Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / The 1-23-25 edition of The View from the Front podcast.

Transcript

The 1-23-25 edition of The View from the Front podcast. · The Stan R. Mitchell Show

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Hey guys, welcome to the view from the front.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: What is going on everyone?
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I hope everyone out there is doing amazing this week.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate you joining us and tuning in.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: As always,
• 0:21
  there are timestamps in the episode notes in case you want to
• 0:24
  jump forward or to a
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: different subject.
• 0:29
  And I thought we would start this week's episode by sharing
• 0:32
  some listener feedback.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: I got several things in from last episode.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to say, first of all, I always love feedback.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And as you know, in the last episode...
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mentioned how both sides are,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I brought up the Pete Hegseth nomination for Secretary of Defense.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I said,
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: instead of showing clips from the left and right,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: the reality is we're kind of in a holding pattern.
• 0:59
  President-elect Trump at that point,
• 1:01
  he's now President Trump,
• 1:02
  was about to take office.
• 1:04
  And within some degree,
• 1:06
  the majority have spoken,
• 1:08
  even though it's a very razor-thin majority.
• 1:11
  But he was selected,
• 1:14
  and I said,
• 1:14
  you know,
• 1:15
  the reality is we're all in this together.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Half the country's happy about the change,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: half of it's terrified,
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: and to some degree,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Trump,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: in my opinion,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: he gets his picks.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: The country picked him, he gets his picks.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I went on to say a couple of things.
• 1:33
  First,
• 1:33
  that within reason that,
• 1:35
  you know,
• 1:35
  President-elect,
• 1:36
  or now President Trump,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Gets those picks and he campaigned for a job.
• 1:43
  So give the man the people he wants so that he can attempt to
• 1:49
  reach the campaign
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: agenda and promises that he has made.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I was basically making that point.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then he would be judged on how he performed or reached those goals.
• 2:07
  And I also made the point as clearly as I could that just like
• 2:11
  in history they used
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: to say don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Partly I was holding my fire because you give someone...
• 2:21
  You basically don't want to cry wolf before things are too bad
• 2:25
  or no one will take
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: what you're saying serious.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: So...
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's like,
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 2:29
  these are the people he's picking before we say that Trump is
• 2:34
  already the worst
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: president ever in this new term before he's even taken the oath.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we give the guy some slack, as you would say if you were fishing.
• 2:46
  Give the guy a little bit of slack and let him tire himself out
• 2:49
  before we really
• 2:52
  get him reeled in or hold him accountable or whatever metaphor
• 2:56
  or analogy is.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: that you want to use.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: And so I thought that was a fairly balanced way to go into it.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I got some great feedback that I did want to share.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: And as you guys know,
• 3:07
  I have never claimed to be the expert or always right or
• 3:12
  correct or any of those things.
• 3:14
  All I have ever claimed to be is a guy with a hopefully good
• 3:18
  heart who's trying to
• 3:21
  discuss these issues as fairly as possible and certainly as
• 3:25
  accurately as possible
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: and with,
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: like I said,
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: the right intentions.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I never claimed to be right,
• 3:31
  and I've learned very quickly I definitely have people that
• 3:34
  listen who are far more experienced,
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: far more wise,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: etc.,
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: and I'm insanely honored that
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: That these people listen, support the show, write in, etc.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's very flattering.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully just discussing the issues,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: much of this foreign policy doesn't get discussed in the news,
• 3:53
  generates conversation and is healthy for the country and
• 3:56
  hopefully helps steer the
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: country in.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: the right directions.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: As I've said in the past,
• 4:02
  making mistakes when it comes to foreign policy leads to
• 4:07
  spilled blood of young
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: American soldiers,
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: men and women,
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: and I've been there,
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: and so no one really talked about what we did before we did it.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Barely anyone talked about it afterward.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: We've gotten in plenty of wars that maybe we shouldn't have,
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: and so I said to myself a long time ago that I love this country,
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: I love the military,
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: and perhaps by
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Even being the very small,
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: nobody,
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: humble person that I am,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: by discussing this on a weekly basis as the show grows,
• 4:37
  perhaps I can have a small impact to help make this a better
• 4:42
  country and perhaps
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: have a small impact on what interventions we get involved in.
• 4:50
  so with that very long preamble out of the way let me begin
• 4:54
  with the first comment
• 4:55
  was probably one of the slightly more critical ones but it's
• 4:59
  been a long time
• 4:59
  listener and i am very um appreciative of this feedback this
• 5:05
  comes from john and i
• 5:07
  said do you mind if i say your first name and the and the
• 5:09
  location and he said you
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: can say john from the main woods
• 5:14
  So,
• 5:15
  again,
• 5:15
  long-time listener supporter,
• 5:17
  and I really appreciate what John sent in.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll just read what John said.
• 5:22
  He said,
• 5:23
  I'm somewhat disappointed in your take on the Hegseth nomination.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: I disagree that the,
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: advice and consent,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: end quote,
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: clause should be interpreted as,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: the president gets whoever they want because they won the election,
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: end quote.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: also,
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: as far as being in a holding pattern,
• 5:41
  I'd encourage you to consider what happens when people wait and
• 5:44
  hope for the best
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: in these situations.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And he shared a link called The Approaching Fury.
• 5:51
  It was a book that was about the pre-Civil War period of about
• 5:58
  four decades called
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Voices of the Storm from 1820 to 1861.
• 6:03
  And I think the point he was getting across is that the United
• 6:07
  States continued to
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: kick the ball down the road,
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: or kick the can down the road as far as slavery,
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: and we ended up in the Civil War anyway.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not sure if...
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't read the book,
• 6:19
  so I'm not sure if it says that we could have potentially
• 6:23
  prevented the Civil War.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if that was possible,
• 6:25
  but I do get his point about not just being in a holding
• 6:28
  pattern that we should...
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: stand for what we believe in, I think is partly what he wanted to say.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then he also mentioned that,
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: finally,
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: we allowed the Supreme Court justices to take seats,
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: meaning their seats,
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: on thin promises of holding to precedent and norms,
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: only to see that that was a lie crafted to gain office by deception.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: We can't sit by while liars and grifters take our highest offices.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: So again, that's the feedback from John from the Maine woods.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I love that he put from the Maine woods.
• 7:05
  And it makes me think that we often talk about being from the
• 7:10
  south or from east
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Tennessee or the mountains or redneck or whatever the term.
• 7:15
  And it humors me that even in Maine,
• 7:18
  someone would say,
• 7:19
  I'm John from the Maine woods.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe anyone from the rural areas kind of has that...
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I guess humble or hard on themselves perception.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I really appreciate that feedback.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: That was the first bit.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now the second bit of feedback comes from a guy that...
• 7:36
  This is the kind of guy that I sometimes think about listening
• 7:40
  to the show.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it just intimidates and makes me nervous.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now this particular guy, super cool, super nice.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: His name is Eric Karras.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: And long-time big supporter,
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: puts his money where his mouth is,
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: even a pain supporter,
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: but just a great dude who's beyond kind and encouraging and all of that.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: But just as his background, before I say what he's written or shared...
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: I have to mention he's a 22-year Army veteran.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: He's a retired lieutenant colonel.
• 8:13
  He did deployments and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan,
• 8:18
  three times in Iraqi freedom.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: Did one in the Horn of Africa as a global war of terror.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Did a UN peacekeeping mission back in Macedonia.
• 8:27
  He'll probably be mad I'm sharing all this,
• 8:29
  but he served in armor and in intelligence.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes on nights when I haven't prepared,
• 8:36
  I think about people like him listening and it intimidates the
• 8:41
  crap out of me
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: because I know that there are some very knowledgeable,
• 8:46
  well-read people both in the civilian world and in the military
• 8:51
  world that listen
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: to the show.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if I haven't done my homework,
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: it's like just a good gut check,
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: like,
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Stan,
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: spend more time,
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: do your homework,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: don't say anything stupid,
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: because there are very wise men and women listening to the show,
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: and they will call you out if you're wrong.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not that this guy has ever said anything negative,
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: but it's just,
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I know that there,
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: I've heard from him and others like him that listen,
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: and sometimes I almost get too nervous to even put out the show,
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: because I know people like that listen.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But again,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: this comment comes from retired Lieutenant Colonel Eric Karras,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: and he says,
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: and this is regarding the Pete Hegseth thing as well.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: He said,
• 9:29
  the only person who thinks he is a change agent for the
• 9:32
  Department of Defense in
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: the hearing was Mr.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hegseth.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is he up to the task as Secretary of Defense?
• 9:40
  And you're going to see by this comment that it's brilliant
• 9:42
  because only a
• 9:43
  lieutenant colonel would make a comment as brilliant as this
• 9:46
  without going out too
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: far on a limb.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: But just by putting things in context, it's brilliant.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I was this smart.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: But he said, is he up to the task as secretary of defense?
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: He said, that is to be decided.
• 9:59
  Although prior performance is not an indicator of future performance,
• 10:02
  it does inform.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: So well said.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: He said, we elect senators who make...
• 10:09
  uh that evaluation to make that decision and that is where i
• 10:12
  will focus my effort
• 10:14
  he said and he lives in north carolina he says senator tillis
• 10:17
  is up for re-election
• 10:17
  next year i will see how he votes and how mr hexeth performs he
• 10:22
  said why am i
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: skeptical about mr hexeth as a change agent
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: He said, what is the Secretary of Defense responsible for?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then he starts this list.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the industrial base.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: He said the numbers are staggering.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then being a well-researched retired lieutenant colonel,
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: he sent in a link to a congressional report.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: and even directed me to a specific figure,
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: so to speak,
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: as far as an image,
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: not a figure,
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: and a page number,
• 10:51
  and it shows that the Department of Defense is coming in at
• 10:54
  about $850 billion.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So again, industrial base, $150 billion.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: So he's skeptical because SecDef is responsible for,
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: one,
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: industrial base,
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: $850 billion,
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: two,
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: train and equip soldiers,
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: sailors,
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: and airmen,
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: to support the component commands.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: The size of that force is about 2.8 million.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Three, be in charge of these component commands.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Deployments to support the component commands in UCOM,
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Paycom,
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Centcom,
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Southcom,
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Northcom,
• 11:23
  and Korea that are estimated to be at about 156,000 service
• 11:26
  members in 2024.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Four, ally engagement in NATO.
• 11:33
  We live in a world with state and non-state actors who want to
• 11:35
  see the USA fail.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: To do that, they will seek daylight with their allies.
• 11:41
  So he's obviously making the point that whoever this is needs
• 11:45
  to be insanely
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: politically savvy and not make any public misstatements.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: And five,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: finally,
• 11:54
  there are the intelligence agencies within the Department of
• 11:58
  Defense that must
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: continue with their mission,
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: such as NSA,
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_00: NGA,
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: DIA.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: And the bottom line is the SecDef is one man.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Hegseth is only useful until he is not.
• 12:12
  Trump already has doubts about him,
• 12:14
  if you believe the reports on Governor DeSantis last month.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, phenomenal.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: well-researched comment by Eric Karras.
• 12:25
  And now you guys know what I mean about being intimidated by
• 12:29
  every time I discuss
• 12:31
  anything on the podcast because I know there are very well-read
• 12:35
  and researched
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: people such as himself who listen.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So again,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate all of that feedback,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: including feedback I did not read that was sent to me privately by email.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate every week,
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: anytime someone reaches out,
• 12:49
  because as I sometimes reply in some of those emails that you
• 12:52
  guys get back,
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: it helps me know if I'm keeping it between the lines,
• 12:56
  because it is very hard in today's media environment to not get
• 12:59
  too siloed in one
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: way or the other,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: either left or right,
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: or I try to be down the middle.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just a hard balancing act these days.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: And goodness knows,
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: it would be a thousand times easier if I just picked a side,
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: either left or right.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: It would be so much easier.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I could be critical or be a cheerleader every single week,
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: depending on who is in the office.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it would probably lead to fewer complaints and a far greater...
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: I guess,
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: widespread distribution of the show and popularity,
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: but that isn't what,
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: at my core,
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I am,
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: nor is that what I believe is the wisest path forward.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I strive to go as straight down the middle as I can.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm naturally a moderate anyway.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be a part of either party.
• 13:51
  Both sides of the parties drive me crazy,
• 13:54
  although I am a former Republican.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: I am a very proud moderate now.
• 13:58
  And again,
• 13:58
  both parties and the extremists in both parties drive me
• 14:02
  completely crazy.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: I am getting ahead of myself and what I have in my notes,
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: which I'm going to mention a bit later.
• 14:09
  But I do want to share a quote from George Washington because I
• 14:12
  do believe that our
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: country is in a nasty political fight.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's been in this political fight for 20 plus years.
• 14:20
  And I believe far too many people give their unquestioning
• 14:24
  loyalty to one side or the other.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're literally cheerleaders for one side or the other.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't even matter when they're wrong.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: We want to defend them because the party loyalty is so important.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And these little political clubs that we're in, it's so important.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to not fit in with some of our friends.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to share a quote from George Washington,
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: which he wrote in 1799,
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: 200 plus years ago,
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: when he was urged to run for a third term and join a political party.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: He wrote to a friend,
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 14:59
  "...the line between parties had become so clearly drawn that
• 15:04
  politicians would
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: regard neither truth nor decency."
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, if that doesn't describe our politics, I don't know what is.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: But politicians would regard neither truth nor decency,
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: attacking every character without respect to persons,
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: public or private,
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: who happen to differ from themselves in politics.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And in this private letter that's since been published,
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: because obviously George Washington didn't run for a third term,
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: he's one of our greatest presidents,
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: and some of his public and private correspondence has been published...
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: In this private letter,
• 15:36
  Washington wrote in 1799 that even if he were to run for
• 15:40
  president again as a federalist,
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: here's what he said.
• 15:43
  I am,
• 15:44
  quote,
• 15:44
  thoroughly convinced I should not draw a single vote from the
• 15:49
  anti-federal side.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: So George Washington,
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: one of the most popular presidents we ever had,
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: people wanted to make the man king,
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: said that if he – he was so against political parties,
• 16:02
  and he said in a private letter when he turned down the third –
• 16:06
  or even running for
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: the third term,
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: that he was thoroughly convinced that if he had run,
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: if he had picked a party and he was opposed to both parties –
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: That the people in the other party,
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: the anti-federal side,
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: that not a single vote,
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: even as popular as him,
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: not a single one of them would have voted for him.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that they would have been attacking him and attacking his character.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's the danger he saw in political parties.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And now 200 plus years later, we see it every single day.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I'm proudly not a member of either party.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I...
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: proudly try my very best to go as straight down the middle as I can,
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: even though that seems harder to do these days than ever.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: But it is what I strive for.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: As I said earlier, last week we were in a holding pattern.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now we are in the new beginning of a second term for President Trump.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: A new era has begun.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: He did accept the inauguration and is now president, fully sworn in.
• 17:10
  a lot of his people are beginning to take power at least like
• 17:13
  interim secretaries
• 17:14
  and stuff some of those announcements are being made if you are
• 17:19
  someone who voted
• 17:20
  for him and on the right there is no doubt that you were so
• 17:25
  happy about those
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: inauguration ceremonies you feel like it's
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: a new birth for America, a new day dawning, etc., etc.
• 17:34
  I think President Trump did a great job with the images and the
• 17:39
  emotions that he
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: was playing for.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: On the flip side, if you were...
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: not a supporter of his and didn't pull the lever for him,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I think he did not do a very good job of lowering your concerns or fears,
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: and he probably amplified them.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: He certainly said things that attacked his predecessor,
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: President Joe Biden,
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: and others who were assembled there.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Probably, I would argue, did not try very hard to unify the country.
• 18:17
  He pretty much made clear that he is going to do what he said
• 18:23
  he would do during
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: the campaign promises.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so, if that's what you're for, you're ecstatic.
• 18:27
  If that's something you're concerned about,
• 18:29
  then I don't think you're any less concerned.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: If anything, you are more concerned.
• 18:34
  If by chance you want to know more about my actual political
• 18:37
  thoughts on the
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: domestic scene,
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I have a link to something I wrote up that I published earlier this week.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: As you guys know, I do a moderate political podcast, sub-stack, etc.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a podcast yet,
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: it will be eventually,
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: but I did write a long piece called A New Era Begins.
• 18:55
  And you can read my thoughts on that,
• 18:56
  and I have a link to that in the episode notes.
• 18:59
  But I'm not going to talk about the political stuff here
• 19:01
  because this is mostly
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: about defense news.
• 19:04
  And so the main thing I did want to discuss from a foreign
• 19:07
  policy defense news
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: standpoint begins with his discussion of the Panama Canal.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: I've covered this in a previous episode as far as my thoughts on this.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I did want to mention that in the inauguration speech,
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: President Donald Trump vowed to,
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: take back,
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: end quote,
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: the Panama Canal.
• 19:31
  And he mentions that there are a couple of reasons that he
• 19:35
  wants to do so,
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: including the fact that the United States built it.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: And he says that U.S.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: ships, the United States, U.S.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: vessels, and U.S.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: naval vessels are being treated unfairly.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And he also claims that China is controlling it.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to share a fact check about the control of it.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of media has been doing that.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: This particular one comes from CBS,
• 20:03
  and CBS News mentions that Trump's claim about China operating
• 20:09
  the canal is false.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And while it's false, it does highlight broader concerns among some U.S.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: officials over China's overseas...
• 20:20
  Port ownership and Chinese companies growing presence in the
• 20:24
  shipping industry,
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: meaning in other places,
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: and it mentions that China is backing several projects in Panama,
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: including a bridge,
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_00: a subway line,
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: and a convention center,
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: according to the Wall Street Journal.
• 20:36
  and then CBS News quotes Panama's president as saying in
• 20:42
  December of 2024,
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: just a month ago,
• 20:45
  that there is absolutely no Chinese interference nor
• 20:48
  involvement in anything to do
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: with the Panama Canal.
• 20:52
  The second point I wanted to mention was that this goes back to
• 20:55
  President Jimmy
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Carter back in 1978.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: So in 1978,
• 21:03
  President Carter felt it was the right thing to do because of
• 21:06
  the legacy of when
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: the U.S.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: exerted a quasi-colonial policy over Central America.
• 21:14
  But what's interesting is that not only did President Carter
• 21:17
  believe that,
• 21:18
  but also signing that treaty and allowing it to continue was
• 21:23
  Ronald Reagan...
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: George H.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: W.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: Bush,
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: the one from the 90s,
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: Bill Clinton,
• 21:29
  all of them felt bound by the terms of the treaties and helped
• 21:33
  make sure they were implemented.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it was turned over to Panama back in December 31st, 1999.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Almost nothing has been said about it since then.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: You guys know that.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: It hasn't really been in the news.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the final thing I wanted to mention...
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Because there hasn't been a lot of pushback on this,
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: and because President Trump did mention it in the inaugural speech,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: and so this is clearly heading that direction.
• 22:01
  So I'm going to go ahead and dive into the weeds a bit so that
• 22:04
  people can start
• 22:05
  telling their friends who think it's a great idea to take our
• 22:10
  military down there
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: and take it back.
• 22:13
  It's already starting to come out that it's not going to be
• 22:15
  easy to secure and
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: seize this canal zone.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I already had some complexities in my mind,
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: but CNN had an article that helped put it in perspective.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: So, the Canal Zone is more than 500 square miles of territory.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: The population of Panama is 4.5 million people.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Probably, many of them wouldn't be thrilled about this.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the CNN mentions that, as the U.S.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Army Manual suggests...
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: You need a minimum of 20 counterinsurgents per 1,000 residents.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: So 20 per 1,000.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's not very many, by the way.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Not hard to come up with that number.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: For an effective counterinsurgency operation...
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: So 20 counterinsurgents per 1,000 to be effective in counterinsurgency.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: So there's no doubt we could go down and take it.
• 23:12
  But if local people in Panama begin to resist,
• 23:17
  it could become pretty bloody.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: And based on the army manual, based on the size of the area...
• 23:26
  Some analysts say that in this CNN article that it could take a
• 23:30
  force of around 90,000 U.S.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: troops to go down there to seize it and to hold it.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_00: So this could be not as simple as it's going to be sold.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: All wars are sold very simply.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: I hesitate to even use the word war because it won't be sold that way.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Currently, 6% of global trade passes through the canal.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not the number.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that number was a little lower than what I expected.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was more than 6%.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: But it is 6% of the global trade that passes through that right now.
• 24:06
  And in theory,
• 24:10
  Congress would need to pass some kind of resolution for such a
• 24:13
  use of force.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: But,
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: as I said a couple of weeks ago,
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: since 9-11,
• 24:20
  there's basically a congressional resolution that would
• 24:23
  probably allow the
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: president to authorize the use of force.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's been used against groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, and so arguably...
• 24:33
  president trump could possibly try to make this happen i don't
• 24:37
  think it would be as
• 24:38
  popular as he thinks it's going to be once it starts to begin
• 24:42
  to take place his
• 24:43
  plans or selling it but again as i said a couple weeks ago i
• 24:47
  didn't even want to
• 24:48
  bring it up but he has made this an issue he spoke about it in
• 24:51
  the inaugural
• 24:52
  address and this is something that we have to keep an eye on
• 24:55
  and we have to take
• 24:55
  serious because you don't talk about something in a 20 minute
• 24:59
  speech unless it's
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: important
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that's how long his inauguration speech was,
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: and you carefully decide on what you put there,
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: so it's clearly something he's interested in,
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: and hopefully Congress,
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: the media,
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: the public will begin,
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: if he's serious about this,
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: talking about this in more detail and how he sees this going down,
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: whether it's some kind of purchase or a new deal made with Panama.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think a purchase or a deal is anything Panama is looking for.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: you've already got Chinese investment in the area,
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: so we have to play this pretty carefully because...
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Panama is going to have some options.
• 25:44
  You know,
• 25:44
  as Mike Tyson famously said,
• 25:46
  everyone's got a plan until you get punched.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: So if we act too heavy-handedly, Panama is going to have some options.
• 25:55
  And they have already referred this to the United Nations and
• 26:00
  are starting to
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: increasingly warn the world that
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: our posture and our comments are not the comments of a peaceful country.
• 26:08
  So we'll just end on that note in regards to this subject and
• 26:13
  move to the next one.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move now to Ukraine news.
• 26:18
  Obviously this was a big issue for President Trump when he was campaigning.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: He was frustrated with the amount that the U.S.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: had sent to help Ukraine in its defense from the invasion of
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: by the Russians.
• 26:34
  And as expected,
• 26:35
  one of his first acts as president was to freeze all foreign
• 26:38
  aid for 90 days.
• 26:40
  But Politico Europe announced in one of its articles that
• 26:46
  Ukraine is okay for the
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: moment because before Biden
• 26:52
  He had transferred the congressionally appropriated funds to
• 26:57
  the World Bank,
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: which will then move those funds,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: at least those funds that hadn't already been sent,
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: to move those congressionally authorized funds to the World Bank.
• 27:07
  to ukraine through the world bank so ukraine says in the short
• 27:11
  term it is okay so
• 27:13
  that's some good news there from their funding perspective i
• 27:17
  should also mention
• 27:18
  that the european union announced that it would provide 36
• 27:23
  billion dollars u.s
• 27:25
  dollars in financial aid to ukraine in 2025 so this current
• 27:31
  year through a g7
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: credit initiative and
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: So that should help them as well.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: So moving past the funding situation,
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: let's talk about the peace deal,
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: which is something that President Trump campaigned on.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: There have been a few things I wanted to mention about that.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, President Trump released a statement on Truth Social.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: I want to read it because I think it's revealing.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: The statement reads...
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not looking to hurt Russia.
• 28:04
  I love the Russian people and always had a very good
• 28:07
  relationship with President Putin.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And this,
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: despite the radical left's Russia,
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Russia,
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Russia hoax,
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: we must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: losing almost 60 million lives in the process.
• 28:21
  All of that being said,
• 28:22
  I'm going to do Russia,
• 28:24
  whose economy is failing,
• 28:25
  and President Putin...
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: A very big favor.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: on anything being sold by Russia to the United States and various other
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: participating countries.
• 28:52
  Let's get this war,
• 28:53
  which never would have started if I were president,
• 28:56
  over with.
• 28:57
  We can do it the easy way or the hard way,
• 29:00
  and the easy way is always better.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to, quote, make a deal, end quote.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then he put in all caps, no more lives should be lost.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: So a few points on that.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, that's a statement.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Phillips O'Brien,
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: who's a big-time analyst that I like to keep up with,
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: he makes the point that he said,
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: "...credit where credit is due.
• 29:24
  Whoever has Trump's ear over Russia has been able to make the
• 29:27
  case that Russia is
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: much weaker than it likes to pretend.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is an important realization."
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: another group called Patriot Takes,
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: which is a critic of President Trump,
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: kind of scoffs at what President Trump is saying.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: They put,
• 29:48
  Trump's plan to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine is to threaten
• 29:51
  to impose tariffs
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: on them,
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: even though they are already heavily sanctioned,
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: out of the deal or something.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: So they kind of scoffed at it.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I will give Trump credit on one other thing, which is that...
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: Trump claims that he urged the president of China,
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: Xi Jinping,
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: to help end Russia's war in Ukraine.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And Trump told reporters on the White House a day ago,
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: on January 21st,
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: he said,
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: he's not done very much on that,
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: meaning Xi Jinping,
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: China's president.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: So Xi Jinping's not done very much on that.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's got a lot of power, like we have a lot of power.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: I said to him, you ought to get it settled.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: We did discuss it.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: So according to that article,
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Trump is talking to the president of China,
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: Xi Jinping,
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: and pressuring him to also try to end this war.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously, I don't think anyone wants the war to continue forever.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think the concern all along has been,
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: is Putin rewarded for this horrific war that he launched for no reason?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: And how do you work the deal?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: I think everyone in a perfect world wants a deal,
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: but people want it to be fair to Ukraine,
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: and they want Ukraine to have a say-so in what happens,
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: of course.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move to one other piece of Ukraine news.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's been no big news as far as any ground combat either direction.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: No major loss of ground.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: No gaining of ground.
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: So not a lot to cover there.
• 31:27
  But I wanted to get a story in from a couple of weeks ago that
• 31:30
  I just could not
• 31:31
  squeeze in and I've been pushing it forward each week and I'm
• 31:34
  finally putting it in.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a little dated.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's from the middle of December.
• 31:40
  But I wanted to mention that Ukrainian pilots continue to
• 31:43
  improve and master the
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: airframe of the F-16.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact,
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: in December,
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: the middle of December,
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: for the first time in history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon,
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: of course,
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: those are the planes that NATO and the West gave to Ukraine.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: And reminder, this is an airframe that's more than 50 years old.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not like this is anywhere near our best stuff.
• 32:06
  But it's still an advanced fighter for Ukraine and as good as
• 32:11
  most of what Russia
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: is using anywhere near the area.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: But we had sent them these.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: We've been training them for a year plus.
• 32:18
  I've been covering this a lot in previous podcasts if you're
• 32:20
  new or a listener.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't go through all of that again.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: But they've been getting better.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: And for the first time in the history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon,
• 32:30
  a Ukrainian-operated jet shot down six Russian cruise missiles
• 32:36
  during a single mission.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: And, and this is a big and...
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that pilot shot down two of them with the aircraft cannon,
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: which is not probably the easiest thing in the world to do.
• 32:49
  Now,
• 32:50
  this happened during a mass Russian aerial strike on the
• 32:53
  morning of December 13th,
• 32:54
  2024.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: Russia had deployed almost 200 drones, 94 missiles.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: reminder,
• 33:02
  these cruise missiles are a little bit harder to shoot down
• 33:05
  because they're more
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: sophisticated than those slow-flying Shahid drones,
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: which Iran makes.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: Cruise missiles fly often below radar, 100 feet, 200 feet high.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: They move,
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: decently fast,
• 33:22
  and they're not the easiest thing in the world to shoot down
• 33:24
  because they're
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: usually pretty low altitude.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: But F-16s were scrambled during this.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: And again, this F-16 destroyed six Russian cruise missiles.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: And according to the Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesperson,
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: they said even the Americans couldn't believe that they had done it.
• 33:46
  And so the Ukrainians talked a bit about this mission because
• 33:50
  it was pretty spectacular.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: The aviator apparently approached a group of cruise missiles,
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: and despite the electronic warfare countermeasures on these missiles,
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: he managed to lock onto them.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: He shot down them with some medium range missiles.
• 34:08
  missiles so he shot down one pair so two of them with medium
• 34:11
  range missile missiles
• 34:13
  i don't know why i can't say that i've talked before that
• 34:16
  sometimes i have a speech
• 34:17
  impediment had it bad in elementary school so that's why i get
• 34:20
  nervous on podcasts
• 34:21
  and part of why i feel like i should do this because i'm
• 34:23
  confronting my fears so i
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: apologize when i don't speak well
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: But again, I'll try to say it.
• 34:28
  He shot down one pair of Russian cruise missiles with medium
• 34:33
  range missiles.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then another pair with short range missiles.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: So there you go.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's already got four of them.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: And he was already at that point out of missiles, low on fuel.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: And he was headed back toward Kiev,
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_00: his base,
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: when he was told that there were a couple of others there.
• 34:54
  flying at over 650 kilometers per hour and he used his aircraft
• 34:59
  cannon on those or
• 35:01
  while he was flying 650 kilometers per hour and a few bursts
• 35:06
  from a cannon one of
• 35:07
  them explodes and then he turned and shot down the other so the
• 35:14
  interesting thing
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: as well is that
• 35:15
  He had apparently only learned how to shoot down missiles with
• 35:20
  the cannons and
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: simulators in the U.S.,
• 35:22
  but none of the Ukrainian pilots had ever attempted it during
• 35:27
  actual combat before,
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: so apparently the training's pretty realistic.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, my bigger point was...
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: This is fantastic news,
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: obviously,
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_00: for Ukraine,
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: that they're getting better with these aircraft,
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: that their pilots are getting more confident.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: it goes to show that if Ukraine had gotten these a year earlier,
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: who knows how many lives might have been saved.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: They argued for...
• 35:54
  a very long time to get these and then even once it was
• 35:57
  announced it took nine
• 35:58
  months to a year to get them through the training the aircraft
• 36:01
  moved etc it's been
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: a very long process but amazing news that they pulled this off
• 36:11
  And I'm just really happy that their air force is getting
• 36:15
  better and better.
• 36:16
  And let's just hope that it's good enough to either secure the
• 36:20
  peace through a deal
• 36:21
  that they agree with or to hold off both the Russians and the
• 36:27
  North Koreans that
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: are helping Russia and whoever else.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because unfortunately,
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: Ukraine's been carrying this fight for freedom against tyranny pretty
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: single-handedly as far as blood and troops.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: They have been supported with weaponry and finances,
• 36:47
  but we as a world have been expecting Ukraine to carry a lot of
• 36:52
  our load today.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we've covered that extensively for the past two years.
• 36:56
  So,
• 36:57
  again,
• 36:58
  great news for Ukraine that they are getting better with the F-16.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move now to the Middle East.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: I want to do a brief update on the Israel-Gaza situation.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: As you guys know, there was a ceasefire.
• 37:12
  There were some hostages released,
• 37:14
  and those have arrived in Israel that Hamas released.
• 37:19
  And Israel's in the process of transferring some released folks
• 37:24
  back to Gaza,
• 37:26
  to Hamas.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's the current situation.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: But interestingly,
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: one of the main goals of Israel during the war,
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: besides getting the hostages back,
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: was to remove Hamas from power.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_00: But in the past few days,
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: it has been very clear that Hamas,
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: after 15 months of war,
• 37:48
  and even though Israel did pulverize much of the area that
• 37:52
  Hamas controlled inside
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: the Gaza Strip,
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hamas is absolutely still in control.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: In fact,
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if you guys saw it,
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: but there are videos and photos where since the ceasefire was announced,
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: even in areas that were just what appeared to be mostly destroyed,
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: nothing but rubble.
• 38:19
  Fighters with the green of the uniform on their armbands and on
• 38:25
  their uniforms.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Armed fighters came out everywhere once the ceasefire was announced.
• 38:31
  And in some measure,
• 38:32
  it's almost like they wanted to do an overly powerful show of force.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact,
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: in one article I saw,
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: some folks were interviewed inside Gaza,
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: and they said that obviously Hamas had been functioning the whole time.
• 38:50
  Some of these were members of the Hamas police force,
• 38:54
  and that even in the refugee camps...
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: that during the war,
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_00: there were undercover Hamas members that were acting even as just police,
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: that you could go to them with a tip that,
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: hey,
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: so-and-so stole something from me or threatened me,
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_00: and Hamas would act as police undercover,
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: so to speak.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then, obviously, their militant wing has come out since then.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: But it's interesting because if you look at their uniforms and all,
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: they,
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_00: the uniforms,
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: frankly,
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: look washed,
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: cleaned,
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 39:26
  SPEAKER_00: clearly they're doing this for media reasons,
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: but these don't look like exhausted,
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_00: defeated fighters.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_00: They look like a pretty capable force.
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, it's just interesting.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: Again,
• 39:39
  polls usually show that the majority of the public in the Gaza
• 39:44
  Strip area do not
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_00: support Hamas.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: And yet Hamas always seems to maintain its power.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so,
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: you can make of that what you want,
• 39:53
  whether it's just they have the weapons and the intimidation
• 39:57
  and fear in order to
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: maintain power or ever how you want to look at it.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless, the bottom line is it is very clear after 15 months of war.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: Hamas still rules over Gaza,
• 40:09
  and that does complicate things for Israel because one of their
• 40:11
  war aims was,
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: back in the beginning,
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: to make sure that Hamas wasn't in charge at the end.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: That maybe an international force or another country's force or a new
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: political-type governing party would be in charge,
• 40:27
  and clearly that hasn't happened and doesn't look like it's
• 40:30
  going to happen.
• 40:32
  And then I thought I'd wrap up talking about that truce by
• 40:36
  saying that even Trump,
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: there was news that came out just yesterday that even Trump himself,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: there's three phases of this peace deal,
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_00: the ceasefire peace deal that has been much celebrated,
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: that President Biden was proud of,
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: and that
• 40:53
  president trump also was proud of although president trump says
• 40:56
  it's only because
• 40:56
  he took power president biden says the same deal he's been
• 40:59
  negotiating for months
• 41:01
  so obviously both sides tried to claim victory over who is
• 41:05
  responsible for it but
• 41:07
  what's interesting is trump said just a day ago that he's not
• 41:10
  confident that the
• 41:11
  ceasefire will hold as it enters its third day so we'll see
• 41:17
  what happens you know
• 41:19
  it's that's why i don't cover the middle east a ton or what's
• 41:21
  happening there
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: because
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: The history,
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: as I've said,
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: more than almost a year and a half ago,
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: who do you claim,
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: how far back in history do you want to go,
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: 50 years,
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: 100 years,
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: to the 40s?
• 41:38
  to before that you go back 200 years you go back 500 years and
• 41:43
  you can just
• 41:43
  continue trying to argue about whose land it is who should have
• 41:48
  it who did whom
• 41:49
  wrong and it's just a uh it's a complicated situation that for
• 41:55
  me at least and it's
• 41:57
  a very controversial situation as well it's just not one that i
• 42:02
  like to spend a lot
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: of time trying to
• 42:05
  delve in because I'm 47 years old and there's pretty much been
• 42:09
  fighting there for
• 42:11
  47 years off and on and lots of anger and vitriol going back
• 42:17
  and forth and I don't
• 42:19
  see that changing anytime soon if anything the hatred is higher
• 42:23
  than it has been in
• 42:24
  the past though as I have said in some previous episodes Israel
• 42:28
  has made alliances
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_00: with quite a few of the Arab countries in the Middle East and
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_00: That it hadn't had historically in decades in the past.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: So Israel is certainly in a stronger position than it's ever been.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: But to me,
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: if I covered the Israel-Gaza situation,
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like the news would be almost the same every single week.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's a difficult situation to try to resolve.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay,
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: moving along,
• 42:56
  let's talk about China for just a moment before we wrap up the
• 42:59
  news portion.
• 43:00
  Trump has said that he is considering a 10% tariff on China
• 43:05
  beginning as soon as February 1st.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's about a week away.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_00: So while we're talking about the new era of Trump...
• 43:13
  It will be interesting to see how things go with China because
• 43:16
  we talk about China
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: and Taiwan a lot.
• 43:19
  And this may be one of the first moves of President Trump
• 43:22
  against President Xi
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: Jinping as far as considering adding a new tariff to China.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it will be interesting to see how China responds to that.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: It will also be really interesting for me at least.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think for those who keep up with defense news,
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: so hopefully that's you listeners out there,
• 43:42
  is to see how Trump responds to the – we've covered this so
• 43:49
  many times in the past six,
• 43:50
  nine months – but to the numerous incidents that happened
• 43:54
  around the Philippines.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: which again, we have a treaty with the Philippines.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: We have an alliance that says we will defend them.
• 44:03
  We've talked about so many of those water cannon incidents
• 44:07
  where their Navy,
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: their Coast Guard,
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: will attack Philippine ships.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: It will be interesting to see,
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_00: now that we're a couple of days into the new Trump administration,
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: how will President Trump handle that.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I could see him handling it one of two ways.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: I could see him saying, it's stupid we're in that alliance.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I could see him reacting in a strong way saying,
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: we're not going to be pushed around or be made to look weak.
• 44:37
  So I just mentioned the tariff potential because that will be
• 44:41
  coming up in about a week.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I will definitely have my eyes closed.
• 44:47
  on the waters around the Philippines and Taiwan as we see the
• 44:53
  first test that will
• 44:55
  certainly happen at some point that China does to see how will
• 45:00
  President Trump
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: react to
• 45:03
  Will he want to show American strength or will he say it's
• 45:09
  foolish for us to even
• 45:10
  have allies or ships in that area or we're not going to be the
• 45:14
  world's policemen?
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_00: Because I have no idea how he's going to react.
• 45:19
  And I don't think any of his own supporters know how he's going
• 45:22
  to react.
• 45:23
  And I certainly don't think China or any of its intelligence
• 45:27
  folks or frankly,
• 45:28
  I don't even think the Department of Defense knows how he will
• 45:31
  react because we
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: know this will happen.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: We know that China is going to push the boundaries.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: either around Taiwan or the Philippines.
• 45:40
  They will probably do it relatively soon,
• 45:43
  and we will just have to see how this happens.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, maybe they won't.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's some kind of a reset.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they'll slow down what they've been doing,
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: but I'm very skeptical that that would happen,
• 45:55
  and we will just have to see how President Trump handles the
• 45:58
  situation now that
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: he's in charge.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_00: Let's end the news portion there,
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_00: and let's get to what I think is one of the best parts of the show.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: Let me end by sharing some spiritual encouragement for you all out there.
• 46:13
  As you know,
• 46:14
  if you want true peace,
• 46:16
  I believe you should look to God and the Bible for that.
• 46:19
  SPEAKER_00: Not a country, not a party, certainly not a person.
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_00: I believe that not only can God give you everlasting life,
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_00: but that He can also give you peace in this life.
• 46:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_00: if you know nothing about the Bible,
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: but want to test the waters and maybe try it out,
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_00: I have a resource page.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: with a link that you can find in the episode notes,
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_00: and you can go try it out,
• 46:54
  because I know many of you aren't willing to necessarily go
• 46:57
  visit a church that can
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_00: be an intimidating thing,
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: and so I do have a resource page,
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: so you can do that from the safety and comfort of your home.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: Also,
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_00: I want to mention,
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_00: if you're dealing with depression,
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: PTSD,
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: thoughts of suicide,
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: I have a link I'd like you to check out.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's a
• 47:16
  A bit of a pep talk,
• 47:17
  almost an entire page long,
• 47:18
  if you will,
• 47:19
  that I think will help you a lot.
• 47:21
  I also have listed a hotline you can call,
• 47:23
  whether you're a service member or a civilian.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: I have a link to that in the episode notes.
• 47:28
  So make sure you check that out because I do think that can be
• 47:32
  of great benefit if
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_00: you're struggling mentally.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: I've been there.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know what it's like.
• 47:37
  And so I do want to encourage you to check that out if you are
• 47:40
  struggling right now.
• 47:41
  So let's just share a few things from the Bible that hopefully
• 47:45
  will help you guys
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: out there or maybe feed your desire possibly.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Here is the first one.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: Just a good quote I saw.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: We don't pray to inform God.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: We pray to involve God.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: God already knows what's going on in your life.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: He is waiting for you to ask for his help.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that was pretty good.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_00: We don't pray to inform God.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: We pray to involve God.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_00: The next one I wanted to share was, this was just a great one.
• 48:22
  Let your love for God change the world,
• 48:26
  but never let the world change your love for God.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: That is so good.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to read it again.
• 48:33
  Let your love for God change the world,
• 48:35
  but never let the world change your love for God.
• 48:41
  Now the next one was kind of a good one that started with a question,
• 48:48
  struggling with patience?
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: Remember good things take time.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just like Joseph's story in the Old Testament teaches us,
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: Again, enduring tough spots can lead to great positions.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: if you have no idea about the story of Joseph in the Bible,
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: specifically in the Old Testament,
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'll give you the 22nd verse.
• 49:23
  summary of it joseph was despised by his brothers because his
• 49:29
  father loved him more
• 49:30
  than the other sons and so they plan to kill him but instead of
• 49:36
  killing him at the
• 49:37
  last second they decide to sell him into slavery in egypt and
• 49:42
  there he goes through
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: a lot of things but he eventually ends up being incarcerated wrongly
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: And after being incarcerated,
• 49:51
  he eventually continues to serve God and he interprets some
• 49:54
  dreams for some folks
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_00: there and then eventually interprets dreams for Pharaoh.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: And he ends up rising to be second in command in Egypt.
• 50:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then he not only saves Egypt during a famine,
• 50:05
  he turns around and ends up saving his own family who has to
• 50:08
  travel to Egypt to
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: escape the famine again.
• 50:11
  And so it is through Joseph that the people of Israel or the
• 50:17
  Hebrew people in the
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: Old Testament end up being saved.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_00: So this young brother who is treated wrongly ends up being saved.
• 50:28
  showing patience and enduring a tough spot to get to a great position,
• 50:33
  as that quote said.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: So again,
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: it said,
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: remember,
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_00: good things take time,
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_00: just like Joseph's story teaches us,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: which,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: by the way,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_00: all this takes place over a number of years.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like a decade or more.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: Enduring tough spots can lead to great positions.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_00: Trust the process.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_00: The next one is just a verse from Psalms.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: The verse is,
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_00: Those who know your name trust in you,
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: for you,
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: O Lord,
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: have not forsaken those who seek you.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: That is Psalms 9, verse 10.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: Again,
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: those who know your name trust in you,
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: for you,
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: O Lord,
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: have not forsaken those who seek you.
• 51:12
  move to the next one god's way leads to an endless hope it's a
• 51:19
  great quote by the
• 51:19
  way god's way leads to an endless hope man's way leads to a
• 51:24
  hopeless end again
• 51:27
  god's way leads to an endless hope man's way leads to a
• 51:32
  hopeless end and i think
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_00: all of us
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: especially those who are now on the Christian path,
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: usually end up getting broken down before you seek God.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_00: But we have sought the things of the world.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: We have sought power.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: We have sought looks, maybe going to the gym.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_00: We've sought money.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_00: You seek all of those things,
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_00: and eventually,
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: maybe it's popularity,
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_00: you seek all of these things,
• 52:02
  SPEAKER_00: and eventually you realize God,
• 52:04
  You will lose all of that at some point,
• 52:06
  whether it's your looks because of age or your spouse.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's very easy.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: Things in the world come and go.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: And at some point, you realize that man's way leads to a hopeless end.
• 52:21
  And hopefully,
• 52:22
  you at some point seek Jesus and realize that God's way leads
• 52:26
  to an endless hope.
• 52:29
  SPEAKER_00: We'll do one more.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I really hope this last one speaks to someone,
• 52:33
  that maybe the words of it pierce your heart and make you think
• 52:39
  and maybe make you seek.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's way back in the Old Testament in Hosea.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: And the verse is, plant the good seeds of righteousness.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way,
• 52:54
  righteousness is like living justly or living faithfully
• 52:57
  according to God's instruction.
• 52:59
  So again,
• 52:59
  plant the good seeds of righteousness and you will harvest a
• 53:04
  crop of love.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_00: You will harvest a crop of love.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: And this next line is just amazing.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_00: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_00: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: for now is the time to seek the Lord,
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_00: that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's just so good.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_00: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_00: because are we not all super stubborn,
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_00: especially before we turn to God?
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_00: for now is the time to seek the Lord,
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_00: that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_00: Again, righteousness is like living justly, honestly, or faithfully.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_00: But, uh,
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: so again,
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_00: if that's something that you know nothing about,
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_00: I do have a resource page that I highly encourage you to check out.
• 54:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think it will help you.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: It shows, you know, there are Bibles everywhere, apps online, etc.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it is a little hard to get into the Bible,
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: and I explain where you can start,
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_00: how to easily get,
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_00: where to start in what is an incredibly deep,
• 54:18
  SPEAKER_00: amazing book.
• 54:21
  SPEAKER_00: but not knowing where to start if you've never started.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_00: I've studied a lot of places on where.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_00: I've obviously studied the Bible,
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: and I've almost completely read through the entire thing,
• 54:30
  SPEAKER_00: which has been one of my goals.
• 54:31
  I'm about 20 pages short of that,
• 54:35
  but it's been one of my goals for a long time.
• 54:37
  SPEAKER_00: But...
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think I know a little bit about the Bible,
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_00: and I have looked up lots of resources and ways and suggestions,
• 54:46
  and I've taken all those and compiled them into a resource page
• 54:49
  that isn't pushy or anything,
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_00: and that you can click the link and know where to start.
• 54:55
  I should also mention that I do have a podcast that focuses
• 54:58
  solely on faith called
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_00: The Search for God.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can find a link to that in the episode notes as well.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_00: We'd love for you to come check out some of those episodes.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_00: Another quick reminder,
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_00: as I mentioned earlier,
• 55:12
  I do put out a political newsletter called Thoughts from a
• 55:16
  Southern Gentleman.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a link to that as well if you want to check that out.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_00: As I like to say,
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think I try to stay positive in it,
• 55:24
  and I think I can help lower your anxiety about where we are as
• 55:28
  a country.
• 55:28
  I know we're navigating some turbulent waters,
• 55:31
  but I think we'll get through them together.
• 55:34
  And then I always like to end with an important reminder,
• 55:37
  whether you're a Christian or not,
• 55:40
  SPEAKER_00: I like to say, be the reason that someone smiles.
• 55:43
  Be the reason that someone feels loved and believes in the
• 55:47
  goodness of people.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think we can all agree on that.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a great one to end on.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_00: And while I know times may be scary,
• 55:54
  I believe we are going to get through this the same way that
• 55:57
  the country has gone
• 55:58
  SPEAKER_00: through every hard time it's confronted in its past.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to get through it by working together,
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_00: by loving and helping our neighbor,
• 56:07
  SPEAKER_00: and by having faith in a tomorrow.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_00: We have to trust in the resiliency of our fellow citizens.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_00: We have to trust in the checks and balances of our institutions.
• 56:19
  We have to trust in the momentum and strength of the actual
• 56:23
  country itself.
• 56:26
  In our very blood and history are the people who fought the
• 56:30
  greatest empire in the world,
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_00: the British.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_00: We,
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_00: in reminder,
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: the British had superseded the strength of the French and the Spanish,
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_00: and we fought our guts out for eight years to win that struggle.
• 56:43
  We are the same country that stopped the war machine of Germany
• 56:46
  and Japan in World
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_00: War II,
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_00: and I will never doubt the people of this country,
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_00: not in the long term,
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_00: no matter how much they disappoint me in the short term.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_00: And for those people of faith out there like me,
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_00: we need to pray for God's providence and protection.
• 57:02
  SPEAKER_00: I've said this many times, so many times.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_00: But most Americans are good,
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_00: and they'll help you in a heartbeat,
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_00: whether you're left or right,
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_00: Republican or Democrat.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_00: So love your Americans, please.
• 57:15
  And with that,
• 57:15
  thanks for joining us this week on The View from the Front.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you love what we're doing here and you've been listening for a while,
• 57:21
  SPEAKER_00: you want to support,
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_00: there are several ways you can.
• 57:27
  For $5 per month,
• 57:28
  you can sign up to help support us through Substack,
• 57:33
  through Patreon.com.
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_00: We also have Venmo and PayPal.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's like doing a one-time tip,
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_00: just like throwing money in a hat for a performer in a town squares.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've got details for all of that in the episode notes.
• 57:45
  Another great way to support the show is to take a look at some
• 57:48
  of my books.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've written 12 of them,
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_00: and I typically tell people that these are Tom Clancy-like books,
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_00: military and police thrillers.
• 57:57
  SPEAKER_00: They move fast, lots of twists and turns.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: You don't see them coming.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: I do feel like my writing skills are a gift from God.
• 58:04
  And I suppose I should mention that I have been fortunate
• 58:07
  enough to have sold 70,000 copies.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you if you're one of the people who've picked up a copy.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to reach me,
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_00: any kind of feedback,
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_00: emails in the episode notes,
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_00: it's stanrmitchell2012 at gmail.com.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_00: Again, that's stanrmitchell2012 at gmail.com.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_00: Please at least include your first name and city,
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_00: or you can include your full name if you want to get a little famous,
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_00: if it's something that you want me to share as some feedback.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can even record a voice memo on your phone and email it.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've been dying to do that, at least one.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, waiting for a good candidate for that.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_00: So with all of that out of the way, I am out of here.
• 58:45
  I hope to catch you guys at the same time,
• 58:48
  at the same place,
• 58:49
  next week,
• 58:50
  Lord willing.