The Daily Signal

More than 100 million people. That’s how many people “communism as an ideology has killed,” says Andrew Bremberg, president of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. “I just want that to sink in. That is an incredible number to try to fathom or … imagine,” Bremberg, a former ambassador, says, adding: And that includes not just [Josef] Stalin and the tens of millions killed under Stalin’s brutal regime at the [Union of Soviet Socialist Republics], but also Mao Zedong, the … deadliest mass murderer ever, in terms of his leadership of the Chinese Communist Party that saw the murder of upward, conservatively upward of 60 million people.Bremberg joins today’s episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, which received The Heritage Foundation’s Innovation Prize earlier this year; its China Studies Program; and whether it’s possible for the U.S. to move away from or lessen its economic reliance on China. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Committees and hearings play a critical role in the operations of Congress. But how are members assigned to committees? And do congressional hearings actually advance legislation and investigations?Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project, goes beneath the surface in today's edition of "The Daily Signal Podcast" to explain how Congress really works and the critical role Capitol Hill staff play in those operations. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Justice Clarence Thomas releases his annual financial disclosure.  Former President Donald Trump pleads not guilty to charges he faces in Georgia.  Three people have been killed as a result of hurricane Idalia.  GOP 2024 presidential candidates weigh in on the possibility of new COVID-19 lockdowns.   Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans have seen a "Schoolhouse Rock" video explaining how Congress operates, or they may have taken political science classes in school. But neither paints the full picture of how Congress "actually works," Clint Brown says.Take the introduction of bills in Congress as an example, says Brown, vice president of government relations at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization.)"Members of Congress introduce thousands of bills every year," Brown says, but many of them "are laying a marker for what they believe.""We call them messaging bills," he adds, "because [lawmakers] want to talk about the issue, but they don't intend it to pass."As in any office building, "there are conversations happening all the time," Brown says, and lawmakers have their own "congressional version of the water cooler" and "talk over what they're working on just like anybody else.""Sometimes there are the smoke-filled back rooms where they hatch plans, and it seems very scandalous and salacious," he says. "But most of the time, it's just normal conversation. And that's how things get done, is you go talk to people about it."Brown joins this episode of "The Daily Signal Podcast" for the second in a three-part series explaining how Congress really works. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: Fred Lucas reports the House committee investigating alleged influence peddling by the Biden family is seeking records on Air Force Two flights that then-Vice President Joe Biden took with son Hunter Biden: House Investigators Allege Biden ‘Abused’ Office in Hunter’s Trips on Air Force 2 Tyler O’Neil reports that eight Republican senators are demanding answers from the FBI as the bureau continues to stonewall investigations into the Richmond, Virginia, office’s January memo citing the Southern Poverty Law Center to target “radical traditional Catholic hate groups” for surveillance: Lankford Demands Answers on FBI’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Targeting of ‘Traditional Catholics’ Mary Margaret Olohan reports Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is accusing the Department of Justice of “aggressively targeting” pro-life activists while failing to properly investigate the slew of attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers throughout the country: EXCLUSIVE: Cruz Accuses DOJ of ‘Aggressively Targeting’ Pro-Life Activists Who ‘Blew the Whistle’ on DC Abortionist House Republicans are taking a closer look into how the Biden administration responded to deadly Maui wildfire.  A Colorado Springs school has reversed course after booting a 12-year-old boy off campus for refusing to remove a patch on his backpack depicting the patriotic “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flag: Gadsden Flag Vindicated: Colorado School Reverses Course After Kicking Student Out for Patriotic Backpack  The next GOP presidential debate, which takes place on September 27, will be moderated by Fox News’ Dana Perino and Stuart Varney.  Glenn Beck’s interview with Former President Donald Trumpe Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Founding Fathers feared the power of the legislative branch from its inception in the late 1700s. They did not want to trade one tyrant for a group of tyrants, one professor tells "The Daily Signal Podcast," so they “deliberately made Congress weak by dividing it up into these two bodies,” the House and the Senate. According to Joseph Postell, Hillsdale College associate professor of politics and Heritage Foundation visiting fellow, the Founders wanted the House and Senate to “fight amongst each other” because this would create a check on power. And fight they did. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)“The early politicians were really committed to their principles and were willing to fight over them,” Postell said, adding that "Duels were very common.”Postell joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" for Part One of a three-part series on how Congress really works. He discusses the history of Congress and what the Founding Fathers would say about what the legislative branch has become today. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, has cancer.  The Biden administration announces 10 drugs that have been chosen for medicare price negotiations. Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst wants federal bureaucrats to return to in-person work.  Miami Republican Mayor Francis Suarez ends his bid for the White House.  Relevant LinksListen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey spent the last week battling for the state's law protecting children from irreversible transgender interventions, both surgical and hormonal."We're winning this fight and it's important to keep fighting and pushing forward not to give up one inch of space in order to protect kids," he stressed.The attorney general joined The Daily Signal podcast to break down why LGBTQ groups are fighting SB 49, the "Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," which went into effect Monday."Under this act, no health care provider shall perform gender transition surgeries on any minor," the legislation's summary states. "Until August 28, 2027, no health care provider shall prescribe or administer cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to a minor for a gender transition, unless such minor was receiving such treatment prior to August 28, 2023.""A violation of these provisions shall be considered unprofessional conduct and shall result in the revocation of the health care provider's professional license," the summary continues. "Additionally, the prescription or administration of cross-sex hormones or puberty-blocking drugs to a minor for a gender transition shall be grounds for a cause of action against the health care provider, as described in the act."Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed the bill into law on June 7, warning at the time: "These decisions have permanent consequences for life and should not be made by impressionable children who may be in crisis or influenced by the political persuasions of others."But LGBTQ groups challenged the law — organizations that Bailey described to The Daily Signal as "radical left-wing activists that are more interested in social ideology and the protection of children.""That's why it was so important to actually go to court, get an open court, and test their evidence," he explained. "They're the plaintiff. They have a burden of proof if they want to stop this law from going into effect."On Friday, a Missouri trial court declined to block SB 49, citing “conflicting and unclear” medical evidence on the effectiveness of so-called puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.“The science and medical evidence is conflicting and unclear,” Judge Stephen R. Ohmer ruled Friday. “Accordingly, the evidence raises more questions than answers.”Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: A judge sets the court date for former President Donald Trump’s election interference case.  The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit discovers that it appears Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss colluded with the Department of Justice to respond to congressional inquiries related to the Hunter Biden investigation. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign takes a backseat after a gunman killed three people at a Florida Dollar General and a potentially devastating hurricane is headed towards the state.  Political activist Joe the Plumber dies at the age of 49. On this day 60 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Washington, D.C. and declared to a crowd, “I have a dream.”  Listen to other podcasts from The Daily Signal: https://www.dailysignal.com/podcasts/Get daily conservative news you can trust from our Morning Bell newsletter: DailySignal.com/morningbellsubscription Listen to more Heritage podcasts: https://www.heritage.org/podcastsSign up for The Agenda newsletter — the lowdown on top issues conservatives need to know about each week: https://www.heritage.org/agenda Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“The American dream is alive and well,” Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, says, “but only if we work at it.”“We must continue to work,” Sears says. “We must make sure that our children understand that they must take their place in society, that their job is no less than preserving America for the next generation.”Sears, who previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates, is author of the book “How Sweet It Is: Defending the American Dream.”She was elected as the state’s lieutenant governor Nov. 3, 2021, becoming the first black woman to hold the position. “So we can’t afford to baby our children. They’re the adults now, and we look to them to keep that charge,” Sears says. America, she adds, “must remain the city on a shining hill."Sears joins today’s episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss her book, what inspired her to get involved in politics, and how her Marine Corps service informs her work as lieutenant governor in the administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices