House Oversight Committee Chairman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/james-comer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Comer</a> (R-KY) is using his power to investigate every nook and cranny of the Biden family, and revealed his latest thoughts on the matter on Friday. Some conservative movement allies say that he deserves credit, but also that Congress&#8217; job isn&#8217;t done yet.
On Friday, Comer told Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) what his committee&#8217;s next steps are and provided some key insight into the matter, as reported by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/07/22/bidens-linked-to-russia-ukraine-via-more-bank-records-comer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>.
“We have more bank records that we’ve received,” Comer <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/07/22/bidens-linked-to-russia-ukraine-via-more-bank-records-comer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> to Cruz on his podcast &#8220;The Verdict.&#8221;
“We’re working on a third memorandum,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They will show transactions from Ukraine and Russia.&#8221;
Comer has always been quick to point out that his committee&#8217;s work is ultimately about the president — not a deep-dive of the president&#8217;s sons or family members&#8217; personal problems.
To that extent, Comer said, &#8220;Joe Biden has been selling access to our enemies for decades — long before [first son Hunter Biden] was involved.&#8221;
The Post also noted that the Kentucky Republican also claimed that he believed that family bribes could explain many of the mind-boggling decisions as president.
&#8220;I think there are certain policy decisions that Joe Biden has made since he’s been president that the only explanation can be because of the money his family received,&#8221; Comer added.
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Just two days earlier, America and Comer&#8217;s committee heard shocking, sworn testimony about the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden. After that House Oversight hearing, The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s &#8220;Oversight Project&#8221; Director Mike Howell emailed The Daily Wire his reaction.
&#8220;Chairman Comer is to be commended for his dogged investigation and literally providing the receipts via bank records,&#8221; Howell said. &#8220;The full weight of Congress should be behind achieving actual accountability, immediately.&#8221;
Still, Howell noted that the GOP Congress is tasked with actually implementing change — not simply uncovering the illicit behavior.
&#8220;The goal here is the de-weaponization of government, not just exposure, and Congress’ efforts will be judged by that standard,&#8221; Howell said.
Howell also noted, &#8220;This sort of activity, running a multimillion dollar international play to pay scheme involving the current President of the United States, is usually reserved for third world countries.&#8221;
The Heritage Foundation started the Oversight Project &#8220;to make government more transparent to the public and to allow Congress to use its oversight authorities with maximum effectiveness.&#8221; Their work includes fighting Hunter Biden&#8217;s plea deal and getting to the bottom of it how it came about.
&#8220;We are fighting this at Heritage in federal court and will be formally opposing the plea deal next week,&#8221; Howell told The Daily Wire. &#8220;In that fight, we forced the DOJ to admit that it has over 2,500 pages of communications between [U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s] office and DOJ or between Weiss&#8217; office and other judicial districts about the Hunter Biden investigation. That’s a substantial amount of coordination for a supposedly independent investigation. The Hill should subpoena and obtain that document set immediately.&#8221;
Howell also praised the two IRS Whistleblowers — Gary Shapley and Joe Zeigler — for testifying before Comer.
&#8220;The courageous IRS whistleblowers provided sworn testimony today confirming major political interference into the Hunter Biden investigation,&#8221; Howell added. His full statement to The Daily Wire can be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rapid-reactions-government-corruption-from-d-c-to-wuhan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read here</a>.
As for who else knew about Biden&#8217;s potential impropriety, Comer speculated to Cruz that even former President Barack Obama might have known what sort of scheme the Biden clan was allegedly running.
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“I think that Obama knew this was going on towards the end of his presidency,&#8221; Comer said on Friday. &#8220;And I think that’s why Obama <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/15/barack-obama-reportedly-undercuts-bidens-2020-white-house-run/">didn’t want Biden to run</a> for president.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
</div>

James Comer

‘Selling Access To Our Enemies For Decades’: The Latest On James Comer’s Biden Crime Family Investigation

'Selling Access To Our Enemies For Decades': The Latest On James Comer's Biden Crime Family Investigation

Congress

Heritage Foundation

Hunter Biden

U.S.

Come for Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update’s straight news, but stay for the Rapid Reactions The following five stories, and more, can be heard on today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update podcast. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire/biden-administration-appeal-twitter-threatens-legal-action-afternoon-update-7-6-23" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click here to listen</a>. 
1. IRS Whistleblower&#8217;s Bombshell Allegations Update
On Wednesday, IRS Special Agent Joe Ziegler — the previously anonymous “Whistleblower X” — testified before Congress revealing his identity and providing detail into allegations of corruption at the IRS to protect the Biden family. Ziegler is a Democrat who worked as an IRS supervisory agent on the agency’s investigation into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden">Hunter Biden</a>’s tax affairs. He testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
IRS Special Agent and whistleblower Joseph Ziegler: &quot;I am risking my career, my reputation, and my casework &#8230; No one should be above the law, regardless of your political affiliation.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/wH8H1FMhEx">pic.twitter.com/wH8H1FMhEx</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1681718788469805056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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IRS WHISTLEBLOWER JOSEPH ZIEGLER:
&quot;There is NOTHING that indicates Hunter Biden will be required to amend his false tax return for 2018 — a false tax return that includes improper deductions for prostitutes, sex clubs, and his adult children&#39;s tuition.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/UNPMi5t0Sh">pic.twitter.com/UNPMi5t0Sh</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1681720603684872193?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rapid Reaction: This author will have more on this topic later, but for now, readers can enjoy a reaction from The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s Mike Howell, Project Oversight Director, sent to The Daily Wire via e-mail:
<blockquote>
HOWELL: The courageous IRS whistleblowers provided sworn testimony today confirming major political interference into the Hunter Biden investigation, which is set to culminate in a sweetheart plea deal next week.
This sort of activity, running a multimillion dollar international play to pay scheme involving the current President of the United States, is usually reserved for third world countries.  We are fighting this at Heritage in federal court and will be formally opposing the plea deal next week.  In that fight, we forced the DOJ to admit that it has over 2,500 pages of communications between Weiss’ office and DOJ or between Weiss office and other judicial districts about the Hunter Biden investigation.  That’s a substantial amount of coordination for a supposedly independent investigation. The Hill should subpoena and obtain that document set immediately.
Chairman Comer is to be commended for his dogged investigation and literally providing the receipts via bank records. The full weight of Congress should be behind achieving actual accountability, immediately. The goal here is the de-weaponization of government, not just exposure, and Congress’ efforts will be judged by that standard.
The Hill took a major step back when they let FBI Director Wray off the hook for contempt of Congress for his refusal to turn over a document alleging a criminal bribery scheme. The time has to come to re-engage forcefully and our hope is that the full Congress supports Chairman Comer in this effort.
</blockquote>
2. Wuhan Won&#8217;t Get Any More U.S. Taxpayer Funding
The Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/us-formally-suspends-funding-to-wuhan-institute-of-virology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">administration has formally suspended</a> funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese research institute at the center of the COVID lab leak theory. The administration claims the institute does not comply with federal regulations. The Department of Health and Human Services informed the Wuhan Institute this week that the U.S. is cutting off funding — potentially permanently.
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The decision comes after a months-long review by HHS, which concluded that the institute — a leader in coronavirus research based in Wuhan, where the COVID-19 virus began — “is not compliant with federal regulations and is not presently responsible.” The decision to scrap funding came after the Wuhan Institute failed to provide documents related to concerns that it had violated the National Institutes of Health’s biosafety protocols.
Rapid Reaction: The truth is that a Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Inspector General report alleged that both NIH and EcoHealth Alliance — the organization that provided WIV with taxpayer money — were careless in their business dealings with the Chinese lab.
That alleged trail of negligence, it seems, has left numerous questions in its wake — particularly just how dangerous the research being conducted at WIV was and its relation to the COVID pandemic.
According to the <a href="https://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region5/52100025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IG document released</a> in January, NIH and EcoHealth Alliance had established monitoring procedures for WIV, yet both failed to comply with those measures. Given the potential danger of the experiments being conducted by these groups, irresponsibility raises major alarms, according to the government.
The reality is that we&#8217;ll likely never know what WIV was doing with COVID viruses just before the pandemic hit — though thoughtful observers can probably take a guess.
Read more <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/d-c-s-dirty-open-secret-about-that-chinese-government-controlled-lab-in-wuhan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
3. Media Will Be Allowed At <a href="https://fox17.com/news/local/camilo-campos-crime-alert-tennessee-willimson-county-judge-denies-media-restriction-in-case-of-franklin-soccer-coach-accused-of-rape" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Illegal Alien</a> And Alleged Rapist Soccer Coach Hearing
A Tennessee judge denied a motion on Tuesday to restrict media from a case involving a soccer coach accused of drugging and raping young boys. Police in Franklin, Tennessee, arrested Camilo Hurtado Campos earlier this month. According to police, a restaurant worker found Campos’ cell phone which contained a large number of disturbing pictures and videos of young boys being assaulted. Police have confirmed Campos entered the U.S. illegally and had resided in Franklin for more than 20 years. Lawmakers, like Senator Marsha Blackburn, want answers.
A hearing for Campos is slated for July 25.
Rapid Reaction: Campos should be the face of the U.S.&#8217; dangerous immigration policies. According to officials, Campos was in the country for more than twenty years. He embedded himself in Franklin, TN — <a href="https://www.bestplaces.net/voting/city/tennessee/franklin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a town that voted 62%  Republican in 2020</a> — and allegedly took advantage of children for years.
He never should have been in the country in the first place. America should <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-should-deport-pelosi-attacker-and-all-other-illegal-aliens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deport</a> all illegal aliens.
4. Illegal Aliens Cause Alleged Machete Mayhem
In Waltham, Massachusetts, a machete fight led to the arrest of three illegal aliens. 
Authorities say that 27-year-old Osman Aguilar-Borrayo, 21-year-old Kevin Aguilar-Borrayo, and 19-year-old Bryan Aguilar-Borrayo, were arrested last Friday around 6:30 p.m. Osman was arrested for armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery on a pregnant woman, assault, and battery with a dangerous weapon and mayhem, <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/07/18/machete-fight-leads-to-ice-capture-of-3-illegal-immigrants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Boston Herald. His two younger brothers were arrested on mayhem charges. ICE says that all three illegally crossed the southern border and were given an immigration hearings court date but never appeared. Now they face deportation.
Rapid Reaction: Had the Aguilar-Borrayo brothers never engaged in an alleged machete fight last Friday night, then law enforcement officials might have never known that the three illegal aliens were living in Waltham, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/massachusetts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Massachusetts</a>, at all.
How many more men like the Aguilar-Borrayo brothers are out there? Well, it’s hard to say.
Millions have flooded the country in the past two and a half years alone. Deportations have been at <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/03/27/jim-jordan-ice-deportations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">low</a> for much of the Biden presidency.
In fact, the Biden administration has made it a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-immigration-deportation-a03ef5cc1b5468b396c0ff4688ff186d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">priority to only deport</a> “criminal” illegal aliens. So, rather than be proactive and deport all illegal aliens, authorities are advised to wait for illegal aliens to commit crimes before nabbing them. If those illegal aliens don’t get busted for committing crimes, then they’re virtually able to stay forever.
Read <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-bueno-machete-mayhem-leads-to-arrest-of-three-illegal-alien-brothers-ice-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more here.</a>
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Fauci, Wuhan Institute of Virology

Rapid Reactions: Government Corruption From D.C. To Wuhan

Illegal Immigration

Morning Wire

Podcast

Wuhan Institute of Virology

Katrina Trinko, the editor-in-chief of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Signal</a>, noted that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/associated-press" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> took a claim from <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target</a> that conservative backlash against the company had turned “violent” at face value, prompting the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news</a> outlet to quietly amend the story.
Conservatives have launched a boycott effort against Target after the retail behemoth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-slammed-after-offering-female-swimsuits-that-have-extra-crotch-coverage-are-tuck-friendly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marketed</a> a female swimsuit as “tuck-friendly” and with “extra crotch coverage,” as well as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/target-faces-backlash-over-pride-collection-designer-behind-satan-respects-pronouns-shirts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hired</a> an artist who formerly created Satanic items to make various “Pride Month” designs for the company. Target claimed in a statement that the firm’s stores have seen threats after introducing the items.
“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” the company said. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
The Associated Press had <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230523231834/https://apnews.com/article/target-pride-lgbtq-4bc9de6339f86748bcb8a453d7b9acf0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in the lede of an article written earlier this week that stores have faced “intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.” Trinko, whose publication is an initiative of the conservative Heritage Foundation, wrote to the Associated Press to ask for the source of the claim, which had not been mentioned in the statement from Target. The outlet then softened the language of the lede and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/target-pride-lgbtq-4bc9de6339f86748bcb8a453d7b9acf0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> another sentence: “Target said that customers knocked down Pride displays at some stores, angrily approached workers and posted threatening videos on social media from inside the stores.”
“Again, what are the specifics? What is a threatening video?” Trinko <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/05/24/leftists-try-new-playbook-with-target-pride-month-uproar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a commentary article at the Daily Signal. “What constitutes angrily approaching a worker? How many customers at how many stores knocked down Pride displays?”
The Associated Press did not include an editor’s note in the updated version of their article explaining the reason for the change. Lauren Easton, vice president of communications for the Associated Press, said in an email to Trinko that as the outlet “continued to report out the story, we were able to provide more specific examples of the incidents that took place and we updated the story accordingly.”
Trinko noted that California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-blasts-target-ceo-for-selling-out-lgbtq-community-after-retailer-pulls-trans-themed-merchandise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> the Associated Press article as the basis of a social media post claiming that there is a “systemic attack on the gay community happening across the country” bound to impact racial minority groups. She predicted that “insinuating conservatives are dangerous and a genuine threat to the safety of others” is merely a new tactic for companies and ideologues impacted by conservative boycotts.
“This is the Left testing out a new playbook. They’re frightened by what’s happening to Bud Light, which continues to grapple with massive declines in sales. Leftist activists know that having corporations side with them and promote leftist values is crucial to their long-term success,” Trinko continued. “If Target has receipts, as the kids say when they want proof of something, let’s see them. Let’s see the security camera footage of what exactly made employees feel unsafe. Let’s see the attacks on displays. Let’s hear the threats for ourselves.”
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Target’s market capitalization, which refers to the total value of a publicly traded company’s outstanding shares, has indeed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/targets-stock-market-value-takes-6-billion-hit-since-backlash-over-pride-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fallen</a> from $70.4 billion to $65.0 billion over the past week.

Target

Conservative Journalist Calls AP’s Bluff On Claim About ‘Violent Confrontations’ Against Target

Reporter Calls AP's Bluff On Claim About 'Violent Confrontations' Against Target

Associated Press

Legacy Media

Media

Wokeness

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/tucker-carlson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tucker Carlson</a> delivered a speech on Friday contending that the American political debate has moved beyond a contest between rival policy positions and is now driven by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/leftism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">factions</a> with fundamentally “evil” objectives.
The veteran television host and journalist, whose Fox News show attracts millions of viewers every evening, remarked at an <a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1649601516783665153" target="_blank" rel="noopener">event</a> for the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Foundation</a> that fellow conservatives must swiftly adjust their approaches to the national conversation since some political forces desire to tear down the nation rather than engage in legitimate political dialogue.
“We write our papers and they write their papers, and may the best papers win. I don’t think that’s what we’re watching now at all. I don’t think we’re watching a debate on how to get to the best outcome. I think that’s completely wrong,” Carlson said. “There is no way to assess, say, the transgenderist movement with that mindset. Policy papers don’t account for it at all. If you have people who are saying, ‘I have an idea, let’s castrate the next generation, let’s sexually mutilate children,’ I’m sorry, that’s not a political debate. That has nothing to do with politics.”
LGBTQ activists and Democratic lawmakers have indeed opposed legislation in various states which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-gov-signs-bills-protecting-children-from-sex-change-procedures-drag-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prohibit</a> sex change surgeries and hormone treatments for children, ban sexually explicit drag shows for minors, and protect female sports leagues from men who identify as women. President Joe Biden and other senior White House officials have meanwhile <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-dylan-mulvaney-and-the-collapse-of-the-west" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosted</a> roundtable discussions with prominent activists about “gender-affirming health care” for children.
Carlson also referenced Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/treasury-secretary-yellen-claims-restricting-abortion-access-would-have-damaging-effects-on-americas-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserting</a> last year that regulating abortion would have “very damaging effects on the economy” as women leave the labor force to care for their children. The commentator noted the drastic pivot which the conversation about the sanctity of life has taken in recent years toward seeing abortion as a “positive good.”
“If you’re telling me that ‘Abortion is a positive good,’ what are you saying? Well, you’re arguing for child sacrifice,” he continued. “When the Treasury Secretary stands up and says, ‘You know what you can do to help the economy? Get an abortion,’ well, that’s an Aztec principle, actually.”
Carlson likewise described such a sentiment as a “theological phenomenon” that fundamentally cannot be considered a rational policy position. “And that’s kind of the point I’m making: none of this makes sense in conventional political terms,” he added. “What you’re watching is not a political movement. It’s evil.”
Carlson told the Heritage Foundation audience that older conservatives must shift their mindset in order to effectively engage in the current political arena. “I’m just noting what’s super obvious. Those of us who are in our mid-50s are caught in the past on how we think about this,” he remarked. “One side’s like, ‘I’ve got this idea, and we have this idea, and let’s have a debate about our ideas.’ They don’t want a debate. Those ideas won’t produce outcomes that any rational person would want under any circumstances. Those are manifestations of some larger force acting upon us.”
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Despite multiple self-deprecating remarks about his affiliation with the Episcopal Church, a communion widely regarded for socially and theologically liberal standpoints, Carlson noted that Americans should turn to heaven for hope as the nation’s foundations collapse. “Maybe we should all just take 10 minutes per day to say a prayer about it,” he concluded. “And I’m saying that to you not as some kind of evangelist. I’m literally saying that to you as an Episcopalian.”

Conservative Festival In Hungary

Tucker Carlson Calls For Conservative Paradigm Shift In Dealing With Leftist ‘Evil’

Tucker Carlson Calls For Conservative Paradigm Shift In Dealing With Leftism

Leftism

Politics

Social Issues

Tucker Carlson

Country superstar Dierks Bentley surprised guests at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s</a> 50th-anniversary gala Friday night with a rocking performance at the Gaylord Hotel in National Grand Harbor, Maryland.
The two-day event featured some of the biggest names in the conservative movement, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and gala keynote speaker Fox News host Tucker Carlson, but attendees were blown away when Bentley, a 14-time Grammy nominee, took the stage for several songs. Bentley&#8217;s appearance was kept secret from guests prior to the evening.
&#8220;What a fabulous night celebrating free thinking and Liberty at @Heritage  50th anniversary celebration,&#8221; Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) tweeted. &#8220;Entertainment by Dierks Bentley and Tucker Carlson. Even saw my good friend Scot Miller from Billings. What a night!&#8221;
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What a fabulous night celebrating free thinking and Liberty at <a href="https://twitter.com/Heritage?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Heritage</a> 50th anniversary celebration. 
Entertainment by Dierks Bentley and Tucker Carlson. Even saw my good friend Scot Miller from Billings. What a night! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Heritage50?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Heritage50</a> <a href="https://t.co/0Zlp69Xm97">pic.twitter.com/0Zlp69Xm97</a>
&mdash; Matt Rosendale (@MattForMontana) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattForMontana/status/1649764817438232577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Activists, members of the media, and elected officials were in attendance to celebrate the organization founded in 1973.
&#8220;Surprise of the (last half) century, from @Heritage — what a treat,&#8221; writer Carolyn Bolton said of Bentley&#8217;s singing.
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Surprise of the (last half) century, from <a href="https://twitter.com/Heritage?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Heritage</a> — what a treat <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Heritage50?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Heritage50</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DierksBentley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DierksBentley</a> <a href="https://t.co/1R4ydlSx2E">pic.twitter.com/1R4ydlSx2E</a>
&mdash; Carolyn Bolton (@carbolton) <a href="https://twitter.com/carbolton/status/1649628526616752129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I didn’t know I could love @DierksBentley more,&#8221; said Heritage communications staffer Gloria Taylor.
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I didn’t know I could love <a href="https://twitter.com/DierksBentley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DierksBentley</a> more. <a href="https://t.co/WroxQmXPFz">https://t.co/WroxQmXPFz</a>
&mdash; Gloria Taylor (@glo_tay) <a href="https://twitter.com/glo_tay/status/1649574120907055105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 22, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The gala was the pinnacle event of the two-day summit billed as Heritage’s Leadership Summit. According to the organization, the purpose of the event was to &#8220;demonstrate consensus around big-picture questions facing America and deliver a conservative policy agenda equipped to unite the movement around an offensive strategy to take back our country, restore self-governance, and rebuild key institutions of civil society.&#8221;
Prior to the event, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts praised the founders of Heritage, as well as others in the movement who have helped achieve success.
“Ever since Heritage’s founding 50 years ago, this organization has dedicated itself to advancing conservative policy with world-class research, analysis, and advocacy,&#8221; Roberts said. “Today, we celebrate those who had the vision for Heritage and the accomplishments they achieved on behalf of the American people. We equally celebrate the men and women throughout the conservative movement who have worked tirelessly to save our country alongside all of us.&#8221;
For his part, Bentley has not divulged his political beliefs, but has expressed frustration with Washington, D.C., and the politicization of country music.
“[What’s happening in country music] is definitely a microcosm of the country at large,” Bentley <a href="https://outsider.com/entertainment/music/country-music/dierks-bentley-talks-political-tensions-in-country-music-everything-is-just-so-divisive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Rolling Stone. “There’s a lot of tension, a lot of anger, a lot of mistrust. A lot of fear being used on both sides to build their base.”
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Dierks Bentley

WATCH: Dierks Bentley Rocks The Stage At Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Gala

WATCH: Dierks Bentley Rocks The Stage At Heritage Foundation's 50th Anniversary Gala

Country Music

General

Republican Party

Prince Harry’s immigration status could be severely challenged, as a conservative think tank has conjectured he may have lied on his visa filings, or he was given special treatment by the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security.
Citing the Freedom of Information Act, the Heritage Foundation is asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a copy of Prince Harry’s visa file, noting that a residency permit requires answering if the applicant has ever used illegal drugs — which can trigger a denial if the answer is “yes” — and Harry may have lied about his past.
“I think what happens with this FOIA request has a direct impact on what happens with Harry&#8217;s future in the U.S. if indeed he wants to become a permanent U.S. resident or a U.S. citizen,” Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11891747/Prince-Harrys-visa-filings-major-implications-future-think-tank-says.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>.
&#8220;The stakes are very high here,” he continued. “This issue of a visa application has major implications for his future in the United States.”
As far as the possibility that Harry argues the DHS documents should remain private, Gardiner stated, “Harry can talk all he likes about protecting privacy, but he&#8217;s just written a massive book outlining all of his drug use. I&#8217;d say this isn&#8217;t a very smart move.”
“No one should be above the law,” Gardiner declared. “It doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re a member of the Royal Family, everyone should be treated the same.”
“I think it&#8217;s in the public interest to know whether or not Harry was completely transparent in documenting all of his drug use that he outlined in ‘Spare,’” Gardiner said. “I think that the public will be really outraged if he was admitted to the United States through a system of preference and privilege, or he got in without revealing the full information.”
In “Spare,” Harry admitted using cocaine and the psychedelic drug ayahuasca; the latter is illegal in the United States unless used for religious purposes.
Heritage Foundation attorney Samuel Dewey, who formerly supervised oversight and investigations on the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, warned that if DHS does not produce the records by April 12, the foundation will sue the federal government.
“Even if he came in through a visa, it still has to be cleared by DHS, because you also have to be admissible to the country,” Dewey claimed. “Our request concerns whether or not he&#8217;s admissible without a waiver, given his long history of narcotics use. Individuals in the past with that history have not been let into the country.”
“There&#8217;s a precedent for getting this immigration information from the immigration authorities,” Dewey stated. “The first question that a court will ask is, how much of a privacy interest is there here? And we think it&#8217;s as low as it can be. This is a public figure who&#8217;s been notoriously open for commercial gain. He has so aggressively put himself into the public for his commercial benefit that it&#8217;s a perfect storm of diminished privacy rights.”
“The second question the court will ask is what is the public interest?” Dewey continued. “We&#8217;ve got a serious problem with our immigration system in this country. And a big part of that problem is laws are not being enforced.”
“If they&#8217;re spending a lot of time giving a special unjustified preference to Prince Harry, how does that affect the common immigration applications where people have carefully dotted every I and crossed every T?” he asked.

Prince Harry Memoir ‘Spare’ Continues To Make Headlines Following Official Release

‘No One Should Be Above The Law’: Think Tank Suspects Prince Harry Lied On Visa Application Or Was Given Special Treatment By Biden’s DHS

Prince Harry Suspected Of Lying On Visa Application, Given Special Treatment By Biden’s DHS

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration

Prince Harry

World

The Index of Economic Freedom published annually by researchers at the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Foundation</a> indicated on Monday that the degree of liberty offered by the American <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a> has continued to decline over the past year.
The conservative think tank <a href="https://www.heritage.org/index/country/unitedstates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">granted</a> the United States a rating of 70.6, constituting a decline of 1.5 points since last year and the nation’s lowest score in the history of the project. The “size and scope of government” was identified as one of the most salient factors weighing upon the American economy.
&#8220;The world and America are at a crossroads. Too many countries have renounced basic economic principles leaving communities to suffer the consequences,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/2023-index-economic-freedom-world-economy-ranks-mostly-unfree-rating-us-economic-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “They must choose either the narrow path of self-governance, human dignity, and ordered liberty, or the broad path of an economy run by the managerial elite with no room for dissent or responsibility. One path leads to prosperity, and the other leads to ruin.”
The United States retained high ratings in categories such as property rights, investment freedom, and business freedom. The nation’s lowest ranking comes in the domain of government spending since public debt is more than 128% of gross domestic product.
“The United States has one of the world’s most dynamic economies but has been undergoing policy challenges that undermine its long-term economic competitiveness,” the think tank said. “Since assuming office in 2021, President Joseph Biden has pursued and implemented policies that have expanded the size and scope of the federal government. Unchecked deficit spending and government debt have accelerated, and inflation undercuts economic livelihood.”
Biden has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-paints-rosy-posture-on-the-economy-before-state-of-the-union-heres-the-real-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that he presided over a “record decrease” in deficit spending over the past two years. Although he oversaw a decline in the deficit from $3.1 trillion in fiscal year 2020 and $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021 to $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Office of Management and Budget, he has failed to mention that the record spending occurred as a result of legislation passed to mitigate fallout from the lockdown-induced recession. The deficit posted last year still significantly exceeds those witnessed in the years before the crisis.
Although the United States ranked twenty-fifth in both the 2022 and 2023 indices, the global average economic freedom score declined from 60.0 to 59.3 over the same period. Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, and Taiwan are the world’s <a href="https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highest-ranked</a> economies for economic liberty.
Heritage Foundation research fellow Anthony Kim commented that the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG, has inhibited the economies of the United States and other nations. “Economic freedom correlates significantly with overall well-being, which includes such factors as health, education, the environment, innovation, societal progress, and democratic governance,” he said in the press release. “The true path to ensuring environmental, social, and governance improvements lies in focusing on policies that enhance economic freedom.”
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Critics of the ESG movement assert that the investment philosophy seeks outcomes in social causes, such as reducing carbon emissions and achieving racial diversity, in a manner that compromises or distracts from profit maximization. The movement is popular in Europe and elsewhere in the developed world.

Heritage Foundation ‘Index Of Economic Freedom’ Reveals America Has Lowest Score In Project’s History

Heritage Foundation 'Index Of Economic Freedom' Shows America Has Declining Free Market Liberty

Economy

Freedom

Non-governmental organization (NGO) facilities located along the southern border allegedly facilitated approximately 30,000 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/illegal-immigration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal immigrants</a> before releasing them into mainly Republican districts nationwide under President Joe Biden&#8217;s open-border policies.
The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s Oversight Project and Border Security and Immigration Center published a <a href="http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2022/BorderNGOMemo.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memo</a> Monday claiming new data accumulated from the geotracked movement of the massive number of illegal immigrants stemmed from more than 30 NGO facilities located at the U.S. and Mexico Border.
&#8220;Our investigation is the first ever to document the physical movement of illegal aliens into the interior of the country,” Mike Howell, director of the Oversight Project and former DHS oversight counsel, said in a <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/oversight-project-investigation-uncovers-shocking-facts-about-whos-facilitating-biden-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release.</a> &#8220;What we uncovered is a mass resettlement program in which the Biden administration works hand-in-hand with NGOs.&#8221;
Under Biden&#8217;s rule, his administration has done away with Trump-era immigration policies, which have resulted in a higher number of overall encounters at the border.
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/readers-pass/read-only-v2?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_medium=editorial&amp;utm_source=dwsite&amp;cid=dwplus&amp;mid=z&amp;xid=0" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-54730">TIRED OF THE LEGACY MEDIA’S BIAS CONTROLLING THE NARRATIVE AND OBSCURING THE TRUTH? JOIN US.</a>
Pew Research <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/09/whats-happening-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-in-7-charts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> the U.S. Border Patrol reported encounters with migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2021 fiscal year were more than quadruple the number of the prior fiscal year, and the highest annual total on record.
The U.S. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/73000-gotaways-southern-border-november-highest-ever-recorded?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saw</a> 2,378,944 encounters at the border in fiscal year 2022. That number excludes the nearly 600,000 known “gotaways” who escaped custody altogether. In fiscal year 2021, there were 389,155 “gotaways.” As pointed out in political strategist Ryan Girdusky’s <a href="https://natpop.substack.com/p/national-populist-newsletter-22d?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">newsletter</a>, the U.S. has already experienced 137,000 “gotaways” in fiscal year 2023. By <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-democrat-henry-cuellar-the-border-is-not-secure-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">some estimates</a>, there have been more than 4.5 million encounters at the border under the Biden administration alone. Millions of those individuals have been released into the U.S.
Howell said Biden&#8217;s open-border policies show a &#8220;close collaboration and collusion&#8221; between advocates outside and within the government, which causes and overwhelms border patrol authorities to release tens of thousands of illegal immigrants every month.
&#8220;The NGOs are happy to step into the breach and form the final link in the drug cartels&#8217; human smuggling operation, ensuring these individuals make it all around the country,” Howell said. &#8220;Biden&#8217;s border crisis has long had nationwide consequences — this is the most shocking proof yet.&#8221;
According to the Heritage memo, such NGOs &#8220;apply for, and receive, taxpayer money to provide processing and transportation services and infrastructure to facilitate the migration of illegal aliens into the interior of the country.&#8221;
Project investigators sampled approximately 30,000 anonymous and &#8220;unique&#8221; mobile devices that were geofenced to the NGO facilities around the southern border in four different phases throughout January 2022, and most were later traced to 431 separate U.S. congressional districts out of a total of 435 congressional districts in the United States.
According to the report, about 400 devices were at Val Verde Border Humanitarian Center and the Del Rio Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Station.
A year earlier, employees reported that the facility allegedly processed over 1,000 individuals in three days, who then reportedly traveled to Tennessee, Utah, Indiana, Florida, and New York.
Approximately 71% of devices in 52 congressional districts were tracked in Republican congressional districts — most of which were in Texas and Oklahoma.
Investigators then captured 5,000 devices from 13 NGO facilities, which were traced to all but one congressional district.
In a separate phase, the report said at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, located in San Juan, Texas, approximately 3,400 devices captured — all at just one NGO location — were later found in 433 of 435 congressional districts.
&#8220;In short, this is proof that Biden&#8217;s border crisis has turned every state into a border state,&#8221; the memo reads.
Biden recently traveled to Arizona this week to tout Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.&#8217;s announcement of a second manufacturing chip plant in the Grand Canyon State.
When approached by reporters about whether or not he will visit the U.S. southern border amid what has been dubbed the nation&#8217;s illegal immigration crisis, the president dismissed the question, saying that investing billions of dollars in the new enterprise was &#8220;more important.&#8221;
The Heritage Foundation&#8217;s first oversight project exposed how the Biden administration&#8217;s lack of border policies has allegedly flooded the nation with mass illegal immigration, which enabled cartels to bring terrorists, criminals, and deadly drugs like fentanyl into the United States.
&#8220;It affects the entirety of the United States,&#8221; Howell said. &#8220;Every fire dies out unless someone fans the flames. Now we know the Biden administration has help in keeping the flames at the border burning.&#8221;

Large Migration Surge Crosses Rio Grande Into Del Rio, Texas

Geotracking Data Reveals NGOs Facilitated, Released More Than 30,000 Illegal Immigrants Nationwide

Biden Administration

Southern Border

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Foundation</a> released its inaugural ranking of the states with respect to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/school-choice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school choice</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">educational</a> outcomes on Friday.
The <a href="https://www.heritage.org/educationreportcard/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Education Freedom Report Card</a> evaluates categories such as school choice policy, availability of alternative teacher certification, efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and access to curricula among parents. As a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservative-think-tank-reveals-which-state-has-the-most-free-education-system-in-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal revealed yesterday, <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a> earned first place in the conservative think tank’s index.
“If sunlight is the best disinfectant, it’s no wonder why the Sunshine State is one of the freest states for teachers and children to pursue an education that is largely devoid of red tape,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Florida has led the way in expanding education choice, cutting red tape, and holding schools accountable to parents with academic transparency.”
In second place was Arizona, which recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-to-become-the-nations-gold-standard-for-school-choice-passing-universal-bill-for-one-million-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> tuition vouchers worth $6,500 per child that parents can apply to private schools, homeschools, or learning pods. Idaho, Indiana, and South Dakota rounded out the top five.
States that fell at the bottom of the ranking included New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, with Washington, D.C., placing last overall.
“As a fifth-generation educator, I know firsthand the importance of giving parents more choice in their children’s education, and how much of an advantage a quality education gives to those fortunate enough to receive it,” Roberts continued. “Lawmakers in every state capital — and here in D.C. — should be focused on empowering families and making sure that every child in this country has access to the highest-quality education, one that works best for them.”
The Education Freedom Report Card was unveiled shortly after the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nations-report-card-indicates-worst-decline-in-math-and-reading-scores-in-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> average reading scores for nine-year-olds plummeting five points and average mathematics scores dropping seven points. “This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics,” according to a <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/ltt/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the National Center for Education Statistics.
The dismal scores occurred after school lockdowns disrupted learning in the spring of 2020. In reaction to the subsequent spread of radical gender theory and other left-wing ideologies through government schools, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-the-right-to-homeschooling-under-attack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">home education rates</a> soared as parents began to seek alternative educational opportunities for their children.
Particularly in urban school districts, teachers unions <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/five-cities-where-teachers-unions-are-keeping-schools-shutdown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">played a salient role</a> in extending virtual instruction well into 2021 — a reality that the White House recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-claims-schools-reopened-in-spite-of-republicans-here-are-several-videos-of-democrats-defending-closed-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a>. “As record numbers of parents flip school boards and stand up to woke teachers’ unions, it is clear the parental rights and school choice movement is not slowing down,” Heritage Action Director Jessica Anderson said in remarks provided to The Daily Wire.
Despite lackluster outcomes, funding for government schools has continually risen throughout modern history. One <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_236.55.asp?current=yes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that the inflation-adjusted yearly expenditure per American pupil rose from $4,060 to $15,424 between 1960 and 2017.
Meanwhile, school systems have grown their administrative staff at a far greater rate than their teaching staff — a metric that the Heritage Foundation scrutinized in their index. A <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED543118.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Department of Education revealed that non-teaching staff rose 702% between 1950 to 2009, even as districts hired 252% more teachers over the same period.

Empty desk in elementary school classroom

Think Tank Releases First-Ever ‘Education Freedom Report Card.’ Where Does Your State Rank?

Arizona

Education

Florida

Homeschool

School Choice

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/heritage-foundation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heritage Foundation</a> will release a new ranking of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">educational</a> freedom among the states on Friday, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-new-ranking-for-education-freedom-11662659868">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal.
The unveiling of the conservative think tank’s latest project occurs as the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nations-report-card-indicates-worst-decline-in-math-and-reading-scores-in-decades">shows</a> average scores for nine-year-olds plummeting five points in reading and seven points in mathematics. Amid the rapid decline in education outcomes — which immediately follows <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/school-lockdowns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school lockdowns</a> that disrupted learning in the spring of 2020 — parents are increasingly concerned over the encroachment of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">radical gender theory</a> and other <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/critical-race-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left-wing ideologies</a> into classrooms.
Beyond performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress and access to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/school-choice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">school choice</a>, Heritage’s “Education Freedom Report Card” considers spending per pupil, teacher-to-non-teacher staff ratios, and unfunded teacher pension liabilities as a proportion of state gross domestic product. The top-ranked state in the group’s inaugural report is <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/florida" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Florida</a>.
“The Sunshine State embraces education freedom across the board,” the analysis explained. “Florida does exceptionally well in allowing parents to choose among private, charter, and district schools, is home to a strong ESA program, and ranks third overall for education choice. Florida ranks first among states for academic transparency. Among other protections, state lawmakers set a high standard for academic transparency, and reject critical race theory’s pernicious ideas.”
New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C., ranked at the bottom of the list as policymakers neglect to “provide transparency, accountability, and choice to families.” In second place, however, was Arizona, which recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-to-become-the-nations-gold-standard-for-school-choice-passing-universal-bill-for-one-million-students">greenlit</a> $6,500 in tuition vouchers per child that parents can apply to private schools, homeschools, or learning pods.
Many parents <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-the-right-to-homeschooling-under-attack">turned to homeschooling</a> and private schools as their local districts continued with virtual instruction. Homeschooling rates across the country grew from 5.4% to 11% between March 2020 and September 2020 alone, one <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/03/homeschooling-on-the-rise-during-covid-19-pandemic.html">report</a> from the Census Bureau found last year.
While responding to a question about dismal readings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-faces-backlash-over-response-to-question-about-lockdowns-school-closures-this-is-absurd">provoked criticism</a> by suggesting that Republicans prevented schools from reopening sooner amid the rollback of government lockdowns.
“That was the work of this president. And that was the work of Democrats, in spite of Republicans not voting for the American Rescue Plan,” she explained, referring to $130 billion in funding for schools greenlit by the $1.9 trillion legislation. “Every Republican in Congress voted against that money. That is the reality. We had to do this on our own.”
However, several Democratic lawmakers and politicians — including Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield — had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-claims-schools-reopened-in-spite-of-republicans-here-are-several-videos-of-democrats-defending-closed-schools">pushed for a delay</a> to normal instruction. American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said during a July 2021 interview with MSNBC that increasing vaccination rates was necessary to “keep kids safe” and “keep our members safe” amid attempts “to open up schools.”
More recently, teachers unions have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unions-complain-of-dire-teacher-shortages-ahead-of-new-school-year-push-for-more-funding">called for more funding</a> as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-continue-to-opt-out-of-the-workforce">labor shortages</a> impact the education sector. However, a <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_236.55.asp?current=yes">report</a> from the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that the inflation-adjusted yearly expenditure per American pupil rose from $4,060 to $15,424 between 1960 and 2017. Another <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED543118.pdf">study</a> from the Department of Education revealed that schools increased the number of non-teaching staff by 702% between 1950 to 2009 despite hiring 252% more teachers over the same period.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference to

Conservative Think Tank Reveals Which State Has The Most Free Education System In The Country

Heritage Foundation Introduces New 'Education Freedom Index,' Reveals Which State Ranks Highest

Critical Race Theory

Ron DeSantis

School Lockdowns

Transgender

Conservative groups are condemning Walmart&#8217;s funding of “woke policies,” warning that “no self-proclaimed conservative official or conservative organization should accept funding from Walmart while it supports the policies of the woke left.” 
In the letter, sent Wednesday to Doug McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart, leaders of some of the top conservative groups in the nation slammed news that the nation&#8217;s largest retailer has begun paying for employee abortions.
That list of leaders includes CPAC Executive Board Member William L. Walton, Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Woman for America (CWA), former U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, the chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute, the Heritage Foundation&#8217;s President Kevin Roberts, and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. 
“Surely as board members with a fiduciary responsibility to your shareholders, you must understand the Walmart’s increasingly woke policies are alienating millions of your customers who will take their business elsewhere,” the letter, first obtained by The Daily Wire, warns. “Your founder Sam Walton would be appalled.”
“CPAC and other conservative leaders are changing tactics,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of CPAC. Once allies, these companies that fund Black Lives Matter and Planned Parenthood are as big an adversary as the woke socialist groups they support.”
“Large publicly held companies need to realize conservative groups and officeholders will no longer do their bidding,” he added. “We are shelving our polite silence and in full-on battle mode. After November, it will get much worse for these woke corporations.”
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The letter follows an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walmart-will-pay-for-some-employee-abortions-out-of-state-travel-expenses-leaked-email-shows">August 19 memo</a>  stating that “effective immediately, the Walmart self-insured healthcare plans will cover abortion when there is a health risk to the mother, rape or incest, ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or lack of fetal viability.”
The memo appeared to be in response to the June overturn of Roe v. Wade, which sent the power to decide abortion back to the states. Walmart did not respond to The Daily Wire&#8217;s requests for comment as to why it is instated this policy.
“As the nation’s largest private employer and grocer, Walmart touches the lives of hundreds of millions of people throughout the freedom-loving world,” the letter said. “Yet, millions of American consumers do not realize that by patronizing Walmart, they are funding woke policies they morally oppose.” 
“A perfect example is abortion,” the letter continued. “In a recent revision to its leave policy, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/walmart-expands-abortion-coverage-employees-rcna44063">Walmart will now provide virtually unrestricted abortion benefits</a>.”
The conservative leaders reminded Walmart that “in prior years, the company policy was to offer benefits related to abortion only in cases &#8216;when the health of the mother would be in danger if the fetus were carried to term, the fetus could not survive the birthing process, or death would be imminent after birth.&#8217;”
“This lawyer-engineered language specifying health in this context means abortion on demand and they know it,” the letter warned. “&#8217;Health risks&#8217; unrelated to the baby being carried to term covers mental stress, missing work, or any other reason whatsoever. Walmart is effectively providing funding to their 1.6 million employees and their dependents to cover abortion on demand, including expenditures for the abortion procedure and travel costs and when not available within 100 miles.”
The letter says that “Walmart-supported abortions” will increase in the next few years, meaning that “more babies laid at the altar of  &#8216;choice&#8217; because of” Walmart&#8217;s financial contributions.
“It also does not escape our attention that supporting such a heinous policy conveniently keeps women at their Walmart jobs rather than at home caring for themselves and their babies,” the letter adds. “Not only is your pro-abortion policy reprehensible, but your touting of a small increase in adoption benefits as a way to atone for what you know to be an immoral, anti-woman policy is offensive, especially for women. Why was the increase not offered before? Why now? Americans know why.” 
The conservative groups also pointed to Walmart&#8217;s pricey <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2022/07/22/walmart-org-center-for-racial-equity-update-focusing-on-food-to-advance-health-equity">racial equity</a> campaign and its “effort to punish Republicans for questioning the integrity of the 2020 election.”
“In the past, Walmart has relied on conservative organizations and office holders to further policies that benefited Walmart, its shareholders, and its customers,” the letter continued. “And when anti-capitalist politicians and activists attacked the company for its success and profitability, we stepped up to defend Walmart.” 
“We stood by the company because it was generally pro-family and because we embrace free enterprise and believe in the benefits of capitalism,” the conservative leaders said. “We can no longer tolerate your leftist policy agenda – particularly when it facilitates the harming of innocent human life.” 
Conservatives will neither condone nor forgive Walmart&#8217;s choice, the letter said.
“Conservatives who seek a government that reflects their values should take their business elsewhere,” it added. “And no self-proclaimed conservative official or conservative organization should accept funding from Walmart while it supports the policies of the woke left.”

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‘Full-On Battle Mode’: Conservative Leaders Put Walmart On Notice For Promising To Pay For Abortions

Leading Conservatives Tear Into Walmart For New Pro-Abortion Policy 

Abortion

CPAC

Walmart

Is it a coincidence that select cities are experiencing spikes in violent crime in the wake of the “<a href="https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/report/progressive-prosecutors-sabotage-the-rule-law-raise-crime-rates-and-ignore">progressive prosecutor</a>” movement? Hardly. Their policies encourage lawlessness, harm law-abiding residents (especially minorities), drive businesses out of cities, and demoralize the police by treating them like criminals.
These prosecutors claim otherwise, of course. They insist that their decision to not prosecute entire categories of crime; their reluctancy to ask for bail; their refusal to add sentencing enhancements; their decision to release hardened, convicted felons from prison; their decline to prosecute violent juvenile offenders in adult court; and their disregard of those who commit shoplifting, drug possession, and prostitution – among other crimes – reflect sound policies that have not contributed to the recent spikes in crime.
They’re lying. Let’s take a look at the facts:
Crime rates, including violent crime rates, have had an overall <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/20/facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/">drop</a> in the last 30 years, yet incarceration rates peaked in 2008 – long before George Soros or his “reform” prosecutors came along. Why? Because genuinely progressive prosecutors, working with other stakeholders, created domestic violence courts, drug courts, veterans courts, family justice centers, and thousands of other alternatives to incarceration that are compassionate, create accountability, and provide opportunities with the right incentives for defendants to recover their lives by changing their thinking and behaviors. If someone refuses to complete these programs, though, these prosecutors can still seek incarceration.
Violent crime is geographically and demographically concentrated in inner cities, many of which are presided over by rogue prosecutors, where minority members of their communities are disproportionately victimized, including constituting a majority of homicide victims. As Rafael Mangual of The Manhattan Institute notes in his recent <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Justice-Decarceration-Depolicing-Wrong-ebook/dp/B09NPFH2VT">book &#8220;Criminal (In)Justice</a>,&#8221; “while black people constitute 13.4% of the population, they made up more than 53% of the nation’s homicide victims in 2020.” In other words, the policies of these prosecutors are harming the very individuals they are supposed to be helping.
To truly help those individuals – and communities as a whole – these prosecutors should seek appropriate bail and prison sentences for dangerous defendants.
The idea that appropriately long prison sentences won’t help protect communities is nonsense. Studies show that the longer the prison sentence, the lower the recidivism rate. In fact, the <a href="https://www.ussc.gov/">United States Sentencing Commission</a> recently released a <a href="https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/length-incarceration-and-recidivism-2022">report</a> which found that “the odds of recidivism were lower for federal offenders sentenced to more than 60 months incarceration compared to a matched group of offenders receiving shorter sentences&#8230;[and] the odds of recidivism were approximately 29% lower for federal offenders sentenced to more than 120 months incarceration.” The authors also found that the “odds of recidivism were approximately 18% lower for offenders sentenced to more than 60 months up to 120 months of incarceration.”
When violent criminals are not required to post bail, there are also increases in crime. That’s simply common sense. Moreover, in an <a href="https://dc.law.utah.edu/scholarship/194/">academic paper</a> on the subject, two law professors analyzed the Cook County Bail Reform Study, which supposedly proved that lax bail laws do not impact the crime rate. The authors found that, contrary to the Study’s findings, the “bail reform” changes in Cook County “appear to have led to a substantial increase in crimes committed by pretrial releasees in Cook County,” and the “number of released defendants charged with committing new crimes increased by 45%.” Worse yet, “the number of pretrial releases charged with committing new violent crimes increased by an estimated 33%.”
No wonder the public is souring on these rogue prosecutors’ radical policies and the havoc they wreak. Voters in liberal San Francisco recently removed rogue DA Chesa Boudin from office. His successor has <a href="https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/gascon-recall-effort-takes-big-step-forward-los-angeles">pledged</a> to hold criminals accountable while still offering diversionary treatment programs like drug court to appropriate individuals—something prosecutors have been doing for many, many years.
Ironically, after voters recalled Boudin, one of George Soros’s representatives objected to the Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/soros-stiff-arms-chesa-boudin-after-san-francisco-voters-kick-him-to-curb/">calling</a> Boudin a “George Soros darling” in an attempt to put distance between Soros and the failed DA.
A similar issue occurred when we wrote about Baltimore’s now-defeated (and federally indicted) rogue prosecutor <a href="https://www.heritage.org/crime-and-justice/commentary/meet-marilyn-mosby-the-rogue-prosecutor-wreaking-havoc-baltimore">Marilyn Mosby</a>. A Soros representative reached out and objected to our characterization of Mosby as a Soros-backed prosecutor, since he never directly contributed to her campaign, even though she attended numerous trips paid for by Soros-funded or inspired groups.
The rogue prosecutor movement operates under two principles: (1) that the entire criminal justice system is racist and (2) that the only way to address this supposed racism is to reverse, engineer, and dismantle the current system by electing pro-criminal, anti-victim zealots into office. Flush with cash or support from George Soros and his like-minded wealthy friends, candidates like George Gascon (Los Angeles), Larry Krasner (Philadelphia), Kim Foxx (Chicago), Kim Gardner (St. Louis), and others have been elevated into office and have imposed their pro-criminal agendas on an unsuspecting electorate. The consequences have been predictable and deadly.  
Prosecutors are the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system. Our nation’s 2,300 or so elected district attorneys have a solemn duty to enforce the law and to do so fairly, compassionately, and without favor. This shouldn’t be a Left or Right, blue or red, Democrat or Republican issue. Either you support law and order and equality under the law, or you back a radical social experiment that, so far, has led to utter chaos and misery.
These are the facts.
Zack Smith is a Legal Fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. Charles D. Stimson, a senior legal fellow at Heritage, manages the think tank’s National Security Law Program.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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