Tim Wildman: If people want to download this show as a podcast
>> Ed Vitagliano: Today's Issues continues on AFR with your
>> Steve Jordahl: host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back, everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Speaking of podcasts, as we were a few minutes ago Talking about Sandy Rios 24.7ed, if people want to download this here show as a podcast, what would you say to those people?
>> Ed Vitagliano: You mean how to do that?
>> Tim Wildmon: How to do that?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. All you have to do is go to afr.net afr.net and there's a little band across the top where you got some drop down menus. You click on podcasts and then they are all there. In fact, before we had Sandy Rios on, in the last segment, I went there and clicked on her. You'll see the little, click through banner.
>> Tim Wildmon: Banner. and like his banner over us is love. Is love. You know that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, I do. And they're all there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, so what I did was I clicked on Sandy Rios.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And then you have a list.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, you do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: good grief. Just, I don't know, probably 20 of her recent podcasts. And then down at the bottom, you just page after page after page. And some of our show, you talk about our show.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's what I started.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Self serving. Okay, well, you just go down.
>> Tim Wildmon: Four of us here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Not just me. That needs to be served.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You just go down to the, to the bottom of the list of banners and there's Today's Issues and then Trivia Friday right next to it.
>> Tim Wildmon: It must be in alphabetical, order, because otherwise why would you have our show at the very, very bottom?
>> Steve Jordahl: The best for last.
>> Tim Wildmon: I, I don't think it's an alphabetical order.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's not. because Faith and Finance comes after Jenna Ellis. I. I'm not sure why that is. That's a good question.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, disciples, Are you American? You sure it's not, America's?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, but then you've. Then you've got, right here, you got Jenna Ellis.
>> Tim Wildmon: And then you don't think it's intentional that they put our show at the very bottom?
>> Ed Vitagliano: now that you asked, I, I am not sure if it's intentional. Maybe, maybe that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Maybe it's a. I think we need a committee.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Is there a coup underway?
>> Steve Jordahl: Can have regime sometimes.
>> Tim Wildmon: I wish there were.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It looks, it looks like it may, generally be in a type of alphabetical order, but M. I'm just going to say, as someone who's done a lot of editing.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is not completely alphabetical.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And that's. That's disturbing to me.
>> Tim Wildmon: I understand. Well, we'll get back to that dilemma, that quandary.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, it's a quandary.
>> Tim Wildmon: That dullard in just a little bit. Tim, Ed, Fred. And now Steve Paisley Jordan.
>> Steve Jordahl: Hey, everybody. Ed, where does that rank in terms of, order of, magnitude problem? Is that a level? Have you got Iran and Iraq war? Probably somewhere 10. Is this like eight, seven and a
>> Ed Vitagliano: half for someone who's fairly close to OCD on whatever scale you're using.
>> Steve Jordahl: Pretty high.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is starting to bother me. I want to move these around.
>> Tim Wildmon: Trying to get off that Coke.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I. I am, down to one a day.
>> Steve Jordahl: There you go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: One a day in the morning.
>> Tim Wildmon: I applaud yourself. This one. I admire that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, don't applaud.
>> Tim Wildmon: Don't ask me to participate, because I have.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I have. I am very disciplined for. In short spurts.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you have Diet Coke for breakf.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It is my caffeine, so I don't have, like, a cup of coffee. My wife gets up, she has a cup of coffee. I get up, I have a cold Coke. Diet Coke, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And how you get your caffeine?
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's my only different ways.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, chocolate.
>> Ed Vitagliano: syringe, Syringe, Syringe.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'd rather have coffee. I go for coffee.
Are social media companies guilty of making products so addictive that it harms young people
All right, Steve, what do you got going on, my friend?
>> Steve Jordahl: Let's talk about a federal, Or no, a state lawsuit lawsuit against Big Social. That is in the process, they had a decision out of the Los Angeles Superior Court. Now, California Superior Court is the lowest level court in California. Call it Superior, but this is the first shot at this in a court. And the question at hand was, is, are social media companies guilty of making their products so addictive that it is causing harm to young people? There's a young person that brought the lawsuit that says now she's older, but that, she was so tied up in social media that she had all kinds of mental problems growing up. And she says that they designed these algorithms, they designed the programs intentionally to hook, young people in so that they have to keep scrolling and they get more ad revenues like that. And the jury came back and found them liable. Guilty, ruling against Big Social and awarded this lady some, $4.2 million with more probably to come in a punitive damage award, which will come later.
>> Tim Wildmon: Sign me up for that lawsuit. I'm ready to go. This is all right, this is, what companies were, on the defense here?
>> Steve Jordahl: There were several companies that were brought in three of them solve the. Or resolve the case before getting to court. So this contained. This is meta and YouTube is Google and YouTube, where the,
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Without hearing all the arguments on both sides of this case, just an opinion. I'm not. And I'm not going to read them because you start reading those things, they become very addictive. Or watching the YouTube videos about it. Listen, is, the whole intention, it seems to me, of, all media is to draw more eyeballs. Right?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And so if they can make their product addictive, then they make more money. Okay. So I, think. And. And social media, needs to be. We need to warn, about social media. And, And I, think everybody pretty well knows this and especially protect children as much as possible. But to hold, a, company like meta or YouTube physically, financially responsible for a. An addiction somebody has, seems to me, I don't, I don't agree with that. I think that's the part, that's where personal responsibility falls down.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I am in complete agreement with you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't like this ruling. as someone who was, as a young person, addicted to phonics. Hooked on phonics.
>> Tim Wildmon: You were hooked on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I was hooked on phonics. I.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's before Diet Coke.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I was. Yes, I was able to break free of that, addiction. No, I agree. This is about personal responsibility. And all media is this way. All advertising is this way. you know, this is, this product is the best. This is, you know, four out of five dentists recommend Crest. I mean, this is. People have to have a certain amount of personal responsibility. Now you mentioned children and young people. I am for, laws that, you know, maybe, protect them from social media by saying you can't target children or young people with your advertisements or your algorithms. But this is. It's hard, but this is the responsibility of parents. And then as young people get older, the responsibility that they have to avoid getting, obsessed with social media.
>> Steve Jordahl: Ari Fleischer, who is the, press secretary for George W. Bush, at one point is commenting on this, and he kind of agrees. He says, we've all. We've always had these, advances in technology, and as our sphere of influence gets bigger, they seem to, be more important. But it all comes down to what you're saying is personal responsibility. Cut 12.
>> Speaker D: There was a time when Americans were barely exposed to anybody else. In the 1800s, you raised on your farm, most Americans lived in rural areas. You only knew people who were from your town or from a 10 mile area around you. Then along came the telegraph, along came trains, along came radio, along came television, and now social media. Our circles always expand in terms of how much access and influence we have to others. It still starts with the lessons you learn in life from your family and your parents about how do you behave toward others. Whether or not it's just that one or two neighbors that you had in the 1800s or now the billions of people you're exposed to on Facebook. Whatever these verdicts are that help enforce better corporate responsibility, Responsibility always begins at home and with yourself.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm kind of stunned by this. how much money, was she awarded?
>> Steve Jordahl: $4.2 million from Meta and $1.8 million from YouTube. And there's more to come because the punitive damages have yet to be.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, this will be appealed. yes, this will be appealed.
>> Steve Jordahl: We, we have sound. I don't have to play it, but, their lawyers are saying that they will appeal anyway.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, I think this is a defense lawyer's dream because they're gonna have a lot of other people now sign up for this. Hey, listen, give us a call if you think you're addicted to. Right. We're gonna see these ads on tv.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You get the money you deserve.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, give us a call because those defense lawyers will get 50% of 6 million.
Some social media companies are putting addictive stuff in their products
You know, speaking of this, have y' all seen this television, advertisement featuring. It's a black fella and he's a spokesperson for a law firm. And it seemed he's like Eddie Mur Murphy or. He seems like. You don't know whether he's joking or being serious. And do you know what I'm talking about at all? if you hadn't seen it. It's hard to describe. It's, it's. He. It's a, it's a law firm, I guess a national law firm where they try to, you know, I guess they, you know, go after their ambulance chasers.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Sound like to me. and. But it was. But it's a funny ad because it's real, but the guys, the guy's acting
>> Ed Vitagliano: like it's like making fun of himself
>> Tim Wildmon: like it's a Saturday Night Live skit. Yeah, yeah, you'd have to. Anyway.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Anyway, I, I just don't know where this kind of thing would stop. I, I loved, Frosted Flakes when I was growing up. It's my favorite cereal. Was I addicted. I, I love the sugar. I love the crunch. I loved everything about, about. I love Tony the Tiger.
>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So are they culpable if I, you know, ate Frosted Flakes for my entire life and said, I'm addicted and now I've got, Let's say I come down with diabetes. I don't know if you come down with diabetes, but are they responsible for my quote, unquote?
>> Steve Jordahl: The argument that they're making is that these social media companies are acting a lot like Big Tobacco acted. You know, in other words, they put addictive stuff in their product in order to make you addicted. It's different than, if there's something, you know, what was I using this morning, in the story meeting? I can't remember the example, but this is. If it's hidden, it's not out there. They're secretly, in the code inside the machine. They're putting stuff that they think will hook kids into it. And it's not just that people get depressed. They are linking some of these addictions to suicides. So there is a serious side of this. That. That.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I'm sure. I'm sure it is serious. I'm just surprised that, Okay. I don't want to, drag this all out. I am always a little suspicious of the word addiction, okay. Because it implies that the person has no ability to control themselves, and they're overpowered by the. By the desire that they actually desire. And so it's a disease. it's a disease. You. You know, I, used to joke around with people, and they say you're addicted to those Diet Cokes. I drank a lot of Diet Coke, and I said, I can quit anytime I want. I was joking around, you know, because that's the language that alcoholics use. Well, you know what? I. I am able to stop. I like it. there's things I miss about it. Social media is not something that, to me is like nicotine. Nicotine. There's a, actual biological mechanism at work there. I don't know. Let me put it this way. I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but it seems to me this is the nature of advertising and enjoyable things. There are young men who spend hours playing video games because it is an adrenaline rush. They are on a battlefield somewhere, and they. It's adrenaline, and they. They love it. They spend hours doing it. maybe that's an addiction.
>> Tim Wildmon: Candy Crush.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You do can crush.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, let's sue them all into oblivion.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, I don't. I don't do Candy Crush. I just kind of know what.
Diet Coke and Candy Crush used to be very popular
It's an addictive game on the on your phone, right? Or it used to be. Used to be very popular. I don't know.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It probably still is. I don't know.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I do have on my phone. Haven't played it in five years.
>> Tim Wildmon: But you did play it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I did.
>> Steve Jordahl: It was.
>> Tim Wildmon: You got over a while. Diet Coke train and has pleasure for a while.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Diet Coke and Candy Crush. That was a recipe.
>> Tim Wildmon: Rehab, right there.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In rehab.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, go ahead, Steve. What's your next story?
William Shakespeare being, uh, decolonized over in England
>> Steve Jordahl: All right, well, the Bard is on the, the cancel list.
>> Tim Wildmon: Come again?
>> Steve Jordahl: William Shakespeare is being, decolonized over in England. There's a group called the Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust. It owns buildings in Stratford upon Avon, including the Playwright's Home. and it is being told that it needs to create a more inclusive experience and move away from Western perspectives that, raised Shakespeare's ideas. They were used to advance white supremacy. They're racist.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, brother. To be raised or not to be racist? That is the question.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, hold on just a minute here. I, don't know why you had to get our blood pressure going, Steve. Oh, it's like you enjoy it or something. Here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He can't help himself, huh?
>> Tim Wildmon: Huh?
>> Ed Vitagliano: He can't help.
>> Tim Wildmon: He gets addicted. Yeah, listen, listen. this is a. Just another attack on Western civilization by the far lefties who hate America. They're God haters. I don't. These people are just. I, can't. It's hard to get inside their head. but. So this is in Britain. M. And everybody in the world who's read anything or had literature knows who William Shakespeare is, right?
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, they learn if they don't. Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And. And we all had to read his. We had to read his works, in, junior high or high school or college. So, the most prolific, probably the most well known prolific writer in the history of the world, William Shakespeare. You can make that argument now. So now they're wanting to change. They're saying he was a white supremacist.
>> Steve Jordahl: That's what they're saying. That in his. Included in his plays are racism, sexism, homophobia. What they're doing is they're placing 21st century values somewhere on, what, it was 15th century. England. yeah, well, the, The.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The world.
>> Tim Wildmon: So who. So what are they going to do about it? They're going to stop it, right?
>> Steve Jordahl: Well, yes. No, they are. they're changing the museum, experience. they're going to, be,
>> Tim Wildmon: Have you been to the museum, Steve?
>> Steve Jordahl: I've never been to England. I need To. I'd like to go.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'd like to go. What are you doing after lunch?
>> Steve Jordahl: Let's go.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right.
William Shakespeare's birthplace will be decolonized over fears that betraying success
So anyway, we don't know much more about this. You'll follow this. But this is. Let me see that story.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All I can say is the fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool. And I think we see that being revealed.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that what William Shakespeare said?
>> Ed Vitagliano: He did say it.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, I thought he said first, but no, he said to be or not to be. Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Steve Jordahl: nobler in the heart.
>> Tim Wildmon: He also said it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Charles Dickens.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm just checking y' all out. I was checking y' all out. I knew the answer to that. I'm no dummy. On literature. On literature. Fred, did you know where I was going with that? Yes. William Shakespeare's birthplace will be decolonized over fears that betraying his success. That's the greatest playwright benefit to ideology of white European supremacy. I'm getting tired of that kind of garbage. You know what? These people are jealous. They're just jealous, I guess they're jealous of William Shakespeare's English heritage or the fact that he was a, white dude. White dude.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That he was male.
>> Tim Wildmon: He was male. What? What? Why don't you just celebrate his contributions to world literature and don't try to change history.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And say he's a. And by the way, he's not here to defend himself. But, they're saying he was a part of white colonization of. I don't know who exactly, but, you know, the British Empire was, what is the old saying? The sun never set on the British Empire.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, they did a bunch of colonizing.
>> Tim Wildmon: They did a bunch of colonizing. And they were the first and only ones in history to do that kind of thing. Are we going to cancel, you know, are we going to cancel everybody for their, time they lived in history? You know what I'm saying? I'm not either, but I mean, I'm just thinking about. You could go. You could go to any civilization in the world and say, well, and cite somebody who made contributions to the advancement of humanity and then say, well, they lived in an era when there was slavery over here, or, ah, they were a part of this civilization or that civilization, and then you're supposed to just cancel all their.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, let me give you just a quick example. I'm listening to a podcast about Pizarro, the Spanish conquests of much of Latin America. Pizarro, and the Incas. The Inca civilization. And the Inca civilization was probably the longest civilization that ever existed, just 2,500 miles long. Anyway, they enslaved all the tribes around them and forced them to do the building projects that they wanted built, okay? And the Spanish came and, spoiler alert, took out the Incas. Okay? Now all people want to talk about is Spanish imperialism and colonialism. And that is a fact. It was imperialism, colonialism, absolutely. But the people they took out had. Were already doing it to the tribes around them.
>> Tim Wildmon: Same way in the U.S. or what became the U.S. north America people. You hear these people like that, singer at the Grammys, I think, saying, we're living. No, it was. It was a girl. English, Billy English or something.
>> Steve Jordahl: Oh, Billy.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Eilish.
>> Tim Wildmon: Eilish. She said, I'm. We're all on stolen land.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Remember that? And. And then, of course, there was a native, American tribe who found out her house. Her house was on their stolen land, who wanted some reparations. She didn't volunteer for that. She went behind her, guarded, her. Fenced out of community, where she has guards protecting her while she lectures America about accepting illegal immigrants. People, these Limous liberals, they're just complete and total hypocrites on things like that. But, when the, all you hear about is the white Europeans who came here, ah, to stolen and stole land. Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And they did.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't. Some of them did.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't sugarcoat this. No, they. They took it.
>> Steve Jordahl: That's the way the world took it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They. They beat.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I would just say this. Some of. Some of them came for religious reasons, for just freedom reasons. But. But a lot.
Steve Martin: Cultural Marxists need a bad guy to attack Western civilization
A lot of them came to pillage and to make money and to do business in commerce.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And. And you're right. Okay? So, I mean, the way that the American, But they don't say, well, the, The. Guess what? The Sioux were wiping out the Choctaws.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And the, you know, the Cherokees, were at war with the Seminoles. So I'm just throwing them off.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And they scalped each other. And they took slaves. And they took slaves. Nobody wants to talk about that. They just don't talk. All we want to talk about is the, the Europeans who came over.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And why. Why is that? Why do they end same way with you?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because in my opinion, this is cultural Marxism and Marxists need a bad guy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Economic Marxism says it's capital capitalists. Cultural Marxists have to find a boogeyman. And that is starts with white as a category, then especially male and straight.
>> Tim Wildmon: And that they don't like Christians either.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And they don't like Christians. I listen. Okay. Shakespeare was a white dude. Okay. I'd be happy to hear the poetry of, the most famous Inca poet from the Inca empire.
>> Tim Wildmon: I got that. My office. By the way. See me after the show.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They didn't have a written language. They didn't write. They didn't have the wheel. Okay? So, they were easy prey to the Spanish. And this has been going on. You pick your culture, and this is what human beings do because we're all broken. And covetousness and greed has characterized every society that has ever lived from tribe to empire. This is what everyone does. And if you want to just say it's just whites, you go ahead, but it's factually and historically ignorant, to do it.
>> Tim Wildmon: All over the world since the beginning, there's been conquest.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And people turning their people, they conquer into slaves. And they didn't say, well, like, the white Europeans were the first ones to do that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You know where the word slave comes from? Slav? The Slavic people were enslaved by Gauls and by others in Europe, and that's where the word slave comes from. It doesn't come from Africa.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. And the Romans.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And the Romans.
>> Tim Wildmon: Romans and the, Mongolians.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: You want to read about that? So this. So this attack, it's really attack. They want to attack, Christianity, too, and Western Western civilization.
>> Steve Jordahl: God's order of things.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, we'll be back tomorrow. Thank you, Steve.
>> Ed Vitagliano: More. More great news tomorrow.
>> Tim Wildmon: Thank you for stirring up the pot.
>> Steve Jordahl: That's what I do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, trivia Friday tomorrow.
>> Tim Wildmon: Trivia Friday tomorrow. Tomorrow. Thanks to Silent Fred and Ed here.
