The Daily Signal

President Joe Biden is moving ahead with plans to evacuate all U.S. citizens and troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, providing the Taliban do not interfere with the evacuation. But Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, a combat veteran, says she does not see how it’s possible to meet that deadline. The notion that Americans and our Afghan partners can be evacuated by the end of the month “is a fantasyland that has been developed by President Biden, by the administration,” Ernst says. “I don't see how we have everyone out by Aug. 31 and honor those commitments we've made to our own citizens and our Afghan partners.” Ernst served in the military for more than 23 years. In 2003, she was a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, and led 150 Iowa Army National Guardsmen during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ernst was the first female combat veteran to be elected to the Senate. The current situation in Afghanistan is an “international embarrassment” that puts both “Americans and our allies in harm's way,” the Iowa senator says. Ernst joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan could mean for America, and what the Biden administration needs to do to prevent further disaster. We also cover these stories: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., calls on the Biden administration to rethink its original Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Vice President Kamala Harris rebukes China for its "coercion" and "intimidation" in the South China Sea. The University of Notre Dame leprechaun mascot comes under fire for supposedly being "offensive.” Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House Rules Committee voted Monday on rules governing debate on election legislation known as HR 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The controversial bill now goes to the House for a vote. After Democrats failed to pass HR 1, a partisan piece of election law, they crafted HR 4, which Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow Hans von Spakovsky says is a danger to states' election rights. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) HR 4 “gives federal bureaucrats control over all these state [election] rules all over the country,” says von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission. “It is an unbelievable invasion of state sovereignty.” The bill is likely to pass along party lines in the House, but faces a battle in the evenly divided Senate, he says. Von Spakovsky joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why the left is advocating for federal control of elections, and how HR 4 would affect the nation if it were to become law. We also cover these stories: The Food and Drug Administration formally approves the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The Pentagon plans to mandate that all U.S. military personnel be vaccinated. Monday was Andrew Cuomo's last day serving as governor of New York. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School is back in session—or will be soon—for students across America. As they head back to the classroom, many students will encounter a different environment this year. With debates about mask mandates and critical race theory garnering headlines, there’s another underreported story reshaping American education. Corey DeAngelis, national research director for the American Federation for Children, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share the good news for parents and students alike. DeAngelis calls 2021 the “year of school choice” with upwards of 17 states giving parents more options to make decisions that benefit their kids. These new school choice programs fund students, giving them the educational freedom to learn in an environment best for them. In addition to being a prolific school choice advocate at the American Federation for Children, DeAngelis is also executive director at Educational Freedom Institute, an adjunct scholar at Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at Reason Foundation. Following his work on Twitter: @DeAngelisCorey. Listen to our interview or read a lightly edited transcript at DailySignal.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mixed messages about COVID-19 from the media, politicians, and public heath officials have left many Americans questioning what information they can trust. Across the nation, some political leaders and health experts continue to push for individuals to be vaccinated. We now know, however, that those who are vaccinated still may be infected by the coronavirus and contract COVID-19, although they remain far less likely to be hospitalized or die than those who are unvaccinated and contract COVID-19. Vaccination data tells a positive story and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should relay all the facts to Americans, says Kevin Dayaratna, who is principal statistician, data scientist, and research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, parent organization of The Daily Signal. “The safety and the efficacy of the vaccines was tested last year. And we are continuing to see data and there are overall overwhelmingly no serious effects,” he says. Dayaratna and Norbert Michel, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis, just released a new report examining the effectiveness of the vaccines against the delta variant. The report, “A Statistical Analysis of COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections and Deaths,” dives deep into the data and facts about the spread of the virus and the efficacy of the vaccines. Dayaratna joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what you need to know. We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden defended his handling of Afghanistan in a new interview. Dozens of senators are calling on the Biden administration to move faster to evacuate Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan. The Department of Education announced it was cancelling student loans for over 300,000 disabled Americans. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Afghanistan continues to dominate the news cycle, we learn more about what led to the end of America’s longest war. But sometimes lost in the discussions about strategy and tactics is the human element of the story. Retired U.S. Army Gen. Don Bolduc served 10 tours in Afghanistan and knows what daily life was like for our troops. "This was lost at the higher levels ... unfortunately the Afghan government and military and national police have responsibility here, but not the men and women that served in our military for 20 years and went over there repeatedly," says Bolduc. "They did their job, they did it well, they did it with honor and the sacrifice out there. Their friends and family members did not go in vain despite what you're seeing today." Bolduc joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss his experiences on the ground, and what we can do for our troops coming home. We also cover these news stories: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says there will be many congressional inquiries into what happened in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s deposed president Ashraf Ghani is currently sheltering in the United Arab Emirates on humanitarian grounds. The Texas Democrats who fled the state capital to block the vote on an election bill could now be arrested for doing so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bible and the Torah have served as sources of inspiration and guidance throughout the ages. Accounts in the Book of Genesis of the Tower of Babel and the Garden of Eden are among those that have helped people from ancient times to understand God and to navigate personal issues. Michael Eisenberg, an Israeli venture capitalist and author of the upcoming book “The Tree of Life and Prosperity: 21st Century Business Principles from the Book of Genesis,” says he believes these stories contain nuggets of wisdom just as applicable today as they were back then. "Wow, this is super-relevant for modern times and modern challenges, this kind of timeless wisdom," Eisenberg says about the Torah, which encompasses the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. "It has a modern feel to it, despite its nature as an ancient text." Eisenberg joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about his book and some of the lessons we can take from the Book of Genesis. We also cover these news stories: At a Pentagon briefing, Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor says the U.S. military expects that one flight per hour will leave Afghanistan's Kabul airport as the evacuation continues. The Biden administration will recommend Americans get a COVID-19 booster shot eight months after they were fully vaccinated, government sources tell CBS News. A California city councilman and five others are charged with election fraud. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Afghanistan War appears to be over. After nearly 20 years of fighting, America's longest conflict has come to a bitter conclusion. Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, fell to the Taliban in fewer than 72 hours. This came on the heels of a weeklong blitz that saw city after city capitulate to the Taliban. How did this happen? "This was an insurgency that for the past two decades was unable to capture even one of the 34 provincial capital cities in Afghanistan, but then out of nowhere, they sweep across the whole country and they're setting in the presidential palace in Kabul," says Luke Coffey, a veteran of the Afghanistan War who directs The Heritage Foundation's Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy. "It's an utter disgrace and an extreme loss of prestige [for] the United States that President Biden allowed this to happen." Coffey joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to help explain how the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated so quickly and what the implications are. We also cover these news stories: President Biden briefly returns to the White House from his vacation at Camp David to address the nation on Afghanistan. Taliban leaders declare “the war is over,” just short of 20 years since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. At least seven are dead amid chaos at the international airport in Kabul when thousands of Afghan citizens desperately attempt to escape the invading Taliban forces. About 1,000 American paratroopers will be deployed to the airport to assist in evacuation efforts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is going to try to advance the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and the separate $3.5 trillion spending bill together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vivek Ramaswamy calls himself a proud father, a loyal husband, and a grateful son. His parents emigrated to America from India. A Hindu, he made his mark as a successful biotech entrepreneur. Ramaswamy has joined forces with the Philanthropy Roundtable to narrate a compelling video as part of the organization’s True Diversity campaign—pushing back against the left’s narrow and divisive view of diversity and inclusion. Debi Ghate, vice president of strategy and programs at the Philanthropy Roundtable and host of the "Can We Talk About It?" podcast, joins me on “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the real meaning of diversity. "At the Roundtable, we believe an individualized approach is better for achieving true diversity," Ghate says. "What we mean by that is looking for the strengths that each person brings to the table, their values, their passions, their experiences, their background, their skills, and even more." Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans have felt the effects of ballooning inflation as a direct result of government-mandated shutdowns of the economy. Prices on essential goods, including food and gas, have risen steadily over the past few months, leaving many wondering about the economic health of the nation. "This past year and a half, we also saw a very sharp economic decline, larger in a single quarter than we have seen in any of our lifetimes, unless you were around back in the 1930s," says Joel Griffith, research fellow in financial regulations at The Heritage Foundation. Griffith joins us today on "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the latest inflation numbers and how good fiscal policy can help us right the ship. We also cover these news stories: The Taliban capture the strategically significant cities of Ghazni and Herat, marking the fall of 11 out of 34 provincial capitals after a weeklong blitz of fighting. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state Attorney General Ken Paxton push back on Dallas County's new mask mandate. A recent report details how Oregon Gov. Kate Brown quietly signed into law a measure ending graduation requirements for students to prove they can read, write, and do math at a high school level. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is going to step down, but Republicans and Democrats alike call for him to be held accountable for his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In response to The New York Times' controversial “1619 Project,” Bob Woodson, founder of the Woodson Center, launched an alternative, 1776 Unites. Woodson's initiative includes a series of essays and a school curriculum that recount the facts and stories of America’s founding and black history. It is from these essays that inspiration came for Woodson’s new book, “Red, White, and Black: Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers.” The stories and facts in the book, which was released in May, are important “for all people to know, to get an accurate understanding of America's past—the good, the bad, and the ugly,” Woodson says. He adds that the “message of the book to America is, if blacks could achieve these great things of creating their own railroad, if we were able to build our own Wall Streets, if we were able to achieve in schools, and reduce the income gap … then we need to apply these old values to a new vision.” Woodson joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share some of his favorite true stories of American blacks' success detailed in the book and to share a bit of his own personal story. We also cover these stories: The Senate takes a big step toward passing Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending package. YouTube suspends Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., from its platform for a week. Conflicts over mask policies in Florida continue to mount. Listen to the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A high quality children's TV series that teaches children concepts such as economic freedom and personal responsibility didn't exist a year ago. But now, "Tuttle Twins" is redefining pro-American entertainment for children. The TV version of "Tuttle Twins" is inspired by the beloved book series of the same name by Connor Boyack. The TV series takes viewers on exciting adventures with siblings Ethan and Emily Tuttle and their freedom-loving grandma, who just happens to have a time-traveling wheelchair. The vision for the crowdfunded series is "to mix the humor of shows like 'The Simpsons' and 'Phineas and Ferb' with the family friendliness and educational value of something like 'The Magic School Bus,'" says Daniel Harmon, the show's creator. In the first episode, Ethan and Emily travel back in time to learn from famous French economist Frederic Bastiat as well as "the French Revolution that was going on around that time, and how rights are so needed to be protected by the government," Harmon says. "Tuttle Twins" is also meant to be entertaining for parents. In the same way as "Pixar makes movies for kids, but that adults really enjoy as well," he says, "that's what we're trying to do with this." Harmon joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the mission of his new children's series and how families can begin enjoying "Tuttle Twins.” We also cover these stories: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces his resignation a week after an investigation concluded that he sexually harassed 11 female state employees. The U.S. Senate passes a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill by a vote of 60-39. A viral Instagram videos shows Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., dancing and taking photos maskless at an indoor wedding. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is forging ahead with a $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill. The measure has received bipartisan support, but many conservatives warn that now is not the time to put America in even more debt. The government has increased America’s national debt by $5.2 trillion just since the start of 2020, but “adding to that with two more multitrillion-dollar spending packages over and above what they've already spent, that threatens to return us to the kind of inflation that we haven't seen in decades,” says David Ditch, a policy analyst in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for the Federal Budget. In addition to the $1.1 trillion infrastructure bill, Democrats are also striving to pass a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, which includes funding for universal day care, tuition-free community college, and climate change initiatives, among many other things. “It's important to understand the $3.5 trillion package … would be the largest piece of legislation in the history of the world,” Ditch says. Ditch joins "The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain what’s in each bill and the effect such aggressive spending will have on the American people. We also cover these stories: Senate Democrats announce a $3.5 trillion budget they hope to pass through reconciliation, an obscure maneuver that would allow them to get it through the Senate with just 51 votes, sidestepping Republican opposition. One of the women who say New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually assaulted them comes forward to tell her story to the public in detail. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases a new report full of dire predictions. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Schools across America—both public and private—are embracing the left's radical ideas at an alarming rate. These ideas have found their way into curriculum, sometimes subtly and other times overtly. Many parents have had enough. They're taking action and speaking out—winning seats on school boards, demanding transparency from teachers, and insisting that their kids learn the foundational values that made America the greatest country on earth. Now, thanks to Hillsdale College, there’s a curriculum that parents can use to ensure their children are getting the education they deserve. Matthew Spalding, Hilldale's vice president of Washington operations and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the curriculum and why it’s needed now more than ever. "It's important for us to realize that while we might think this is merely a debate about different opinions about history," Spalding says, "this is about debate between history on the one hand—good, accurate history and we can have some disagreements here and there, but generally speaking, there's a broad consensus about that—and an ideological approach, which is using history merely as a foil to fight current battles." Listen to my interview with Spalding on the podcast or read a lightly edited transcript below. You may learn more about the Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum on the school's website and access other K-12 resources there as well. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Giving to good causes is key to maintaining America’s free market system, the head of Philanthropy Roundtable says. It's not the job of government to meet the needs of all Americans, Elise Westhoff, the organization's president and CEO, says. So “if we have a strong philanthropic sector," Westhoff says, "I think that allows us to really make the argument for why the free market works, and also be able to help people in need.” Philanthropy Roundtable helps Americans to determine how to give back to their communities and country in a way that will further freedom and promote their values. In an age when many on the political left are using philanthropy to promote a woke agenda, it is critical for conservative to invest in organizations and causes that will leave a lasting legacy, Westhoff says. Westhoff joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why philanthropy is so important to America’s future. We also cover these stories: The New York State Assembly is close to concluding its impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is accused of sexually harassing multiple women. President Joe Biden announces deferment of departures for Hong Kong citizens in America amid China’s suppression of liberties in Hong Kong. Richard Trumka, an influential labor leader as president of the AFL-CIO, dies at 72. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in the now-defunct Soviet Union was not easy for Zilvinas Silenas or his family. “Government basically brainwashes you from a very early age, and government thinks you are disposable,” Silenas says of living under communism. After leaving Russia and spending four years attending a “very left college” in America, Silenas says he became even more committed to the principles of economic freedom. Today, Silenas is the president of the Foundation for Economic Education, an organization that educates young people about economic freedom. He joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss his experience growing up under communism and why he is so passionate about teaching the next generation the realities of socialism. We also cover these stories: The Biden administration works to find a way to extend the expired federal eviction ban. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, says he wishes he hadn’t signed a ban on mask mandates. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking a stand for Israel and against Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Holding to the biblical definition of male and female has cost the Rev. Bernard Randall his job. Randall served as chaplain of Trent College, a day and boarding school in Derbyshire, England, for four years. He delivered a sermon to students on the topic of gender identity in 2019. “So, all in all, if you are at ease with 'all this LGBT stuff,' you’re entitled to keep to those ideas,” Randall said in his sermon, adding, “if you are not comfortable with it, for the various—especially religious—reasons, you should not feel required to change.” Despite Randall's clear statement that “no one should be discriminated against simply for who he or she is,” Trent College suspended the chaplain for the sermon, reported him to England’s counterterrorism watchdog organization, and subsequently dismissed him. Randall joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share his story and why he chose to take legal action against his former employer. We also cover these stories: New York Attorney General Letitia James releases an investigators' report finding that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that indoor activities at restaurants, gyms, and performance centers will require proof of vaccination status, making New York the first major U.S. city to institute what amounts to a vaccine mandate. The man accused of killing eight at Atlanta area massage parlors pleads guilty to four murders and is sentenced to life in prison without parole. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brandon Tatum, a black former police officer in Tucson, Arizona, says he started out as a liberal, but through a personal evolution over time, he became a conservative. "I started out like most young, black men in the country, where default is being liberal. Default is being a Democrat," he explains. "All of the Democrat positions that you see most African-American men believing today is what I believed before, even though I wasn't politically involved as much as I am today. But over time, I began to wake up and be more involved, and I woke up to what the reality was," Tatum said. "A lot of that happened when I was in college. I started to see that the country isn't as racist as I thought it was." We also cover these stories: The Senate is moving forward with a 2,700-page, $1 trillion infrastructure bill. A report from Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee asserts that COVID-19 was accidentally released from a lab at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. Former President Barack Obama turns 60 on Wednesday and plans to celebrate with a huge birthday bash at his mansion on Martha’s Vineyard, a Massachusetts island, this coming weekend. But concerns about COVID-19 and the delta variant are prompting some to question whether the party plans, with 475 invited guests, including A-list celebrities, should proceed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authoritarianism is all around us. We see it in government, at work, and even in our local communities and schools. What can we do about it? Ben Shapiro, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor emeritus of The Daily Wire, is the leading the charge against authoritarianism. His new book, “The Authoritarian Moment: How the Left Weaponized America's Institutions Against Dissent,” is already a No. 1 bestseller after debuting last week. "I think that there's two types of authoritarianism when we think about it," Shapiro says, explaining: One is a sort of political authoritarianism in which the government continues to exert more and more power in the name of 'doing good.' And then the other sort of authoritarianism, which is unique to our moment a little bit, is the authoritarianism of the culture. The militarization of private institutions on behalf of one particular point of view, and then universally over time. And that one, I will say, is something kind of new.Shapiro joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to talk about this authoritarian threat and why we should resist conformity. Listen to the podcast interview or read a lightly edited transcript. Also on today's show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can be very difficult to find common ground in America today. Bitter partisanship feels like the new normal as liberals and conservatives struggle to find even a single topic they agree on. Josh Hammer, opinion editor and host of "The Debate" podcast for Newsweek, decided to do something about it. "Newsweek's idea here is that we are going to be the home for [tough] discussions, and we're not going to shy away from the dicey issues. We're going to talk about reparations for slavery, critical race theory, qualified immunity, to defund the police, whatever. We will not avoid the hard-charging stuff here," says Hammer. Hammer joins this bonus episode of the Daily Signal podcast to discuss how Americans can find the middle ground in an increasingly divided society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"The left is weak. It may not feel like that when you're being censored on Facebook... but those actions actually evince weakness. When you have to censor people, it means they're afraid," says Seb Gorka, host of "America First" on the Salem Radio Network and the author of "The War for America's Soul." "We have a republic to save. And guess what? With you, we can do it." Gorka joins the Daily Signal podcast to discuss how the radical left is trying to destroy the country, and how conservatives can effectively fight back. We are also joined by Morgan Zegers, founder and CEO of Young Americans Against Socialism. She discuss why socialism is so popular amongst young people, and what can be done to push back against its rising popularity. We also discuss these stories: The US Capitol Police have been ordered to arrest visitors and Congressional staff who refuse to wear a mask on Capitol grounds. The Biden Administration will not renew a federal moratorium on evicting people who have fallen behind on their rent payments due to COVID-19, but is asking Congress to extend the moratorium. The Senate votes Wednesday evening to move forward with a trillion dollar infrastructure deal. Over two hundred Republican lawmakers are asking the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On October 1, 2017, a lone gunman opened fire into the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. The incident remains the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. But out of this tragedy comes a story of true heroism. When Iraq War veteran Taylor Winston heard the first shots, he sprang into action. He grabbed a truck and began to shuttle wounded concert attendees back and forth from the scene to a nearby hospital. Winston's quick thinking saved countless lives. Many mass shooting survivors advocate for stronger gun control, but Winston's experience solidified his belief in the 2nd Amendment. "I never ever want to have anyone experience [a mass shooting], but I would go through it again and again, and again, to protect our gun rights because it protects us from something far worse and bigger, and that's a potential tyrannical government committing genocide," says Winston. Winston joins this bonus episode of the Daily Signal Podcast to discuss his act of heroism, as well as why it's so important to protect our 2nd Amendment rights. We are also joined by Jordan Sarmo, a faith-based musician and host of the Speak the Truth Without Fear podcast. We talk about cancel culture and how we can best fight back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is political correctness? When did it start of seep its way into mainstream culture? How is political correctness destroying American society? Michael Knowles, host of "The Michael Knowles Show" at The Daily Wire, joins me on The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss. We also chat about his new book, “Speechless.” "This whole culture has been upended," Knowles says. "Actually, notably, by the 70s feminists, who said the personal is the political. They made every single private interaction open to public scrutiny. Now you're seeing everything settle down again on the left's terms. So you're seeing a new set of standards. You're seeing a new kind of censorship. You're seeing a new kind of speech code. It just happens to be the inverse in many ways of the old standards that we had." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats are trying to push both a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package through Congress. While the former provides funding for traditional infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, the larger latter package provides trillions of dollars for a laundry list of left-wing priorities, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., says. “They have fudged on other numbers within it, so it's probably more like [a] $5.5 trillion [bill],” Lummis says of the larger spending package. “It is the Green New Deal. It is new entitlement programs, and it really is a terrifying, inflation-causing, big government-motivated spending bill.” If the American government does not stop spending at such a rampant pace, the “best-case scenario is that our dollars will go less far,” Lummis says, adding that the “worst-case scenario is that we put the dollar at risk as the world reserve currency.” Lummis joins the show to explain what you need to know about the two spending bills. She also share a bit about her journey to public office and what it’s like to be the first female senator from Wyoming. Also on today's show, Doug Blair talks with Tom Jones, co-founder of American Accountability Foundation. They discuss President Biden's radical cabinet nominees and wasteful government spending. We also cover these stories: About 50,000 illegal immigrants have been released into America without a court date, according to an exclusive report from Axios. Republican and Democratic senators have reached tentative agreement on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. The House of Representatives is reinstating a mask mandate for House members. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing to extend a subway from San Francisco, not far from Speaker Pelosi’s congressional district, to Silicon Valley, with funding in the Senate’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of OpenTheBooks.com, and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is calling this Pelosi's Bay Area Boondoggle. Why? Andrzejewski joins a bonus episode of The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would it be like to go from being an intern at the White House to being White House press secretary? Kayleigh McEnany, the fourth and final press secretary to President Donald Trump, experienced that unlikely journey. She joins me today on "The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss that passage as well as her forthcoming book "For Such a Time as This: My Faith Journey Through the White House and Beyond.” "It was surreal," McEnany says of working for the president. "My first time in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room was as an intern for [President George W.] Bush, as you noted," she says. "Dana Perino was the press secretary, so I watched her go back and forth with the Fox correspondent, ended up interning at Fox, and [then] doing several internships." "But then, about 10 years later, I was standing at the podium myself, which was surreal, amazing. And I know it was only made possible because Christ had that path for my life even when I couldn't see it." We also cover these stories on the podcast: A House select committee holds its first hearing looking into the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The panel includes seven Democrats but only two Republicans—Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Liz Cheney of Wyoming. President Joe Biden releases a 21-point immigration-reform plan as the crisis at the southern border intensifies. Biden meets with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., to discuss how to move forward the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The so-called mainstream media has lost touch with real America, says Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, a Christian website that specializes in satire. "Whatever you want to call it, the mainstream media doesn't, really represent mainstream America, so I do think that's a misnomer," Dillion says, adding: It comes out in a lot of the conflicts that we have. Like when The New York Times is criticizing us, they're actually using misinformation to smear us as being a source of misinformation. It's all projection that everything that they accused us of doing, they're actually doing themselves. So I think they are probably doing more damage than almost anyone else to this country, just by manipulating the truth and acting like they're the arbiters of the truth.Dillon joins me for a bonus episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" recorded at Turning Point USA's seventh annual Student Action Summit in Rampa, Florida. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Andy Biggs says vaccine mandates are a direct violation of Americans' personal freedoms. "It's what a tyranny would do. It's what an authoritarian government would do," the Arizona Republican told The Daily Signal, adding: And when [White House press secretary Jen Psaki] said that [community outreach] targeted neighborhoods, and President [Joe] Biden implied it was targeted, it made me think, maybe they have a database, right? So, if they've got a database, where are they getting that information? How is that information coming to them?Are they violating [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] laws? What is going on with it?I actually wrote a letter to the president asking him these things, which we've heard nothing back on. But I view it as a tremendous violation of our rights to privacy. We also cover these stories: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appoints Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., to serve on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Nearly 60 organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, demand that health care workers get the coronavirus vaccine, pointing to the spreading delta variant of COVID-19. The Dixie Fire in Northern California is just over 20% contained and continues to spread after merging with the smaller Fly Fire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mississippi mother Jennifer Booth was surprised when her 9-year-old daughter Lydia Booth came home from school and told her that she was not allowed to wear her “Jesus Loves Me” face mask anymore. Thinking her daughter’s teacher might simply have been having a bad day, Booth sent Lydia back to school with her mask. Again, the third grader was told she was not allowed to wear the mask at school. "The principal calls me and she's like, 'We're going to have to have Lydia swap her mask out,'" Booth recounts, adding that the principal said it was against school policy "to have religious symbols or gestures on her mask." But upon inspecting the school handbook with the principal, Booth says, the only policy the principal could point to referred to "drug culture, profanity, [and] obscenities." Booth continued to contact leaders of the Simpson County School District asking for an explanation and was eventually sent the district’s COVID-19 policy. But after a little investigation, Booth discovered that the policy she received had been modified less than an hour before it was emailed to her to include language barring student’s from wearing masks expressing religious views. Booth has filed a lawsuit against the school district with Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization. The mom says she chose to take legal action to protect her "kids, my grandkids, and everybody else's kids, because this year is the mask, next year is the T-shirt, eventually you can't say Jesus's name in school." Booth and Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer Tyson Langhofer join "The Daily Signal Podcast" to tell this story and discuss why they are taking a stand for religious liberty in Mississippi. Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a father and son who used their knowledge of the sea to find and rescue a man overboard off the coast of North Carolina. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship faced extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in liberal states such as California. Rob McCoy, senior pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel of Thousand Oaks in California, joins a bonus episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about he kept his church open during COVID-19 amid the restraints imposed by the state government led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat. "When COVID came out, and the governor declared that the church is not essential and wouldn't allow us to do Communion during our Holy Week, [from] Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, I refused to adhere to that," McCoy says, adding: So we followed [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] standards, we did Communion service, and I resigned from my [Thousand Oaks City] Council seat because I knew they'd have to censure me and they weren't going to uphold their oath of office to the Constitution.And we did Communion. And then ... the riots happened in LA, where 75% of the businesses that were burned and looted were Jewish-owned and targeted. And the governor embraced it, shoulder to shoulder, no masks. We realized then, now knowing the data, [and] we opened the church wide on May 31. And then in August, we didn't have a single case of COVID. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Joe Biden's proposed plan to conserve 30% of America’s land by 2030 lacks needed details, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says. The Biden administration has not provided details on how it intends to accomplish the goal, but enough is known about Biden’s "30 by 30” conservation initiative to know that it won't serve the best interests of the American people, the Republican governor says. "Right now, 97% of Nebraska is privately owned, and if you wanted to set aside 30% of this in conservation you would drive up land prices [and] make it more difficult for young people to get into production agriculture," Ricketts says "You would certainly drive up food prices [and] you'd drive up property taxes." Ricketts joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the implications of Biden’s "30 by 30" initiative. The governor also discusses disturbing sex-education standards proposed by the Nebraska Department of Education and what parents can do to push back on leftist policies being implemented in their children’s schools. We also cover these stories: Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House of Representatives won’t vote on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill until the Senate votes on a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. Chinese officials reject a plan from the World Health Organization for a second phase of a probe into the origin of COVID-19 that would include the possibility that the coronavirus escaped from a research lab in Wuhan, China. An Illinois teacher files a lawsuit against her former employer for firing her after she criticized rioting and looting in Chicago last summer following the death of George Floyd. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Lauren Boebert just returned from another fact-finding trip to the southern border. The Colorado Republican joins us today on "The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss her trip, migrant children crossing the border that she ran into there, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection's tally of the number of would-be illegal immigrants taken into custody at the border in June. "I've gone three times now to the border, and each time, it's just more and more devastating, and the reality of this crisis is brought more into perspective of what's really taking place. I was down in McAllen, Texas, most recently with [former] President [Donald] Trump, and I saw groups of unaccompanied minors, dozens of groups of unaccompanied minors," Boebert says. "And these children didn't have adults with them because of the Biden policies, because [President Joe] Biden is encouraging families to self-separate. If your child is 6 years of age or under, then you could cross with them, but if they're older than that, then they can't cross with you. So, they have a better chance of crossing the border without their children, putting their children in the hands of the [human smuggling] cartel and risking their lives." We also cover these stories: In a Tuesday interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Sen. Rand Paul announces he will be asking the Department of Justice for a criminal referral against Dr. Anthony Fauci. The Kentucky Republican claims Fauci lied to Congress about the National Institutes of Health funding illegal gain-of-function research at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology. The Biden administration is distancing itself from a group that is pushing critical race theory in public schools. On Tuesday, the Louisiana state Senate voted to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ veto of a bill that would ban biological men from competing in women’s scholastic sports. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an exclusive interview with "The Daily Signal Podcast," former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticizes the Biden administration for asking the United Nations to send its racism experts to the U.S. "Our administration understood that the U.N. Human Rights Commission was simply ... a bunch of anti-semitic thugs who spend most of their time nagging on Israel for the things they do simply to defend themselves.," says Pompeo. "To invite them in to look at American systemic racism, which frankly doesn't exist ... we know what these reports will end up saying. We know, they'll say, 'Oh, this is racism and the Americans need do X, Y, and Z to go fix it.'" "This is a commission occupied by people like Venezuela, by the Iranians," Pompeo adds. "These are bad actors trying to stick the thumb in the eye of the American people." "To have permitted them to come in and evaluate racism in America is an enormous mistake .... They'll come after America hard, and we shouldn't let them do that," the former secretary of state says. Read the lightly edited transcript, pasted below, or listen to the podcast to learn more about what Pompeo has to say about this, what he describes as the Biden administration's failure to lead on China and Hong Kong policies, and how the administration has put climate change ahead of American security. We also cover these stories: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has another heated exchange with Dr. Anthony Fauci at a Senate committee hearing. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., names five Republicans to serve on a special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. White House press secretary Jen Psaki avoids answering questions about which Facebook posts the Biden administration will flag as misinformation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Byron Donalds has signed onto a resolution from fellow Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart condemning the current situation in Cuba. Donalds says it’s critical that the United States stand in strong opposition to the violent suppression of mass public protests happening there. "They said to me, 'Man, it's so bad.' Not only did they shut down the internet, but they were like, 'There was a 12-year-old kid who was in the crowd at the protests. The police, the military police threw him on the ground, hit him with the butt of their gun in the back of his neck, broke his neck. He's now paralyzed from the neck down,'" Donalds said. "They talked about how people are being told, when the [Cuban] military comes to their door, 'You either come with us, or we'll kill you right now.' These are the things that are occurring on Cuba right now today," the freshman Florida lawmaker said. "And so we as a country, as being the beacon for liberty and freedom on the globe, we have, in my view, a moral obligation to stand firm against that regime." We also cover these stories: President Biden is accusing China of hacking Microsoft as the Justice Department indicts four Chinese nationals in connection with a global computer intrusion campaign targeting intellectual property and confidential business information. Biden walks back comments he made Friday that social media giant Facebook was “killing people” in reference to alleged COVID-19 misinformation. Paul Hodgkins, of Tampa, Florida, is handed an eight-month sentence in connection with his role in the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are special-interest groups dotting the landscape in Washington, D.C., for just about any cause you could imagine. They’ve been quite successful, too. But as Terry Schilling, a husband and father of five kids, surveyed that landscape, he saw a void. That’s why his organization, the American Principles Project, has embarked on a new initiative called the Big Family. It promises to put the needs of families first. "You've got Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Oil, Big Business," Schilling says. "There are so many bigs, but there's no big family. And that's why we chose the name, Big Family. We want the family to be the big guy in the room when it comes to public policy." Schilling joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” for a wide-ranging discussion about family values, the threats facing parents and kids, and how the American Principles Project is taking action. You can listen to the full show below—including our letters to the editor and weekly good news story—or read a lightly edited transcript at dailysignal.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Free to Learn Coalition is a nonpartisan organization that wants to take politics out of the classroom. Alleigh Marre, the president of the coalition, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” today to discuss how she hopes to do that. "We started to hear a lot more about how there's been more of an emphasis on activism, rather than academics," Marre says. "And that includes, certainly, critical race theory," which she says is "extremely prevalent and something that we're starting to hear more and more about, but it's not just isolated to that." Marre added: "And the big thing that we are hearing from parents is that, as we start to fall behind in the world, countries like China, Russia, Estonia, Slovenia, Canada, they all outperform us. And that's something that's very concerning to parents. We're all taxpayers, we're all paying into a public education system, and our students just aren't prepared for the future." We also cover these stories: Black Lives Matter is blaming the United States for the turmoil in Cuba. In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, 82, announces that he hasn’t decided when he will retire and says he's pleased with his new role as the court’s most senior liberal. Seventeen state attorneys general, led by Republicans, support Arkansas' outlawing of "experimental" transgender operations on minors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese Communist Party, which has ruled China for 100 years, remains highly secretive in its policies and actions. Fortunately, sources outside China's government have provided the world with a great deal of information about what is really happening within the communist regime. Compiling what we do know about the Chinese Communist Party, The Heritage Foundation—parent organization of The Daily Signal—just released its 2021 China Transparency Report. The document assesses China’s level of transparency across eight key areas: the economy, energy and the environment, human rights, influence operations, the military, outbound investments, politics and law, and, technology. The goal of the report "is partly to bust a myth that China is completely closed off and opaque," says Dean Cheng, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow for Asian studies who contributed to the report. "You cannot have a country of 1.3 billion people, you can't have any economy that's the second largest in the world, and the world's largest trading state, and not have some amount of interaction and data flow, etc.," Cheng says. "But part of the problem is that the available information isn't easily available, partly because, well, it's in Chinese." Cheng and Justin Rhee, co-editor of the China Transparency Report, join “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain its significance in understanding the actions and goals of the Chinese Communist Party. (You may read the full report here.) We also cover these stories: Secretary of State Antony Blinken invites U.N. envoys on racism and minority issues to visit the United States. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduces a bill to repeal federal mask mandates for those using public transportation. In remarks at The Heritage Foundation, former Vice President Mike Pence calls communist China a greater threat to America than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lala Mooney, born in communist Cuba, was imprisoned there at age 19. As protests erupt in the Caribbean nation, Mooney, mother of Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about what life there is like. "At the economic level, we lost everything," Mooney says. "My mother's family owned a sugar mill and they put a gun on my uncle's desk and say, 'Sign it over.' We lost everything." Mooney says her father was dean of engineering at St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic University in Havana, which the communist regime of Fidel Castro confiscated in 1961, expelling American and European Anglicans who administered it. "Once we were in prison, my father said, 'There's no sense for me to stay here if they put me in prison.'" "Engineering was a very important topic in Cuba," Mooney adds, "because Cuba was [one of the biggest] producers of sugar in the whole world, and engineering is how you run the sugar mills." We also cover these stories: In a speech, President Joe Biden criticizes election reforms passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures. Democratic state lawmakers from Texas, fleeing a vote on an election bill there, hold a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in support of congressional Democrats' legislation to impose election requirements on states. So far, no Democrat has signed on to a resolution from Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla., to support the protests in Cuba. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tens of thousands of Cubans are protesting in the streets because of dire conditions brought about by the Caribbean nation's communist regime. What is going on there, what will be the repercussions for protesters who have had the courage to gather in the streets, and how should the U.S. respond? "It's a very dark moment right now," says Mike Gonzalez, a Cuban native who is a senior fellow in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, the parent organization of The Daily Signal. Gonzalez joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the situation. "The state police is out there. They were called out by the puppet president, Miguel Díaz-Canel," Gonzalez says. "They're rounding up people, beating people up. I know of at least one pro-democracy priest—Castor Álvarez in the city of Camaguey in the east ... of the island of Cuba—who was severely beaten up and I think stripped naked. And his whereabouts are unknown. This is from dissident sources. For all we know, Father Castor could be dead." We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden issues a statement of support for Cubans who protested Sunday across the country. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., asks the National Security Agency's director to investigate allegations by Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson that the NSA is spying on him. Ben Carson, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, calls out critical race theory in an interview with Fox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Faith, family, and freedom. The late Sen. William L. Armstrong cherished these values throughout his life as a successful businessman, political leader, and university president. Today, Armstrong's son Wil is honoring his father's legacy with the William L. Armstrong Award, which recognizes an individual who has made a difference in America’s culture through business, politics, or education. This year's recipient, Heritage Foundation President Kay C. James, received the honor from the Centennial Institute, Colorado Christian University’s (CCU) public policy think tank, in partnership with The Armstrong Project. Wil Armstrong joined me for an interview to discuss his father's love for America and how he and his wife Kristy are making sure they recognize people who embody the values he held dear. Also on today show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about two little girls who raised nearly $2,000 at their lemonade stand to help the family of a fallen police officer. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the debates over Big Tech companies and censorship, a new social media platform has emerged to champion free speech. The platform GETTR officially launched on July 4 with a mission of “fighting cancel culture, promoting commonsense, defending free speech, challenging social media monopolies, and creating a true marketplace of ideas,” according to the platform's website. GETTR’s promise to users is “you're never going to be censored or deplatformed or cancel-cultured because of your political beliefs,” Jason Miller, a former aide to President Donald Trump and now the company's CEO, said on "The Daily Signal Podcast." Miller joins the show to explain why GETTR is a unique social media platform and to discuss Trump’s recently announced class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google over censorship. We also cover these stories: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says it’s “absolutely our business” to know who has and has not been vaccinated against the coronavirus. The International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government announce that fans will not be allowed to physically attend the Tokyo Olympics, which begin in two weeks, because of COVID-19. The former ethics chief under President Barack Obama speaks out against the current White House ethics plan for the sale of Hunter Biden’s art. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to fighting back against woke indoctrination and critical race theory in schools, Ian Prior is perhaps the happiest of warriors. Prior is executive director of Fight for Schools, an organization dedicated to exposing bad actors in the public school system in Loudoun County, Virginia and mobilizing parents to improve education for their children. “We want to have a school system where our teachers are shaping future leaders, mentally tough leaders, hardworking leaders, people that will do the best that they can to get where they need to be. And we don’t need to be dividing along these identity group lines,” Prior says. Prior joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss his fight against a woke school board and offer advice to others addressing these and similar issues in their school districts. We also cover these stories: Former President Donald Trump announces a class action lawsuit against tech giants Twitter, Facebook, and Google. President Joe Biden condemns the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and the wounding of his wife as a “heinous act.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets virtually with Uyghur Muslims detained in Chinese reeducation camps. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court last week ruled in favor of clean elections by upholding two Arizona voting laws designed to prevent fraud, the state's attorney general says. In a 6-3 decision, the high court upheld Arizona laws banning ballot harvesting and out-of-precinct voting. “[W]e need to recognize that the Constitution allows states to enact election integrity measures,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says. “The framers of our Constitution understood that.” After the Supreme Court issued the ruling, President Joe Biden said he was “deeply disappointed” and promised to continue promoting Democrat-backed election legislation. But Brnovich says that his state's laws are designed to protect all votes and won’t negatively affect minority communities. “I think it's clear,” Brnovich says, “… that the left, the hard left, the DNC [Democratic National Committee], and other left-wing groups are trying to do everything they can to control the state election process because they think that will benefit them.” Brnovich joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why this Supreme Court ruling is a victory for election integrity not only in Arizona but across the country. We also cover these stories: Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of The New York Times' much-disputed 1619 Project, declines a tenured position at the University of North Carolina. A D.C. man appeals to the Supreme Court to block a federal mask mandate for travelers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, contending it is unconstitutional. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the book “How to Be an Antiracist,” is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Beardsley served his country in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army Special Forces before taking the helm as executive director of the Association of the United States Navy. Today, he’s speaking out to urge military leaders to focus on their primary mission of defending America—not advancing the left’s woke agenda. Beardsley recently wrote a commentary for The Daily Signal about the challenges of readiness and morale in the U.S. Navy. “Wokeness is well on its way to poisoning our military, even as it claims the military is moving toward utopia,” Beardsley says. He tells The Daily Signal that his own military experience taught him radical ideas like critical race theory have no place in our armed forces. “In a firefight,” Beardsley says, “the one question that never occurred to me was, ‘Do I have enough black guys on the guns down behind me?’ Or, ‘Do I have enough Puerto Ricans on this side?’ Nobody cares. We want talented service members who honor the flag and respect the heritage of this country.” Following his military service, Beardsley co-founded and was CEO of a patriotic clothing company called The Underground Movement. He tells The Daily Signal about his love of America and the work he’s doing at the Association of the United States Navy. Listen to the interview or read a lightly edited transcript below. Also on today's show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a brand new patriotic song written and produced by a high school teacher. Listen to the song here. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rob O’Donnell is a former New York City Police Department detective who was involved with the response to, and rescue efforts in, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, as well as the response to 9/11. He joins "The Daily Signal Podcast” to talk about the 4th of July, patriotism, the contempt some show for the American flag, and how he would encourage Americans to embrace patriotism. "We promised on the 4th of July to become a more perfect union, and each American owes it to this nation to do their part to make this country a better union, to make us a better nation, to make us a better people, to make us the shining light of the world, which we are," O'Donnell says. "There's no doubt we are. It falls on dark times lately with all the rhetoric that goes on, but it's up to the individual citizen of America, the person who lives here, the people who came here to make this their country, to pay into that philosophy that we are a more perfect union and we strive to be more perfect union." We also cover these stories: The Supreme Court upholds two of Arizona’s election-integrity laws. The high court also rules in favor of charities against California's attempt to compel them to disclose their donors to the state's attorney general. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit the site of the Miami condo collapse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loudoun County, Virginia, has become the nucleus of a growing movement of parents and educators united against teaching Critical Race Theory, a philosophy that categorizes individuals into groups of oppressors and victims based on their race, in school. Michael Rivera, a father of two from Loudoun County, is an outspoken advocate against Critical Race Theory and other proposed leftist policies coming from the Loudoun County school board. "As I delve more into the actual academic writings of critical race theory, it gets more and more concerning and scarier because it doesn't seem like there is any point at which there is atonement for being an oppressor," Rivera says "or if there is any way to resolve the issues that are supposed to be systematic without essentially tearing down all of the social constructs and all of the norms and government and education." Rivera joins The Daily Signal Podcast to discuss how leftist policies have affected him and his children, as well as what he and other parents are doing to fight back. We also cover these stories: The Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rochelle Walensky says that fully vaccinated people are protected against the COVID-19 variants and do not need to wear a mask. President Joe Biden issues directives on addressing wildfires in the West announcing that the administration will have annual briefings as wildfire season starts. Four more bodies are found in the rubble of the Miami condo collapse. The Miss Nevada crown is given to a person who identifies as transgender for the first time. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the media goes, so goes the nation, to borrow from the old adage. The cultural influence of media—including movies, TV shows, and YouTube videos—is being felt with greater significance today than arguably any other time in history. James Fitzgerald founded ColdWater Media to promote the values so many Americans hold dear. The political “left has done a really good job of building business models around indoctrinating our kids,” Fitzgerald says. Fitzgerald uses film to explore some of the biggest issues and questions facing culture today, covering topics ranging from history and philosophy to education and economics. He joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the mission of ColdWater Media and some of the company's latest projects, including a series sharing the history of all the American holidays. Today's show also features an interview with John Papola, the CEO, creative director, and cofounder of the media company Emergent Order. Papola explains how he uses rap, humor, and storytelling to communicate American values through film. We also cover these stories: California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the state will no longer fund travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, or West Virginia, arguing that these states have taken harmful actions against the LGBT community. Los Angeles County asks that people wear masks indoors and in public places due to the spreading of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Lawmakers criticize U.S. athlete Gwen Berry for turning her back to the American flag during the singing of the National Anthem at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a teenager, Ken Williams walked into a Christian bookstore looking for resources to help him overcome his same-sex attraction. He found none. Now, years later, Williams has authored “The Journey Out: How I Followed Jesus Away From Gay” to help other individuals seeking to leave homosexuality or struggling with same-sex attraction. The “book is for those that want a way out … ,” Williams says. “I'm not speaking to the people that are content with an LGBTQ life. But there are so many that are not fulfilled with that. It doesn't scratch the itch. And so for those that it's like, ‘This feels impossible. I feel disconnected from God over it,’ I'm telling you, it does not have to be that way.” Today, Williams is married with four children and is passionate about helping others find the freedom they desire. Williams is also a pastor at Bethel Church in Redding, California, and leads the Changed Movement with Elizabeth Woning, a Christian organization that works with people who are seeking to leave a homosexual lifestyle. Williams joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to share his personal story and to explain how Christians can support those struggling with same-sex attraction. We also cover these stories: Former President Donald Trump has harsh words for his former attorney general, William Barr. The Supreme Court says it won't hear a case appealing a lower court’s decision involving bathroom access for a since-graduated transgender student. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he has a plan to crack down on Big Tech companies. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing up in Silicon Valley, Martin Avila taught himself how to be a computer programmer and started a website development company when he was in high school. Even then, his politics didn't mesh with the dominant far-left ideas of California's tech hub. Today, he's offering customers an an alternative in the marketplace of internet services—from application development to web hosting. His company is called RightForge, and it's a much-needed alternative at a time when Americans increasingly find themselves deplatformed and censored by Big Tech. "I've got friends who are like, 'We need to rebuild Salesforce. We need to rebuild MailChimp.' And I said, 'That's exactly right. We do.' But in order to stand up those things, we needed the hard infrastructure," Avila says. "And that's what RightForge is. It's the ability for those companies to be created on the hard assets distributed across the globe." Avila spoke to The Daily Signal about his plans for RightForge and why he's optimistic about marketplace solutions to Big Tech behemoths. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can the culture of the current news cycle—never ending and never positive—be tempered? Jonathan Grella, the founder of JAG Public Affairs and Daily Malarkey, has some ideas. "We really think that there is a place in the market for 'snark brevity,' as we call it. Like Axios coined the phrase, 'smart brevity,' and we do 'snark brevity,'" Grella said. "There's a lot of competition for people's attention nowadays. So, you've got to be quick and to the point and in order to get and keep people's attention, you have to be creative and clever. So, we bring those couple of things together." "It's not terribly difficult to come up with inspirations for our daily email blast because there's just a deluge of malarkey out there that we can opine on and poke fun at," Grella adds. We also cover these stories: The New York Supreme Court has suspended the law license of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, saying that the former mayor made “demonstrably false and misleading statements” when he was representing former President Donald Trump in his efforts to contest the 2020 presidential election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that House Democrats will soon create a special congressional committee to investigate the Jan. 6th capitol riot. A judge in Florida is halting a $4 billion relief program from the Biden administration for farmers that leaves out farmers who are white. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is no secret that the far left has infiltrated higher education. But Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, says his organization is doing all it can to expose the spread of woke ideology on America's college campuses. The National Association of Scholars operates a cancel culture tracker to document each time a faculty member at a college or university is canceled by his or her employer. The group now has tracked hundreds of cases, Wood says. "We decided once the numbers started to pile up that it would be a good thing to have one place where we can go to see how often this is happening," Wood says. "Virtually every week we get approached by another faculty member at some college or university saying, 'What can I do?'" Wood joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to explain the biggest issues he sees in higher education and what can be done to resolve them. He also discusses why the University of North Carolina denied tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of The New York Times' controversial 1619 Project. We also cover these stories: Vice President Kamala Harris will make her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border as vice president on Friday. The Supreme Court sides with a high school cheerleader in an important free speech case. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state's schools will teach children about the evils of communism. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices