Letter From the President
September 23, 2024
Thank you for supporting Environmental Progress, now Civilization Works, and for your well-wishes. I am happy to say that I went to Brazil and returned home safely.
This letter represents the first monthly update about our work for CW’s supporters.
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact CW’s Director of Development, Lily Markle.
From the Frontlines of The Fight For Free Speech
As a CW supporter, you know that freedom of speech is under attack around the world. What you may not know is that, as shocking as it sounds, Civilization Works, an NGO with an annual budget of less than $1 million, is doing more than any other organization to raise the alarm about imminent global totalitarianism and rally the troops. We have good and bad news from the frontlines.
Big Victory in Ireland! CW Executive Vice President Alex Gutentag and I traveled to Ireland in June to meet with lawmakers and give talks on the importance of free speech. Our allies there have been working to kill censorship legislation, and just last week, Ireland's government abandoned its proposed hate speech law, which would have allowed the police to enter homes and search phones and computers for wrongthink. This is wonderful news that gives us momentum to beat back totalitarianism worldwide. Mobilizing for free speech works!
Czech Republic - Also in June, we spoke at an event in Prague hosted by the Czech Free Speech Society. There, we explained how thinly-disguised government intelligence and security agencies had run various disinformation operations aimed at tying opposition parties to the Russian government. Sound familiar? It should. We walked the audience through the Hunter Biden laptop disinformation effort, which we exposed as an operation led by the FBI for the Twitter Files. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed our findings in a recent letter.
In June, we hosted the second annual Westminster Forum, thanks to the generous support of CBR Fund, the Snider Family Foundation, Rising Tide Foundation, and Ben Delo. Free speech scholars, journalists, and activists came from around the world spent three days sharing information about the war on free speech. You may remember that the 2023 gathering resulted in the Westminster Declaration against censorship. We have combined recently to draw attention to Brazil. We are now planning next year’s gathering.
I traveled to Brazil to support the fight against censorship and speak at one of the largest free speech events in history. It was inspiring for me, and it meant a lot to the Brazilians. The best part was spending an hour being mobbed by the crowd, which asked for selfies and beijos.
CW is leading the effort to generate awareness about Brazil’s draconian censorship, working with allies in Brazil and connecting them to an international network of support. Keep your eye out for a “Free Speech for Brazil” initiative.
CW researchers and contractors have compiled evidence showing the key role of the US government and US government-funded groups in promoting Brazilian censorship. We’re now working with members of Congress on legislation to prevent the US government from funding censorship and disinformation operations in that country
CW is preparing a report on the leaders of the Censorship Industrial Complex. There’s much more to say about the findings, but we don’t want to spoil it. So stay tuned for a big release later this year
Homeless, Addiction and Crime
In July, Alex and I visited Skid Row in Los Angeles to investigate the current state of the homelessness and addiction crisis in the country’s second largest city. There, we discovered that migrant children were living on the street, and “harm reduction” policies continue to worsen conditions. This month we transcribed and analyzed interviews from the investigation in order to publicize our findings and develop our understanding of the crisis.
Gender
WPATH Files continue to resonate. Our publication of the WPATH Files earlier this year helped change how people think about “gender affirming care.”
Now, CW’s Director of Gender and author of the WPATH Files Report, Mia Hughes, continues research for a forthcoming report on the misdiagnosis of gender dysphoria. The report will take aim at the inaccurate and irresponsible diagnostic criteria set forth by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), as well as the unethical practices of youth gender clinics around the country.
Check out our new website!
CW’s website is home to many videos and articles about our work. While there, get to know our Board of Directors and Staff!
Stay tuned and stay in touch! And thank you again for your support. We can’t do this work without you.
Michael
