Daily Resource Highlight - 9/6/2021
Posted by on September 13, 2021 at 1:19 PM
Below are the highlights and featured resources of this past week’s Daily* Resource.
August 31, 2021 - Looking Abroad with POGO, Common Ground Committee, and Others
The mission of the Bridge Alliance is to empower Americans (like you) to shape the future of our democratic republic, and that means a heavy focus on America itself. The United States, however, is a global superpower, and therefore any discussion about the future of our nation must necessarily include its foreign affairs.
This is especially true right now, with the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, as well as continued tensions with fellow superpowers Russia and China. Common Ground Committee discusses both of these issues, and more, in their latest podcast “American Foreign Policy: Challenges, Threats, Opportunities,” featuring Ned Temko and Scott Peterson.
Additionally, on September 14th @ 1 PM ET, the Project on Government Oversight is hosting John Sopko for “‘Afghanistan Reconstruction’ Twenty Years On: Lessons Learned And Not Learned.” Sopko is the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction and he’ll talk with Danielle Brian of POGO about what was achieved, and at what cost. Audience questions will be welcomed, so RSVP today.
Finally, we have a few articles and a podcast covering various foreign policy topics:
- A ReConsider Podcast on nuclear weapons titled “How I Learned to Start Worrying and Loathe the Bomb” (if you don’t understand the reference, do yourself a favor and watch Dr. Strangelove)
- POGO argues that the China Threat is being played up to justify an inflated defense budget. They are also asking supporters to sign a petition against war profiteering
- Shoshanna Weissmann of R Street Institute is interviewed for an article about extending occupational licensing reform rules to Afghani refugees to allow them to work
This is, of course, just a sampling of the work that Bridge Alliance members are doing to help the public understand and influence America’s foreign affairs. If you read these articles, listen to the podcasts, and attend POGO’s event, I suspect you will have a better understanding of our interests abroad than the vast majority of your peers.
September 2, 2021 - Our Family Gets Bigger -- A Warm Welcome to New Members and Friends of Bridge
One of the best parts of my job is getting to tell you about new Bridge Alliance member organizations. These organizations are doing incredible work to strengthen our democratic republic, and all of them believe in (1) embracing our differences and (2) working together as a community to make change happen (part of our Five Principles).
I invite you to become familiar with each of them, as they are doing groundbreaking work to help America fulfill its enormous potential:
- American Conservation Coalition: dedicated to combating climate change and preserving our environment through market-based solutions
- Bill Track 50: keeps track of state legislation and makes it easy to see what’s going on in each state. Also provides other tools, such as regulation tracking
- The Factual: uses machine learning AI to grade the credibility of news articles from a large variety of sources. They also offer the ability to filter by “source bias” and to read “under-reported” stories
Separately, we want to give a HUGE shout out to our newest Friends of Bridge, whose names are below. These individuals have made the impactful decision to support the healthy self-governance movement as a whole, and have embraced the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats. Without their support, our work is simply not possible:
- Ilana Bitner
- Elaine Lang Cornett
- Constance Fleming
- David Green
- Kathy Huck
- Barney Lerten
- Michael Williams
If you would like to join them and gain access to various Friends of Bridge benefits -- including our non-public newsletter, the Bridge Alliance advisory board, FoB merchandise, and more -- join the Friends of Bridge program today! We truly appreciate the support.
Featured
- Ballotpedia (newsletter): Weekly Brew: August 27th, 2021
- Braver Angels (podcast): What Being Homeless Can Teach Us About Dignity & Overcoming Division | Morgan Brown with David Lapp
- Committee for a Federally Responsible Budget (newsletter): Trustees: Social Security & Medicare Approaching Insolvency
- The FlipSide (article): Bombing in Kabul
- The FlipSide (article): School Mask Mandates
- Listen First Project (video): Listen First Friday: The Great Reset
- National Civic League (newsletter): Can Equity Benefit Everyone?
- Project on Government Oversight (article): Key Facts About Face Recognition for Policymaking
- Project on Government Oversight (article): Inflating China Threat to Balloon Pentagon Budget
- Project on Government Oversight (petition): Stop war profiteering
- Reconsider (podcast): How I Learned to Start Worrying and Loathe the Bomb