Vanboolzalness Crisis Must Fall is the line in the sand. This episode confronts speech policing on campus, failing school leadership, and corporate DEI games, with guest Stefan Padfield detailing how boardrooms chase politics over results. Callers bring heat from Rochester to rural America—listen, share, and take your next step.
Under the glow of the “Curves Day” headlines, the show opened with a different curve: a question. Where did America’s courage go, and who taught us to fear our own voice?
The phones flared first. Dan wondered aloud if we were all just pieces on someone else’s board. Stan came in hot, straight talk and common sense, reminding us that character does not have a skin tone. Keith traced the rot back to classrooms and cowards who let propaganda pass for education. Each caller added a brushstroke to a larger picture: a nation nudged into silence, taught to shout down ideas, and told to treat disagreement as violence. It had a name, and it rang through the hour—the Van-bōōl-zal-ness Crisis.
We looked homeward. In a city that pays school boards like champions and graduates children like afterthoughts, free speech grades are failing and moral courage is graded on a curve. We looked outward. October 7 deserved our memory long after the hashtags died. We looked upward. Faith, family, and honest work are still the anchors when every current pulls against them.
Midstream, a new voice joined the story. Stefan Padfield did not come to posture. He came with receipts. He described a world where corporate giants chase applause from activist scorekeepers, then hide behind procedural riddles when asked for proof that any of it serves customers, shareholders, or country. In his telling, the boardroom was not a mystery; it was a mirror. When profits kneel to politics, families pay the tithe.
The numbers were not abstractions. Students self-censor. Crowds cheer the shout-down. Too many nod when someone calls speech “harm” and violence “answer.” That is not education. That is training wheels for tyranny.
Through it all, one line, sharp as a bell, cut the noise: “The white liberal is more deceitful, more hypocritical than the conservative.” It was not comfort food. It was a test. Who is using you, and who is telling you the truth?
By the time the music faded, the path was plain. Parents who teach grit. Entrepreneurs who build. Churches that preach truth instead of trend. Voters who start local before they talk national. New York politicians can mail “inflation checks” and call it relief. We will call it what it is. The best social program remains a job. The best defense of liberty remains you.
This episode is not a rant. It is a reckoning. Listen, share, and then take your next step—in your home, your school board, your church, your business. Dialogue. Discernment. Media. One brave voice at a time is how a free people win.
Promote your brand on the Next Steps Show, airing on WYSL1040.com's AM 1040, FM 92.1, and FM 95.5 West stations. Discover more at nextstepsroc.com/advertise-with-us or dial (585) 346-3000 to get in touch with the WYSL team.
Have you ever dreamt of sharing your unique voice, stories, or expertise with the world through a podcast? Perhaps you're bubbling with ideas but uncertain about where to begin? The journey from idea to launch can be daunting, but that's where we come in. Dive Into the World of Podcasting with Next Steps Radio PODCAST Network! Visit NextStepsRoc.com or call Peter at (585) 880-7580.
Rich in Programs, Poor in Purpose
Edited transcript (ads removed; light cleanup for clarity)
[00:00] Peter Vazquez:
Mira la izquierda, mira la derecha… In a world that seems to change daily, what will you do next? Welcome to The Next Steps Show—a starting point for discussion y un poco de dirección.
Today is about balance—faith, politics, and entrepreneurship—and why a real voice for liberty means aligning what you believe with what you endorse, not just repeating sound bites.
We see the polls. Trust in mainstream media is beneath contempt. Locally, we celebrate “National Curves Day,” fine—but where is the day we honor the names taken from Israel by Hamas? Why is that not a bigger deal here?
Free speech is slipping. And Monroe County, I am looking at you.
[03:55] Malcolm X clip (excerpt):
“The white liberal differs from the white conservative only in one way. The liberal is more deceitful… The American Negro is nothing but a political football… controlled through tricks, tokenism, and false promises.”
[05:45] Peter:
Lines are open: 585-346-3000; 866-552-1009. In New York we face what I call the Van-bōōl-zal-ness Crisis—not a one-off mistake, but a continuous selling of false promises that our people—Americanos—have fallen for. Parents, our youth are being consumed by it.
FIRE’s 2025 survey: 19 New York colleges graded on free speech; state average F. Only Syracuse avoided failure—with a D. This is God, country, and family taking a back seat.
[07:30] Caller: Dan
Are we all just pawns between both sides? I am conservative—but in the big picture, are we being used?
[07:45] Peter:
Absolutely. There is a worse party today—the Democrat Party, the far left. They have become anti-American and anti-God. Malcolm X’s warning after his pilgrimage was clear: both sides use people; the left lies to you. Locally we see it in leaders who speak like Obama—scripted, divisive.
[09:45] Dan:
He reads from a script. He disappoints. He is not helping people of color.
[10:10] Peter:
And our schools? Rochester has the highest-paid school board and some of the lowest results. They call it an “urban problem.” No. It is leadership and culture.
[11:00] Caller: Armando
Replace “liberal” with “masters.” They want it their way or no way. Conservatives are the servants.
[11:20] Peter:
Dialogue. Discernment. Media. That is why we are here.
[13:05] Peter:
There are 4.6 liberal students for every conservative in New York’s colleges. We are done being attacked.
[13:25] Caller: Keith
Republicans let propaganda schools take over. We failed to stop the indoctrination. On October 7 remembrance—Israel should have released the raw footage of Hamas atrocities. Hiding it was short-sighted. Also, history matters: Oct. 8, 1862, Battle of Perryville—Kentucky back on the Union ledger.
[16:55] Peter:
Appreciate the history and the push to keep observances alive. Your take on this statement by Republican Randy Fine: calling Mondami “little more than a Muslim terrorist,” suggesting stripping citizenship and deportation. Some say that language undermines civil discourse.
[18:00] Keith:
He hid ties to an Islamic terror group on his papers. He will not denounce Hamas. He should be investigated and stripped of citizenship if the law supports it. He should not run a major U.S. city.
[19:05] Peter:
Rural America—your voice matters. All politics are local. Survey numbers show 45% of NY students self-censor; 73% believe shouting down speakers should be allowed; 34% think violence can be acceptable to stop speech. That is the product of the left’s machine.
[21:05] Co-Host (Bob):
They redefine disagreement as violence, then justify actual violence as “answer.” Training, not education.
[21:30] Caller: Stan
Silencing dissent, punishing opposition—that is Nazi behavior. And they accuse us of it. We need Republicans with backbone like Keith. I am a black man; I would vote for him. We need men like that to take care of business.
[22:45] Peter:
Common sense has no skin color. Conservative values—Constitution, God, family—have worked for over 250 years.
[25:30] Peter:
The left aims to capture rural areas through housing mandates and policy creep. Locally, the RASE commission bragged about 200+ recommendations, including “good cause” eviction—policies that punish small property owners and drive out investment.
[26:50] Peter:
Now, a guest who has receipts on corporate capture and DEI.
[27:00] Guest: Stefan Padfield (Executive Director, Free Enterprise Project, National Center for Public Policy Research)
We filed a shareholder proposal at Visa asking for evidence of ROI on DEI programs. Rather than engage, they ran to the SEC and played word-count games to exclude it—arguing ampersands and hyphens as “words.” Courts accept standard word-processor counts. Visa also chases a perfect HRC score while stiff-arming conservative groups like Alliance Defending Freedom. Bias is obvious.
[28:40] Peter:
Call it what it is: Van-bōōl-zal-ness—corporations selling divisive, anti-American policies under friendly labels.
[28:55] Stefan:
We try not to find problems, but under the hood there is always more: discrimination masked as “equity,” political litmus tests, and silence toward conservative shareholders. When the left filed a similar DEI proposal, Visa “engaged” and gave them what they wanted before a vote. Double standard. Also note: 1792 Exchange rates Visa “high risk” for corporate bias.
[30:25] Peter:
Listeners ask, “If they believe in this, why hide?” Because it fails a basic fiduciary test. ROI matters.
[31:00] Caller: Mike
Republican and Democrat are labels. Follow the money. AIPAC, Zionism, the New World Order—look who profits from the chaos here and abroad. They are importing demographics to change politics. This is a religious war. Morals are being corrupted. We spend billions overseas while Americans struggle.
[33:20] Peter:
Mike, I appreciate your passion. I will dig further on the Zionism claims. Bottom line: most politicians and parties are full of it. Pray for discernment. Build a real relationship with Christ to see through deception.
[34:30] Peter:
On immigration and Scripture: Leviticus 19 commands love for the sojourner and obedience to the nation’s laws. In New York, Governor Hochul just mailed $8.2 million in so-called “inflation refund checks,” mostly to NYC. That is politics, not principle.
[36:25] Peter (to Stefan):
Even Uber had to be sued to address disability issues—2025 and basic access still needs litigation.
[37:05] Stefan:
Find our work at nationalcenter.org. Subscribe; follow me on X @StefanPadfield. Support those doing the work if you cannot do it yourself.
[38:05] Peter (Next Steps):
Take a step. If you cannot act directly, support those who do. Parents, teach grit. Entrepreneurs, build. Churches, preach truth not trend. Start local before national.
[38:45] Peter (Closing):
As Reagan said, the best social program is a job. Be a leader. Be a voice for libertad. God bless the United States of America.
