Walz’s Military Service, Walz vs. Free Speech, Judge Rules Google a ‘Monopolist’

Inez Stepman of the Independent Women's Forum and host of the "High Noon" podcast is in for Jim. Today, Inez and Greg discuss the controversy over Gov. Tim Walz's military service, his problem with free speech, and a federal judge ruling that Google is a "monopolist."

First, they dig into the back-and-forth between Gov. Walz and Sen. JD Vance over Vance's life story, whether Walz retired from the Army National Guard to avoid going to Iraq, and Walz's documented comments about "weapons of war that I carried in war." Will this be a lingering issue in the campaign? Inez says this alone might not be a huge problem long term for Harris-Walz but additional stories that raise doubts about his veracity might be a different story.

They also highlight a comment Walz made years ago saying, "There's no guarantee to free speech on misinformation and hate speech, and especially around our democracy." Inez points out there is no constitutional basis for that position. And while the goal of free speech is to seek and find the truth, she says the Bill of Rights protects speech that is factually incorrect.

Finally, they highlight this week's federal court ruling siding with the Justice Department's argument that Google is a "monopolist" in terms of how it forces its products on others. And while Inez and Greg are always wary of the government injecting itself into the market, they also see a clear ideological monopoly showing up in Google search results.