The World and Everything in It: October 31, 2024

PREROLL: 60 years ago, Ronald Reagan delivered one of his most famous speeches while campaigning for Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. The speech not only launched his own political career, but it set a vision for conservatism in America. I’m Cal Thomas. In a moment, we’ll listen together to a few excerpts, as it’s “a time of choosing” once again. Stay with us.

MARY REICHARD. HOST: Good morning!

Hurricane Helene disrupted medical and semiconductor supplies. How are things going now?

MANJEE: This is an incredibly important area for the world and for everything that we really use and operate on a daily basis.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also today, the challenges of social media and misinformation.

We also revisit a famous speech by Ronald Reagan. And we preview the new season of WORLD’s Doubletake podcast.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, October 31st. 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: It’s time for news now with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Presidential campaigns » Vice President Kamala Harris is working to distance herself from remarks this week by President Biden after he called Trump supporters “garbage.”

Harris told reporters Wednesday:

HARRIS: First of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.

Biden had remarked, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters," referring to backers of Donald Trump.

The White House quickly backtracked. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre:

PIERRE:  No, he does not view Trump supporters or anybody who, who supports Trump as garbage. That is not what he views. He has said multiple times that he is a president for all.

The back and forth started when comedian Tony Hinchcliffe appeared at Donald Trump’s weekend event at Madison Square Garden. Hinchcliffe, who is well known for participating in uncensored roasts and taking crude indiscriminate jabs, made a joke referring to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."

The Harris campaign seized on that moment, suggesting it reflects Trump’s viewpoint.

But Trump now is returning fire in the wake of Biden’s comments. 

TRUMP:  Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters. He called them garbage. And they mean it, even though without question, my supporters are far higher quality than crooked Joe or lyin’ Kamala.

Former President Trump also having some fun with the controversy. He spoke to reporters before a Green Bay rally from the passenger seat of a garbage truck adorned with his campaign logo. 

SCOTUS Virginia voting » The Supreme Court is allowing Virginia to resume its removal of noncitizens from the state’s voter registration rolls. That after Republican Gov. Glen Youngkin’s administration fought the matter all the way to the nation’s highest court.

YOUNGKIN: This is a victory for common sense and it's a victory for the constitution. And I also believe it's real clarity that in fact, someone who self identifies as a non citizen should in Virginia be, be treated by the law.

The Biden administration had sued to block Virigia’s efforts to halt immigrants from voting illegally. The Justice Dept. said the effort violated federal election law barring systematic purging of voter rolls within 90 days of an election.

The justices acted on the state’s emergency appeal after a federal judge ruled that the state did not have legal authority to remove 1,600 people from voter registrations in the past two months. A federal appeals court had previously allowed the judge’s order.

Colorado election leak » Colorado’s Republican party has blown the whistle on state officials, accusing the government of accidentally leaking hundreds of passwords securing election equipment.

Secretary of state Jena Griswold confirmed the leak to reporters, but downplayed it.

GRISWOLD: Colorado's elections have multiple layers of security…there are two unique passwords held by two different parties in two different locations to access any of the voting equipment. On top of that, you need physical access…

Griswold says the passwords were listed under a hidden tab on a spreadsheet that was posted on the department’s website.

The sheet was online for months before officials realized that once users downloaded the file, the feature hiding the passwords could be disabled.

North Korean troops in Russia » The Pentagon says Ukraine is free to use American weapons to fire on any North Korean troops who fight alongside the Russians and attack Ukrainian forces. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters:

AUSTIN: Ukrainian soldiers have the right to defend themselves. And they will do that, um, with the weapons that we provided and others have provided.

Kim Jong Un has sent about 10,000 soldiers to train in Russia, and they’re expected to start fighting against Ukrainian forces in the next several weeks.

Israel » Biden administration officials are on-the-ground in Tel Aviv today. Their mission: to try to broker a truce between Israel and the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER: Two White House officials, Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein are traveling to Israel to engage on issues, including a diplomatic resolution in Lebanon, as well as how we get to an end to the conflict in Gaza and other regional matters.

Miller says that will involve the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, something that hasn't been enforced in years. That resolution requires the disarmament of all groups inside Lebanon, including Hezbollah, that are not a part of the Lebanese government.

The Biden administration has its work cut out for it though. 

QASSEM - [In Arabic]

Hezbollah’s newly appointed leader, Naim Qassem, says the group plans to continue on its path toward war with Israel.

Spain floods » Authorities say catastrophic flash floods in and around Valencia, Spain turned village streets into rivers and are now blamed for nearly a hundred deaths. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Floods of muddy water swept cars down streets and left piles of mangled debris behind.

Police and rescue services used helicopters to airlift people from their homes and boats to rescue drivers stranded atop their cars.

SANCHEZ: [In Spanish]

In a televised address, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said, to all those who “continue to search for their loved ones... All of Spain cries with all of you.”

SANCHEZ: [In Spanish]

As of last night, at least 95 people were confirmed to have died in the flooding.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction that’s being felt across the country. Plus, what are social media companies doing this election cycle to combat disinformation, and is it a good thing?

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 31st of October.

You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we’re so glad you’ve joined us today! Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

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

First up on The World and Everything in It: Supply shortages.

Millions of Americans on the East Coast felt the effects of Hurricane Helene, and the storm caused shortages of things like food and water for days after the storm hit, but other damage is being felt across the country.

REICHARD: That’s due to flooding of a major IV fluid manufacturer and supplier to the semiconductor industry. It could take months for normal operations to resume.

WORLD’s Mary Muncy reports.

REPORTER, MARY MUNCY: As an anesthesiologist, Dr. Patricia Mack places a lot of IVs.

MACK: I work at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital.

She’s also a chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. But since Hurricane Helene hit last month, she’s taken on a new responsibility, making a limited supply of IV fluid last.

Mack has been getting weekly updates from Baxter Healthcare’s North Cove facility in North Carolina. Before the hurricane, the plant produced about 60 percent of the nation’s IV fluids, but it was flooded during Hurricane Helene. Now, hospitals like Mack’s are having to think carefully about how they use a reduced supply.

MACK: If we normally get 1000 bags of IV fluid, we are now allowed to get 400 bags.

So far, New York Presbyterian Hospital hasn’t had to cancel any procedures, but others have while they take stock of the fluids they have on hand and figure out how to get more.

Mack thinks for the most part, patients haven’t noticed the shortage, but medical professionals are doing what they can to make sure no IV bag goes to waste.

MACK: Anesthesiologists always like to be really prepared and ready for any eventuality. So there is some redundancy in how we set up for patient care.

But now, staff are looking for unobtrusive ways to conserve. Previously, Mack says she might have prepared two IV lines,even if she was pretty sure the patient would only need one. Not anymore.

MACK: Most of our conservation efforts are focused on on that area of preparation. We're not placing that second IV bag until it's necessary.

In other parts of the hospital, some ER nurses say that if a paramedic brings in a patient with an IV bag already started, instead of removing it and starting their own like they normally would They keep the old one going until it’s empty.

And hospitals across the country are doing the same. Texas is one of the only states Mack has heard of that has a stockpile of IV fluid.

MACK: It doesn't have that long a shelf life. And it's actually very bulky, so it takes up a lot of space.

Instead, the federal government has issued emergency measures and has started the process of importing and testing IV fluid from other countries.

MACK: As the shortage continues, we're getting more creative and thinking about other procedures that might not really need IV fluids at all, and focusing on giving oral rehydration to patients.

But IV fluid isn’t the only resource slowed down by the storm.

MANJEE: This is an incredibly important area for the world and for everything that we really use and operate on a daily basis.

Bhavin Manjee is a partner at supply chain consulting firm Simon-Kucher. He specializes in semiconductors—a tiny piece of technology that conducts electricity. They’re in everything from your cellphone, to airplanes, to weapons.

A key material in making the silicon for them is high grade quartz and Helene damaged two quarries in Spruce Pine, North Carolina where the purest quartz in the world is mined.

MANJEE: About 90 percent, by most estimates, of the world supply of this high-purity quartz is sourced from this area.

For right now, the tech industry is relying on existing stockpiles, so there hasn’t been a slowdown yet. Manjee says there’s probably enough for three to eight months.

MANJEE: It's maybe, you know, ten in total, areas in the world where you can source this stuff. None of them have the same degree of purity that is sourced from the Spruce Pine region.

Spruce Pine is at the very front of the semiconductor supply chain, so if the reserves run out, Manjee says we could see manufacturing lines stop across a range of products.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shortage, auto manufacturers had to stop production because they couldn’t get enough semiconductors.

MANJEE: In the short term, we do have a little bit of a buffer, but in the intermediate and the long term, you know, there really is no other source for silicon that could reasonably be put online.

If the reserves do run out, manufacturers would have to start triaging silicon—sending it first to the most necessary industries like defense. Manjee says consumer electronics would probably be the first thing affected, slowing or stopping production, and that could raise prices.

MANJEE: The one thing about the semiconductor industry I'll say is that it is notoriously vulnerable to supply chain risk

But as of last week, both of the biggest mines in Spruce Pine had come online in a limited capacity, and they expect to be fully operational soon.

Back at Baxter Healthcare’s North Cove facility, the hurricane damaged the road into the plant and left mud and debris in some of its buildings.

The company says they now have a temporary bridge allowing some product in and out of the plant, and employees are able to return to work. They’re currently working with contractors to get the plant up and running again.

Baxter hasn’t said when they will be back to normal operations but they're hoping by the end of the year.

And that’s good news for anesthesiologist Dr. Mack.

MACK: I hope that we've seen the worst of it. It might get a little bit worse before it gets better, but I think that everybody is all in on making sure that patients are able to get the care that they need in a timely fashion.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Election misinformation.

In 2020, social media companies were on high alert for posts with false or misleading information. During that time, many Americans were censored because their viewpoints were not shared by the ruling class.

Since then, leaders like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg have said they will be more neutral and hands-off this election.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Some are concerned that that leaves American voters vulnerable to misinformation…while others welcome the change.

How are social media companies handling things differently this time around?

A Senate hearing last month highlights what’s at stake for online conversations about next week’s election.

WORLD’s Paul Butler has the story.

MARK WARNER: I'm going to call this hearing to order. And I want to welcome today’s witnesses.

PAUL BUTLER: Members of the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committee met with leaders of three social media companies in September to discuss foreign threats to U.S. elections.

WARNER: We have enough differences between Americans that those differences don't need to be exacerbated by our foreign adversaries.

The Committee’s Democrat Chairman Mark Warner grilled leaders from Meta, Microsoft, and Google’s parent company Alphabet about a variety of tactics used by foreign actors. One example: screenshots of online news articles with branding from FOX News and Washington Post, complete with bylines and images, but the stories are completely fake.

WARNER: Why didn't we catch this?

NICK CLEGG: So, I think that the key challenge here is to disrupt and remove the underlying networks of fake accounts that generate this content…

That’s Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg.

CLEGG: …that's the only foolproof way that we can deal with this, because otherwise, as you quite rightly say, Senator, we're just playing Whack-a-Mole with individual pieces of content.

What kinds of messages are foreign actors pushing in American media? Well, foreign policy expert Mark Montgomery told WORLD that Russia, Iran, and China have different strategies.

MARK MONTGOMERY: …When we watch the Russians, they advocate for President Trump and against Vice President Harris. When we look at the Iranians, they do the reverse. They advocate for Vice President Harris against President Trump. The Chinese are different. They advocate for both sides. They don't care who wins. They care that the American people are uncomfortable and unhappy.

During the Senate hearing, company leaders said they were committed to disrupting those strategies. But what to do with individual posts is much more challenging. In recent years, companies across the tech industry have slashed their workforces, especially in the so-called “trust and safety” departments…where content moderators work.

CARAH WHALEY: All of the platforms have rolled back their election integrity units.

Carah Ong Whaley is Director of Election Protection for Issue One, a nonprofit watch-dog group. Whaley monitors web traffic for misleading information related to elections.

WHALEY: We're seeing it spread by individuals. We're seeing it spread by state sponsored actors outside of the United States, and we're seeing it spread by bots.

For Whaley, the decision by social media companies to take a hands-off approach during a contentious election is—in her words—irresponsible.

WHALEY: None of them are doing what needs to happen to ensure that false election information doesn't spread.

But after highly publicized failures last election cycle, Republican lawmakers are wary of election-related content moderation.

MARCO RUBIO: In an effort to prevent discord, I don't want to sow discord.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio agrees that foreign threats are real and warrant a strategic response, however…

RUBIO: Where it gets complicated is there is a pre-existing view that people have in American politics…

For example, the belief that the U.S. should not have gotten involved in the war in Ukraine.

RUBIO: And now some Russian bot decides to amplify the views of an American citizen who happens to hold those views. And the question becomes, is that disinformation, or is that misinformation, is that an influence operation because an existing view is being amplified?

Rubio then revisited the October surprise of the 2020 presidential election.

RUBIO: We recall that in 2020…there was a laptop, Hunter Biden's laptop…

The New York Post reported on a laptop abandoned at a computer repair shop that apparently belonged to the son of the Democratic presidential candidate, and the device contained information damaging to the Biden family credibility. But then a group of former intelligence officers published an open letter saying the situation bore all the attributes of a Russian disinformation campaign.

RUBIO: And as a result, the New York Post who posted the original story had their story censored and taken down, their account locked. There was a concerted effort, on the basis of that letter, to silence a media outlet in the United States on something that actually turned out not to be a Russian disinformation.

After Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he published internal documents revealing that Twitter’s previous leadership actively censored the laptop story. And more recently, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sent a letter to Congress saying government pressure to censor content related to COVID-19 was wrong, and Facebook should have been more outspoken in resisting that pressure.

JEREMY TEDESCO: The truth is, social media companies are under constant pressure to censor from external actors, government, private and otherwise.

Jeremy Tedesco is senior counsel and senior vice president for corporate engagement at the Alliance Defending Freedom.

TEDESCO: The public square has become digitized, it's digital and it's privately owned. And that means that there's a handful of companies, three, four, who really control where people get their information and what they can say.

Tedesco says that while social media companies have the power to promote or suppress information, they ought to be a place where ideas from various perspectives can be presented and debated.

TEDESCO: Counterspeech is the way to deal with speech you don't like or disagree with. It is, censorship is never the right approach to that.

With or without censors, ADF lawyer Tedesco says the buck for being informed stops with the users. And that each of us should be skeptical of everything we read, being sure to look into the source of the information.

TEDESCO: I mean, as soon as I see a video online, I say, I want to watch the whole video. You know, I don't, I don't take the 20-second clip, you know, and just take it to the bank. I want to see it in context, I want to see that in context. I think it's important for us to know the truth of the matter, and you can't always depend on other people to tell you what that is.

For her part, Whaley encourages voters to get election information straight from the source when possible.

WHALEY: You know, I think we're just again in this super fragmented, divisive information ecosystem where you know we don't know what to believe, and so just get out in your own community. Go check with your own local election official and make sure.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s NYC so not that unusual, but movie characters were milling about Washington Park on Sunday. The occasion? A celebrity look-alike contest to see who came closest to actor Timothy Chalamet’s Willy Wonka, or Dune character, or Henry V, or sundry other roles he played.

As the judges and crowd mused over the many look-alikes, suddenly, hey wait!

THAT guy IS Timothy Chalamet!

HIS appearance was a surprise. But thousands had shown up for the event, which was unauthorized, so police intervened and an adjustment had to be made.

MAN: Guys, we’re gonna make a little bit of a pilgrimage across the street…

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Lured across the street by chocolate, perhaps.

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 31st. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Up next: stories that make you want to take a second look.

In 2022, WORLD’s Les Sillars unveiled a long-form narrative journalism podcast from WORLD called Doubletake.

SILLARS: Today on Doubletake—what are we supposed to do with reported UFO sightings? With the idea of alien life? 

REICHARD: Les Sillars teaches journalism at Patrick Henry College, and is one of our student’s favorite faculty with the WORLD Journalism Institute program. And he’s here to preview the release of our third season of Doubletake…

Good morning Les.

LES SILLARS: Good morning!

REICHARD: Well that Doubletake episode from 2022 has had more than 60,000 downloads, and I think is one of the most memorable programs from your first season…though perhaps not quite as memorable as you getting physically sick after you donning Virtual Reality glasses in season two…

SILLARS: It was fun, but the metaverse is pretty weird. And for me, the episode raised a lot of questions about technology and how it affects us.

REICHARD: It’s been more than a year since the last Doubletake season. So, we probably have some people listening today who aren’t familiar with it, so tell us what Doubletake is and what makes these stories unusual?

SILLARS: Doubletake tells stories about people trying to do something significant and really interesting. We use the techniques of literature, and then we tell the stories in a creative and dramatic way. We use music and audio from actual events. Other podcasts do this, but nobody else does it quite the way we do with a Biblical worldview, and I think that really sets us apart.

REICHARD: Oh, I agree. Tell us about the reporters behind this series…

SILLARS: I did some, some are from seasoned WORLD staff, and two are by former Patrick Henry College journalism grads.

REICHARD: So, tell us what’s ahead in the new season of Doubletake.

SILLARS: We’ve got a terrific piece from WORLD’s Jenny Rough, about the connection between Alzheimers and navigation. And she tells it in the context of her own mom’s passing. It’s really touching.

CLIP: By the end of the week, she had gone seven days without water. Then eight. Nine. The rule of three might fit hikers lost in the wilderness but not moms in hospice. She just kept breathing.

SILLARS: In another, we tell the story of D’Lynn Herting. She’s a young woman who decided to have children using IVF, and she ended up getting a lot more than she bargained for. It’s by WORLD reporter Leah Savas.

CLIP: I felt the implantation. And then every single day after that, I just kept taking pregnancy tests at home. D’Lynn says she would take at least five pregnancy tests a day.

REICHARD: So, those are reporters WORLD listeners are familiar with. And what about some of the stories you wrote…

SILLARS: I did a three-part series based on my book, Intended for Evil. It’s about a Cambodian Christian who survived the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. The Khmer Rouge ran the most totalitarian system in history, and Radha Manickam has an incredible story of hardship and suffering, but also of faith.

CLIP: When the day lights up, you are scared all the time. And during that first year, the Khmer Rouge still have guns to carry around watching you working.

REICHARD: And how about a story by one of your students? Talk about that.

SILLARS: One of my favorite episodes is called “The Rise and Fall of Purity Culture.” It’s by a PHC and WJI grad named Clara York. It tells the story of this couple who grew up in the era of “purity culture” and how it shaped their marriage and relationship, both for good and for ill.

CLIP: I felt like I'd ruined myself with this guy. Lord, if you are not going to have my back, then I'm not going to hold myself to these ridiculous standards, because I'm killing myself trying to hold myself to these standards.

SILLARS: And we have several other stories besides.

REICHARD: Cannot wait to hear these. As we wrap up, tell us a little about the first episode dropping this weekend.

SILLARS: It’s about a couple of sisters, Mallory and Kate Millett. Kate wrote a book in 1970 called Sexual Politics. She became this incredibly influential feminist icon in the era of Second Wave Feminism. And Mallory was there to watch it unfold in front of her eyes. And Second Wave Feminism, if you’re unfamiliar with it, promoted this profoundly twisted view of what it means to be a woman.

CLIP: But you think there was something distinctive that she brought to it that only Kate Miller brought to the whole feminism hatred, the hatred that was never in the women's movement before.

These ideas are still with us today and they’re incredibly influential, which is why we did this episode. But, just a quick caution: We don’t include anything inappropriate, but it’s about gender and sexuality, and it’s really not for kids.

REICHARD: Alright, good to know. Well, WORLD Radio will be releasing the first episode of season three this weekend on both the The WORLD and Everything in It and Doubletake podcast feeds, so we do hope you’ll check it all out.

Les, thanks for your work on this series and for joining us this morning…

SILLARS: We have a great crew working on them. I have so much fun working on these, and I’m thrilled to share it with WORLD’s audience.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 31st. 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. Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on a speech from yesteryear, still relevant today.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Sixty years ago this week, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid. It was dubbed “A Time for Choosing.”

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, we take pride in presenting a thoughtful address by Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan:

REAGAN: Thank you. Thank you very much…

Listening to the speech again, I’m reminded how little has changed in six decades. Some of the issues debated in 1964 are still being argued and are unresolved today. Here are a few excerpts of his speech.

On taxes and spending, Reagan notes:

RONALD REAGAN: Thirty-seven cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector’s share, and yet our government continues to spend $17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in. We haven’t balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years.

According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, in fiscal 2024 approximately forty three cents of every dollar goes to the government. The debt is $35 trillion, making the 1964 debt look like chump change.

Another line captures the essence of Reagan’s philosophy and would define conservatism for decades to come:

REAGAN: This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.

The only difference between then and now are the names:

REAGAN: “…they have voices that say, ‘The Cold War will end through our acceptance of a not undemocratic socialism.’ Another voice says, ‘The profit motive has become outmoded. It must be replaced by the incentives of the welfare state.’ Or, ‘Our traditional system of individual freedom is incapable of solving the complex problems of the 20th century.’ Senator Fulbright has said at Stanford University that the Constitution is outmoded. He referred to the President as ‘our moral teacher and our leader,’ and he says he is ‘hobbled in his task by the restrictions of power imposed on him by this antiquated document.’ He must ‘be freed,’ so that he ‘can do for us’ what he knows ‘is best.’ And Senator Clark of Pennsylvania, another articulate spokesman, defines liberalism as ‘meeting the material needs of the masses through the full power of centralized government.’

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

The debate about government’s role in individual lives and businesses is also nothing new:

REAGAN: ...the full power of centralized government was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don’t control things. A government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.

Reagan had a way of communicating great truths to average people in his storytelling and analogies…such as this one:

REAGAN: We have so many people who can’t see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one. So they’re going to solve all the problems of human misery through government and government planning. Well, now, if government planning and welfare had the answer – and they’ve had almost 30 years of it – shouldn’t we expect government to read the score to us once in a while? Shouldn’t they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help?

They cannot, because government doesn’t actually solve many problems, or as Reagan often said, “government is the problem.”

While Goldwater lost the election, the speech catapulted Reagan to national attention and… in 1980 to the presidency. It’s worth listening to the entire thing to hear how little has changed…and how it is still a time for choosing.

I’m Cal Thomas.

REAGAN: You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness. Thank you very much.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet is back for Culture Friday. This time: AI and suicide, religious freedom, and long-term election day predictions. And, a review of a new film exploring love, loss, and the passage of time. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Special thanks today to Harrison Watters and Josh Shumacher for their reporting on the social media story.

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 Apostle Paul wrote: “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” —Romans 16:17-18

Go now in grace and peace.

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