Doctor Jessica Peck talks about reimagining the church with Dr. Rich Griffith

>> Ed Vitagliano: Doctor Jessica Peck talked about reimagining the church with Dr. Rich Griffith. But what if we became the church that realized, hey, we need to be family to each other? Young people left the church because they had no ownership, very little accountability. It was like we were going to wait till young people became adults and then they became a leader. But we never did anything to prepare them to be a leader in advance.

American Family Association President Tim Wildman hosts Nurse Mama podcast

Find this interview and other episodes of Dr. Nurse Mama on the podcast page at afr.net welcome to today's issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon. M. President of the American Family Association. And welcome, folks. My voice you recognize is not Tim Wildmon. Tim is delayed. just, a few minutes here. Ed Vitagliano and Fred Jackson, news director for American Family News.

Ed: Wow. The year's slipping away. Fred: And part of the reason is news

Good morning to you.

>> Fred Jackson: Good morning to Ed.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Is Tim, always likes to do this. It is Monday, July 13th. As we cruise already to the midway point of, July, The. The year's slipping away. Wow. And part of the, part of the reason is so much going on, Fred.

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, just tons of, news.

Some grocery prices have gone up. Yes, they have. So mostly our groceries consist of carry out

And, first, let me just check how, how was your. How, was your weekend?

>> Fred Jackson: Weekend was wonderful. And did, a little bit of shop here and there. Grocery shopping. I don't know if you know, breaking news. Gross. Some grocery prices have gone up.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, they have.

>> Fred Jackson: It's. It's one of the scariest things now. We came out of one store. I won't say what store. It was 11 items and kind of basic items.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And it was over a hundred dollars.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, I looked, I know that feeling.

>> Fred Jackson: I looked in the cart and I said, suz, I said to my wife, Susie, count how many items we have in there, please. And it was over.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's brutal. Yeah, it's brutal. And we don't go. I, you know, where we live in the northeast Mississippi, area that we don't have any highbrow grocery stores. So, you know, we go to, we'll go to Aldi's and we, go to Walmart and we go, you know, here and there. And even these that are kind of discount, it costs a bundle. Yes, I'm here.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, you m. May start the show.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, you, we, we started it.

>> Tim Wildmon: Tell him what day it was.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I did.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I already did that.

>> Fred Jackson: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I said, as Tim likes to do, it is Monday, July 13th. So I was asking Fred about his weekend, and then we started bemoaning the price of groceries. You don't do the shopping is Ms. Allison do the shopping?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, pretty much. She tells me what to go get.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: I mean, I'm the errand boy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So to speak. But, what about you? You do the shopping at your.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No. Sometimes, Dianne and I will go together.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And if I can get her to go early enough on a Saturday, we'll run and do some grocery. But she, she likes to, you know, she's got to feed her birds. She likes to have her coffee. I don't want to wind up at Walmart at 10 or 11am Saturday.

>> Tim Wildmon: I understand. Just Allison and me. So at the house. So mostly our groceries consist of carry out. So. So it's the Olive Garden on Monday.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Cracker.

>> Tim Wildmon: Barrel Tuesday.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, so you guys have a set schedule?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, no, I'm just kidding. We, we. But, yeah, we do take. Take out a lot.

Tim Anderson: Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died Saturday night

All right, thanks for listening, everybody, to today's issues. Tim, Ed, and Fred. Fred. The lead story today is the, sad, news of the passing of a United States Senator. Right.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. I tell you, like most across America, we woke up to the very shocking news of the death of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Saturday night, 8:30 Saturday night is when, the emergency people got the call. Lindsey Graham, Senator Lindsey Graham had just returned from Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukraine. He'd been there many times. the Ukrainian people love Lindsey Graham. He's a strong supporter of that country. Just got back from his latest trip, went home, and according to reports, around 8:30, the, EMT people got a call, that there was somebody in distress, and it was Senator Lindsey Graham. And what we know this morning from the early diagnosis was, his aorta, which is that big artery that comes out of the top of the heart that delivers blood to the whole body. The interior layer of that had given way, basically, what do they call it? A dissection, I believe is the term that was used, the medical term that was used. And the belief is that he's had cardiac problems, arterial problems, for some time. But as some of the doctors have noted, you can go a long time with this problem without any symptoms.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: and so we have to believe that that was the case with Lindsey Graham. No reports of any health problems leading up until, we got the news on Saturday night. But I tell you what it is. It is a moment right now where, at least for the moment, across the political spectrum, Democrat and Republicans are all praising Lindsey Graham for the. Just the incredible politician Democrats saying we didn't always agree with him. But he was the type of guy that you couldn't help like that. You know, in a tense moment, he would crack a joke and try to bring the temperature down. That type of guy. Major supporter, as we say, of the Ukraine, major supporter of Israel, the Israeli people, Prime Minister Netanyahu. So we got a lot of reaction this morning. Let's start with this.

>> Tim Wildmon: he was 71.

>> Fred Jackson: 71 years, in fact. Just turned 71 in the last few days.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Have a montage here of, Democrats and Republicans, Senators Krish Coons, Democrat Cory Booker, and also Republican Byron Scott, all talking about what Lindsey Graham meant to them. Cut number seven.

>> Tim Wildmon: Look, as Tim just said, and I'll agree with him, no better friend, no tougher adversary.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He is somebody that I'm really going

>> Fred Jackson: to miss, in terms of my

>> Ed Vitagliano: ability to find battleground with him and fight over the things that mattered, but also still finding that common ground.

>> Fred Jackson: He loved America, and frankly, it's because he loved Americans.

>> Jeff Chamblee: And, he's going to be missed.

>> Fred Jackson: And of course, the President also, just praising. Praising, Senator, and he. President, Trump has been on the air a lot in the last 48 hours talking about Lindsey Graham and what. What he meant, what he meant to. To President Trump. And, this is an interview that President Trump did with Meet the Press on the weekend. This is what he had to say about his good friend Senator Lindsey Graham. Cut number three.

>> Ed Vitagliano: On the call, he told me, you know, I feel good, but I'm tired. He was fine. I knew him. I knew him well. He would let you know if he wasn't feeling well. He had days where he didn't feel so well, and he'd let you know about it. But he was a fantastic person.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. So, just a lot of praise. One of the things that Lindsey Graham remembered for was the hearing for, justice, Kavanaugh. Yeah, you remember Justice Kavanaugh. The Democrats came at him with all kinds of rumors, et cetera, of things in his past. And Lindsey Graham, some are calling it one of the most incredible speeches, defenses, that they've heard of any politician in America. Here's a little bit of that from 2018. Cut number two. Lindsey Graham.

>> Tim Wildmon: If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy

>> Ed Vitagliano: this guy's life, hold this seat open,

>> Tim Wildmon: and hope you win in 2020. You said that, not me. You've got nothing to apologize for. When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell

>> Ed Vitagliano: them that Lindsey said, oh, because I voted for them.

>> Tim Wildmon: I would never do to them what

>> Ed Vitagliano: you've done to this guy.

>> Tim Wildmon: This is the most, unethical sham

>> Ed Vitagliano: since I've been in politics.

>> Fred Jackson: Senator Lindsey Graham in 2000.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That was. That was a big moment in the Kavanaugh hearings. And one of the things, you know, Senator Lindsey Graham was sometimes criticized by conservatives for voting for the nominees from Democratic presidents.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, he was three decades or so. He was in the Senate. And the reason he would do that, though, he said, is it's. It's unethical to do it any other way. If, if a Democrat wins and is in the White House, unless a person is unqualified, I don't feel like I have the right to just simply hang up the process because I want. Wait for a more opportune political moment. He was criticized for doing that from people on the right, and that's why his comments with the Kavanaugh hearings, I think carried a lot of weight with members on both sides of the aisle, is because this is the way he did it. He said, listen, president gets to nominate, and unless you can prove the person's unqualified, I'm voting for it. Even if it's a Democrat. That carried a lot of moral weight, I think, with people.

What will happen now with South Carolina's vacant Senate seat following Lindsey Graham's death

>> Tim Wildmon: We're talking about the, death of Senator Lindsey Graham, which happened Saturday, night, Sunday morning, in Washington D.C. and, now, what will happen now with that Senate seat? I mean, I feel kind of bad about talking about that in light of a man just passing away, but that is a reality in the United States Senate. there's a process they go through, I guess, that,

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, Lindsey Graham had already won the Republican primary to run for another term this fall for senator. And of course, what has to happen now? the governor of South Carolina, McMaster M. Has to appoint somebody right away to fill in for that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Fred Jackson: And of course, there's all kinds of speculation out there as to what I, I think President Trump just put out something on Truth Social in the last hour or so suggesting Lindsey Graham's sister. he thinks that she would be good to fill in. I guess the way it works is that the president or the governor actually can appoint just about anyone for this interim period, and they.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They'll serve until January.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: When the. Then when the special, election. Well, it'll be the. The actual election, but following a Republican special primary, I guess, is what you'd call it.

>> Tim Wildmon: South Carolina has been a red state ever since,

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, for a Long time. Strom Thurmond was a Republican. You remember him, back in.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Back in the day, for about a century.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. He.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Strom Thurmond.

>> Tim Wildmon: Remember him?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Strom Thurmond. Yeah. Well, senators don't retire. they. I mean, can you remember last center that they stay on and on. Look at Mitch McConnell. Well, he's retiring.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: This is his last. But, they just. Dianne Feinstein, you know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: They keep going, Keep going and going and going. I don't know why that is. Exactly. You have a theory, right? You've told me before.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Without. Without saying that this is true about any particular individual. I would guess just from human nature. My theory is that it's. That it is hard to release that kind of power and that kind of fame. Senators, they serve for six years. They're more. They're higher profile.

>> Tim Wildmon: there's only 100 of them.

>> Ed Vitagliano: There's only 100 of them. And so you first of all think I'm doing good.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm doing the things I believe in. It's hard to give that up and trust somebody else to take over your spot. And then you just get. You get invited to. To places. It's, Senator, you know, you and. And. And your wife. We've got a special seat for you. I would guess that's hard to get, to give up.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, again, I say without saying that about any particular senator, because that's judgmental, but I'm being judgmental in a vague way.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right. so we'll see what happens with the gut. But the governor, the governor of South Carolina will appoint somebody to fill in for.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And then there is a schedule for the, for the, substitute primary.

>> Fred Jackson: And then we're talking very quick. The filing window for candidates seeking the nomination opens up, on the second Tuesday following the vacancy, which places the opening date July 21st. So we're talking next week.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: For that. And then the filing close on July 28, special primary on August 11, and then if there has to be a runoff after that, the, runoff will take place August 25th. So basically. Basically all of this has got to be wrapped up within about six, seven weeks.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And which. Which is interesting because since Lindsey Graham had won for the Republican side of this, he already had a Democratic opponent. now you've got to. You've got to raise money to do whatever advertising you want to try to get done in order to try to capture the Republican nomination on this.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, do you know who the oldest United States senator is serving Right now, is.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Is it Mitch McConnell?

>> Tim Wildmon: Mitch McConnell's a, baby compared to this fella. What he's. Mitch McConnell is 84, and he's retiring. There's one other.

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, I know. Grassley.

>> Tim Wildmon: Grassley, yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He's in his, 90s.

Charles Grassley heads the Judiciary Committee, I think

>> Tim Wildmon: Charles Grassley is 132 years old.

>> Speaker F: And.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You almost got me.

>> Tim Wildmon: It says he still goes to the gym. And, So. No, he is 92.

>> Ed Vitagliano: 92.

>> Fred Jackson: And he heads the Judiciary Committee, I think.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: This is why I say it's. It's got to be, hard to give up the. The power and the perks, because who in their 80s and 90s wants to keep going to work? Unless there's. I mean, I would hope I spend time with my grandkids, my great grandkids, and, you know, relax and go travel with my wife.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, well, evidently, bacon hadn't hurt him. You know, from Iowa, right?

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So 92 years old. Charles Grassley. 84. Mitch McConnell. Bernie Sanders. You know how old Uncle Bernie is?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'll say 82.

>> Tim Wildmon: Weekend at Bernie's. He's 84.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He's 84.

>> Tim Wildmon: 84. He stopped combing his hair in 1976, I think, did Bernie Sanders. I didn't mean that in a ugly way.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's funny.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: because his hair is always fly away.

>> Tim Wildmon: He looks European, does he not? Yeah, he looks,

>> Ed Vitagliano: Or a mad science European man.

>> Tim Wildmon: They don't comb their hair.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They just roll out of bed or use deodorant.

>> Tim Wildmon: Until now you're getting personal. I don't know about that. Anyway, there's, There's a senator.

>> Fred Jackson: Ah.

>> Tim Wildmon: From Idaho who's 81. James Rich. I'm not. I don't, For me, Dick Durbin's 80, and there's a fella by the name of August Angus King.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah. Maine. Is he from Maine?

>> Tim Wildmon: He is from Maine. How'd you know him?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I've heard of him.

>> Tim Wildmon: Angus, King. Sounds like a, an actor or something. How to be in a movie.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Angus.

>> Tim Wildmon: Robert De Niro and Angus. Angus King, huh?

Youngest sitting United States Senator John Ossoff from Georgia

All right, so, there you go. Youngest, youngest U.S. senator. Would you have to have any idea on this one?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Youngest.

>> Fred Jackson: The youngest.

>> Tim Wildmon: Youngest sitting United States Senator Jon Ossoff from Georgia.

>> Fred Jackson: Georgia.

>> Tim Wildmon: From Georgia. He's 39. And Katy Britt from Alabama.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Real young. Real young.

>> Tim Wildmon: She's 44. She looks 34.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. She's,

>> Ed Vitagliano: She's not as young as I thought.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes. Don't tell her that. that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I did not. Word that correctly, I was thinking she

>> Tim Wildmon: don't share that at home.

>> Fred Jackson: Good.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, I have made that mistake at home. Tim, thanks for bringing up those painful memories.

>> Tim Wildmon: What man ever. What husband ever said, you know, you look a little older than you really

>> Ed Vitagliano: are or survived, those pants make you look fat. Nobody. You just don't do that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Guys, J.D. vance, of course, he's no longer in the Senate. he's. He was, he was 41 when he was in there. Josh Holly, 45. Anyway, that's some of the age. Youngest and oldest United States, Senators.

Joseph Lieberman: We'll see what arrangements will be for Lindsey Graham's funeral

All right, well, we will see who the, Well, we'll see now what the arrangements will be for Lindsey Graham and his funeral. Yes, I imagine there will be some, something in Washington, D.C. yes. Maybe a, what do you call it? The lion state, at the United States Capitol.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All the flags that have masts.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Throughout, federal offices, probably across the country.

>> Tim Wildmon: Usually when a U.S. senator or Supreme Court justice or something like that, there is a protocol for a half mast.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: And then there'll certainly be something. Back in his home state of South Carolina, he, Lindsey Graham, I was reading about him. I met him one time personally. I don't know how you can meet somebody, maybe online, but I met him personally at the, Values Voters Summit.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Probably 10 years ago. I can't remember exactly what year it was. now he ran for, but. But he was there in the Greene room. I happen to be in the Greene room, too. I spoke, and he was a speaker. the Values Voter Summit that, we helped host with Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, indeed.

>> Tim Wildmon: It was a big deal back then. You had 2500 people. If best I remember, that may have been the year that Trump spoke, first to that group, back when he was running at 16. But, But Ninja Graham. Yeah. So I met him, there, you know, just a nice guy, a little shorter than I thought. You know, when you see people on tv, you go, well, he must be six, three.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know, and then you meet him. They're like, five, eight.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So he was a little bit shorter than I anticipated, but I don't know why thought that. But, anyway, he was a big friend of Jon McCain.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: And he had developed a reputation, had Lindsey Graham. This is, prior to President Trump being elected, because he had been in the Senate for what, two decades, something like that back then. Lindsey Graham, decades. But he was, you know, conservatives viewed Lindsey Graham as a rhino. Republican in name only. I don't know that that was fair, but, that's how conservatives viewed him. He was good on some things, bad on other things. From a conservative point of view, so he and Jon McCain were sort of in that same camp, you know, but he became a close ally after being publicly very critical of Donald Trump as a candidate. You remember this? Yeah, because Lindsey Graham was one of the. One of the ones who was running in that Republican primary. Remember when there was like.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, like 17 or something.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's where you learned the low energy. Jeb. Remember that one?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's what. That's the. That's really the emergence, of Donald Trump as the front runner. Well, he was already leading in some polls, but he became. He began to, distance himself from the, other candidates. Lindsey Graham being one of. Lindsey Graham dropped out. He never was really a national presidential, material, because he really couldn't win the Republican base because he. Because of what I mentioned, he was known as a rhino. Now, in his. Later in the last 10 years, he became good, friends with President Trump and helped President Trump, and President Trump has talked about that in many of his, efforts and endeavors. So they became close allies despite the fact that they had been. But that's the way it works in politics sometimes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Do you think. Let me just ask you this. Do you think that experience with Kavanaugh and the way the Democrats were playing. Playing dirty, do you think that maybe, moved, Lindsey Graham to the right a little bit in terms of. He always seemed to want to bend over backwards. He was not only good friends with Jon McCain, who a lot of conservatives thought was a rhino, and that probably is a fair assessment, but he was also friends with Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat. And do you think maybe that Lindsey, Graham was moved a little to the right when he saw how the Democrats played the, campaign?

>> Tim Wildmon: Maybe. So I viewed Lindsey Graham. He had a lot of common sense, and he was a pragmatist. Yeah, that word's an ugly word with a lot of people, but that's what. I think that's what he would be. He tried to reach across the aisle to form a consensus on issues, and a lot of people didn't like him because he reached out to the Democrats.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So, you know, that was for better or for worse, I guess you could say. That's how he developed a reputation as being a rhino. But as I said, as Fred said, big supporter of the Ukraine, in their war against Russia, and big supporter of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime Minister of Israel spoke very complimentary of.

>> Fred Jackson: We've got a lot, but I know we have to go to a break.

>> Tim Wildmon: Let's go to a break now and then when we get back, we will play Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

Another thing this reminds us of. His dad died instantly of a heart attack

Another thing this reminds us of. He was 71 and he died instantly of a heart attack. I don't know had he had prior? You said no symptoms or no reports. He had this history in his family.

>> Ed Vitagliano: He did, of heart disease.

>> Tim Wildmon: His dad died of heart, attack. But I'm just saying, you know, nobody knows what five minutes from now holds, right? So you better be ready to meet your maker.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yep.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And we encourage people to get right with God through Jesus Christ. You don't want to plan on tomorrow, you may not get it.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. I will be back momentarily with more of today's issues on the American Family Radio Network.

Preborn Network helps mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound

>> Ed Vitagliano: This year, America celebrates its 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries of courage, innovation, faith and freedom. But what will the next 250 years hold? The next generation could hold the next Billy Graham, the next Rosa Parks, the next Ronald Reagan, the next child whose life will impact generations. But first, they must be given the chance to live. Every day. PreBorn Network clinics help mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound. When a mother sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat, her baby is twice as likely to be given the gift of life. What story will God write through America's next generation? In honor of America's 250th anniversary, we're asking friends to consider a special gift of $250. Your gift can help provide nearly nine life saving ultrasounds. Dial 250 and say the keyword baby. That's 250 baby. Or donate securely at preborn.com afr that's preborn.com afr Every gift is tax deductible.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hello everyone, I'm Tim Wildmon, president of American Family association and American Family Radio. Hey, we've got some great tours lined up for March of 2027. We've got one tour we call the Footsteps of Paul tour that's mainly in Greece are only in Greece including Athens and Corinth and Thessalonica. And then we've got a separate tour to Italy where we're going to Venice and Florence and Pisa and Rome and all the sites of Italy. So, you can do both of these tours if you want to. We've arranged that as well. Also, this tour of Italy, it's not like the Olive Garden tour of Italy. You know, this is, we're really going there to Italy to see Italy and to eat Italian food too as well. So for information on any of the tours I've mentioned here, go to tours.afa.net tours.afa.net tours.aca.net be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times. Romans 12:12.

>> Ed Vitagliano: American Family Radio

>> Tim Wildmon: this is today's issues.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Email your comments to comments afr.net Past broadcasts of today's issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of Today's Issues.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants Israel less dependent on United States aid

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back everybody, to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for joining us, Tim, Ed and Fred. And again, you're listening to Today's Issues. We've been talking about the passing of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the most well known US Senators and leaders, ah, in the, in the United States Senate. So, Senator Graham was a strong supporter of Israel.

>> Fred Jackson: Very much so.

>> Tim Wildmon: And Fred, we have some comments here we'd like to play from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Is that right?

>> Fred Jackson: Yes. Prime Minister Netanyahu was interviewed extensively yesterday morning when this news broke and he related many stories, loved Senator Graham and appreciated his support for Israel. You may remember back several weeks ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu said publicly that it was his goal to make Israel less dependent on United States aid. and we can talk a little bit more about what's going on politically in this country in just a second. But, he talked to Senator Graham about this. Netanyahu related this story yesterday. He talked to Senator Graham about this about, you know, we don't want to take US money anymore. We want a different relationship. And Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday said Senator Lindsey Graham was really upset when Prime Minister Netanyahu suggested that. And here's a little bit about Prime Minister Netanyahu's recall of that conversation. Cut number eight.

>> Jeff Chamblee: The last conversation I had with him, I said, lindsey, we've come of age, we have a robust economy. We can take care of our own, financing our own weapons, for the defense of Israel and defense of, ah, our common interests with America. So I'm going to phase out the support, the military support for Israel over, a period of years and bring it down to zero. We can do it. And he went ballistic. He said, no way, you can't do that. Because he was so concerned with our security, which he believed was your security, that he actually fought the Prime Minister of Israel on keeping America's aid or actually increasing it. and that tells you what kind of a person this extraordinary, extraordinary friend was.

>> Fred Jackson: Very interesting comments. And Prime Minister Netanyahu went on to flesh this out. He's quite serious about this, that he feels a need to change the relationship with the United States, make Israel less dependent on money and less dependent on even military equipment. So I wanted to bring a little bit of that in and we can discuss this. Cut number nine.

>> Jeff Chamblee: So we invest jointly and take the fruits, equally. You move from aid to partnership. And I think that, represents what Israel is. And remember, the other thing is that we share with America unbelievable intelligence to save American life. General Keegan has said that, when he was working, in American intelligence, what Israel was giving the United States was worth. He said five CIAs. I don't I'm not trying to be mathematically exact, but Israel's contributions to America's defense are important. Our technology is incredible. And since yours is incredible too, and you're the great champion of liberty and free markets, I think the meshing of our two, great countries of talent would strengthen America's position, competitive position, both in the economic marketplace and in the military battlefield.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, so I found that really interesting. And the key there is what Prime Minister Netanyahu said. We want to move from aid recipient to a partnership. my speculation is, is that Prime Minister Netanyahu is reading the American political tea leaves. He believes there's a possibility sometime soon of a change in politics here in America. Probably it's already started and that a Democratic controlled Congress and a White House would be far less friendly with Israel. And he wants to prepare his country for that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, man, this is important, this discussion we're having here right now. You mentioned that idea in our story meeting that Benjamin Netanyahu is reading the American political tea leaves. I think he's exactly right. I think if you were, even if you just set the Bible aside, just in terms of foreign policy, the economic, the technological, the intelligence value of Israel as a partner, as an ally are extremely helpful to the United States. You add in the spiritual component, the biblical component. I am very, nervous about the direction of the Democratic Party towards. We can flesh this out either today or in shows to come in terms of turning towards socialism and towards a pro Islamic, pro Palestinian, anti Israel, position are frightening to me from m. A biblical perspective. Now I know not everyone who's listening, you know, agrees with that, that position, on Israel. But I am concerned that our country is at the very least turning away from Israel in terms of the, alliance we've had. And I think it's to our detriment.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. That's the name of this show, Today's Issues. Tim, Ed and Fred. Fred, what's your next story?

US and Iran each assert they control the Strait of Hormuz

>> Fred Jackson: Well, ah, President Trump is making news on another front this morning and we've just posted this on our website, American FamilyNewsAFN.net and the headline is US and Iran each assert they control the Strait of Hormuz. And this once again, is President Trump in an interview this morning and he's talking about, he's talking about the US Taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and that the United States would charge companies that run these tankers, would charge companies for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. So it's, cut number 13 deals more with this.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We're going to keep the, strait and we'll probably run it. We'll become the guardian of the strait, maybe we'll call it the guardian angel of the Strait. And we should be reimbursed for that. When we do that, we're going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy. They're on our side and we can't be expected to do that for nothing, unlike we had for many years. You know, if we, we guarded the strait for 50 years more and we never got paid for it. They made all the money in the United States was just, you know, not, they wouldn't. It's amazing. It's, we never made, we guarded it for nothing and now we're going to guard it. We're going to get paid for guarding it. A lot of money.

>> Fred Jackson: Now these comments this morning, I've ever heard of that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, did y' all know that we were guarding the Strait of Hormuz for 50 years?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, it's not technically that we had like an aircraft strike, group positioned over there, but it's pretty well known that our naval forces have guaranteed the safety of international travel for 50 years. That's true. In other words, countries knew that if they tried to, stop that trade, they would have to deal with the US Navy.

>> Tim Wildmon: I didn't know that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that's. Where have I been that's been part of,

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know where I've been. well, do you know this, Fred?

>> Fred Jackson: I didn't know to the extent that, Ed. Well, I think the philosophy was that America was there to protect the passageway. but President Trump is going a step further. What he said this morning.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, so I guess you guys are telling me that the memorandum of understanding is over.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Oh, it's over. You talk about the war with Iran. Yeah, this is over.

>> Fred Jackson: The backdrop to these comments from the president this morning come in the wake of several days now, of the Iranians shooting at,

>> Tim Wildmon: It's a hot war.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: We're in a hot war now.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes. So I think you're exactly right. The memorandum. Memorandum of understanding, forget about it. Because the shooting going back and forth.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think President Trump's angry about it. Yeah, I think he's angry because whether it's. Whether the leadership of Iran, whoever that is, was playing the president or whether they were being sincere in trying to settle this. And as we heard over the weekend and over the course of the last few days that there was a faction within Iran, the hardliners that are the ones attacking to try to undercut that memorandum of understanding, however it has played out, I think President Trump is angry. and then over the weekend, you know, I was reading stories about, Iranian factions that want Trump assassinated, and he said, if that happens, I have left orders a thousand missiles trained, on Iran. We will devastate it. If I. If that assassination attempt is successful. I think the president is angry, and, I think it's clear if anybody was confused about this, that this is going to go on until that regime is toast.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Where does this end?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not sure. I'm not sure it will end, short of the. A regime change, which would be a bloody affair that. That would be. That would result. An attempt to change the regime in Iran, even from forces inside the country, would result in civil war in that country.

>> Jeff Chamblee: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, well, we'll see what happens. But, I mean, would it be fair to call this a hot war now?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah, I think so.

>> Tim Wildmon: Are, we sending in. Are, we sending any boots on the ground?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't. I don't think that's possible.

>> Fred Jackson: On the weekend, didn't the president mentioned we're going to take over Carcassonne?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Carg Island. We. We could take car. But why don't Carg island, huh?

>> Tim Wildmon: why would we want Carg Island?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Because that is where all the oil that Iran pumps, that's where it's loaded onto ships. It is.

>> Tim Wildmon: Haven't we done this before, because any

>> Ed Vitagliano: troops that we land to take Carg island would be under constant barrage, I think.

>> Tim Wildmon: But they would be. I'm just playing devil's advocate here. Or not devil's advocate. I don't want to do that on Christian radio.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: I think I'm just asking questions.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You're asking questions?

>> Tim Wildmon: Just asking questions, yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You're not saying this.

>> Tim Wildmon: No, people are saying this. if you're going to be under barrage, then the Iranians are attacking their own facility.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know how big Kharg island is. It may be possible to attack. If we set up a base. There may be possible to attack a base or supply ships or what have you.

If you want to end Iran's civilization, you shut down their economy

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, listen.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Seems to me Americans would die.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it seems to me if you're going to go all in and you want to get this thing over with, you shut down their economy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: And the way you shut down their economy if you want this is short of just bombing them, as Trump said, ending their civilization.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: As you said a few months ago. That's not funny. I'm just saying the way you said it was funny.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: that, you stranglehold their economy. Way you do that is shut their oil off. You shut their oil. Now, they have been blockading, right? Right, they have been blockading. But, you just take that island and take their oil, manufacturing. Now, I don't know what they would do in response. They'd be in the Iranians. But I don't know. I don't know. It seems like to me this could be protracted, and go into a year or more.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think there are, factions within Iran who would like to bring this to an end. But the hardliners. What Iran said itself, hardline factions, do not want peace with America. In fact, over the weekend, they said that they were going to be attacking, that the strait was closed until, American interference in that part of the world ended. Well, that's not going to happen.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And so what's. Like you said, it's a hot war and it's going to be protracted.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're listening to Today's Issues on American Family Radio. Next, story. Fred.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

Over the next several days, triple digits expected in Montana and Wyoming

Well, let's talk about a hot topic.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Fred Jackson: Weather.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Wow. Just a few weeks ago, it was snowing in Montana.

>> Tim Wildmon: It was.

>> Fred Jackson: And over the next several days, triple digits in Montana and Wyoming.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah. Folks, this in your. This isn't normal summertime right here. We're talking about a. What they call a heat dome, which is going to Encompass about half, or at least a third of the country. And we're not talking the usual suspects. Texas, Mississippi, Georgia. We're talking about North Dakota, 100 degrees. Montana, Wyoming, places you. So they're going to be triple digits.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, the basic. And then add the index to that. There are some places like Missoula, I think. Montana 115. The index.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: I mean those folks aren't ready for this.

>> Tim Wildmon: listen, I want to be sympathetic but I also want to tell them, don't whine. We get 115. That's what they tell us in winter, you know when we get.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's true.

>> Tim Wildmon: They laugh at us.

>> Ed Vitagliano: When we shiver, we shiver.

>> Tim Wildmon: It gets to be 39, you know and we hadn't seen the sun in two days and we're complaining. They quit your whining. It's nine below here.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. You don't know what, you don't know what it's like.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's right. It's nine below here. And we're still going out about our business.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So you want a little. This is time for a little payback.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't mean it for to sound like that but Does it sound like that? I just, I'm just saying that I'm just saying to the people upper Midwest weltering, welcome to our world.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They're talking, they're talking about the

>> Tim Wildmon: it's not usually that hot.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Chicago, Detroit.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: 111 in Nashville.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, that's, that's what the heat Indus indices index there. It's expected.

>> Tim Wildmon: Wait, Nashville is going to get hit with 111.

>> Ed Vitagliano: This is what I'm looking at right now.

>> Tim Wildmon: What does that mean?

>> Ed Vitagliano: 104 in Chicago, 109 in Detroit. 111. Now that's the feels like. But that's, that's hot.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And that's just a little north of us.

>> Tim Wildmon: In all seriousness that you are getting danger, you are getting into the danger zone right there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think it's the fact that these parts, this, these parts of the country are not used to this. And the reverse is true down here when we're not used to the freezing temperatures. our, our culture down here is not built for it. The homes aren't built for it. And the same thing when you flip that. They're not, they're not used to that up in these other more northern parts of the country.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I'm looking at our 10 day forecast is typical summertime.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Low 90s during the day. So. But you're right Fred, it's a national story. I mean, when it gets that hot and covers that part that much of the country in places that aren't used to it.

>> Fred Jackson: No ac. A lot of folks don't depend on AC like we do here.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

I wonder what a bacon shortage means for livestock

all right. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. I wonder what that means for livestock.

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, that's tough. Unless they can get shade. You got a lot of these cattle herds that are just out there in the plains.

>> Tim Wildmon: Because that's big business in the part of the country we're talking about or Midwest.

>> Fred Jackson: Absolutely. Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. I mean, cattle and horses, and other kinds of, I mean they're, you know, they're susceptible too.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Just like people.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Cattle especially, they seek shade. You've seen, huh? Huh?

>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It'll all be huddled around one or two trees.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Out in the, in the plains, not

>> Tim Wildmon: knowing that their body heat is making it worse.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, and for people, people. I'm m not mentioning anyone in particular here in this studio, but for people who are always concerned about their supply of bacon.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. You, you don't want the, the, the pig, the pig. Her, the pigs to start dropping.

>> Tim Wildmon: Huh?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not sure who amongst us is always mentioning the supply of bacon, but.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, this just, that is. No, I'm not consumed with that. Just one, one, one concern I have.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Is when I don't want a bacon shortage.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Who wants a bacon shortage?

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, I don't know anybody.

>> Tim Wildmon: Imagine attitude, attitudes of people across the country. If we have a bacon shortage, I

>> Ed Vitagliano: think those folks are not going to be satisfied with, tofu substitutes.

>> Tim Wildmon: So no, I don't even like tofu if it's not substituted.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right. Anyway, all joking aside, this is, this can be a dangerous, can be dangerous dangerous. So.

Hundreds of Missouri kids were rescued during flooding at a summer camp last week

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. What other story do you have left there in your stack of stuff there?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, I got lots of stuff, and not a lot of time. But there's another weather related story that we need to talk about. It has a happy ending. There was a camp. You remember the tragic story two years ago out of Texas, Camp Mystic? A, sudden surge of flood of water hit a camp and many, many people died in that. Well, there's another camp and this camp, is the Bearcat Getaway Campground, near the Black river, about 85 miles south of St. Louis. There were 200 campers there. this was as of like Thursday Friday and during Friday. And the folks there got word that there was heavy rains coming up to like 12 inches. So a real surge of rain.

>> Tim Wildmon: 12 inches.

>> Fred Jackson: 12 inches over a very short period of time.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's like hurricane type stuff.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes, we're talking that, but praise the Lord. the folks there that run the camp, they alerted the emergency crews and they got the kids to higher ground. But the National Guard, the Governor of Missouri, Mike Keogh called in the National Guard and they sent helicopters in to airlift these kids. The Missouri governor talked about this in an interview this morning. Cut number 12.

>> Speaker F: It was historic in our mind. Three counties south of St. Louis, 12 inches of rain in a period of just hours. We rescued over 350 people again. Our Missouri National Guard, our citizen soldiers, those heroes, working alongside Missouri Task Force 1, which is a nationally recognized task force of first responders from all across the state, working with local law enforcement, sheriff first responders, even volunteer fire departments, county commissioners, all coming together, to rescue these folks. Over 350 rescues, but to your point, over 200 of them were from a kid's camp along the river there. we got them to high ground and then sent Black Hawk helicopters in using those assets. The state has to get those kids and those adult chaperones to safe ground and reunited with their families. unfortunately we did have a loss of life. But I would tell you, without the efforts of these heroes and these multi agency jurisdictions that came together and really made a difference in the lives very, very quickly, we could have been much worse. So I'm really appreciative to our first responders and our Missouri National Guard.

>> Tim Wildmon: So they were trapped?

>> Fred Jackson: They were.

>> Tim Wildmon: Sounds like, yes. What was the name of this campground?

>> Fred Jackson: It is, Missouri Bearcat Getaway Campground, near the Black river about 85 miles south of St. Louis.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, he said the governor here, kehoe, he said 12 inches in a matter of hours. Yeah, that's an incredible job done by the, first responders getting these, a lot of these young people. Was there anybody he did mention loss of life? Was that anybody at the camp or was that just in the surrounding area?

>> Fred Jackson: I heard one report as he said the camp was about 200 and then there are another 150 that were rescued. But I did hear one report this morning of a person who is still missing. so we need to, update that as the day goes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: By the way, there is a good story on this, @afn.net American Family News has a story on this, folks. Check it out.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I think people's, sensitivities to this are heightened because of the tragedy of what happened at, in Texas two years ago. What was the name of that camp?

>> Fred Jackson: Camp Mystic.

>> Tim Wildmon: Camp Mystic. Where? Wasn't there, like 50 kids that died or something like that? Or was there more than that?

>> Fred Jackson: Not sure.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I thought it was 25.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, it was, 20 something.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, 20 something, but. Yeah, but we all know what happened there. Same type situation where just massive flooding, and within hours the campsite was being overTaken.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It was 28 people, 25 campers and two counselors died. That was. That was last year. That was, in 2025.

>> Fred Jackson: Two years ago or. No, last year. Last year, you're right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, it was last year. Just seemed like it was a couple of years ago.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Says, July 4th, 2025.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And, but having that in mind, the governor here and others at the camp said, hey, let's not. Let's not wait.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know what? 12 inches of rain. Just. If you had 12 inches of rain in a month, that's a lot.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But a matter of hours. And it has a multiplying force because it swells rivers. All that water flows downstream into, rivers over the banks.

>> Tim Wildmon: You can see how it would trap people.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Especially if the tributaries are overrun and they're running around a piece of land that maybe is not, you know, that, as I say, traps somebody on what

>> Ed Vitagliano: it goes over roads.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And then wash them out. People try to drive over it. They get the swept. It's a terrible thing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Kudos to the governor, there of Missouri and all the first responders in the National Guard. They were able to prevent a tragedy with their, hard work and efforts. And, use those Black.

Black Hawk helicopters, Blackhawk helicopters to rescue a lot of people, including kids

Black Hawk helicopters, Blackhawk helicopters to rescue a lot of people, including those kids at the camp there. We'll be back momentarily with more of today's issue. Stay with us.

>> Fred Jackson: This.

>> Tim Wildmon: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Tim and Ed talk with Fred on top news headlines of the day including a discussion on the passing of Sen. Lindsey Graham.