Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / Iran, oil, troops, and politics: Is the price going up for Trump?

Transcript

Iran, oil, troops, and politics: Is the price going up for Trump? · The Stan R. Mitchell Show

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: What is going on, everyone?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to The Stan R. Mitchell Show.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Stan, and this week we are going to be talking about a lot of different topics.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: As always,
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: there will be timestamps so you can jump to a section if you don't have time
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: to listen to the entire episode.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, so let's get started.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to start the show this week with some feedback from the last episode.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you missed last week's episode,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I did an entire section called From Michigan to Madrid,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Why the Debate Over Islam is Growing.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so I spent about 15 or 20 minutes talking about the political fight
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: that is increasingly happening around and regarding Islam.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you missed that episode,
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: it's probably worth stopping now and going back and hearing that so that you can get
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: a balanced view of the various sides that I presented.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: I tried to tackle it in as fair a way as possible.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm even going to put a link in this week's show notes so that you can find it.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: But on whatever device you're listening to, you can easily go check out last week's episode.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I do highly recommend you check that out if you haven't heard that section yet.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to try to recap that section in about 60 seconds, which is very hard to do.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: But in short, I pointed out that Muslims remain a very small percentage of the U.S. population.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: But that concerns surrounding immigration, assimilation, radical Islam, terrorism...
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And cultural integration have pushed the issue increasingly into our politics.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so we looked at developments that were happening in Europe.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: We looked at the number of growing political prominent Muslim candidates
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: and elected officials here in America.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And my basic overall summary was that we needed to avoid two extremes – On
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: the one side,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: we shouldn't pretend that radical Islam,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: terrorism, or problems with assimilation don't exist.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Those are legitimate concerns.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: But we also shouldn't treat millions of ordinary Muslims as though they share extremist beliefs.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone gets the same religious freedom and the same rights,
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: but everyone also has the same responsibility to respect the Constitution,
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: the rule of law, and the country they call home.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I also argued that Muslim Americans can help ease legitimate concerns
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: through better assimilation, citizenship, and publicly rejecting extremism.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I ended by asking whether this was going to be a much larger political issue in
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: the years ahead, or whether we're making more of it than we should.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: I then asked for audience feedback.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I am pleased to say I got quite a bit.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: That feedback was across the political spectrum, as you probably could guess.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: But of those who were willing to allow me to share their feedback, let me just mention a few.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think it gives a nice,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: again, just a few select ones that are a good taste of what that feedback was.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: First, I got some feedback from Johanna from New York.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: She said that she would like to briefly debate me on this Islam discussion as a woman.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And she said that while I had mentioned moderate Muslims,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: she said it is not radical in Muslim countries to look at women
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: as second-hand citizens.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: That is their culture.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so she said that as an American woman,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: she has concerns,
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: obviously,
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: about if Muslims take some level of power, that women will be treated differently.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: So again, Johanna from New York is on the side of Islam is definitely a threat to America.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: The second bit of feedback I wanted to share came from another female.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Her name is Marge.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Based on just a quick scrolling of her timeline,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: she's very conservative, but her comments were short and to the point.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: She said, there should be no debate.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: There is enough evidence that Islam is evil straight from the pit of hell.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: So she made that about as clear and stern as one can make it.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then to balance all of that out,
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share feedback from a regular commenter and supporter of the show.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: This comes from John from the Maine Woods, as he affectionately calls himself.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And he's been a paid subscriber for two or three years now.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate his support.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's also one of the early listeners,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: so if I make a mistake, he's usually the first one that catches it.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I do appreciate everything he does to help support the show.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And his feedback, again, was from more of the left side.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, your topic asks, why the debate about Islam?
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think the reason is that it's another way to divide the American people against themselves.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm having none of it, he said.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: He said it's being stirred up against certain targets by people
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: who don't want multicultural democracy to work at all.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: He said he's far more concerned about white Christian nationalists,
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: aka neo-Nazis,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: who were born in the U.S.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: and are able to hide behind claims to Christian beliefs and patriotism
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: while supporting an un-American hatred of immigrants and non-whites of all religions
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: and countries of origin, except, curiously, South Africa.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: He said, I'm looking at you, Elon Musk.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: He added,
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'll also object to the suggestion that an immigrant to the U.S.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: or a natural born person of such descent would not proudly display their flag
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: or elements of their culture like an Egyptian or even Iranian flag as long as it's
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: below the U.S.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: flag and they are not opposed to the Constitution but rather have chosen to die
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: for its principles.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: There are people flying Italian, Irish,
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Israeli,
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Puerto Rican pride,
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: and even Confederate flags below the U.S.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: flag in their yard within biking distance from my house.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's what he said.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: you made some good points in your Islam section,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: but I find the issue a distraction from the corruption going on in
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: the federal government these days.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's the real threat, and those who support it...
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever their religious beliefs or profess to be.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: So...
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: A good counter-argument from John up in Maine.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I really appreciated his point about the flags.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was a good counter to what I was saying when I made the point
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: that doing large marches with flags that weren't American is the kind of thing
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: that scares Americans.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I had made the point that Italians and Irish and many,
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: many types of immigrants before I even mentioned the Japanese
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: that were originally rounded up in camps in World War II,
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: but then later volunteered to fight the Germans.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I appreciate him saying that the reality is he's right.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: There are many various groups that proudly fly the flag of their heritage.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Again, if you missed last week's episode, at least check that section.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was the best part of the show and it's worth listening to.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move to the war in Iran, or as the president calls it excursion.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: He calls it pretty much everything but a war.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I gotta say,
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: to be a totally defeated country,
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: as the president has called them, Iran is continuing to put up a heck of a fight.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And this little detour that was supposed to last four to six weeks,
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: that was back five months ago,
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: seems to be heading into at least another month or more.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's gotten to the point that Iran is just publicly mocking Iran
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: The United States and our President.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: I almost can't believe the list of demands that Iran is putting out.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: They put some out this past week that included, I mean this was a sweeping set of demands.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: And they said that America must reopen the Strait of Hormuz before anything could even happen.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: That we had to lift the naval blockade,
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: lift the sanctions,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: make payment of reparations,
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: withdraw American forces from around the country, including allied countries.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that was just the main ones.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned to some friends and even on social media that
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: The list of requests they had for the president,
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: the list is so long,
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: almost so funny,
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: almost so offensive,
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: that I seriously thought Trump might just absolutely overreact
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: and begin obliterating all kinds of infrastructure inside Iran.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because their list of demands is so over the top.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: I just can't imagine why else they would do that.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: But then part of me wonders if they know something we don't.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Do they know that we lack long-range missiles?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Do they know that their ways of countering our air defenses using missiles
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: that maneuver,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: thanks to Russian and Chinese help,
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: do they know that they can hit us better than they could a few months ago?
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Do they know that if we try to bomb deep inside their country,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: there's a good chance we will lose some pilots?
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because they are straight up taunting us.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a beaten country that we are negotiating with.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is a country that sure seems like it has won.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Just a few points to confirm what I'm sharing.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just this week, just a few days ago, Iran attacked.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Another oil tanker killed the three of the crew, and we did nothing.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't even reply, respond in any way.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: In fact,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: just on August 9th,
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: three days ago from when I'm recording this,
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: the president said that the U.S.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: is now, quote, low-keying it, like keeping it low-key with Iran.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: And he's saying that they will focus on sanctions and economic pain to win the war.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: Although, again, I don't think he uses the term war.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it just doesn't seem like a position of strength to me.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: And there's part of me,
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: the military side of me,
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: the proud Marine side,
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: that, you know, none of us who served in the military like to lose wars.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And there's part of me that says, you know, land some Marines.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see how well they fight the Iranians, that is.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Send in the 82nd Airborne or the 101st.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Send in some Army units.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Let's show these Iranians that we can't be bullied like this.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And yet,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: clearly,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: if such a thing happened,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure that we could defend against the drones that would probably be used
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: in mass against these military units.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Because there are increasing reports on various media outlets that we have burned
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: through our air defenses.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: That we don't have good stockpiles of weapons.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I've got some various links in the show notes if you want to read some of these articles.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: There's one to the New York Times.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's one from Newsmax.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're left or right or whatever, I mean, these articles are everywhere.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And if you really want to know just how bad it is,
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Mark Levine,
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: who's like the most Republican of Republicans,
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: The one who was calling for ground troops.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not that long ago.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: He posted this week.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: He says, quote, Which neocons are calling for ground troops in Iran?
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, he's mad about it.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: He posted this on X. I'll put this in the episode notes if you want to see it.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of readers,
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: there was a community note added,
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: because Mark Levine himself called for ground troops to go into Iran just
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: a few months ago, and he's changed his mind.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And given that he talks to the President a lot,
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: and to lots of folks like Pete Hegseth and others in the Pentagon,
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: it makes you wonder, like,
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: what have they told him that makes it to where even he's not saying we should send
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: in ground troops?
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Another conservative voice, Aerie Flesher.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Remember him?
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Spokesperson for President Bush?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: He was on Fox News.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: He says regarding the Iran strategy that, quote, it's hard to keep up with what our motives are.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Republicans are struggling to figure out how to respond to this.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Then there's the post by cynical Publius.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: He's a huge account on X.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Army officer himself.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And he says... Again,
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: this is just showing how,
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: to me, they're grasping for straws when they being conservatives.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And again, I'm kind of center-right, but...
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what he said.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Who knows who pays them?
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Again, like so many things said on X,
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: there's this horrendous,
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: almost slanderous line that says that if you believe that
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: the United States has not won this war,
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: then the only reason that you could possibly think that is if someone's paying them.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I can assure you no one's paying me.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just watching and observing them.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love to see more data on why the U.S. is supposedly winning or has won this thing.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because it certainly doesn't seem that way.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the backdrop behind all of this is the price of oil and gas.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I've got in the source notes a chart that is just...
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's scary.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: There's really no other way to say it.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it shows that...
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: During this entire time,
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: the chart has a bar that goes across the amount of outbound shipments through
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: the Strait of Hormuz last year.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's in blue.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: And it's pretty flat.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: We'll say at a level of like 100.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: that 100 represents about 20 million barrels per day on a normal Strait
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: of Hormuz flow.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then it shows this year.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: The past five or so months, going back to March, when the straight closed down.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of it being at about 100,
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: where 100 equals 20 million barrels, it's down at about two or three.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's how much of a drop there has been, like a 95% drop in oil.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so what does that mean for us?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: So five months of oil.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't even know how big of a word to use.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Just a tremendous drop.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Again, like 95% drop of this 20 million barrels per day that's not getting out.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: And we remember the president himself said we had four or five weeks and
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: then things were going to get really bad.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that was about four or five weeks ago.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: No closer to an end of this thing.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so I was doing some research on how are we not worse off than we thought we would be?
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: How is the price of oil not $150 or $200 per barrel?
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a couple of things happening.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: First, people are using less because consumers have adapted,
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: especially in other parts of the world where it's far even more expensive
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: to get fuel.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So people are using less.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Almost every country has been releasing their emergency supplies.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so in the short term,
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: that is both terrifyingly scary to think that we've reduced most of
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: the world's supply, but it has stabilized in the short term the price.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there are also a couple of pipelines that are helping to reduce this.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: These pipelines can't completely reduce Bypass the Strait of Hormuz but there's
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: about 3.5 to 5.5 million barrels going out by pipeline through Saudi and the UAE
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: or United Arab Emirates pipelines so they're minimizing it but you're still at a gap
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: of about 15 million barrels per day.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: So again so far we have not had a catastrophic shock as far as the price of oil.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: But the big question is how long can the world continue to compensate for the loss
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: of the Strait of Hormuz before prices begin to go up?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's the big question because I don't think you can go so far as
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: to say $150 barrel per oil pricing is coming.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: But it is a significant risk.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this deserves more attention right now.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think the president is making a mistake to not be concerned and
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: to think he can outlast the Iranian government.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now maybe,
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: just maybe,
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: and I hope I'm wrong,
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: maybe he knows that the government is under immense financial strain
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: and it could break at any time.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope for our country's sake,
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: for the sake of the Middle East and most of civilization,
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: for the millions and millions of people under Iranian rule who are persecuted
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: and have no freedoms,
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: for the Christians there that are persecuted have no freedoms,
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: for the women there who are persecuted and have very few freedoms,
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: I hope for all of those reasons,
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: the President knows something that we don't, and he thinks we can outlast them.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm not so sure I would bet on that.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is a regime that, as I saw someone say, the president is a businessman.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: And he believes in win-wins and negotiating.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think the president fully understands,
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: especially having never served,
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: that there are people who are willing to die for their beliefs.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: To starve for their beliefs.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: That for some people,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: there are more important things than just money or what makes sense on paper.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Iranian government,
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: especially those who are in charge right now, I think they're very radical.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think they will almost starve before they give up.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: I believe they have calculated that they can outlast this president,
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: crush him through the midterms, and that's just three months away.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what their calculation is.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I really hope I'm wrong.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to come on in a week or two and say, the president was right, and I was wrong.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: I would love some type of big victory or collapse of their government.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is one of those times I really hope I'm wrong.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just afraid that I'm not.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: I should say before we wrap up this section that on Fox News,
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: the host Brian Kilmeade says he is predicting that Trump will end up in
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: a kinetic war with Iran before Labor Day.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to that if you want to see it,
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: but Labor Day is four more weeks away, September 7th.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is just hard to comprehend this war going on that long or lack of war
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: or intervention or whatever you want to call it.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: I just worry that the news is going to catch up to the president and to
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: the stock market and to the price of fuel.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I'm assuming they know more than I do, but I'm just afraid I'm not wrong.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take a quick break.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_00: More news in just a moment.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: A small monthly subscription is one option, or you can even do a one-time gift.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, I'm grateful you're here.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for sticking around.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: Let's stick to a topic somewhat related to the situation in Iran.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: There are increasing news reports that were breaking on Wednesday,
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: the day that I'm recording this,
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: regarding the USS Abraham Lincoln,
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: which is, of course, a U.S. aircraft carrier, more than 5,000 troops.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: And there are starting to be some horror stories coming out about this aircraft carrier.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, it spent nine months at sea and a record,
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: in the modern era at least, but a record 250 days at sea without making land.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a couple links to some articles.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's even making conservative media.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's an article in The Guardian.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's one in The Hill.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to a Newsmax article.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's starting to make conservative news as well.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: But these poor sailors really had it rough.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: Originally, the carrier was supposed to head out to the Pacific.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: This goes back to November.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: November last year.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: November 21st.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: It departs San Diego.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's headed for the Pacific.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_00: It gets redirected to the Middle East once the U.S. war begins with Iran.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: So they get redirected.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: They only stop in Guam, which is in the Pacific, and then in Oman in July.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: So only two days on land.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: Guam in December, Oman in July, which is of course near Iran.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: The deployment was supposed to end in May.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: It was extended a couple of times during the war.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: And again, there's all kinds of just terrible stories about what happened.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: Lack of food.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: There were sailors that were jumping off of the ship.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: And it's easy to,
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: as a civilian, to be like, these guys are, you know, why are they acting this way?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: But at one point I spent six months on ship in 1997.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: I was on the USS Nassau, which is kind of like a mini carrier.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's got about 2,000 folks on it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we spent 45 days out at sea at one point off the coast of Bosnia or
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: the former Yugoslavia without seeing land.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: And it was absolutely miserable.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: And at 45 days they give you,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: they ration,
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: or they hand out,
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: I should say, not ration, but they hand out, you know, two beers per person.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: And of course I gave those to my buddies because I don't drink,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: but It's hard to explain just how miserable we were.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then we later go in, do our mission into Albania.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: And because we had successfully executed this mission inside Bosnia without casualties...
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: The Secretary of Navy at the time and the President were going to use us
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: for this mission in Africa.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: They were going to extend our deployment.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I remember just being a little 19-year-old,
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: you know, I mean,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was a Lance Corporal,
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: but I was a 19-year-old in attitude,
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: and I didn't have the best attitude after being at sea for six months.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember thinking, like, we're being punished for doing our mission well.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we kind of were joking among ourselves.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: The Secretary of the Navy, I can't remember who that was at the time.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it was the Secretary of Defense, but one of them.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm 19.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know my political figures back then.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I suppose I could look this up.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: But they do this call in on the intercom to tell us how great we had done.
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: And the mission was going to be extended.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: And, I mean, we were livid on ship.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember thinking, we're being punished for doing a good job.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: And some of my buddies and I were joking and we're like,
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: well, we can guarantee we won't do a good job on this next one.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: And there was another replacement mini carrier coming out to relieve us or
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: to join us potentially.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: But we were so mad.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I understood then how mutinies happened a couple hundred years ago for sure.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought maybe it was just me.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I wasn't in the Navy.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was a Marine.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so maybe I just wasn't good at being on deployments.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I saw that even other sailors were commenting.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: I saw one very experienced sailor that said he once also did 45 days at sea
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: without land or any port to call.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, we'd go nuts.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And this was someone who served in the Navy.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't imagine 250 days without a port call with terrible food, messed up laundry.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have toilets and showers not working.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you're at sea that long,
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: everything that breaks on the ship,
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of things can't be repaired until you get back to port or
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: until you actually get back home.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so things just continually break and to get worse and worse and I think
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: the main reason I'm mentioning all this is,
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: one, we, as always, owe everyone who serves.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know there were probably people at military bases near Iran
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: and Saudi Arabia and various places who were rough and didn't get good chow
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: and good food and all of that.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: We owe all those folks.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: But besides giving the biggest thanks ever to those folks,
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think there will be increasing stories coming out.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: About this little war with Iran,
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: or non-war,
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: whatever you want to call it,
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: of the fact that there are more casualties,
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: more destruction on bases, more stress on the troops than we have any idea of.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's been under-reported.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think the Pentagon's not been fully...
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is just the first of many stories of what will come out.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: Because this, I mean, serving in the military, they call it service for a reason.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard time overseas.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of these folks, like I said, I was 19.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: These are young men and women who are...
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, old enough and we're proud of what they do and all that stuff,
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: but at the same time,
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: it is hard to sacrifice when you don't fully understand the mission or what
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: the goals or objectives are and when things start.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: Those things start to build up in your mind and your world can kind of close in.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: And you're thinking about upcoming weddings and babies that you were hoping
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: to be back for for their birth.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: Various family events and things happening that you cannot be a part of.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that's real stress.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have no doubt that people, a few jumped from that carrier.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: A few were prevented from jumping from the carrier.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to read how tough it is on a ship sometime,
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: you should check out some of these stories.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think more will come out.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: And as more of these stories come out,
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: there will be additional stress on the president's poll numbers and the pressure
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: to somehow wrap this thing up in Iran.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about politics for a moment.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: There were clearly some elections this week and I was talking with a friend
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: and they said it best.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: They said,
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: the Republican Party is just like splitting apart between the pro-Israel side and
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: the Kind of anti-Israel, pro-America only side.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then,
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: obviously this week's elections were partly the DSA or the progressive wing of
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_00: the Democrats finally taking a little bit of a loss in Wisconsin and basically
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: the progressive wing of the Democrats versus the moderate wing.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: And this person and I were talking and it was like...
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: Man, our country is so divided,
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: but even the two political parties,
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: there's really basically four political parties right now.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Far left,
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: moderate left,
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: and then ever how you want to classify the Republican Party,
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: but certainly the pro-Israel versus those who feel that we have done way too much
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: for Israel.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we're just totally divided as a country.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: And on the left,
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: you've got AOC,
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: who's probably going to run for either Senate or the president,
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: saying that she used the term woke one,
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_00: which I think more and more Democrats might start using,
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: where they're going to basically make the argument that they went too far in 2018
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_00: when they...
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Really pushed into various things like Black Lives Matter, into some of the trans stuff.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: Just a lot of different issues.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: And they're now pulling back from those.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: They're calling that Woke 1,
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: which implies that now it's Woke 2, which will not be quite as maybe over the top.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: Not defund the police.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: Not some of the more extreme positions that they had.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I saw an interesting post on X that I wanted to share.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: And this person asked,
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: what would be the Republican equivalent of Democrats deciding
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: that Woke 1.0 was crazy?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: And this person puts out,
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think it might be something like a party-wide acknowledgement
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: that their party leader,
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: obviously Trump,
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: is now polling at record lows,
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: that he really did lose the 2020 election, and that he doesn't deserve...
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was an interesting post.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: Because, as he called it, he went a little further, but...
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: He said it was, Democrats are starting to let go of woke one.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: the bigger story is,
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_00: is why aren't the Republicans letting go of their woke one, which would be Trump?
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: And he said that the Republicans are having an amazing inability to let go of
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: the million pound anchor dragging down the party.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I obviously, clearly, think there's some truth to that.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of truth to that, actually.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: Republican friend who had voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: The person's younger, but the person said they hate Trump now.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: That he was supposed to drain the swamp, but instead he hasn't.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: And he has done a number of things that this person,
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: that he campaigned against,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: and I've talked about this numerous times,
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: you can name the Epstein list,
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: not getting that released,
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: but he's not getting another war,
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: and we're now in Iran,
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: it's like, I think the Republicans are underestimating just how angry he is.
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: What do you guys think?
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: Am I wrong on that?
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move now to Israel.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to keep this topic very short.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I have in the episode notes a gift link to an article in the New York Times
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: about Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something I mentioned a few weeks ago.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: It seems to continually get worse and worse,
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: and the Israeli government is not clamping down on it,
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: and often police from Israel as well as military forces from Israel are on the side
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_00: of...
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so they are slowly but surely doing things to Palestinians who live there
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: to drive them away,
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: including cutting power lines,
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: shooting out windows,
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: all kinds of violence,
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: including assaults and even killing of Palestinians in the area.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sharing that because I just want to make the point that In my opinion,
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: Israel needs to clamp down on this settler violence in the West Bank.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if Bibi Netanyahu won't, then other government officials need to step up and do so.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: And additionally,
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: We need more American politicians on both sides speaking out
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: about this settler violence against civilians.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: As I shared on social media, people need to save Israel from itself.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: I know there are a lot of hardened hearts over there from the past few years of war
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: and what happened on October 7th.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: But the stuff that they are doing is indefensible.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: It is wrong.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it is ultimately going to hurt their country.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: It already is, but it's getting worse.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it needs to stop.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: In the episode notes,
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: I got a gif link to the New York Times article if you want to take a look at that.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: But you can find articles across the media spectrum about
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: the increased settler violence in the West Bank.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's terrible.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: No matter how pro-Israel one is,
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: you read these stories and it's almost impossible to swallow what is happening
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: over there.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's jump now to Ukraine.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: As you guys have probably heard, Ukraine has continued to hit ships in the Black Sea.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Total is up to like 200 now.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's so bad that U.S. Vice President J.D.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: Vance reached out to President Volodymyr Zelensky and asked
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: if Ukraine could stop striking tankers in the Black Sea.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: The White House is concerned that the attacks could further destabilize oil markets
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_00: and hurt U.S. companies.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: Which is interesting.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm old enough to remember that last year in February.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: February 28th, 2025.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Old enough to remember...
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_00: Our good old buddy J.D.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: Vance and President Trump ambushing President Zelensky in the White House
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: and saying, you don't have the cards.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: You guys remember that?
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have the cards.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then for about a year and six months from that time,
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: and now they are saying, hey, Zelensky, stop beating up Russia.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Funny how that happens, isn't it?
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: In other news for Ukraine, they have actually liberated 745
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: kilometers since January.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: They announced that today.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of maps in the episode notes if you want to see that.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: I know Russia has been gaining some territory in a few other places,
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: but that is certainly some good news for Ukraine.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then in news that should not surprise us at all,
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: The president,
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: ever the friend of Vladimir Putin,
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: I might add,
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: has now changed his mind and said
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: that he is not sure he will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: That flip-flop took about a week or two.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_00: And as Ron Filipkowski said, with President Trump, a deal is never a deal.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because you remember, this was announced to great fanfare.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: But he said,
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: With Trump,
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: a deal is never a deal,
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: and nobody can count on the U.S. for anything while he's president.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: His word is garbage.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: Agreements mean nothing, and he lies about everything.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think I'll just let those words stand.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: Alright,
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: so before we get to the faith section,
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share what I'm going to call,
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_00: it's a new section, I'm going to call it Story of Courage.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_00: And each week,
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: this is again something I plan to do every week from here on out,
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: but each week I want to end the news segment by reminding us that despite all
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_00: the anger we see online, courage still exists.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's found on a battlefield,
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: sometimes it's found in a hospital,
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: a courtroom, a church, or an ordinary neighborhood.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: So again, they won't always be military, but we're starting with one that is military.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so in this week's story of courage, I want to highlight Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: So Teddy Roosevelt Jr.,
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: Theodore Roosevelt Jr.,
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: who died in his sleep in a stone farmhouse in Normandy at the age of 56 years old.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, he had spent most of his life trying to be worthy of a famous last name
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_00: because he was the oldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: And in World War I,
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: this is before World War II and 1944,
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: in World War I,
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: this oldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt had gone to France,
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_00: and he was gassed.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, back in the trench warfare, they used gas.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: He was badly wounded in a battle.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that same summer,
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: his younger brother, Quentin, a pilot, was shot down and killed over France.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: So Ted, the oldest son, comes home.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: His lungs are damaged.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: He's got a leg that has been wounded, will never fully recover.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_00: And even before he leaves Europe,
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: he helps found or begins the American Legion so
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: that ordinary soldiers would have someone looking out for them.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now between the wars, he does a little bit of everything.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: Serves as Governor of Puerto Rico.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's Governor General of the Philippines.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_00: He's a businessman, an explorer, a writer.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_00: And he could have avoided the Second World War.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: But he didn't.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: Instead,
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_00: at the age of 54...
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm 48, so this is kind of crazy, and I don't have a shot-up leg using a cane.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: But at the age of 54...
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_00: Dealing with arthritis,
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: walking with a cane, he talked his way back into uniform and into combat.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: He fights in North Africa and in Sicily under a general named Terry Allen.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: This was a man who had been molded by General Patton.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, he ends up as the assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: So then we come to D-Day.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: And on D-Day,
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: Theodore Jr.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: hides his heart condition from the Army Delocters,
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_00: his lung condition, and he begs to go in with the very first wave.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: Remember on D-Day, they come in on those boats, those landing craft.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: You've seen it in the movies.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: He wants to be on the first wave.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: And Theodore Jr.,
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: the son of a president who was in his 50s and did not even have to serve,
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: is the only general to land in the first wave on any beach that morning.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: He was also the oldest man in the invasion.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_00: And he walked through machine gun fire with a cane in one hand and a pistol in the other.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, In his situation, the boats land about a mile off course.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: Officers were frozen, and it didn't look good.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: Roosevelt walks up and down the beach under fire,
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: studying the ground, and says famously, we'll start the war from right here.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: And so he spends the morning waving men forward,
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_00: sorting out the chaos,
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_00: while a bunch of 28-year-olds and 19-year-olds look at this old man with a cane.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: And decided that if he wasn't going to be scared, they wouldn't be either.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: In addition to all of this, which is crazy enough on its own, Theodore Jr. lands.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: His son Quentin had landed at Omaha Beach the same morning.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: They were the only father and son to come ashore together at D-Day.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: So he leads this fight.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_00: He survives that day,
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: survives a bit longer,
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_00: survives for a month in fact, has a heart attack in his sleep.
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_00: And on the very day that he died,
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_00: he had just gotten orders that didn't arrive in time,
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: promoting him to Major General, which would have given him his own division.
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_00: But he never saw the paperwork.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_00: He died in his sleep.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: He also never knew that he would earn the Medal of Honor.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so, he's awarded the Medal of Honor for actions he had done on the beach.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: And at his funeral,
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: his pallbearers include General Omar Bradley,
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: General Hodges,
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: a few other generals,
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: but also General George Patton, whose name you probably remember.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: And General Patton would go on to say in his diary that Theodore Jr. Roosevelt...
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: Again, mostly known as Theodore Jr.,
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: but Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was one of the bravest men he had ever known.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then years later,
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_00: as if all that isn't enough,
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_00: General Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic thing he witnessed
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: in all of World War II.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't pause or flinch.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: He said, Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: That is your story of courage for the week.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: Theodore Jr.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: in his 50s in World War II limping around with a cane leading men in
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_00: a war he did not have to be a part of.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't get better than that.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: Before we wrap up, I want to take a minute to come back to something deeper.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: We spend a lot of time each week talking about the country,
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_00: where we are, where we're headed, what's at stake.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: But if that's all we look at, it'll just wear you down.
• 49:40
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth is,
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: most of us don't think much about faith or even about what really matters
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: until life forces us to.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: When we get that phone call,
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_00: or that doctor's report,
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: or the job that you thought was secure is suddenly gone,
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_00: those are the moments that cut through the noise, that wake us up, that frighten us.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_00: So this is the part of the show where we step back,
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: open scripture, and remind ourselves what actually matters.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's not politics.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's not personalities.
• 50:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's something stronger than that.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's wisdom from God, carried across thousands of years.
• 50:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest, I haven't always believed it.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_00: But my life has gone better when I've turned to it, listened to it, and tried to follow its way.
• 50:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't care, I'm going to share a little from it.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope you'll stick around and listen.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_00: This week I want to do a segment on faith.
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_00: Not on whether you believe, not that kind of faith, but more on how strong is your faith.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: Because how strong your faith is truly matters.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to give you some examples of this because I understand this might seem
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: a little confusing at first.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: Let's begin with the fairly famous part where Jesus,
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: the people of His own town, they reject Him.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_00: This comes from Matthew 13, beginning about verse 53.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_00: It says that when Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations,
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: He left that part of the country.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_00: He returned to Nazareth, His hometown.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_00: When He taught there in the synagogue,
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone was amazed and said,
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then they scoffed, He's just the carpenter's son, meaning Joseph's.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: And we know Mary his mother and his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: All his sisters live right here among us.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: Where did he learn all these things?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_00: And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus told them,
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: A prophet is honored everywhere,
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_00: except in his own hometown and among his own family.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: That is Matthew 13, verse 58.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_00: He did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the people who knew his family and his upbringing best missed out
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: on additional miracles and proof that Jesus was the Son of God
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_00: because they did not believe.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now again, most people have heard that example.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the first one.
• 52:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let's look at a couple of others.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think you'll see why this matters and why it might matter in your own life.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: At least that's my goal.
• 52:58
  SPEAKER_00: The second good example of how strong your faith matters is also found in Matthew,
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: in chapter 15, beginning in about verse 21.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's a Gentile woman who approaches Jesus and the disciples,
• 53:14
  SPEAKER_00: and she says,
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: "'Have mercy on me, O Lord,
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_00: Son of David,
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_00: for my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.'" And initially,
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: the disciples say, tell her to go away.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: Even Jesus says, I was sent only to help God's lost sheep, the people of Israel.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_00: Which sounds harsh, but as I saw one commentary said, the message of salvation.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then,
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: obviously,
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: if you study the ministry of Jesus,
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_00: the Gentiles believe greatly,
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_00: and the idea was partly that it was offered to the Jews.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: So, the Gentile woman goes up to him.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: Disciples say, go away.
• 53:58
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, I was sent only to help God's lost sheep, the people of Israel.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_00: She comes again, worships him.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus responds,
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: it's not right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs,
• 54:33
  SPEAKER_00: which is again, sounds like harsh language.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_00: She replies,
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's true, Lord,
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: but even the dogs are allowed to eat the scraps
• 54:43
  SPEAKER_00: that fall beneath their master's table.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then Jesus says,
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_00: Dear woman,
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: your faith is great, your request is granted, and her daughter was instantly healed.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so here again we see an example of having strong faith,
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_00: even after initially being put off and rejected,
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: a woman's strong faith going back to God,
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_00: not taking no for an answer, leads to her daughter being healed.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now here is a final example of Of why it is important to have strong faith.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_00: And this comes from the words of Jesus himself.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: From the book of Luke, chapter 18.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_00: It reads like this, beginning in verse 1.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, this is the parable of the persistent widow.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_00: Chapter 18, verse 1.
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_00: One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: Did you hear what I just said?
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_00: They should always pray and never give up.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_00: Alright, verse 2, here's what he says.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: There was a judge in a certain city who neither feared God nor cared about people.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_00: A widow of that city came to him repeatedly,
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_00: saying, Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_00: The judge ignored her for a while,
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_00: but finally he said to himself, I don't fear God or care about people.
• 56:18
  SPEAKER_00: But this woman is driving me crazy.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to see that she gets justice because she is wearing me out with her constant requests.
• 56:26
  SPEAKER_00: Then the Lord said, Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: Even he rendered a just decision in the end.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_00: to Him day and night?
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_00: Will He keep putting them off?
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_00: I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_00: So there,
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_00: in that third example,
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_00: you have the words of Jesus Himself saying,
• 56:55
  SPEAKER_00: You should always pray,
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_00: constantly, persistently, with great faith, and never give up.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_00: Those are the words of Jesus Himself.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I really want to encourage you today to remember Scripture.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_00: To remember that our lives are like a mist.
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_00: Don't assume you have 30 years.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus himself says leave tomorrow's problems for tomorrow.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_00: Like we're not guaranteed another day.
• 57:27
  SPEAKER_00: And so, there is some wisdom to thinking that this is not,
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_00: that tomorrow is not guaranteed, and that this could be your last day.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_00: Not only in seeking salvation if you never have, which...
• 57:44
  SPEAKER_00: Throughout scripture it says, like, today is the day of salvation.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you should not put that off.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_00: But beyond that, as believers, you should not put off to tomorrow what we should do today.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's also scripture.
• 58:00
  SPEAKER_00: So if there's that friend you haven't reached out to in a while, you should do it today.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: If there's that family member that you kind of want to avoid
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_00: that uncomfortable conversation with,
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_00: but maybe they're heading down a road toward destruction, you should do that today.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_00: I think of the story of Moses and the burning bush.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you've got Moses who had murdered a man 40 years before,
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_00: who sees himself as a murderer,
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_00: who's living mostly in isolation,
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_00: tending a flock, and he comes upon the burning bush.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord says, Moses, Moses, and Moses replies, here I am.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the Lord says, Do not come any closer.
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_00: Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.
• 58:56
  SPEAKER_00: Then it goes into, obviously, His mission.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I think a lot of us forget that we are on holy ground.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, God is all around us.
• 59:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a believer, God lives in you.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_00: There's also dark forces around us.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_00: The Bible is loaded with stories about demons, about Satan himself.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_00: Satan even challenges Jesus.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_00: He says during the temptation of Jesus,
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_00: which you can read about in Matthew chapter 4,
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_00: the devil says to Jesus after taking him to the peak of a very high mountain,
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_00: Showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_00: The devil says, I will give it all to you, if you will kneel down and worship me.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what's interesting is that Jesus doesn't say, no, you don't have that power.
• 59:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because the Bible says that Satan has a lot of power here on this earth.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: In fact,
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: if you flipped over to John chapter 12,
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_00: Jesus says that Satan is the ruler of this world.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_00: So for the temporary time period, Satan is the ruler of this world, the god of this age.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_00: On this earth, he has power, although he does not have more power than God himself.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_00: But back to the temptation of Jesus, the devil shows him from the high mountain.
• 1:00:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because while Jesus was temporarily weakened in his power as a limited human,
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_00: Satan had great power.
• 1:00:36
  SPEAKER_00: So Jesus replies,
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_00: Get out of here,
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_00: Satan, for the scriptures say you must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously Jesus refuses to bow down to Satan,
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_00: and then it says further down that after the devil went away,
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_00: angels came and took care of Jesus.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_00: My point in sharing that story is that we are sleepwalking.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_00: We don't realize that there are spiritual battles happening around us
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_00: with our families, with our communities, in our own lives.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, the devil is happy just to keep us distracted, and we let him.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_00: We let him distract us while our kids look at stuff on their phones and computers
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_00: that they shouldn't look at.
• 1:01:37
  SPEAKER_00: We let him distract us while they're being parented by the world or by TV shows
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_00: that Corrupt their minds.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd love to say that we're fighting this battle,
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_00: but the truth is, we're not even in the fight.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: We're not teaching them about the Bible or asking tough questions
• 1:01:59
  SPEAKER_00: about Relationships that are happening around them,
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_00: friendships, things that we should be engaged in.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_00: We're literally leaving the door open for Satan to come in and tempt them
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_00: and do what Satan does, which is steal, kill, and destroy.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_00: We have to get engaged and strengthen our faith.
• 1:02:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again, God is among us, around us, part of this spiritual battle.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_00: And we are foot soldiers in this battle that happens constantly, 24-7 around us.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a believer, God lives in you.
• 1:02:42
  SPEAKER_00: You are an ambassador for God.
• 1:02:46
  SPEAKER_00: God even lives in you.
• 1:02:50
  SPEAKER_00: Some Bible translations say He indwells you once you're a believer.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_00: But we don't believe the Bible enough.
• 1:03:01
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have strong enough faith.
• 1:03:06
  SPEAKER_00: Some of us go to church once a week and maybe you feel something there,
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_00: but you quickly go right back into the routines of the world.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm challenging you this week to think on these words,
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_00: to read the Bible more,
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_00: to pray more, to try to serve more, try to speak in other people's lives.
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_00: I believe this is what our Father desires of us.
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the size of our faith truly matters.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_00: So bless your family and your friends by showing great faith,
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_00: great boldness,
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_00: great courage, And even the example of your life, show them what matters.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_00: Show them how important this spiritual warfare,
• 1:03:57
  SPEAKER_00: this struggle happening all around us, show them how important it actually is.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that Jesus said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_00: So have a strong faith and move mountains for the Lord.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let me end this section with a short prayer.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, thank you for these people who are listening.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_00: We ask that you remind them of your truths.
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_00: Draw them to you.
• 1:04:30
  SPEAKER_00: Grow their faith.
• 1:04:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let them have more impact in the world.
• 1:04:35
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we are so grateful for health,
• 1:04:39
  SPEAKER_00: for the blessings,
• 1:04:40
  SPEAKER_00: for food, for a roof over our head, for so many things we take for granted.
• 1:04:47
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we know that it is you who gives us power.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_00: We know that it is you who gives us happiness.
• 1:04:55
  SPEAKER_00: It is you who gives us peace beyond understanding.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we ask that this week,
• 1:05:02
  SPEAKER_00: that today,
• 1:05:04
  SPEAKER_00: that in the days to come, you would draw us closer into your loving arms.
• 1:05:19
  SPEAKER_00: Lord, we know we have been distracted in the past, but use us.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_00: Use us for your glory and for your kingdom.
• 1:05:29
  SPEAKER_00: Awaken our hearts to the poor,
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_00: to the suffering,
• 1:05:34
  SPEAKER_00: to the widow or the elderly person who doesn't have anyone who's checked on them.
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_00: Prick our hearts.
• 1:05:44
  SPEAKER_00: Make us see and feel the pains of this world.
• 1:05:48
  SPEAKER_00: Remind us that we were selected by you to do things in your name.
• 1:05:58
  SPEAKER_00: We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_00: I like to end the faith section each week by saying that if you're skeptical
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_00: or you're not sure if what I've shared is true or not,
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'd like to encourage you to read the Bible for yourself.
• 1:06:15
  SPEAKER_00: Not secondhand, not through headlines or arguments, just open it and read.
• 1:06:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've linked a Bible resource page in the episode notes that talk about translations
• 1:06:29
  SPEAKER_00: and a good place to start.
• 1:06:30
  SPEAKER_00: But if you don't want to click anything or take the time to read
• 1:06:33
  SPEAKER_00: that short explanation I provide,
• 1:06:36
  SPEAKER_00: just start with the book of Mark in the New Testament.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_00: And then read a little bit of Psalms or Proverbs each day.
• 1:06:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let the text speak for itself.
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if it's all a bunch of hooey or drivel,
• 1:06:51
  SPEAKER_00: then you'll know pretty quickly that I'm off my rocker.
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_00: But if it's the Word of God...
• 1:06:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think if you're unsure, you shouldn't be afraid to read something.
• 1:07:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know I've read many texts about Buddhism,
• 1:07:11
  SPEAKER_00: Islam, other faiths, Hinduism, and none of those texts spoke to me.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_00: But the Bible did speak to me.
• 1:07:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so my challenge is, open the book yourself.
• 1:07:26
  SPEAKER_00: Read it as a skeptic.
• 1:07:28
  SPEAKER_00: And see if it's full of absolute truths and feels like the Word of God.
• 1:07:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't own a Bible or don't have one handy, there are free apps on your phone.
• 1:07:40
  SPEAKER_00: There are bazillions of websites that have the Bible on it.
• 1:07:45
  SPEAKER_00: So you can read it from your phone.
• 1:07:49
  SPEAKER_00: One final word.
• 1:07:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you're a veteran and you're dealing with depression,
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_00: PTSD, or thoughts of suicide, please check out the link in the resource notes.
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_00: We need you in this fight.
• 1:08:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you cannot give up.
• 1:08:07
  SPEAKER_00: After all, who is going to take care of your family someday?
• 1:08:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do you really want your military friends to feel guilty they didn't check on you more?
• 1:08:17
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's taboo to say that it's selfish, but it is selfish.
• 1:08:23
  SPEAKER_00: There is a purpose for your life,
• 1:08:25
  SPEAKER_00: and you're just dealing with a lot of pain right now that feels overwhelming.
• 1:08:30
  SPEAKER_00: It can get better.
• 1:08:32
  SPEAKER_00: Just do not give up.
• 1:08:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me this week.
• 1:08:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like to support the work, there's a link in the episode notes.
• 1:08:44
  SPEAKER_00: I always like to end each episode by saying that as you head into the coming days,
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_00: try to be just a little kinder, both online and also out in the world.
• 1:08:55
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that most Americans are good people, even if they vote differently than you do.
• 1:09:01
  SPEAKER_00: Aim to be a little bit more disciplined this week than you were last week.
• 1:09:06
  SPEAKER_00: Mentally, physically, and spiritually, raise the bar just a little.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be perfect.
• 1:09:14
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to aim to be a little better than you were last week.
• 1:09:18
  SPEAKER_00: When you fall short, forgive yourself quickly.
• 1:09:21
  SPEAKER_00: Start again.
• 1:09:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when the news discourages you,
• 1:09:26
  SPEAKER_00: and I believe it will,
• 1:09:28
  SPEAKER_00: because even on the best of weeks, the media is looking for bad news.
• 1:09:33
  SPEAKER_00: But when the news discourages you, Don't give up on this country.
• 1:09:39
  SPEAKER_00: Try to remember that division weakens us.
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_00: Unity strengthens us.
• 1:09:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is wisdom.
• 1:09:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also biblical.
• 1:09:51
  SPEAKER_00: So guard what you feed your mind and your spirit.
• 1:09:56
  SPEAKER_00: What you take in and absorb will shape what you become.
• 1:10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ingest poison.
• 1:10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that's mostly what cable news is.
• 1:10:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a person of faith,
• 1:10:11
  SPEAKER_00: make sure you make some time this week to spend time in your Bible.
• 1:10:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you are not, try reading the Bible this week for the first time.
• 1:10:20
  SPEAKER_00: Or for the first time in a long time.
• 1:10:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know what kind of results you're getting with what you've been doing.
• 1:10:28
  SPEAKER_00: It might be time to try something new.
• 1:10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we leave,
• 1:10:33
  SPEAKER_00: I need to mention on the off chance that you don't know I am an author in addition
• 1:10:39
  SPEAKER_00: to being a podcaster.
• 1:10:41
  SPEAKER_00: I like to say that I write compelling stories that matter about courage,
• 1:10:45
  SPEAKER_00: faith, and the fight for what's right.
• 1:10:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've written a dozen books to date.
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_00: They include military thrillers,
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_00: police detective mysteries, or whodunits, war literature, a western.
• 1:11:02
  SPEAKER_00: One of them is even a motivational self-help book.
• 1:11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been fortunate to have sold more than 70,000 copies to date.
• 1:11:09
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're one of those who have purchased one of my books, I really appreciate it.
• 1:11:14
  SPEAKER_00: All of them can be found for sale on Amazon.
• 1:11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are one of those folks out there who are wondering if you might like one
• 1:11:21
  SPEAKER_00: of my books,
• 1:11:23
  SPEAKER_00: I will say that the military and political thrillers are very similar
• 1:11:28
  SPEAKER_00: to books written by authors Vince Flynn and Jack Carr.
• 1:11:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then The Crime Ones,
• 1:11:34
  SPEAKER_00: if you enjoyed Robert B.
• 1:11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Parker's Spencer series or any of his books,
• 1:11:39
  SPEAKER_00: then I'm confident you will like The Crime Ones as well.
• 1:11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Robert B. Parker was a huge influence on my writing.
• 1:11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now moving away from my books,
• 1:11:49
  SPEAKER_00: I should also say before we end the show that if you believe in what I'm doing
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_00: on this podcast,
• 1:11:56
  SPEAKER_00: if you believe it matters in this moment for our country,
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_00: you can partner with me on this mission to help keep the show independent and
• 1:12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And steady.
• 1:12:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that either through a monthly or a one-time gift,
• 1:12:08
  SPEAKER_00: and there are several ways to support the show.
• 1:12:11
  SPEAKER_00: All of them can be found in the episode notes.
• 1:12:13
  SPEAKER_00: But there's no pressure to do so, just huge gratitude if you do.
• 1:12:18
  SPEAKER_00: As the Bible teaches,
• 1:12:20
  SPEAKER_00: God loves a generous giver,
• 1:12:22
  SPEAKER_00: but I don't want anyone giving out of compulsion or out of guilt.
• 1:12:28
  SPEAKER_00: At any rate, thanks in advance for all of you who are supporting the show.
• 1:12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time,
• 1:12:34
  SPEAKER_00: please stay hopeful,
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_00: stay humble, and keep working to be the light in your corner of the world.
• 1:12:42
  SPEAKER_00: You've been listening to The Stan R. Mitchell Show.