Transcript

Today's Issues continues on AFR with your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.

>> Tim Wildmon: Welcome back everybody to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today's issue is the name of this show. We're here every Monday through Friday. Friday we play trivia. So that's coming up the end of the week. But, now joining me in studio, Ed had to check out. He left. Do you think I heard, his feelings or something?

>> Fred Jackson: You stressed him out.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, well, yeah, well, he stresses me out sometimes too. So, you know, I think he's got to do a deep dive into what it means to do something in spades.

>> Tim Wildmon: Good one.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Steve Jordan joining us. Steve Paisley Jordan.

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>> Steve Jordahl: Good morning everybody.

>> Tim Wildmon: So, Ed's not here this half hour. It's Fred, yours truly and Steve. And again, as always, we appreciate you listening. What's your first story, Steve?

>> Steve Jordahl: Well, I wanted to key on something you sent around. It's an interesting video by Peter Thiel, who's one of the tech, giants in this industry. And he was asked, about screen time for his kids, and how much is appropriate. And he had an interesting answer. Now granted his kids are three and one and a half, so probably he can kinda young for him to control the amount of screen time for his kids than it might be for you and your teens. But listen to what he had to say.

>> Ed Vitagliano: The surgeon general was here in Aspen, and I think you've probably seen in the last couple, weeks that he came out and genuinely believes that social, media and the Facebooks of the world really m Have done a real disservice to young people in the country. And I just wonder what you think of that as somebody who invested early in Facebook. man, there's I think, you know, I can't say that he's 100% wrong. the place where I always push back on is that I feel it's it's too easy to turn tech or the social media companies into the scapegoat for all of our problems. And so there's some kind of a, interesting critique one can make of the tech companies. And if you ask how many of the executives in those companies m, how much screen time do they let their kids use? And there's probably sort of an interesting critique one could make. What do you do? not very much. And I think that's very. What's not very much? An hour and a half a week. Hour and a half a week. Something like that. how old are your kids? Three and a half, five years. Three and a half and five years old. Okay, but, but, but, and I think that that is sort of, if I had to do the, if I, if I were to make the anti tech argument, it's that there are probably a lot of people in tech who do something quite similar for their own families and that, and there's some questions that, that might lead you to ask. And then on the, on the other hand, it, you know, I don't think this is you know, the main cause for all of the different types of social dysfunction we have. And it's maybe it's a 15, 20 cause. You know, there's, you know there's there's sort of a lot of other things that have gone super haywire in our society. And, and and by, by putting all the blame onto you know, this, this onto tech or onto one company, you are you know, really ignoring a lot of other stuff.

>> Tim Wildmon: Who is that gentleman?

>> Steve Jordahl: That was Peter Thiel. let me get his started.

>> Tim Wildmon: PayPal, what he's known for.

>> Steve Jordahl: he was, they see he is a billion dollar investor. I'm looking up is what he invited. That's because Elon Musk started helps. He co founded PayPal and Plantier. That's what he did. Co founded PayPal I think with, with Elon Musk.

>> Tim Wildmon: Anyway, the, his point he's making and the question the gentleman was asking him was about screen time for children. Basically. It's what I got it. And he was saying he regular. Of course his kids were only what, one in three and a half?

>> Steve Jordahl: Three and a half and five.

>> Tim Wildmon: Three and a half. So that's really him. Yeah. But as the kids get older usually they go to more according

>> Steve Jordahl: to the American Academy of Pediatrics and Common Sense Media, which I didn't know until now was a thing. Teenagers in the United States ages 13, 13 to 18, average 8 hours and 39 minutes a day of entertainment a day. That does not even count schoolwork.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, that's a problem.

>> Tim Wildmon: Ah, that's hard to believe. That's almost every waking hour.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah. You ever been around? Yeah. And in fact just this March, a California jury found Meta and YouTube liable for designing addictive platforms for teenagers that meta that they designed their product to be addictive. a jury found them liable for that. The jury amount the award was $6 billion. It's $6 million. It is going to be revised or added to still. They still in the court process for that.

>> Tim Wildmon: But parents just got to take control of that situation and take the, Take the electronic device up if you have to. But, a lot of schools now are going to. No, no cell phones at school. If you do bring one, you got to turn it in and you get it out, you get it back at the end of the school day.

>> Steve Jordahl: Another reason for that is because kids are using AI during school to do their schoolwork.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, a couple of things. you can understand the psychological problems if someone has got their face buried in their phone eight hours a day. Eight hours plus a day. what that does to your ability to communicate with human beings. That's a huge problem. But you know what really bugs me is every now and then you see. And you go to a restaurant and you see mom and dad and the two kids all on their own cell phones. Come on.

>> Steve Jordahl: We have gotten way too invested in this country, haven't we?

>> Fred Jackson: Way too much, too. And I think, you know, as adults, you lead the charge and you say, I'm going to limit myself to how much time because I want to talk to somebody, you know, at the table across the room, rather than have my face buried in my cell phone.

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>> Steve Jordahl: Now, let me ask you something, Fred, and maybe Tim, too, because you guys, we all have kids that are grown now. but when we were raising our kids, it seemed like it was, there was a majority of parents that were like us who were able to control how much either screen time or whatever. I mean, because screen time wasn't a big deal. When my kids were growing, there were no. I mean, social media was just in its infancy. And certainly when I was growing up, I wasn't even around. There was no such thing. But now with everybody, the parents, the kids who you raised are now being parents, and there's no longer a majority of parents that say, this is wrong. You have to be almost, transgressive. Or you almost have to be on your own parenting, on your own. Because nobody else thinks this is a problem anymore.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I think some parents are going back, I guess, to the old way is tell, the kid, get outside and play. Get your kids involved with sports. Those things. I mean, there's. It's not that there are not solutions. Parents have to take the initiative to institute these solutions. Get outside and play. Get your kids involved with sports, whatever the case may be. but not sitting inside playing on cell phones or watching tv.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

Police arrest three juvenile suspects in Austin, Texas

All right, next story. Steve.

>> Steve Jordahl: All right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Get off my lawn, Fred.

>> Steve Jordahl: Says, Austin, Texas. Police arrested three juvenile.

>> Tim Wildmon: You got that? We did that.

>> Fred Jackson: Yep.

>> Steve Jordahl: Sorry, I wasn't listening.

>> Tim Wildmon: Let's talk story.

Department of Justice subpoenaed Apple and Google about car emissions apps

>> Steve Jordahl: Let's talk about some more tech stuff. We can, The Department of Justice has subpoenaed Apple and Google to learn of the identities of people who were using an app that they used to disable their cars. diagnostic tools, their cars, the monitors, health, the air. Can. Air. What's the word I'm looking for here? Emissions.

>> Fred Jackson: Exhaust. Emissions.

>> Steve Jordahl: Emissions.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Steve Jordahl: They use. They use these apps to disable the emissions control in their cars. Now the DOJ is looking for people to come and take the court.

>> Fred Jackson: I lived in, an area of Canada that this was really. You had to have your car tested every year for exhaust emissions. And if certain levels of certain gases were over so much, then you had to go. They wouldn't pass your car. It was a test. And if your car didn't pass the test, you had to pay to go to another mechanic and get the problem correct, corrected. And, then you had to go back and get retested. This was government overreach.

>> Steve Jordahl: Well, this app allows people to tap into their car's computer and clear the emissions codes.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I, I just. I. I just feel the, I've got a thing about climate change

>> Steve Jordahl: policies anyway, that are probably with you.

>> Fred Jackson: I confess negativity about that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, go ahead, Steve.

Researchers are studying the axolotl Salamander. And they say they've uncovered regeneration

>> Steve Jordahl: All right. researchers are studying the axolotl Salamander.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're kidding.

>> Steve Jordahl: They are.

>> Tim Wildmon: I did a research paper.

>> Fred Jackson: They should leave him alone.

>> Tim Wildmon: I know. I did a research paper on this.

>> Steve Jordahl: Well, then you probably had. You could probably tell us about this story.

>> Tim Wildmon: Because it's a pronounce. Again, I want to see if you're pronouncing.

>> Steve Jordahl: It might not be Axolotl.

>> Fred Jackson: Huh?

>> Steve Jordahl: the axolotl Salamander. The zebrafish. And they say they've uncovered. And you can tell us about this, Tim. A powerful set of genes that appear to control regeneration. And they're saying that if they take these genes and apply them to humans, there's a possibility we could regrow severed limbs instead of having to put artificial limbs on.

>> Tim Wildmon: When we were preparing. And you brought this topic up at our. At our meeting this morning, Ed Vitagliano asked the question. What did Ed ask?

>> Steve Jordahl: He said, are they growing salamander limbs?

>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm. That's the big question.

>> Steve Jordahl: No.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Ed didn't want to have, You understand, if somebody's missing a foot, for example, and you give them this. Does a Salamander foot grow?

>> Steve Jordahl: The answer is no. They haven't gotten to the point where they're able to put this onto people yet. So this is way in the future. Yes. What they're seeing is they're seeing the way that these genes work to grow salamander feet on salamanders and they're saying that they, it's possible that they can grow, they can use them in adults to grow human limbs back. We're a long ways off, but this is where tech is going.

>> Tim Wildmon: Fred, what are your comments on this topic about growing, growing back?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I guess my mind went where Ed's mind goes. You know, what kind of appendage is going to be grown from this? However, you know, not. There are scientists who are very bright and they have looked at cell structure, I guess there, and they say maybe this salamander has cells that can trigger human cells to duplicate themselves.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: It's not out of the realm of possibility. Yeah, but we're a long way.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm sure that sounds nutty to me. It could be because how would your cell, how would those cells.

>> Steve Jordahl: Well, this is the whole thing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Know what they're growing back.

>> Steve Jordahl: This is the whole thing of the whole part of these stem cells. And this is technology that they're using now. They can use skin cells and they take the part of the cell out and they can reprogram it to make any organ on the human body. These cells, they're called pluripotent cells. And what they do is. So if you need to help to regrow parts of the liver or other things, they can re, they can program these cells to be that part or you program them. Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, you just. Do you want, do you want to make sure that programmers, you know, sober

>> Steve Jordahl: and you know, this is technology they've been using because the, the pro life community got into this debate with. Because they were using embryonic stem cells.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Steve Jordahl: To do some of this m medicine. And then they figured out that there's a way that they could use skin cells that didn't cost the life of an embryo to do the same kind of medical work.

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Do you gu about some news?

>> Fred Jackson: Sure.

>> Steve Jordahl: The U.S. delegation got back from China over the weekend and there's a debate going on in circles of how well this trip to China that the president took went. let me give you one person's, grade on that. KT McFarland had, some opinion on this. Can you listen to cut six?

>> K.T. McFarland: Oh, I think this was an A, if not an A Plus, you know, there's no doubt in President Trump's mind that China is our strategic competitor. But that doesn't mean that we can't do business with them and can't trade with them. And so what is the trade deal that we got? Something. They got something. What did we get? Well, they're buying our goods. They're buying our agricultural goods. They're buying some of our aircraft, as you just pointed out. And what are we getting from them? Well, we're getting their rare earth minerals, which we don't have. They're not that rare, but we don't have them until we get our own. We've got to buy China's. The other things that are important in this deal is, is that the Chinese have access to the American market without the huge tariffs. They need that. They need someplace to sell their goods. On the other hand, we need to have a relationship with them that doesn't cause another war.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, that was Katy McFarland.

Fred Rothenberg: I'm not confident China will back off on espionage

So, Fred, what do you think about, the overall, your thoughts on the president going to China?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I'm not to.

>> Tim Wildmon: Raj.

>> Fred Jackson: I have to base the assessment on what we have heard so far. I think it's really Good news. And KT McFarlane alluded to this, that, for instance, the Chinese have agreed to ramp up trade, in the areas of beef and poultry, something like $17 billion per year for this year and for the next couple of years. That's great news for our farmers. and they're buying soybean and that sort of thing. So it sounds pretty good. I think the Chinese, yes, I agree with KT McFarlane. They need us. And they apparently made some agreement on the tariffs. But I think if anybody believes that the Chinese are going to back off on espionage in particular, you know, we had the story prior to the president's trip to China of this mayor in California who basically was a spy for the Chinese, and she became a mayor of this city north of Los Angeles. Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, the Chinese are going to continue to do what they're going to do. Now, I did find it very interesting. There was news this morning that, Xi, is going to be meeting with Putin, Russian leader Putin. So those two are going to get together, and I'm sure they'll talk about what Xi talked with Trump about, all of that sort of thing. So, our trust level of China, even though we need a trade relationship with them, our trust level when it comes to their agenda should not decrease because of what we heard Coming out

>> Steve Jordahl: of this meeting, our trust level did not decrease in the least to, the agenda. people that went over there, they were told. And we, have Gordon Chang talking about this, they were told to ditch every bit of swag they were given.

>> Fred Jackson: All the souvenirs.

>> Steve Jordahl: All the souvenirs that they were given they had to leave in China. Listen to cut seven.

>> K.T. McFarland: Reporter, Emily Goodwin said this. American staff took everything. Chinese officials handed out credentials, burner phones from White House staff, pins for delegation collected before we got on. Air Force threw them in a bin at the bottom of the stairs. Nothing from China was allowed on the plane. She says. Your thoughts on that?

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, well, certainly, because we know what China has done in the past, with regard to electronics.

>> Steve Jordahl: you know, they put bugging devices everywhere. So this is just a necessary precaution. You know, it's unfortunate that this had

>> Tim Wildmon: to occur, but it's. The Chinese have weaponized everything at their

>> Fred Jackson: disposal, including the cars that they make. That was another interesting story. I think we talked about this last week, Tim, that in American dollars, the cars that China is producing are real cheap. Yeah, they are 5 and $6,000.

>> Tim Wildmon: Now, they can't sell them in the US at least not yet.

>> Fred Jackson: Not yet. Our auto industry has warned President Trump, do not let them in. However, part B of that story was that China loads up these vehicles with all kinds of detection devices. And it would be a real danger, for instance, if a member of our military bought one of those Chinese vehicles and drove them onto an Air Force base. The China. The Chinese could just use those devices to, pick up on conversations, to pick up on what's happening behind that wall there at a. At a military base. So, as I say, we need them for trade, but do not trust.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, that's right.

The World Cup is coming to the United States in about a month

I want to ask y' all about another topic, that we, I don't know, we didn't discuss at our meeting this morning. Do you know the World Cup.

>> Fred Jackson: Uh-huh.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Is coming to the US in about a month?

>> Fred Jackson: It is.

>> Tim Wildmon: And, this is a. This is a big deal to the rest of the world. It is somewhat to the United States. I just don't know whether it's going to have the kind of economic impact they're saying. They're saying because of the cost of things going up and so forth, that. That they anticipated the World World Cup. Say, for those who don't know, it's. It's basically the. Every. Every country that has a soccer team sends it to the. To different places around the world. I think it was in Saudi Arabia four years ago.

>> Steve Jordahl: It's every four years, I believe, like the Olympics.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. It's every four years. Right. So the US Is the host and the games are being played across the country. Yep. And then, and then now I guess they'll settle for the championship in NewSong York. In NewSong York. So. But it's just not getting the kind of. Yet the kind of.

>> Steve Jordahl: In the United States. But here's the thing. It is the, it is SEC Football, NFL Football, NBA Basketball and Major League Baseball combined for much of Europe. They are very. So there's going to be a lot of people that come to this country. A lot of tourists, despite it not being that big of a sport here in the United States, a lot of European, South, Central American fans are going to be coming. There's going to be a lot of tourism coming to this country for these games.

>> Tim Wildmon: But will it be as much as they had hoped for and predicted? I guess that's a question that remains because I'm. I'm seeing where hotels are not selling out.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: like they anticipated, you know what I'm saying? Because I guess the economy would be the reason.

>> Fred Jackson: There's also a lot of concern about security. True. And there's a whole division of Homeland Security that's dealing with, how do you make these venues secure? Because you can imagine many thousands of people in one place provides an opportune, target for bad people in this world.

>> Tim Wildmon: But the Games are being played all over the place.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: All over the country. Kansas City, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, NewSong York City, Houston, Dallas, Miami.

>> Steve Jordahl: And a couple of Canada and Mexico, too.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. So anyway, going to be a big deal. But I just don't know how many Americans even know about it because, soccer is not as popular. Professional soccer, now youth soccer is hugely popular in the United States, but professional soccer, not so much. At least that I've been able to. Not. Not compared to other sports like football, baseball, basketball, for example. so. But we'll. I just wondered if you guys had heard about World cup ticket prices in free fall.

>> Fred Jackson: Huh?

>> Tim Wildmon: It says.

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah. So it could be a hard time.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. That may be the last time they host this in the US In a while then, if that's the case, because,

>> Steve Jordahl: well, President Trump was certainly excited about the fact that, he was going to be hosting the World cup and the Olympics during his, this particular.

>> Tim Wildmon: The Summer Olympic Games are in Los Angeles. What year is that?

>> Steve Jordahl: Be 28.

>> Tim Wildmon: 2028.

>> Steve Jordahl: Summer 2020. 8. So there's a campaign will be going on, the elections in November, but in, 2028.

>> Tim Wildmon: Los Angeles?

>> Steve Jordahl: I believe so.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. They had it in Los Angeles in 1984.

>> Steve Jordahl: I was there.

>> Tim Wildmon: Were you?

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah, when I was going to school there.

>> Tim Wildmon: What sport did you.

>> Steve Jordahl: I went.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, you weren't a athlete?

>> Steve Jordahl: No, I wasn't. No, that was. That's a year. You were an athlete, I think.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, yeah, I was going to be, but it's my back.

>> Steve Jordahl: No, I went to some basketball games, women's basketball games. Cheryl M. Miller was the big star.

>> Tim Wildmon: Where were they held? Like at the Forum?

>> Steve Jordahl: Yeah, this is the Poly Pavilion where UCLA plays. At the Forum.

I went to the Coliseum for the first ever women's marathon

I went to the Coliseum for the first ever women's marathon.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Steve Jordahl: And, do you remember the. That lady, the Swiss marathon runner who was so, heat stroked, she was wandering around the track whether she would cross the line?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I remember that. Yeah. you were there for that?

>> Steve Jordahl: There for that. I was there. It was the bigger. It was a big the by, Baez, the American US Women won the marathon. There was a bigger cheer when the Swiss lady crossed. Finally crossed the finish line than when the American crossed the finish line.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, she fell or something, didn't she?

>> Steve Jordahl: She almost fell, I don't think. And I think there was this, I don't know if somebody came out and helped her, I can't remember, but she was, Yeah. Having a hard time getting across the finish line.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right.

>> Fred Jackson: Huh?

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>> Tim Wildmon: All right, well, we're out of time today on, the program, Today's issues. We thank you for yours, Fred. Appreciate it. Alrighty, Steve. Thank you.

>> Steve Jordahl: My pleasure.

>> Tim Wildmon: Ed left in a hissy fit and he'll be. Hopefully he'll be back tomorrow. No, he didn't. He left peacefully.

>> Steve Jordahl: patriotically, I believe.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know is who's on tomorrow? Is it Ray on or Ed on? No Ray. No Ray. No Ray Tomorrow. Ray's traveling the country preaching the Bible. We'll talk to him when he gets back. My thanks to Brent Creeley, producer Cole Greene, our video man. That it? That's all that was on the show today?

>> Fred Jackson: Yep.

>> Tim Wildmon: So have a great day, everybody. Keep listening to AFR and and we'll see you back here tomorrow.