American Family Studios creates documentaries and films to uplift, inspire and encourage
>> Ed Vitagliano: Three simple words. Uplift, inspire and encourage. Perfectly identify American Family Studios. Since 2011, we've created documentaries, animation, films and audio to uplift, inspire and encourage individuals and audiences worldwide. Reclaiming media from the filth Hollywood and the world. Push on us and our children. See what we have to offer your family when you visit americanfamilystudios.net americanfamilystudios.net 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. For the this Monday, August 25th, 2025. I'm Tim Wildmon with Ed Battagliano. Good morning, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: And good morning, Fred Jackson.
>> Fred Jackson: Hey, good morning, Tim.
Tim Ferriss: Three members of our staff have been in Israel
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, so nothing's going on in the world, so we will return you to our regular schedule.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No listen to music now listen to me.
>> Tim Wildmon: Elevator.
>> Ed Vitagliano: All the problems have been solved.
>> Tim Wildmon: all right, so a, lot to talk about today on this program. Have the things happening in the world. And, by the way, we've had a team of guys, Chris Woodward being one of them, who's been over in Israel the last few days, right?
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. three members of our staff, J.J. and Chris Woodward and John Wriley. John Wriley has stayed on for an extra time over there. John Wriley, for those who may not be aware, he does our Israel update on the weekends. Does a fantastic job. And, actually I think he has relatives in Israel too, so he's staying on. but Chris, and J.J. made it back to American soil this morning. They are now, treading time, I'll put it that way.
>> Tim Wildmon: Does, that mean sitting in a New York or Atlanta airport?
>> Fred Jackson: Newark, Newark. Newark. They have to wait about seven or eight hours for their connection to Memphis. Yeah, I tracked their flight last night. Flight aware is a lot of fun, in case anybody's not aware.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: From the time.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Fascinating that they.
>> Fred Jackson: Sarcasm. from the time they took off, they flew over Vienna, Austria, and over Greenland and down into Newark, this morning. What, 12 hour flight, something like that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Totally in the dark that whole flight.
>> Tim Wildmon: I've done that many times. And. And you're. You have to go north to go south, so to speak, you know, because you're flying on the curvature of the earth. M. Save time, which is a sphere. So, yeah, you save time. So a couple of times I've gone what looks like to be, you know, more a direct, path, if you were to lay the earth flat on the, you know, flat on a surface. But yeah, you have to go. You go up to over Greenland and Iceland and Great Britain from m. New York, and then come down through. Over the Alps and you know, Italy and down into, Tel Aviv. You.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I just. Just a word of friendly advice. I would never talk about laying the earth flat. That's, that's. That's going to really cause some of our listeners to. To lose their minds.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because they're going to think Tim is a flat earther.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm a flat earther. Well, okay. You can say what you want to, but I've almost sailed over the edge a couple times on summer vacation.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I will say this. I've made that trip to the Middle east, just twice. Tim, your. Yours is in the dozens and dozens of times. But, you do not want to get stuck either going or coming back next to a crying baby.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Which I did on one of the trips was either to Israel or to Jordan. And, on the way over there, this shows you that God is opposed to the proud. On the way over there, I had an open seat next to me.
>> Fred Jackson: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I, you, know, which is rare, those packed. And I thought, oh, Lord, thank you so much. I could stretch out, put my stuff there. And the thought crossed my mind. God blesses his. His children when they're living. Right. I was, I was kidding about that part. But on the way back the flight, crying baby three seats down, crying baby behind me. My television didn't work, and it was just a complete slap down.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: What did you do while you were there?
>> Ed Vitagliano: It was awful.
>> Tim Wildmon: He. Raw. Dogged. Isn't that what they call it?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I have no idea.
>> Tim Wildmon: There's a. There's a term you. That's been. It's a new expression, that, they use for people who look straight ahead with nothing, just staring off into space for hours on end. You ever heard this? You've. You've never seen that?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I. I've done that before. I don't know what rod really means.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I think that's what.
I've eaten hot dogs cold on occasion, and so that. That's the closest I've gotten to raw dog
>> Ed Vitagliano: Anyway, now I will say this. I've eaten hot dogs cold on occasion, and so that. That's the closest I've gotten to raw dog.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that may not be, what it's called. It's called something like that. It's where people can just stare straight ahead and. And you know, with no tv, no entertainment, no sound, no nothing for hours. So.
President Trump is signing executive orders to beef up National Guard troops
All right, Fred, what's the first thing happening in our world today.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, as we sit here and chat with our audience, President, Trump is in the Oval Office at this very moment signing a bunch of executive orders, one of them being, he's called him on his, Defense secretary to set up specialized National Guard units around the country to deal with public order issues. Issues. and we're going to talk about this a little bit later because President Trump thinks beyond D.C. cities like Chicago, Baltimore, New York, they need National Guard troops. So, also, he's, if you burn the flag, you get one year in jail. Now, remember, these are executive orders, folks. Seems to me flag burning has gone up the proverbial legal poll all the way to the Supreme Court. so what this executive order means, I'm not sure. but also, you know, just, he's. He is. He wants to end cashless bail. also. So all of this is going on in Washington, D.C. right now, not far away from D.C. we had breaking news this morning. he. He could perhaps be called the best known illegal alien. his name is Kilmar Abrego Garcia. he's the guy who, back several months ago was deported to El Salvador along with a bunch of others. And, he. Remember the Democrat that went down there and had lunch with him, etc. Etc. Anyway, there was a court order to bring him back. He was brought back to the United States from El Salvador, by the way, he's from El Salvador originally. This guy, this Kilmar Obrego Garcia. They brought him back and he was charged with human, smuggling. And that's in connection to a stop in 2022 in Tennessee. And he had a bunch of people in the car with him. So he's in the country illegally. Nobody's debating that. there was. There is this outstanding charge now. Now, what happened on Friday was he's been held in a detention center in Tennessee. A judge said he has to be let go. And they took him to where he's been living the last several years, in Baltimore. This morning, very early, he reported to the immigration center, ICE center there in Baltimore. Apparently over the weekend, Mr. Obrego Garcia was given some options. If he pled guilty to the smuggling charges, he could serve a bit of time, but then, go to Costa Rica. If he agreed to that, to, plead guilty. If he didn't plead guilty, they were going to deport him to Uganda. The report is at this hour, he did not plead guilty. And so he is, as of this hour, under arrest. However, his lawyer is already going to court to say that this detention at this point is illegal. So we'll see how that all works out. So that is Gilmar Obrega Garcia. It was very interesting this morning. Fox actually covered this live. He shows up at the ICE center there in Baltimore, and he's got this throng of people, supporters behind him, including a priest and some others. And he was painted as, you know, just a wonderful, wonderful individual, despite the fact that he broke into the country. And, so that's where he is. You're going to see a lot about this guy. The mainstream media, he has become a hero, for them, because they don't like what Donald Trump is doing with regards to illegal immigration. So we'll. We'll see what happens.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And, so he's not actually been convicted of the human smuggling.
>> Fred Jackson: That is correct.
>> Ed Vitagliano: These are the charges that have been against him. By the way, I'm looking at a story, about Abrego Garcia on American Family News. You can check that out on afn.net so this is. I think if he had been convicted, it might make a little bit of difference on the part of the mainstream media, but they've never seen a, a, criminal or someone charged with a crime that they didn't love. If the Trump administration and the president are on the other side of it, which. Which Trump is because of the legal status of Kilmar, Abrego Garcia. By the way, what is. What is the reason for the. This deal that, the U.S. government has made offered to Garcia? If you confess to the human smuggling, you go to El Salvador. If you don't, you go Costa Rica. Costa Rica. If you don't, you go to Uganda.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: What's. What's. What's the. Is that a tougher prison?
>> Fred Jackson: I guess so. the Trump administration, Homeland Security, they've signed deals with a bunch of different countries.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. Take prisoners.
>> Fred Jackson: And I. I'm assum. there's a candy in the Costa Rica thing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Much nicer country, closer to him, to the United States. if you don't confess, we're going to ship you to our Uganda.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And these countries who have agreed to. To, take prisoners.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: we pay them for that. So this is.
>> Fred Jackson: There's always money.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So there's money going. That's why they. Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. That's their enticement for taking them.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio halting work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, next story.
>> Fred Jackson: All right, well, somewhat connected, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, that he is halting.
>> Tim Wildmon: Marco.
>> Fred Jackson: Marco. Little.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Sorry.
>> Fred Jackson: Little Marco Rubio.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm sorry. Go ahead, Chris.
>> Fred Jackson: Anyway, he's halting work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers and a lot of people, who are concerned about the legality of giving commercial driver's licenses to people who can't speak English. That's been around for a while. But all of this is in connection to the incident, last week that we reported on this is a man who entered this country illegally. His name is Harjinder Singh. He was involved in that horrible accident down in Florida. He's driving 18 wheeler, does a U turn on a turnpike. A van with three people in it slammed into the back of that trailer and they all tragically died. He is now, he and the other person in that truck fled back to Stockton, California. He was arrested there and has returned to Florida. So what we're learning is that apparently there are a lot of these 18 wheeler truck drivers in this country. Whether they've come in legally or illegally. They don't know how to read, they can't speak English, and they don't know how to read English signs. And so, yet they're being hired.
>> Tim Wildmon: To drive 18 wheelers for companies.
>> Fred Jackson: Exactly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Across the country.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes, this, this story about unqualified people to hold a commercial driver's license for these trucks. This is, this concern has been around for a long time, long before the incident in Florida last week, that some of these people who do an honest business, who have qualified drivers are pointing to these other companies that basically hire anything. Of course the other aspect is this. In California it doesn't matter if you're an illegal immigrant. Doesn't seem to matter if you can speak English or not or read a sign. They'll give you a commercial driver's license. And that's one of the big problems. Sean, Duffy, he is our transportation Secretary, he was talking about this. The Mr. Singh, who's now back in custody in Florida, there is a petition that came out on the weekend signed by two and a half million people asking Florida to go easy on him. Well, Transportation, Secretary Sean Duffy was talking about that cut number four.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They gave him a full term CDL that's reserved for American citizens, to which he is not an American citizen. And we put out a rule, by the way, just backing up a little bit, Trey, in May that says if you got a cdl, you have to speak the language and understand road signs. That went into full force and effect in June. In July, this guy was pulled over in New Mexico and for speeding and they did nothing, to take him out of service. We tested him after the crash. he failed. Full, stop. Failed. Couldn't speak the language, couldn't see, couldn't understand road signs. And New Mexico should have, put his vehicle out of service. And had they, we would have saved those three lives. so, again, we're going to come out next week with, some more news on this. But the bottom line is, follow the rules of.in your state or there will be serious consequences.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I'm sorry, this doesn't make the New Mexico Highway Patrol look good at all. Makes them look bad if what he. What that gentleman there saying is accurate.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because that those three lives would be. They'd be still here with us.
>> Tim Wildmon: I would look forward to an explanation from New Mexico.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There's got to be records of the stop these trucks, that they have identifiers. My point, the thing that I think about, is there are only two reasons for a company to hire someone like this. Number one, they don't have enough drivers. Okay, I'm not saying that's an excuse, but that might indicate why they'll just take anybody. or number two, they're paying them less. And if that's the case, these companies should be put out of business or fined heavily because they are paying illegals who cannot drive safely. And I say that because they can't read signs, they can't speak English, and they're coming from countries where driving is not an art. Okay? Unless you're trying to stay alive. He was pulled over for speeding in New Mexico. So if these companies are hiring someone so they can pay them less, that's putting. Putting American citizens out of work, and they just don't want to pay a good wage for their truck drivers. I don't know what other reasons there could be for hiring someone who is an illegal and can't speak. Speak the language or understand signs. You're just either so desperate for someone to drive a truck, you'll lower your standards, or you already have low standards and you pay less.
>> Tim Wildmon: So Marco Rubio, the, Secretary of State, he's doing what exactly? What's the bottom line of this story?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, the bottom line is they're going to stop, giving work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Fred Jackson: All right. So it doesn't matter whether you've entered the country legally or illegally, right?
>> Tim Wildmon: probably until they get this all sorted out. Well, they keep this from happening again.
>> Fred Jackson: They want to make sure the basics are there. Number one, the person can drive has has some degree of experience in 18 wheels, but more importantly that they can pass an English test both reading and spoken. And this guy Singh, we. It's been reported there's a, 12 things that you have to be able to read English. Yeah, he only passed two, but he still got. In California. He still got the California gave him.
>> Tim Wildmon: A driver's license anyway, to a commercial driver's license.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, once you cross state lines, it's a federal issue. I don't know what kind of trouble the, state trooper could get in the New Mexico state trooper for letting this guy go. He. The state troopers should understand federal law, and they should, do what they have to do. If a person is driving and breaking federal law, I mean, they're not federal agents. Agents of the federal government. but I don't know. Something has to be done.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm just envisioning. And how a patrolman in New Mexico walking up to the truck or the truck driver, this guy getting out, this Indian man from not. Not American Indian, but a,
An illegal immigrant was arrested in Maine as a reserve police officer
>> Ed Vitagliano: India Indian.
>> Tim Wildmon: India Indian getting out of the car of the 18 wheeler and trying to converse with this. And you guy going, this guy came. Speak English. and. And, you know, I don't know. It'd just be interesting to see what was written down.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I will say that maybe the state trooper looks at him, he says he's got a California driver's license, you know, commercial. And. And maybe it's not up to the state trooper, I guess, to see if he can pass a. A driving test. Maybe he thinks, well, he's got a license.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: California, they know what they're doing. I don't know.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, you're listening to today's issue. Well, good for Marco Rubio, though, for. For doing that, until we get that situation resolved. Solved or worked out to keep that from happening again. And I know there are probably a lot of nervous companies if they've got people out on. Who are not legal citizens out on the highways driving our commercial trucks.
>> Fred Jackson: Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Did you see the other day where there was a, a fella in, New England who was a police officer who was an illegal, alien.
>> Fred Jackson: What?
>> Tim Wildmon: Did you not see this?
>> Ed Vitagliano: A policeman?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, he was a policeman and he was illegal. he was here illegally. Look at it. Type it up. Type it. New England to new. Type it up. I don't know. Can you type it down? New England police officer is, putting undocumented or illegal, whatever you want to put illegal alien. See if it doesn't come up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I.C.E. okay, so this is, from the, I.C.E. website. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I.C.E. arrests illegal aliens serving as a local police officer after attempting to unlawfully purchase firearm in Maine. He's a Jamaican national. He attempted to illegally purchase a firearm for his employment as a local police officer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So he was, he was arrested in Maine. Now he, he was employed as a reserve police officer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: but still, that's,
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, Maine. Maine's probably a sanctuary state. I mean, I doubt they've been asked for proof of citizenship. Pretty, wouldn't you say?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Liberal.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, there you go. So he was going to be a police officer there though, or was he?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, he was this, this, ice.
>> Tim Wildmon: a Jamaican in Maine.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Talk about something. Somebody that was stand out.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, am I right? Well, that accent is what you're talking about, right? Well, yeah, well, and this says that he was.
>> Fred Jackson: Hey man.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey man, you're gonna have to pull over. That he was. So he was a reserve police officer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: but didn't. He was not apparently issued a firearm, so that's why he tried to legally purchase a firearm because he, they didn't give him one for his reserve, officer position and that's when they caught him.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wouldn't you think you would ask for proof of citizenship before you hired somebody to be a police officer when you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Think this guy didn't even have a lawful visa? He, this, this press release from ICE says he lawfully entered the United States September 24, 2023. However, he violated the terms of his lawful admission when he overstayed his visa.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, if you're, if you're hiring people for, for reserve officer status, do you not check if. To see if they have a lawful visa? That's. This is just getting bizarre. To your point, it may very well be that somebody loses their job in Maine because they, you know, wink, wink. We, you know, we'll give you a job. Where? Sanctuary state.
>> Tim Wildmon: You won't stand out at all. You'll blend right in.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Jamaican in Maine. Kind of like that. make a movie kind of Cool runnings or something.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
Nearly 3 million kids attended Vacation Bible School at Southern Baptist churches this summer
Take a break a little early here. All right. What did you say? You combined Canadian with Jamaican there, Fred? What did you say?
>> Fred Jackson: Hey, mom.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, man. Hey.
>> Tim Wildmon: Man. All right, we will return with more after this short time out. You're listening to the radio program Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network.
>> Todd: Hello, Americans. I'm Todd Stearn. Standby for news and commentary. Next vacation. Bible school may be old school, but it's still very popular among kids across the fruited plain. CBN News reports nearly 3 million kids attended VBS at Southern Baptist churches over the summer. Some 70,000 making a personal decision to follow Christ. Vacation Bible School, a week long affair hosted by churches featuring fun adventure themes for kids along with arts and crafts, singing and lots of recreation. Many churches turn snack time into an art form. You know, when I was a kid, I got to double dip. I went to my family's Baptist church vbs. Then I attended my grandparents VBS at the Methodist church. Now the Methodist had a lot better snacks. Almost switched denominations as a second grader because of that. The surge in VBS attendance could be a sign that more young families are now returning to the traditions of our faith. And the best part, kids actually want to get up early to go to VBS public school. And not so much. I'm Todd Stearns.
>> Ed Vitagliano: 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 is hosted by Ed and Fred on American Family Radio
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back everybody to Today's Issues on American Family Radioman and Tim with Ed and Fred.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Get that Jamaican accent going, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: If you missed the last segment, then, that's what that was referencing and we really don't have time to review that again because, we are apt here from time to time to rabbit trail.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And if we go back to the last segment and we will rabbit trail.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Again, I'm not sure what you call that. If you rabbit trail, you rabbit trail twice to revisit the first rapid trail you take.
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know. I don't know. That's a good question. You need to, you need to. I'll research that, research that, invent a word for it. All right, so our guest in studio is who? Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. We have Anne Cockrell who's a co host of Hann Heart, heard Saturdays at 4am Central Time and 5pm Central Time on American Family Radio. And we want to talk to Anne about Hannah, Hannah's Heart 2nd Annual Bibles for Babies campaign.
One in eight couples struggle with infertility, according to Today's Issues
First of all, Anne, welcome to Today's Issues.
>> Anne Cockrell: Thank you so much. I'm glad to be here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, I want to ask the obvious question, okay. How does a baby read a Bible? But before we get to the campaign, tell our listeners who might not be aware, maybe they don't listen to the radio on weekends or whatever about Hannah's Heart.
>> Anne Cockrell: So Hannah's heart, was Created mainly to hopefully minister to couples and encourage them to cling to Christ during their time of struggling, with infertility, miscarriage, child loss, that kind of thing. But we've definitely grown to more than that, especially on the show, if people listen in, the show has covered things, adoptions to failed adoptions to singleness. But you're, you know, wanting to have babies, you know, but you're not married. And so, we've covered child loss and, even, how to help crisis pregnancy centers.
>> Tim Wildmon: What percentage of couples deal with infertility?
>> Anne Cockrell: It's a very staggering statistic. Now we have, the newest statistic of there's one in three pregnancies end in miscarriage. So one in three. And then it's one in eight couples that struggle with infertility.
>> Tim Wildmon: So one in three pregnancies end in miscarriage.
>> Anne Cockrell: One in three.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Is that. Is that. I know, I know. We're a little. We're chasing a rabbit here a little bit.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's related, though.
>> Anne Cockrell: Yeah, it's related.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So is. Is that number going up or is that okay?
>> Anne Cockrell: Yeah, that number's gone up since we started Hannah's Heart. When we first started Hannah's heart, it was one in four. And now, as of last year, the statistic went to 1 and 3 at the beginning of this year.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Is it. Okay. So is this because, the statistics. That keeping the statistics is becoming more efficient, or do we have some sort of trend here and any idea why that would be going up?
>> Anne Cockrell: Well, you could take me down a rabbit hole.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay.
>> Anne Cockrell: If you wanted me to get into.
>> Tim Wildmon: All of that, you'd only be speculating.
>> Anne Cockrell: I would be. I would be speculating. Now, there's some, you know, proof in the pudding of what all we're taking in. just as Americans, the things that we breathe in daily, the things that we eat, the hormone disruptors and the lotions that we use and the candles that we burn and the glade things that you plug in on your wall, you know, those things are all hormones.
>> Tim Wildmon: College football has nothing to do college football.
>> Anne Cockrell: I don't think so.
>> Tim Wildmon: We're safe on that.
>> Anne Cockrell: We're safe on that one.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Now, you may have to stop using some of your lotion, you know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I was thinking that. I was thinking when she said body, though, you know, body spray, those kinds of things. Yeah. Which I'm very dependent on.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. I always see you with. Rubbing your hands.
>> Anne Cockrell: You know, I can tell you about some new. Some better lotions.
>> Tim Wildmon: Natural. Natural.
Hannah's Heart is raising money to provide Bibles for pregnant women
All right. So the, Hannah's Heart program airs weekends. 10:30. excuse me. 4:00-clock Central Time on Saturday and 5:00 clock Central Time on Sunday on American Family Radio. Tell us about the. Specifically, we're going to, we're going to ask people for money right now. We're asking people for money, are we not? Yes, I guess not.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is a very, this is a very. I like this campaign.
>> Anne Cockrell: I like this campaign.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, what are we doing? What are we doing here?
>> Anne Cockrell: So what we are asking for and encouraging for people to do is you can donate $10. And that provides one Bible. And I know it does sound silly, Bibles for babies, because babies can't read. But our local pregnancy center here in Tup, where we're located, is Parkgate Pregnancy Center. And they started doing this a little over a year ago, providing Bibles for women and young girls who come in and have a positive pregnancy test. And so that is their first baby gift, their first congratulations. Because we know, that crisis pregnancy centers, they're usually seeing girls that might not have been planning for this pregnancy. Right. But we as Christians know and believe that, that each child that is conceived is a child made in the image of God, rather that being conceived is necessarily what we believe is the correct way. It's probably might be outside of marriage or might not be what, should have happened. But that baby is here and is, created in the image of the Lord. And if it has a heartbeat, then that's a life worth saving and worth celebrating.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And so the Bibles are for the.
>> Anne Cockrell: Mom, for the moms.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But that is also to get them thinking in terms of Jesus Christ, in terms of when they raised their babies.
>> Anne Cockrell: So what inspired me, when I talked to my friend who is the director of Park Gate Pregnancy center here, she told me a story that they had kind of. This kind of was random to get the Bibles at first. and that was before we were involved. but they gave a Bible to a young girl who came in and she said, I've never had a Bible before. And she kind of didn't understand, like, why are you giving me this? The baby's not here yet. You know, I just had my first positive pregnancy test. but she ended up going home reading that whole Bible to her little, her little baby belly that night, came back the next day and said, I want to know Jesus. I want to know. I've read this whole Bible last night.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Just a New Testament.
>> Anne Cockrell: It's. No.
>> Tim Wildmon: She didn't read the whole Bible overnight.
>> Anne Cockrell: It's a children's Bible.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah?
>> Anne Cockrell: Yes. So it's a new beginner's children's Bible.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Anne Cockrell: Something that.
>> Tim Wildmon: I sound like you didn't believe it, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I was just.
>> Anne Cockrell: She's maybe she's skeptical.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm glad you clarified.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Speed reader. She was a speed reader.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So new beginners Bibles for children.
>> Anne Cockrell: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: But she. You're saying she read that it witnessed to her.
>> Anne Cockrell: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And she got saved.
>> Anne Cockrell: Yes. And so it was like at, Park Gate, that's when Andrea was saying she was like, you know, we've always felt the need to provide physically for these women. You know, we got diapers and formula and bottles, clothes, things like that. But are we providing the spiritual needs? And that's actually number one. And so, they. At Park Gate, they offer, parenting classes for the mom and the dad, or if the dad might not be in the picture, the mom and her mom, you know, things like that. And so once you, go through these parenting classes, you then get, like, a diaper bag full of things. And so they wanted the Bible to be the first part of that.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, how do people give $10?
>> Anne Cockrell: People give $10 by going to afr.net and it is our homepage. And so you just click on the link there, and you can donate that way, or you can call in at 877-616-2396.
>> Tim Wildmon: How you do that again, give that information. You have $10 buys a Bible that's given to a young lady who is, in a situation where she has, a unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. Okay, go ahead.
>> Anne Cockrell: So you can go and just click on the link there. It's there provided for you Bibles for babies right there. Or you can call in at 877-616-2396.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I do want to make, our listeners aware. If you go to afr.net the first thing you see is a big banner there, and it changes. There's four or five different banners, so you might have to wait. Or you can click an arrow to get to the very first one, which is the Bibles for Babies campaign. Yes, that's where you would click.
We're gonna have to have Anne back to talk about this with miscarriages
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. And thanks so much.
>> Anne Cockrell: Thanks so much for having me.
>> Tim Wildmon: Appreciate you being on with us.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And that wasn't a bad rapid cockrell. Yeah, that wasn't a bad rabbit trail. We're gonna have to have Anne back to talk about this with the, miscarriages. That's. That's stunning.
>> Anne Cockrell: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, we'll. We'll make Plans to have you come back maybe next month.
>> Anne Cockrell: I'll have my show notes ready for that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, there you go. You'll have your stats ready.
>> Tim Wildmon: Anne Cockrell joining us.
And as always, we encourage you to support your own local crisis pregnancy center
And as always, we encourage you to support your own local crisis pregnancy center.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: In your community.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Lots of Christians don't even know there are crisis pregnancy centers in their community. A lot of churches don't know. And those churches should be helping those crisis.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, because that's. So that's the front line of the pro life movement.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Think about it. And there's no laws that stop you from participating even if you live in a blue state. you should be your church. If your church is pro life and you should be going to a pro life church, then you should be, your church should be in some way supporting the local crisis pregnancy center which is trying to help the young ladies who are in a situation that, you know, where they are considering whether to abort their baby or keep their baby or give their baby up to adoption.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And also, you know, we, the crisis. Most crisis pregnancy sinners are, are what you call Christian based. And so they are witnessing.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. And just like that was Anne's talking about the fact that the spiritual life is actually most important and.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So these, crisis Christian crisis pregnancy centers, are trying to do both. Trying to take care of the spiritual needs, but also take care of the physical needs which are very real to these young ladies who are oftentimes single, moms or first time moms. They're scared and they need help.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes.
Cracker Barrel has gone woke, but the company went woke a long time ago
Fred, what's your next story?
>> Fred Jackson: Well, you know, over the years, over the last many years, one of my favorite restaurants has been Cracker Barrel.
>> Tim Wildmon: Cracker Barrel, Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Love going there. Breakfast. Wonderful. But even if you had to wait, wait outside in those rockers. And I've bought a lot of Christmas gifts because they have very unique Christmas gifts in there. But you know, I, I probably have gone to my last Cracker Barrel because of what's going on there. And I think probably there are a lot of Americans who feel the same way.
>> Tim Wildmon: Why?
>> Fred Jackson: The reason being, I was going to say the company has gone woke, but the company went woke a long time ago. They just hit it.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. by the way, and let me just. Listeners, you want to hang in here because I thought this was kind of recent, but this is, this goes back a decade or more.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: 12, 13 years, maybe even more if.
>> Fred Jackson: You haven't seen it yet. I saw my first new billboard advertising, the new branding, as they call it. But it goes so far beyond that. it goes to the leadership of this company, which has been. Has had a virus that came in, like you said, at about 10 years ago. And, I want to. Robby Starbuck is a conservative activist. he exposes things going on in companies. All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He was the first that did the Bud Light, wasn't he? I think he might have been the first, with the transgender spokesperson.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes. Listen, folks, basically, what's been going on, and we've seen this in other companies before, is that they start bringing people into their board of directors. And this is what happened at Cracker Barrel. They started to hire people who were lgbtq, who were, you know, diversity hires. However you want to explain it. But let me, Let me give you a little bit about Robby Starbuck has, what he's been reporting over the last several days of the things that have been going on, the kinds of people they've been hiring, what they've been up to at Cracker barrel.
Cracker Barrel is a proud sponsor of Nashville Pride
Cut number 13.
>> Fred Jackson: We investigated cracker Barrel, and what I'm about to show you is a company infested with left wing activists who are more interested in safe spaces, pronouns, and virtue signaling than they are in their customers. I think the best way to start is by telling you what you've been funding if you've gone to Cracker Barrel in recent years. So let's start with Nashville Pride.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Fred Jackson: Cracker Barrel is a proud sponsor of Nashville Pride and have been part of it for over a decade. along with participating for multiple years in Evansville, Indiana's third River City Pride event, they even made LGBTQ rocking chairs for these Pride events. The same Pride rocking chair that they put front and center in their Tennessee corporate office and at their 2019 managers conference for the Cracker Barrel managers.
>> Fred Jackson: All right, and it goes well beyond that, huh? Their involvement, gay pride, parades, all of these sorts of things. All of this leading up to some big changes on their branding and what the restaurant now looks like inside. It had that kind of down home farmers look. I used to love going in there because, my, my grandfather was a farmer. And they'd have equipment that used, you know, horse drawn, hay rakes and all that sort of thing, saddles, all of those sorts of things. And now they want it to look modern. But now we know what is behind all of that, and that is, a CEO and groups of people that sit on the board of directors that think that it was a good idea to have involvement, heavily involvement from the LGBTQ crowd.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, here's here's the thing now. I saw the headline for a New York Times article about this and it said that this change in the logo and then the designs, the the layouts and the what's on the walls of this individual restaurants has become kind of an inkblot test, Rorschach test, where you see what you want to see in it. The left sees it as just good marketing changes. Conservatives see this as a betrayal of the restaurant's values. I, was surprised to, I, I tend to now think this might be a little more woke. At first I, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'll be honest.
>> Tim Wildmon: because our restaurant change, change up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: They make, they make, they make changes. Now Bishop E.W. jackson, this morning, he was substituting for, Jenna Ellis. He said, in his opinion, what Cracker Barrel is trying to do is to appear less white and less country because there's the old white guy that is the, that is, was the old part of the logo. And then inside the restaurant you had all these, implements, farming implements that kind of speak to country values and the old way of life. So I have no idea what Cracker Barrel was thinking. I don't particularly care for the new layout. their food, at least in the local restaurant, hasn't, changed a whole lot. I haven't been for weeks and weeks well before this announcement, but it had been trending downward in quality a little bit. but you know, in terms of this being as, Bishop Jackson laid out, an attempt to move away from country and rural values, I, I can't answer that question. But they're getting a lot of flack. And in the week of the announcement of this, their stock plummeted. But I think now it's kind of moved up a little bit. We'll have to wait to see if this turns out to be a go woke, go broke thing.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, I didn't know that they were so heavily involved with the Human Rights Campaign. That Human Rights Campaign is a, left wing organization based in Washington D.C. and they promote the LGBTQ, agenda. And evidently Cracker Barrel has been giving them money.
>> Fred Jackson: 10 years.
>> Tim Wildmon: 10 years. Yeah. Been giving them money. So they're so I was surprised at that. I was surprised to hear that.
>> Fred Jackson: I, I just don't understand why companies do this. Great company. They had to be making money. Every time I drove by a Cracker Barrel, the parking lot was full.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: And you had to wait many times, sit outside in the rockers and wait to get in, especially on Sundays. I, mean, the place was packed. So you're doing a really good business, and you sit around a boardroom and you say, let's change things.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: I just don't understand that, why you do that. And the only reason I can come up with is that you have a change of thinking at the very top, and you're going to try to appeal to a whole new group of people.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Fred Jackson: Even if it costs you those customers that have been loyal to you for decades.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, I think that's. I think that's. That's part of when people say, go woke, go broke. And by the way, Robbie Starbuck is no one to mess with. He gets a lot of publicity on. He's not a superhero, by the way, even though he sounds. The name sounds like a superhero, but he gets a lot of traction on social media. And so I don't think this is going away. If he targets Cracker Barrel, you, may wind up seeing a continued erosion of support from people who don't like being told, even though it's implied, we don't need you anymore, we're going after someone different. And by the way, when I said, Bishop, a lot of our listeners do know who Bishop Jackson is. He's a black man and a preacher. And so when. When he says he thinks they're just trying to appear less white, that's not coming from a white guy. That's coming from a black guy who's observed a lot of this.
Tim: It is irrational for people to think this speaks about white privilege
Woke slash dei.
>> Tim Wildmon: What's. What's white about. What's. What's color centric about Cracker Barrel?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, it's the logo. The logo was an old rural white.
>> Tim Wildmon: Guy wrong with that.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, exactly. I think that's what Bishop Jackson was saying.
>> Tim Wildmon: I just see. I just see, an old guy in crack in, overalls. By a Cracker Barrel.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Which is the name of the store.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. Well, that's because you're thinking rationally, Tim. It is irrational for people to think this speaks about white privilege. And this is a saying. I know. It's. It's. I don't know whether that was the motivation, but why else get rid of the old guy? There's some. He has some nickname. And all the times I've been My wife and I've been in Cracker Barrel, guess what? Blacks.
>> Tim Wildmon: we all very diverse. I mean.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Diverse, huh? I don't, I don't get it. People want quality food.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And they don't. Like. I don't like to think that this store that I'm going, this restaurant I'm going to, is so kind of preaching at me about my beliefs.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: by telling me they're, they're illegitimate. Whether or not that catches on in terms of the people who go, I guess it depends on whether the food remains good, but we'll have to wait and see.
>> Tim Wildmon: Next story. Fred.
Washington D.C. has gone 12 days without a murder
>> Fred Jackson: All right, well, things are getting better in Washington, D.C. crime wise. the U.S. attorney for D.C. you probably know her, Jeanine Pirro reporting this morning that the district has gone 12 days without a murder. And apparently that's extraordinary given the murder rate in D.C. and the violence that we've seen. there's nothing short of just a miracle that's going on there. And of course, we know. I, think it's at least six states now have their National Guard soldiers there. and she, was reporting there have been over a thousand arrests just in the last couple of weeks since those soldiers, have gone in there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Do you know how we could probably find out from people who been there, been in the area. But, do you know how the National Guardsmen are being stationed or positioned? Are they block to block? Are they, you know, in, in Washington D.C. how do you, do you know that?
>> Fred Jackson: I don't, I don't know how they're being assigned. I have seen images, and they're like, everywhere, I think, particularly, they're, they're certainly in areas where you may have some tourists, but also, you know, the subway system, the Metro, all that sort of thing. But also, I mean, they're out there 24, 7, and so they're in areas that maybe they're known where there have been gangs and crime in the past, where people have congregated, starting trouble, all of that sort of thing. So, that's where they are. But it is, you know, it is, it's, it is a miracle. There have been no murders in that city now for at least 12 days.
>> Ed Vitagliano: By the way, I did a quick, Google search, and this says their duties. Talking about the more than 2200 guardsmen from D.C. and six states. their duties include presence, patrols, monument security, traffic control, checkpoint operations, and supporting the D.C. metropolitan Police Department and federal law enforcement partners. They are stationed across all eight wards, including at, Metro stations, Union Station, the National Mall, and in neighborhoods like the Wharf and Logan Circle.
>> Tim Wildmon: You haven't had a murder in 12 days.
>> Fred Jackson: 12 days.
>> Tim Wildmon: And the murder right there would, would normally probably have a few, one of.
>> Fred Jackson: The worst in the Country.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah. So, well, the reason I asked about how they're positioned or stationed is if you've got them block to block maybe and they're visible. I'm talking about the National Guardsmen. Even though they're not really trained police officers. Right, but just, just the presence, of the National Guardsmen themselves would prevent gang activity or crime activity on that particular street.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It says that they are authorized. Talking about National Guardsmen, authorized to carry service issued firearms, including M M17 pistols and M4 rifles for personal protection. So M4, that's what they use for in the military.
>> Fred Jackson: But this probably is not going to surprise you, but President Trump thinks this would work in other cities and he's named a few. Chicago, Baltimore and New York. Well, the mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, m not taking a liking to that at all. Cut number six.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, again, you know, the city of Chicago, does not need a military occupied, state. That's not who we are. Here's the bottom line. They don't have police power. There's nothing they can do. You know, these are federal troops. They do not go through the training that our police officers go through through. So they cannot even enact, police authority. We're not going to surrender our humanity to this tyrant. I can tell you this. The city of Chicago has a long history of standing up against tyranny, resisting those who wish to undermine the interests of working people. We're not going to back down, we're not going to cower, we're not going to bend, we're not going to break. We are Chicago. We are the soul of America. And we will maintain that posture, from now until.
>> Fred Jackson: Well, Jeanine Pirro responded to what the Mayor of Chicago had to say. Cut 15.
>> Speaker I: You know what my response to that is? You know what tyranny is? Tyranny is when you can't walk outside and go to dinner. Tyranny is when they shoot you and the person walks out of jail before you get out of the hospital. Tyranny is when people are not made accountable. And they should hope that the president comes in with this unified force and his joking only nine arrests. I'll tell you what the good news is that this mayor can't figure out. The good news is that they're afraid to commit crimes. When you have an increased law enforcement people in the community, especially the crime ridden community, they're saying thank you. They're afraid to commit crimes because they know they'll be accountable. Johnson ought to hope that the president comes there to clean up the mess in Chicago.
>> Fred Jackson: That won't happen.
>> Ed Vitagliano: She's, no, she's, she's a firebrand. Now. The Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, is an incredibly leftist loon. but I, my personal opinion is I don't think it's constitutional for the president to send troops into cities where they're not requested. D.C. is a different story because it's a federal district. but President Trump does not have the authority to send in troops to clean up a mess that is made by duly elected leftists like Brandon Johnson. That is up to the people who live in Chicago to vote in somebody who will do what needs to be done when it comes to crime.
American Family Radio takes a short time out to discuss today's issues
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, we're going to take a short time out right here. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. Tim, Ed and Fred Parish Offer will be joining us after the break. You're listening to afr. stay with us.
>> Anne Cockrell: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
