Latest / The Stan R. Mitchell Show / Trump’s old tricks aren’t working — and the stakes are getting higher

Transcript

Trump’s old tricks aren’t working — and the stakes are getting higher · The Stan R. Mitchell Show

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_02: What is going on, everyone?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_02: Welcome to The Stan R. Mitchell Show.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_02: My name is Stan, and my word, what a week of news.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_02: So much to go through.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_02: I have no idea the order to put it in,
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: so I got timestamps if you want to jump to any future section.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: But I think I want to start by saying that,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: just kind of as I was pulling together these various stories,
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: that the president is starting to look A bit silly.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_02: He really is.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_02: And I know some conservatives might push back just a tad,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_02: but I don't even think they would that much.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: He's just doing things and saying things that they're not funny or humorous anymore.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: All the old tricks, they are not having the effect they used to have.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I think you'll see a trend as we go through the stories this week,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_02: and I'll try to cover the successes he's had.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_02: But he just,
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: he's not,
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: it doesn't appear he's taking the job as serious as he should and he's starting
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_02: to look silly.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_02: That's my view from 10,000 feet.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I think people just don't fear him like they once did.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: He's a one trick pony and we know the trick.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: Let's just start with the news that President Trump renamed Lake Ontario.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's – he does it as if it's some big deal.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: It was a silly little executive order.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I saw countless interviews – With MAGA supporters.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: One was this old lady.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: I should have saved the clip.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And she's like, I wish he'd quit doing such silly things.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just run the country.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And she goes on about gas prices and other things.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: But not only does he sign the executive order to do this,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: he posts
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_02: a video of Of AI video,
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_02: artificial intelligence video, of ducks walking around with a Trump hairstyle.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Just walking around Lake, now Lake America
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: instead of Lake Ontario, carrying M16s.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like you're the President of the United States.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: You're the most powerful
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: man in the world.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And you're spending time on social media posting videos.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Of ducks or Canadian geese wearing basically wigs or your hair walking around with rifles.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you literally have nothing more important to do.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: As Tom Nichols said,
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: he shared that and he said,
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because Trump is totally sane and very busy running the government.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, I mean, seriously, you have nothing...
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: But, yeah.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: As I said earlier, people,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: because he so belittled the office of the president,
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: there was a viral post going around where MapQuest, you remember MapQuest?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: I had forgotten it was even still a thing.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: MapQuest has a social media account, and they show Lake Ontario information.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Named Lake Ontario.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they put, we're not changing it.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And this is, of course, MapQuest.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I was talking and laughing with friends.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: I was like,
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: I used to remember printing two or three pages of directions before there were apps
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: on your phone.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: And you'd be like four states away
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: without any map
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_02: because you thought these instructions were good enough.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: And then you would be trying to read, like, stay right, you know, stay straight
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: for eight miles.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And there might be a little image if you remember to include the images.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like MapQuest.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: MapQuest is mocking the most powerful man in the world.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And they're saying, we're not changing it.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, Apple did on their maps.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: So then you got people yelling at various companies for either doing what
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: the president said or not doing what the president said.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, everyone knows that this will be completely and quickly overturned in two years.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's not real.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: It won't last.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's an executive order.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, why do you feel so small that you have to do such a thing?
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't understand the president's thinking sometimes.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it's almost like President Trump is starting to become a joke.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you have MapQuest making fun of you,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: you're probably not hitting the target that you want to hit.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I did see a funny joke, though.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Might as well share a joke since the president's all about the humor, I guess.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Not like we're in the middle of a war without Iran or anything.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: But the president said, you know, he renames Lake Ontario to Lake America.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Someone shared,
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I heard Trump's next executive order will be to change the names of Canadian geese
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: to Donald Ducks.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Canadian geese, Donald ducks, get it?
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, man.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Where we are as a country.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta laugh if you can't cry.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sadly, though, the president does have some power still with at least some Republicans.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: There was a YouGov poll from The Economist slash YouGov that shows
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: that 38%
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_02: of Republicans now view Canada as unfriendly I mean,
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_02: this jumped
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: up from like 15% two years ago,
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: but because the president's been railing against them,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: now 38% of Republicans believe Canada is unfriendly or an enemy of the U.S.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: I find that sad.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And so I guess I can either be frustrated by it or angry about it or just laugh
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: about it because I know the president is politically,
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: he is running out of runway and November is coming quickly.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_02: And the best he can do is sign executive orders to rename
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_02: bodies of water that he can't rename.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_02: And claim that we control the Strait of Hormuz when fighting has begun there.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_02: And even worse,
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_02: even though he has unbelievably bad polling numbers,
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: he's going to spend a ton of money running Trump ads.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_02: Because he believes if he does, that is what will save the Republican Party in November.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: Talk about tone deaf.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: Talk about not having advisors willing to tell you the truth.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that was a theme I was hammering on a couple of weeks ago.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: But we can feel no sympathy for the Republican Party because they have,
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: for years,
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_02: told this man he's the greatest,
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_02: done whatever he wanted,
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: and they have helped create a man that at least acts like a narcissist,
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: if not is a narcissist.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_02: So they will reap what they sow in a couple of months.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not going to lie, I am here for it.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_02: Of course, it's not all jokes for some.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: Been a lot of people hurt by this.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm not sure if you saw this,
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_02: but Marjorie Taylor Greene, MTG herself, destroyed the president.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: She went on a tirade and absolutely decimated him.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I'm going to share it because there's like nothing she says
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: that you can really disagree with.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Take a listen to this.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Let me explain to you guys how this is actually going to work.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: 26 midterms and the 28 presidential race is not going to be anything like 2024,
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: where there was so much support for MAGA.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: The coalition came in and got behind Trump.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And here's why.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_01: When the president started telling his own supporters
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: that he didn't want their support,
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: remember that Truth Social post where he said,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: my past supporters, and he was calling the Epstein files a hoax.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: these were women that were talking about and telling their stories about being raped
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: by these elite rich men when they were 14 and 16 years old.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then the president fought me and Thomas Massey and all of us who were trying
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: to release the Epstein files.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: And he called it a Democrat hoax.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's going to be a problem in the midterms.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know what another problem in the midterms is going to be that has totally broken
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: the entire coalition?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's calling affordability a hoax.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: Remember when the president called affordability a Democrat hoax?
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Same word he used to describe raping girls when they're 14 and 16 years old.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: Affordability is not a hoax.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's not something that you shame young people like Gen Z,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: shame them for their work habits and shame them and tell them they need
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: to pull themselves up by the bootstraps because it's a lot different
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: for young people today than it was for,
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: say, my generation and the baby boomer generation.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: The dollar actually had value 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Now the dollar isn't worth shit.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's because Congress won't stop spending the money.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that's because we have leaders like President Trump who's gone full neocon.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_01: And just can't back away from war.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: Just can't back away from it.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the third issue there, folks.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: You want to know why 26 and 28 is going to be different?
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because Donald Trump broke his big,
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: big campaign promise of no more foreign wars and actually has got us embroiled in
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: a war with Iran, a war that should not be happening.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: And he's not backing off of it.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: And it will probably get worse.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: So that has fed the affordability crisis.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's why people can't afford gasoline.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's why people's bills keep going up.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Food prices are still going up.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Beef is at all times high.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's ridiculous.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you don't lecture the people that...
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I could say it any better than that.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: MTG wasn't the only former big-time MAGA star who went
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: after President Trump this week.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Also, somewhat indirectly but also not indirectly,
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: going after the President was Gregory Bovino,
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: the Border Patrol commander that so many folks loved.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to what he had to say about the President this week.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about a Crazy thing to hear from a beloved figure on the right.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: The administration didn't want you to have security?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: Why?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: I think to silence me because – Silence you like you're killed
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_03: because that's what it sounds like.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_03: Do I think they want me dead at this point?
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: I'm in a running battle every time I go out.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: I mean every time the citizens of my own community are like, what is going on with you?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_03: These people come – there's some crazies out there.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_03: You know this, Tucker.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: And you bet.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_03: Do I think they want me killed?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_03: You know, to the administration?
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, that clip went quite viral.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then later, as many folks have said, Greg Bovino switches a bit.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he says he doesn't think the president himself does,
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: but that it's some officials within the Trump administration that want him killed.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so, he further added,
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I should say, that he doesn't believe that Trump is aware of this situation.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: But I just wanted to remind him of three very famous people who have been in
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: the exact same situation and learned as well that loyalty with
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: the president only goes one way, and that is up.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's three of the biggest names that just just to remind you
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: that Greg Bovino isn't the first person to have a security detail removed.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: Or his life endangered because of service to the president.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course,
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: the most famous one is the most loyal man President Trump ever had,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: which was Mike Pence.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: He, of course, refused to certify the 2020 election or interfere with the certification of it.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so President Trump publicly attacked him.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: Rioters were yelling, hang Mike Pence.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Mike Pence went on to later say
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: that Trump's reckless words endangered his family and everyone at the Capitol
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: that day.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: So we got Mike Pence.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's remember General Mark Milley,
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who Trump himself appointed.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: Trump, the guy who says he only hires the best,
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: even though all these people he hired from the first term wouldn't even endorse him
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: or serve him again.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: But Trump appointed General Mark Milley.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: After Milley broke with the president, Trump repeatedly attacked him.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: When President Trump returned to office,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: he revoked General Milley's security detail and security clearance,
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: revoked both of them,
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: had his Pentagon portraits removed,
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: which normally you keep those up for the various people who have been chairman of
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so that's kind of a petty thing to do, I think.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: Removes the guy's portraits, removes his security detail and security clearance.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then,
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: Orders the Pentagon to launch a review that could have resulted in his reduction
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: in retirement rank.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's kind of crappy, right guys?
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's also Mark Esper, the former Secretary of Defense.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Mark Esper, who President Trump appointed.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Again, another person that at one point he said was such a great candidate for the job.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Esper helps carry out the president's various national security policies,
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: including during the period when Iranian General Soleimani was killed.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: But Esper later breaks with the president,
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: gets fired,
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: and because there were continuing threats from Iran,
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: from Esper's government service, Esper had federal protection.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: But when the president returned to office, he had that security detail revoked.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And when asked about it,
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: the president said a former official's losing protection,
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: quote, there's risks to everything.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like he didn't address it.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because the president doesn't care.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: As Greg Bovino is learning, the president doesn't care.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: And as MTG learned before those three or Greg Bovino,
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: President Trump has called Marjorie Taylor Greene as Marjorie Traitor Greene.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: He has called her Wacky Marjorie Traitor Brown, also traitor to our country.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: He's called her a Ranting Lunatic, a Lightweight, and a Rhino.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, this is,
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry that Greg Bovino apparently doesn't keep up with the news and had no idea
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: that the president would eventually turn on him, but he is learning.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately for him,
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: and for so many others who have served this president
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: or are currently serving this president,
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: they clearly do not know the Chinese proverb that reads,
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wise men learn from others,
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: ordinary men learn from experience, and fools learn from no one.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: So this is an ancient Chinese proverb,
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: and apparently,
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: despite the fact that the president has more than a 10 plus year history
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: of how he treats others,
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: and if you go further back,
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: it's about 30 years,
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: of how he's treated small businesses who he's threatened to sue,
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: who he's refused to pay,
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: who he's waited forever to pay,
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: despite the fact that he has attacked everyone from Rosie O'Donnell to,
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you name it, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, People on the right.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: All these Republican candidates.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: You remember in 2016 when he was ripping all of these Republicans running
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: against him from Jeb Bush to Texas Senator Ted Cruz and talking about his wife.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: You would think these people would learn at some point.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: But they sure seem awful slow to learn.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: Some pretty painful lessons.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Quick reminder.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: If this show's been helpful, one of the best ways to support it is simple.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: Share it with someone you trust or leave a review wherever you listen.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_02: Word of mouth still matters most.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: You can also follow or subscribe so you don't miss an episode.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_02: And if you want to go a step further, there are support options in the show notes.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_02: A small monthly subscription is one option or you can even do a one-time gift.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: Either way, I'm grateful you're here.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: All right, thanks for sticking around.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about the big news that the president has been trying to push this week.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that is, of course, his big announced oil deal down in Venezuela.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: President Trump announced this last week, toward the end of last week.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: He said the U.S. has entered a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: And for the first day or so, this sounded like, you know, a big deal for the country.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: But pretty quickly, some holes began
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: to come up among the media and among analysts.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously it could be good news in one sense, but...
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing that came up was that there's not much infrastructure down there.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: That Venezuela has really let
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: everything from its pipes to the equipment needed
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: to drill and pump the oil out.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: All of it has been rusted and neglected.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so American companies would have to go in and put a lot of money into this.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: And there are other serious problems as well.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: American companies are going to be a little hesitant because many
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: of them lost billions the last time that Venezuela's government took
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: over private enterprise.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: But besides that,
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: some of the problems include the fact that this deal was negotiated with a regime
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_00: that stole Venezuela's most recent election.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so some critics are like, hey, this government doesn't even represent the Venezuelan people.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: So what happens if Venezuela finally does hold a free election and
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: that new government says, hey, we're not going to be a part of that deal?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And just imagine if you're Exxon or one of the big companies,
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: would you want to invest very much money when that's a possibility?
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because that new government could say, we never approved this.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Why does America have so much control over our oil system?
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: So that kind of uncertainty is going to make oil companies very nervous
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: about investing what will be billions of dollars.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's another problem, which involves some of the people benefiting from this deal.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: One of them includes a guy, a Venezuelan guy named Alejandro Betancourt.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is President Trump's chosen private partner.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so...
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: He has some financial incentive to try to delay free elections,
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: and many Venezuelans don't like this guy because they feel like he was a part of
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: the government that had oppressed the people in Venezuela.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, U.S.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: officials,
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: including Marco Rubio, have said that Venezuela will still move toward democracy.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: But the president very publicly has bragged about taking Venezuela's oil.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: He's even started calling Delce Rodriguez,
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: the number two of the illegal government, the president-elect.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And she isn't.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: So the Venezuelan people are going to increasingly not be happy about this.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: There's already many of them speaking out.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: So on the one hand, the deal could produce more oil.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a lot of other concerns.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And this same deal could help keep an illegitimate regime and power
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: while politically connected people make a fortune.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's one of the concerns.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why a lot of people say that on paper this deal to seize
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: or control 65 billion barrels of oil
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: It might be a Hail Mary.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: It might be a pop dream.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've got to nail me down on where I am in regards to it, that's where I'm at.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: I would be very skeptical that this goes through.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: Especially...
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think these oil companies in America, Exxon and the rest of them, I think they know this.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: And so...
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see what happens.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: I did want to give the president his due.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: He did announce the deal.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: He's very excited about it.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Some of his supporters say that this completely changes
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: the global strategic picture,
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: including with our challenges that come from China,
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: our challenges currently happening in Iran and the Middle East.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: In theory, on paper, again, it sounds pretty good, pretty good.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: But as you start to peel back the layers of this onion,
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: there's a lot more to it, I think, than what's initially being announced.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of reminds me of the initial strikes in Iran, which seemed so successful.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it seemed like it was going to be something that might benefit the people
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_00: of Iran and all the countries in the Middle East.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_00: And now we're six plus months later.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that just isn't proving to be the case.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's my take on it.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Would love to hear yours.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I mentioned Iran a second ago,
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: and as you guys have heard in the news,
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_02: that has again turned into a shooting war after nearly a month of no strikes back
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: and forth.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_02: There have been some pretty intense attacks from both our
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_00: folks hitting them,
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_00: also them firing shots at both us.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: We had our bases in Jordan hit again.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: We also had Kuwait hit,
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: and there's Of course,
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: it's very hard for the media to find out how much damage is being done
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: on these strikes back and forth.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: But the shooting war has definitely happened.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: And there were two more oil tankers that were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: So oil prices are again going up.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: People are again beginning to discuss that.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: This isn't ending anytime soon.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: There seems to be no real plan to end it.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: And with all of this happening,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: the president is again returning to his,
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: as the New York Times called it,
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: familiar playbook to Now, I
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: don't have much positive to say about the situation.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: There was another story in several media outlets that there are some tanks in
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: the middle of the United States as part of our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: They once held 90 million barrels of oil.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: They are down to just 22 million, from 90 to 22 million.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: So this is,
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I've talked about this a lot in previous episodes,
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: but the lack of oil coming out of the Middle East is starting to,
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: at some point it's going to be real.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know when that'll be.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: But it's becoming more real to me, I think, every week.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: And we're seeing it with some of the prices and some of the uncertainty and instability.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: So the president is now saying that the Iranian people need to rise up and essentially...
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, overthrow their government.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I thought I would play,
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: just since I've been critical of the president for much of this episode,
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I would play what one of his key cabinet members is saying.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: He says that everyone in the media should be ashamed for believing a lying regime.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Here is Scott Besant.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Secretary,
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: with the economic pressure on Iran,
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: as well as the kinetic strikes we're seeing,
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: do you believe that we are closer to the end,
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: or are we in the middle of this conflict?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_03: Look,
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_03: Iran does not have control of the strait, and they are in a death spiral.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_03: We have control of the strait.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_03: Limited kinetic strikes that we did yesterday were to take out radar,
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_03: some patchwork of Tinker Toy or Rector Set radar that they were trying
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_03: to reconstruct along the banks of the strait.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_03: I can't remember what the number is.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_03: I just saw it, but I think we got out about 17 million barrels of crude yesterday.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_03: That is not Iranian-controlled strait.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_03: And I will tell you,
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_03: One of the best allies that the Iranians have on this is the media,
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_03: because the media immediately publishes all the lies, all the lies that they say.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_03: There are no mines in the street.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_03: Two ships did not hit mines.
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_03: This is Iranian agiprop,
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_03: and everyone in this audience and every news outlet should be ashamed for publishing
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_03: that, taking a lying regime At face value.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: So there you go.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: We are winning.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: The initial projections that this would be over in four to six weeks were just a little off.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everything's fine.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_02: And clearly we should just listen to them.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_02: Everything's fine.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: Let's talk now about Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: As they say in the music these days,
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: Pete Hexeth has decided that he will shoot his shot,
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: and there is a lot up in the air.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: He, of course,
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: has continued to fire many generals,
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: many of whom have tons of combat experience and weren't even involved in some of
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: the things that Were alleged about them.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: For instance, he recently got rid of on the one-star promotion list.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: I saw some military officers talking about this.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: He removes a guy who had commanded the Army 173rd Airborne Brigade in Italy
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: and was described by officers as one of the best combat leaders in the infantry.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: This man had led troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned two master's degrees
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: from Columbia University and
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: He was pulled from the promotion list because officials in Mr.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hexeth's office erroneously believed he had allowed a mentorship group
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: for female paratroopers to exist in his unit.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: He had allegedly also allowed an all-women's airborne jump.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: But that group predated his command.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: So he was blamed for something that didn't even have anything to do with him.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_00: And he has been removed from it.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: This man,
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: named Colonel Josh Gaspard,
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: parachuted into northern Iraq in 2003 as a second lieutenant.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: He also did a year in Afghanistan.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: He then ran a company as a company commander in the surge era of Iraq.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: As one analyst noticed, his Columbia degrees aren't even in the woke social sciences.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: They're literally in industrial engineering and engineering management systems.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: Again, one of the best combat leaders in the army removed from the promotion list.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this stuff is starting to catch up to Pete Hexeth.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: He targeted seven more officers.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: In the past, many of these dismissals have been either black or female.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: And so he's increasingly making the senior ranks white male officers.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: And all of this is starting to catch up with him.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Of course,
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: the Army Secretary ended up essentially resigning,
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: but had a fight with Pete Hegseth,
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_00: went to talk to the President,
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: and as one analyst said,
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: there's generational damage being done because these folks have so much experience.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Whether you think he's right or wrong, these are big decisions that are being made.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: The president is increasingly not happy with Pete Hegseth because there's now talk
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: that he may be running for president in 2028.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's one thing you should not do when Donald Trump is president,
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: you should not start talking about running for president.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because the president does not like to be outshone.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so now...
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: Folks are saying that Pete Hexeth is increasingly likely to get fired.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: There are even the first of some Republicans beginning to say that
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_00: after Dan Driscoll,
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: who is widely respected,
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: widely respected across the Army,
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: after Pete Hexeth has gotten him, the Army Secretary, fired,
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_00: The walls are starting to close in for Pete Hegseth.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact,
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: as I'm recording this,
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: Senator Tom Tillis,
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: who is a Republican, has asked the President to remove Pete Hegseth, to replace him.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll see how this shapes up,
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_00: but Pete Hegseth is increasingly in the news,
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: and I think he's probably in the news a little bit too much right now.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how this shakes out, but my gut says his time in that chair is starting to run out.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_02: All right,
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_02: let's move to one final news segment before we get to the story of courage and also
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_02: the faith segment.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_02: I want to talk about how Russia has yet again antagonized NATO while our
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: president does nothing.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm referring, of course, to the news that barely made the news.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Germany has completed
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: investigation into a drone that had explosives on it at
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: a German airport.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: The explosive-laden drone,
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_00: according to the German government,
• 36:13
  SPEAKER_00: was controlled by agents who were working on behalf of Russian state entities.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: So to put that in better normal English that you can understand,
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Russia had a drone with explosives at a German airport to blow up a plane.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_00: In this case they were going to target a Ukrainian one.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the drone was found,
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: the investigation has been completed,
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: and already Germany has announced the closure of a Russian consulate.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: They have demanded, of course, an apology, which Russia will not give.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I've talked in previous weeks that Russia, it's increasingly obvious, is going to test NATO.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: Reminder, we are in a defensive pact with NATO.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: Reminder,
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: a week ago,
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: our CIA director traveled to Russia and For a meeting with Putin,
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: in which he was stood up,
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: he didn't even get a chance to meet with Putin,
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: but he delivered it to some lower officials,
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: telling Russia not to test the United States.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, Russia probably isn't going to listen.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so it'd be a really good time for the President of the United States to step up
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: and warn Russia not to do something silly, not to test our mettle, so to speak.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: But unfortunately, the President was asked about this.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want to mention,
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: we're talking about the President who routinely said
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: that Russia would have never invaded Ukraine if he had been President.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're talking about a president who said he would end the war in Ukraine in one day.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that still hasn't been ended.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so the president was asked if he was worried about Russia attacking NATO.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: And President Trump says Putin is not planning to do so.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: And he even rejected reports that the CIA director,
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: John Ratcliffe,
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: went to The capital of Russia, Moscow, to warn Russia against attacking NATO allies.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: President Trump said the trip was routine and even went so far as to say there was no message.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: So even if the CIA director delivered a message,
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: the president immediately undercut him and said there is no message.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: So Vladimir Putin, I guess there's no message.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_00: I guess President Trump is saying you can do whatever you wish to an ally of
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: the United States because apparently we don't seem to care anymore.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: And while we have not shown the Russians anything this week,
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you what, we sure showed those Canadians, didn't we?
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: Renaming that lake to Lake America.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: We've got our Republican base riled up against Canada.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: While Russia is operating drones inside Germany.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's just incredible stuff.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: Ronald Reagan has to be rolling over in his grave right now.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: Just completely embarrassing.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_00: And worse than that, it is dangerous.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: We know the war in Korea started because of a speech in which literally
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: a part was left out of a speech.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_00: And North Korea took that to mean that we wouldn't get involved.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: So words matter.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so when the president says there was a routine trip and there is no message,
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: people pay attention to that.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_00: I hope Vladimir Putin is wise enough to see that while the president may be weak
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: and uncaring,
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_00: the Republican Congress and many of the Democrats in the Senate and Congress
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: as well, or the House, we do care.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we do not plan on abandoning Europe.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_02: Alright,
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_02: before we leave and get to the faith section,
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_02: I want to remind you that the world isn't only what you've heard the last hour.
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_02: There are still people who sacrifice.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_02: There are still people who stand up for what's right.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: There are still people who put others ahead of themselves.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to share a story that I hope inspires you to be more courageous.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: This week's story is about...
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hugh Thompson Jr.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: You probably don't recognize that name,
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: but I think once I start to share this story, you will.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: He was an American soldier who served in the Vietnam War.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: And way back,
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: almost 60 years ago,
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: on March 16th, 1968,
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: Hugh Thompson Jr.
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_00: was flying a small army reconnaissance helicopter over the Vietnamese village
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_02: of My La.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_02: Now you may be saying, I've heard that name.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_02: What was it happened there?
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's just do a quick little jogging of our memory.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_00: In 1968, Hugh Thompson Jr.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: was flying with two crewmen,
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_00: Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn,
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_00: and as they flew over the village of My Lai, they began to see bodies on the ground.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: Civilians.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: These were women, children, elderly people.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: And at first, Thompson assumed they had been killed during the fighting.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: But as they're flying along, he realized the horrifying truth.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: That American soldiers were deliberately killing unarmed Vietnamese civilians.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now Thompson could have just kept flying.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: Could have turned and looked another way.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: He could have told himself this wasn't his unit.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't his responsibility.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't his place to interfere.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe there was just more going on to this story than what he knew.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: But instead he landed his helicopter.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about that.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thompson was prepared to place himself between innocent people...
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: And members of his own military.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because he knew what those soldiers were doing was wrong.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_00: He confronted the troops on the ground and then called in other helicopters
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: to evacuate the civilians.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: Later, one of the crew,
• 43:41
  SPEAKER_00: Andriotta,
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: climbed into a ditch filled with bodies and he found a child who was still alive.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now Thompson not only did all of this, but he also reported these killings to his superiors.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: Which helped bring the operation to an end.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now unfortunately,
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: hundreds of civilians had already been murdered,
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: so this is not a story with a happy ending.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_00: But it is a story of genuine courage.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: we often think that courage means standing beside our people,
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: beside our country, or our military, or our political party, or even our friends.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: But sometimes courage means standing in the way.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_00: Hugh Thompson Jr.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_00: understood that loyalty to America did not require him
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: to defend something evil simply because Americans were doing it.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: His oath and his conscience required the opposite.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: And doing the right thing did cost him.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: After he testified about what happened at Mila, he was condemned by many Americans.
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_00: He received hate mail, death threats, some government officials even wanted him prosecuted.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: It took more than 30 years for the Army to properly recognize what Thompson
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: and his crew had done.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: But in 1998, all three of the men involved received the Soldier's Medal.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: Andreotta had unfortunately already passed,
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_00: but they earned the Soldier's Medal for courage that did not involve combat with
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: an enemy.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_00: And Hugh Thompson later said that he learned a simple lesson from that terrible day,
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: that common people can show uncommon courage when the moment requires it.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think his story reminds us that courage is not blind loyalty.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: Courage is remaining faithful to what is right when everyone around you is going in
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: the other direction.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: It is refusing to surrender your conscience to the crowd.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the most patriotic thing an American can do is insist
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: that America live by the principles it claims to believe.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_02: Before we wrap up,
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_02: let's step away from the news for a minute and talk about something
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_02: that matters even more.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_02: This week I thought I'd just share a list of things I came across on social media,
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_02: all of which spoke to me, and so I hope it speaks to you as well.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_02: The first one is a photo of an open Bible that...
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_02: It's older,
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_02: and someone had taken a photo of that and put a headline over that said,
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_02: Faith doesn't break overnight.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: It fades.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_02: Stop the spiritual drift.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's obviously a great reminder that we need to be doing the daily practices
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: if possible,
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_02: but certainly somewhat weekly practices of reading a devotional or reading the Bible
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_02: or trying to find some time alone to pray or even to pray while you're at work and
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_02: while you're working.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_02: The Bible does say pray without ceasing,
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_02: but as I once heard my pastor say, no one ever drifts closer to God.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_02: It's something you do have to put some effort into.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: So again, the quote was, faith doesn't break overnight, it fades.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_02: Stop the spiritual drift.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_02: And so I would challenge you this week to stop the spiritual drift
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_02: if you've been slipping a bit.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_02: The next one comes from Proverbs.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_02: It's actually chapter 19,
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_02: and this one's a good one,
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_02: and it's just a reminder that Proverbs is full of great ones like this,
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_02: just lots of wisdom in it.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_02: But Proverbs chapter 19,
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_02: verse 3 reads,
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_02: People ruin their lives by their own foolishness, and then are angry at the Lord.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: Just so many people,
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_02: myself included,
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_02: we do the dumbest things without seeking any spiritual advice and then we,
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_02: these things have consequences and then we're mad that we're dealing with something
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_02: that And it's also a good reminder that there are numerous stories,
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_02: especially in the Old Testament, where people sin and fall short.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_02: And though they often come back to the Lord through repentance,
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_02: a good example being David with Bathsheba, there are consequences.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_02: He is told that he will have to fight, that his kingdom will be taken from him.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_02: Like, there are consequences to his sin.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_02: And I think a lot of times we don't take our actions and what we're doing
• 49:10
  SPEAKER_02: in life serious enough.
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_02: So again,
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_02: the quote or the verse is,
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_02: people ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_02: Next one is just a quote from a pastor, Pastor Mike Zweigel.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_02: I hope I said his name correctly.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_02: He said, if you feed the wild beast of temptation, it will first befriend you, then devour you.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_02: Again, if you feed the wild beast of temptation, it will first befriend you, then devour you.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_02: We all know this is true,
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_02: whether it's just drinking a little more than you used to and then
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_02: before long you don't realize the road you're going down
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_02: and how it might destroy your family or your health
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: or so many other things.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_00: It happens as well with friendships with the opposite sex at work
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_00: or whatever type event or situation you're in.
• 50:17
  SPEAKER_00: No one ever starts out planning infidelity,
• 50:20
  SPEAKER_02: but it starts with just the smallest look and glance and smile and little comment
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_02: and lingering gaze and furlong talking privately.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_02: As the pastor said,
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_02: if you feed the wild beast of temptation,
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_02: it will befriend you and then it will devour you.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_02: Alright, next one, let's go to just something we should aspire to.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_02: Someone shared the quote that,
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_02: Consider the thought that everywhere you have been carries the sweet aroma
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_02: of Jesus long after you've gone or departed.
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_02: So again,
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_02: consider everywhere you have been carries the sweet aroma of Jesus long
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_02: after you're gone.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_02: And two different Christians that I work with at my primary full-time job.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_02: They're, you know, I'm usually not totally obnoxious at work.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_02: I'd like to think I'm not anyway, but both of them just had happened to ask how I was doing.
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, man, I'm great.
• 51:37
  SPEAKER_02: And they were like, what's great?
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_02: What's going on?
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_02: Like they expected me to have news.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, I don't know.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_02: It just hit me this week what Paul said,
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_02: which is,
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_02: Paul has that famous verse that to,
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_02: for me, for to me to live as Christ and to die as gain.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_02: And I was just telling them that Like, while we're alive, we get to bring glory to God.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_02: And if we get the worst news ever or we lose our job or we die today, like, no big deal.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_02: Like, life is even better at that point.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_02: So, whether I live or die, no big deal.
• 52:10
  SPEAKER_02: Like, why would we not be, like, insanely happy and joyful?
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_02: And both of them, after I said that, were like, no, you're right.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_02: And I think we forget that.
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_02: We get tied down to the affairs of life.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_02: And you know,
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_02: it says in 2 Timothy that,
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_02: you know, we're not supposed to be, we're supposed to be like a soldier.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_02: We don't get tied down in the affairs of life.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_02: We should be focused on the kingdom.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_02: And we should be joyful that, I mean, all of us used to fear death.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_02: We don't have to fear death anymore.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_02: What an amazing, like, just like the sting of death has been removed.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_02: How could you not be joyful?
• 52:56
  SPEAKER_02: And so how can you leave a place and not leave a sweet aroma of Jesus long after you're gone?
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_02: That's the goal.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_02: Alright, I know I've rambled a little bit, so just three more quick ones.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_02: First one's a quote from, I think it's a pastor named John Dixon.
• 53:16
  SPEAKER_02: The quote is,
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_02: We want to win the world to Christ,
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_02: but you can't win the world to Christ when you don't look like Jesus Christ.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_02: So, again, reminder, it's an old saying, but most people don't read the Bible.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_02: The only Bible they're going to read is you, so make sure you're different.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_02: Next one's a quote from the late pastor Charles Spurgeon from a couple hundred years ago.
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_02: It reads, Nothing will satisfy man but God in whose image he was made.
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_02: Again, nothing will satisfy man but God in whose image he was made.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_02: That was certainly my life story.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_02: I kept looking for what was that thing.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_02: I just felt like something was missing, hollow.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_02: We are made in the image of God.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_02: We are made with the idea of eternity.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_02: We don't truly want to die.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_02: We want something.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_02: And nothing,
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_02: no matter how hard you look for eternity,
• 54:13
  SPEAKER_02: Through career or ambition or any of those things,
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_02: nothing satisfies but God in whose image we're made.
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_02: And then finally,
• 54:24
  SPEAKER_02: another quote from a pastor who said,
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_02: In a debate, Jesus often said, Have you not read?
• 54:32
  SPEAKER_02: And this comes from Matthew 12, verse 5.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_02: So, in a debate, Jesus often said, Have you not read?
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_02: And this pastor said, Too often these days, the answer is, No, I haven't.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_02: As in, No, I haven't read.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_02: And as he said, above all else, know your Bible.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_02: I constantly remind folks every week, please get into the Bible, even if you're a skeptic.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_02: Find out why the Catholic Church wanted it in a language no one could read.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_02: Find out why so many people died trying to preserve it.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's the best-selling book of all time for a reason,
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_02: and if you read it and if it doesn't have any impact,
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_02: then there's nothing you should worry.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_02: There's no fear, but I think if you read it, you'll start to feel something.
• 55:24
  SPEAKER_02: There have been a lot of atheists who have read it that it just blows them away.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_02: So again, Jesus said, have you not read?
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_02: And most of us these days say, no, I haven't.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_02: So, know your Bible.
• 55:38
  SPEAKER_02: And as I heard on a podcast this week,
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_02: you know, and I know this from back in my time with Buddhism.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_02: Like in Buddhism, you're emptying your mind.
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_02: You're meditating.
• 55:49
  SPEAKER_02: You're trying to remove desires and empty your mind.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_02: With Christianity, it's the opposite thing.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_02: With Christianity, you're trying to fill your mind.
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_02: Stuff it.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_02: Cram it.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_02: Put so much in your mind.
• 56:04
  SPEAKER_02: Scripture.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_02: The promises of God.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_02: All of the stuff that's in the Bible you want to cram.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_02: You want to fill your mind.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_02: Because we are mortal, weak creatures made of flesh flesh.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_02: And if we are not filling our mind with God's promises,
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_02: then Satan will convince us of things that are not true,
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_02: including temptations that we think we desire.
• 56:32
  SPEAKER_02: But that will ultimately begin to destroy us.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_02: So fill your mind this week.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_02: That would be my challenge.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_02: Fill your mind with Scripture.
• 56:44
  SPEAKER_02: Start replacing a few habits of when you get on social media or this or that.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_02: Start small.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_02: Don't crush yourself with some overwhelming goal.
• 56:51
  SPEAKER_02: Just say, hey, I'm going to open my Bible and read a few verses.
• 56:56
  SPEAKER_02: Don't even say a full chapter.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_02: Just start to feed on the Word of the Lord.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_02: If it's nonsense, you'll figure that out.
• 57:05
  SPEAKER_02: But if it really is the Word of God,
• 57:34
  SPEAKER_02: That changes everything.
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_02: So don't be afraid to open the book and see for yourself.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_02: If it starts to speak to you,
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_02: or if you're someone who used to go to church but no longer does,
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_02: make sure you find a good local church.
• 57:50
  SPEAKER_02: One that believes that the Bible is the Word of God,
• 57:53
  SPEAKER_02: that Scripture is true, trustworthy, and without error.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_02: Find the people that you need to surround yourself with to get through life
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_02: because life is hard and scripture is clear that we should go through it
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_02: with community and that community should include people who believe in
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_02: a higher power.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_02: And one last thing,
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_02: if you're a veteran struggling with PTSD,
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_02: depression,
• 58:22
  SPEAKER_02: or thoughts of suicide, please use the resources I've linked in the episode notes.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_02: You've made it through hard things before.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_02: Don't try to fight this one alone.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_02: We need you here.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_02: Your life matters.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_02: Don't give up.
• 58:43
  SPEAKER_02: Aim to be a little bit more disciplined this week than you were last week.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_02: Mentally, physically, and spiritually, raise the bar just a little.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_02: You don't have to be perfect.
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_02: You just need to aim to be a little better than you were last week.
• 59:26
  SPEAKER_02: When you fall short, forgive yourself quickly.
• 59:29
  SPEAKER_02: Start again.
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_02: Now, when the news discourages you,
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_02: and I believe it will,
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_02: because even on the best of weeks, the media is looking for bad news.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_02: But when the news discourages you, Don't give up on this country.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_02: Try to remember that division weakens us.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_02: Unity strengthens us.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_02: This is wisdom.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_02: And it's also biblical.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_02: So guard what you feed your mind and your spirit.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_02: What you take in and absorb will shape what you become.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_02: Don't ingest poison.
• 1:00:12
  SPEAKER_02: And that's mostly what cable news is.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_02: If you are a person of faith,
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_02: make sure you make some time this week to spend time in your Bible.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_02: If you are not, try reading the Bible this week for the first time.
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_02: Or for the first time in a long time.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know what kind of results you're getting with what you've been doing.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_02: It might be time to try something new.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_02: Now, before we leave,
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_02: I need to mention on the off chance that you don't know I am an author in addition
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_02: to being a podcaster.
• 1:00:48
  SPEAKER_02: I like to say that I write compelling stories that matter about courage,
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_02: faith, and the fight for what's right.
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_02: I've written a dozen books to date.
• 1:00:59
  SPEAKER_02: They include military thrillers,
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_02: police detective mysteries, or whodunits, war literature, a western.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_02: One of them is even a motivational self-help book.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I've been fortunate to have sold more than 70,000 copies to date.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_02: So if you're one of those who have purchased one of my books, I really appreciate it.
• 1:01:21
  SPEAKER_02: All of them can be found for sale on Amazon.com.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_02: And if you are one of those folks out there who are wondering if you might like one
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_02: of my books,
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_02: I will say that the military and political thrillers are very similar
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_02: to books written by authors Vince Flynn and Jack Carr.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_02: And then the crime ones,
• 1:01:41
  SPEAKER_02: if you enjoyed Robert B.
• 1:01:43
  SPEAKER_02: Parker's Spencer series or any of his books,
• 1:01:46
  SPEAKER_02: then I'm confident you will like the crime ones as well.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_02: Robert B. Parker was a huge influence on my writing.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_02: Now moving away from my books,
• 1:01:57
  SPEAKER_02: I should also say before we end the show that if you believe in what I'm doing
• 1:02:01
  SPEAKER_02: on this podcast,
• 1:02:03
  SPEAKER_02: if you believe it matters in this moment for our country,
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_02: you can partner with me on this mission to help keep the show independent and As
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_02: the Bible teaches,
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_02: God loves a generous giver,
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_02: but I don't want anyone giving out of compulsion or out of guilt.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_02: At any rate, thanks in advance for all of you who are supporting the show.
• 1:02:40
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time,
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_02: please stay hopeful,
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_02: stay humble, and keep working to be the light in your corner of the world.
• 1:02:49
  SPEAKER_02: You've been listening to The Stan R. Mitchell Show.