The Daily Signal

Sept. 11, 2001, is a date that looms large in the American psyche. For many of us, the horrific images on TV of burning and collapsing towers, civilians jumping to their deaths, and endless seas of rubble are forever etched in memory.But for Americans born after 9/11, it can be difficult to fully comprehend the impact of a horrific event they didn't witness.Niels Jorgensen is a retired New York City firefighter who helped dig through the debris at ground zero in search of the injured and missing. He is also the host of the "20 For 20" podcast, a show highlighting 20 heroic stories about 9/11 for the 20th anniversary of that horrible day.Jorgensen joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to share his stories, as well as some ways that we can honor the victims of 9/11 and keep their memories alive.We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden requires all federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Some 200 non-Afghans, including Americans, fly out of Afghanistan on a Qatar Airways commercial flight, marking the first large-scale departure since the hasty U.S. withdrawal. Press secretary Jen Psaki defends Biden’s decision to ask former Trump administration officials to resign from advisory boards at military service academies. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that the Justice Department will go to court to challenge Texas' new pro-life law. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voters in 20 states have the option of tossing their governor out of office before the end of his or her term.Still, since 1921, gubernatorial recalls have made it to the ballot in only three states—North Dakota, California, and Wisconsin. However, recalling local officials and state legislators has been more common.The concept of recalling politicians commonly is thought of as part of the progressive movement of the early 20th century. But the debate over recall goes back much further, and states do it differently."Some have what's called a political recall law, like California, like Wisconsin, like Arizona, where you could do it for whatever reason you want to," Joshua Spivak, an authority on recall elections, says. "Other states have a very severe limit and those states ... rarely have recalls or have many fewer recalls, and then have almost none on the state level."Spivak, senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the history of recall elections just days before California holds another one. Spivak is the author of a new book on the topic, "Recall Elections: From Alexander Hamilton to Gavin Newsom."We also cover these stories: America is on track to default on the national debt if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by mid-October, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns.  Top Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee express concern over the fate of Americans and Afghan allies stranded in Afghanistan. Workers remove a large statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, capital of the Confederacy. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At Thomas Aquinas College, students study the original works of the great thinkers of Western civilization, among them Aristotle, St. Augustine, Chaucer, Descartes, Newton, Locke, Lincoln, Einstein, and Dostoevsky.After reading these influential scholars, students engage in small group discussions about the works, their conversations guided by a professor.But it's not just the curriculum and the classroom methodology that make Thomas Aquinas College different. Despite having campuses in liberal California and Massachusetts, this small Catholic college is bucking trends in higher ed.As students across America must obtain higher and higher loans to pay for higher education, Thomas Aquinas College is committed to ensuring that no student needs to take out more than $19,000 in loans. It encourages religious practices by making Mass available daily. And it offers only single-sex dorms.Paul O'Reilly, incoming president of Thomas Aquinas College, joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the college's approach and results.We also cover these stories: The Taliban announce formation of an interterm government in an attempt to formalize control over Afghanistan. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says new documents prove that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress about government funding for coronavirus research at a lab in Wuhan, China.  Texas Gov. Greg Abbot signs election reform legislation despite opposition from the left. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America has spent years fighting communism outside its borders, but now a Marxist threat is growing from within the country, Heritage Foundation senior fellow Mike Gonzalez says.Gonzalez, author of “BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution,” says the Black Lives Matter organization has encouraged Americans, especially young people, to embrace communist ideology. In 2020, there “were 633 riots … according to the U.S. Crisis Monitor run out of Princeton [University], and 95% of those riots in which we know the identity of the perpetrator ... Black Lives Matter members were included,” Gonzalez says. Through his book, Gonzalez hopes to “open people's eyes” to the true nature of Black Lives Matter. Gonzalez joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the book and why he’s standing against the communist influences in our culture today. Also on today's show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a New Jersey community that is going above and beyond to make sure all returning military personnel receive the welcome and thank you they deserve. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a strong connection between critical social justice ideology, including critical race theory, and a rising tide of antisemitism around the globe, according to a new report from the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values.As more businesses and governments adopt initiatives based on critical social justice ideology, antisemitic and other forms of bigotry are flourishing."When you hold an ideology that there are really only two kinds of people in the world, those that are oppressed and those that are oppressors, you're going to end up empowering ideas of antisemitism," says David Bernstein, a longtime Jewish advocate as well as the founder and CEO of the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Jewish Institute for Liberal Values.He joins "The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss his organization's new report, as well as the implications for continued global acceptance of critical social justice ideologies.We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden and House Democrats vow responses to counteract Texas' new pro-life law. After the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision not to enjoin the Texas pro-life law, some liberals are calling again for court-packing. A group of 26 Republican senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, demand that Biden provide information regarding the precise number of Americans, green-card holders, and special immigrant visa applicants stranded in Afghanistan, in addition to the vetting protocols used on Afghan evacuees entering the U.S. Biden will visit Louisiana to talk with officials and see firsthand the damage caused by Hurricane Ida. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Loudoun County, Virginia has been the focus of national attention for some time now. Stories of woke school board members pushing critical race theory and gender ideology have led to pushback as parents realize their children are being indoctrinated. Shawntel Cooper is one of those parents who decided to take action. Cooper was the focus of a viral video back in May where she lambasted the Loudoun County School Board over critical race theory in the classroom. "I don't understand how you would not want to ban anything that is this divisive and divides each other because of color," Cooper tells the Daily Signal Podcast, "You can't understand evil."Cooper joins the show to talk about her experiences as a Loudoun County mom, and offer advice on how we can push back against woke school boards across the country.We also cover these news stories Texas bans abortions after an unborn child's heartbeat can be detected, generally around six weeks. There are still Americans stranded in Afghanistan, including at least 27 students and a family from California. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaks out agaisnt House Democrats for calling on telecommunications companies to preserve records believed to be relevant to the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can a rock be racist?It can be, according to student activists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The school in early August moved a giant boulder that had sat prominently on campus for nearly a century to honor geologist and former university President Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin.“This moment is about the students, past and present, that relentlessly advocated for the removal of this racist monument,” said Juliana Bennett, a student and campus representative on the Madison City Council. “Now is a moment for all of us [black, Indigenous, and people of color] students to breathe a sigh of relief, to be proud of our endurance, and to begin healing.”Chamberlin was never accused of racism or anything else inappropriate. Instead, the massive 42-ton boulder was removed because of a single line in a local newspaper nearly 100 years ago in 1925 that referred to the rock using an offensive anachronism.Fred Lucas and Jarrett Stepman join "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss the incident and the broader movement to remove politically incorrect statues and monuments around the country.We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden addresses the nation after all U.S. troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticizes the Biden administration for leaving Americans behind in Afghanistan. Several of the parents of the troops killed at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan are speaking out against Biden. Enjoy the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 20 years in Afghanistan, the American military was set to complete its evacuation from Kabul by Tuesday, leaving behind a nation under Taliban control. “It’s a sad geopolitical irony that the Taliban will control more of Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2021, than it did on Sept. 11, 2001, Luke Coffey, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Foreign Policy, says. The Biden administration's poor handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will cause adversaries to push “the envelope a little bit more,” Coffey says, adding that even “America's friends are questioning U.S. resolve” on the international stage. Panjshir is the only one of Afghanistan's 34 provinces under the control of a resistance movement led by Ahmad Shah Massoud Jr. Coffey says Shah Massoud Jr. “is probably, right now, the best hope in terms of slowly turning the tide against the Taliban.”Coffey joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to address concerns over Americans who remain trapped in Afghanistan and to explain the potential ramifications of the withdrawal. We also cover these stories: Hurricane Ida tears through southeastern Louisiana, leaving over 1 million without power. The European Union recommends suspension of all nonessential travel from America.  China bans the playing of video games beyond three hours a week. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, biological men who identify as women are celebrated. Young girls taking puberty blockers are hailed as brave. How did we arrive at this place in our culture? Carl Trueman, a professor at Grove City College and author of “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self," says humanity's search for identity played a large role in the sexual revolution and the embrace of gender identities we see today. “I set the sexual revolution against the background of what I call the revolution in selfhood, which ... is a fundamental transformation in the way that human beings think of their personal identities,” Trueman says. Trueman joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain how he believes society has come to embrace gender identity ideology. Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a “good news story” about a special 9/11 remembrance event hosted by Wreaths Across America.  Learn more about Wreaths Across America here: https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joel Pelsue, co-founder and CEO of Arts & Entertainment Ministries, is a champion of quality Christian and conservative movies and TV shows. About 20 years ago, Pelsue says, he became frustrated with the lack of Christian discipleship within the arts community. As a musician, he knew that many artists were seeking Christian community, but didn't feel accepted by the church. Pelsue turned his frustration into motivation, and in 2004, he founded Arts & Entertainment Ministries with his wife, Michelle. “We are based in Los Angeles, and we mentor and disciple Christians who are engaged in [the] video game industry, film, television, writing, fine art, you name it,” he says. “If you're a creative, we're there to disciple you, and mentor you, and encourage you to be salt and light in the mainstream.” Pelsue joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss why conservatives and Christians should engage in the arts. He also explains how the political left uses movies and television to promote their ideology, and challenges conservatives to consider how they can be a positive influence within the entertainment industry. We also cover these stories: At least two suicide bomb attacks outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan kill 13 U.S. service members and at least 60 Afghans. Republicans criticize the Biden administration in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Kabul. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, announces a new indoor mask mandate, as well as mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for K-12 teachers and staff, college professors and staff, college students, and health care workers. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices