--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for 40% off. Terms apply.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Last week, a leaked European Union memo appeared to advise staff to avoid using Christian language around Christmastime, eliciting a rare rebuke from Pope Francis, who compared the memo to Nazi and communist propaganda. What did the inflammatory memo say, and why are European leaders pointing fingers at American influence? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): It's December 11th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire. Another high-profile resignation has rocked the vice president's office. What's behind the string of departures, and what is President Biden saying about it? And governments around the world have gone well beyond mask and vaccine mandates, enacting COVID-19 policies that critics say violate their citizens' most basic rights. We'll tell you which countries have the most restrictive rules, and which are considering even more severe action, all in the name of public health.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned; we have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by birch gold group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch gold group can help protect your IRA or 401(k) with a precious metals IRA. Text wire to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): European Union officials recently angered political and church leaders around the world when they instructed members to avoid using language that might offend non-Christians during the Christmas season. Here to give us the details of the EU's directive and the fallout that resulted is Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, it seems like every year now, an inevitable part of the Christmas news cycle is hearing stories about town councils taking down nativity scenes or public schools limiting choirs to generic winter celebration songs. I've seen a few stories like that in the past couple of weeks, but this EU directive seems to represent something quite a bit bigger.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Yeah, it does. And I think you could see that by the reaction it received. So, in late October, EU Equality Commissioner Helena Dali released a 30-page document that advised staff, during the Christmas season, it's important to remember that not everyone is a Christian. So, to that end, the guidelines directed members to say things like holiday times instead of Christmas time.
--:-- Megan Basham: It also said when using a name as an example of something, members should avoid using names like Maria that originate in Christianity and instead should choose something multicultural like Malika.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, you know, this news first leaked in Italy, so you can imagine how well an order like avoid using the name Maria at Christmas time went down. The public there and in other European nations were pretty incensed. They've been calling it not just an attempt to cancel Christmas, but also to erase Europe's Christian heritage.
--:-- Megan Basham: And I understand the Vatican had something to say about that as well.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Yes, you could definitely say they did. I often use the word blasted in reference to Pope Francis, but in this case, I do actually think it's appropriate. So, during a papal press conference on December 6th, he, well, blasted the EU. He called the document an anachronism of watered-down secularism and also a form of ideological colonization.
--:-- Megan Basham: He also said that this kind of language policing is something, quoting here, many, many dictatorships have tried to do throughout history. And he explicitly linked it to Nazi and communist dictatorships.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So, just some really, really tough words coming out of Rome. And how about other political leaders in Europe? What have their reactions been?
--:-- Megan Basham: I would say almost uniformly negative. Multiple Italian leaders slammed the document, as did France's prime minister, Emmanuel Macron. Now, he's known overall as a liberal, but his administration has been very critical of what it considers the woke influence of America.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So, we saw this last month when a French dictionary introduced this genderless pronoun, El. That's a combination of the feminine pronoun El and the masculine Il.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, in that case, France's education minister said that kind of imported thinking sullies the French language. And he asked lawmakers to step in to stop it. France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, said bluntly, there are only two pronouns in the French language.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So, this EU story kind of goes along with that context. Macron called the idea of not saying Christmas woke nonsense. And he said a sense of European identity has withered away in France and that the French people must claim this Europe as still our own.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, not mincing words at all there. No, no, he's not.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): And I think it's important to know that the presidency of the EU rotates. So, France will take over in 2022. And Macron is promising that the organization is not going to focus on what he characterized as imported racialized ideas once France is in charge.
--:-- Megan Basham: And how has the EU responded to all this criticism?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, for now, they're actually backing down. So, Brussels, where the EU is headquartered, put out a statement saying, hey, the document, that was only a draft. And now they're rethinking it.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see if they stick with it.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Megan, thanks for reporting. Absolutely. Anytime.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's Daily Wire entertainment reporter Megan Basham. Coming up, more resignations from the vice president's office. If you're with Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile, you're paying too much. Switching to Pure Talk saves the average family over $800 a year. Go to puretalk.com, find the right plan for you, and enter promo code WIRE to save 50% off your first month.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): New headaches for Vice President Kamala Harris as a wave of staffers have resigned following reports that working in her office is chaotic and, quote, soul-destroying. At least two major aides have left in the past few weeks, with two more reportedly looking to vacate their positions. Here to discuss the ongoing turmoil in the VP's office is Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short.
--:-- Ash Short: So, the timing, for one. For months, reports have surfaced about the terrible working conditions in Harris's office. Back in July, for example, dozens of staffers said they suffered trauma while working for the VP and were afraid she would someday be elected president.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): One person said staffers were quote thrown under the bus calling the office an abusive environment.
--:-- Ash Short: More recently, staffers have called her a bully who isn't quote willing to do the prep and the work of a VP.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So, who has left so far?
--:-- Ash Short: In mid-November, Harris's communications director submitted her resignation, which went into effect at the end of that month. A couple of weeks later, at the beginning of December, the VP's chief spokeswoman, Simone Sanders, announced she was leaving.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Harris's office claimed Sanders was always meant to leave at the end of the year and that her resignation was not a surprise. That same week, it was reported that two more staffers were eyeing the exit. Her director of press operations and her deputy director of the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.
--:-- Ash Short: Was there something that sparked the reports of hostilities in the VP's office?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Not exactly. Reports of a toxic environment in Harris's office date back to June. So, there wasn't one moment people can point to, but the reports seem to coincide with President Biden's falling poll numbers.
--:-- Ash Short: And those reports have definitely damaged the way people view Harris. Her approval rating dropped to 28% at one point.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Part of the reason for the low opinion of the VP seems to be her disastrous trip to South America and the Southern border earlier this year.
--:-- Ash Short: At first, she claimed we had been to the border when asked if she was planning to go. And when she got called out for that, she responded bizarrely that she also hadn't been to Europe.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): It wasn't until former President Donald Trump announced he was going to the border that Harris finally announced she would visit. And did anything actually come from that trip?
--:-- Ash Short: No. The border crisis is still out of control, and even though the Biden administration tasked Harris with handling it, an impossible task some seem to think was designed to set her up for failure, the situation has only gotten worse.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Deportations dropped by 90% between January 21 and July 9th over the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. And migrants from 106 countries have attempted to cross the southern border, so they're not just coming from Central and South America.
--:-- Ash Short: And what has been the White House response to these stories about Harris?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): There hasn't been much. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki put out a tweet on the Sunday night in November that was widely mocked for being disingenuous.
--:-- Ash Short: She had claimed Harris was a vital partner to Biden and a, quote, bold leader who has taken on key important challenges facing the country.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): More recently, Harris's deputy director for operations tweeted a photo of himself working while insisting he absolutely loves his job.
--:-- Ash Short: And this too was taken as unserious and a poor attempt to redirect attention from negative news involving Harris.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): And what about President Biden himself? He hasn't said much and even appeared to ignore Harris when they were working together at a soup kitchen for Thanksgiving.
--:-- Ash Short: It just seems like the White House has hung Harris out to dry at this point.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Ash, thanks for reporting. Anytime.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short. While many Americans have grown weary of federal restrictions in the name of COVID-19, some foreign governments have enacted even more restrictive lockdowns and mandates. Civil libertarians argue that these government policies violate citizens' fundamental rights.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Here to outline the most extreme steps that have been taken and those under consideration in the near future is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Good morning, John.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): So, Ben, the Biden administration has issued federal mandates requiring entire segments of the population to receive the COVID-19 vaccination or lose their job. And as we've highlighted in the past, the Daily Wire has actually filed a lawsuit against that OSHA mandate.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Now, in your article Viral Tyranny, you shown that COVID policies in other countries are even more extreme. How severe are we talking about?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Certainly, many Americans would say that mask and vaccine mandates are strict enough, but some of the foreign COVID policies that I outline in the article are positively draconian.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Nations all over the world have enacted mandatory vaccinations, fine senior citizens, and even threatened teenagers with imprisonment.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): What's the most extreme COVID-19 policy you've encountered?
--:-- Ben Johnson: That would be Australia. They've enacted the world's most repressive COVID-19 policy, hands down. The military literally rounds up people who've tested positive for COVID-19 and their close contacts and places them in a compound in the city of Howard Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.
--:-- Ben Johnson: A 26-year-old named Haley Hodgson spent two weeks inside what she calls an internment camp, which is ringed with barbed wire, even though she tested negative for the virus.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): She said authorities refused to let her isolate at home and threatened to fine her $5,000 if she didn't wear a mask when speaking to others in the camp, even though they had all tested negative.
--:-- Ben Johnson: You feel like you're in prison. You feel like you've done something wrong. It's inhumane what they're doing. Like, you are so small. They just overpower you and you're literally nothing.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Tuesday, the chief minister of the Northern Territory, Michael Gunner, who's a member of the Labour Party, responded to the video saying, quote, rules are rules and there are consequences.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Certainly some steep consequences. Is that an outlier?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Thankfully, yes. Well, that's at least good to hear.
--:-- Ben Johnson: What other COVID restrictions are in place globally?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Well, Italy requires citizens to have a health pass in order to work or use public transportation, and the Greek government actually passed a bill to punish any senior citizen aged 60 or over who does not get vaccinated by next January 16th.
--:-- Ben Johnson: Those who resist will be fined approximately $115 a month until they relent. That's a steep fine since the average retiree's pension is just a little over $700 a month.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Are other nations considering imposing similar mandates?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Yes. Austria has announced that it's considering imposing a vaccine mandate on everyone in the nation from age 14 and up by next February.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): The government would fine those who refuse more than $4,000 for the first offense, according to a draft version of the bill that was leaked to the German newspaper, the Frankfurter Augemeiner.
--:-- Ben Johnson: The fine would then double, and it could result in jail time. Some figures have said they would like to see a vaccine mandate for all 27 nations of the European Union, from Portugal to Poland.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Last week, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, encouraged member states to begin planning an EU-level vaccine mandate.
--:-- Ben Johnson: I think it is understandable and appropriate to lead this discussion now, how we can encourage and potentially think about mandatory vaccination within the European Union. This needs discussion.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Is the European Union facing enough danger to warrant that kind of public health dictate?
--:-- Ben Johnson: Well, as of Monday, there were 212 cases of the Omicron variant in the 27 nations of the EU. All of them were mild or asymptomatic. Just 212 cases, that's not a lot.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Thanks for bringing us the details, Ben. Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): That's Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson. Join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
