sand about its implications. Cancel Culture can cost you a job, your reputation and even your career.
Cancel Culture is a cultural landmine, and some stars avoid mentioning it at all costs. Others, like Seth Rogen, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/seth-rogen-comedians-should-stop-complaining-about-cancel-culture-accept-it-if-jokes-age-poorly">bow</a> to Cancel Culture dictates. Perhaps he hopes atoning for past jokes will keep the Cancel Culture mob away.
A microscopically small group of celebrities actively fight Cancel Culture and its woke implications. They correctly see it for what it is, part of a larger Marxist movement that will crush creativity, individual freedoms and more.
They’re not stupid, though. They understand the risks they invite by taking such a stand. They do it anyway, making them far more brave than the vast majority of their peers.
Here are 6 stars who stood up to defy Cancel Culture, no matter the risk.
Jon Lovitz
Not every “Saturday Night Live” alum enjoys a robust post NBC career. Do the names Melanie Hutsell, Gary Kroeger and Charles Rocket ring a bell? If they don’t, it’s because they struggled to find fame after their time on the iconic show.
There’s no shame in that. Hollywood can be brutal.
Lovitz, best known for his Tommy Flanagan “Liar” character, used “SNL” to fashion a steady career on TV and film (“A League of Their Own,” the “Hotel Transylvania” franchise, to name just a few post-“SNL” gigs). Still, he lacks the kind of career heat to insulate him from Cancel Culture cultists.
That didn’t stop him from excoriating Cancel Culture earlier this year in a Page Six interview. He even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jon-lovitz-rips-cancel-culture-compares-it-to-mccarthyism">compared</a> the cultural scourge to McCarthyism.
The comic actor shredded those offended by jokes in the first place. 
“If you don’t have the ability to laugh at yourself, don’t go to a comedy club. I’m not changing my act. If you’re watching TV and you don’t like the show, change the channel. It’s very simple.”
Lovitz probably gained a few new enemies in Hollywood courtesy of that outburst. It’s clear he’d rather attack Cancel Culture than kiss up to those who hold it close to their chest.
<div id="attachment_248426" style="width: 625px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-248426" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-248426" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-631240398-300x206.jpg" alt="" width="615" height="422" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-631240398-300x206.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-631240398-839x576.jpg 839w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-631240398-768x527.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-631240398.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px" />Ethan Miller/Getty Images for SLS Las Vegas</div>
John Rich
The country superstar isn’t shy about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-rich-blasts-other-country-music-stars-for-their-silence-as-leftist-ideologies-aim-to-erase-what-they-care-about">sharing</a> his views on both the culture at large and his own industry.
“There are many conservative country music singers that just won’t say anything to push back against the ideologies that aim to erase what they care about. Why? You know why. I hope soon we see them start to speak up. The country music industry is out of touch with the audience.”
The Big &amp; Rich star wasn’t done. Rich turned his ire against his own industry, again, during a more recent <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/07/11/country-star-john-rich-threat-cancellation-step-deeper-cancel-culture-silencing-conservative-country-music-artists/">interview</a> with Breitbart News. He says country music insiders are more open about their liberal leanings over the past year, and it’s impacting the artists trying to work in the genre.
“They’ve started coming out more and more and the problem you get is if you’ve got artists that are conservative but their record label, their publicist, their manager, a lot of the radio stations are being overseen by liberals. We used to be able to make music and get it played and still say what we wanted to say and still get our music played but that’s not really the case now.”
He says the industry fear is so strong artists don’t even attempt to speak their minds for fear of cancellation.
“… they still want to get their records played and they still want to be invited to the award show and get the big tours and those kinds of things so is it cancel culture? No, because they’re not even stepping forward to be canceled.”
<div id="attachment_248428" style="width: 492px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-248428" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-248428" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-507339208-300x214.jpg" alt="NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 28: John Rich of the band Big and Rich performs at the Bridgestone Winter Park Honda Stage at IntelliCentrics Outdoor Concert Series on January 28, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images)" width="482" height="344" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-507339208-300x214.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-507339208-806x576.jpg 806w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-507339208-768x549.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-507339208.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px" />Frederick Breedon IV/Getty Images</div>
Adam Carolla
The “Loveline” host turned podcast giant essentially slammed the door on a conventional Hollywood career. Sure, he’ll flirt with the mainstream now and then, witness past work on “Dancing with the Stars” and the late Spike TV.
His constant attacks on Hollywood and the woke mindset over the years made him radioactive to the powers that be.
He just doesn’t care.
Carolla carved out a creative niche all his own, from his podcast empire and stand-up work to peddling his personal line of liquor (Mangria) between gigs.
The comedian refuses to do the one thing Cancel Culture demands. Apologize. He said as much in the opening to his last book, “I’m Your Emotional Support Animal.”
He’s not immune from cancellation, though. His podcast appears on PodcastOne, a platform that could be pressured to erase his “problematic” voice. And any entrepreneur knows the line between failure and success can be wafer thin.
Still, Carolla cares more about doing comedy his way than placating his critics.
Gina Carano
The MMA fighter turned action heroine knew she was on thin social media ice last year. Her nonconformist Tweets on COVID-19, for example, caught plenty of media heat. Woke critics demanded her removal from Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.” 
Anything she shared on social media next could crush her career, and she knew it. She refused to stay silent, perhaps acknowledging her liberal peers said far worse on platforms like Instagram and Twitter sans punishment. 
Her sobering message about intolerance then … and now, a narrative tied to the rise of Nazi Germany, gave the Mouse House the excuse it craved to fire her.
Her career could have stalled, if not ended, then and there. Instead, The Daily Wire hired her to star and produce her own action movie. Without that support, Carano could find snaring gigs hard, if not impossible, with the scarlet “C” emblazoned on her.
<div id="attachment_248431" style="width: 559px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-248431" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-248431" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-1194400200-300x235.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 16: Gina Carano attends the Premiere of Disney's &quot;Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker&quot; on December 16, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage)" width="549" height="430" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-1194400200-300x235.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-1194400200-736x576.jpg 736w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-1194400200-768x601.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/GettyImages-1194400200.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px" />Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage</div>
Rob Schneider
Why are “SNL” alums refusing to play by the woke rules? Perhaps decades of fame gave them enough cash to survive potential blowback. More likely, working on the legendary show let them see the power, and glory, of creative freedom, and they’re not willing to give that up.
For Schneider, it means defying COVID-19 groupthink and defending free speech via platforms like Twitter. The “Real Rob” star is constantly poking the woke bear online, saluting free speech victories, slamming “totalitarian crap” and sounding the alarm about erosions on our personal liberties.
Schneider has a good thing going with Netflix. The company released his latest standup special and a third season of “Real Rob” remains a possibility. Speaking out like he does can’t be helping his career. He does it anyway.
Ricky Gervais
The British comic leans to the Left on many issues, loathes Donald Trump and would likely have voted for Joe Biden if he were an American citizen (he’s not).
So why do many conservatives cheer his every statement? When Gervais isn’t making people laugh he’s defending free speech in no uncertain terms.
He also delivered the most accurate, and withering, attack on political celebrities during his 2020 Golden Globes monologue. That alone could have, in theory, earned his industry cancellation.
<iframe title="Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes 2020 - All of his bits chained" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sR6UeVptzRg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He does have an ace up his sleeve, though.
Like Carolla, Gervais’ free speech activism works as a shield in some ways. We all know he’s an absolutist on the issue, and he isn’t going to start apologizing for anything he’s said now. The woke mob are bullies, first and foremost, and they’re less willing to attack those eager to fight back. 
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Dana Carvey And Jon Lovitz Comedy Residency At The Foundry Inside SLS Las Vegas

6 Celebrities Who Risked Their Careers to Defy Cancel Culture 

Cancel Culture

Entertainment

Hollywood

As a growing number of American students, parents, and teachers are now very much aware, Critical Race Theory is heavily influencing the country’s education system.
From preschoolers to PhDs, American students learn that white people are inherently racist, that minorities belong to a permanently oppressed class, and that the United States is built upon racist foundations.
In recent months, however, Americans growing sick of Critical Race Theory have begun to change the tides. Teachers are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/like-daniel-in-the-lions-den-4-teachers-who-stood-up-refused-to-teach-wokeness-in-the-classroom">refusing</a> to indoctrinate their classes with politicized ideological frameworks. Parents are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/4-parent-groups-fighting-against-critical-race-theory-in-schools">organizing</a> against leftism in school districts. Their efforts are having tangible results — as shown most recently by the Department of Education decision to back down from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-conservative-backlash-department-of-education-scales-back-critical-race-theory-plans">encouraging</a> critical race theory in the nation’s public schools.
Despite evident victories, however, America still has a long way to go before it purges Critical Race Theory from its classrooms.
Here are some of the worst examples.
New York — Nine-year-old activists
Fairport Central School District near Rochester, New York, placed fourth graders in “restorative justice” circles to learn about racism.
Using a racial justice curriculum developed by a consulting firm, students were encouraged to partake in activism and uproot racism in Rochester.
According to materials obtained by The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/upstate-new-york-school-district-puts-fourth-graders-in-restorative-justice-circles-as-part-of-new-race-based-curriculum">Chrissy Clark</a>, nine-year-olds must be able to “understand, discuss, and identify examples of racism, segregation, and anti-racism.” Students were shown pictures of children protesting as an example of “anti-racism.” The children’s signs contain slogans like “Black Lives Matter” and “None of us is free until all of us are free.” 
As an “exit ticket” idea for teachers, students could watch a video that would help them to “reflect on how we as fourth graders can be antiracists” and what “problem(s) in our school or community [they] want to change.” One example included an image of three young girls with the caption: “Bailey, Khaliat, and Simra meeting with their principal to address their concerns about hiring more black teachers.” 
Tennessee — The Constitution is white supremacist
Vanderbilt University professors taught students that the United States Constitution is racist.
As reported by <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15801">Campus Reform</a>, a Vanderbilt course with over 800 participants asked students on a test whether the founding document was &#8220;designed to perpetuate white supremacy.”
The correct answer was “true” — and at least one student in the class lost points after answering “false.”
One Vanderbilt student explained to Campus Reform that professors included the question as a freebie: &#8220;All of the quiz’s answers would come directly from a recorded lecture… the questions were exact quotes from the lecture. Even if the student disagreed with the statement about the original writing of the Constitution, they obviously weren’t paying attention to the lecture. 
Virginia — Whiteness and ‘white culture’
Left-wing educators pushed Critical Race Theory in a small, conservative town near Richmond, Virginia.
As reported by <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2021/07/12/appalled-parents-discover-racially-extremist-instruction-in-conservative-virginia-county/">The Federalist</a>, Powhatan County Public Schools administrators tried to convince community members that teaching critical race theory was no more than a form of encouraging “cultural competency.”
County Supervisor David Williams shared slides from the Virginia Inquiry Collaborative — a group that pushes teaching about the evils of “white culture” through the lens of “systemic racism” — during a June 22 school board meeting. The slides included the emblems of seven participating school districts.
Williams showcased a training slide deck entitled “Construction of a Dominant Narrative: ‘Whiteness,’” which described race as “not based on genetics,” a “social construction,” and “not ‘real,’” yet discussing consequences for the “racialized.” According to the slide, race “was created to and remains the main tool for maintaining social, economic and educational inequality in the U.S. and beyond.”
Community members, understandably, were not thrilled. 
“Why are we sending teachers to a conference to re-write Virginia history which focuses on whiteness and the color of someone’s skin?” asked resident Sarah Taylor. “What does this have to do with curriculum in Powhatan County? What does this have to do with math and science? This idea of race being the predominant factor in curriculum has got to go.”
Utah — ‘Microaggressions’
University of Utah staff members were subjected to a training about “whiteness.”
An educator provided a recording of the presentation to The Daily Wire’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leaked-univ-utah-diversity-session-even-well-received-compliments-now-microaggressions">Georgia Howe</a>, who reported that participants were informed that a comment or action can be considered a “microaggression” even if it is well-intended and causes no apparent harm. 
One diversity instructor explained that a genuine compliment can be a microaggression even if the recipient was flattered by it, as long as the compliment in some way “reinforces” systems of power. For instance, phrases like “You’re so smart for 15!” and “Wow, you look great for your age!” were provided as two obvious examples of microaggressions.
One female participant chimed in: “People tell me I’m too successful to be so young” and “too ambitious.”
“It’s like, you can’t be twenty-six years old and that well-spoken,” she lamented. “It’s like, thanks,”  she added sarcastically, “so that really hit home for me.” 
Florida — ‘Social justice’ summer camp
The University of North Florida launched a virtual “social justice” summer camp to “create communities of young leaders and future teachers who know that education is an essential element in the fight against racism and oppression.” 
<a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article?id=17648">Campus Reform</a> reported that the program — &#8220;Bridges Summer Camp&#8221; — is designed for &#8220;young adults who want to explore educational and community spaces from racial equity, social justice and activist perspectives.&#8221;
In a video of students describing their favorite memories from their camp experience, one student says that he was impacted when an instructor told him “if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Another student liked circle discussions — during which “you can hear everyone’s perspectives on different situations and questions.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Anti-CRT Sign

The Craziest Examples Of Critical Race Theory In Schools

Critical Race Theory

Education

Every time I&#8217;m at home ranting about a headline, asking ‘why is the left doing this?’ My husband says the same thing: it&#8217;s because they’re a death cult. I&#8217;ve never actually paused to try to understand why he says that over and over again. In fact, I often assumed that he was making a Star Wars analogy. (My husband — like most husbands — loves Star Wars.)
Last week, after I was ranting about something new, he once more referred to the Left as a death cult, and I finally asked him to explain what he meant. And I was surprised by his response. Right now in this country, he said, it&#8217;s difficult to make sense of the left&#8217;s mania. It&#8217;s like they&#8217;re social pyromaniacs. They&#8217;re starting fires everywhere, for no reason, just to watch everything burn. 
Gender, burn it down. Men can be women. Women can be men. 
Masculinity, oh that&#8217;s toxic. We can&#8217;t have any more masculinity. That&#8217;s bad. Burn it down. 
Climate change? We&#8217;re all going to be dead in 10 years. For AOC it&#8217;s become a pathology. No matter what happens, it&#8217;s climate change, climate change, climate change. 
And then there&#8217;s body positivity and fat acceptance. If you&#8217;re on Instagram you know what I&#8217;m talking about. Now, they are pushing the need for more acceptance of clinical obesity. I&#8217;m not talking about a couple of extra pounds, I&#8217;m talking about clinical obesity. If you don&#8217;t like that, if you don&#8217;t want to see that promoted as “healthy” on the cover of magazines, well that&#8217;s your problem. 
Even more radical is their stance on abortion, which they want available up until birth. They&#8217;re calling it progressive. 
Let&#8217;s revisit those topics in the context of a death cult. Ready? LGBTQ. The death of gender and masculinity, telling children they can pick their genders, what is that going to lead to? It&#8217;s going to lead to families who can&#8217;t reproduce. Right? Same-sex marriages can&#8217;t productively reproduce. If you&#8217;re telling men to be women and women to be men, you&#8217;re destroying the nuclear family. 
Think about climate change in that same context. What do they say over and over again? “There&#8217;s not going to be a planet in 10 years.” It would be irresponsible for you to start a family. That’s becoming their message. Don’t believe me? Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are going to receive an award from some progressive charity because they&#8217;ve agreed to only have two children. Think about that. They&#8217;re going to get an award for not having a larger family, and it’s all in the name of fighting climate change. 
Fat acceptance. What is fat? What is clinical obesity? It is the number one killer in America today. Heart disease is a direct byproduct of obesity, and yet they promote it. They want to glorify obesity on magazine covers. 
The role of abortion in the Left’s death cult is, sadly, self-explanatory. 
My husband was right. To be a leftist means to commit yourself to an obsession with death. 
<iframe title="The Democrat Party Is A Death Cult" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jaY2TLEDnLM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This video is a portion of the latest episode of Candace. Become a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a> to watch the full episode.
Democrat leadership is committed to a different kind of death. They are committed to the death of our society, the death of individualism, and ultimately, the death of freedom. We know this because Karl Marx wrote the book on it, and it seems now the Democrats are performing a play on it. 
What they are after is obviously a totalitarian state — to put it in Star Wars terms, unlimited power. Karl Marx described socialism as the transitory state between a capitalist society and a communist one, and we know that communism has been a long march of death and destruction. Leftism, when someone commits to it, is nothing but a long march of death and destruction. That&#8217;s the bad news. 
The question now is, is there any hope? I know a lot of people wake up and they feel hopeless. It feels like every day we are losing more and more of our country. Well, there is at least one quote that I love from the Star Wars movies, and this is it: &#8220;We are the very last of the resistance, but we are not alone in every corner of the galaxy, the downtrodden and the oppressed know our symbol, and they put their hope in it.&#8221; That&#8217;s powerful because I believe it to be true, today, of America.
I believe that all across the world, the downtrodden and the oppressed are putting their faith in our country. They are looking to America to see what happens. We saw this over the weekend. Of course, the protests that are erupting in Cuba right now — the protesters begging for their freedom — are waving the American flag, a symbol of hope. So what do we have to do? We have to keep fighting because it matters. It matters that we remain hopeful every single day. That&#8217;s why I fight. Why do you?
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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CANDACE OWENS: The Democrat Party Is A Death Cult

Democratic Party

Over the past several months, Republican governors have grown in their willingness to boldly pass conservative laws. Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and others have signed bills outlawing Critical Race Theory in public schools, increasing border security, and enacting constitutional carry.
Perhaps for the first time in decades, Republican governors are legislating as if their states’ policies matter far more in protecting their citizens’ rights than any law from the federal government. Because they do.
The spirit behind this trend is best summarized by Abbott’s response to the Biden administration’s rampant failures. In June, the governor <a href="https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1404836819087380481">signed</a> a resolution “asserting Texas sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not granted to the federal government by the US Constitution.” 
Abbott and his fellow Republican governors rightly recognize that stemming unfettered illegal immigration, ensuring that children are not indoctrinated into racism, and removing barriers for self-defense are critical policy moves. However, few governors have taken similarly meaningful steps to end abortion — by far the nation’s greatest threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
For the past five decades, abortion — the legalized murder of preborn image-bearers of God — has claimed at least 61 million American <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-disturbing-insights-from-planned-parenthoods-annual-report">lives</a>. By far, abortion is the leading cause of death in the United States.
Throughout the last half century, Republican governors have operated under the presumption that Roe v. Wade — the 1973 Supreme Court case alleging that the Due Process Clause permits women to murder their own children — is gospel truth. In reality, the Court’s opinion is not even law — if it were, the Biden administration would not be trying desperately to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/statement-from-president-biden-and-vice-president-harris-on-the-48th-anniversary-of-roe-v-wade/">codify</a> it.
The judicial branch was never designed to create statutes. Rather, the executive branch enforces the laws passed by the legislative branch. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed78.asp">Federalist #78</a>: “The judiciary &#8230; has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of society; and can take no active resolution whatsoever. It may truly be said to have neither FORCE nor WILL, but merely judgment; and must ultimately depend upon the aid of the executive arm even for the efficacy of its judgments.” 
At certain points in American history — for better or for worse — the executive branch has elected to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-myths-on-government-policy">withhold</a> such aid from the Court. In 1832, it posited that the state of Georgia could not take Cherokee land without violating federal treaties. President Andrew Jackson replied: “John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it.”
In contrast, modern pro-life laws are passed under the assumption that they must comply with Roe v. Wade.
After two generations of pro-life activism, there are probably more types of pro-life laws than ways to end a preborn child’s life. In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abortion-facility-in-ohio-caught-tossing-preborn-babys-remains-into-dumpster-in-violation-of-state-law-report">Ohio</a>, mothers can kill their babies — as long as the abortion clinic gives them a “proper burial” afterward. In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-ban-on-abortions-due-to-down-syndrome-race-sex-partially-upheld-by-appeals-court">Tennessee</a>, mothers can kill their babies — as long as they don’t have Down Syndrome. And in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gov-abbott-signs-bill-banning-abortions-if-roe-v-wade-is-overturned">Texas</a>, abortion could one day become illegal — if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.
Meanwhile, states are willing to defy actual federal law passed by Congress and signed by the President. Several — such as Doug Ducey’s Arizona and Greg Gianforte’s Montana — permit their residents to use marijuana recreationally, even though the federal government considers it a <a href="https://www.dea.gov/drug-information/drug-scheduling">Schedule I</a> substance. 
Republican state officials may outwardly assent that all babies — no matter their size, level of development, or chromosome count — are equally worthy of protection. However, their negligence in equally protecting all preborn life tells a different story. Indeed, Republican legislators in states like <a href="https://legiscan.com/OK/text/SB13/id/1826987">Oklahoma</a> and <a href="https://www.billtrack50.com/BillDetail/1173250">Indiana</a> have already nixed bills in committee that would have truly outlawed abortion.
In the present day, what better reason could there be to defy the Supreme Court and the federal government than to protect the inalienable, God-given right to life for preborn babies — 3,000 of whom are injected with poison, chemically burned, and ripped to shreds on a daily basis? State and local governments — and the Americans who elected them — are willing to defy the federal government to smoke weed, but not to protect children. What does that say about the moral state of America?
The gauntlet that Americans ought to throw before their governors — especially when political headwinds are encouraging the boldest conservative policies in a generation, and especially for the governors with presidential ambitions — is the immediate and uncompromising abolition of abortion.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Planned Parenthood

OPINION: Republican Governors Must Use Their Newfound Boldness To Uphold Sanctity Of Life

Abortion

Pro-Life Movement

Now that a public information campaign has decisively turned Americans’ sentiments against Critical Race Theory (CRT), the media have engaged in numerous tactics to fend off the backlash from parents. One of their most common strategies has been to claim that there is no reason for concern because no public school teaches CRT. Call it CRT denialism.
In reality, the nation’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nations-largest-teachers-union-says-it-will-teach-critical-race-theory-in-all-50-states-1400-school-districts">promised</a> at its annual convention last weekend to “share and publicize” information about CRT and to “oppose attempts to ban critical race theory” in public schools. Nonetheless, many well-respected outlets of the legacy media have repeated the claim that America’s K-12 classrooms are CRT-free. Here are a few examples:
MSNBC
Joy Reid has arguably done more to spread CRT denialism than any other figure in the media. She maintains that Critical Race Theory, which grew out of Critical Legal Studies, exists only in classes designed for aspiring lawyers. She <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-5-ways-the-media-is-trying-to-mislead-you-on-critical-race-theory">said</a> on June 10, “There’s no teaching of [CRT] in elementary school. It’s in law school.” On the June 18 episode of “The ReidOut,” she complained that Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott “signed a law this week intended to ban Critical Race Theory from being taught in public schools, even though it’s not being taught in any K-12 curriculums anywhere, including in Texas.”
CNN
CNN host Don Lemon has gone so far as to present educators as victims of overbearing parents who don’t know their place. Lemon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-media-has-entered-the-republicans-pounce-stage-of-critical-race-theory">asked</a> the chairwoman of the Loudoun County (Virginia) school board, Brenda Sheridan, “How frustrating is this for school, for educators around the country to be dealing with B.S. that they&#8217;re not even teaching because it&#8217;s being stirred up by politicians and propagandist on so-called news networks?” The network is so committed to tamping down parental backlash over the curriculum that it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/crt-teacher-crt-isnt-taught-in-schools">quoted</a> Keziah Ridgeway, who says she&#8217;s the only public high school teacher in Philadelphia who she knows teaches Critical Race Theory, as saying, “Critical Race Theory is not being taught in schools.”
NBC News
NBC News argued on the nightly news that parents had been hoodwinked, deceived, and mobilized by deep-pocketed conservative donors into assailing noble-minded school bureaucrats and administrators. “Virtually all school districts insist they are not teaching critical race theory, but many activists and parents have begun using it as a catch-all term to refer to what schools often call equity programs, teaching about racism or LGBTQ-inclusive policies,” <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/critical-race-theory-invades-school-boards-help-conservative-groups-n1270794">wrote</a> Brandy Zadrozny on June 15, in an online article based on her news segment. Now concerned parents aren’t just racist, they’re homophobic, as well.
USA Today
USA Today, <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2007/04/everythings_up_to_date_in_jers.html">once</a> billed as “America’s paper,” crammed every allegation and assertion of CRT’s advocates into a long, rambling, one-sided jeremiad that rambles over everything from the COVID-19 pandemic to Marjorie Taylor Greene and vaccinations.
“<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/06/07/what-is-critical-race-theory-in-schools/7558272002/">Critical race theory</a> is not being taught in most schools across America. It’s a decades-old legal framework for examining laws that reproduce inequalities in society,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2021/07/03/critical-race-theory-makes-school-board-meetings-political-ground-zero/7785802002/">wrote</a> USA Today’s Ryan Miller. His sources for this assertion are an employee of the Southern Poverty Law Center and a community organizer named Richard Gray.
Miller blames parents’ objections to CRT’s divisive and inaccurate curricula on “anger” and “fears about critical race theory, stoked in national media and fanned by conservative think tanks and activists.”
“Raucous meetings around the country may appear to be driven by a growing group of worried families. But experts also point to well-funded conservative and libertarian think tanks using critical race theory as a catchall phrase to spook parents and gin up activism,” he wrote.
“There’s a &#8216;Wizard of Oz&#8217; element to this, where you pull back the curtain and see it isn’t just a groundswell movement of concerned parents, but a well-orchestrated political movement,” said Gray.
Gray, who denies CRT is transforming school lesson plans, <a href="https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/about/who-we-are">works</a> for the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools.
The Associated Press
Even the world’s largest and most respected news organization has not been immune to printing misinformation about CRT. “There is little to no evidence that critical race theory itself is being taught to K-12 public school students, though some ideas central to it, such as lingering consequences of slavery, have been,” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-is-critical-race-theory-08f5d0a0489c7d6eab7d9a238365d2c1">wrote</a> Bryan Anderson an AP article on June 24 titled “EXPLAINER: So much buzz, but what is critical race theory?” (Screaming capitals in original.) In another story on Tuesday, the AP’s Collin Binkley <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-racial-injustice-race-and-ethnicity-government-and-politics-ce1ca40ecbe5abf10afcc10864d1b3e9">contrasted</a> crass GOP operatives with selfless teachers union leaders. “Critical race theory has become a political rallying cry for Republicans who argue that it sows division and makes children feel guilty for being white. But Weingarten said the concept has mostly been taught at the college level and is not taught at the nation’s elementary, middle and high schools,” he wrote.
CBS News
CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/critical-race-theory-teachers-union-honest-history/">wrote</a> that, in a speech, &#8220;Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said critical race theory it is not even taught in elementary schools.&#8221; In the same report, CBS reporter Caitlin O’Kane quoted Jazmyne Owens, of New America, as claiming it isn&#8217;t &#8220;taught in elementary and secondary schools because it is based in legal theory.&#8221; Owens also said that the wave of legislation ‘is really aimed at erasing and whitewashing American history.’”
Politico
Politico played politics with CRT by recycling the worn narrative that Republicans ginned up the controversy for partisan advantage. Virginia “Republicans hope to leverage this issue to wrest away Democrats’ control of all three branches of state government,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/07/could-a-school-board-fight-over-critical-race-theory-help-turn-virginia-red-498453">wrote</a> Maya King. “Last week, GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin even held a campaign rally in front of the Loudoun County school board building to decry critical race theory — even as the school board repeatedly denies teaching it. (Nor is it taught in school districts around the country where conservatives are attempting to ban it.)” But the Politico article King <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/23/trumpworld-critical-race-theory-495712">linked</a> as proof that CRT is not taught in schools says, “Critical race theory … is not taught in many of the schools where lawmakers are seeking to ban it.”
King signaled her real concern in the story’s title, “Could a School-Board Fight Over Critical Race Theory Help Turn Virginia Red?”
***
If these news outlets got something as easily verifiable as this wrong, what other issues are they shading? And why do they always seem to coincide with Democratic Party talking points?
This article has been revised for clarity. 
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

13th Annual CNN Heroes

7 Lying Media Outlets Claiming CRT Isn’t Being Taught in Public Schools

Media Bias

This week, thousands of Cuban dissidents marched against the repressive communist tyranny that has subjugated the Cuban people for three generations. They chanted &#8220;Libertad!&#8221; and called for the end of the regime. And they carried aloft a symbol of freedom: the American flag.
This isn&#8217;t a rarity. It&#8217;s a common sight among protesters for freedom worldwide. Before Hong Kong was turned into yet another municipality of the Chinese communist tyranny, freedom-seeking dissidents marched by the tens of thousands, carrying the American flag. When Iranian protesters stand up against the mullahcracy subjecting their nation to theocratic despotism, they refuse to deface the American flag.
They do so for a reason: people all over the world understand that the American flag stands for freedom. The people of Britain and France understood it in 1917 just as they did in 1944. The prisoners of Auschwitz understood it; the freedom fighters in Hungary and Poland and Czechoslovakia understood it; South Korean patriots understood it; the Kurds understood it. For generations, the Stars and Stripes has been a symbol of liberty to all those across the planet who dissent from totalitarianism.
Which is why it is so striking that while foreign dissidents risk their very lives for their liberty to carry the American flag, American citizens who live in the freest, most prosperous, most racially tolerant nation in world history kneel for the flag, or burn the flag, or turn their backs on the flag. What do those abroad know that those at home don&#8217;t? That totalitarianism is far more common throughout the world, and throughout world history, than freedom; that individual rights may be universal, but they only manifest when those with the courage of their convictions fight for them; that in a world of darkness and chaos, America — for all of its flaws, both historic and present — has been and remains a force for good.
And yet today&#8217;s domestic Left can&#8217;t say that much. When White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the obvious disparity between Cuban dissident treatment of the American flag and American Leftist treatment of that same flag, she stammered, &#8220;Well, I would say first, the president certainly values and respects the symbol of the American flag. He&#8217;s someone who certainly waves it outside of his house, or does in Delaware and other places where he&#8217;s lived throughout his time. He also believes that people have the right to peaceful protests, and he thinks both can be true.&#8221;
But that&#8217;s not the question. The question is whether it is morally right to scorn the flag, not whether Americans have the right to do stupid things. The fact that the White House cannot simply acknowledge that foreign dissidents have it right about the American flag, and that many on today&#8217;s American Left have it dead wrong, is telling and tragic.
It&#8217;s tragic because a country that doesn&#8217;t believe enough in its own principles to defend its flag on moral grounds — especially the flag representing a country that has freed hundreds of millions of people from tyranny and poverty — will cease to project its core principles. And freedom fighters abroad will pay the price. The American flag will stop being a symbol of freedom and hope, and instead become just what its critics now say it is: a symbol of weakness and solipsism.
If Americans believe that our flag is less a beacon of hope than a looming specter of oppression, we will withdraw from the world stage as we tend to the business of undermining and extirpating our foundational ideals. Which, of course, is the goal of the American Left. And the global power vacuum won&#8217;t be filled by liberal elites, but by totalitarian powers who aren&#8217;t nearly as apologetic about their own ambitions.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Rally In Miami Held In Support Of Cuban Protestors

SHAPIRO: What Foreign Dissidents Understand About The American Flag

American Flag

Cuba

When pursuing ambitious goals, it can be easy to attach ourselves to important people, but it’s easy to forget that those people were influenced by others who came before them. 
I recently had the opportunity to tour President Ronald Reagan’s ranch — El Rancho Del Cielo — in California where he and First Lady Nancy Reagan spent much of their time. The humble residence sits on hundreds of acres, with hills surrounding it on both sides so that it feels tucked away from the outside world.
When Nancy Reagan sold the ranch to Young America’s Foundation in 1998, she insisted that it be kept exactly the way that they had lived in it in order to preserve its history and purpose. The decorations are the same as they were when the Reagans lived there and it seems almost as if the couple is still around, keeping an eye on things. 
One gets this impression especially from the bookcases. 
The same books that Ronald Reagan read and cherished still line the walls. The only thing that makes one realize the place is more of a museum now than a home are the plastic barriers on the shelves. Other than that, it seems as if one could simply grab a book, pull up a stool in front of the fireplace, and spend a day reading. 
It occurred to me that there are many names on the bindings of those books that I didn&#8217;t remember — or even recognize. 
Perhaps, though, that is one of the highest honors in life: to have one’s writings, thoughts and concerns end up on the bookshelves of great men and women who put their country, their family, and their faith first, and somehow along the way, found solace in the words written by someone who might have never known or dreamed that their writing would make its way to that house on the ranch. 
It is certainly a special privilege to be counted among the books that inspire others to do great things, but I believe it would also be humbling to acknowledge that everyone needs inspiration, everyone needs encouragement, and we never know when our words might provide that. 
According to Young America’s Foundation, “Reagan’s only genuine forms of relaxation—at least by most definitions—were his horseback rides during the day and his reading by the hearth in the evenings.”
The ranch was important to Reagan. He <a href="https://reaganranch.yaf.org/rancho-del-cielo/history/">said</a>, “Riding on one of the tree-lined trails, or gazing up at the western skies, well, there’s no better way I know of to sort out a problem.”
“The 40th president ‘relaxed’ at the Ranch by working at the Ranch. His unique method of relaxation included cutting wood, clearing brush, and a penchant for chopping up used telephone poles that found new life as a sturdy, winding fence,” YAF noted.
“We relax at the Ranch,” said Reagan, “which if not Heaven itself, probably has the same ZIP code.” 
Reagan invited various people and world leaders to El Rancho Del Cielo where they could see him in his most comfortable element.
Per YAF:
<blockquote>
 “There’s something about the wild scenery and serenity of the ranch and the easy gait of the horse beneath me that I find particularly relaxing. And while I loved living in the White House, I must confess that nothing in this great wide world of ours quite compares to having a home on the ranch.”
</blockquote>
In a way, inviting books and authors by way of their words into one’s home is just as important as the distinguished global heads of state that came to Reagan’s place of solace. Ronald — and Nancy Reagan even more than the former president — left that example for us, the visitors, who will come by the ranch for decades to come. People will be able to see the 40th president’s inspirations and be shown the books he used to find the help and answers that he needed. 
In this time of division and constant engagement through online resources, we might learn something from the Reagans who were at peace when they got away from Washington and spent their days in the midst of nature, accomplishing tasks which gave them encouragement and fulfillment and perhaps renewed their minds.
A quote that has been attributed to Ronald Reagan sums it up: “There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don&#8217;t care who gets the credit.”
This notion applies to those authors and thinkers, too, the ones who are on the bookshelves, the people who perhaps inspired the former president but may never receive due credit for their influence. 
To be on the bookshelves in the humble homes of great leaders — perhaps that is the greatest ambition and the highest achievement, even if it gets little credit.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Riding Ronnie Reagan

OPINION: What We Can Learn From Ronald Reagan’s Bookshelves

Ronald Reagan

As pro-democracy protests erupt across Cuba, a number of celebrities are using their platforms to show support for the demonstrators demanding freedom from the communist dictatorship.
Here are a few who are speaking out.
Gina Carano
The former &#8220;Mandalorian&#8221; actress issued one of the strongest statements in support of the pro-democracy protestors. Citing a Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/massive-protests-erupt-in-cuba-as-citizens-demand-end-to-communist-dictatorship-we-want-freedom?%3Futm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwtwitter">report</a>, she <a href="https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1414707491489796119?s=20">said</a> on Twitter, “Cuba&#8217;s communist dictators are shutting down the country&#8217;s internet because they&#8217;re afraid of their own people.” She then sent a message of encouragement directly to the people, saying, “Cubanos, do not be afraid. We&#8217;re with you!”
After repeating her message in Spanish, Carano demanded Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla free the Cuban people immediately.
Finally, the former MMA fighter finished with the hashtags #PatriaYVida a reference to the song of the same name by Cuban artists Gente De Zona, Yotuel, and Descemer Bueno that has become a rallying cry for freedom, <a href="https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/9532239/yotuel-gente-de-zona-patria-y-vida-cuba/">angering</a> the communist government. It translates to “Homeland and Life” — a direct rebuke to Fidel Castro’s famous slogan, “Homeland or death.”
Carano is one of the few non-Cuban celebrities to make a public statement about the humanitarian crisis in the island nation.
Gloria Estefan
The Cuban-born singer/songwriter showed her support for the protestors on Instagram by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRM1cF-lqLu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">posting</a> video of demonstrators marching against the communist government. She captioned the footage by saying, &#8220;The Cuban people are reaching their breaking point! I stand with them as I always have!&#8221;
Camila Cabello
Another Cuban-American singer speaking out on Instagram is Camila Cabello. She <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRM1cF-lqLu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">posted</a> an image of a black square with a Cuban flag and the hashtag #SOSCUBA. However, Cabello avoided directly addressing communism as the reason for the demonstrations and instead leaned into the Biden administration’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-blasted-for-claiming-cubans-are-protesting-covid-cases-other-issues-so-disrespectful">mischaracterization</a> that Covid concerns have sparked the unrest.
“Deaths from COVID are rising rapidly and because of the lack of medicine, resources, basic necessities and even, food many people are dying,&#8221; Cabello said in her caption. &#8220;Right now, there are simultaneous protests in more than 5 cities in Cuba. Our brave people took the streets to protest for this humanitarian crisis and the people of Cuba need our help urgently.&#8221;
Eva Mendes
Actress Eva Mendes, who was born in Miami to a Cuban immigrant father, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CROrEAMD45N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">shared</a> Cabello&#8217;s post with the message, “Please help spread awareness … I stand with my people.”
Shortly after, the star shared a separate <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CRO_t5NDtos/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">post</a> to her account that did what Cabello’s did not – explicitly acknowledge the Cuban people’s demands for freedom. With the hashtag #VivaCubaLibre (“long live free Cuba”), she shared a video of Gloria Estafan&#8217;s husband, Emilio, saying, “Cuba is in the streets, Miami is in the streets. And the world has to see our pain, and this is the moment that we&#8217;ve been waiting for a light of hope for the people that have suffered so much. VIVA CUBA LIBRE.&#8221;
Pitbull
Few celebs have been as outspoken against Cuba’s dictatorship as the “I Know You Want Me” singer. As The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pitbull-warns-of-loss-of-freedom-amid-crisis-smells-like-communism">reported</a>, the singer/rapper has frequently warned about the dangers of communism, saying, “My family comes from Communism, they fled Communism, they had everything taken away from them, everybody got murdered, everybody got killed.” He said in 2011 he won’t perform in the country until it is free.
On Monday, Pitbull <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPG0vrsMDI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">posted</a> a photo of himself on Instagram wearing a robe with a Cuban flag printed on it. His caption: “Freedom is everything. We support the Cuban people in their fight for freedom in Cuba. Libertad, Ya viene llegando. #SOSCUBA.”
Jorge Masvidal
The MMA fighter, whose father fled Cuba in a homemade raft, spared no words showing his support for the pro-democracy activists and explicitly condemning the communist government. He posted a lengthy video <a href="https://twitter.com/GamebredFighter/status/1414756109823393797?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1414756109823393797%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bjpenn.com%2Fmma-news%2Fufc%2Fjorge-masvidal-shares-video-spreading-awareness-against-dictatorships-and-communism-in-cuba%2F">statement</a> to Twitter, which Gina Carano later shared, rejecting the Biden administration and legacy media claims that the protests are primarily about the pandemic. His comments are well worth reading in full:
<blockquote>“I’m just trying to … use my platforms to do what I feel is correct and I feel everybody should be doing which is fighting against oppression, dictatorships, communism, and anything of that nature. My father escaped Cuba when he was 14 years old and I’ve only heard the horror stories since I could process thoughts of how sh***y this communist regime – killing machine is. So I just want to shed some light on Cuba, big SOS signal for them. This oppression has been going on for 61 years. It’s not just because of the pandemic, not just because they ran out of medicine, they’ve been out of medicine, they’ve been out of resources and food. Because of the corrupt government, the extreme corruption over there where only a few at the top eat and everybody else has to suffer — those days have to come to an end. So I think it’s time for the whole world to rally behind Cuba, let’s go, spread the messages online, we gotta protest, we gotta get together, get attention. Maybe the local media channels in America won’t cover this, or in other parts of the world. But I think it’s up to us to put the word out there. It’s the people against the corrupt governments. Let’s defeat these evil communist motherf***ers, man. God bless everybody watching and thank you.”</blockquote>
It&#8217;s also notable how many celebrities who have been complimentary of the communist Cuban government in the past are so far staying silent on the protestors and their demands for freedom.
Beyonce and Jay Z
The couple notoriously took a <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/06/18/controversial-cuban-vacation-of-jay-z-and-beyonce-proven-legal">vacation</a> to the island nation in 2014 to celebrate their anniversary. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) slammed the trip at the time, saying the Cuban government uses such celebrity visits as propaganda.  &#8220;U.S. law clearly bans tourism to Cuba by American citizens because it provides money to a cruel, repressive, and murderous regime,&#8221; he said in a <a href="https://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2013/4/rubio-obama-administration-should-clarify-its-enforcement-policy-on-americans-that-travel-to-cuba">statement</a>.
Neither star has commented on the protests or offered support to the demonstrators.
The Kardashians
The reality family also made waves with a visit to Havana that included plenty of selfies and heavily-edited Instagram photos that implied Cuba is a communist paradise.
Former congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) told the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-kardashians-visit-cuba-20160505-snap-htmlstory.html">Los Angeles Times</a> at the time that trips like the Kardashian’s are “emblematic of celebrity culture at its worst.”
&#8220;I know it might be a high bar to ask famous folks to draw attention to human rights abuses by the Castro regime,&#8221; the lawmaker said, “but playing a role in making Cuba a fun, no-worries destination is nothing but a cruel trick on the Cuban people. The Kardashians are taking lots of selfies in Havana, but are they taking stock of the reality on the streets they walk on?&#8221;
So far, no word from the Kardashian clan on how they view what’s happening in Cuba now.
Steven Spielberg
The legendary director visited the communist nation in 2002 to attend a film festival and even had dinner with now-deceased dictator Fidel Castro. Spielberg <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1037062964517993228">called</a> that meal “the eight most important hours of my life&#8221; and said he saw no reason for the U.S. to maintain an embargo against the country.
Today, as the Cuban people take to the streets to demand liberty, Spielberg is silent.
Sean Penn
The Oscar winner has fancied himself a journalist in the past, and to that end conducted an interview with Fidel Castro, who he called, “practiced, brilliant, and philosophical.” When the dictator died in 2016, Penn slammed coverage that cast it as a blessing for the Cuban people, accusing CNN in a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/sean-penn-hollywood-havana-and-me">Daily Beast</a> essay of “[centering] its reporting on the death of Castro in the bastion of right-wing Cuban conservatism.” Calling Castro a “formidable and complex man,” Penn said those who celebrated his death were “grotesque.”
The actor, who is fairly active on social media, has made no comment on the pro-democracy demonstrations or offered support to the protestors.
Michael Moore
The documentary filmmaker has been so supportive of Cuba’s dictatorship, in 2007 he even made a documentary titled “Sicko” that argued Cuba provides better medical care to its citizens than the healthcare offered in the United States. “There’s a reason Cubans live on average a month longer than we do,” he erroneously <a href="http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1622592,00.html">told</a> Time magazine.
As Cuban protestors tell the world about how their communist government has left them desperate for food and medicine, Moore has had nothing to say.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Little White Lies – Premiere: The 5th International Rome Film Festival

6 Stars Who Are Speaking Out In Support Of Cuban Protesters

Singer Buddy Brown once leaned on country radio to help hone his songwriting, but not in the way you’d expect.
“I used to write songs, and if I thought they could be played on country radio I’d throw them in the trash,” Brown says of his formative years as a singer-songwriter. “It needs to come from a different perspective. I never wanted to get confused with the mainstream shuffle.”
That ethos paved his way to country music stardom outside the traditional networks. No labels. No agents. Just a singer, his guitar and audiences eager for an authentic voice that just so happens to lean to the right.
Brown hit it big thanks in part to YouTube, where his acoustic strumming and unwoke lyrics snagged him a sizable crowd. Think more than 200 million views on YouTube and Facebook combined, along with 1.3 million social media followers in all.
Brown originals, often part of his “Truck Sessions” video series, generate hundreds of thousands of views. His more pointed parodies, like his riff on Coca-Cola diversity measures, “We Gotta Be Less White,” go viral. That track earned him north of 6 million views alone in just a few months. 
It doesn’t hurt that he’s singing about hard work, family and other all-American ideals. Yes, Brown is a conservative crooner, one who discovered that Nashville, Inc. would rather he kept that to himself.
Songs like “Back the Blue,” “That’s What I Love About Red States” and “The Coronavirus Song” (“Communist China kicked us right in the teeth”) set him far apart from the music industry groupthink.
His road to stardom doesn’t resemble the paths blazed by country pioneers of old, but he still checks some conventional boxes. His indie debut, “Mason Jar,” scored <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/04/01/youtube-buddy-brown/7183027/">a 34th chart position</a> on iTunes Country chart in its very first week of release.
Later, his 2016 EP, “I Call B.S. on That,” <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/artist/buddy-brown-mn0003513172/biography">debuted at number one</a> on the iTunes Country chart. The release also charted on Billboard Country.
He tried kicking off his career the old-fashioned way, knocking on music industry doors with a measure of hope. There was a catch, though. He’d have to leave his Red State ditties behind, country music executives warned him.
“You’re allowed to lean left in country music, but you’re not allowed to lean right, especially to talk about the events of the day,” he says, realizing his career would have to be forged outside the country ecosystem.
That made the climb harder, no doubt, but his family’s hardscrabble ethic helped him survive. 
“If you’re not gonna outwork the competition, you won’t last a day in this thing,” says Brown, who once spoke to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/04/01/youtube-buddy-brown/7183027/">more than 1,000 fans</a> on the phone in the days leading up to “Mason Jar’s” release.
It took a couple of releases for Brown to find his authentic voice, but once he did his fan base ballooned. 
“If you’re being honest [with your songwriting] you just don’t care anymore. Sticking to your guns becomes everything,” says Brown, who releases a new EP each spring.
Brown’s social media numbers speak for themselves, but so did a note from Vice President Mike Pence. The conservative star tapped Brown’s “Stop When You See a Uniform” and “Red Like Reagan” to spice up his 2020 campaign rallies.
Most musicians might hit the road, hard, at the first hint of success. Brown embraced a new media approach to his career. He figured he’d rather reach 250,000 fans a night on YouTube than play to 2,000 people at a club.
That allowed him to take “door number 3,” as he and his wife put it, meaning he could connect with fans and watch his kids’ baseball games without hurting his career. Nonstop touring just didn’t make sense, says Brown, who still tries to play a live gig each month as part of his rogue business model.
Brown mixes serious songs with parodies and social commentary on his bustling YouTube channel. It’s hard not to grin while listening to his ode to old school “Walmart Greeters,” but not everyone will agree with his stances on Critical Race Theory or gender politics (his parody “All My Exes Changed Their Sexes” flowed from his interview with The Babyon Bee).
A friend figured Brown could be bombarded with hate for his views, so he connected him with someone accustomed to that blowback.
Ted Nugent.
The Motor City Madman mentored Brown on how to keep on rockin’ without letting critics get the best of him.
Clearly, it worked.
His most recent Truck Sessions parody cover, “Mama Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up (to Hate White Boys)” snagged 15,000 YouTube views in less than two hours online. Few singers grabbed the cultural zeitgeist quite like Brown.
Even those who loathe Brown’s politics will admit he’s not country music’s answer to Stephen Colbert. Brown’s rich singing voice wraps around more thoughtful ballads like his tribute to the U.S. Military. Other tracks find his voice more mischievous, his lyrics playful and coy.
The video versions of his work feature a smile that’s both constant and infectious.
“I don’t try to do it from a manner like I’m trying to pick a fight,” he says of his culture war ditties, adding some liberal fans cheer on his parodies, too. “I’m truly trying to bring people together.”
“I’ve got liberals in my family,” he says with a laugh. &#8220;You gotta spend Thanksgiving dinner with them … it’s about learning how to stay in the safe grounds.”
Fellow country singer Randy Houser once advised Brown going solo is the best path for someone like him. Houser had fought some ugly battles with his own label and suggested Brown avoid that fate. Besides, Houser warned him, labels suck up most of the initial revenue.
“They own you,” Brown recalls of Houser’s advice.
Brown has dipped a toe in more conventional waters, opening for veteran country stars like John Anderson. He looks back at his attempts to crack the mainstream music scene with nothing but relief.
“The biggest lesson? It’s not to listen to Nashville,” he says, noting some of the executives who warned him about being a conservative country crooner are no longer working for the same labels today.
“They really just crush a lot of people who have this dream,” he says.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Meet The Conservative Country Singer Who Turned Down ‘Woke’ Record Labels, And Is Still Topping The Charts

Music Industry

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva appeared on Fox &amp; Friends Weekend early Saturday morning to discuss his goal of eliminating illegal marijuana farms operated by drug cartels that set up shop in the desert during the pandemic.
Even though recreational cannabis sales became legal in California in 2018, high taxes and strict regulations have resulted in a thriving black market.
Villanueva announced earlier this week that law enforcement had seized more than 16 tons of illegal pot during a 10-day operation that had an estimated street value of nearly $1.2 billion. The effort targeted the Antelope Valley in northern L.A. County, which is part of the Mojave Desert. During a press conference on Wednesday, the sheriff said he wanted to “send a clear message to the cartels and anyone doing illegal operations in the High Desert: your days are over, and we are coming for you.” He also said Asian and Armenian organized crime rings were involved in unlawful harvests in that area.
“During the pandemic year, we counted 150 of these illegal grows in the High Desert, but now in 2021, we did another survey, that number grew to 500,” Villanueva told Fox News. “The cartels moved in during the pandemic and had basically taken over large tracts of the desert floor.”
Villanueva said authorities targeted 40% of the illegal grows during the recent operation, which he called a “down payment” of the “big goal” to  “eliminate the cartel operations in the High Desert area.”
“These illegals grows, obviously there’s no taxation involved, there’s no regulation, they take over open public lands, they steal the water from the local farmers, and they use all of the heavy pesticides and fertilizers which goes right into the ground and actually destroys the aquifer for the High Desert and the residential communities,” Villanueva explained. “So this is a major existential threat for the communities, so we’re doing our best to knock this out once and for all.”
Fox &amp; Friends Weekend host Pete Hegseth asked Villanueva whether illegal operations have “ramped up massively” because “our borders are perceived to be open” due to softer policies from the Biden administration.
Partial transcript as follows:
<blockquote>VILLANUEVA: Whatever is going on at the border, we’re getting a steady supply of people based on human trafficking that are out there in the desert. And they’re the workers, the peons. They’re the ones that, they showed up a week later out there in the middle of nowhere tending to a farm, and a guy comes by, throws some cash at them once a month, and sadly, that’s the sad reality of this entire human trafficking thing. A lot of these people are indentured servants to the cartels, so they are almost as much of a victim as the community.
HEGSETH: So the cartel traffics them across, makes them work there, and they’re effectively indentured servants maybe sending money back home, whatever that may be, and ultimately drug is their product. Can you eradicate this, sheriff?
VILLANUEVA: We can eradicate what we can see in the High Desert, and we are well on our way to doing that. Our only limitation is just the sheer resources. </blockquote>
Villanueva, a Democrat, told Fox News that federal agencies “are pitching in, but apparently, there’s a rule that says that the DEA can only reimburse local law enforcement $19,000 a year in overtime, and this [operation] obviously dwarfs that, so we need to change that regulation so we can raise the bar.” He said other local agencies from neighboring counties have been working with the Sheriff’s Department, while state officials and DEA agents also assisted in the recent billion-dollar bust.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/authorities-seize-more-than-1-billion-worth-of-illegal-pot-in-the-desert">Authorities Seize More Than $1 Billion Worth Of Illegal Pot In The Desert</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-sheriff-calls-progressives-in-charge-of-l-a-s-homeless-policies-the-architects-of-failure">L.A. Sheriff Calls Progressives In Charge Of L.A.’s Homeless Policies ‘The Architects of Failure’</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-sheriff-says-paid-activists-are-behind-opposition-to-cleaning-up-homeless-encampments">L.A. Sheriff Says ‘Paid Activists’ Are Behind Opposition To Cleaning Up Homeless Encampments</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/l-a-sheriff-calls-progressive-activists-white-millionaires-who-live-in-mansions-they-accuse-him-of-being-in-a-secret-hispanic-gang">L.A. Sheriff Calls Progressive Activists ‘White Millionaires’ Who Live In ‘Mansions’; They Accuse Him Of Being In A Secret Hispanic Gang</a>
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

MEXICO-DRUGS-VIOLENCE-INCINERATION

Drug Cartels Took Over Large Tracts Of The Desert During Pandemic To Grow Illegal Pot, According To Sheriff

Drugs

Los Angeles

Marijuana

Organized crime

The lead up to the Olympics has been difficult. With the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the Games a full year, and some U.S. athletes disrespecting the flag during the National Anthem, it’s understandable that many Americans find themselves less excited than usual ahead of the Summer Olympics. 
And then there are stories that remind us why we tune in. Stories that give us a reason to cheer for our athletes no matter what’s going on in our society. 
Stories like that of Quanesha Burks’ keep us coming back. 
Burks is a member of the U.S. Olympic team and heading to Tokyo as a long jumper hoping to bring home a medal and glory to her country. 
But before her chance at glory, there were tough times and moments when the dream seemed out of reach. 
Growing up in Hartselle, Alabama, Burks worked a job at McDonald&#8217;s in order to earn some money. But the money she earned didn’t go to her own bank account, it went towards paying off her grandmother’s car insurance. 
“When I worked at McDonald’s, I thought it was the best job ever,” Burks <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/07/09/quanesha-burks-long-jumper-mcdonalds-olympics">told Sports Illustrated</a>. “I was making $100 every two weeks. It’s terrible, but I came to work every day happy and I knew it was all part of my goal to go to college.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
What a journey for long jumper Quanesha Burks 🙌 <a href="https://twitter.com/strongbelieverQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@strongbelieverQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/cO6EXo49mK">pic.twitter.com/cO6EXo49mK</a>
&mdash; ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1413547599228022788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
Burks and her siblings were raised by their grandmother, living paycheck to paycheck. After waking up at 4:30 a.m. to drive her grandmother to her job at a nursing home, getting her sisters ready for school, and attending classes and practice, Burks would show up for her shift at the fast food chain. 
She would work the 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift on the weekdays, and the early shift on the weekends. 
Burks took up high school athletics when she noticed the potential for earning a college scholarship. After placing third at the 2012 USATF National Junior Olympics, she dedicated herself to the sport. 
“I remember looking up the requirements to earn a full scholarship and I wrote those goals down,” Burks <a href="https://www.si.com/olympics/2021/07/09/quanesha-burks-long-jumper-mcdonalds-olympics">said</a>. “I jumped 20 feet and that’s when everything changed.”
Burks would go on to win 11 state titles, including ones in the long jump, triple jump sweep, and the 100 meters. All while maintaining her job at Mcdonald&#8217;s. 
University of Alabama track and field coach Miguel Pate recruited her hard, going so far as making calls to Burks as she worked the drive-thru. 
“Coach Pate actually had to sit me down with my high school coach, Kenny Lopez, and guidance counselor so I could understand how my life was going to change and I wouldn’t need to work at McDonald’s,” Burks said.
She would go on to be named an All-American at Alabama — setting records along the way — while winning the 2015 outdoor and 2016 NCAA indoor long jump. 
After Alabama, Burks began her career as a professional jumper, but challenges greeted her on this journey as well. 
She missed the podium at the 2018 World Athletic Indoor Championships by 0.04 meters and lost her grandfather a year later. She won the U.S. indoor title in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China to be canceled and the sports world to come to a halt. 
She continued to train but suffered a bone bruise in her femur this past February, forcing her to halt her training for 11 weeks. 
“It felt like all the odds were against me,” Burks said. “At one point, my coach told me, ‘I don’t know if you’re going to physically be able to go to the trials. The doctors didn’t know if I would be back in time. I was seeing some specialists and they didn’t have much hope in me at all. I was facing so much, but I kept going back to when I worked at McDonald’s. I had my goals set and I knew I could do it.”
She entered the U.S. Olympic Trials as a longshot to make the team — ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2021. 
All the years of hardship and training paid off — Burks jumped a personal best of 6.96 meters, qualifying her for the Olympic team. 
She’ll head to Tokyo with Brittney Reese and Tara Davis — two jumpers with superior resumes. It doesn’t matter to Burks. She knows where she comes from. 
“It’s a blessing to be like one from my home town in a small community, really just representing myself, but Hartselle, the University of Alabama and the state of Alabama,” <a href="https://whnt.com/sports/from-hartselle-to-the-olympics-quanesha-burks-excited-for-the-opportunity-that-lies-ahead/">said</a> Burks, according to local outlet News 19. “Knowing that I’m representing us in Tokyo is just a blessing, it’s an honor and I’m so proud of the other Olympians.”
From McDonald&#8217;s to the Olympics. Is there anything more American? 
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials – Day 9

From Working At McDonalds To Competing At The Olympics, Meet The U.S. Track Star Living The American Dream

Sports

When the preview articles about the big movies of Hollywood’s post-pandemic comeback summer were being written, “The Tomorrow War” was barely a blip on the radar. In fact, it was such a non-factor, Paramount eventually ended up skipping a theatrical release and selling the rights to Amazon. But then, one-by-one, the big contenders seemed to squander their goodwill, leaving the afterthought to swoop in and seize America’s attention.
Once the film hit Prime, it quickly began breaking records, with star Chris Pratt <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ7CyYXpqYY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">thanking</a> fans for making it the biggest streaming feature in the world this summer.
While at the outset it just looked like a loud, thoughtless alien romp, its simple charms are winning over everyone from erudite Hillsdale history <a href="https://twitter.com/IVMiles/status/1412224413337071617?s=20">professors</a> to famously cantankerous conservative <a href="https://screentime.thebulwark.com/p/the-tomorrow-war-review">film</a> <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/07/lets-kill-some-aliens/">critics</a>.
Here’s why “The Tomorrow War” is the movie bringing Americans together right now.
One: Marketing
Though Lin-Manuel Miranda’s May musical extravaganza “In the Heights” boasted a theme that openly celebrated the American Dream, a marketing push that focused instead on “diversity and inclusion” left viewers cold. Matters weren’t helped by Miranda’s inexplicable decision to grovel to a woke mob who insisted his Puerto Rican cast wasn’t dark-skinned enough. The result: buzz didn’t equal box office and earnings <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2021/06/in-the-heights-box-office-disappointment-1234644578/">disappointed</a>.
Something similar may be happening with “Black Widow.” Though the film includes plenty of cheeky Reagan-era cheering for the U.S., Marvel has instead focused on emphasizing “girl power.” Early <a href="https://www.piratesandprincesses.net/black-widow-low-interest-forecasts-a-potentially-poor-box-office-haul/">reports</a> on audience tracking suggest that a #MeToo superhero might not resonate with the franchise’s core audience.
“The Tomorrow War,” by contrast, has avoided anything that could remotely be classified as woke in its promotion. In fact, Amazon Studios has highlighted a storyline that celebrates the heroism of our armed forces by <a href="https://www.thereporter.com/2021/06/29/tafb-to-host-special-screening-of-new-chris-pratt-sci-fi-action-film/">premiering</a> the film at several military bases across the country as a way to honor service members and their families.
Two: Originality 
At a time when nearly every major release is a reboot, remake, or sequel, “The Tomorrow War” deserves credit for creating something new. The film’s high concept isn’t exactly intellectual, but who wants that in their summer popcorn entertainment?
The premise of an ex-special-forces-soldier-turned-biology teacher who must travel 30 years into the future to save the world from an alien invasion doesn’t depend on encyclopedic knowledge of 15 other films that came before it. Once upon a time, audiences could count on just this kind of standalone blockbuster every summer. Now, a story that isn’t based on a theme park ride, classic toy, or long-established franchise is a rare gem.
Three: Star Power
The entertainment industry has been rightly discussing the death of movie stars for some years now. As big studio releases have grown into mammoth, multifaceted universes of films, the importance of actors has shrunk. Very few celebrities still have the bankability to draw crowds apart from a well-established superhero or Star Wars franchise.
That’s not true for Chris Pratt, who has proved again and again that he is one of the few performers whose name alone will put butts in seats.
Consider, “F9” may be earning big box office numbers, but who is going to see John Cena in something outside of a “Fast and Furious” movie?
Since his breakthrough in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, not one of Pratt’s films has failed to offer a solid return on investment. Movie-goers love his humble charisma and seem to appreciate his efforts to honor classic American values like fatherhood and military valor.
Pratt executive produced &#8220;The Tomorrow War&#8221; as well, saying before its release, “It feels a little more like my baby going out into the world with this film. I&#8217;ll be paying extra attention to people&#8217;s reactions because I&#8217;ve put a lot of sweating and heart into this thing.&#8221;
Based on the <a href="https://people.com/movies/chris-pratt-thanks-fans-as-the-tomorrow-war-becomes-most-streamed-film-in-the-world/">audience analytics</a>, he never had any reason to worry.
Four: Conservative Themes
It would have been so easy for a story that turns on a future cataclysmic event to throw some environmental pandering to the left-wing. “The Tomorrow War” not only doesn’t do that, its overarching themes are unapologetically conservative.
To begin, Dan (Pratt) is his daughter’s hero and his wife’s defender. He is a traditional picture of heroic masculinity who inspires those around him to self-sacrifice as well. That theme of focusing on others rather than self pervades the story.
Though the cast is, in fact, diverse, the movie never virtue signals about it. Instead, it sends a message about true unity found in service, regardless of race or creed. “Whatever your age, occupation, ethnicity, or gender — whatever your background — you are now heroes,” the people of the future tell those who come from the past to fight on their behalf.
Do these sound like the sort of people who would wait around for the government to solve their problems for them or give them permission to defend themselves? Let’s just say at one point, when a crucial decision must be made, Forrester’s dad (the incomparable J.K. Simmons) offers the wisdom that was once birth right of every American man, “If you go tell the U.N.,” he says, “they’ll talk about it until we’re all dead.”
The rest of the team agrees, saying, “If we get the world governments involved, it could turn into a nightmare.”
Nothing like a big summer movie with good sense.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon’s “The Tomorrow War” – Arrivals

4 Reasons Chris Pratt’s ‘Tomorrow War’ Is The Conservative Movie Of The Summer

If you want to take a trip and cannot bring your precious poodle along for the journey, you can always hand him over to your local dog boarding facility. And when you do, you&#8217;ll likely find that they offer what has become nearly ubiquitous at these sorts of places: a live webcam. Through this function, a customer is able to tune in any time and see how their pooch is being treated and cared for by the staff. Or they just might be curious to know what little Fido is up to and how he’s getting along with all of the other slobbering, mangy beasts. There are many potential reasons why a dog owner might want to have this kind of access, and it is hard to imagine any real downside to granting it. 
Everyone agrees that there is probably too much surveillance going on in our society today, but most of the bad sort of surveillance is the kind where we are being watched, often without our knowledge, by people who have no right or reason to be watching us. On the other hand, most of us agree that surveillance can be good, and has a place, when it enables us to see what is happening with and to something we care about, like our dogs. Or our money, which is why nobody complains about bank tellers being closely monitored. Daycares — human daycares, I mean — have cameras for this same reason. It is not that we actively distrust the staff at the dog boarding place, or the bank, or the daycare. It is just that these people are handling very precious cargo, and transparency and accountability are therefore urgently important. You would certainly be quite suspicious of a dog boarder who steadfastly refused to put up cameras, or a daycare facility that wanted to grant its staff more privacy in their interactions with your toddler. “You don’t need to see what’s happening here. You can trust us!” Nothing would make you distrust them more than hearing that. 
This is to say nothing of body cameras on police officers. The protection in this case works both ways. They create greater accountability for police officers while also potentially protecting cops from any false claims made against them. Just think about where the cop in the Makhia Bryant shooting would be today if he hadn’t been wearing his body camera. Witnesses and media reports claimed that a racist cop had randomly murdered a helpless unarmed child. It was only because of his camera that we quickly discovered the truth: the “unarmed child” was a teenager armed with a knife, and was in the process of trying to stab another teenager to death when the officer fired, saving the victim’s life. This is why, though police shootings themselves are often controversial, the body cameras allowing us to see these incidents generally aren’t. In the aftermath of any shooting caught on camera, you rarely hear anyone — cop or citizen — say that they wish we were not able to see it. 
This all raises a question. If almost everyone agrees that we should have cameras to see what dog boarders, bank tellers, cops and daycare workers are doing, why don’t we have cameras to see what public school teachers are doing? If you wouldn’t send your dog away for a few hours without the ability to check in and see for yourself what is happening with him, why shouldn’t you have the same sort of access to your child? If we want this level of accountability and transparency for people who watch our pets, and handle our money, and care for our toddlers, and enforce our laws, why shouldn’t we want it — why don’t we want it — for the people teaching our kids? 
The current and well warranted backlash against Critical Race Theory in schools represents something of an awakening for many parents. They finally seem to realize that the school system cannot be implicitly and absolutely trusted to teach children whatever it sees fit to teach them. Parents have a right to know what is being taught, and to have a say in it. Despite the ridiculous arguments put forth by many on the Left — and some especially feeble and useless members of the Right — teachers do not have a “free speech right” to say whatever they want to the children in their classrooms. Public school teachers are government employees, entrusted to perform a particular task. They should not have the liberty to deviate from that task whenever they like. They should not have the freedom to stand on their perch as teachers and assume the additional roles of counselor, psychiatrist, parent, and spiritual guru. Their job is important but limited, and parents ought to know whether and how it is being performed. Cameras are not the only way to accomplish this task, but they are an important tool.
When I took to Twitter to advocate for cameras in the classroom, I was met with intense pushback from many people — including many parents — who apparently don’t want to know exactly what government employees are saying to their kids. One common refrain was that cameras would infringe on “privacy” and “freedom” in the classroom. I understand the privacy objection as it pertains to the kids. As a parent, I certainly wouldn’t want a live classroom webcam that any person could use to monitor my children. But there are easy and obvious ways around this problem. The cameras could be password protected and only parents with custody of their children are given the code to access. Also, the cameras could focus on the front of the room, capturing just the teacher. Perhaps only the audio would be accessible to parents under normal circumstances, with the video being released whenever there is an incident or controversy, like we do with police body cameras. There’s also face blurring technology that could be utilized to protect the privacy of children. 
Dozens of workarounds immediately present themselves, if the concern is over the privacy of the students in the class. But for many critics of the camera-in-the-classroom idea, the concern seems to be equally, if not primarily, the privacy and freedom of the teachers. I have no workarounds for that because public school teachers, in their capacity as public school teachers, should have only as much privacy as we grant bank tellers. We won’t follow them into the bathrooms and break rooms with cameras, but when they’re on the clock, performing the task for which they are paid, they should be monitored. If our money is too important to simply trust that the nice lady at PNC will be honest in her handling of it, then how much more important are our children?
The main thing we are looking to guard against is the psychological abuse of students through ideological and political indoctrination, but that is not the only thing. Keep in mind that, according to the Department of Education’s own study in 2004, nearly 10 percent of students are victims of sexual misconduct by educators. That amounts to three or four million victims at any given time. All the more reason for greater surveillance. Like police body cams, the protection also runs both ways. Teachers who are falsely accused of inappropriate actions can simply point to the tape. Teachers stuck in parent-teacher conferences, trying to convince oblivious parents that their little angel is actually a demon-possessed terrorist in the classroom, will now have video evidence to prove it. The advantages to cameras in the classroom can be enjoyed by all honest parties. 
In the end, then, it boils down to this question: Is there anything that could happen in a classroom that you absolutely would not want documented on film? Whatever that thing is, it should not be happening in the classroom. 
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a class="in-cell-link" href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">member</a>.

WALSH: We Have Cameras To Monitor Police Officers. Now We Need Cameras To Monitor Teachers.

When it comes to politicians, it’s essential to look at those on the other side of the political aisle and decide with whom we can agree — or at least admire — for various reasons other than the policy proposals they put forth. 
Those who first come to mind include Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), both members who have spent much of the past year making members of their own party unhappy in order to uphold their principles.
On <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/week-transcript-27-21-sen-joe-manchin-sen/story?id=78512041">ABC’s “This Week,&#8221;</a> Manchin recently discussed his legislative record with co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
“I’ve always been very moderate, very centrist. I tell people, I’m fiscally responsible and socially compassionate. And I want to find that middle. And I think there’s always a middle to find,” Manchin said. 
Regarding Manchin’s position in the senate, Karl called him “the man with the leverage,” to which Manchin responded, “I don’t wish this on anybody.”
“It’s the way I’ve basically been in public life, and I’m not changing. I’m sorry that this 50/50 worked out and people were unhappy with it, but it is what it is. And if they think that I’m going to change and be something that I’m not, I won’t. And I’ve been very clear. I’m willing to meet everybody halfway,” Manchin said. 
Senator Sinema has shared a similar burden, pushing back against her Democratic colleagues who want to take the radical position of dismantling the filibuster. She has repeatedly stressed the point that her position on the filibuster is due to her view of democracy and rests on philosophical convictions rather than political sides. 
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kyrsten-sinema-responds-to-critics-filibuster-support-is-based-on-what-is-best-for-our-democracy">reported</a>, Sinema wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post offering a strident defense of her support for maintaining the filibuster. 
Sinema <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/21/kyrsten-sinema-filibuster-for-the-people-act/">wrote</a> that we “have more to lose than gain by ending the filibuster,” adding that the “best way to achieve durable, lasting results” is “[b]ipartisan cooperation.” 
She added, “I understand bipartisanship seems outdated to many pundits. But the difficult work of collaboration is what we expect in Arizona. And I still believe it is the best way to identify realistic solutions — instead of escalating all-or-nothing political battles that result in no action, or in whipsawing federal policy reversals.” 
On the topic of getting rid of the filibuster, Sinema was blunt: “It’s no secret that I oppose eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. I held the same view during three terms in the U.S. House, and said the same after I was elected to the Senate in 2018.” 
She said that sometimes the filibuster is needed — “as it’s been used in previous Congresses” — in order “to protect against attacks on women’s health, clean air, and water, or aid to children and families in need.” 
She added that her “support for retaining the 60-vote threshold is not based on the importance of any particular policy,” but rather “on what is best for our democracy. The filibuster compels moderation and helps protect the country from wild swings between opposing policy poles.”
The idea of moderation and finding common ground seems outdated to some, but there are still a few legislators who think it is possible. 
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Manchin’s friendship is one which seems to have stunned members of the media, and perhaps members of each party, as well. 
In an interview with <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2021/04/23/manchin-endorses-murkowski-and-the-border-crisis-trump-saw-coming-492575">Politico</a> earlier this year, the two discussed their longtime friendship and stressed the importance of finding common ground. When common ground is not possible, however, they noted how it is important to still treat one another with kindness, dignity, and respect. 
The notion might seem unrealistic to many in the political sphere today who carry out most of their interactions via Twitter, putting out quick one-liners aimed at their opponents. The passive-aggressive act of sub-tweeting is commonplace and the political environment might very well be turning into one similar to a high school hallway where words are whispered behind the backs of “frenemies” and there is little understanding, much less respect.
If Americans want our politics to more accurately represent our nation, then we must be the electorate that we wish politicians to portray. If we show up in online forums ready to throw a written spear, we should not be surprised when we are verbally stabbed in the back before we get the chance to convey our own message.
When we take the time to celebrate those on the other side when they do the right thing, we place another rock in the river we’re trying to cross together, knowing the whole time we still risk falling in. 
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe">member</a>.

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