UVALDE PARENTS BEG FOR ANSWERS By Charlotte Cuthbertson
PO R T EC N I G T EH L IC H R D E N A mother’s battle to protect her children helps a movement that’s shaking up politics. p.12 JULY 8–14, 2022 | $6.95
ALTERNATIVE TO WOKENESS New asset managers rise up to lure companies away from environmental justice activism. p.16
RETURN TO TR AIDON A former USA Today editor says media companies need to return to “older values.” p.24 NO. 27
Editor’s Note
‘Begging for Answers’ more than a month after the mass
shooting at a Texas elementary school, Uvalde parents remain in the dark on many of the details of the botched response. Such is the desperation of the families of those slain in the massacre that they are begging for answers anywhere they can. One of the few venues that allow them to be heard and ask questions is the local city council meetings. “They’re covering up because they know that every agency failed us. Every agency failed,” the sister of a teacher who was killed said at a recent meeting—referring to agencies that won’t give them information. Parents are trying to find out why it took police officers almost 80 minutes to enter the classroom and subdue the gunman. Not only have critical pieces of information not been released, but the same holds true for 911 call records and police body camera footage. “You have no idea, at night, how many screams I have to hear,” one parent, whose daughter survived the shooting, told city council members. “We’re not getting any answers, zero justice—nothing.” The mayor, meanwhile, says he’s as much in the dark as the parents are, saying that he has been threatened by Texas officials that releasing any information he has to the public could get him criminally prosecuted. Read this week’s cover story about the quest of parents to get answers about the mass shooting. Jasper Fakkert Editor-in-chief
2 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
JASPER FAKKERT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHANNALY PHILIPP LIFE & TRADITION, TRAVEL EDITOR
UVALDE PARENTS BEG FOR ANSWERS Anger in massacre aftermath as families left in the dark By Charlotte Cuthbertson
PROTECTING THE CHILDREN
ALTERNATIVE TO WOKENESS
RETURN TO TRADITION
A mother’s battle to protect her children helps a movement that’s shaking up politics. p.12
New asset managers rise up to lure companies away from environmental justice activism. p.16
A former USA Today editor says media companies need to return to “older values.” p.24
JULY 8–14, 2022 | $6.95
NO. 27
ON THE COVER Angel Garza, father of slain school girl Amerie Jo Garza, pleads with city council members for answers about the response to the May 24 mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/ THE EPOCH TIMES
CHRISY TRUDEAU MIND & BODY EDITOR CRYSTAL SHI HOME, FOOD EDITOR SHARON KILARSKI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR BILL LINDSEY LUXURY EDITOR FEI MENG ILLUSTRATOR SHANSHAN HU PRODUCTION CONTACT US THE EPOCH TIMES ASSOCIATION INC. 229 W.28TH ST., FL.7 NEW YORK, NY 10001 ADVERTISING ADVERTISENOW@EPOCHTIMES.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS, GENERAL INQUIRIES, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR HELP.THEEPOCHTIMES.COM (USPS21-800)IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE EPOCH MEDIA GROUP, 9550 FLAIR DR. SUITE 411, EL MONTE, CA 91731-2922. PERIODICAL POSTAGE PAID AT EL MONTE, CA, AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO THE EPOCH TIMES, 229 W. 28TH STREET, FLOOR 5, NEW YORK, NY 10001.
vol. 2 | no. 27 | july 8–14, 2022
20 | After Roe
49 | US Real Estate
24 | A Media
50 | Make a List
Pro-life groups plan for upcoming political battles over abortion.
Will home prices collapse as they did during the Great Recession?
Reckoning A former USA Today editor says media must return to “older values.”
Want to get organized quickly? Make a list and check it often.
52 | Dad-Deprived
Our troubled boys and how we can help them.
26 | Irreversible
Change A teen regrets having breasts removed in so-called genderaffirming care.
56 | Aegean Dreaming A fabulous compound in the Greek Isles is ready for a new owner.
42 | Housing Market
Monthly mortgage payments for the typical home have risen $800 since January.
44 | Post-Roe Era
Many companies have become outspoken pro-abortion activists.
45 | US Data
TikTok is a foreign agent that uses U.S. data against democracy.
47 | Partisanship
in the C-suite Political polarization worsens in corporate America.
48 | Anti-Inflation
Measures Why government efforts to fight inflation often fail.
Features 12 | Protecting Her Kids and Yours In the battle to protect her children, Tiffany Justice is helping to shake up politics nationwide. 16 | Antidote to Woke Corporations Peter Thiel’s new venture aims to lure companies away from environmental justice activism. 28 | Drone warfare The Chinese regime is betting the future of its war machine on drones. THE LEAD
Uvalde Parents Beg for Answers
36 |
Anger and frustration are at a boiling point as families are left in the dark. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces his resignation outside 10 Downing Street in London on July 7. Johnson is stepping down after the resignation of more than 50 government ministers. DAN KITWOOD/GETTY IMAGES
58 | Springtime
in Hungary Explore Budapest’s thermal springs, castles, and great restaurants.
60 | Check Your
Change If you are seeking nontraditional investments, consider coins.
63 | Off-Road Biking A fleet of trail-tough bikes ready to tame potholed city streets.
66 | Campfire Cuisine
Essentials A selection of innovative cooking equipment for camping chefs.
67 | Meet the
Neighbors How to be the favorite neighbor with the best backyard parties.
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 3
SPOTLIGHT
Blossoms in the Sky
SPECTATORS WATCH MACY’S 46TH Independence Day fireworks show over the Manhattan skyline on July 4. Nearly 50,000 shells were launched from five barges along the river for the 25-minute show. PHOTO BY ED JONES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGE
4 I N S I G H T June 24–30, 2022
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 5
SHEN YUN SHOP
Great Culture Revived. Fine Jewelry | Italian Scarves | Home Decor
ShenYunShop.com
6 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
Tel: 1.80 0.208.2384
NAT ION • WOR L D • W H AT H A P P E N E D T H I S W E E K
The Week
No.27
Chinese authorities test a drone during a campaign for disaster prevention and reduction in Beijing on May 12, 2015. PHOTO BY STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
China’s War Machine To protect her children, Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice is part of a movement that’s shaking up politics nationwide. 12
Peter Thiel’s new venture aims to lure companies away from environmental justice activism. 16
28
A 17-year-old girl regrets having her breasts removed as part of so-called genderaffirming care. 26
INSIDE I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 7
The Week in Short US
yr e v e b t s u m e W “ ani hC t aht denrecnoc no m eht no gnidnal s i s r u o s t’ I ‘ ,g n i y a s d n a ”’ .t u o y a t s u o y d na w o n
$564
MILLION
Bill Nelson, administrator, NASA, warning that China is using its space program to attempt to take control of the moon.
“Our inflation overall is running about three points higher in America than it is in Europe and much of the rest of the world.” Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas)
More than $77 billion of the unemployment insurance program’s $413 billion in payments in 2021 were made improperly, according to the Department of Labor’s inspector general.
$1.5
MILLION The Department of Justice is paying $1.5 million to implement a “transgender programming curriculum” across all federal prisons.
42%
of American respondents say they are struggling to remain where they are financially, according a Monmouth University poll.
22,000 Employees — Nearly 22,000 Department of Homeland Security employees have sought an exemption to the federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, but all of their requests remain in limbo, according to documents obtained by a watchdog.
8 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
THIS PAGE FROM TOP: SAUL LOEB-POOL/GETTY IMAGES, DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT PAGE: CPAC/SCREENSHOT VIA NTD
$77.2 BILLION
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed a new bill that earmarks a record $564 million in targeted border security funds to help stem the illegal immigration crisis.
The Week in Short US VACCINES
Doctor Issues Warning About Giving COVID-19 Vaccine to Babies ACCORDING TO DR. SYED HAIDER—
Alex Berenson speaks on censorship and freedom of speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando on Feb. 26, 2021. MEDIA
Twitter Reinstates Journalist Alex Berenson, Who Immediately Posts About COVID-19 Vaccines
FORMER NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST Alex Berenson has been
allowed to return to Twitter, which banned him in 2021 for allegedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation. “The parties have come to a mutually acceptable resolution. I have been reinstated. Twitter has acknowledged that my tweets should have not led to my suspension at that time,” Berenson said in a blog post. Minutes after Berenson posted for the first time following his reinstatement, he reposted the words that triggered the ban. “It doesn’t stop infection. Or transmission. Don’t think of it as a vaccine. Think of it—at best—as a therapeutic with a limited window of efficacy and terrible side effect profile that must be dosed IN ADVANCE OF ILLNESS. And we want to mandate it? Insanity,” he wrote. US–CHINA
Sens. Warner, Rubio Call for Investigation of China’s Access to Data of US TikTok Users
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner
(D-Va.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the top Republican member of the panel, are calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to mount a formal investigation of the relationship between China and the owner of social media giant TikTok. “We write in response to public reports that individuals in the People’s Republic of China [PRC] have been accessing data on U.S. users, in contravention of several public representations, including sworn testimony in October 2021,” the senators told FTC Chair Lina Khan in a letter. “In light of this new report, we ask that your agency immediately initiate a Section 5 investigation on the basis of apparent deception by TikTok, and coordinate this work with any national security or counter-intelligence investigation that may be initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice.”
an internal medicine specialist and founder of MyGoToDoc.com—“the risk of the [COVID-19] vaccine far outweighs the benefit.” According to Haider, “the risk of COVID in children is zero.” Data released by the CDC appear to confirm his opinion. “Remember, 1 in 70 children had a serious adverse event in the [Pfizer] trial,” Haider told Insight. “This is the best possible data Pfizer can present? I am sure the actual adverse event rate is far higher and the actual efficacy is far lower.” ELECTIONS
Conservatives in 9 States Call for Closed Primaries by 2024 CONSERVATIVE LEADERS IN
Georgia and Ohio are spearheading calls for Republicans to close their state primaries and allow only voters registered with their parties to participate in inter-party preliminary elections. Atlanta Tea Party President Debbie Dooley and Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci both told Insight that Democrats are “weaponizing” crossover voting to skew outcomes in key GOP primaries across the country, either to ensure the election of moderates or to nominate candidates unlikely to be successful in a general election. They join the leaders of conservative groups and GOP legislators in at least seven other states—including Alabama, Montana, Missouri, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Texas—who are lobbying for more restrictive primary elections before the 2024 election cycle. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 9
The Week in Short World JAPAN
Former Japanese Prime Minister Assassinated FORMER JAPANESE PRIME
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare inspect honor guards at a ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 9, 2019. PACIFIC
Solomons PM Hopes for Permanent Police Arrangement With Beijing to Deal With ‘Internal Threats’ SOLOMON ISLANDS PRIME MINISTER Manasseh Sogavare says he wants
CHINA
Hacker Claims to Have Data on 1 Billion Chinese Citizens From Police Files
A TROVE OF DATA OF MORE THAN 1 billion Chinese residents, allegedly
hacked from the Shanghai police, has been listed for sale on the dark web. If verified, it could amount to the biggest data leak in the country’s history. “In 2022, the Shanghai National Police (SHGA) database was leaked,” read a post on Breach Forums, a popular hacker community. “[The] databases contain information on 1 billion Chinese national residents and several billion case records, including name, address, birthplace, national ID number, mobile number, all crime/case details.” An anonymous hacker or group claiming the attack wrote the post under the name of “ChinaDan” and offered to sell the database for 10 bitcoin, Chinese paramilitary policemen stand guard on a street in Shanghai on Oct. 5, 2021. or roughly $200,000. 10 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
NIGERIA
Terrorists Kidnapping Hundreds of Nigerian Women HUNDREDS OF WOMEN ARE being
kidnapped every week and held as sex slaves by bandit terrorists in Nigeria’s north, and the government is unconcerned, said Umar Barde, a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives. Large bandit gangs, who identify chiefly as members of the Fulani tribe, have waged constant war on farming communities in northwest and north-central Nigeria since 2011, according to reports. The Fulani, a large ethnic group that claims more than 20 million members in Nigeria, has been blamed for thousands of massacres in the country in recent years.
A woman walks by destroyed shops after deadly clashes between the Fulani and Yoruba traders in Ibadan, Nigeria, on Feb. 15, 2021.
THIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP L: WANG ZHAO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES; RIGHT PAGE FROM TOP: MUHAMMAD FAROOQ/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, ASIF HASSAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, FRANCK FIFE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
to establish a permanent security arrangement with Beijing to deal with “internal threats.” The prime minister made the comments after a five-month training arrangement wrapped up between the China Police Liaison Team, the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, and Correctional Services of Solomon Islands. Speaking at a training demonstration, Sogavare said he looked forward to identifying gaps that were supposedly exploited by protestors in November 2021.
Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8 while on the campaign trail giving a speech. Abe was shot shortly after he began his speech in the western Japanese city of Nara. He was airlifted to a hospital and later pronounced dead. The shooter, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, was cited by NHK as telling police he was dissatisfied with Abe and wanted him dead. Gun violence is rare in Japan, which has highly restrictive laws on owning firearms. Yamagami reportedly used a handmade handgun.
World in Photos
1. 2.
3.
1. People look out at flooded houses near an old bridge in Sydney’s northern suburb of Windsor on July 6. Thousands of Sydney area residents were ordered to evacuate as torrential rain battered Australia’s largest city. 2. A breeder shows the extraordinarily long ears of his goat, Simba, in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 6. 3. Austria fans arrive for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 football match between England and Austria, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, on July 6. 4. Greenpeace activists raise a replica of a wind turbine on the edge of Lake Lugano during a demonstration calling for a sustainable reconstruction of Ukraine, ahead of a two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference, in Lugano, Switzerland, on July 4.
4.
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 11
EDUCATION
PROTECTING HER CHILDREN,
and Yours By Alex Newman
12 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
Parents drop their children off for school at Freedom Preparatory Academy in Provo, Utah, on Feb. 10, 2021.
In Focus Parental Rights
Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice is part of a movement that’s shaking up politics nationwide
LEFT PAGE: PHOTO BY GEORGE FREY/GETTY IMAGES; THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY
V
ero beach, fla.—Moms Justice said that after her son was hit for Liberty co-founder Tif- in the hallway by another student, fany Justice knew better he filled out a written statement and than most parents that was sent back to class. Parents weren’t there were serious issues notified. plaguing the public school system. She “We’re not pressing charges, but I felt was deeply concerned about forced the school needed to handle the situamasking, a lack of discipline, hostility tion properly,” she said. toward parents, low academic stanAdding insult to injury, school offidards, and much more. cials “tried to use this to hurt me, my But until recently, family, and my child,” the mother of four and Justice said. former school board “That was the breakmember—now a powing point for me. The erhouse in state and system was clearly national politics—nevgoing to protect the er dreamed of pulling system, even against her children out of the somebody they knew system. In fact, she occapersonally.” sionally chastised those Her son being hit and who urged her and other the school’s reaction parents to do so. were simply “the icing However, following a on the cake,” however. long train of abuses, cul“That just solidified minating in one of her for us that, after all sons being hit by anoththese issues, we had er student last month to get him out,” she and the school handling said, noting that her it in what she called a “ditwo youngest children Tiffany Justice, sastrous” manner, Juswere now enrolled at a co-founder, Moms for Liberty tice decided that enough private school. “We no was enough. The time longer felt safe. had come to remove her two youngest “We’re going to see how it goes with children from public school. the other two children.” “This is why public schools are losing families,” she said, posting a picture of A Systemic Problem? his bruised arm. “The school never even While the attack on her son was the last bothered to tell me. I had to take the straw, Justice said her decision to pull initiative to find out what happened in her children out was, more broadly, bethis situation, and it took over four days. cause “they just weren’t doing well in “For every person that wonders why that environment.” I continue to keep my kids in public One of her more recent complaints school, I am working to move my two with the system involved having to youngest for next year. Enough.” talk to the science teacher about why In a series of interviews with Insight, her son wasn’t even being required
“We’re really focused on unifying and education, that’s what empowers people.”
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 13
In Focus Parental Rights
“Nobody will fight harder for their kids than moms, and when unified and educated, they will rise.” Tiffany Justice, co-founder, Moms for Liberty
teachers lack the skills they need and students aren’t learning what they need to know. “The fact that parents got to see some of what was going on as a result of COVID was a blessing,” she said. “COVID was hard, but this was a blessing.” Among other concerns, Justice said parents are recognizing that the outcomes produced by the school system are “horrible.” “Two-thirds of kids are not reading at grade level; the math scores are atrocious,” she said. “Parents are looking at this and saying it’s not working. We’re concerned about what this means for the future of America.” While Justice sees value in the public education system and refuses to abandon it for the sake of the children that are still in it, she believes that dramatic changes are needed. “I don’t think the current way that it’s working actually works,” she said, pointing to unions and other key players. “We’re funding failure.” Justice said allowing parents to choose a private school or to homeschool their children themselves and opening up some competition would be part of “reclaiming education” from the current program of “indoctrination—that is what is happening.”
School Board Experience: Tough but Worthwhile Before founding Moms for Liberty, a national group fighting for “the survival of America” by supporting parental rights, Justice served on the Indian River County School Board from 2016 to 2020. It began simply enough: Justice and other parents were concerned that the only school in her county’s area, infested with rats and other problems, was going to be shut down. While Democrats rejected her and some local Republican leaders referred to her as a RINO (Republican in Name Only), she won her race with about 60 percent of the vote. Even after winning, the attacks were relentless, “because I’m a disrupter,” Justice said. One of the most intense attacks came when a local liberal paper accused her of having an affair. Despite her father’s
FROM L: COURTESY OF MOMS FOR LIBERTY, JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
14 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
to write in complete sentences. “Even in English, there was no correction for grammar or spelling,” Justice said, criticizing what she described as a “lack of concern for the skills that we think are necessary.” The school’s masking requirements and forced quarantines were tough on her children as well. “This is very difficult for the kids to deal with,” said Justice, who served as a school board member in Florida’s Indian River County for four years. When she asked if she could accompany her child to class and visit the school last year, she was told that teachers needed 24 hours’ advance notice. When they finally let her come, she had “police supervision all day,” despite being a mother of four and school board member who had undergone background checks and had never faced a complaint. “I was literally followed by a police officer all day,” Justice said. “They made a spectacle of me. It was a really unfortunate situation.” School officials “berated” her in a storage closet over her concerns with the police officer standing outside because “I was supposed to be on their team,” she said. One teacher tried to make a spectacle of her son as well, humiliating him by ordering him to do pushups in front of fellow students. Other concerns she raised included the amount of computer time her children had at school, which she said was “outrageous.” Another incident Justice recalled was when her son saw a child thrown against the wall by a teacher. When her son tried to report it, the teacher “berated him in front of the entire class and asked him, ‘Boy, did you snitch?’” she said. “The principal has no control over the school, and it’s not somewhere my son needs to be for the next two years.” The school district didn’t respond to requests for comment by phone or email. Justice said these problems are becoming more and more obvious throughout the United States, as
In Focus Parental Rights
Jewish heritage, she was called an “anti-Semite” for resisting training materials from the controversial left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center. “They decided they were going to make my life a living hell,” she said. “I wouldn’t go along with the grifters in the system, and so they hated me for it. It was nepotism left and right.” Despite the attacks and being just one vote on the board, Justice said she feels that she made a positive difference. But she wishes she had done more. “There was always lava burning underneath, and fire hiccups would surface from time to time,” she said. “I should have taken the education curtain—I got to see behind it—I should have pulled it back for everyone. I did what I could, but I wish everybody could see what I saw.” She said the problems were never truly rectified. “The district does two things well: protect itself and celebrate itself, including celebrating itself to disguise the failure,” Justice said.
‘Courage Is Contagious’: Moms for Liberty Is Born Amid the battles taking place in the local school district, Justice connected with another school board member in the county north of hers who was facing similar struggles. Tina Descovich, a mother of five who was elected to the Brevard County School Board the same year that Justice was elected to her school board, was very different than Justice, but was essentially fighting the same battle. “We both had a visceral reaction to what was happening—the erosion of parental rights, the erosion of foundational principles of America,” Justice said. “Tina was in the same situation. We decided we had to do something.” Just three weeks after launching Moms for Liberty, the mothers got a call from a woman in New York state who wanted to start a Long Island chapter. Today, there are more than 200 chapters spread across almost 40 states, with the number of members growing rapidly. Those chapters are working to get good legislation passed and get school board candidates who will support pa-
rental rights elected, Justice said. That includes vetting and endorsing candidates, creating a forum for debate, providing resources, and more. In mid-July, Moms for Liberty will be hosting its Joyful Warrior National Summit, featuring speakers including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and many more.
200
Chapters of Moms For Liberty are spread across almost 40 states.
“We’re really focused on unifying and education, that’s what empowers people,” Justice said when asked where the movement goes from here. “Nobody will fight harder for their kids than moms, and when unified and educated, they will rise.” The “expert class” has failed Americans and parents, and now it’s time for mothers to trust themselves and each other in raising their own children.
“Parents now are looking at each other and realizing they are actually the experts,” she said. Key targets of the group include the Marxist critical race theory, critical pedagogy, “gender” ideology, and other forms of anti-American indoctrination, academic failure, and “whatever issues are affecting our kids in school.” “We know we’re fighting for the survival of America,” Justice said. “We didn’t ask for this. Moms and dads are wondering when we ever said this was OK, much less OK in K–3. We don’t want this taught. We will not let them redefine the boundaries between home and school.” Within five years, she hopes that every state will have strong legislation protecting parental rights. “Courage is contagious,” Justice said. “We see that in the growth of our chapters. We see that a spark can grow like a wildfire.” Very early on in the struggle, a friend told Justice that they were now “war moms,” she said. It really stuck in her mind. “It’s our job to tell all the moms in America that they are war moms now, and we all need to get ready to fight,” she said, saying that it was critical to remain a “joyful warrior” in the fight for the United States and future generations.
A class in session on the first day of in-person learning at Stark Elementary School in Stamford, Conn., on March 10, 2021. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 15
A Coca-Cola billboard in the South of Market area of San Francisco on Oct. 26, 2020. PHOTO BY JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES
16 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
FIN A N C E
A NTIDOTE TO WOK E COR POR ATIONS Peter Thiel’s new venture aims to lure companies away from environmental justice activism BY MICHAEL WASHBURN
AS THE WALT DISNEY CO., Coca-Cola, Google, Mic-
Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7.
MARCO BELLO/GETTY IMAGES
rosoft, the Atlanta Falcons, and other high-profile corporate entities involve themselves in public controversies over hot-button social topics and pursue market strategies and internal policies based on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) principles, some asset managers increasingly wonder how to invest capital in a way that won’t compromise their fiduciary duty to shareholders who are seeking the highest possible returns. The trend of “woke” corporate governance is so pervasive and its divisiveness and effects on the bottom line are so hard to ignore that two ambitious entrepreneurs, Vivek Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks, co-founded a new investment firm, Strive Asset Management, in May. Backed by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital, Strive’s role is to foster and support corporations operating free from ESG and D&I imperatives and in accordance with more traditional criteria—or as the financial firm’s website reads, “Our mission is to restore the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics.” In the view of Strive’s founders, the need for an asset management firm pushing an alternative to woke ESG and D&I-based strategies and governance has been particularly acute, as
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 17
Economy Investment
what have long been familiar, indeed iconic, names in the corporate universe have pushed a socially conscious stance that has alienated consumers who never thought twice about spending money on those brands in the past.
Activist CEOs
18 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
decision. If the market thinks that the change is a bad idea, it will be reflected in the price of that company’s stock,” Vioni told Insight.
Who’s on the Board? Just as importantly, CEOs who signal their company’s stance on a sensitive topic aren’t being divisive so much as acknowledging the sensitivities of growing numbers of consumers who won’t take well to what they perceive as callousness or indifference on the part of the brands they patronize. Vioni sees this dynamic play out increasingly in the investment space, where hedge
“Their own 401K accounts are contributing to these higher prices, because they’re giving to firms like BlackRock that are advocating for [ESG].” Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founder, Strive
funds raise capital from foundations, endowments, corporate pensions, and other institutional investors, whose investment committees must answer to people on whom ESG-related topics have a direct and daily impact. “These investors are being asked to think about topics like the composition or diversity of the company into which they are investing. Are there women or minorities in senior-level positions or on the board? They are being asked by their constituents to consider these matters as part of their due diligence because it is important to them,” she said. In Vioni’s view, CEOs who make socially conscious decisions are acknowledging an issue of basic fairness and equal representation in a market where about 90 percent of the money allocated to hedge funds still goes to roughly 10 percent of the managers out there. “There is a huge number of emerging managers, women and diverse, who are not able to even get their foot in the door to tell their story to allocators,” she said.
The Question of Merit Vioni believes that ESG investing doesn’t compromise meritocracy and that people aren’t looking for handouts. “It’s more sensational for the media to spin the message in a way that insinu-
FROM L: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink is on record as having issued warnings that BlackRock will vote against directors of companies not deemed to have made sufficient progress in the implementation of environmentally conscious and sustainable policies and practices, and in the reporting of such practices. The heads of prominent corporations have heeded the call from activist investors and taken bold public stances to signal their virtue. Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey has joined the heads of other firms in publicly denouncing the state of Georgia’s new and stricter voting requirements and policies. In April, Disney took a public stand against Florida’s law barring the instruction of young pupils in kindergarten through third grade in topics relating to gender identity, derided by critics as its “Don’t Say Gay” bill. In response to Disney’s stance, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to revoke the corporation’s long-held status as a self-governing entity under Florida law with its own infrastructure and emergency services, among other perquisites. These are the types of self-serving public stances that may help the CEOs look progressive and “with-it” in 2022, but undermine the corporations’ purpose of bringing Americans together behind iconic brands and maximizing value for shareholders, Strive’s founders believe. The ESG and D&I approach isn’t without its defenders. Ultimately, such stances aren’t at odds with profitability in an environment where the market acts as the final judge of how CEOs conduct themselves, said Lisa Vioni, CEO of Hedge Connection, a marketing platform for asset managers established in 2005. “I think that over time, the market tells us whether a decision by a company is a good or a bad one. Institutional investors will do their research, whether on Disney or any other company that has decided to make a change based on an ESG principle and then make an investment
Economy Investment
Traders work on the floor during the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on May 16.
90%
of the money allocated to hedge funds still goes to roughly 10 percent of the managers in the market, an expert says. ates that these emerging managers feel entitled to an allocation because they are women or have minority status. Of course, they want to raise capital. But these managers only expect to get an investment if they can compete,” she said. For others, such as Ramaswamy, the disconnect between the woke views and agendas of many corporate CEOs and the values of ordinary U.S. consumers is too acute to trust in the logic of the market to right everything without an alternative asset manager that explicitly eschews the ESG stance. “I think we need more institutional shareholders in the marketplace to deliver a different message to corporate America from the one CEOs are hearing today,” he told Insight. “From the large asset managers, they are hearing one message, one monolithic perspective. In reality, those large asset managers represent a diverse base of clients, some of whom have a different point of view than the one the asset managers are promoting on their behalf.” In Ramaswamy’s view, the doctors, nurses, service-sector employees, and other ordinary Americans who funnel their money into asset managers end up paying the price—quite literally at the pump—when ESG-guided decisions result, for example, in an oil company producing less oil than it could. “Their own 401(k) accounts are contributing to these higher prices because they’re giving to firms like BlackRock that are advocating for [ESG]. So what we really need is a diverse voice or set of voices that better represent the perspective of everyday citizens, the end owners of capital. We just don’t have those in the marketplace. That’s one of the defining
mismatches of our time,” he said. Ramaswamy sees the role of Strive as fostering “a revitalized moment in America,” as well as telling companies to end their focus on divisive social and political agendas. He said he has been pleased with the reception that Strive has been met with in the market since its launch, as reflected in the firm’s wooing of high-level talent, such as Matt Cole, who recently joined Strive as a head of products and investments after 16 years as an investment manager and investment officer at CalPERS. Cole’s wife has also joined Strive as a director of marketing and communications. “I had a good track record at CalPERS, managing a portfolio of about $70 billion of assets. What really attracted me and my wife to Strive was the fact that we were passionate about the fiduciary issues that Strive was tackling,” Cole told Insight. “When we first met the Strive team in May over Zoom, we were finishing each other’s sentences regarding Strive’s mission. It was a literal dream team for the issue.”
Quiet Majority Cole said he based his decision partly on a “ton of reputable research” indicating that a clear majority of Americans don’t think that corporations should be involved in politics and social issues. On the asset management side, this isn’t a left-wing or right-wing issue but a matter of pure math, he said. “If you think about profitability theory, any time that there are constraints on an asset manager that say, ‘You can’t invest in X, or we really want you to invest in Y,’ whether it’s an explicit or implicit constraint, and the board is asking you questions every day, you have to fill out 100-page surveys, you have to answer how you’re incorporating ESG into your investment process, this incentivizes the manager to make decisions that could be outside the realm of maximizing profits,” he said. Cole alluded to figures suggesting that Disney’s approval rating has fallen dramatically, having fallen to the 65th spot on a list of major corporations in the aftermath of its woke stance on the Florida educational controversy. “If you have angered half the country, there are going to be fewer people going
A Strive employee says his decision to join the team is based partly on a ‘ton of reputable research’ indicating that a clear majority of Americans do not think that corporations should be involved in politics and social issues. to parks and consuming your products,” he said. Cole used the further example of an oil company operating in a market where ESG guidelines shape strategy. “Consider what Vivek says about oil and gas companies, when you have an activist investor on the board, with the support of BlackRock, State Street, or Vanguard, demanding that you go from a projection in the next five years of increasing oil output to decreasing oil. Clearly, if they were producing more oil, they’d be making a profit. They’d have more oil to sell when there’s not enough to go around,” he said. Cole noted that he believes that Strive will have an advantage over competitors, as it removes such constraints from gifted asset managers. “I don’t think Strive will be the answer for everyone; there will be people who wish Strive were more political one way or the other,” he said. “Strive is an important part of the movement, but I think it’s also happening with political leaders. Trustees of pension funds and state attorneys general are speaking out. At least now, the issue is getting the attention it deserves.”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attends the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, 2020. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 19
ABORTION
A Post-Roe World
Pro-life groups plan for upcoming political battles over abortion
T
By Jackson Elliott
he end of roe v. wade marks a great victory for U.S. pro-life groups, but it’s not the end of their fight against abortion. Roe v. Wade mandated that the government couldn’t regulate abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, couldn’t regulate the protection of fetal life in the second 14 weeks, and could only protect fetal life after viability. Now, abortion is once again a legislative issue. The Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade gave U.S. pro-life groups the high ground in the upcoming political battles over abortion. Even so, they’ll likely face new difficulties as well. At this point, the end of Roe still feels surreal to many in the pro-life movement. “You’re pinching yourself for a while. When you work for something for close to 50 years and then it happens, it takes the psyche a little while to adjust,” said Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
Taking the High Ground
20 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
“The mother who is thinking about abortion is often thinking about it only because she knows it’s legal.” Father Frank Pavone, national director, Priests for Life
perience, many women don’t pursue abortion if there’s even a slight legal obstruction. “They’re very ambivalent about their abortion,” he said. National Right to Life Committee President Carol Tobias agreed with that assessment. She noted that women who are pressured by their boyfriends or families
to get abortions might feel protected by the law. “I saw a woman writing recently that if it had been illegal, she wouldn’t have done it,” Tobias said. Now that abortion can be illegal, people are more likely to think it’s immoral, she said. It’s also more likely that discussions over abortion will explore its morality instead of stopping at its legality. “You start getting into the discussion of, ‘every abortion ends the life of another human being,’” she said.
More Children Across the United States, 22 states have passed or will soon approve laws that ban or restrict abortion. According to the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, one in five pregnan-
FROM TOP: BRANDON BELL/GETTY IMAGES, ANGELA WEISS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
One of the most important aspects of the Supreme Court ruling that there’s no constitutional right to abortion is the way law shapes moral boundaries, Pavone said. Often, women assume that because abortion is legal, it’s also a moral decision to make, he said. “The mother who is thinking about abortion is often thinking about it only because she knows it’s legal. We don’t find that abortion is the kind of a decision that a woman will crawl over broken glass in order to get it,” he said. If the law frowns on abortion, women choose it less often. In Pavone’s ex-
People protest in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on June 24. The court’s ruling overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade case.
Nation Supreme Court
stop getting abortions or new pregnancies, he said. Birth rates will likely go up as well. Pregnancy centers are already “gearing up” for more new babies, he said. But Hugh Brown, president of the American Life League, said he doesn’t expect the overturn of Roe will save many lives. Companies such as Amazon offer free flights to abortion states for their employees, and it’s likely going to be easy to cross state borders to get abortions, he said. An America that’s halfway pro-life is functionally pro-abortion. “Is that going to result in less deaths? More than likely not,” Brown said.
Changing Laws
v. Wade when polled, but the majority of Americans also support some restrictions on abortion that Roe didn’t allow. “Radical abortion supporters have been in charge of the abortion debate for almost 50 years, with now stale talking points used for generations. One of those is that ‘most’ people loved Roe v. Wade and loved abortion,” she said. “If you like any limits on abortion, you didn’t like Roe.” Current polls show that 7 out of 10 Americans support limits on abortion, Hawkins said. “As an organization that has more conversations with the generation targeted for abortion than any other pro-life group, we’ve seen the need for education to help people understand the fine print behind the words ‘support for abortion,’” she said.
Pro-life leaders also say that the end of Roe v. Wade will intensify the legislative debate over abortion. Roe Rebound? It’s likely that Congress and state governments In politics, a big win can will see more legislation sometimes temporarily IN 2020, nearly 1 million for abortion restrictions hurt the winners. Hisabortions were performed soon, Pavone said. torical example suggests in the United States. He noted that future that ending Roe v. Wade abortion laws likely won’t will galvanize abortion be outright bans. Instead, politicians will supporters and leave pro-life supporters likely regulate abortion. complacent. “We’re more likely to see some gestaBut none of the pro-life leaders intertional limits that enjoy very strong pub- viewed by Insight said they were expelic support, even among people who say riencing a drop in funding. they’re pro-choice,” Pavone said. “Perhaps that is because it’s well known Perhaps the most ambitious pro-life in the pro-life community that our stugoal is a nationwide abortion ban. But dents are on campuses daily fighting for pro-life leaders have mixed opinions on this generation and for their children, whether it’s possible anytime soon. and that we are active in every state workTo get a nationwide ban on abortion, ing to pass pro-life laws or oppose policy the Senate would likely have to end the that would hurt women and their chilfilibuster, Tobias said. But this change dren,” Hawkins said about Students for would also make it easier for Democrats Life of America’s fundraising success. to pass extreme pro-abortion legislation. “I don’t see the filibuster in the Senate being removed anytime soon,” she said. “I mean, we’re using it now to stop several horrible, horrible anti-life pieces of legislation coming through the Senate, including tax funding of abortion.” Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins told Insight in an email that her organization hopes to change public opinion on abortion laws after the end of Roe. Most Americans are confused about An owner of the Hope Clinic For Women looks what Roe v. Wade meant, according to at an ultrasound machine inside an exam room, Hawkins. Americans say they favor Roe in Granite City, Ill., on June 27.
1 Million
cies ended in abortion in 2020. The same year saw nearly 1 million abortions performed. It’s unclear exactly how much the end of Roe v. Wade will decrease these figures. But Pavone estimated that even if the number of abortions decreases massively, the number of new babies won’t increase by the same margin. Many women who get abortions get multiple abortions, he said. Some find themselves getting abortions again because of a cycle of guilt. “The mom who has an abortion, very often she feels guilty. She wants to have a replacement pregnancy, so she gets pregnant again. And then she doesn’t feel worthy to have the child, and she repeats the abortion,” Pavone said. “Almost half of the abortions in America are repeat abortions.” Now, many women who live this pattern will likely have their first child and
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 21
T H G IL T O P S Fiesta de San Fermín
PARTICIPANTS CELEBRATE AS THE CITY of Pamplona’s municipal band, La Pamplonesa, performs for the opening ceremony of the San Fermín Festival outside the town hall, in northern Spain on July 6. The festival, beginning on July 6 and ending on July 14, honors the city’s first bishop and patron saint, St. Fermín. PHOTO BY ANDER GILLENEA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 23
N E WS R O O M S
A MEDIA RECKONING
F
Former USA Today opinion editor says media companies need to return to ‘older values’
24 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
es, and school choice, and he’s open with his disdain of former President Donald Trump. DelGuzzi hasn’t responded to a request from Insight for comment.
Impossible to Be Both ‘Local’ and ‘Ideological’
“People who think journalism is about the facts and being honest with our readers need to stand up.” DAVID MASTIO, former deputy editorial page editor, USA Today
Mastio said Gannett reporters became increasingly liberal because the company hired young reporters to replace more experienced and expensive journalists. These reporters, fresh out of college, come from an “overwhelmingly liberal environment.” “And they just want to bring what feels comfortable to them into the newspaper,” he said. He described Gannett’s evolvement as “one small step at a time.” The problem he saw was that the company’s leadership “didn’t have the spine to demand these young reporters adapt to USA Today’s values. So they changed USA Today to make it more like its reporters.” According to Mastio, Gannett’s business model is local and community reporting, owning more than 200 newspapers nationwide. “And by going far to the left, they’re cutting out half or more of the people in that neighborhood and city who won’t want to read them,” he said. “It’s a contradiction in their business plan. They either want to be local, or they want to be ideological. You can’t be both and succeed.”
Silent No More The headquarters of USA Today in McLean, Va., on June 17.
Mastio hadn’t spoken out until now, except for a Twitter post on March 11, when
CLOCKWISE FROM L: COURTESY OF DAVID MASTIO, WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES, MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
airfax county, va.— Former USA Today Deputy Editorial Page Editor David Mastio spoke out recently about his demotion in August 2021 over his Twitter post that only women can get pregnant. “The top leaders of Gannett and USA Today need to take control of their newsrooms and return to the older values, or they’re going to pay the price,” Mastio told Insight. Earlier in June, the newspaper chain with more than 200 dailies decided to cut back most of its editorial pages. According to a Washington Post report, reader surveys of Gannett, USA Today’s parent company, showed that the opinion pages “had lost relevance” in the age of the internet. In the same article, Kristen DelGuzzi, opinion editor at USA Today and Mastio’s former boss, told The Post that the opinion pages hadn’t evolved along with the industry. Mastio said he found DelGuzzi’s comment to be “a lie and untrue,” the final trigger for him to speak up months after leaving the newspaper in March. “I saw it as an insult to all of the people who had tried to evolve and adapt to the internet,” he said. “I saw it as an insult to all the conservative editorial pages that had been shut down, all the conservative columnists that had been laid off, all of the people that made opinion pages good at Gannett, before corporate cost-cutting made our opinion pages irrelevant.” Mastio identifies as a conservative based on his views on abortion, tax-
By Terri Wu
Journalism News
Reporters work on their laptops at an event in Beaverton, Ore., in this file photo. Mastio said the Gannett staff became increasingly liberal because the company hired young reporters, who came from an “overwhelmingly liberal environment,” to replace more experienced and expensive journalists. he left the company and joined a new online video media outlet, StraightArrowNews.com. “At last, I am able to say what I couldn’t before: People don’t get pregnant, but women do,” he wrote on Twitter. His original Twitter post in August 2021 that “people don’t get pregnant, but women do” came after USA Today had just replaced “pregnant women” with “pregnant people.” He said the LGBT employee resource group (ERG) and newsroom diversity committee, which he viewed as a source of “identity politics” within the company, were the main forces behind the language change. Months before that, in May, the newspaper also published “Pregnant people: Transgender, nonbinary parents give birth, too.” The ERG and Committee wanted
him fired. Instead, he was demoted and later given a warning that if he stepped out of line again, his employment would be terminated. At the direction of senior management, he also deleted his original August 2021 Twitter post and others to keep his job at USA Today.
“I feel relieved. I needed to say something for a long time.” DAVID MASTIO, former deputy editorial page editor, USA Today
He had had top editors’ support despite complaints from the staff before August 2021, the first time he was told that he couldn’t speak his opinions. Mastio was glad to have spoken out: “I feel relieved. I needed to say something for a long time.” He had chosen to be silent for months because he had a family to support and then had to focus on his new job at StraightArrowNews.com. “I think as journalism goes off the rails and big companies like Gannett go off the rails, more of us need to speak out,” he said. “People who think journalism is about the facts and being honest with our readers need to stand up for the values that made journalism important and influential, and these [values] are increasingly being abandoned by our industry.” I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 25
IRREVERSIBLE
Teen Regrets Double Mastectomy 17-year-old girl regrets having breasts removed as part of socalled genderaffirming care By Brad Jones
26 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
“brushed off” their concerns about the efficacy of hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries. “My parents were given the threat of [my] suicide as a reason to move me forward in my transition,” Cole said. At age 13, after two or three appointments with an endocrinologist, she started taking puberty blockers and injectable testosterone. At age 15, Cole told her therapist she wanted her breasts removed, and she attended a “top surgery” class with a dozen other girls her age or younger. “None of us were going to be men. We were fleeing from the uncomfortable feeling of becoming women,” Cole said. She went through with the double mastectomy, which, she says, she now regrets. “Despite having a therapist and attending the top surgery class, I really didn’t understand all the ramifications of any of the medical decisions I was making. I was incapable of understanding, and it was downplayed consistently,” she said. “My parents, on the other hand, were pressured to continue my so-called gender journey with the suicide threat. “I will never be able to breastfeed a child. I have blood clots in my urine. I am unable to fully empty my bladder. I
ALL PHOTOS BY CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY/ SCREENSHOT VIA THE EPOCH TIMES
A California Assembly committee passes Senate Bill 107 in Sacramento on June 28. Proponents of the bill say it would “provide refuge” for transgender youth, their parents, and those who advocate for and provide “gender-affirming health care” for minors.
17-year- old girl who regrets having her breasts removed as a result of socalled gender-affirming care testified before a California Assembly committee hearing on June 28, urging state lawmakers to reject proposed legislation that would make California a transgender sanctuary state. “I was medically transitioned from ages 13 to 16,” Chloe Cole from the Central Valley told the public safety committee, saying she suffered irreversible consequences from her surgeries and from hormone treatment. At the hearing, the committee passed the controversial Senate Bill (SB) 107, which proponents say would “provide refuge” for transgendered youth, their parents, and those who advocate for and provide “gender-affirming health care” for minors. The bill would prohibit law enforcement agencies from arresting or extraditing parents charged in other states or nations with child abuse or other crimes related to allowing minor children to receive these medical treatments. Cole said that when she was younger, her parents took her to a therapist who “affirmed [her] male identity” and
California Transgenderism
do not yet know if I am capable of carrying a child to full term. In fact, even the doctors who put me on puberty blockers and testosterone do not know.” She urged the committee to reject the transgender sanctuary state bill and to put safeguards in place so that “painful” experiences like hers aren’t repeated. “Children cannot consent,” she said. Erin Friday, an attorney, argued against the bill, claiming it unconstitutional for California to disrespect the laws of other states. She argued that SB 107 wouldn’t just provide sanctuary for parents fleeing the law in other states, but would make California a refuge for all children who want to access transgender medicine and surgery. “No questions asked. No real mental health assessment, no minimal diagnosis, and no parental consent. So long as the minor child can get to California, she can order up any type of irreversible treatment,” she said. Friday, a parent of a teen who once suffered from what’s called rapid-onset gender dysphoria but no longer identifies as transgender, has previously testified that SB 107 would be a big mistake that would only worsen the “largest medical scandal in history,” and spread transgender ideology, which she described as a “social contagion.” State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, said it’s intended to protect families and transgender youth and medical professionals from being prosecuted for child abuse in other states. Texas, for example, is cracking down on the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones on minors, and—in some cases—gender surgery on minors. “These parents, who are just trying to do right by their kids and accepting their kids for who they are and supporting them are being told, ‘You’re a criminal for doing that,’” Wiener said. “It’s disgusting, it’s despicable, and California should have no part of that.” Martin Campos of Trans Family Support Services said the group is currently working with out-of-state residents faced with the decision of whether or not “to uproot their family and livelihood to seek out refuge in an affirming state such as California” to flee “anti-trans legislation” at home. “Parents should not be concerned
about facing legal ramifications while seeking medically necessary gender-affirming services for their youth. Nor should youth have to endure the trauma that is created by having their parents face those ramifications,” Campos said. “All this bill is seeking to do is allow transgender youth to thrive.” Ebony Harper, executive director of California Transcends, shared a personal story with the committee. “I identify as the black trans woman,” Harper said. “I was a trans youth at 13. I grew up in South Central California and, at 13, I was kicked out of my house, which was the story for most transgender people from my era, if you were between the particular intersections of being black and transgender. And I spent many years on the streets, in jails, [and] institutions because it was the Dark Ages. Trans folks were considered mentally confused people that could not participate in society.” In the 1990s, a lot of trans people died because they didn’t get the health care they needed, but today the transgender community in California is thriving and prospering, Harper said. “The 13-year-old me thought I was going to end up dead before I hit 21. And here I am advocating in my 40s and still going strong and having the fortitude of support with senators like Scott Wiener, the lieutenant governor, and other folks in government,” she said. “I think trans transcends politics. And so you have seen that our community recently has been politicized, which is causing a lot of trauma and pain in our community.”
“I really didn’t understand all the ramifications of any of the medical decisions I was making.” Chloe Cole
(Top) Erin Friday argues against Senate Bill 107, claiming it unconstitutional for California to disrespect the laws of other states. (Above) State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, says it’s intended to protect families and transgender youth and medical professionals from being prosecuted for child abuse in other states. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 27
A drone towing a cable flies over the Dadu River to the other side of the Ya’an– Kangding expressway bridge under construction in Ya’an, Sichuan Province, China, on Dec. 20, 2016. PHOTO BY ZHANG JIAN/CHENGDU ECONOMIC DAILY/VCG
28 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
DEFENSE
C H IN A’ S WA R M A C H IN E Chinese Communist Party bets on drones to win the next war BY ANDREW THORNEBROOKE
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 29
China Military
NE W S A N A LY S I S
A
30 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
China’s Growing Drone Force It’s too early to say what connection the crew of the Bass Strait, Pacific Basin, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) share. Nevertheless, the incident underscores the central role that drones are to play in the next stage of modern warfare and how they’re already shaping the battlefield and intelligence gathering processes. As it so happens, the CCP is betting big on drone warfare. The regime has invested heavily for more than a decade into everything from cheap and expendable commercial quadcopters to resource-heavy high-altitude long-endurance drones. Indeed, the CCP and its military wing, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), have undertaken numerous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) projects since the early 2000s. However, the first appearance of a large-scale Chinese-built stealth drone came shortly into CCP leader Xi Jinping’s tenure. Likely built from data obtained from the Iranian capture of an advanced U.S. drone in 2011, China’s “Sharp Sword” was just the first of many advanced UAVs, built through the assistance of foreign technologies gathered as part of the regime’s comprehensive program of technology theft.
Drones appears to play a central role in the Chinese regime’s focus on the forced unification of Taiwan with the mainland. FROM TOP: STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
S WA R M O F D R O N E S F L I E S T H R O U G H the night sky over the Pacific. Shrouded in darkness and less than 100 miles from the California coastline, they move in groups of four and six, stalking U.S. Navy vessels. They whir about over the ships’ bows, gathering intelligence to deliver to faceless masters. They match the speed of the naval vessels, flying unimpeded in low visibility for as long as four hours at a time. The alarmed crews of the ships have no idea where they came from or what their purpose is. This isn’t the plot of an up-and-coming spy thriller, but a series of actual events that took place in July 2019. The chilling encounters raised alarms throughout the Navy and brought forth an investigative apparatus composed of elements of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of the Pacific Fleet were kept primed with updates on the situation. “If the drones were not operated by the American military, these incidents represent a highly significant security breach,” reads one investigative report based on the ships’ logs. Yet the nature of the drones, where they came from, and who deployed them remained a mystery for more than two years. However, a new investigative report published in June by The Drive shed light on the incidents, which totaled at least eight encounters involving several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were previously simply referred to as UFOs in the press. The report, based on Navy materials newly obtained through multiple Freedom of Information Act requests, pinpoints the launching point of the drones as a civilian bulk carrier operating in the area at the time. That ship, the MV Bass Strait, is owned and operated by Pacific Basin, flagged out of Hong Kong. “The Navy assessed that the commercial cargo ship was likely conducting surveillance on Navy vessels using drones,” the report reads. During its first-ever operational voyage, the ship may have been linked to previously unknown incidents in March and April 2019, including “intelligence collection operations” targeting the USS Zumwalt, America’s most advanced surface combatant. “Active surveillance of key naval assets is being conducted in areas where they train and employ their most sensitive systems, often within close proximity to American shores,” the report reads.
Since then, the CCP has funded dozens of varieties of UAVs using a plethora of state-owned corporations that also build the regime’s space and missile technologies. From larger combat drones, such as the Sharp Sword, to small quadcopter drones, such as those spotted near California, to rocket-powered supersonic vehicles intended to zip through the sky gathering targeting information, the CCP buys everything drone-related. The CCP is also already building out its drone capabilities across the spectrum of its military assets, deploying those capabilities in some of the world’s most contested regions. China’s third and newest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, is expected to host a variety of drones. Its electromagnetic catapult system will prove invaluable for quickly launching differently weighted drones with adjustable torque. That effort will likely build on operational lessons learned from the past several years, as China’s second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was spotted in early June with a small fleet of “commercial or commercial-derivative drones” on its flight deck, according to one report’s analysis of images that appeared on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
A drone carrying a passenger flies into a stadium in the back in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, on April 20, 2021.
“[The images] do underscore the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s ever-increasing efforts to develop and field various types of unmanned aircraft, including those that can operate together in networked swarms, and often with an eye toward performing various roles in the maritime domain,” one report reads. If that weren’t enough to underscore the regime’s ambition to dominate the strategic
The “Yi Long” drone by China Aviation Industry Corp., on display at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China, on Nov. 13, 2012. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 31
China Military
Watching, Learning, Preparing As the pace of China’s military drone development has accelerated, the rate of international incidents related to drones has also increased. In August 2021, Japan Self-Defense Forces led multiple sorties of fighter jets over several days 32 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
A drone used by the police, on display at the 2014 China International Industry Fair in Shanghai on Nov. 4, 2014.
“Swarming capabilities are seen even by top U.S. think tanks and the Pentagon as being so critical to future conflicts.” Summary
to intercept PLA drones caught flying south of Okinawa, Japan. The drones, comparable in size to U.S. Predator and Reaper drones, were believed to be collecting strategic intelligence on the Miyako Strait, which provides the PLA with a critical point of entry to the Pacific and has been the site of increasing Chinese military excursions for the past decade. The incident serves as a poignant reminder of what so much of China’s drone fleet serves to do: secure vital strategic intelligence for the coordination of military actions. It’s this point that brings one back to the issue of just what several groups of drones launched from a Hong Kong freight ship were doing spying on U.S. Navy vessels near the coast of California. If such actions were directly or indirectly tied to the sprawling military-security apparatus of China’s communist government, what would be the end goal for the intelligence gathered? What’s the action in “actionable intelligence”? To that question, one analysis found that 2019’s “adversary drones” were “meant to stimulate America’s most capable air defense systems and collect extremely high-quality electronic intelligence data on them.”
FROM L: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES, RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
space with a new, drone-first approach to military engagement, there’s now the case of the Zhu Hai Yun. The Zhu Hai Yun is a 290-foot ocean research vessel designed to deploy various underwater and airborne drones for various purposes. The ship is also a drone and can either be remotely controlled by a pilot or left to navigate the open seas autonomously. In the words of its manufacturer, it’s the “world’s first intelligent unmanned system mother ship.” Although Beijing has officially described that mothership as a maritime research tool, a South China Morning Post report stated that the vessel indeed hosts military capabilities that can “intercept, besiege, and expel invasive targets.” That news is likely to displease U.S. military leadership, which isn’t likely to deploy its own such vessel for six more years.
China Military
“By gathering comprehensive electronic intelligence information on these systems, countermeasures and electronic warfare tactics can be developed to disrupt or defeat them,” the report reads. “Capabilities can also be accurately estimated and even cloned, and tactics can be recorded and exploited. “That swarm could have been, and likely was, sucking up, or helping another nearby platform suck up, all that sensitive ... data on the most capable warships on earth and at very close range.” In essence, the drones were achieving two things. The first was the blanket intelligence gathered from spying on U.S. Navy vessels up close. The second was learning what would draw a U.S. response and what that response would be. In this way, the drones were baiting U.S. naval vessels, soaking up intelligence about their response (or lack thereof) for future actions that could not only inform the Chinese military about the technical specifications of the U.S. ships, but also how to manipulate their crews and protocols to learn how U.S. forces would behave in conflict.
Winning the Next War Such tools have very real consequences for the United States, its allies and partners, and the greater liberal international order. Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in the acute threat of a CCP invasion of democratic Taiwan, which has maintained its de facto independence since 1949. Despite that independence—and despite the fact that the CCP has never ruled the island— the regime has made the forced unification of Taiwan with the mainland a central point of its current focus. Drones are to play a central role in that endeavor, it appears. In late 2021, the PLA launched a miniature aircraft carrier designed to deploy and recover swarms of drones. Such staging vehicles are designed to work alongside surface combatants to disrupt military operations in the maritime domain by swarming enemy targets or rendering them less effective through distraction. One examination of China’s drone capabilities by The Drive found that “drone swarms of various kinds are only more and more likely to be a component of future conflicts that China might find itself involved in, whether these being operated by Chinese forces or other parties.” Such drone technologies would offer “decisive advantages ... in scenarios revolving around the defense of Taiwan against a Chinese invasion,” according to the report. As such, it shouldn’t be thought of as surprising that the regime would focus so much stra-
ACHIEVEMENTS OF ‘ADVERSARY DRONES’ 1. Blanket intelligence gathered from spying on U.S. naval vessels up close. 2. Learning what would draw an American response and what that response would be.
6 YEARS
BEJING HAS A VESSEL
designed to deploy various underwater and airborne drones that the United States is not likely to own for six more years.
tegic thought on a myriad of drone types for military use. Indeed, according to the results of a wargame conducted by the U.S. Air Force, China would likely deploy hundreds if not thousands of drones in autonomous swarms during an invasion of Taiwan. Designed to collaborate with other drones in the network, such swarms offer both resiliency and an offensive capability unmatched by many of China’s more conventional arms. This is particularly true when it comes to China’s strategic ambition to drive the United States out of the Indo-Pacific and away from defending Taiwan. All isn’t without hope for Taiwan and the United States, however. Indeed, after years of wargames demonstrating resounding U.S. losses over a hypothetical defense of Taiwan, the United States scored a sure, albeit pyrrhic, victory in its most recent wargame in 2021. What would be the key to victory in repelling a CCP invasion of Taiwan? Drone swarms of its own. As one summary reads, “Swarming capabilities are seen even by top U.S. think tanks and the Pentagon as being so critical to future conflicts that they could be decisive in a major peer-state battle, such as one over Taiwan.” What must be at the forefront of the minds of strategists everywhere is the fact that the U.S. Air Force fought its hypothetical war with China with a notional force. That is, one that had drone technologies that the United States hasn’t actually deployed yet.
Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning arrives in Hong Kong on July 7, 2017. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 33
34 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
SPOTLIGHT
Training for Success SOLDIERS FROM THE ISKANDAR MUDA military command sing after a military exercise in Jantho, Indonesia, on July 6. The Iskandar Muda military is a territorial command (military district) of the Indonesian Army and has been in active service as the local division for Aceh Province (from 1956 to 1985 and from 2002 to present). PHOTO BY CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 35
Family members of slain school girl Amerie Jo Garza arrive for a city council meeting to get answers about the response to the May 24 mass school shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, on June 30.
36 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
TEXAS SHOOTING
Uvalde Parents Beg for Answers ANGER IN MASSACRE AFTERMATH AS FAMILIES LEFT IN THE DARK T E X T A N D P H O T O S BY C H A R L O T T E C U T H B E R T S O N
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 37
U
The Lead Mass Shooting
VA L D E , T E X A S — Family members and friends of the 21 victims in the May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, have flocked to city council meetings— the only venue where they say they’re being heard—to express their frustration and seek answers.
THEY’RE BEGGING FOR help. Desperate
for answers. And no one is providing them. They want to know why it took law enforcement officers 77 minutes to enter the unlocked classroom at Robb Elementary School and kill the gunman. They want police body camera footage and the 911 calls to piece together the final moments of their loved one’s lives and to try to get a semblance of accountability. All they get is snippets on the news. “We want y’all to look at this, not as a mayor, not as a city council member— look at this as a dad, as a parent,” said Angel Garza, father of victim Amerie Jo Garza, at the June 30 city council meeting. “What if it was your kid? Do something.” Velma Lisa Duran—whose sister, teacher Irma Garcia, was killed in the massacre—traveled from San Antonio to attend the meeting. (Near Right) Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin at a city council meeting in Uvalde, Texas, on June 21. (Middle Right) A makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School bears the names of all 21 victims of the mass shooting that occurred on May 24, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27. (Far Right) Family members attend a city council meeting to get answers about the May 24 shooting. 38 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
“These kids were obliterated. My sister was obliterated. It was a closed casket. I couldn’t hug her. I couldn’t touch her. I couldn’t say my last goodbye,” said Duran, a second grade teacher, while choking back tears. “The day it happened, they knew. Everybody knows, and they’re covering up because they know that every agency failed us. Every agency failed.” Tina Quintalla-Taylor, whose daughter survived the shooting, said: “You have no idea, at night, how many screams I have to hear. “We’re not getting any answers, zero justice—nothing. And we’re the ones that have to deal with everything.” THE MAYOR AND council members are
bearing the brunt of the anger because they’re the only ones allowing a backand-forth conversation with the family members with no time limit. At school board meetings, on the other
hand, five people are allowed to speak for three minutes each and board members don’t respond to the speakers. Family members pleaded with the mayor and four council members to attend the July 18 school board meeting with them. They said they will. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin says he’s just as in the dark as the family members are.
The Lead Mass Shooting
A banner depicting the victims of the May 24 mass school shooting sits in the town square in Uvalde, Texas, on June 21. to give you or we would, I promise you,” McLaughlin said. He said he invited Busbee to the city council meeting “so she could explain to us, and to you, why we can’t get any information, so that you would hear it firsthand.” Parents at the meeting turned their anger toward Busbee and said they intend to look into recalling her. Busbee didn’t respond to Insight’s questions about when she plans to provide parents with more information and what her response is to accusations of a cover-up. MCLAUGHLIN SAID HE’S tried to obtain
“Since day one, we’ve got zero. And I’ve asked the governor’s office for it. I’ve asked the district attorney’s office for it. I’ve asked the DPS officers for it,” he said. “I’ve got nothing.” The last briefing he said he received from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)—the lead investigators of the shooting—was the morning of May
25, the day after the massacre. Since then, he’s received letters from both the DPS and District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee’s office, warning him of legal consequences if he releases any information. “If we did have something and we released it, then we would be subject to individual criminal charges. But we don’t have it—we don’t have anything
both the 911 call records and the body camera footage from the shooting—even just the footage from the local Uvalde Police Department—but he’s been stonewalled at every turn. He hasn’t even been able to view it. He said, aside from DPS and the district attorney, the FBI and Texas state legislators have the footage. Law enforcement officials, mainly from DPS, have issued conflicting information since the shooting, frustrating parents even further. McLaughlin disputed a claim made by DPS Director Steve McCraw about a 911 call made at 11:21 a.m. on May 24, before shooting suspect Salvador Ramos entered the school. “I can tell you with 100 percent certainty, there was no 911 call to the city of Uvalde by the grandmother,”
“These kids were obliterated. My sister was obliterated. It was a closed casket. I couldn’t hug her. I couldn’t touch her. I couldn’t say my last goodbye.” Velma Lisa Duran, sister of teacher Irma Garcia
I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 39
The Lead Mass Shooting
McLaughlin said, referring to Ramos’s grandmother, who Ramos shot in the face before driving to the school. “There was a call, but we don’t know where it went to, and we don’t know who got that call, and DPS won’t tell us who got that call.” He said the first communication the city received regarding the grandmother was at 11:35 a.m. “There’s 14 minutes that are unaccounted for, that we don’t know the answer to, and we would like to know,” McLaughlin said. On May 28, McLaughlin asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open an independent investigation into the shooting response. He met with the investigation team on June 29.
A Fractured City Pete Arredondo, the police chief for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, has been heavily criticized for his role in the response to the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead, as well as 17 people injured. The school board declined to take action against Arredondo until a month later, on June 22, when the superintendent placed him on administrative leave. Duran said the board failed by not immediately firing Arredondo. “The minute that happened, someone should have said, ‘No, you failed to do
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw provides an update on details of the May 24 mass shooting on May 27. 40 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
Family members want to know why it took law enforcement officers 77 minutes to enter the unlocked classroom at Robb Elementary School and kill the gunman. your job,’” she said. “Had a teacher slapped a kid, she would have been fired on the spot.” Arredondo had also been elected to the city council for Uvalde’s District 3 just two weeks prior to the mass shooting and was sworn into the po-
sition during a closed-door ceremony on May 31. The June 30 council meeting was the second consecutive public meeting that Arredondo failed to attend after the council previously denied him an extended leave of absence. If he had missed three in a row, his seat would be considered vacated; however, McLaughlin told Insight that he received Arredondo’s resignation letter on July 2. During the council meeting, parents asked Uvalde City Manager Vince DiPiazza why Uvalde police officers weren’t being suspended. “We had a lot of officers on the scene. If we put all them on leave, we wouldn’t have any to cover the town,” DiPiazza said. “Well, what does it matter?” asked a parent. Berlinda Arreola, grandmother of Amerie Jo Garza, said: “The same cops that couldn’t protect our kids, they’re going to go after us if we start protest-
The Lead Mass Shooting
(Left) Uvalde residents attend a community prayer evening held the day after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 25. (Above) A grandmother holds the photo of her grandchild Nevaeh Bravo, who was killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, during a community prayer session. trol, the U.S. Marshals, the district attorney’s investigator, Texas Game Wardens, and DPS, including Texas Rangers and state troopers. “Col. McCraw has continued to lie, leak, mislead, and misstate information in order to distance his own troopers and ing or we start speaking up. rangers from the response,” McLaughlin “We’re looking for some answers that said at the June 21 council meeting. nobody seems to be getting. And it’s just DPS didn’t respond to questions from making Uvalde PD and everybody else Insight about how many of its officers look even more guilty. were in the school hallway on May 24 “We’re not blaming y’all. We’re voic- and what the agency’s response is to acing our anger towards y’all, cusations of a coverup. because y’all are here and McLaughlin said he had we’re looking for answers.” testified the day before the McLaughlin said other council meeting in front of law enforcement agena state legislative commitcies present in the school tee and asked for the subseNINETEEN CHILDREN hallway while Ramos requent report to be released and two teachers mained in the unlocked to the parents before it was were killed during the classroom are equally to made public. mass shooting at Robb blame. He said officers “And the next question I Elementary School on from at least eight law enasked was: ‘If your investiMay 24. forcement agencies were in gation comes out different the hallway at one point, than the DPS’s investigaincluding 14 DPS officers. tion, are you going to release your invesThe agencies included the Uvalde tigation?’ And I was assured 100 percent school district police department, the they would,” he said. Uvalde Police Department, the Uvalde Parents asked McLaughlin to help set County Sheriff’s Office, the Department up a meeting with Texas Gov. Greg Abof Homeland Security and Border Pa- bott, so he can answer their questions
21
and hear their concerns. Abbott’s press secretary, Renae Eze, told Insight that “the Governor will continue visiting with the Uvalde community and local leaders.”
Back to School Families are terrified of sending their children to school next month when the new year begins. Robb Elementary is slated to be demolished, with a new campus to be built on a different site. The children who had attended Robb are being spread over other campuses in the city. “Are you counting on the school police to help us feel safe?” Garza asked. “The only thing I can promise you is not the answer you want—when school opens up, there will be an overwhelming amount of law enforcement,” McLaughlin said, reiterating that he has no jurisdiction over school district policing. “Something has to happen to bring some—or a lot—of relief to these parents because school is mandatory, but who’s going to protect them?” Duran asked. “Because we know that it’s not the Uvalde school police, we know it’s not the Uvalde city police. We know it’s not DPS. We know it’s not the Texas Rangers.” I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 41
Real Estate Home Market
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage is now close to 6 percent, which is about double what it was at the beginning of the year.
M O R T G AG E C O S T S
High Mortgage Rates Price Out Millions of Homebuyers
The mortgage payment for a typical home has risen $800 per month since January
T
By Emel Akan
42 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
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THIS PAGE: SONGQUAN DENG/SHUTTERSTOCK
he battle waged by the federal Reserve to curb inflation is heightening mortgage costs, making homes less affordable for first-time buyers. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage is now close to 6 percent, which is about double what it was at the beginning of the year. Consequently, the monthly mortgage payment for a typical home in the United States for new buyers has increased by roughly $800, or 53 percent, this year. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.70 percent for the week ending on June 30, according to the new Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, down from 5.81 percent last week and up by 3.11 percent since the end of last year. “The rapid rise in mortgage rates has finally paused, largely due to the countervailing forces of high inflation and the increasing possibility of an economic recession,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, wrote in a report. “This pause in rate activity should help the housing market rebalance from the breakneck growth of a seller’s market to a more normal pace of home price appreciation.” Because of rising home prices and mortgage costs over the past several months, the average monthly
% 35
payment for a 30-year mortgage reached $2,250, according to Redfin’s mortgage calculator. This estimate is based on a median house price of $430,695 and a 10 percent down payment. About six months ago, the same buyer would have been paying only $1,470 per month, based on a 3.11 percent mortgage rate and a median house value of about $382,106. Since the beginning of this year, mortgage rates have risen considerably, pricing out millions of potential home purchasers, according to Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of forecasting at the National Association of Realtors (NAR). “We see that the buyer pool is shrinking,” she told Insight. Even though there are now 13 percent more homes available than in January, not all prospective buyers can afford to purchase these additional houses, according to Evangelou. She predicted in a recent report that buyers with an income of $75,000 now may be able to afford about 25,000 fewer listings than they could in January. Total existing-home sales nationwide decreased by 3.4 percent from April to May, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million, according to NAR’s most recent home sales report. Compared to a year earlier, existing-home sales have dropped by 8.6 percent. Despite the drop in home sales activity, prices remain strong. In the coming months, prices are expected to rise, but at a slower pace. By the end of the year, the median selling price of homes will have increased by 5 percent over the previous year, according to Evangelou. “The reason that we don’t expect to have any price drop is due to the housing shortage. We still have a severe housing shortage,” she said. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates by 75 basis points at its June meeting—the largest rate hike since November 1994—as part of its effort to tame soaring inflation. This brought the Fed funds rate range to between 1.5 percent and 1.75 percent. The median expectation among policymakers is for rates to end the year at 3.4 percent. If the Fed continues with its projected rate hikes, mortgage rates might approach 6.5 percent by the end of the year, according to NAR’s estimate, making homeownership much more difficult for many Americans. Mortgage rates have already increased in expectation of Fed rate hikes, according to Evangelou, therefore she doesn’t expect significant increases in the coming months, as we witnessed in March and April.
P OL I T IC S • E C ONOM Y • OPI N ION T H AT M AT T E R S
Perspectives
No.27
The executive teams of large U.S. corporations are becoming increasingly partisan, which is mostly a result of executives’ increasing tendency to associate with those who share their political beliefs, a study says. PHOTO BY FREDERICK M. BROWN/ AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
BUSINESSES’ ABORTION WAR
BAN CHINA’S TIKTOK NOW
Numerous companies are eager to side with Roe supporters. 44
TikTok’s algorithm influences U.S. political beliefs in Beijing’s favor. 45
POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN CORPORATE AMERICA Research finds partisanship at the C-suite surged from 2008 to 2020. 47
INSIDE I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 43
THOMAS MCARDLE was a White House speechwriter for President George W. Bush and writes for IssuesInsights.com.
Thomas McArdle
Business’s Abortion War
Numerous companies are eager to side with Roe supporters
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he supreme court’s long-awaited overturning of its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision in June, ending a sloppily formulated constitutional right to abortion on demand that lasted for nearly a half-century despite abortion not being mentioned in the document, returns the contentious issue to America’s elected representatives in the states and in Congress, and we can expect lawmakers to engage in plenty of ugly debates on the subject. However, less foreseen is the eagerness of many businesses to side with Roe supporters, to the extent of even financing female employees’ travel to procure an abortion should they reside in a state where it has become illegal. What first emerges from the Pandora’s box this opens is the legal problem of human resources personnel who happen to be pro-life being required to make the arrangements for a fellow employee of the company to, as they see it, take the life of her unborn child. However, beyond that is the startling audacity of many dozens of firms taking for granted that precious few of their customers will be resentful enough to take part in any consequential boycott activities against companies that go the extra mile in funding abortions. There’s no mystery why as to this is happening; these firms have concluded that the way the social landscape was swiftly remodeled in regard to homosexual marriage was a practice run for the aftermath of the end of Roe. As one activist put it, businesses accommodating the same-sex agenda started “turning to coalitions to ensure they have strength in numbers, resources, and messaging alignment.” The code word “coalition” refers to “the ‘connective tissue’ for businesses across
44 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
the dynamic landscape of LGBTQ rights in the U.S. ... making the economic case for LGBTQ inclusion.” In other words, companies fearfully followed the orders of activists. But there have never been annual marches of tens of thousands of youths on Washington in opposition to marriage between two men or two women. The objections to abortion concern taking life, not living life. Are these “woke” businesses assuming that the pro-life movement is decommissioning itself, its war won now that Roe is dead?
Tech employees are far younger than those in other sectors, and younger demographics favor companies exercising abortion activism. The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute found that the companies who have now sprung into activism to embrace abortion in the post-Roe environment are accommodating “their strategic constituencies—their industry, their workforce, and their geographic positioning.” Tech firms far and away led the pack, constituting nearly a third of the pro-Roe businesses, while “heavy industry and manufacturing were sparsely represented.” Tech employees are far younger than those in other sectors, and younger demographics favor companies exercising abortion activism. “Financial and professional service firms were the second- and third-largest cohorts,” the Yale survey reads. “Combined with tech, they represent nearly two-thirds of all first movers.”
These firms believe they must be woke to hire “the tens of thousands of socially conscious Gen Y recruits they require to feed their pyramidic staffing and business models.” The left is furious over the pro-life movement winning this marathon triumph that it patiently began decades ago, indeed perhaps the broader conservative movement’s greatest victory ever. However, what they and their woke corporate allies apparently fail to understand is that the forces opposed to abortion see Dobbs not as the finish line, but as the starting gate of a long, new struggle. Even the establishment media, decidedly unfriendly to the cause of life, have already been found to be more willing to relay the powerful arguments against abortion to their audiences. For instance, CBS News’ Gayle King spurred Hillary Clinton to a near repeat of her 2016 “deplorables” gaffe when she asked how she responds to those who say, “’We are protecting the rights of unborn children. They have rights, too.’ What do you say to that? That seems to be the core argument.” Hillary responded, “You know, I say that it is predominantly a belief that is rooted in religion, which I respect” before turning to the familiar argument that “the government is not going to make this decision”—as her fellow Democrats engineer more and more governmental control over citizens’ decisions all the time. Pro-lifers are raising a lot of money and it’s a good bet that over the next several years—via TV ads and other channels—more Americans will see ultrasound images of babies within the womb than ever before. Minds and hearts will be moved— minds and hearts belonging to paying customers who may be willing to take their business elsewhere.
Anders Corr
ANDERS CORR is a principal at Corr Analytics Inc., publisher of the Journal of Political Risk. He is an expert in political science and government.
Ban China’s TikTok Now
TikTok algorithm influences US political beliefs in Beijing’s favor
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iktok, the wildly popular and youthful social media app, is controlled by China and tripled its ad revenue in 2022 to $12 billion. Companies want access to this latest conduit to mold youthful preferences, and every year, they’re willing to pay a lot for the privilege. Sixty percent of TikTok users are in the age range of 16 to 24, a highly sought demographic for both their impressionability and enduring market potential. But hapless TikTokers are also apt to lose their private data to Beijing, which ultimately controls TikTok. And the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses its control over TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to manipulate the TikTok algorithm to favor political messaging that promotes China’s national interests over those of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the United States itself. Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, rightly noted on June 28 that “TikTok is not just another video app.” “That’s the sheep’s clothing,” he said. “It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.” Carr has called on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores because of its violation of their rules. TikTok collects user data for micro-targeted advertising that China can already deploy for political purposes using TikTok users’ unique IDs. Inexplicably, the Biden administration is giving Beijing access to these unique IDs. According to a recent Buzzfeed
News report cited by Carr, Beijing can access all of TikTok users’ data anyway, as there are plenty of backdoors built into the software, which is fully controlled by the CCP, even if U.S. TikToker data is stored in places such as Virginia, Texas, and Singapore.
TikTok collects user data for micro-targeted advertising that China can already deploy for political purposes using TikTok users’ unique IDs. So anything a Tiktok user puts on their feed—including cat videos, political beliefs, and their most personal of preferences—is known to Beijing, which can track and correlate them and micro-target political messaging to users. This could have major effects in democracies, where voters’ political preferences lead directly to changes in government. In Colombia, for example, an obscure mayor named Rodolfo Hernández used TikTok and a team of young supporters who posted his folksy material to the app. Hernández consequently gained 600,000 followers. This allowed him to rise to national prominence during the second round of the presidential election in June. If it can happen in Colombia, it can happen in the United States. A peer-reviewed study by Zuza Nazaruk in 2021 found that TikTok’s algorithm is biased against topics seen as sensitive by Beijing, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, the genocide in
Xinjiang, and the TikTok algorithm itself. “While none of the topics was fully censored, TikTok’s algorithm showcased videos supporting the CCP line at the top of the search, despite their lower number of likes or earlier posting dates,” Nazaruk said. There’s no good reason for the American people, represented by their government, to allow TikTok to grow into the next big thing. There are plenty of other social media companies and a host of up-and-coming services that could be the next place to go for millennials who don’t want to use mom and dad’s preferred social media. Each generation wants to reinvent itself, which gave TikTok an opening. But it doesn’t have to be that way; the app could be banned by Congress on national security grounds. The prior administration did ban TikTok by executive order. However, two federal court rulings blocked the ban, and the Biden administration rescinded it altogether. Congresspeople should step into the breach and protect the privacy of U.S. TikTok users. The only way to do so is to direct them, through a ban, to other more trusted social media companies. This will also protect U.S. national security by ensuring that Beijing can’t use the TikTok algorithm to influence voters’ political beliefs. The fact that the Biden administration and Congress are apparently scared to ban TikTok for fear of the ire of TikTok users and their voting power, is proof that the law is needed. The longer our democracy waits, the harder it will be. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 45
MILTON EZRATI is chief economist for Vested, a contributing editor at The National Interest, and author of “Thirty Tomorrows” and “Bite-Sized Investing.”
Milton Ezrati
Can the Fed Do the Job?
The Fed must recover the public confidence it lost last year
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ince the federal Reserve began its counter-inflation effort in March, it has acted forcefully. It has raised its benchmark federal funds interest rate by 1.5 percentage points and reversed its long-standing program of quantitative easing. Instead of buying bonds to inject money into the financial system, it has begun to withdraw some of those inflationary monies by selling from the hoard of securities it had built up previously. And the Fed has promised to continue withdrawing liquidity and raising interest rates until inflation comes under control. But, in no small part, because its tardy response to inflation last year eroded public confidence, the Fed now faces an especially tough fight. This issue of confidence is important. Without it, people will come to expect inflation and alter their behavior accordingly. Workers, for example, will demand wage gains to get a jump on expected increases in the cost of living, and managers will grant them readily, confident that they can make up the effect on the bottom line with price increases. Inflation, in this way, will gain a life of its own, and as the experience of the Great Inflation in the 1970s and 1980s showed, it will become that much harder to bring under control. Reestablishing confidence now is as important to the anti-inflation fight as future interest rate increases and other technical policy moves. Fed behavior last year was indeed confidence-killing. Policymakers surely could see that as much as supply chain issues had an effect, price pressures had roots in years of near-zero interest rate policies
46 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
and waves of quantitative easing. There could be no mistaking how these practices had financed huge government deficits with new money, the digital version of running the printing press, and a classic prescription for inflation. Yet even as price pressures gained force, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell chose to ignore this fact and carry on with an easy monetary policy. He insisted for months in front of Congress and the public that the inflation trend was “transitory.” He blamed it on everything but these underlying forces.
Reestablishing confidence now is as important to the anti-inflation fight as are future interest rate hikes and other technical policy moves. Powell wasn’t the only one at fault. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen echoed him. Even President Joe Biden, as late as last fall, claimed that the recent inflationary surge was “expected” by his “experts” and is expected to abate. Biden’s claim that all was expected was suspect even at the time because no such inflation surge appeared in either earlier Fed forecasts or the White House’s own budget. Powell only “retired” the word “transitory” early this year. The White House continues to ignore the underlying pressure and blame inflation on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Because this year of gaslighting—intentional or otherwise— has prompted people to question the policymakers’ ability and
willingness to deal with the matter, the Fed will now need to make especially forceful counter-inflationary moves. It would also help if the Fed were to publicly acknowledge the inflationary effect of past policies. If Powell were to state unequivocally that it was inflationary to buy roughly $5 trillion in new federal debt, as the Fed has in the past couple of years, it would reassure people that monetary policymakers have no intention of returning to such highly inflationary practices. Also, by putting politicians on notice that they’ll no longer have such financial help in the future, this kind of admission by the Fed might also offer some hope of restoring the fiscal discipline that has clearly been absent from government spending practices and has also contributed to inflationary pressures. Had the Fed acted promptly in 2021, when the inflation problem first became evident, it would now be in a much better position than it is. It would not only have a year of counter-inflationary action behind it, but it would also be riding a wave of confidence that would keep inflationary expectations at bay. Because the Fed failed, it now must overcome lingering doubts about both its abilities and its will to do what’s necessary. Powell is beginning to show that he has that level of determination, but because of last year’s antics, doubts remain. Those doubts will rise again as the negative economic effects of ant-inflationary monetary policies become more evident, and the Fed comes under political pressure to change course. Hopefully, the Fed will do better on this future test than in the one it failed in 2021.
EMEL AKAN is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times in Washington. Previously, she worked in the financial sector as an investment banker at JPMorgan.
Emel Akan
Political Polarization in Corporate America Research finds partisanship at the C-suite surged from 2008 to 2020
JILL MCLAUGHLIN/THE EPOCH TIMES
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xecutive teams of large U.S. corporations are becoming increasingly partisan, resulting in “a political polarization of corporate America,” according to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. This polarization has implications for the values of firms as well, the study found. While workplace diversity in recent years has received a lot of attention, particularly in relation to gender and color, political diversity is clearly moving in the opposite direction. Historically, the workplace has been more politically diverse, offering more opportunities to form cross-party relationships compared to other settings, such as the family, neighborhood, or voluntary organizations. But it’s no longer the case at the corporate leadership level, according to researchers from Boston College, the University of Chicago, and Cornell University. They conducted their study by analyzing voter registration records for senior executives at S&P 1500 companies between 2008 and 2020. In contrast to previous studies, the new study argues that voter registration data, rather than political contributions, are more reliable for inferring political preferences of executives. Partisanship is defined by the researchers as the extent to which a single political party dominates political views within the same executive team. And they found that over the years, C-suites (top senior executives) of public U.S. firms are increasingly dominated by one political party. “More specifically, our measure of partisanship is the probability that two randomly drawn executives are affiliated with the same political party. We find a 7.7-percentage-point increase in the partisanship of executive teams over our sample period,” the researchers write.
Executives who share the same political party are 34 percent more likely to work in the same firm, researchers say. The rise in partisanship is mostly a result of executives’ increasing tendency to associate with those who share their political beliefs, according to the authors. “Our results show executives who share the same political party are 34% more likely to work in the same firm,” they write. The study also found that the majority of executives lean Republican. “The average share of Democratic and Republican executives is 31.0% and 69.0%, respectively,” the paper states. The researchers discovered that the proportion of Republican executives climbed to 68 percent in 2020 from 63 percent in 2008, while the proportion of unaffiliated executives decreased. This, they state, is another reason why the executive population has become more “politically homogeneous.” Additionally, partisan division among executives is growing across states. “Executives in Texas and Ohio are becoming more Republican, whereas
executives in California and New York are becoming more Democratic,” the researchers write. In the study, they also examined if political affiliation may explain why CEOs or top managers leave their positions. They discovered that executives whose political beliefs differed from those of the majority of the team had a greater likelihood of quitting the company than executives whose political views matched the team’s views. The researchers thus raised a question: Do shareholders benefit from the exit of CEOs who are politically misaligned? To help answer this, the researchers analyzed abnormal stock performances around the resignation announcements of the executives. They observed trends that strongly indicate that the exits of politically mismatched leaders are detrimental to firm value. “Hence, some aspects of the rising polarization among U.S. executives have negative consequences for firms’ shareholders,” the study states. The authors also raised the question of whether governments should be worried about political discrimination in the workplace. Many businesses today don’t hold back when it comes to making public statements about current political events. One of the authors of the paper, Elisabeth Kempf, a faculty research fellow at the University of Chicago, said executives who identify as Democrats may have become more outspoken on progressive issues over the years. “The Democratic executives are increasingly giving to the Democratic Party,” she said in a podcast, referring to political donations. She added that this is consistent with the notion that “maybe executives have become more outspoken on progressive issues or are more openly Democrat.” I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 47
DANIEL LACALLE is chief economist at hedge fund Tressis and author of “Freedom or Equality,” “Escape from the Central Bank Trap,” and “Life in the Financial Markets.”
Daniel Lacalle
Why Government Anti-Inflation Plans Backfire
Policymakers are unwilling to cut deficit spending
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48 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
Anti-inflation plans that have been presented in numerous countries are inflationary and hurt those whom they pretend to help. Imagine for a second that we believed the myth of cost-push inflation and the argument that inflation comes from a supply shock. If that were the case, governments should implement supply-side measures, cutting spending and reducing taxes. Reducing taxes doesn’t drive inflation higher, because it’s the same quantity of currency, only a bit more of it stays in the hands of those who earned it. Cutting taxes would only be inflationary if demand for goods and services soared because of higher consumer credit and demand, but that’s not the case. Consumers would only have fewer difficulties purchasing daily essential goods and services that they acquire anyway—and some would save, which is good. That same money in the hands of the government, which weighs more than 40 percent in the economy, will inevitably be spent and more, with rising public debt.
One unit of currency in the hands of the private sector may be consumed, invested, or saved. The same unit in the hands of the government is going to current spending and will be multiplied by adding debt, which means more currency in circulation and a higher risk of inflation. Currency supply doesn’t drive more currency demand; it’s the opposite. If inflation ends up destroying the private sector’s consumption ability and the economy goes into recession, demand for currency will fall further from supply growth, keeping inflation elevated for longer. The rules of supply and demand apply to currency just as they do to everything else. Rising discontent is leading governments to present bold and aggressive anti-inflation plans, yet almost none of those are supply-side measures, but demand-side ones. Furthermore, the vast majority of them imply more spending, higher subsidies, rising debt, and increased money supply, which means a higher risk of inflation. Giving checks with newly printed money creates inflation. Providing more checks to reduce inflation is like stopping a fire with gasoline. In the 1970s, media and analysts repeated constantly how difficult it was for governments to cut inflation, but they never explained that you can’t reduce price pressures by destroying the purchasing power of the currency that governments monopolize. Prices don’t rise in unison for the same amount of currency. Anti-inflation plans, as they’ve been presented in numerous countries, are inflationary and hurt those whom they pretend to help. Governments should stop helping with other people’s money and being supportive by demolishing the purchasing power of their currency. The best way to reduce inflation is to defend real wages and deposit savings.
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
ov er nm en ts l ov e inflation. It’s a hidden tax on everyone and a transfer of wealth from bank deposits and real wages to indebted governments that collect more receipts via higher indirect taxes and devalue their debts. That’s why we can’t expect governments to take decisive action on inflation. To curb inflation effectively, interest rates must rise to a neutral level relative to inflation, to reduce the excessive increase in credit and new money from negative real rates. Additionally, central banks must end the repurchase of bonds, exchange-traded funds, and mortgage-backed securities, as this would immediately reduce the quantity of currency in circulation. Finally—and most importantly of all—governments need to cut deficit spending, which is ultimately financed by more debt and monetized with newly created central bank reserves. These three measures are crucial. One or two wouldn’t be enough. However, governments are unwilling to cut deficit spending. The increase in outlays from 2020 because of extraordinary circumstances has been largely consolidated, and they’re now annual structural expenditures. As we’ve seen in previous crises, many of the one-off and temporary measures become permanent, driving mandatory spending to new all-time highs. Citizens are suffering from elevated inflation, and consumer confidence is plummeting to historic lows in the economies that massively increased money supply growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, fueling inflationary pressures through money printing well above demand and demand-side state expenditure plans financed with newly created currency. What do governments implement when this happens? More demand-side policies. Spending and debt.
Fan Yu
FAN YU is an expert in finance and economics and has contributed analyses on China’s economy since 2015.
US Housing Market Proving Resilient
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Homeowners have record home equity and good credit scores
u.s. housing market downturn will arrive, but it won’t be anything like 2008. After an unreasonably hot period for home prices following the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by a new suburban migration wave and historically low interest rates, pundits are predicting a major housing crash similar to the one experienced during the Great Recession of 2008. Nationally, home prices rose 10.4 percent in 2020 and a record 18.8 percent in 2021, according to the industry benchmark S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. That’s an extremely fast rise by any measure, and there are reasons to believe the music is about to stop. Mortgage rates nationwide have doubled since a year ago to more than 6 percent, inflation is hitting consumer pocketbooks, and the U.S. economy is staring at a recession. During the Great Recession, home prices on average fell 33 percent from peak to trough. Will housing prices decrease by that magnitude this time? Don’t bet on it. The last financial crisis was caused by the real estate market, and real estate prices predictably tanked. It was a product of widespread, insufficient underwriting of mortgage loans. Many subprime borrowers took out adjustable-rate mortgages that they then couldn’t pay. This caused mass foreclosures. And with foreclosed homes flooding the market, home prices fell, and mortgage borrowers became even more “underwater,” a phenomenon in which the mortgage owed on the house exceeds its market value. This time, the fundamentals couldn’t be more different. Today, mortgage quality in general is higher. The average borrower’s FICO score is around 750 today, compared to the high 600-range back in 2009. What this means is that borrowers today are more creditworthy and should
The average amount of mortgages owed by homeowners is just 43 percent of their home value, which is a recordlow ratio. be able to pay their loans, on average, at a higher rate than in the last recession. Today, homeowners also have record home equity. U.S. borrowers have collectively banked $11 trillion in home equity even while leaving 20 percent minimum equity in their homes, according to Black Knight, a real estate industry data provider. Record home equity, intuitively, also means that borrowers have low leverage in their homes. Today, homeowners owe mortgages worth only 43 percent of their home value, on average. Consumers are less likely to default on their mortgages today. There will likely be very few forced foreclosures at firesale prices, something that was prevalent during the 2008 crisis and caused a downward spiral in home prices. Aside from borrower strength, supply-demand dynamics are also propping up prices. An ongoing housing shortage in many markets is constricting supply. Freddie Mac, the federal mortgage agency, estimates that the United States is
short about 3 million homes. That’s the result of a decade of home underbuilding coming out of the 2008 crisis. And this imbalance is keeping home prices stubbornly high. Anecdotal evidence also supports these data. In talking to several experienced realtors in Northern New Jersey, they said that while the number of bids far above asking price has decreased, homes are still selling quickly and often above asking price. Nonetheless, some markets are, indeed, seeing price declines, especially in areas where prices have ascended and new home construction has skyrocketed (e.g., Austin, Texas). National homebuilding company Lennar co-CEO Richard Beckwitt rattled off a summation of “hot or not” of the U.S. housing market on the homebuilder’s quarterly earnings call in June. In Lennar’s view, the top markets currently are in the states of Florida, New Jersey, and Maryland; in the cities of Indianapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Phoenix, San Diego, and Charlotte, North Carolina; and in California’s Orange County and Inland Empire. These areas are still benefiting from tight supply and positive migration trends. Markets seeing moderate declines in home prices include Atlanta; Salt Lake City; Philadelphia; Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Reno, Nevada; Colorado; Virginia; and the California Bay Area. As for markets where Lennar has seen significant sale price decreases? These include Los Angeles; Seattle; Raleigh, North Carolina; Austin, Texas; Minnesota; and Sacramento and the Central Valley in California. Real estate is a hyper-local asset class driven by local economies, migration patterns, and recent new building activity. Homeowners need to keep abreast of their local markets, but pundits predicting a 40 percent home price decline will be proven incorrect. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 49
JEFF MINICK lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. He is the author of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and “Dust on Their Wings,” and two works of nonfiction, “Learning as I Go” and “Movies Make the Man.”
Jeff Minick
Write It Down, Check It Off
Creating and maintaining a to-do list has many benefits
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heck, check, and check. If you’re a list keeper, you know the glow of satisfaction those check marks deliver. You’ve conquered another task or obligation. A homeschool mom I know is a list keeper extraordinaire. She maintains both a digital and hard copy planner containing her children’s academic schedules and their cleaning duties, grocery lists and supper menus, and reminders of times for soccer practices, ballet, and special events. Many of these charts are color-coded. Her children also keep daily planners. Her diligence impressed me. “For every minute spent organizing,” says Mr. Anonymous, “an hour is earned.” Using this formula, that woman earns more hours than there are in a day, yet, as she told me, organization makes for a calm and peaceful home. As for me, I’m more of a daily to-do list kind of guy, usually writing up my duties before going to bed. Rarely do I succeed in scratching off all these chores, which range from answering emails to hauling a few trash bags to the local dump. The unfinished chores go on the next day’s list. Sometimes, that transfer can be humiliating. Once, for example, “Clean the basement” appeared on these notes to myself for several weeks. One afternoon, I finally descended to the unfinished basement, where I attached a discarded sock to the end of a golf iron and spent half an hour knocking down spider webs. But more weeks have passed, and that basement still needs a major dose of elbow grease. Sometimes, too, we add easy tasks just for the joy of checking them off. Singer and songwriter Johnny Cash composed a list that included “Kiss June,” “Don’t kiss anyone else,” and
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Sometimes, too, we add easy tasks just for the joy of checking them off. “Don’t eat too much.” In my own case, I’ll occasionally add mundane items like “Shave,” “Wash the dishes,” or “Read for half an hour,” just for the pleasure of scratching them through at day’s end. Lists can also prove invaluable as “forget-me-nots.” One of my wife’s great joys was traveling, often off to Milwaukee with the kids to see her folks, and as she packed the van— another one of her delights—she’d check off suitcases, snacks, and other necessities. Likewise, some of us make lists before heading to the grocery store. Without that written inventory, we wander the aisles selecting all sorts of items, push our buggy to the checkout line, and return home with foodstuff for the week. Or so we think. When we’re making tacos that evening, we find we’ve forgotten to buy a jar of salsa. A few people I’ve known maintain
a catalog of long-term goals—objectives like “Go to Rome,” “Visit the Grand Canyon,” or “Learn French.” The older I’ve gotten, the less interested I am in such a bucket list. A couple of years ago, when a friend asked where I hoped to be in five years, I wanted to reply, “I hope to be breathing, sitting on my daughter’s porch, and drinking coffee”—with breathing ranked No. 1 in my ambitions. But I held my tongue, for my friend was being serious, and I didn’t want to come off like a smart aleck. Of course, as with most things in life, we list keepers can turn a good habit into a bad one. If we make lists be our master rather than our servant, allowing them to rule our days, we risk missing out on life’s little joys: enjoying a few minutes of solitude, spontaneously sharing a book with a child, or taking the time to call a friend just to say hello and chat for a few minutes. A list-driven life can easily bring misery along with accomplishments. Once again, balance is the key to happiness. And, yes, we might want to put that item at the top of our lists.
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Nation Profile
THOUGHT LEADERS
Our Troubled Boys and How We Can Help Them The issue of boys failing due to dad-deprivation is largely being ignored, expert says
“The children who do best have what I call checks and balance parenting.” Warren Farrell, author of “The Boy Crisis.”
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n the United States, there have been six mass school shootings that have killed more than 10 people,” says Warren Farrell. “All six have been done by boys who were dad-deprived, from Sandy Hook to the Texas shooting.” The recent horrific Uvalde, Texas, school shooting has prompted heated debate about gun control, school safety, and mental illness. But few are zeroing in on the importance of a father presence, Farrell argues. In this recent episode of “American Thought Leaders,” host Jan Jekielek discusses these school shootings and the difficulties faced by our boys and young men today, with Warren Farrell, author of “The Boy Crisis: Why Our Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It.” JAN JEKIELEK: I’ve been
WARREN FARRELL: In
the Buffalo mass shooting, we heard about replacement theory hatred, and then the 52 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
FROM L: SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES, ANDREW BURTON/GETTY IMAGES
thinking about you in the wake of the recent mass shooting in Uvalde. This young man who did this horrific act was, like many who have done it over the years, dad-deprived and dad-deprived in a very serious way. You’ve been writing about this.
Nation Profile
next time we hear access to guns, and the next time it’s access to toxic politics, and poor family values, and violence in the media, and violence in video games, and mental illness. Well, how could you possibly do a mass shooting and not be mentally ill? But the key thing is that our daughters live in the same families with the same values. They’re exposed to the same replacement theory hatred, toxic politics, guns, video games, and media. They suffer similar mental illnesses, yet our daughters are not doing the killing. Our sons are. We’re ignoring what I call “the boy crisis.” In the United States, there have been six mass school shootings that have killed more than 10 people. All six have been done by boys who were dad-deprived, from Sandy Hook to the Texas shooting. But no one is looking at dad deprivation as an issue. I said no one, but there are two exceptions. In Florida, the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives read “The Boy Crisis” because he had three sons, and then gave the books to the Republican and Democratic House leaders. Long story short, they drew up a bill to address the fatherlessness issue—what they called the fatherhood crisis. Every single Republican and Democrat in the Florida House voted for that fatherhood crisis bill, which devotes $75 million to developing programs to inspire fathers to become more involved in the family. And Governor DeSantis signed that bill into law. And Kentucky has passed an equal shared parenting law that says, short of some
Boys play basketball on the street in Baltimore’s Sandtown neighborhood on April 30, 2015. major problem with the mother or father, the initial presumption is that both parents will be equally involved with the children after divorce. By and large, the boy crisis and fatherlessness are being avoided, even though they’re right here before us. As we look at dad deprivation, we realize this is also the single biggest predictor of suicide, and mass shootings are both a homicide and a suicide. When we look more closely, we see it’s one of the biggest causes of mental illness in boys, and in drug and video game addiction. MR . JEKIELEK: Why
don’t you flesh that out a bit more? MR . FARRELL: The chil-
dren who do best have what I call checks and balance parenting. The child says, “Mom, can I climb the tree?” And Mom says, “Maybe in
a few years, sweetie, but right now you’re too young, and you could fall.” If asked separately, Dad might say, “Well, that’s a bit high, but I trust you to be careful.” When Mom and Dad find they’ve given the child different instructions, the dad rarely says something like, “When children climb trees, they’re able to assess risk, and that assessment actually gets their synapses firing, which increases their IQs.” On the other hand, children need the insights of mothers as to where risk should be averted. So the mother and father might confer and say, “We agree you can climb the tree but not beyond a certain point, because you might get hurt if you fell.” That type of dialogue is where children benefit. And they’re in a really outstanding situation if they can hear Mom and Dad talking about this with respect.
This is just one of a number of differences in dad versus mom parenting. For example, the dads tend to do more boundary enforcement. Moms are more likely to set boundaries, while dads are more likely to enforce them, and in that enforcement the child learns postponed gratification and to focus on attention to detail. Fatherless boys are less likely to have that postponed gratification that emanates from the boundary enforcement, and, therefore, they start doing poorly in school. They start feeling badly about themselves. When a boy doesn’t accomplish things, girls aren’t interested in him, he’s not praised by his parents or his teachers, and he starts cutting himself down. Dropping out of high school impacts a boy’s pride, his self-esteem, and his ability to be attractive, both relationship-wise and I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 53
Nation Profile
“Fatherless boys are less likely to have that postponed gratification that emanates from the boundary enforcement, and therefore they start doing poorly in school.” sexuality-wise, to women. This often leads him into depression, weight gain, and drug and video game addiction. MR . JEKIELEK: Coming
back to this most recent shooting and others, this is obviously the prime example where the man will be blamed, and toxic masculinity will be cited. It probably won’t be obvious to many people that the things we’ve just been talking about are a central issue here. MR . FARRELL: Absolutely.
54 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
MR . JEKIELEK: So essen-
tially you’re saying that the best thing for tackling dad deprivation is to encourage
MR . FARRELL: That’s
one of the things. As I said about the Kentucky legislation, another absolutely crucial part is that if divorce happens, the children do best with an equal amount of parenting. Short of extreme circumstances like alcohol abuse, both father and mother need to be equally involved. Some other things are very important. In order for children to do almost as well as they would in an intact family, the father and mother should live within a 20 minutes’ drive time from each other. Otherwise, the children start resenting going over to the other parent’s home and missing their best friend’s birthday party or their soccer practice. And it’s important that children not hear the parents bad-mouthing each other. When that happens, you’re not just bad-mouthing the other parent, you’re abusing the child. When a child hears his mother saying that his father is a narcissist and a liar, he
begins to wonder, “I look like my dad. Will I become the same way?” The same is true for the father who bad-mouths the mom. Finally, we now know that children who do best after divorce have parents who go to consistent relationship or couples communication therapy. And I emphasize the word “consistent,” because parents, when they only go to emergency counseling, are usually arguing and not listening to each other. When you’re going to consistent counseling, a good counselor can help you both to hear each other more fully. MR . JEKIELEK: Any final
thoughts, Warren? MR . FARRELL: As you
know, I’ve done couples communication workshops for the last 30 years. I think we really need to learn to hear perspectives that we’re not initially inclined to hear and to know how to be criticized by the people we love without becoming defensive. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Uvalde residents attend a community prayer evening held the day after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25.
THIS PAGE: CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES
Let me be very practical and talk to the moms who are watching at home. I think single moms are among the hardest working people in the country, but it’s also important to have a dad in their child’s life and to understand the differences between dad-style parenting and mom-style parenting. Dads are much more likely, for example, to tease the child, to roughhouse with the child, and so on. That dads help create empathy with a combination of roughhousing and boundary enforcement is important to understand.
Dad’s teasing, for instance, at least up to a point, helps children to pick up nuances of language, to laugh at themselves, and to have a more sophisticated emotional intelligence. If the biological father can’t be involved, then I encourage you to get your son into Cub Scouts. If he attends Cub Scouts consistently for two years or longer, the data is very strong that it increases your child’s character development. Get them involved in sports—organized team sports and sports like tennis and gymnastics, which require focus on individual discipline. If you have any interest in faith, get your children involved in a faith-based community. Make sure the priest, the rabbi, the minister, or the imam gets your son involved with other boys his own age. Family dinner nights are especially important. These help you learn to listen to your children and train them to listen to you.
the value and importance of father involvement.
T R AV E L • F O O D • L U X U R Y L I V I N G
Unwind
No.27
Founded in 1873 when the cities of Buda, Obuda, and Pest merged, this capital city lies above a thermal spring of medicinal water and the oldest Undergound in Europe, now a UNESCO site. PHOTO BY ZGPHOTOGRAPHY/ SHUTTERSTOCK
Castles, Great Food, and Amazing Springs WE CONTINUE OUR exploration of alternative investments with coins, a tangible asset you can hold that may be a good fit for a long-hold portfolio. 60
RIDING A BIKE IS A GOOD WAY to combine exercise with transportation. A mountain bike allows you to ride pretty much wherever your sense of adventure takes you. 63
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FOOD PREPARED IN THE Great Outdoors tastes great, and this collection of camp cooking gear makes it easy to prepare gourmet meals. 66
INSIDE I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 55
A Delightful
GREEK ISLES ESTATE
Cyana’s terraces and other outdoor spaces offer many al fresco dining, sunning, and entertaining possibilities. 56 I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022
A private manor that is ideal for families or entertaining, located on the shores of the Aegean Sea By Phil Butler
Lifestyle Real Estate
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COURTESY OF GREECE SOTHEBY'S INTERNATIONAL REALTY
ydr a Isl and, in the saronic gulf beneath the Peloponnese, is a picturesque and beloved haven for painters, poets, and celebrities. It’s also a far less touristic destination than many Greek isles, which makes it a perfect place to live. So, for those with the means and a dream, this property overlooking the Aegean Sea just might be of interest. The private manor is situated on an 0.86-acre plot overlooking picturesque Avlaki Beach. Just a few hundred meters from the port of Hydra, it features a total of 9,580 square feet of living space comprising 11 bedrooms and 11 baths, spread over three residences. The main house is a classic Greek villa with timeless charm that has been completely updated. The home features five large bedrooms, five baths, a spacious kitchen, a library, a fully-equipped gym, and many private nooks and quiet spaces. Full of charm and flawless craftsmanship, the home’s fine details stand out in marble, ironwork, wood, and stone. Two detached guest houses add still more luxurious space and privacy for visitors. The larger of the two guest houses features two bedrooms with en-suite baths, a living room, a kitchen, and its own patio. The smaller house is
(Above) Cyana overlooks the ancient coast road to Hydra Port and affords a panoramic view of the Saronic Gulf and the Peloponnese beyond (Top Right) From every angle, the ever-present Aegean imparts a sense of tranquility and is an integral element of the manor.
a studio with one large bedroom, a bath, and an open kitchen and living space. Outside, expansive terraces, alfresco dining areas, and a magnificent infinity pool are surrounded by the incredible nature the island is famous for. A lush garden and other natural features look out over a picture-perfect, spellbinding seascape. Cyana even has its own chapel, which is separate from the other buildings. Overall, this property is an architectural gem that was designed with family life and entertainment in mind. Of Hydra, it was the American poet Henry Miller who once described the island as “aesthetically perfect.” This unique place in the world is a peaceful enclave of whitewashed houses and villas, set in the middle of the everlasting blue of the Aegean Sea. The new owners of this stunning manor will become a part of something original and timeless, and live for a time where there are no cars or mechanical noises, and where water taxis ferry islanders hither and thither. Cyana’s price is available on request, but the dream the compound evokes is literally priceless. Phil Butler is a publisher, editor, author, and analyst who is a widely cited expert on subjects ranging from digital and social media to travel technology.
CYANA HYDRA, GREECE PRICE ON REQUEST • 11 BEDROOMS • 11 BATHROOMS • 9,580 SQUARE FEET • 0.89 ACRES KEY FEATURES • PRIVILEGED LOCATION • ARCHITECTURAL GEM • CLOSE TO HYDRA PORT • STUNNING INFINITY POOL AGENT GREECE SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY DESPINA LAOU, HEAD OF PRIVATE OFFICE +30 695 169 0565
The spacious kitchen is a modern gourmet affair that also serves as a casual family dining area. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 57
Travel Hungary
The Four Seasons Gresham Palace at the end of the Szechenyi Chain Bridge.
Back in Time
Finding the glory days at Budapest’s the Four Seasons Gresham Palace By Tim Johnson
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he turn of the century—the illustrious fin de siècle—was a heady time for Hungarians. Created in 1873, the city of Budapest brought together the previously separate communities of Buda, Obuda, and Pest, and quickly became a cosmopolitan national capital. It attracted people from across Europe and grew in wealth and power to become a full, named partner in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1896, Budapest became the first city on the continent to open an underground rail system, beating the Paris Metropolitan by four years. Europe’s largest parliament building rose from the banks of the blue Danube, its grand domes and spires still gracing that river to this day. Subsequent years weren’t so kind to this Central European nation. Two world wars, the collapse of empires, and especially the four decades of serving as a Soviet satellite state wore down the once-magnificent place. Budapest has recovered,
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economically, since the fall of communism, and newly polished remnants of those glory days are everywhere, from the parliament building to the heights of Fisherman’s Bastion, completed in 1902. But today, there’s no place to fully experience the fin de siècle than at Muzsa and the Gresham Palace. The latter rises on the Pest side of the Szechenyi Chain Bridge—the first bridge to span the Danube in Hungary, and once one of the longest spans in the world. As Hungary’s fortunes rose and fell, so did those of the palace. Designed by two Hungarian architects, Zsigmond Quittner and Jozsef Vago, it opened in 1906 as the opulent headquarters of the Gresham Life Assurance Company. It was an Art Nouveau masterpiece, a place of business, but also a residence— the home of senior staff. However, hard times were ahead. In the Second World War, the Red Army commandeered its hal-
Budapest
HUNGARY
Budapest was created in 1872 when Buda, Pest, and Obuda became a single borough.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOUR SEASONS
Travel Hungary
lowed halls as barracks. In the communist period, the palace fell into disrepair, and the building became a grubby apartment block. That’s no longer the case—far from it, in fact. Renovations stretched from the late 1990s into this century. Designers were careful to salvage and preserve Art Nouveau elements throughout. In 2004, the building welcomed the first guests to the Four Seasons Gresham Palace. And in October 2020, after three years of work, Muzsa (Hungarian for “muse”) opened, completely transforming the ground level of the hotel. A few steps inside took me back in time. Ostensibly a lobby bar, it’s much more—in fact, there’s no other place to better experience Budapest’s glory days. I was greeted by Zoltan Forrai, a friendly, charismatic bar supervisor. He showed me around, pointing out the hand-painted china (“You’ll only find this in two places—here and in Buckingham Palace”) and all the gilded design elements, for which they’ve already won three awards. He handed me a cocktail menu. The opening page includes the story of Muzsa, which reads, in part, “You can summon her here, a palace for the ages. ... Let her inspired cocktail creations dance with your senses, and be transported to a timeless Golden Age.” “The turn of the century was such a period of freedom and prosperity,” Forrai explained, noting the palace was built to demonstrate Hungary’s might and affluence. In those early years, Hollywood’s elite spent time here. During the Cold War, the CIA had a secret office inside. Now, both movie stars and world leaders are back, something I
would experience a little later in the evening. I carefully sipped an Old Fashioned made from Hungarian whiskey from a specially handmade tumbler that Forrai mentioned, in passing, cost 300 euros to make. He handed me off to Adam Horvat, the sommelier, who said the communist years were also very bad for winemaking. “It was all about quantity, never about quality,” he said, looking a little pained. He remarked that the country made three classes of wine: for local consumption (“very poor”), for the Soviet Union (“also poor”), and for export abroad (“much better”). In a private, tucked-away tasting room, Horvat had me sip a few different Hungarian wines which, he noted, had recovered nicely since 1989. This country has a very long tradition of winemaking, dating back to the 5th century, in 23 separate regions. Muzsa makes a top priority of featuring the very best Hungarian wines. I didn’t try any of the Royal Tokaji Essencia, a luxury bottle encased in glass and priced at the rather steep sum of $35,000. And, too soon, it’s all over. A man slips into the room and quietly whispers something to the staff. A president, or a prime minister, in town for a summit and staying at the hotel, would like to spend a little time in the tasting room. I’m happy to take one more sip, muse for a couple more minutes at the Art Nouveau splendor, and slip onto the Budapest night, the Danube just a few steps away.
The bar at Muzsa transports guests back in time.
A view of the Szechenyi Chain Bridge from the hotel.
Tim Johnson is based in Toronto. He has visited 140 countries across all seven continents.
1 in 5
HUNGARIANS lives in Budapest, Hungary’s capital.
If You Go
Getting Around: Budapest has a welldeveloped network of trams and buses, in addition to their first-in-Europe metro system. Stay: The Four Seasons Gresham Palace is the country’s premier hotel. In addition to the marvels of Muzsa, their ubercomfortable rooms overlook the Danube River and the skyline of Buda. Take Note: Hungary doesn’t use the euro as its currency. You’ll need to purchase Hungarian forints (HUF) or get some out of the ubiquitous local ATMs. One U.S. dollar will buy you about 400 HUF.
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INVESTING IN COINS
Pocket-Sized Investments When chosen with care, coins may realize great appreciation over the long term By Bill Lindsey
In the search for alternatives to stocks for your portfolio, consider coins.
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Lifestyle Investing in Coins
T
he “aha!” moment may occur upon a closer look at an unusual coin received as change. While old coins provide a tangible connection to the past, few people would be excited by a dusty box of coins at a garage sale— until they read about a rare coin selling for millions. There are significant opportunities for appreciation if you choose wisely. In the world of investing, anything that has the potential to be purchased low and sold at a profit merits consideration. Accordingly, traditional investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds have been joined by investment-grade coins.
LEFT PAGE: VIRRAGE IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK; RIGHT PAGE FROM TOP: COURTESY OF HERITAGE AUCTIONS, PROFESSIONAL COIN GRADING SERVICES, SERGEY CHAYKO, ZLATAKY.CZ/UNSPLASHED
BECAUSE THERE ARE so many coins to
choose from, ranging from the Roman denarius to misprinted coins, it’s wise to decide on a theme for your collection. This approach allows you to focus on and learn about specific coins or categories, such as age, history, design, or material composition, in order to make wise acquisition choices. There’s no such thing as having too much knowledge. There’s always the chance you can discover a valuable coin in the change you receive from a store purchase, but most investors purchase coins from auction houses and coin resellers, or search for them at antique stores, and estate and garage sales. As is the case with antiques and artwork, a number of auction houses specialize in coins, such as Heritage Auctions, which in 2021 sold a 1787 New York-style Brasher doubloon for $9.3 million. One of just seven made, this particular coin had been resold several
Some coins are valued based on the materials used, such as silver, as well as limited production and yearly design changes.
Heritage Auctions sold a 1787 New York-style Brasher doubloon for $9.3 million in 2021. times via auction since 1847, increasing in value significantly each time. Heritage Auctions and others have regularly scheduled auctions in which bidders can participate in person or online. With all auctions, be aware that a buyer’s premium representing up to 20 percent of the winning bid will be added to the total due. It can’t be overstated that extensive knowledge of any particular coin or category is vital when acquiring them in hopes of future appreciation. Also, keep in mind that in most cases, a long hold is required in order to see a significant increase in value. Unless you stumble across an extremely rare coin that you’re able to acquire inexpensively and then sell soon after for a large profit, most experts suggest a hold of 10 years or longer.
One of seven made, a 1787 New York-style Brasher doubloon sold for $9.3 million in 2021 is a great example of how rarity can drive coin values.
Pennies minted in 1943 were crafted from steel due to World War II-related materials shortages. In mint, uncirculated condition, these pennies command high prices.
THERE ARE MANY firms that specialize
in reselling coins used as currency as well as commemorative coins, but, as with any other business, their goal is to buy low and sell high, thus reducing most, if not all, potential for shortterm appreciation. Organizations such as The Franklin Mint offer coin collector starter kits, in which you can focus on first-year issues, history, or composition (metal content). One of their more popular basic starter collections includes a one-pound bag of Lincoln Wheat pennies from 1909 to 1958. Named for the wheat design on one side and Abraham Lincoln’s likeness on the other, these circulated, often worn coins are 95 percent copper, except for the 1943 coins, which were made of steel due to the wartime shortage of copper. Sold for $42.99, this kit is an easy way to ease into coin collecting, but isn’t a great investment, as most Lincoln pennies range in value from a few
Investment-grade coins must be protected in order to preserve their value; scratches or impacts can negatively affect value.
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Lifestyle Investing in Coins
LIFESTYLE
CASH IN ON COINS
Rare coins are a viable investment, but require extensive research and knowledge specific to each coin being considered.
1 Get Started As is the case with all highly valuable antiques, consider having an expert confirm authenticity prior to purchase. cents to maybe 10 cents each. That being said, a 1943 Lincoln penny sold for $1 million at auction in 2012. As noted above, 1943 Lincoln pennies were made of steel, with most currently worth about 10 cents in worn, circulated condition, according to Gainesville Coins of Tampa, Florida. However, either by accident or on purpose, a very small, as yet unknown number were made from copper planchets (discs from which coins are struck) and are remaining from the 1942 production runs. There are also other valuable Lincoln “error” pennies, including 1944 steel examples worth up to $125,000 in uncirculated condition.
such as those made of silver or gold, regardless of condition. Rarity throws all the rules out the window, whether due to low production numbers or simply only a very few having survived since being minted many hundreds of years ago. The bottom line? Investing in coins requires significant knowledge, time, and effort, as is the case for any potential asset. If you pursue it, exercise great care and seek the advice of investment and tax professionals.
Take a closer look at your change, look under couch cushions and in dusty collections from childhood. Auction houses are another source, with a buyer’s premium added to the winning bid amount.
2 Happy Mistakes Error coins such as those made from a non-typical metal or showing a stamping error are out there waiting to be found.
THE LESSON HERE is to focus on
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3 Old Is Good Coins that were once common but are now scarce can command high values. Examples in mint to excellent condition will be worth more than those with obvious signs of use.
Rarity adds to the value. Even coins in rough shape can be valuable if they are the only ones still in existence.
THIS PAGE FROM TOP: HADIS MALEKIE/ UNSPLASHED, SERGEYKPI/SHUTTERSTOCK
specific categories and learn as much as possible about them in order to recognize a great deal when you see it. Many collectors and investors focus solely on error coins. As a rule of thumb, an uncirculated coin will be more valuable than a circulated coin showing scratches and other indicators of having been carried and used. On a related note, the U.S. Mint will pay bullion value for old U.S. coins,
Luxury Living Mountain Bikes
PEDAL-POWERED FUN: MOUNTAIN BIKES FOR CITY OR WILDERNESS A collection of tough bikes that are equally ideal for wild adventures or ‘once around the park’ By Bill Lindsey
Blaze Your Own Path
High-Tech Cycling
YETI SB130
CANNONDALE SCALPEL HI-MOD ULTIMATE
STARTING AT $6,200
While it tames city streets, this bike will pull you to gnarly trails where the full suspension and pivoting frame work together with a longreach front fork and 130 mm of rear suspension travel to keep you perfectly centered regardless of the terrain or trail angle.
$13,000
An Electrifying Ride
This serious crosscountry race bike is also a blast on city streets. A FlexPivot carbon suspension and a Lefty Ocho carbon fork let you cruise over speed bumps while the SRAM Eagle wireless 12-speed gear group makes sure you get the most out of your pedaling efforts.
TREK E-CALIBER 9.9 XX1 AXS
FROM TOP L: COURTESY OF YETI, CANNONDALE, TREK, SALSA, ROCKY MOUNTAIN, SHUTTERSTOCK
$13,699.99
This bike is designed to give you a great workout as you tackle tough trails, and it has a hidden secret. In addition to a race-tuned suspension that soaks up ruts, it has a removable electric drive system that you’ll appreciate when it’s time to ride home. Spicy Riding
SALSA RUSTLER STARTING AT $2,799
Designed with a carbon frame, split-pivot rear suspension, short wheelbase, and 27.5-inch wheels, this bike is a great choice for those more active riders seeking a nimble ride that responds well as they go around trees or hop over ruts.
One Tough Bike
ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLIZZARD CARBON 30 $2,699
From the first glance, it’s clear this classic, hardcore bike is made for those who go out of their way to ride the most challenging trails. The Terrene Cake Eater tires accenting the carbon frame with internal cable routing give it an aggressive stance. I N S I G H T July 8–14, 2022 63
Epoch Booklist RECOMMENDED READING FICTION
‘Middlemarch’
By George Eliot
A Study in Provincial Life
This week, we feature an insider’s look at the Nixon administration and a chilling novel illuminating the terrors of the Soviet regime.
centration camps, and totalitarianism that killed tens of millions of people. Professor of literature Lucy Beckett brings all her talents to bear in this intelligent and deeply moving story of the devastating effects of these conflicts on countries and on individual lives. IGNATIUS PRESS, 2009, 520 PAGES
“Middlemarch” (1871– 72) is considered Eliot’s masterpiece. Set in the early 19th century, the novel explores views on art, religion, science, and politics. Brilliant portraits are painted of characters dealing with stymied love, and idealistic goals and their loss.
LANGUAGE ARTS
WORDSWORTH EDITIONS, 1998, 736 PAGES
‘You Talkin’ to Me?’
By E.J. White
A New Yawk State of Language
‘A Postcard From the Volcano’
By Lucy Beckett
A Novel of Deadly Ideologies Here, we follow the young Prussian aristocrat Max von Hofmannswaldau, his family, and his friends between the world wars as they encounter the ideologies that came into play during this period. We see the results of the horrors of war, con-
You know New York English when you hear it. It’s unique and serves as a cultural marker. A study of New York linguistics, told by linguistics expert E.J. White, “Talkin’ to Me” isn’t a dry, scholarly tome. It tells the story of New York English— about why and how New Yorkers talk the way they do. As lively as Brooklynese, told with Bugs Bunny’s insouciance and Archie Bunker’s confidence, it’s fascinating and it captures New York’s spirit in a captivating look at American English. OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2020, 320 PAGES
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Are there books you’d recommend? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know at features@epochtimes.com
HISTORY
‘Gun Barons’
By John Bainbridge Jr.
How Repeating Firearms Remade America “They say God created all men, but Samuel Colt made them equal.” This saying originated in the American West and gives testimony to the impact that repeating firearms had in 19th-century America. Along with Colt, the brand names Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington still resonate. This is an accurate, interesting history of the firearms industry; the eccentric, colorful men who brought their innovations to market; and the companies they started. ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, 2022, 352 PAGES
MEMOIR
‘The President’s Man’
By Dwight Chapin
A Clear View of Nixon Dwight Chapin, the longtime aide to former President Richard Nixon, provides an in-depth
look at Nixon and his administration, detailing some of the most historic moments, including the president’s visit to China, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) agreement, and, of course, Watergate. Chapin gives a straightforward, yet sympathetic view of the Nixon years. WILLIAM MORROW, 2022, 480 PAGES
CLASSICS
‘Darkness at Noon’
By Arthur Koestler
The Nightmare of Totalitarianism Set in the late 1930s, this historical novel takes place in an unnamed country, but it’s clearly Soviet Russia. Nikolai Rubashov is an aging Bolshevik imprisoned and tried for treason. As we learn about his complicated past and his sacrifices for the Communist Party, we also experience his life in prison and the show trials that were so common at that time. Disillusioned with Soviet communism, Koestler wrote his novel in part to show that to totalitarian governments, the individual has no value except to forward the party’s agenda. SCRIBNER REPRINT, 2019, 272 PAGES
FOR KIDS
‘Goops and How to Be Them’
By Gelett Burgess
Don’t Be a Goop! First published in 1900, the Goop book remains popular with the preschool set today. Simple, silly drawings and advice on topics from cleanliness to bravery are found on every page of this children’s classic. Highly recommended. INDEPENDENTLY PUBLISHED, 2019, 90 PAGES
‘The Old Tree’
By Ruth Brown
A Residential Plea Residents of an old tree (a rabbit, badger, squirrel, crow, and others) aim to save their home from being cut down. Elaborate illustrations, including a pop-up surprise at the end, give great life to this fun and endearing tale. CANDLEWICK, 2007, 32 PAGES
Ian Kane is a U.S. Army veteran, filmmaker, and author. He enjoys the great outdoors and volunteering.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Epoch Watchlist
This week, we look at an excellent documentary about a singer-songwriter’s life, as well as an ’80s drama about the American space program.
NEW RELEASE
INDIE PICK
‘Never Back Down’ (2008)
‘Hallelujah’ (2022) This documentary focuses on the incredible life journey of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, mainly through the lens of his international hit, the hymn “Hallelujah.” The film involves several themes, including the song’s initial rejection by a record label and subsequent rise to worldwide renown. While there have been other documents that detail “spiritual seeker” Cohen’s life, this feels like the most definitive exploration of his remarkable life. It’s an exercise in solid filmmaking that never drifts into sentimentality.
DOCUMENTARY | BIOGRAPHY | MUSIC
Release Date: July 1, 2022 Directors: Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine Running Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes MPAA Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Theaters
A FEEL-GOOD ROMANTIC COMEDY boat) that draws you in, as well as a powerhouse couple of actors in Grant and Loren. COMEDY | DR AMA | FAMILY
‘Houseboat’ (1958)
Tom Winters (Cary Grant) is a widower who is trying to raise his three children to the best of his ability. Cinzia
Zaccardi (Sophia Loren) enters his life as his new nanny and sparks begin to fly. Although formulaic, the film’s heartwarming story has a unique charm (and a neglected house-
Release Date: Nov. 19, 1958 Director: Melville Shavelson Starring: Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Martha Hyer Running Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes Not Rated Where to Watch: Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon
Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) is a teen with some serious anger issues. As he struggles to deal with his volatile emotions, he gets lured into an underground Mixed Martial Arts fight where he tastes bitter defeat. However, Jake soon meets a mentor who may be able to steer him in the right direction. At a thematic level, beneath the bawdy dialogue and brutal fight scenes, this film is about controlling one’s emotions, accountability for
one’s actions, and making good moral decisions—all messages that are in short supply these days. ACTION | DRAMA | SPORT
Release Date: March 14, 2008 Director: Jeff Wadlow Starring: Sean Faris, Djimon Hounsou, Amber Heard Running Time: 1 hour, 53 minutes MPAA Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: DirecTV, Amazon, Vudu
THE EARLY AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAM
‘The Right Stuff’ (1984) This film covers the early years of the American space program as we follow the lives of the Mercury astronauts— such as John Glenn and Alan Shepard— and their families. It also shows the trials these men faced against the backdrop of great political upheaval. This is perhaps the most in-depth narrative film about astronauts ever made. It’s filled not only with incredible heroism and tense drama but also a
surprising amount of humor and heartfelt romance. A winning formula that is sure to please. ADVENTURE | BIOGRAPHY | DRAMA
Release Date: Feb. 17, 1984 Director: Philip Kaufman Starring: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris Running Time: 3 hours, 13 minutes MPAA Rating: PG Where to Watch: Redbox, DirecTV, HBO Max
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Camp Cooking:
Culinary Excellence While Far From the Kitchen By Bill Lindsey
Cold Food, Hot Jazz
Tunes2Go Cooler
The Easy Way to Bring Everything
This redefines multitasking by keeping ice frozen for up to three days, while playing your favorite tunes and recharging your phone. The 40-quart cooler plays music from SD cards, Bluetooth devices, or a USB while the integrated battery powers electronic devices.
GSI Pinnacle Camper Cookset Some cooks only use a 6- to 8-pound skillet, but a better idea than limiting yourself is this set, which includes two pots, a frying pan, mugs, plates, and bowls, all in about the same space required for a skillet, at half the weight.
$419 AT CAMPINGWORLD.COM
$159.95 AT GSIOUTDOORS.COM
Backwoods Breakfast, Burgers, and Pizza
Camp Chef VersaTop
A Better Baker
Caffeine to Go
While Great-Grandpa used a heavy, cast-iron Dutch oven, this is a much better and easier way to bake bread, steam veggies or fish, or cook campfire delicacies over any outdoor heat source. The five-piece kit includes an oven and grill, plus protective mitts.
This is a must for those who love the wilderness as much as they love coffee. Just pour boiling water over coffee grounds in the stainless-steel filter; the camp mug below will then fill with a fresh cup of joe.
Omnia Camp Oven
$154 AT BUYOMNIAUS.COM
Stanley Classic Perfect-Brew Pour Over Set
$40 AT STANLEY1913.COM
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RETAILERS
Cooking over a roaring fire looks great in movies, but for making meals without needing the first aid kit, this is the answer. Powered by compact fuel canisters, the flat-top griddle is perfect for bacon. Add the optional grill or oven for burgers or pizza.
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BioLite FirePit+ Take s’mores to a whole new level with this smoke-free open fire system. The patented design uses 51 air jets to optimize airflow for maximum combustion, which means more heat with less smoke from wood or charcoal. Use the grate for hibachistyle cooking. $299.95 AT BIOLITEENERGY.COM
CAMPING HAS NEVER been more popular. In these hectic times, it lets us relax, refresh, and recharge our inner batteries. But just because you’re in the wilderness doesn’t mean you have to survive on pine cones. Consider this selection of gear for your next al fresco dining delight.
$189 AT CAMPCHEF.COM
Flickering Flames
How to Be the
Favorite Neighbor Instead of waiting for someone to throw a backyard party, host your own
The Fourth of July is now past, but there’s no reason you can’t invite friends, family, and neighbors to your place for one of the most all-American events ever—a backyard party. Here are a few tips to make it legendary. By Bill Lindsey
4 Be the Best Host
1 Celebrate!
Plan ahead to provide fun for all attending. A Slip ‘N Slide will be a hit for both the kids and the more adventurous adults, while a seating area off to the side, away from the wet and loud activity, lures the adults in and encourages conversations. Break out a box of cigars for the guys and wine coolers for the ladies. Take a lot of photos and videos, sending everyone a link to them afterward.
CSA-PRINTSTOCK/GETTYIMAGES
If you realize that you don’t know many (or any) of your neighbors, a party might be a great way to break the ice. Provide a reason for the party, such as Labor Day or Christmas in July. Maybe your neighborhood has been undergoing street repairs; a celebration is definitely in order when the work is complete. Make sure all are welcome; you may be pleasantly surprised to discover that the neighbors you suspected of being grumpy are fun.
2 Send Invitations
3 Be Considerate
Don’t rely on verbal invitations or even casual emails; mail written invitations several weeks prior to the event. Receiving a “real” invitation will make the event stand out before it even starts. Follow up on the invitations in a week to allow you to know how much food and beverages you’ll need. Not everyone will reply, but that doesn’t mean they won’t show up, so add a fudge factor when ordering supplies and buying food.
Be aware of any allergies or food restrictions that your guests may have (ask them to let you know in the invitation). Let the guests know if you can provide a smoking area or if the entire party will be a no-smoking zone. Set up an area for children with appropriate snacks and games to allow the grown-ups to enjoy each other’s company while being able to keep a watchful eye on the youngsters.
5
Be the Best Guest
If you’re on the guest list and want to be on it for the next event, ask your host/hostess if they need a hand serving food or beverages. If you see an opportunity where assistance might be appreciated, offer to help. As the party winds down and guests head home, offer to help clean up or take out the trash. Send a handwritten thank- you note—not an email or text— within two days.
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