Transcript

The political climate in America has changed. We can rebuild America

>> Jeff Chamblee: The political climate in America has changed. We've been given a reprieve, and we have to work together to take advantage of that momentum and effect even more cultural and spiritual change. We can rebuild America. The American Family association is working to do just that. And when you join, with your support, it helps maximize the impact. As our thanks, we'll give you a DVD of biblical financial advice from Rob west called Biblical Stewardship. Please visit afa.net and get started today.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Welcome to Today's Issues. Join us for the next hour as we offer a Christian response to the.

>> Tim Wildmon: Issues of the day.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Here's your host, Ed Vitagliano. And welcome to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon this week. I, am joined in studio by Fred Jackson. Good morning, Fred.

>> Fred Jackson: How you doing, Ed?

>> Ed Vitagliano: How you doing? I'm doing all right. Chris Woodward, good morning. Good morning to you. He's our news reporter for the show today until Steve Jordahl arrives in just under an hour. And then from a remote, undisclosed location, the unusually astute Dr. Ray Pritchard. Good morning, Ray.

>> Tim Wildmon: Definitely unusual. I don't know how astute I am.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You're astute, fella. You're astute.

>> Tim Wildmon: how you doing, Ed?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, I'm doing. Doing wonderfully. everybody all chime in.

How did your Memorial Day weekend go? I certainly understand that

How did your, Memorial Day weekend go? I certainly understand that Memorial Day itself is a day for some somber reflection and, for gratefulness to God. Heard, Jenna this morning on Jenna Ellis in the Morning do a wonderful opening segment on this played, President Ronald Reagan's, speech. I think that was the 40th anniversary of the D Day landings. He was in Normandy. Ah, wonderful tribute. But anyway, in terms of the long weekend, how did, how did everyone get along, as you would say?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, it rained where we were. I felt sorry because a lot of folks, they do a lot of outdoor cooking, barbecuing and that sort of thing. And, I, in our neighborhood, I just happened to pass a few houses and they had their barbecue just, just outside the garage door.

>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: So they could stand inside.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: But still go ahead with the barbecue. So, I think for a lot of folks planning maybe outdoor events, it was a bit disappointing. But, as you say, Ed, it is a time to remember those who paid the ultra sacrifice for what we do.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: You know, so that we can have radio where comments are still welcomes. Our lead story of the day, and we'll get to in a moment. There are apparently people in this country who do not believe in free speech.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, and I'm going to. This is not in our list of stories, but I was looking just this morning, and someone had posted on social media a video of a grandfather in the UK being arrested. Yeah, this guy had the video. He was filming the police. Police, they came to his home. They were inside his home. They were arresting him for comments on Facebook.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That violated the law. And so, it is getting kind of wild in countries that used to think were, free.

Chris: I'm going to part ways with you when it comes to squash

But, Chris, how did your weekend?

>> Christopher Woodward: It was. It was a good weekend. I, was able to get some gardening, done in between the rainstorms and praise God. we actually ate some from the garden for our memorial, day lunch.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Already?

>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, I had, I. God blessed us with an abundance of squash already, so I was super pumped about that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm, just going to have to part ways with you when it comes to squash. Squash. I can't stand squash. My mom used to cook it all the time. My mom was a wonderful cook. But there were certain things. Brussels sprouts, squash, I just. I didn't care for.

>> Christopher Woodward: My wife does zucchini.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, like.

>> Christopher Woodward: Zucchini. Yeah, my wife does Brussels sprouts. Like, she'll put it in the oven and put some things on it to, flavor it up, deaden the taste. Yeah. And, with. With our squash, she puts, like, parmesan and some other stuff on it, too.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it doesn't help. Yeah, put some parmesan on something that you like to begin with. But, Ray, we'll give you the last word on the weekend. What did. What was yours like?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, first of all, I agree ed, with you 100% about Brussels sprouts. You know, that, I hesitate to say God makes no mistakes, but it's hard to account for Brussels sprouts, you know? and within our. There's a disagreement on this. My wife says grill them, honey. Grill them. You know, if you grill them enough, maybe you grill the awful taste out. I don't know. But some people love them.

>> Christopher Woodward: But it's like little cabbages.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I don't think so. Mutant.

>> Tim Wildmon: Mutant, evil. Mutant cabbages.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Mutant cabbages.

Ronald Reagan made an appeal to the Soviet Union during World War II

All right, well, folks, we. We do hope that, in the midst of the remembrances, by the way, was a powerful speech listening to President, Reagan. And he was not just talking about America. He was talking about the Canadians and, the free. The forces of Free France and, other. Other countries as well. Even a tip of the hat to the Russians, of course, the Russians on the Eastern front suffered terribly in World War II. And it was Ronald Reagan's appeal to the Soviet Union, for the, the two countries to, come to some agreements on peace. And that was, I think in, 84, would be. 84, the 40th anniversary and just five years away. Yeah, was, I think, the, the fall of the, Berlin Wall and then two years after that, the collapse of the Soviet Union. So folks, you never know what God's doing behind the scenes. Do not lose hope, even though you may be tempted to after this program.

Supreme Court rejects Massachusetts student's appeal challenging gender-neutral school policy

All right, Chris, start us off.

>> Christopher Woodward: Well, we begin with breaking news out of the Supreme Court where today justices rejected the appeal of a Massachusetts student who was barred from wearing a T shirt to school proclaiming there are only two genders. The student's name is Liam Morrison. This is a case that's been going on for a couple of years. We have covered it extensively on AFN Net. but just to, bring people up to speed, the Supreme Court today rejected his appeal to take up the case to, a couple of lower courts have ruled in favor of the school. as a matter of fact, justices left in place a federal appeals court ruling that said it would not second guess the decision of educators in Middleborough, Massachusetts to not allow the T shirt to be worn in a school environment because of a negative impact on transgender and gender non conforming students. I can tell you from my discussions with law firms like Alliance Defending Freedom about this case, the school system, is very, inclusive. They embrace the idea that there's more than two genders and they've allowed students to share their viewpoints on things like multiple genders, three or more genders, that kind of stuff. So this kid took it upon himself to share his two cents and was sent home for wearing a T shirt saying there are only two genders. He and his father lawyered up with ADF and they went to court. And this has been up and down the court for a couple of years now. But unfortunately today the Supreme Court, albeit with the exception of Justices Alito and Thomas, ruled or rejected his appeal.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Fred, this is, this is an abomination. Yeah, this policy in the school. And shame on the Supreme Court. we've had some good rulings by the Supreme Court, over the last couple of years, but some very disappointing. Now this of course doesn't mean that the policy of the Massachusetts school is now nationwide or anything. It was just the Supreme Court refusing to take up the case to, say Something about this. And that means they could not. The Supreme Court could not get four justices to agree to take it. So there is something going on with the other members that are supposedly conservative on the Supreme Court. John Roberts, Amy, Coney, Barrett Kavanaugh, and, Who's the other one? just slipped my mind. Gorsuch.

>> Fred Jackson: Thank you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: none of those. You couldn't get two of those to go with Alito and Thomas. To put a dagger in the heart of these kinds of policies, this is. This is a terrible thing.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, listen to the words of Justice Alito in the his descent. He says the school permitted and indeed encouraged student expression, endorsing the view that there are many genders, but censored an opposing view. He went on to say, this case presents an issue of great importance for our nation's youth. Whether public schools may suppress student speech either because it expresses a viewpoint that the school disfavors, or because of vague concerns about the likely effect of the speech on the school atmosphere or. Or on, students who find the speech offensive. Here is what I think is developing. You mentioned the case in England, and it is, let's say, it is the agenda of the left in this country that only one side is allowed to be offended.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: All right. and that free speech, and this is why we talk about the importance of this. Free speech is in jeopardy. there is an agenda on the left that if you say something we disagree with, we're not just going to say, I disagree with you. No, the agenda now is I'm going to punish you. Yes, I'm going to punish you. I was mentioning before the show, you know, when Justin Trudeau was the prime minister of Canada, Remember what he said to those truckers? You have unacceptable views.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: I'm going to freeze your bank accounts.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They were protesting the COVID restrictions.

>> Fred Jackson: Covet restrictions, moving back and forth, across the border, United States and Canada. And so we're seeing this develop. We're seeing this. Now, some people may say, well, that's Massachusetts, all right, or, you know, Minnesota or New York or whatever the case may be. But I agree with you. It is shocking that two more justices on the United States Supreme Court would not say with Alito and Thomas, or wait a minute. This kid was just expressing a point of view. He disagreed with the idea that there are more than two genders, and he wore a T shirt to express that. I think there are other places, with regards to this story, where they celebrated transgenderism in the school. So the school is allowed to do that. And by the way, the T shirt expressed biology.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: The T shirt expressed science.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: That is taught. I would assume in the biology class there are only two sexes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Ray, a couple of things here, and get your take. first of all, let me say this. Of course, I can't get in the minds of the supposedly other conservative members on the Supreme Court. I will say that Alito and Thomas, they represent the sure enough constitutional approach to any issue. And these other four that I named. Okay, here's my take. Again, I can't get in their minds. My take is that you couldn't get two more of those justices to hear the case because the, the decision, the ruling that would have to be made is so clear that they knew they would have to come down on the side of free speech, and they're unwilling to take the hit when it comes to facing off against the transgender activists. And one last thing, and then get your take on this. it is absurd to claim, as this Massachusetts school did, and as these lower courts also agreed with, that it's important that to protect the feelings of transgender students. Nobody cares about Christians when they have to listen to atheists, teach evolution. Nobody cares about how. Whether Christians are offended by that, because they would be told, hey, just deal with it. It's. This is a free speech zone, and we're going to teach what we want to teach.

The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a controversial Massachusetts school policy

So what's going on with the Supreme Court and its inability to come down on the right side of the Constitution?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, you've asked a question that because of what happened, the way it came down, it's impossible for us to answer because we're. We're speculating here about, about the missing two votes. It is entirely possible that somebody like Gorsuch was the third vote. And maybe they weren't. Maybe they weren't lacking votes. Maybe they were just lacking one. it would also make sense to me to believe that Chief Justice Roberts is guiding this situation, because the last couple of years, this court has tended. Last few years has tended to favor religious liberty. Now, we haven't won every single case before this, but we've won a bunch that favor toward religious liberty. Is it possible? Again, Ed, we're just. We're just speculating here. Is it possible that there was something about this case that the judges in the middle didn't. Justices in the middle didn't like? Maybe they're waiting for a better case, a clearer case. Maybe there's some fact, some. Maybe they want, Maybe they want a case that doesn't have various problems associated with it. but otherwise, it's a mystery. Yeah, I'll bet. Okay, we all get a free guess, right? Okay, that's right, we get a free guess. My free guess is that Gorsuch, was in favor of hearing it, and Roberts put the brakes on and said, no, let's wait for a different case to come up. as it stands, as you said, this doesn't establish a nationwide precedent. All we can say for sure is the Supreme Court declined to intervene in this case. And, thus the policy in Massachusetts stands.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, if you're living in a blue state and your kids are going to public schools, it is a roll of the dice in terms of protecting your constitutional freedoms and liberties. It is a strange situation. The Democratic Party used to be all in favor of free speech. I remember this during the Vietnam War and the protests of the Vietnam War and the civil rights protests in the 60s and early 70s. And actually those began in the civil rights protests began in the 50s. But, the left was always about the First Amendment and freedom of speech. And now they are on the opposite side and they want to clamp down on speech, with which they disagree, and they still hold. I know Trump got elected in 2024, but the left still holds tremendous power in this country. And public schools, colleges, universities, the journalistic field and the mainstream media, Hollywood, all of those, they still hold a tremendous amount of power. So, anyway, this is a disappointment and, we'll continue to.

Supreme Court ruling says schools can't suppress students' speech

Do you have something else on this?

>> Christopher Woodward: Yes. now I do have a statement here from Alliance Defending Freedom, which I've put in a request for to speak to after the show. So stay with AFN today and tomorrow for more on this story. But in the meantime, Alliance Defending Freedom said it's disappointed in this, Supreme Court ruling adding students do not lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building. Schools can't suppress students views they disagree with here. The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and pride events. It encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic, so long as that clothing expresses the school's preferred views on the subject. Our legal system is built on a truth that the government cannot silence any speaker just because it disapproves of what they say. ADF will continue to defend the rights of students to speak freely on important issues of the day without government censorship. I gotta tell you, I'm not a lawyer, okay? I have a BA in communication, which Means deadly squad in the, in the court system. But if they're allowing students to wear stuff like Pride and I was born this way with my 14th gender. You've got to allow this kid to wear a T shirt that says there are only two genders.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's why I said this should be a no brainer. But perhaps raised right. Maybe there's something in the case. I mean, we've been following this for a while. I don't remember recalling.

>> Christopher Woodward: This kid's in, like, 9th or 10th grade now, and this happened when he was in the seventh grade.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Anyway, we'll continue to, follow this young man's career that, let me tell you, in Massachusetts. This kid has got a steel spine to have worn this. I remember the pictures of him. He, he was not, he wasn't like a weightlifter or a football player. Yeah, this is a, this was a seventh grader. I think if I remember, slight of build, but, man, the kids got guts.

>> Tim Wildmon: Just, it's, it's, it is tough to do that, do what he did to go against the flow in the seventh grade.

>> Christopher Woodward: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Give him the Paul Revere award.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, there you go.

>> Christopher Woodward: After he was told, you can't wear that T shirt that says there are only two genders, he comes back to school with. There are censored genders. Oh, good for him.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Well, listen, they're all wicked smart. Yeah, he's wicked smart.

>> Christopher Woodward: There you go.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, go ahead.

Fred Robertson expresses thoughts and prayers for the Robertson family following Phil's death

All right, next.

>> Christopher Woodward: Before we go any further, we do want to express our thoughts and prayers for the Robertson family because Phil Robertson, for those not aware, did pass away over the weekend at the age of 79. I have not seen a cause of death, although, as many news outlets have pointed out, he was recently diagnosed with dementia. Yeah, I'm not saying that was the cause of death, but he had been in some sort of, declining health state. And a lot of us, having had parents pass away, can sympathize. And we know what Willie and others are going through there. Now, I've got to play some audio here. Phil was known for making very bold statements, for having a steel spine and talking about sin in a world where it's okay to be sinful is often expressed. Here. just to, show you a little bit of what Phil had to say over the years, let's play clip one.

>> Phil Robertson: America's problem is that America doesn't know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: What its problem is.

>> Fred Jackson: It's sin.

>> Phil Robertson: That's your problem. We legislate murder. We made it legal. To shed the evil epitome of innocent blood. all of you were in your mother's womb. For crying out loud. You were in your mother's womb. It was you when you were this long. It was you when it was thinking you were big as my fist. And it was you when you weighed eight or nine pounds before you came out. It was you from start to finish. You know that and I know that. Give me a break.

>> Fred Jackson: Break.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Fred, he. He was. He was, bold.

Ray: Phil Robertson was an inspiration to Christians today

Talking about Phil Robertson, folks. A lot of you know that he passed away over the weekend sometime. Right. Over the long weekend. And, we could use 10,000 more of those kinds of guys, that's for sure.

>> Fred Jackson: Public fig figures and kudos to his family who have been carrying on.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: with. With the same kind of stand. Boldness. And I just want to mention the last time I think I saw Phil Robertson on TV was. Was a, last, man standing. It's a. It's a comedy show.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, okay.

>> Fred Jackson: Tim Allen.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, yeah. That's right.

>> Fred Jackson: Tim Allen.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That was a good show.

>> Fred Jackson: Had Phil Robertson on a number of times.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And I remember one particular episode.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Himself.

>> Fred Jackson: Has himself.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah. Played himself.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And, at one point, they were having dinner at, the character's home, Tim Allen's home. And he said grace.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And he wasn't afraid to pray in Jesus name.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: he was that kind of guy. I don't think Phil Robertson would have agreed to go on the show unless he could speak openly about his testimony and his faith in Jesus Christ. so. And he was never afraid to do that. So it is encouraging and a great message to young people and to Christians in general today. If you say you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal savior, do not be embarrassed to say it wherever you are.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And if someone is saying you can't say that here, then you don't go there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: You simply, you don't accept the invitation. You make that kind of stand today. And Phil Robertson and his family, they're that kind of family.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Ray, did you ever watch Duck. Duck Dynasty?

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, all the time.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: many, many, many, many hours spent watching Duck Dynasty. And the thing. I mean, it's already been said. Here's a guy, look. There are people come up the easy way. Right?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: And people come up the hard way. Phil came up through life the hard way. everything. He was born with almost nothing. Very difficult childhood and, and upbringing and all the rest came to Jesus. And Jesus radically underlined that, Radically transformed His life, his marriage, his family. He started the Duck Commander business. And, you know, for years it did okay. Then came tv and it blew up, all across the world. And, he never backed down, ever, Ever. If we wanted to ask Phil, what do you think about, the kid who wore the T shirt in Massachusetts? Give him a gold medal, right? That's the kind of guy Phil Robertson was. And I think, you know, my wife, and I were talking about this yesterday and Marlene said, you know, it's a good thing he wasn't a preacher. It's a good thing he didn't go to seminary. He just, he was just a guy who came up the hard way, who had a strong faith and was completely unashamed. And whatever you said earlier, lord, give us 100 more, a thousand more, 10,000 more Phil Robertsons in the days to come.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and it's an interesting point you're making about him not being. Didn't go to seminary, wasn't, quote unquote, an official preacher, but he is what we all should be preachers are not. We should be, ready to give a defense of our faith and proclaim the truth about Jesus Christ. And so to me, this, he was an encouragement and an inspiration to, especially men, I want to say everybody, but especially men who maybe were hanging out in the background and not really bold enough to stand for Jesus. He kind of gave them permission that you did not have to be a preacher. You did not have to be trained. You, you could just relying upon the Holy Spirit. You could speak the truth. And, and Ray, when you said that he, impacted people around, the world, that is just. You talk about the foolish God choosing the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. I'm sure there were lefties in Hollywood whose heads were spinning off when they saw the success of Duck Dynasty. And these quote, unquote, yahoos from Louisiana, they're not New York City elites. They're not, you know, Hollywood elites. They're just, part of the basket of deplorables. And yet, God used them in a mighty way. And, some of the children, grandchildren, have gone on to continue to be sold out to Jesus. I hope the whole family continues to do that. All right, we're going to take a short break, and when we come back, more of today's issues. You're listening to the American Family Radio Network. We'll be right back.

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>> Fred Jackson: Well, the Countdown is on.

>> Christopher Woodward: 212 days.

>> Fred Jackson: 200 days. Hobby Lobby now has Christmas decks. No, on the top deck. Now they got the fall stuff.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: But my wife was in the other day. She sent me a picture. They've got the decorations up high. They move them down as we get a little bit closer. But if you want to smell fall.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, listen, I'm just saying, the fall stuff, that's. That's kind of surprising that they're already.

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, Hobby lobby is always one season ahead.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Wow.

>> Fred Jackson: At least one season.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, we haven't even officially hit summer yet. No, we're still technically in spring. Yeah, technically. Yeah. So they. They're two seasons ahead.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well. But you know what? It's. It's not stopping people from going and buying.

>> Fred Jackson: That's right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I actually, like. I. I try to do a little bit of, artwork. I. I like Hobby Lobby.

>> Fred Jackson: Hm.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't like going with my wife. I will say this temptation. Now, she's. Yeah, she's, she's gone to Kroger this morning, so I know she's not listening to the show, so I'm just going to speak freely.

>> Christopher Woodward: Actually joining us now by phone.

>> Ed Vitagliano: She will go together. And I just go to look at, you know, the art pads or some ink or whatever, and I get done pretty quickly, and then I hunt her down and. And I know she. She prefers I just go somewhere else because, you know, I'm just. I don't say anything, but it's like, no, are you done yet?

>> Fred Jackson: It's that stare.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So, anyway, ladies can get lost for a long time in a place like that filled with a lot of great things.

National Public Radio and three local stations sue President Trump over proposed defunding

All right, Chris, go ahead.

>> Christopher Woodward: All right, I want to point people's attention to something Fred posted on afn.net earlier today. National Public Radio and three local stations filed a lawsuit today against President Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington by npr, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, and Kute argues Trump's executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment. Trump, of course, likes to refer to these news outlets as, quote, fake news.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes. This is amazing. No one is arguing that, National Public Radio has a right to a point of view. Yeah, but this is not what the suit is about. This suit says not only do we have a right to a point of view, but we have a right to demand that taxpayers across this country pay us right to express our point of view, which is absolute insanity.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, I will say this. I think President Trump, and then Ray will get your take on this. I think President Trump's issue on this, I'm in full agreement. AFA has been pushing, for National Public Radio and, PBS to be defunded by tax dollars for decades. Since the 80s is when I first was aware of it. Might have even started sooner than that. so this is not a new fight to us. I think where the president might get himself in trouble is that Congress may be the one that has to do it, because Congress is the one who allocated the funds. I don't know. Like, like Chris said, I'm not a lawyer either. Okay. I think that might be the sticking point. But that's not their defense. Their defense is that they have a First Amendment right. This is what they've been harping on, a, First Amendment right to say what they believe is right. And nobody's arguing that. They don't.

>> Fred Jackson: No.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So we'll, we'll wait and see how this plays out. Ray, I don't know why Congress has never had the guts to defund NPR and pbs. but they should have a long time ago. and they haven't. So now we're at this point where Trump has tried to do it himself.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I think your analysis is spot on. This probably is going to go back to a congressional issue as you said. And let's face it, follow the money friends. There's a lot of money. We're not talking tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands. We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars that's involved in NPR and the network that they've got and this and the support from the left wing liberal establishment seems to me, I mean I've heard Republicans say for m. At least 40 years going back to the days of Ronald Reagan, we need to defund npr. But even when Republicans have had both Houses, right, the, the House and the Senate, we've been, we have. The President and the leadership of the Republican Party has lacked the political will to make it happen. So President Trump is taking as he, as he's done many times, he's taking a leaf out of Obama's playbook. You know, I got a phone, I'm going to sign an executive order and let's see what happens.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I hope, I hope he succeeds.

>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: and here's the thing we've joked around. Fred, I'll give you the last word on this. unless Chris has any additional sound on this. But we joke during sheriff on three days in the spring, three days in the fall. Tim usually will say, folks, we don't get money from the government like NPR or PBS or you know, we don't get big, large grants from the Ford foundation or anything like that. We look to our listeners to help keep this ministry on the air. but, so the, the point is NPR and PBS should play with the big boys and big girls. I'll be fair about this. if you're message is appealing, you should rely on those who listen.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Or who watch to support it. Or you can get money from foundations.

>> Fred Jackson: Hm.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But why should the taxpayers be charged out of their own pocketbook to support a point of view they don't agree with?

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, I work for public broadcasting in Canada for 20 years prior to coming here. And their argument is we're so good that you taxpayers need to fund us.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: The counter argument to that, folks, is if you're so good, if you're so good, then you should make your own money.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Go out there and solicit it from companies if you want or, you know, do share a thoughts. Yeah. If you think you're that good and that you're needed, then go out there and get the money to do it. But don't demand that taxpayers, who often have a point of view different from npr, don't demand those folks to fund your propaganda. That's what it is. It's left wing propaganda. That's what you get from npr. So, we'll see what happens here. But I agree with you that likely it's going to be thrown back to Congress who approves funding, and, they need to step up to the plate. Finally, we have, right now we have Republicans in control of the House.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: And the Senate and the White House. Now's the time to do it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Especially in this big, beautiful bill.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They're working on. That should be something that they should. I, I don't, I don't know what I, I will say this and then we can move on. By the way, Chris, do you have anything else on this?

>> Christopher Woodward: No sound on this particular.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, all right, so I'll just say this. We can move on. the Republican Party, by and large, there are exceptions, and I don't know what the percentages are. Maybe 25% of Republicans, they care about social issues, but the Republican Party establishment does not. It's very rare to see them step into the fray, whether it's, listen, defunding Planned Parenthood, been demanding that for a long time.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: The national, Endowment for the arts, AFA fought battles in the early 90s on the stuff that the government was funding with tax dollars. And for some reason, you just don't have enough Republicans who are willing, are willing to take the heat on these kinds of things. And it's, it's sad. so anyway, what next?

The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University

>> Christopher Woodward: In other Trump news, the Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel any remaining contracts with Harvard University. The government already has canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants for Harvard, which is pushed back on the administration's demands for changes to several of its policies. Cuts to contracts could take away millions more from Harvard's budget. Now, Trump administration for weeks has claimed that Harvard has done little to nothing to combat antisemitism on campus, saying Harvard, you have all these people that are coming to your campus. Some of them are students here on visas and they're saying awful things about Israel and Jewish people. You have to do something about this. And because the school has not done enough to quash, anti Semitism on campus, the Trump administration is doing all these things to try to get Harvard, to actually do something here. I've got a little bit of audio from people about the Harvard v. Trump situation. And by the way, I failed to mention this on Friday. A federal judge, an Obama appointee, I believe it is, temporarily barred the Trump administration from m Telling Harvard, you can't have any more foreign students here. You're allowing all these anti Israel people coming over here saying awful things about Israel in the US don't do any more of this. But a judge on Friday said the Trump administration can't do this for now while Harvard's lawsuit plays out. But, talking about the Harvard v. Trump situation here, I've got a couple of clips from one of their, from one of Fox News legal contributors. This is, Carrie Kupek. Clip nine.

>> Carrie Kupek: They're saying that they're complying with the record keeping requirements and the Trump administration is saying they aren't. And so this really started out as a records fight. Trump administration gave them originally something like 10 days to produce records on their foreign students. Harvard said they complied. The Trump administration says, well, what you provided wasn't good enough. Trump administration came back to them and said something like, you need to provide any evidence or video footage of these foreign students participating in events that cause violence or problems. it's unclear whether Harvard did that. It's also unclear whether. It's also unclear, Lawrence, how much Harvard has actually vetted these students themselves. And so the Trump administration came back and said, you have not complied with our requests and therefore we're going to start cutting some of your funding.

>> Christopher Woodward: Now I want to throw this in because some people are saying, oh, this is terrible. Harvard is a, it's a school, it's a well known institution and they're just trying to educate the leaders of tomorrow. Harvard is sitting on an endowment of $53.2 billion. Why an institution with that much money in the bank needs to get money from the federal government is beyond me. That I think factors into what we were talking about with npr. You have the means, you don't need the federal assistance.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, Fred, this is, I think, and again, these, what President Trump has been doing in the first 100 days of his administration, plus now we've moved beyond that marker, has been astounding in terms of how fast he's moved, all the areas where he's been, been very evident. okay, so having said that, because of the speed of it and because of the breadth of his actions, lawsuits are popping up right and left. So I, I have no idea how all these lawsuits are going to eventually play out. But I will say this. For colleges and universities to kind of double down on protecting the rights of anti Jewish sentiment, it's not just protests, it is intimidation, it's violence. this is not necessarily connected to the Harvard situation, but this couple that was, allegedly murdered by Elias Rodriguez after leaving an event at the Capitol Jewish museum in Washington D.C. what happens if Harvard wins this battle against the Trump administration, allows all these students in the protests and some kids start getting killed? Yeah, I mean, I have zero confidence that the far left in this country is going to go backwards and become, calmer in their protests. These things always escalate and you're going to have students killed on campus and then Harvard's going to face major lawsuits that are going to wind up in civil, court. And we may start finding out why Harvard won't be more agreeable to the Trump administration.

>> Fred Jackson: Not sure if it was Harvard or Columbia. Columbia University in New York just as bad or worse, Harvard when it comes to anti Semitism. But one of these schools, I think, was within 48 hours after the massacre in Israel carried out by Hamas. Within 48 hours, they had a speaker on their campus railing against Israel. Within 48 hours of a massacre that took the lives of more than 1200 men, women and children. And so when you saw those protests, the pro Hamas protests, the anti Israel protests within hours after that massacre, what does that tell you? That there has been an environment on these schools, whether it's Harvard, Columbia, Yale, whatever the case may be, there's been an environment that's been created for years. You know, we had the, the, Boycott against Israel campaigns that. But we've been doing news stories about that for years.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. You know, that sort of was a bds.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Boycott, Divest. Sanction.

>> Fred Jackson: Sanction, yes. That movement's been going on for years. So that is why they're going to, to these universities are not going to change their climate. What Trump is trying to do. Go ahead, universities, if you want to be that way, go ahead. But we're not going to fund you, we're not going to send you hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants and all of that sort of thing. One of the other concerns by the Trump Administration is, is that some of these research grants have gone to students from China that, so funding their research, and they're sending the results back to the Chinese regime.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: So there's a lot going on here. And, all Trump is saying is that, you know, if you guys insist on doing this, you go ahead and do it, but we're not going to give you the money to do it anymore. Much like the NPR case.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, Ray, there, there. And we've talked, we have talked about this on the show from time to time, but this hostility to, the Jews, and I never thought I'd see this kind of hostility in this country, but here we are. There is certainly a spiritual component to this. Right?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it goes way back and we talk about this a number of times, Fred. We, you and I have gone, talked about this. It goes all the way back to the book of, of Genesis. God chose Abraham, right? Called him from Ur of the Chaldees, made out of Abraham through Isaac and through Jacob. And the boys made a great nation. And he told them, and he said in Deuteronomy, it's not good. Not because you were better than anybody else, not because you were smarter than anybody else, not because you were better looking than anybody else, not because you somehow stood out. You were like the smallest nation on earth. But I chose you to display my grace and to display my glory. Through you, God put his hand upon the Jewish people, and even though, even though they have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, and we know largely in this age, largely they have, we also know a great day is coming when Jesus returns and multitudes of Jews will come to faith in Jesus Christ. I mean, that's all there, Fred, right there in the, in the book of Romans. We know it, we've talked about that. But all you have to do, there's that parallel line ed of here comes Moses. What's Pharaoh gonna do? He's gonna try to wipe out all the male Jewish baby boys. Okay, here comes Jesus. What does the devil do? He stirs up Herod the Great to slaughter the baby boys of Bethlehem. Satan hates the Jewish people. And let me tell you, those who also today hate the Jewish people, hate the nation of Israel. They are doing the devil's work all over again in our generation.

Male athlete in California competing against female athletes sparks controversy

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, Chris, next story.

>> Christopher Woodward: All right, a male athlete in California competing against female athletes, won a spot in the high track and field state championship. Ah. So a lot of people are kind of wondering, wait a minute, how are states still doing this when the Trump administration put out an executive order saying no more males and female sports. Well, if you ask somebody like Jennifer, say, founder of the XXXY athletics organization, she says California and its governor just is ignoring the, Trump administration. Clip 7 I mean, we're all just.

>> Jennifer: So tired of it. Two months ago, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said it was unfair for boys to compete in girls sports. But he's done nothing about it. you know, actions speak louder than words here. And this male athlete, a junior in high school, was first over the weekend in two events. He displaced Kaylee Best, who was the rightful winner in both long jump and triple jump. she did not have the chance to stand atop the podium, which she should have had. But he also displaced young women from even qualifying for state. It's ridiculous. He has male advantage. He, shouldn't be allowed to compete in girls. And according to the executive order, he's not. But California is ignoring it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, Fred, this is, this is the left. Yep, the left obeys the laws. It's kind of like it's similar to the free, speech case. Yeah, we're in favor of free speech as long as the speech you're saying is what we agree with. If not, we are going to oppress you and silence you. And this is similar. Yeah, we keep. No one's above the law. They always said about Trump, okay, no one is above the law, except for us when we don't agree with what the Trump administration is telling us to do. So there is resistance. Maine has been one of the most notable, out in public states to just completely refuse to keyed the Trump administration. so this, I guess this is just a battle that will continue, but in the meantime these young girls are losing out. And this is what, this is what these laws were meant to do, was to protect girls, in sports. And they, for a, for a side of the religion, of the political spectrum that has always been, you know, oriented towards feminism. They are completely throwing women, real women, under the bus, I don't think.

>> Fred Jackson: There's no question, at least in my mind, that the vast majority of Americans support that only women should play in women's sports. I believe it's one of the reasons the Democratic Party did so poorly.

The Democratic party has spent $20 million trying to figure out why voters voted Republican

Yes, it's amazing to me, and I'm not sure we'll get to it in this hour, but right now there's a story this morning. The Democratic party has spent $20 million so far in trying to figure out why so many white males, black males, Hispanics, Voted Republican this time. and they're spending money to investigate this. You don't have to spend a cent. Democratic party, right. The vast majority of Americans have common sense, right? They do not believe it is right that a guy in this case of this California case on the weekend has a right not only to compete in women's sports, but he wins.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: And disenfranchising women who look to a, a scholarship from a university, they're losing because of these guys that are allowed to play in women's sports. All I say is, you know, I took biology in university, right? Let's get back to biology. Remember when the left used to say that? Yes, that's follow the science. Let's follow the science.

>> Ed Vitagliano: What I'm saying. Yeah, follow the science until the science doesn't agree with our ideology. And by the way, these Democratic leaders that wanted to investigate, do a little autopsy about the 2024 election results, they spent big money to go to Europe and stay in nice hotels to discuss this problem. Oh, I know, it just seems like a paid vacation for them.

>> Fred Jackson: you know, if the Democratic Party wants to continue to do that, go ahead, go into the midterms next year. Keep doing this.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Ray. There are ah, a lot of Democrats who are, I would put them in the category of traditional liberals, classical liberals, right. who who do not like the direction that the Democratic Party is in which it is going. And I think part of their frustration is that increasingly the levers of power in the Democratic Party are swinging to the radical wing of the party. I've heard James Carville complaining about, about this, Bill Maher and others. These are classical liberals, from you know, the 70s and 80s. And they're about to throw up their hands because the Democratic Party is doubling down on a losing issue.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it's exactly what Fred said that if they want to lose big in 2026, just stay the course boys. Just stay the course. Stay radical on abortion, stay radical on gay rights, stay extremely radical on the trans issues. And the Republicans are going to gain even more in the off year elections. You know, the party in power usually loses seats in the midterm elections. I mean that happens what, 80, 90% of the time. But the Democrats are led by people. They aren't just radical, they're ultra radical. And whatever is beyond ultra radical. That's who's leading the party right now. And I think there's a lot of mainstream, whatever mainstream Democrat is today, old fashioned, old fashioned, kind of liberal Democrats aren't comfortable with the radical views of their party leaders. And there's nothing they can do about it because, the party is in the capture of, far, far, far leftists. I think they're going to lead the party over the cliff in 2026.

Rahm Emanuel aims to shift Democratic Party to center, deeming brand

>> Fred Jackson: You know, there's a very interesting story. I'm not sure it was in the Wall Street Journal, I think on the weekend. And it's all about Rahm Emanuel. And that's a name, very high profile name in the Democratic Party.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Former mayor of Chicago and I think he was chief of staff with Barack Obama.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: he is writing and this, listen to this. Rahm Emanuel aims to shift the Democratic Party to the center, deeming its brand. And these are his words. Toxic, weak and woke. Now he, he apparently wants to run for president at some point.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: For the Democrats. But there's a big difference between him and aoc.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: And Tim Walsh who ran as vice president under, Kamala Harris. Good, our good friend Kamala Harris, you know, and that's, that's where the Democratic Party is. And the left is not going to let go. But then you have guys like Rahm Emanuel, you know, who I would describe as left too.

>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, he worked for Obama.

>> Fred Jackson: But that word toxic, that's going to continue. That's a big problem for the Democrats.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks, we're going to take a five minute break for news and when we return, we will have Steve Jordahl join us. You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. We'll hope you return. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.