Issues And Ideas: News Commentary & Analysis With Chris DeBello April 19 2026

Join us for expert honest analysis, news commentary and current events discussion about healthcare, hospitals, Medicaid, Pope Leo, libraries, the economy and the Bible.
 
(00:00) The findings of a new report on how cuts to Medicaid will impact hospitals and healthcare.

(04:30) The latest social media habits and posts of Donald Trump and what they reveal.

(06:38) Dr. Paul Kengor, Political Science Professor at Grove City College and Editor with The American Spectator, discusses Pope Leo, his path to becoming Pope and how his recent actions reveal his character.

(20:00) Jennie Pu, Director of the Hoboken NJ Public Library, explains what National Library Week April 19 to 25 offers for libraries and the people who frequent them as well as how a library is a vital part of a community.

(31:26) What a recent Walmart earnings report reveals about the state of the U.S. economy.

(35:20) Bunni Pounds previews the event America Reads The Bible, which will be taking place April 19 to 25, how it all came together, the importance of Bible reading and how it's hoped that this event will encourage more Bible reading and study.

(46:42) Chris DeBello presents what the Bible teaches and warns about blasphemy.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, welcome to Issues and Ideas. I'm Chris Devello. You might recall back on July 4th of last year when Donald Trump signed a Republican budget reconciliation package. It was announced that that bill would cut$911 billion in federal spending from Medicaid and CHIP over the next 10 years. You might also recall that news gladdened the hearts of those primarily on the right, especially Mega, cutting off the freeloaders, they would say, keeping illegal immigrants from getting Medicaid, even though they already can't get Medicaid, but I digress. Well, according to a new report put out by Public Citizen, we have it on our downloads page, so you can check it out for your specific state. It does a state-by-state breakdown of exactly how endangered hospitals in each state are going to be because of that$911 billion cut in federal spending to Medicaid. Some of the findings in the report, 446 hospitals are at heightened risk of closing or reducing services due to those cuts. These hospitals collectively have about 69,000 beds and they serve around 6.6 million patients. They also employ about 275,000 direct patient care workers. They have a larger share of black and Hispanic residents, as well as people living below the poverty line compared to other hospitals. Nearly 20% of the at-risk hospitals, that's 85 if you don't want to do the math, serve high poverty areas. 267, that's 60% of the at-risk hospitals serve urban areas. 39%, 176, are considered to be rural hospitals. We talked about those not too long ago. Join to put politics even further into this. And Senate Republicans, all of whom voted for the Medicaid cuts, collectively have 146 at-risk hospitals in their states. Republicans also represent several of the congressional districts with the with the highest number of at-risk hospitals. There are five states which now have over a quarter of all of their hospitals at risk. Those states are Connecticut, California, New York, Massachusetts, and Washington State. And almost half of the at-risk hospitals have special Medicare payment designations that are usually connected with hospitals that are rural or financially vulnerable, and plays a pretty important role in the communities that they serve. That's like Critical Access Hospital, 19%, Rural Referral Center, 16%, Sole Community Hospital, 9%, and Medicare dependent hospital, around 4%. The report also found in recent months hospitals have started layoffs, reduced services, including maternal care. They're saying it's because of financial strain already imposed by Medicaid cuts. So that picture is obviously not going to get better for those hospitals. And again, this is a state-by-state issue, and just as a representation, here are the hospitals, since we're based in New Jersey, hospitals in New Jersey that, according to the report by Public Citizen, face the highest risk of closure. Bayonne Medical Center, Capital Health Regional Medical Center, that's in Trenton, Clara Mass Medical Center in Belleville, East Orange General Hospital, Hoboken University Medical Center, the Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, Monmouth Medical Center in Lakewood, Newark, Beth Israel, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, that's in New Brunswick, St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, and Trinidad Hospital in Elizabeth. And many of those facilities, as is the case in other states, they're not simply Medicaid hospitals. They're training centers for medical staff, they're research locations. They're a lot more than just hospitals. So when you hear the cheering for a specific reason about an action being taken, don't join the cheering until you take a look at the entire picture. Harry Sidden on his ex account charted Donald Trump's behavior from about a week ago now, Sunday night into Monday morning. Of course, last Sunday night. That's when Trump hosted his Dr. Jesus photo. That was in these are Eastern Times, 9.49 p.m. And at 9.50 p.m., Trump posted a photo of Trump Tower on the Moon. 10.10 p.m. Just a random meme. The news clip at 10.32 p.m. Another news clip at 10.53 p.m. Then at 1243 a.m. Monday morning. Oh, that's right. There's this thing about the Hormuz blockade I have to announce. And he did that then. Then at 2.35 a.m. posted an article about Joe Biden, 2.36 a.m. Article on Naval Blockade. Then see 2.37 a.m. posted an article about Represent well now former Representative Eric Swalwell. Then at 2.37 a.m. He's just shotgunning these things out, posted an article about Joe Biden, same one that he posted two minutes ago, 2.38 a.m. Posted an article on his ballroom, and at 4.10 a.m. Trump posted an article on Iran. Now I don't know about your social media habits, but if someone is posting like that one after another after another after another, repeating something they did just a couple of minutes ago, and you want to say that they're well balanced and and healthy and happy, maybe in their own heads, but in what we like to call reality, anything but not sleeping, he's pretending to be Jesus and saying, oh no, that's a doctor, because I heal people too. Well, you have to remember, too, that's what just a couple of days ago, Paula White, as if she didn't do enough to encourage this, by comparing Donald Trump being shot and r overcoming it, compare that to Jesus and his resurrection. She said, say no to Donald Trump is saying no to God. You may not have known or even thought much about Pope Leo the 14th, but over the past couple of weeks I have a feeling that's really changed. Knowing of someone, by the way, doesn't equate with knowing about someone, considering how Pope Leo XIV has revealed himself to be r really unafraid to speak out about matters like the war in Iran, people who are proponents of warfare against peace. Pope has brought even greater attention to himself by both Catholics as well as non-Catholics. That makes my first guest's new book very timely indeed. He's examined the life of Robert Francis Privost, his path to becoming Pope Leo XIV, and what lies ahead for not just the papacy, but the Catholic Church as well. His book is American Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, and his plan to heal the church. Being a best-selling author, he's a professor of political science at Gross City College, executive director of their Center for Vision and Values, as well as editor of the American Spectator, Dr. Paul Kanger. How are you today, Doctor?

SPEAKER_04 7:39

Good, Chris. Good to be with you. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Well, congratulations on if nothing else with the book, the best timing you could have possibly had with American Pontiff. And to find out more about the American Spectator Spectator.org and the Grove City College, GCC.edu, one would expect a Pope worthy of uh attention of and of authors and having the story told, and certainly the first American Pope adds to that worthiness. Was that the really the beginning and end of your interest in doing this book, or did you, as you did your initial research, find there's a lot more to uh to Pope Leo than just being Pope and being the first American Pope?

SPEAKER_04 8:22

Yeah, well, the answer to all of that is a yes, for sure. But I must say when I was asked to do this book by the publisher, at that point, Chris, we they'd approached me, I guess it was the day after the death of Pope Francis, and they said, Would you like to do a book on the next pope? And I said, Yeah, sure. Hey, it sounds good. You know, I have time. I've done a lot of work on John Paul II, and and I said, Hey, Adam Plus, I I I know I speak Italian, and next Pope's gonna be in Italian. Then what he's picked, yeah. It was just an absolute shocker that he was a an an American. It was un unbelievable. I mean, no one ever thought that that would happen. You know, the Pope was supposed to be Italian for 455 consecutive years. The Pope was Italian until John Paul II and then uh Cardinal Ratzinger, Benedict the Sixteenth, and even Pope Francis was actually ethnically Italian, even though he grew up in Argentina. So, but the idea of an American completely shocking, totally unexpected, and the first year of his papacy, I think, went pretty much as I expected, bringing kind of normalcy and stability back to the papacy. But that's all really blown up now in the last few weeks, especially with the the battle with Donald Trump. And and you know, Donald I know a lot of people who are Trump supporters who I don't want they don't want me to defend Leo, but I I gotta tell you, man, never, ever in the history of the presidency or the papacy did a president ever cut loose on cork with a statement like Donald Trump did on truth on truth social to Leo.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

And I know people will say, well, that's because he's getting involved in the war.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

No, no, no, no, no. He did what pretty much every Pope has done since World War One, Benedict XV, John Paul II with the Iraq War, you know, basically called for peace, laying down arms, that kind of thing. And what really seemed to set Donald Trump off was when Leo the Fourteenth said that Trump's statement threatening the entire extinction of a civilization, he says, I hope it won't happen, but it probably will. You know, tonight, eight o'clock, Tuesday night, that was a week or two ago, and the Pope finally spoke out directly, didn't mention Trump by name, but said statements like that are morally unacceptable. Which frankly, the the Pope should speak out on a statement like that. And that really that really did it for Donald Trump. I mean, Trump doesn't respond well to any criticism, and so he he blew up on the Pope and called the Pope a liberal, which which by the way is not, he's more conservative than Donald Trump, and as I show in the book, he's also a Republican. But that so now we're watching this crazy battle between you know the head of the largest group of Christians in the world and uh the American the American Pope and the American president.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

It's always said that who we are, who we find ourselves to be in our early years determines who we're going to be in our in our later years. Is that true with uh with Pope Leo?

SPEAKER_04 11:26

Yeah, for sure. And his whole life, I mean, he's been he was always a very devout Catholic, of course, not a surprise, but quite quite interesting, Chris, is that people that grew up with him were really struck by his piety. And there were kids in the school who who called him holy, like it was like a nickname for him. Hey, there's holy. And they said, but they did not mean it in a negative way, like a mocking way. Uh they said he was very pious, very devout, but also very kind and very sincere and charitable, and they all liked him. And there were even little ladies down the street, a couple of them, his brother, one of his brothers talked about this, who said, you know, that that young man is going to be Pope someday, which is an amazing thing, especially given again that he's an American. But that's yeah, that's the kind of background that he's had, and it was long uh up through his years at Villanova, went to Villanova. At Villanova he started the pro-life group in the late 1970s, marched in the March for Life, one of the first marches for life, and remained really consistent on all these moral, cultural, religious issues all the way through today, 2026.

SPEAKER_00 12:42

So Dr. Paul Kangor's new book, American Pontiff, Pope Leo the Fourteenth, and his plan to heal the church. He's also editor of the American Spectator, spectator.org, that website, and you are listening to issues and ideas. With with the activities that you just described and you go in further detail in in American Pontiff. Talk about uh Pope Leo's rise through the ranks, I guess we we'd say. Was he easily noticed? Did he work to get noticed or he was just gifted with getting noticed?

SPEAKER_04 13:15

Yeah, he didn't work to get noticed at all. He in fact he was really he was picked cardinal by Pope Francis in late 2023. And then he had this kind of just meteoric rise up through the curia, the governing body of the church, where he was getting appointed to all these different positions because of his kind of you know just workmanlike steadiness. He had a reputation as this quiet person who just knew how to get things done. And so by the time that the so-called Papa Bele, the Popable candidates, were being considered by media and people around the world April and May of 2025, and he was rarely, if ever, on any of those lists, and if he was, he was way down the list. People around the world didn't know who he was, but all the cardinals knew who he was. So we might have been surprised by him being picked, but but the cardinals certainly weren't. In the first round of balloting, they had there were 25 votes, is what we what we've learned from for Cardinal Erdo, the conservative from Hungary, 24 for Cardinal Pelolan from Italy, who was considered the front runner, and wow, lo and behold, out of nowhere, seemingly, 25 for Robert Francis Travos. And by the only the fourth round of balloting, it was very far quicker than everybody thought. He got 108 out of 133 votes from cardinal electors. You only need 89. So he ended up quickly winning in a landslide. He was the consensus candidate among the cardinals.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

As as the voting goes on, do you go out go out and get the vote, or do you have your supporters either step aside from who they were supporting? Do you or is the vote given to you? What's the procedure as far as does a possible pope get to state their case and campaign, or do you have to hope that others believe in them and and follow suit and bring the vote to them?

SPEAKER_04 15:16

Well, in his case, he wasn't campaigning for it at all. I mean, some of the other guys clearly were. In fact, there were there were reports that Cardinal Parolin was lobbying for the job. Prevos was not at all. And so I think that that's something else that appealed to the other cardinals, the fact that this was somebody who didn't look like you like he wanted the job, right? He wasn't campaigning for it. And they would prefer somebody, you know, who's you know not seeking the power of the papacy, right? You know, kind of a more they would prefer a more reluctant, humble pope, and that's certainly what they got in this guy.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Although he maybe this is superficial on my part, but for him to speak out the way he did, or speak back at Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, by the way, and to do it in English instead of the I don't know if it's the official language of the Vat of the Vatican, but to do it in Italian instead, was that very telling as far as who Pope Leo is and is going to be?

SPEAKER_04 16:15

Well, I think so. And also in all those pleas for peace that he made and and prayer vigils, he never mentioned Trump by name. And really to this day, the the only time that he did was after that Trump tirade on Truth Social, and then at that point the Pope was flying to Algeria, and reporters on the airplane repeatedly pressed him about what Donald Trump had written. And and and you know, including the fact that Trump claimed that Leo was picked because of him, right? Amazing thing, amazing thing. And and and at that point, Leo the Fourteenth said, um, I don't fear the Trump administration. And then he said, I don't want to get into a debate with him, him being a reference to Donald Trump. He said, I'm not a politician. You know, Trump in his in his truth socialist things said, the Pope's behaving like a politician. And and and Le and Leo said, you know, I'm not a politician, I'm not interested in political debates. You know, I'm just you know preaching the gospel according to Christ, right, calling for peace. And I would remind people that this was very much the position of Pope John Paul II against George W. Bush with the war in Iraq in 2003. And needless to say, uh, you know, Bush didn't go on a on a tirade against the Pope because of that. And no, you know, no one does that kind of thing except for Donald Trump. I know people listening probably think, well, this guy's got Trump derangement syndrome. I voted for Donald Trump. And and and I and I generally support the idea of disarming Iran, although I don't know where this is going, and I'm pretty nervous about it. But what Trump did there to Leo is unprecedented.

SPEAKER_00 18:05

Especially if you're going to question someone's presentation of theology when the idea of peace is one of the predominant content items of of the Bible, both in the Old and New Testament.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

Right, right. And and why I've never had a problem with any of the Leo statements about the war with Iran right now is look, I mean, popes just pray for peace. It's just it's just what they do, right? What do you expect the Pope to do?

SPEAKER_00 18:32

It was his first his first word when he came out in the balcony. Peace.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

How much more plain and clear.

unknown 18:39

Right.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Lapache sia contutiv. Peace be with all of you. And you're not gonna expect the Pope to come out on Easter Sunday and make an Augustinian uh just ad bellum case for uh just war argument for Donald Trump's intervention in in Iran. He's not gonna do that, dude. He's just not gonna do that. When a Pope prays for peace, just let the Pope pray for peace. Who cares, man? Not everyone in the world has to agree with you.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

No, no, no, no. Okay. It's it's uh, you know, it's it's a it's a faith, not a cult. And I think you listen, you know which side I'm talking about, but Yeah, exactly. Right. As far as, like I said back in the introduction, uh knowing of and knowing about, two different things, and what Dr. Kangor's book is going to do is help you know about Pope Leo the Fourteenth, American pontiff, Pope Leo the Fourteenth, and his plan to heal the church. You can find it in your favorite means of getting a book online. If you're one of those weird people who still go to actual bookstores, you can get it there as well. Learn more about the American SpectatorSpectator.org. Dr. Paul Kangor, thank you for reading us the understanding of someone who I just have an instinct feeling is going to be a quite significant person in the at least immediate years to come. Thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_04 19:51

I think you're right, Chris. Thanks a lot. Good to be with you.

SPEAKER_00 19:54

If you're listening to us through your favorite podcast platform, make sure you subscribe and follow. Unless your desire is to be a hermit or shouldn't, we seek community in being with others and things that we share, like to enjoy. Where's your go-to for that sense of community? A mall, maybe? One of the few events in your town or city that take place usually on holidays? Or what if I told you there was a place where you are that allows the sense of community just totally burst and flourish? And that place is your local library. As we go into National Library Week, which runs through this Saturday, the 25th, my next guest joins us to share what this week provides libraries with, as well as what it offers you when it comes to either strengthening or regaining your connection with your local library. She is the director of the Hoboken Public Library and the official librarian of issues and ideas, Jenny Pooh. Thanks for being here again, Jenny.

SPEAKER_03 20:50

Oh my gosh, what an honor. I'm going to add that to my business card, the official library of issues and ideas. Thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_00 20:57

Not a problem. It's well deserved. Hoboken Library.org and learn more about National Library Week, ALA.org forward slash N L W. We do have those links, of course, on our homepage. What does this li this week mean for a library? Because again, when something is always there, it's always prone to be forgotten about. How does this week help libraries remind people? Hey, we we've got a lot of stuff here besides just books or ebooks.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Thank you again for having me. And yeah, it's a week-long celebration of really the everyday work that we do in every single community in America. Public libraries are about as American as Apple Pie and what karaoke chicken and the hamburger. Really. I mean, you're going to find a library in small communities and big ones. Um, there's a quote I I'd like to just reference because I think it's so timely. And it's from Andrew Carnegie, um, the benefactor who started this. A library outranks Any one thing a community can do to benefit its people, it is a never-failing spring in the desert. Um, last week we had actually a few days ago, we had a great event here on voter education and ranked choice voting. And a gentleman came in, and as he was standing in the library coming and looking around, he said to me, Gosh, I I didn't think anyone came to the library anymore. And here he was in an event with over a hundred people about civic engagement. And meanwhile, downstairs we had people doing crochet. Then we had students, uh, students in high school and in college studying for their exams. And of course, we had patrons coming in, checking out books, uh asking for recommendations. I mean, it's just a hub of activity, quiet and otherwise. And the week is a you're right, it's a reminder that we are not just here, but we are going to meet people where they are. And increasingly that's also online, which you've covered before here. You can stream a movie from your library app to check out a digital magazine to listening to audiobooks, all from your library app from the comfort of your home.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

And again, too. And the I I always think there's uh this age hurdle, the in this transition from in the hand reading, whether it's magazines or books or uh CDs and DVDs, we've gone so technical. Do you think libraries are really closing that knowledge gap with the older generation, which is probably the most challenged by this transition?

SPEAKER_03 23:43

That is a great question, and it's something that we've made a priority. You my mother is one of them, right? Every time we get her a new phone, we have to teach her how to use it alongside with her. And I think that's what makes a library so central, is because we are right now in a generational change of technology. In fact, we have a workshop coming up talking about AI and what it means for us because we're all discovering it together. But what makes the library so I think so pivotal is that we are we're open, we're free, it's it's a friendly place to learn about technology, and we want we want our seniors, we want our youth and everyone to get up to speed as we hurdle our way through this next huge technological change. Um and it's free. Like I said, libraries were one of the first places to offer free internet, and again, we're one of the first places to demystify and invite people of all ages to come learn about generative AI and to play along. What better place to learn that than at your local public library?

SPEAKER_00 24:55

If you go to the website for Jenny's library, Holbooken Library.org, you will see, like I said back in the introduction, the library is the hub for learning not just from books, but by activities, interaction. If you have a certain level of expertise in something, if you want to offer the that expertise in for a program or an event at the library, if you're a club organization, a lot of libraries have meeting rooms, meeting areas as well. Find out more about National Library Week, which is this coming week at ALA.org forward slash N L W and you're listening to Issues and Ideas. This is also an important week, too, for libraries all over, Jenny, because the American Library Association r I believe releases their annual report, the State of the Libraries in America. Yes. And that is a very informative in a variety of ways.

SPEAKER_03 25:47

It sure is. And I wish I can give you a preview. They they guard that pretty close to the chest. But they they will release that, I think, Monday, and we'll we'll all look to that. And one of those uh evergreen pieces is the top ten challenged books. Um, I wouldn't be surprised that that doesn't make an appearance again because um why whereas in New Jersey we've passed our Freedom to Read Act, certainly censorship is still very much uh alive and being fought in other states in the country. But there are other things in the report too. You know, they'll talk about usage and um yeah, I'll but I'll learn about along with you when it comes out on Monday.

SPEAKER_00 26:33

You know, talking about too advocacy, part of the agenda for National Library Week is on Thursday, take action for libraries day, urging advocacy, because I can imagine we know I've I've heard stories frequently about election poll workers who've been doing it for years, they get the$200 a day to sit at the table, register, and make sure everything runs right on election days, but a lot of them are are hesitant now because of a lot of the garbage that's and harassment that takes place for just doing a job they've been doing for decades. Is there a concern about that with libraries? We mentioned book censorship, and it's usually a a small, literally single-digit number of people who tries to make the the biggest noise possible and just makes more trouble than accomplishes anything. Is that deterring people from wanting to be volunteering in a in the library scene because of the even if it's not happening, the over overhanging thread of it happening?

SPEAKER_03 27:30

I I think I think it's the opposite. It's galvanizing people. Excellent. And it's I I think now I I don't live in those states such as Utah, but the activity I see in the on the advocacy end is certainly no, it's it's raising awareness that you know our fundamental rights under the First Amendment are under threat. And this is like a first step towards eroding that. So no, I see a lot more people engaged. Um, I was just speaking with someone yesterday, and and these aren't just advocates, but also for people engaged, which heartens me, like the youth. Our millennials and Gen Zs are coming in visiting libraries. I just saw a statistic, 45% of them have visited a public library and in higher numbers than their previous generations. They're rediscovering it for you know, for materials, but also for programs and connection. Um because we we do see with people on their devices, the general surgeon general a few years ago named loneliness as an epidemic. And one of the solutions to that, I believe public libraries were mentioned because there are spaces where people you mentioned can connect and be in community, even if they're not talking to each other. It's just being in proximity with other people working on independent projects or learning. That's that goes a long way to alleviating that um the loneliness epidemic.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

And certainly beats hanging around the McDonald's with a bunch of screaming kids and parents who scream even louder. You got a little serenity, a little peace, a little calm. Yeah. And you're there for in a lot of cases uh mutual reasons and uh and ideas. And mention mentioning workers before, that's also part of the agenda for National Library Week. On uh Tuesday, National Library Workers Day recognizing individual staff contributions. And for you listening, if there's been someone at your local library who has been going above and beyond the call for your needs and for helping you, certainly mention it to your library director so that when Tuesday comes, that person will get the the recognition that they deserve.

SPEAKER_03 29:39

Yeah, that's that's one of the most uh it's the nicest thing that anyone can do for their library. We get cards from patrons who travel overseas. They'll send a postcard, hey library, we're thinking of you. Or we'll get, you know, it's a we'll have patrons drop by with box of chocolates. Not every look, everyone loves chocolate for the most part. So we certainly welcome that. But if you can't, if you don't want to do the chocolate on a note, we get uh notes from kids. Oh, those are the best things, and we circulate with the staff. Uh that would be a great gesture on Tuesday, but really any day to show your appreciation because that's what we live for. Libraries are here ultimately to serve. And in the name in the words of um a former board chair of mine, he did say the most valuable asset of a library goes home every night to their families, and that's the staff who keep the buildings open and run our programs, and you know, have been serving our communities for all these generations. Yeah, or the people.

SPEAKER_00 30:40

It's happening this week, National Library Week. You can find out more at ALA.org forward slash NLW, and to find out about everything going on. There was a lot going on at the Hoboken Public Library. Hoboken Library.org. She is the director of the aforementioned Hoboken Public Library, Jenny Pooh. Jenny, always glad to turn to you for all things library, and you and your work and your efforts provide a foundation and direction for other libraries to certainly successfully follow for their growth and and enthusiasm. Thanks for doing the work that you do. Thanks so much for being here today.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

Thanks for having me, and please everyone go out and visit our public library. You'll be delighted and hearten to see all the things that are happening.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

We have a lot of concerns, worries about the U.S. economy. Stats every day, it seems like. Add to those concerns. A recent earnings call by Walmart added even more concerns to the concerns. I'll explain. The Walmart CEO John Ferner said lower income households are feeling increasingly squeezed. He's referring to their latest earnings reports showing a significant change. For households earning below fifty thousand dollars, he said. We continue to see that wallets are stretched, and in some cases, people are managing spending paycheck to paycheck. But not just lower income households that are feeling the pain that some say are is inflation or not close to it. Walmart's leadership made it clear. Company is gaining traction with wealthier households. And that comes down to a shift in consumer behavior. Higher income households are now looking for value. It's not exclusive to Walmart Dollar Tree, for example. Walmart's not necessarily trying to target these higher earners. Instead, higher earners look to be flocking there on their own. And the company has seen shoppers across income levels become, they call it, more price conscious. A lot of people prioritizing value and convenience. Additionally, this is from Global Data Retail. Almost 28% of high-income consumers shopped at discount chains like Walmart in 2025. That's up from about 20% in 2021. And more than 17% of Americans earning$100,000 or more a year now shop at Walmart compared to less than 15% back in 2021. And John David Rainey, who is Walmart's executive VP and CFO, he said the company has worked hard to mitigate grocery inflation. Which could be a big reason why higher income consumers are shopping there more as well. And when you think about this, this one The Street.com, higher income consumers aren't necessarily cutting back on spending like some low or moderate income households might be here are right now. Instead, they're they're spending money more mindfully, trading down everyday essentials, seeking value, even though they can't afford more, and prioritizing convenience as well as price. Walmart scores in all three of those. But is Walmart changing customer demographics more than a company story? Maybe it's something about the economy overall here in America. When higher income households start to prioritize savings and value, does that suggest that consumers might want or need to be more cautious overall? For Walmart, seeing an uptick in higher income consumers that's wonderful, that's great. If you're a Walmart stockholder, again, that's wonderful, that's great. But for the retail industry broadly, not so much. Well, that could weigh on retailers that don't have the the flexibility to pull the power like Walmart does, they go lower prices and not kneecap themselves. Meanwhile, the shoppers continue to cut back on spending to a large degree. Does that set the stage for a full-blown recession? That's something consumers across all income ranges have to worry about. For Bible fellowship to fully serve those involved, you need to do more than just simply possess the Bible. You need to read it. Study the Word of God it contains. Otherwise, during Bible fellowship, you'll most likely be the one getting lost. And while Bible sales make the Bible the number one best-selling book by far worldwide, stats pertaining to Bible reading, they run a bit counter to the sales popularity. Our next guest is leading an effort starting today, which will continue all through this coming week. Nearly 500 well-known people from all parts of our society will be reading the Bible. You can only watch as these religious leaders, stars, actors, politicians, and others read from the Bible. You can read along with them, with us to discuss how America Reads the Bible came about. It's the founder of Christians Engaged, Bunny Pounds. How are you today, Bunny?

SPEAKER_02 36:12

I'm great, Chris. Thanks for having me on.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Well, this is a fantastic event. We have a couple of links to their homepage too, America ReadsTheBible.com and to watch along, PureFlix F L I X dot com. And you can all through the week, and you can find the schedules, who's who's reading, the passages they'll be reading, it's all at America ReadstheBible.com. Found some stats here. This is from a variety of sort of sources. Around 88% of American households own at least one Bible. However, only 37% of Americans read the Bible at least once a week. So when I see those numbers, Bunny, makes me think that a little motivation might narrow that gap between those two numbers. And I certainly think that what you are doing with America Reads the Bible is going to be a great deal of motivation.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

We believe that too, Chris. Um what an amazing national moment where we can celebrate that our Constitution has outlasted every constitution in world history. And we wanted to remind the the American people that our foundations are found in Scripture. You know, our founders of our nation gave us a gift that we get to elect our representatives. Um, and law, liberty, and justice, uh, the foundations of our country is because of uh the scriptural understanding that they had when they started this country. So we're so thankful to have six cabinet members, six governors, twenty members of Congress, Hollywood people like Patricia Heaton and Candace Cameron Bray and Cameron and BJ Arnett and many others reading scripture with us, including farmers, veterans, nurses, chaplain uh workers. Um it's really gonna be a historic moment as we read, uh starting today, Genesis all the way through the book of Revelation, and Franklin Graham does a gospel presentation at the end of the book of Revelation.

SPEAKER_00 38:05

I wasn't kidding for you listening when I said nearly 500 people. And and I have to ask one because I've done radio-thons and produced them, hosted them. I was part of telethons, and those were 12, 24-hour programs, and you had to book the talent and get everything lined up. How in the world did you manage to pull this one off?

SPEAKER_02 38:24

I have an incredible team. We've been working nonstop for over 14 months. You know, we started recruiting ministries. We have 122 ministries that have helped us uh financially with marketing and sending readers to participate. Uh, and then we went to celebrities and elected officials, and yeah, it's a massive project and 500 people we have to coordinate with, but God's been faithful and Jesus is going to be glorified.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

And who of the right mind when they're invited would say, No, I don't want to read the Bible. I mean, that's if you want to commit uh gospel suicide, I guess that's one of the great ways to do it if that's your choice. But I can't imagine anyone wanting to say no to this. As far as the the spark of the idea, take us back to those early days about the formation of what you wanted to do and how did the foundation get built to make all this happen?

SPEAKER_02 39:15

Yeah, I was in the Museum of the Bible two years ago, and I just finished a draft of my new book that's coming out May 19 called Stepping Up to Lead, Rebuilding a Nation in the Footsteps of Nehemiah. I have uh formerly was in government for 16 years running congressional campaigns, and I've always loved Nehemiah's story that he helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in in 52 days and mobilize the people of God to do that. But I saw uh Ezra reading the books of Moses in front of the Israelites at the Museum of the Bible, and it just hit me, wow, we need an Ezra moment in this country. We've forgotten who we are, just like ancient Israel. And so I I just had this idea, wouldn't it be awesome if our national leaders stood up and were Ezra and proclaimed the word of God out loud to the American people, and that we could awaken a whole new generation of Nehemiahs to rebuild our country and uh to really take ownership and stewardship of our nation for the next 250 years or until Jesus comes back. So that's how it started, and we got to work on it last January, and here we are today.

SPEAKER_00 40:26

America Reads the Bible. She's also founder of Christians Engaged, America Reads the Bible.com, and you can watch online as well. PureFlixF L I X dot com. We do have those links over at our home page, and you're listening to issues and ideas. Do you think, Bunny, because I think we probably have both come across people, uh they separate the two the two books of the Bible, the New and the Old Testament. There are people who just devote it, and even some churches when they hand out small Bibles, it only features the New Testament, maybe the book of Psalms, which by the way, that's most most read part of the Bible, as another factoid for the day. But do you think that this effort this effort that you're doing is going to make people more aware that for the New Testament to fully exist, there has to be the understanding of what's foretold and what's taught in the Old Testament?

SPEAKER_02 41:16

A hundred percent, Chris. Um, it's the whole council of God, it's the whole story of God. And if we really want to understand his character, his ways, um, to understand the whole story. I mean, Jesus was planned from the beginning, he shows up in every book of the Bible. Um, last night at our opening celebration, Le Leland sang a song about the Jesus showing up in every book of the Bible. And we preached on the story of God from Genesis to Revelation. Um, people can go back and watch that program. But this this is a key point of why we're reading the entire Bible. And uh, we hope and pray that people understand that God calls them into his massive story. This is where you find your identity, this is where you find your destiny, and Jesus planned to redeem the world from the very beginning of Genesis 1.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

And it's always fine to read the Bible within yourself, but to hear the Word of God, even the Bible teachers, that's that's part of the key to understanding how to live the Word of God.

SPEAKER_02 42:18

A hundred percent. We really want to encourage people to play this in their businesses this week. Play it in your churches, play it on your phone, play it in your family rooms. Um, experience as much of the Bible as you can this week, all the way through Saturday night at 9 p.m. Eastern. Um, but also this will be archived on pureflix.com and America Reads the Bible.com. You can go back and watch all of this. It'll be an audio and video Bible on the back end. So, you know, our team, we're gonna read the Bible in 84 hours after this event uh and experience that in 84 days lead um after after we get done running this. And so I hope that everybody will experience this in real time, but also in the days ahead.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

And with the whole event being archived on Pureflix, that sounds like a great opportunity for someone who is going to be motivated to say, you know what, I want to read the Bible totally in my own study from start to finish, and they could do it in the whatever increment is comfortable for them through the archive that you'll have at Pure Flix.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

Exactly. That's why we wanted to create this, and and again, I think people are gonna be inspired when they see leaders that they respect, um, and ordinary Americans, you know, veterans, Indians, um, you know, ministry leaders, churches, uh, church pastors, teachers, um, hospice chaplains, uh, all of these people reading scripture, just know that God wants to speak through you, He wants to use your voice as well.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

Talk to the person who, because of whatever happenstance in the secular world, is having more challenging times that than they can handle, and they're hearing this right now. We're talking about what is happening unfolding with America Reads the Bible. This week. They've never owned a Bible. They've never opened a Bible. You don't, and there are Bible apps. You don't even need to wait for Amazon to deliver one. You can download a Bible app and find a translation comfortable for your comprehension and growth. But talk to that person who is, let's call them the Bible rookie. What should they be expecting and looking for as they pay attention and become a part of as at least an observer of America Reads the Bible?

SPEAKER_02 44:30

Well, you know, I believe that the the Word of God is alive because Jesus is alive. He's a resurrected king. And so every section of Scripture uh he speaks through. But I would encourage everybody, yes, grab a Bible, download the Bible app. Um start in the book of John. Um that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That word is named Jesus. And I believe what you'll find you find in the pages of scripture is a lot of wisdom. You find a story bigger than your life. You find um a God who loves you, you find your identity, you find a God that wants to set you free from your anxieties and depressions and your wants to heal your marriage. Um and there's just uh the love of God that you find, the peace of God, the joy of God, and things that are not of this world. And I believe that people are on a search for that, and you'll find that in the pages of the Bible.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

Which you could be brought into further and more deep through the event that's starting to take going through this week from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. America Reads the Bible, follow along, become a part of it at America Reads the Bible.com and watch it at PureFlix F L I X dot com. Again, from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Eastern. If you're listening through the podcast, adjust the time to your specific time zone because it will be an experience that you will indeed, spiritually as well as emotionally and even physically, everything is all connected within ourselves. You will certainly benefit from all that is about to be placed before you through this event. We've been talking with not only the creator, the founder of America Reads the Bible, but the founder of Christians Engaged, Bunny Pounds. Bunny, this is going to have such a resonating effect with so many people that I think even you will be surprised by the the strength of the impact that this week is going to have on so many people, which I know have no doubt you will hear from those people. Congratulations of putting this together. Best of success as it goes forward this week, and thanks so much for being here today.

SPEAKER_02 46:33

Well, thank you, Chris, for highlighting this. And and guys, just know that God wants to speak to you today and he wants to speak through his word. Thank you, Chris.

SPEAKER_00 46:42

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines blasphemy as the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. This past week featured, let's see, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Pete Heggseth perpetrating blasphemy. While being, of course, supported by or having excuses made for them by many other supporters. As you would imagine, the Bible has quite a lot to say about blasphemy. We have these words from Jesus, which are reading Mark chapter seven verses twenty one through twenty three, for from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, and evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, all these evil things come from within and defile a man. There's this from Colossians chapter three verse eight. For now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Let's spend a few moments reviewing what unfolded this past week through the acts of the people I mentioned at the beginning. We'll start with the most obvious and blatant. That would be Donald Trump posting a photo of himself in the image of Jesus, robes that Jesus would wear, Trump healing a man by laying hands on him with light emanating from his hands. Jesus warns us about this in Matthew chapter twenty four verses twenty three and twenty four. Then if anyone says to you look, here is the Christ, or there, do not believe it, for false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Am I taking things too seriously too far over a photo posted on social media? I don't think so. Remember when Paul White recently compared Trump to Jesus, referencing him being struck down, rising? I don't recall Trump pushing that comparison away or denying it to you. Then Trump followed posting that photo with a second social media post, this one, a photo of Jesus hugging Trump. Let me repeat that because it's important here. It was a photo of Jesus hugging Trump. Now if you were determined to post a photo like this, shouldn't it be you hugging Jesus in worship and praise? Better yet kneeling before him, as we're instructed in Philippians chapter two verse ten, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth. Next we have Trump, joined by JD Vance, choosing to take on Pope Leo XV. Trump called Pope Leo a bad pope who was quote unquote weak on crime, which I'm I'm not really sure how any pope is responsible for crime rates anywhere, but well Trump went with that. Then we had JD Vance call out the Pope for the message he was declaring, saying that the Pope needs to be careful with how he presents theology and what he gets involved with. What's that theology that Pope Leo is proclaiming? Peace. That word peace, by the way, is mentioned over four hundred times in the Bible. Kinda makes it a valid theology point, doesn't it? Just a few examples of this here's what said in Psalm chapter twenty nine, verse eleven The Lord will give strength to his people, the Lord will bless his people with peace. One more, this is told to us by Jesus as part of the Beatitudes, reading from Matthew chapter five, verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Pete Heggseth scored double blasphemy points this past week. First at a Pentagon press briefing, Heggseth compared Trump being challenged by the news media with Jesus being challenged by the Pharisees. Then at a military faith event, Hegseth shared in prayer what said in Ezekiel chapter twenty five, verse seventeen. Problem. What Hegseth read was actually from the film Pulp Fiction. It was from the scene where Samuel L. Jackson delivers a Bible gospel sounding a line that was entirely made up for that film. And by the way, Jackson delivered the line far better than Hegseth did. Works as a false teacher, are not the way to keep your page in the book of life clean. Second Peter chapter two verse one warns us about these false teachers, but there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who brought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. Now you may be one of those who says that God will forgive even blasphemy. God forgives everything, right? I mean doesn't it say in Ephesians chapter one verse seven, in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. That's no doubt what you'll wind up believing if you're reading what you want, instead of reading what you need to read. Because in Matthew chapter twelve, verses thirty one thirty two, Jesus tells us this. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man it will be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. And yes, blasphemy is grieving to the Holy Spirit. Don't forget to check out our website, Issues and IdeasRadio.com. That's where you'll find more information about the people who are here with us on the show today. Been updating the downloads page. Of course, we have the classic conversation and the New York City Radio Museum on the home page as well. You'll find all that and more at Issues and IdeasRadio.com. Always grateful and thankful. Always appreciate your time and your attention. Look forward to being with you right here this time next week for our next edition of Issues and Ideas.