Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to the intersection of faith and culture. It's the WallBuilders Show on a Friday. So it's Good News Friday today, David Barton and Tim Barton have been collecting some good news for you. I'm Rick Green. I'm the ping pong guy. So, I'll just bounce it back and forth between David and Tim. And we're gonna get in as much as we possibly can today. Don't forget to hit our websites, wallbuilders.com and wallbuilders.show. And then of course, if you're listening on a podcast app, still share the program and you can do that from these podcast apps. You just click that little share button forwarded out to your friends and family. That's how you become a force multiplier and help us share the program. All right guys, let's jump into some good news. David, what are we starting with? 

David Barton [00:00:42] Well, we're starting with some good news, I think, for the future of the military, and it deals with how we currently train what we believe will be the top leaders in the military and the next generation. And so, what's happened over previous years, the U.S. Military, the now five, six branches, used to be five, now six branches. They were working with elite schools and universities to put some of the sharpest potential military leaders into those schools and the universities to help them train their thinking and hone their skills to come back and be great thinkers for the military. And so, what happened is Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said, well, we're not getting what we wanted. We're not giving the great leaders, we are getting great woke leaders, and that's not where the military is going. And so it had been that they had positions for 93 fellowship positions, and this is when the federal government pays to send these top prospects into some of the best schools in America to receive special training. And superior training, et cetera. And so there were 93 fellowship positions and it was spread across 22 different elite institutions, including Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, Columbia, Princeton, all these different places. And so what Hegseth said, we're not getting what we want out of here. And Hegseth specifically said, what we won't is schools that teach the U.S. Constitution and Western civilization philosophy. Now that's a pretty low bar, right? Teach the Constitution. Teach the civilization, teach Western civilization, where we are, what we believe, what our values are. We're just not getting that out of those elite institutions. So what they did, Pete announced that what we're gonna do is we're now making contracts with different universities. Those universities that teach the Constitution and teach Western Civilization, those universities include Hillsdale and Liberty University and George and Mason University and Pepperdine University and Baylor University and the University of Florida and Auburn University and University of North Carolina these are some of the more conservative schools that are still teaching Western civilization. Still teaching teaching the Constitution. And I love the fact that the military is saying hey we want leaders who actually know the Constitution, and know how Western civilization works. And why it's different and what the wars have been to that. So this is really, really good news in my viewpoint, looking at what's happening here in the military and the next generation of national leaders we're training for the military. 

Tim Barton [00:03:11] Oh, it's so good, and Pete Hegseth has done so many things. I feel like we've praised him almost as much as we've praised President Trump on Good News Fridays for how many moments he has shown courage and leadership. But I also do want to point out, as great as this is, let me point out how low that bar is. Because if you're talking about universities in North Carolina, among others, we have staff members that came from the University of North Carolina and they can tell stories about how this is not a conservative university, but in comparison, if it is so much more conservative than these woke Ivy leagues, like again, like I just want to help people understand the bar here is so low. All you have to do is not explicitly and openly hate America and hate our military. That's basically it. And apparently some of these schools could not accommodate, but how great to have a leader saying, look, we're not going to continue to partner with you. If what you are teaching, informing, and encouraging your students is how bad and evil America and our military is. Why would our military have any kind of connection or partnership with you? It makes total sense. And yet... It took somebody like Pete Hegseth to get this done. So absolutely we applaud him for doing this and hopefully it encourages even these universities where they have maintained or actually in some cases, maybe opened some new partnership opportunities. Hopefully it encourages them to do more things that align with the vision and values, the worldview of what we need for our military leaders. So yes, Dad, to your point, kudos super awesome for Pete Hegseth having some leadership in these moments. 

Rick Green [00:04:51] It's just another area where you see, you see this administration being transformational, not, not just there. It's not just word salads. It's, it's not, just, you know, uh, throwing a bone here or there to constituencies that helped get them elected. I mean, they're going deep into really what changes America for a generation. So very, very good news. All right, Tim, what's next for you or no first up for you? 

Tim Barton [00:05:14] Well, this is from the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week, guys. So many great things have been coming down from the Supreme Court. This one, the headline says Supreme Court restricts race based redistricting in Louisiana case. Now, this probably is not going to only affect Louisiana. There's several states we already have in mind that this is going to impact. One of the things that happened just for background on this case is there were some Democrats in Louisiana that said, hey, we need to have some congressional districts specifically for black people so they can have black representation. And this is a big important conversation right now and then we'll probably come to it maybe even the Supreme Court upholding the Texas redistricting map later. We know that at this point also Florida, they're gonna do some redistricting. We know also in Virginia, the redistricting they tried to do was struck down by their own state Supreme Court because they didn't follow constitutional lines. I'm saying this redistricting of districts is, is honestly, it's always political because whatever political party is in charge, they're going to try to redistricting the maps to favor themselves that that's, that's very standard and common. It's the way it works. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat in charge or Republican in charge. It's just the way things are done. And you can argue whether it's right or wrong. That's fine. That's a fine discussion to have, but redistricting is normal. What is not normal. And by the way, what is not clearly constitutional as the Supreme Court is upheld. Is when you say, you know what, we want some districts that are only for black people, instead of saying, hey, this district is going to represent this section of the city or these several counties to say, nope, this district is only for black people. Well, it seems like that's actually being kind of racist, which is in, in theory, you would have thought then contrary to something like the Voting Rights Act, where you literally part of some amendments done to our Constitution, part of the laws that have been passed, say, you can't divide people based on race. I mean, right? Since the Civil War, we've kind of been done with dividing people based on race. Now, I know we live in this new era where there are woke universities that are having race-based dormitories and they're actually segregating again, as crazy as it is. There are literally places doing that. Well, that's what happened. In Louisiana, there was a couple places where they said we want some black only representation. And it was challenged in the state saying, guys, that, that literally is the opposite of what the Constitution, what the laws of the land tell us, that you can't divide people solely based on race. You can't have different voting blocks based solely on race, that's what the Jim Crow laws were. They got struck down with civil rights laws. That's part of what happened before the Civil War with some, again, some of the Reconstruction Voting Rights Act all the way back. Then the good news is the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, acknowledged you can't divide people based on race and give voting districts based on race. That's literally the opposite of what the law says. Now, not surprising, and I say this sadly, is there were three liberal justices on the other side. Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, they dissented with this saying no, it's very important that we continue these race-based districts, or at least something like that is what they said. But the good news is, the Supreme Court upheld this notion that we do not segregate in America based on race. Now, again, it's totally different if we're saying we want Democrats, we want Republicans to have more seats. That's not race-based, that's politically oriented, and that is normal in politics, and by the way, it is also legal in politics. It is not legal, it not moral, it isn't normal to say we are going to segregate based on a race. That is an immoral thing that the Democrats have been advocating for. And fortunately, the Supreme Court struck it down. So guys, yet another piece of good news coming down from the Supreme Court, this time saying we're not going to do race based districting. That is a win. 

Rick Green [00:09:18] Tim, I'm surprised. Sounds like you're actually saying that we should not judge people based on the color of their skin. Maybe the content of their character or perhaps even the way that they vote would be how they're organized to be with like-minded people in a district? And I am shocked. I am absolutely shocked that those three justices you mentioned would be against you know, getting rid of racial standards and judging people, but I'm shocked that those three judges would want people to be able to be advanced based on the color of their skin. I mean, it just happens to be those three left-wing judges. I'm just shocked. 

Tim Barton [00:09:55] Yeah, you know, it's pretty inconsistent with their normal. Yeah. It's pretty inconsistent with our normal behavior patterns. You know, normally they wouldn't side something like this. So, it's unusual. And of course, I'm saying that tongue in cheek. No, this is exactly the kind of ideas they've been promoting, which again, we talk about this often, but it bears repeating yet again, as we're in the midst of some primary seasons as we're coming up to a midterm election. Who you elect makes a major difference. And part of the difference it makes is at times the people we elect are in charge of appointing or nominating or confirming judges in various states or even federally and having leaders that have a good worldview when it comes to understanding our nation, the Constitution and biblical morals and ethics. It makes a difference because they choose different kinds of leaders, judges, et cetera, when they have a better worldview. So, just remember as you are voting, you might not always be pleased with the candidates that you have on your ballot. And that is totally fair. I can tell you, right now, looking at the, the U S Senate race here in Texas, there's a lot of things I'm disappointed with on that ballot, on that race, but ultimately there is some clarity I have as well, knowing, Hey, there's some people on this ticket that have a very, very different world view even though maybe they have some major moral flaws and that's correct. They have a different world-view than the political opponent and therefore they would lead in very different directions which would impact things and I'm saying that again backing up to these three justices that have very secular, liberal, progressive world view and when they think it's okay that we segregate voting based on race, that's not the kind of worldview we should have. Where it used to be the thought that justice was blind, that she had a blindfold on. She's not looking to see the color of your skin before she dictates and determines justice. We want to stay in the direction where justice is blind and we're not segregating based on race. We're not dividing voting districts based on race, but it matters who we choose and elect because they will impact the other kind of leaders that are appointed. And we need judges that understand some basic framework of America, the Constitution, and certainly, hopefully, have a biblical and moral foundation from the Bible. 

Rick Green [00:12:14] Amen. Amen to that. All right, guys, let's take a quick break. We've got more good news coming at you. We'll be right back. You're listening to The WallBuilders Show. 

Rick Green [00:14:25] Welcome back to The WallBuilders Show, jumping back into some more good news, tossing it back over to David. 

David Barton [00:14:30] Good news out of Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee just signed a bill that makes June, not Pride Month, Nuclear Family Month. So June is now Nuclear Family month. Here's part of the text of that bill, whereas the nuclear family, and by the way, I've got to tell you, it took me a long time to figure out what a nuclear family was. I didn't understand that. I mean, going through the atomic age and everything else, and then you find, oh, it's about the nucleus. It's about structure of like an atom. You have the nucleus and that's the center. Where everything revolves around it. And so, the nuclear family is the traditional family. Everything revolves around the traditional family with a man and a woman and children and whatnot. So, the nuclear families simply means a traditional family as it comes out of the Bible, Adam and Eve and their children, et cetera. So, whereas the nuclear family consisting of one husband, one wife and any biological adopted or foster children is God's design from familiar structure has been the bedrock of society since the creation of the world. There it is back to Genesis. And whereas the nuclear family was the basic building block of Tennessee society throughout her formative years, and whereas the Nuclear Family built the United States of America and created prosperity within our nation, so true. And whereas, the Nuclear Families under attack in our beloved state and nation, absolutely true. And it's our responsibility to uplift, protect, and support values that help Tennessee prosper now. Therefore, he declares that Tennessee designates the month of June 2026 as Nuclear Family Month. And commends the noble endeavors of those who seek to protect and strengthen the traditional values of our state and country. As you can imagine, LBTTQIA plus was really ticked over that, as were a lot of the trans groups and whatever. But good for Tennessee for going back to the basics and getting back to core of what made civilization work in the first place. Back to the nuclear family, Tennessee Nuclear Family Month. 

Tim Barton [00:16:19] And guys, this is something too that we've seen a lot of pastors encouraging this for June coming up. In fact, our friend, Congressman Mary Miller, she actually started the Family Caucus up in DC. And this is one of the things that she's encouraged from even some of her congressional colleagues is to try to reclaim the month of June. And so not only do we applaud what Governor Lee has done in Tennessee, we encourage more families, more pastors, more churches to start advocating and reclaiming this month of June to be Family Month, to be Life Month, there's a couple different movements out there for it. But man, so encouraging when you see government leaders taking a positive role in trying to reclaim some of this moral foundation in the midst of the rot of culture we have seen. Awesome job, Tennessee. 

Rick Green [00:17:10] Tennessee just keeps helping, you know, they help Texas by coming to our aid all the way back at the Alamo and now they just help the whole country by, you know, this, this good definition here. So good stuff. All right, Tim, what's your next piece of good news, man? 

Tim Barton [00:17:23] Well, this one is a study that I have long believed and haven't seen as comprehensive of studies or information as this one, the title of the article says Cannabis Slows Brain Development in Teens, Largest U S Study Shows. Now just to break it down real clearly, cannabis, we're talking about marijuana and this could be THC, this could be in gummies and they do break this down in the article. Certainly, the study gets into greater details of it. But here's, here's the sub headline: a study of more than 11,000 adolescents found those who use cannabis had reduced gains in memory, attention and processing speeds. So, it used to be thought that, Hey, marijuana, right? THC, cannabis, it's not harmful. We should explore this. And it's also worth noting that with Joe Rogan and President Trump coming together on things like Ibogaine. There's some conversations about how far this might go. President Trump seems like someone who is very open to new and creative ideas and solutions. Now, Ibogaine, by the way, not at all like a cannabis where somebody can take a THC or marijuana, whatever, and maybe enjoy it, feel high. That's not what happens with Ibogaine. Ibogaine is a hard reset of the brain. There's lots of details and studies, so I'm not comparing those two exactly other than to say that President Trump has shown himself to be open to some of these alternative ideas of medicine. And there's a lot of people that would argue that cannabis THC, it's very beneficial, to help people steady and calm, steady in the sense of being steady. If they're uneasy, it helps calm them down and it gives them comfort, peace, whatever the argument might be. And we've argued that this is that this is not something that we should be advocating for engaging in. And we actually have had programs like in Oklahoma, where they opened up and said that we can do medical marijuana. And what happened in Oklahoma where China came in and took up land and used all the water and all of these problems that were associated. There's a lot of unintended consequences, downstream effects that a lot of people haven't known, but let me back up the steady shows for adolescents. So specifically, it was dealing with teens. Largely junior high so middle school and a high school and they discovered that teens who use cannabis, cognitive growth appeared to slow earlier than their peers at the study published, and guys, I'm gonna say this word slowly because I don't think I can say it quickly and I'm probably still gonna get it wrong; neuro psycho pharmacology found and I pronounce that correctly I'm pretty sure, I just can't say it fast. But they found that middle and high school teens who used cannabis showed a 20% to 50% slower gains in memory, attention processing speed, and core cognitive abilities. Guys, that is fascinating that, again, we've long talked about the dangers of cannabis, of marijuana, of THC, et cetera. And again, we have had multiple different shows on this topic from some very noted guests. Some people that were state officials, some people that we're from the medical world, highlighting some of these challenges. But now there's actual data. 11,000 students that were studied that were on some kind of cannabis. And again, the article goes through it and it breaks down in all these details with cognitive growth, with working memory, holding and using information. It was 50% slower, episodic memory about 30% slower processing speed- 25% slower and so the whole thing breaks it down. And also, that THC, and this is another one of their sub headlines in this study, and maybe slowing and stalling growth. And so I don't have time that this article is multiple pages long and it's a summary from the study which is even longer. But guys the good news is, now there is that this is the most in-depth comprehensive, this is the largest study ever done to identify something that we have long believed and advocated for. We just didn't have as good of data. Now we have really good data to show the dangers of what marijuana or THC or right, what whatever kind of gummies we're talking about putting this in, any kind of cannabis. It is harmful.to developing brains and children. And again, this is rising generation. We can get into other details, but I think it's really good news that we now have a really good study showing the harm dangers of cannabis. 

Rick Green [00:22:17] The data just continues to come, come in when you do the right principles, you get the right results. When you line up with the laws of nature, nature's God, you get good things. When you go against them, you got bad things. And, you know, we've been sold a bill of goods on a lot of these issues. Very good to finally get the, the data that helps us push back with the truth. All right. So, David, take us home, man. What's the last piece of good news going to be today? 

David Barton [00:22:38] This is a study that comes out of California. California did a survey across 22 public universities in California, nearly 100,000 students, faculty members, et cetera. And they found that between 84 and 95% of students used AI for their assignments. And so what's happened is there's a pushback going on. I love this. This is back to old school stuff. But Cornell University professor makes all the students take oral exams now. There's no written stuff. They're getting away from written stuff in that sense. And I don't even know what this is, but I'm just gonna tell you what it says. He teaches biomedical engineering. So biomedical engineering, whatever that is. Here's one of the assignments. Students are assigned to design a circuit using a sensor that detects eyelid spasms, which includes an explanation of signal producing algorithms. Whatever that is, that's biotech science stuff. But you have to do that orally rather than going to AI and letting AI generate the answers that you turn in on your paper, you have to pass all of that orally. They have to go through, they can use AI as a starting point to get info, but they have to be able to explain it and defend it. And it's a 20-minute discussion that they have with the professor. So each student is now doing oral stuff. If you go also to Cornell University, I love this one, at Cornell University the German language instructor, Grypmathias Phelps, requires students to use, are you ready for this? Requires students to manual typewriters in the German language class. Because that way you can't have language translation going off AI or anything else. You have to do the old school manual typewriters here at New York University, the business professor requires oral explanations for all of the assignments. At Hillsdale, they have a course there called Great Books. There's two courses. And discussing the great books you have to write an orally present a prospectus on the papers you're working on. You have to defend the main ideas orally. You have to explain the sources used orally. Rough drafts of the of your papers are required. And you have to keep each rough draft and show your markups on the paper as you move towards your final paper. You can't just generate something on a computer that gives you the course and grade. It's just so cool to see this old school stuff coming back in the sense of oral exams, using your brain. Being able to discuss and defend and stand up against a debate or an argument, it's real good to see us using our brains again and not just relying on technology. I think this is a really, really healthy thing.

Rick Green [00:25:12] Yeah, very good news. Another piece of good news I'll close out with today. We've got another Liberty Pastors event coming up in this So we're training tons of pastors across the country in a three-day boot camp. And I think we've done about 4,000 pastors on this thing. Paul Blair's been doing it for years. He brings in a ton of great pastors and then a ton of great speakers and it's great fellowship The best part is he gets it paid for by sponsors. So, pastors out there if you'd like to spend three or four days with us at the next Liberty Pastor's event, I think it's only like 99 bucks and everything else is covered. So it's a nice resort, all your meals, all those good things. It's gonna be in Wichita, Kansas at the Wichita Marriott there, May 11th through the 14th. Just go to LibertyPastors.com, LibertyPasters.com. I just got back from one in San Diego with them. And wow, what a great iron sharpening iron opportunity for these pastors to spend time together, to hear from all these great speakers. This one's gonna have Rick Scarborough and Kevin Freeman and Alex Newman and Bill Federer, K Carl Smith. Just a lot of great folks coming in and sharing and a great time. So, check it out, Liberty pastors.com. We've still got a few slots left, pastor and spouse, come, come spend some time meeting some other great patriot pastors from across the country and learning on these issues that we've been even talking about today here on Good News Friday. Hope you enjoyed Good News Friday. And if you didn't get enough good news today, go to our website, wallbuilders.com and wallbuilders.show and listen to the program there. And then again, as always share it with your friends and family, give them some good news so that they know we can win on these issues. Thanks so much for listening. You've been listening to the WallBuilders Show.