The Big Lie - who won the 2020 Presidential Election?

 

This should be a no-brainer.

It's been three years since President Biden won the 2020 election.

The world has moved on.

Some people have not.

To the vast majority around the world, it's a complete non-issue. The only people who still believe Trump's Big Lie are fringe, Q-addled religious/white supremacist nuts, right? They'll wend their way back to reality eventually.

One would hope.

I am not sure that secular people around the world, who are able to clearly look at a set of facts and draw a reasonable conclusion, quite understand the alternate reality of alternative facts that white evangelical Christian nationalists are living in.

Or how dangerous it can be.

When highly politicized ideologues cling to a religiously-infused delusion, and believe God is on their side in pursuit of a huge lie, that happens to serve their prejudices and privilege and sense of exceptionalism.

You would think, after seeing the example of religious extremism and fundamentalism in Islam, we'd have a clue.

I grew up in this community. There are guys whose popular books sat on our bookshelf in our missionary flat in Hong Kong, now preaching that Christians need to prep for civil war.

I am reading what these prominent Evangelical leaders and prophets are saying. I am seeing what their followers are saying.

And I am seeing what their CHILDREN, brought up in the tradition in much the same way as myself ... are now saying about their famous parents and their millions of followers.

We hoped that reality would eventually set in and they would accept the outcome of the democratic process of their elections.

We hoped that after the debacle of the public tantrum of January 6th, they would be chastened and pull their heads in a bit.

But here we are, six months later, and the religious right are still doubling down on two huge, but vaguely related lies.

1. Male supremacy - women must submit to male authority.

2. Trump won the election, and the 2020 election was stolen, and Biden's presidency is illegitimate.

I notice on social media that there is amplification of both these lies, significantly, over recent months.

The first is the foundation for the second.

The second is because the first is so important to them.

This shouldn't be a conversation anyone needs to have, but I say this for two groups of people: 

1. Devout, Christians who do not realise they're the targets of an anti-democratic disinformation campaign and who genuinely believe there was election fraud - and 

2. Sincere secular people who struggle to believe that so many millions of reasonable, intelligent people could possibly believe such orchestrated delusion in the face of overwhelming fact and evidence.

So here goes.

Was there election fraud or not?

Here's what America's major institutions of electoral oversight have to say.

Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees

“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. 

“When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.

Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe (which had an objective observer role):

OSCE supervises the votes that resulted in a win for Biden as well as the votes that resulted in a win for Republican senators. Following an official invitation, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an election observation activity for the 3 November 2020 general elections in the United States. The mission assessed whether the elections were held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. ODIHR had previously observed eight elections in the USA, most recently the mid-term elections in November 2018.

The OSCE has observed NINE presidential elections in the USA. Their comments on the 2020 U.S. election is illuminating.

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)

Highly competitive elections in US tarnished by legal uncertainty and unprecedented attempts to undermine public trust, international observers say

From the Brennan Center for Justice:

It’s Official: The Election Was Secure

These government officials, judges, and elected leaders, overwhelmingly Republican, have publicly acknowledged confidence in the November election.

Federal Agencies

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Department of Homeland Security – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Department of Justice (DOJ)

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

The Courts

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Third Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Election Officials

Gabriel Sterling (R), Georgia’s Voting Systems Implementation Manager

Scott Schwab (R), Kansas Secretary of State

Kim Wyman (R), Washington Secretary of State

Lisa Posthumus Lyons (R), Kent County Clerk

Anything I post here from pretty much ANY news corporation that is subject to fact-checking and accountability, other than the "entertainment" shows that make no promise of fact, truth or evidence, such as Newsmax and OAN, will be roundly dismissed as "MSM lies" by the people of The Lie. That's a shame. But still no reason not to report facts.

Elected Officials

The list of lawsuits claiming election fraud (that were all, but one, dismissed for lack of evidence):

Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election

It's the References at the bottom of the above Wikipedia page that you really want to comb through carefully.

The slow, painful death of Trump allies’ voting-machine conspiracy theories

"Among the many wild conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, few rank as high when it comes to both baselessness and reach as those involving voting machines. The theory that voting machines were programmed to steal the election from President Donald Trump had the benefit, while being utterly without merit, of at least being simple and easy for people to grasp. There were big swings in the vote totals! (Because Biden did a lot better in mail balloting, which were often added to the totals en masse!)

Unfortunately for its proponents, these theories carried one very significant drawback: legal liability. While broad claims of voter fraud are relatively unspecific and involve many potential perpetrators, there are relatively few voting-machine companies. Claiming such things means impugning them specifically and creating a situation in which your baseless claims can lead to calculable personal and business harm, which is important when it comes to suing someone for defamation.

And sue they have. The result: Many if not most of the high-profile purveyors of such claims have since backed off."

Election Fraud Debunking Mega Thread by Ike Saul, 5 November 2020

Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud

December 2, 2020
"Disputing President Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims, Attorney General William Barr declared Tuesday the U.S. Justice Department has uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election." 

AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s claims of vote rigging are all wrong

 

Voter fraud is real, just not on the scale claimed by Trump

Nov 13, 2020

"All evidence points to voter fraud as local, small-scale and relatively rare — not national or assembly-line efficient. A dozen or so improperly obtained absentee ballots can conceivably tip a close local election, as was alleged to have happened in Stamford five years ago. It never has been pervasive or scalable.

Trump’s unsupported claim Thursday that 2.7 million votes were somehow deleted or altered in electronic voting systems provoked a remarkable rebuke from within his own administration about the president’s ignorance, willful or not, about how U.S. elections are conducted."

December 4, 2020

"Clinging to notions of widespread vote rigging that his own attorney general has disputed, President Donald Trump repeated a litany of baseless assertions Wednesday of political corruption, machine tampering and mysterious votes appearing out of nowhere that allowed Joe Biden to steal the election.

“This election is about great voter fraud, fraud that has never been seen like this before,” Trump said in a 46-minute address posted on social media."

“It’s about poll watchers who were not allowed to watch. So illegal. It’s about ballots that poured in and nobody but a few knew where they came from. ... It’s about machinery that was defective, machinery that was stopped.”

None of those assertions are true."

Member of Trump's voter fraud commission says lack of evidence 'reveals a troubling bias'

"That the Commission predicted it would find widespread evidence of fraud actually reveals a troubling bias," said Maine's Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap.

Many evangelicals cling to the lies about election fraud, because they cannot bear to face the reality that the prophets they have put their trust in could be wrong.

MY APOLOGY - U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION PROPHECY 2020

Kris Vallotton, January 9, 2021

Jennifer LeClaire Repents on Behalf of Modern-Day Prophetic Movement

"The prophetic movement is facing a moment of reckoning. I’ve seen it coming for 20 years, and have been writing about it for just as long. We can reset in humility or we can continue to ignore the issues that brought us to this point. My heart-felt prayer and my whole-hearted belief is that we can and will learn from this unfortunate moment and build a stronger, more accurate prophetic movement that edifies the Body of Christ."

Why are the people of Truth so addicted to lies and delusion? The answer is in which other lies they are unwilling to lay down. 

Many significant Christian leaders have spoken out against Trumpism.

Theologian Russell Moore Has a Message for Christians Who Still Worship Donald Trump

January 21, 2021
“If you can defend this, you can defend anything,” wrote Russell Moore, a theologian who is also the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), in an excoriating editorial to his fellow evangelicals about the breach of the Capitol. The intruders displayed Jesus Saves signs next to those calling for the hanging of Vice President Mike Pence and, once in the building, thanked God for the opportunity “to get rid of the communists, the globalists and the traitors” within the U.S. government. 

Historian Heather Cox Richardson spells it out clearly in her post of  May 21, 2021

"It was not a rigged election. Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won by more than 7 million votes with more than 51% of the popular vote to Trump and Mike Pence’s 46.8%. The Democrats won in the Electoral College by a vote of 306 to 232. Trump lost more than 60 lawsuits over the election, and recounts turned up no evidence of widespread fraud."

and

 
"Six months after the 2020 election, supporters of the former president are challenging vote counts all over the country as he continues to insist he won. His supporters stormed the Capitol to overturn our electoral process. And now our Republican lawmakers, who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution, are trying to protect their leader from accountability for inciting that insurrection."

and

"Last week, when they removed Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) from party leadership, Republicans indicated they have now tied themselves to Trump, along with his eagerness to overturn elections unless he gets his way.

 

We are on a very dangerous path." 

 

I think conservative Republicans (the deceived ones, that is) are pushing The Big Lie about false claims of "election fraud" in order to create a smoke-screen of outrage to shield their racist and elitist voter suppression tactics.

 

Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country

“We did it quickly and we did it quietly,” said the executive director of Heritage Action.

Discussion by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which examined extremism and disinformation around the world, across political and cultural spectrums:

Narratives of Violence around the 2020 Presidential Election

 The 2020 US Presidential election was among the most intensely contested, scrutinised and controversial political events of the 21st century. Its aftermath continues to dominate both news and politics. Donald Trump’s use of divisive and inflammatory rhetoric as a means through which to govern and campaign is longstanding, but it arguably reached its apex with his 2020 re-election bid – and the consequences are both severe and growing.  

 Also see:

This transcript and audio. Especially this part:

 

Trump: "So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break ...

 

Every single ballot that she did through the machines at early, early in the morning went to Biden. Did you know that, Ryan?"

 

Germany: "That’s not accurate, Mr. President."

 

Trump: "Huh. What is accurate?"

 

Germany: "The numbers that we are showing are accurate."

The Trump Tape, 2 January 2021 - Trump pressures Georgia Secretary of State to "re-calculate" votes 

So who hacked the 2020 USA election? Was it Venezuela? Was it the Vatican? Was it Germany? Was it Italy? Can you at least get your story straight?

The Fucino Tower fabrication is my favourite, for creativity at least.

It was Venezuela! No, it was the Italians! No ... it was ANTIFA! Logical fallacies, blame projection and the American church.

And some absolute bunkum from the pillow guy:

ABSOLUTE PROOF! Western democracy devolves into a pillow fight ...

July 20, 2021

A good round up of the various factors contributing to election disinformation:

Compiling the Truth: A Resource to Refute Trump’s “Stolen Election” Lies

October 26, 2022

 

The 2020 Election Wasn’t Stolen: All The Key Facts Debunking The Big Lie
Recounts and court cases determined the 2020 election was not stolen. The only attempt to steal the election came from Donald Trump. Here are the facts in one place. 

 

September 29, 2023

 

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: FACTS ABOUT DOMINION

Baseless claims about Dominion Voting Systems have been fully debunked by election authorities, subject matter experts, and third-party fact-checkers

DE-RADICALIZATION RESOURCES

How to help loved ones avoid disinformation tactics and come back to reality.

Freedom of Mind - Steven Hassan

Tools That Fight Disinformation Online

Global Network on Extremism & Technology

Institute of Strategic Dialogue

Rabbit Hole Podcast

Qanon Anonymous Podcast

The Conspirituality Podcast 

The Brainwashing of My Dad

 

Fundamentalism, Patriarchy, Misogyny - not nice, but what's that got to do with vaccination or Coronavirus Denialism? The swarming tactics of the far-right agenda in USA

I am a mother, nurse, doula and herbalist. I've given birth at home 4 times, and all my children are healthily un-vaccinated. We use nutrition, herbs and supplements to keep fit and well, so I guess you could say my "crunchy" credentials are valid.

 

Until early this year, I was part of a huge Facebook group called Stop Mandatory Vaccinations. This had previously been a useful source of thousands of scientific papers and publications examining the risks and benefits of vaccinations. The general consensus was, vaccinations, like any health intervention, have their place, but can have significant (even deadly) side effects for some people, so therefore should not be forced or mandatory. There was a big difference between "stop vaccinations" and "stop MANDATORY vaccination".

Now for any one reading this who might think I have a screw loose for even considering not vaccinating my precious children, consider - if I hadn't been part of that group, out of interest in rigorous scientific examination of this complex issue, I  wouldn't have been witness to what happened next.

Late in 2019 and during early 2020 I noticed more posts popping up in the group that had less to do with health and quite a lot more to do with partisan politics. Trump-ists are like annoying mosquitos all over social media, and (as a non-American), you tend to just swat them away and press on regardless.

But as news of a novel coronavirus and eventual global pandemic began to filter through, in February and March, there were more posts not just about politics, but about conspiracy theories. Measured discussion on vaccinations became lost to breathless posts reporting the latest Q "breadcrumb" as we were told "it's happening!" and "wait for the Storm!" We learned that Oprah's house had been cordoned off any that she was finally under arrest for the tunnels under her house funnelling poor brown children from South America (presumably under the ocean?) We saw photos of crime scene tape around her house, which was "proof". We then learned that Tom Hanks stint in a Gold Coast hospital was actually a cover for his arrest for paedophilia. (As an Australian that was a bit irritating, because it implied that our country's news reporters are either a bunch of liars or a bunch of gullible twats.) We were told that Trump was "on our side" and only pretending to go along with vaccinations until such time as he could "bring down Big Pharma".

It takes all sorts, I thought, and continued to scroll past any posts that seemed a little cray-cray. But increasingly, such posts were swamping the group and drowning out the previous sensible and measured discussions we had enjoyed previously. And the posters did not take kindly to any voices of dissent or caution. You either 'Loved Trump' and 'Believed Q' or you were, pretty much, Satan.

And for anyone, anywhere, who's ever been part of a cult, or part of fundamentalism, be it Christian, Islamic, Judaic, Communist, Fascists, or otherwise .. red flags began waving.

But the disinformation kept coming. Whenever humans are under stress, dealing with an "unprecedented" situation and with "novel" virus that NO ONE has definitive answers about yet, disinformation spreads rapidly. Balanced, tested, and peer-reviewed info isn't as salacious and doesn't spread as fast as every alarmist post about 5G or the virus lab in Wuhan or Bill Gates or the take-down of "the Cabal"

As a qualified herbalist, I started seeing posts in the group warning that Elderberry Syrup could cause cytokine storm in COVID19. I'm hesitant to wade in on things I don't know much about, but this is my lane. I make Elderberry Syrup. I've read scores of monographs. I understand the inflammatory cascade. So I began posting what I hoped would be helpful and moderating commentary from reputable herbalists such as Dr Kerry Bone and Aviva Romm. What I then experienced is that the people gobbling up the Q breadcrumbs and re-sharing questionable memes appeared not to be so keen on reading 17 pages of careful scholarship. It just doesn't provide quite the same buzz.

But then, the Coronavirus disinformation started. Post after post claiming that it wasn't real, it was deliberately manufactured and released, it was fake, it was a Plandemic, there were no deaths, the hospitals were empty, the government (what - all governments?) were lying. And every action that any government took anywhere were all just a ploy to wreck American capitalism and usher in "Communism".

People started leaving. They posted, "This used to be a great group for actually learning about vaccination risks, but never mind MAGA caps - you guys are all going for the tin-foil hats!" And the response would be "Buh-bye!" amid a flurry of memes.

In one post, I mildly suggested that if USA had universal health care such as we enjoy in other developed countries, maybe people wouldn't have to pay $3000 for a Coronavirus test. Response? "Go grow vegetables in Venezuela then, you Commie!"

At this point, I realised that the tone of the group had changed from valid health concerns to an extremist political agenda.

When people started posting that wearing masks is really just a ploy to end free speech and a symbol of being "trauma bonded to authoritarian governments" like a bunch of bonneted handmaids, and how ignoring physical distancing policies were a matter of patriotic duty - at the same time that doctors and nurses were beginning to experience first hand just how deadly and insidious the virus could be, I left. In early March, I warned that their stance of believing conspiracy theories, and ignoring health policies, sowing division and spreading disinformation, would take a horrible toll in USA.

In pure frustration, I posted: "Your individualism, exceptionalism, denialism and entitlement is going to get thousands of you killed. You deserve yourselves."

And I hoped that I would be proved WRONG.

Life was comparatively peaceful after leaving that group, and concentrating on measures at home to keep the family safe and thriving through physical distancing measures in our own country. I already worked from home anyway and we like having the kids at home, so we weren't impacted too negatively.

But then, in the same way as I saw right-wing extremism take over that one Facebook group, I began to see the same "swarming" effect of making dis--information go viral happening across social media platforms.

To my horror, I started to see quite mainstream, thoughtful and intelligent people falling prey to the disinformation social media "bombing" campaign on social media.

Then I realised we were watching the infiltration of the alternative left by the conservative American far-right.

And I have seen all this before. It's all too familiar. Anyone who has ever come out of a cult or any shade of religious or political fundamentalism recognizes these dynamics.

So I thought I should start researching to find out more about what on earth was going on.

I will try to put together all the pieces of the puzzle so you can understand WHY I am so concerned, and WHY I am bothering to speak out, instead of just calmly going on my way and letting people believe whatever they want to believe. Because they're not. They're not believing what they want to believe. They're being indoctrinated. And it's been going on for decades. This is a divide and conquer strategy not only by the alt/far right and their particular agenda, but possibly, even the work of Russian operatives who know how to exploit the deep divisions in American society for their own de-stabilization aims.

The lowest common denominator, and ultimate agenda, as far as I can tell, is patriarchy.

Before you dismiss ME as being the tin-foil-hatted conspiracy theorist, please read carefully these disinformation briefings from the ISD - the Institute for Strategic Dialogue - "Powering solutions to extremism and polarization".

For anyone sincerely trying to reconcile valid concerns about corporate monopoly and capitalist excess, while trying to sift through various alternative narratives and apparent conspiracy theories, I encourage you to at least scan and take into consideration the careful scholarship and commentary of the ISD.

COVID19 Disinformation Briefing 1

COVID19 Disinformation Briefing 2

COVID19 Disinformation Briefing 3

COVID19 Disinformation Briefing 4

OK. You have done very well to read this far. This is already heaps long. So now, I will divide the rest into chapters.

1. The Conservative Culture War - the agenda of the religious right in America and the influence of fundamentalism - how it went beyond warping Christianity (similar to what happened within Islam) to shaping culture and steering politics

2. Russian Trolls - how Russian operatives have exploited ignorance, bigotry, prejudice and divisions within American society for their own de-stabilization aims

3. Conspiracy Theories - fundamentalism has a long history with conspiracy theories but the game has stepped up exponentially with the uncertainty around coronavirus. Just as Islamist fundamentalists exploited insecurity and fear during the Ebola pandemic.

4. Qanon. Not about saving children from evil pedophiles. Who knew?

5. The "Liberate" grassroots (not) movement and the "Boogaloo" - inciting a civil war to create an excuse for the penis-extension-wagglers to kill lots of black & brown people

6. 5G - the agenda behind this classic deflection & disinformation tactic

7.  Going after the 'New Age', alternative health community - the targeting of the alternative left by the alt/far right = Alt/Light: when delusion comes full circle.

8. Out of Shadows 

and

Plandemic 


9. The Trump Administration and the Far Right - how did such a dissolute pervert become the poster child for right-wing morality? They created him in their own image.

10.  Is it actually about catching evil paedophiles? - the latest ploy to tug the heartstrings of any reasonable person of conscience, for a political grist, while projecting away from actual crimes within Christian patriarchy.

Hashtag saveourchildren or hashtag saveourpussygrabberpresident? 

Prominent Conservative Christian Leaders charged with sexual assault. #notjustcatholicpriests #churchtoo

11. One World Order- getting you so worried about global authoritarianism that you won't notice the authoritarianism of right-wing patriarchy. These guys won't save you from patriarchy.

12.  Unmasking the case for MASKS - yet another issue hi-jacked for political grist

13. The White Coat Summit at Capital Hill. Lots of white coats. Lots of agenda. Guess who!!?

14. Coronavirus facts - so far. Plain commonsense truth. Not 'Truther'-truth.

Watch this space. This won't be the last crazy between now the the November elections. They plan to swamp you until you're so confused and punch-drunk, you don't know which way is up.

Finally, to summarize: 

I'm genuinely concerned about the origins of the current Coronavirus denialism trends in popular opinion that we are seeing across social media.  

Particularly in the US, people's minds have been trained in accepting delusion for many decades, in advertising, politics and religion. 

As Christian, I have an insider's view of the fundamentalism that seeped throughout conservative Christianity. 

If you can persuade your followers to accept that women must be subordinated, that contraception is of the devil, that make up or short hair means you're a Jezebel, that you need to hit your children to "train" them or that back masking in rock music is real, it's not that great a leap to:'the earth is flat'; 'Qanon is military intelligence'; 'Trump is a man-of-God';, 'Gates is the Anti-Christ'; and 'Covid is a "plandemic".

I hope more people who value critical thinking will realise that the current conspiracy theorism and Covid denialism we're confronted with now has its roots firmly in the American "Christian" fundamentalist patriarchy movement. (With a little alt-right Second Amendment white supremacy and misogyny in the mix).

They then deliberately targeted the alternative Left and are currently gloating over their successful infiltration of the 'new age', alternative lifestyle community.

The common ground between those two strange bedfellows is the issue of vaccine choice. As a mother of 4 healthy un-vaccinated children, a decision I researched carefully (BEFORE THE INTERNET!), I sympathize.

Moderate people have worthy and valid concerns about government or corporate corruption or monopoly. And these must continue to be addressed.

Civil unrest however, is not the answer. The extremists who are currently deliberately curating dissension are not the path to truth, liberty or freedom, any more than ISIS was. They are far more brutal, blood-thirsty, sexist, power hungry, corrupt and authoritarian than the authorities they're seeking to bring down.

I will continue to resist forced mandatory consumption of monopoly product, neo-liberalist corporate undermining of democracy and environmental rape and destruction. I will keep speaking up for equality and social justice.

However I will not let these important causes become corrupted and co-opted by a pack of violent, blood-lusting bullies, hell-bent on an Animal Farm dissolution of current authority and government structures, so they can impose their personal Caliphate.

In particular, I warn women: these guys will promise the world, but deliver Gilead (reference to The Handmaid's Tale).

There will be those, with valid and important causes, who will think that they will be able to harness the momentum of the far right to further their worthy political goals. I fear this will fail. Instead, the extremists will subvert and hi-jack your causes to push their agenda. I really don't want to see that happen again.  


Like, don't look to the Nazi party to get decent roads built.

It is becoming a tale of Spies, Lies and Videotape - well, YouTube videos, at least ...

The epidemiology of misinformation -

The disturbing story of how the web is weaving weird connections between hippies, Nazis, Russian agents and the rest of us to spread lies about Covid-19


Misinformation is a Threat to Democracy in the Developing World

 

Online misinformation is a problem for democracies worldwide, but we should worry about how misinformation will change democracies in the developing world.

Keep Birth Wild Podcast Episode: Covid denialism, conspirational thinking, politics, vaccine hesitancy and collective care with Indi Williams on Spotify.

DE-RADICALIZATION RESOURCES

How to help loved ones avoid disinformation tactics and come back to reality.

Freedom of Mind - Steven Hassan

Tools That Fight Disinformation Online

Global Network on Extremism & Technology

Institute of Strategic Dialogue

Rabbit Hole Podcast

Qanon Anonymous Podcast

The Conspirituality Podcast 

The Brainwashing of My Dad 

The Social Dilemma 

Australian Strategic Policy Institute