Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR. Tim here with Ed and Steve Jordahl has joined us.
Tim Wildmon: Good morning, brother Steve.
Steve Jordahl: Hey, everybody.
Tim Wildmon: What did you do this weekend, Steve?
Steve Jordahl: I know you guys talked about the Alabama football game and spent a little time on it. Your wife's a Roll Tide fan.
Tim Wildmon: Your wife's a Roll Tide fan.
Steve Jordahl: My wife's a Roll Tide fan, so I married into it. I kind of invested in it, so we were a little upset. But that's okay. It took about five minutes or so to get over it, and we did.
Tim Wildmon: Something tells me Georgia and Alabama will probably meet again down the road.
Steve Jordahl: I think they will. They both have great teams.
Tim Wildmon: I've been dealing with insurance companies.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, that's a day.
Steve Jordahl: I haven't mentioned this on the air, but we have two cars. My wife has a car and I have a car, and we hit deer with both of them. Or rather, deer hit us.
Tim Wildmon: When did this happen?
Steve Jordahl: Mine happened about a month ago, and my wife's happened two weeks ago.
Tim Wildmon: Don't you think you should probably move?
Steve Jordahl: Well, the deer, to be fair, were not paying attention to the deer crossing sign, obviously.
Ed Vitagliano: Seriously, both of you? Nobody was hurt?
Tim Wildmon: That's not unusual.
Steve Jordahl: Very unusual.
Tim Wildmon: You called your insurance company the second time?
Steve Jordahl: Yeah. I said, "Hey, this is Steve again. Guess what happened?" They said, "That happened again?"
Tim Wildmon: Go ahead.
Steve Jordahl: My insurance company will pay for a rental car while my car is being repaired, but only up to a certain amount. That amount runs out today, so I have to turn the rental car in. My car is not quite done yet. We've figured out how I might not have to pay for the rental car because the insurance company is supposed to pay for it.
Steve Jordahl: But I got a call from the insurance company that said the rental car company told them, "Your insurance hasn't paid us for this car, and you're supposed to turn it in today. If you turn it in and they haven't paid us, you're going to owe us $222."
Tim Wildmon: So you owe them?
Steve Jordahl: I mean, that's my insurance company.
Tim Wildmon: Right.
Steve Jordahl: If I don't turn it in today, I have to start paying for it tomorrow. So I called the insurance company and said, "Can you handle this?" They did. They called and said it's all taken care of, so I can turn the rental car in today.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, I've got news for you.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, what?
Tim Wildmon: This doesn't bring me any joy, but you're going to get canceled. You've got two claims, both of them involving hitting deer within a month.
Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
Tim Wildmon: Here's what happens, because I've been canceled before. I've been with this company for quite a while.
Steve Jordahl: It doesn't matter?
Tim Wildmon: It doesn't matter.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, is that right?
Tim Wildmon: No, it's not about you. You think they're your friends, but that only goes so far. Then you get put in the system, the numeric system.
Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
Tim Wildmon: Your numbers, what you cost the company, are dumped into the system where they crunch all the numbers. Then they figure out, "Customer X-Y-9-7-4, that's what you are in the system."
Steve Jordahl: I prefer that you guys refer to me that way.
Tim Wildmon: "X-Y-9-4-0-0 needs to get a letter of cancellation because they're no longer profitable to our company."
Steve Jordahl: I'm just going to send Steve good vibes all day.
Tim Wildmon: I'm sending you good vibes.
Steve Jordahl: Absolutely.
Tim Wildmon: That was the reality, my friend.
Steve Jordahl: I'm a Christian. I don't know that word.
Tim Wildmon: You have two wrecks in a matter of a month, and you both say, "They're deer."
Steve Jordahl: They're going to be suspicious.
Tim Wildmon: You've used your deer-hits-car allowance for your lifetime.
Steve Jordahl: My wife actually has a habit of hitting deer. This is like the third deer. I could show you the cars in the parking lot. The passenger-side door has a massive dent in it where the deer ran into her.
Tim Wildmon: Well, that's the deer's fault.
Steve Jordahl: It is.
Tim Wildmon: So you apply with the deer's insurance company before your company cancels you.
Steve Jordahl: If they would cross at the deer crossing sign, everything would be fine.
Tim Wildmon: Well, yeah, everything would be fine.
Steve Jordahl: Somehow it just doesn't work out that way.
Tim Wildmon: All right, next story.
Steve Jordahl: Not that that was one.
Tim Wildmon: Next story. Steve?
Steve Jordahl: The Buckley Institute has a poll out.
Tim Wildmon: And this survey was undercredited?
Steve Jordahl: Did you hit it, Steve?
Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry, did you hit the poll?
Steve Jordahl: No, I did not hit the poll.
Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry. I'll see what you did there.
Steve Jordahl: The Buckley Institute reports that they surveyed over 800 undergraduate students across the country. These college students prefer socialism over capitalism by a 42 to 28 percent margin. I need to be grounded separately.
Steve Jordahl: More than one in five, 22 percent, say America deserved 9/11.
Tim Wildmon: That last part, the first poll result on socialism, I chalk up to ignorance. Although that can be very costly. Look at the Venezuelans voting in communism. I can at least understand how young people might come to that decision, but that second part, about one out of every five saying that America deserved 9/11, when 3,000 people died, is disturbing.
Steve Jordahl: It's disturbing that it's that high. That should be a very fringe belief.
Tim Wildmon: I wonder if that is because we don't have 20 percent who are Muslim in this country.
Steve Jordahl: I wonder.
Tim Wildmon: Most members of the Islamic religion in this country are still a pretty low percentage, two to three percent.
Steve Jordahl: But, yeah, that's very disturbing.
Ed: They also asked them what countries they view favorably and unfavorably. The countries they view favorably are the United Kingdom, which is having its own issues right now, Germany, Palestine, and China.
Tim Wildmon: Which country do they view least favorably?
Ed: Yes.
Tim Wildmon: Us?
Ed: No. Israel.
Tim Wildmon: Although I don't think we're far behind.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know where we're going to rank.
Tim Wildmon: That is proof that propaganda works, people.
Steve Jordahl: Yep.
Tim Wildmon: That is the result of propaganda.
Ed: Social media, especially.
Tim Wildmon: Yes, social media.
Steve Jordahl: These young people who are saying that have no idea of the history of Palestine and Israel.
Tim Wildmon: No idea.
Steve Jordahl: No idea of the history of China.
Tim Wildmon: Good grief. Germany started two world wars in the last century. At least knock them down the list 10 or 20 spots.
Steve Jordahl: Did I load the clip? I didn't load the clip.
Tim Wildmon: You had a lot on your plate.
Steve Jordahl: I don't think people know what that means.
Tim Wildmon: You didn't load the next story?
Steve Jordahl: The next story had to do with something I was going to talk about, but I'll have to say that for tomorrow.
Tim Wildmon: That's fine. That's why you had a lot of stress on you with the deer.
Steve Jordahl: I had a lot of venison on my plate.
Tim Wildmon: I'm just rocking and rolling today, man.
Steve Jordahl: I heard that.
Tim Wildmon: Dealing with rental car companies and insurance companies and being on hold. I have a feeling it's your old auto insurance company.
Steve Jordahl: I have other places to go if we need to.
Tim Wildmon: We've got a guest. Steve Stieber is with us. Steve is the president of Eight Days of Hope. If you listen to AFR, you know who Eight Days of Hope is. They've been doing work all over the country since Hurricane Katrina in response to natural disasters. They're going down to, or already on the ground in, Florida as a result of the hurricane. Steve, good morning.
Steve Stieber: Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for having me on.
Tim Wildmon: Where are you today?
Steve Stieber: I'm in New York, but most of our team and all of our equipment are down in Florida. It's been a whirlwind the last couple of days since the hurricane hit. I'm thankful to be on with you today to share about how people can pray and be a part of the solution.
Tim Wildmon: Tell me what Eight Days of Hope is doing now. You mentioned your teams went down to the Gulf Coast, which is about a six- or seven-hour drive from our national headquarters for both AFA and AFR, and also for Eight Days of Hope in Tupelo, Mississippi. What's going on? Who went down there? I'm sure you guys may be contemplating a big effort down there somewhere sometime soon.
Steve Stieber: Tim, thank you. The timing is great. We get a chance to announce this on your show. The hurricane hit Friday. On Saturday, we had volunteers and equipment there. Our mass-feeding arm deployed first. Yesterday, 1,800 hot meals were delivered on a moment's notice at a church called Destiny Worship Center. They're expecting to increase that number today.
Steve Stieber: We're going to feed people until the power comes back on. There are still hundreds of thousands of people without power. It could be five, seven, or even ten days. We're going to keep making food and keep being, hopefully, a glimpse of Jesus to those who are feeling a lot of heartache.
Steve Stieber: We also announced late last night, internally and now here, that our rapid-response team is going down. That's the team that does chainsaw work, tarps and roofs, and brings in heavy equipment. We have shower trailers and laundry trailers for people whose washers and dryers were damaged or who don't have the means to get a hot meal, take a hot shower, or do laundry.
Steve Stieber: Those people are there as we speak, setting up. Volunteer registration has opened on our website. It's always free to volunteer with us. We've never charged a person a penny over the last 20 years, and we're providing food and lodging as well. You have to be 16, and any skill set is needed.
Steve Stieber: Maybe you know how to operate a chainsaw. Maybe you're like me, and no one will ever give you a chainsaw because you're too hyper. But can you pull a limb that's been cut down to the curb? Can you make a hot sandwich? Can you help somebody sort through the debris of a damaged house?
Steve Stieber: We've already seen hundreds and hundreds of requests for help. We're going to be in Florida at least through October 31. We're there for the entire month. You can come for two days, five days, or two weeks. We would love to have you come serve with Eight Days of Hope. All the information is on our website at eightdaysofhope.com.
Ed: Steve, Ed here. Eight Days of Hope is well known by now. Do you get an automatic response when a hurricane is coming, with people contacting you and saying, "Where, when, and how?" In other words, they know you guys are going to be going to a place. Do they sign up ahead of time? Is that happening for you, where people just say, "I know Eight Days of Hope is going to go. Where do I sign up?"
Steve Stieber: We have people traveling the country now who didn't know when they left home where exactly we were going to be. We said, "Go to the Pensacola area. We're going to be within 30 miles of Pensacola one way or another."
Steve Stieber: That's a great question. We have now led 66,000 people in our 21 years of doing Eight Days of Hope. This is the 136th different disaster we've responded to. We have over $6 million of equipment, all paid for, either in route or in Florida as we speak.
Steve Stieber: We have a texting service. Maybe somebody is listening today and has heard of Eight Days of Hope but has never served with us. If you're interested in being invited whenever we go, text the word HOPE to 86373. Text the word HOPE to 86373.
Steve Stieber: We deploy about 25 times a year. This is our 21st deployment of 2026. When we go somewhere, you'll be the first to know. You'll get a text. That's what happened last night and this morning. Fifty thousand people got a text saying, "We're in Florida. We need your help. Can you come?" Already, volunteers from 30 states have signed up.
Steve Stieber: Very quickly, through American Family Radio and our relationship over the last 20 years, people trust Eight Days of Hope, and we're thankful for that. The body of Christ is showing up, and that pumps me up.
Jordan: I have a comment and a question for Steve. My comment is simple: death, taxes, and Eight Days of Hope. You can count on all three.
Jordan: As sure as the sun is going to rise, Eight Days of Hope is going to be there.
Jordan: You've been to all of these major hurricanes. How does this one rank? This is a Category 3. Where does this rank in the level of need right now?
Steve Stieber: Definitely, in our existence, just celebrating our 21st year, this is probably in the top 10 or top 15. A lot depends on where the disaster hits.
Steve Stieber: Katrina is still, in my mind, the mother of all storms. Harvey hit the fourth-largest city in our country, Houston. The storm didn't move for multiple days, 53 inches of rain fell, and 330,000 homes flooded. Think about that, 330,000 homes flooded.
Steve Stieber: Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, Florida. Hundreds of thousands of trees looked like they had been hit by flat-lying winds. They were just bent over.
Steve Stieber: Anytime you see destruction, and when it affects you, when it's your house, your tree, your roof, or your car where a tree fell on it or your roof tore off, in your mind that's the worst disaster of all time. So we try to treat every single disaster as unique.
Steve Stieber: We're excited that we can be a part of the solution in the healing process. Today, as you and I speak, we're making thousands of meals, and people are already lining up a mile long to get a hot meal because there's nowhere else to get one. We're thankful that people have sewn into the ministry of Eight Days of Hope to allow us to do this.
Steve Stieber: Our mass-feeding team is there, and our rapid-response team is setting up. All the information is on our website at eightdaysofhope.com. You can volunteer. It's free. We provide food and lodging, and we're there for the next three weeks at least.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, thanks so much for being with us. Let us know if there's anything else we need to do to get the word out and help you guys. I know you get a lot of volunteers who want to help and want to know what they can do. The best organization we have, and the best idea we have, is for you to join the efforts of Eight Days of Hope. Thanks so much.
Steve Stieber: Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
Tim Wildmon: You too.
Tim Wildmon: Amazing company, Eight Days of Hope. They have four ministries. Rapid response is one. Their feeding ministry is another. They can take thousands of meals on a moment's notice. They also have long-term help, where they're taking mission trips. You can do a mission trip with Eight Days of Hope. Then they have safe houses for women and girls who have been rescued from human trafficking.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know where Steve Stieber finds the time. There might be three of him. He's everywhere.
Tim Wildmon: It is a very practical approach to these kinds of things. He was mentioning people who just need access to a washer and dryer or showers. They have these very practical forms of help to get people over the hump and enable them to return to normalcy at some point.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know that anybody has ever seen Steve Stieber and Superman in the same room at the same time. I'm just saying.
Tim Wildmon: So you're not drawing any conclusions. You're just throwing that out there.
Steve Jordahl: I'm just asking the question.
Tim Wildmon: Next story.
Steve Jordahl: There has been a James Talarico sighting.
Tim Wildmon: That means the Democratic congressional or Senate candidate in Texas, James Talarico, has been found. He disappeared about 20 days ago, and no one knew where he was for weeks. He was just out of pocket.
Steve Jordahl: The good thing is that no conspiracies cropped up about his nonappearance.
Tim Wildmon: Where has he been?
Steve Jordahl: His campaign says he had the flu, a two-week flu. There have been other conspiracy theories. Some people with mental health issues say something else happened. I don't know, and I'm not endorsing that theory. All I know is what he has said, and his story is not exactly consistent.
Steve Jordahl: This is James Talarico giving two different explanations about where he was during those two weeks, or at least how it led into a clip.
James Talarico: Last night it got so bad that I went to urgent care in Dallas, and I was diagnosed with the flu.
Interviewer: How bad was it? Somebody wants to know if this was just bed rest, or did you ever have to go to a doctor or hospital?
James Talarico: I just went to my primary-care physician. It wasn't anything worse than a nasty case of the flu.
Steve Jordahl: So it was either bad enough that you had to go to urgent care, or it wasn't bad enough that you had to go to urgent care. He just went to his primary-care physician.
Tim Wildmon: He's the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, for those who don't know. Most people do know.
Tim Wildmon: I don't think this moves the needle for most people. This is why I said in the last segment that people need to be informed. The problem with James Talarico and others in that category of leftist Democrats, where even Democratic Party officials are saying, "We cannot be this extreme," is not where he spent the last three weeks.
Tim Wildmon: If we were in normal political times, say 30 years ago, people might say, "Is this guy telling the truth?" That concerns me. But the problem is with his ideas. The problem is with the ideas he has already clearly stated.
Tim Wildmon: Voters need to be informed. After they're informed, they need to be equipped, meaning registered to vote. Then they need to go out and vote for the candidates who are most in line with biblical principles and support the founding principles.
Tim Wildmon: I'm not sure how many people are informed enough. That's why we recommend that they tune in to American Family Radio, go online to AFN.net, and also go to iVoterGuide.com to get the information they need. People like Talarico, El-Sayed, and Zohran Mamdani have a problem with what they clearly say, rather than with what they might be trying to hide.
Steve Jordahl: Joe Biden went through a whole campaign without going anywhere.
Tim Wildmon: True.
Steve Jordahl: It didn't hurt him.
Tim Wildmon: It didn't.
Steve Jordahl: I don't think it's going to happen here. If you feel like you've got a lead that's untouchable, then don't put yourself at risk anymore.
Tim Wildmon: Right. There's no reason to do that. That's just smart politics.
Steve Jordahl: I haven't seen any polls putting Talarico in that category.
Tim Wildmon: He's not far enough ahead for that.
Steve Jordahl: No, but he may have just had the flu.
Tim Wildmon: Anybody who's had the flu knows it can put you down for a week to ten days.
Steve Jordahl: If he's being honest and had the flu, it could put him in bed. Something made him sick for 20 days.
Tim Wildmon: It was 22 days, I think, that he was gone. He was simply not seen by anybody publicly.
Steve Jordahl: What I'm saying is that he may have had the flu, and then he may also have said, "I'm not doing any events because I don't have to. I'm going to win if I don't blow it by saying something stupid."
Tim Wildmon: Some people would say he's already said a bunch of stupid things, but if you feel like you've got a victory in hand, there's no need to put yourself at risk.
Steve Jordahl: If you have momentum, why stop it? Why bring it to a halt?
Tim Wildmon: I don't think it's conclusive. Every poll I've seen in Texas with the Senate race does have Talarico leading, but it's not by seven, eight, or nine points. It's more like one to four points, so it's still going to be a very close election.
Tim Wildmon: Texas is still a red state. I don't remember the last time a Democrat won a statewide election there.
Steve Jordahl: I'm not an expert on Texas politics, but it's a red state. If Talarico beats Paxton, it will be an upset.
Tim Wildmon: It will be an upset.
Steve Jordahl: We'll see.
Tim Wildmon: Who was the Democratic governor before Bush?
Steve Jordahl: Ann Richards?
Tim Wildmon: Ann Richards, that's right. She served until 1995.
Steve Jordahl: Lloyd Bentsen was a senator from Texas.
Tim Wildmon: You're having to go all the way back to the 1980s, maybe the 1990s.
Steve Jordahl: They had Blue Dog Democrats.
Tim Wildmon: You're having to go back.
Steve Jordahl: The last Democratic governor was Ann Richards, who served until 1995. Lloyd Bentsen was in 1988. Jimmy Carter remains the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Texas, doing so in 1976.
Tim Wildmon: It's a solid red state.
Steve Jordahl: That's why if the Democrats are able to win a statewide election there, that would be a political earthquake.
Tim Wildmon: It really would be. All right, we're going to take a break right here. We'll be back with more of Today's Issues.
Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to AFR. Tim here with Ed and Steve Jordahl has joined us.
Tim Wildmon: Good morning, brother Steve.
Steve Jordahl: Hey, everybody.
Tim Wildmon: What did you do this weekend, Steve?
Steve Jordahl: I know you guys talked about the Alabama football game and spent a little time on it. Your wife's a Roll Tide fan.
Tim Wildmon: Your wife's a Roll Tide fan.
Steve Jordahl: My wife's a Roll Tide fan, so I married into it. I kind of invested in it, so we were a little upset. But that's okay. It took about five minutes or so to get over it, and we did.
Tim Wildmon: Something tells me Georgia and Alabama will probably meet again down the road.
Steve Jordahl: I think they will. They both have great teams.
Tim Wildmon: I've been dealing with insurance companies.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, that's a day.
Steve Jordahl: I haven't mentioned this on the air, but we have two cars. My wife has a car and I have a car, and we hit deer with both of them. Or rather, deer hit us.
Tim Wildmon: When did this happen?
Steve Jordahl: Mine happened about a month ago, and my wife's happened two weeks ago.
Tim Wildmon: Don't you think you should probably move?
Steve Jordahl: Well, the deer, to be fair, were not paying attention to the deer crossing sign, obviously.
Ed Vitagliano: Seriously, both of you? Nobody was hurt?
Tim Wildmon: That's not unusual.
Steve Jordahl: Very unusual.
Tim Wildmon: You called your insurance company the second time?
Steve Jordahl: Yeah. I said, "Hey, this is Steve again. Guess what happened?" They said, "That happened again?"
Tim Wildmon: Go ahead.
Steve Jordahl: My insurance company will pay for a rental car while my car is being repaired, but only up to a certain amount. That amount runs out today, so I have to turn the rental car in. My car is not quite done yet. We've figured out how I might not have to pay for the rental car because the insurance company is supposed to pay for it.
Steve Jordahl: But I got a call from the insurance company that said the rental car company told them, "Your insurance hasn't paid us for this car, and you're supposed to turn it in today. If you turn it in and they haven't paid us, you're going to owe us $222."
Tim Wildmon: So you owe them?
Steve Jordahl: I mean, that's my insurance company.
Tim Wildmon: Right.
Steve Jordahl: If I don't turn it in today, I have to start paying for it tomorrow. So I called the insurance company and said, "Can you handle this?" They did. They called and said it's all taken care of, so I can turn the rental car in today.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, I've got news for you.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, what?
Tim Wildmon: This doesn't bring me any joy, but you're going to get canceled. You've got two claims, both of them involving hitting deer within a month.
Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
Tim Wildmon: Here's what happens, because I've been canceled before. I've been with this company for quite a while.
Steve Jordahl: It doesn't matter?
Tim Wildmon: It doesn't matter.
Steve Jordahl: Oh, is that right?
Tim Wildmon: No, it's not about you. You think they're your friends, but that only goes so far. Then you get put in the system, the numeric system.
Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
Tim Wildmon: Your numbers, what you cost the company, are dumped into the system where they crunch all the numbers. Then they figure out, "Customer X-Y-9-7-4, that's what you are in the system."
Steve Jordahl: I prefer that you guys refer to me that way.
Tim Wildmon: "X-Y-9-4-0-0 needs to get a letter of cancellation because they're no longer profitable to our company."
Steve Jordahl: I'm just going to send Steve good vibes all day.
Tim Wildmon: I'm sending you good vibes.
Steve Jordahl: Absolutely.
Tim Wildmon: That was the reality, my friend.
Steve Jordahl: I'm a Christian. I don't know that word.
Tim Wildmon: You have two wrecks in a matter of a month, and you both say, "They're deer."
Steve Jordahl: They're going to be suspicious.
Tim Wildmon: You've used your deer-hits-car allowance for your lifetime.
Steve Jordahl: My wife actually has a habit of hitting deer. This is like the third deer. I could show you the cars in the parking lot. The passenger-side door has a massive dent in it where the deer ran into her.
Tim Wildmon: Well, that's the deer's fault.
Steve Jordahl: It is.
Tim Wildmon: So you apply with the deer's insurance company before your company cancels you.
Steve Jordahl: If they would cross at the deer crossing sign, everything would be fine.
Tim Wildmon: Well, yeah, everything would be fine.
Steve Jordahl: Somehow it just doesn't work out that way.
Tim Wildmon: All right, next story.
Steve Jordahl: Not that that was one.
Tim Wildmon: Next story. Steve?
Steve Jordahl: The Buckley Institute has a poll out.
Tim Wildmon: And this survey was undercredited?
Steve Jordahl: Did you hit it, Steve?
Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry, did you hit the poll?
Steve Jordahl: No, I did not hit the poll.
Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry. I'll see what you did there.
Steve Jordahl: The Buckley Institute reports that they surveyed over 800 undergraduate students across the country. These college students prefer socialism over capitalism by a 42 to 28 percent margin. I need to be grounded separately.
Steve Jordahl: More than one in five, 22 percent, say America deserved 9/11.
Tim Wildmon: That last part, the first poll result on socialism, I chalk up to ignorance. Although that can be very costly. Look at the Venezuelans voting in communism. I can at least understand how young people might come to that decision, but that second part, about one out of every five saying that America deserved 9/11, when 3,000 people died, is disturbing.
Steve Jordahl: It's disturbing that it's that high. That should be a very fringe belief.
Tim Wildmon: I wonder if that is because we don't have 20 percent who are Muslim in this country.
Steve Jordahl: I wonder.
Tim Wildmon: Most members of the Islamic religion in this country are still a pretty low percentage, two to three percent.
Steve Jordahl: But, yeah, that's very disturbing.
Ed: They also asked them what countries they view favorably and unfavorably. The countries they view favorably are the United Kingdom, which is having its own issues right now, Germany, Palestine, and China.
Tim Wildmon: Which country do they view least favorably?
Ed: Yes.
Tim Wildmon: Us?
Ed: No. Israel.
Tim Wildmon: Although I don't think we're far behind.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know where we're going to rank.
Tim Wildmon: That is proof that propaganda works, people.
Steve Jordahl: Yep.
Tim Wildmon: That is the result of propaganda.
Ed: Social media, especially.
Tim Wildmon: Yes, social media.
Steve Jordahl: These young people who are saying that have no idea of the history of Palestine and Israel.
Tim Wildmon: No idea.
Steve Jordahl: No idea of the history of China.
Tim Wildmon: Good grief. Germany started two world wars in the last century. At least knock them down the list 10 or 20 spots.
Steve Jordahl: Did I load the clip? I didn't load the clip.
Tim Wildmon: You had a lot on your plate.
Steve Jordahl: I don't think people know what that means.
Tim Wildmon: You didn't load the next story?
Steve Jordahl: The next story had to do with something I was going to talk about, but I'll have to say that for tomorrow.
Tim Wildmon: That's fine. That's why you had a lot of stress on you with the deer.
Steve Jordahl: I had a lot of venison on my plate.
Tim Wildmon: I'm just rocking and rolling today, man.
Steve Jordahl: I heard that.
Tim Wildmon: Dealing with rental car companies and insurance companies and being on hold. I have a feeling it's your old auto insurance company.
Steve Jordahl: I have other places to go if we need to.
Tim Wildmon: We've got a guest. Steve Stieber is with us. Steve is the president of Eight Days of Hope. If you listen to AFR, you know who Eight Days of Hope is. They've been doing work all over the country since Hurricane Katrina in response to natural disasters. They're going down to, or already on the ground in, Florida as a result of the hurricane. Steve, good morning.
Steve Stieber: Hey, guys. Good morning. Thanks for having me on.
Tim Wildmon: Where are you today?
Steve Stieber: I'm in New York, but most of our team and all of our equipment are down in Florida. It's been a whirlwind the last couple of days since the hurricane hit. I'm thankful to be on with you today to share about how people can pray and be a part of the solution.
Tim Wildmon: Tell me what Eight Days of Hope is doing now. You mentioned your teams went down to the Gulf Coast, which is about a six- or seven-hour drive from our national headquarters for both AFA and AFR, and also for Eight Days of Hope in Tupelo, Mississippi. What's going on? Who went down there? I'm sure you guys may be contemplating a big effort down there somewhere sometime soon.
Steve Stieber: Tim, thank you. The timing is great. We get a chance to announce this on your show. The hurricane hit Friday. On Saturday, we had volunteers and equipment there. Our mass-feeding arm deployed first. Yesterday, 1,800 hot meals were delivered on a moment's notice at a church called Destiny Worship Center. They're expecting to increase that number today.
Steve Stieber: We're going to feed people until the power comes back on. There are still hundreds of thousands of people without power. It could be five, seven, or even ten days. We're going to keep making food and keep being, hopefully, a glimpse of Jesus to those who are feeling a lot of heartache.
Steve Stieber: We also announced late last night, internally and now here, that our rapid-response team is going down. That's the team that does chainsaw work, tarps and roofs, and brings in heavy equipment. We have shower trailers and laundry trailers for people whose washers and dryers were damaged or who don't have the means to get a hot meal, take a hot shower, or do laundry.
Steve Stieber: Those people are there as we speak, setting up. Volunteer registration has opened on our website. It's always free to volunteer with us. We've never charged a person a penny over the last 20 years, and we're providing food and lodging as well. You have to be 16, and any skill set is needed.
Steve Stieber: Maybe you know how to operate a chainsaw. Maybe you're like me, and no one will ever give you a chainsaw because you're too hyper. But can you pull a limb that's been cut down to the curb? Can you make a hot sandwich? Can you help somebody sort through the debris of a damaged house?
Steve Stieber: We've already seen hundreds and hundreds of requests for help. We're going to be in Florida at least through October 31. We're there for the entire month. You can come for two days, five days, or two weeks. We would love to have you come serve with Eight Days of Hope. All the information is on our website at eightdaysofhope.com.
Ed: Steve, Ed here. Eight Days of Hope is well known by now. Do you get an automatic response when a hurricane is coming, with people contacting you and saying, "Where, when, and how?" In other words, they know you guys are going to be going to a place. Do they sign up ahead of time? Is that happening for you, where people just say, "I know Eight Days of Hope is going to go. Where do I sign up?"
Steve Stieber: We have people traveling the country now who didn't know when they left home where exactly we were going to be. We said, "Go to the Pensacola area. We're going to be within 30 miles of Pensacola one way or another."
Steve Stieber: That's a great question. We have now led 66,000 people in our 21 years of doing Eight Days of Hope. This is the 136th different disaster we've responded to. We have over $6 million of equipment, all paid for, either in route or in Florida as we speak.
Steve Stieber: We have a texting service. Maybe somebody is listening today and has heard of Eight Days of Hope but has never served with us. If you're interested in being invited whenever we go, text the word HOPE to 86373. Text the word HOPE to 86373.
Steve Stieber: We deploy about 25 times a year. This is our 21st deployment of 2026. When we go somewhere, you'll be the first to know. You'll get a text. That's what happened last night and this morning. Fifty thousand people got a text saying, "We're in Florida. We need your help. Can you come?" Already, volunteers from 30 states have signed up.
Steve Stieber: Very quickly, through American Family Radio and our relationship over the last 20 years, people trust Eight Days of Hope, and we're thankful for that. The body of Christ is showing up, and that pumps me up.
Jordan: I have a comment and a question for Steve. My comment is simple: death, taxes, and Eight Days of Hope. You can count on all three.
Jordan: As sure as the sun is going to rise, Eight Days of Hope is going to be there.
Jordan: You've been to all of these major hurricanes. How does this one rank? This is a Category 3. Where does this rank in the level of need right now?
Steve Stieber: Definitely, in our existence, just celebrating our 21st year, this is probably in the top 10 or top 15. A lot depends on where the disaster hits.
Steve Stieber: Katrina is still, in my mind, the mother of all storms. Harvey hit the fourth-largest city in our country, Houston. The storm didn't move for multiple days, 53 inches of rain fell, and 330,000 homes flooded. Think about that, 330,000 homes flooded.
Steve Stieber: Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, Florida. Hundreds of thousands of trees looked like they had been hit by flat-lying winds. They were just bent over.
Steve Stieber: Anytime you see destruction, and when it affects you, when it's your house, your tree, your roof, or your car where a tree fell on it or your roof tore off, in your mind that's the worst disaster of all time. So we try to treat every single disaster as unique.
Steve Stieber: We're excited that we can be a part of the solution in the healing process. Today, as you and I speak, we're making thousands of meals, and people are already lining up a mile long to get a hot meal because there's nowhere else to get one. We're thankful that people have sewn into the ministry of Eight Days of Hope to allow us to do this.
Steve Stieber: Our mass-feeding team is there, and our rapid-response team is setting up. All the information is on our website at eightdaysofhope.com. You can volunteer. It's free. We provide food and lodging, and we're there for the next three weeks at least.
Tim Wildmon: Steve, thanks so much for being with us. Let us know if there's anything else we need to do to get the word out and help you guys. I know you get a lot of volunteers who want to help and want to know what they can do. The best organization we have, and the best idea we have, is for you to join the efforts of Eight Days of Hope. Thanks so much.
Steve Stieber: Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
Tim Wildmon: You too.
Tim Wildmon: Amazing company, Eight Days of Hope. They have four ministries. Rapid response is one. Their feeding ministry is another. They can take thousands of meals on a moment's notice. They also have long-term help, where they're taking mission trips. You can do a mission trip with Eight Days of Hope. Then they have safe houses for women and girls who have been rescued from human trafficking.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know where Steve Stieber finds the time. There might be three of him. He's everywhere.
Tim Wildmon: It is a very practical approach to these kinds of things. He was mentioning people who just need access to a washer and dryer or showers. They have these very practical forms of help to get people over the hump and enable them to return to normalcy at some point.
Steve Jordahl: I don't know that anybody has ever seen Steve Stieber and Superman in the same room at the same time. I'm just saying.
Tim Wildmon: So you're not drawing any conclusions. You're just throwing that out there.
Steve Jordahl: I'm just asking the question.
Tim Wildmon: Next story.
Steve Jordahl: There has been a James Talarico sighting.
Tim Wildmon: That means the Democratic congressional or Senate candidate in Texas, James Talarico, has been found. He disappeared about 20 days ago, and no one knew where he was for weeks. He was just out of pocket.
Steve Jordahl: The good thing is that no conspiracies cropped up about his nonappearance.
Tim Wildmon: Where has he been?
Steve Jordahl: His campaign says he had the flu, a two-week flu. There have been other conspiracy theories. Some people with mental health issues say something else happened. I don't know, and I'm not endorsing that theory. All I know is what he has said, and his story is not exactly consistent.
Steve Jordahl: This is James Talarico giving two different explanations about where he was during those two weeks, or at least how it led into a clip.
James Talarico: Last night it got so bad that I went to urgent care in Dallas, and I was diagnosed with the flu.
Interviewer: How bad was it? Somebody wants to know if this was just bed rest, or did you ever have to go to a doctor or hospital?
James Talarico: I just went to my primary-care physician. It wasn't anything worse than a nasty case of the flu.
Steve Jordahl: So it was either bad enough that you had to go to urgent care, or it wasn't bad enough that you had to go to urgent care. He just went to his primary-care physician.
Tim Wildmon: He's the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, for those who don't know. Most people do know.
Tim Wildmon: I don't think this moves the needle for most people. This is why I said in the last segment that people need to be informed. The problem with James Talarico and others in that category of leftist Democrats, where even Democratic Party officials are saying, "We cannot be this extreme," is not where he spent the last three weeks.
Tim Wildmon: If we were in normal political times, say 30 years ago, people might say, "Is this guy telling the truth?" That concerns me. But the problem is with his ideas. The problem is with the ideas he has already clearly stated.
Tim Wildmon: Voters need to be informed. After they're informed, they need to be equipped, meaning registered to vote. Then they need to go out and vote for the candidates who are most in line with biblical principles and support the founding principles.
Tim Wildmon: I'm not sure how many people are informed enough. That's why we recommend that they tune in to American Family Radio, go online to AFN.net, and also go to iVoterGuide.com to get the information they need. People like Talarico, El-Sayed, and Zohran Mamdani have a problem with what they clearly say, rather than with what they might be trying to hide.
Steve Jordahl: Joe Biden went through a whole campaign without going anywhere.
Tim Wildmon: True.
Steve Jordahl: It didn't hurt him.
Tim Wildmon: It didn't.
Steve Jordahl: I don't think it's going to happen here. If you feel like you've got a lead that's untouchable, then don't put yourself at risk anymore.
Tim Wildmon: Right. There's no reason to do that. That's just smart politics.
Steve Jordahl: I haven't seen any polls putting Talarico in that category.
Tim Wildmon: He's not far enough ahead for that.
Steve Jordahl: No, but he may have just had the flu.
Tim Wildmon: Anybody who's had the flu knows it can put you down for a week to ten days.
Steve Jordahl: If he's being honest and had the flu, it could put him in bed. Something made him sick for 20 days.
Tim Wildmon: It was 22 days, I think, that he was gone. He was simply not seen by anybody publicly.
Steve Jordahl: What I'm saying is that he may have had the flu, and then he may also have said, "I'm not doing any events because I don't have to. I'm going to win if I don't blow it by saying something stupid."
Tim Wildmon: Some people would say he's already said a bunch of stupid things, but if you feel like you've got a victory in hand, there's no need to put yourself at risk.
Steve Jordahl: If you have momentum, why stop it? Why bring it to a halt?
Tim Wildmon: I don't think it's conclusive. Every poll I've seen in Texas with the Senate race does have Talarico leading, but it's not by seven, eight, or nine points. It's more like one to four points, so it's still going to be a very close election.
Tim Wildmon: Texas is still a red state. I don't remember the last time a Democrat won a statewide election there.
Steve Jordahl: I'm not an expert on Texas politics, but it's a red state. If Talarico beats Paxton, it will be an upset.
Tim Wildmon: It will be an upset.
Steve Jordahl: We'll see.
Tim Wildmon: Who was the Democratic governor before Bush?
Steve Jordahl: Ann Richards?
Tim Wildmon: Ann Richards, that's right. She served until 1995.
Steve Jordahl: Lloyd Bentsen was a senator from Texas.
Tim Wildmon: You're having to go all the way back to the 1980s, maybe the 1990s.
Steve Jordahl: They had Blue Dog Democrats.
Tim Wildmon: You're having to go back.
Steve Jordahl: The last Democratic governor was Ann Richards, who served until 1995. Lloyd Bentsen was in 1988. Jimmy Carter remains the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Texas, doing so in 1976.
Tim Wildmon: It's a solid red state.
Steve Jordahl: That's why if the Democrats are able to win a statewide election there, that would be a political earthquake.
Tim Wildmon: It really would be. All right, we're going to take a break right here. We'll be back with more of Today's Issues.
Tim Wildmon and company examine a Buckley Institute survey of more than 800 college students. The poll reportedly found that students favored socialism over capitalism and that 22 percent said America deserved the September 11 attacks. The hosts discuss the influence of social media, historical ignorance, and the need for voters to understand candidates and biblical principles. Eight Days of Hope president Steve Tiber explains how the ministry is responding to hurricane damage in Florida by providing hot meals, equipment, showers, laundry services, and volunteers. He describes the scale of the disaster and how Christians can serve affected communities. The program also addresses the return of Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico after a reported two-week absence attributed to the flu. The hosts discuss conflicting explanations, the close Texas Senate race, and the importance of informed and engaged voters.
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