The Patriot Post® · Biden Targets Christian Thoughtcrime
The weaponization of government is yet another aspect of the Democrat Party’s descent into hard-left authoritarianism. Under Joe Biden, the federal government has used its powers to pursue and punish those who object to the radical woke worldview agenda, which is best delineated by the tenets of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Under Biden, this woke cancer has spread across the federal government, corrupting agencies that are ostensibly apolitical.
A recently released report from the American Principles Project (APP) notes that Biden’s Department of Education has directed nearly 70% of its enforcement actions against faith-based and career schools. To add perspective, faith-based schools make up less than 10% of students in the country.
As APP Policy Director Jon Schweppe contends, “The Biden-Harris Department of Education has been engaged in a long-running scheme to punish Christian colleges that are ideologically opposed to the left’s agenda. The unfair targeting of these institutions has been egregious, and it needs to stop immediately.”
Both Grand Canyon University in Arizona and Liberty University in Virginia have been targeted by Biden’s DOE, cited for dubious violations, and hit with record-level fines. In GCU’s case, the DOE claims that the school misled students over the cost of its doctoral program and fined the university $37.7 million. GCU is currently appealing that fine.
“At least 12 Christian colleges have been the target of excessive penalties or banned from receiving federal student aid,” the report observes. “By comparison, no Ivy League school has been the recipient of punitive action by the Office of Enforcement. The average fine against a Christian school for a Clery Act violation was $815,000, compared to $228,571 against public and private institutions.”
The Biden administration feigns innocence, saying, “A school’s religious affiliation or non-profit status has absolutely no bearing on our oversight and enforcement actions.” But even the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals doesn’t buy that claim. It recently ruled that Biden’s Department of Education unlawfully applied the wrong standards to GCU’s nonprofit status.
As noted above, this woke contagion has infected multiple government agencies. The Justice Department has also inequitably targeted its enforcement attention against conservatives and faith-based groups.
Few laws are more dubiously conceived and unevenly applied than the pro-abortion Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act). It is hard to argue that this 1994 law isn’t a radical infringement on Americans’ free speech rights. Furthermore, it has been used to punish those who dare to protest the murder of preborn children anywhere near the entrance of an abortion mill.
Meanwhile, when crisis pregnancy centers were targeted and attacked post Dobbs, the DOJ suddenly found it very difficult to investigate these crimes, let alone prosecute them. Yet when it came to pro-life activists daring to sit in an abortion mill to pray and protest, the DOJ threw the book at them, using the FACE Act, seeking to put them behind bars for years.
Then there’s the recent scandal surrounding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wherein workers were directed to avoid the homes of hurricane victims “advertising Trump.” Joe Biden’s FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell, claimed it was an isolated incident and just a simple misunderstanding. However, it has sparked both a congressional investigation and an agency-wide probe.
The Biden administration’s collusion with Big Tech to censor Americans’ speech on social media platforms is yet another instance of the administration targeting thoughtcrime. This revelation came courtesy of the Twitter Files, which were released after Elon Musk purchased the platform.
Far from standing for individual liberty and protecting Americans’ constitutional rights, specifically from government abuse, the Biden administration has sought to use the power of the federal government to target and punish thoughtcrime. Whether it be opinions regarding COVID, climate change, “transgenderism,” abortion, or myriad other policy and cultural issues, the Biden administration has sought to squelch dissent.
Hopefully, Trump will soon put an end to this abuse — and expunge this woke and inherently anti-American cancer from Washington.