If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a humanistic society

>> Ed Vitagliano: If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic, humanistic society. Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. The movement Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture. Watch Culture Warrior today for free visit culturewarrior movie.

>> Fred Jackson: Welcome to Today's Issues. Join us for the next hour as we offer a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Ed Metagliano.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And good morning, everybody.

Today's Issues features Ed Vitagliano and Wesley Wildman

Welcome to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon this week. And today, folks, just going to let you know we are releasing the Epstein files. Yes, right, right here.

>> Fred Jackson: Ed has that on his desk.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I have it on my desk. Oh, wait, it's on my des. In my office. I'll have to go get it. Fred Jackson, good morning to you, sir. Good morning, Ed and Wesley Wildmon. Good morning, Wesley.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Good morning. Well played. Outstanding.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And you know, everyone's ears perked up.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Well, I just started laughing. I thought that was hilarious. That was well played.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I got, I got the big stack of files. Boy, we wish somebody has big, big stack of files somewhere.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah, lay that to rest. That'd be, that'd be nice helping for everybody.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely. Chris, Woodward is our news guy today.

>> Chris Woodward: Good morning. I was going to joke that I only got the heavily redact version.

>> Wesley Wildmon: No, ah, no. The one that we've all had for years.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I, I was just tossing that out as, as a, as a joke, but I think we will actually talk a little bit about it, at some point. Can't, get enough. It's kind of like Frosted Flakes in the morning. When I was growing up, that was my breakfast every, just about every day growing up. And no breakfast was complete without Frosted Flakes. And no day is complete without a reference to the Epstein.

>> Wesley Wildmon: So the Frosted fl. That's a cereal that you have one bowl and you look at the clock and say, do I think I got time for one more?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Wesley Wildmon: And then at the end of the second one, you're going, oh, why did I do that? With all the milk? You know, and just kind of getting.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I, what I would do. And of course, none of our listeners.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Sound like the Epstein spouse. You know, once we get it's the.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Second time, we're like, care anything about this, but, and of course it's terrible for you, but when I was, when I was Young, especially a teenager. nothing, nothing phased me. But I'd eat a bowl of Frosted Flakes and there'd be enough milk in there to justify putting some more cereal in. But always too much cereal. And I just put a little more milk and I put in my body.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Oh, yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: When I was growing up, it's, I guess I'm, it's fortunate God has kept me here without, you know, getting diabetes or something like that, but.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. Yeah. Knock, knock on wood. That's right. I'm not dead yet, so there's still time. all right.

American Family Radio partnering with Revival Fires International for National Truth for Youth Bible Week

Before, before we get started on the news, Fred, this is, a great week for us. We have a partnership going on. A lot of our listeners have heard on this show and other shows us talking about, something we're doing. Giving away.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes, sir. For the 25th year in a row, American Family Radio teaming up once again for the National Truth for Youth Bible Week right here at American Family Radio. All this week. Now what does this mean? Well, Revival Fires International is giving one free Truth for Youth Bible to every student between the ages of 13 and 18. And all you have to do to get that free Bible is to, you know, ensure that you pass it along to a friend at your school. Now this is a wonder, a wonderful evangelism, tool. And Tim Todd, who heads up, Revival Fires, was. We had him in studio earlier this week talking about. And people say, you know, numbers, numbers. But numbers mean something, folks. In the course of this 25 year relationship that we've had with, the National Truth for Youth folks, over 1 million Bibles have been passed out. Over 1 million. And at least 30,000 young people that we are aware of have given their lives to Christ. So you talk about a powerful, powerful tool that God can use to get the gospel out, to young people, as we say, who normally perhaps would not be exposed to the gospel. Because these kids who get their free Bible through the, during this week, they agree they're going to pass it on. And there's just tremendous testimonies that we have heard. I was listening to some yesterday, more of these testimonies of a young girl who's, who was drug addiction, all of that sort of thing changed her whole life. So folks, this is an incredible deal. So have a listen. Truth for Youth Bible consists of an entire New Testament and full color comics that present the gospel and moral truths. over 1 million, as they say, have already been given away. And we want to give away this week, folks, 65,000. That's our goal.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?

>> Fred Jackson: 65,000 Bibles. Now, how do you do that? Well, it's real simple. You call this number, folks. 8007-3347-3780-0733-4737. Now, the phones will ring at a center in Louisiana where revival fires is, and they will take your call, 800-733-4737. Or you can go TFI T F Y. Pardon me.org T F Y.org and as I say, the goal this year is 65,000, folks. I think most of our listeners are familiar with this because, as I said, we've been doing this for 25 years. but don't take your, foot off the accelerator, folks. And there's a whole new batch of kids out there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: Every year that you can take advantage of. As we were saying yesterday, guys, this is a wonderful way also for mom and dad, for grandparents who may want to get this for a grandson, granddaughter. It's a wonderful way to introduce them to, hey, here's a way to share the Gospel with people.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And it's totally legal.

>> Fred Jackson: Totally legal.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Totally legal for someone, for a teenager to hand a Bible to another teenager. Because kids hand things to kids all the time.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And nothing wrong with it. And you cannot say, well, you can hand whatever you want, but you can't hand a Bible. It is absolutely legal, constitutional, for young people to do.

>> Fred Jackson: To do.

>> Wesley Wildmon: This is our way of getting the Bible in God's word back in public schools, the legal way. And that's what we're doing. Another thing too, if you think about it, for us to go back for a moment and think about when we were teenagers, and young adults, so many times when you're in middle school and high school, you don't just wake up and go, what is the good news? But so many times it's an issue that occurs, a moral issue that happens that ends up leading you down a road of how, why is this wrong? Or, or what's the better alternative? And that the moral issues of our day, when you're a teenager and in high school, ultimately lead to, can ultimately lead to the good news and the gospel and why it matters and God's word. And so for this truth for you, the Bible, to be very specific with the comics on moral issues such as transgenderism, such as drug addiction, such as pornography, a, broken family. I know there's a comic in there on that. And so it having an answer, a biblical answer to the Difficult issues in which teenagers face. It could not be more appropriate for this effort. And so we, again, if we've been doing this for 25 years, we trust them. We trust him. Todd. He was on campus yesterday. Well, y', all, most of our audience, you were listening yesterday. You heard him. So we're really excited about this. Our number, we've, we want to get to 65,000 this week. And you can call in at 800-733-4737 and all the information, they'll, they'll have any more information that you need there, or you can go to t f y.org and I'm seeing all the details there. And so help us get the Truth for Youth Bible back in public schools by following, those going to that website or calling that number.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, the phone number that you're calling, 800-733-4737, that is a number to call between 8:30am and 4:00pm Central Time. So if you want to go, outside those hours, you would need to go to the website or wait till tomorrow. So, TFY.org one more, point to.

>> Fred Jackson: Make, if you want to make this a youth group project.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: for, I think it's for $2 a Bible, a box of 50 can be sent to your youth group.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: And you can hand Those out. Same 800-733-4737.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Wait a minute. They have truth for you. Spanish Bibles also.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, we did a story on that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.

>> Wesley Wildmon: In English, but.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, in English.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Okay, well, that's my Spanish is not bueno.

Chris: Good news. Amen. All right, Chris, get, uh, us started with the news

>> Ed Vitagliano: And by the way, if you go to afr.net for American Family Radio, afr.net front and center is this campaign this week. And you can click through and visit the site to go directly to, the revival, virus.

>> Wesley Wildmon: That's good news. That's good news.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Amen. Good news. All right, Chris, get, us started with the news. By the way, folks, Jenna Ellis, ah, host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, will be with us at the bottom of the hour. So we'll be talking with her about some of the news of the day. That just a little tease, for the bottom of the hour.

Donald Trump threatens a federal takeover of Washington D.C. after weekend attack

>> Chris Woodward: All right, President, Donald Trump is threatening a federal takeover of Washington D.C. after an attack on a man described as doge worker. The victim has been identified as Edward Korestein. police say he was assaulted around 3am Sunday in the city's Logan Circle neighborhood by a group of teenagers attempting to carjack him and a woman whom police Identified as his significant other. Two 15 year olds have been arrested in this. there may be more arrests in the coming days. meanwhile, President Trump says this is one of many incidents, negative instances, in Washington D.C. and he wants something done about it to the point that maybe the feds are going to take over Washington D.C. and how it governs itself.

>> Fred Jackson: Clip 4 Somebody from Doge was very.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Badly hurt last night.

>> Fred Jackson: You saw that a young man who was beat, up by a bunch.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Of thugs in D.C. and either they're.

>> Fred Jackson: Going to straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection and we're going to have to federalize and run it the way it's supposed to be run.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Fred, I'm not sure how legal it would be to federalize Washington D.C. but it is clear that blue cities like D.C. are dropping the ball in terms of prosecution, just in terms of bail, where some of these young people, as Donald Trump, President Trump calls them thugs, they are absolutely thugs. If they're first of all trying to carjack, and then they're beating up people who do not comply. this is a direct result. It's a result of a number of cultural factors that are going on and have been going on for decades. but this is in terms of, almost opening the jail doors. The fact that a lot of these prosecutors in deep, blue cities will not keep lawbreakers, accused lawbreakers in jail. They let them right back out on the street. These thugs don't think anything's going to happen to them. And they continue not only to commit these crimes, but in brutal fashion. Absolutely.

>> Fred Jackson: And it's sad. Our nation's capital, the state that it's in right now, where criminals run free, the beating up of this young man on the weekend, this is not an isolated incident. Earlier this summer, an intern who was in D.C. for the summer was killed in a crossfire. Gang related, I think. Crossfire. This young man died. You know, I saw his mom being interviewed and she said, we thought D.C. was a safe place for our son to go. I mean that's the image that when you look at the buildings, you know, it's a wonderful place for a young person to go, but it is a dangerous place. I haven't been to D.C. for a while, but the last time I was there it was scary. the homeless problem and all of that, what that brings, and I mean, almost on the doorstep of the White house. So, D.C. is in a mess, it really is. And I remember Being up there a few years ago I was nervous to travel on a bus.

>> Ed Vitagliano: M. I wouldn't go on the subway.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Unless, unless you're in a large group of you know, 15, 20 people, right? Yeah, definitely. You know another thing too, there's a, there's a direct correlation too with the increase in crime where there is the strictest gun laws. and then obviously. Well I say obviously kind of taking us off a little bit but I'll come back. 93% mass shootings take place in gun free zones. And so this idea of not being able to defend yourself and then also you know a lot of times the, these blue, deep blue city is also the one to defund the police. They're creating an environment where this is normalized and more like a slap on the wrist. They just don't see the, it being as big of an issue until it's them.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?

>> Wesley Wildmon: Until, until the lawmakers or the politicians or the judges, until they come to their community and then they're hit with a either a carjacking or a protest outside their house with it turns into a riot or vandalism or vandalism. until that happens in most of these situations, like this you're gonna find a couple things that are common factors. They are very strict on the Second Amendment almost to the point where it's eliminated. Like D.C. d.C. And New York City are essentially gun free zones by and large if you look at their policies. so you have that as a factor.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, for, for law abiding.

>> Wesley Wildmon: For laws. Yes, that's right. That's a good point. I often, I would have pointed that out if you just did the same thing. Yes. also too you're gonna see in these places they, these criminals or thugs, they, they're going to have a long rap sheet. So they're going to have a rap sheet where, where they have been either probably not even arrested, just written a fine. In some cases I don't even take them in. And so you're going to see some of these common factors. That's why I believe as we get, as we go on down the road here in history, I believe the blue cities are going to get bluer and the red cities are going to get redder because of. Is redder a word?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well red, more red, more blue.

>> Wesley Wildmon: And it's because of this type of instance.

>> Fred Jackson: Ah. I'm not sure if Trump would succeed in that effort. But it is interesting that his choice for the United States Attorney for The District of Columbia is Jeanine Pirro, and she was approved by the Senate just last week. And, she's a rough, tough judge from New York, and you probably have seen her on Fox over the last couple of years. I, think she's going to make a big difference.

The District of Columbia has a court system that handles both local and federal matters

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, let me ask you guys, because I could look this up, but somebody here has the answer. So D.C. has its own court system, right? Yes. I mean, it's not all. Like. Jeanine Perro would not be prosecuting crimes like the one we're discussing. I mean, there. There are this. There. There's a police force, but there are city prosecutors. Am I right on that?

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: you wouldn't have to have a federal prosecutor, would you?

>> Chris Woodward: No, I don't. At least not as far as what I'm looking at. The District of Columbia has a court system that handles both local and federal matters.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.

>> Chris Woodward: while it's not a traditional city court system, the District of Columbia courts fulfill a similar role for the District. so they do handle some local matters.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. So a carjacking would not, Listen, I'm not disagreeing with you, Fred, about Jeanine Pirro. She's gonna be great. Your mention of her just raised this question in my mind. Would she be the one who then turns and says, well, we're going after these people and no bail? It seems like those are.

>> Fred Jackson: However, if there was a federal lawsuit by a victim's family.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: a civil rights issue or that sort of thing, she would be involved with that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: So I think there is a new avenue for people to deal with the problem.

>> Ed Vitagliano: My own opinion is that until this country. If this country has an awakening and we have a restoration of sane thinking going forward, we're going to have to have more prisons.

>> Fred Jackson: Mm.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We're gonna have to have, do a better job with mentally ill people. Thinking about the homeless issue. Not. Of course, not all homeless people are mentally ill, but a large percentage of them probably are or drug addicted. And that was the other thing. We're gonna have to have a better way of handling drug addiction so that you don't put people who are trying to get free from drugs into the penal system or. Or the mental health, field. Because the. The country is just, corrupted by these things, by crime, by mental illness and homelessness and by drugs. And we're going to have to isolate these people. You mentioned long rap sheets, Wesley. If these people are going to have to go somewhere and not get out.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Until they serve their time and some way of trying to get them, you know, through a process where they can get job skills and maybe not go back into crime. High recidivism rates are a problem. This is, I don't know what the percentage is of Americans who are in those three categories that I was mentioning, but we're gonna have to do a better job of separating these individuals from the rest of society and getting them help. Or if they don't want help, you just keep them in.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I'll make one more comment on this issue or the, or this conversation, here. And that's this. If you check a lot, if you check all of this back, understand we're talking about a very specific crime in a very specific location. And then we kind of back up from there ultimately. And we, we need to do all these things that we mentioned in here. But ultimately, if you want to go back 20 or 30 or 40 years, the reason the crime rate's the way it is because there's been an attack by the Democratic Party on the nuclear family. And you're going to find so many of these criminals like this never had a dad growing up. They had a broken family. and the few, the few that you go, well, there's an exception here. You're going to find out they had two dads.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Or two moms. and so just the attack, that has been the number one divisive tool if you come back to it. And I know I've said this over the years, but there is a great, assault purposeful by the Democratic Party on the nuclear family, as it is from the Bible or Judeo Christian views from our tradition. We've had issues throughout our country and we have dealt with them. And we haven't been perfect, but we have been exceptional. We've been the best country, in my opinion, for hundreds of years. However, the most recent meaning in the last 10, 20 to 30 years of the attack on the nuclear family is, I think gonna, is gonna ultimately look back and be one of the most devastating things to our country.

>> Chris Woodward: I looked around. Approximately point seven point eight percent of the US population is currently incarcerated somewhere state, federal or local. Point seven point seven percent. That translates to about 700 people per 100,000.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. Now that's. They are incarcerated.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So that does not take into account. Yeah, this is running the ones with rap sheets. And we listen, we, we've, we talk about this all the time. And some of them are illegal immigrants and some of them are US citizens. But we're always shocked that this person who did X crime X. you know, had been arrested 16 times. Yeah, yeah. And was back out on the street. And so it would be, I'm sure people that study, the criminal justice system have all these kinds of numbers and stats, but it would be interesting to what percentage of people, just even with the homeless and the drug addiction we talked about yesterday or the day before about the, the new drug that is, afflicting the US More lethal, more potent than fentanyl. I mean, so these are things that erode the, you know, the substructure, of a culture. And then, of course, as you said, Wesley, the attack on the family kicked all this off. This started it, triggered it.

President Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending homelessness and drug addiction

>> Chris Woodward: Now, so President Trump threatening D.C. takeover of, Washington, D.C. there. that comes a week ish after his executive order. This was on a Friday ending crime and disorder on America's streets. I'll post this link on our Facebook page. but for those not aware of what I'm talking about here, at the end of July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order. He said aims to end crime and disorder on America's streets. This is, really going after, a lot of homelessness and, drug addiction. there are people that are homeless who are battling drug addiction. Trump is actually, calling for, state and local authorities, to be able to just take somebody and commit them, even if they don't want to be committed. Because, in his concerns here, he talks about how a number of people have been harmed by people on the street.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Chris Woodward: Who may or may not be battling a drug addiction as well.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And part of the problem here, and this is what President Trump, I think he has the right idea of having, of wanting to see these kinds of problems, at least fenced in some, in some way, and have some of this drained out of our inner cities. But what he's going to run into are the leaders of blue states and blue cities who, like this, they're all in favor of it because they favor the criminal's rights over the rights of victims. They favor the rights of the homeless and drug addiction, drug addicts on the street over those that are sometimes assaulted. And by the way, I'm sure there are some, again, I don't know the percentages of those who are homeless because they lost a job. And that's what the social safety net should be for. But, there's an awful lot that are mentally ill or on drugs. And, even some blue cities are tired of it. Maybe that'll be enough to turn the tide on some of this at least.

Nearly 3 million kids attended Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School this summer

All right, we're going to take a short break here at the bottom of the hour. When we return, Jenna Ellis, host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning will be be joining us and we're going to be talking about Texas and what's going on. She had a great interview on her show this morning. Some of the stuff she found out in this interview were shocking. We'll be talking with her when we come back. Hope you'll join us.

>> Todd: Hello Americans, I'm Todd Stearn. Stand by for news and commentary. Next Vacation Bible school may be old school, but it's still very popular among kids across the fruited plain. CBN News reports nearly 3 million kids attended VBS at Ah, Southern Baptist churches over the summer. Some 70,000 making a personal decision to follow Christ. Vacation Bible School, a week long affair hosted by churches featuring fun adventure themes for kids along with arts and crafts, singing and lots of recreation. Many churches turn snack time into an art form. You know, when I was a kid I got to double dip. I went to my family's Baptist church, vbs. Then I attended my grandparents VBS at the Methodist Church. Now the Methodist had a lot better snacks, almost switched denominations as a second grader because of that. The surge in VBS attendance could be a sign that more young families are now returning to the traditions of our faith. And the best part, kids actually want to get up early to go to VBS public school. And not so much. I'm Todd Stearns.

>> Fred Jackson: This is Today's Issues.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back.

Fred Jackson, Wesley Wildman and Chris Woodward join Today's Issues

>> Fred Jackson: To more of Today's Issues.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And welcome back to Today's Issues. Ed Vitagliano sitting in for Tim Wildmon. This week. I am joined in studio by Fred Jackson, Wesley Wildmon and Chris Woodward. And now we want to welcome Jenna Ellis, host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, heard weekdays at 7am Central Time on American Family Radio and host of On Demand, her podcast. You can find [email protected] Jenna, good morning.

>> Jenna Ellis: Good morning. Great to be with you guys as always.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well Jenna, I try to listen to your program every morning and have listened this week and this morning. In fact I even texted you during one of your breaks. You had a, a guest who was a, and is a legislator in Texas, Republican legislator in Texas. And I was astonished by this interview. first of all, let us know who the legislator was. This is all about what's going on in Texas. Kind of. Let us just give us a 10,000 foot view of what you found out in this interview. And folks, I just really, really recommend that you, go and listen to Jenna's interview this morning. I was kind of shocked at how the fact that Texas has a swamp too I guess, is what your guest said. Who was it that you had on.

>> Jenna Ellis: M. Yeah, so this is Representative Brian Harrison. you can follow him on X, at. Brian E. Harrison. And he's a Texas State Rep for the 10th House district. And this is all about the controversy over the Democrats, apparent reportedly 50 or more that have fled, to Chicago and other places, in order to escape quorum, from from being present at the House business sessions. And so they're effectively the Democrats are trying to prevent a vote on the redistricting legislation which Democrats have suggested is gerrymandering. And this is an attempt to manipulate, getting more congressional seats. And and you know, regardless of their arguments on the merits and, and whether Republicans, you know, can respond to that, the fact of the matter is these Democrats are in the minority in Texas and they can't simply leave office and say, well, because we're leaving office, there's no quorum present. So now we can effectively prevent all of our colleagues from conducting business. So now Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are trying to enforce some penalties for this. And so that's the whole controversy. But really, what I was shocked at as well, Ed, is that I had thought based on just reports and what I'm seeing from ah, Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton's X feeds and all of that, that Republicans were kind of shocked by this and Democrats just fled and there was nothing ah, really that Republicans could do other than now after the fact, trying to impose some penalties. But what Representative Brian Harrison said this morning is that Republican leadership in Texas could have prevented this, but in the special session, gaveled out seven minutes after they gaveled in the session to let the Democrats run down the hall, do a press conference and basically collude with Hakeem Jeffries, who's of course the Democrat, Congressional leader in Washington who was present in Texas to help them with this stunt. And so basically Harrison was alleging that Republicans were in on this.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that's what that. I was stunned by it. And by the way, kudos to you. It was a wonderful interview you conducted with Representative Harrison. the, the, the. I have, I'VE been laboring under the, you know, the expectation that this was just another Democratic Party stunt. Texas, they, they did this I think in 2021. this is not unusual for them to flee the state and therefore they're not quote unquote in for to allow a quorum. But it was the Republican establishment cooperation with this stunt that was astonishing to me. And the fact is, I think that Brian Harrison said that when the speaker of the House said any objections? He shouted out I object. And the speaker of the House ignored him and gaveled the gaveled closed the session, allowing the Democrats to go to ah, across to have this meeting with Hakeem Jeffries. I was astonished by, by that kind of cooperation. I also didn't know maybe you can speak to this and then Fred and Wesley will let you guys jump in. I didn't know that the Republicans in the House allow Democrats to co chair committees.

>> Jenna Ellis: Oh yeah, and that's been happening for a long time. And was what part of the outrage, during Ken Paxton's just ridiculous impeachment trial? this has been going on for a really long time in the state of Texas that because there are such a majority in the state of Republican voters, a lot of Democrats will run as Republicans so that they'll get elected and then the leadership in in the Texas state House will even give elected Democrats some of these leadership positions and these co chairs. And it's, it's utterly preposterous because that's not actually effectively serving the constituency. So that's been going on for a really long time. I wasn't aware of this allegation that Speaker Burroughs and you know, others are, were potentially just in on this. And you know, my question for him was, you know, was this something that really could have been prevented? Was this in on it? As in Speaker Burroughs was supportive of this move to break quorum, even though then the, the next day when they didn't come back, he came out and, and advanced civil warrants, you know, against the Democrats, you know, or so was this something where he just kind of wanted the national attention from it, which I think seems a little more likely, that because this has now gotten national attention and prominence and you know, people like you and me and other conservatives are saying yay, Texas is finally doing something about this. Did they enable the scenario where now they can get national attention to then impose some of these consequences? So is there more to the story than is being led on? And so it was a very eye opening interview. And just to me, Ed really proves a point that we can't just pay attention to, to what national media is saying about an issue that's going on state level. We really need to talk to people on the ground.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: You know, it's interesting just to follow up on Ed's question with regards to Democrats. Republicans appointing Democrats to committees. Are Republicans really under some kind of illusion that if they're nice to Democrats that Democrats will be nice to them?

>> Jenna Ellis: Well, I hope not. I mean that would be a very false and ridiculous assumption. But it's inexplicable, why Republicans are ceding their power, to Democrats other than the fact that clearly they're Republicans in name only. And so these are people who clearly haven't been vetted on the state level either during primaries or even during general elections that are voted in as supposedly Republicans. So the presumption is they will act according to those allegiances and then they go off and they actually, their allegiance perhaps is more to the Democrat party. So this is the classic scenario of a RINO R I N O a Republican in name only. So this is why, Texas really has a lot of, I guess some, some expulsions to do, at least at the ballot box.

Wesley: Run as a Democrat in moderate areas that lean Democrat

>> Wesley Wildmon: This is Wesley here. I want to know how can we as Republicans do what they're doing? How can we get. I'm just kidding. Everybody's looking like. I don't think. No, that would be lying. Okay. We, our conscience wouldn't let us do that.

>> Jenna Ellis: But run as a Democrat. Yeah, I think we'd get struck by lightning in Mississippi.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I know. Well, you saw where I was going there. I have had thoughts at times like I ultimately come back to, that's lying. We can't do that. As a Christian, but I often go, man, it would be cool if a guy runs as a Democrat in a moderate area that leans Democrat and then goes in and all of a sudden becomes a conservative. Now that may happen on occasion. You'll see some, that shift from m left to moderate.

>> Chris Woodward: It's happened a lot in the last couple years.

>> Jenna Ellis: I think John Fetterman is a great example of that.

>> Wesley Wildmon: But he didn't go in.

>> Jenna Ellis: Well, but, yeah, but I mean, but he went in and was elected as a Democrat when everybody was thinking he's going to be possibly the worst option. And he's kind of one of the most basic, you know, members of the Senate right now and I think has actually been potentially better even than Dr.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oz would have been one of the things also.

Texas Representative Brian Harrison says there are ways to punish Democrats who fled

again folks, I just really encourage you to go check out Jenna's show this morning, the podcast of it. Listen, to the segment, I think. Was that the first or second segment? That was the second segment, her interview with Texas Representative Brian Harrison. It was, it was eye popping. But one of the things I, I, heard Representative Harrison say, he listed all these other things that can be done to these Democrats that may not rise to the level. I don't know whether it's legal to vacate their seats or whatever. I'm sure we'll find that out in the coming days. But he said you can, cut, pay for their staff. I mean, he listed four or five great things that could be done, that, you could strip them of, any of their leadership assignments, all kinds of things if you had the will to do it. That was pretty eye opening that there are, weapons, so to speak, in the hands of strong Republican leadership to punish the Democrats who have fled the state. it just depends on whether there's strong leadership in the Republican Party.

>> Jenna Ellis: Isn't that always the way? I mean, it really depends on whether the person who wields the power is willing to effectively use it for disciplinary purposes. And this is, for the House, and they have rules and procedural penalties for things like that. And you're right. We'll see in the forthcoming days whether Governor Abbott's appeal, to the Texas Supreme Court to acknowledge vacancies, and the purpose for that not only could then he make vacancy, appointments, but also vacancies then would lower the threshold for quorum in order to get business done. so the receipts response from the Democrats is due for the Texas Supreme Court on Friday. So we'll probably see, you know, sometime next week what the decision is on that. But the House in order, I mean, just like any House, like, like, you know, you're in my House, we have to have rules in order to maintain discipline for the people who are members of the household. And in the same way the House has its own rules and procedural penalties, they can compel attendance. that's Article 3, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution. and that actually was used in 2021 you mentioned, Ed, when Democrats fled before, when that House speaker signed civil arrest warrants for missing members. And we didn't really see any arrest though, in that case. Right, because they didn't follow through on that. you can do censures or reprimands, you can strip committee assignments or seniority privileges, which Republicans should probably do anyway for these Democrats. you can impose a daily fine. The House can adopt a rule imposing monetary penalties for each day absent without, a justification. And you can, deny quorum breakers recognition. So, like, don't allow them on the floor or legislative privileges. You can move their offices. You can cut pay to their staff. I mean, there's all kinds of things, but it seems like, the Republicans are more interested in just the national headlines. As Representative Harrison put it, we need to see action, not words.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and one last thing. one of the things that Representative Harrison said was that the Republicans who were in control of the legislature could have done this while they were in session. They could have handled this, but they postponed it. And then a special session, if I've got this right, the chronology, a special session had to be called. and. And that's when the Democrats fled. If I've got that right. Why didn't the Republicans deal with this when they were in session?

>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, that is a great question. And I, I spoke actually with another member, of the House. I won't reveal who that is just because it private conversation, but I did speak with another member, of the House that said that, you need to do. You need a quorum to do any business with gaveling in. And the reason that they had to do a call of the House is because they didn't have a quorum even when they gaveled in and the legislation was not up. according to this representative, for a vote, still had to be assigned to committee. And that was supposed to happen Friday. So a little bit of a contradiction there as to the timeline of what Representative Harrison was saying, because you're right, I was under the impression after the interview that if they hadn't gaveled out, then they could have just called for the vote, right Then, got the business taken care of, and then, you know, Democrats want to leave for Chicago after that, you know, fine, go have a vacation. So I think there's a little bit of, disparity there, but I think the question should be raised. Why did they gavel out and allow this instead of at least assigning the committees and, you know, some of those other things.

AFR's Friday On Demand podcast on embryo ethics will be released Friday

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, Jenna, any, kind of a foretaste of what you'll, be dealing with here the rest of the week?

>> Jenna Ellis: Yeah, I'm really excited for the podcast, that's dropping this Friday on demand. I have a really great guest, and we are talking about this headline. I don't know if you guys have seen it. But, an embryo that was frozen since 1994 has now just been born. A baby boy has been born that's basically 31 years old. And so this is the oldest on record. And it raises so many implications for the sanctity of life, the agency of a human being made in the image of God. So we do a really, in depth interview. In fact, I just got done recording this, moments for joining this program. a really in depth interview on some of the ethical questions and where science maybe goes too far beyond, the biblical worldview, where those parameters are and some questions that need to be raised. So I thought that was a really fascinating subject and something that we need to to be concerned with as Christians.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That is, that is fascinating. That'll be your Friday On Demand podcast. folks, you can check that [email protected] and yeah, the further and the faster technology and medical knowledge progresses, the more ethical questions that's going to raise. I just had to know that that was possible. A 31 year old fertilized embryo and then now the baby's born. That's listen, that's going to be a great, that's going to be a knock, it out of the park kind of podcast. So thank you, thank you for dealing with those kinds of issues too. Those aren't always the easiest to kind of sift through and so looking forward to that.

>> Jenna Ellis: Well, thanks. And that's why I love also having, you know, the radio show to deal with, you know, the news of the day issues and we kind of do these, you know, quick hitting, you know, 15 minute segments. But the On Demand podcast lets me do, you know, a deeper dive because that's a topic that you can't cover in, you know, 10 or 15 minutes. You have to go deeper. So I really appreciate that we have both formats, here at AFR and that you let me talk for, you know, more than the hour.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely. You do great jobs. Great job on the interview. I got to work after your interview with Representative Harrison, so I didn't get a chance to listen to the rest of your program. But you're, you're, you do a great job on these interviews, and appreciate it. Thank you, Jenna.

>> Jenna Ellis: Really appreciate it. Guys, have a great day.

Fred: I was tempted to disguise as a Democrat this morning

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, you too. That is Jenna Ellis, host of Jenna Ellis in the the Morning. Any guys? Anybody have any comments?

>> Wesley Wildmon: No one, no one looked at me, like I was wrong for wanting to disguise as a Democrat. I was just kind of Sat there. I didn't get judged one bit. Well, I needed to be judged on that. I was tempted.

>> Ed Vitagliano: let me just, Let me just clue you in on a little something, Wesley. You would get away with that for about 60 seconds. As soon as you open up your say a lot. As soon as you open up your mouth, everyone would go, this guy ain't no Democrat. So, by the way, Fred, we talked about this, topic and what we're going to discuss with Jenna, and our story meeting this morning.

Jerry Rigg: Democrats in Texas complain about gerrymandering

Was it Hugh that had the, stats from. I think it was, Was, it Illinois and maybe California?

>> Fred Jackson: Illinois.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Illinois. In terms of how they district, their state. And here you have Democrats in Texas complaining. What was that?

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, it's absolutely amazing. You know, the governor, of Illinois, Pritzker, has been there with the Democrats from Texas and holding news conferences.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Texas outrage.

>> Fred Jackson: They're being, they're racist. You know, this is highly, unlawful what they're doing down there and threat to democracy. I've got all the Democrat talking points.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right.

>> Fred Jackson: So that they throw in there. And the hypocrisy meter is pegged 100% because Illinois, I want you to listen to this. Illinois Democrats, because they. Jerry. Rigged up there like crazy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Democrats control 82.4% of the state's House seats.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: They maneuvered everything around and you can probably find this online. So what they had to do, in order to achieve this, I, mean, if. When you think of districts, sometimes you think a nice square block. Yeah, yeah. those. These look like, the trail of a deer through the woods. Some of these districts, you know, if you want to follow it, Democrats control 82.4% of the state's House seats. Though in the election last year, they won only 52.8% of the house popular vote. In those districts, the president trump the Republicans. They still won 43.5% of the vote.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But have access only to 18%.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Of the, of the legislate the House. Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: Likewise, some of these Democrats have gone to Massachusetts. Boy, Jerry Rigg on steroids. Once again, they maneuvered things. Not one Republican, not one Republican holds a seat.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, that's because there are no Republicans in Massachusetts. Right. Nobody voted for Republicans.

>> Chris Woodward: Hey, Mitt Romney got elected.

>> Fred Jackson: No.

>> Chris Woodward: A long time ago.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Nobody voted for President Trump in the 2024 election. Right. Well, wrong.

>> Fred Jackson: This is. And so, folks, when you, when you see these news conferences by these Democrats with these Democrat governors from these various states. Hokul in New York, she's doing the same thing. This is, this is total hypocrisy. And you, got to remember that unfortunately the mainstream media does not cover it, does not tell you. This, does not tell you that. Illinois and New York and Massachusetts, they've all done the same thing. When they're in power, the Democrats are in power, they do exactly the same thing. So don't believe these charges that you're hearing from these guys.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and Massachusetts was, ah, very similar. okay, I say similar. President Trump, candidate Trump in 2024 received 36% of the vote in Massachusetts. Okay. Now you say, well, that's far from a majority. Yes. But there are no Republicans in the state House.

>> Fred Jackson: You think with 36% voting for Trump, there would have been at least one Republican. Yes, one.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But the reason they're.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Gerrymander.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, gerrymander. By the way, was it L. Eldridge Jerry that. I think Jerry, the last name. This goes all the way back to the early 1800s. He, was one of the first to do gerrymandering. And the, the mander comes from the word salamander because that is what the district looked like when it was gerrymandered. So we refer to gerrymandering. That's where that comes from. But it is redistricting and the party in power, the expectation is they will gerrymander the districts to give them the greatest chance of having political control. So that's why we say to Texas and the GOP there, don't, don't apologize for what you're doing.

>> Fred Jackson: And the Supreme Court has approved this. Basically the party in power has the right to do this right now. The Democrats don't like it in Texas because Republicans are in power right now. But these cases have gone all the way to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court says it's up to the state.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And if you don't like it, vote differently.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Or convince your fellow citizens to vote differently.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

Did you know that Elbridge Gary was a vice president

>> Chris Woodward: Did you know that Elbridge Gary was a vice president?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's right. I think when I looked this up, I didn't. That's not off the top of my head. I think I looked it up earlier in the week or over the weekend.

>> Chris Woodward: I was today years old when I found that out.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: He was the, fifth vice president.

>> Ed Vitagliano: For the Democrats, slash Republican Party.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So, you go, the further back you go, the weirder the political party alignments get. But that was, I think, the Democrat, hyphen, Republican Party. Back then.

>> Chris Woodward: These are the same people that wore a powdered wig.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Chris Woodward: Speaking of weird.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

Zoran Mamdani is considered a radical candidate for New York City mayor

All right. What else you got, Chris? Well, a few minutes.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, there is, we. We've talked a lot on the show about, Zoran Mamdani, the socialist or.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Communist, depending on who you are, by the way.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.

>> Wesley Wildmon: You're pulling for him at this point.

>> Ed Vitagliano: At this point, being a Democrat, he's.

>> Chris Woodward: The radical that wants to become the, the next mayor of New York City. Now, we've talked a lot about him, and we've aired the sound bites of him, but I bring him up because there is apparently a Memdani effect now in these United States of America, to the point that in Seattle on the west coast, or Left coast, as some people like to call it, there's a lady named Kate Wilson, Katie Wilson, that's running for mayor. And she is being cute. Yeah. She's being viewed as a Mamdani like, mayoral candidate. She's running for mayor there, wanting to unseat the current mayor. I pulled up her party platform here. Among the things that are front and center on her campaign website, Katie Wilson for mayor. She wants to trump Proof Seattle. So that tells you right there where she is now in terms of politics.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Now, I wouldn't want that and on as a president or on a national level, but you need a couple of those. You need a couple of those Iranians. Iranians. You need a couple of them, of the Zoran mom.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Donnie.

>> Wesley Wildmon: I'm being funny. He's a politician. Right. But, we need. We need a couple of those examples throughout our country so we can look to and say, this didn't work. They tried it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Wesley Wildmon: It fell apart. We. He just defunded New. New, York Police Department. Yeah. And it was already bad, and now it's worse. yeah. So I. So that's the reason I jokingly say I'm pulling for him at this point. Because if this. If there's that many by polls, which we know can go like this, and who. Who's doing the polling, but he is polling at 35%. Yeah. As of two days ago. When I look. So if he's pulling that high at this point, I'm like, if it's not like a close one, I'm like, you know what? If that's. They want that, go for it, because we're all gonna.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's. You know the old saying. Just give me a, a bucket of popcorn. I'm gonna watch New York City.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Yes, that's right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, become a third world, habit.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Even more so. Yeah, even more so.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So I, I'm with, I'm with you because it seems like the Democratic party is moving in this direction kind of this Mamdani effect. Well we had Elizabeth Warren yesterday. Yes, we're all for it.

>> Wesley Wildmon: Ah you know she was there pat him on the back. Literally patting him on the back and.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Saying this is what the Democratic party needs to be. So sometimes you of get lot a learn the hard way and as long as it's not in my neck of the woods, Massachusetts, you'll be the experiment. We'll put you in a test tube. All right folks, we're going to take a five minute break for news and when we come back, more of today's issues.

>> Jenna Ellis: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Ed, Wesley and Fred talk with Chris on top news headlines of the day. Also, Jenna Ellis joins the program to discuss the issue with the Democrats in Texas.