April 12, 2026 • 53 mins
Join us for expert honest and fearless analysis and news commentary about today's issues, news, politics, economy, business and a trip into political history.
(00:00) The plan to make draft registration automatic, what the plan involves and the history of the military draft in America are discussed.
(03:24) In recognition of April being National Autism Acceptance Month, Jamie & Tracy Parent share stories from being a parent of autistic child, the challenges they had to contend with along with the priorities that are important for families.
(15:47) Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media, explains why businesses need to address their website's Answer Engine Optimization rather than just their Search Engine Optimization to create and protect their business success.
(29:22) The political accomplishments of Margaret Chase Smith are examined along with how her speech Declaration Of Conscious is as valuable and vital today as it was back in 1950. An audio recreation of Smith's Declaration Of Conscious speech is also presented.
(45:54) Chris DeBello looks at how the Bible addresses Creation and Evolution.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_03 (00:00):
Hello, welcome to Issues and Ideas.
I'm Christabello.
With all that's going on, bothhere and over there, got
something that you just mighthave missed.
Might have fallen past yourradar screen through you to make
the analogy, whatever one youwant.
Automatic registration for U.S.
military draft is going to bestarting this December.
(00:20):
Eligible men will automaticallynow be registered into the
military draft pool.
That's part of the effort tostreamline the old process that
you had to do it yourself.
And they say there's some windup saving money too.
The selective service system.
That's the government agencymaintains the database of men to
be called up to serve in case ofm of a national emergency.
(00:42):
They put up this proposed ruleto the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs back on March30th.
Most men between the ages of 18and 25 already are required to
register with collected service,but automatic registration was
mandated in December of 2025 aspart of the fiscal 2026 National
(01:04):
Defense Authorization Act.
This rule is currently underreview by the Regulatory Affairs
Office.
So that's why the plan is forthis all to start in December.
That's a point of history.
(01:25):
Of course, this has led many toquestion scream out even whether
a U.S.
military draft could take placeamid the war in Iran.
As that two-week ceasefire, sortof ceasefire, well, holds on.
I'm being generous there, I'mpretty sure.
Now you would hope that theWhite House, in response to the
question, does this mean thedraft is coming back, would say,
(01:47):
No, don't worry.
Well, back in March, White HousePress Secretary Caroline Levitt
said this while a draft is notpart of the current plan right
now, President Trump wiselykeeps his options on the table.
That comment brings about twowords in a lot of people's minds
executive order.
Well, rest easy on that regardbecause Trump alone can't bring
(02:11):
the draft back through anexecutive order.
Congress would need to passlegislation to amend the
Military Selective Service Actto authorize the President to
induct personnel into themilitary.
But still failure to register inthe draft, that is still going
to be a crime and can preventpeople from receiving state
funded financial aid.
(02:33):
Employment in in numerous statescome to think of it, cause
ineligibility for a lot offederal employment
opportunities, job trainingunder the Workforce Innovation
Opportunity Act, and can carryfines up to a quarter million
dollars and up to five years injail.
In addition, immigrants whodon't register, you might lose
(02:54):
your U.S.
citizenship.
So under the new rule, again hasto be finalized yet, men would
be registered automaticallywithin thirty days of their
eighteenth birthday.
And yes, that means women arestill ineligible for the draft.
Even as lawmakers past fewyears, they've tried to attach
provisions, adding women to thedraft as part of the annual
(03:15):
defense policy bill.
We are obviously into the monthof April, and April is National
Autism Acceptance AwarenessMonth.
Autism when it uh when itinvades a family, it changes
(03:36):
everything.
There's there's no uh moreaccurate way of putting it.
I want to go back to aconversation I had not too long
ago with Jamie and Tracy Parent,who have shared their story with
their autistic son in the bookThe Mission at Home.
And listen to how just how muchwhen autism strikes, how much it
(03:58):
could change everything, but howyou could still overcome
everything.
Let's go back and listen to thisstory.
Parents with a child on theautism spectrum face numerous
challenges in their effort justto provide a positive life for
their child.
Those challenges are certainlymagnified for military families.
That's for an autistic child.
We've talked about this oftenhere on Issues and Ideas, is
(04:21):
routine repetition.
Military life, uh no, that doesnot always provide that, right?
Next guests join us withfirst-hand experience of how
these greater challenges broughtabout by military life can be
responded to in ways that arebest for the child as well as
for the family as a whole.
They share their insights in thebook, The Mission of Home
(04:42):
Navigating Military Assignments,Tri-Care, Education, Benefits,
and Everyday Life with yourchild on the altest and
spectrum, retired U.S.
Air Force Lieutenant ColonelJamie Parent, and his wife
Tracy.
How are you today, guys?
SPEAKER_02 (04:55):
Very good.
Doing great, thank you, Chris.
SPEAKER_03 (04:58):
And well, first of all, the website, because you
will want to visit it,especially if they are
addressing something that youare in need of more information
about.
The mission at home.com is thewebsite for their book.
Tracy, talk about Brian and thefirst determinations of what you
were going to be facing, whatBrian was going to be facing as
(05:20):
life would move forward withautism.
SPEAKER_02 (05:23):
Well, I have to tell you it was very difficult back
then.
Um Brian is 39 years old.
Um what we had to face waspeople not understanding.
I had a lot of people tell methat my child's a brat, uh, that
he I'm a bad parent.
Um, that if we just uh, youknow, would put him in his
place, that he would be able todo better.
(05:46):
Um so that was hard with theoutset.
That's why a lot of disabilityawareness is really important.
The next thing that was hard wasfinding those services that were
out there.
Um I will say that parent groupswere number one for me.
Once we found parent groups andother people that are going
through the same thing, um theywere the ones that had the best
(06:07):
resources, knew what was goingon, knew where to to move, what
schools were best, and maybewhat doctors we should go to.
So you face a lot of unknowns,uncertainties.
You kind of are always on hyperalert uh because you're worried
about behaviors or what peoplethink outside your home.
(06:28):
Um, but I will say that as we'vemoved forward and as the
militaries move forward, there'sbeen a lot of pluses and a lot
of things they have put intoplace.
SPEAKER_03 (06:38):
Let's talk about Jamie because on the military
side, you certainly moredirectly, although I'm obviously
Tracy is a military wife, but asI said in the introduction,
stability is not always one ofthe qualities or characteristics
of military life.
So when you first realize what'slied ahead as a family and with
(06:58):
what Brian was dealing with,what were some of your first
thoughts?
SPEAKER_01 (07:03):
Well, in 19 uh 88, when Brian was first diagnosed,
uh, I gotta be honest with you,Chris.
My my first thought was mycareer's over.
My life as the way I expected itto be is over.
My family's life.
All of us in the family.
We we this is a this is a majorthis is a major change that you
(07:24):
just don't see coming.
And you also have to rememberback in 1988, there was uh um
there there's no um vaccineinformation, there's no Jenny
McCarthy, there's no Rain Manmovies.
So we're really operating in ain a kind of a world of uh a
blank uh sheet of paper.
That's why Tracy's emphasizedhow important the uh the family
(07:46):
groups are, the sport groups,because we didn't have anything
else.
And so if the world doesn'tunderstand autism very well at
1988, certainly the UnitedStates military and Department
of Defense is going to have toplay some ketchup because they
didn't understand it either.
Um back in the day it was uh aprogram that was um run by the
medical folks and now it's runby the line folks.
(08:08):
But um part of the reason wewrote this book is because we
wanted to emphasize to folksthat yes, uh you can have a
military career.
Yes, the military does supportfamilies with autism as well as
other disabilities in the familyas well.
And so we were we were um uh uhback in the day we just didn't
have any information, and we hadto work with a framework that
(08:29):
was much more structured than wewere anticipating.
SPEAKER_03 (08:31):
So Jamie and Tracy Parent, their book is The
Mission at Home, NavigatingMilitary Assignments, Tri Care
Education Benefits and EverydayLife with your Child on the
Autism Spectrum, theMissionAtHome.com, their
website, and you're listening toissues and ideas.
And uh for Tracy, uh first Iwant to say to the person
listening, this is not a firsthand, full heart experience and
(08:57):
period end of discussion.
Uh Jamie and Tracy shareguidance through their
experience so you can have amore positive experience and
maybe more streamlined than theexploration that they had to do
when it came to the well-beingof Brian.
And I want to congratulate you,Tracy and Jamie, because you
bring a better understanding ofnavigating what can be very
(09:20):
complicated and very logicresistance, I'll call them,
programs, and you help peoplebetter understand what they're
entitled to and how to achieveit and how to attain it.
So great job for you guys withthat.
SPEAKER_02 (09:33):
Thank you very much.
And you know, you bring up avery good point that uh back in
our day there was no uhinternet, there were no
resources around, and todaythere's too many, and there's a
lot of confusion, andunfortunately, there's a lot of
misinformation out there.
And any charlatan can come alongfor desperate parents that are
(09:54):
trying their hardest to do thebest for their child, and they
can take their money, uh, orthey can mislead them.
So I think our book really helpsto guide, as you said, uh, with
what are the best practices,what are the best therapies,
what can you avoid, and whatshould you really be looking at.
So our book does a good job atat having parents not have to go
(10:16):
all over the place and come tolike one resource in order to
get their uh needs met or theirchild's need met rather by
looking at our book.
SPEAKER_01 (10:27):
And we also have a lot of information about um
things that are just beyondautism, like for example,
financial planning, um, settingup trust funds, uh how do you
get uh benefits such asMedicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI?
And then we go uh do a deep diveinto a lot of the benefit
programs that already exist forfamilies.
(10:49):
But getting back to your pointearlier, autism is a lifelong um
it's a lifelong thing, and itdoesn't stop with military
service.
Our book helps uh the readers uhmaneuver not only during
military careers but also beyondand even into the retirement
years.
SPEAKER_03 (11:05):
Aaron Powell That's more to know for you listening
because there's never there'snever enough information,
especially when we come todiscussing autism.
And I I think too, Jamie, thatparents have the great the the
they think the immediate of theyouth years in autism, but the
(11:25):
reality is that uh eventually,sooner versus later, it
certainly always feels like yourchild is going to age out of and
fill in the bank, whichever whwhichever program they happen to
be in.
Your book is helping to lookhelp that parent look forward
and plan further ahead than theshort term, and I think that's a
very valuable lesson that a lotof parents need to better
(11:46):
understand.
So again, Will, a great job onyour guys on your part by you
guys for helping bring properfocus, a long range focus as
opposed to a day-to-day focus,which I think is very important.
SPEAKER_02 (11:57):
It is very important because when you're in the
middle of it, I will tell you asthe parent, um, especially a
child wanting the same thingevery day the same way.
You get caught in theday-to-day, um, and you feel
sometimes like you're a hamsteron a on a wheel.
Um, so this gives you the chanceto look at something that can
(12:18):
give you that guidance and knowwhat the next steps are when
you're ready for it.
So the book you can use with thechapter that you're at at that
specific time in your life, andthen you can move on.
But there is a uh roadmap foryou to look forward to as you're
dealing with those dailychallenges that come along with
having a child on the spectrum.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
And and let's face it, talking about benefits like
Social Security and Medicare, uhuh uh these can be really dry
subjects.
So uh we made sure that when weput stuff into the book, we also
include the human side, thehuman anecdotes about struggles
we had with getting anassignment or uh what happened
when we first met our militarypediatrician.
(13:01):
And these are things I thinkthat the readers will be able to
uh resonate with because they'regoing through the same kinds of
things that we were going somany years ago.
SPEAKER_03 (13:10):
And Jamie, how is Brian today?
And what do you what would youhope for his future as as his
life continues to go forward?
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Well, when he was first diagnosed, we were told
that uh it was pretty dismal,um, and we were asked for what
his goals would be, and we said,well, we we wanted the goals to
be uh hold a job, uh balance acheckbook, and drive a car.
And uh the look that we got fromthe clinicians uh around the
room was kind of uh uh a alittle bit a little bit more
(13:38):
pity than anything else.
Uh I'd like to go back to thattime at UCLA, Chris, because uh
Brian's achieved five-starresults in two out of those
three.
He he can balance a checkbook.
He's working at Public's uhsupermarkets, which has been a
great supporter of SpecialOlympics.
And no, he didn't he's notdriving a car, but um you know
(13:59):
what?
I'll take those, we'll takethose two out of three any day.
Brian's doing very, very well,and he's got a very full life,
including friends, SpecialOlympics, um, the pride that he
takes in his job, but um there'sstill some more there's still
some gaps and it's anever-evolving process.
But Brian is doing great, andthank you for asking.
SPEAKER_03 (14:17):
And there's always hope to and for Tracy just to
close out.
Talk to that parent right now,military or not, that is in
those early days and is lookingfor, okay, what am I s what am I
supposed to do?
SPEAKER_02 (14:32):
Yes.
I I think that it's veryimportant to understand.
Number one, it does get better.
Uh you start to learn things.
I think that you have to just bethe parent that loves your
child.
You're looking out trying to getservices, but the best thing is
to offer a very safe home and tomake sure that uh you're getting
your child um to have the mosttherapy they need, but to have a
(14:57):
balanced life because thatthey're still a part of your
family.
They're they're the they're partof that nucleus, and so I I
think that we used to getworried too much, and I also
want these parents to understandthat they have to take care of
themselves too.
SPEAKER_03 (15:15):
Again, the book is The Mission at Home, Navigating
Military Assignments, TriCare,Education Benefits, and Everyday
Life with your child on thealtism spectrum, the website,
themissionathome.com.
Jamie and Tracy Parents, noone's obligated to make their
life an open book, but whatyou've done is just that that
will benefit so many others, andthank you for doing that for
(15:36):
being here today.
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
Thank you, Chris.
SPEAKER_02 (15:38):
Thank you so much.
We really appreciate it.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_03 (15:41):
If you're listening to us on your favorite podcast
platform, be sure to follow andsubscribe.
Back in the 90s, even in theearly 2000s, come to think of
it, as the internet expanded.
Surprisingly, many businessesbelieve they didn't need a
website.
If you don't believe me, yourlocal courthouse records for
business bankruptcy will provethat fact.
Now in this even higher tech ininternet age, businesses that
(16:05):
are resting on their searchengine optimization, SEO, may
now be the ones saying that theydon't need answer engine
optimization, AEO.
And to be fair, there areprobably many who believe that
having the first already beingeffective will flow easily
naturally into the second.
Joining us to explain how wrongand dangerous for business
(16:25):
success that belief will quicklybecome is the CEO of AIS Media,
Thomas Harpointer.
How are you today, Thomas?
SPEAKER_00 (16:34):
Hello, Chris.
Great.
Great to be on the show.
SPEAKER_03 (16:36):
And learn about the services of AIS Media.
The website is indeed theobvious, asmedia.com.
And we do have the link at ourhomepage as well.
For the novice and uh the theless than tech savvy, just as a
foundational um definition, whatis SEO and what is AEO?
SPEAKER_00 (16:59):
Yeah, great question.
Uh, you know, I I will say uh atAIS Media, we've been in the
digital marketing business forover 20 years.
And I can say withouthesitation, the last two years
have brought more disruption tosearch than in the prior 20.
Uh AI has changed the economicsof visibility.
Your site can't rank number onetoday on organic search and
(17:22):
still lose the click.
So the battle is not just aboutranking, it's becoming the
source.
AI trusts enough to quote.
So traditional SEO is all aboutgetting ranked in the first,
second, third page of Google,right?
And the the higher your rank,generally, the higher your your
site traffic.
But today, AI search engineshave commandeered a lot of that
(17:45):
traffic if your business is notcited within the Google Answers
or Chat GBT or Perplexity orwhatever AI it is, and a lot of
that traffic just gets leftbehind.
And that's really the differencebetween traditional SEO and AI
search.
SPEAKER_03 (18:01):
So is it really for a basic for someone who's just
looking at this the first time?
Do they have to ask themselvesif someone asked a question,
would my business supply theanswer?
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
Yeah, that's right.
Um, you know, AI search is notkilling traditional search.
It's clear, it's really justkilling the old click model.
So for every 1,000 Googlesearches that are made, only
about 360 of those end up on theopen web.
So people are you know, Google'suh AI search engine, Gemini, uh,
(18:36):
you know, we've experiencedthis.
You go to Google, you ask aquestion, and Google wants to be
very helpful.
It wants to answer that questiondirectly, whereas before it
would just give you a you know alist of links to websites for
you to go, you know, do your ownresearch, go do your own work.
But now that Google AI wants tobe helpful to the user and
answer questions directly, ofcourse, that's great if your
(18:58):
business is part of that answer.
It's not so good if you aren't.
If you're buried further down onpage two, three, or four in
Google, it's even worse.
SPEAKER_03 (19:07):
This all made me think back.
I don't know if you're oldenough to remember telethons on
TV, and they were great forvarious organizations, and you
know, within 24 hours anorganization can could raise
tens of millions of dollars, butas viewership trends changed, no
one was going to sit there andwatch a 24-hour TV program or
even enough of it to make it uhto make it cost efficient, so
(19:29):
that format went away.
Is that the same with with webusers now?
They don't want to take the timeto go through even five or six
pages of a web s of web searchresults if AI can get them uh
into the express lane to whatthey want to find out.
SPEAKER_00 (19:46):
Yeah, I you know, look, it that's exactly right.
Um, you know, you hit the nailon the head with that one.
It it the the problem, if we'regonna call it a problem, start
it with mobile, right?
Um once users started accessingthe internet through their
mobile phones, I mean, just bythe size of the screen, the size
of the screen itself dictatesthat we have less space and less
(20:06):
time and less patience.
You know, when you're sitting ata doctor's office or on your on
your sofa, uh, you're lesslikely to read a four or five
thousand-word article.
You want quick answers to whatyou're searching for.
You know, who's the best localdentist?
Um, you know, what are the priwhat what's a good price on a
hotel?
What about airline ticketprices?
What's the weather in Spain?
Um these answers are served upthat they have been served up
(20:29):
uh, you know, by search engines,but as people have become less
and less patient, they want toget to the point quick and they
want the answer they're lookingfor rather than being searched
on, you know, sent on an errandto go go, you know, check out
these 20 websites if you'reinterested.
Sometimes you just want a quickanswer to your question.
So, I mean, there are all is notlost for businesses.
(20:50):
If you if you have a businessthat's been on the web and
you've created high qualityoriginal content, goods, good
social media posts, you'redefinitely at an advantage.
And we're we're seeing that withour clients, whether they're
large or small.
Um but you do have to get to thepoint a little bit quicker
because people they're they'reskimming headlines,
(21:12):
sub-headlines, maybe the firstparagraph or two, but if you
don't if you don't deliver valuequickly, people lose uh patience
and you lose their attentionvery quickly.
And the same as with AI searchengines.
You do need to reformat yourcontent so these AI search
engines can figure out what thekey points are that you're
trying to make and decidewhether your business should be
(21:33):
cited or not.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
So Thomas Harpointer, who is the CEO of
AIS Media, AIS Media.com, theirwebsite, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
So for the business owner, isthat matter is it a matter of
making authority uh the priorityas opposed to just simple
visibility?
SPEAKER_00 (21:54):
That's a key point, because you you have to consider
you know how these searchengines, these AI search
engines, Decide in the firstplace which business to cite.
And they can't cite a thousand.
They can't even cite a hundredgenerally when we go to Google's
overview, right?
They're going to give you a few,three, four, or five businesses
at most.
(22:15):
So how does the AI actuallydecide which business to cite?
And one key is they want to citecredible, accurate sources.
So they're looking for highauthority.
Businesses and companies thathave been around a while that
provide original content thathave a solid presence.
(22:36):
So providing being a highauthority business that
generates high quality originalcontent with real facts, real
figures, real help.
The type of the content thatgets read, it gets shared is
going to rank a lot higher bythe AI search engines than lower
authority content that's justrecycled over and over again
(22:58):
from third-party sources.
SPEAKER_03 (23:13):
There are ways to game a Google search versus
apparently as far as I couldfigure out, you can't really BS
AI.
What are some of the things abusiness has to look for right
now?
Is it just simply askingdifferent questions and seeing
whether or not they show up inAI and an AI response or
opportunity for sharinginformation?
(23:33):
And if that happens, if theydon't show up, what are some of
the first steps they have to betaking?
SPEAKER_00 (23:39):
Yeah, and measuring, you have to be able to manage,
you know, manage and measuresuccess, right?
You have to actually know whereyou stand today.
Um and when this shift beganjust a couple of years ago, we
we started noticing this trendwhere traffic to some of our
clients' websites started todecline and they asked why we
(24:01):
had to uncover that.
However, at the end of the day,the the real performance metric
is business up or down becauseoften website traffic from
clicks from Google might godown.
Um but websites that rank highin AI search that are cited get
a lot more direct traffic.
People, if they know thatcompany by name, they search for
(24:23):
it directly in Google.
So the site may still be gettingtraffic, may still still be
getting phone calls, and may therevenue may actually be up.
So you have to be able, you haveto be able to measure your
success, not just by clicks, butby overall business success.
And looking closely at GoogleAnalytics, if you should be able
(24:43):
to use some type of anothertool, and we use several to see
whether your business is rankedin AI search, whether it's uh
you know organic search rankingsare going up or down, and also
to figure out what people areactually searching for.
What do they care about?
If you're a local dentist, forinstance, um it helps to know
(25:03):
what people are actuallysearching for in topics.
Whether they're searching forcraft, are they searching for
you know, you know, teethlightning?
You know, what's what's the hottopic that people are looking
for answers?
And then create the type ofcontent that answers questions
that people are asking.
Um so it it does provide, itdoes require a little insight,
(25:25):
and and um it helps to have amarketing team or somebody on
your team or even an externalteam that can help guide you
through that process.
But the first step is to figureout where you stand today and
what changes need to be made,because it does present a huge
opportunity for businesses thatend up getting cited by these
search engines.
It's not all doom and gloom.
(25:46):
If you're if you're properlypositioned, I think like in in
your show, you've produced somuch content over the years and
you have such high authoritythat Google recognizes you as a
a trusted source already.
So you definitely have anadvantage than if you were just
starting your show yesterday.
SPEAKER_03 (26:01):
Yes, I and and and I was about to say too, I got
lucky as as far as my website isa DIY project.
I learned HTML many moons ago,which you know is a is a move
point with AI as well, if you ifyou're trying to build a
website, or used to be thefriend with the pickup truck.
When someone wanted to move,they'd call.
If someone needed a website, I'dget the call.
But that's be the as it may.
(26:23):
For for AIS, AIS Media, someonecontacts you.
What are some of the firstthings you're going to do?
And are you going to help themunderstand?
I guess that's the importantpart, because to go to be led
into something is one thing, butto do it with an understanding
and appreciation of the of itsimportance, I think, is a whole
different story.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
Yeah, that's right.
Um and every business isdifferent.
We've worked with startups andwe've worked with Fortune 500s
over the years, and just becausea company is bigger doesn't
automatically mean they theyknow what they're doing or they
have an advantage.
Sometimes a small, quick movercan actually outmaneuver a much
larger competitor who has a lotmore content that they need to
(27:03):
tackle.
So our first step is always, Ialways say, look, you can't
manage what you can't measure.
The first step is to figure outexactly where you stand today,
is to perform that comprehensiveanalysis.
You know, figure out how is yourwebsite positioned, is your
content currently ranking, whoare your top competitors, um,
are you gaining and losingtraction?
Where are we today?
(27:24):
Let's understand just thesituation.
And then from there, start tostructure a uh look at all the
existing content and structure ago-forward plan.
In many cases, you know,companies that have businesses
that have a lot of content, alot of blog articles, a lot of
posts, uh, they're already in agood spot.
Now, the the content may not beformatted optimally for AI
(27:46):
search, which then means goodnews is we we have a lot of
content, but the challenge islet's get this content reformat
it in a way that search engines,you know, these AI search
engines actually read it.
So that becomes the next step.
And then the go forward planneeds to be creating the type of
content that AI search enginesreally do care about.
And this is where social mediaalso comes in.
(28:08):
If you have a strong socialpresence, um, you know, videos
and posts, um, you know, otherother other content across,
let's say, well, Twitter, it'syou know, it's XNAP or LinkedIn
or Facebook.
Uh, you'd be surprised.
Many of these uh AI searchengines do also index social
media content.
Not just it's not just aboutGoogle anymore.
SPEAKER_03 (28:30):
No, I I know that very well too, and that adds to
the foundation of authority thatAI is going to look for your
business.
Again, change change is alwayschallenging.
That's an understatement for themorning.
But change, at this, in thiscase, in point, is certainly a
necessity for a business to notjust succeed, but even to
survive, because you could getvery easily and quickly
(28:53):
overshadowed by yourcompetition.
And I'm pretty confident sayingthat's something you do not want
to happen.
Learn more about the way toachieve more effective AEO as
well as SEO.
Contact AIS Media.
You can contact them throughtheir website, AISmedia.com.
He is their CEO.
Thomas Harpointer.
(29:14):
Thomas, thank you for theeducation of AEO and thanks for
being here today.
SPEAKER_00 (29:18):
Absolute pleasure, Chris.
Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_03 (29:24):
She was a Republican politician from Maine, became
the first woman to serve in bothhouses of the U.S.
Congress.
She was in the House ofRepresentatives from 1940 to 49,
then served in the U.S.
Senate from 1949 to 1973.
A few of her majoraccomplishments, she was the
first woman elected to theSenate without being first
(29:47):
appointed to fill a vacancy.
1964, Smith became the firstwoman to have her name placed in
nomination for the presidency ata major political party's
convention.
Smith served on the ArmedServices Committee where she
sponsored the Women's ArmedServices Integration Act, that
was in 1948, which granted womenpermanent status and benefits in
(30:11):
the military.
Smith held the record for themost consecutive roll call votes
in the Senate, 2,941.
That record stood until 1968,and she was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in1989, but perhaps overshadowing
all of that, at least in myopinion, was a speech that Smith
(30:32):
made on June first, nineteenfifty, which has become known as
the Declaration of ConsciousSpeech.
It's the first major publicdenunciation of McCarthyism,
which of course used allegationsof disloyalty, particularly
regarding communism, all comingfrom within the Re Republican
Party.
Some of the key points of thespeech.
(30:54):
Smith condemned characterassassination.
She warned that the RepublicanParty should not try to ride to
victory on fear, ignorance,bigotry, and smear.
Sound familiar?
She also outlined four reallybasic principles of Americanism
that she thought was underattack, the right to criticize,
(31:16):
the right to hold unpopularbeliefs, the right to protest,
the right of independentthought.
Again I ask.
Sound familiar?
Smith blamed both parties forthe climate of fear that was
existing at that time.
She blamed Democrats for lack ofeffective leadership, and she
blamed fellow Republicans forexploiting that fear for
(31:37):
political gain.
Which leads to the samequestion.
Sound familiar?
Now while there's no audiorecord of Smith's declaration of
conscious speech, there is thetranscript as part of the
congressional record, and I wasable to find a recreation of the
entire speech, which, given thestate of affairs in the days
(31:59):
that we are trying to live inhere in America today, I thought
going back to hear the words ofMargaret Chase Smith and the
Declaration of Conscious Speechwould be very valuable for us
all.
So let's have that.
SPEAKER_04 (32:15):
Mr.
President, I would like to speakbriefly and simply about a
serious national condition.
It is a national feeling of fearand frustration that could
result in national suicide andthe end of everything that we
Americans hold dear.
It is a condition that comesfrom the lack of effective
(32:37):
leadership in either thelegislative branch or the
executive branch of ourgovernment.
That leadership is so lackingthat serious and responsible
proposals are being made thatnational advisory commissions be
appointed to provide suchcritically needed leadership.
I speak as briefly as possiblebecause too much harm has
(32:58):
already been done withirresponsible words of
bitterness and selfish politicalopportunism.
I speak as briefly as possiblebecause the issue is too great
to be obscured by eloquence.
I speak simply and briefly inthe hope that my words will be
taken to heart.
(33:18):
I speak as a Republican.
I speak as a woman.
I speak as a United StatesSenator.
I speak as an American.
The United States Senate haslong employed worldwide respect
as the greatest deliberativebody in the world.
But recently, that deliberativecharacter has too often been
(33:42):
debased to the level of a forumof hate and character
assassination sheltered by theshield of congressional
immunity.
It is ironical that we senatorscan, in debate, in the Senate,
directly or indirectly, by anyform of words, impute to any
(34:02):
American who is not a senatorany conduct or motive unworthy
or unbecoming an American.
And without that non-senatorAmerican having any legal
redress against us.
Yet, if we say the same thing inthe Senate about our colleagues,
we can be stopped on the groundsof being out of order.
(34:27):
It is strange that we canverbally attack anyone else
without restraint and with fullprotection, and yet we hold
ourselves above the same type ofcriticism here on the Senate
floor.
Surely the United States Senateis big enough to take
self-criticism andself-appraisal.
Surely we should be able to takethe same kind of character
attacks that we dish out tooutsiders.
(34:51):
I think that it is high time forthe United States Senate and its
members to do some soulsearching, for us to weigh our
consciences on the manner inwhich we are performing our duty
to the people of America, on themanner in which we are using or
abusing our individual powersand privileges.
(35:12):
I think that it is high timethat we remembered that we have
sworn to uphold and defend theConstitution.
I think that it is high timethat we remembered the
Constitution as amended speaksnot only of the freedom of
speech, but also of trial byjury instead of trial by
accusation.
(35:33):
Whether it be a criminalprosecution in court or a
character prosecution in theSenate, there is little
practical distinction when thelife of a person has been
ruined.
Those of us who shout theloudest about Americanism in
making character assassinationsare all too frequently those
who, by our own words and acts,ignore some of the basic
(35:58):
principles of Americanism.
The right to criticize, theright to hold unpopular beliefs,
the right to protest, the rightof independent thought.
The exercise of these rightsshould not cost one single
(36:18):
American citizen his reputationor his right to a livelihood,
nor should he be in danger oflosing his reputation or
livelihood merely because hehappens to know someone who
holds unpopular beliefs.
Who of us doesn't?
Otherwise, none of us could callour souls our own.
(36:40):
Otherwise, thought control wouldhave set in.
The American people are sick andtired of being afraid to speak
their minds lest they bepolitically smeared as
communists or fascists by theiropponents.
Freedom of speech is not what itused to be in America.
It has been so abused by somethat it is not exercised by
(37:03):
others.
The American people are sick andtired of seeing innocent people
smeared and guilty peoplewhitewashed.
But there have been enoughproved cases, such as the
Amirasia case, the Hiss case,the Koplon case, the Gold case,
to cause the nationwide distrustand strong suspicion that there
(37:26):
may be something to theunproved, sensational
accusations.
As a Republican, I say to mycolleagues on this side of the
aisle that the Republican Partyfaces a challenge today that is
not unlike the challenge that itfaced back in Lincoln's day.
The Republican Party sosuccessfully met that challenge
(37:48):
that it emerged from the CivilWar as the champion of a united
nation, in addition to being aparty that unrelentingly fought
loose spending and looseprograms.
Today, our country is beingpsychologically divided by the
confusion and the suspicionsthat are bred in the United
(38:09):
States Senate to spread likecancerous tentacles of know
nothing, suspect, everythingattitudes.
Today we have a democraticadministration that has
developed a mania for loosespending and loose programs.
History is repeating itself.
(38:29):
And the Republican Party againhas the opportunity to emerge as
the champion of unity andprudence.
The record of the presentDemocratic administration has
provided us with sufficientcampaign issues without the
necessity of resorting topolitical smears.
America is rapidly losing itsposition as the leader of the
(38:50):
world simply because theDemocratic Administration has
pitifully failed to provideeffective leadership.
The Democratic Administrationhas completely confused the
American people by its dailycontradictory grave warnings and
optimistic assurances that showthe people that our Democratic
Administration has no idea ofwhere it is going.
(39:14):
The Democratic Administrationhas greatly lost the confidence
of the American people by itscomplacency to the threat of
communism here at home and theleak of vital secrets to Russia
through key officials of theDemocratic Administration.
There are enough proved cases tomake this point without diluting
(39:36):
our criticism with unprovedcharges.
Surely, these are sufficientreasons to make it clear to the
American people that it is timefor a change and that a
Republican victory is necessaryto the security of this country.
Surely it is clear that thisnation will continue to suffer
(40:00):
as long as it is governed by thepresent ineffective democratic
administration.
Yet to displace it with aRepublican regime embracing a
philosophy that lacks politicalintegrity or intellectual
honesty would prove equallydisastrous to this nation.
(40:21):
The nation sorely needs aRepublican victory, but I don't
want to see the Republican Partyride to political victory on the
four horsemen of calumny.
Fear, ignorance, bigotry, andsmear.
I doubt if the Republican Partycould, simply because I don't
(40:41):
believe the American people willuphold any political party that
puts political exploitationabove national interest.
And surely we Republicans aren'tthat desperate for victory.
I don't want to see theRepublican Party win that way.
While it might be a fleetingvictory for the Republican
Party, it would be a morelasting defeat for the American
(41:03):
people.
Surely it would ultimately besuicide for the Republican Party
and the two-party system thathas protected our American
liberties from the dictatorshipof a one-party system.
As members of the minorityparty, we do not have the
primary authority to formulatethe policy of our government.
(41:25):
But we do have theresponsibility of rendering
constructive criticism, ofclarifying issues, of allaying
fears by acting as responsiblecitizens.
As a woman, I wonder how themothers, wives, sisters, and
daughters feel about the way inwhich members of their families
(41:46):
have been politically mangled inSenate debate.
And I use the word debateadvisedly.
As a United States Senator, I amnot proud of the way in which
the Senate has been made apublicity platform for
irresponsible sensationalism.
I am not proud of the recklessabandon in which unproved
charges have been hurled fromthis side of the aisle.
(42:08):
I am not proud of the obviouslystaged, undignified
countercharges that have beenattempted in retaliation from
the other side of the aisle.
I don't like the way the Senatehas been made a rendezvous for
vilification, for selfishpolitical gain at the sacrifice
of individual reputations andnational unity.
(42:29):
I am not proud of the way wesmear outsiders from the floor
of the Senate and hide behindthe cloak of congressional
immunity and still placeourselves beyond criticism on
the floor of the Senate.
As an American, I am shocked atthe way Republicans and
Democrats alike are playingdirectly into the Communist
(42:50):
design of confuse, divide, andconquer.
As an American, I don't want aDemocratic administration
whitewash or cover-up any morethan I want a Republican smear
or witch hunt.
As an American, I condemn aRepublican fascist just as much
(43:10):
as I condemn a Democraticcommunist.
I condemn a Democratic fascistjust as much as I condemn a
Republican communist.
They are equally dangerous toyou and me and to our country.
As an American, I want to seeour nation recapture the
strength and unity it once hadwhen we fought the enemy instead
(43:35):
of ourselves.
It is with these thoughts that Ihave drafted what I call a
declaration of conscience.
I am gratified that SenatorToby, Senator Aiken, Senator
Morse, Senator Ives, SenatorThy, and Senator Hendrickson
have concurred in thatdeclaration and have authorized
(43:56):
me to announce theirconcurrence.
The Declaration reads asfollows.
One, we are Republicans, but weare Americans first.
It is as Americans that weexpress our concern with the
growing confusion that threatensthe security and stability of
our country.
Democrats and Republicans alikehave contributed to that
(44:17):
confusion.
Two, the Democraticadministration has initially
created the confusion by itslack of effective leadership, by
its contradictory, gravewarnings and optimistic
assurances, by its complacencyto the threat of communism here
at home, by itsoversensitivities to rightful
criticism, by its pettybitterness against its critics.
(44:41):
Three, certain elements of theRepublican Party have materially
added to this confusion in thehopes of riding the Republican
Party to victory through theselfish political exploitation
of fear, bigotry, ignorance, andintolerance.
There are enough mistakes of theDemocrats for Republicans to
criticize constructively withoutresorting to political smears.
(45:05):
Four.
To this extent, Democrats andRepublicans alike have
unwittingly, but undeniably,played directly into the
communist design of confuse,divide, and conquer.
Five, it is high time that westopped thinking politically as
(45:26):
Republicans and Democrats aboutelections, and started thinking
patriotically as Americans aboutnational security based on
individual freedom.
It is high time that we allstopped being tools and victims
of totalitarian techniques.
Techniques that, if continuedhere unchecked, will surely end
(45:48):
what we have come to cherish asthe American way of life.
SPEAKER_03 (45:54):
Reading from Genesis chapter 1, verse 1.
In the beginning, God createdthe heavens and the earth.
Now, if you prefer the NewTestament, here is what's told
in John chapter 1, verses 1through 5.
In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
He was in the beginning withGod.
(46:15):
All things were made throughhim, and without him nothing was
made that was made.
In him was life, and the lifewas the light of men, and the
light shines in the darkness,and the darkness did not
comprehend it.
Adding to that, let's go toColossians chapter one verses
sixteen and seventeen.
For by him all things werecreated that are in heaven, and
(46:36):
that are on earth, visible andinvisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities orpowers, all things were created
through him and for him, and heis before all things and in him
all things consist.
Now when it comes to us livingbeings, as well as all that's
around us here on earth andabove it, there are two beliefs
(46:59):
in how it all came aboutevolution or creation.
Let's start with evolution.
Evolution brings with it theclaim that the Earth and all of
the galaxy came about throughwhat's called the Big Bang.
That claims that a collision ofmatter and energy took place,
which resulted in the sun, theplanets, the stars, etc, etc.
(47:22):
A couple of questions that comefrom that concept.
Where did that matter come from?
How did that energy come intoexistence?
Was it all just there?
The problem is that everymeasure of science concludes
with no exception that it'stotally and completely
impossible for something tophysically result from nothing.
(47:47):
But just for the sake ofargument, let's go with the Big
Bang.
That takes us to the belief thatall who we are and all that's
around us just happened byaccident.
Have you ever noticed that whencreationists talk their game
they focus solely on mankindevolving from apes?
Which I makes me wonder if thepeople who believe that ever
(48:08):
stop to realize that if you tellpeople he came from animals,
that's how they'll behave, but Idigress.
There's obviously more around usthan just us.
Mammals, fish, birds, insects,everyone, including humans, for
the most part, have some degreeof intelligence, instincts, and
a purpose.
(48:29):
So that kind of complicatesthings for that evolution idea,
doesn't it?
Now there are no complexitieswith creation, only faith in
that it is God's way ofproviding for us all.
That's why Jesus recognized asthe creation, as we read his
words in Mark chapter ten versessix through nine, for from the
beginning of the creation, Godmade them male and female, for
(48:52):
this reason a man shall leavehis father and mother, and be
joined to his wife, and the twoshall become one flesh, so then
they are no longer two but oneflesh, therefore what God has
joined together let not manseparate.
Hebrews chapter eleven versethree gives us this lesson.
By faith we understand that theworlds were framed by the Word
(49:13):
of God, so that the things whichare seen were not made of things
which are visible.
Additionally in firstCorinthians chapter eight verse
six, we had this yet for usthere is one God the Father, of
whom are all things, and we forhim, and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things, andthrough whom we live.
(49:36):
Now creation obviously includesus.
Now most are familiar with howGenesis tells us that we were
made in God's image, hisspiritual image, by the way.
Ephesians chapter two verse tenfurther clarifies things for us
by reminding us of our purpose.
Reading here, for we are hisworkmanship created in Christ
(49:57):
Jesus for good works which Godprepared beforehand that we
should walk in them.
Now it's time for a quiz.
How many times is evolutionmentioned in the Bible?
Zero.
How many times is evolvementioned in the Bible?
Zero.
(50:19):
How many times is created invarious forms mentioned in the
Bible?
Enough to establish a faithfulunderstanding.
We have this from Job chapterthirty seven verse five.
God thunders marvelously withhis voice, he does great things
which we cannot comprehend.
Hebrews chapter one verse tenestablishes this You Lord in the
(50:41):
beginning laid the foundation ofthe earth and the heavens are
the work of your hands.
When we look up, we should singthe words of Psalm chapter
nineteen verse one, the heavensdeclare the glory of God and the
firmament shows his handiwork.
Going back to my time at sales,salespeople are often asked to
turn in what are called callsheets.
(51:01):
Just a list of people you saw,the things that you did, the
money hopefully brought into thecompany.
We could read God's call sheetin Isaiah chapter forty two
verse five.
Thus says God the Lord, whocreated the heavens and
stretched them out, who spreadforth the earth, and that which
comes from it, who gives breathto the people on it, and spirit
(51:21):
to those who walk on it.
Earlier I mentioned that thereis no law of science that allows
the creation of something out oftotally nothing.
Dr.
Michael Gillen, who was with usa few weeks ago, he was also
science editor with ABC News fora bunch of years, this past week
released a documentary that wetalked about the Invisible
Everywhere, and in it hedemonstrates how science is
(51:44):
actually a strong ally of faithand proof of the existence of
God.
You can find out more aboutMichael's film at the
InvisibleEverywhere dot com.
While my hope is that the peoplewill have the ears to hear what
I've shared with you here todayand see the justification for
it, I know not all will takethat road.
So for those, the words we findin Romans chapter one verses
(52:05):
nineteen through twenty one, Ibelieve are their awakening.
Because what may be known of Godis manifest in them, for God has
shown it to them, for since thecreation of the world, his
invisible attributes are clearlyseen, being understood by the
things that are made, even aseternal power and Godhead, so
that they are without excusebecause although they knew God,
(52:29):
they did not glorify him as God,nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, andtheir foolish hearts were
darkened.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite, issues and ideas
radio.com.
You'll find more informationabout the guests who joined us
here on the show today, or thenumerous features on the
homepage all throughout thewebsite.
And if you're listening to usthrough your favorite podcast
(52:50):
platform, be sure to subscribeand follow us.
Always appreciate you spendingyour time with us here, and look
forward to being with you righthere this time next week for our
next edition of Issues andIdeas.
Hello, welcome to Issues and Ideas.
I'm Christabello.
With all that's going on, bothhere and over there, got
something that you just mighthave missed.
Might have fallen past yourradar screen through you to make
the analogy, whatever one youwant.
Automatic registration for U.S.
military draft is going to bestarting this December.
(00:20):
Eligible men will automaticallynow be registered into the
military draft pool.
That's part of the effort tostreamline the old process that
you had to do it yourself.
And they say there's some windup saving money too.
The selective service system.
That's the government agencymaintains the database of men to
be called up to serve in case ofm of a national emergency.
(00:42):
They put up this proposed ruleto the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs back on March30th.
Most men between the ages of 18and 25 already are required to
register with collected service,but automatic registration was
mandated in December of 2025 aspart of the fiscal 2026 National
(01:04):
Defense Authorization Act.
This rule is currently underreview by the Regulatory Affairs
Office.
So that's why the plan is forthis all to start in December.
That's a point of history.
(01:25):
Of course, this has led many toquestion scream out even whether
a U.S.
military draft could take placeamid the war in Iran.
As that two-week ceasefire, sortof ceasefire, well, holds on.
I'm being generous there, I'mpretty sure.
Now you would hope that theWhite House, in response to the
question, does this mean thedraft is coming back, would say,
(01:47):
No, don't worry.
Well, back in March, White HousePress Secretary Caroline Levitt
said this while a draft is notpart of the current plan right
now, President Trump wiselykeeps his options on the table.
That comment brings about twowords in a lot of people's minds
executive order.
Well, rest easy on that regardbecause Trump alone can't bring
(02:11):
the draft back through anexecutive order.
Congress would need to passlegislation to amend the
Military Selective Service Actto authorize the President to
induct personnel into themilitary.
But still failure to register inthe draft, that is still going
to be a crime and can preventpeople from receiving state
funded financial aid.
(02:33):
Employment in in numerous statescome to think of it, cause
ineligibility for a lot offederal employment
opportunities, job trainingunder the Workforce Innovation
Opportunity Act, and can carryfines up to a quarter million
dollars and up to five years injail.
In addition, immigrants whodon't register, you might lose
(02:54):
your U.S.
citizenship.
So under the new rule, again hasto be finalized yet, men would
be registered automaticallywithin thirty days of their
eighteenth birthday.
And yes, that means women arestill ineligible for the draft.
Even as lawmakers past fewyears, they've tried to attach
provisions, adding women to thedraft as part of the annual
(03:15):
defense policy bill.
We are obviously into the monthof April, and April is National
Autism Acceptance AwarenessMonth.
Autism when it uh when itinvades a family, it changes
(03:36):
everything.
There's there's no uh moreaccurate way of putting it.
I want to go back to aconversation I had not too long
ago with Jamie and Tracy Parent,who have shared their story with
their autistic son in the bookThe Mission at Home.
And listen to how just how muchwhen autism strikes, how much it
(03:58):
could change everything, but howyou could still overcome
everything.
Let's go back and listen to thisstory.
Parents with a child on theautism spectrum face numerous
challenges in their effort justto provide a positive life for
their child.
Those challenges are certainlymagnified for military families.
That's for an autistic child.
We've talked about this oftenhere on Issues and Ideas, is
(04:21):
routine repetition.
Military life, uh no, that doesnot always provide that, right?
Next guests join us withfirst-hand experience of how
these greater challenges broughtabout by military life can be
responded to in ways that arebest for the child as well as
for the family as a whole.
They share their insights in thebook, The Mission of Home
(04:42):
Navigating Military Assignments,Tri-Care, Education, Benefits,
and Everyday Life with yourchild on the altest and
spectrum, retired U.S.
Air Force Lieutenant ColonelJamie Parent, and his wife
Tracy.
How are you today, guys?
SPEAKER_02 (04:55):
Very good.
Doing great, thank you, Chris.
SPEAKER_03 (04:58):
And well, first of all, the website, because you
will want to visit it,especially if they are
addressing something that youare in need of more information
about.
The mission at home.com is thewebsite for their book.
Tracy, talk about Brian and thefirst determinations of what you
were going to be facing, whatBrian was going to be facing as
(05:20):
life would move forward withautism.
SPEAKER_02 (05:23):
Well, I have to tell you it was very difficult back
then.
Um Brian is 39 years old.
Um what we had to face waspeople not understanding.
I had a lot of people tell methat my child's a brat, uh, that
he I'm a bad parent.
Um, that if we just uh, youknow, would put him in his
place, that he would be able todo better.
(05:46):
Um so that was hard with theoutset.
That's why a lot of disabilityawareness is really important.
The next thing that was hard wasfinding those services that were
out there.
Um I will say that parent groupswere number one for me.
Once we found parent groups andother people that are going
through the same thing, um theywere the ones that had the best
(06:07):
resources, knew what was goingon, knew where to to move, what
schools were best, and maybewhat doctors we should go to.
So you face a lot of unknowns,uncertainties.
You kind of are always on hyperalert uh because you're worried
about behaviors or what peoplethink outside your home.
(06:28):
Um, but I will say that as we'vemoved forward and as the
militaries move forward, there'sbeen a lot of pluses and a lot
of things they have put intoplace.
SPEAKER_03 (06:38):
Let's talk about Jamie because on the military
side, you certainly moredirectly, although I'm obviously
Tracy is a military wife, but asI said in the introduction,
stability is not always one ofthe qualities or characteristics
of military life.
So when you first realize what'slied ahead as a family and with
(06:58):
what Brian was dealing with,what were some of your first
thoughts?
SPEAKER_01 (07:03):
Well, in 19 uh 88, when Brian was first diagnosed,
uh, I gotta be honest with you,Chris.
My my first thought was mycareer's over.
My life as the way I expected itto be is over.
My family's life.
All of us in the family.
We we this is a this is a majorthis is a major change that you
(07:24):
just don't see coming.
And you also have to rememberback in 1988, there was uh um
there there's no um vaccineinformation, there's no Jenny
McCarthy, there's no Rain Manmovies.
So we're really operating in ain a kind of a world of uh a
blank uh sheet of paper.
That's why Tracy's emphasizedhow important the uh the family
(07:46):
groups are, the sport groups,because we didn't have anything
else.
And so if the world doesn'tunderstand autism very well at
1988, certainly the UnitedStates military and Department
of Defense is going to have toplay some ketchup because they
didn't understand it either.
Um back in the day it was uh aprogram that was um run by the
medical folks and now it's runby the line folks.
(08:08):
But um part of the reason wewrote this book is because we
wanted to emphasize to folksthat yes, uh you can have a
military career.
Yes, the military does supportfamilies with autism as well as
other disabilities in the familyas well.
And so we were we were um uh uhback in the day we just didn't
have any information, and we hadto work with a framework that
(08:29):
was much more structured than wewere anticipating.
SPEAKER_03 (08:31):
So Jamie and Tracy Parent, their book is The
Mission at Home, NavigatingMilitary Assignments, Tri Care
Education Benefits and EverydayLife with your Child on the
Autism Spectrum, theMissionAtHome.com, their
website, and you're listening toissues and ideas.
And uh for Tracy, uh first Iwant to say to the person
listening, this is not a firsthand, full heart experience and
(08:57):
period end of discussion.
Uh Jamie and Tracy shareguidance through their
experience so you can have amore positive experience and
maybe more streamlined than theexploration that they had to do
when it came to the well-beingof Brian.
And I want to congratulate you,Tracy and Jamie, because you
bring a better understanding ofnavigating what can be very
(09:20):
complicated and very logicresistance, I'll call them,
programs, and you help peoplebetter understand what they're
entitled to and how to achieveit and how to attain it.
So great job for you guys withthat.
SPEAKER_02 (09:33):
Thank you very much.
And you know, you bring up avery good point that uh back in
our day there was no uhinternet, there were no
resources around, and todaythere's too many, and there's a
lot of confusion, andunfortunately, there's a lot of
misinformation out there.
And any charlatan can come alongfor desperate parents that are
(09:54):
trying their hardest to do thebest for their child, and they
can take their money, uh, orthey can mislead them.
So I think our book really helpsto guide, as you said, uh, with
what are the best practices,what are the best therapies,
what can you avoid, and whatshould you really be looking at.
So our book does a good job atat having parents not have to go
(10:16):
all over the place and come tolike one resource in order to
get their uh needs met or theirchild's need met rather by
looking at our book.
SPEAKER_01 (10:27):
And we also have a lot of information about um
things that are just beyondautism, like for example,
financial planning, um, settingup trust funds, uh how do you
get uh benefits such asMedicaid, Medicare, SSI, SSDI?
And then we go uh do a deep diveinto a lot of the benefit
programs that already exist forfamilies.
(10:49):
But getting back to your pointearlier, autism is a lifelong um
it's a lifelong thing, and itdoesn't stop with military
service.
Our book helps uh the readers uhmaneuver not only during
military careers but also beyondand even into the retirement
years.
SPEAKER_03 (11:05):
Aaron Powell That's more to know for you listening
because there's never there'snever enough information,
especially when we come todiscussing autism.
And I I think too, Jamie, thatparents have the great the the
they think the immediate of theyouth years in autism, but the
(11:25):
reality is that uh eventually,sooner versus later, it
certainly always feels like yourchild is going to age out of and
fill in the bank, whichever whwhichever program they happen to
be in.
Your book is helping to lookhelp that parent look forward
and plan further ahead than theshort term, and I think that's a
very valuable lesson that a lotof parents need to better
(11:46):
understand.
So again, Will, a great job onyour guys on your part by you
guys for helping bring properfocus, a long range focus as
opposed to a day-to-day focus,which I think is very important.
SPEAKER_02 (11:57):
It is very important because when you're in the
middle of it, I will tell you asthe parent, um, especially a
child wanting the same thingevery day the same way.
You get caught in theday-to-day, um, and you feel
sometimes like you're a hamsteron a on a wheel.
Um, so this gives you the chanceto look at something that can
(12:18):
give you that guidance and knowwhat the next steps are when
you're ready for it.
So the book you can use with thechapter that you're at at that
specific time in your life, andthen you can move on.
But there is a uh roadmap foryou to look forward to as you're
dealing with those dailychallenges that come along with
having a child on the spectrum.
SPEAKER_01 (12:39):
And and let's face it, talking about benefits like
Social Security and Medicare, uhuh uh these can be really dry
subjects.
So uh we made sure that when weput stuff into the book, we also
include the human side, thehuman anecdotes about struggles
we had with getting anassignment or uh what happened
when we first met our militarypediatrician.
(13:01):
And these are things I thinkthat the readers will be able to
uh resonate with because they'regoing through the same kinds of
things that we were going somany years ago.
SPEAKER_03 (13:10):
And Jamie, how is Brian today?
And what do you what would youhope for his future as as his
life continues to go forward?
SPEAKER_01 (13:18):
Well, when he was first diagnosed, we were told
that uh it was pretty dismal,um, and we were asked for what
his goals would be, and we said,well, we we wanted the goals to
be uh hold a job, uh balance acheckbook, and drive a car.
And uh the look that we got fromthe clinicians uh around the
room was kind of uh uh a alittle bit a little bit more
(13:38):
pity than anything else.
Uh I'd like to go back to thattime at UCLA, Chris, because uh
Brian's achieved five-starresults in two out of those
three.
He he can balance a checkbook.
He's working at Public's uhsupermarkets, which has been a
great supporter of SpecialOlympics.
And no, he didn't he's notdriving a car, but um you know
(13:59):
what?
I'll take those, we'll takethose two out of three any day.
Brian's doing very, very well,and he's got a very full life,
including friends, SpecialOlympics, um, the pride that he
takes in his job, but um there'sstill some more there's still
some gaps and it's anever-evolving process.
But Brian is doing great, andthank you for asking.
SPEAKER_03 (14:17):
And there's always hope to and for Tracy just to
close out.
Talk to that parent right now,military or not, that is in
those early days and is lookingfor, okay, what am I s what am I
supposed to do?
SPEAKER_02 (14:32):
Yes.
I I think that it's veryimportant to understand.
Number one, it does get better.
Uh you start to learn things.
I think that you have to just bethe parent that loves your
child.
You're looking out trying to getservices, but the best thing is
to offer a very safe home and tomake sure that uh you're getting
your child um to have the mosttherapy they need, but to have a
(14:57):
balanced life because thatthey're still a part of your
family.
They're they're the they're partof that nucleus, and so I I
think that we used to getworried too much, and I also
want these parents to understandthat they have to take care of
themselves too.
SPEAKER_03 (15:15):
Again, the book is The Mission at Home, Navigating
Military Assignments, TriCare,Education Benefits, and Everyday
Life with your child on thealtism spectrum, the website,
themissionathome.com.
Jamie and Tracy Parents, noone's obligated to make their
life an open book, but whatyou've done is just that that
will benefit so many others, andthank you for doing that for
(15:36):
being here today.
SPEAKER_01 (15:38):
Thank you, Chris.
SPEAKER_02 (15:38):
Thank you so much.
We really appreciate it.
Thank you.
SPEAKER_03 (15:41):
If you're listening to us on your favorite podcast
platform, be sure to follow andsubscribe.
Back in the 90s, even in theearly 2000s, come to think of
it, as the internet expanded.
Surprisingly, many businessesbelieve they didn't need a
website.
If you don't believe me, yourlocal courthouse records for
business bankruptcy will provethat fact.
Now in this even higher tech ininternet age, businesses that
(16:05):
are resting on their searchengine optimization, SEO, may
now be the ones saying that theydon't need answer engine
optimization, AEO.
And to be fair, there areprobably many who believe that
having the first already beingeffective will flow easily
naturally into the second.
Joining us to explain how wrongand dangerous for business
(16:25):
success that belief will quicklybecome is the CEO of AIS Media,
Thomas Harpointer.
How are you today, Thomas?
SPEAKER_00 (16:34):
Hello, Chris.
Great.
Great to be on the show.
SPEAKER_03 (16:36):
And learn about the services of AIS Media.
The website is indeed theobvious, asmedia.com.
And we do have the link at ourhomepage as well.
For the novice and uh the theless than tech savvy, just as a
foundational um definition, whatis SEO and what is AEO?
SPEAKER_00 (16:59):
Yeah, great question.
Uh, you know, I I will say uh atAIS Media, we've been in the
digital marketing business forover 20 years.
And I can say withouthesitation, the last two years
have brought more disruption tosearch than in the prior 20.
Uh AI has changed the economicsof visibility.
Your site can't rank number onetoday on organic search and
(17:22):
still lose the click.
So the battle is not just aboutranking, it's becoming the
source.
AI trusts enough to quote.
So traditional SEO is all aboutgetting ranked in the first,
second, third page of Google,right?
And the the higher your rank,generally, the higher your your
site traffic.
But today, AI search engineshave commandeered a lot of that
(17:45):
traffic if your business is notcited within the Google Answers
or Chat GBT or Perplexity orwhatever AI it is, and a lot of
that traffic just gets leftbehind.
And that's really the differencebetween traditional SEO and AI
search.
SPEAKER_03 (18:01):
So is it really for a basic for someone who's just
looking at this the first time?
Do they have to ask themselvesif someone asked a question,
would my business supply theanswer?
SPEAKER_00 (18:13):
Yeah, that's right.
Um, you know, AI search is notkilling traditional search.
It's clear, it's really justkilling the old click model.
So for every 1,000 Googlesearches that are made, only
about 360 of those end up on theopen web.
So people are you know, Google'suh AI search engine, Gemini, uh,
(18:36):
you know, we've experiencedthis.
You go to Google, you ask aquestion, and Google wants to be
very helpful.
It wants to answer that questiondirectly, whereas before it
would just give you a you know alist of links to websites for
you to go, you know, do your ownresearch, go do your own work.
But now that Google AI wants tobe helpful to the user and
answer questions directly, ofcourse, that's great if your
(18:58):
business is part of that answer.
It's not so good if you aren't.
If you're buried further down onpage two, three, or four in
Google, it's even worse.
SPEAKER_03 (19:07):
This all made me think back.
I don't know if you're oldenough to remember telethons on
TV, and they were great forvarious organizations, and you
know, within 24 hours anorganization can could raise
tens of millions of dollars, butas viewership trends changed, no
one was going to sit there andwatch a 24-hour TV program or
even enough of it to make it uhto make it cost efficient, so
(19:29):
that format went away.
Is that the same with with webusers now?
They don't want to take the timeto go through even five or six
pages of a web s of web searchresults if AI can get them uh
into the express lane to whatthey want to find out.
SPEAKER_00 (19:46):
Yeah, I you know, look, it that's exactly right.
Um, you know, you hit the nailon the head with that one.
It it the the problem, if we'regonna call it a problem, start
it with mobile, right?
Um once users started accessingthe internet through their
mobile phones, I mean, just bythe size of the screen, the size
of the screen itself dictatesthat we have less space and less
(20:06):
time and less patience.
You know, when you're sitting ata doctor's office or on your on
your sofa, uh, you're lesslikely to read a four or five
thousand-word article.
You want quick answers to whatyou're searching for.
You know, who's the best localdentist?
Um, you know, what are the priwhat what's a good price on a
hotel?
What about airline ticketprices?
What's the weather in Spain?
Um these answers are served upthat they have been served up
(20:29):
uh, you know, by search engines,but as people have become less
and less patient, they want toget to the point quick and they
want the answer they're lookingfor rather than being searched
on, you know, sent on an errandto go go, you know, check out
these 20 websites if you'reinterested.
Sometimes you just want a quickanswer to your question.
So, I mean, there are all is notlost for businesses.
(20:50):
If you if you have a businessthat's been on the web and
you've created high qualityoriginal content, goods, good
social media posts, you'redefinitely at an advantage.
And we're we're seeing that withour clients, whether they're
large or small.
Um but you do have to get to thepoint a little bit quicker
because people they're they'reskimming headlines,
(21:12):
sub-headlines, maybe the firstparagraph or two, but if you
don't if you don't deliver valuequickly, people lose uh patience
and you lose their attentionvery quickly.
And the same as with AI searchengines.
You do need to reformat yourcontent so these AI search
engines can figure out what thekey points are that you're
trying to make and decidewhether your business should be
(21:33):
cited or not.
SPEAKER_03 (21:34):
So Thomas Harpointer, who is the CEO of
AIS Media, AIS Media.com, theirwebsite, and you are listening
to issues and ideas.
So for the business owner, isthat matter is it a matter of
making authority uh the priorityas opposed to just simple
visibility?
SPEAKER_00 (21:54):
That's a key point, because you you have to consider
you know how these searchengines, these AI search
engines, Decide in the firstplace which business to cite.
And they can't cite a thousand.
They can't even cite a hundredgenerally when we go to Google's
overview, right?
They're going to give you a few,three, four, or five businesses
at most.
(22:15):
So how does the AI actuallydecide which business to cite?
And one key is they want to citecredible, accurate sources.
So they're looking for highauthority.
Businesses and companies thathave been around a while that
provide original content thathave a solid presence.
(22:36):
So providing being a highauthority business that
generates high quality originalcontent with real facts, real
figures, real help.
The type of the content thatgets read, it gets shared is
going to rank a lot higher bythe AI search engines than lower
authority content that's justrecycled over and over again
(22:58):
from third-party sources.
SPEAKER_03 (23:13):
There are ways to game a Google search versus
apparently as far as I couldfigure out, you can't really BS
AI.
What are some of the things abusiness has to look for right
now?
Is it just simply askingdifferent questions and seeing
whether or not they show up inAI and an AI response or
opportunity for sharinginformation?
(23:33):
And if that happens, if theydon't show up, what are some of
the first steps they have to betaking?
SPEAKER_00 (23:39):
Yeah, and measuring, you have to be able to manage,
you know, manage and measuresuccess, right?
You have to actually know whereyou stand today.
Um and when this shift beganjust a couple of years ago, we
we started noticing this trendwhere traffic to some of our
clients' websites started todecline and they asked why we
(24:01):
had to uncover that.
However, at the end of the day,the the real performance metric
is business up or down becauseoften website traffic from
clicks from Google might godown.
Um but websites that rank highin AI search that are cited get
a lot more direct traffic.
People, if they know thatcompany by name, they search for
(24:23):
it directly in Google.
So the site may still be gettingtraffic, may still still be
getting phone calls, and may therevenue may actually be up.
So you have to be able, you haveto be able to measure your
success, not just by clicks, butby overall business success.
And looking closely at GoogleAnalytics, if you should be able
(24:43):
to use some type of anothertool, and we use several to see
whether your business is rankedin AI search, whether it's uh
you know organic search rankingsare going up or down, and also
to figure out what people areactually searching for.
What do they care about?
If you're a local dentist, forinstance, um it helps to know
(25:03):
what people are actuallysearching for in topics.
Whether they're searching forcraft, are they searching for
you know, you know, teethlightning?
You know, what's what's the hottopic that people are looking
for answers?
And then create the type ofcontent that answers questions
that people are asking.
Um so it it does provide, itdoes require a little insight,
(25:25):
and and um it helps to have amarketing team or somebody on
your team or even an externalteam that can help guide you
through that process.
But the first step is to figureout where you stand today and
what changes need to be made,because it does present a huge
opportunity for businesses thatend up getting cited by these
search engines.
It's not all doom and gloom.
(25:46):
If you're if you're properlypositioned, I think like in in
your show, you've produced somuch content over the years and
you have such high authoritythat Google recognizes you as a
a trusted source already.
So you definitely have anadvantage than if you were just
starting your show yesterday.
SPEAKER_03 (26:01):
Yes, I and and and I was about to say too, I got
lucky as as far as my website isa DIY project.
I learned HTML many moons ago,which you know is a is a move
point with AI as well, if you ifyou're trying to build a
website, or used to be thefriend with the pickup truck.
When someone wanted to move,they'd call.
If someone needed a website, I'dget the call.
But that's be the as it may.
(26:23):
For for AIS, AIS Media, someonecontacts you.
What are some of the firstthings you're going to do?
And are you going to help themunderstand?
I guess that's the importantpart, because to go to be led
into something is one thing, butto do it with an understanding
and appreciation of the of itsimportance, I think, is a whole
different story.
SPEAKER_00 (26:43):
Yeah, that's right.
Um and every business isdifferent.
We've worked with startups andwe've worked with Fortune 500s
over the years, and just becausea company is bigger doesn't
automatically mean they theyknow what they're doing or they
have an advantage.
Sometimes a small, quick movercan actually outmaneuver a much
larger competitor who has a lotmore content that they need to
(27:03):
tackle.
So our first step is always, Ialways say, look, you can't
manage what you can't measure.
The first step is to figure outexactly where you stand today,
is to perform that comprehensiveanalysis.
You know, figure out how is yourwebsite positioned, is your
content currently ranking, whoare your top competitors, um,
are you gaining and losingtraction?
Where are we today?
(27:24):
Let's understand just thesituation.
And then from there, start tostructure a uh look at all the
existing content and structure ago-forward plan.
In many cases, you know,companies that have businesses
that have a lot of content, alot of blog articles, a lot of
posts, uh, they're already in agood spot.
Now, the the content may not beformatted optimally for AI
(27:46):
search, which then means goodnews is we we have a lot of
content, but the challenge islet's get this content reformat
it in a way that search engines,you know, these AI search
engines actually read it.
So that becomes the next step.
And then the go forward planneeds to be creating the type of
content that AI search enginesreally do care about.
And this is where social mediaalso comes in.
(28:08):
If you have a strong socialpresence, um, you know, videos
and posts, um, you know, otherother other content across,
let's say, well, Twitter, it'syou know, it's XNAP or LinkedIn
or Facebook.
Uh, you'd be surprised.
Many of these uh AI searchengines do also index social
media content.
Not just it's not just aboutGoogle anymore.
SPEAKER_03 (28:30):
No, I I know that very well too, and that adds to
the foundation of authority thatAI is going to look for your
business.
Again, change change is alwayschallenging.
That's an understatement for themorning.
But change, at this, in thiscase, in point, is certainly a
necessity for a business to notjust succeed, but even to
survive, because you could getvery easily and quickly
(28:53):
overshadowed by yourcompetition.
And I'm pretty confident sayingthat's something you do not want
to happen.
Learn more about the way toachieve more effective AEO as
well as SEO.
Contact AIS Media.
You can contact them throughtheir website, AISmedia.com.
He is their CEO.
Thomas Harpointer.
(29:14):
Thomas, thank you for theeducation of AEO and thanks for
being here today.
SPEAKER_00 (29:18):
Absolute pleasure, Chris.
Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_03 (29:24):
She was a Republican politician from Maine, became
the first woman to serve in bothhouses of the U.S.
Congress.
She was in the House ofRepresentatives from 1940 to 49,
then served in the U.S.
Senate from 1949 to 1973.
A few of her majoraccomplishments, she was the
first woman elected to theSenate without being first
(29:47):
appointed to fill a vacancy.
1964, Smith became the firstwoman to have her name placed in
nomination for the presidency ata major political party's
convention.
Smith served on the ArmedServices Committee where she
sponsored the Women's ArmedServices Integration Act, that
was in 1948, which granted womenpermanent status and benefits in
(30:11):
the military.
Smith held the record for themost consecutive roll call votes
in the Senate, 2,941.
That record stood until 1968,and she was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in1989, but perhaps overshadowing
all of that, at least in myopinion, was a speech that Smith
(30:32):
made on June first, nineteenfifty, which has become known as
the Declaration of ConsciousSpeech.
It's the first major publicdenunciation of McCarthyism,
which of course used allegationsof disloyalty, particularly
regarding communism, all comingfrom within the Re Republican
Party.
Some of the key points of thespeech.
(30:54):
Smith condemned characterassassination.
She warned that the RepublicanParty should not try to ride to
victory on fear, ignorance,bigotry, and smear.
Sound familiar?
She also outlined four reallybasic principles of Americanism
that she thought was underattack, the right to criticize,
(31:16):
the right to hold unpopularbeliefs, the right to protest,
the right of independentthought.
Again I ask.
Sound familiar?
Smith blamed both parties forthe climate of fear that was
existing at that time.
She blamed Democrats for lack ofeffective leadership, and she
blamed fellow Republicans forexploiting that fear for
(31:37):
political gain.
Which leads to the samequestion.
Sound familiar?
Now while there's no audiorecord of Smith's declaration of
conscious speech, there is thetranscript as part of the
congressional record, and I wasable to find a recreation of the
entire speech, which, given thestate of affairs in the days
(31:59):
that we are trying to live inhere in America today, I thought
going back to hear the words ofMargaret Chase Smith and the
Declaration of Conscious Speechwould be very valuable for us
all.
So let's have that.
SPEAKER_04 (32:15):
Mr.
President, I would like to speakbriefly and simply about a
serious national condition.
It is a national feeling of fearand frustration that could
result in national suicide andthe end of everything that we
Americans hold dear.
It is a condition that comesfrom the lack of effective
(32:37):
leadership in either thelegislative branch or the
executive branch of ourgovernment.
That leadership is so lackingthat serious and responsible
proposals are being made thatnational advisory commissions be
appointed to provide suchcritically needed leadership.
I speak as briefly as possiblebecause too much harm has
(32:58):
already been done withirresponsible words of
bitterness and selfish politicalopportunism.
I speak as briefly as possiblebecause the issue is too great
to be obscured by eloquence.
I speak simply and briefly inthe hope that my words will be
taken to heart.
(33:18):
I speak as a Republican.
I speak as a woman.
I speak as a United StatesSenator.
I speak as an American.
The United States Senate haslong employed worldwide respect
as the greatest deliberativebody in the world.
But recently, that deliberativecharacter has too often been
(33:42):
debased to the level of a forumof hate and character
assassination sheltered by theshield of congressional
immunity.
It is ironical that we senatorscan, in debate, in the Senate,
directly or indirectly, by anyform of words, impute to any
(34:02):
American who is not a senatorany conduct or motive unworthy
or unbecoming an American.
And without that non-senatorAmerican having any legal
redress against us.
Yet, if we say the same thing inthe Senate about our colleagues,
we can be stopped on the groundsof being out of order.
(34:27):
It is strange that we canverbally attack anyone else
without restraint and with fullprotection, and yet we hold
ourselves above the same type ofcriticism here on the Senate
floor.
Surely the United States Senateis big enough to take
self-criticism andself-appraisal.
Surely we should be able to takethe same kind of character
attacks that we dish out tooutsiders.
(34:51):
I think that it is high time forthe United States Senate and its
members to do some soulsearching, for us to weigh our
consciences on the manner inwhich we are performing our duty
to the people of America, on themanner in which we are using or
abusing our individual powersand privileges.
(35:12):
I think that it is high timethat we remembered that we have
sworn to uphold and defend theConstitution.
I think that it is high timethat we remembered the
Constitution as amended speaksnot only of the freedom of
speech, but also of trial byjury instead of trial by
accusation.
(35:33):
Whether it be a criminalprosecution in court or a
character prosecution in theSenate, there is little
practical distinction when thelife of a person has been
ruined.
Those of us who shout theloudest about Americanism in
making character assassinationsare all too frequently those
who, by our own words and acts,ignore some of the basic
(35:58):
principles of Americanism.
The right to criticize, theright to hold unpopular beliefs,
the right to protest, the rightof independent thought.
The exercise of these rightsshould not cost one single
(36:18):
American citizen his reputationor his right to a livelihood,
nor should he be in danger oflosing his reputation or
livelihood merely because hehappens to know someone who
holds unpopular beliefs.
Who of us doesn't?
Otherwise, none of us could callour souls our own.
(36:40):
Otherwise, thought control wouldhave set in.
The American people are sick andtired of being afraid to speak
their minds lest they bepolitically smeared as
communists or fascists by theiropponents.
Freedom of speech is not what itused to be in America.
It has been so abused by somethat it is not exercised by
(37:03):
others.
The American people are sick andtired of seeing innocent people
smeared and guilty peoplewhitewashed.
But there have been enoughproved cases, such as the
Amirasia case, the Hiss case,the Koplon case, the Gold case,
to cause the nationwide distrustand strong suspicion that there
(37:26):
may be something to theunproved, sensational
accusations.
As a Republican, I say to mycolleagues on this side of the
aisle that the Republican Partyfaces a challenge today that is
not unlike the challenge that itfaced back in Lincoln's day.
The Republican Party sosuccessfully met that challenge
(37:48):
that it emerged from the CivilWar as the champion of a united
nation, in addition to being aparty that unrelentingly fought
loose spending and looseprograms.
Today, our country is beingpsychologically divided by the
confusion and the suspicionsthat are bred in the United
(38:09):
States Senate to spread likecancerous tentacles of know
nothing, suspect, everythingattitudes.
Today we have a democraticadministration that has
developed a mania for loosespending and loose programs.
History is repeating itself.
(38:29):
And the Republican Party againhas the opportunity to emerge as
the champion of unity andprudence.
The record of the presentDemocratic administration has
provided us with sufficientcampaign issues without the
necessity of resorting topolitical smears.
America is rapidly losing itsposition as the leader of the
(38:50):
world simply because theDemocratic Administration has
pitifully failed to provideeffective leadership.
The Democratic Administrationhas completely confused the
American people by its dailycontradictory grave warnings and
optimistic assurances that showthe people that our Democratic
Administration has no idea ofwhere it is going.
(39:14):
The Democratic Administrationhas greatly lost the confidence
of the American people by itscomplacency to the threat of
communism here at home and theleak of vital secrets to Russia
through key officials of theDemocratic Administration.
There are enough proved cases tomake this point without diluting
(39:36):
our criticism with unprovedcharges.
Surely, these are sufficientreasons to make it clear to the
American people that it is timefor a change and that a
Republican victory is necessaryto the security of this country.
Surely it is clear that thisnation will continue to suffer
(40:00):
as long as it is governed by thepresent ineffective democratic
administration.
Yet to displace it with aRepublican regime embracing a
philosophy that lacks politicalintegrity or intellectual
honesty would prove equallydisastrous to this nation.
(40:21):
The nation sorely needs aRepublican victory, but I don't
want to see the Republican Partyride to political victory on the
four horsemen of calumny.
Fear, ignorance, bigotry, andsmear.
I doubt if the Republican Partycould, simply because I don't
(40:41):
believe the American people willuphold any political party that
puts political exploitationabove national interest.
And surely we Republicans aren'tthat desperate for victory.
I don't want to see theRepublican Party win that way.
While it might be a fleetingvictory for the Republican
Party, it would be a morelasting defeat for the American
(41:03):
people.
Surely it would ultimately besuicide for the Republican Party
and the two-party system thathas protected our American
liberties from the dictatorshipof a one-party system.
As members of the minorityparty, we do not have the
primary authority to formulatethe policy of our government.
(41:25):
But we do have theresponsibility of rendering
constructive criticism, ofclarifying issues, of allaying
fears by acting as responsiblecitizens.
As a woman, I wonder how themothers, wives, sisters, and
daughters feel about the way inwhich members of their families
(41:46):
have been politically mangled inSenate debate.
And I use the word debateadvisedly.
As a United States Senator, I amnot proud of the way in which
the Senate has been made apublicity platform for
irresponsible sensationalism.
I am not proud of the recklessabandon in which unproved
charges have been hurled fromthis side of the aisle.
(42:08):
I am not proud of the obviouslystaged, undignified
countercharges that have beenattempted in retaliation from
the other side of the aisle.
I don't like the way the Senatehas been made a rendezvous for
vilification, for selfishpolitical gain at the sacrifice
of individual reputations andnational unity.
(42:29):
I am not proud of the way wesmear outsiders from the floor
of the Senate and hide behindthe cloak of congressional
immunity and still placeourselves beyond criticism on
the floor of the Senate.
As an American, I am shocked atthe way Republicans and
Democrats alike are playingdirectly into the Communist
(42:50):
design of confuse, divide, andconquer.
As an American, I don't want aDemocratic administration
whitewash or cover-up any morethan I want a Republican smear
or witch hunt.
As an American, I condemn aRepublican fascist just as much
(43:10):
as I condemn a Democraticcommunist.
I condemn a Democratic fascistjust as much as I condemn a
Republican communist.
They are equally dangerous toyou and me and to our country.
As an American, I want to seeour nation recapture the
strength and unity it once hadwhen we fought the enemy instead
(43:35):
of ourselves.
It is with these thoughts that Ihave drafted what I call a
declaration of conscience.
I am gratified that SenatorToby, Senator Aiken, Senator
Morse, Senator Ives, SenatorThy, and Senator Hendrickson
have concurred in thatdeclaration and have authorized
(43:56):
me to announce theirconcurrence.
The Declaration reads asfollows.
One, we are Republicans, but weare Americans first.
It is as Americans that weexpress our concern with the
growing confusion that threatensthe security and stability of
our country.
Democrats and Republicans alikehave contributed to that
(44:17):
confusion.
Two, the Democraticadministration has initially
created the confusion by itslack of effective leadership, by
its contradictory, gravewarnings and optimistic
assurances, by its complacencyto the threat of communism here
at home, by itsoversensitivities to rightful
criticism, by its pettybitterness against its critics.
(44:41):
Three, certain elements of theRepublican Party have materially
added to this confusion in thehopes of riding the Republican
Party to victory through theselfish political exploitation
of fear, bigotry, ignorance, andintolerance.
There are enough mistakes of theDemocrats for Republicans to
criticize constructively withoutresorting to political smears.
(45:05):
Four.
To this extent, Democrats andRepublicans alike have
unwittingly, but undeniably,played directly into the
communist design of confuse,divide, and conquer.
Five, it is high time that westopped thinking politically as
(45:26):
Republicans and Democrats aboutelections, and started thinking
patriotically as Americans aboutnational security based on
individual freedom.
It is high time that we allstopped being tools and victims
of totalitarian techniques.
Techniques that, if continuedhere unchecked, will surely end
(45:48):
what we have come to cherish asthe American way of life.
SPEAKER_03 (45:54):
Reading from Genesis chapter 1, verse 1.
In the beginning, God createdthe heavens and the earth.
Now, if you prefer the NewTestament, here is what's told
in John chapter 1, verses 1through 5.
In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.
He was in the beginning withGod.
(46:15):
All things were made throughhim, and without him nothing was
made that was made.
In him was life, and the lifewas the light of men, and the
light shines in the darkness,and the darkness did not
comprehend it.
Adding to that, let's go toColossians chapter one verses
sixteen and seventeen.
For by him all things werecreated that are in heaven, and
(46:36):
that are on earth, visible andinvisible, whether thrones or
dominions or principalities orpowers, all things were created
through him and for him, and heis before all things and in him
all things consist.
Now when it comes to us livingbeings, as well as all that's
around us here on earth andabove it, there are two beliefs
(46:59):
in how it all came aboutevolution or creation.
Let's start with evolution.
Evolution brings with it theclaim that the Earth and all of
the galaxy came about throughwhat's called the Big Bang.
That claims that a collision ofmatter and energy took place,
which resulted in the sun, theplanets, the stars, etc, etc.
(47:22):
A couple of questions that comefrom that concept.
Where did that matter come from?
How did that energy come intoexistence?
Was it all just there?
The problem is that everymeasure of science concludes
with no exception that it'stotally and completely
impossible for something tophysically result from nothing.
(47:47):
But just for the sake ofargument, let's go with the Big
Bang.
That takes us to the belief thatall who we are and all that's
around us just happened byaccident.
Have you ever noticed that whencreationists talk their game
they focus solely on mankindevolving from apes?
Which I makes me wonder if thepeople who believe that ever
(48:08):
stop to realize that if you tellpeople he came from animals,
that's how they'll behave, but Idigress.
There's obviously more around usthan just us.
Mammals, fish, birds, insects,everyone, including humans, for
the most part, have some degreeof intelligence, instincts, and
a purpose.
(48:29):
So that kind of complicatesthings for that evolution idea,
doesn't it?
Now there are no complexitieswith creation, only faith in
that it is God's way ofproviding for us all.
That's why Jesus recognized asthe creation, as we read his
words in Mark chapter ten versessix through nine, for from the
beginning of the creation, Godmade them male and female, for
(48:52):
this reason a man shall leavehis father and mother, and be
joined to his wife, and the twoshall become one flesh, so then
they are no longer two but oneflesh, therefore what God has
joined together let not manseparate.
Hebrews chapter eleven versethree gives us this lesson.
By faith we understand that theworlds were framed by the Word
(49:13):
of God, so that the things whichare seen were not made of things
which are visible.
Additionally in firstCorinthians chapter eight verse
six, we had this yet for usthere is one God the Father, of
whom are all things, and we forhim, and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things, andthrough whom we live.
(49:36):
Now creation obviously includesus.
Now most are familiar with howGenesis tells us that we were
made in God's image, hisspiritual image, by the way.
Ephesians chapter two verse tenfurther clarifies things for us
by reminding us of our purpose.
Reading here, for we are hisworkmanship created in Christ
(49:57):
Jesus for good works which Godprepared beforehand that we
should walk in them.
Now it's time for a quiz.
How many times is evolutionmentioned in the Bible?
Zero.
How many times is evolvementioned in the Bible?
Zero.
(50:19):
How many times is created invarious forms mentioned in the
Bible?
Enough to establish a faithfulunderstanding.
We have this from Job chapterthirty seven verse five.
God thunders marvelously withhis voice, he does great things
which we cannot comprehend.
Hebrews chapter one verse tenestablishes this You Lord in the
(50:41):
beginning laid the foundation ofthe earth and the heavens are
the work of your hands.
When we look up, we should singthe words of Psalm chapter
nineteen verse one, the heavensdeclare the glory of God and the
firmament shows his handiwork.
Going back to my time at sales,salespeople are often asked to
turn in what are called callsheets.
(51:01):
Just a list of people you saw,the things that you did, the
money hopefully brought into thecompany.
We could read God's call sheetin Isaiah chapter forty two
verse five.
Thus says God the Lord, whocreated the heavens and
stretched them out, who spreadforth the earth, and that which
comes from it, who gives breathto the people on it, and spirit
(51:21):
to those who walk on it.
Earlier I mentioned that thereis no law of science that allows
the creation of something out oftotally nothing.
Dr.
Michael Gillen, who was with usa few weeks ago, he was also
science editor with ABC News fora bunch of years, this past week
released a documentary that wetalked about the Invisible
Everywhere, and in it hedemonstrates how science is
(51:44):
actually a strong ally of faithand proof of the existence of
God.
You can find out more aboutMichael's film at the
InvisibleEverywhere dot com.
While my hope is that the peoplewill have the ears to hear what
I've shared with you here todayand see the justification for
it, I know not all will takethat road.
So for those, the words we findin Romans chapter one verses
(52:05):
nineteen through twenty one, Ibelieve are their awakening.
Because what may be known of Godis manifest in them, for God has
shown it to them, for since thecreation of the world, his
invisible attributes are clearlyseen, being understood by the
things that are made, even aseternal power and Godhead, so
that they are without excusebecause although they knew God,
(52:29):
they did not glorify him as God,nor were thankful, but became
futile in their thoughts, andtheir foolish hearts were
darkened.
Be sure to check out ourwebsite, issues and ideas
radio.com.
You'll find more informationabout the guests who joined us
here on the show today, or thenumerous features on the
homepage all throughout thewebsite.
And if you're listening to usthrough your favorite podcast
(52:50):
platform, be sure to subscribeand follow us.
Always appreciate you spendingyour time with us here, and look
forward to being with you righthere this time next week for our
next edition of Issues andIdeas.
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