The Daily Signal

Arguably no philosopher had a greater influence on America's founding than John Locke, says Joseph Loconte, director of the Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Locke’s ideas about property and freedom helped to shape America as the Founders drew on his ideas when they wrote the nation's founding documents. “[T]here was no philosopher who was quoted more often than John Locke by the American revolutionaries,” Loconte told “The Daily Signal Podcast.” An expert on Locke, Loconte is presenting a paper this week on the English philosopher and the biblical roots of American democracy at the virtual John Locke Conference in Naples, Italy. Loconte joins the show to discuss what advice Locke (1632-1704) would offer to America today and why the philosopher's writings remain so relevant to the American experiment.We also discuss these stories: The Biden administration rescinds former President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting the Chinese-owned apps TikTok and WeChat. Former President Barack Obama praises his daughters, Malia and Sasha, for their social activism. The New York Times comes under criticism after editorial board member Mara Gay tells MSNBC that seeing “dozens of American flags” on Long Island was “disturbing.” The newspaper insists she was "taken out of context." Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Meckler stepped in as Parler’s interim CEO after Amazon, Google, and Apple essentially canceled the social media platform. Meckler says he didn't intend to become CEO of Parler when he called the company in January to ask if he could help, but recognized the gravity of the situation and wanted to do all he could to defend free speech. “Parler was the point of the spear,” says Meckler, a former leader of Tea Party Patriots who is also president of Citizens for Self-Governance. “And if we allowed Big Tech and the Big Tech oligarchs to take Parler offline and leave it offline permanently, [these tech companies were drawing] a line in the sand that we might never be able to cross again.” Conservatives must be prepared to respond to opposition from Big Tech companies, he says, because “any conservative, whether you're a conservative business person or you're running a nonprofit organization,” is susceptible to what happened to Parler.Meckler joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss his stint as Parler’s CEO and how the platform ultimately was restored. We also cover these stories: Vice President Kamala Harris defends the fact that she has not yet visited the southern border amid the ongoing border crisis.  A bipartisan group of senators announces release of the first congressional report detailing security failures that led to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and colleagues on the House Judiciary Committee ask Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate an Antifa attack on journalist Andy Ngo. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. Ted Cruz joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss his recent trip to Israel to observe the fighting that's been occurring in the region between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group. We discuss how Hamas has a headquarters in the basement of a hospital, effectively using innocent people as human shields."It's their own terrorists killing their own people, because they wanted to kill Israeli civilians, but they just weren't very good at it, and shot their own people instead," Cruz, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal."The press utterly ignores that," Cruz said. "The other civilians that are injured are predominantly the result of a decision that Hamas made to use Palestinians as human shields. So, they deliberately fire their weapons, fire their rockets from heavily populated civilian areas into heavily populated civilian areas."It's actually a double war crime. Shooting in a civilian area is a war crime, but shooting from civilian areas is also a war crime," the Texas Republican lawmaker said."The Hamas headquarters was in the basement of a hospital in Gaza," Cruz said, adding:This is a Palestinian hospital. And here's the calculation Hamas is making: It's a win-win. Either the [Israeli Defense Forces] will refrain from attacking their headquarters, in which case, that's great. That's what they want. Or in the alternative, if the IDF does attack the headquarters, it will kill a significant number of Palestinians, and they're literally using Palestinian women and newborn babies.We also cover these stories: The Supreme Court rules unanimously Monday that immigrants who came into the country illegally and were subsequently allowed to stay under temporary protected status can't get green cards or lawful permanent status. The Supreme Court declines to hear arguments in a case that could have required women to register for the military draft. As usual, the court did not specify why they chose to punt on the case, but did say they defer to Congress on the issue.  Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, and his brother Mark will be traveling to space on the inaugural crewed flight of New Shepard, a rocket system created by Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin.  “The Daily Signal Podcast” is available on Ricochet, Apple Podcasts, Pippa, Google Play, and Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You also can write to us at letters@dailysignal.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chuck DeVore moved his family from California to Texas a decade ago. The move was prompted by several factors, including “seeing [California] drifting further and further to the left,” he said.  Today, many people are making the same decision DeVore, vice president of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, made and are leaving California for the Lone Star State. That raises the question: Will Texas be pulled to the left by all the people moving there? Initial data suggests that it won't be. “People come here for their own, very deeply personal reasons,” DeVore said. “And you can't assume that because someone came here from a blue state that they're going to have liberal views.”Polling reveals that many people who move to Texas from California support conservative candidates in elections. That could change at any time, though, he warns.DeVore joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the ways in which his organization is working to keep Texas, Texas. He also explains what might be next for the recent election reform bill that failed in the [Texas Legislature] when Democrats walked out of the session, preventing a vote on the legislation.  Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a few highlights from The Heritage Foundation’s recent Resource Bank conference in Austin, Texas. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Michael McCaul says the United States needs to hold China accountable for COVID-19. The Texas Republican joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss how we might do that."I think it's becoming more and more clear as the evidence unfolds, when we talk about the origins of COVID-19, that it's more likely it came out of this laboratory," McCaul said of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China."And the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party went to cover this up: Detaining doctors, silencing them, destroying lab samples, not allowing the [World Health Organization] to declare it an epidemic, then a global pandemic. They have the blood of 3.5 million people on their hands, and economic chaos and destruction throughout the world."We also cover these stories: The Biden administration announces Thursday that it is sending 25 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine abroad to nations in need.  The cases of COVID-19 have fallen to the lowest levels since March 2020.  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation to discourage Texas communities from defunding their police department.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Chip Roy recently introduced a bill to withhold federal funds from any schools that teach critical race theory.The Texas Republican lawmaker joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about the bill, how critical race theory is affecting what children learn in schools, what can parents do to make sure their kids aren’t being taught critical race theory, the illegal immigration crisis at the border, and more."What now the American people are seeing is they've had the veil lifted on our corrupt public education system," said Roy, whose bill would apply to both elementary and secondary schools as well as higher education."They're now actually starting to see the garbage that's being taught and shoved down the throat of our children," he said. "And part of that garbage has been critical race theory and all of the various tentacles that critical race theory creates, in which we are teaching our children to believe that America is evil, to be ashamed of "their whiteness." And how they can undo their whiteness. There are so many stories if you go look."We also cover these stories: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is speaking out about newly unearthed emails from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. Both Buzzfeed and The Washington Post obtained emails via a Freedom of Information Act request.  The Republican National Committee is putting pressure on the Commission on Presidential Debates to ensure that presidential debates are nonpartisan.  Rashad Turner, the founder of the Black Lives Matter chapter in St. Paul, Minnesota, leaves the organization over policy disagreements.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Louisiana high school teacher Jonathan Koeppel spoke out recently against the gender-identity ideology being promoted at his school. A video of his remarks at a school board meeting quickly went viral.During the meeting in April, Koeppel played an audio clip for the school board from an education app the school uses, called “BrainPop,” in which students were advised to refer to individuals as “they” if the student didn't know that individual's "preferred" pronouns. "I would have thought that this is only happening in California or in New Jersey, New York, and the more progressive—what I would call—progressive states," said Koeppel, who teaches in the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools system.Not only is the school allowing a far-left ideology to be pushed on children, but it’s also teaching students incorrect grammar, he said. Koeppel joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why he chose to speak out and how the school board, parents, and other teachers responded to his remarks. We also cover these stories:  President Joe Biden gives a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on closing the racial wealth gap.  Former President Barack Obama says that Biden is finishing the work of his administration.  In a message for gay pride month, Biden calls out former President Donald Trump and conservative states for passing legislation that banned biological males from participating in girls and women’s sports. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The left-leaning media sometimes uses the news to promote an agenda, independent journalist Drew Holden says.Holden has become known for his Twitter threads, in which he shows how news coverage changes depending on whether the subject is a liberal or a conservative. "What we've seen in the last couple of years," Holden says, "is a more activist stance in newsrooms to say, 'We actually have a moral duty and a fiduciary obligation to the people who read our stories, to not bring them this kind of both-sides conversation, and to instead home in on the truth,' particularly if it is opposed to someone like Donald Trump."Holden joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to shine a light on just how bad media malfeasance is, what the resulting misinformation means for society, and how conservatives can reclaim a place in the media ecosystem.Also on today’s show, we read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about Korean War veteran Ralph Puckett, who recently received the Medal of Honor at age 94. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Memorial Day, America honors the more than 1 million men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Robert Wilkie, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump administration, says Americans owe a great debt because without those who laid down their lives, “we wouldn't have very much to stand on.”Wilkie, who grew up in a military family, learned from a young age that freedom has a cost. Also a former undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, he says it is imperative that young Americans are taught U.S. history and the values of our nation. Otherwise, he says, they won't understand why America is worth fighting for. Wilkie, now a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, our parent organization, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the history of Memorial Day and how we can honor those who fell in defending our freedoms. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Corporate wokeness increasingly is becoming part of American society.Justin Danhof, general counsel for the National Center for Public Policy Research, argues that Americans can and should stand up to woke ideology."The shareholder base of even large companies that are woke, like Facebook, Alphabet, Nike, they're not monolithically left, but that's what the vote looks like," Danhof says. "The management of those companies, they have freedom to take stances against conservative values, because that's what the vote looks like."Danhof joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to discuss what conservative shareholders can do.We also cover these stories: President Joe Biden proposes a $6 trillion budget for fiscal year 2022, a senior administration official tells CNN.  Senate Republicans unveil a $928 billion infrastructure proposal to counter the White House’s $1.7 trillion plan.  USA Today removed the word “male” from an op-ed by Chelsea Mitchell on competing against transgender athletes.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices