This News Event Needs More Coverage
I feel like I’m saying that a lot lately.
So this development is one that needs more amplified attention: Jessica Valenti reports that the Heritage Foundation—yes, the same group behind Project 2025—has released a plan “to save America.” Compiled by six authors intimate with the current regime, the document is “a how-to guide for subjugating girls and young women.”
What does this mean exactly? The so-called heritage people have devised a stunningly detailed campaign to push women out of university studies, “funnel them into early marriage and motherhood, and trap them there.” This is just part of a broader, well-funded plan to ensure a culture of misogyny.
This is no longer a hidden agenda; there’s no need to read between the lines. It gets scary literally two sentences in. The effort targets young and perhaps impressionable women— once again underestimating them. It’s worth noting that successes with such an agenda would also “chip away at one of Democrats’ most important and supportive demographics,” professional women.
As Valenti notes, “This isn’t some fringe effort . . .” In fact, already conservatives are “pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into convincing the next generation that the rapid erosion of their rights isn’t a political and moral crisis—but a lifestyle upgrade.”
Yet again it is very deeply concerning that public gaslighting is so well funded. History suggests we should not write this off as insignificant. Proactive resistance matters.
Has the harassment of writers reached crisis levels? Whether receiving threats to their safety, being tracked online and off; whether they’re subject to hateful slurs, taunting, brigading, or doxing, writers are enduring increased levels of online abuse.
The need to stay safe too often results in self-censoring, which limits public discourse and stills free expression. As my friend Don DeGrazia used to say, “self-censorship is the worst form of censorship.”
PEN America has joined forces with Twitch to share steps one can take to support writers under attack online.
Research shows that strong colleague connections and support from compassionate observers can reduce troubling impacts of online abuse, keeping writers online. Please consider reaching out mindfully, sharing resources, and offering support when you witness online abuse.
Did you follow the Walk for Peace? On October 26, twenty Buddhist monks departed Fort Worth, Texas on foot, often trekking in extreme weather, on their mission of peace. Earlier this week, on Day 108, the group arrived at their Washington D.C. destination.
The 2,300-mile journey was designed to raise awareness for the essentiality of kindness, compassion, and purpose across the United States and world. Temples, churches, and other community organizations on the route provided stop locations for meals and sleep. The venerable monks were accompanied by their handsome rescue dog, Aloka, who won hearts along the way.
In the District of Columbia, the venerable monks hosted the Unity Walk, live-streamed meditations, and appeared at the Lincoln Memorial, the National Cathedral, and George Washington University. People from all over the world followed the walk online, which is believed to have inspired millions.
They now travel back to Fort Worth by bus with this parting message, “The road is long but we never walk it alone. May you and all beings be well, happy, and at peace.”
It has been amazing to see all week the continued excitement for Bad Bunny’s extraordinary halftime performance. In last Sunday’s thirteen-minute celebration of joy, compassion, and community, one of our most beloved artists reminded a collapsing United States what it is supposed to mean to be American.
Many of you know that Bad Bunny is a longtime ally for relationship violence survivors. “Violence against women affects me as a human being,” he has told interviewers. “My message shouldn’t be a feminist message. It should be a universal message.” Yes. This.
The 2026 National Conference on Domestic Violence takes place in Austin, Texas, August 10-12, 2026. Early bird registration is now open. The theme of this year’s conference is “Amplifying Hope: Together Toward Tomorrow.”
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