Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / The 8-8-24 edition of The View from the Front podcast.

Transcript

The 8-8-24 edition of The View from the Front podcast. · The Stan R. Mitchell Show

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: What is going on, guys?
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to this week's edition of The View from the Front.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Stan, and I can promise you that you are listening to the most unique news show in America.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I primarily cover defense news and the military, but I do it in a way unlike any other news organization.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to relieve your anxiety.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to reignite your faith in this country.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: My goal is to make you feel like you can keep up with the news again without
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: feeling sick to your stomach by the end of you watching it.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: At my heart, I am an optimist.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: And deep in my soul, I believe in the good of this country.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: And every week that I put this out, I do my very best to make it non-sensational.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: To keep you calm and positive about our country's future.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I served this country for six years as a United States Marine,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: and I have seen how diverse people from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnicities
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: can come together to accomplish large missions.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I also worked as a journalist for 10 years, and during that time and in the years that have followed,
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen how people have become disengaged because of how the news almost always
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: increases your anxiety.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be that way.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: I want to honor the more than 41 million Americans who have served in uniform over
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: the course of the nation's nearly 250-year history.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so each week,
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I cover the news in a calm and balanced manner with an overarching goal to unify
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: our country.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sick of being mad?
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Are you sick of being scared?
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want to find a show that will lift your spirits?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think you've found that show,
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: and I promise I will always do my best to lower your blood pressure and avoid
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: trying to scare you with articles designed to only get more audience share.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Finally,
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I wrap up each episode by adding in some motivation and wisdom at the end of the show,
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: because who doesn't need that?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we've beat around the bush long enough.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get this thing started in 3, 2, 1.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Guys, we have so much amazing stuff to cover tonight.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: First, thanks for joining us.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a lot to talk about, such as the fact that, did you know, Ukraine has invaded Russia?
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm not kidding.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ukraine has returned the favor after being invaded in 2014,
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: numerous times since then,
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: and after suffering the massive invasion a couple of years ago where they nearly
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: made it to the capital city,
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: they being the Russians,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: and after the Ukrainians drove them back and they've been fighting them for two
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: years and getting stronger and stronger,
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seriously not making this up.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a joke.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Ukraine has returned the favor and invaded Russia.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll get into that.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: We've also got an update on those F-16s in Ukraine.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: I said last week that I hoped and really,
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: really hoped I'd have an update this week that maybe they would be delivered.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we've got some news on that for sure.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're also going to talk about how the Marine Corps is changing and evolving to
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: face the threat from China.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And if we have time,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I plan on getting into several other topics,
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: but I want to under-promise and hopefully over-achieve.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: And before we get to that, I want to talk about two lighter topics to start the show.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: This week, at least, I'm specifically avoiding the topic of politics.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: As you know, Kamala Harris has picked a running candidate for VP, assuming she were to be elected.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Tim Waltz.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: I've written about that some on my political blog if you want to check that out there.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I've written a couple articles this week.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm going to avoid that on the podcast this week.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I am big on unity and healing.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: And even though 2024 has been partially a scary year politically speaking,
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: and I know that by the time we get to November,
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: the tension's going to be high and it's going to be potentially scary and there'll
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: probably be legal challenges.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: There will probably be a little bit of potential violence.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: No one likes to talk about that, but that's something that all of us worry about if we're honest about.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I said at the beginning of the year,
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like,
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: what if we flipped it and said,
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: instead of it being scary,
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: instead of it being divisive,
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: instead of some of these folks talking about a civil war and all these horrible
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: worst case scenarios,
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: what if it was a year?
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: What if 2023 and the beginning of 2024 was the apex?
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: What if it was the peak of the darkness?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're moving toward the light.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And what if 2024 was the year of unity and healing?
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what I have been pursuing.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: And in that spirit,
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I would start,
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: before we get to the news,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: with two lighter things that I can almost guarantee you have not seen that I think
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: will make your day,
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: that I think will help make the show different.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: So the first thing,
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: the first thing,
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: let's talk about,
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: since it is the political season,
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: since voting is what responsible folks do in the United States,
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: and that responsible folks have done going all the way back to Greece a couple
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: thousand years ago,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: whatever the exact date is on that,
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I would read a letter saying,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: from World War II,
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: from General Wainwright,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: that he wrote this to his soldiers who were discharged after World War II.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it is so inspiring.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it is as relevant today as it was then, as my good friend Rebecca Sanderlin said.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Rebecca, she will probably not want me to give her a shout-out,
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: But she is a great writer.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: She's an amazing person.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: She's been a spouse, a military spouse.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Anyone who's done that,
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: even for like a year or two or three or four,
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: like a typical,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: enlistment term,
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: has literally done the work of angels on earth.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: She was a military spouse for like 20 years.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And her husband wasn't just...
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: in the army.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: He was in special forces and deployed so many times to Afghanistan and other places.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And she,
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: at some point you will know her name because she has written an amazing book that
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: I've managed to get a peek at that is being shopped to agents.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: So she'll be a famous person someday and they're going to make a movie about her life probably.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: But
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Besides all that, she's a great follow on social media.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: You should track her down.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: But I want to share what she shared.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: This letter, I'm not sure where she found it.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: But she found the letter that General Wainwright wrote to soldiers in World War II.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I want to read this because I think it will, it's going to touch you.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Alright.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Two, all personnel being discharged from the Army of the United States.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: this is from General Wainwright to every single soldier,
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: from the lowest private all the way up to the highest ranking enlisted folks,
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: all the way to the officers,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: from lieutenants to captains to majors,
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: colonels,
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: you go all the way up.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Here is the letter to all personnel being discharged from the Army of the United States.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: You are being discharged from the Army today, from your Army.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: It is your Army because your skill,
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: patriotism,
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: labor,
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: courage,
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: and devotion have been some of the factors which make it great.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: You have been a member of the finest military team in history.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: You have accomplished miracles in battle and supply.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Your country is proud of you, and you have every right to be proud of yourselves.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: You have seen,
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: in the lands where you worked and fought and where many of your comrades died,
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: what happens when the people of a nation lose interest in their government."
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: You have seen what happens when they follow false leaders.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: You have seen what happens when a nation accepts hate and intolerance.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: We are all determined that what happened in Europe and in Asia must not happen to our country.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Back in civilian life,
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: you will find that your generation will be called upon to guide our country's destiny.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Opportunity for leadership is yours.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: The responsibility is yours.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: The nation,
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: which depended on your courage and stamina to protect it from its enemies,
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: now expects you as individuals to claim your right to leadership.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: a right which you earned honorably and which is well deserved.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Start being a leader as soon as you put on your civilian clothes.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: If you see intolerance and hate, speak out against them.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Make your individual voices heard,
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: not for selfish things,
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: but for honor and decency among men,
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: for the rights of all people."
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Remember too that no American can afford to be disinterested in any part of his government,
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: whether it is county,
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: city,
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: state,
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: or nation.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Choose your leaders wisely.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: That is the way to keep ours the country for which you fought.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that those leaders are determined to maintain peace throughout the world.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know what war is.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know that we must not have another.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: As individuals,
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: you can prevent it if you give to the task which lies ahead the same spirit which
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: you displayed in uniform.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Accept the trust
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: and the challenge which it carries.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: I know that the people of America are counting on you.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know that you will not let them down.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye to each and every one of you, and to each and every one of you, good luck.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Again, General Wainwright, U.S.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Army Commanding.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's the letter he wrote.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: But my goodness, was that good or what?
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how I see this election.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you can be for Trump.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can be for Harris.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: You can make arguments for both.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I don't really care who you vote for.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: I just want you to be informed.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to be, you know, active in voting.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Helping guide our leaders, give them feedback, write to them.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: I have written people.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: The first president I ever wrote was back in, I think it was about 2000, maybe 12 or so.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And President Obama at the time was trying to figure out what to do in Iraq.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I had some ideas.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so I wrote this book.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: thinking I'd never get a reply.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, I got actually a pretty good reply.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure it was written by a staff member.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: I have no idea if he actually signed it or if they had this really cool ink-stained
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: printer or whatever it looked like he had signed it.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: But it made my day.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And to know that someone at least glanced at the letter.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so...
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you write, I've written senators, mayors, governors, almost all of them will write you back.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And the amazing thing is they usually put you on like a mailing list.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of like become an important person because they know that anyone who takes
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: the time to bug them matters.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: They know that you are a thought leader,
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: that you probably have an account on like threads or what used to be Twitter or Instagram.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: They know that you care, that you're involved, that you're informed, etc.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like the more active you become,
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: the more you get drawn in,
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: and the more you can actually help influence opinion to the better.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope that letter helped inspire you a tad.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: And no matter what side you're on, be decent, especially to the other side.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Let's not stoop too low in how we speak or in our language.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, enough of that.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move to the other thing I wanted to talk about, which I think will make your day.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: At least it made my day.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then we're going to get into the news.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, can we talk about bald eagles?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Can we all agree that bald eagles are good?
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, in the spirit of chasing unity, this to me seems like this isn't a left or right thing.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Can we agree that bald eagles in America are about the greatest thing we can talk about?
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because if we can...
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to share some news that really made my day.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that news is that the population of bald eagles is starting to recover.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I saw... It initially started... I went down a rabbit hole.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: We all do this with the joys and curse of the internet.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: But I saw a simple map that showed...
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: A comparison of Wisconsin's occupied bald eagle nest in 1974 versus 2019.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what, like, almost 50 years.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the one from 1974 probably had, like, a couple dozen little red dots on it.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: The one in 2019, it's...
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: very challenging to even try to count how many are actually on it.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: There are a bunch.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was like, well, I wonder what the count actually is.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I started doing some research,
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: and one of the more reliable sites I saw showed that the bald eagle population is
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: now up to 11,000 pairs,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: mating pairs,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: in 2007 was one of the most extensive counts ever.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that is up from as low as 417 pairs in 1963.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: 417 mating pairs.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what, like 800 bald eagles in 1963.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: 800 bald eagles.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: They nearly went extinct.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's considered one of the world's greatest conservation success stories.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: But even now...
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's only 11,000 pairs,
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: and so I shared this map that I came across,
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: which showed how many pairs there are in every state.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And it is stunning how few there are.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: Many states have like less than 25.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Utah has 11,000.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: This was again, this is back just a bit, 2007, so hopefully it's a little higher than that now.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: Nevada had 5,
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: New Mexico had 2,
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: Montana,
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: a big,
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: big state,
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: they had 300,
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: so that's quite a few,
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: but Kansas only had 29,
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_00: Missouri,
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: 150,
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: Tennessee,
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: my home state,
• 15:41
  115.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know every now and then I will see a bald eagle.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've never seen a pair.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: But Tennessee, 115.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Mississippi, 31.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Michigan's got a few, 500 up there.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: New York, only 123.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: Oregon's doing pretty good, 470.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: The state of Washington, out on the west coast, we're up to 835 out there.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought, man, how amazing that bald eagles are starting to return.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Your chances of seeing one continue to grow.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that is just great news.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, this is one thing I've never understood.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe someone can send a comment and explain this to me.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes I feel like the political parties just try to divide us.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because when it comes to conservation,
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: back when I was a hunter and I was a big-time Republican back in the day,
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: it was called conservation.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was about protecting places to hunt and wetlands.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: That used to be the Republican Party position.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: But,
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: the Democrats most they didn't necessarily all support hunting,
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: but they wanted to help save the earth and they were concerned about global warming,
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: which I know that's a somewhat political term.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing that gets me is that if you've got people in a room and you took away
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: the term conservation or hunting.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you took away the term global warming and you're like,
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys,
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: like you care about the mountains out there.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: You care about the parks that we have that are protected.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do you care about, you know, out of control development, et cetera, et cetera.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: Like,
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I guarantee you if you did that, it's like 85 or 90% agreement.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many Republican presidents,
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: going back to like Teddy Roosevelt,
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: who have been big on conservation.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of national parks created.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Exact same thing with Democrats.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't understand why we can't all agree that conservation, that...
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Doing things to help prevent global warming.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's all basically the same thing,
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: but yet the political parties can sometimes divide us over the terminology where
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: they'll scare us about how it might affect jobs or growth.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think it's like,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: can't we all agree that whether it's the fishing or the birds or the bald eagles or whatever...
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of an important thing.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'll go so far as to say whether some small salamander somewhere should stop growth.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: We can all agree that sometimes it can be taken a little far, but when we're talking about bald eagles...
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think we can all agree that this is wonderful news that they continue to grow and
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: expand in population.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I could have found a better count that was like from 2023 or recently,
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: but it seems like if I had to guess,
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: given that there isn't a lot of data out there,
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: they're probably no longer,
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: I know they're still protected,
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: but there probably isn't as much money being spent counting them because it's
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_00: becoming a more healthy population.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: and the fact that they might go extinct is way less likely.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: But, I don't know.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: That made my day.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that news makes your day.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just wanted to start with some good news that...
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: The bald eagles are taking off,
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: and no matter which side you vote on,
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: that letter from General Wainwright ought to inspire you to be more engaged this year.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what I hope to do with this show.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's what I've been trying to do for the past couple of years.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's almost been out three years now, although it initially started as a newsletter as well.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: that I can get people engaged with the news without scaring you or making you feel
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: like your blood pressure's just tripled in the amount of time that you've listened.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hey,
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: and real quick on the bald eagle thing,
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: I forgot to mention,
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: I did put the map in the episode notes,
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: so if you want to go see what the count is in your state,
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: it's a pretty cool map.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: I've got the link to the original website if you want to go there as well,
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: because you can click each state and get even more information.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, so let's get to the news.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: We begin with that invasion of Russia by Ukraine.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, some great retaliation on Ukraine's part that I don't think Mr. Putin is very happy about.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And let me say before we get into this story that Ukraine is not commenting on what is...
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're not even acknowledging that it's happening,
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: but there is...
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Increasingly, more and more reporting on this.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: There's a story in the Washington Post.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's one on NBC.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's one in the Kyiv Independent.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm linking to the one in the Kyiv Independent.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the best and most in-depth articles that I saw.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's free to read.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'll share some of the stuff I've seen throughout social media because initially, this story has come...
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: from lots of social media bloggers who have seen various bits of uploaded footage,
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: wreckage,
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: satellite images,
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, the Ukrainians and the government is not commenting.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: The Russians claim they've already stopped it.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: Although,
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: in another announcement,
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Mr.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Putin said it was a grave provocation,
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: which is kind of funny given that he's invaded Ukraine multiple times since 2014
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: and done many things to have caused grave provocation.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: But he's now complaining because he has no troops in this area and what appears to be
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: in some of the articles at least,
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: and according to some of the sources,
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: although the exact numbers aren't for sure,
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: but this is a pretty serious advance.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: Probably a couple of battalions of troops.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: They are mechanized.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: They're riding in vehicles that the U.S.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: provided in at least some of the videos.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: These are those striker vehicles.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: There are other tanks involved and other equipment involved.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: They are definitely,
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: you can see in some of the photos and videos,
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: in at least one they've taken,
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was like 40 something prisoners.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: The Russians are surrendering, they were caught by surprise, and the Ukrainians are having great success.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: They've already advanced depending on which story you want to believe in.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: at least somewhere between 10 to 15 kilometers across this Russian border.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is in the northern part of Ukraine, the northern part.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: And Ukraine has been stretched to the breaking point,
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: trying to defend in some of the southeastern parts of,
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: around Donetsk and some of the cities there, and in fact has been pulling back in a couple of places.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: They've really been pushed to the limit.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so this advance caught a lot of people by surprise.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: No one was real sure why.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: Was it just to try to get the Russians to move forces to the area?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: Was it to try to embarrass Putin?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: What exactly was it?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: No one really has an answer to that.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Some people joked there's a nuclear plant nearby that maybe Ukraine would try to seize that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that would greatly embarrass Russia.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: But the problem with that is that is 60 kilometers inside Russia.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so that seems unrealistic.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: I did see one social media folks and analyst post.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: that shared what to me seemed the most reasonable reason for it.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: And that is,
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: there is a railroad,
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: and I've got this in the episode notes,
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_00: that is just a bit further than where the Ukrainian troops currently are.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so maybe Ukraine is trying to drive north and seize that railroad,
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: which would be a brilliant move,
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: especially if they dug in and tried to hold it,
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: because it would cut off supplies to much of the Russian army that are currently
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: being used to push against Ukraine way further to the southeast.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: This...
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Railroad line runs,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: from basically west to east and resupplies much of the army of the Russian army
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: that's doing the fighting.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: So that seems to be to me to be the most realistic possibility.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so, at any rate, again, Vladimir Putin is not happy about it.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: During this attack, there has been really some amazing things happen.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Besides the large-scale amount of prisoners that are being taken...
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most of these troops in the area, the Russians, are very poorly trained, under-armed conscripts.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Russia basically has no military units in the area.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, Russia tried to send some air units up there.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: That is creating some problems because,
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: one,
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: we have video footage that Ukraine has successfully used a drone to fly into the
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: side of a Russian attack helicopter.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: These attack helicopters, I've talked about them in the past.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: They've caused a lot of Ukrainian casualties when Ukraine has tried to advance in the past.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess Ukraine was ready for them this time.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: So in at least one video,
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: there's footage of a drone flying into the side of a Russian helicopter,
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: obviously taking it down.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: No helicopter can take...
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: an explosive hit to the side and this one appeared to hit the near the tail near
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: the boom area with the flying um vertical blade on the back so it was a
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: catastrophic loss for the russians of a very expensive helicopter
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: But the article that I read in the Kiev Independent made a great point,
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: which is that the problem for the Russians is that they aren't real sure where the
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ukrainian units are as these units have pushed forward.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: And there are likely well-armed scout units that are in Ukraine that have anti-air
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: missiles or what are called MANPADs.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: possibly some short-range Stinger missiles as well from the U.S.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so Russia has to be very careful trying to use aerial attacks from jets or
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: helicopters because Ukrainian ground forces...
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: are in hidden areas with anti-air missiles to counter them.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Russia's in a bit of a pickle,
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: and I think pretty much all of the Western world is loving it at the moment.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I've got a link to the article if you want to read it.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: It will probably be...
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: an increasing story in the coming days.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: If something big were to come,
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: I will,
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: as I've said so many times,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll try to put out a short newsletter.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're not signed up for the newsletter list, you can get there from the episode notes.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's much easier for me to throw out a quick newsletter than it is to record a podcast update.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: At least in the short term.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: Long term, that is one of my goals.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: As we grow and as the support from people with money, paid subscribers that is, grows.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely want to do that more.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: But again, big story.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely has Vladimir Putin on his back foot.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's embarrassing.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: And he has, just like when Wagner units...
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: That private military contractor started rolling toward Moscow itself.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Russia is so overstretched and their losses have been so great that they have very
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: few forces inside Russia that can react to anything.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so not only have they been getting hit with some of their large oil production facilities,
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: they don't have many ground troops.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they can't stop drone attacks,
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: and now they can't stop a very large-scale,
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: at least a couple battalions,
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: like I said,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: ground assault.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the Kiev Independent actually said that...
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: there appear to be a lot more Ukrainian forces in the area on the Ukrainian side of
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: the border prepared to enter.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: as one analyst said,
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: it's now going to start to get dangerous for Ukraine,
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: though,
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: because if and when they decide to try to pull back,
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: that's a dangerous operation to try to conduct for any military operation.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also the chance that maybe they dig in and try to hold ground because
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: that would be astonishingly embarrassing for Russia that they have given up actual
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: Russian territory to Ukraine and that perhaps Ukraine could use that territory if
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: they're able to hold it to be something that they could trade for other Ukrainian
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: land that the Russians currently have from which Ukraine is unable to dislodge Russia.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: But,
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: again,
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: not a good week for Russia as a part of their special military operation in Ukraine,
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: which has now been going on for two years.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move now to F-16s in Ukraine.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: You guys know who listened last week that I really hoped we'd have an update and
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: that I said last week,
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: guys,
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: they may already be in Ukraine or they may be arriving soon.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of secrecy wrapped up in this.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: I gave the best evidence that was publicly reported at the time,
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: and since the last episode,
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: it has been confirmed that they are indeed in Ukraine and that they're already
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: being used.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: President Zelensky himself confirmed three days ago that the first batch of F-16s
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: had arrived,
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: that the jets are already being used.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: He said in a post-conference,
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: "...I am proud of all our guys who master these planes and have already started
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: using them for our state."
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: Zelensky went on to say that Ukraine had held hundreds of meetings and negotiations
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion to strengthen its air force,
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: and that,
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: he added,
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: and this is true,
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: anyone who's kept up with the war knows this part is true,
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: that Ukraine was often told that it would be "...impossible."
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: for it to get F-16s,
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: that it couldn't fly them,
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: that it didn't have the facilities or the technical expertise to fix them.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, Zelensky went on to say, we have made possible what was our ambition.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now it is indeed a reality, a reality in our sky.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_00: F-16s are in Ukraine.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: He went on to thank all the partners who are really,
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: helping with the F-16 and the first countries that accepted our request for aircraft.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And he named Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, again, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, it is an American air superiority fighter.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually pretty old.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: It goes well back, way back, actually, to 1976.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: And even though it is that old, it has been updated numerous times.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's electronics and some of the capabilities of it.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gotten just... It's really... It's a good fighter jet.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the United States has so many...
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Newer fighter jets since that time,
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: the F-15,
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: the F-22,
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: the F-35,
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: but it's actually still a highly exported aircraft to other countries because our technology,
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: even from the 70s,
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: is frankly that much better than some of the russian stuff out there and so russia
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: has tried to say this wouldn't be a big deal there's been disagreement on how much
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: it would help or not help but there are more than 4 600 f-16s in the world it is a
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: very serious aircraft and it's
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's no joke, for sure.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: And it has a lot of what are called hard points or places that you can put missiles.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to get into that just a bit.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the main point to start this is they are in Ukraine right now as we speak.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that is big news.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: Back to the hard points that I mentioned.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: There are several links in the episode notes that I've put in there for you if you
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: want to get into the weeds.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: But based on the photos that have been seen and some of the comments made,
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: there was even a Ukrainian colonel who made some on-the-record comments.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: It appears Ukraine is going to use these...
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: f-16s conservatively which makes a lot of sense honestly they're not going to be
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: put toward the front lines or do anything too dangerous because they don't want to
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: risk either the planes or the pilots of course ukraine only has six pilots in the
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_00: country right now that can fly these and so they do not want to risk either the the
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: pilots or these f-16s
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: So most of the articles I've seen and the photos I've seen show that they're using
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: a couple of different air-to-air missiles.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: One's a very long-range, one's a shorter-range supersonic, faster-type missile.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: One is a long-range air-to-air missile that has its own radar inside the nose of it
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: that actually exceeds the radar of the F-16s.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: It can extend its range, but...
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to read a bit into the weeds on those, you can definitely do so.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: But it appears most analysts,
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: based on what the missiles are being carried,
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: and based on the comments from that colonel,
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: and based on what most analysts say they would do,
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: it looks as though Ukraine is going to use these F-16s to shoot down incoming drones.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: and incoming aerial-type attacks from missiles,
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: so it should strengthen Ukrainian air defense,
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: which is definitely a good start.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: As I've said in some previous episodes,
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: it appears as though Ukraine's air defenses have been improving,
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: which is a good thing since they're down to about...
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Half of their amount of electrical production.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're still dealing with blackouts.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's still fear of the upcoming winter and how Ukraine will deal with it.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: So they can't afford any more catastrophic hits from missiles.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: or Shahid drones from Iran that are made in Iran, of course.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope they are used for some great aerial defense to help protect Ukrainian
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: cities and regular citizens who are facing various types of war crimes as Russia
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: just randomly attacks hospitals,
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: apartment buildings,
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: etc.,
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: Before we move away from Ukraine news,
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to share a comment by an individual on social media that I just put into
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: the episode notes.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: He goes by Matt, I guess Matt P is how you would say the name.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to it there if you want to read it.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: He made a great comment.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: He said the ridiculous, I'll just say coping mechanism by the Russians about this invasion inside Ukraine
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, Russia itself is amazing.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: They lost their Black Sea fleet.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: They made the Crimean occupation unsustainable.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, he's talking about the Crimean Peninsula.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_00: They pushed Sweden and Finland into NATO.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: They suffered a coup attempt by Wagner.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: They are under huge sanctions.
• 36:26
  SPEAKER_00: They are now unable to even guard their own border.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yet apparently they are winning, and then he followed that up with about four question marks.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought that was a pretty good summary to end the Ukraine news section with.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to take a quick break.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we are going to cover how the Marine Corps is changing to counter China.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: And then four other quick stories, including Russians dying even in Africa.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then we'll get to the motivation and wisdom section.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: So hang with me.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think you will enjoy it.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, just a quick reminder.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoy the show,
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: you've been listening to it for a while,
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: and you'd like to support what I'm doing,
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: there's a few ways you can do so.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: You can sign up on my Substack page, support the show at $5 per month.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can also do it through Patreon.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to that in the episode notes.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, you can even just send a tip through Venmo.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to that as well.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your support is honestly so important because as you guys know, I do work a normal job 40 hours a week.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: And long term, I really think the podcast needs to be twice a week coming out on Tuesdays and Fridays.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think that not only would that help Unite the Country better,
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: not only would it help me reach more people,
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think it would allow the show to grow greatly with the way that the algorithms
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: are set up on the various podcast stations.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's just pretty challenging with a weekly show to get where you need to be on the charts.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: As I love to say,
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: there's a quote,
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: committed citizens can change the world.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm hoping that this small group of thoughtful,
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: committed citizens that listen in every week can help this show grow to where we
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: can have the kind of impact that goes far beyond our own internal borders and
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: actually helps people out there.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's the long-term goal,
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: and of course,
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want to help people inside our own country as they face so many weekly and
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: sometimes daily challenges.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: All of us need pep talks,
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: and I would love to be doing this full-time and doing that at least twice a week.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks if you're supporting already,
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: and thank you for those who are on the fence and thinking about it.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate even your consideration.
• 39:07
  Thank you.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about how the Marine Corps has been changing and adapting and evolving to counter China.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now this is something that's been going on for six years,
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: but the current commandant of the Marine Corps,
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: General Eric Smith,
• 39:29
  SPEAKER_00: recently discussed some of the progress that has been made at an event at the
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: Brookings Institution,
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: which is a non-profit policy and governance research group in Washington,
• 39:41
  SPEAKER_00: D.C.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: And he talked about how the threats from China include their stated goal of seizing Taiwan.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, that's the large island to the south of China.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: So seizing Taiwan if necessary.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: as well as China potentially building military outposts on tiny islands in the
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: South China Sea that do not belong to China.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so,
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: he goes into some of the background on all of this,
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: but what I was most interested in was some of the force design stuff.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: The wanting to make the Marines themselves more mobile and less of a target,
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: while also increasing their range of
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: and the lethality and the precision of their weapons.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the Marine Corps has been going through a lot.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: For example,
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: it did get rid of all of its tanks,
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: which the Marine Corps believes would not have been useful in a war with China.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_00: They have done things such as
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: Increase the amount of long-range fires or fire systems that the Marine Corps uses,
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: such as artillery,
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: loitering munitions,
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: those are like floating drones,
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_00: rocket-assisted projectiles,
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: also unmanned aerial systems like the MK-9A Reaper.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's a very, very expensive, very high-quality drone system.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_00: That has a long range, stays in the air for a long time.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of sensors.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: He did mention radar and sensors are something they've been looking at and improving on.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: They've also been modernizing the air capability.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: They're obviously starting to use the F-35 Lightning fighter jet.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously,
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: they've been trying to stay invested in their transportation ability in the air,
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: such as those CH-53 King Stallion helicopters.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: the MV-22 Ospreys,
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: and then also pushing hard to get additional amphibious ships to transport Marines
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: and their equipment.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: He said that a minimum of 31 are needed.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: 31 ships.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's a lot.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: That's more than we currently have.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then he goes into a little bit about where they would need to be stationed and
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: that a lot of money,
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: he says,
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: could be saved by the fact that they are building them up.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: building multiple ones, you can start to save some money.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: So he goes into some of that and also some of the bit about advances in autonomy,
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: which is basically using robots and machine learning that where,
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: we don't want to talk about these things,
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: but basically where machines will
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: see movement,
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_00: see things happening,
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: and help humans by making decisions that could save lives and probably take lives.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, I wanted to share that little bit with you.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to get into the weeds on it, it's actually a pretty controversial thing.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of Marines, the Marine Corps got rid of its snipers.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's one of the things the Marine Corps is known for.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: It got rid of how it's structuring some of its units from battalions.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_00: The Marine Corps is going through a lot, and if you're a Marine,
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: it matters a lot if you're not you just kind of like shrug and you're like I don't
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: really get why everyone's so mad about this but if you want to read that link and
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: get into the weed some I'll put it in the source notes under China news but again
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: if you're not a Marine probably some of this stuff doesn't matter to you but it
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: does show that long term as the Secretary of Defense has said and clearly the
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: Commandant of the Marine Corps China is seen as the large scale
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: peer rival that must be at least kept in check and I'm careful on how I use my
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: words but they are definitely a rival competitor and the United States military the
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: Marine Corps even much of our country has increasingly been focused on making sure
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: we counter
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: The very ambitious goals that China has for the coming decades.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, moving along, because there are a few more things we've got to get through.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: These are going to be very short little briefs.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'll have links to them in the episode notes.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: One story that would have been a big story,
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: except it was more than a week old by the time I recorded,
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: was the big...
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: hostage-prisoner exchange with Russia.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: It involved multiple countries.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: It unfortunately broke,
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: from a timing perspective at least,
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: from,
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: when I record these,
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: it broke on Thursday of last week,
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: the day that the other podcast came out.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: So by the time we're recording this on Wednesday night, very late, this is old news.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: You have seen and heard it everywhere, so I did not want to devote too long to it.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is important news.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_00: I am super glad that we got some of these folks back.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_00: I hate we had to do it.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: I wish every American who was in Russia would leave while they could.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: You are absolutely a very good risk or a very good,
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_00: there's a good chance you're going to be taken,
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: basically arrested for some false crime and used as a hostage in Russia.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why anyone would want to be there.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think everyone should leave, including all reporters, given that they just
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: finally released a Wall Street Journal reporter.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: To me, everyone there is at risk.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: I wish everyone would leave because we had to give up some pretty important people
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: to get these Americans back.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm not going to get into the politics of that.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad they're back.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: You've probably already seen the news.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't, there is a link in the episode notes.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: Moving further along, one story I didn't get into tonight.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: I have two different links to this story.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't get into it because it's actually a story that's a week or two old,
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: depending on which news source you want to read.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't like getting into super scary news that is hard to cover,
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: that takes too long to try to get into,
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_00: and that will only scare people more than had they not known it,
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: basically.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm referring to is a couple of weeks ago,
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Iran's breakout time,
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: which is the amount of time it would take to produce enough weapons-grade material
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: for a nuclear weapon,
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_00: has gone down to one or two weeks,
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: which is the lowest it's ever been.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: Just putting that out there because that is a pretty big deal.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, Antony Blinken is blaming Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_00: That deal did allow UN inspectors to keep an eye on some of the things that Iran was doing.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: On top of all this, and of course, I'm not saying Iran has a nuclear weapon.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: They most certainly do not.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: But should they decide they want to make one,
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_00: they are down to one to two weeks,
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: which means if they decided that they're mad at Israel or they're sick of the
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: United States or whatever those possibilities might be,
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: the United States and Israel has a very short amount of time to decide what to do.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: And it would probably be some type of airstrikes.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: That would lead to war and you just never want to make rush decisions So didn't
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: want to go into the details of that.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is a scary story a concerning one But they are down to one to two weeks.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something to Huh cause you to lose a little sleep but not if they were to
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_00: decide to do something not too wise I
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: moving along,
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_00: we've talked at length in some previous episodes that Russia has been expanding its
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: footprint inside Africa,
• 47:55
  SPEAKER_00: while at the same time the United States has been withdrawing from some places,
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: including Niger.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: I talked about that a week or two ago.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: Having said that,
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: Russia is learning that Africa is a bit more of a challenging operating environment
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: than they expected.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_00: One of the units working there is Wagner.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's their vaunted private military arm.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: You guys have probably heard that term.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: They lost dozens of men and even a helicopter in their most recent fighting.
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: This was in Mali.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I've got a link to that story.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's viewer discretion advised.
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: But there are photos.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: These rebels there that the Russians were trying to operate against drew the Russians into an ambush.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: And, again, it was a bad, bad day for the Russians there.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: And they even lost, like I said, a helicopter.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it's kind of interesting because there are before photos of these Russians in very,
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: sophisticated...
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: Impressive looking military gear.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: They look very confident, if not cocky.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_00: They look like special forces dudes.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_00: And these guys probably have seen a lot of combat.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they're very well armed with sophisticated weapons and gear.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: They're posting photos because that's what soldiers sometimes do these days.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: And then they go up against this rebel group or terrorist group, depending on how you want to call it.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_00: and they got drawn and it's impressive because if you see the photos of these
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: These rebels,
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: they're not super well armed,
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: but they're kind of camouflaged with just dirty looking clothes.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: They just look like tough dudes who've probably not eaten a lot in the last few
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: weeks and are just hardened by years,
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: if not decades of war.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it is a reminder that people in Africa and some of those soldiers,
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_00: some of those militias,
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: some of those terrorist groups,
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: they have been fighting for a long time.
• 50:05
  SPEAKER_00: They are not idiots.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know your history,
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_00: you know that when the US went into Somalia and was trying to seize a warlord there
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: in Mogadishu,
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: we lost 18 Rangers.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: This was back in the 90s.
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_00: the Rangers and the hundred or so folks with them killed about a thousand or more
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_00: of those guerrilla groups trying to fight them.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was, in one way, a one-sided affair.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: But on the other hand, if you study that battle, it was well thought out by the enemy, these guerrillas.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_00: People who are fighting in Africa are very battle-hardened, and they are sophisticated in their tactics.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: Even though their weapons may not be as good, they are not idiots.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so they apparently had some fighters act as if they were fleeing.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Russians were all cocky, started trying to chase them down.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: and they were drawn into a very deadly ambush, and they couldn't get away.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: And initially they tried to rescue those troops, and it went from bad to worse.
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: be careful thinking you are better than the folks who have a little less money than you,
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_00: whether you're America or whether you're Russia.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is a painful lesson to learn.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it is one that the Russians recently learned.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to read that story, it's good stuff.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: Good reading there.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: Finally,
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: before we get to the motivation and wisdom section,
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: just an update to what I've been talking about the past couple of weeks in the
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: podcast about the Philippines.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_00: There was a boost in the alliance between the Philippines and the U.S.,
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: so there was a $500 million funding deal that was recently signed.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've got the details on that in the episode notes if you want to go take a look.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_00: I spent an extraordinary amount of time on that a couple of weeks ago about the
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: background of the situation,
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_00: etc.,
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_00: etc.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to learn more about it,
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_00: Wonder where all this has been.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: Wonder why it hasn't been in the media.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_00: I go into all of that a couple weeks back.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can find that from my episode page.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_00: Just go back a couple weeks.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I believe it was two weeks ago or three.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_00: Shouldn't be that hard to find.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: All of that said, let's move to the best part of the show.
• 52:25
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, I'm talking about the motivation and wisdom section.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: As you guys know, I share these every single week because I know that life is hard and pep talks help.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I also know that sometimes you can get too close to a situation and not be able
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_00: to see what's really happening.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I also share some quotes of wisdom along the way with these motivational quotes
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_00: in the hopes that maybe,
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: just maybe,
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_00: one of them will speak to you.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the first one.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: Don't let fear of failure keep you from living the life of your dreams.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a good one.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Again, life didn't bring you this far to only bring you this far.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: The most beautiful part of your journey is just beginning.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, here's the next one.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_00: The smallest gesture of kindness can change someone's entire day.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's an obvious one, but we often forget it.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: Make someone's day.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: Next one.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_00: Always do your best.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: What you plant now, you will harvest later.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: Again, always do your best.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_00: What you plant now, you will harvest later.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is a good one.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_00: It makes me think about my author website, some books I've written.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: Initially, when you're not getting traction with your website, not much traffic,
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_00: or when you're working on that book and it doesn't feel like you're ever going to
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: get it done,
• 54:10
  SPEAKER_00: all that work you're putting in the beginning is going to pay off.
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: So again,
• 54:14
  SPEAKER_00: always do your best,
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_00: even in that beginning stage when it really is frustrating,
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_00: because what you plant now,
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_00: you will harvest later.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_00: Here's another one about working hard.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_00: This quote says, Success is not attained by chance.
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: You have to work in order to get it.
• 54:35
  SPEAKER_00: Next one about mindset.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am not a product of my circumstances.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_00: I am a product of my decisions.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just a way to flip it.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes, you know, life isn't fair.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_00: We don't all start on third base.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: But instead of saying you can't get something done or giving up or never risking it,
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: Instead of saying I'm a product of my circumstances,
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: that life isn't fair,
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_00: flip that and say I am a product of my decisions.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_00: So what can you do today to change things, to get to that a little bit further down the road?
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_00: I almost said get to the next level, but that seems so cliche.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's also kind of true, though.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_00: all right here's the next one greatness may be achieved at the finish line but it
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: begins at the starting line oh that is so good again greatness may be achieved at
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: the finish line but it begins at the starting line you know the olympics going on
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_00: you see someone like simone or some of these olympian athletes who've spent 20 or
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_00: 30 years of their life becoming
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_00: literally masters they are perfecting their art and they definitely have greatness
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: but it's easy to forget that when they were six or eight or just starting on their
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_00: journey they couldn't even keep their balance they would fall they would tumble
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_00: they just never gave up again greatness may be achieved at the finish line but it
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_00: begins at the starting line
• 56:13
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're doing something and you're frustrated,
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_00: you're not making much progress,
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: give yourself some grace and some forgiveness.
• 56:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pat yourself on the back.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're getting there.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right, here's the next one.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_00: They will judge you anyway, so keep going.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_00: That is so good.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: They will judge you anyway, so keep going.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we don't like to get criticized and we say, oh, why am I doing this?
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's not worth it.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you quit, they're going to make fun of you anyway.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_00: So they're going to judge you anyway.
• 56:41
  SPEAKER_00: Keep going.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you knew how quickly people forget the dead, you would stop living to impress people.
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: as you guys know,
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_00: I always like to share a few from the Bible or that touch on Jesus in some way,
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_00: just because Christianity and the Bible have become such a source of strength and
• 57:07
  SPEAKER_00: wisdom and even calm for me during the past couple of years.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope by sharing a few,
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_00: it might encourage you to get into the Bible yourself,
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_00: because I think it'll really help you.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the first one.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: Try again, this time with God.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_00: That is so good.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_00: Try again, this time with God.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_00: Reminder, God wouldn't put it in your heart if he didn't think you could do it.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you're one of those secret aspiring novelists or something like that, that one hits home, doesn't it?
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: Again, God wouldn't put it in your heart if he didn't think you could do it.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_00: At my lowest, Jesus is my hope.
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_00: At my darkest, Jesus is my light.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_00: At my weakest, Jesus is my strength.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: At my saddest, Jesus is my comforter.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: Someone shared that.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was pretty good.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: Again, at my lowest, Jesus is my hope.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_00: At my darkest, Jesus is my light.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_00: At my weakest, Jesus is my strength.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_00: At my saddest, Jesus is my comforter.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, so good.
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's another good one.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the next one.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is from Isaiah chapter 54, verse 10.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: Man, that's deep.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_00: Basically nothing,
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_00: nothing,
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_00: not the mountain shaking,
• 59:05
  SPEAKER_00: not the hills literally being removed from the face of the earth will change the
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_00: unfailing love that the Lord has for you.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_00: That is crazy.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, let's go to Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31.
• 59:25
  SPEAKER_00: Someone shared this.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was pretty good.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_00: And they said, maybe the enemy is trying to weigh you down so you forget you are able to fly.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_00: And they quoted this chapter that I just said, Isaiah 40, verse 31.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_00: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_00: They will soar on wings like eagles.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_00: They will run and not grow weary.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_00: They will walk and not be faint.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'll read the verse one more time.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_00: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: They will soar on wings like eagles.
• 1:00:00
  SPEAKER_00: They will run and not grow weary.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_00: They will walk and not be faint.
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then let's do one from Proverbs chapter 19 verse 3.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_00: People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_00: It is so good.
• 1:00:22
  SPEAKER_00: We all know people like this.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: Again, people ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I apologize that I can barely say the word ruin.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_00: I do have a bit of a speech impediment that I took speech for when I was in
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_00: elementary school,
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_00: and I still can't say my R's good on some instances.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_00: Which is why I get nervous when I do podcasts,
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_00: which is why I wanted to run from this and not do it,
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_00: but I just feel like I'm supposed to be doing it.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that quote is,
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is one I wish I had seen 20 years ago because I am a total overthinker.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_00: The quote is, The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
• 1:01:15
  SPEAKER_00: So good.
• 1:01:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, a good one.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you don't agree politically.
• 1:01:45
  SPEAKER_00: As you go through this week, I want you to aim to be more motivated and more disciplined.
• 1:01:51
  SPEAKER_00: Try to improve yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually.
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to set impossible goals on these matters.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_00: Just be a little more motivated and disciplined than you were the week prior.
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_00: As I said earlier, I really hope that you spend some time in your Bible this week.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you have no idea where to read on your own, just start with Psalms or Proverbs.
• 1:02:15
  SPEAKER_00: Read some of those and then start with the New Testament by reading the book of John.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_00: Moving to a final note on the political front,
• 1:02:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm confident after this episode you're going to hear some bad news this week,
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_00: where you're going to hear something ugly,
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_00: and it's going to remind you of how divided we are.
• 1:02:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is as certain as the law of gravity.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm begging you, please do not give up on this country.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's pretty ugly right now,
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_00: and I know we're living in dark times,
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_00: but we've made it through nearly 250 years together,
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_00: and we're far stronger together than we'll ever be apart.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ever believe anyone who tells you differently about that.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: Let me wrap up the show by talking about my books and a couple of other newsletters that I do.
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_00: First, a bit about myself and my books.
• 1:03:01
  SPEAKER_00: I am a military vet.
• 1:03:03
  SPEAKER_00: I spent four years in the Marine Corps, all of that time in the infantry.
• 1:03:07
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, that does matter.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_00: After my enlistment, I went to college at the University of Tennessee.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_00: I became a journalist.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_00: I spent more than 10 years in the news business.
• 1:03:15
  SPEAKER_00: Besides all of that, I've also written 12 books.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_00: Those books include a series about a Marine Corps sniper,
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_00: several novels about a police detective and a private investigator,
• 1:03:25
  SPEAKER_00: and a few books about war,
• 1:03:26
  SPEAKER_00: such as World War II and Afghanistan.
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_00: Basically,
• 1:03:30
  SPEAKER_00: these are all fast-moving books with lots of action and plot twists,
• 1:03:34
  SPEAKER_00: because those are the kind of books I've always enjoyed reading.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can find all of those books in the link below.
• 1:03:39
  SPEAKER_00: in the episode notes or you can look on Amazon by just searching my name, Stan R. Mitchell.
• 1:03:45
  SPEAKER_00: Buying a book,
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_00: telling a friend about a book,
• 1:03:48
  SPEAKER_00: or buying one as a gift for someone,
• 1:03:50
  SPEAKER_00: friend or loved one,
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: is a great way to help support the show.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I always like to end each show by reminding people that you can comment anytime.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_00: I try to monitor those.
• 1:04:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can also reach out privately by email to me at AuthorStanRMitchell at Yahoo.com.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_00: And that's in the episode notes, by the way.
• 1:04:08
  SPEAKER_00: But again, it's AuthorStanRMitchell at Yahoo.com.
• 1:04:12
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, here's one other thing.
• 1:04:14
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is about defense news,
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_00: but I also do a political blog,
• 1:04:18
  SPEAKER_00: so if you love my moderate,
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_00: optimistic views,
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_00: you might enjoy that.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Thoughts from a Southern Gentleman.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can find a link to the episode notes to that, or you can just search that on Google.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks for hanging with me this week.
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's truly an honor to talk with each of you and to know that there's a few of you
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_00: out there who are listening and who care about our country and our military and all
• 1:04:41
  SPEAKER_00: the issues that we face.
• 1:04:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know there are a lot of scary issues out there,
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_00: but we're going to get through them together,
• 1:04:48
  SPEAKER_00: the same way America's gotten through everything before this.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you can at all this week,
• 1:04:53
  SPEAKER_00: reach out to a friend or anyone who you know is struggling,
• 1:04:56
  SPEAKER_00: whether they are young or old.
• 1:04:58
  SPEAKER_00: Life is truly hard.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_00: We know this.
• 1:05:01
  SPEAKER_00: But the true strength of this country is its people,
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_00: and that includes you folks listening to me right now.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_00: So be a leader, be a doer, be a servant to someone.
• 1:05:10
  SPEAKER_00: With all of that being said, I'll catch you all next week.
• 1:05:13
  SPEAKER_00: You have been listening to The View from the Front.
• 1:05:17
  Thank you.