Heartland Weekly: Second Amendment Event Fills the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center

Published June 13, 2016

If you don’t visit Somewhat Reasonable and the Heartlander digital magazine every day, you’re missing out on some of the best news and commentary on liberty and free markets you can find. But worry not, freedom lovers! The Heartland Weekly Email is here for you every Friday with a highlight show. Subscribe to the email today, and read this week’s edition below.


With 17 state attorneys general in hot pursuit of the research and records of climate change critics, the head of one of the leading groups targeted for legal action made it clear Wednesday he is fighting back. “If all of a sudden we pulled back on the questions we’ve raised about the threat of climate change and I said it was actually a crisis, I could be a very, very rich man,” said Joseph Bast, president of the Heartland Institute, in an interview with Newsmax.com. “But I’m not going to do it. Heartland is in the fight for the duration.” READ MORE

Are you a parent or grandparent looking for a book on climate change appropriate for children and pre-teens? Are you a teacher looking for such a book to share with your elementary school class? We may have found what you’re looking for: an e-book titled Kids Guide to Climate Change. The e-book sets out the current facts about the climate, without the alarmist and theoretical predictions that can scare many kids. Get it today at Amazon.com! READ MORE

Gun-grabbing politicians this week have exploited the atrocity in Orlando to push for new laws that would violate our Constitutional right to own firearms – which made Heartland’s event with two Second Amendment experts extremely timely. John Boch, president of Guns Save Life, and Mike Rioux, CEO of Red Dot Arms, spoke to a packed and impassioned audience in the Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center on Wednesday night. If you missed the live-stream, you can watch the presentation at Heartland’s YouTube page. WATCH IT HERE

Years of global warming indoctrination in America’s public schools have left millions of young people fearful that using fossil fuels will destroy the planet – so it’s no wonder that demographic is among the most skeptical about the safety and effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing. But help, and truth, is on the way. Leo Huang, a student of petroleum engineering and a founding member of the Hydraulic Fracturing Public Awareness Committee (Frac PAC), joins Research Fellow Isaac Orr to explain how Frac PAC is reaching out to and educating youth about the positive impacts of the oil and gas industry.  LISTEN TO MORE

Heartland Library Book Shelf of the Week – Reagan
For more, follow Heartland on Twitter @HeartlandInst


On Monday, June 20, join The Heartland Institute at the Union League Club in Chicago as we welcome Stephen Moore of The Heritage Foundation, who will talk about his new book, Fueling Freedom, an unapologetic case in favor of fossil fuels. Then on Wednesday, June 22, David Shestokas will be at The Heartland Institute’s Andrew Breitbart Freedom Center in Arlington Heights, Illinois to talk about “Constitutional Soundbites,” his effort to engender respect and love for the Constitution in the twenty-first century. We hope to see you there! SEE UPCOMING EVENTS HERE

Lindsey Stroud, Heartland Research & Commentary
While government bureaucrats are stepping up their efforts to regulate e-cigarettes, studies continue to show e-cigarette use helps reduce the much more harmful habit of smoking. For instance, a study recently published in theBritish Medical Journal found 61 percent of people who switched from cigarettes to vaping remained “abstinent from tobacco” for at least two years. READ MORE

Michael Hamilton, Consumer Power Report
Referring to the sky-high insurance premiums, increasing deductibles, and insurance companies leaving the Obamacare exchanges as “unintended consequences” of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a huge understatement. ACA’s mandates create incentives that alter how businesses operate and how insurance plans are crafted. In the end, the employer and individual mandates put affordable health care further out of the reach of many Americans – including many of those was supposed to help. READ MORE

Kyle Maichle, Washington Times
American veterans fought and sacrificed to preserve the nation they love, but that nation is sliding inexorably into financial turmoil with unsustainable $500 billion annual deficits and a $19 trillion national debt. There is a way to honor their sacrifice and get the country back on sound financial footing: holding an Article V Convention of the States to amend the U.S. Constitution. We owe it to ourselves, but especially our veterans, to use Article V to pass a balanced budget amendment. READ MORE

John and Donny continue their exploration of think tanks across the country in episode #42 of the In The Tank Podcast. Dr. Sam Staley, managing director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University and a Heartland policy advisor, joins the show to talk about the center as well as a free-market perspective on regulations, sports stadium subsidies, and mass transit. This episode also features work from the Maine Heritage Policy Center, the Mackinac Center, and more. LISTEN HERE

Joy Pullmann, School Choice Weekly
The former director of assessment design for College Board, the organization that owns the SAT and Advanced Placement tests kids take to help get into college, is alleging the recent reform of the SAT test is riddled with shoddy work and public deceptions – and in service to the controversial Common Core standards. If that’s the case, maybe it’s time to scuttle the SAT and find another way to measure a high school student’s ability to succeed in college. READ MORE

Invest in the Future of Freedom! Are you considering 2016 gifts to your favorite charities? We hope The Heartland Institute is on your list. Preserving and expanding individual freedom is the surest way to advance many good and noble objectives, from feeding and clothing the poor to encouraging excellence and great achievement. Making charitable gifts to nonprofit organizations dedicated to individual freedom is the most highly leveraged investment a philanthropist can make. Click here to make a contribution online, or mail your gift to The Heartland Institute, One South Wacker Drive, Suite 2740, Chicago, IL 60606. To request a FREE wills guide or to get more information to plan your future please visit My Gift Legacy http://legacy.heartland.org/ or contact Gwen Carver at 312/377-4000 or by email at [email protected].