Issues And Ideas: News Commentary & Analysis With Chris DeBello April 12 2026

Join us for expert honest and fearless analysis and news commentary about today's issues, news, politics, economy, business and a trip into political history.
 
(00:00) The plan to make draft registration automatic, what the plan involves and the history of the military draft in America are discussed.

(03:24) In recognition of April being National Autism Acceptance Month, Jamie & Tracy Parent share stories from being a parent of autistic child, the challenges they had to contend with along with the priorities that are important for families.

(15:47) Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, explains why businesses need to address their website's Answer Engine Optimization rather than just their Search Engine Optimization to create and protect their business success.

(29:22) The political accomplishments of Margaret Chase Smith are examined along with how her speech Declaration Of Conscious is as valuable and vital today as it was back in 1950. An audio recreation of Smith's Declaration Of Conscious speech is also presented.

(45:54) Chris DeBello looks at how the Bible addresses Creation and Evolution.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hello, welcome to Issues and Ideas. I'm Christabello. With all that's going on, both here and over there, got something that you just might have missed. Might have fallen past your radar screen through you to make the analogy, whatever one you want. Automatic registration for U.S. military draft is going to be starting this December. Eligible men will automatically now be registered into the military draft pool. That's part of the effort to streamline the old process that you had to do it yourself. And they say there's some wind up saving money too. The selective service system. That's the government agency maintains the database of men to be called up to serve in case of m of a national emergency. They put up this proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs back on March 30th. Most men between the ages of 18 and 25 already are required to register with collected service, but automatic registration was mandated in December of 2025 as part of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. This rule is currently under review by the Regulatory Affairs Office. So that's why the plan is for this all to start in December. That's a point of history. Of course, this has led many to question scream out even whether a U.S. military draft could take place amid the war in Iran. As that two-week ceasefire, sort of ceasefire, well, holds on. I'm being generous there, I'm pretty sure. Now you would hope that the White House, in response to the question, does this mean the draft is coming back, would say, No, don't worry. Well, back in March, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said this while a draft is not part of the current plan right now, President Trump wisely keeps his options on the table. That comment brings about two words in a lot of people's minds executive order. Well, rest easy on that regard because Trump alone can't bring the draft back through an executive order. Congress would need to pass legislation to amend the Military Selective Service Act to authorize the President to induct personnel into the military. But still failure to register in the draft, that is still going to be a crime and can prevent people from receiving state funded financial aid. Employment in in numerous states come to think of it, cause ineligibility for a lot of federal employment opportunities, job training under the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, and can carry fines up to a quarter million dollars and up to five years in jail. In addition, immigrants who don't register, you might lose your U.S. citizenship. So under the new rule, again has to be finalized yet, men would be registered automatically within thirty days of their eighteenth birthday. And yes, that means women are still ineligible for the draft. Even as lawmakers past few years, they've tried to attach provisions, adding women to the draft as part of the annual defense policy bill. We are obviously into the month of April, and April is National Autism Acceptance Awareness Month. Autism when it uh when it invades a family, it changes everything. There's there's no uh more accurate way of putting it. I want to go back to a conversation I had not too long ago with Jamie and Tracy Parent, who have shared their story with their autistic son in the book The Mission at Home. And listen to how just how much when autism strikes, how much it could change everything, but how you could still overcome everything. Let's go back and listen to this story. Parents with a child on the autism spectrum face numerous challenges in their effort just to provide a positive life for their child. Those challenges are certainly magnified for military families. That's for an autistic child. We've talked about this often here on Issues and Ideas, is routine repetition. Military life, uh no, that does not always provide that, right? Next guests join us with first-hand experience of how these greater challenges brought about by military life can be responded to in ways that are best for the child as well as for the family as a whole. They share their insights in the book, The Mission of Home Navigating Military Assignments, Tri-Care, Education, Benefits, and Everyday Life with your child on the altest and spectrum, retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jamie Parent, and his wife Tracy. How are you today, guys?

SPEAKER_02 4:55

Very good. Doing great, thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

And well, first of all, the website, because you will want to visit it, especially if they are addressing something that you are in need of more information about. The mission at home.com is the website for their book. Tracy, talk about Brian and the first determinations of what you were going to be facing, what Brian was going to be facing as life would move forward with autism.

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Well, I have to tell you it was very difficult back then. Um Brian is 39 years old. Um what we had to face was people not understanding. I had a lot of people tell me that my child's a brat, uh, that he I'm a bad parent. Um, that if we just uh, you know, would put him in his place, that he would be able to do better. Um so that was hard with the outset. That's why a lot of disability awareness is really important. The next thing that was hard was finding those services that were out there. Um I will say that parent groups were number one for me. Once we found parent groups and other people that are going through the same thing, um they were the ones that had the best resources, knew what was going on, knew where to to move, what schools were best, and maybe what doctors we should go to. So you face a lot of unknowns, uncertainties. You kind of are always on hyper alert uh because you're worried about behaviors or what people think outside your home. Um, but I will say that as we've moved forward and as the militaries move forward, there's been a lot of pluses and a lot of things they have put into place.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Let's talk about Jamie because on the military side, you certainly more directly, although I'm obviously Tracy is a military wife, but as I said in the introduction, stability is not always one of the qualities or characteristics of military life. So when you first realize what's lied ahead as a family and with what Brian was dealing with, what were some of your first thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Well, in 19 uh 88, when Brian was first diagnosed, uh, I gotta be honest with you, Chris. My my first thought was my career's over. My life as the way I expected it to be is over. My family's life. All of us in the family. We we this is a this is a major this is a major change that you just don't see coming. And you also have to remember back in 1988, there was uh um there there's no um vaccine information, there's no Jenny McCarthy, there's no Rain Man movies. So we're really operating in a in a kind of a world of uh a blank uh sheet of paper. That's why Tracy's emphasized how important the uh the family groups are, the sport groups, because we didn't have anything else. And so if the world doesn't understand autism very well at 1988, certainly the United States military and Department of Defense is going to have to play some ketchup because they didn't understand it either. Um back in the day it was uh a program that was um run by the medical folks and now it's run by the line folks. But um part of the reason we wrote this book is because we wanted to emphasize to folks that yes, uh you can have a military career. Yes, the military does support families with autism as well as other disabilities in the family as well. And so we were we were um uh uh back in the day we just didn't have any information, and we had to work with a framework that was much more structured than we were anticipating.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

So Jamie and Tracy Parent, their book is The Mission at Home, Navigating Military Assignments, Tri Care Education Benefits and Everyday Life with your Child on the Autism Spectrum, the MissionAtHome.com, their website, and you're listening to issues and ideas. And uh for Tracy, uh first I want to say to the person listening, this is not a first hand, full heart experience and period end of discussion. Uh Jamie and Tracy share guidance through their experience so you can have a more positive experience and maybe more streamlined than the exploration that they had to do when it came to the well-being of Brian. And I want to congratulate you, Tracy and Jamie, because you bring a better understanding of navigating what can be very complicated and very logic resistance, I'll call them, programs, and you help people better understand what they're entitled to and how to achieve it and how to attain it. So great job for you guys with that.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Thank you very much. And you know, you bring up a very good point that uh back in our day there was no uh internet, there were no resources around, and today there's too many, and there's a lot of confusion, and unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformation out there. And any charlatan can come along for desperate parents that are trying their hardest to do the best for their child, and they can take their money, uh, or they can mislead them. So I think our book really helps to guide, as you said, uh, with what are the best practices, what are the best therapies, what can you avoid, and what should you really be looking at. So our book does a good job at at having parents not have to go all over the place and come to like one resource in order to get their uh needs met or their child's need met rather by looking at our book.

SPEAKER_01 10:27

And we also have a lot of information about um things that are just beyond autism, like for example, financial planning, um, setting up trust funds, uh how do you get uh benefits such as Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI? And then we go uh do a deep dive into a lot of the benefit programs that already exist for families. But getting back to your point earlier, autism is a lifelong um it's a lifelong thing, and it doesn't stop with military service. Our book helps uh the readers uh maneuver not only during military careers but also beyond and even into the retirement years.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Aaron Powell That's more to know for you listening because there's never there's never enough information, especially when we come to discussing autism. And I I think too, Jamie, that parents have the great the the they think the immediate of the youth years in autism, but the reality is that uh eventually, sooner versus later, it certainly always feels like your child is going to age out of and fill in the bank, whichever wh whichever program they happen to be in. Your book is helping to look help that parent look forward and plan further ahead than the short term, and I think that's a very valuable lesson that a lot of parents need to better understand. So again, Will, a great job on your guys on your part by you guys for helping bring proper focus, a long range focus as opposed to a day-to-day focus, which I think is very important.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

It is very important because when you're in the middle of it, I will tell you as the parent, um, especially a child wanting the same thing every day the same way. You get caught in the day-to-day, um, and you feel sometimes like you're a hamster on a on a wheel. Um, so this gives you the chance to look at something that can give you that guidance and know what the next steps are when you're ready for it. So the book you can use with the chapter that you're at at that specific time in your life, and then you can move on. But there is a uh roadmap for you to look forward to as you're dealing with those daily challenges that come along with having a child on the spectrum.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

And and let's face it, talking about benefits like Social Security and Medicare, uh uh uh these can be really dry subjects. So uh we made sure that when we put stuff into the book, we also include the human side, the human anecdotes about struggles we had with getting an assignment or uh what happened when we first met our military pediatrician. And these are things I think that the readers will be able to uh resonate with because they're going through the same kinds of things that we were going so many years ago.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

And Jamie, how is Brian today? And what do you what would you hope for his future as as his life continues to go forward?

SPEAKER_01 13:18

Well, when he was first diagnosed, we were told that uh it was pretty dismal, um, and we were asked for what his goals would be, and we said, well, we we wanted the goals to be uh hold a job, uh balance a checkbook, and drive a car. And uh the look that we got from the clinicians uh around the room was kind of uh uh a a little bit a little bit more pity than anything else. Uh I'd like to go back to that time at UCLA, Chris, because uh Brian's achieved five-star results in two out of those three. He he can balance a checkbook. He's working at Public's uh supermarkets, which has been a great supporter of Special Olympics. And no, he didn't he's not driving a car, but um you know what? I'll take those, we'll take those two out of three any day. Brian's doing very, very well, and he's got a very full life, including friends, Special Olympics, um, the pride that he takes in his job, but um there's still some more there's still some gaps and it's an ever-evolving process. But Brian is doing great, and thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

And there's always hope to and for Tracy just to close out. Talk to that parent right now, military or not, that is in those early days and is looking for, okay, what am I s what am I supposed to do?

SPEAKER_02 14:32

Yes. I I think that it's very important to understand. Number one, it does get better. Uh you start to learn things. I think that you have to just be the parent that loves your child. You're looking out trying to get services, but the best thing is to offer a very safe home and to make sure that uh you're getting your child um to have the most therapy they need, but to have a balanced life because that they're still a part of your family. They're they're the they're part of that nucleus, and so I I think that we used to get worried too much, and I also want these parents to understand that they have to take care of themselves too.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

Again, the book is The Mission at Home, Navigating Military Assignments, TriCare, Education Benefits, and Everyday Life with your child on the altism spectrum, the website, themissionathome.com. Jamie and Tracy Parents, no one's obligated to make their life an open book, but what you've done is just that that will benefit so many others, and thank you for doing that for being here today.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

Thank you so much. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

If you're listening to us on your favorite podcast platform, be sure to follow and subscribe. Back in the 90s, even in the early 2000s, come to think of it, as the internet expanded. Surprisingly, many businesses believe they didn't need a website. If you don't believe me, your local courthouse records for business bankruptcy will prove that fact. Now in this even higher tech in internet age, businesses that are resting on their search engine optimization, SEO, may now be the ones saying that they don't need answer engine optimization, AEO. And to be fair, there are probably many who believe that having the first already being effective will flow easily naturally into the second. Joining us to explain how wrong and dangerous for business success that belief will quickly become is the CEO of AIS Media, Thomas Harpointer. How are you today, Thomas?

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Hello, Chris. Great. Great to be on the show.

SPEAKER_03 16:36

And learn about the services of AIS Media. The website is indeed the obvious, asmedia.com. And we do have the link at our homepage as well. For the novice and uh the the less than tech savvy, just as a foundational um definition, what is SEO and what is AEO?

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Yeah, great question. Uh, you know, I I will say uh at AIS Media, we've been in the digital marketing business for over 20 years. And I can say without hesitation, the last two years have brought more disruption to search than in the prior 20. Uh AI has changed the economics of visibility. Your site can't rank number one today on organic search and still lose the click. So the battle is not just about ranking, it's becoming the source. AI trusts enough to quote. So traditional SEO is all about getting ranked in the first, second, third page of Google, right? And the the higher your rank, generally, the higher your your site traffic. But today, AI search engines have commandeered a lot of that traffic if your business is not cited within the Google Answers or Chat GBT or Perplexity or whatever AI it is, and a lot of that traffic just gets left behind. And that's really the difference between traditional SEO and AI search.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

So is it really for a basic for someone who's just looking at this the first time? Do they have to ask themselves if someone asked a question, would my business supply the answer?

SPEAKER_00 18:13

Yeah, that's right. Um, you know, AI search is not killing traditional search. It's clear, it's really just killing the old click model. So for every 1,000 Google searches that are made, only about 360 of those end up on the open web. So people are you know, Google's uh AI search engine, Gemini, uh, you know, we've experienced this. You go to Google, you ask a question, and Google wants to be very helpful. It wants to answer that question directly, whereas before it would just give you a you know a list of links to websites for you to go, you know, do your own research, go do your own work. But now that Google AI wants to be helpful to the user and answer questions directly, of course, that's great if your business is part of that answer. It's not so good if you aren't. If you're buried further down on page two, three, or four in Google, it's even worse.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

This all made me think back. I don't know if you're old enough to remember telethons on TV, and they were great for various organizations, and you know, within 24 hours an organization can could raise tens of millions of dollars, but as viewership trends changed, no one was going to sit there and watch a 24-hour TV program or even enough of it to make it uh to make it cost efficient, so that format went away. Is that the same with with web users now? They don't want to take the time to go through even five or six pages of a web s of web search results if AI can get them uh into the express lane to what they want to find out.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Yeah, I you know, look, it that's exactly right. Um, you know, you hit the nail on the head with that one. It it the the problem, if we're gonna call it a problem, start it with mobile, right? Um once users started accessing the internet through their mobile phones, I mean, just by the size of the screen, the size of the screen itself dictates that we have less space and less time and less patience. You know, when you're sitting at a doctor's office or on your on your sofa, uh, you're less likely to read a four or five thousand-word article. You want quick answers to what you're searching for. You know, who's the best local dentist? Um, you know, what are the pri what what's a good price on a hotel? What about airline ticket prices? What's the weather in Spain? Um these answers are served up that they have been served up uh, you know, by search engines, but as people have become less and less patient, they want to get to the point quick and they want the answer they're looking for rather than being searched on, you know, sent on an errand to go go, you know, check out these 20 websites if you're interested. Sometimes you just want a quick answer to your question. So, I mean, there are all is not lost for businesses. If you if you have a business that's been on the web and you've created high quality original content, goods, good social media posts, you're definitely at an advantage. And we're we're seeing that with our clients, whether they're large or small. Um but you do have to get to the point a little bit quicker because people they're they're skimming headlines, sub-headlines, maybe the first paragraph or two, but if you don't if you don't deliver value quickly, people lose uh patience and you lose their attention very quickly. And the same as with AI search engines. You do need to reformat your content so these AI search engines can figure out what the key points are that you're trying to make and decide whether your business should be cited or not.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

So Thomas Harpointer, who is the CEO of AIS Media, AIS Media.com, their website, and you are listening to issues and ideas. So for the business owner, is that matter is it a matter of making authority uh the priority as opposed to just simple visibility?

SPEAKER_00 21:54

That's a key point, because you you have to consider you know how these search engines, these AI search engines, Decide in the first place which business to cite. And they can't cite a thousand. They can't even cite a hundred generally when we go to Google's overview, right? They're going to give you a few, three, four, or five businesses at most. So how does the AI actually decide which business to cite? And one key is they want to cite credible, accurate sources. So they're looking for high authority. Businesses and companies that have been around a while that provide original content that have a solid presence. So providing being a high authority business that generates high quality original content with real facts, real figures, real help. The type of the content that gets read, it gets shared is going to rank a lot higher by the AI search engines than lower authority content that's just recycled over and over again from third-party sources.

SPEAKER_03 23:13

There are ways to game a Google search versus apparently as far as I could figure out, you can't really BS AI. What are some of the things a business has to look for right now? Is it just simply asking different questions and seeing whether or not they show up in AI and an AI response or opportunity for sharing information? And if that happens, if they don't show up, what are some of the first steps they have to be taking?

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Yeah, and measuring, you have to be able to manage, you know, manage and measure success, right? You have to actually know where you stand today. Um and when this shift began just a couple of years ago, we we started noticing this trend where traffic to some of our clients' websites started to decline and they asked why we had to uncover that. However, at the end of the day, the the real performance metric is business up or down because often website traffic from clicks from Google might go down. Um but websites that rank high in AI search that are cited get a lot more direct traffic. People, if they know that company by name, they search for it directly in Google. So the site may still be getting traffic, may still still be getting phone calls, and may the revenue may actually be up. So you have to be able, you have to be able to measure your success, not just by clicks, but by overall business success. And looking closely at Google Analytics, if you should be able to use some type of another tool, and we use several to see whether your business is ranked in AI search, whether it's uh you know organic search rankings are going up or down, and also to figure out what people are actually searching for. What do they care about? If you're a local dentist, for instance, um it helps to know what people are actually searching for in topics. Whether they're searching for craft, are they searching for you know, you know, teeth lightning? You know, what's what's the hot topic that people are looking for answers? And then create the type of content that answers questions that people are asking. Um so it it does provide, it does require a little insight, and and um it helps to have a marketing team or somebody on your team or even an external team that can help guide you through that process. But the first step is to figure out where you stand today and what changes need to be made, because it does present a huge opportunity for businesses that end up getting cited by these search engines. It's not all doom and gloom. If you're if you're properly positioned, I think like in in your show, you've produced so much content over the years and you have such high authority that Google recognizes you as a a trusted source already. So you definitely have an advantage than if you were just starting your show yesterday.

SPEAKER_03 26:01

Yes, I and and and I was about to say too, I got lucky as as far as my website is a DIY project. I learned HTML many moons ago, which you know is a is a move point with AI as well, if you if you're trying to build a website, or used to be the friend with the pickup truck. When someone wanted to move, they'd call. If someone needed a website, I'd get the call. But that's be the as it may. For for AIS, AIS Media, someone contacts you. What are some of the first things you're going to do? And are you going to help them understand? I guess that's the important part, because to go to be led into something is one thing, but to do it with an understanding and appreciation of the of its importance, I think, is a whole different story.

SPEAKER_00 26:43

Yeah, that's right. Um and every business is different. We've worked with startups and we've worked with Fortune 500s over the years, and just because a company is bigger doesn't automatically mean they they know what they're doing or they have an advantage. Sometimes a small, quick mover can actually outmaneuver a much larger competitor who has a lot more content that they need to tackle. So our first step is always, I always say, look, you can't manage what you can't measure. The first step is to figure out exactly where you stand today, is to perform that comprehensive analysis. You know, figure out how is your website positioned, is your content currently ranking, who are your top competitors, um, are you gaining and losing traction? Where are we today? Let's understand just the situation. And then from there, start to structure a uh look at all the existing content and structure a go-forward plan. In many cases, you know, companies that have businesses that have a lot of content, a lot of blog articles, a lot of posts, uh, they're already in a good spot. Now, the the content may not be formatted optimally for AI search, which then means good news is we we have a lot of content, but the challenge is let's get this content reformat it in a way that search engines, you know, these AI search engines actually read it. So that becomes the next step. And then the go forward plan needs to be creating the type of content that AI search engines really do care about. And this is where social media also comes in. If you have a strong social presence, um, you know, videos and posts, um, you know, other other other content across, let's say, well, Twitter, it's you know, it's XNAP or LinkedIn or Facebook. Uh, you'd be surprised. Many of these uh AI search engines do also index social media content. Not just it's not just about Google anymore.

SPEAKER_03 28:30

No, I I know that very well too, and that adds to the foundation of authority that AI is going to look for your business. Again, change change is always challenging. That's an understatement for the morning. But change, at this, in this case, in point, is certainly a necessity for a business to not just succeed, but even to survive, because you could get very easily and quickly overshadowed by your competition. And I'm pretty confident saying that's something you do not want to happen. Learn more about the way to achieve more effective AEO as well as SEO. Contact AIS Media. You can contact them through their website, AISmedia.com. He is their CEO. Thomas Harpointer. Thomas, thank you for the education of AEO and thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Absolute pleasure, Chris. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

She was a Republican politician from Maine, became the first woman to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress. She was in the House of Representatives from 1940 to 49, then served in the U.S. Senate from 1949 to 1973. A few of her major accomplishments, she was the first woman elected to the Senate without being first appointed to fill a vacancy. 1964, Smith became the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the presidency at a major political party's convention. Smith served on the Armed Services Committee where she sponsored the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, that was in 1948, which granted women permanent status and benefits in the military. Smith held the record for the most consecutive roll call votes in the Senate, 2,941. That record stood until 1968, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1989, but perhaps overshadowing all of that, at least in my opinion, was a speech that Smith made on June first, nineteen fifty, which has become known as the Declaration of Conscious Speech. It's the first major public denunciation of McCarthyism, which of course used allegations of disloyalty, particularly regarding communism, all coming from within the Re Republican Party. Some of the key points of the speech. Smith condemned character assassination. She warned that the Republican Party should not try to ride to victory on fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear. Sound familiar? She also outlined four really basic principles of Americanism that she thought was under attack, the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, the right of independent thought. Again I ask. Sound familiar? Smith blamed both parties for the climate of fear that was existing at that time. She blamed Democrats for lack of effective leadership, and she blamed fellow Republicans for exploiting that fear for political gain. Which leads to the same question. Sound familiar? Now while there's no audio record of Smith's declaration of conscious speech, there is the transcript as part of the congressional record, and I was able to find a recreation of the entire speech, which, given the state of affairs in the days that we are trying to live in here in America today, I thought going back to hear the words of Margaret Chase Smith and the Declaration of Conscious Speech would be very valuable for us all. So let's have that.

SPEAKER_04 32:15

Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly and simply about a serious national condition. It is a national feeling of fear and frustration that could result in national suicide and the end of everything that we Americans hold dear. It is a condition that comes from the lack of effective leadership in either the legislative branch or the executive branch of our government. That leadership is so lacking that serious and responsible proposals are being made that national advisory commissions be appointed to provide such critically needed leadership. I speak as briefly as possible because too much harm has already been done with irresponsible words of bitterness and selfish political opportunism. I speak as briefly as possible because the issue is too great to be obscured by eloquence. I speak simply and briefly in the hope that my words will be taken to heart. I speak as a Republican. I speak as a woman. I speak as a United States Senator. I speak as an American. The United States Senate has long employed worldwide respect as the greatest deliberative body in the world. But recently, that deliberative character has too often been debased to the level of a forum of hate and character assassination sheltered by the shield of congressional immunity. It is ironical that we senators can, in debate, in the Senate, directly or indirectly, by any form of words, impute to any American who is not a senator any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming an American. And without that non-senator American having any legal redress against us. Yet, if we say the same thing in the Senate about our colleagues, we can be stopped on the grounds of being out of order. It is strange that we can verbally attack anyone else without restraint and with full protection, and yet we hold ourselves above the same type of criticism here on the Senate floor. Surely the United States Senate is big enough to take self-criticism and self-appraisal. Surely we should be able to take the same kind of character attacks that we dish out to outsiders. I think that it is high time for the United States Senate and its members to do some soul searching, for us to weigh our consciences on the manner in which we are performing our duty to the people of America, on the manner in which we are using or abusing our individual powers and privileges. I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered the Constitution as amended speaks not only of the freedom of speech, but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation. Whether it be a criminal prosecution in court or a character prosecution in the Senate, there is little practical distinction when the life of a person has been ruined. Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism. The right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, the right of independent thought. The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood, nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us doesn't? Otherwise, none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise, thought control would have set in. The American people are sick and tired of being afraid to speak their minds lest they be politically smeared as communists or fascists by their opponents. Freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America. It has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others. The American people are sick and tired of seeing innocent people smeared and guilty people whitewashed. But there have been enough proved cases, such as the Amirasia case, the Hiss case, the Koplon case, the Gold case, to cause the nationwide distrust and strong suspicion that there may be something to the unproved, sensational accusations. As a Republican, I say to my colleagues on this side of the aisle that the Republican Party faces a challenge today that is not unlike the challenge that it faced back in Lincoln's day. The Republican Party so successfully met that challenge that it emerged from the Civil War as the champion of a united nation, in addition to being a party that unrelentingly fought loose spending and loose programs. Today, our country is being psychologically divided by the confusion and the suspicions that are bred in the United States Senate to spread like cancerous tentacles of know nothing, suspect, everything attitudes. Today we have a democratic administration that has developed a mania for loose spending and loose programs. History is repeating itself. And the Republican Party again has the opportunity to emerge as the champion of unity and prudence. The record of the present Democratic administration has provided us with sufficient campaign issues without the necessity of resorting to political smears. America is rapidly losing its position as the leader of the world simply because the Democratic Administration has pitifully failed to provide effective leadership. The Democratic Administration has completely confused the American people by its daily contradictory grave warnings and optimistic assurances that show the people that our Democratic Administration has no idea of where it is going. The Democratic Administration has greatly lost the confidence of the American people by its complacency to the threat of communism here at home and the leak of vital secrets to Russia through key officials of the Democratic Administration. There are enough proved cases to make this point without diluting our criticism with unproved charges. Surely, these are sufficient reasons to make it clear to the American people that it is time for a change and that a Republican victory is necessary to the security of this country. Surely it is clear that this nation will continue to suffer as long as it is governed by the present ineffective democratic administration. Yet to displace it with a Republican regime embracing a philosophy that lacks political integrity or intellectual honesty would prove equally disastrous to this nation. The nation sorely needs a Republican victory, but I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the four horsemen of calumny. Fear, ignorance, bigotry, and smear. I doubt if the Republican Party could, simply because I don't believe the American people will uphold any political party that puts political exploitation above national interest. And surely we Republicans aren't that desperate for victory. I don't want to see the Republican Party win that way. While it might be a fleeting victory for the Republican Party, it would be a more lasting defeat for the American people. Surely it would ultimately be suicide for the Republican Party and the two-party system that has protected our American liberties from the dictatorship of a one-party system. As members of the minority party, we do not have the primary authority to formulate the policy of our government. But we do have the responsibility of rendering constructive criticism, of clarifying issues, of allaying fears by acting as responsible citizens. As a woman, I wonder how the mothers, wives, sisters, and daughters feel about the way in which members of their families have been politically mangled in Senate debate. And I use the word debate advisedly. As a United States Senator, I am not proud of the way in which the Senate has been made a publicity platform for irresponsible sensationalism. I am not proud of the reckless abandon in which unproved charges have been hurled from this side of the aisle. I am not proud of the obviously staged, undignified countercharges that have been attempted in retaliation from the other side of the aisle. I don't like the way the Senate has been made a rendezvous for vilification, for selfish political gain at the sacrifice of individual reputations and national unity. I am not proud of the way we smear outsiders from the floor of the Senate and hide behind the cloak of congressional immunity and still place ourselves beyond criticism on the floor of the Senate. As an American, I am shocked at the way Republicans and Democrats alike are playing directly into the Communist design of confuse, divide, and conquer. As an American, I don't want a Democratic administration whitewash or cover-up any more than I want a Republican smear or witch hunt. As an American, I condemn a Republican fascist just as much as I condemn a Democratic communist. I condemn a Democratic fascist just as much as I condemn a Republican communist. They are equally dangerous to you and me and to our country. As an American, I want to see our nation recapture the strength and unity it once had when we fought the enemy instead of ourselves. It is with these thoughts that I have drafted what I call a declaration of conscience. I am gratified that Senator Toby, Senator Aiken, Senator Morse, Senator Ives, Senator Thy, and Senator Hendrickson have concurred in that declaration and have authorized me to announce their concurrence. The Declaration reads as follows. One, we are Republicans, but we are Americans first. It is as Americans that we express our concern with the growing confusion that threatens the security and stability of our country. Democrats and Republicans alike have contributed to that confusion. Two, the Democratic administration has initially created the confusion by its lack of effective leadership, by its contradictory, grave warnings and optimistic assurances, by its complacency to the threat of communism here at home, by its oversensitivities to rightful criticism, by its petty bitterness against its critics. Three, certain elements of the Republican Party have materially added to this confusion in the hopes of riding the Republican Party to victory through the selfish political exploitation of fear, bigotry, ignorance, and intolerance. There are enough mistakes of the Democrats for Republicans to criticize constructively without resorting to political smears. Four. To this extent, Democrats and Republicans alike have unwittingly, but undeniably, played directly into the communist design of confuse, divide, and conquer. Five, it is high time that we stopped thinking politically as Republicans and Democrats about elections, and started thinking patriotically as Americans about national security based on individual freedom. It is high time that we all stopped being tools and victims of totalitarian techniques. Techniques that, if continued here unchecked, will surely end what we have come to cherish as the American way of life.

SPEAKER_03 45:54

Reading from Genesis chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now, if you prefer the New Testament, here is what's told in John chapter 1, verses 1 through 5. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Adding to that, let's go to Colossians chapter one verses sixteen and seventeen. For by him all things were created that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him, and he is before all things and in him all things consist. Now when it comes to us living beings, as well as all that's around us here on earth and above it, there are two beliefs in how it all came about evolution or creation. Let's start with evolution. Evolution brings with it the claim that the Earth and all of the galaxy came about through what's called the Big Bang. That claims that a collision of matter and energy took place, which resulted in the sun, the planets, the stars, etc, etc. A couple of questions that come from that concept. Where did that matter come from? How did that energy come into existence? Was it all just there? The problem is that every measure of science concludes with no exception that it's totally and completely impossible for something to physically result from nothing. But just for the sake of argument, let's go with the Big Bang. That takes us to the belief that all who we are and all that's around us just happened by accident. Have you ever noticed that when creationists talk their game they focus solely on mankind evolving from apes? Which I makes me wonder if the people who believe that ever stop to realize that if you tell people he came from animals, that's how they'll behave, but I digress. There's obviously more around us than just us. Mammals, fish, birds, insects, everyone, including humans, for the most part, have some degree of intelligence, instincts, and a purpose. So that kind of complicates things for that evolution idea, doesn't it? Now there are no complexities with creation, only faith in that it is God's way of providing for us all. That's why Jesus recognized as the creation, as we read his words in Mark chapter ten verses six through nine, for from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, so then they are no longer two but one flesh, therefore what God has joined together let not man separate. Hebrews chapter eleven verse three gives us this lesson. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Additionally in first Corinthians chapter eight verse six, we had this yet for us there is one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. Now creation obviously includes us. Now most are familiar with how Genesis tells us that we were made in God's image, his spiritual image, by the way. Ephesians chapter two verse ten further clarifies things for us by reminding us of our purpose. Reading here, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Now it's time for a quiz. How many times is evolution mentioned in the Bible? Zero. How many times is evolve mentioned in the Bible? Zero. How many times is created in various forms mentioned in the Bible? Enough to establish a faithful understanding. We have this from Job chapter thirty seven verse five. God thunders marvelously with his voice, he does great things which we cannot comprehend. Hebrews chapter one verse ten establishes this You Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth and the heavens are the work of your hands. When we look up, we should sing the words of Psalm chapter nineteen verse one, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Going back to my time at sales, salespeople are often asked to turn in what are called call sheets. Just a list of people you saw, the things that you did, the money hopefully brought into the company. We could read God's call sheet in Isaiah chapter forty two verse five. Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth, and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Earlier I mentioned that there is no law of science that allows the creation of something out of totally nothing. Dr. Michael Gillen, who was with us a few weeks ago, he was also science editor with ABC News for a bunch of years, this past week released a documentary that we talked about the Invisible Everywhere, and in it he demonstrates how science is actually a strong ally of faith and proof of the existence of God. You can find out more about Michael's film at the InvisibleEverywhere dot com. While my hope is that the people will have the ears to hear what I've shared with you here today and see the justification for it, I know not all will take that road. So for those, the words we find in Romans chapter one verses nineteen through twenty one, I believe are their awakening. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Be sure to check out our website, issues and ideas radio.com. You'll find more information about the guests who joined us here on the show today, or the numerous features on the homepage all throughout the website. And if you're listening to us through your favorite podcast platform, be sure to subscribe and follow us. Always appreciate you spending your time with us here, and look forward to being with you right here this time next week for our next edition of Issues and Ideas.