Congressman Drew Ferguson's Departure from Congress & Josh Hammer on Fani Willis' failing case against Trump
01:10:45 Share

Sam Stone: Welcome to another episode of Breaking Battlegrounds with your host, Chuck Warren. I'm Sam Stone.

Our first guest up today, friend of the program, someone we always appreciate having on here, has a very fresh perspective. Congressman Drew Ferguson, a proud native of West Point whose family roots in the West Georgia area are several generations deep, attended the University of Georgia and then went to the Medical College of Georgia. And he currently is serving as the congressmember from Georgia's third district and serves on the Ways and Means and House Budget Committees.

And we welcome him to the program. He's got some pretty momentous news going on. So, Congressman, you announced you are not running for another term. What led you to decide, eh, I'm done? Well, there are several things that have come together. And the first one is the realization that I have had the honor and privilege of serving my fellow Georgians, whether in the form of being a mayor or here in Congress, for 17 years. And it's been really...

It's fascinating, but it's time for me to go back to the private sector, somewhere that I was very successful in, and want to go back and re-engage. I'm at a point in my life where I've got time to go build one more thing. Not sure exactly what that's going to be, but I'm ready for that next life's challenge.

How much did you one thing was mentioned I read about your announcement you weren't running again is that your family received death threats due to the whole McCarthy ouster and so forth. Did you ever take those real seriously or they're more of an annoyance for you and your family. Of course take them very seriously and

And so does law enforcement. And both the local, state, and the federal law enforcement viewed them as not only credible but serious. But that didn't play into my decision to leave. Truly, it did not. I've got full confidence in our local sheriff, our Georgia State Patrol, and other agencies up here and our Capitol Police at the depot.

And you cannot live with fear. But yes, we took them seriously. But, you know, we also, that was not the reason that we chose not to run. Okay. One last question, then Sam has one for you. So this week we had another vote. Marjorie Taylor Greene failed to take out Speaker Mike Johnson. 359 members voted to block the motion.

What is she not understanding, other members who joined her, about math and about our slim majority in the house, and that you can only do so much? Well, I don't spend a whole lot of time trying to get in her head. I'm not that tired of being happy. But I will say this. We are in an environment where

where for a lot of reasons the attention economy is big. And when I say attention economy, it is drawing attention to oneself. It looks like we have lost the congressman. Is he still on the line there, Jeremy? Okay, folks, apologize for that. We're going to get the congressman back on here in just a moment.

Sam, we've really reached a point where people have to stop vomiting on the mouth and making threats to these members on either side of the aisle. This is beyond ridiculous. You have to be realistic. Why would you want to serve? Why would you want to serve with that type of animosity, that type of violent rhetoric directed towards you and your family? Because – and that's the problem. Good people don't want to serve under those circumstances. What you get when he was talking about the economy of – how he put it –

The economy of attention. Correct. Right. At the end of the day, these grandstanders who have no real functional use are blocking up the works at every government level.

You know, I can people made the criticism, similar criticisms about guys like Ted Cruz when they first arrived. But he had substantial background in the law and other and things. So it looks like we've got Congressman Drew Ferguson back on the phone. We're going to continue on with the interview with him. Congressman, are you there? I'm here. Sorry for the sorry for the disruption. No problem. You were talking about the economy of attention when we lost you right there.

Yes, and I think what's happening is that a lot of members aren't serious legislators in the entertainment business. They don't have the policy chops, and in some cases –

maybe even the real world experience to understand what some of these policies mean. And they are grabbing attention and hoping to raise money off of that. It's a pretty simple formula. I'm not saying it's a good formula, but apparently the crazier you sound and the more extreme you sound, and this is true on both sides of the aisle, there are small dollar donors that appear to be wanting to support that.

And at the end of the day, this is, you know, the House is a majority run institution and having a majority is really, really important. Right. And you should never and you and you should never do things that that that that make you act like the minority. And that's what we've we've got some members that have been doing. We have given up a lot of what Republicans could have achieved or at least stop the Biden administration from doing with that type of discord.

I want to move on to something else. And, Congressman, I apologize, but I'm going to put you on the deep hot seat right here. OK. Since you're retiring from public office, we keep talking about Social Security entitlements, Medicare, so forth. And the doomsday date for those every new report creeps it a little bit closer.

What do we need? What would we need to do? I mean, to get serious, because I literally talk to candidates. I advise candidates on the campaign trail and I tell them you can't talk about this honestly or you'll get slaughtered. And I'm embarrassed to say that. But it's the truth.

I think both sides have got to have some intellectual honesty here. They've got to be realistic. And we have a responsibility to the American people to not make this a political issue. And we have to give one another the ability to talk about ideas to solve the problem, because here's the reality.

You cannot fix this problem in a partisan way. It's got to be bipartisan. There's going to have to be some give and take on both sides. And by that, I mean, there are going to have to be some programmatic changes that occur. There are going to have to be some things that normally people would be attacked over that are going to have to be part of the equation.

There is going to have to be additional revenue coming into the program, at least in the middle years of what we try to fix, simply to get us over the hump. So,

What that looks like, I think we've just got to have an honest debate on it. But at the end of the day, we're going to have to change the program somewhat for people in out years. We're going to have to keep our promises for people that are in retirement or close to retirement.

And then the reality is that there's going to have to be revenue coming in to solve the math equation. It's just where we are. And to say otherwise is not being intellectually honest, in my humble opinion.

Do we need to get rid of the cap for wealthy people over $137,000, wherever the cap is? Do we need to get rid of that? Would that be one thing to help immediately? Well, I think that really doesn't come close to solving the overall problem. But I think it's part of some version of that.

is probably needed, but look, maybe we look at this in a different manner. Maybe we look at it and say, okay, let's think about trading something here. Let's take in exchange for receiving Social Security benefits. What if I had the option to put more money

tax deferred into my retirement plan? What if I could put a bigger percentage of my income into it?

I mean, you know, nobody's going to get out of contributing to Social Security on the payroll tax. But in return for not taking as much out of the pot in the end, what if I had a chance to put more in on the beginning and I chose to live off of my retirement as opposed to the government insurance program? Those are the kinds of creative things that we need to be thinking about. Is there –

Somebody and I love that. Is there somebody in Congress? It seems to me, you know, schoolyard politics version of this thing, that the deal that has to be made is the two sides come together with some sort of working group and say, you get 50 percent, we get 50 percent and everyone's going to come out a little bit unhappy and then just negotiate it out from there.

I think that's probably somewhere in what Jody Arrington, chairman of the Budget Committee, has put forth with a debt commission group. I think that that's something, I think that where you've got a group of folks that are allowed to talk and think and be creative, and then it's incumbent upon them not just

not just to take what they say, but to go take parts of what they have produced as a group and actually go sell it to the members of Congress in a way that makes sense where they can go back and sell it to their constituents back home. I think that's important.

to do that. But ultimately, it's going to be the 435 members of the House and the 100 members of the Senate and a president in the White House that come together on a bipartisan basis to get that done, to get the final package done. So yeah, I do think there's value in having a group, a working group that is together, that is working.

And the one thing that I will say on this issue, and this is something that I learned very quickly when I got the gavel of the subcommittee, is there's a huge fight just on where the numbers actually are. Getting Republicans and Democrats to simply agree on the basic math has been a bigger challenge than you might agree because some people, they use different numbers and different formulas. So I think that's the first piece of it is getting people to agree, and I think we're very close on that.

Well, folks, for you that don't understand, Social Security is financed by payroll taxes. The total cost of the program in 23 was $1,392,000,000. The income that came in for it was $1,351,000,000. So you're already $40 billion short there. So this is going to keep getting worse and worse and worse. And by 2033, they're saying it will cover only 79% of the monthly checks. So...

Yeah, we have only a minute left. We're going to be coming back in our next segment with more from Congressman Drew Ferguson. So I don't want to launch you into a long explanation here, Congressman. But when we come back, I wanted to move on to some of the campus protests, Israel, particularly Biden's action in delaying weapons shipments or limiting weapons shipments to Israel. Because I tend to think this is going to play much bigger, Chuck, and Congressman Ferguson,

This is going to play bigger than a lot of things Biden has done. This is reaching parts of the left that have been unaware of a lot of the actions that Biden has taken that they're not that they might not have been happy with. This is this is getting out there and it's not good for him. I agree. We're going to have more on this when we come back. Breaking Battlegrounds. We'll be back in just a moment.

At Overstock, we know home is a pretty important place, and that's why we believe everyone deserves a home that makes them happy. Whether you're furnishing a new house or apartment or simply looking to update and refresh a few rooms, Overstock has everyday free shipping and amazing deals on the beautiful, high-quality furniture and decor you need to transform any home into the home of your dreams. Overstock, making dream homes come true.

Folks, this is Sam Stone for Breaking Battlegrounds. Discover true freedom today with 4Freedom Mobile. Their SIM automatically switches to the best network, guaranteeing no missed calls. You can enjoy browsing social media and the internet without compromising your privacy. Plus, make secure mobile payments worldwide with no fees or monitoring. Visit 4FreedomMobile.com today for top-notch coverage.

digital security, and total freedom. And if you use the code BATTLEGROUND at checkout, you get your first month of service for just $9 and save $10 a month for every month of service after that. Again, that's code BATTLEGROUND at checkout. Visit 4freedommobile.com to learn more.

Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds with your host Chuck Warren and Sam Stone. Folks, go to investyrefi.com today. That's invest the letter Y, then refi.com today. Learn how you can earn up to a 10.25% fixed rate of return in a secure collateralized portfolio. It's a fantastic opportunity to do well for yourself and your family while doing good for the others. You're helping students pay off their high interest college loans and get their lives back on track. So again, check them out. Invest the letter Y, then refi.com.

All right. Let's get back to the question here about what's going on in the Middle East and President Biden withholding certain weapons for Israel.

What can Congress do about this? I mean, two weeks ago, you passed it. They begged for it. You passed what they wanted. And now he's withholding it. The question is, what is Congress going to do? And my second question is, how is this different than what Trump was accused of doing in Ukraine?

First of all, what he's done, and we should be unequivocally standing with Israel. And how we got to the point in this country that trying to decide whether or not eliminating the terrorist organization was a good idea or not is beyond me. Hamas is a terrorist organization, and we should be helping our ally defeat them, destroy them, and eradicate them, period.

full stop that's where we should be now we did our work in congress and the president said we will in fact send this aid to israel and to the ukraine and to the indo-pacom area we have we have done our work in congress i think what america is finding now particularly those on the left this is another that this is proof that you cannot trust joe biden whatever he says

It usually does not work out, and it goes against what comes out of his list. And that's because of the people, not only him, but the people around him. Inflation reduction, that inflation's at an all-time high right now. We're going to go green energy and save money for American families. I don't know about you, but the cost to fill up my car and heat my home and cool my home is through the roof. And no one can buy a car.

Yeah, and the House, for that matter. Then you've got, you know, the border is secure. The border's no more secure. I mean, it's an open cell for terrorists, gang members, and fentanyl and drugs. So what people on the far left are seeing is that you simply cannot trust this president to keep his word. His judgment's bad to begin with, but you can't trust him.

And so what do we do in Congress? I think we call this out. I think you'll see the House in the coming weeks take measures to address this. We have to have...

bipartisan support on the Senate side, and I'm hoping that they will continue to put pressure on the president as well. Hard for me to see where Chuck Schumer would not lean in in some shape, form, or fashion to help the nation of Israel on this. So I look at it as just another example of...

administration and take them at their word. Congressman, is this one of those flashpoints? Because it seems like there are effectively two Democrat parties today. There's the old Democrats who are in retreat.

And then this this new, you know, squad style Democrats who are 100 percent behind Hamas. I mean, they're not even making any bones about it. Is this highlighting a divide that Biden does not need highlighted ahead of this election? Look, I think he's got not only this divide and

And yes, this is a flashpoint and this is a critical moment for it to really show the divide in the Democrat Party about where their two camps are. And you see the bad side of that camp growing more quickly than the good side of the camp. That's number one.

But but he's also got problems with with working class Americans, blue collar workers. And just take Trump, for example, the other day when he gets out of the courtroom, goes to a construction site and all of the all of the workers there are cheering. And, you know, those folks are with us now because they understand that Biden's policies on trade and finance and international relations hurt their paycheck significantly.

every single week and their ability to take care of their families every single week. So it's not just this one. He's got all kinds of points that he has created divisions. To campaign as a unitary chief, he has been anything but that. And part of it is because you can't trust the guy.

In Georgia, obviously, has a fairly large African-American population. People have been talking a lot about there's a potential shift in the African-American population from voting almost entirely Democrat. And now, you know, people are talking about 20 percent, 25 percent coming across to vote Republican in this cycle. Are you seeing that from the people you know in your state?

Yes, we see it. We see it all the time, particularly among middle class African-American men. But let me say this. I think there's a major shift going on in America that where if you were if you're out there picking up a lunch pail, going to work or you're an entrepreneur, you're a small business owner, you're a creator, you're moving to the Republican Party. If

If you are educated beyond your intelligence to multiple degrees and have enough money that you don't have to live with the consequences of your ideology, then you're tending to vote with the left-coast elites and the New York elites. So it's not just African Americans. It's Hispanics. We have a huge South Korean population here in Georgia as well. Those folks are with us.

They are with the Republican Party because they understand in very basic terms, you've got to have a job where you can take care of your family. You've got to have a house that you can come home to that's safe and decent. You want your kids educated for a brighter future, not indoctrinated. And you want the freedom to be who you want to be in this great country of ours. And at every one of those points, Joe Biden and the Democrats –

are going in the opposite direction. The economy is not working. We aren't safer. And, you know, God knows what's going on in the education system, particularly in college, is just abysmal. And if you loved COVID and how COVID restricted you, then you can support the Democrats. But outside of that, you know, they got the rest of the country wrapped up, right? Lunch pail politics. They are failing miserably. We have two minutes left. I have a question for you. Wall Street spent decades

Yes.

Well, I think – I don't know how you do that from a crackdown standpoint. I think what we're better off doing is let's go back and let's fix some of the issues that are driving the cost of home ownership through the roof. Let's address the labor issues that are out there. We need – we've got to secure the border, but let's be real. We need some real reforms to our legal immigration process as well. We need to be training tradesmen here.

here in America. And our K-12, yes. That's something that's important. Yeah, I mean, that's really, really important. Number two, let's fix our supply chain problems so that we can begin to drive prices back down. And in order to do that, a lot of that's going to have to be done here in the U.S., but there are going to be some things that we need from around the world, and having this administration be absent on trade policy for four years hasn't helped.

And then let's look at – I mean interest rates are really so much higher than they've been for almost a generation. And with that, that's inflation. Drop – cut the government spending, and let's get back to making America the most competitive place in the world to build a business, grow a business, buy a home, and raise a family.

I love it. Congressman, I apologize. I got to cut you off. We're coming to the end of the segment here. We always appreciate having you on the program. And we're going to look forward to staying in touch with whatever you do going forward because we will need your wit and wisdom one way or another. Thank you so much for joining us. Breaking Battlegrounds back in just a moment.

Hi, folks. Stop big tech from tracking your every move. Experience true freedom with 4FreedomMobile. Visit 4FreedomMobile.com today for top-notch coverage, digital security, and total freedom. Use the code BATTLEGROUND at checkout to get your first month of service for just $9 and save $10 a month for every month after that. Again, that's code BATTLEGROUND at checkout. All right. Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds. Our

Our next guest up today, Josh Hammer, senior editor at large of Newsweek, where he also hosts the Josh Hammer Show podcast and syndicated radio show and writes a weekly newsletter, the Josh Hammer Report. And if you're not subscribed and following on all those, you should be because it's some of the most interesting and insightful commentary on the web today. Josh Hammer, thank you so much for joining us.

Well, it's a very generous introduction, and it's really great to be with you. Thanks for having me. Josh, the first most important question is, I understand you collect cowboy boots. How many do you have now?

Yeah, you guys really are Arizonans, huh? Yeah, we are. I own seven, although I have not bought a new pair in like seven years now. It was the third or fourth pair. Third pair I ever bought was actually out of Mesa, Arizona. This was over a decade ago or so. So I do have one Arizonan pair. Most of them are from Texas because I've lived in Texas for four years. I don't get as many opportunities to wear them here in Florida as I would like, to be honest with you, but hopefully we can get to a country concert or a rodeo or something soon.

We'll have to fly you out here and have you on the show here, and we'll go cowboy shopping. I mean, he's fallen way behind Imelda Marcos here. I don't know about this. All right. Well, first of all, I want to talk quickly about Hunter Biden's...

attempt to dismiss his gun charges. What do you make of it? Well, it was dismissed for good reason. I mean, it was a very straightforward order. They didn't even get to the substantive constitutional question, the actual Second Amendment argument. They basically just said that this question is not ripe for our review right now. You're going to have to go to trial. Look, I think that Hunter Biden is actually a dead man walking when it comes to these particular crimes. If you look at the actual statutes, it's 18 U.S. Code section 922 and 924. I

I mean, it's just a black letter, clear violation of what the law prohibits, which is being a drug user while either owning or transporting a firearm in interstate commerce. Do you know how I know that it's a black letter violation? Because Hunter Biden admitted to that conduct. He wrote in his memo.

are. I mean, I don't know where his lawyer was at the time to tell him not to do that. So I think he's a dead man walking, honestly, and I was certainly not surprised at all that the court dismissed this Hail Mary attempt. Maybe his ghostwriter was Christine Noem's ghostwriter, too. Yeah.

It's possible. All right, Fannie Willis, the Georgia case. It seems like that's total catastrophe right now. Yeah, Donald Trump's looking really good in Georgia. Frankly, he's looking really good in all of these cases other than the one in New York right now. But in Georgia in particular, it's really great news for Donald Trump because I and I think many others thought that that was going to be the most problematic case. When all four of these dropped last year, Georgia was the last one to drop. Fannie dropped that indictment last August, if memory serves.

And I was the most scared for Donald Trump in this case for numerous reasons. One is it's a state court, so maybe a little less overall neutral and reliable than federal court. Two, it's a very blue jurisdiction, Fulton County, Georgia. That's where Atlanta is. Three, you have the possibility of even leading Republicans in the state, like the governor, Brian Kemp, and then the secretary of state, Brad Roffensperger. You have the possibility of even high-profile Georgia Republicans voting.

getting called as possible witnesses against Trump because neither of those two gentlemen are particularly big fans of Trump. So you kind of combine all this. And I was actually very nervous for Donald Trump in Georgia. We've agreed from the start that was the most dangerous case for him. Yeah. Yeah.

It was, but not anymore because he's just gone extraordinarily lucky with this Fannie Willis, Nathan Wade extramarital affair drama. And he probably owes a big debt of gratitude, frankly, to his co-defendant there, Michael Roman, who's a longtime Republican Party operative. It was actually Michael Roman and his lawyers who were the ones who kind of, you know, they dug deep in the bowels of the Internet and they found this Fannie Willis, Nathan Wade stuff back in January. So he's looking really good because at this point, the name of the game in Georgia is just to run out the clock. And I think that's

They're looking really good. Well, it's an important lesson about the gentleman you just mentioned because what I read is when his attorney brought it up, the other attorneys who were representing the other defendants just sort of dismissed it, and he just kept pursuing it.

And it just shows you sometimes you got to hunch. You got to follow through with it. Totally. You know, there's roughly 18 co-defendants there in Fannie Willis's Rico case in Georgia. Michael Roman, honestly, not one of the higher profile ones. I mean, this is a case where you have folks like Rudy Giuliani, my friend John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, Jenna Ellis, who reached a plea deal. A lot of bigger names were there as co-defendants. Michael Roman was not one of them. Good on him and good on his lawyers there. He deserves, frankly, a ton of credit for where this prosecution currently is in Georgia.

That's fascinating. From what I understand, too, now, the timeline for this, it's almost certain that it will not occur before the election, any trial. Definitely. At this point, what's going to happen is the Georgia Court of Appeals is going to weigh in as to whether the district court judge, Scott McAfee, was correct to basically do this baby splitting attempt where you dismiss Nathan but not Fonny. They're going to have to rule on that. It probably won't happen.

probably will go to the Georgia Supreme Court after that. There's no chance this reaches a jury very prior to November. Donald Trump, I think, is it's all but assured that he is going to skate scot-free at least prior to the November 2024 election there in Georgia, I believe. We're with Josh Hammer. He is a senior editor at large of Newsweek. He also hosts the Josh Hammer Show podcast. Download that today wherever you get your podcasts. Josh, tell them where I'll tell our audience where else they can find you before the next segment.

Yeah, so I host two shows, The Josh Hammer Show, and then I host a daily legal show as well called America on Trial with Josh Hammer, which are both available everywhere you get your podcasts. And then The Josh Hammer Show has some radio affiliates as well. We're up in Seattle, we're in St. Louis, and we're looking to pick up radio affiliates. Fantastic. This is Breaking Battlegrounds. We'll be right back.

At Overstock, we know home is a pretty important place, and that's why we believe everyone deserves a home that makes them happy. Whether you're furnishing a new house or apartment or simply looking to update and refresh a few rooms, Overstock has everyday free shipping and amazing deals on the beautiful, high-quality furniture and decor you need to transform any home into the home of your dreams. Overstock, making dream homes come true.

Thanks for watching.

digital security, and total freedom. And if you use the code BATTLEGROUND at checkout, you get your first month of service for just $9 and save $10 a month for every month of service after that. Again, that's code BATTLEGROUND at checkout. Visit 4freedommobile.com to learn more.

Welcome back to Breaking Battlegrounds. Folks, you've been hearing us talk about it for a long time, but if you haven't been to the website at investwyrefight.com, you need to do that today. You need to learn how you can earn up to a 10.25% fixed rate of return in a secure collateralized portfolio. Fantastic opportunity to do well for your family by doing good for others. Check it out. Invest the letter Y then refy.com or give them a call at 888-WY-REFIGHT-24 and tell them Chuck and Sam sent you.

With Josh Hammer, senior editor at large of Newsweek. Josh, what do you think is the difference between the current campus protests regarding the support of Hamas, Hamas practically, versus the protests in the 60s against the Vietnam War? What would you separate the two groups of people by? So there are multiple, I think, distinctions to draw here. So in the 1960s, the Vietnam War protests, first of all,

The protests at that time, everyone remembers the famous one at Kent State, or I guess if you're my age, you read about it. I don't know if you remember it. But the protests at that time, they were protesting the foreign policy decisions, the substantive foreign policy decisions of Lyndon Johnson, of Richard Nixon, and the other members of the bipartisan foreign policy establishment.

That may be what the so-called protesters today say that they are protesting. They might claim that they are protesting these substantive foreign policy decisions. That's not really what they're actually doing. They are protesting the very existence –

of the Jewish state of Israel, which has been in existence this month actually now for 76 years. The United States, Harry Truman famously was the first president in the first country to ever recognize that state shortly after David Ben-Gurion declared independence going back to May of 1948. And even more to the point, what they're really doing is they are protesting, and protesting, frankly, is a charitable act.

based on what they're actually doing. But they are protesting the mere presence of Jews. I mean, not even pro-Israel people because they're not coming after the many Christian Zionists and other Zionists who exist in America. Thank God we have many of them still left. They're just coming after Jews. They're literally coming after Jews who are wearing a kippah, who are wearing the Star of David necklace,

and this is just blatant anti-semitism happening against their fellow jews who are student who are faculty members so the difference is that in the 1960s they were mostly protesting a foreign policy decision that elites in washington dc were making nowadays they are protesting the mere presence on campus of people in their midst well and one of the things that you know it comes up with this but

Whether it's the US actions throughout the Middle East where we have been engaged against ISIS and Al-Qaeda and all these others, there are civilian casualties. You cannot engage in a war in an urban environment without civilian casualties. By all evidence, Israel is doing a better job of preventing those certainly than we have ever done. But yet they act like there is some ability –

to have zero casualties in this conflict, and that's just not real. They keep trying to quote the Hamas health ministry as the fair arbiter of numbers. I mean, that's just ridiculous. Right. So over at Newsweek, where I work, we've actually published at least three op-eds, maybe more than that, from a guy by the name of John Spencer. And John Spencer is the...

He's the head of urban warfare at West Point. So this is someone who knows urban warfare. I mean, he knows what it means to kind of go into a city and to try to take control of the city from a counteroffensive, a jihadist organization. In fact, he was there in Iraq and Mosul when the U.S. had its big surge against ISIS around 2016, 2017. He was there and he witnessed it. And what he has said time and time again, including at Newsweek,

is that the IDF operation in Gaza is the gold standard for urban warfare. When you look at the actual metrics, the ratio of combatant to civilian death ratios, what Israel is doing blows out of the water. What the U.S. did in Mosul as recently as 2016, 2017, there is no historical comp for this. And, you know, bear in mind,

That's all happening, obviously, in a situation in Gaza where Hamas infamously uses their civilians as human shields. They are firing rockets from little elementary schools and mosques and civilian centers there. This is excruciating stuff, and the pressure is the likes of which no country has probably faced really ever in warfare because the international community is just lining up like ducks in a row to try to cut them off.

I at the spigot there and they're doing a phenomenal job based on any objective assessment. But but the people don't care. Right. I mean, this is kind of the issue because the criticisms of Israel right now, I don't think have anything to do with the actual facts on the ground because the facts just don't matter to these people. This is kind of the very frustrating part. They're coming from a place of dogma. And this is this is dogma that's been kind of ingrained and doctored in their head.

Going back at least as far as those 1960s radicals, the same Frankfurt School that kind of made the long march through the institutions, this whole oppressor, oppressed narrative there. And it's very hard to try to reason with people with facts who are just so indoctrinated by ideology and dogma. Let's go back to these anti-Semitic protests on campuses. So in 2019, I believe Donald Trump's administration said anti-Zionism is basically anti-Semitism. Is that correct?

Yes. Okay. So what are some things the federal government can be doing to clamp down on these protests? Is it the Ku Klux Klan Act? There's something in there we can do? I mean, what are the things they can do? Yeah, so great question. There's a lot they can do. So this was a December 2019 executive order that the Trump administration famously did where they basically said –

that the Trump Department of Education, this is back when Ken Marcus was the special Department of Education attorney for civil rights enforcement. They said that when it comes to Title VI, and Title VI is the provision of the Civil Rights Act that basically says that all institutions of higher education that receive federal taxpayer money cannot discriminate on the basis of religion, sex, gender, national origin, you name it. And what the Trump administration said was that for purposes of Title VI,

They're going to adopt the definition called the IRA definition that says that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. What that means in concrete terms is that a college student who is having his or her civil rights infringed upon because he or she is not necessarily just a Jew but also just a Zionist, a supporter of the state of Israel –

you actually might have a viable civil lawsuit on your hands there. By the way, this is also what the House passed in the recent Anti-Semitism Awareness Act. There's been a ton of misinformation, frankly, even in right-of-center circles about what that piece of legislation does. It's essentially exactly what Trump did via administrative fiat. So I think there's just a ton of misinformation on that front. So anyway, so a massive class action Title VI lawsuit actually is a perfectly viable –

course of action because the bind administration never actually repealed that december 2019 trump executive order so that interpretation of title vi that trump implemented is still the law of the land you might say but as you alluded to there are any number of other possible avenues here as well there there is the ku klux klan act which is codified if memory serves at 42 u.s code

1985, 1986. So there are multiple subsections of it. But long story short, if you have a sprawling conspiracy to deprive people of their constitutional or civil rights, you might have a civil lawsuit. There's also a criminal, a prosecutorial analog to that, which is 18 U.S. Code Section 241. That allows federal prosecutors, if they want to, you know, query whether the Biden administration, whether they're whether their prosecutors are up to the task.

But you can have a viable lawsuit that tries to prosecute people for a mass conspiracy to deprive others of their constitutional rights. I think that should be a viable course of action. Again, that depends on the Biden DOJ and the U.S. attorneys. They're going to have to actually act here. And then there are all sorts of other avenues as well, one of which comes immediately to mind would, of course, be material support for terrorism. I mean, that is a well-known prosecutorial offense there.

The organizations that are leading the anarchy on campus right now are mainly two closely related organizations, one of which is called AMP, American Muslims for Palestine. The other is called SJP, Students for Justice in Palestine. They're basically both run by the same head organization. There was a big civil lawsuit just filed about a week and a half ago or so by Greenberg Trowrig Law Firm trying to kind of

show that they are that, the federal government could also prosecute that if they wanted to, and if they have the evidence, of course, to do a material support prosecution as well. I'm a non-attorney, but I had this idea. I think there needs to be a law that if you are a donor of a nonprofit that donates to a nonprofit that creates public damage to public property or criminal intent, that you, the donor, are liable for it.

I love that. I mean, I think that's a great move. I mean, there's all sorts of creative public policy that probably should pop up as a result of this. And by the way, there's so much else that Congress could do, obviously. I mean, if you look at the worst universities right now, so Northwestern University is a very good example. Northwestern has been

absolutely horrible. They have given these so-called protesters everything, and then some they have folded like a cheap suit. Northwestern University, by the way, has a campus in Doha, Qatar. They take more Qatari money than any university in America other than like two or three. There are literally only two or three that take more money than Northwestern. So ending all foreign funding of higher ed, to me, is an absolute no-brainer and something that Congress could do tomorrow if it actually wanted to.

Question now about Joe Biden. Joe Biden is not using the military expenditure that he's supposed to be using by withholding weapons to Israel. My question for you is, and please explain to me, is there a difference between what he's doing to Israel versus what Donald Trump was accused of in Ukraine?

Absolutely no difference whatsoever. And I have been saying for the past 36, 48 hours that on the Democrats own standard, this is an impeachable offense. I mean, you know, these articles of impeachment basically write itself. You know, if the House if the House Judiciary Committee under Jim Jordan wants to do so. I mean, heck, I will volunteer to be their lawyer. Whereas, you know, in December 2019, Democrats impeached Donald Trump for this five page nothing burger phone call where he threatened to withhold a I mean, it literally writes itself the exact same thing.

Switching topics just a little bit here, but one thing I wonder is the contrast between the Trump prosecutions and the kid gloves approach to all the protesters that have gotten out of line and committed acts of violence, vandalism, and so forth and so on. The public is seeing this right now. They're seeing one side get basically let go scot-free while Donald Trump is being prosecuted for things that

by and large, make no sense at all, where they had to change the law post facto to prosecute him. Is this giving ammunition to Trump and his defenders to say, to show just how, particularly for independents, just how twisted Democrats are trying to make our justice system?

Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to say. I mean, there is some polling on this, right? There is some polling and it does show that a decent percentage of America, excuse me, decent percentage of even Republicans, those kind of softer Republican voters, if you will. Some of them even tell pollsters that if Trump is convicted, then they cannot vote for him. And, you know, you can do what we do in this business, which is explain the absolutely farcical nature of the New York case in particular. That's the only case that might actually make it to a jury.

But there is still some psychological element here, right, where if a court, a judge, no matter how biased the court judge may be, if you actually declare the person guilty, there probably are some softer voters out there who just couldn't get over it and actually pull the ballot for someone who some court of law.

And by the way, it makes me very unhappy that I have to kind of speak in these terms about judges and courts of law. I'm a lawyer by background. I clerked on a federal court of appeals. It makes me deeply unhappy that this is where the justice system is at. But I do think that there actually are some people who just psychologically just probably can't make it across the finish line if he gets that scarlet letter in New York City, which I hope he does not because it's a ridiculous case. Donald Trump's vice presidential choice. I think it should be Tim Scott. Who do you think it should be?

I have publicly said that it should be JD Vance. And a lot of people kind of look at me and say, Josh, you know, what does he add? He's just a white guy. I mean, what does he add here? I'll tell you exactly what JD Vance adds. Two things. One is that he's a 39 year old millennial, which is a brilliant contrast to having two people who are right around the age of 80. He

He can speak to kind of the younger generation's concerns that they've spent like drunken sailors. They've had all these foreign policy crusades that haven't necessarily ended particularly well. He speaks the frustrations of the younger class, and he speaks it in a very visceral manner. And a lot of the polls actually show that millennials and Gen Z are kind of peeling away a little bit from Biden relative to his 2020 polling. So I think he opens up that avenue. But the best case for J.D. Vance, I think, is that he's Mr. Rust Belt. And I think if Trump is if we're looking at the Electoral College map,

Trump's going to have to replicate in many ways the 2016 map. He's going to have to break through that blue wall again, the Sun Belt, your state of Arizona. These states are very important, but you're going to have to pick up probably at least two of three out of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. J.D. Vance speaks those voters' language, I think, more than anyone else who was in contention. Final question. You're editor-at-large at Newsweek. It seems like they give you a lot of latitude and ability to have people on that are diverse in their thought. Do you feel that way? Yeah, so I...

Great question. Yeah. So I'm senior editor at large in Newsweek, but I previously was the opinion editor of Newsweek. I was the op-ed editor for a little over three years from 2020 to 2023. My successor in that capacity now is Badia Ungar-Sargon, who I hired a couple of years ago.

And my mission was to platform all sides. And they basically, my bosses thought that it was best to bring in a fairly open conservative like myself to basically say to the American and the global right, this is a welcome place for you. And we do that every day. We publish op-eds from Republican officials, from conservative commentators. I mean, you name it, we've probably published them. And it's really been quite a thrill, actually. That's fantastic.

Fantastic. Thank you so much, Josh Hammer. We really appreciate having you on the program. Look forward to having you back again in the future, folks. You can follow him on Twitter X at Josh underscore Hammer. Make sure you check out his podcast and newsletter, The Josh Hammer Report and Josh Hammer Show.

And Breaking Battlegrounds will be back on the air next week. We'll have more fantastic guests coming up. But make sure you stay tuned for the podcast segment, Kylie's Murder and Mayhem Update, Jenna's Sunshine Moment, and Migrants in Denver with Ridiculous Demands. Stay tuned. Welcome back to the podcast portion of Breaking Battlegrounds, where, of course, if it bleeds, it leads. So we're jumping right into...

The Kylie Campbell's murder and mayhem report. Kylie, what do you got? I like that intro. So I'm going to give an update on the Karen Reid case this week again. Oh, my goodness. It keeps getting crazier. And the worst part is, is like we haven't even heard from the best witnesses yet. But this week, I feel like was going off of last week. Give us a quick update. What was the Karen Reid case? So in case people are forgetting.

so karen reed is being accused of killing her boston police officer boyfriend by hitting him with her car she's claiming that this is a cover-up from the police last week we covered we heard from i think two officers and two paramedics um

And last week I covered that they had gotten the address wrong on all the reports. It's at 34 Fairview, and they had put 32 Fairview on the initial report. And then when they were indicting her using the grand jury, they had listed it as 35 Fairview. So that was all incorrect.

They also testified that they never saw any taillight pieces at the scene, to which we have now heard from nine first responders and none of them, nine first responders were at the scene of the crime the morning it happened and none of them saw taillight pieces. They're saying they found taillight pieces three weeks later. They found 45 pieces of taillights. But at the scene the day of, there was nothing. That doesn't make sense at all. Did they realize it doesn't make sense at all?

Well, but it was snowing that night, right? Were they covered? The roads are still plowed. I mean, that's not... Yeah, so they said it was snowing. We heard from a...

uh snowplow guy who came by at 2 30 in the morning and he did not see anything at that point on the lawn yet no body nothing of that sort um they're saying she hit him with her car at 12 45 in the morning um that's an interesting one yes very interesting so we heard from two more paramedics timothy nuttle and anthony flamanti

Timothy, these are such Boston names right there. They're all there's a solely there's like all sorts of different Boston names. So he testifies that John at this was at 6 a.m. was not able to be resuscitated. However, Anthony comes on the stand and says, John State, he was able to be resuscitated. He was not. So those two are contradicting. Oh, my goodness. Timothy also said that he was his blood was dried.

because he was bleeding out of his eyes his nose his mouth had scratches all over up and down his arms they he said his blood was dried at that point but anthony is claiming that he was still actively bleeding from his eyes nose and mouth but that his arm wounds were not bleeding any longer so again those are tests or those are contradicting as far as conspiracies go these guys if you know if this is one these guys are terrible at getting their story straight oh totally just wait so then we hear from a third paramedic um katie she's like

So those two were leading the investigation. She was trying to corral basically Karen because she was very frantic and kept yelling. Apparently, I hit him. Did I hit him? She was like, is my husband dead? Was just screaming all different crazy things. So her, the defense focused more on her and her relationship with Caitlin Albert. So this incident happened at 34 Fairview, which was Brian and Nicole Albert's home.

where all the Alberts, their seven Albert brothers, they were all raised in this home. Okay. Everyone lives at 34 Fairview, it sounds like. Anyways, Katie McLaughlin, paramedic, is friends with Caitlin Albert, the homeowner's daughter.

They say, she says, oh, we're friends from high school, but not that close. And then the defense then goes on and shows all these Facebook photos of them hanging out, going on vacation together. Better friends than just high school friends. So that's what the defense has been trying to do is connect all of this whole web. So I looked up, Canton has a little over...

23,000 residents. Okay. But they're all very close. I have pages all highlighted. This, this is such a Boston murder. Oh, this whole thing. I was like discovering, you know, that's kind of the anti, like the people that think Karen Reed is framed. They're all saying that this has happened in other cases and that this is a whole, there's a whole pattern in Canton. Yeah. This is a whole Canton police cover up. And this happens very often.

So then we hear from Lieutenant Gallagher. He's the senior officer on the scene. It's snowing outside. He says to collect the evidence and to find evidence, he's going to use a leaf blower. I'm not from Boston. I don't know how you look for evidence in the snow, but he's using a leaf blower to blow around the snow to recover evidence, to which he finds blood and broken glass. At this point, no taillights.

So he goes across the street, across the street from 34 Fairview, where Lieutenant Keller, another officer, lives. Asks him for plastic cups and baggies to collect said evidence because they didn't have this stuff in his car or none of the officers did. So he gives him which I mean, honestly. OK, so here's the thing from my own experience with the city of Phoenix.

Those cups and plastic baggies instantly are contaminated. Even if you took them straight from the container, they're not evidence bags that are controlled before they're opened for use. That would invalidate any evidence you put in them. Well, this is the best part. He gave him six red Solo cups and a stop-and-shop paper bag. I mean, I've gotten six red Solo cups and a stop-and-shop paper bag in Boston before, but it wasn't for anything, you know.

Wasn't for collecting evidence. Exactly. So then he testified that Sergeant Link, this is a new sergeant. We haven't interviewed him yet. Well, he comes on just now. I'm going to talk about that in a sec. He says that he then transports this evidence to the station. So now Sergeant Link comes on.

And again, they're pushing their ties with the Albert family. They bring up two incidents of when he did a solid for Chris Albert and Tim Albert, two brothers. Chris Albert is a select man in Canton. He owns a pizza shop as well. And the select man, apparently you oversee the police stations or police. Yeah.

And then Tim Albert, I don't know what his job is. However, Sergeant Link did him a solid. So Tim Albert got in a hit and run accident. He flees the scene to 34 Fairview, to which Sergeant Link then goes to 34 Fairview, interviews him, and

They're alluding to the fact that it was a DUI, but he did his friend a solid and never reported that. Then Chris Albert one night's like, hey, dude, I'm, you know, these guys, these two brothers in town won't leave me alone. What do I do? He gives him advice. And then they're all out drinking that night. Sergeant Link's out drinking with them. These two brothers show up. They get in this huge brawl. Canton police shows up, arrests the two brothers, but not the officers that are involved. And he then, I guess, bites one of the guys and then spits in his face while he's handcuffed.

And, again, nothing happened to Sergeant Link. A solid was done. So they're trying to point out that these solids are done. So they're like, oh, do you owe the Albert family? Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Chuck, I'm at the point I think we need to take all of these people and throw them into the running man and just decide it that way. Because at this point, like, there's nobody clean in this.

Yes. So Sergeant Link also was not scheduled to work that day. Sergeant Good, another guy that was on the scene, called him and said, hey, you got to show up to 34 Bearview. Some stuff's going down. So he calls the dispatch and says, I'm reporting to an unresponsive man at 34 Bearview. It seems like he got in a fight or whatever. So at this point, six in the morning, people are reporting that he was in a fight based on his injuries, not hit by a car. Okay.

He then said that he separated all the witnesses or no, he did not separate all the witnesses. He just had them all together, chit chatting together. So he said, Jennifer McCabe and then Nicole and Brian Albert, the two who own the house. Um, and, um,

Nicole's sister, Jennifer, we're all there. They're chit-chatting about what happened. Then he walks away. He goes and transports the evidence to the station. And then he gets a call from Jennifer McCade and goes, oh, we have more information. You should come back and talk to us again. So he goes back, talks to them. So be it. So that's all his testimony.

Then a couple other of John's friends come on and they're, so the prosecution is trying to prove that they were fighting that night, which is why she did him. However, not one person there that night has said that they were fighting, never seen them fight, whatever. So they're all- Do they have a, is there a ring camera anywhere involved in this?

Yeah, so apparently the Albert's camera was not set up yet. Oh. And the lieutenant who lived across the street also had cameras, and they were not working that night. I mean, okay, so Kylie, who do you think did it? So the two people that we hear from next, Chris Albert and...

Julie Albert, yep. Their son. So the whole reason they were out this night was because it was Brian Albert Jr.'s, one of the nephew's birthday parties. However, he was never at the bar, never at this party that they were supposedly having for him. And then Chris and Julie Albert, who are siblings, you know, the Albert family goes, there's so many people around.

Their son was at 34 Fairview. And so that night and then came home at some point in the middle of the night. I think the defense is trying to show or trying to prove that there was a fight probably amongst their son and other people that went to 34 Fairview, which was the other sons and

the police officers and whatnot. They're trying to prove that there was a fight between them. But Chris and Julie Albert claim that their son has came home at around 1230. But no one. However, there's a contradicting one that happened this morning that said he was still at the house at 1230. Oh, my gosh. So none of their stories are aligning. They're trying. You know, a lot of the family, the Alberts that have been called to the scene don't recall. That's they love to say that word. They don't recall many things.

So why do you think they're trying to – honestly, okay, it sounds like they're trying to pin this on Karen Reid. And the more evidence we get, I don't get the sense that she is the most likely killer in this group. No, I don't either. I think – I would assume it's probably one of the sons. So I guess Brian Albert's son is also an MMA-trained fighter. However, when they asked that question –

the judge was like, don't answer that. It's not relevant, which I don't know. I feel like it is. That actually does seem sort of relevant if you're alleging that someone might have been beaten up. There's a lot of little rumors going on on the internet that the judge is also in on this. I feel this will be a Law & Order episode real soon, next season. Well, okay. So here's the thing. In a non-proud, quite frankly, awful Boston tradition in the past,

they would have literally just grabbed the nearest Hispanic or Mexican and charged them with this one. Yeah. Um,

But I'm curious how they ended up trying to go after the wife, Jodi. Well, I think as soon as she said, I hit him, they just jumped right on that. Because one of the paramedics did testify that when she said that, she saw two officers look at each other and say, we need to call Goody, which is Sergeant Good with the station. And so I think immediately they just found those words. So they're like, OK, we're off scot-free. We got her because she died.

Not to equate a fender bender, but one time when I was 17, a woman ran a red light and hit me. She was going really fast. Her car spun a couple hundred yards down the street. So I got out of my car. I went running down there. I'm 17. I run up to the window. She starts screaming, it's your fault. It's your fault. It's your fault. Now, I'm trying to ask if she's OK. So I said, OK, ma'am. OK, OK. Are you all right?

That okay, okay, okay became what they used in court against me. And obviously... So basically, I should not speak. No, if you're in an accident or you're investigated by police for any kind of felony, what I would tell anybody, I don't care about your guilt or innocence, shut your darn mouth until your lawyer gets there. Yeah. Period. And that's not... I mean, law, as we all know, I'm a law and order guy.

Right. But you're dealing with a situation where every word matters. You do not put yourself at risk by talking out of hand. Well, and so I think the common theme right now is that all of these people are tied with each other because even Trooper Michael Proctor, so a trooper from another station who was super assigned to this to oversee this investigation, knows the Albert family. They all hang out. Sure. They're best friends.

Julie Albert called his wife three times before Karen's arraignment on February 2nd, which was like four days after the incident, and then has called her 67 times between February and September. But she also claims they're not close friends. So he's like...

But she also doesn't remember what they discussed. But everyone has said that they are not friends with Karen, that they're friends with, oh, but we're friends with this people, this people, we're acquaintances, but no one is friends, I'm putting this in air quotes, with Karen. So I think that is the common theme of they all have each other's back, but no one really had

Even John O'Keefe's back. Interesting. Well, that's a fascinating segment of Kylie's Corner today, that's for sure. I think my husband thought I was going crazy because I'm watching Court TV take a note. He finally this morning goes, are you taking notes on this? What are you doing? Yeah, it's for the show.

It was a great update, though. It's a very thorough update. And I don't think the wife is going to be found guilty. That's my guess. No. So I did talk to an officer. I said, what are your thoughts on it? And he said he did like see a couple of things from the first week alone. He said based on the botched investigation, there's no way that she can be convicted. Like there is just no way.

Which, you know what, might well be the outcome these folks are really hoping for. You know, quite frankly. Rather than sending her to jail for something she didn't do. Correct. Well, Kylie, that was wonderful. Thank you. Yeah. Well, we're going to do a little sunshine. Let's finish with the sunshine. So we finish on the – let's start with these migrants. Okay. So, folks, this week in Denver there's a series of migrants who have been camping.

And to leave their packed encampment and to head to the shelters, they gave 13 demands.

to the city of Denver. The first one is the migrants will cook their own food, the fresh, culturally appropriate ingredients provided by the city instead of pre-made meals, rice, chicken, flour, oil, butter, tomatoes, onions, etc. Also, people will not be punished for bringing in and eating outside food. Two, shower access will be available without time limits and can be accessed whenever. We are not in the military. We're civilians. Three, medical professionals...

will need to visit regularly and for specialty care when needed. All right. Number four, all will receive the same housing support that has been offered to others. They cannot kick people out in 30 days without something stable established. Number five, there needs to be a clear, just process before anything

Exiting someone for any reason, including verbal, written, and final warning. Number six. For any reason. So they kill somebody, you get a verbal warning, then a written warning on your second murder. Number six. All shelter residents will receive connection to employment support, including work permit applications.

for those who apply. Number seven, consultants for each person family with a free immigration lawyer must be arranged to discuss and progress their cases. And then the city will provide ongoing legal support.

Number eight, the city will provide privacy for families, individuals within the shelter. Number nine, no more verbal or physical or mental abuse will be permitted from the staff, including no sheriff sleeping inside and monitoring 24-7. We are not criminals. We won't be treated as such.

Number 10, transportation for all children to and from their schools will be provided until they finish in three weeks. Number 11, no separating families, regardless of if family members have children or not. The camp will stay together. Number 12, the city must schedule a meeting with the mayor and those directly involved in running the newcomer program ASAP to discuss further improvements and ways to support the migrants. And number 13.

The city must provide all residents with a document signed by the city official in English and Spanish with all of these demands. It includes a number to call to report mistreatment. And that is what the migrants who came across the border illegally, who broke the law, who have set up camp in Denver, are demanding to leave their encampment. I believe we should agree to a modified version of exactly one of their demands, the one about transportation. Correct. We should provide them with an airplane.

And a parachute. Yeah, just out of town. Just gone. Yep, I agree. Back where you came from. You do not need this. This is all because the Biden administration and these sanctuary cities have simply not upheld the rule of law. You and I are both big believers in increased legal immigration. 100%. We believe there should be more people allowed into the country legally. It takes too long to get in. It's all these points. All of that stuff. Yes.

We both agree on a massive reformation that allows more people to come in, people whose skills we need and who can benefit this country. What you just had there is a list of things that freeloaders ask for. And they will stay freeloaders. And they will stay freeloaders for generations. There was a report out of Sweden that was actually suppressed by the Swedish government. I believe it was Sweden. But the

One of their professors did a big study on how long it took people from different countries around the world to become independent of the Swedish welfare state. And what they found is people from some countries are within years. They're completely self-sufficient. They're excellent members of society. They're helping generate tax revenue. There are other cultures people are coming from that they stay dependent for generations, perhaps forever, essentially.

And frankly, we have a right to decide which of those cultures we want to accept people from.

I agree. That's all there is to it. I agree. I'm happy to allow anyone in who wants to contribute and be part of America and achieve the American dream the right way. They welcome. Please come. Yeah, we want you. The rest of these? We want you. I'm now – I have said for years I don't believe in a massive nationwide deportation program, but after these last four years, that's what we need to do. It will be difficult to put into practice. It will be really difficult.

Jenna, why don't you close us off with some sunshine moment? Yeah, so I have a story kind of related to... A little Johnny Cash for you. What do you got? That's so great. I have just sort of a story connected to an old American institution, the Postal Service.

And so just I have a brief story of someone who really went above and beyond and really, you know, did everything that they needed to do for that. So I'm going to start with a quote. It's the United States Postal Service creed. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

And so the post office was founded in 1775. So back. Dogs are a different story. There's a reason dogs aren't listed in there.

Yeah. No, and I think like, I mean, the number of things that can just get lost, you know, and how much can happen, like, you know, when you're delivering packages, like back, obviously back before email, back before phones, which, you know, it's just very hard to communicate. It wasn't that hard. I know. I know. It seems like Stone Age.

to people now, but it really was not that hard to write a letter or pick up a telephone. Yeah. See, I just love my FaceTime. My friends and I love our FaceTime. We love our Snapchat. Yeah. No, it's... I don't know. There's something, like, lost with letter writing. I think it's so special and so... Correct. ...and so nice. And, yeah. So, basically, that's...

There was a man in Texas and he's a postal service worker. And he started working in the postal service when he was just 19. And he so he says he was getting ready for his route and he found some letters that were dated back to 1942, back in World War Two. Yeah.

And so he said he's a veteran. He said, being a veteran myself, I was like, man, this is some history. And he said, because once again, mail boosts morale for all soldiers. So my main thought is I have to find this family. So within the Postal Service, there's an office for lost mail, lost letters. And this has been so important throughout history because that's how you find

Business is conducted through mail. Everything you can't let anything slip through the cracks. And so he could have just sent it there, had them handle it. He could have just, you know, just mailed it. It was addressed to literally just Jacksonville, Arkansas. There was no specific address. But he decided to reach out to the NBC station in Little Rock and

And he they ran a story and they found the family for this letter. And he he like he went and he drove it personally delivered it to this family. There's a video of them. They're all really good friends now. And it just it just made the day of this family. Sure. Yeah.

Yeah. So it was just the, the son, um, of, of this family. Like, so he, he wrote a letter to his parents and the, his younger sister, um, was two years old when, when he wrote this letter. Um,

And she received it and she has her own kids now and she read it and she just said it reminded her so much of her family. And I just think it's a great story. This guy went so far. It is a great story. One of the things I love – and I've been a critic obviously of the post office's operations. But the spirit of the post office is a wonderful thing. And one of the things that they do –

in addition to stuff like this, is when a kid writes a letter to Santa or to God. Right. And mails it to the North Pole or to God in heaven. They have someone who's spiritually connected to that who will answer back. No, they do a lot of really wonderful things. I actually think this is the second busiest weekend for the postal service being Mother's Day.

It probably is. I think it is. Father's Day is a holiday, unfortunately. But Mother's Day, this is the second most deliveries for them. Well, you know what? I'm sorry. We can't really complain about Father's Day being a home holiday because let's be honest, as guys, most of us would rather just be left alone. Well, most moms too. Let's be blunt about it. I mean –

But seriously, if someone's like, hey, let's go to some fancy dinner. I need you to wear your tux tonight. Or we can hang out on the couch and watch the baseball game. What are you doing? I'm telling you right now, if we did a poll number, we asked moms, would you rather be able to let everybody leave you alone and let you sleep in as long as you want to sleep or do you want breakfast in bed? If they're being honest, they want to sleep in. All right.

I disagree. Folks, this is Breaking Battlegrounds. You can visit us at BreakingBattlegrounds.vote or wherever you get your podcasts. Please share with your friends and sign up for our newsletter. And on behalf of Chuck, Sam, Jenna, and Kylie's Corner, thanks for joining us. We'll talk to you next week.