Welcome And Ceasefire Update

SPEAKER_03 0:07

Welcome to the intersection of Faith and Culture. This is the Wall Builder Show. We appreciate you joining us today. Be sure and visit our websites at wallbuilders.com and wallbuilders.show. I'm Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton. And of course, uh, you have the uh deadline from last night, guys, that um, well, we have a two-week uh ceasefire. So this is this is a really interesting development. We were kind of speculating on yesterday's program, what's gonna happen, what's gonna happen. Uh well, here we are. We got a two-week ceasefire. It looks like that's gonna be good economically, opening up the straits, but what does this mean? You know, does this mean like we've agreed to not bomb anything? What what what happens for two weeks?

SPEAKER_00 0:41

I mean, it's a ceasefire in the sense that they made enough progress that Trump is willing to give them some more grace. Had they dug their heels in and not done anything, not made any progress, he would say nothing's nothing's happening. We're gonna make something happen. So I think there are enough yielding on their part. Now, publicly, what they're what they're saying publicly is still hard line, you know, we're we're not gonna back down to this. But I think there was enough in the negotiations that he would back down because he has not shown any proclivity to not keep his word when he when he puts a threat out there, which would which is what makes his threat such a big deal.

Truman’s Japan Lesson On Surrender

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Yeah, and it's one of the things, too, that has made Trump so different than any president in our lifetime is when Trump says he's gonna take out a bad guy, he takes out the bad guy. Uh, and you know, guys, even going back to like what happened in Venezuela, when when if you are a bad guy leader somewhere in the world, you have a reason to be fearful at night when you go to bed, if you are challenging or threatening Donald Trump. And and one of the things, too, guys, that struck me as interesting is not only did the U.S. agree to this, Israel agreed to it as well. Because there were other times that America agreed to stop some of the bombing, and Israel kept going after it. And so the fact that they recognize, too, there there is something happening right now that is worth the conversation. And uh, you know, Rick, you and I were on Flashpoint last night, and one of the things that uh struck me about this is it it reminds me a little bit of maybe even Japan from World War II, where Harry Truman's like, look, you guys need to stop. You got nothing else left. And they essentially say, Well, you know, maybe we'll stop killing you, but we're keeping our military, we're keeping all the slaves and all the land and all these things, and they're like, drop the bomb, and the bomb goes off, and then they're back to the negotiation table and they say, Okay, well, we'll we will give up some of the land or or some of the slaves we took, but we're keeping our military. And Truman's like, nope, drop the bomb. And ultimately, once they had gone through enough devastation, they were willing to come back to the table. And I think the only reason that President Trump would at this point say, Okay, let's have a conversation. He did post on social media yesterday that they had done enough damage that he doesn't feel bad stopping now, because uh, any all the threats they were concerned with ultimately now are gone. And then, of course, you have people like Tucker Carlson that would be out there saying, Well, why in the world would he keep going if they have no capability? And and right at this point, he's just Trump's being evil and blah, blah, blah, right? It's not to derail too much. And uh Tucker Carlson, who seems far more uh a defender of Islam than America at this point. But one of the things that's worth noting is when you study history, that it's one thing to have military superiority and to have won every battle along the way. But if you don't break the will and the spirit of the enemy that is fighting against you, then ultimately they're just gonna rebuild and come back against you. And and you might have won the day, but you're not gonna win the war. And I think this is part of what Donald Trump is recognizing is that they need to actually come and surrender. And once they surrender, then we will be done. And and I guys, it would not surprise me if just like what happened in Japan after World War II, if America showed up and said, Hey, let's help rebuild this thing, because uh the American people and and I I think most of our American leadership, they're not anti uh the the Persians, the Iranian people. That that's that's not what the narrative is. It's this regime, and even though there's 90 plus million people in Iran, it's estimated that maybe 10 to 20 million of them are these radicals. Well, that is a significant percentage of the population, number one, but number two, that is an indication that there's still a lot of really bad intentioned, ill-intentioned people that would want to do harm to America or again funding terrorism around the world. And so there's a reason that Donald Trump is pushing to want to bring them to the table to surrender. And this peace deal, as we know right now, is there are 10 terms of this peace deal that he's looking for. And if they don't agree to those 10 terms, then they're willing to go back. And it's also, Dad, to your point, a little ironic that the Iranian leaders they've posted that this doesn't mean the war is over. We're just taking a little pause for two weeks. And it's again, it's a little humorous. I chuckle a little bit when when you're on the losing side and you're like, well, we're not giving up yet. Well, you better give up pretty soon, or there won't be anybody left to give up because all these bad guys are going to be gone. So I think there's a lot of moving pieces with this, but it does strike me as having some parallels with what Harry Truman was dealing with to some extent in Japan before finally getting the ultimate surrender of Japan. I think that's part of what Trump is dealing with. Uh again, not a perfect parallel, but I think there's some similarities with what Trump is dealing with in Iran right now.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah, and if I can build on that Japanese analogy for just a little bit, I think there's something interesting here. Because going back to Japan, for those that have not studied World War II and and probably, I don't know, by Christmas time, we'll have the book out on World War II. We'll see. But we spent a lot of time on the atomic bomb because the last two generations really don't understand what happened, particularly in light of the way that's been misportrayed as an American travesty that was done. But the Japanese motto before the war ended, uh Japanese had lost every major battle in the Pacific. They're the circle around their island got smaller and smaller and smaller until they had nothing left in the Pacific except their own home island. And what they their motto was the glorious death of the hundred million. So there's a hundred million, well, actually about 70 million, but they said a hundred million, and it was the glorious death, we're all going to die in suicide rather than give up. We will not give up. And that's why Truman was, I mean, they're just killing uh allies like crazy, killing themselves. They've lost the war and they won't quit. They just keep creating death and death and death. And so they were willing to do the death of the hundred million until they felt the pain of that atomic explosion. And they go, oh, hey, that wasn't what death was supposed to feel like. And then you feel that twice, and you go, hey, what wait a minute, let's talk about this. This is not what we were expecting. And I think it's the same way with the these radical uh Islam, you know, it's all all the glory uh of death until you start feeling the pain, and then you kind of kind of rethink it a little bit, and and that kind of is the pressure that that they're under right now. They're gonna keep saying the same thing like Japan kept saying, the glorious death of the hundred million will never give up. But I think they're getting their backs to the wall, and it's not feeling good for them.

Winning Battles Without Winning Wars

SPEAKER_02 7:25

And Dad, again, one of the reasons it's important that Donald Trump is pushing for this surrender is because there's also historic examples where America won every battle and yet somehow, to some extent, lost the war. You go to Vietnam, right? Where we won every battle along the way, and yet somehow we're the ones that withdraw and retreat, and so they felt like they won. And I think Donald Trump is smart enough to go, you know what, we're not letting these Iranian terrorists who have been doing evil, really targeting and attacking America for 47 years, we're not letting them at this point feel like they get the victory. They're going to unequivocally surrender and agree to these 10 terms of the peace deal, or we're going to remove every one of these, uh, whether it's 10 to 20 million terrorists that are in Iran, we're getting rid of them. And it will be interesting to see at at some point if some of these Iranian, these Persian individuals that are still there, if they will finally rise up and and throw off this oppressive regime to some ex uh to some extent, because we know that well, I don't know that we know there's all kinds of polling, and that a lot of it's just estimated at this point because who's doing accurate polling in Iran, we don't know. But it it does seem there's indications that a significant portion of Iran is not supportive of this regime at all. But if they don't rise up, I'm America's not looking to have some new territory uh join the United States. This is not what America's trying to do. But ultimately, if Donald Trump can get them to come to the place where they are willing to surrender, agree to these 10 items on the peace deal, I think at that point he'd be very happy to move forward. And it not only would benefit America, it would benefit ultimately the rest of the world, except maybe not for Russia and China and some of the people who've been benefiting from Iran in some negative ways. Uh, but ultimately I think it's a good deal. And guys, I know we have to get to our friend Tim Mooney in just a little bit, getting into some um politics and uh elections in general, but this is certainly something that as as more information comes out, we will have more conversations about it. But right now, one of the things that to me, and and and Rick and Dad, obviously you guys weigh in on this, but to me, I I still believe that Donald Trump has has earned the right from what he has done, showing he's not a a war-hungry, bloodthirsty president. And as as much as he's worked to navigate and negotiate peace with so many wars and so many nations, what's happening now? We don't have the intelligence he has, but even from the little little intelligence we have, it certainly makes sense what he is doing, and I think it still warrants support up to this point. What do you guys think?

New WallBuilders History Books Preview

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Yeah, man, I think that that that trust that that we all lost in our institutions and our leaders uh for so much of the last you know, five or six years has been restored in so many ways with the way the president has handled this, the way Pete Heggseth has handled it. I mean, it's it's I think it's been really good for our patriotism and and uh a lot of it will depend on, of course, how it does get wrapped up. Uh but David, if I could, before we go to the break, you had mentioned the uh book on World War II is coming out, and a lot of our listeners may not know you mean your y'all's book. So y'all have a is this a an installment of the American story or is this a separate book? Tell tell us a little bit more about that before we go to the break, just to make sure everybody's clear.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Yeah, the American Story is really kind of a series that's we've got going on. Uh the first one was the beginnings, and it went kind of from Columbus through the Constitutional Convention. A little picked a little bit up uh of slavery in the Civil War just because that was the middle of 1619 project. Uh, but then the second one really covered the presidents, and then the one that is is just soon to come out is kind of the same tone. We tell the story, but it's of the 56 Signers of the Declaration, and then we got one covering World War II that'll be coming later this year.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Well, and and specifically, Dad, to that point, the first two installments, uh the American story, the beginnings, and then the American story Building the Republic, those are part of ultimately will be, we think, a four-volume series of kind of chronological history. But then we're doing deep dives of certain topics or certain people. So, like the 56 Signers, we did a deep dive on those guys. And the World War II book has been basically written for a year, uh, and maybe not a year, but at least six months, seven or eight months. Uh, we had a couple weeks left, and then I I convinced you, um, not necessarily to your liking. I was like, Dad, if we don't do the 56 signers, it's not gonna be done in time. Uh, and you were like, we only have a couple weeks left. And I was like, we have to do this one now. So uh a little bit to maybe your chagrin, uh, but thank you for uh your grace and willingness to uh allow us to shift and transition to make sure we had the 56 signers done. Uh, we we think that's gonna come out probably to begin.

SPEAKER_03 12:09

For the 250th, you mean? Uh yes. You you you mean done in time for the 250th. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

The 56 signers, we wanted to be done in time for this summer. And it's a short buy on each one of those, but uh big picture. We're hoping to do a four-volume chronological history set, and then we're gonna have maybe six or eight spin-off uh of like as we're mentioning now, there's one on World War II, which covers some of the heroes, highlights some of the major stories, and and just like we always do, the really big God moments in some of those battles and in some of those people's lives that really highlight the role that faith has played from the beginning, the formation of our nation, even up into present time. Uh, and so the the 56 signers, we're calling it lives, fortunes, and sacred honors from the end of the declaration. Uh, that will, Lord willing, be out in June. And then we'll give the next uh couple weeks needed to finish the World War II book. Uh, then we'll send it to the printers, and then God willing, it'll be out uh before Christmas, so it can be a a stocking stuffer for somebody for Christmas. But yes, that will be coming up hopefully soon.

Tocqueville On Faith And Freedom

SPEAKER_03 13:13

Well, I love the fact that y'all are coming out with it now for the 250th, and then of course the World War II one as well. But the whole series, everybody, recommend it to you, wallbuilders.com. So much discussion about what kids need to be learning, what we all need to be learning. Well, that's what these books are all about the American story. Check it out at wallbuilders.com. Quick break. We'll be back in just a second with Tim Mooney. He's from Morning in America. They're working on all kinds of ballot measures across the country. And this guy's been involved in, you know, both on the big organization side of policy, also working for members of the Senate and governors and U.S. representatives, uh, very involved in these different things over the years. And he's got an incredible win record, 37 wins out of 43 efforts. Um, we call that a great batting average, like unrealistic batting average. Pretty incredible. All right, quick break. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Wall Builder Show.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

This is Tim Barton from Wall Builders with another moment from American history. Alexei de Togeville, a political official from France, traveled to the United States in 1831 and penned his observations in the now famous book Democracy in America. Being from France, what he found in America was completely unexpected to him. He reported, upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention. And the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this. In France, I'd almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America, I found that they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country. De Tocqueville recognized that it was biblical Christianity and the morals it produced that made America great. For more information about Alexei de Tocqueville and the positive influence of Christianity in early America, go to wallbuilders.com.

Tim Mooney’s Ballot Measure Strategy

SPEAKER_03 15:04

Welcome back to the Wall Builder Show. Thanks for staying with us. Tim Mooney with us from Morning in America, working on ballot initiatives all over the country. Tim, thanks for coming on.

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Great to be with you. We're actively doing this by ballot measure in uh Maine and Colorado. Both of those two places, we've qualified for the ballot already. And also Arizona by legislative referral. We're through the House, through the Senate committee, waiting for final passage in the Senate to put that on the ballot in Arizona. And then finally, we're busy gathering the signatures necessary in Nevada and that effort for girl sports is being led by uh Governor Joe Lombardo. Uh terrific help. And uh his gubernatorial opponent, the Attorney General uh Aaron Ford, by contrast, used taxpayer monies from his uh attorney general office to uh intervene in an Arizona lawsuit to try to force men in girls' locker rooms and showers and on their sports teams. What a difference.

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Well, and you would uh in Nevada, obviously it's got Nevada, it's gotta be a uh I go out there a lot and they always tell me don't say Nevada, say Nevada. Anyway, um gotta be a winning issue there. I uh in Colorado and Maine, like what's your what's your take there as far as these are blue states, they've had horrible legislation. Are are the people just fed up with the insanity? And you think the initiatives, you know, w can help even restore those states because it's gonna get a lot of grassroots people involved.

Polling Shows Voters Changing Fast

SPEAKER_01 16:48

Yeah, yeah, 100%. And here's what we're seeing, Rick. We first pulled this in Colorado, Blue Colorado last year in March. So almost exactly a year ago. And we did it for three ballot measures for girls sports to uh prohibit irreversible sex chain surgeries on minors and a penalty of life in prison, no parole if you buy or sell a minor child for sex. We had done that ballot measure two years earlier in Arizona, it won in every legislative district. Here's what we found on the girl sports. We were have huge support amongst Republicans in the 90s, strong support amongst independents in the 70s, but in Colorado a year ago, we were two to one negative with Democrats. We did our poll in October in Maine, and we were about forty-sixty with Democrats, still high support Republicans and independents. When we did the poll in February in Arizona, the number then was fifty-seven to seventeen amongst Democrats that have come back to us. And now last week a poll in Nevada, we're at seventy percent, even amongst Democrats. So the Democrats, the rank and file Democrats have returned to sanity, the elected Democrats completely insane.

SPEAKER_03 18:13

And and they don't seem to back off, right? Like the like you know they gotta have the same polling, right? That you they gotta see this in their research.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

In Arizona, where we're working our way through the legislative process to get this to the ballot, every Democrat has voted no against protecting girls' sports. We have not had a single elected or candidate Democrat support girl sports anywhere in the country while the voting Democrats are coming our way. Janet Mills in Maine might be the poster child of what's wrong. Uh taking on the president on this issue, coming out against our ballot measure, while Susan Collins, U.S. Senator from Maine, Republican, signed the petition. So this is a cutting issue. It tells you everything you need to know between the two parties and the two philosophies. They want to continue to pretend that guys can play on girls' sports, and and our side wants to desperately protect girls' sports so that they have their safety, their dignity, their opportunity, and you don't have a guy walking into a girl shower. What is so complicated about that?

SPEAKER_03 19:26

I am I wrong, Tim, in almost being glad that they can't see reason because does it I mean you've you've won dozens of ballot initiatives, worked for some of the biggest people in politics. I mean, doesn't this bode well for 10, 12, 15 years of us being able to move people to the right side of these issues if the leaders on the Democrat side just will not back off of these losing issues for them?

SPEAKER_01 19:52

I I don't get it except that their base is so loud and so crazy that they just don't feel like they can move. But you know what? If you stand with the majority of voters, you do better in electoral politics.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

Imagine that. That's right. That's right. Well, hey, I I I not that complicated. Yeah, and and I'm excited about this in in these in these states that um you know we've been losing for so long. I I mean this could this could be a turning point, could be, could be really good for us this year, even even with the midterm chaos and uh up in the air as far as where it goes for Congress in terms of turning those states around over the next you know uh decade. Um this could be a big part of it. So thank you for for leading these efforts and being a part of them. Um by the way, I love I was I was reading your your uh bio and I love the end of it. I I'm I'm gonna actually steal some of this from you. Mooney mostly skipped classes at both Pepperdine University and Harvard. He lives in Cave Creek, Arizona, a small drinking town with a cowboy problem. Bro, that is probably the best clothes to a bio I've ever read.

Using Ballot Wins To Shift Culture

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Well, it's honest, my friend. It's honest. Hey, one more thing. Look, one of the important things about winning these kind of issues, girls' sports, uh prohibiting sex chain surgery for minors, uh, and um uh uh life in prison for child sex trafficking. When we live when we win these battle measures in these blue states, it isn't simply about changing the law. It's about showing that the culture is on our side so that we can once and for all put these ideas to the dustbin of history.

SPEAKER_03 21:27

Well said. Well said. Spot on, man. Tim, thank you. Let's get you back soon. Appreciate you.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Thank you, pal. Have a good day.

Patriot Academy Leadership Training

Why These Initiatives Matter In 2026

SPEAKER_03 21:34

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SPEAKER_02 22:56

Well, let me let me add uh a little addendum as we're going. Um what what the audience does not know uh is my dad's computer failed uh in the middle of this, and he had all these notes he was taking about these states where there are ballot measures and things going on. Um, so you know, for those listening, you can just pray grace for my dad right now. Um, you know, the frustration of technology and and the worst irony is um he reached out to our IT guy at Wall Builders who's on vacation this week. Um, and he was like, I I'm so sorry. I can't come down and solve your computer issues at the moment. Next week I can solve it. And not to digress, but uh, we would have had some really good commentary from my dad. It's still gonna be great. Uh it's gonna be great, it's gonna be the best ever. Uh Rick, if you can help me with a Donald Trump voice, I have none. I'm making the hand motions right now that people can't see because I'm on radio.

SPEAKER_03 23:47

It's gonna be great. That's the best I can do. Um, but what they also don't know that you and I know is how much your dad loves the data and loves these ballot initiatives and being able to dive into all of them. So, David, we're feeling your pain, man. Uh I'll do Bill Clinton. How about that?

Save Act And Election Integrity

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Uh feel your pain. There. How's that? There may be less pain to feel this election in the sense that I really think that several of these blue states are gonna have good initiatives that pass. It's gonna it's gonna be kind of repudiate the legislature, repudiate what their congressional uh delegations are doing. And I think that Colorado, you're gonna see some really good pro-family stuff pass in the state. I think Maine is likely to pass something really good. I think Nevada, uh all those are all states I think that are gonna move in a good direction with the people, although they're not nearly as conservative as the red states, and they're not red states on these issues. I think the tide has shifted in in a lot of ways. And I I'll just throw out on on these ballot initiatives, if you get ticked with your state legislators and you get ticked with how they make policy, don't say anything bad if you don't go vote in these initiatives, because you are the state legislators here. This is the time you get to be the legislator and you get to make the policy, and you can't throw this on the back of the governor and you can't throw it on the back of the house or the senate. When it comes to a ballot initiative, you are the legislator. So do not sit this out. This is way too important.

SPEAKER_02 25:11

Well, Dad, one of the things I totally agree with you, one of the things I think is gonna make it even stronger in the future, because I think there there's a a tide turning, it's the wave is kind of shifting a little bit. But if we could ever get the Save Act through the Senate, right, if you can get to where you're only having U.S. citizens and and legal voter IDs voting, I also think that's gonna make a difference in some of these blue areas where they're allowing at times illegal immigrants to vote in some of these elections that that certainly could sway it in a contrary direction to what you're suggesting. But I agree. I think some of what we are seeing with some of what we've been calling this revival ultimately uh maybe an awakening and a reformation. I I think there is a shift happening in culture. And I I do think if we have integrity of elections, then we will see this very clearly. Uh, and even if the save back goes to the Senate, it won't necessarily impact the midterms right now, but I think it will be a good indication and and another good shift in the right direction.

Final Takeaways And Closing

SPEAKER_03 26:08

Yeah, and these and these initiatives are like 80-20 issues, so that they're it's really smart. We're much more strategic here. These aren't like abortion initiatives that are 50-50 and going to be a knockdown drag out. These are initiatives that are gonna be on like getting guys out of girls' sports and that kind of stuff. I mean, man, that could really help down uh not well, I guess be up ballot from an initiative, but can really help to get people out to vote and move the middle of the road voters our direction. So could be very, very good for us this year. All right, out of time for today, folks. Tomorrow, Foundations of Freedom Thursday. Don't want to miss that. Send your questions to radio at wobblers.com. And then, of course, Friday, we'll have some good news for you. Thanks for listening to the Wobbler Show.