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Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 21 September 2026

Have you ever wondered if you were being overcharged for an item you’re buying in a retail or grocery store? 

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #280 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

The retail grocer, Dollar General, has been accused of business fraud. 

But first, this: there are two different issues that often get mixed together in discussions of Dollar General: ordinary price changes and retail mistakes, versus knowingly charging more than the price displayed to the customer. The latter is where regulators and lawsuits have used consumer-protection/fraud terminology.

The basic allegation is straightforward: a shelf tag or in-store sign shows one price, but the scanner/register charges a higher price. Shoppers frequently find that everyday items cost more at checkout than the price listed on the shelf tag. These discrepancies often affect rural and low-income areas where options for alternative grocery stores are limited. There is substantial documented history behind the allegations:

2023, the state of New Jersey settled with Dollar General for $1.2 million after alleging that merchandise repeatedly scanned at higher prices than those posted on the shelves. The state characterized the conduct as violations of its Consumer Fraud Act and Weights and Measures Act.

Missouri: 2023, a state investigation cited discrepancies as large as $6.50 per item, with an average alleged overcharge of $2.71. Ohio: Dollar General also settled allegations brought by the Ohio attorney general concerning pricing practices, agreeing to measures intended to improve price accuracy. 
 
In 2025, Colorado state leaders have cracked down on the retailer, including a $400K settlement with Dollar General for overcharging customers.

2025, the Pennsylvania attorney general announced a $1.55 million settlement. “Our investigation found widespread and repeated instances of Pennsylvanians being overcharged at checkout—blatant deception of customers all over the Commonwealth,” Attorney General said. The state's investigation found that Dollar General failed more than 40% of pricing-accuracy inspections from 2019–2023, and the settlement required additional staffing, training, audits and correction of known inaccuracies. The agreement itself says that a settlement is not an admission of a legal violation. 

Nationwide, a class-action case alleged that customers were routinely charged more at checkout than the advertised shelf price. Dollar General ultimately agreed to a settlement, while denying wrongdoing.

So, this isn't simply a story based on customers noticing an occasional mismatched tag. Government inspections have repeatedly documented mismatches, and the company has entered multiple settlements concerning them.

But is that actually “changing prices”? This distinction matters. Suppose Dollar General changes the price of a bottle of detergent from $3 to $3.50. That's generally ordinary retail pricing. A company is ordinarily free to change its prices, subject to applicable laws and representations it makes to consumers. The controversial situation is more like shelf: $3.00, register: $3.50. If the shelf hasn't been updated, the company can characterize this as a pricing-system or operational error. That's materially different from deliberately putting “$3” on the shelf while intentionally programming the register to charge $3.50.

Some former employees cited in litigation have attributed the mismatches to frequent price changes combined with inadequate staffing to replace shelf tags. One amended complaint quotes former employees describing weekly price changes and employees struggling to keep shelf labels current. Those are allegations in litigation, rather than independent findings that every discrepancy was intentional.
The Pennsylvania settlement is illustrative: the remedy specifically required Dollar General to maintain enough staffing to update shelf tags weekly and to correct known inaccuracies within 24 hours.

Where does “business fraud” enter the picture? This is where commentators and regulators can use somewhat different language. There are at least three possible interpretations: Normal business practice: Prices change frequently. The company's computer system gets updated before every physical shelf label gets changed. That's an operational explanation. It doesn't necessarily imply fraudulent intent.

Negligent or systematically poor business practice: if a retailer knows its stores routinely have stale shelf labels and doesn't devote enough resources to fixing them, critics can argue that the company is benefiting from a predictable operational failure even without proving that employees deliberately overcharge customers.

Deceptive/fraudulent conduct: if a company knowingly represents one price to induce a purchase and then deliberately charges another, that moves into a very different legal and ethical category. Consumer-protection laws can prohibit misleading pricing even when prosecutors cannot establish criminal fraud. The important point is that “illegal deceptive pricing,” and “criminal fraud” aren't synonymous. A state attorney general can bring a consumer-protection action or obtain a civil settlement without proving that executives had a criminal scheme to defraud customers. For example, Pennsylvania's attorney general described the conduct as “deception,” while the settlement itself explicitly says it isn't an admission of violation.

The business commentary re Dollar General tends to split around the intent question. Critics, including consumer advocates and reporting, have argued that the repeated nature of the discrepancies matters. Their argument isn't simply “one cashier made a mistake”; it is that recurring mismatches across many stores can transfer money from customers to the retailer, particularly affecting people who don't have the time or ability to scrutinize every receipt. 

The opposing/less accusatory interpretation is essentially: Dollar General operates thousands of relatively small stores, changes prices frequently, and has historically had staffing constraints; maintaining perfectly synchronized shelf labels and registers is difficult. Dollar General has maintained that accurate pricing is its objective, while settlements have required it to improve the processes for achieving it.

That's why the most defensible distinction is: changing a price is normal business. Advertising one price and systematically charging another is potentially deceptive. Whether a particular discrepancy represents an innocent operational failure, negligence, or intentional deception depends on evidence about knowledge, controls, frequency, and what the company did after discovering the problem.

And there's an interesting broader business-ethics question underneath it: even if a company can technically attribute overcharges to understaffing or outdated tags, at what point does knowingly maintaining a system that predictably produces those overcharges cease being merely “bad operations” and become consumer deception? The repeated government settlements are evidence that regulators have treated the problem as more serious than ordinary isolated checkout mistakes, but they don't by themselves establish that every overcharge was intentional fraud.

Repeatedly charging customers more at checkout than the price displayed on the shelf raises serious business-ethics concerns because it violates the basic principle that a transaction should be transparent and honest. In New Jersey, inspections of 58 Dollar General stores found more than 2,000 instances in which products scanned for more than their posted prices. In Pennsylvania, an investigation found Dollar General stores failed more than 40% of pricing-accuracy inspections from 2019–2023, leading to requirements for greater staffing, audits, training, and prompt correction of inaccurate prices. 

From an ethical standpoint, repeatedly allowing customers to be charged more than advertised undermines informed consent and trust. Whether individual discrepancies resulted from negligence or intentional conduct is a separate question, and the settlements do not establish criminal fraud. However, regulators have treated the repeated conduct as deceptive pricing and consumer-protection violations, making it reasonable to describe the practice as fraudulent or deceptive business conduct in an ethical sense, while recognizing that “criminal fraud” requires a specific legal showing of intent.

“Dollar General is stealing from its customers. It’s a major scam that’s siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars from the poorest people in America,” so said one investigator.

You can protect yourself by always looking over your receipt before leaving the store. Or, snapping a picture of the shelf price if you suspect an item is mislabeled. And by notifying the cashier immediately for a price correction or filing a consumer complaint with your state's attorney general office or local weights and measures department.

Caveat emptor is an old Latin phrase meaning "let the buyer beware," placing responsibility on the consumer to inspect the quality and pricing of an item purchased. For the distinction between making money legitimately versus profiting through deceptive pricing, Dollar General needs to learn another old Latin phrase, Veritas ante lucrum, “Truth before profit.”

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best.

If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. For more Christian commentary, see my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2026   
  
*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers. 

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Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 14 September 2026

King Solomon said, “Of making many books there is no end,” (Ecc. 12:12) and that continues today, but is anyone reading them?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #279 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Literary surveys and industry trackers report that roughly 50% to 60% of books purchased are never read to completion. This behavior is so universal that it shares a specific Japanese term—tsundoku—which means acquiring reading materials and letting them pile up.

Consumer studies indicate that up to 80% of books in a typical heavy buyer's physical stack remain on the "To-Be-Read" shelf. 

Data from the Pew Research Center and YouGov outlines exactly how many books Americans read over a 12-month period:

•    38% of American adults read 1 to 5 books per year.
•    Another 25% to 40% do not read any books at all over the course of a year.
•    Remaining readers account for roughly 13% reading 6 to 10 books, and 24% reading more than 10.

When evaluating leisure time dedicated to consuming information or media, audio/visual and screen-based content heavily dominates print. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey:

Audio/Visual & Digital (TV, Streaming, Social Media, Video Games)—Average daily time ~3 hours and 7 minutes, and approximate share of media time 92.1%

Print & Books (Reading of books, magazines, or newspapers)—Average 
daily time ~16 minutes, and approximate share of media time 7.9%

The shift in how Americans consume information—moving away from deep print reading toward rapid audio-visual consumption—is fundamentally reshaping the nation's political landscape. As text-based literacy yields to video feeds, social media snippets, and cable news commentary, both the mechanics of political communication and the core values of the electorate are undergoing a profound transformation.

Historically, in a political culture built on print media, arguments required structure, evidence, and logical progression. Today, the decline of book and long-form reading has forced political communication to adapt to shorter attention spans. Political messaging is now optimized for the “scroll,” relying heavily on emotional resonance rather than policy substance. Information is primarily shared through short-form video and highly visual infographics. 

This shift has altered political discourse in several ways:

•    The Loss of Nuance: Complex policy debates, such as fiscal legislation or foreign diplomacy, usually cannot be adequately summarized in a 60-second clip or a single image. Consequently, policy discussions are flattened into oversimplified, black-and-white narratives.

•    Algorithmic Outrage: Audio-visual platforms rely heavily on engagement algorithms that prioritize high-arousal emotions like anger and fear. 
Political actors quickly learn that a provocative, visual soundbite spreads exponentially faster than a nuanced, written policy paper.

•    Decline of Shared Facts: Print journalism historically enforced rigid editorial standards. 
The democratization—and fragmentation—of video content means voters can live in entirely separate informational ecosystems, watching totally different versions of reality with zero common ground.

Beyond changing how information travels, the decline in reading directly influences the civic values that voters adopt. Deep reading is an active cognitive process that trains the brain in critical thinking, patience, and perspective-taking.  Its decline has cleared the path for a different set of political impulses.

•    Decreased Tolerance for Complexity: Reading books requires sustaining attention through conflicting ideas and slow developments. Without this cognitive exercise, voters increasingly demand immediate, simple solutions to deeply systemic societal issues. This fosters an environment where populism thrives, as complex economic or social anxieties are blamed on easily identifiable scapegoats.

•    The Rise of Affective Polarization: Literary fiction and narrative non-fiction have been shown to build empathy by forcing readers to inhabit the minds of people unlike themselves. The retreat from books reduces this cross-cutting empathy. Politics becomes less about competing ideas for the public good and more about tribal identity—an "us versus them" dynamic fueled by hyper-visual, mocking political memes.

•    Vulnerability to Disinformation: Evaluating text requires a degree of media literacy, checking sources, and cross-referencing claims. Audio-visual media, by contrast, feels instinctively true because human brains are wired to believe what they see and hear.    Deepfakes and highly edited videos exploit this vulnerability, eroding public trust in institutions and the democratic process itself.

Generational reading data reveals that how people discover books, why they read, and their preferred formats differ wildly by age. 

Despite common fears that screens have ruined Gen Z's (Ages 14–29) attention spans, data shows they are fueling a resurgence in physical book buying and library visits. Driven by a desire for a "third place" to escape loneliness, physical indie bookstores and library checkouts among this group are spiking. 

Historically, Millennials (Ages 30–45) read and buy the highest number of books per year of any generation. They are the ultimate hybrid readers, effortlessly switching between print, e-readers, and audiobooks depending on their lifestyle. Millennials are the highest consumers of audiobooks. 

Gen X (Ages 46–61) consumes the most online news, digital articles, and current events text rather than just books.

Baby Boomers (Ages 62–80) strongly favor physical, printed books over digital screens, viewing reading as a dedicated, leisure-time activity rather than something to fit into multi-tasking windows. Boomers read more consistently day-to-day than younger generations.

The Silent or “Greatest” Generation (Ages 81–98) spends the most total time reading per day of any demographic group. Reading is treated as a primary daily activity rather than an afterthought, often linked to keeping the mind sharp and staying informed on current affairs.

The political preferences of Gen Alpha (Ages 1-13) and Gen Z represent a radical departure from the frameworks that define the Baby Boomer electorate. Boomers are grounded in traditional institutions, party loyalty, and Cold War-era metrics of patriotism. Younger cohorts are driven by digital anti-establishment skepticism, hyper-specific policy issues, and an aesthetic-first informational environment, and are deeply cynical about the political system as a whole, trusting political parties less and demanding systemic overhauls.

Some 65% of Boomers believe the US is the greatest country in the world, while 65% of Gen Z believe the US is no greater than other nations. For example, younger women have surged toward explicit progressive activism, while a significant portion of young men have pivoted toward conservative populism as a form of cultural rebellion. Younger generations place significantly less emphasis on "always obeying the law" as a hallmark of good citizenship compared to Boomers.

Boomers vote. Gen Z favors direct action, boycotting, and protests to force change.

While previous generations have shown standard political gender gaps, Pew Research Center data and global tracking reveal that Gen Z men and women are moving in completely opposite ideological directions. A staggering 37-point gender gap now exists within Gen Z party identification. Gen Z women skew heavily toward the political left, while Gen Z men have shifted markedly toward the center and the populist right.   

Young women are leaving traditional religious institutions at a higher rate than men due to disagreements over social issues, and dating habits are shifting as shared political values become an uncompromising requirement for relationships

Political engagement is increasingly driven by spectacle, identity, and emotion—cynicism, angst, anxiety—rather than deliberation, evidence, and debate. Not a good trend for a democratic republic.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. For more Christian commentary, see my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2026   
  
*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers. 

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Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 07 September 2026

Immigration continues to be a flashpoint in American politics.  Who, how many, how, and when should we allow immigrants to come to America?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #278 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

America has always been a nation of immigrants. But it is also a nation with borders, laws and a sovereign government responsible first to its own citizens.  Those two facts are not contradictory. 

The real question is whether America will have an immigration system that serves the national interest—or one that increasingly allows political, economic and humanitarian pressures to determine who enters and who remains. For decades, Washington has failed to answer that question. The fundamental problem is a breakdown of confidence in the immigration system.
 
Americans are told that immigration is legal, orderly and controlled while millions of people have entered or remained in the country unlawfully. The government has struggled to process asylum claims promptly, enforce deportation orders and prevent unauthorized employment. Even Americans who favor substantial legal immigration can—if they’re honest—reasonably conclude that a system unable to enforce its own laws is not functioning properly.

America needs an immigration policy that begins with secure borders and enforcement of existing law. Border security is not an expression of hostility toward foreigners. Every sovereign nation has the right to determine who enters its territory. The United States should know who is entering, why they are entering, whether they are legally entitled to remain, and whether they pose a security or criminal threat.

There is also an economic dimension. Historically, immigrants strengthened America when they filled genuine labor shortages, created businesses, developed new technologies and contributed more taxes than they consumed in public benefits. 

But immigration is not cost-free. Rapid population growth can increase demand for housing, schools, health care and other public services. Americans competing for lower-skilled jobs can also reasonably ask whether immigration levels are contributing to downward pressure on wages in particular industries. The answer should not be to stop legal immigration. It should be to make legal immigration work for America.

That means establishing immigration levels according to national economic needs rather than treating ever-increasing immigration as an automatic virtue. It means giving consideration to skills, education, employment prospects and the ability of immigrants to become self-supporting. It means enforcing employment laws so that businesses cannot gain a competitive advantage by hiring unauthorized workers. It also means expecting assimilation, and this assumes immigrants want to assimilate, want to work, and want to pursue the American Dream.

America historically offered immigrants something extraordinary: the opportunity to become Americans. That required more than physical residence. It involved learning English, understanding American history and government, accepting constitutional principles regarding life, law, and freedom, and participating in a common civic culture. America can welcome people from virtually every nation while still insisting that citizenship carries responsibilities and that the United States has a national identity worth preserving.

The asylum system deserves scrutiny. Genuine refugees fleeing persecution deserve protection. But asylum should not become a substitute for ordinary immigration or a mechanism by which people enter illegally and then remain for years while their claims are adjudicated. The longer the government takes to decide cases, the more difficult and expensive enforcement becomes.

The same principle applies to legalization. America should be extremely cautious about another mass amnesty. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 legalized millions of undocumented immigrants while attempting to strengthen enforcement. Critics contend that enforcement did not ultimately match the promise, leaving the country vulnerable to another wave of illegal immigration. 
That history helps explain why many Americans now insist that enforcement must come first.

There is no shortage of possible reforms: secure the border, expand immigration courts, accelerate asylum decisions, require effective employment verification, remove criminals and others without a legal basis to remain, reform legal immigration categories, discourage welfare-dependent immigration and strengthen assimilation.
There is another fast emerging but still largely ignored problem re immigration—the increasing number of Islamic immigrants coming to America is not healthy for America long-term. Making this statement is not racist—Muslims represent virtually every country, race, and ethnicity on earth.  

The question is about religious values and whether those values reinforce or tear down the American system.  Making this statement is not ipso facto a violation of the First Amendment. Yes, Islam is a religion, but it is unlike any other religion on earth. It is equally and thoroughly a political ideology and a civilizational worldview demanding territorial and religious dominance wherever it exists.

This comes at a time when America, and indeed the West, seem to have lost confidence our nation, it’s heritage and values, and in its meaning. Fueled by encouragement from the left and many in media, Americans are wallowing in a kind of self-loathing, i.e., that nothing we ever did was valuable and certainly Western civilization is no better and maybe worse than all other civilizations, especially now Islamic. But this is revisionist history, the product of leftist neo-Marxist propaganda, and damaging, maybe deadly, in its impact upon American prospects and prosperity.

I address these and other considerations pertinent to the health of the American system in my new book, “We Hold These Truths”—Responsible Christian Patriotism.  Islamism, which is often defined as Islamic extremism, is a direct threat to the future freedom and well-being of America. If you don’t believe me, do some reading about what is taking place in Europe where Islamists immigrants are rapidly overwhelming Europe’s heritage and culture. It can happen here.

So why hasn’t Congress acted? Because immigration is politically useful to both parties.

Republicans can campaign on border security and the rule of law. Democrats can campaign against what they regard as excessive enforcement and deportation. Each party has constituencies that punish its leaders for compromising. The result is predictable: politicians can obtain political benefits from the immigration controversy without accepting the risks of solving it.

The political landscape in 2026 makes a comprehensive bargain particularly difficult. Border encounters have fallen dramatically under the Trump administration, yet the immigration issue remains deeply polarizing. Pew Research found that 60% of Republicans still regard illegal immigration as a big national problem in April 2026, compared with only 17% of Democrats. At the same time, Americans are not uniformly supportive of every restrictive policy; for example, a January 2026 Pew survey found substantial support for a large military presence at the southern border but majority opposition to suspending all asylum applications. That combination makes compromise difficult. 

Republicans have little incentive to surrender the political advantage of emphasizing enforcement, while Democrats have little incentive to provide Republicans with a legislative victory on an issue that divides their coalition. Recent Democratic debate over whether ICE should be abolished or reformed demonstrates that the party itself remains divided over the proper role of immigration enforcement.

America can remain generous without being careless. It can welcome legal immigrants without accepting illegal entry. It can enforce its borders without abandoning compassion.

It can even restrict, limit, or ban certain individuals who wish to come to America as a kind of fifth column or cell to work to undermine and ultimately to destroy the American system. As President Eisenhower once said, “the Bill of Rights contains no grant of privilege for a group of people to destroy the Bill of Rights.”

A government elected by the American people has a responsibility to “establish Justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

That is not anti-immigrant. It is what a free government of laws and a sovereign nation must do.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. 

If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. For more Christian commentary, see my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2026   
  
*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers. 

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Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 31 August 2026

Americans increasingly live their lives on camera.  Problem is, it’s not their cameras but governments, companies, and other private owners who may not always protect privacy.

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #277 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Flock cameras seem to be the new topic du jour. Flock cameras, “'license plate' readers that are capable of doing so much more, …are popping up like mushrooms on poles in what seems like every town in the country.”

Flock cameras generally refer to surveillance cameras made by Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based company founded in 2017. They are best known for “automated license-plate readers (ALPRs),” although Flock now sells a broader public-safety system that includes video cameras, gunshot detection and drones.

The common Flock camera is a pole-mounted, solar-powered camera that automatically photographs passing vehicles. It uses AI/computer vision to record things such as, license plate number, vehicle make and model, vehicle color, vehicle characteristics and identifying features, and time and location of the sighting. Police can then search the resulting database—e.g., looking for a particular plate, a vehicle matching a description, or vehicles seen near the location of a crime.

Flock Safety says the cameras do not use facial recognition. The system is primarily tracking vehicles and their movements rather than identifying people's faces. But the public is not ready to believe this, and of course, a software upgrade could change this in a day.

Public reaction to flock cameras ranks right up there with the anti-data center and anti-nuclear power movements. A senior in Florida sat near a flock camera pole holding a twelve-foot pool skimmer, using the screen to block the camera. Passers-by brought him snacks, an umbrella, and drinks. The fellow said, “I have a constitutional right to my privacy. I’m a law-abiding citizen, and I don’t need anyone sticking their nose in my business. And if they do, I’m going to chop it off.” 

No question flock cameras can be used illicitly, and given the fallen nature of mankind, if it’s possible to misuse a device, it will happen. A Florida police officer was arrested for using a flock camera to t rack his estranged wife 717 times. “4 Georgia state troopers…have been fired after reportedly committing felony fraud…They made at least $100,000 filing fraudulent personal injury lawsuits after conducting pit maneuvers on fleeing vehicles despite not actually being injured in any way.”

“While Flock cameras are labeled as ALPRs (Automated License Plate Readers), Flock is much more than that and capable of tracking cars across cities and even states. It builds ‘fingerprints’ of vehicles and stores data for law enforcement to access or use to alert on the location of vehicles. Not only is it a staggering amount of surveillance data that they can pull and store, but there have already been instances of it being used by people with access to databases for stalking. There have also been incidents of the Flock system flagging innocent people as criminals and aggressive traffic stops being initiated. The larger concern shown by citizens, though, is that a detailed mass surveillance and tracking system is a substantial erosion of privacy with serious civil rights implications. Currently, Flock scans over 20 billion cars per month, and the pushback from citizens is turning into big rejections by cities.”

“Several municipalities in CT are ‘turning off’ their Flock cameras in response to what one Freedom of Information Act request revealed. The problem - the towns don't control/own the cameras nor the data they collect so they can't turn them off. They can instruct their employees to not access them but Flock, a private company funded ‘almost exclusively’…by taxpayer dollars, owns the devices and the data.”  

Privacy in an increasingly camera-intensive surveillance society feels like Big Brother is watching you. “This surveillance is always on…It's recording everyone, not just ‘suspects.’…Flock adds another dot to the board if someone in power ever decides to connect those dots.”

“There is a reasonable argument that the cell phone in your pocket or purse is doing every bit, if not more, surveillance of your movements and personal life than the Flock cameras on a pole in town. But one can voluntarily leave the cell phone at home. So, the question arises: how much of a surveillance state are we willing to tolerate?”

Flock Safety CEO, Garrett Langley, argues “Americans must ‘compromise’ on their privacy.” Really? Who said he gets to decide?

The company faces a growing public outcry around concerns that Flock’s surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition technology could be misused. “These concerns aren’t just hypothetical. The Washington Post recently identified 46 cases where police officers have been accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes.”

Meanwhile, usage of the new technology has skyrocketed since its inception in 2017. In August 2026, Flock's network placed more than 120,000 cameras, operating in more than 6,000 communities across 49 states.

The best current estimate is that more than 176 Michigan cities and counties are using Flock Safety/automated license-plate-reader systems. Detroit is using approximately 282 flock cameras. Dearborn 84. Wyoming 49. Flint 47. Kentwood 27. Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids stand at 48 flock cameras each. Systems are also operated by entities such as the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, businesses such as Lowe's and Meijer, and other organizations.
But “more than 50 agencies or communities have canceled, suspended or rejected a Flock contract or deactivated their cameras since the beginning of 2026…
Civil liberties advocates say some of the safeguards touted by Flock Safety have been tried before and question whether the company’s changes address broader concerns about a system that can create a record of people’s movements even when they are not suspected of a crime.”

Aside from Flock cameras, municipalities can simultaneously use:
1.    Traditional CCTV — continuously records or streams video. 
2.    Traffic cameras — operated by MDOT/local governments for traffic management. 
3.    Red-light/traffic-enforcement cameras where authorized. 
4.    Project Green Light/private cameras — privately owned cameras whose feeds can be integrated with police. 
5.    Businesses' cameras that police can request footage from. 
6.    School cameras and other government cameras. 
7.    Body cameras and dash cameras, which are another category entirely.

So, pushback or not regarding Flock vehicle cameras, I’ve shared podcasts before about the mass surveillance, track-and-trace, digital society in which we now live. Likely, there is not a week goes by that you and I are not recorded somehow someway in what we view, read, purchase online, perhaps where we go. Maybe not a day goes by that we are not under a camera when we are out on our daily routine.

Atlanta is the most surveilled U.S. city per capita. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in August 2026 that Atlanta has more than 60,000 public and private surveillance cameras connected to law enforcement, and roughly one camera for every eight residents. This includes public CCTV, transportation cameras, traffic cameras, school cameras, private cameras accessible to police, and other surveillance infrastructure.

China has developed a much more centralized and pervasive surveillance ecosystem, combining enormous numbers of cameras with facial recognition, government databases, identification systems and other technologies. In the US right now, CCTV → AI video analytics → facial recognition → ALPR/Flock → private-camera networks → police real-time crime centers → federal databases. Unlike in China, these systems do not form one unified surveillance system, but they could be interconnected.

The technology doesn't have political values, but the people controlling the system do. Citizens increasingly become legible to the state, while the state remains comparatively opaque to citizens. A surveillance system built for legitimate purposes today doesn't necessarily remain confined to those purposes forever. Surveillance becomes a tool of psychological domination.

So, in the days ahead, personal privacy vs. security and safety will increasingly be an issue we must watch and evaluate in an open, free, pluralistic society.

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best. If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. For more Christian commentary, see my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2026   
  
*This podcast blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/ or my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers. 

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Written by: Rex M. Rogers

Published: 24 August 2026

Is nuclear energy what powers the future, or is it a quick trip to a scorched earth?

Hi, I’m Rex Rogers and this is episode #276 of Discerning What Is Best, a podcast applying unchanging biblical principles in a rapidly changing world, and a Christian worldview to current issues and everyday life.

Nuclear power remains one of the most debated sources of energy. Supporters see it as a highly efficient, reliable, low-carbon energy source that can provide large amounts of electricity around the clock. Critics point to the possibility of serious accidents, radioactive waste, high construction costs, and the long-term consequences of radiation releases. Both sides have legitimate concerns, but nuclear power’s advantages are substantial.

The strongest argument for nuclear power is energy density. A small amount of nuclear fuel produces an enormous amount of energy compared with coal, natural gas, oil, or biomass. A nuclear plant can therefore generate large quantities of electricity without requiring enormous amounts of fuel. Nuclear plants are also highly reliable. Unlike solar and wind, nuclear reactors can operate day and night regardless of weather. 

Nuclear plants generally operate at very high-capacity factors, meaning their generating equipment is producing electricity a large percentage of the time. Nuclear power is also cleaner in terms of air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. A nuclear reactor does not burn coal, oil, or natural gas, so electricity generation does not produce the large quantities of carbon dioxide and conventional air pollutants associated with fossil-fuel plants. Nuclear power consequently offers a way to produce dependable electricity while substantially reducing emissions.

It also has a relatively small physical footprint compared with the amount of electricity it produces. Wind and solar installations can require very large areas when their entire land footprint, transmission infrastructure, and backup or storage requirements are considered. And they wind turbine and solar farms become visual or aesthetic pollution.

Energy efficiency can be measured in several ways—energy density, capacity factor, and land use—and each metric highlights different strengths. Fossil fuels have extremely high energy density and historically high-capacity factors (often 50–70% for natural gas plants), making them reliable but carbon intensive. Wind power has a lower capacity factor (typically 30–45% depending on location) because it depends on variable wind conditions; however, modern turbines are supposedly, increasingly efficient and require no fuel input. Solar power has the lowest capacity factor (15–30% in most U.S. regions) due to day night cycles and weather variability, but it excels in modularity and rapid deployment. Nuclear power is the standout in reliability: its capacity factor in the United States is around 90%, far higher than any other source, and its energy density is orders of magnitude greater. Uranium contains millions of times more energy per kilogram than coal or oil. In land use terms, nuclear is extremely compact, fossil fuels moderate, wind large, and solar moderate to large depending on scale. 

The principal objection to nuclear power, which is to say to nuclear reactors, is the possibility of a catastrophic accident. Nuclear accidents are unusual, but when serious failures occur, the consequences can be extraordinary. Three incidents dominate public perceptions:

•    Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania suffered a partial core meltdown in 1979. It is the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear history, but the NRC reports that the radioactive release had negligible effects on public health. 
•    Chernobyl, in Ukraine, in 1986 was far more serious. A reactor was destroyed during a test, releasing large amounts of radioactive material and contaminating a broad area. 
•    Fukushima Daiichi in Japan in 2011 was caused by the enormous earthquake and tsunami. 

Together, these events created the public perception that nuclear accidents, although rare, can have consequences lasting decades.

And it does not help that several movies—“Mad Max” (1979), “The Day After” (1983), “Threads” (1984), “Terminator 2” (1991), “The Book of Eli” (2010)—have popularized images of an apocalyptic nuclear winter in desolate, futuristic landscapes.

Another concern is radioactive waste. Spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive for very long periods and must be carefully contained. Nuclear advocates point out that the volume of waste is relatively small and can be stored safely, while opponents argue that permanent disposal remains politically and technically difficult.

Also, nuclear plants are expensive and time-consuming to build. Large reactors require enormous capital investments, extensive regulation, and sophisticated engineering. Cost overruns have contributed to opposition to new construction.

Environmentalists are typically skeptical of nuclear power. The central concern is radioactive waste, which remains hazardous for thousands of years and requires secure geological storage that no country has fully implemented at scale. Another major objection is the risk of catastrophic accidents, which shape public perception and reinforce the belief that nuclear carries unacceptable downside risk. 

Environmentalists also emphasize cost and speed: modern nuclear plants often take 10–20 years to permit and build, with frequent cost overruns, while wind and solar can be deployed in months or a few years. Many environmental advocates prioritize decentralized, modular, and community scale energy systems, which align more naturally with wind and solar than with large, centralized reactors. 

Finally, nuclear power is often associated with weapons proliferation, reinforcing the belief that expanding nuclear infrastructure increases geopolitical risks. In contrast, wind and solar are seen as renewable, low risk, rapidly scalable, and compatible with a vision of sustainable, distributed energy systems.

As of March 2026, the United States had 57 commercial nuclear power plants containing 96 operating reactors in 28 states. Together they have about 98.4 gigawatts of net generating capacity. The United States has the world’s largest nuclear fleet and was the world’s largest nuclear electricity producer in 2024. The United States, China, and France were the three largest producers, accounting for about 30%, 16%, and 14% respectively of global nuclear electricity production. By reactor numbers, the major nuclear countries include the United States, France, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, India, and Canada. China is particularly important because it is rapidly expanding its nuclear capacity.

Christian thinkers have evaluated nuclear power through theological, ethical, and prudential lenses, producing a wide spectrum of judgments shaped by views of creation, human responsibility, and technological risk. Their assessments typically fall into three broad patterns: moral caution, conditional acceptance, and principled advocacy.

Many Christian ethicists—especially in Catholic social teaching and mainline Protestant statements—approach nuclear power with moral caution. They emphasize the doctrine of stewardship: humanity must care for creation without introducing harms that future generations cannot manage. Nuclear waste, which remains hazardous for millennia, is often cited as violating what they call “intergenerational justice.” 

After Chernobyl and Fukushima, theologians argued that nuclear technology embodies a form of technological hubris, conflicting with Christian humility before creation. Catholic bishops in several countries have issued statements urging restraint or phase outs, grounding their arguments in the principles of the common good and prudence.

Other Christian thinkers adopt a conditional acceptance posture. They argue that nuclear power may be morally permissible if safety, waste management, and governance are robust. From this perspective, nuclear power can serve the care for creation mandate when paired with strict oversight. Some evangelical policy voices and Catholic moral theologians fall into this category, stressing that moral evaluation must weigh both risks and benefits.

A smaller group of Christian thinkers offer principled advocacy for nuclear energy. 
Because Christian ethics prioritizes human flourishing, they contend that rejecting nuclear power may unintentionally perpetuate poverty and environmental degradation. 

I find myself in this latter group, favoring principled advocacy for nuclear energy.  
In my view, the primary reason we are avoiding nuclear power and perpetuating dependency on fossil fuels is political, not scientific or economic. Overall, nuclear power’s central advantage is that it combines high energy density, reliability, and very low operational carbon emissions. 

Well, we’ll see you again soon. This podcast is about Discerning What Is Best.

If you find this thought-provoking and helpful, follow us on your favorite podcast platform. For more Christian commentary, see my website, r-e-x-m as in Martin, that’s rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers.

And remember, it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2026   
  
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