The Heritage Foundation ink Heritage Foundation and good morning. Great to see you. We have many friends with us today for those of us joining a person watching on line are viewing this on cspan we are grateful that you were included in with us today. I am robert bluey executive editor of our news outlet and its my pleasure toto host the great cal thomas for todays event. As one of americas most read columnist with a distinguished career in media theres not a lot i can tell you about cal that you dont already know. Ill start with his new book which is called a watchman in the night what ive seen over 50 years reporting on america. The book takes you on a journey in time as a columns from the start in 1984 the Los Angeles Times to today but we have a limited number of Copies Available for sale after todays event which cal will sign for you. This book is a remarkable achievement even for a rider and i can say that assn a writer myself. His other titles include americas expiration date, the fall of empire and its superpowers and the future of the united states. What works, Commonsense Solutions for a stronger america, the things that t mattr most in Common Ground have stop the partisan war that destroying americar group before he turned the stage over to cal wholl will make remarks and answer questions a few more words about his career and the lessons hes taught us through his humor. He started his career in journalism at the age of 16 and would eventually have his column by hundreds including her own daily signal. When the column started he was in fewer than 10 papers nationwide and although he wasnt the only conservative voice appearing on americas part of pages he distinguished himself each week by focusing on serving as the watchmen for americas founding principals. Cal was ax commentator on Fox News Channel for 19 years hosting his own show in serving on panels with others and has worked in houston nbc news in washington and host of the program for nbc. In 2011 cal received the william f. Buckley a worker media excellence and 2020 to the william l. Armstrong award for provision or a leadership and service from the centennial at the two. Although the social political and religious views closely aligned to those we have the Heritage Foundation pilon got developedit a relationship with people who didnt always agree tempered the late bob beckel wae one oflu them. It might seem like a lost cause in the days of this divided country that we could all learn a lesson or two from cal bedwetter was hosting private dinners for the press and members of congress are bringing people together for the National Breakfast media tenor cal earned the respect from people from all walks of life and political place. This guided from a young age by his faith in jesus and is an faith in. Hes a proud father and grandfather in a good friend to many of us here at the Heritage Foundation. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome cal thomas. Thank you very much robert. It sounded like you were reading my obit. We had to turn away the crowd because it was so fast and there are fire regulations here so thats why i want to thank everybody showing up especially my granddaughter crystal who fled from santonio. Shell be the first female president of the united states, write that down. I confessed a little nervousness being here today because the last individual to speak your got tired. [laughter] im going to for john anyway. 39 years, twoco columns per week 4056 columns and counting i reread every one of them while compiling this book. Its not a collection but a roadmap for a diary of what i witnessed over the decades in reporting on this wonderful city to which i happen to be born. I couldnt help it. My mother was here at the time. I used to say on the lecture circuit im happy to be here from washington. Im particularly thankful for people with such a wide range of political beliefs. Blurbs from this book, johnson who open the door for me from Los Angeles Times when he was publisher of the l. A. Times wrote you cant have a wider spectrum of political positions than Henry Louis Gates jr. J frm harvard andd a host of the wonderful pbs series about an africanamerican lives to pat sajak from wheel of fortune. I tune in only to see what hes wearing each night. I thank them and the other is for honoring me in this way. I think my longtime editors who are watching by livestream connie pollack from Los Angeles Times and tracy clark of the tribune and chicago. Connie and tracy would have been here today but the premise of that inner cities they felt it was unsafe for them to leave. Only a joke. When you go to the store to buy groceries assuming you can afford them in this time of high inflation you dont argue with the checkout clerk about pounds and gallons and other measurements. You dont stand in line with two jugs of milk and say my standard is this is only one jug or you have two pounds of beef and you say my standard is only one pound. The next voice you would hear would be security. And yet that is precisely what the loudest voices in our cultureng are saying or they wat to create their own standards which in reality are not standards at all. They have the economic standards, spending and taxing as if theres no end to it and ignoring what Massive National debt is in other nations and their policy standards with this administration and the entire left is increasingly ignoring that put our nation at risk for china russia iran and other forces that see us as and indecisive. Only a few years ago they feared us now chinas president xi jinping believes america is in decline. Is there sufficient evidence to counter his diagnosis . I just returned from israel my 27th visit. Im an honorary person which is very nice and i met my longtime friend benjamin netanyahu. He told me that israel has managed to delay iran getting a nuclear bomb. Only a delay. Someone will hack to stop him but who might that be . Maine abiah continues to push the socalled twostate solution to the palestinian problem. I presume now that least they have tabled a idea of a treaty with iran as a regime that claimed their wants to let israel eliminated and us to end with anything would sign with infidels. Moral standards which are not only being violated. Rejected. In favor of what is nows called woke, drag queen storytime, 56 labels of gender identification on facebook, marriage and the rest of the progressive agenda. Once people who favor such things were ashamed to say them public and now they shout it from the housetops. Once such people sought or were told to seek counseling and now they not only seek permission. Approval and demand you give it toss them or they will picket yr business or home. See Bret Kavanaugh and other conservative justices. See those were standing up for womens sports against transgender males and the hail of criticism that is rained down upon them. City council in summerville massachusetts enacted an ordinance protecting individuals in polyamorous relationships from discrimination. And 2020 the city becameut the first in the nation and not the last to recognize polyamorous relationships as legitimate domestic partnerships. Romantic relationships of three or more in the city will have many the same rights as traditionally married couples. Whats next and there will be annexed because without a standardan there will be no stopping anything to anyone who says no this is too far of appeals. There were mice may may put met ronnie said after the not so Supreme Court rule although the legitimacy of marriage. Next we will allow you to marry your dog. Its not so funny funny now is the . Government schools teach a type of reconstruction history or her story that seek to indoctrinate childrenal with a leftist pointf view the school is to create a new generation of progressives dedicated toy ending the succes of others greedy for what they have an entitled to their money. During the last open season on medicare and the tv stations in florida and likely elsewhere that contain four words, the free, dessert, benefit and entitled. Greed deserved benefit and entitlement. It comes to economic success. You dont build up the weak by tearing down the strong. One of my favorite quotes of his. Other than that to a standard that has been lost in our time. Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men. Talent. Genius will. Not unrewarded. Genius is almost a proverb. Education will, not the world is full of derelicts. Persistence and determination. Persistence and determination alone. Today if you are persistent and successful you are to be taxed and regulated to death. To subsidize others whoid have been left so consider the bite administration recent proposal to increase Mortgage Rates for people with good credit to subsidize those with bad credit. And yet there are as many poor people today as there were when the Great Society began in 1965. According to heritage figures our government has spent 11 trillion fighting poverty and it has not worked. There are roughly the same number of poor people today as there were six years ago. Poverty is o more than a lack of money it is a lack of other things that lead to a lack of money. Reasonable think it is long time passed for another approach . We are kneedeep in the big muddy the big fool says to push off with apologies. Recall the Clinton Gingrich welfare reform law in the 90s, people would starve in the streets if they did not at their welfare checks. They did in 20 release the gravy train would no longer be stopping at their a mailboxes ty went out and found jobs, interviewed later many said they were living a fulfilled life. Was an addictive drug they discovered what freedom looks and feels like. Then there is the open border which is contributing faster to the exploration. I recall the words your without a shopping farther immigration the same is happening here. If the government schools dont finish the job of indoctrinating young peoples hearts and minds with a second tip progressivism they graduate from high school you can count on the universitys finishing the job card makes me ask why are we sending our children and grandchildren to these Indoctrination Centers . We do not center troops to tripo russia, china, iran to be trained why do we then send our children to the opposite of what we believe . That going to School Choices spread enough 37 states. It needs to be national. It has always amused me those who are prochoice when it comeo to abortion are anti choice when it comes the schooling of children fortunate enough to be born. Anyone who knows my columns likes how much i like definition it helps focus the mind part hears dictionary. Fine defined standard a rule or principle but is used as a basis for judgment. An average for normal requirement for today who can define a principle without being labeled ato racist . Who dares assert a rule or something normal for being called any number of phobias. Groucho marxx said seems applicable today. I have principles t and if you dont like them i have others. [laughter] reminds med of a verse in the d testament book of judges. In those days israel had no king. Everyone did as he saw fit. Another translation says everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Paul, the apostle of jesus. A similar way. Speaking of the end at times he said people will believe what ever there switching years will want tos, hear. America the rest of the world have reached are very close to reaching the end times or end of days. This apocalypse is more certain than those declared by Climate Change alarmists none of which have comemi trooper if you notie miami is not underwaterde yet. And my calm and in the new book you will shortly be able to purchase and have me sign for whatever it is worth it. Money back guarantee on this and all of my books if you do not like them i guarantee not to give your money back. [laughter] ive sought to assert a standard and this book that is fading from our culture and nation. A standard that is always work not only in america but other nations wherever and whenever it has been applied. There is literally nothing new under the sun as solomon wrote in ecclesiastics a book that inspired the rock group noticed the birds, wanted to let you know i was hip. Everything we think it has been fought before everything we do has been done before. Why repeat historys mistakes . Why . The answer is we are too often ignorant of history and so are necessarily doomed to repeatt i. Look at the kind of people who are elected of mayors in high crime cities. People claim to be fed up with crime if they vote for candidates who want to defund or eliminate the police. All reduce felony charges to misdemeanors and release offenders to commit new crimes including murder. What is wrong with us . Late Roman Catholic bishop said so many wise things are. Here are a few which were uttered more than six decades ago but still apply today. America it is said is suffering from intolerance. It is not that is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right or wrong, truth and error. Virtue and evil. Christ in chaos. Our country is not to over run with the bigoted as it is overrun with the broadminded. Or the refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a great. Its acquiescence to evil. Those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction. While those who believe inon dishonesty are full of passionate conviction. Or, moral principles do not depend on majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if no one is right. Lw or, civilization is always in when those who have never learned to obey are given the right to command. Or, there is no word more dangerous than liberalism because to oppose it is the unforgivable sin. And finally, which sums up everything, bishop sheen that said modern profit say our economics have failed us. No, it is not our economics that has failed it is man who has failed. Man who has forgotten god. Hence, no matter of economic or politicalve readjustment can possibly save our civilization. We can be saved only by another revelation of the inner man. By a purging of our hearts and souls. Her only by seeking first the kingdom of god and the kingdom t of justice will all of these other things be added unto us. I can think of nothing more profound than that. Wild applause . Thank you. Ask honor you are here with heritage today. The book comes out tomorrow, right . We wanted to hear questions. We certainly filled up the whole time answer your questions. I have plenty to ask him, i came prepared. Y first of all, you as i mentioned in the introduction have long spoken about your christian faith. How have you been able to find such success in that media environment that seem so hostile to the value and beliefs that you have personally . Basically i spent most of mye career denouncing other people that seems to help a lot. I have joined the organizations but it went around the country and met with editors who had stnever been visited by a columnist before. I generally care about my colleagues. I admire their work. I tell them so. They do not necessarily admire mine but that is their problem. When we wrote this column for usa today, called Common Ground it shocked a lot of people including newspeople. Because there is a money and ratings and conflict. You look at what is on tv these days you have a host comment to guess where the gas guess it says r youre ruining america, o you are ruining. When the hostess says it will be back with more civil discussion after these messages. [laughter] real people dont do that. I tried to burst the stereotypen of what a conservative and christian is like in a secular progressive sense of humor. I grew a mustache wants, somebody said i look like Saddam Hussein i thought that was nice. [laughter] you find like mary poppins set a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down and you make friends. It is hard to resist loving on someone else reverse they wonder what your motive is and they see you do not really have one they open up. He mentioned what cells in todays media do you think the approach that you brought to overcome some of those divisions is possible today . Obviously not. [laughter] it wouldve been widely accepted there is money, theres ratings and there is fame and conflict. Everybody knows the solutions. But nobody wants to arrive at the solutions because then they lose the issue. Social security and medicare bring the perfect example Everybody Knows what needs to be done social securitys got a bankrupt 10 years ago up on that tax or reduce the benefit. Everybody knows that. That is just beyond debate. They lose the issue government grows and becomes more intrusive and more expensive and the debt grows. Ranking to say the only proof of eternal life in this town is the Government Program. [laughter] it is true its easier to kill a vampire the analogy is abe good one because both are bloodsucking things. It. [laughter] we areu monitoring questions if you have any we have someone in the room here provokes the fbis monitoring them to it. [laughter] be careful. [laughter] questions of the room . We have a microphone tyler in the back row will start there. If you could state your name and if you are affiliated with an organization. Who you voted for in the last election. [laughter] height this is tyler oneill my managing editor at the daily signal some foundation or something. I wanted to ask you you mention the fbi listening in. Ive been writing a lot of of this Southern Poverty Law Center branding conservative and christians hate. Having a hard time hearing it progressive been writing a lot of the law center and responding to the vitriol of the left. I would like to hear your view of what is the w most effective way of disproving some of the accusations of hate, of bigotry that you might have also run across . A member something ted koppel said years ago. The truth is not eight polite tap on the shoulder. Truth is a howling reproach. Truth has a power of its own. But it must be spoken kindly. Mary poppins had a great line a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Im going to talk to the