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Today's Issues offers a Christian response to the issues of the day

>>  : Welcome to Today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today's Monday, April 20, 2026. Thank you for joining us. And tax, day has passed people, like, five days ago. So if you've been on vacation, forgot to do it.

>> Fred Jackson: However.

>> Tim Wildmon: However. Fred Jackson. Ed Battagliano. Good morning, fellas. Hey, however, What? For everybody.

>> Fred Jackson: However, for the state of Mississippi.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: You have until June 8th.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Why?

>> Tim Wildmon: For state taxes, right?

>> Fred Jackson: No, for federal tax.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Why? I just found we get an exemption.

>> Fred Jackson: Ice storm.

>> Ed Vitagliano: The ice storm.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, we got an ice storm exemption.

>> Fred Jackson: The irs, my tax preparer, told me about this last week. I did dumb my taxes back in February. but there was another form I had to fill out, and I went to the office to fill that out, and she said, you got lots of time. I said, what are you talking June 8th. Apparently, very quietly, the IRS put out this note for Mississippians.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And because of the ice storm, they allowed an extension to June 8th.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, well, listen, I didn't know that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I didn't either.

>> Tim Wildmon: Of course, I don't even do our taxes, Allison. My wife does. She didn't pay them. I'd never know it. but, but I m mean, you

>> Ed Vitagliano: say this about a lot of things I do. There's a lot of things you don't do.

>> Fred Jackson: You got a point, Ed?

>> Tim Wildmon: I have nothing to say. I am good at going to Olive Garden for takeout.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, but you better get that order right.

>> Tim Wildmon: She says, you better double check the bag. So it is good to know, though, that the IRS looked at our state, Mississippi, and said it's kind of hard. It said, okay, it's because of the ice storm. We're going to give these folks some more time, not because they're slow. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, that would have been helpful and hurtful at the same time. But they just said we just.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, if that's what the IRS did, right. It wouldn't just be Mississippi. They'd Probably Arkansas. Louisiana.

>> Tim Wildmon: I know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And with in with it some of our southern brethren. Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Some of the other people in the country think we're a little slow anyway.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. But it's not true. You know, Mississippi, with their reading program that Mississippi. The Mississippi miracle. You heard about this?

>> Tim Wildmon: No, it tell us about to do with fried miracle.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Nothing to do with fried catfish and hush puppies. But Mississippi over. I don't this off the top of my head here. Within like a two year year period moved the ability of children to read at a grade level. They're like second in the country.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. Being praised and being copied in other states.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, praise the Lord and pass ammunition.

>> Fred Jackson: Absolutely.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Pass. Pass. Lush puppies

>> Tim Wildmon: and the sloth and the slo.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We heard that one.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so I didn't even know that, Fred. Wow.

Mississippi fourth graders ranked first nationally in reading and math

Okay, so there was a massive, ice, storm that affected the top third of the state and some other states too back in. Was it January? February. It was. There's still trees piled up on the side of the road all over the place because of all the trees that came down during that ice storm.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So anyway, can I just just on this Mississippi miracle thing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, continue.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Here's a Fox News headline. Okay. This is from February of this year. Mississippi School miracle shames failing Chicago Leaders on education. Okay. It says that Mississippi's transformation, often called the Mississippi miracle, is not an accident. In 2013, the state ranked 40 Nint in 4th grade reading on the National Assessment of educational progress, or NAEP. By 2024, fourth graders ranked ninth in the nation in reading and 16th in math. Adjusted for demographics and poverty, Mississippi fourth graders ranked first nationally in reading and math. According to the Urban Institute, the state achieved its highest ever rates of students scoring proficient or advanced across tested grades and subjects. fourth grade reading proficiency reach levels where Mississippi students outperformed the national average for the first time.

>> Tim Wildmon: Do. What do we attribute this?

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's it, In 2013, the literacy based Promotion act mandated evidence based phonics instruction, early identification of struggling readers, literacy coaches and retention in third grade for students not reading at grade level.

>> Tim Wildmon: Phonics.

>> Fred Jackson: Phonics.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Phonics. Not ebonics. Phonics.

>> Tim Wildmon: Phonics. This goes. That's one of those things, that's common sense. But it's you know, the educational establishment in our country, many of them wanted to move away from phonics into what, sight reading and things of that nature.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's like Common core reading. It's bizarre Anyway.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, that's good to know.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Mississippi Miracle.

>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.

You had a battery problem with your car and it's going to be fixed

>> Ed Vitagliano: So, all right.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're listening to it, by the way. you okay with your car and everything?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it's, it's at the, it's, it's at, it's going to be fixed.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. You weren't at Devo this morning and I understand why you had car issues. Yeah, I had a, you weren't stuck on the side of the road. You just had a battery that wouldn't.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, and, and it's work at home. We just talk. I was just bemoaning. I know it's unusual for me to complain, but, you know, the newer cars now, it's a 2020 that I have VW. it's a battery. It's clearly a battery. And you used to be able to just get a battery and put it in. You know? I have done that many, many times. Yes, but these, I guess the more modern vehicles with all the electronics and computer system, you can't just do that because the battery will run down quickly. You've got to have it, put on a computer and everything hooked up that way. And it's, it's expensive and I'm not a happy camper.

>> Tim Wildmon: You think they designed it that way? I, I, they did design it that way. It was supposed to make life easier.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It just make life easier. And it's just like anything else. You get anything that's smart, quote unquote, and run by computer, it is going to cost. It's going to be very helpful while it's working. Yeah, but to replace it, well, it's like a, like an electric vehicle. You know, there's all sorts of benefits to it, but when you have to replace that big old battery, it's expensive.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And so.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, but you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm going to gripe for a while.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, and, and then I'll just. You know what? I'm just going to pay him. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to.

>> Tim Wildmon: What else? What am I going to do?

>> Ed Vitagliano: My nanny used to say, ah, what are you going to do?

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'll tell you what you can do. You can do nothing and you're going to like it. So my nanny used to.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I think that's in proverbs, maybe. Yeah. What are you going to do? You're going to do nothing. You're going to, like

>> Ed Vitagliano: Nana used to say that all the proverbs, nothing.

Man kills eight children in Shreveport, Louisiana; police shoot him

>> Tim Wildmon: You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to afr. Fred, what is our first news story?

>> Fred Jackson: Well, if you've been listening to our newscast this morning, sad story out of Louisiana. Most people probably have heard now, I could not believe this when I first heard it. A man killed 18 or, pardon me, eight children. Seven of those children were his own in Shreveport. Right, in Shreveport, Louisiana. The kids raged and aged from 3 to 11 years of age. apparently he first attacked his wife and, and what media calls his girlfriend. And then he went to a house where these kids were, and this happened late Saturday night, early Sunday morning, and he just opened fire on these kids. Most of them were in bed asleep. And it's just absolutely horrible. Somebody called the police. This man hijacked a car and police caught up with him and they were forced to shoot and kill him. So it's just a, ah, horrible scene all the way around. four of the kids were from his wife, three of the kids were from this other woman. And then there was a cousin, a child who was a cousin, to make up the eight who died. So it's just horrible. Mike Johnson, House speaker who represents Shreveport, just, everybody's in shock about this. What possibly could have gone wrong? We don't know a lot about this. 31 year old dad has been identified as Shamar Elkins. we know he was in the National Guard for a while, never deployed. but, maybe we'll find out from family members. But the candlelight vigils last night around Shreveport and, and people are just trying to figure out in their minds how

>> Ed Vitagliano: could this happen, you know, this guy Elkins, he, I'm m looking at a story on our own website, afn.net he'd been arrested on a 2019 firearms case. Our article says, our article says, and so, and I had read elsewhere, this morning that that means he probably was not allowed to legally own a weapon. But I, you know, we're all kind of familiar, I think, with domestic violence cases that spiral out of control. This, individual did not have, there had been no previous calls about domestic violence. But I don't know that I've ever seen a case where a man loses it to the extent where he just starts killing his own children. In other words, I, I've read stories where husband or the wife get mad at each other and violence is the result, sometimes even murder. But to kill so many children. This is just like you said, this is just stunning. I've, you know, read some Articles about the people on the street who said, this is not a violent neighborhood. This is. Nothing like this has ever happened. This is just, just a tragedy.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: so eight children are dead.

>> Fred Jackson: Eight children. Seven of them are his own kids.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. sometimes people are demonically possessed. Now I guess in the secular world they would call that mentally, what do you call mentally disturbed or disturbed or something like that. And they could be both. True. A lot of mentally, ill people are in fact possessed by the devil. That can happen. That's happened. I mean, Jesus cast out demons, right? I know that people who aren't Christian don't necessarily believe in that kind of stuff. They think it's hocus pocus. But if you read the Bible, there are occasions when people, are possessed by the devil and they do evil things. I mean, e bil with all caps. And this is exactly what happened here. And like you, Ed, I have never heard of anything like this before now. Well, I said you do read from time to time about, you know, some. Not this many children, not this many young children. You do. We have read stories and there have been stories about, you know, a man killing, ah, his wife and his two children or something like that, or a murder, suicide, things of that nature. But I'm just saying, this many children, your own kids, and you shoot them all, Kill them all. that many. I've never heard of that before.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and the story on American Family News on AFN net, it says that some of the children were clearly trying to escape. so this guy hunted these kids down. Yeah, this, this just wasn't a one off. He got mad and just started shooting randomly. He hunted these kids down and he's, he's dead now. The cops shot him and he is, you know, where that's, you know. Yeah, he's, you know, his life went from bad to worse because of this, heinous crime.

A ceasefire between the United States and Iran was announced last Friday

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, next story. Fred.

>> Fred Jackson: Well, last Friday, the world was celebrating, including the stock market, because of a big announcement of a ceasefire. A ceasefire went into effect between the United States and Iran, based on the fact that, there was an agreement worked out between Lebanon and Israel to stop the fighting, with, Hezbollah there. So stock market went crazy. the price of oil went down to about 83, 84 bucks a barrel. So, ceasefire was supposed to last until this Wednesday, two days from now. M and then the weekend came and we had incidents around the blockade, the United States blockade, we've talked about that. Last week, in the, Gulf of Oman has been stopping ships from going in and getting a load of oil from Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and stopping ships that were coming out from those Iranian ports. Well, the United States destroyer, part of this blockade, found a ship coming out, Iranian flag cargo ship known as the Tuska. And what happened was it was ordered to stop, by the United States, and it did not. And this is what this Tuska, the ship's captain, was told by a communication from the United States ship. You're going to listen to a bit of this audio. Cut number one.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Motor vessel Tosca, Motor vessel Tosca, vacate your engine room. Vacate your engine room. We're prepared to subject you to disabling fire. Now we're getting.

>> Tim Wildmon: And the, what are we hearing there?

>> Fred Jackson: That's the United States Navy vessel shooting at the engine room of this Iranian ship. And it hit its mark. And then our Marines boarded that ship and took it over.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, there's so much here and there's so much confusion. I think, this is. You talk about an on, again, off again war. This is like changes by the hour. Do you guys understand what's going on here?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Absolutely.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, well, as Ricky Ricardo would say, Explain it to me, Ed. I don't, know what, what in the world is going on here?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I do not understand what is going out with sarcasm. Did I mention that I have to pay for a battery?

>> Tim Wildmon: You did. You vented on that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I vented?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, listen, I, I, this is very confusing. This is not just simply confusing the way ordinary battles seem to go where you're not sure where this unit is and, and how they're doing, or you have a fluctuating front, line because the battle es and flows. You have different players, I think, involved in this. So you have, in Pakistan, you have people who are supposedly representing Iran in negotiations, even agreeing to things, ceasefires, what have you. Then you have somebody else in Iran who seems to be running the show. I guess it's the Islamic Revolutionary, Guard Core, the military, or at least the military arm of the, irgc, who are basically in charge. And so you may have ceasefires with whatever group is represented in Pakistan, and then you have people in, Iran who are, who don't care what those negotiators are doing.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay?

>> Ed Vitagliano: And, and let me just say this last thing. this. You kick a hornet's nest, it may take a while to kill the hornets, or you wind up creating a problem that grows bigger and bigger without any real resolution. In sight. So, no, I have no idea what's going on. Neither does anyone else. That's why you have these spikes with the stock market and oil prices. Nobody knows what's happening over there.

>> Fred Jackson: Now, this incident of the United States taking over this ship that was trying to flee, followed an encounter between Iranian. Yes, the Iranian navy still has some ships, gunships, small gunships. They fired at an Indian flagship known as the Jag Arnev, which was trying to leave the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Have a listen to a little bit of that. Cut to SEPA Navy.

>> Tim Wildmon: SEPA Navy, this is Motoringa San Martin. You gave me clearance to go.

>> Fred Jackson: My name second on your list.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You gave me clearance to go.

>> Tim Wildmon: You are firing. Now let me turn back. Nothing more to them.

>> Fred Jackson: And there is no any permission for you. You from home is great.

>> Tim Wildmon: You are ordered to go back to your departure immediately. You are ordered to go back to your departure immediately.

>> Fred Jackson: now, there was actually two ships that were trying to leave through the Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf that were attacked by these gunships. This particular ship turned around and went back. So that has, you know, broken this ceasefire. Now, we do have to say, apparently tomorrow in Islamabad, Pakistan, Vice President Vance, along with Kushner and Steve Wyckoff. Wyckoff are supposed to be in Islamabad tomorrow. They say to resume talks once again. So that's where we are at the moment.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and that. That, I had not heard that audio before, but I had read about this encounter. The captain of this Indian vessel had been given clearance to leave. Yes, he said I was second on the list. I've already had approval. Why are you firing? That's when. When I say there are mult. Seem to be multiple factions in. In either in control or involved in the game. That's what I mean, because we, did knock out most of their navy. But these fast boats that they've got, they had been hidden away, I guess, and could not, you know, reach them. They seem to be operating autonomously. And they just decide, you know what? I don't care who gave this guy permission to leave, we're going to fire on them.

The United States has implemented a blockade for any merchant ships going to Iran

>> Fred Jackson: All right.

>> Tim Wildmon: I did this last week, and I know sometimes, questions I ask are elementary, but there's so much confusion here. I just want to, make clear if we can at least what. What's. I know what's going on. So the United States has implemented a blockade, a naval blockade for any merchant ships going to and from Iran.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so we're Trying to. We're trying to choke off their economy.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so we're. We're trying. We're trying to use our navy to stop them from doing international business. Is that right?

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's correct.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so in response to this, Iran, has their. Their have again, shut. They're saying, we're going to shut down the straight of whoever they are, like you said. Ed, who is every control for today over there in Iran? We're going to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and keep any ships. We don't care if they're an Indian flag. This was, by that, I mean an Indian, the country of India, Their. Their ship. That's what you heard right there from trying to go through the strait to go on to India or wherever they want to go. They're stopping all vessels, right?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: So they're taking off the world, basically, with their actions here. And you've got. If you've ever. If you've seen this graphic of all these ships, I mean, these are people on these ships just sitting out there, floating around, waiting for some, chance to go through. And I don't know how many ships normally go through there in a day. Any idea? Many, many dozens at least, maybe. and they're just sitting there. And, you know, these are people who have to have food and, and have to, you know, on these ships. But I think Iran is angering the world with this. I thought they were going to let everybody through except American and Israeli, vessels.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think the statement that was released after this attack on this Indian vessel was if we. If nobody is allowed at our ports, nobody's going through at all.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Under normal conditions, approximately 138 Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, wow.

>> Ed Vitagliano: 138.

>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So. And it's been. It's been. It's been choked off. Yeah, I mean, they're just sitting there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: 30,000 vessels transit the waterway annually. This volume accounts for more than 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, we'll be back momentarily with more of today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. Stay with us.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. one ultrasound is just $28 to donate. Dial £250 and say the keyword baby or visit preborn.com afr the afr app

>>  : is a powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. It won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device, or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app.

>> Tim Wildmon: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12

>>  : this is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.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.

Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network is about Iran

>> Tim Wildmon: Welcome back everybody to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed and Fred here, thanks for listening to afr. We appreciate it very much. You're listening to American Family radio. Today's Monday, April 20th. We've been talking about the situation in Iran, because, you know, it's. Everything changes, it seems like every day. And get to that later.

President Trump can't carry out military operations without congressional approval

I wanted to, so fellows, President Trump is about to run into a six. He can authorize, he can use, what word am I trying? He can command the military for 60 days to carry out operations without congressional approval. he reached the 60 day limit. Then he will have to get authorization from Congress to continue. Have I got that right?

>> Fred Jackson: I think he can extend it to 90 days.

>> Tim Wildmon: 90 days, not 60 days.

>> Fred Jackson: He can extend halfway through that or more. Right? Yeah, absolutely.

>> Tim Wildmon: So after that you'll have to get congressional approval and who knows whether that'll even happen or not.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm looking up now the War Powers Resolution. This is from 1973. The reason Congress passed this is because Richard Nixon, authorized bombing of Laos and Cambodia because the North Vietnamese were going through those countries to supply and, to supply combatants. And the US and so US Activities in Vietnam were not being as effective because ammunition, etc. I'm taking a little detour here to explain this. Ammunition supplies, so on and so forth, were getting to North Vietnamese soldiers by going through other nations. So Nixon said, fine, I'm going to bomb those countries in the Ho Chi Minh Trail and all those kind of things. Well, Congress had not authorized. Had not declared war on Cambodia and Laos. And so they said, that's illegal. You know, you don't have the authority to do that. Nixon said, I've got to do it in order to prosecute the war that has been declared. So Congress passed this War Powers Resolution, okay, so that is to limit the US President's ability to get involved in military conflicts, without congressional approval. So, as we've said, you can, you can. A president can do this for 60 days without congressional authorization. You can extend it to 90 for the purpose of withdrawal.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. So if you have forces, located in a country and are fighting, you get an additional 30 days to withdraw. So the President has roughly, whatever it's going to be to get the 60 days and then an additional 30 days.

>> Tim Wildmon: How far are we at from the 60 days? Anybody know? It can't be far. Eight days. Eight days. Brent Creeley told me. So he's got to wrap this up pretty quick or he's going to have to get congressional approval.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think that's going to be a. That's going to be a hard sell.

Brian Persinger: I don't think Iran will collapse anytime soon

All right, Because. And here's why. Because it's becoming increasingly clear that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Core, that is. That is full on, Shia, fanatics. They believe in this apocalyptic vision that the mullahs, have in Ayatollah Khomeini and all these others have believed in. They are completely dedicated. There is a military, There is an Iranian. Iranian military, but they are not the irgc. Okay, so, you're not going to have a civil war. I don't think. I think the president expected the regime to collapse quickly and for regime change to occur. And I don't think that's going to happen. I don't think the regime is going to collapse anytime soon. And it's going to become apparent that you're going to have to do one of two things. You're going to have to attack the, the bridges and, you know, the power. Power grids. And you're going to have to knock Iran, you know, back 50 years to try to cause enough trouble that the Irish, and those are. Those could be considered war crimes because you're affecting the civilian population. So you either do that, that seems next, or you're going to have to invade. And I'm talking about boots on the ground. And there is no way, I don't think you would even get Republicans to support the President on that. So his next card to play, and I think he's only got one. I don't think the IRGC is going to make any deal with the US at all. Whoever's in Islamabad, the negotiators, they are either, negotiating in good faith, but are not in control of the country, or they're just stalling so that whoever is in control of the country can build up their forces. So you're going to have to either so destroy the country, that, that the people get desperate enough to try to overthrow the government, or you're going to have to invade. And that's not. I just don't think that's going to happen. I don't think you're going to get congressional approval.

>> Fred Jackson: It's interesting you guys bring up war crimes because a variety of Democrats were on programs on the weekend and they say they are, on the verge, they believe that of the President being guilty of war crimes. Want to play your little montage of them? And then a Fox legal analyst, Greg Jarrett, responds to that cut number four.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You have the president, as you pointed out, threatening to destroy all power plants. I didn't think we would ever get to that point. When he posts things where he's going

>> Tim Wildmon: to commit genocide and he's going to,

>> Ed Vitagliano: you know, bomb bridges and civilian infrastructure, that's a violation of international law. that's a war crime. Would you agree it would be a

>>  : violation of international law to blow up

>> Ed Vitagliano: a bunch of civilian infrastructure in Iran because Iran did not agree to open

>> Tim Wildmon: the Strait of Hormuz?

>> Tim Wildmon: No, that's silly. It's not a war crime to attack power plants, fuel sources, bridges, other key infrastructure. Anything. Brian. That directly or even indirectly supports an enemy's military capabilities are permissible targets under the common rules of law, even if they serve a civilian function. They're called dual purpose assets. They are not protected by any international treaties. Trump critics who claim otherwise. And you just played the sound bites. They don't know what they're talking about. They don't understand history or law. For example, During World War II, the Allies bombed German fuel plants and power structures that crippled the Nazi war machine.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, dear. let me just add, as an aside, During World War II, we carpet bombed, okay? Carpet bombing. There's no discriminatory crimination there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: We had no smart weapons. No, you just had. You had, just had bombers drop bombs. Now you had sites where you looked at your target.

>> Tim Wildmon: You were killing Germans.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: you know, you were killing Germans. Not all of whom were members of the Nazi party or wanted to be. So I think what I object to. Mostly. And I don't know who. Which Democrat was quoted as saying that. Genocide. No, you talk about that's. They just. These Democrats just throw a lot of. Not all of them, but they just throw these words out. Genocide. It's not genocide. We're at war with the Iranian regime because they're building a nuclear weapon. We're not trying to wipe out, all Persians.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know that. That would be genocide. Now, Trump did say

>> Ed Vitagliano: he wipe out

>> Tim Wildmon: a civilization, he just gives the end. He gives his opponents a lot of ammo. But when he opens his mouth, a lot of times, we all know that. But, why he said wipe out a. Tonight, a civilization will die. It just. He should have never said anything like that. But nevertheless, there's no genocide going on here. I, think the Iranians know, too. He's got eight days left, and then he'll have to pull out. Seems, to me, yeah, they understand

>> Ed Vitagliano: the legal ramifications of what we're doing in our country. They know that as well as we do. as well as Americans do.

>> Fred Jackson: And the Iranians also understand we have an election this year.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Fred Jackson: And the pressure is building. I mean, people, gas prices, all of these things. You've got airlines now announcing they're going to stop service into JFK and other airports because they can't afford the fuel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

I don't think we're going to see regime change in Iran anytime soon

You got two things going on here that I think we had all hope would happen that are not going to happen. It doesn't appear. It doesn't appear at this point. one is regime change. That's maybe not the first thing that should. Okay, the regime change may happen, but it's not going to happen tomorrow. Or it's not going to happen as a result of United States pressure. At least that's what I think right now. Based on what the situation going on. Second thing is, that enriched uranium, which. I don't know. What does that look like? Is that. Is that. Does it like. Is it powder? What is. What is that?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't. I don't know.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. You've never, You've never had it at your house?

>> Ed Vitagliano: No. You want me to look that up?

>> Tim Wildmon: I mean, we got a lot of stuff in our. In our, you know, in our,

>> Ed Vitagliano: I will look that up for you. What does.

>> Tim Wildmon: In our storage room, in our carport. I don't know if we got any Urid. We got Christmas decorations, but I've never seen any Ridge.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I've never been asked that question, by the way, what does enriched uranium.

>> Tim Wildmon: Does it look like.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Does it look like enriched uranium is not visually distinct from natural uranium. There you go.

>> Tim Wildmon: So you don't know whether it's enriched or not. You could be sold a bill of goods.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's, that's right.

>> Tim Wildmon: If you were somebody selling your uranium,

>> Ed Vitagliano: it said this, says in the intermediate stage of processing, uranium is converted into. Blah, blah, blah, blah, into uranium hexafluoride. Here you go. UF6, which appears.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, you have six. Now I get it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Fred Jackson: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: which appears as a white, dense, crystalline, crystalline solid resembling rock salt when in its solid state, before conversion to gas, mined uranium is refined into yellow cake.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Now that, as you know, Tim, is uranium oxide.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Oh.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Which is typically a light yellow or brownish powder. So when you talked about powder, thank

>> Tim Wildmon: you for that in depth explanation, which

>> Ed Vitagliano: I, really, if you want to know these kind of things, folks, just recommend that you watch a Thom, Clancy movie or read a Thom Clancy book.

>> Tim Wildmon: the other thing I said, I don't think we're going to see regime change anytime soon. name. Primarily because the people who would oppose a regime in Iran themselves, they're helpless. They don't have guns, they don't have weapons, they don't have organization. They're just average people who go out and get their groceries or whatever and come back home and they, whatever jobs they may have.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm going to make a. Can I make a prediction?

>> Tim Wildmon: Let me one other thing, but in all seriousness, I don't think you're going to be able to ensure that they lose their capability of building a nuclear weapon. I think that seems to me out of reach right now at this point. because what do you do? You're going to send Marines into Iran somewhere and they're going to go in, they're going to bring out boxes of enriched uranium and put it on a cargo plane back to the U.S. i mean, you know what I'm saying? I just don't know that. And furthermore, I thought we were told last June. What, when we went in with the, with the strike, with the strike that. Remember that President Trump said, it's done, we wiped them out. Remember that? Yeah, well, that wasn't true. and so I don't know what to believe even from our own administration anymore in terms of what's going on and what's happening. I'm sorry to say that then the first time politicians have been doubted, Democrat or Republican, on the accuracy of what they're. They're saying. So go ahead. I'm sorry.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no, I would just go, did you want to say something?

At any moment, Hezbollah could challenge the ceasefire and things blow up again

>> Fred Jackson: Well, just the other element in this story that we can't forget. late last week, remember, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel had been exchanging missiles and. But at, light. I think it was Friday, when President Trump announced this ceasefire with Iran. He basically told Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, stop firing missiles. All right, so that's happened. But at any moment, Hezbollah could challenge that ceasefire and things blow up again. You know, so there's, there's, there's that,

>> Tim Wildmon: you know, Fred, you're a captain Sunshine. You really are. I just want to rename you my friend.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: You give me renewed optimism for mankind.

>> Fred Jackson: Imagine being a reporter covering the Middle east ever.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, I'm going to give you my, My expectation.

>> Tim Wildmon: You're taking the news to move on to another.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. I've never had black mold in my house.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. But I've heard from people who have gone through that, that very, you know,

>> Tim Wildmon: they were a great band, by the way.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Black mold.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So, my understanding is when black mold gets rooted in the. In the walls of a house because of water leaks, or have you, that you. You get an outward sign of that on the walls or that kind of thing. What I see in terms of who we're dealing with in Iran and then the terrorist proxies like the Houthis and Hezbollah, what have you, is you're dealing with black mold. Okay. You can scrub away something that appears on your wall or on your baseboards, and it looks good for a while, but you're not getting to the root source of it, and it keeps coming back. And this is a vicious ideology. I'm talking about this radical Islam that is ingrained and rooted in the Middle east because of Iran. And they're not going away. They are true believers. And I think what. I think what's going to happen here is President, Trump may blow up a few bridges, hit a few things. I think the irgc, and whoever's in charge of Iran knows he's under pressure. We've already talked about that. Elections, congressional approval, all that stuff looming, they're going to outweigh him. President Trump is trying to get a deal so he can back out and say, hey, we accomplished what we needed. it's a victory for us, and it's not a victory for us in the long haul. We have, We've blown some stuff up, we've set the Iranians back, but they are not gone. The source of the black mold is not gone, because you can't kill an ideology with a missile. And since the regime has not been overthrown, Tim, to your point, it's not going to be overthrown, I don't think, by an uprising from the people. There's just too many of the irgc. They're too well organized. They have informants. They will make it a, brutal suppression.

>> Tim Wildmon: It's a police state.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's a police state. And so the president is trying to find an off ramp and the Iranians are not letting him because they want to brag we outlasted them, we took their best punch, and now we're going to be right back at it. Even if they give him an off ramp and say, yeah, okay, we'll come into a cease fire as soon as that's done and we leave, they're going to say we took their best hit and now we're going to go after it even, even more. I'm afraid that that's what we got coming.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, as we said with the eight day, eight days from now, this will, will end the 60 days, and then President Trump will have to go to Congress to get authorization to continue military actions in Iran.

Vice President Vance and Jared Kushner traveling to Pakistan with last ditch effort

All right, you're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. So Vice President Vance and those two other gentlemen, Jared Kushner and what's it, fellow?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Steve Wyckoff or Wyckoff.

>> Fred Jackson: Witkoff.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Wyckoff.

>> Tim Wildmon: So they're on their way to, Islamabad, Pakistan now?

>> Fred Jackson: That is correct.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. With a last ditch effort, I guess. I don't know. Who knows?

>> Fred Jackson: We're told there's a new round of ideas. we can be excused for being skeptical.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right, go ahead, Fred. Next story.

7.5 earthquake rocks northern Japan this morning; no major damage reported

>> Fred Jackson: Well, with all of this, news going on in the Middle east, you can be excused if you haven't heard about the earthquake. Japan. And it wasn't a minor shake. It was a 7.5 on the Richter scale this morning in northern Japan. Now, fortunately, the reports, at least so far, no major damage or, no Deaths, but it 7.5 is a pretty good shaker. And it was, in what they call the Shishima trough that is off the coast there of northern Japan. A small tsunami was noticed, but apparently no threat to the United States. But we've seen a lot of earthquakes in that area of the world over the last several years. So 7.5 this morning.

>> Tim Wildmon: Have you ever felt a 7.5 earthquake, Fred?

>> Fred Jackson: No, I felt a 4.

>> Tim Wildmon: And you felt it.

>> Fred Jackson: And that's pretty good shake, too. But nothing Compared because the Richter scale is an exponential climb. It isn't just like four going to five isn't just a little bit more shaking. No, it's a whole lot more.

>> Tim Wildmon: It's 7.5. Did it hit Tokyo?

>> Fred Jackson: No, sir.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. No, because if it Tokyo, we'd be seeing news.

>> Fred Jackson: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, from from buildings collapse.

>> Fred Jackson: That's why I say so much else going on, you can be confused not know about this this morning.

Clarence Thomas says liberalism is a threat to the Declaration of Independence

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so 7.5 earthquake hits Japan.

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, next story.

>> Fred Jackson: All right. Clarence Thomas, Justice Clarence Thomas, I am a fan. United States Supreme Court. He gave a speech with a lot of people are saying are calling it historic. He gave a speech at the University of Texas in Austin, late last week where he basically said that progressivism. I don't like that word. I like liberalism. Progressivism sounds like something that's good. We're moving towards something good. No, liberalism is a threat to the Declaration of Independence. Here's a little bit of what he had to say. Cut number six.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government. It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from, from God, but from government. You will not be surprised to learn that the progressives had a great deal of contempt for us, the American people.

>> Fred Jackson: And he went on to say, just a little bit more here. He went on to say that progressives. He didn't name the party, but he said they were not the first political party to seek to undo the Declaration of Independence. Have a listen to this. Cut 7.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Progressivism was the first mainstream American political movement, with the possible exception of the pro slavery reactionaries on the eve of the Civil War to openly oppose the principles of the Declaration. Progressives strove to undo the Declaration's commitment to equality and natural rights, both of which they denied were self evident.

>> Tim Wildmon: I'll say one thing, that guy's got a voice. Yeah, like James Earl Jones.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: This is cnn, remember him?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I do remember him.

>> Tim Wildmon: I think, Clarence Thomas has got a voice job in Hollywood when he finishes. Listen, that guy's a rock star from. He may be the best. He may be. He's right up there. That nobody's been better for constitutional conservatism on the Supreme Court than Clarence Thomas. now there have been some, maybe you could argue just as good, like Samuel Leto, for example, his colleague. but. And Anthony Scalia would rank right up there. But at least in the modern era. I'm talking about the last 50 years. Clarence Thomas is the leader of the pack.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, it may be shocking to people, to hear, about progressivism. And I understand your hesitancy to use that term because it does make it sound like it's, improvement, a process of improvement. But that's why they picked it. That this, name for the movement, by the way, if you go to resources afa.net and search for the progressive threat to the American Republic. This is a small booklet, that I wrote. It was actually a series of articles I wrote for our magazine, the Stand. and then I did, a video that goes along with the material I included. It's very cheap, by the way, folks, if you, want to get it. It explains about the progressive movement, its development, its threat. And what Clarence Thomas was saying about the Declaration of Independence is absolutely true. Progressives. I'm talking about Woodrow Wilson, who was a president, and others in the 19, early 1900s. You want to know why? They hated the Declaration of Independence and our founding principles. And so let me, Let me tell you. It was because they didn't want the American people voting, okay? They wanted to, pull back on the ability of the American people to vote because these people, in their minds, the minds of the quote, unquote progressives, these people aren't smart enough. And that the country should be run by an administrative state, that we get experts, and if we get experts to run the country, we will progress. That was their whole idea. This, all these ideas came from Europe. And it is stunning. Some of the stuff that, I found when I began researching for this, and they actually mentioned the Declaration of Independence. And we don't need to be voting as much because the people aren't informed. And you see those ideas. I've mentioned this before. You see those ideas when, teachers unions say no, parents shouldn't have a say in what their kids are taught. Leave it to us, the experts. We'll decide what's best for your kids. That is directly related to progressive ideas. I like the fact that Abe Hamilton calls them regressives. Because in terms of our constitutional principles, that's exactly what it is. It is regressive, and it leads to tyranny. Because once you have quote, unquote experts in the state, here's the music. Running, running, running the country, the American people will have no say.

>> Tim Wildmon: That was excellent, my friend. I just, I was just giving you a friendly warning. Yeah, that the time was about to expire.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. And that's all I have to say about that.

>> Tim Wildmon: And don't get him started on his battery.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Dad. Don't get me started.

>> Tim Wildmon: Don't get him started on the car batteries that you can't change your today.

>> Fred Jackson: And don't mention the Boston Bruins.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, that's a whole different.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Wow.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's a whole different. That was a punch in the gut.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It was, right before he leaves, right? He has Steve Jordan comes in, kick

>> Tim Wildmon: in the stomach, punch in the gut. For those who don't know, Ed's beloved Boston Bruins lost last night.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Game one.

Game one of the playoffs begins tonight on American Family Radio

>> Tim Wildmon: Game one of the playoffs. All right, we'll be back momentarily with more of today's issues on American Family Radio. Lots of more to talk about. Stay with us. 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 an update on the situation in Iran.