Rick Green [00:00:07] Welcome to The WallBuilders Show. Rick Green here with David Barton and Tim Barton. And we are so thankful that you're here with us on a Friday. It's, we call it Good News Friday because we love catching up on a lot of the good news you may have missed over the last couple of weeks or so. You can get more of our programming at our website, wallbuilders.show. That's the radio website where you can find programs from the last few weeks and months and then wallbuilds.com for everything else. I always keep the intro on Friday short cause we want as much good news as possible. David, what's the first piece of good news today?

David Barton [00:00:37] I'm going to look at a story from Grand Canyon University. By the way, do you guys know how large that Christian college is? That Christian University?

Rick Green [00:00:45] I know they go back and forth with Liberty over who's the the largest like it changes there, but they're around a hundred thousand online students I don't know. I don't know how many in person

David Barton [00:00:55] Well, they've got 141,000 students registered for this coming semester.

Rick Green [00:01:00] Wow.

David Barton [00:01:01] So that is massive, their online program, but also in person. But the good news is they have announced that they are starting a law school at Grand Canyon University. It's a law school they have started and they say to integrate the Christian worldview throughout all the curriculum. And they want that because they said, you cannot understand Western civilization if you do not understand Christianity. That is so right. If you don't read like the Locks and the Montesquieu and the Blackstones and all these guys that are philosophers, I mean, they're all Christians. How can you look at the guys who built Western civilization and Western civilization goes back a thousand years, not just 300 years ago where I was citing the guys the Founding Fathers used. But you go back to so many of the thinkers whether it was St. Thomas Aquinas or whatever else. All the stuff that was used to build Western civilization in Europe and bring it to America came through the Christian filter; it came through biblical filter. And so this is really, really, really fun news that you're going to have the university of this size with this kind of, what I wanna say, I wanna to say popularity or outreach. And I say that because to get 141,000 students, you gotta have some degree of people liking you and wanting to be part of you. So the fact that they're doing a law school and the fact that it will be to teach the influences of Western civilization, particularly Christianity, this is so good for the coming generations. You know, it's gonna take these guys 10, 12 years maybe before they have a huge impact on things. But some of these guys are gonna end up running for legislature, they're gonna be staff legislature. They're gonna get into doing legal work. They're going to do legislative work. This is really good stuff for the future. And this is a really good pipeline to have it coming through Grand Canyon University.

Rick Green [00:02:49] Yeah, great school. In fact, we often stay there for the leadership Congress that we do and, uh in Arizona. So great campus, great, amazing that they're going to have a law school. That's very, very good news. And now we're over to Tim for his first piece of good news, Tim.

Tim Barton [00:03:05] Well, guys, this is one that I think, at least from my algorithm feed on my social media, this was all over it just a week ago, maybe. This is the title of this it actually was a, I saw it first as a post either on, I don't know, Instagram X something. But the title says, "Secretary of War Pete Hegseth Just Personally Gave Upgraded Valor Awards to U.S. Marines Who were Downgraded by the Biden Administration after they ran into danger in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombings". Now guys, mind boggling to me that the Biden Administration would not have given them the proper awards relative to what they had endured. Because it might've made the Biden administration look bad, right? This could be like one of those things after Benghazi and you have Democrats trying to sweep stuff under the rug and not give full acknowledgement of what happened because that shows their own capability and their negligence and dereliction of duty and whatever else you might want to throw on that. It certainly seems like this is the case. The good news is that, and then there's a video that shows Pete Hegseth actually giving these significantly upgraded valor awards to the U.S. Marines who were there. So to me, the first thing I want to highlight in good news, the first thing on top of my stack is that we actually have a, a commander of the military, the Secretary of War who is actually appreciating the troops for who they are and what they do, uh, not just giving out awards because you know, it's the YMCA kids league and everybody gets an award. No! He actually has prioritized the accomplishments of individuals, the meritocracy, what they're achieving. And in this case, actually going back and cleaning up some of what the Biden administration had done to, to not properly appreciate and honor the people that had to endure, ultimately, the incredibly dumb and poor decisions that happened under the Biden administration. So really good news that we have an administration, a President, a Secretary of War who supports the military, active duty, and veterans, and this is just one more case of it. So really quick one, but first piece of good news for me. I am very grateful that the military service men and women are actually following leaders who appreciate them and honor their sacrifices.

Rick Green [00:05:39] Man, and you hear it from them all the time. Every time I talk to somebody that's in the military or former military, they are so thrilled with the direction and the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, that's just phenomenal. Okay, David, back to you, man. What's next?

David Barton [00:05:54] Well, this one deals with some more reforms and changes happening within the immigration system. This is a term, I'm gonna throw out a term I've heard before, I probably could, not probably, I could not define it for you. I could tell you what it means, but it involves a lot of immigrants that are in the United States. But it's called Temporary Protected Status. Can you guys tell me what that is or why it exists or how it operates?

Tim Barton [00:06:23] Well, I think that what I've seen temporary protected status is given to individuals that are more or less seeking asylum in America there's been some issue identified with the country formerly where their residence was and so they are given a temporary protective status with the understanding that once the issue is resolved in the nation where they were seeking asylum from they can return to that nation. That's my understanding. Although I could be wrong. Rick, you might have some correction and clarification on that

Rick Green [00:06:53] I thought it was just we want, we want what America has, so we're going to make up some stuff so that we can, no, I'm kidding. Yeah, I think the legit reason is exactly what Tim said.

David Barton [00:07:04] Tim, you start mentioning Biden administration, he starts talking like he's part of the Biden administration with comments like that.

Tim Barton [00:07:10] Well, we're going to have to keep him away from the edge of the stage. I don't want him to fall off and he's wandering a little bit. It's a concern, but we're gonna watch him.

David Barton [00:07:20] So it's interesting, Tim, you're on it, except, interestingly, the article they've come out with, the State Department is saying, hey, this is not for asylum. And that's a word they don't want used with it, apparently. But it is a temporary protected status. And they say that you can come here for six, 12 or 18 months. If it lasts longer than that, it has to be extended by the government. But it's because your country has experienced armed conflict, a big environmental disaster or something extraordinary. That is only temporary and you can come here temporarily. And when that extraordinary danger has passed you can go back. And so that would be earthquakes and devastating hurricanes and things that wipe out. And so what has happened is the Administration now has ended the temporary protected status for 15 different nations. The 15 nations are Haiti, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, South Sudan, Burma, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Now, those, I can't tell you the disaster I would point to in most of those nations that have opened the door for them to be here by the millions, but let me just kind of point out some of the things that this administration is focusing on. A lot of the people who are here from Somalia came here after receiving approval in September of 1991. So we're talking 35 years on temporary status because there was a revolution in 1991 and they never went home after the revolution in 1991. Or we can take Haiti. In 2010, Haiti had an earthquake. They've recovered several times. They've actually had plenty more disasters since then, but you still have people here since 2010. After an earthquake and there was a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal...

Rick Green [00:09:19] Oh, and just to be clear, David, when we, when we say they've had disasters, we include their own government is a disaster.

David Barton [00:09:27] That's right, that's right. They're part of that disaster is self-inflicted. That's for sure. Yeah. So Nepal had a 7.8 magnitude in 2015, uh, hurricane that I, man, Tim, you may not remember, do you remember ever hearing Hurricane Mitch, anything about Hurricane Mitch probably before you were cognizant of stuff like that.

Tim Barton [00:09:53] Is that before Mitch McConnell got sick and has disappeared? Is that what his name was?

David Barton [00:09:55] Rick, you might have a shot of Hurricane Mitch. Do you remember Hurricane Mitch?

Rick Green [00:10:00] I do not. No. That that was Haiti?

David Barton [00:10:03] It was 1998 and it ravaged Honduras and Nicaragua. And so since 1998, they've been here on temporary protection. This is just unbelievable to me how anybody that's in a government agency that has specificity of what that status means six, 12 or 18 months. And it's til that that disaster is gone and Hurricane Mitch that recovered decades ago they recovered from that. It just boggles my mind the way that bureaucrats can read this stuff unless you are that Marxist mentality that you want no borders and you want to destroy all national identity. You want to the destroy the uniqueness of America. This is a great way to do it. But the good news is that for 15 different nations now, their temporary status of decades is now over and they've got to follow the law. They were brought here under a specific law. They've got to follow that law. It just, I just love to see that finally we're getting back to actually reading the documents and reading the laws under which these things operate. If we don't like the result, change the law. But don't just ignore the law because you have a different agenda. So I think this is really good news.

Rick Green [00:11:20] I just can't believe David that you would define temporary be so narrow-minded as to define temporary as less than, you know, it can't be a hundred years. Like I thought temporary could be, you know, I'm kidding. I mean, contemporary actually decades, decades. I mean. And it's so frustrating because we know better. We know what that does to our country. And it' s not that we don't love people, you know, and that's the other thing people would say about the Oh, well, you just don't love people because shouldn't you just let those people stay here and enjoy America? Well, then let's just let everyone everywhere in the world come enjoy America and then no one will enjoy America because it won't be enjoyable anymore.

Tim Barton [00:11:59] But guys, in the world where we can't define what a woman is, certainly they can't find what temporary means either. So no surprise on this. But by the way, like deeper level, deeper cut here, this is why it matters that we live in a society rooted and grounded in biblical truth, because that is the basis and standards of truth, of absolutes. If there is no truth, if there is no Bible, if there no God and no Jesus, then everything becomes subjective. And that's where you have some of these messes. So it is a reflection of the secularization of culture in many ways. I know it's downstream, but if there is no objective truth, then we can't define a woman and we can define temporary. So it has a reflection that we have lost that foundation that needs to be restored first and foremost, but yeah, not super surprising that people have struggled, but good news that we are able to open a dictionary. And once again, properly define what temporary means and remove people that are not here temporarily.

Rick Green [00:13:02] Good news guys. Okay, quick break. We'll be right back. We've got more good news for you folks when we return. You're listening to the WallBuilders Show

Rick Green [00:14:15] Welcome back to The WallBuilders Show. Thanks for staying with us on this Good News Friday, and Tim's up with the next piece of good news.

Tim Barton [00:14:21] Guys, this one the headline says Trump signs order, creating new space academy, akin to West Point, its location will be determined. I, I have so many thoughts and emotions on this. Growing up, there was a, a movie and this is like probably gonna be lost on most people. If somebody was in a homeschool family or like really sheltered in the 80s, 90s. There's a movie called Space Camp. I don't even remember what it was about. I just remember the title. I remember having to watch it at some point. I mean, Rick, maybe for you, this is more of like Star Wars growing up, you know, explore space. But the idea that there's Space Academy is amazing and hilarious to me at the same time. Especially when Trump's like, hey, we're going to make this akin to West Point. This is like going to be the elite of the elite. It's awesome. Okay. A lot of article left Dad, but I'm going to yield to you because I see you want to interject something. 

David Barton [00:15:15] Got a suggestion for Trump. He's looking for a place for a space camp. We have lots of space in West Texas. There's nothing out there. The Big Bend area is a space camp waiting to happen. They can have all the space they want out there, there's tons of space there. And that may not be the space he's talking about. 

Tim Barton [00:15:32] Well, this is in conjunction with NASA. So it would not surprise me if it does show up in Texas or somewhere where there is a NASA connection. So a couple of backgrounds on this, again, Trump saying this, he wants this to be akin to like the United States Military Academy at West Point, the US Space Academy will be for students looking to enter the US Space Force, a new branch of the military Trump created during his first term. The President will also serve NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry. So lots of space related things. When Trump also is making this motion, part of what happened as well. And this, this article is from, I guess the beginning of, no, it will be this weekend is when this article came out. So very recently, President Trump had the crew, that, that the NASA crew that had just had that space Artemis II, that had that space flight. And after signing the executive order he presented the vaunted award which is the first given or first given to Neil Armstrong in 1978 he gave it to all four members of the Artemis II crew. 

David Barton [00:16:40] Hey, Tim, by the way, there was a piece of good news that happened weeks ago. We didn't cover it, but it's worth covering now. You mentioned that Artemis crew. And you remember on that space trip, we had a good news piece where that the leader of that crew, that black man, what was his name? Anyway, he read from the scriptures in space, kind of like Borman did back on Apollo 8, and he read the scriptures. And it's interesting, there was an atheist on that crew. And a couple of months ago, he ended up becoming a Christian. He said as a result of the reading that happened on the Artemis, he heard the scriptures, he listened to it, he'd been thinking about it, thinking about the guys he was with, and he came to Christ as a result. So you mentioned Artemis gives me a chance to throw an extra piece of good news there. 

Tim Barton [00:17:21] Yeah, it's a really cool story, Dad, the four astronauts that were involved was NASA astronaut, Reed Wiseman, mission commander. The NASA astronaut, Victor Glover was the pilot, NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a mission specialist, and then Canadian space agency astronaut, Jeremy Hanson, also mission specialist. So those were the four people involved. All of them got the vaunted award again, first given to Neil Armstrong in 1978, Trump gave it to them. And what's interesting, Trump in his comment said that they traveled further than any human has ever traveled. And when he said it, I thought, I wonder if that's really true. And apparently it is absolutely true. And I think I remembered having heard this or read this at the time. What is crazy, I never would have guessed how many miles they went from earth, which it is further than, any humans have traveled before. How many miles guys? Do you think they went from Earth? Now, just maybe like perspective, it's a couple thousand miles from East Coast to West Coast. So how many miles did they travel from Earth, what's your guess? 

David Barton [00:18:35] So do you mean the round-trip mileage or the mileage to the furthest part out that they went? 

Tim Barton [00:18:41] Well, this is the way it's phrased. Their trajectory took them as far as blank amount of miles. Okay. So, the trajectory, how far did they go? 

David Barton [00:18:52] 73 million miles to the sun. So-. 

Tim Barton [00:18:55] They didn't go that far. 

David Barton [00:18:57] Yeah, that's right. I don't know. Maybe two million? Two and a half million?  

Tim Barton [00:19:04] You are so ambitious, sir. We might need to do a quick look up how many miles to the moon because it's not quite that far to the Moon. Rick, what are your thoughts? 

Rick Green [00:19:17] I was going to guess it was a little bit further than going to Little Rock from, uh, from, from Fredericksburg. So that's like five hundred miles or something. 

Tim Barton [00:19:28] But you know if you if you had traffic in Dallas, it feels like 

Rick Green [00:19:32] Yeah, it feels like you're going to the moon. That's right. Okay, so let's see if that seemed ambitious. I'm gonna say 500,000 miles 

Tim Barton [00:19:43] Okay, so let me help both of you out. It's been a while since you did your eighth grade, whatever science where you talk about the moon. 

David Barton [00:19:51] Earth science, that was earth science, yeah. 

Tim Barton [00:19:54] So to the moon, the closest point is 225,623 miles. The dark side, the far side of the moon is 252,088 miles. So they go further than the dark side. The furthest part of the Moon, but no, they did not go 500,000. They went 252 756 miles. So, over a quarter of a million for sure, but it is the furthest any humans have ever gone. 

Rick Green [00:20:29] No, no wait, Tim. Tim, round trip, they went 500. So I was right. It was just round trip. They were five. I'm just kidding. 

Tim Barton [00:20:38] And. I do want to point out, Trump says that this, this mission, what Artemis is doing is a stepping stone. Artemis III is scheduled for 2027. It's going to involve a series of challenging tests in earth's orbit. Artemis IV is slated for 2028 and it's expected to send astronauts to the lunar South pole for the first time. And I got to be honest guys, when I was reading this and I saw a lunar South pole, I was like, wait a second, is there a like lunar surface on the South pole? I think I misread that and misunderstood, but to the south pole lunar, I'm assuming that's like the south side of the moon, I think is what that means. The Artemis program's overall goal is to establish a long-term human presence on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars. President Trump in his comments said that he is trying to restore what has been lost because so many presidents did not prioritize and the value of kind of the American spirit that that we are people that want to explore the unknown and etc, etc, and he wants to restore that. Great article. But guys, just on a high level, there is now a new Space Academy that is coming. He signed the executive order. And then number two, there's more of these Artemis missions scheduled and part of the schedule of 2028, they're working to land on lunar south pole for the first time and then a future objective is actually sending astronauts to Mars, which is just incredible and good news that we have leaders that are ambitious and want to do these kinds of things again. So this is exciting to me. 

Rick Green [00:22:20] I know David, you were joking about the space thing in West Texas. But I think since Elon Musk created a city in Texas, what's it called? Space?  I'm blanking on it, but it's basically like space station or something like that down in, it's kind of close to the border, but I think that'd be a great place for all of these things in the space camp and all that to happen. So anyways, but, all right, go ahead, David. Sorry, man. You got, I've taken up your time for our last piece of good news. 

David Barton [00:22:47] Well, there are parts of West Texas that would probably make you feel like you're on the moon with nothing growing out there and lots of desert and open stuff, kind of desolate like that, but that's, yeah, neither here nor there. I love West Texas, by the way. I love riding horses out there. It's great. My piece of good news comes from Florida, actually, and it is something that no other state has done to this point in time. Now, It deals with welfare and welfare benefits. So, there are welfare benefits, there's federal welfare, there state welfare, all these things to assist people who need help. There is what's called temporary assistance for needy families. I wonder if temporary assistance means the same thing that temporary immigration status means, decades and decades? I don't know. But it says temporary assistance for needy families. There's temporary cash assistance, stuff like that. And what happened is DeSantis in Florida said, hey, here's some things we're no longer going to let you use your welfare benefits for. Now... this kind of blows my mind that we were allowing this to be used for welfare benefits, but here's six things he banned. Psychic and fortune-telling services. So, wait a minute, you're using your welfare money for psychic and fortune telling services, or tattoos, spa services, tanning, and other luxury services. So, you are using your welfare money to get tattoos and go to spas, or pornography, makes sense. Or using your welfare money to buy drugs and alcohol, which yeah, that speaks for itself, or using welfare money for tobacco and vaping products, or using your welfare money to get tickets to Disney World and other places. So they've said no more on entertainment tickets, theme park admission, video games, anything else. So those are the new six things you can't use your welfare of money for. And this is the only state in the United States that has stopped welfare money from being used for those purposes. He's the first one to do this. I'm going, oh my goodness. 

Tim Barton [00:24:59] Well, Dad, let me point out that this is something that we probably will bring up at our legislator’s conference this fall. This is one of the things that we often do is try to introduce legislators to other pieces of legislation. Actually, I know many that listen to our programs. So if you're listening, just know at our legislator's conference this Fall, we're probably talking about this topic. If you can't afford food, you can afford housing but you can afford to go get a massage, you can afford to to go to Disney, you might have kind of misappropriated some of those funds. You might need some Dave Ramsey help more than you need the welfare help, apparently. But it's great that Florida's doing this. Dad, again, just a quick go in. This is definitely something we will advocate for many other states to follow suit on, but it's that Florida is going that direction. 

David Barton [00:25:48] Yeah, it just blows my mind that people would, I don't know, we've never needed banned lists before because I don t think we ever thought they'd be used in this way before. But this has now become kind of a career job path is taking government money and finding ways to get government money to enjoy your lifestyle. And so with temporary being used here with welfare and temporary being use with immigration status maybe we're recovering what both of those words actually mean and words do have meaning. So even that in itself is good news. 

Rick Green [00:26:21] Yeah, I mean, just more good leadership from Ron DeSantis in Florida as well. Right. I mean he's only got a few months left. I bet we have a few more good news items from Florida before he's done with being governor in Florida. Anyway, everybody have a great weekend. We'll have more WallBuilders for you next week, but be sure and share the program with your friends and family. And don't forget to check it out on your favorite podcast app. You've been listening to the WallBuilders Show.