The World and Everything in It: August 2, 2023

The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. Zdravo. Hi. My name is Shane German. I first started listening to World while living in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Now my family and I live in the state of Georgia in the US where I'm a career coach for scatter coaching, helping everyday Jesus followers to find opportunities to live and work in unreached marketplaces because the world needs what you have. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

President Biden revises a plan for student debt forgiveness… after the Supreme Court struck down the first one. What’s this new plan accomplish?

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: We’ll talk about it on Washington Wednesday.

Also today, news from around the world on WORLD Tour.

Plus, a Japanese photographer who documents the work of the Navajo code talkers who helped to end World War Two.

And economist Jerry Bowyer weighs in on the new “riot ideology.” 

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, August 2nd. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

Trump charged » The Justice Department has charged former President Donald Trump in connection with alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

The charges include conspiracy to defraud the United States government and witness tampering.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters:

GARLAND: So immediately after the January 6 attack on our democracy, the career men and women of the Justice Department engaged in what has become the largest investigation in our history.

Garland noted that last November, he appointed special counsel Jack Smith to lead the investigation.

GARLAND: Mr. Smith and his team of experienced principled career agents and prosecutors have followed the facts wherever they lead.

And with that… he said the public can be assured that Trump’s prosecution is entirely impartial.

But Trump attorney John Lauro fired back …

LAURO: We have the criminalization of public policy and political speech by one political party over another.

The indictment is the third criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House. Republican leaders say the charges are evidence of a two-tiered justice system.

Bureau of global health » The federal government is forming a brand new bureau under the umbrella of the State Department.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Tuesday:

BLINKEN: The last few years have made evident that a pandemic is not only a health crisis. It’s a security crisis. It’s an economic crisis. It’s a humanitarian crisis.

The secretary heard there announcing the launch of the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy. He says its mission is to forge stronger ties with health agencies around the globe … to create better systems to help guard against future health threats.

Coup in Niger » Several European countries are working to evacuate their citizens from the Niger amid an ongoing military coup.

Unarmed French military transport planes landed in the West African nation on Tuesday.

As for Americans now in Niger … State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday …

MILLER: We have reached out to them and told them that of course, it’s difficult to leave the country right now. The security forces who have attempted to seize power have closed the airport and closed the borders.

So Miller said for now, they’ve asked Americans in Niger- “to remain in place and limit their movements around the capital.”

More Russia drone attack claims » Moscow is accusing Ukraine of using drones to attack the same building for the second time this week … saying there were no casualties.

The damaged building contains some government offices.

Ukraine has officially avoided claiming responsibility for the attack… But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made recent claims that the war in Ukraine is moving to Russian territory.

KONASHENKOV - Russian

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov saying that Ukraine also tried to attack two civilian boats on the Black Sea. Kyiv strongly denies that accusation … saying Russia aims at civilian targets. Ukraine does not.

NJ Lt. Gov. » Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey Sheila Oliver has died age of 71.

Governor Phil Murphy’s office confirmed her sudden passing this afternoon, but did not immediately release a cause of death.

SOT: Oliver swearing-in

Oliver made history in 2010 as the first black woman elected to lead the New Jersey state assembly.

She served as lieutenant governor to Murphy since 2018.

She was hospitalized earlier this week with an unspecified ailment.

DeSantis challenges Harris » Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is challenging Vice President Kamala Harris to a debate … about his state’s history curriculum.

DESANTIS: She came to Florida to attack us, and she’s trying to attack me, but she’s really attacking the people who worked hard on this. And so that’s just wrong. I think it’s wrong to let lies be perpetuated.

The curriculum notes that, even in slavery, many people developed work and trade skills, which they were able to later use to provide for themselves and their families.

Vice President Harris claims the curriculum teaches that “enslaved people benefited from slavery” … implying that Florida is defending slavery to school children.

Supporters of the curriculum have called that suggestion absurd and slanderous, adding that it highlights “examples of heroic people who fought oppression.”

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Biden’s new plan for student debt forgiveness.

Plus, Former enemies forge new bonds over photography.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 2nd of August, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST:

And I’m Mary Reichard. It’s time for Washington Wednesday.

Today… Student debt forgiveness, take two.

On Monday, the Biden Administration launched a beta-testing web portal for the SAVE repayment plan. SAVE…short for Saving on a Valuable Education.

BROWN: Clever!

REICHARD: Yeah, well, maybe not…because just 33 days ago, the Supreme Court struck down the Biden Administration’s previous plan to cancel student debt across the board. The 6-3 majority ruled that the executive branch did not have the power to cancel student loans… that were authorized by Congress.

BROWN: But that didn’t end the matter. In addition to Biden’s revised repayment program, the Department of Education announced last month that it would forgive 39 billion dollars worth of federal student loans. That’s billion, with a “b.” That would apply to over eight hundred thousand borrowers already enrolled in what are known as “income driven repayment programs.”

What’s different now and will this plan work?

REICHARD: Joining us to talk about it is Marc Goldwein. He’s the senior vice president and policy director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Marc, welcome.

MARC GOLDWEIN, GUEST: Thank you so much for having me. Very glad to be here.

REICHARD: Well, let's start with the basics here. What is the SAVE repayment plan? And how is it different from the original plan to cancel debt that the Supreme Court already struck down?

GOLDWEIN: Well, the President really has several different student debt higher education plans. The two major ones where he wanted to cancel $10,000 to $20,000 of student debt for almost everyone. And he separately wanted to overhaul the income driven repayment program. This new SAVE provision is part of the income-driven repayment program. The idea of that program, which is in legislation already, is that students who borrow a lot of money can be capped as a percent of their income, how much they pay back each year, it's been typically 10, or 15%. So you never have to pay back more than 10 or 15% of your income. And then after 20 or 25 years, if you've been making your payments the whole time, the rest is forgiven. What the President wants to do, and has started to do, is dramatically expand that - cut that 10% down to 5% for undergraduates, create a group big income disregard so the first 225% of poverty worth of income isn't subject to it, shorten the period of repayment to 10 years for some folks, as short as 10 years for some folks, cancel interest accumulation, that that goes beyond what your payments and a few other things. And so the President's basically doing here is making income-driven repayment way more generous than what it was just a few weeks ago.

REICHARD: Well, you know, one of the criticisms of the original plan was that it shifted the financial burden to taxpayers, even people who paid off their own debts or opted not to get those student loans in the first place. How does the new plan handle that objection?

GOLDWEIN: Well, I would think of these plans as additive to each other, not replacements. The President wants to do both. He wants to cancel 10 to $20,000 of everyone's debt. That's going to cost the taxpayers about $400 billion. And then he also wants to expand this ongoing income-driven repayment, that's going to cost another maybe $300 billion, so it is very expensive. And some of this $300 billion is to support students that, or former students that really are struggling and needing it. But a lot of it actually is going to end up going to medical doctors, dentists, lawyers, those with very high debt balances, but very, very, very high earnings potential.

REICHARD: Marc, from a budget perspective now, I think you mentioned this, but what is the projected effect on the nation's finances as a whole? Is it financially responsible to do this at this moment?

GOLDWEIN: In my opinion, no, this is not fiscally responsible. The total policies that President Biden has proposed, including the ones that the court has ruled illegal, will cost us over $900 billion. To give you some reference, that is more than the Department of Education has spent on higher education through the nation's entire history up to this point, so the President wants to spend more over the next few years than we've spent over the last 250 on higher education. It's not particularly well targeted. We've done some analysis; most of these policies are gonna actually boost inflation, they probably are responsible for one interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. And our debt as a whole, our national debt is already approaching WWII levels, a new record; they're gonna get there faster as a result of these policies.

REICHARD: You know, one of the terms that has annoyed many people is this idea of loan forgiveness. It rather sounds Orwellian. You can't forgive something that is owed to somebody else, you know, third party really can't do that. And that's why cancellation seems to be the more accurate term. Has the Biden administration given up on the idea of loan forgiveness?

GOLDWEIN: Well, I guess I think of it as loan forgiveness is when you have a specific program that's designed to help people that play by the rules and pay down their debt as scheduled. Loan cancellation is when you arbitrarily decide, we're going to send people checks, basically refund checks. And to me that the 10 to $20,000 wiped off their people's balance sheets, that's debt cancellation. The President tried to do it through some emergency authority that was designed to basically help soldiers at war to not have fees if their balances are late. He tried to use it to cancel everybody's debt. The Supreme Court says that's illegal. That was clearly not the intent of the law, and it was a violation. So now the President is going to try again, with different authority. This new authority basically says that the Department of Education has, [the] they have the authority to adjust balances if that's the most efficient way to collect the money. It's just like if you owe $300,000 of taxes, back taxes, but you only have $20,000, the IRS will negotiate with you. It's the same thing. The Department of Education has the ability to negotiate with people that they think they're never actually going to get the money back from. The President, I think, is trying to abuse this authority again, to say, well, that's everybody, we're gonna cancel 10 or $20,000 of debt from everybody. We haven't seen the plan. They're still developing it. But the signals they've been sending is it's gonna look pretty much like the plan the Supreme Court just ruled illegal. And I don't know, they're gonna keep trying until maybe until he's out of office.

REICHARD: I'm wondering, without further wrecking the budget, or, or this unfairness problem that we talked about, Marc, what would you do to resolve the problem the Biden administration says it's trying to resolve?

GOLDWEIN: Well, I think they were on the right course, and that we do need to fix income-driven repayment. But they're doing it in a very irresponsible way. What we need to do is let students understand their options better. We need to cap how much they take out in grad school debt so there isn't, you know, $400,000 of medical school debt that's going to income-driven repayment. We need to rationalize and consolidate these plans, we need to differentiate undergrads for graduates. And that's going to save money. We can use that money to actually offer more generous terms to those people that are really struggling. So that's part of it is we need to actually fix income-driven repayment.

The bigger part is we need to get down college costs and get college quality up overall. And we can do that in part through the loan program by giving colleges skin in the game. You know, if they were responsible for just 10% of the loans, they’d have more incentive to keep their tuition sound and to make sure they're graduating people that actually have earnings potential. But part of it is also I think, pressuring colleges to cut out their administrative bloat to offer more three year degrees instead of four year degrees, to accept AP credits, to, you know, we don't need a water slide at every major elite university with warm temperature, even though those are fun. So there's a lot that can be done to get college costs down. And then the last part is information. The Senate's doing some great work here, a lot of it on a bipartisan basis. Students are borrowing without real information about how much this isn't going to actually cost them, about what it's going to mean about what their earnings potential is. I think better informed students can make better borrowing choices and be more equipped to pay back that money later.

REICHARD: Marc Goldwein is with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Marc, thank you so much!

GOLDWEIN: Thank you.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our Global Desk Chief, Jenny Lind Schmitt.

SOUND: [Chanting supporters]

We begin today’s global roundup in Niger, where Africa’s latest military takeover is still unfolding.

An economic bloc of West African nations has suspended ties with Niger. That’s after the military overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum last week and appointed a new head of state.

Bazoum’s election two years ago marked the country’s first peaceful transfer of power since independence from France.

Omar Alieu Touray is president of the West African bloc.

TOURAY: In the event the authorities' demands are not met within one week, [ECOWAS is resolved to] take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force.

Leaders in the U.S. and around the world have condemned the coup.

France has also suspended aid to the country.

AUDIO: [Protesters chanting]

Thousands of protesters supporting the coup set fire to the door at the French Embassy over the weekend.

Protesters have also waved Russian flags at rallies.

AUDIO: [Speaking French]

This protester says it’s necessary to have a win-win partnership and that only France benefits from the current setup.

Neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have faced four coups since 2020.

Military leaders in Mali—also a former French colony—scrapped French as the country’s official language last week.

China arrest — 

AUDIO: [Ongoing arrest]

We head over to Laos, where authorities have detained a Chinese human rights lawyer.

Authorities detained Lu Siwei on Friday as he boarded a train heading for Thailand.

He planned to catch a flight there heading for the U.S. to join his wife and daughter.

Family members are concerned he could be returned to China where he faces possible prison time.

Chinese authorities stripped Lu of his license in 2021 after he defended a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist who tried to flee to Taiwan. He also faced an exit ban restricting him from leaving the country.

China has increasingly harassed dissidents living abroad.

Jordan cybercrime protests —

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

In Jordan, chanting protesters holding up banners marched through the capital Amman on Friday.

They were calling on Jordan’s King Abdullah II to reject a controversial cybercrime law that passed a lower house vote.

The law makes some online posts punishable with fines and months of prison time. Offenses include promoting or inciting immorality—demonstrating contempt for religion—or undermining national unity.

It also restricts some forms of online anonymity and targets anyone who publishes details about police officers online.

The legislation has drawn criticism from activists in Jordan and abroad.

AUDIO: [Speaking Arabic]

Protester Raina Al-Nimer says the law marks a return to martial law.

The legislation heads next to the Senate before final approval from the King.

Ecuador ammunition spike —

AUDIO: [Gunfire test]

We end today in Ecuador, where authorities are still trying to control a surge in violence.

President Guillermo Lasso last week delivered a large batch of ammunition to the national police.

LASSO: [Speaking Spanish]

Lasso says the 18 million rounds of ammunition will help the police to tackle organized crime and aid professional training.

Authorities have blamed organized crime groups for the surge in kidnappings, armed attacks, and extortion.

In late July, the mayor of Ecuador’s third-largest city died in a shooting that killed one other person and injured four others..

Ecuador is nestled between Colombia and Peru—two nations with large drug and narcotics production.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt in Porrentruy, Switzerland.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Well, it’s been really, really hot and you can’t blame a fella for trying to cool off.

So small wonder police got a call reporting a bear lolling around in the backyard swimming pool!

POLICE RADIO: I don’t blame him…

BROWN: Not any old swimming pool, either, but one in Burbank, California! The local police department posted a video of the grizzly to Facebook. He (or she) is seen casually sitting in the blue water, with his front leg and paw resting on the side…. Just chillin’

POLICE RADIO: Smile for me gentlemen…

BROWN: The bear wasn’t impressed with all the attention, so it left, rolled over a wall and climbed into a nearby tree…where it took a nap.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Sounds like a beary good vacation!

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, August 2nd.

You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we thank you for that!

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a surprising friendship.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan declared August 14th as National Navajo Code Talkers Day. It’s to recognize tribes for their contributions during World War II.

That was about the same time a young Japanese photographer took on an unlikely project.

REICHARD: That’s right, he photographed Japan’s former enemies. And healed some wounds in the process. WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson brings us this report.

KIM HENDERSON, SENIOR WRITER: Kenji Kawano has been photographing the Navajo for decades. In 1987, he started making portraits of the aging Navajo code talkers.

The code talkers are famous for using their native language to provide an unbreakable code for the military during World War 2. They were U. S. Marines, and they were very successful in the Pacific Theater.

Still, photographing the Navajo code talkers was an unusual project for Kawano.

KAWANO: Back in World War Two, they did something magnificent for this country. And I just happen to be Japanese, former enemy, my father went to World War Two. But I respect all these Navajo soldiers.

It’s late afternoon at the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, Arizona. Kawano, a white haired 74-year-old, is in his element. He’s talking about his code talker photos—nearly a hundred of them—hanging in an exhibit hall. They’re striking black-and-white portraits.

Kawano points to one.

KAWANO: He lives in Farmington, New Mexico. After discharge, he became a teacher, and he became a high school principal. So they told me about a story during World War Two. And those stories are my treasure.

In the portraits, each code talker is shown in a personal setting. Sometimes he’s on his couch holding war memorabilia. In some he’s in the desert wearing a uniform. One is standing in front of a church.

KAWANO: Chaplain? KH[: Chaplain?] Yeah, he was a chaplain. . . .

Kawano remembers it was very windy that day. He got the code talker to stand in front of a waving flag.

KAWANO: It's a nice composition. So I took lots of pictures, and he didn't mind that.

Getting the photos wasn’t always easy, though. The Navajo Nation is the size of West Virginia, and the code talkers were spread out. Some lived in remote areas. One home Kawano visited was an hour away from any paved road.

KAWANO: At this time, only 20 percent of Navajo people had the phone. So I couldn't make appointments on the phone like people who live in a city. So I had to drive 2 to 3 hours…

One day, a reporter called from the state’s largest paper, the Arizona Republic.

KAWANO: They find out I'm taking pictures of code talkers, and the photographer is a Japanese. So they did a story in the paper. Then same day, I received publisher.

Kawano needed a publisher for a book he made of his Navajo code talker photos. It published in 1990. It’s had more than 20 printings. He says the code talkers enjoyed going to book signings.

KAWANO: And they love to sign their book. And people ask, “Where is your picture?” “Oh, my picture is page 20 or 30.” And signing. That makes me so happy.

Besides the book, Kawano’s photo exhibit has traveled to 50 sites in the United States, and it’s been to Japan three times.

When Kawano arrived in the United States in 1973, he planned to stay three months. That was 50 years ago. He ended up marrying a Navajo woman—Bazhniba.

She helped with his project.

BAZHNIBA: After he did the interviews, I did all the text. I translated them from Navajo to English.

The couple built strong relationships with the code talkers. Sadly, most of them are gone now. The families often asked Kawano to come to the funerals.

KAWANO: So I go. Then once I found near casket they have a table, and the picture I took picture them, like this, on display. I like to see a picture of their house on the wall. Or I come museum. But in a funeral—it was hard moment.

He learned to think of it another way.

KAWANO: They really like how I took the picture to remember their father or grandpa. So it is an honor for me, you know. They love my picture.

Bazhniba misses the big reunions and parades. She misses the code talkers.

BAZHNIBA: It's quite shocking now—we only have three left. These men who have contributed so much to not only the Navajo land, but to the United States as a whole.

Kawano says some of the men became like fathers to him. In 1991, Kawano’s real dad flew from Japan to the reservation for a visit. Kawano introduced him to Code Talker Carl Gorman.

KAWANO: He met with Mr. Gorman in Wind Rock. Then Mr. Gorman told me, “Kenji, yes, we had the war with Japan. But the war is between governments, not person to person. So I don't think of you as an enemy...”

Movies have been made about the Navajo code talkers. Other books have been written. But Kawano’s photos do something more. They mesmerize.

KAWANO: Many Americans get to know about the code talkers. I'm very happy. That is my goal.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Window Rock, Arizona.

BROWN: To read Kim’s print story on the Navajo code talkers, look for the August 12th issue of WORLD Magazine...or just click on the link in today’s transcript.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Wednesday, August 2nd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. WORLD Opinions writer Jerry Bowyer now on clothing brand Lululemon and the new “riot ideology”.

JERRY BOWYER, COMMENTATOR: The trendy retailer Lululemon shocked many recently when it fired, without severance, two employees for trying to stop the store from being robbed. When asked about the firing later, the CEO of the company showed no remorse about the firing or sympathy for the now unemployed workers. He referred to a “zero tolerance policy” against engaging with robbers and said of the pilfered inventory, “it’s only merchandise.” But of course, it’s not only merchandise. It’s property and it’s not his property, it’s the property of the shareholders. He is supposed to be a steward of that property on their behalf.

According to a report from the New York Post, these same suspects were alleged to have robbed the store before. A policy forbidding employees from attempting to stop a crime or engage robbers may be well advised and proper, but the former employees also claim that they were discouraged from calling the police. Further, the employees do not seem to have physically engaged the suspects, but rather verbally objected and followed them to the door as they fled the scene. Apparently, company policy is for employees to stand mute while the store is robbed a baker’s dozen times … or else.

It appears that the company has fallen prey to “the riot ideology,” a phrase coined in the 1960s. Back then, rioting in urban areas was used to pry federal funding out of the hands of taxpayers and drop it into the hands of urban social engineers. Fred Siegel, writing for the conservative Manhattan Institute, brought the phrase back into usage after the more recent riots and associated criminality. Originally, it was the belief that riots were the fault of the system rather than the thugs, and that the only proper response was reparations via social spending.

Today, the term “riot ideology” applies to more than riots. The newer version eschews public order altogether, presenting police as an occupying army that should withdraw, not reform. Of course, supporting criminals over shareholder interests is still part of it. What’s surprising is that a business that depends entirely on the suppression of larceny would buy into such an ideology. But then again, it’s only merchandise and, more to the point, it’s somebody else’s merchandise at that. But of course, we are not just talking about merchandise. We are talking about public order.

In some places where riot ideology once reigned supreme, it was eventually dethroned by the broken windows hypothesis. This refers to the observation that minor public disorder such as fare-jumping the subway or breaking the windows of an abandoned factory sends the message that “this is unguarded space.” No one is harmed more by that ideology than the poor and working class. It’s a shame that two employees, now unemployed, could see that so much more clearly than the CEO of the company.

I’m Jerry Bowyer

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Pickup: Tomorrow: The Grand Jury investigating the events of January 6th, 2021 has indicted former President Trump. We’ll discuss the charges and what’s next with our Washington Bureau reporters.

And, a woman who sang hymns on Facebook during the pandemic ends up with a bigger opportunity than she could’ve imagined.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST:  The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Jesus said: If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me….For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Mark 8, verses 34 and 36.

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.