The World and Everything in It: August 14, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like me. My name is Leslie Marks and I live in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. I want to wish my husband Michael a happy 39th anniversary. Honey, thanks for being my biggest supporter. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning! The story of a girl and her goat tests the limits of government overreach and common sense. In a case that, in the view of the little girl, should never even have happened.

SHAKEEB: There was truly no conflict here. No reason to escalate this into what went down like a drug bust.

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Legal Docket.

Also today the Monday Moneybeat: with Republicans getting ready to square off for a debate next week for the first time, I’ll talk with economist David Bahnsen about what he hopes to hear from the candidates.

And the WORLD History Book. 90 years ago this week, a lumberjack walks into a forest and inadvertently sparks a disaster.

AUDIO: Suddenly, the fire blew up literally exploding with nuclear ferocity.

REICHARD: It’s Monday, August 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Time now for the news with Kent Covington

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Hawaii wildfire » At least 93 people are now confirmed dead in Hawaii after devastating wildfires razed a historic town on the island of Maui.

Hawaii Congresswoman Jill Tokuda toured the area.

TOKUDA: It was shocking, surreal. We’ve heard all those words. But to actually walk these streets and to still see fires smoldering in the distance, to see cars literally melted into puddles that have hardened over on the road.

The blaze is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and the death toll is expected to climb.

Gov. Josh Green said counting the dead is still a dangerous job.

GREEN: We have to go with caution. There are heavy metals there. There are toxic states. Where the houses have come down and the businesses have come down. The recommendations are to avoid those structures because they could still fall on people. And we’ve lost too much life already.

Crews with cadaver dogs have so far covered just 3% of the search area.

GOP Biden special counsel » Republicans are sounding off on the Justice Department’s decision to give special counsel status to the US attorney probing Biden family business dealings.

David Weiss is the same prosecutor who negotiated Hunter Biden’s probation-only plea deal, which a federal judge rejected.

GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn:

BLACKBURN: David Weiss is not a prosecutor. He’s not a special counsel. He is a collaborator. And the sweetheart deal that he cooked up with Hunter Biden — Now they’re going to give him a sweetheart deal with a special counsel and run out the clock.

House Republicans are also investigating what they say was an influence-peddling scheme that netted the Biden family millions of dollars from foreign nationals when Joe Biden was vice president.

Democrats growing unease with Biden » And with the allegations swirling around President Biden, some Democrats are voicing doubts as to whether he’s the man to deliver victory in next year’s election.

Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips told NBC’s Meet the Press that he loves Joe Biden, but Americans are—quote— “ready to turn the page.”

PHILLIPS: The call to action is to ask the president to pass the torch. There is an extraordinary bench, an extraordinary bench of people ready to go.

But for now the president may be reassured by an average of recent polls … which give Biden a slight lead in a hypothetical rematch with former President Trump.

Iowa fair » Meantime, some of Trump’s Republican rivals are also making the case that America’s are ready to move on. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie:

CHRISTIE: Is he really the guy, under indictment in four different cases, given the conduct that he committed, someone who can beat Joe Biden or any other Democrat in 2024?

Trump is hitting back at Christie, recently mocking his weight during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

TRUMP: No, Christie is, he’s eating right now. He can’t be bothered.

The former president over the weekend joined a full slate of GOP candidates campaigning at the Iowa State Fair.

TRUMP: It’s a beautiful day in Iowa.

His second-place rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis also addressed fair-goers …

DESANTIS: I’m a blue-collar kid. I came from working minimum wage jobs. I volunteered to serve this country in Iraq. I’ve been a governor who’s been able to have massive success.

Unlike Christie, DeSantis has largely avoided talking about Trump, who maintains a large lead in Republican polls.

Ukraine » Seven people are dead in Ukraine’s Kherson region after intense shelling from Russian forces. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: Among those killed in the attack were a 12-year-old boy, his infant sister and their parents.

Elsewhere, the Kremlin says its forces have shot down drones just over the Ukrainian border in Russia.

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for any drone attacks on Russian soil.

Meanwhile, British defense officials say there is reason to believe that the Kremlin may no longer be funding the Russian mercenary Wagner Group.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Gas prices » Gas prices have ticked once again in the U.S. The national average is now $3.84 a gallon. That’s up 2 cents from a week ago.

That continues an upward trend since major oil producing countries began cutting supplies.

Mississippi has the lowest statewide per-gallon average at $3.32. California once again has the most expensive gas in the country at $5.14.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: The story of a girl and her goat test the limits of government power. That’s ahead on Legal Docket. Plus, something that’s ahead but not immediately straight ahead.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Monday morning, August 14th and you’re listening to The World and Everything in It from WORLD Radio. Good morning! I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. It’s time now for Legal Docket—summer-time edition … where we take advantage of the laid-back court schedule to delve into disputes over constitutional rights that are brewing in the lower courts.

Today, the case of a little girl and her goat.

In court documents, the little girl is identified only as EL. This story revolves around this nine-year-old girl and we’ll refer to her a lot, so we’ll call her by her surname Long, as her mother, Jessica Long, brought a lawsuit on her behalf.

EICHER: Here are the facts of the case: Last year, Long’s mother bought her a goat for a 4-H livestock project.

Long named the goat Cedar. She fed him, groomed him, and took care of him all in the run up to show him at the county fair.

No surprise, it didn’t take much time for Long and Cedar to bond.

The relationship between the two was not unlike a child and a dog.

Vanessa Shakeeb is a lawyer who represents Long:

SHAKEEB: The purpose, according to 4H, is to teach children about livestock. Some children go through the program, no problem. Other children go through the program and it's emotionally disturbing. And so for those children, they wish to exit the program. Our client wished to exit the program. And that should be —maximum— a property dispute, a civil dispute at most.

EICHER: In June last year, Long showed Cedar at the Shasta District Fair. Along the way that day, Long came to understand that the goat would be slaughtered for meat. She became so distraught that her mother sought to terminate participation in the auction right away, before the bidding on animals began.

REICHARD: But the fair officials wouldn’t allow it.

Someone bid on the goat. As Long had recently lost three grandparents, her mother couldn’t bear more grief added onto that. So the mother retrieved Cedar and took him to Sonoma County—a five-hour drive away.

The livestock manager at the fair was dismissive of Long’s distress over the goat. Shakeeb tells what happened next:

SHAKEEB: County fair officials reached out to my client threatening her with a felony. It's absolutely outrageous to threaten someone with a felony in a purely civil contractual dispute. We're talking 60 bucks and damages. Some time passes, everything goes quiet, about a week and a half or two weeks. And then suddenly, around 6 pm In the evening, sheriff's deputies get a warrant. It's quite a lengthy warrant. There's language in there authorizing the breaching of entryways to go and get Cedar. They travel in the dark of night, they see Cedar from an address not on the warrant. And ultimately, they turn Cedar over for slaughter without any notice or due process to the little girl.

REICHARD: Cedar the goat is long dead now.

But Long argues this isn’t over. For one thing, ownership never transferred to anyone else. So the goat was always hers.

Shakeeb points to the fundamentals of contract law:

SHAKEEB: At the outset, as a minor, our client can disaffirm any contract that was formed. But you are correct that these fair rules state that the vendor is the owner through the show date. There's other information which states that the owner is liable for the animal up until I believe the time of slaughter. And so the owners bear the risk of the animal throughout this program, which reiterates the fact that my client in fact owned Cedar.

REICHARD: Worst-case scenario, as Shakeeb mentioned, is the fair would be out about $60—the fair’s share of the $900 bid on the goat.

Long’s mother offered to pay any and all money damages, and the man who bid on Cedar agreed to forgo any right to the animal.

SHAKEEB: There was truly no conflict here. No reason to escalate this into what went down like a drug bust.

REICHARD: I contacted the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department and the Fair officials as well as their attorneys. No response.

But the fair released a statement early on saying that it couldn’t make an exception for Cedar, because then kids would learn they don’t have to follow the rules set up for the 4-H project.

EICHER: Long’s position lays out multiple causes of action. Among them: fourth amendment due process violations, fourteenth amendment illegal search and seizure, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

In court documents, the county admits its sheriff’s deputies drove hundreds of miles to get the goat. But they say they didn’t need a warrant for that address because the property owner had given them consent to enter the property.

The county’s primary defense is an affirmative defense: yes, some of those facts may have indeed occurred, but they don’t matter, because its deputies are covered by qualified immunity. That’s the doctrine that protects state and local officials from individual liability unless the official acted in violation of a clearly established constitutional right.

REICHARD: Shakeeb says this case fits into that “unless” exception. Therefore the officials are liable:

SHAKEEB: And to turn Cedar over without notifying the parties that they know have an interest in Cedar was in violation of their constitutional rights.

REICHARD: As such, she argues, the sheriff had a duty to retain the goat as evidence, give notice to the family, and allow them their day in court.

SHAKEEB: Our client was very clear that her daughter had been through so much, and she wanted to spare her daughter additional heartbreak. I mean, the human element here. It's unbelievable that there was not more compassion for this little girl and instead, the defendants here broke the law to terrorize her, to hunt down her beloved pet goat. The sheriff here acted as judge, jury and executioner and this has been a very traumatizing event for the family.

REICHARD: The New York Times covered this story back in April. Opinion writer Nicholas Kristof observed: “Cedar is a reminder that the bright line we draw between farm animals and our pet dogs and cats is an arbitrary one.” Kristof grew up on a farm that raised goats, pigs, and geese.

He came to see these animals differently, and today doesn’t eat them— for the same reason, he wrote, that he doesn’t eat beagles. He wrote what the little girl told him: “If they knew Cedar the way I knew Cedar, they wouldn’t have done that.”

Beyond the heart-rending aspects of this story of a girl and her pet—government overreach, qualified immunity, contract law, and the treatment of animals all come together in this one dispute.

It’s set for trial next year, in October.

And that’s this week’s Legal Docket.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Wedding anniversaries are special and worth celebrating. A bouquet of red roses. A nice dinner out. Maybe both. Pretty typical.

But a man in Kansas went above and beyond. Lee Wilson had an extraordinary gift for his wife for their 50th anniversary. Sound from KAKE News:

LEE WILSON: And I thought this is the year to plant some flowers. So we planted her 80 acres of sunflowers. There's about 1.2 million flowers in this field.

Who’s counting?! Wife Renee loved sunflowers, so back in May, Wilson and their son planted all those brilliant yellow rays, and somehow managed to keep the secret.

RENEE WILSON: It made me feel very special. It couldn't have been a more perfect anniversary gift than a field of sunflowers.

The couple met in high school in Harper, Kansas, went on a first date at a roller skate rink, and they’ve been together ever since.

Unlike their marriage, though, sunflower season is only about three weeks.

REICHARD: Take pictures.

EICHER: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:

The Monday Moneybeat.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s time to talk business, markets, and the economy with financial analyst and adviser David Bahnsen.He’s head of the wealth management firm The Bahnsen Group and he’s here now.

David, good morning!

DAVID BAHNSEN, GUEST: Well, good morning. Good to be with you.

EICHER: Well, you know, David, it’s really hard to say what the big story of the week was, it was pretty quiet. Although I guess with the new CPI and PPI coming out consumer prices and producer prices for July, maybe those indexes were the biggest news, what do you say?

BAHNSEN: Yeah, it’s a good point. It did seem like on the economic and finance side it was a little bit slower of a week, even though it was a rather robust week in a lot of the political news cycle. I do think the CPI report was the main event of the economic week. And then you had the PPI on Friday. So both the consumer prices and producer prices are more or less reporting as was expected.

I actually thought the inflation number might tick up a little bit higher than it did just based on what happened with oil prices at the end of July, but I think a lot of that data didn’t get captured in time. It came a little too late in the month. Some of the higher gas prices that we’ve actually seen over the last few weeks weren’t necessarily captured. But you know, Nick, the CPI number has still so dramatically over-reported their shelter number that it’s still indicating close to 8% year over year inflation in rent prices. It is just so disconnected from reality that—I think at this point—most people are looking at the actual year over year CPI number as much closer to 2% even though it’s not quite there yet.

The one thing that I want to point out is that we’re so far past that really severe inflation dynamic that kicked in across the board two years ago when the world was shut down and then reopened. Pretty much all prices were going higher, that now is settled into a place where people just need to be used to the fact that whatever the number averages out to, within that number you will have things like airfare prices and used car prices dropping significantly. But then you have auto insurance going up quite a bit, and certain food items going up, so we’re not looking at something monolithic with a kind of general price level either going up or going down. But you’re getting there because there’s all kinds of different things getting pulled in different directions. Somehow, the average number is supposed to mean something to us.

EICHER: David, you mentioned politics eclipsing the regular news cycle, including stories on markets and economics, and I think we’re at the point where that’s just going to be our life for awhile. But I guess I’m a little surprised that on the political side, the Biden re-elect team is still trying so hard to provoke a conversation on the economy.

BAHNSEN: I’m not sure I understand the politics of what they’re doing completely. I don’t think that anyone will look at the data—and right now the polling data, the way the American people perceive things, is kind of all that matters here—and say, ”Hey, President Biden should run on the basis of how popular he is on the economy.” He really isn’t.

We have had 1.3% GDP growth throughout his presidency per year. We’ve had 1.6% for the 12 years before that, so all of it is really subpar economic growth. Any president who’s going to run on economic growth needs to have a 3% rate or higher, not 1%. So I think that we’re just not getting great economic growth.

He obviously was struggling with the inflation factor for a good portion of time. I don’t think that’ll be the predominant story that weighs around his neck throughout the election. I think that it’s more just going to be like, “Look, the spending has been out of control. And we don’t have a lot to show for it. It isn’t like we’ve spent our way into economic growth.” The politics and the economics are all going to have a way of really coming together in 2024.

EICHER: You know, it’s interesting, so a little over a week from now, we’re expecting a debate among the Republicans running for president, and if the politics and the economics are going to be coming together as you say, what would you hope to hear from the GOP that’s constructive. That would be a valuable conversation to have?

BAHNSEN: Yeah. And you worded the question well by saying a constructive conversation about economics, because that’s not what’s going to happen, right? Like constructive is what I care about, what I think our listeners care about, what you care about. But you know, in terms of a debate, they’re probably going to keep things very superficial and look for zingers and opportunities to score audience points. Constructively, what I wish the terms of debate were is who is going to tackle those various structural things that are impeding economic growth. And who is willing to say that at the top of that list is excessive government spending and excessive government indebtedness.

By the way, that’s going to have to include a conversation about entitlement spending—not cutting people who are receiving Social Security checks tomorrow, but rather longer term reforms that are going to make the promises that have been made more keepable, and the system itself more solvent. This is a tough thing for the Republican side right now; there has not been a good track record with the last two Republican presidents when it comes to spending and debt.

That has to be the terms of the debate. If you’re going to have a real conversation about the economy, you have to address the fact that we have subpar economic growth because the public and governmental sector is crowding out some of the more productive parts of the private sector, and it’s doing so through excessive spending. We’ve made long term commitments and transfer payments, social safety net entitlements that represent over 60% of federal outlays, and we’re not funding it adequately. What are we going to do about that?

Now, politically, I understand, Nick, all those things are messy. I’m not here to make it simple for any of the candidates. But yeah, this is the world I live in: Where you have to be able to talk about this stuff. And for whatever reason, the voters keep letting the politicians off the hook on this stuff. The Fed is going to be a part of that too, by the way. If one believes, as I do, that we have depended too much on the Federal Reserve to play too big of a role in the administration of our economic affairs, someone’s going to have to address how maybe what they’re doing is over-reacting when they’re tightening policy right now and how they spent so many years making policy overly accommodative. They’ll have to address what that did to long term economic growth and how challenging the framework was as a result of their policies. So the Fed spending and indebtedness: By the way, all of those things funnel up into the impact on economic growth. Those, I think, are the primary issues.

EICHER: Ok, David Bahnsen is founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group … you can keep up with David at his personal website, Bahnsen-dot-com. His weekly Dividend Cafe is at dividend-cafe-dot-com.

Thank you, David!

BAHNSEN: Thanks so much, Nick.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Monday, August 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Next up, the WORLD History Book. Just two entries today. 25 years ago, President Bill Clinton admits he lied about a highly inappropriate relationship …but first, one of the worst natural disasters in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s WORLD executive producer Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER: 90 years ago the American Northwest is unseasonably hot and dry—leading local officials to shut down Oregon logging operations. As loggers begin to close up camp, a fire starts in Gale Creek Canyon on August 14th, 1933. The cause of the fire has never been proven, but local lore says it began when a steel drag cable rubbed against the dry bark of a dead tree. The prolonged friction starts a fire that is soon out of control. Lumberjacks turn into fire crews.

After 10 days, the fire has consumed 40,000 acres but firefighting crews think they have the upper hand, then the weather changes. Audio here from a Critical Past historical film:

NEWSREEL: Suddenly, the fire blew up literally exploding with nuclear ferocity. Firefighters lost control as the awesome wall of fire advanced westward along a 15 mile front.

Within 24 hours the fire storm consumes an astounding 240,000 additional acres of virgin timber, exhibiting some of the most rapid forest fire growth ever recorded. The 1933 Tillamook fire comes to an end in early September as a wet ocean fog and rain moves into the area.

Over the next few years, loggers manage to salvage one and a half million trees for lumber, but many dead trees remain. It’s a powder keg ready to explode.

Over the next 18 years, the area sees three additional fires within the previous fire boundary, one every six years. A logging camp accidently starts the 1939 fire. It burns 190,000 acres. The 1945 fire is thought to have been the result of an incendiary balloon from Japan. It burns 180,000 acres. After the war, fire prevention crews build more access roads and create large fire breaks. The plan works. The 1951 fire is short-lived and burns only 32,000 acres. Some experts at the time doubt the forest will ever recover, but volunteers come by the bus load to plant seedlings.

DOCUMENTARY: Look at them come. Here's a mob scene. Everyone likes to see young Americans on the march with something fine and constructive to do.

From 1949 to 1972, more than 70 million trees are replanted in the area. School kids, church groups, and even inmates participate in the reforesting program. Seeds are scattered by helicopter to fill in where volunteers can’t reach. The burn area is dedicated as the Tillamook State Forest in 1973—celebrating its 50th anniversary as a very healthy forest this past June.

James 5 verses 5 and 6 says: “See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.” We move now from a forest fire, to a lie that ends in a Presidential impeachment.

On January 26th, 1998, President Bill Clinton concludes a televised speech denying allegations that he had had an affair with an intern:

CLINTON: These allegations are false, and I need to go back to work for the American people. Thank you. [APPLAUSE]

The Drudge Report had broken the scandal 10 days earlier, reporting that Newsweek editors are sitting on the story. First Lady Hillary Clinton calls the accusations against her husband part of a vast right wing conspiracy. But when Monica Lewinsky receives immunity in exchange for grand jury testimony she breaks her silence that summer and turns over physical evidence of their relationship.

During taped grand jury testimony on August 17th, 1998, Clinton admits an “improper physical relationship” with Lewinsky. That evening he addresses the nation.

CLINTON: Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong. I know that my public comments and my silence about this matter, gave a false impression. I misled people, including even my wife. I deeply regret that.

While acknowledging the relationship, Clinton’s posture is defensive. He asserts that this matter is private—saying even presidents should have private lives.

CLINTON: And so tonight, I asked you to turn away from the spectacle of the past seven months to repair the fabric of our national discourse and to return our attention to all the challenges and all the promise of the next American century.

Instead of diffusing the situation, the speech fans the flames and ratchets up the investigation. Four weeks later, Clinton takes a very different tone as he addresses a religious leaders’ breakfast in the White House East Room. Audio here from the Clinton Presidential Library.

CLINTON: I agree with those who have said that in my first statement, after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned.

Clinton goes on to claim that he asked his family, friends, and even the Lewinsky family for forgiveness. But to be worthy of that forgiveness, he says two more things are required:

CLINTON: First, genuine repentance and determination to change and to repair breaches of my own making. I have repented. Second, what my Bible calls a broken spirit.

Despite the mea culpa, a few months later the House of Representatives issues two Articles of Impeachment

NEWT GINGRICH: The yeahs are 258 the nays are 176, the resolution is agreed to.

One for obstruction of justice and the other perjury.

JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST: The chair directs judgment to be entered in accordance with the judgment of the Senate as follows.

However, the sentencing vote in the Senate falls short of the required two-thirds majority and Clinton is acquitted...though he is later held in civil contempt of court for giving misleading testimony in the Paula Jones case. He’s also fined and loses his law license.

Many point to the scandal as one reason why Vice President Al Gore lost his presidential bid.

That’s this week’s WORLD History Book. I’m Paul Butler.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Tech tools make cheating in school easier than ever. What are educators doing about potential problems like ChatGPT?

That and much more tomorrow. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible records the devil taking [Jesus] and showing him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and saying to him, “… If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’” Luke chapter 4, verses 7 and 8.

Go now in grace and peace.

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