PITTSBURGH—With the nation’s eyes fixed particularly on Pennsylvania for Tuesday’s election, Victory Road seemed a fitting location for residents anticipating the outcome.  One of the street’s residents, Nancy Roderick, 89, said the stakes are high. “I think if we don’t win this time, it’s all over,” Roderick, a resident in the North Hills suburbs of Pittsburgh, told The Daily Signal.  She plans to vote for former President Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Senate candidate David McCormick, who is challenging three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. “The three houses down here are Republican, but those others have Harris signs,” she noted of her other Victory Road neighbors.  In the RealClearPolitics average of polls, Trump has a 0.4% lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Keystone State. But at least five Pennsylvania polls completed in October—including the most recent—show an actual tie between the two.  In the Senate race, Casey holds a slim 2.4% lead over McCormick in the RealClearPolitics average, though two recent polls show the race is tied.  Roderick—the octogenarian who said she hasn’t missed an election since casting her first ballot as a senior at Chatham University in Pittsburgh—doesn’t want to vote early.  “I always vote on Election Day,” Roderick asserted.  She spoke with The Daily Signal after inviting Emily Greene, AFP Action’s Pennsylvania state director, to her home. AFP Action is the advocacy arm of the conservative Americans for Prosperity. Greene passed out McCormick campaign flyers to those who answered their doors or left the flyers on the doorknob for those who weren’t home.  She coordinates the 230 door-knockers in the state. The previous Tuesday–one week before Election Day–AFP Action reached a milestone of knocking on its 1 millionth door.   “We go door to door and try to cut through the noise,” Greene told The Daily Signal. “People are bombarded with political ads and tune them out.” AFP Action focuses on persuadable voters, as well as trying to ensure that Republicans turn out and are aware of the Senate race. The door-knockers use a cellphone app that lists the residents’ address, party registration, and even if he or she is a likely conservative based on past participation. It also shows if the resident has already returned a mail ballot.  During her door-knocking rounds, Greene also hit Ryland Drive, a short distance from Victory Road. There, David Nelle, 54, was outside of his garage while blowing away leaves in the yard.  “The economy is a train wreck, and crime is high. I’ve had to fire people just to have enough money in the budget to hire additional security,” Nelle told The Daily Signal after setting down the leaf blower. “We can’t have a good economy without restoring safety.”  That’s not his only concern, as he said he is voting for all Republicans. “My daughter got a full-ride scholarship for sports, and I don’t want her competing against college boys,” he added.  Even with the app that had voter data, there were some surprises. One of the homes on Ryland Drive, listed as the residence of a Republican, had a Harris-Walz sign and a “Jesus 2024” sign. The resident didn’t answer the door. Greene noted she’s encountered split-ticket voters.  “If Harris is elected, AFP Action wants to make sure there is a firewall to stop progressive, dangerous ideas,” Greene said. “She’ll push for eliminating the Senate filibuster and for D.C. statehood.”  After seeing a Harris sign on the lawn of another registered Republican on Victory Road, Greene still knocked on the door. The Victory Road resident said he wasn’t planning to vote for McCormick.  When Greene asked if he was a Republican, he replied, “Recent events have changed my perspective.” Another registered Republican on Victory Road wasn’t enamored of his role as a swing-state voter and potential to shift the Electoral College.  He voted for Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver, and for other third-party candidates.  “I’m a registered Republican, and I lean right,” said the 31-year-old who shared his name with The Daily Signal but asked that it not be published. “Both parties have a problem. I voted Libertarian. That’s not a good long-term solution. But, if you want to cut out the fat, we are in a mess.” Asked if he’s worried about wasting his vote, he replied, “The problem is that we always accept it as it is because we don’t want the other side to win, and nothing ever changes.” The flyers say on one side, “Dave McCormick—U.S. Senate—will put party politics aside to deliver solutions,” with color photos of McCormick. On the flip side is a black-and-white photo of Casey standing in front of the U.S. Capitol, with the caption: “Bob Casey has failed Pennsylvania.”  On Ryland Drive, Greene went to the door of a registered Republican that data showed leaned conservative. Unfortunately, the stack of flyers she held showed Casey’s face. When the Republican resident opened the door to see a flier with Casey’s face, he said, “I’m not interested in seeing him,” and closed the door.  Susan Nightingale, 81, also on Ryland Drive, had already voted.  “The biggest issue is just anti-Harris. Keep her out,” Nightingale told The Daily Signal.  She appreciated the huge role Pennsylvania could play in who wins the White House and possibly who controls the Senate.  “It’s amazing that Pennsylvania is getting so much attention,” Nightingale said. “I think Pennsylvanians can overall see what is going on now needs to stop. They [the Biden-Harris administration] didn’t finish the border fence. It’s a shame they are just letting that fence material lie there and waste.” The post ‘If We Don’t Win, It’s All Over’: Battleground Pennsylvania Voters Embrace Decisive Role appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Two companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party have deals to build battery plants for electric vehicles in Michigan, a battleground state in Tuesday’s presidential election. The objective of Chinese communists, some political leaders say, is to shatter the U.S. automobile industry. “Make no mistake, China is seeking to undermine our nation’s economic and national security,” Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate in Michigan’s race for U.S. Senate, said in September in a written statement to The Daily Signal.  Peter Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said he thinks the battery plants and China’s threat to the U.S. automobile industry are a compelling issue for the state’s voters. “They recognize that if we lose the automobile industry to China—which we are doing—it’s going to significantly harm the economy in the state of Michigan,” Hoekstra said in a Sept. 18 telephone interview with The Daily Signal.  Gotion Inc., which opened Michigan’s northernmost battery component plant in Big Rapids, is a U.S. subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech Co. Ltd., the Chinese manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles. In February 2023, Ford Motor Co. announced a partnership with another Chinese EV battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., to build Blue Oval Battery Park in Marshall as its southernmost EV battery plant in Michigan.  The battleground state’s major party candidates for Senate—Rogers, a former GOP congressman, and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat—are vying for the seat of Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is retiring in January after four terms and 24 years.  Both Rogers and Slotkin have focused heavily on the battery plant deals in Michigan. Slotkin didn’t respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.  Ford also didn’t respond to a request for comment about its Blue Oval Battery Park, nor did China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL. The office of Michigan Democratic Chairwoman Lavora Barnes acknowledged but didn’t follow up on a request for comment from The Daily Signal. What is happening with batteries in the auto industry is typical of how China goes into other countries, the GOP’s Hoekstra said. The Chinese target industries there, subsidize them so production and manufacturing of a product is undercut in America, then jacks up prices once the technology has left the country for China.  “This is the Chinese now targeting one of the biggest industries in America: the automobile industry,” Hoekstra told The Daily Signal.  China built up its own automotive industry and now wants to drive a stake through the heart of the U.S. auto industry, he said.  “The Chinese think long term. This is a 10-, 15-, 20-year plan to make sure that in 10 or 15 years, if you want to buy a car, you’re going to have to buy Chinese-manufactured vehicles,” Hoekstra said. Hoekstra said he thinks the two battery plants will significantly affect Tuesday’s election because Michigan voters are concerned about the state government’s investment of billions of dollars in the plants through direct incentives and infrastructure investments. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, gave $210 million in taxpayers’ money to the plant operated at Blue Oval Battery Park by Ford and CATL, the Chinese manufacturer, as well as tax abatements and other handouts, according to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.  Gotion Inc.’s project has a price tag of $715 million in grants and tax breaks, according to Joseph Cella, an ambassador to Fiji and other Pacific islands during the Trump administration.  “The tax breaks crush the local community,” said Cella, cofounder with Hoesktra of the Michigan China Economic Security Review Group. Glenn Kowlaske, a 37-year resident of Marshall Township and retired engineering manager, recently was elected as the township’s treasurer.  Kowlaske and other challengers defeated the township’s previous leaders, who they said weren’t transparent about the Ford-CATL deal with the township of 3,000 and Marshall, a city of 7,000. “For Marshall residents, there’s a variety of concerns,” Kowlaske said. “A lot of it starts with the way the state overran, in our case, Marshall Township and the city of Marshall, to build what will ultimately be a 3,000-acre megasite [for Ford/CATL].”  Just as residents of Marshall Township voted out board members over lack of transparency about the Ford-CATL deal, residents of Michigan’s Green Charter Township voted out all five board members for supporting the deal for the Gotion battery plant. The Chinese Communist Party bribed officials in Green Charter Township to approve an initial development agreement for Gotion, Cella testified Sept. 24 before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.  However, rather than conduct the deal with transparency, integrity, and accountability, government and business elites did exactly the opposite with the Green Charter project, Cella said.  “They moved fast and in secret, binding them and shrouding them in five- and 10-year nondisclosure agreements using secret code names,” Cella said. “This ruptures the consent of the governed and certainly jeopardizes our national security.” Gotion Inc. Vice President Chuck Thelen said he couldn’t comment on the battery parts plant in Green Charter. But Tracy Ruell, a Democrat running for Michigan state representative, said in September that she supports the project because of the jobs it will bring to Big Rapids.   “These are the people who are working their butts off, and they’re barely getting by,” Ruell said in a phone interview with The Daily Signal. “We need opportunities for middle-class-wage jobs in this community, and Gotion has the ability to provide those.” Ruell said she also supports Gotion because the corporation will keep the U.S. competitive in the electric vehicle industry. “The automakers want to move into this area, and we should be doing what we can to help them do that,” Ruell told The Daily Signal. “If you look at the stats of automobile companies and where they are with the EV, we’re not at the top. If it wasn’t for Tesla, we wouldn’t even be in the picture as a country when it comes to EVs, so we shouldn’t be stopping this [the Gotion plant] for political reasons.” Hoekstra, the state GOP chairman, said he agrees that the U.S. needs to stay competitive in the global automobile industry. But, he said, he doesn’t believe America’s strategy ought to be partnering with a communist regime.  “I don’t think China’s a great partner. They do not have America’s or America’s workers or America’s economy as their point of interest,” Hoekstra said. “They want to destroy it. They want to destroy us.” The U.S. could and should partner with companies from free market-friendly places such as Japan, South Korea, or Europe, he said. The post China’s 2 EV Battery Plants in Michigan Spark National Security Concerns appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The Left has a tendency to grade the media’s performance based on results. It doesn’t matter if you favor the Democrats aggressively if they don’t win—or if the polls seem tied. Recently, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson was celebrated on “Morning Joe” for writing a column that complained the media were rougher on Vice President Kamala Harris than on former President Donald Trump: “Somehow, it is apparently baked into this campaign that Trump is allowed to talk and act like a complete lunatic, while Harris has to be perfect in every way.” This argument—after to be picked up by Michelle Obama and others—is nowhere close to reality. The legacy media have overwhelmingly favored Harris. On the evening news broadcasts on ABC, CBS, and NBC, the Media Research Center finds her coverage is 78% positive and Trump’s is 85% negative. Let’s guess that this complaint about how Harris “has to be perfect” reflects the way that liberal journalists and their Democratic allies talk about Harris among themselves. They cannot believe Trump is doing this well, so they have to blame her for not being a perfect political talent. In their minds, Trump lives as a cartoon monster, a “complete lunatic.” That is reflected in every story and segment that they do. Just as in 2016, they believe their candidate should be ahead by 15 or 20 points. They hoped for a female Barack Obama, and it’s looking like they have a biracial Hillary Rodham Clinton. One of the blind spots on the Left is always presuming that everything they favor is popular—or with enough repetitively positive “reporting,” will eventually become so. So, they imagine that everyone will come around on putting boys in girls’ sports, or everyone will see the wisdom in flying planeloads of illegal immigrants into small towns. Oppose them, and you’re not just wrong. You’re a “complete lunatic”; you’re racist, xenophobic, homophobic—you have all the phobias. What really upsets the “Morning Joe” crew is that Americans are getting their news from other sources and not accepting all their “wisdom.” If people are unsure of Harris, a lot of that is based on the radical left-wing stances she has taken. The media don’t talk about her sponsoring the “Green New Deal,” or her stand in favor of “reimagining” taking money away from the police, or her backing a bail fund for violent criminals in Minneapolis after the 2020 George Floyd riots. Even if you run around touting how she’s backed away from all or most of these—even though her bail fund tweet is still posted—then you’re staring at a picture of an inauthentic candidate just picking her policy prescriptions to win within a Democratic primary. She’s plastic, a DEI Barbie. People can be unsure of Harris based on her political career, where the media have no curiosity about questions like this: If Harris grew up “middle class” with a single mother, where was the father? Was there no child support? The legacy media (especially on television) have displayed zero curiosity on these matters. What happened when she dated then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown at the start of her political career? Zero curiosity. Most of all, they can’t acknowledge that Harris didn’t run in the 2024 primaries, and so she is an untested candidate. She might seem more “perfect” if she wasn’t installed at the last minute. She needs to be “reintroduced to the country,” they say. But their reintroduction feels like all celebration and no substance. This presidential campaign coverage has been so bad that you can’t tell the difference between the “news” and the mudslinging 30-second campaign commercials. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Crazy Talk About Media Favoring Trump Over Harris appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Orson Welles' first feature film, which he co-wrote, directed, produced, and starred in 1941's Citizen Kane, is considered one of the greatest movies ever made. Following the media tycoon Charles Foster Kane's life through his modest upbringing, rise to power, and ultimate decline, the film is renowned for its innovative cinematography, narrative structure, acting, writing... Source

There’s nothing more frustrating than waking up one morning to see your homegrown, carefully tended garden has been torn apart by a pesky varmint. Trapping Techniques To Trap A Pesky Varmint If you’ve tried every method under the sun to repel, exclude, or scare away a garden pest that just won’t seem to leave, consider the method of live trapping, which has started to become very popular over the years for lots of farmers and gardeners both. There are two types of trapping you might practice: trap and release, and lethal trapping. You might consider both options and choose the one that you think will most effectively get rid of the varmint, or varmints, who have been tampering with your garden. A couple of factors should go into your thought process. Keep in mind that live trapping is best suited for a single pest, as opposed to larger groups or populations of varmints that might be invading your area. Here are some tips for the first option of pest removal: Lethal Trapping: Alter your garden or habitat to make sure that the animal cannot fully escape if it somehow frees itself of the trap; this can be done by putting up wire or wooden fencing. Try your hardest not to make the trap obviously known to the intruder. To ensure that your trap is not discovered by the varmint, wear gloves to protect leaving traces of your scent. Know your predator. Understand the size and sturdiness of the type of animal that is intruding, and build a trap accordingly that matches the weight and size of the predator. Make sure that the trap is anchored to the ground so the animal cannot roll over in the trap and escape. Place plywood under the trap to ensure that the intruder does not scratch the garden or piece of land after he has been caught. Lure the animal to the trap, multiple times if necessary. To do this, start by leading a small trail of “treats” for the predator (these can be scraps of human food). Do not make the trail too obviously planted; the predators are smart and they might recognize that they are being tricked. Next, bait the trap but DO NOT set it just yet. You want to establish trust between the trap and the animal by showing that it has nothing to fear. This will get the intruder used to engaging with the trap and seeing it in a non-threatening way. For lethal trapping, make sure that you check the trap at least once a day and bury or empty the remains as soon as possible, to avoid any decomposition or smells lingering that might attract future or different predators. Disinfect the trap thoroughly with bleach after each catch. Rabies can be transmitted by saliva, and simply touching saliva residue can cause transmission of the disease – you don’t have to be bitten! Lethal trapping is just one option that will depend upon the size of your predator, how frequently it is visiting your garden, and what kind of damage it is inflicting. For smaller predators, such as squirrels, gophers, opossums, and skunks, you might consider trapping and releasing. Before you choose this option, however, remember that if not done properly, trapping and releasing can actually be a crueler method than lethal trapping, if the animal remains too long and is injured upon release. And as always, check with your state game officer to make sure that trapping and release is legal in your area; in some places, it is not. Read on for some helpful tips that will ensure your trapping and releasing is safe to both the predator, and your garden. Non-Lethal Trapping: Use caution when releasing all animals, especially the larger ones such as raccoons and skunks. The safest approach is tying a thick rope to the trap door. You’ll want to run the rope through an open window in your vehicle and park close enough to where you can use leverage to pull and open the trap door, but far enough away to avoid an angry predator. For nut-eating animals like chipmunks and squirrels, use traps made of metal. These creatures have sharp teeth and can easily chew through wooden traps. Predators like gophers and moles tend to be most active in the spring, and you should plan your traps according to this fertile season. For these predators, you will need to place the trap in a tunnel and disguise it well with soil. If you’re not having any luck within 2 or 3 days catching the intruder, try moving the trap and trying again (of course, handle with gloves to avoid leaving your scent.) Larger-sized varmints, such as raccoons and opossums, need to have their bait placed at the far back of the trap so it closes properly; otherwise, the animal could easily back out of the trap after feeding on the bait. Make sure these traps are strongly anchored, as the predator in question is larger in size. Take care when releasing these animals! For a skunk, cover your trap with a tarp or a dark piece of fabric, as skunks like to explore dark areas. This cover will also protect you if the skunk happens to spray once getting trapped. Woodchucks are another common predator, and a trap will need to be placed right at the sight of their burrow as soon as you spot them nesting. Woodchucks should only be trapped in the summer – trapping in the spring, like you might do for other predators, could endanger a burrow full of young and end up orphaning the babies. You have invested a lot of time and care in your gardens, and they deserve to be protected so they can thrive and bloom beautifully to their fullest potential! These tips will ensure that you will choose the correct option for the varmint that is spoiling your land, and will make certain that they will not be back for another unwelcome visit! Up Next: Salsa, Guac, Hummus Oh My! | The Perfect Springtime Trifecta Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!

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Anomalien is now on Flipboard! By following us, you’ll get direct access to our curated mix of mind-bending articles, mysterious stories, and cutting-edge science updates. In addition to the latest updates, we’ll occasionally be sharing PREMIUM articles for free. This means our most exclusive content will be available for all followers on Flipboard, giving you a taste of the in-depth stories and insights we provide through our PLUS+ membership. Head over to Flipboard now and follow us! The post Follow Anomalien on Flipboard for Exclusive Content! appeared first on Anomalien.com.

The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for TV public-affairs programs, insisted upon “strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.” But that’s not what we’ve gotten It's a grand deception made all the more clear in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. One candidate, Donald Trump, has been constantly attacked for several months leading up to the election on the weekday PBS News Hour. A separate half-hour show, PBS News Weekend, often runs evergreen-type stories that aren’t political news. But this weekend’s episodes also attacked Trump on several social issue fronts without any conservative rebuttal. Anchor John Yang teased a story at top of Saturday's show that carried the online title "Why anti-transgender political ads are dominating the airwaves this election.“ Anchor John Yang: Then, why anti transgender ads are dominating the airwaves this election. Woman: The group of people that are watching these sporting events are young men. And the Republican Party is trying to tap into what they hope is some level of fear that they can draw up from that group of people. (Note: The unidentified “woman” in the transcript above is actually biological male Erin Reed, a transgender activist and a guest in the relevant segment.) Yang: If you`ve watched TV this month, especially sports like football or baseball, you`ve likely seen campaign ads supporting Donald Trump by attacking Kamala Harris over transgender issues. Laura Baron-Lopez looks at what’s behind them. Laura Barron-Lopez: Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population identifies as transgender. But this election year, Republicans have spent a considerable amount of money on ads demonizing transgender people…. And PBS has spent a considerable amount of tax money spreading LGBTQ propaganda this election cycle, as NewsBusters has documented. PBS aired clips from the anti-Harris ad. Male voiceover: Kamala supports taxpayer funded sex changes for prisoners….Kamala even supports letting biological men compete against our girls in their sports. Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you. Barron-Lopez didn’t dare directly call those charges falsehoods, because every accusation made in the ads was factual. Then she introduced Erin Reed, a biological man and radical transgender activist, as “an advocate and independent journalist covering LGBTQ issues” and noted that she had recently endorsed (shocker!) Vice President Kamala Harris – perhaps PBS’s pathetic idea of disclosure, to go along Reed being PBS’s objective and balanced source on a controversial news topic. Barron-Lopez: Anti-trans rhetoric is a regular part of Donald Trump stump speeches. He regularly lies about kids going to school and receiving gender-affirming surgeries before they return home. But now, in the final stretch, Republicans have been putting out increasing amount of ads that are anti-trans, making it essentially their closing argument. Help us understand the scope and the rhetoric in these ads. Reed said she had “tracked around $100 million in ads” by Republicans. When asked why “Trump and his allies are making this one of their main closing arguments,” Reed responded: Reed: ….this is a classic fear campaign….And so the purpose of a fear campaign is to distract you from issues that you normally care about by making you so afraid of a group of people, of somebody like me, for instance, that you`re willing to throw everything else away because you`re scared. At least PBS aired part of an actual GOP ad, although only to invite Reed to deflate its points. Barron-Lopez: These ads make pretty specific claims about surgery for transgender inmates and undocumented immigrants. Let’s take a listen. Male voiceover: Under liberal border czar Kamala Harris, illegal aliens are pouring into our country, including murderers, rapists, and even terrorists. Instead of paying for their crimes and receiving justice, Kamala will give criminal illegal aliens taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries. Barron-Lopez set up Reed to discredit the accusations, but Reed couldn’t. Barron-Lopez: Walk us through the facts about what’s actually happened with those populations. Reed: What the ad is actually talking about is medical care in the United States is a right by the 8th Amendment, you cannot deny medical care to prisoners…. When asked about the “stakes in this election for transgender Americans,” Reed concluded that even if Trump loses, Reed will still be spreading fear. Reed: Even if Trump doesn’t win and we get a Kamala Harris presidency, we have to contend with a nation that has been primed to hate people like me. Reed also appeared on the PBS News Hour in March 2023 to discuss the tragically misnamed “gender-affirming care” for children, a few months after comparing GOP opposition to genital surgery and hormone therapy as "ongoing anti-trans genocide" on X. This LGBTQ propaganda piece was brought to you in part by Consumer Cellular. A transcript is available, click “Expand.” PBS News Hour 11/2/24 7:06:33 p.m. (ET) John Yang: If you've watched TV this month, especially sports like football or baseball, you've likely seen campaign ads supporting Donald Trump by attacking Kamala Harris over transgender issues. Laura Baron-Lopez looks at what's behind them. Laura Baron-Lopez: Less than 1 percent of the U.S. population identifies as transgender. But this election year, Republicans have spent a considerable amount of money on ads demonizing transgender people. From October 7th to the 20th, Trump's campaign and pro Trump groups spent an estimated $95 million and more than 41 percent of those ads were anti-trans. Man: Kamala supports taxpayer funded sex changes for prisoners. Woman: For prisoners. Kamala Harris: Surgery for prisoners. Every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access. Man: Hell no, I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to that. Man: Kamala supports transgender sex changes in jail without money. Man: Kamala even supports letting biological men compete against our girls in their sports. Kamala is for they, them. President Trump is for you. Laura Barron-Lopez: Erin Reed is an advocate and independent journalist covering LGBTQ issues and she tracks transgender legislation around the world. Recently, Erin announced her decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in this year's presidential election. Erin, thank you so much for being here. Erin Reed, Independent Journalist and LGBTQ Plus Activist: Thank you so much for having me on. Laura Baron-Lopez: Anti-trans rhetoric is a regular part of Donald Trump some speeches. He regularly lies about kids going to school and receiving gender affirming surgeries before they return home. But now, in the final stretch, Republicans have been putting out increasing amount of ads that are anti-trans, making it essentially their closing argument. Help us understand the scope and the rhetoric in these ads. Erin Reed: I have tracked around $100 million in ads. We see Donald Trump spending more money on these ads than on housing, immigration, and the economy combined. This is a major issue for him. Meanwhile, you have groups like the Senate Leadership Fund dropping extreme amounts of money in Senate races in Ohio, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania, and they're all focused on transgender people. Laura Baron-Lopez: The top issues, according to most polls right now, is the economy, abortion, immigration. So why do you think Trump and his allies are making this one of their main closing arguments? Erin Reed: It's important to note that some of the biggest benefactors of the Republican Party, some of the most influential organizations in the party we're talking, groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, for instance, have made this their main issue. If you're running a campaign in a place like Pennsylvania or Ohio or Michigan at any level, and you want money in your campaign, targeting trans people is a really good way to do that. But as for Trump, I think that there's something different at play here. I think that this is a classic fear campaign. We've just got polling today showing that Harris is catching up on the economy and on other issues that Republicans tend to pull well in. And so the purpose of a fear campaign is to distract you from issues that you normally care about by making you so afraid of a group of people, of somebody like me, for instance, that you're willing to throw everything else away because you're scared. Laura Baron-Lopez: Who are these ads targeting? They run during major sporting events. They were just on during the World Series. Who is he trying to reach here? Erin Reed: The group of people that are watching these sporting events are young men. And I think in a lot of cases, the Republican Party is trying to tap into what they hope is some level of fear that they can draw up from that group of people. If you look at most polling and anecdotally, really, young people tend to understand trans people better than anybody else. They're not as afraid of us. And I think that might be part of why this messaging campaign might be falling short. Laura Baron-Lopez: These ads make pretty specific claims about surgery for transgender inmates and undocumented immigrants. Let's take a listen. Man: Under liberal border czar Kamala Harris, illegal aliens are pouring into our country, including murderers, rapists, and even terrorists. Instead of paying for their crimes and receiving justice, Kamala will give criminal illegal aliens to taxpayer funded transgender surgeries. Laura Baron-Lopez: Walk us through the facts about what's actually happened with those populations. Erin Reed: What the ad is actually talking about is medical care in the United States is a right by the 8th amendment. You cannot deny medical care to prisoners. And under the law, a law that was in place during the Trump administration, if a doctor determines that an inmate needs medical care, then they get it. So these ads are actually focused on two instances where a transgender person received gender affirming care in prison, a surgery. And the amount of money spent on these particular cases is far less than the amount of advertising dollars that Trump is pouring into this issue. About 2 to 400 times more money is being used in political ads to make you afraid of two transgender inmates. So afraid that you're not going to care about the economy anymore, you're not going to care about abortion anymore. Laura Baron-Lopez: Erin, when you take a step back, what are the stakes in this election for transgender Americans? Erin Reed: It's been an especially difficult year in the last two or three years for trans people. Just two days ago in Odessa, Texas, they passed a $10,000 bounty on trans people found in the bathroom. I've been tracking anti LGBTQ legislation for years now. And it's not just the ads. The legislatures themselves are spending more time on this issue than anything else. This has been priority number one. And the trans people that live in these states, they constantly have to hear their humanity debated in public. They constantly have to worry about things that I think a lot of Americans take for granted, things like going to the bathroom, getting an updated driver's license, playing a school sport with your friends. But trans people right now are under a relentless assault by the Republican Party. These bills are passing in primarily Republican states. Even if Trump doesn't win and we get a Kamala Harris presidency, we have to contend with a nation that has been primed to hate people like me. Laura Baron-Lopez: Erin Reed, thank you for your time. Erin Reed: Thank you so much for having me.

Sixty years ago this week, Ronald Reagan delivered a speech in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid. It was dubbed “A Time for Choosing.” Re-reading the speech, or watching it on YouTube, is a reminder how little has changed in six decades. Some of the issues debated in 1964 are still being argued and unresolved today. On taxes and spending, Reagan noted: “Thirty-seven cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector’s share, and yet our government continues to spend$ 17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in. We haven’t balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years.” In fiscal 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury, “approximately $0.43 out of every dollar goes to the government” And the debt is $35 trillion, making the 1964 debt look like chump change. This line captured the essence of Reagan’s philosophy and would define conservatism for decades to come: “This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” The only difference between then and now in this excerpt are the names: “…they have voices that say, ‘The Cold War will end through our acceptance of a not undemocratic socialism.’ Another voice says, ‘The profit motive has become outmoded. It must be replaced by the incentives of the welfare state.’ Or, ‘Our traditional system of individual freedom is incapable of solving the complex problems of the 20th century.’ Senator Fulbright has said at Stanford University that the Constitution is outmoded. He referred to the President as ‘our moral teacher and our leader,’ and he says he is ‘hobbled in his task by the restrictions of power imposed on him by this antiquated document.’ He must ‘be freed,’ so that he ‘can do for us’ what he knows ‘is best.’ And Senator Clark of Pennsylvania, another articulate spokesman, defines liberalism as ‘meeting the material needs of the masses through the full power of centralized government.’" Is that not a fair comparison between the philosophies of today’s Democrats and Republicans (however crass the language employed by Donald Trump)? The debate about government’s role in individual lives and businesses is also nothing new. Reagan put it best when he said: “…the full power of centralized government was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don’t control things. A government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they know when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. They also knew, those Founding Fathers, that outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector of the economy.” Reagan had a way of communicating great truths to average people in his storytelling and analogies, such as this one: “We have so many people who can’t see a fat man standing beside a thin one without coming to the conclusion the fat man got that way by taking advantage of the thin one. So they’re going to solve all the problems of human misery through government and government planning. Well, now, if government planning and welfare had the answer – and they’ve had almost 30 years of it – shouldn’t we expect government to read the score to us once in a while? Shouldn’t they be telling us about the decline each year in the number of people needing help?” They cannot because government doesn’t solve many problems, or as Reagan often said, “government is the problem.” While Goldwater lost the election, the speech catapulted Reagan to national attention and in 1980 to the presidency. It’s worth reading to see how little has changed and how it is still a time for choosing.