Podcasts about commander in chief

On today's show, we are diving into the tough week our commander in chief just had. From MMA fights no one seems very excited about… to the potential end of warrantless surveillance because of an unpopular Trump hire, our dear president has been taking some big losses. Oh, and not to mention, the war with Iran is still going on. But Trump doesn't seem to care about any of it! So to talk more about Donald Trump's apparent case of senioritis, we called up Tim Miller, host of The Bulwark Podcast.And in headlines: Elon Musk becomes the world's first trillionaire, a poll finds Trump is losing favor with Independents, and a federal judge agrees to extend a court-ordered block on Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund.Show Notes: Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

Drop us a line or two . . .We open mid-chaos — Queenie's looking out the window at incoming weather and clocking the Belmont Stakes clock ticking down, while TT is recovering from twenty-one (count 'em, twenty-one) unsolicited phone calls from a porch enclosure company after the crime of simply browsing their website. One innocent look at three-season room options, and suddenly her phone is a hostage situation. Queenie sympathizes — she knows the company, they did her mother's enclosure — and confirms: yes, those people are hungry. TT vows never to do that again. From there it's a brief dispatch on Queenie's brother Brian, who's been hospitalized with a nosebleed that became genuinely life-threatening because he's on blood thinners. The dilemma, as Queenie frames it with zero sugarcoating: do you want to die of a heart attack or bleed out? Pick one. His wife's emergency field fix involved a tampon, which bought some time before getting saturated. He's going home with explicit instructions to never blow his nose again. He also looks like Shrek. He has not slept. Everybody is just fine. This slides naturally into the broader theme of everybody around them crumbling simultaneously — friends at doctors multiple times a week for different things, the body not cooperating the way it did at forty, children turning forty themselves (which: how), and the general indignity of midlife maintenance. TT notes to Honey earlier that day that "we all have something going on" and you just have to accept it. Queenie does not love this but cannot argue with it. There's a brief musical interlude celebrating cardiac stents and replacement shoulders, which honestly feels earned. The conversation turns to self-work and therapy — TT wonders aloud whether there are people who just... move on from childhood without any excavation, and Queenie's verdict is swift: those people are freaking crazy. You can usually tell when someone has done the work, she says, often by their vocabulary. This loops into narcissists, which both of them have in their lives, and the grim reality that there's no cure. Options are limited: go dark (no contact) or go grey (cordial, minimal, zero extra effort). The segue to the current political moment is smooth and immediate. Queenie describes the commander in chief as having "normalized" narcissism and brings up the AI-generated Trump-in-cheerleader-short-shorts image circulating online. It's Pride Month, she notes. He may finally be coming out. They laugh. TT reminds them they're laughing all the way to hell. Also: screwworms are back, ocean monitoring equipment is being removed, and there's no oversight of anything anymore. If you see things moving in your food, just ignore it. On the cannabis check-in: TT has had a full ten-milligram Floracal Farms Live Rosin Pink Lemonade sativa gummy (complete gummy, very deliberate), and Queenie has been smoking Banana Punch, a pre-ground indica with very small print on the packaging. Banana as a flavor descriptor is noted to be uncommon. This is deemed worth mentioning. The show's real comedic peak arrives courtesy of Conan O'Brien's podcast. Queenie went down a YouTube rabbit hole after Conan interviewed an intimacy coordinator, which led her to a segment featuring a young man whose company makes thirty-two custom condom sizes and offers a hotline where you can speak to said gentleman if you're unsure which size to order. He claims to be able to tell if callers are being truthful. TT has already seen this. The bit about guidance counselors not recommending "talking about dicks all day" as a career path lands. Queenie's advice: measure twice, not once. You only want to make that mistake one time. They are crying laughing. The news segment covers TSA's updated guidance technically allowing medical marijuana in carry-on and checked bags, with a TSA officer retaining final discretion. Queenie and TT are skeptical — it sounds great until you realize there's no guidance on how much, in what form, or what documentation actually counts as proof. Also: dogs in airports are primarily sniffing for explosives, not drugs, Queenie notes, so don't panic. Bottom line: it's loosey goosey, probably a step in the right direction, and you're still taking a risk. Bring your documentation. Keep original packaging. Maybe don't. TT's Choice (number sixty-six): Would you rather live your life as a reality show or a documentary? TT picks documentary, then has to be walked through what a documentary actually is when she's alive, then sticks with her answer on the grounds that reality shows feel predatory and she wouldn't want to be the subject of one. Queenie's contribution is to narrate TT's life in nature documentary voice — "here we have TT in her natural habitat... notice how she eats a gummy prior to coitus." This evolves into a discussion of rhino mating, specifically the part where the male must remain motionless inside the female for seven minutes without moving or the clock resets. Queenie has recently found this very erotic. She is going to tell Honey. TT's stomach hurts. Queenie names her reality show *Call T*. Done. The Fuck It List this week is a serious one: a friend of Queenie's, a woman their age with significant cardiac history, had her blood pressure medication changed and spent weeks feeling terrible, voicing concern at her hospital stay, being dismissed, and only getting the medication switched back when her primary care physician called the cardiologist directly. Within a day, she felt better. The fuck it goes to not giving up, to trusting your own body, and to having your problems minimized by a medical system that still, somewhere in its bones, operates like doctors are gods you stand up for when they enter the room. Queenie's message: advocate for yourself, and if you can't, find someone who can. The healthcare system is fragmented, it will trample you, and you are the only one who lives in your body. They close out with upcoming weeks — TT's visiting her son's art thing, Queenie has a quiet week plus a golf date before an absolutely packed following week including a tour for a potential new employer. Father's Day is next week. Wishes will be extended then. Bye bye. The outro is a song. TT wrote a lament about a zinnia eaten by a rabbit before it could grow. The final lines are: *those little fuckers. Those little fuckers. This was the zinnia of my dreams.* Truly, no notes. Welcome to the Closet Disco Queen Pot-Cast, a #1 ranked Women in Cannabis (Feedspot, Million Pods; 2025) comedy podcast with music and pop culture references that keeps you laughing and engaged. Join our hosts, Queenie & TT as they share humorous anecdotes about daily life, offering women's perspectives on lifestyle and wellness. We dive into funny cannabis conversations and stories, creating an entertaining space where nothing is off-limits. Each episode features entertaining discussions on pop culture trends, as we discuss music, culture, and cannabis in a light-hearted and inclusive manner. Tune in for a delightful blend of humor, insight, and relatable stories that celebrate life's quirks and pleasures. Our Closet Disco Queen Pot-Cast deals with legal adult cannabis use and is intended for entertainment purposes only for those 21 and olderVisit our Closet Disco Queen Pot-Cast merch store!Find us on Facebook and Green Coast RadioSound from Zapsplat.com,  https://quicksounds.com, 101soundboards.com #ToneTransfer

Trump shifts his position on the Iran war so often that it sure looks like he is using the same propaganda technique that Putin uses with abandon: Flood people with contradictory stories to confuse and exhaust them so they'll just tune out. That could be helpful for a commander–in-chief running a failed military campaign. At the same time, the only engagement the administration seems to want is from the online world—which they use to create an alternate reality. Plus, Russia is not winning the war in Ukraine and does not know how to, much of Trump's immigration policy is about performative cruelty, political oppression still continues in Venezuela, Kari Lake has a new gig, and new selections for the Anne Applebaum book club. Anne Applebaum joins Tim Miller.show notes: Anne's latest reporting from Ukraine Phillips O'Brien piece on Iran, "War Crimes Seem To Be Official US Policy Now" A Venezuela opposition leader on the continuing political oppression there Anne's reporting on Kari Lake running Voice of America Anne on Lake being nominated as ambassador to Jamaica Summer novel rec from Anne, "The Time of Cherries" Tim's summer novel rec, "My Tender Matador"

Alice Mascarenhas speaks to Chris Wrobleski, one of the co-authors of ‘Sabotage! An In-depth Investigation of the 1943 Liberator crash that Killed Polish General Sikorski'.On the night of 4 July 1943, Liberator AL523 took off from Gibraltar's North Front airfield and within moments crashed into the sea with only one survivor, the pilot. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army and prime minister of the Polish government in exile, General Władysław Sikorski, was dead. Rumours as to the cause of the crash abounded. Was it pilot error? Was it, as officially classified, an accident, or was it, as the authors conclude in this riveting and meticulous study, an act of sabotage? In this extensive piece of research, Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard examine numerous primary sources, including the complete court of inquiry transcripts, produce detailed analysis of aircraft components and systems and unearth many little-known eyewitness accounts to give this investigation a compelling conclusion. Within the book the authors also dispel several conspiracy theories that have emerged since this catastrophe; particularly that this event was a disastrous assassination attempt with blame on the British, Soviets and Nazis.Together with Garth Bernard, a Within the book the authors dispel several conspiracy theories that have emerged since this catastrophe; particularly that this event was a disastrous assassination attempt with blame on the British, Soviets and Nazis.This podcast is produced for the Gibraltar Heritage Trust by Alice Mascarenhas, Trustee, and Claire Montado, CEO.For more information about the Trust and its work go to our website www.gibraltarheritagetrust.org.gi

Today's Guest Host : Kay Smythe-Hill -KT McFarland urges Americans to have patience with President Trump's efforts to get a deal with Iran on "America Right Now." -Florida Rep. Byron Donalds joined “Sunday Agenda” to defend President Trump's constitutional authority as Commander-in-Chief, arguing that attempts to limit the president's military authority only provide leverage and empowerment to the Iranian regime. -California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton called for change as the state slowly counts primary votes on "Saturday Report." -On “Finnerty,” Winston Marshall, former “Mumford & Sons” member, breaks down the circumstances surrounding Henry Nowak's death, the debate over alleged “two-tier policing” in Britain, and the protests and unrest that have followed across the UK. Listen to Newsmax LIVE and see our entire podcast lineup at ⁠http://Newsmax.com/Listen⁠ Make the switch to NEWSMAX today! Get your 15 day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at ⁠http://NewsmaxPlus.com⁠ Looking for NEWSMAX caps, tees, mugs & more? Check out the Newsmax merchandise shop at : ⁠http://nws.mx/shop⁠ Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media:  -Facebook: ⁠http://nws.mx/FB⁠  -X/Twitter: ⁠http://nws.mx/twitter⁠ -Instagram: ⁠http://nws.mx/IG⁠ -YouTube: ⁠https://youtube.com/NewsmaxTV⁠ -Rumble: ⁠https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV⁠ -TRUTH Social: ⁠https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX⁠ -GETTR: ⁠https://gettr.com/user/newsmax⁠ -Threads: ⁠http://threads.net/@NEWSMAX⁠  -Telegram: ⁠http://t.me/newsmax⁠  -BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/newsmax.com⁠ -Parler: ⁠http://app.parler.com/newsmax⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've got a packed show today. I mean PACKED. I have so many notes in front of me that if the FBI raided this studio they'd call it an “insurrection planner.” Half these stories I've been trying to get to for days, and every morning the news cycle shows up like a drunken Amazon driver throwing fresh insanity onto the porch.And let me tell you something: we are never catching up.Never.I could do this show seven days a week, eight hours a day, surviving entirely on caffeine and whatever chemicals they put in gas station beef jerky, and we'd still end every week with another mountain of madness to discuss. America has become a Netflix series written by people who got fired from reality television for being too unrealistic.But as they say, “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.”Which explains Congress perfectly. The less material involved, the more expensive it gets.Now, speaking of expensive coverups, Jill Biden made a revelation that shocked absolutely nobody. The media reacted like archaeologists discovering water in the ocean. “BREAKING NEWS: Joe Biden may have experienced cognitive decline!”Really? You don't say.This is the same man who has wandered off stages, shaken hands with invisible citizens, and looked at teleprompters like they were written in ancient Sanskrit. Joe Biden has spent the last several years speaking in a dialect I can only describe as Pharmaceutical Esperanto.And suddenly the media wants to pretend they just noticed?That's the part that fascinates me. Not the decline. The cover-up. Because everybody knew. Democrats knew. Journalists knew. Staffers knew. Jill knew. The Easter Bunny knew. The only people left pretending were the same folks who told us inflation was “transitory,” the border was “secure,” and men could get pregnant if you just believed hard enough.Now Jill Biden, Doctor Jill, Patron Saint of Denial, is out there acting wounded by the scrutiny. Ma'am, people aren't upset because your husband aged. Everybody ages. America would've shown grace for aging. What people resent is being lied to with the enthusiasm of a timeshare salesman trapped in a pyramid scheme.And now we find out Team Biden is trying to keep information sealed about his cognitive condition going all the way back to 2012?Two thousand TWELVE.That means Joe Biden may have been mentally buffering longer than most people have owned their smartphones.Think about that historically for a second. In 2012, people were still arguing over Bluetooth earpieces. Gas was under four bucks in many places. TikTok didn't exist yet. Hunter Biden probably still had at least one functioning laptop.And somewhere in Washington, insiders allegedly knew Joe Biden's brain was running Windows 95 in Safe Mode.Yet they still shoved him into office. Why? Because modern politics isn't about leadership anymore. It's Weekend at Bernie's with nuclear codes. The presidency became a puppet theater where anonymous staffers, activist bureaucrats, and ideological interns ran the machinery while the Commander in Chief searched for exits like he was trapped in an IKEA showroom.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dan, James, Anna and Andy discuss kitchen hygiene, a Commander-in-Chief, and NaHCO3.Visit nosuchthingasafish.com for news about live shows, merchandise and more episodes. Join Club Fish for ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content at apple.co/nosuchthingasafish or nosuchthingasafish.com/patreon

Israel says it has killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed commander-in-chief of Hamas' armed wing, in a strike in Gaza. The announcement comes 11 days after the death of Odeh's predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

President Trump's health is under renewed scrutiny as frequent screenings appear at odds with proclamations of exceptional well-being. This morning, the commander-in-chief had the fourth publicly announced exam of his second administration. White House correspondent Liz Landers reports on what we know – and don't know – about the health of the president. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were enlisted into God's army and engaged in spiritual warfare. As a good soldier of Christ, you must focus on your Commander in Chief rather than seeking universal approval from people. Prepare for battle by putting on the full armor of God daily, including truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, and God's Word. Learn to endure hardship by choosing commitment over comfort and faith over fear. Stop blaming the devil for things your flesh is choosing and take responsibility for your spiritual condition. Remember that you are a new creation in Christ, and you have the power to defeat the enemy through Jesus.Thank you for joining us at NorthRidge Church! For more information please visit us online at http://www.northridgethomaston.com.

Chuck Todd opens with a brutal verdict on the emerging Iran "deal": it's just a worse version of the Obama agreement Trump once tore up, Iran has effectively avoided every stated goal Trump and Israel set out to achieve, and Tehran retains control of the Strait of Hormuz — meaning this is unambiguously a loss for the United States, no matter how the administration tries to spin it. He argues Trump bit off far more than he could chew, that Bibi Netanyahu put his faith into Donald Trump (which never ends well), and that America's standing has been diminished in ways that will reverberate for years. Iran's regime won't be able to repress its own people forever, He notes, but the window to actually topple it during the protests was missed — and Gulf state allies will now be dealing with the Iranians for much longer than they bargained for, having quietly hoped the U.S. and Israel would do their dirty work for them. The political damage at home is just as severe. He cites the Wall Street Journal christening the past seven days as "the week that broke Trump's hold on Congress," with the president now underwater on every single issue, consumer confidence unlikely to recover before the midterms, the Senate unable to fund DHS through reconciliation because Trump makes bipartisan solutions impossible, and his January 6th slush fund producing a backlash that won't go away — with Republican senators visibly wavering. Chuck's verdict on the lame duck arriving early: this is a failed first two years of the Trump presidency, and the stronger his grip on the party, the weaker that party becomes in general elections. He blasts Todd Blanche for turning the DOJ into Trump's personal legal team (Blanche should be impeached, Todd argues, and nothing coming out of this DOJ can be trusted), tears into the long-awaited DNC autopsy of the 2024 loss as paralyzed, tone-deaf, and poorly thought-out — naming Ken Martin as the wrong person to lead the DNC and noting that the simple truth Democrats can't bring themselves to face is that the party is perceived as too liberal in a country with more conservatives than progressives. He flags Mike Duggan dropping out of the Michigan governor's race after his hoped-for contentious Democratic primary never materialized, and Tulsi Gabbard's resignation as DNI proving that the position itself was never really necessary Then, former Marine sniper AJ Pasciuti — author of the new book Dark Horse and host of the Combat Story podcast — joins the Chuck Toddcast for one of the most riveting and clear-eyed conversations about military service, leadership, and the realities of modern war. Pasciuti was 16 years old on September 11th, enlisted at 17, and eventually became the Marine who led the team that killed "Juba" — the notorious Iraqi sniper who uploaded videos of his American kills to the internet to taunt the U.S. military. He walks listeners through the entire hunt: how Marines studied Juba's uploaded footage to identify his patterns, how the team set a trap, how Pasciuti spotted Juba in his hide by catching the glint off the lens of a Sony Handycam, and how he knew within minutes that they'd gotten him — while emphasizing that he may have pulled the trigger but it was an entire team that brought Juba down. Pasciuti reflects on the strange experience of fighting enemies who saw themselves as freedom fighters rather than terrorists, why attention to detail is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates, and how snipers are ultimately meant to combat the enemy emotionally as much as physically. The conversation broadens into a sweeping meditation on what military service teaches you about America — and where Pasciuti worries the country is heading. He calls the military one of the last bastions of the American dream, where opportunity is real but has to be earned, and argues that a culture promoting service to the greater good over the accumulation of wealth would make America measurably healthier.. Pasciuti is openly worried about political leadership infecting the values of the military, makes the case that empathy must be viewed as a strength rather than a weakness in military leadership, and insists his book is political but not partisan — it's about values. He offers a vital warning that the Taliban proved asymmetrical warfare can defeat a stronger foe, that drone warfare is dangerously dehumanizing combat by reducing casualties to dollars and cents, and that the most important thing any soldier carries home is their soul intact — something he says becomes harder every year as the social contract between America and its veterans erodes. Pasciuti describes seeing fear rather than hatred in the eyes of a dying enemy combatant, a moment that has stayed with him, and explains why he can't support any politician who describes a political opponent as an enemy. He shares his experience running for city council and personally knocking on thousands of doors, his frustration with the financial barriers to entry in modern politics, and his belief that current discourse simply doesn't allow for real dialogue. He closes with the most powerful observation of the episode, made for Memorial Day: the holiday isn't about those who came home — it's about those who didn't — and anyone calling for war should be required to first sit down and have a conversation with a Gold Star family. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine for a thoughtful Memorial Day reflection on how countries honor their war dead — and how the rituals they choose reveal who they understand themselves to be. He traces Memorial Day back to its actual origins in the Civil War and its 600,000 American dead, including the powerful and often-forgotten story of formerly enslaved people who reburied Union soldiers from a mass grave to give them the dignified resting place their country had failed to provide. He explains that the date was chosen not because of a specific battle but because of when flowers bloom, that Southern states kept parallel remembrance traditions for the Confederacy, and that Memorial Day's secondary role as the unofficial start of summer has always made it a uniquely American hybrid of grief and gathering — which, Chuck argues, is actually one of its virtues, because coming together is how communities find common ground. He surveys how other nations approach the same task: WWI created a uniquely Canadian identity around remembrance, Russia centers its V-Day celebrations on WWII triumph as the foundation of national identity, Germany approaches its war dead cautiously and somberly with a deep awareness of historical responsibility, and Japan frames remembrance through loss, peace, and explicit anti-war reflection. His larger argument is that the story and tone of a country's remembrance day reveals exactly how it understands itself — what it celebrates, what it confronts, and what it would rather not look at. He closes with the smallest but most important reminder of the day: you don't say "Happy Memorial Day." He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment. Predict the action all the way through the finals. Sign up now for your twenty-five dollar bonus on https://fanduel.com/predicts Link in bio or go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life! Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 04:00 Pending Iran deal looks like a worse version of Obama’s deal 04:45 Iran looks to have avoided all of Trump + Israel’s stated goals 05:15 Iran retains control of Strait, that means this is a loss for Trump 06:15 Trump is capitulating, and this diminishes America’s standing 07:15 Administration hoping to sweep Iran under the rug in time for the midterms 08:00 Normally, America would be leading Ebola response. Trump destroyed USAID 08:45 Helping with disease outbreaks was about protecting us at home 10:00 Unlikely the Iranian regime will be able to repress their people forever 11:00 Trump bit off more than he could chew and needs an offramp 11:45 Bibi put his faith into Donald Trump, which never goes well 13:00 Trump hires flawed people that could only work for him. Makes them loyal 14:15 Politics infects every decision Trump makes 15:45 Gulf state allies will have to deal with Iran for much longer now 16:30 Missed the window to topple the regime during the protests 18:00 Gulf states were hoping U.S. and Israel would do their dirty work 18:30 Trump was worst possible commander in chief for this moment 19:30 It’s a big loss for Trump, but he had no choice but to end the war 22:00 New polling shows Trump approval tanking, huge generic Dem advantage 23:45 WSJ dubs the past week, “The week the broke Trump’s hold on Congress” 25:00 Trump is underwater on every issue 26:00 It’s highly unlikely consumer confidence will rise before the midterms 27:00 Trump is directly responsible for higher inflation and cost of living 28:00 Senate cannot find way to fund DHS through reconciliation 29:30 Trump makes any bipartisan solution impossible 30:15 Todd Banche is making DOJ Trump’s personal attorneys 31:45 Can’t trust anything this DOJ says. Blanche should be impeached* 33:15 Trump’s J6 slush fund is likely illegal and has GOP senators wavering 34:15 Backlash to slush fund isn’t going away 35:45 The stronger Trump grips the party, the weaker it is in general elections 36:30 The lame duck is here. This a failed first two years of Trump’s presidency 37:15 DNC finally releases autopsy of 2024 election loss 37:45 Ken Martin is the wrong person for the DNC chair. In over his head 38:15 The simple fact of the matter is the party is perceived as too liberal 40:45 There are more conservatives than progressives, need to win the moderates 42:00 Autopsy offering gubernatorial wins as a counterpoint is tone deaf 43:45 Trump’s electoral strength doesn’t translate when he isn’t on ballot 44:30 DNC was in a no-win situation with the autopsy 45:15 Seems like the autopsy was just going through motions, poorly thought out 46:30 DNC is paralyzed, in need of new leadership 48:30 Mike Duggan drops out as independent in MI governor’s race 50:00 Duggan counted on contentious primary & that didn’t happen 52:00 Duggan didn’t want a Republican elected and dropped out 52:30 Tulsi Gabbard resigns. DNI post shown to not be necessary 53:00 The CIA has won the “turf battle” amongst intel agencies 54:30 Gabbard isn’t the first DNI that’s been marginalized. 55:15 It’s easy to eye roll Don Jr & Hunter Biden… Their fathers screwed them up 1:03:30 AJ Pasciuti (Dark Horse) joins the Chuck ToddCast 1:05:30 If you wrote the book 10 years ago, how would it have been different? 1:07:00 You gain extra perspective about “why” when more time has passed 1:07:45 Leadership is currently in very short supply 1:09:45 The book is a love letter and thank you to people who shaped AJ’s life 1:11:45 The military is one of the last bastions of the American dream 1:12:45 Was 16 years old on 9/11 and the attack inspired AJ to enlist at 17 1:13:45 How did you identify that you had the skills to be a sniper? 1:15:15 Gunnery Sgt. Jackson helped set AJ on his trajectory 1:16:00 What is training for a sniper like? 1:17:00 Attention to details is the trait that weeds out most sniper candidates 1:17:45 Snipers have to be self-dependent, must rely on yourself for survival 1:19:00 Snipers are meant to combat the enemy emotionally, scare them 1:19:45 “Juba” may not have been just one enemy sniper & hunted Americans 1:20:15 Juba uploaded videos of sniper kills of Americans to the internet 1:21:00 Watching the videos allowed marines to understand Juba’s patterns 1:21:30 Set up a trap for Juba and Juba fell into it 1:22:30 AJ knew they had killed Juba within minutes 1:23:30 Caught a glint of the lens of a Sony handycam to spot Juba 1:24:45 AJ may have pulled the trigger, but it was an entire team that got him 1:26:15 Marines were shocked that people would fight for a tyrant like Saddam 1:27:00 We viewed the enemies as terrorists, they viewed themselves as freedom fighters 1:28:45 Does the message to the troops today seem different than when you served? 1:29:45 When we send Americans into conflict, it must be for a just cause 1:30:15 There’s a responsibility that comes with having the greatest military in history 1:31:15 Are you worried political leadership is infecting the values of the military? 1:32:15 Leadership needs to project values people are inspired to defend 1:34:00 Military leadership needs to view empathy as a strength, not a weakness 1:35:00 The book is political but not partisan. It’s about values 1:36:45 A culture that promotes services to the greater good is healthier 1:38:30 If the culture promotes service over wealth, we’d be better off 1:39:00 Mandatory service in Israel has helped to bond their society 1:41:30 Service strips away the illusion that we succeed alone 1:42:45 Veterans aren’t easily categorized in their politics 1:43:30 Military provides an opportunity, but you have to earn it 1:45:30 Competitive advantage for the military is to think, adapt & react quicker 1:46:45 Marine culture should create soldiers that are problem solvers 1:47:45 Taliban found that asymmetrical warfare could defeat a stronger foe 1:50:00 We have to better prepare for asymmetrical warfare 1:50:45 The American Revolution was fought with asymmetrical warfare 1:51:30 Drone warfare dehumanizes war. Casualties counted in dollars and cents 1:52:45 War is a chess game, and modern tech has leveled the playing field 1:54:45 Have to avoid being dehumanized by war 1:55:30 Saw an enemy combatant dying, saw fear in his eyes, not hatred 1:56:15 Wrote the book not to glorify war, but to tell the realities of it 1:57:45 The hardest part of coming home was doing so with your soul intact 1:59:00 The social contract with our soldiers must be protected 2:00:15 How are you able to publicly express your experience when many can’t? 2:02:30 Can’t support someone that says a political opponent is an enemy 2:03:30 Tell us about your podcast “Combat Story” 2:05:00 Ran for city council, personally knocked on thousands of doors 2:06:30 Our current politics doesn’t allow for dialogue 2:08:45 There’s a financial barrier to entry into politics 2:11:30 Memorial Day is tough, it’s about those who didn’t come home 2:12:00 Anyone calling for war should have a conversation with a gold star family 2:15:15 Chuck’s thoughts on interview with AJ Pasciuti 2:16:00 ToddCast Time Machine 2:16:30 Every country honors war dead, but don’t do it the same way 2:17:15 Memorial Day was borne out of the civil war and 600k Americans dead 2:18:00 Formally enslaved people reburied union soldiers from mass grave 2:18:45 Holiday is also about who gets remembered in our national story 2:19:15 Date was chosen due to flowers blooming & not a specific battle 2:20:30 Southern states kept remembrance traditions for the confederacy 2:21:15 Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer 2:21:45 Gathering together is an important way to find common ground 2:22:45 Different memorial traditions & rituals in other countries 2:23:30 WW1 created a unique identity in Canada 2:24:00 Russia celebrates V-Day, triumph in WW2 central to identity 2:24:45 Germany remembers war cautiously and somberly 2:25:30 Japan remembers war through loss, peace and anti-war reflection 2:26:15 Other memorial rituals around the world 2:27:45 Story and tone of remembrance days are how countries view themselves 2:28:45 You don’t say “Happy Memorial Day” 2:30:00 Ask Chuck 2:30:15 Isn’t it odd that we know so little about attempted Trump assassins? 2:37:00 Why didn’t Dems lean into “Trump Lie Trackers” more in campaigns? 2:41:00 Does the “Epstein Class” framing feel stronger than the “1%”? 2:45:00 Did “No Child Left Behind” do real damage to civics education? 2:51:15 Does the 2.5 swing in presidential elections show most voters are locked in?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry restoring people's faith in commissions, Dr Zizamele Cebekhulu-Makhaza, Chairman of the Safer South Africa Foundation, tells Chris Steyn why the Madlanga Commission has been so effective in sharp contrast with the Zondo Commission. He describes the impact on both the SAPS and the criminal underworld of the unprecedented Press Conference in which KZN Provincial Police Commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi stunned the country with charges of police and political capture. “He helped this country in various ways. In fact, he took this country……out of mud to bring… the information to those who have got the capacity to clean the country…we want the President to deal with this matter in a very decisive way. We expect him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to act very decisively on the matters that the Madlanga Commission are dealing with.” As for the other pillars of the Criminal Justice Cluster, Dr Cebekhulu-Makhaza says: “...There is a problem in the Department of Justice… the underworld has infiltrated them...the Department of Justice must not try to...…hide what Mkhwanazi has revealed because everybody knows what has happened. I'm happy that Madlanga...will overlap into those terrains and reveal to us what is happening in those terrains and also in Correctional Services.” Dr Cebekhulu-Makhaza outlines in detail all the urgent reforms needed to restore credibility, accountability and operation effectiveness with the criminal justice system.

General Washington served as Commander-in-Chief from July 15, 1775 to the end of the War for Independence and was relieved on December 23, 1783—eight and a half years. After that he served eight years as our first president—with all the attending problems of a new nation—from 1789 to 1797. And he was, as historian James Thomas Flexner titled his biography: Washington: The Indispensable Man. There are few Americans who admire Washington as much as Wyoming Catholic College professor Dr. Virginia Arbery, our guest this week.

President Trump delivered a powerful commencement address to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, honoring the newest generation of Coast Guard leaders and reminding America why service, courage, discipline, and patriotism still matter.Speaking to graduating cadets, President Trump praised their hard work, sacrifice, heroism, and commitment to defending the United States. This was more than a graduation speech — it was a commander-in-chief moment, a patriotic message to America's future guardians, and a reminder that the men and women of the Coast Guard stand on the front lines of protecting our nation.In this episode, we break down the biggest moments from Trump's Coast Guard Academy commencement address, the message he delivered to the graduates, why it matters, and how this speech fits into the larger America First vision of strength, service, national pride, and leadership.The Coast Guard's mission is one of the most demanding in the world, from protecting our shores to saving lives, securing maritime borders, and defending America's interests at home and abroad. President Trump's message to these cadets was simple: America needs strong leaders, and the next generation is ready to answer the call.For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (656) 218-0931 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to https://askchapter.org/nez✅ Reach out to me: https://bio.site/professornez✅ ORIGINAL MADE IN U.S.A 250TH AMERICA DESIGNS: https://professornez.myspreadshop.com/✅ Check out our Official Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@professornezclips▶ Support the Channel and Buy us a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/professornezEducational Commentary & Original AnalysisThis channel presents educational, lecture-style analysis created by a university professor and educator. Content focuses on contextual examination, historical background, legal frameworks, and evidence-based analysis of widely reported events, public records, and institutional processes.The approach emphasizes academic methodology, media literacy, and source-driven interpretation rather than advocacy, persuasion, or real-time news reporting. Viewers are encouraged to consult primary sources and form independent conclusions.All content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, medical, or professional advice. Views expressed are solely those of the creator.This channel may include references or links to third-party websites or products for informational purposes. Some links may be affiliate links, which may generate a commission at no additional cost to the viewer.In this video expert Professor Nez analyzes and educates on what happened and why with fact based, data based, verified and researched expertise reporting.All original content is protected by copyright. Fair use applies where permitted by law.Category: News Analysis & Educational CommentaryMethodology: This report utilizes primary source verification and comparative analysis of public records.Subject Matter Expertise: Political Strategy, Regulatory Policy, and Media Literacy.Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan's contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don't directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.

Larry takes a moment to reflect on the sacrifices of our nation's heroes, as he explores the fascinating story of Peter Francisco, a giant of a man who fought bravely in the Revolutionary War and became one of America's forgotten heroes. He also delves into the world of George Washington, our nation's first commander-in-chief, and discuss the importance of his legacy on Memorial Day. In this episode, he's joined by John T. Palmer, author of "George Washington's One Man Army," which tells the incredible story of Peter Francisco's life and battles. He talks to Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky, the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, about the importance of preserving our nation's history and the sacrifices of our military. He also discusses the latest developments in Maryland's mail-in ballot scandal and the need for voter integrity.Become a Townhall VIP member with promo code "LARRY": https://townhall.com/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last time we spoke about the New Fourth Army Incident. Across the Second Sino-Japanese War, the CCP entered after the setbacks of the 1930s, seeking to become a national leader in resistance while remaining cautious toward the Nationalist government. The 1936 Xi'an Incident reshaped politics, and by August 1937 KMT–CCP agreements defined a working arrangement: the CCP acknowledged KMT leadership and integrated its forces, while still pursuing political space and autonomy. As the war progressed, the CCP focused on defining its relationship with the KMT and keeping operational independence during cooperation. Mao Zedong managed this alliance by promoting a united front against Japan, yet protecting CCP revolutionary goals and internal control. The establishment of the Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army marked this military reorganization. Throughout, the CCP feared that KMT collaboration with Japan could enable a peace settlement that would undermine communist legitimacy and restrict the party's future authority thereafter.   #202 The One Hundred Regiment Offensive Phase One Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Simultaneously with the friction between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Japanese were also working to take control of—and extract value from—most of the territory they had nominally conquered. Treating these two processes separately—"friction" on the one hand and "consolidation" on the other—does violence to the real difficulty of the CCP's dilemma: the Party often had to confront both problems at the same time. At certain moments, the CCP was effectively forced to wage a two-front struggle. Even so, if the worst of the KMT–CCP friction had already eased by 1941, the most serious and painful challenges posed by Japanese consolidation were still ahead. To recover anything close to reality, the two timelines have to be read together and placed on top of one another. The Japanese understood that consolidation could not be postponed, because much of the land behind the furthest reaches of their army was still only weakly under their actual control. In some places, order could be restored by relatively direct methods: rebuilding local administration and policy authority; repairing transportation and communications; enrolling Chinese personnel—usually, as it turned out, people of dubious reliability—as police or militia under puppet regimes; registering the local population; and requiring identity cards. In true old-style Chinese fashion, collective security practices were used widely. One form was the familiar bao-jia system, in one variant or another. Another was the so-called "railway-cherishing village": a village would be assigned a nearby stretch of track, and if residents failed to "cherish" it, they were held collectively responsible. Yet early Japanese weakness in northern China is vividly illustrated by an incident in the summer of 1938. Three young foreigners—vacationing from teaching in Peiping (Beijing)—were curious about events and about what people were doing. They loaded their bicycles on a southbound train, got off at Baoding, and rode west until they ran into Eighth Route Army detachments. In the early period of the war, commanders generally wanted to rely on more mobile forms of warfare. Mao, however, insisted on a strategy of de-escalation and dispersion: breaking the 8RA and New Fourth Army into small units as nuclei for combat, recruitment, political work, and base-area construction. Under this approach, few engagements could be truly dramatic in scale, and most were constrained by the need to survive. Each skirmish had to be carefully planned. The CCP would use local intelligence and the element of surprise so that a detachment could strike and withdraw before its limited ammunition ran out or before enemy reinforcements arrived. Small Japanese patrols and puppet units could be ambushed not only to seize weapons and other material, but also to inflict casualties. Active collaborators, or Japanese-sponsored administrative personnel, could be assassinated. Above all, Communist action aimed to disrupt transportation: mining roads; cutting down telegraph poles, stealing wire, and cutting rail lines; sabotaging rolling stock; and, at times, carrying off steel rails so that primitive arsenals could be supplied. Attempting derailments was also part of the effort. Destroying a bridge or a locomotive counted as a major achievement. Both the Communists and the Japanese understood that these tactics did not decisively shift the overall strategic balance. Still, they worked at other levels. For the Japanese, the result was a constant series of small wounds—painful, bleeding, and potentially infectious. Few areas in the countryside felt truly safe. Japanese field commanders documented growing frustration as they tried to eliminate resistance, restore administration, collect taxes, and prepare for more systematic and effective economic exploitation of conquered territory. Guerrilla warfare against the Japanese cannot be judged only in conventional battle terms—numbers of engagements, casualties, or territory occupied. It had to be evaluated politically and psychologically as well, exactly as Mao repeatedly emphasized. Since the CCP's wartime legitimacy depended on its patriotic claims, enough fighting had to be carried out to maintain credibility. Moreover, military success mattered for mobilizing the "basic masses," persuading wavering people to keep an open mind, and neutralizing opposition. As the logic put it, it was not that people always chose the side that was winning, but that few would ever join a side they believed was losing. One experienced cadre described the effect this way: Among the guerrilla units… there is a saying that "victory decides everything." No matter how hard it has been to recruit troops, supply the army, raise the masses' anti-Japanese fervor or win over the masses' sympathy, after a victory in battle the masses fall all over themselves to send us flour, steamed bread, meat, and vegetables. The masses' pessimistic and defeatist psychology is broken down, and many new guerrilla soldiers swarm in. But once the Japanese began to demand a heavy price for every engagement—whether the Communists won or not—this attitude began to change. In North and Central China, the Japanese earliest pacification sweeps created comparatively little trouble for the CCP. At first, the Japanese made few distinctions among Chinese forces. They simply tried to mop up or disperse them without regard to character. Over time, however, they realized that these sweeps actually made it easier for the CCP to expand. By the second half of 1939, Japanese methods became more discriminating. Chinese non-Communist forces would step aside while the Japanese hunted specifically for the 8RA, the N4A, and their local affiliates. The Japanese also made more direct appeals to non-Communist forces. According to Japanese army statistics, during the eighteen months from mid-1939 to late 1940, around 70,000 men from more or less regular Nationalist units in North China alone went over to the Japanese. The Japanese also reached informal "understandings" with several regional commanders whose forces together might have totaled as many as 300,000 men. This, of course, corresponded to what the CCP denounced as "crooked-line patriotism"—the "crooked-line" collaboration that preserved certain units so they could be used in future anti-Communist operations. When pacification efforts were intensified from late 1939 and throughout 1940, differences also appeared in the strategies Japanese armies used in North versus Central China. In North China, the approach relied heavily on military means, with political tactics limited largely to recruiting collaborators. In Central China, Japanese authorities did not hesitate to use military force, but they also attempted to supplement it with more comprehensive political and economic solutions by setting up tightly controlled "model peace zones." Although both approaches ultimately failed, they created enormous difficulties for Chinese Communists—until, in 1943, the Japanese were forced to ease off because the Pacific War against the United States became too burdensome. Careful reading of detailed intra-party documents suggests that repression also demobilized peasant support and terrorized populations into apathy, grudging acquiescence, or even active collaboration with the Japanese. In a locality already reduced from consolidated base status to guerrilla status, capacity and will were often too weak to administer complex reforms in systematic fashion. In other words, passive survival—defensive survival—was at least as important as what lay behind the heroic public images the Party projected. Systematic pacification in North China in late 1939 and 1940 radiated outward. It moved from areas held more or less firmly by the Japanese and their puppets into guerrilla and contested zones. The ultimate objective was to crush resistance or render it ineffective. The method was first to sweep the area clear of anti-Japanese elements, and then to establish a chain of interconnected strongpoints that could quickly reinforce one another. After that, puppet government would be expanded so it could take increasing responsibility for civil administration and "pacification maintenance," while Japanese forces repeated the initial steps further outward into contested territory. Violence was used selectively against individuals, groups, or villages accused of acts of resistance. This selective violence aimed to deter active participation in CCP-led programs, deprive Communist forces of a population willing to shelter them, and persuade informers to come forward. That was, at least, the theory of the strategy. In practice, the basic framework of the strategy depended on the main transport lines. Railways and roads—if properly fortified and protected—could separate resistance forces from one another and deny them one of their most effective weapons: mobility. These "cage" tactics (chiyu-lung, "jiu-lung") made it possible to enlarge pacified areas by "nibbling" outward, "as a silkworm feeds on mulberry leaves" (ts'an-shih). At the same time, the approach aimed to exploit North China's economy more effectively. To this end, the Japanese worked to improve and extend both railway and road networks. When the war began, in Shanxi the Cheng-Tai (Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan) and Tong-Pu (Datong–Tongguan) lines were metre-gauge, incompatible with the standard-gauge lines elsewhere in China—part of Yan Xishan's design to prevent deeper penetration into his province. By the end of 1939, the Japanese used forced labor to convert both lines to standard gauge. One benefit was the easier transportation of high-quality anthracite coal from the Qingxing mines (on the Cheng-Tai line) to industrial users in North China and Manchukuo. Of the newly constructed roads and railway lines, the most important was the Te-Shih line—from Dezhou in northeastern Shandong to Shijiazhuang. Construction began in June 1940 and finished in November, connecting the Tianjin–Pukou, Beiping–Hankou, and Cheng-Tai lines. This made it easier to move troops and transport raw cotton. Once the Te–Shih link was completed, the Japanese had direct connections between the point of their furthest advance at the elbow of the Yellow River and all major cities of North China, and beyond to Manchukuo. Communist sources began to speak of a "transportation war," noting with concern the moats and ditches, the blockhouses, and the frequent patrols protecting the lines. Both militarily and economically, these measures weighed heavily on forces led by the Communists in North China and on the populations under their control—especially the plains of central and eastern Hebei. One indicator of effectiveness was the rapid decline in "acts of sabotage" against North China railways in 1939 and the first half of 1940. A cadre in Jin-Cha-Ji reported in mid-1940: "The enemy has adopted a blockhouse policy, like that of the Jiangxi Soviet. They are spread like a constellation. In central Hebei alone, there are about 500, separated by one to three miles." Normal trading patterns were disrupted as Japanese or puppet occupiers took over administrative and commercial centers, and peasants found themselves caught between regulations imposed by the Communists on one side and those enforced by the other side. Finally, landlords, moneylenders, loafers, bandits—everyone who felt damaged by the new order inside base areas—could use pacification programs to try to recover influence or simply take revenge. Some became informers. After 8RA and local units were driven away, they could kill remaining cadres or activists and settle scores with the peasants who had supported them. Until the "first anti-Communist upsurge" was defeated, local elites and other disaffected elements might also seek support from Nationalists. It was even possible for an armed band to operate for several months inside consolidated regions of the CCP base, killing cadres as it went. Peng Dehuai later recalled this period in a way that underscored how pressure translated into wavering and collapse. Under the enemy's brutal pressure, in some districts the masses even hesitated or capitulated. From March to July 1940, large areas of the North China base were reduced to guerrilla regions. Before the "Cage-bursting battle",, they controlled only two county seats: Pingxun in the Taihang mountains and Pien-kuan in northwest Shanxi. Masses who previously had one set of obligations now had two—one toward the anti-Japanese regime and one toward the puppet regime. The situation in North China had not yet become a full crisis, but it was certainly serious. Action was needed to regain initiative. On 22 July 1940, Zhu De, Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army, Peng Dehuai Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and Zuo Quan Deputy Chief of Staff jointly issued the Preliminary Battle Order, laying out the strategic goals for the coming operation. The order stated: "To respond to the enemy's 'prison cage policy,' obstruct its advance toward Xi'an, create favorable conditions in the North China theater, and strike at the national resistance initiative, we have decided to take advantage of the concealment provided by tall summer millet and the rainy season to carry out a large-scale sabotage operation on the Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway (Zheng–Tai Line)." It required the participation of at least 22 regiments from the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the 129th Division, and the 120th Division. The main objective was to "completely destroy key points along the Zheng–Tai Line" and to "cut the railway for a prolonged period." On 8 August, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army issued the Operational Battle Order, further clarifying how forces would be deployed. The Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region was assigned to attack the eastern section of the Zheng–Tai Railway (from Niangzi Pass to Shijiazhuang). The 129th Division was assigned the western section (from Niangzi Pass to Yuci). The 120th Division was tasked with targeting the northern segment of the Tongpu Railway and the Fen–Li Highway. The order also required all troops to begin combat operations on 20 August, and emphasized that "the success of the campaign should be assessed primarily by the extent of damage inflicted on the Zheng–Tai Line." The operation was prepared under strict secrecy. Various elements of the Eighth Route Army conducted thorough preparations before the campaign. Reconnaissance teams, hidden and protected with the help of local villagers, penetrated deep into areas near the Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway to carefully map Japanese strongholds, enemy troop dispositions, and local terrain. At the same time, both military and civilian communities mobilized to stockpile grain, ammunition, and tools needed for railway sabotage; blacksmiths were organized to manufacture crowbars, pickaxes, and other essential equipment. Specialized military training covered demolition methods and techniques for dismantling railways, including tactics such as heating and bending steel rails. Civilian mobilization played a crucial role: militia and support teams took on tasks such as transport, medical aid, and coordination with military units. In Central Shanxi alone, more than 10,000 militia members were mobilized. The Eighth Route Army headquarters repeatedly stressed the need for operational confidentiality, stating: "Before the battle begins, the plan must remain strictly classified; until preparations are completed, the campaign objective may be disclosed only to brigade-level commanders." With the cover of dense summer millet, troops secretly assembled within their designated operational areas. Before the battle, the Japanese North China Area Army estimated the strength of the communist regular forces at about 88,000 men in December 1939. Two years later, they revised the estimate to 140,000. On the eve of the battle, communist forces had grown to between 200,000 and 400,000 men, organized in 105 regiments. By 1940, the growth had become so significant that Zhu De ordered a coordinated offensive by most of the communist regular units—46 regiments from the 115th Division, 47 from the 129th, and 22 from the 120th—against Japanese-held cities and the railway lines that connected them. According to the Communist Party's official statement, the battle began on 20 August.  On August 20, 1940, the rain didn't stop the campaign—it changed the battlefield. It slowed movement, blurred distance, and turned rivers and muddy roads into obstacles that could just as easily trap your own men as your enemy's. Along the districts bordering the Zhengtai Railway, the Eighth Route Army still moved, slipping through valleys and river crossings, bypassing Japanese posts, and positioning forces on both sides of the line as night settled in. By dark, the plan became a coordinated strike meant to hit the enemy before they could properly react. Across the entire Zhengtai Railway, attacks went out with timing designed to disorient Japanese defenders—so that their "first realization" arrived only after the railway itself was already being attacked and the window to respond effectively had slipped away.   A key portion of that strike fell to the right column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, centered on the 5th and 19th Regiments, with the mission of sabotaging the Niangziguan to Luanliu section. At 20:00 on August 20, part of the 5th Regiment infiltrated Niangziguan Village for the first time, overwhelmed the puppet troops stationed there, and seized the village by dawn. After that opening cut, the main force moved in to cover the engineers, destroy enemy fortifications, and blow up the Guandong Railway Bridge. When the sabotage was done, they withdrew from Niangziguan on their own initiative, leaving the enemy to deal with the destruction rather than being pulled into a long, grinding engagement.   That same night, at Mohe Beach along the Zhengtai line, another action unfolded. The 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the 5th Regiment attacked the station and was immediately met with a counterattack by Japanese forces. By dawn on August 21, the company withdrew—an adjustment, not defeat—and then attacked again the same night after crossing the Mian River. This time the enemy retreated into barracks to resist more stubbornly, with nearly 1,000 Japanese troops holding Mohe Beach. Heavy rain had swollen the river and made foot crossing nearly impossible, but the attackers seized the village west of the station and held it. On August 22 afternoon, more than 400 Japanese troops counterattacked; the main force of the 5th Regiment hit from the north bank of the Mian River in a fire assault, killing more than 50 before withdrawing the 1st Company out of the fighting. The 19th Regiment, meanwhile, took Jucheng and Irrang stations, tightening the pressure on the railway corridor.   On August 23, 1940, the 5th Regiment recaptured Niangziguan and blew up the stone bridge east of the village, destroying the railway segment between Chengjialongdi and Mohetan. That night the 19th Regiment stormed Yirang Station and blew up the water tower and the railway, ensuring the disruption would not be temporary. From August 24 to 27, bridges near Yanhui—stone and wooden—were destroyed again and again. Under that continuous pressure, beginning on August 25, Japanese transportation along the Niangziguan to Luanliu section of the Zhengtai Road was cut off completely. Strongholds were left to fight more or less alone, unable to coordinate or move supplies the way they normally would.   While the right column worked the railway, other forces hit the system from different angles. The Central Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region—comprised of the 2nd, 3rd, and 16th Regiments—took responsibility for sabotaging the Zhengtai Road segment from Niangziguan to Weishui and for striking the Jingxing Coal Mine area. On the night of August 20, the 3rd Regiment launched coordinated attacks on the Gangtou old mine and the Dongwangshe new mine of Jingxing, and with miners assisting, the 1st Battalion quickly stormed the new mine and annihilated part of the enemy garrison. The rest withdrew into bunkers, resisting as best they could. By the afternoon of the next day, the entire enemy force had been wiped out. Afterward, major buildings in the mining area were destroyed and most materials were removed so that the mine could not resume production for more than six months. The 3rd Regiment also captured Jiazhuang, reinforcing the idea that sabotage here meant disabling not just lines of movement, but also the flow of resources.   Elsewhere, Japanese positions were disrupted in smaller, targeted strikes that still added up. After the Japanese stronghold at Nanzheng destroyed the railway between Nanzheng and Weishui, the 2nd Regiment took the eastern end fortress of the Faluling Railway Bridge, covered the engineers as they blew up a section of the bridge, and briefly occupied Caizhuang. The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Regiment attacked Beiyu on the night of August 20, annihilating most defenders, and on August 21 it covered the engineers to destroy the Beiyu Stone Bridge. Other units struck Didu and annihilated most defenders in Nanyu. By August 24, the Central Column had learned that more than 1,000 Japanese troops were stationed in Jingxing County, with additional reinforcements moving toward Nanyu and Didu. Their response was practical: detachments were assigned to watch and harass along the railway while the main force gathered in mobile positions—waiting for the next opening rather than charging blindly into concentrated strength.   Meanwhile, the left column of the Jin-Cha-Ji effort—from the 2nd Regiment of the Jizhong Garrison Brigade, the Military Region Special Service Regiment, and the Pingjinghuo Detachment—focused on sabotage from Weishui to Shijiazhuang. On the night of August 20, the Pingjinghuo Detachment attacked Yanfeng and blew up the railway. The Special Service Regiment moved with massed efforts as they destroyed power lines and highways from Yanfeng to Weizhou. On the night of August 22, the Special Service Regiment attacked Shang'an Station. On August 23, the 2nd Regiment stormed Touquan Station, captured two fortresses, then withdrew from the railway line; from August 25 to 27, they destroyed the highway connecting Pingshan, Huolu, Weishui, and Yanfeng.   While the main blow was falling along the Zhengtai Railway, the 129th Division was assigned raids on the western section. That area included the Japanese Independent Mixed Brigade No. 4 headquarters, a coal mine base at Yangquan, and support from Independent Mixed Brigade No. 9 from Yuci. These raids weren't only about destruction—they were meant to disorient, to create confusion over where the main pressure truly was. After the general offensive began at 20:00 on August 20, five companies of the 16th Regiment attacked Lujiazhuang Station and captured bunkers. Two guerrilla-operating companies in Yuci worked with engineers to destroy bridges between Lujiazhuang and Duanting. The 38th Regiment surprised Shanghu and Heshangzu stations, while the 25th Regiment captured Mashou Station and pushed Japanese troops toward Shouyang. The division's right-wing sabotage unit—28th and 30th Regiments of the newly formed 10th Brigade—took on sabotage on the Yangquan–Shouyang section, splitting routes on the night of August 20 to attack stations like Langyu, Zhangjing, Qinquan, and then striking additional positions with the 30th Regiment. Across that window, stations and strongholds such as Sangzhang, Yanzigou, Langyu, and Qinquan were taken, iron bridges were destroyed, and additional stations including Potou, Xinzhuang, Saiyu, Tielugou, Xiaozhuang, and Zhangzhuang were seized or disrupted.   As the western sabotage deepened, Japanese response hardened—but the ability to coordinate weakened. With the Zhengtai line sabotaged, the western section came under the 129th Division's control except for a few places such as Shouyang. Fierce assaults forced Japanese forces to lose contact with each other within days. Strongholds were attacked, besieged, and then annihilated as communication and coordination broke down. The 129th Division mobilized local people to destroy railway facilities, stations, and installations using demolition, burning, and flooding, moving materials so the railway and related infrastructure were effectively erased rather than merely damaged.   To cover these operations, the division occupied Shinaoshan with the 14th Regiment of the general reserve. Starting the morning of August 21, Japanese forces concentrated in Yangquan and attacked Shinaoshan daily. Enemy strength reportedly rose from more than 200 to more than 600, supported by bombing and strafing and the release of poison. The 14th Regiment held out until August 25, repelling repeated attacks, and by August 26 additional pressure came again as reinforcements increased. After six days and nights—and the annihilation of more than 400 enemy soldiers—the 14th Regiment withdrew from the main peak of Shinaoshan, continuing to contain the Japanese with smaller detachments while the main force shifted to another mission.   The first phase of sabotage had succeeded, but the campaign did not allow complacency. The Japanese strengthened their presence along the railway and launched frequent counterattacks, and Japanese divisions in southern Shanxi—including the 36th, 37th, and 41st—prepared to reinforce from the north. On August 26, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters issued instructions for a second phase: continue breaking through the road, concentrate superior forces, and annihilate Japanese units smaller than a battalion that were attacking or reinforcing. In line with that guidance, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region ordered the Jin-You Column to keep breaking through the road on August 27 for one or two days, while the 129th Division alternated daily in breaking through. Under sustained pressure, the western section of the Zhengtai Road was basically destroyed; transportation was effectively cut off except for a few towns such as Shouyang and Yangquan.   On September 2, orders were issued to conclude the Zhengtai Campaign starting from the 3rd and shift forces according to the second-step plan. As the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region launched the Mengbei Campaign, the 129th Division shifted toward attacking invading Japanese forces, while other tasks—such as attacking the He-Liao Highway and recovering cities of He and Liao—were left for later. Beginning September 2, the Military Region deployed the 2nd, 5th, 16th, and 19th Regiments toward areas north of Meng County and Shouyang to recapture enemy strongholds. With the railway sabotaged, the Japanese main force north of Meng County shifted south to reinforce, weakening garrisons and spreading panic among the strongholds. As fierce offensives intensified, garrison troops began to waver. By the afternoon of September 5, Japanese troops at Xiashe, supported by troops from Shangshe, retreated to Shangshe and fled toward Meng County overnight. That night, the 19th Regiment arrived near Shangshe and, together with the Special Service Battalion of the 2nd Military Sub-district, pursued. The 1st Battalion of the 19th Regiment advanced into Shenquan and Putian to cut off the retreat route. By 9:00 AM on September 6 the enemy was surrounded in Xingdao Village, and after five hours of intense fighting most forces were annihilated. Survivors fled east to Luolizhang Mountain, only to be surrounded again by the 19th, 5th, and 16th Regiments. By the night of September 9, most Japanese forces had been wiped out, though more than 40 men broke through in dense fog and escaped into Meng County.   The siege continued through bitter episodes involving attacks and withdrawals under poison, with both sides paying heavily for every moment of progress. Eventually, on September 11, Japanese troops in Xiyan escaped back to Meng County, helped by more than 200 Japanese already present there. Meanwhile, the Japanese attempted to counter the pressure: on September 4 they sent more than 2,000 troops to reinforce Meng County and began a counterattack. On September 10, the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region ordered the 19th and 5th Regiments to remain east and north of Meng County to coordinate with the 129th and 120th Divisions, while the rest prepared for new missions.   As fighting intensified around Zhengtai and Meng County, a parallel pressure campaign unfolded. To contain Eighth Route Army sabotage along Zhengtai, the Japanese assembled battalions from Independent Mixed 4th and 9th Brigades to strike the 129th Division. In response, the 120th Division began large-scale sabotage against the Tongpu Railway and major highways in northwestern Shanxi starting 20:00 on August 20. They captured enemy strongholds along rail and road lines, striking major bases such as Kangjiahui on the Xinjing Highway, where more than 50 Japanese and puppet troops were stationed, and also attacking other areas like Shishen, Lizhen, and Jingle. Ambushes were set to annihilate reinforcements arriving from different directions, and at 00:30 on August 21 the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Regiment attacked Kangjiahui and annihilated the defenders by dawn. Reinforcements arriving in cars were destroyed, and subsequent actions continued to expand the disruption.   Over more than 180 battles in northwestern Shanxi, the 120th Division annihilated more than 800 Japanese and puppet troops and captured or destroyed stations and strongholds including Kangjiahui, Yangfangkou, Pingshe, and Longquan. By disrupting the Tongpu Railway and transportation along the Xinjing, Taifen, and Fenli highways, they tied down Japanese forces and made it harder to reinforce Zhengtai. In practical terms, this meant the first phase of the Hundred Regiments Offensive—lasting about three weeks—ended on September 10 with major railway lines and motor roads attacked repeatedly. Roadbeds, bridges, switching yards, and installations were hit heavily; at the Qingxing coal mines, facilities were destroyed and production was halted for nearly a year.   By the end of that first phase, the campaign's logic had become clearer: once the Japanese leaned more heavily on a "cage-and-strongpoint" defense system, the same transport network that had supported their defense became less secure. When rail and road were repeatedly disrupted, strongpoints became more vulnerable—especially if Japanese units pulled out nearby detachments to respond to sabotage. So the campaign shifted from breaking transportation to attacking blockhouses and other strongpoints in contested areas, aiming to force Japanese forces back into well-defended garrisons and leave the countryside again contested by Communist forces. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. From 20 August 1940, under secrecy and rain, units of the 8th Route Army infiltrated stations, captured villages, destroyed bridges, power lines, roads, mines, and stations across multiple columns. By early September the Zhengtai and related Tongpu transport routes were repeatedly severed, forcing Japanese troops to fight isolated strongpoints and hindering reinforcement. 

MOWW, the Military Order of the World Wars serves our nation and local communities by providing and supporting activities that promote and encourage responsible citizenship, patriotism, youth leadership, military and public service, veteran support, and strong national security. Joe and Commander Worley talk about MOWW's mission and how the organization preserves the military history and provides leadership of our youth.Our library of shows can be found at www.veteranscornerradio.comJoin us on Facebook at the page Veterans Corner RadioYou can contact our host Joe Muhlberger at joseph.muhlberger@gmail.com

On this Friday edition of Sid & Friends in the Morning, Sid details reports that Big Apple first lady Rama Duwaji reportedly curated Spotify playlists with songs that have foulmouthed anti-Israel lyrics — with one bizarrely titled “hungry but sexy for palestine.” The wife of Mayor Zohran Mamdani compiled the playlists targeting the Jewish state following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, a new report said — the latest instance of the 28-year-old's radical online behavior coming under scrutiny. In other news of the day, Mayor Mamdani has made recent efforts to reach out to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin according to several sources in the city's business community familiar with those efforts - but the CEO appears in no mood to speak to Mamdani and may be holding out for a public apology for the video Mamdani posted on Tax Day calling out Griffin's $238 million pied-a-terre, and President Trump wrapped up his whirlwind three-day trip to China after tea and lunch with Xi Jinping early Friday Eastern time. The commander-in-chief and his Chinese counterpart discussed a wide range of pressing issues over the course of the historic summit, aimed at shoring up relations between Washington and Beijing and opening up the Communist country to American businesses. Ariella Noveck, Brian Kilmeade, Cherie DeVaux, Dick Jerardi, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Joe Tacopina & K.T. McFarland join Sid on this Friday installment of Sid & Friends in the Morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

fWotD Episode 3297: Operation Brevity Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.The featured article for Friday, 15 May 2026, is Operation Brevity.Operation Brevity was an attack in mid-May 1941, during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. Conceived by the commander-in-chief of the British Middle East Command, General Archibald Wavell, Brevity was intended to be a rapid blow against weak Axis front-line forces in the Sollum–Capuzzo–Bardia area of the border between Egypt and Libya. Although the operation got off to a promising start, throwing the Axis high command into confusion, most of its early gains were lost to local counter-attacks, and with German reinforcements being rushed to the front the operation was called off after one day.Egypt had been invaded by Libyan-based Italian forces in September 1940, but by February of the following year a British counter-offensive had advanced well into Libya, destroying the Italian 10th Army in the process. British attention then shifted to Greece, which was under the threat of Axis invasion. While Allied divisions were being diverted from North Africa, the Italians reinforced their positions and were supported by the arrival of the German Afrika Korps under Generalleutnant Erwin Rommel. Rapidly taking the offensive against his distracted and over-stretched opponent, by April 1941 Rommel had driven the British and Commonwealth forces in Cyrenaica back across the Egyptian border. Although the battlefront now lay in the border area, the port city of Tobruk—100 mi (160 km) inside Libya—had resisted the Axis advance, and its substantial Australian and British garrison constituted a significant threat to Rommel's lengthy supply chain. He committed his main strength to besieging the city, leaving the front line only thinly held.Wavell defined the objectives of Brevity to be the acquisition of territory from which to launch another offensive toward Tobruk and the depletion of German and Italian forces in the region. With few battle-ready units to draw on, in the wake of Rommel's recent successes, on 15 May Brigadier William Gott attacked in three columns with a mixed infantry and armoured force. The strategically important Halfaya Pass was taken against stiff Italian opposition and Fort Capuzzo, deeper inside Libya, was captured. German counter-attacks commanded by Colonel Maximilian von Herff regained the fort during the afternoon causing many casualties to its defenders. Gott—concerned that his forces were in danger of being caught by German armour in open ground—conducted a staged withdrawal to the Halfaya Pass on 16 May and Brevity was ended. Eleven days later the Halfaya Pass was recaptured during Operation Skorpion.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:52 UTC on Friday, 15 May 2026.For the full current version of the article, see Operation Brevity on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm standard Joey.

Send us Fan MailTrump's Iran war is not just a foreign-policy crisis. It is a constitutional warning.The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and names the president commander-in-chief. Those are not the same thing. A commander directs a war. A republic decides whether to enter one.But once again, the president acted first, Congress reacted late, and the American people are left with the danger, the precedent, and the bill.In today's opening argument, Tony Michaels breaks down how concentrated power works in real time: the White House creates the crisis, Congress debates after the fact, dissent gets framed as weakness, and working people pay the price at the pump, the grocery store, and through the rising costs of war.This is bigger than Trump. This is bigger than Iran. This is about whether America still has a republic that decides before war, or an empire that debates after the bombs fall.Read more at The Coffman Chronicle and get the full show for paid subscribers.Rumble: https://rumble.com/v79uo7a-trumps-iran-war-exposes-the-real-constitutional-crisis-tmp-1049.htmlThe Coffman Chronicle: https://www.thecoffmanchronicle.com/Pocket Constitution: https://thecoffmanchronicle.kit.com/pocket-constitutionYou're listening to today's Opening Argument from The Tony Michaels Podcast. The full show is free on Rumble, with clips, receipts, and the full breakdown. For the ad-free version and deeper breakdowns, subscribe to The Coffman Chronicle at TheCoffmanChronicle.com. Support the show

p's recent insomnia-induced, Obama-obsessed posting spree showed a level of paranoia and delusion that should be raising real concerns about the mental health of our commander-in-chief. The new blotch on his neck to go with the giant bruises on his hands is not helping matters. Is the DOJ mulling a $10 billion IRS settlement with Trump to try to ease his emotional distress over his seeming loss in Iran? Plus, Gorka's half-baked “official” counterterrorism strategy, Tim did ask Comey about the Hillary email investigation in a previous interview, and the poll numbers for POTUS are worse than they were after Jan 6.  Tom Nichols joins Tim Miller for a special LIVE pod.show notes Tom on the administration's counterterrorism strategy Tim's interview with Comey last year Just announced: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and our own MAGA culture expert, Will Sommer, will join the gang on stage at Bulwark Live: San Diego on May 20. And on May 21 at Bulwark Live: LA our friends Jane Coaston, Jon Favreau, Erin Ryan from Crooked Media, The Ringer's Van Lathan and progressive commentator Brian Tyler Cohen will join Sarah, Tim and Sam on stage. Grab your seats today at TheBulwark.com/Events Join at functionhealth.com/THEBULWARK or use gift code THEBULWARK25 for a $25 credit toward your membership.

“Katie and I, our relationship could be a little exciting -- I had to watch my step, I had to toe the line. I had to behave myself or I'd get taken to the principal's office... And she was the principal.” -- Bruce BoxleitnerREWIND EPISODE: The 80s TV Ladies - Sharon and Susan - are both moving! More details in our next episode. Meanwhile, please enjoy a few of our favorite episodes on repeat - consider it early summer rerun season. Let us know what you think about Bruce, Lee Stetson, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. We think it's one of the most adorable interviews with Bruce Boxleitner ever. :)In Part Two of their conversation, Bruce reflects on the differences between doing TV then and now, his relationship with Kate Jackson -- and how the long hours can sometimes turn your co-stars into your family…Bruce Boxleitner's television career started way back in 1973 with an appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and he has since appeared in over 100 films and TV shows including Gunsmoke, Baretta, Police Woman, Hawaii 5-0, Babylon 5, Crossing Jordan, Commander in Chief, American Dad, Cold Case, Heroes, Chuck, NCIS, Supergirl, The Orville, When Calls The Heart, How The West Was Won, Bring ‘Em Back Alive, The Gambler and Tron.THE PART 2 CONVERSATIONTHE UGLY SIDE OF LEE STETSON: When Lee slaps Amanda in “Burn Out” (S2; EP.21) What was going on? --  “Kate said, “Hit me.” It was no fun. I didn't enjoy doing it at all.”ON THE JAZZ: In Europe, Mel Stuart -- a saxophonist -- fell in with some local jazz musicians and ended up sitting-in in clubs all over Munich.DOUBLE TROUBLE: Bruce finds out the strange reason his stunt double Gary Davis did the pilot's helicopter stunts with no safety cable!On doing network TV: “This is where I come off sounding like a grumpy old man, but in my day, we had fun. Nobody is having fun anymore. Because we have cell phones on the set, everyone's on their cell phone. No one's talking.”WHO CAN TURN THE WORLD ON WITH HIS SMILE? Bruce got his first gig on The Mary Tyler Moore Show because the producer owed his agent a favor.On doing a streaming series: “I'm doing a series now -- six episodes. They call that a series? I call it a two-parter.”Bruce gets a surprise walking onto the Gunsmoke set when he discovers the entire town is built inside a soundstage.On filming pilots: “George Clooney says he's the king of the unsold pilots. Well, buddy, I'm the runner-up!”While shooting The Orville, Bruce finds out that the biggest SMK fan… is Seth McFarlane!How do you marry Lee and Amanda? Should you marry Lee and Amanda?So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Bruce -- as they talk How The West Was Won, Ted Knight, Tron, Juanita Bartlett, Susan Diol, Police Woman. Plus pranking Martha Smith -- and Kate Jackson -- AND Beverly Garland… and the sad, tragic life of “Dean, the Boyfriend”!AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Bruce Boxleitner at Facebook.comFollow him at Instagram.com/BoxleitnerBruceCatch him on Cameo at Cameo.com/BoxleitnerBruceWatch S2, Ep. 21: Burn out on TubiGet The Ultimate Fan's Guide to Scarecrow & Mrs. King by David Johnson, Taya Johnston and Sabine Ludewig at Amazon. CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Bruce Boxleitner at Facebook.com Follow him at Instagram.com/BoxleitnerBruceCatch him on Cameo at Cameo.com/BoxleitnerBruceWatch SMK for free at Internet Archive.Watch S2, Ep. 21: Burn out on Internet Archive here. Read the NY Times review of Bruce's 1973 Broadway play debut, Status Quo Vadis. And guess who else was in the cast? (Hint: Sam from Cheers!)   CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.VOTEREMEMBER: Make sure you're ready.Register or Check your US Election Registration at Vote.orgBe sure to vote in your primaries. Find out what's on your ballot at BallotReady.orgJuly 15th this year is the 47th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Read Susan's play about the speech and the confidence it takes to be president in challenging times: Confidence (and the Speech) at Conchord Publishing DPS. Credits: 80s TV Ladies™ Episode RERUN 305: Produced by 134 West and Susan Lambert Hatem. Hosted by Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson. Guest: Bruce Boxleitner. Sound Engineer and Editor: Kevin Ducey. Producers: Melissa Roth, Richard Hatem, Sharon Johnson. Associate Producers: Sergio Perez, Sailor Franklin. Music by Amy Engelhardt. Copyright 2024 2026 134 West, LLC and Susan Lambert. All Rights Reserved. Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.Don't miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

How should Americans evaluate presidential candidates when it comes to nuclear weapons? In this episode, Dr. Anthony Eames, Director of Scholarly Initiatives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, returns to the show to examine how presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump have approached nuclear weapons, deterrence, and arms control. We discuss the end of the Cold War, the challenge of rogue states, and why some presidents—including George W. Bush in Iraq and Donald Trump in Iran—have ultimately chosen military action to stop nuclear threats. What separates a reckless nuclear policy from a prudent one? And what qualities should Americans look for in a commander-in-chief entrusted with the world’s deadliest weapons? A Voice in Their Own Destiny: Reagan, Thatcher, and Public Diplomacy in the Nuclear 1980s https://www.amazon.com/Voice-Their-Own-Destiny-Diplomacy/dp/1625347103/ JOIN PREMIUMListen ad-free for only $5/month at www.bit.ly/TAPpremiumFOLLOW USwww.linktr.ee/thisamericanpresidentCREDITSHost: Richard LimProducer: Michael NealArtist: Nip Rogers, www.NipRogers.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tehran is currently banking on the hope that the United States will buckle under economic pressure, yet their strategy ignores the reality of a commander-in-chief focused on decisive negotiation rather than retreat. While the Iranian regime attempts to shield itself behind threats to Gulf oil and water supplies, internal power struggles between the IRGC and a fractured military suggest a government in total disarray, argues Davis Hanson on today's edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.”

If you’re worried that U.S. strikes in heavily-populated areas of Iran amount to a violation of the world’s shakiest cease-fire agreement, breathe easy. Our fearless leader and Commander-in-Chief assures us they’re just a “love tap” and that all is well in the most militarized and unstable part of the world. Steve Schmidt, Ken Harbaugh and Malcolm Nance break down the lunacy that is the Trump Administration’s “plan” in Iran and what it means for the people who really matter: the U.S. servicemen and women standing by, waiting for these amateurs to decide their fate. Brought to you by the Save America Movement. SHOP: " The Constitution is King" mug: https://thewarningwithsteveschmidt.com/products/the-constitution-is-king-mug?_pos=2&_psq=constitution+is+king&_ss=e&_v=1.0 Support The Warning and become a YouTube member today! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2I50t9-7Ol7AjwryRv-Fiw/join Subscribe for more and follow me here: Substack: https://steveschmidt.substack.com/subscribe Store: https://thewarningwithsteveschmidt.com/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thewarningses.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveSchmidtSES/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thewarningses Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewarningses/ X: https://x.com/SteveSchmidtSES

Could artificial intelligence hand the US or China 99% of global economic and military power? What happens when millions of autonomous weapons systems are controlled by a single commander-in-chief? Has effective altruism's influence in Silicon Valley accelerated or slowed the race for artificial general intelligence? Alastair and Rory are joined by William MacAskill to discuss all this and more. __________ Search IG.com to find out more and/or Look for IG in your app store. You can purchase William MacAskill's book Doing Good Better here. __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Senior Producer: Nicole Maslen Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congressman Bob Onder joins the show to discuss escalating U.S. military strikes on Iranian targets, arguing the administration is acting within commander-in-chief authority while Congress retains oversight through funding powers. He weighs in on newly released government UFO footage, saying he has not received classified briefings and remains open-minded about what the unexplained aerial objects could be. Onder also emphasizes election integrity, supporting stricter voter ID laws and proof-of-citizenship requirements while criticizing efforts to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. The conversation also highlights Small Business Week, with Onder defending recent tax policies and arguing that small businesses remain the primary driver of U.S. job growth. Hashtags: #BobOnder #CapitalBeat #IranStrikes #UFO #ElectionIntegrity #VoterID #SmallBusiness #TaxPolicy #Congress #NationalSecurity

Hour 3 opens with breaking reports of newly released Pentagon/U.S. military footage of unidentified aerial phenomena, prompting debate over whether the objects represent foreign technology or something unexplained, alongside discussion of potential government transparency ahead of a presidential news conference. The hour then shifts to Rep. Bob Onder, who addresses U.S. strikes on Iranian targets, arguing the administration is acting under commander-in-chief authority while Congress retains funding oversight, and also weighs in on UFO disclosures, election integrity efforts, and small business policy tied to tax reforms and job growth. In the final segments, immigration policy takes center stage as Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies critiques sanctuary jurisdictions for declining ICE detainer requests and releasing individuals flagged for deportation, calling it a breakdown in enforcement cooperation. The hour closes with Kim on a Whim, focusing on hantavirus headlines and public reaction, pushing back on what is framed as media-driven fear amplification and renewed masking rhetoric despite limited confirmed cases and relatively mild reported symptoms in most monitoring situations. Hashtags: #Iran #UFO #UnidentifiedAerialPhenomena #BobOnder #ImmigrationPolicy #ICE #SanctuaryCities #ElectionIntegrity #SmallBusiness #Hantavirus #PublicHealth #GovernmentTransparency

From the publisher:"Esteemed presidential historian Stephen F. Knott takes readers on a sobering tour of the lowlights in the American presidency, showing how presidents from Thomas Jefferson to Donald Trump have engaged in reckless conspiracy-mongering about their political opponents in an effort to increase their power and privilege.Today we are inundated with conspiracy theories—QAnon, the “Big Lie,” Pizzagate, the Epstein Files, and innumerable false claims about vaccines and other medicines. But the widespread proliferation of lies and misinformation can make it easy to forget that conspiracy theories have been part of American life from the beginning. The land of the free and the home of the brave has also been the den of false rumors and conspiratorial claims about one's political enemies—not merely by rank-and-file Americans but also by our most powerful and consequential elected leaders. As political historian Stephen F. Knott recounts in painful detail, the Commander in Chief of the United States has often acted as Conspirator in Chief.Part presidential history and part descent into a political Dante's Inferno, Conspirator in Chief is a tour through the Hall of Shame in American politics. Thomas Jefferson used surrogates to spread false claims about Alexander Hamilton in order to destroy his political influence, attacked newspaper editors who were critical of his party and policies, and used conspiracy theories about the Federalists to tarnish them in the eyes of the American people. This brand of demagoguery reached an apex in the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who publicly defamed abolitionists, manipulated newspapers to publish his conspiracies, and spread his own “Big Lie” about the 1824 election being stolen from him in a “corrupt bargain.” Andrew Johnson spread false accusations about the Radical Republicans, declared the need for “white emancipation,” and made spurious claims about the dangers of a coming Black supremacy as a result of Reconstruction. Woodrow Wilson, according to Knott, continued Johnson's racist and conspiratorial interpretation of American history.In addition to our most infamous presidents, Knott uncovers the surprising conspiratorial inclinations of our more esteemed leaders, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S Truman. Knott shows how both presidents painted their opponents in an extreme light, casting aspersions on political rivals by calling them “betrayers of America,” “spies, saboteurs, and traitors,” and comparing them to Nazis, fascists, and communists. Less surprising are the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Donald J. Trump, both known for their propagation of racist and paranoid beliefs and their denigration of political opponents. As Knott demonstrates in excruciating detail, Trump epitomizes the worst of this long American tradition. While Trump is in a league of his own regarding the sheer output and outlandishness of his conspiracy-mongering, he did not begin this odious practice."Information on Dr. Knott's book can be found at https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700641284/His website can be found at https://www.stephenfknott.com/AxelbankHistory.com is designed by https://www.ellieclairedesigns.com/Axelbank Reports History and Today" can be found on social media at https://twitter.com/axelbankhistoryhttps://instagram.com/axelbankhistoryhttps://facebook.com/axelbankhistory

Pete Hegseth went to Capitol Hill and absolutely torched Congressman Garamendi for calling the two-month Iran campaign a "quagmire" — reminding him that he personally served in a real one. Then Congressman Seth Moulton accused Hegseth of war crimes on national television and suggested he should be executed like a Nazi, while another Democrat questioned whether Donald Trump is mentally stable enough to be commander in chief. Hegseth's response to all of it was devastating. You can join AARP’s fight against fraud at https://action.aarp.org/fraudpledge SHOP OUR MERCH: https://store.townhallmedia.com/ BUY A LARRY MUG: https://store.townhallmedia.com/products/larry-mug Watch LARRY with Larry O'Connor LIVE — Monday-Thursday at 12PM Eastern on YouTube, Facebook, & Rumble! Find LARRY with Larry O'Connor wherever you get your podcasts! SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7i8F7K4fqIDmqZSIHJNhMh?si=814ce2f8478944c0&nd=1&dlsi=e799ca22e81b456f APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/larry/id1730596733 Become a Townhall VIP Member today and use promo code LARRY for 50% off: https://townhall.com/subscribe?tpcc=poddescription https://townhall.com/ https://rumble.com/c/c-5769468 https://www.facebook.com/townhallcom/ https://www.instagram.com/townhallmedia/ https://twitter.com/townhallcomBecome a Townhall VIP member with promo code "LARRY": https://townhall.com/subscribeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Kate was able to go off script. Then I found I could go with her. Pretty soon we're doing stuff that is not on the written page. That's where we found the little ‘in-between' moments.”  - Bruce BoxleitnerREWIND EPISODE: The 80s TV Ladies are both moving! More details in a later episode, so please enjoy a few of our favorite episodes on repeat - consider it early rerun season. Let us know what you think about Bruce, Lee Stetson, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King. We think it's one of the most adorable interviews with Bruce Boxleitner ever. :)Susan and Sharon are so excited to talk with the star of one of their favorite 80s TV shows of all time -- Bruce Boxleitner from Scarecrow & Mrs. King!  Bruce's television career started way back in 1973 with an appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He has since appeared in over 100 films and TV shows including Gunsmoke, Baretta, Police Woman, Hawaii 5-0, Babylon 5, Crossing Jordan, Commander in Chief, American Dad, Cold Case, Heroes, Chuck, NCIS, Supergirl, The Orville, When Calls The Heart, How The West Was Won, Bring ‘Em Back Alive, The Gambler and Tron.In Part One of this two-part interview, Bruce reflects on getting the role of Lee Stetson, working with Kate Jackson and the cast of Scarecrow & Mrs. King and filming some of the show's most memorable episodes during the summer of 1984 in Europe.THE CONVERSATIONGETTING THE SHOW: "I was in a daze. I ended up on the roof... The security guard down below: 'What are you doing up there?' 'I don't know!'"UN-“HAPPY DAYS”: How Bring ‘Em Back Alive fought a losing battle on Tuesday nights against Richie Cunningham and the Fonz… But how it led to Bruce's most famous TV role of all time!CALLING ALL SPIES: What was it like auditioning with Kate Jackson -- in front of the same executives that just cancelled his last show?On Mel Stuart: “He was the best. I miss him so much. He made me laugh more than anyone I've ever worked with.”THE OLD CAR: Driving that '63 Porsche Speedster around Washington, D.C. during the pilot: “It died after every take.”THE NEW CAR: a 1984 Corvette: “It fit me like a pair of fiberglass pants.”Gary Davis -- Bruce's secret stunt double -- did all Lee Stetson's stunts, and doubled for Bruce more times than you might think.NOT TOO MANY GUNFIGHTS AT 8PM: The Scarecrow editors assembled a gag reel of all the times top agent Lee Stetson lost his gun.SAVING MS. SMITH: While filming in Munich, Bruce and Martha Smith walked into the wrong punk bar. Bruce got her out -- but only after throwing some Stetson-style punches!Working in the Alps and in Amanda's house with Jean Stapleton -- “I wish she could have done more episodes.”One of Bruce's favorite episodes? S2; EP1 “To Catch a Mongoose”S2; EP21: “Burn Out” -- and the scene where Lee slaps Amanda. How did that feel for Kate -- and Bruce?So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Bruce -- as they talk Beverly Garland, James Garner, quirky humor, Scotland Yard, Lee Stetson's wardrobe, “When should we kiss?”  -- and what happened the day Moonlighting premiered!Make sure to join us NEXT EPISODE for Part Two of our conversation with Bruce Boxleitner!AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Bruce Boxleitner at Facebook.com Follow him at Instagram.com/BoxleitnerBruceCatch him on Cameo at Cameo.com/BoxleitnerBruceWatch SMK for free at Internet Archive.Watch S2, Ep. 21: Burn out on Internet Archive here. Read the NY Times review of Bruce's 1973 Broadway play debut, Status Quo Vadis. And guess who else was in the cast? (Hint: Sam from Cheers!)   CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.VOTEREMEMBER: Make sure you're ready. Register or Check your US Election Registration at Vote.orgBe sure to vote in your primarys. Find out what's on your ballot at BallotReady.orgJuly 15th this year is the 47th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Read Susan's play about the speech and the confidence it takes to be president in challenging times: Confidence (and the Speech) at Conchord Publishing DPS. Visit 80sTVLadies.com for more info.Listen to 80s TV Ladies at YouTube. Subscribe and help us grow.Don't miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes, video interviews, and exclusive content on PATREON.

  Last time we spoke about the battle of south Guangxi. In late 1939, amid the Sino-Japanese War stalemate, Japan aimed to sever China's vital supply lines from French Indochina by invading southern Guangxi. The 21st Army, including the 5th Division and Taiwan Mixed Brigade landed at Qinzhou Bay on November 15, capturing Nanning by November 24 after feinting at Beihai and overcoming scattered Chinese defenses under the 16th Army Group. Chinese forces, commanded by Bai Chongxi and reinforced by the elite 5th Army launched a counteroffensive in December. The brutal Battle of Kunlun Pass saw repeated assaults. However, Japanese counterattacks in January 1940, bolstered by the 18th Division and Konoye Brigade, recaptured Kunlun Pass and Binyang by February, inflicting over 10,000 Chinese losses and forcing retreats. A stalemate ensued until September 1940, when Japan pressured Indochina. Overextended Japanese forces withdrew south, allowing Chinese to recapture Nanning on October 30 and clear Guangxi by November 17.   #199 The battle of West Suiyuan  Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. Back in 1936,  the Xi'an Incident had forced a fragile alliance between the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists, forming a united front against Japan. This front extended to regional warlords like the Ma Clique, who controlled Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai. The Ma family, descendants of Muslim generals loyal to the Qing Dynasty, navigated complex loyalties but ultimately aligned with the Nationalist cause, driven by patriotism and self-preservation.   The stakes in West Suiyuan were high. Control of the region meant access to the Suiyuan-Xinjiang Highway, a lifeline for Soviet aid to China. Japanese occupation could threaten the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, a Communist stronghold, and open paths to Lanzhou and beyond. The battles here, though overshadowed by larger theaters like Shanghai or Wuhan, demonstrated how peripheral fronts contributed to the national resistance. Over 70 years later, the sacrifices of more than 2,000 Ningxia soldiers remain a poignant reminder of the human cost of resistance, their anti-Japanese merits etched forever in the annals of Chinese history.   The seeds of the Battle of West Suiyuan were sown in the turbulent years following the Xi'an Incident. This event in December 1936 led to the initial formation of a national united front against Japanese aggression. The Communist Party of China (CPC) mobilized masses in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, strengthening anti-Japanese forces and exerting pressure on the Ma Clique. Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government also influenced the Mas, solidifying their resolve to resist Japan.   The Ma Clique, a powerful Muslim warlord faction in Northwest China, was led by figures like Ma Hongkui (governor of Ningxia) and his cousin Ma Hongbin. They controlled a semi-autonomous region with a mix of Hui, Han, and Mongolian populations. Japan, seeking to exploit ethnic divisions, attempted to woo the Mas. Even after the July 7, 1937, outbreak of war, Japan persisted. On October 17, 1937, after occupying Baotou, the Japanese established the "Baotou Hui Muslim Branch" and appointed Jiang Wenhuan, a former Hui commander, to court Ma Hongkui. They sent envoys, including an imam from Northeast China, and even airdropped letters from "Manchukuo." In a dramatic move, Japanese commander Itagaki Seishiro flew to Alashan Banner to invite Ma Hongkui for talks. Ma sent Zhou Baihuang, who rebuffed Itagaki by invoking historical grievances: the Japanese role in the Eight-Nation Alliance's 1900 invasion, where Ma family members died at Zhengyang Gate. "The family feud remains unresolved, and the national humiliation is yet to be avenged; they are irreconcilable enemies," Zhou declared.   Japan's plot to persuade surrender failed, leading to a major offensive against Suiyuan and Ningxia. Large numbers of troops reinforced Baotou, and bombings targeted Ningxia. In response, Ma Hongkui began building fortifications in places like Shizuishan and Dengkou. Starting in the winter of 1937, he constructed defense fortifications in the Shizuishan area in four phases. In the Shizuishan Weizha area, trenches several meters wide and deep were dug, covered with branches, straw, and loose soil for camouflage, to prevent the passage of Japanese armored vehicles and heavy weapons. Within a hundred li north of Dengkou and Sanshenggong, all major roads were cut off, and deep trenches were dug to destroy the Japanese army's access to Ningxia. The banks of the Yellow River ferry crossings in northern Ningxia and the Helan Mountain passages were all cut into steep cliffs. Important passageways were fortified with blocking positions and hidden artillery to repel invading Japanese troops.   Among the various military commanders in Northwest China, Ma Hongbin possessed the strongest anti-Japanese spirit. Having joined the army at a young age, Ma Hongbin placed great emphasis on cultural learning and the cultivation of his personal character. Outside of military service, he was always seen with a book in hand, resembling a scholar. His long-term study fostered his upright character and patriotism. After the Japanese invasion of China, deeply moved by the nation's peril, he resolved to lead his troops to the battlefield to save the country from its crisis. In the spring of 1938, at the opening ceremony of an officer training course held in Wanghongbao, Yongning, Ma Hongbin addressed his subordinates from the podium: "Always remember that the nation comes first, the people come first, defend the land and country, and fulfill your duties. On the battlefield, you must be able to both attack and defend, and be prepared to live and die with the position, with the determination to fight to the end."   The Ma forces were reorganized into the Nationalist structure. Ma Hongkui's 15th Route Army and Ma Hongbin's 35th Division (later expanded to the 81st Army) formed the 17th Army Group, with Ma Hongkui as Commander-in-Chief and Ma Hongbin as Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the 81st Army. The officer training of the 81st Army improved the anti-Japanese consciousness and combat quality of the entire army, preparing for the counterattack against the Japanese invasion. In May 1938, due to the weakened defenses of Suiyuan (at that time, the troops of Fu Zuoyi, the chairman of Suiyuan Province, had retreated to Shanxi), most of the area was occupied by Japanese and puppet troops. The Kuomintang Central Committee appointed Ma Hongbin as the commander of the Suiyuan West Defense Command. Ma Hongbin led his 81st Army and two cavalry brigades and one infantry brigade of Ma Hongkui's troops to Wuyuan (now Wuyuan County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) to unify the command of the various anti-Japanese forces that had retreated into Suiyuan West. His mission was to prevent the Japanese army from advancing westward.   After arriving in Wuyuan, Ma Hongbin convened a meeting of commanders from various forces to discuss the defense against the Japanese. The various armies in western Suiyuan were of different factions and not affiliated with each other, and most adopted a policy of seeking safety and avoiding danger in their defenses. Ma Hongbin deployed the main force of his 81st Army, the 35th Division, at key passes in the Wubu Langshan area northeast of Wuyuan to serve as the first line of defense, while deploying three brigades of Ma Hongkui's troops along the line from Wuyuan to Langshan as reinforcements.   The terrain was challenging: vast deserts, mountains like Yinshan and Langshan, and the Yellow River's bends. Wubulangkou, a narrow pass between Erlang and Chashitai Mountains, was strategically vital. Defenses included anti-tank trenches and mines. These preparations reflected the Ningxia Army's blend of traditional cavalry tactics and modern training. The troops, many Hui Muslims, brought cultural cohesion and resilience, but faced equipment shortages—outdated mortars and rifles versus Japanese mechanization.   In May 1938, Ma Hongbin arrived in Linhe (now part of Bayannur, Inner Mongolia) to establish his command post. After inspecting the situation of the friendly forces in the defense zone and designating the defense zone of his subordinate 81st Army, he ordered Ma Tengjiao, commander of the 35th Division, to lead four infantry regiments, namely the 103rd and 104th Brigades, to Suiyuan Western Defense Command to fight against the Japanese. Ma Hongbin established a command post in Linhe, where he and his son, Ma Dunjing, the chief of staff of the 81st Army, deployed their troops in areas such as Wuzhen and Siyitang. Ma Dunjing directed his troops to conduct exercises in the Wuzhen and Siyitang area, and invited Soviet military advisors to provide guidance, preparing for combat with an extremely serious attitude.   To show his support for Ma Hongbin's leadership of the Suiyuan Western Defense Command, Ma Hongkui dispatched two cavalry brigades to Suiyuan Western Defense Command. The main reason why the Ma Clique army from Ningxia went to Suiyuan to fight against the Japanese was that the defense of Suiyuan was directly related to the safety of Ningxia. At the same time, after the Ma Clique army was incorporated into the anti-Japanese army, its primary task was to fight against the Japanese invaders and defend the country. In addition, the anti-Japanese enthusiasm of the people in the Northwest continued to rise. Under the impetus of the situation, it was inevitable that the Ningxia army would join the anti-Japanese war in Suiyuan.   The initial engagement came in the late summer and early autumn of 1939, as Japanese troops, driving cars, armored vehicles, and tanks, advanced from Baotou towards the defenses of the 81st Army in western Suiyuan, attempting to annihilate the main force of the 81st Army. Ma Dunjing (the third son of Ma Hongbin), Chief of Staff of the 81st Army, personally commanded the operation at the front line in Wuda Town. The Japanese advanced to the defensive positions of the 35th Division and bombarded Ma's position with heavy artillery fire. The 35th Division returned fire with 82mm mortars. Because Ma's mortars were old-fashioned, they emitted smoke upon firing, revealing their positions. The Japanese immediately unleashed over 200 shells on the 35th Division's artillery positions, silencing them and rendering them incapable of retaliating. Taking advantage of this, the Japanese, under the powerful cover of artillery and machine gun fire, swarmed in by car, tank, and armored vehicle. The 35th Division held their ground, waiting for the Japanese troops to enter effective firing range and disembark from their vehicles. Suddenly, soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the 206th Regiment jumped out of their fortifications and charged into the enemy lines, engaging the Japanese in hand-to-hand combat. The Japanese were thrown into disarray, some killed before they could even disembark. Those who did disembark suffered heavy casualties, with the remaining soldiers turning back to their vehicles and fleeing in panic. Forced to retreat after suffering a decisive blow, the 35th Division captured two Japanese vehicles, over a hundred artillery shells, dozens of boxes of ammunition, as well as firearms and officer's swords. This marked the first victory in the Suiyuan-Western Anti-Japanese War. This victory boosted morale and public spirit. When the captured vehicles entered Wuyuan County, the people cheered enthusiastically, plastering the vehicles with various celebratory slogans. An elderly local artist even composed a song to celebrate the victory and sang it on the street: "Our old Western Army (referring to Ma Hongbin's 81st Army) is really good at fighting. We drove away the Japanese soldiers, captured cars and brought them into Wuyuan City, where the whole city celebrated and welcomed them. Relying on our old Western Army, we defeated the Japanese soldiers, and the people have peace." The campaign's defining battle occurred at Wubulangkou in early 1940, following the Chinese raid on Baotou in December 1939. In the autumn of 1939, the situation in Shanxi stabilized, and Fu Zuoyi, the chairman of Suiyuan Province who had retreated to Shanxi, led his troops back to western Suiyuan, establishing the Deputy Commander's Headquarters of the Eighth War Zone to unify command of military and political affairs in western Suiyuan and actively preparing for a counter-offensive. To coordinate with the nationwide winter offensive, Fu Zuoyi decided to attack Baotou, a key Japanese stronghold, to contain the Japanese forces in North China. The Battle of Baotou was spearheaded by the newly formed 31st Division of Fu Zuoyi's 35th Army, with the 35th Division of Ma Hongbin's 81st Army providing support. Under meticulous planning, on December 20th, Sun Lanfeng's newly formed 31st Division of Fu Zuoyi's army stormed into Baotou. The Japanese army, caught off guard, panicked and suffered over a thousand casualties, scattering in all directions, losing all their supplies within the city. Fu Zuoyi then directed his troops to withdraw to the rear of western Suiyuan, luring the enemy deeper into the territory for a later battle.   The Battle of Baotou greatly angered the Japanese army. Therefore, more than 30,000 Japanese troops were mobilized from Zhangjiakou, Taiyuan, Datong, and other places, along with more than 1,500 military vehicles, armored vehicles, tanks, dozens of aircraft, and six divisions of puppet Mongolian troops, totaling more than 40,000 men. Under the command of Division Commander Kuroda, they launched a major offensive into western Suiyuan in early 1940, attempting to seize western and southern Inner Mongolia in one fell swoop. Facing the superior Japanese forces, the people and soldiers of western Suiyuan adopted a scorched-earth policy and mobile warfare to maneuver against the enemy. The specific deployment was as follows: the 7th Cavalry Division of Men Bingyue's troops blocked the Japanese troops in the Xishanzui and Maqidukou areas, and then turned to the right bank of the Yellow River to threaten the enemy's left flank; the 35th Division of Ma Hongbin's troops and the 1st Cavalry Brigade of Ma Hongkui's troops constructed positions in the Wubulangkou and Wuzhen areas, blocked the enemy, and then moved into Langshan to threaten the Japanese right flank; the 35th Army of Fu Zuoyi's troops assembled northwest of Wuyuan to launch mobile attacks on the enemy; other units chose favorable terrain to harass the exhausted enemy at any time; and the logistics personnel were transferred to the Dengkou and Shizuishan areas. Before Langshan Mountain, where the Yang family generals once fought against the Jin dynasty, a thousand-mile-long battlefield against the Japanese was set up.   Wubulangkou is located in the western part of the Yinshan Mountains. Nestled between the eastern and western ends of the rugged and precipitous Erlang Mountain and Chashitai Mountain, it forms a strategically vital location. After Fu Zuoyi returned to western Suiyuan in 1939 to serve as deputy commander of the Eighth War Zone, the Ningxia army was placed under his command. At the end of December, Fu Zuoyi's troops stormed Baotou, inflicting over a thousand casualties on the Japanese. Okabe, commander of the Japanese Mengjiang Garrison, considered the defeat at Baotou a great humiliation and declared, "We must sweep through the Hetao region and completely annihilate Fu Zuoyi's army." To eliminate future troubles, the Japanese, "determined to decisively crush the enemy's base in the Hetao region with their main force," began in January 1940, mobilizing over 30,000 Japanese and puppet troops from Zhangjiakou, Datong, and other places, along with over a thousand vehicles, aircraft, artillery, and tanks. Under the command of Division Commander Kuroda Shigetoku, they launched a three-pronged, menacing invasion of western Suiyuan.   On January 31, Kuroda led the main force of the Japanese central route, consisting of over 780 vehicles, armored vehicles, and tanks, and launched an attack at 4:30 PM on the positions of the 35th Division of the 81st Army in the area of Wubulangkou, Siyitang, and Wuzhen.    Ubulangkou, where Ma Hongbin's 35th Division was stationed, is a transliteration of the Mongolian word "Ubulak," meaning "mouth of large and small springs." Located in the southern part of present-day Urad Middle Banner, it lies at the junction of Wuliangsutai, Delingshan Township, and Wengeng Sumu, a strategically important location nestled between two mountains. When the Battle of Ubulangkou began, Ma Hongbin was in Chongqing attending a high-level military conference convened by Chiang Kai-shek, and his troops were commanded by Ma Tengjiao, commander of the 35th Division. At approximately 8:00 AM on January 31, 1940, the Japanese army amassed its forces in the Zaoshulinzi desert area, directly north of Siyitang and directly east of Ubulangkou. Their vanguard first used three aircraft to circling and bombard the positions of Ma's 205th Regiment, followed by artillery bombardment. Under the cover of aircraft and artillery, Japanese tanks, armored vehicles, and hundreds of military vehicles carrying Japanese troops launched an attack on the Siyitang and Ubulangkou positions. Following Ma Hongbin's orders, a defensive trench, 3 meters wide and 3 meters deep, had been dug in front of the 81st Army's position, stretching approximately 10 kilometers from the foot of Wubulang Pass to the north bank of the Yellow River. A 50-meter-wide pit zone preceded the trench. The two sides fought fiercely until nightfall, suffering heavy casualties and remaining evenly matched. At the Siyitang position, Ding Liangyu, the company commander of the 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 205th Regiment, was wounded and died the following day; more than 30 platoon leaders, squad leaders, and soldiers were killed. Xue Wanyou, the battalion clerk, was hit by an artillery shell, his body torn apart and his head severed. Although the officers and soldiers of Ma's 35th Division suffered heavy casualties, they held their ground. Unable to break through, the Japanese used aircraft to continuously release poison gas with the wind at their backs. Although Ma's troops had prepared simple gas masks made of gauze wrapped in sawdust, the concentration of the gas was too high, causing many to experience headaches, chest tightness, and vomiting, greatly weakening their fighting capacity and making the situation increasingly critical. Around 10 PM, Division Commander Ma Tengjiao ordered Ma Jiangong, deputy battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 206th Regiment, to lead two companies from Wulanaobao to reinforce the 208th Regiment via Siyitang. Ma Jiangong was killed by a grenade in the fierce fighting. The two companies fought desperately to break free from the enemy and finally joined up with the 208th Regiment. The enemy, realizing this, reinforced their forces and intensified their attack. At 11:30 PM, the 208th Regiment's position was breached, but the enemy dared not advance rashly. The battle resumed at dawn the next day, and the fighting at the Siyitang position remained extremely fierce. Ma Tengjiao ordered the 1st Battalion of the 206th Regiment to reinforce the Siyitang position. While traversing a seven- or eight-mile stretch of open land, the reinforcements were subjected to heavy artillery fire from the Japanese, suffering heavy casualties. However, the troops braved the artillery fire, bullets, and thick smoke, breaking through the enemy's fire blockade and reaching the position. The combined forces of the Wubulangkou and Siyitang positions continued to inflict powerful blows on the Japanese army. The 205th Regiment, holding the fortified Siyitang, engaged in bayonet fighting with the Japanese army. When their bayonets bent, the soldiers would grab the enemy and bite them, or detonate grenades to die alongside them. The troops had gone two days and two nights without food or water, and coupled with the bitter cold, they were exhausted and suffering heavy casualties. The battle was exceptionally fierce, tragic, and arduous. Ma Hongbin later recalled this battle, saying, "Even the world-famous battles of Taierzhuang and Changsha, where the National Revolutionary Army fought with such heroic spirit, were no more than this."   In the early morning of February 1st, the Japanese army first bombarded the defensive positions at Wubulangkou and Siyitang with heavy artillery, and then used aircraft to dive-bomb the open area in front of Wubulangkou. Under the attack of enemy artillery and tanks combined with infantry, the 208th Regiment suffered heavy casualties, and the front-line positions at Wubulangkou were breached by the enemy. The 205th and 206th Regiments sent reinforcements, using bunkers and high ground fortifications to stubbornly resist the enemy, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. Seeing that they could not capture the positions defended by the Ningxia army, the Japanese army released tear gas and sneezing gas. While attacking from the front, the Japanese army sent puppet Mongolian troops to flank and attack Wubulangkou from the rear of the mountain. Although the Ma troops resisted bravely, they were ultimately outnumbered, and their positions were successively breached by the enemy, forcing the remaining defenders to withdraw. In this battle, more than 1,000 officers and soldiers of the Ningxia Ma troops shed their blood in western Suiyuan, using their lives to block the enemy's advance.   Ma's troops retreated, pursued by Japanese ground forces and strafed by aircraft, suffering over a thousand casualties and forced to retreat into the desert. They continued to fight the Japanese in the quicksand, killing another 200 enemy soldiers. After a grueling six-day, six-night march, the troops successfully returned to their Dengkou base for rest. Post-war statistics show that Ma's 35th Division originally had over 5,000 men; in the battle of Wubulangkou, over 1,000 were killed and 2,000 wounded, including 700 suffering from frostbite. This battle exemplified sacrificial defense, buying time for counteroffensives.   Upon learning of the defeat of his troops in Chongqing, Ma Hongbin immediately flew back to Ningxia and rushed to Dengkou. After regrouping the troops and investigating officers who had failed in their command, he reorganized two regiments, replenished their equipment, and after a brief rest, led by Brigade Commander Ma Peiqing, returned to western Suiyuan. To cooperate with Fu Zuoyi's troops in continuing the fight against the Japanese invaders, the Ningxia army, mainly composed of the 35th Division, entered the Dala Banner area of Yimeng to fight the enemy. After occupying Wuyuan, the Japanese army believed that the Chinese army in western Suiyuan was in disarray and would be unable to recover its fighting capacity in a short time. Furthermore, due to its overextended battle lines and supply difficulties, the Japanese army had no spare troops to expand the war. Therefore, they centered their forces on Wuyuan, leaving a Japanese regiment and four divisions of puppet Mongolian troops, totaling over 15,000 men, to garrison the Hetao region, while the rest of their forces retreated eastward. After the main Japanese force withdrew, Fu Zuoyi decided to organize a campaign to recapture Wuyuan. In March 1940, he ordered his 35th Army to lead the attack on Wuyuan, while Ma's 81st Army moved from western Suiyuan to the Dalad Banner area on the south bank of the Yellow River in the Ordos League to construct fortifications and block Japanese reinforcements from Baotou. At midnight on March 20, Fu's 35th Army simultaneously launched attacks on Japanese strongholds in Wuyuan, Meilingmiao, and Xingongzhong. After two days of fierce fighting, our army finally recaptured Linhe and Wuyuan, killing Lieutenant General Mizukawa, the division commander of the Japanese army, and several thousand of his puppet troops.    Upon hearing the news, the Japanese troops in Baotou crossed the Yellow River, attempting to outflank the 35th Army from the south. However, their westward advance was met with resistance from the positions of Ma's 81st Army. During the defensive battle, Ma's troops were bombarded by more than 30 Japanese artillery pieces. Due to outdated weaponry and lack of artillery counterattack, Ma's right flank was destroyed, allowing the enemy to encircle them from the rear. To avoid being outflanked, Ma's troops retreated north to the Shawo area to regroup. Ma Hongbin ordered each regiment to exploit the enemy's difficulty in vehicular movement in the desert, employing mobile warfare tactics, advancing when the enemy advanced and retreating when the enemy retreated, maintaining a distance of five or six li from the enemy, and choosing opportune moments to attack and exhaust them. Ma's troops also frequently formed assault teams to harass the enemy at night, keeping them constantly on edge. After maneuvering with the Japanese in the desert for several days using mobile warfare, Ma Hongbin's troops occupied a hilltop southwest of Xinminbao and laid an ambush. When the enemy approached, they unleashed a sudden barrage of fire, inflicting hundreds of casualties. This blow forced the Japanese army to abandon its southern reinforcement plan and retreat north across the Yellow River near Zhaojunfen. After the Japanese retreat, the 81st Army immediately launched an attack on the puppet Mongolian cavalry south of the Yellow River. After more than a month of battles, large and small, except for Chaidengtai, which was captured by Fu Zuoyi's troops, all other puppet strongholds were wiped out by Ma Hongbin's troops, and "the entire Damian Beach area in the northeast of the Ih Ju League was recovered."   During the Qingming Festival in 1940, the 35th Division, returning to western Suiyuan, buried the officers and soldiers who died in the battle at Wubulangkou. With tears in their eyes, people buried the remains of 148 officers and soldiers at the Cemetery for Fallen Soldiers on the west side of Wubulangkou, and erected brick monuments in front of the graves according to the names on the surviving shoulder insignia of the fallen officers and soldiers' uniforms.    Casualties on all sides were significant, reflecting the intensity of the fighting. For the Japanese, two brigades and the 72nd Cavalry Regiment took heavy hits, though official reports admitted only about 1,000 losses. Given that these units were sidelined from combat for an extended period afterward, the true figure was likely far higher. Battle reports from the 26th Division alone recorded over 3,000 casualties, nearly 20% of its strength,pushing the total Japanese toll, including other units, to between 4,000 and 5,000. Puppet forces fared even worse. The "Suiyuan-Western Autonomous Allied Army" proved utterly ineffective, collapsing almost immediately against the superior Ma Clique cavalry of the Nationalist 81st Army. While the puppet Mongolian cavalry had some combat capability, their reluctance to fight for the Japanese—often against their own kin, led to half-hearted engagements and quick retreats. Combined puppet casualties and prisoners numbered around 5,000 to 6,000, bringing the overall Japanese and puppet losses to 10,000–12,000 killed or wounded. The Chinese forces, vastly outmatched in equipment and relying on brave but undertrained local security units, endured heavy sacrifices. Domestic sources estimate their casualties at 15,000–20,000.   This campaign marked the only major anti-Japanese engagement involving people from Ningxia, where over 10,000 Hui and Han fighters, under Ma Hongbin and Ma Hongkui, battled fiercely in what is now Linhe and Wuyuan in Inner Mongolia. Thousands perished, buried far from home, embodying the unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation. It stood as Northwest China's sole battlefield in the war, a point of pride for its people. Victory was hard-won, despite the Chinese having slightly more troops but far inferior weaponry. Success stemmed from the soldiers' bravery, tactical use of cavalry mobility, and crucially, the puppet Mongolians' unwillingness to fully commit. The campaign not only repelled the Japanese westward and southward advances, securing Northwest China's northern gateway and blocking incursions into Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Gansu, but also safeguarded key supply routes like the Suiyuan-Xinjiang Highway and connections to Lanzhou. This ensured a steady influx of Soviet aid, bolstering the national resistance and indirectly supporting efforts in Southwest China.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. After a Chinese raid seized Baotou, Japan launched a major 1940 offensive with tens of thousands of troops, vehicles, armor, aircraft, and puppet Mongolian forces. Chinese defenders used scorched earth, fortifications at Wubulangkou, and mobile cavalry/desert tactics, ambushes, and night harassment. Fu Zuoyi later recaptured Wuyuan/Linhe. Casualties were heavy—Chinese estimates 15,000–20,000; Japanese/puppet losses possibly 10,000–12,000.

It's Monday, April 27th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Preacher found dead in Russian prison A blogger and preacher, known to the internet as Vegan Christ-Lover of God, died this month while in Russian custody. Khristolyub Bozhiy ran a blog and YouTube channel where he spoke about religion, veganism, and his advocacy of peace related to Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine, reports International Christian Concern. The 43-year-old blogger described himself as a Christian activist, pacifist, and preacher who spoke against Islam Russian officials began their investigations in November 2023. In February 2025, a regional court sentenced Bozhiy to three years in a colony-settlement for offending Muslims,  In early April, Bozhiy was moved to a pre-trial detention center and was immediately placed in an isolated cell.  Earlier this month, he reported, “I was given five days in solitary as soon as I arrived. Then another 15, for nothing at all.”  On April 17th, Bozhiy's father learned that his son had died, but was not told the cause of his death until he was summoned to collect his son's body on April 20th. That day, when he arrived at the investigator's office, he was told that his son had been found hanging in an isolated cell. Bozhiy's relatives do not believe his death was a suicide. In his final protest, Bozhiy held a sign that read, “Jesus commanded to love enemies, not to kill, for God is love. Murderers do not inherit the Kingdom of God.”  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu treated for prostate cancer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed that he recently underwent treatment for prostate cancer, and kept it quiet for fear that it would be used by Iran for propaganda, reports One America News. He had three core messages to share with the public: “Thank God, I am healthy.” “I am in excellent physical condition.” “I had a minor medical issue with my prostate that was completely treated. Thank God, it's behind me.” 3 John 2:2 says, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” 9 in 10 British Evangelicals prepared to share faith with atheists Only 2% of evangelical British Christians have faced ‘sanctions' for talking about their Christian faith at work, while 4% feel they have missed out on the chance of a promotion or other better job opportunities because of their Christian faith, reports Evangelical Focus. A survey commissioned by the Evangelical Alliance United Kingdom shows that most Evangelicals have a positive experience in their workplace. Although one in ten say they have received criticism in the United Kingdom for talking about their Christian faith and just over two in ten are “hesitant to talk about my Christian faith”, 40% of believers say that their Christian faith has “positively helped me in my workplace.” Almost 9 in 10 Evangelicals feel “equipped” to share their faith with atheists (86%) compared to 14% who do not. The response is virtually the same when asked about conversations with agnostics. And two-thirds of Evangelical respondents feel prepared to discuss their faith with Muslims (67%) and 79% with Jews. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” Trump's fiscal folly On April 3rd, President Trump released his proposed Fiscal 2027 Budget. Strikingly, Trump proposed to increase defense spending by over 40% and cut non-defense discretionary spending by about 10%, reports Fortune Magazine. Yet, even after slashing everything from environmental protection and scientific research to housing and small-business support, government spending will surge, the deficit will balloon, and the ratio of debt held by the public to the Gross Domestic Product will climb to peacetime highs and remain above 100%. Overall, the Trump administration's proposed budget is an extension of what has become, particularly during the last three administrations, fiscal folly. Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote, “A significant chunk of today's government expenditures are financed by putting future generations in bondage and saddling them with the costs. This is irresponsible, inequitable, and immoral. Fiscal deficits are nothing more than deferred taxes that will be paid by those who aren't even voting today, as well as many who are yet to be born.” Public school allows profane anti-ICE protest, suspends pro-ICE student On February 6, hundreds of students at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California peacefully staged a mid-school-day walkout to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They held posters that read “ICE is KKK spelled differently” as well as others with profane language. Yet, two weeks later, Torrey Pines High School suspended a student for posting pro-ICE flyers reading, “We love I.C.E. – Real Americans.” The school claimed the flyers, which caused no disruption at the school — and were displayed in a common area where other students have posted political material — nevertheless constituted “harassment” and “intimidation.”  After intervention by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a California school district expunged its suspension of a high school junior for putting up a pro-ICE poster. Senior Attorney Conor Fitzpatrick said, “School administrators can't pick and choose which opinions students are allowed to express. Voicing an opinion which makes others upset is not ‘harassment' or ‘intimidation,' it is American democracy in action.” Which U.S. president had 15 children? And finally, in 1789, George Washington became the first president of the United States. Since then, 44 other men have served as Commander-in-Chief, each leaving a political legacy to be analyzed and judged in the course of time. But their legacies are not only political — they're also familial, reports HistoryFacts. The number of children each president had is often overlooked, but on a personal level, few things could be more important. And in two cases, presidential children — John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush — went on to become presidents themselves, combining the familial with the political.    Five presidents fathered no known biological children. In some cases, this was likely due to infertility caused by medical issues, such as the tuberculosis infection George Washington suffered before he was married. James Buchanan, meanwhile, remains the only U.S. president who never married.  One president stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to procreating: John Tyler fathered 15 children across two marriages. Another notable figure is Thomas Jefferson, who had six children with his wife of 10 years, Martha Jefferson, and allegedly fathered six others with his slave named Sally Hemings. The other presidents in the top five include: James A. Garfield, who had 7 children, Rutherford B. Hayes, who had 8 children, and William Henry Harrison, who had 10 children. Psalm 127:3-5 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Monay, April 27th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Bare with us as we digest the fact that another attempt on our Commander In Chief's life was again thwarted!!!  At what end will the madness stop?   All I have to say.....New Sponsor: Murphy Engraving-Reach out to Kevin for all your engraving needs!  murphyengraving@gmail.com 513-616-6463 FACEBOOK: MURPHY ENGRAVINGINSTAGRAM: MURPHY_ENGRAVINGTell him One More & I'm Outta Here sent ya!!!!Support the show

Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Based on a decade of research and writing, enriched by eyewitness interviews and revealing documents obtained through dozens of freedom of information requests, Kennedy's Coup vividly recreates the Kennedy Administration's secret encouragement of the fatal 1963 military coup against South Vietnam's president Ngo Dinh Diem.The brutal assassination of Diem by his own generals—which capped weeks of bitter White House infighting—led to dreadful consequences for the United States, opening the door to nine years of costly and futile warfare in Vietnam. Jack Cheevers provides unforgettable portraits of the people behind this fascinating drama: the kindly, philosophy-loving American ambassador who tried to save Diem; the powerful Pentagon and State Department figures who battled for JFK's ear; the hard-driving young American journalists in Saigon who braved police beatings and death threats to dig out the story; the adder-tongued Madame Nhu, Diem's beautiful sister-in-law, who enraged critics with outrageous insults; the scheming South Vietnamese generals who slowly tightened a noose around their commander in chief; the hard-drinking CIA agent who carried secret US messages to the generals; and Diem and his Machiavellian brother Nhu, head of the feared secret police, who tried but failed to outwit both the Americans and their traitorous generals.While many Vietnam books mention Diem's murder in passing, this gripping account delves into the participants' personalities, motives, and actions in greater detail than ever before. The definitive history of one of the most catastrophic decisions ever made by a US president, shedding new light on events that altered the world, Kennedy's Coup will be a work of lasting importance. Luca Trenta is an Associate Professor in International Relations at Swansea University, in Wales (UK). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

President Trump is not the first to push the boundaries of his power as commander in chief. The law on war powers gives presidents 60 days to conduct military operations without congressional approval. That timeframe for Iran is about to end. Will Congress assert power and push back? Guest moderator Lisa Desjardins discusses that with former Sen. Ben Cardin and former Rep. Connie Mack IV. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Today, Pastor Jack Graham closes out the series “His Story, Your Story,” with the epic battle in the wilderness between Our Lord and Satan. As believers, Pastor Graham teaches, we are commissioned by Jesus – our Commander-in-Chief – to fight the good fight of faith. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/395/29?v=20251111

Grab a glass and pull up a chair! Stephanie Miller dissects the volatile U.S.-Iran relationship—a saga currently featuring audacious ship seizures and a Commander-in-Chief whose military strategy feels more like a game of Battleship played by a toddler. She's looking at the absurdity of the "stable genius" approach to Middle East diplomacy and why the Iranian Navy is suddenly feeling so bold. Come for the sharp geopolitical analysis; stay for the jokes that help you process the chaos without losing your mind (or your drink). With guests Bob Cesca & Malcolm Nance!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 80: COUNTDOWN WITH KEITH OLBERMANN A-Block (3:00) SPECIAL COMMENT: Nobody is at the wheel of Trump's war in Iran. Is the Strait of Hormuz open or is it closed? Are there peace talks with Iran in Pakistan TOMORROW… or nah? Is Jayvee Vance going? Is Iran going? Has Trump scheduled peace talks where we’re the only ones there? Will it make any difference if we’re the only ones there? Doesn’t “blowing a hole in the engine room” of an Iranian cargo ship yesterday mean we aren’t honoring Trump’s own ceasefire he boasted about? Are we paying 20 billion dollars for the Iranian uranium and hostages? The same uranium and hostages Obama bought for 400 million and Trump called him a traitor? Or is that a no? Don’t ask Trump – he doesn’t know. But that won’t stop him from answering anyway. Yes. Then Nope. Then Yes again. Then: All of the Above. in 48 hours he went from 13 posts congratulating himself on winning, to insisting he would stop being “Mr. Nice Guy” and blow up all of Iran. By the way, eactly when was he “Mr. Nice Guy”? We are LOSING the war in Iran and as of today a total idiot is still president and commander-in-chief. He gets questions about the pointless war he started to divert attention from Epstein and the economy he crashed, so he orders the reporters out of the Oval Office, and sits there with hapless munchkin Little Joe Rogan standing behind him, the shine off his cueball noggin blinding cameras and journalists alike. Trump has set off a chain of events over which he no longer has any control – except to withdraw and flee – and to withdraw and flee is to acknowledge he screwed up. And this man would jump off the roof of the White House before admitting he screwed up. The Trump “Administration” has so UTTERLY jumped the shark, that the truthers are coming out from inside MAGA: Alex Jones now insists Trump has done all this DELIBERATELY, because he has made a “deal with the deep state to throw the election to the Democrats." Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined the Trump Assassination Truthers and Trump himself has floated a kind of conspiracy theory ABOUT himself… he wrote ‘Praise Be To Allah’ on Easter morning to “seem as unstable and insulting as possible.” He wanted to seem as unstable as possible? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, Trump! You’ve finally done something you promised! B-Block (28:30) THE WORST PERSONS IN THE WORLD: Before the year is out, Major League Baseball will threaten to lock the players out and cancel the season in 2027 because the smaller market teams can't make enough money to compete. One of those teams just sold for $3.1 billion more than it did in 2012. New York's hockey teams support a) Trump putting his name on public buildings or b) legal funds for cops convicted of killing unarmed civilians. Vivek Ramaswamy dismisses his opponent talking about being raped as a child as her "complaining." And Lauren Boebert thinks Congress is too horny and she won't remain, uh, hands off. C-Block (45:00) THINGS I PROMISED NOT TO TELL: Netflix stock took a huge hit, supposedly after the co-founder Reed Hastings announced he was bowing out. But I think it might've been another announcement that did it. They are going into news podcasts with - Brian Williams? The story of how he imploded at NBC, while I was literally an eyewitness to his public self-destruction, and the advice I gave his bosses that could have saved him (and them) if they hadn't ignored it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hegseth Out and Driscoll In? Trump Says U.S. Officials Will Travel to Pakistan for Talks. Kash Patel is Getting Wasted. Mass Shooting in Louisiana. NBA is Lit.  It's 4/20, it's Manosphere Monday, and Independent Americans is back with a rapid-fire Monday Blitz to help you navigate another wild week in America and around the world. Host Paul Rieckhoff breaks down Trump's latest Iran deadline, the Strait of Hormuz shutdown, rising oil prices, and why ten thousand American troops are again on the front lines of a dangerous global standoff. He digs into Trump's threats toward Cuba and Venezuela, the chaos surrounding FBI Director Kash Patel, and the terrifying reality of mass shootings and domestic instability here at home. From Iran to Ukraine's killer robots, from narco-terrorist boat strikes to the growing danger of an unchecked commander-in-chief, this episode is a blunt, unflinching look at “President mayhem” and the stakes for our democracy and our troops. Rieckhoff also takes you inside the culture and sports world—from Channing Tatum's $45 million Magic Mike Live expansion and the blazing-hot NBA playoffs to Little League coach-pitch glory and why Victor Wembanyama might be the future of the game. He highlights the explosive growth of legal and medical marijuana across America, how it's saving lives (especially for veterans), and why independents—now 45% of the country—are the real majority fighting back against rigged closed primaries and toxic manfluencers dominating the manosphere. If you're politically homeless, exhausted by the extremes, or just looking for sharp, independent analysis with a side of Sade, weed politics, and Knicks fandom, this fast, no-guest episode will help you stay informed, fired up, and, as always, stay vigilant. -WATCH full video of this episode here. -Join IVA and stand up to Trump's Forever Wars. -Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America. -Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here. -Remember Independent is an Attitude. -Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It's a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. Connect with Independent Americans: Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms Read more at Substack Support ad-free episodes at Patreon  Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook  Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky -Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.  -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year.  Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media.  And now part of the BLEAV network!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Last time we spoke about the first battle of Changsha. Japanese forces under General Okamura Yasuji, including the 6th, 13th, and 33rd Divisions, launched a multi-pronged offensive, crossing the Xin Qiang River and capturing Yingtian amid brutal fighting. Chinese defenses, commanded by Xue Yue in the Ninth War Zone, employed gradual resistance strategies, with units like the 195th Division under Qin Yizhi holding key positions such as Bijia Mountain and Fulinpu, inflicting heavy losses. Battalion Commander Luo Wenlang recaptured Dongtang in a midnight assault, grieving his fallen brother amid Mid-Autumn moonlight. Chiang Kai-shek, from Chongqing, oversaw operations while hosting a festive banquet, buoyed by international support like U.S. loans. By October, Japanese advances stalled; Okamura ordered a retreat on October 2, exposed by a downed plane yielding critical documents. Chinese forces pursued, reclaiming lines by October 8, annihilating over half the invaders per Chiang's commendation.   #198 The Battle of South Guangxi Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. In January 1939, the Japanese General Headquarters, responding to naval needs, ordered the 21st Corps to seize Hainan Island. The goal was to establish a base for air operations against southwestern China and to enforce blockade measures. Supported by the Japanese Navy, the Corps deployed the Taiwan Brigade, which landed at Haikou on February 10. After initial defeats, Chinese peace preservation units withdrew to the island's interior and conducted harassment operations. Japanese troops soon occupied northern counties including Qiongshan, Wenchang, Ding'an, Qionghai, and Chengmai, followed by the port of Yulin, which positioned them for southward advances toward Guangxi.   This invasion was part of a broader strategy to disrupt Chinese supply lines and secure a foothold in southern China. Although Chinese resistance on Hainan ultimately failed to repel the invaders, it highlighted the resilience that would define regional fighting.   After the costly Battle of Wuhan, the Sino-Japanese War reached a stalemate in central China, despite ongoing large-scale conflicts and Japanese strategic bombings that caused heavy casualties without breaking the deadlock. Politically, Japan's alignment with the Axis powers and the start of World War II in Western Europe led European nations to bolster ties with China. With major coastal ports under Japanese control, the Nationalist government's main overseas supply route became the Haiphong-Kunming railway in French Indochina, which transported four times more war materials in 1938 than in 1937, including heavy equipment purchased abroad.   The Hainan occupation negatively impacted Japan's war efforts, though diplomatic pressure on Britain and France proved ineffective. Meanwhile, the Imperial Japanese Navy proposed a southward advance: invading from Nanning to Longzhou County in Guangxi by sea to establish an airfield for strategic bombing. An April 15, 1939, Navy Department assessment deemed large-scale inland army operations challenging, recommending instead that the army and navy collaborate to occupy Shantou—the largest trading port on the South China coast—before pushing into Guangxi to seize Nanning and sever China's vital Indochina supply line.   In June, the Japanese General Staff's "Military Geography" emphasized that occupying Nanning would provide convenient transportation in all directions, reaching Guangdong, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. The Nanning-Lang Son road had become a major artery for Chiang Kai-shek's regime to connect with the southwest. To cut it off directly, Nanning must be captured first. Once occupied, heavy troops near Tokyo Bay would not be needed to achieve the operation's purpose. This idea gained considerable support both politically and tactically. The Army's northward policy had been defeated by the Soviet Union in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol in September 1939. Major General Tominaga Kyoji, the newly appointed head of the First Department of the General Staff, sought to avoid further embarrassments. Supporting the proposal involved transferring the 5th Division of the Kwantung Army, originally intended for Khalkhin Gol, to the south. This prevented front-line units from misjudging higher-ups' positions and allowed implementation without affecting existing troops.   In September, the European war broke out. The Japanese General Headquarters ordered the 21st Army to capture the vicinity of Nanning, cut off the international passage between Guangxi and Vietnam, and obtain a base for air operations in southwest China. Japan aimed to completely sever China's most important supply route. According to Japanese intelligence, the French Indochina line accounted for 85% of China's foreign aid in late 1939, with 12,500 tons transported in September alone.   On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland; on September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany, igniting World War II. Japan, eager to resolve the China issue and free up troops to seize Western colonies in Asia and the Pacific, stated through Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe on September 4: "At the outbreak of the European war, the Empire will not intervene and has decided to focus on resolving the China Incident." In Nanjing, the China Expeditionary Army Headquarters was established, with General Nishio Hisazo as Commander-in-Chief and Lieutenant General Itagaki Seishiro as Chief of Staff, overseeing the North China Area Army, the 11th Army, the 13th Army, and the 21st Army.   On September 23, the Japanese General Headquarters issued an order to prepare for a swift response to the China Incident. On October 16, "Continental Order No. 375" directed the Commander-in-Chief of the China Expeditionary Army to swiftly cut off enemy supply routes from Nanning to Longzhou with a portion of the navy. Also on October 16, "Continental Order No. 582," a central Army-Navy agreement, aimed to cut off enemy routes along the Nanning-Longzhou line and strengthen naval air operations against the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and the Burma Road. The operation was scheduled for mid-November. On October 19, Nishio Juzo issued orders for the Guangxi operation, involving the 5th Division, Taiwan Mixed Brigade, supporting units, the 5th Fleet (renamed the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet in mid-November), and the 3rd Combined Naval Air Group. Total strength: about 30,000 men, over 70 warships, 2 aircraft carriers, and about 100 aircraft. Tominaga Kyoji announced: "This is the last battle of the China Incident."   Politically, the Guangxi Army was a key pillar of the National Government after retreating to Sichuan. Attacking Guangxi could impact the Guangxi clique's stance on continuing the war. Cutting off the Nanning-Longzhou line would affect Vietnam-China transportation security and allow actions against French Indochina amid Europe's distractions. With tactical and political alignment, the plan was approved.   In September 1939, the Chinese repelled the Japanese attack on Changsha. In October, the National Government held the Second Nanyue Military Conference in Hengshan, summarizing the First Changsha Campaign and deciding on a new offensive. On October 29, Chiang Kai-shek announced: "Our future strategic application and the mentality of officers and soldiers must be completely transformed. We must start to turn defense into offense, turn stillness into movement, and actively take offensive measures." On November 5, after the meeting, intelligence indicated Japan's intention to invade the south. U.S. and British agencies reported the Japanese fleet gathering in Tokyo Bay, signaling an imminent operation against Nanning. Chiang flew from Hengshan to Guilin to arrange defenses.   At this time, coastal defense was guarded by the 16th Army Group under Xia Wei (transferred, with Cai Tingkai taking over), a Guangxi clique force comprising the 46th and 31st Armies. Bai Chongxi, director of the Guilin Headquarters, was in Chongqing for the Sixth Plenary Session of the Fifth National Congress of the Kuomintang, while Chief of Staff Lin Wei was in Rong County mourning Xia Wei's mother. The headquarters was essentially deserted. Zhang Fakui, commander of the Fourth War Zone, and Chief of Staff Wu Shiyuan were in Shaoguan, Guangdong. The three-tiered command structure—headquarters, war zone, army group—was practically non-existent.   The Chinese forces north of the pass were commanded by Bai Chongxi's Guilin Headquarters, with Lin Wei as Chief of Staff; they included the Fourth War Zone under Zhang Fakui and the 16th Army Group under Xia Wei. They commanded: the 31st Army (Commander Wei Yunsong; 131st Division under He Weizhen; 135th Division under Su Zuxin; 188th Division under Wei Zhen); the 46th Army (Commander He Xuan; 170th Division under Li Xingshu; 175th Division under Feng Huang; New 19th Division under Huang Gu); and a portion of the 200th Division of the 5th Army (Commander Dai Anlan). Together with the 1st-4th Independent Infantry Regiments of the Guangxi Training Corps, total strength was approximately 60,000 men.   After the Japanese landing, Bai Chongxi was stationed in Qianjiang, while the 16th Army Group headquarters in Xiawei was at Heishiyan near Binyang.   In early November 1939, the Japanese 5th Fleet and the aircraft carrier Kaga escorted the 5th Division and the Taiwan Brigade to concentrate in Haikou. Japanese aircraft bombed important cities in Guangxi. At that time, the Chinese army defended the coast from Nanning to Qinzhou Bay and Fangcheng with part of the 16th Army Group of the Fourth War Zone. The 46th Army was responsible for the coastline of Fangcheng, Qinxian, Hepu, and Liankou, and the 31st Army for key points along the Xijiang River.   On November 9, Japanese troops assembled at Sanya Bay on Hainan Island. Lieutenant General Ando Rikichi, commander of the 21st Army, personally commanded from Sanya. On the 13th, the fleet set sail. On the 14th, vanguard ships feinted at Beihai with over ten ships. A battalion of the 175th Division retaliated and was ordered to destroy Beihai, but Commander Chao Wei of the 524th Regiment believed no landing was intended, avoiding complete destruction. That night, Japanese ships turned toward Qinzhou.   To safeguard the international communications link between Guangxi and Indochina, the Chinese Generalissimo's Headquarters in Guilin assigned defensive missions. The 46th Corps of the 16th Army Group was tasked with defending the coastline from Fangcheng to Qinzhou, Hepu, and Lianjiang. The 31st Corps was responsible for key positions along the Xi River. Defensive positions were prepared in advance, and communications infrastructure was sabotaged to facilitate gradual resistance, aiming to attrition Japanese forces before a decisive engagement along the Yong River.   On November 15, under air and naval fire support, the Japanese 5th Division and Taiwan Brigade executed a forced landing on the west coast of Qinzhou Bay. Following intense resistance, the Chinese New 19th Division withdrew to Pancheng and Shangsi. After capturing Qinzhou, the Japanese 5th Division advanced north along the Yong-Qin Highway, while the Taiwan Brigade moved along Xiaodong–Baiji–Bujin Road. On November 17, the Japanese army captured Qinzhou and Fangcheng. The 5th Division immediately split into three routes along the Yongqin Highway, while the Taiwan Brigade advanced north along Xiaodong-Baekje-Pujin. On the 18th, they attacked Xiaodong, the headquarters of the New 19th Division. Division Commander Huang Gu fled alone in the face of battle. His troops were routed, and the Japanese continued northward. Meanwhile, bandits from the Shiwan Mountains formed numerous plainclothes teams to lead the Japanese advance, accelerating their northward movement. By November 21, they approached the south bank of the Yu River. On December 1, they occupied Gaofeng Pass. On December 4, they occupied Kunlun Pass and then adopted a defensive posture.   On November 16, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Bai Chongxi in Chongqing, ordering him to return to Guilin immediately to command the battle, without attending the plenary session. Bai requested full command without intervention from Zhang Fakui, and that all armies obey the Headquarters directly. Chiang approved and transferred his elite Fifth Army and other units to Bai's command. Bai telegraphed Du Yuming to lead troops by train from Hengyang to southern Guilin and reinstated Xia Wei as commander of the 16th Army Group, with Cai Tingkai awaiting orders. The 16th Army Group assembled, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Wei Yunsong arrived in Nanning on the 19th. Units rushed to block Japanese advances. Bai flew to Guilin on the 19th and Qianjiang on the 21st, establishing the command post. Thus, as Japanese arrived in Nanning, Chinese reinforcements like the 170th Division reached Yongning on the 22nd, two regiments of the 135th Division entered Nanning on the 23rd, and the 600th Regiment of the 200th Division arrived at Ertang on the afternoon of the 24th. Other armies assembled in Liuzhou and Binyang.   On November 21, Japanese troops approached the south bank of the Yu River. Wu Zongjun, commander of the 405th Regiment of the 135th Division, arbitrarily ordered his regiments to abandon positions and retreat. Wei Yunsong ordered Su Zuxin to intercept, but Wu disobeyed. No troops defended Nanning's front lines. At dawn on the 24th, the 170th Division fought fiercely in Yongning. In the morning, the Japanese 21st Regiment crossed the river. By afternoon, Nanning had fallen. Over the next two days, they swept surrounding positions. On the morning of the 25th, the 600th Regiment of the 200th Division fought alone against Japanese regiments at Ertang. Under air cover, Japanese attacked, but Chinese resisted stubbornly. Regiment Commander Shao Yizhi and Adjutant Wu Qisheng were killed. Given the situation, Division Commanders Li Xingshu and Dai Anlan retreated to Gaofeng Pass after dusk. Though they failed to stop the advance, this was the fiercest resistance since the landing, lasting two days and nights. On November 25, Japanese attacked the 175th Division near Luwu from Xiaodong and the highway. The division moved to Nalong, assembling in villages there. The 175th attacked key points along the Yongqin Highway, including Datang, Naxiao, Dongya, Nabian, Xincheng, Xiaodong, Dadong, and Bancheng.   On November 20, the 21st Army opened its headquarters in Qinzhou. On November 26, Ando Rikichi announced the formation of the Yongqin Corps under Imamura Hitoshi. Ando left for Guangzhou on the 27th. Starting on the 26th, Japanese attacked Gaofeng Pass with aircraft cover. Despite fierce resistance, Chinese lost Gaofeng Pass on December 1. On the 4th, Japanese occupied Kunlun Pass, then adjusted deployment. The two sides confronted each other along the Kunlun Pass mountainous boundary. According to statistics up to December 1, Japanese suffered 145 dead and 315 wounded; Chinese had 6,125 dead bodies and 664 prisoners (but Japanese casualties were underreported; the 41st Infantry Regiment received 727 replacements on January 19, likely matching killed and wounded sent back). Seized in Nanning: 300 tons lead, 200 tons coal, 500 bundles cotton, 321 tons cotton thread, 30 tons iron, 60 tons tin. On December 2, the Japanese 5th Cavalry Regiment and Morimoto Battalion were attacked by about 1,500 Chinese with four tanks at Batang. Japanese dispatched the 21st Brigade (Nakamura Detachment), repelling a mixed force of the 200th and 188th Divisions. Japanese occupied Kunlun Pass but left only a battalion to defend it, withdrawing the rest to Nanning.   Bai Chongxi, director of the Guilin Headquarters and deputy chief of staff, proposed a counter-offensive plan, which was approved by Chiang Kai-shek.   On November 24, when Japanese had just occupied Nanning, Bai Chongxi demanded an immediate counterattack while Japanese were unstable and weak. After failing to gain approval, Bai asked Du Yuming to submit a request. Du sent a telegram on December 1: "The enemy occupying Nanning is less than two divisions. They succeeded by exploiting our dispersed forces, but lack heavy weapons and supplies. Our army should gather superior forces and launch a counter-offensive quickly (before December 10) to defeat them and restore international transportation." Chiang decided on a counter-offensive on December 7. On the 8th, Bai conveyed the objective: "capturing Kunlun Pass and then recovering Nanning." By mid-December, assembly was complete. Chiang dispatched Chen Cheng and Li Jishen to supervise, and Zhang Fakui arrived in Qianjiang.   In the early stages, Guangxi lacked heavy armored forces for counterattacking beyond Guangxi clique troops. The fall of Kunlun Pass prompted Chongqing to deploy the reorganized Fifth Army and its armored corps for a strong attack. The Fifth Army was the main force at Kunlun Pass, with the National Revolutionary Army providing cover while launching a full-scale counterattack in Nanning.   To recapture Kunlun Pass and Nanning, Bai Chongxi dispatched approximately nine armies and twenty-seven divisions, totaling 300,000 troops: Xia Wei of the 16th Army Group, Ye Zhao of the 37th Army Group, Deng Longguang of the 35th Army Group, and Cai Tingkai of the 26th Army Group (31st, 5th, 64th, 46th, and 43rd Armies, etc.) to attack Kunlun Pass. The Japanese, with the Nakamura Brigade as main force and special forces, had strong fortifications. Xu Tingyao of the 38th Army Group, with Li Yannian of the 2nd Army, Gan Lichu of the 6th Army, Yao Chun of the 36th Army, and Fu Zhongfang of the 99th Army. The 5th Army, plus the 1st Honorary Division (Zheng Dongguo), New 22nd Division (Qiu Qingquan), and all armored, cavalry, artillery, and engineer regiments, arrived.   The Japanese forces consisted of the 5th Division (Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura; 9th Brigade under Major General Genichiro Ogawa; 21st Brigade under Major General Masao Nakamura; Taiwan Mixed Brigade under Major General Sadashiro Shiota), Marine Corps (over 70 warships), and Air Force (100 aircraft), totaling about 30,000. Later reinforcements: Imperial Guard Division and a brigade from the 18th Division. Total about 100,000, but only 45,000 fought. After a traitor reported over 100,000 Nationalist troops north of Kunlun Pass, Imamura dismissed it as "impossible." Higher Japanese ranks hoped to instigate rebellion by the Guangxi clique. On December 10, Imamura issued a telegram "Letter to Generals Li and Bai," expressing respect and stating the attack on Nanning was to cut off Chiang's lines, hoping for Japan-China cooperation. If insisted, the Japanese garrison would win. Finally: "The more than 4,200 brave soldiers who died in Nanning have been buried in Zhongshan Park and solemnly offered sacrifices. Please rest assured."   On December 15, Bai Chongxi took a decisive step in the escalating conflict by issuing the first counter-offensive order, setting the stage for a coordinated push against enemy positions. He organized the forces into three main route armies, with additional reserves held back for support.   The Northern Route Army, under Xu Tingyao's command, focused its efforts on Kunlun Pass. The 5th Army led the direct assault there, while the 92nd Division from the 99th Army skirted around Lingliwei to strike at Qitang, effectively flanking the pass and adding pressure from the side.   Meanwhile, the Western Route Army, led by Xia Wei, split into two columns to cover multiple fronts. The First Column, commanded by Zhou Zuhuang, targeted Gaofeng Pass in a bold advance. The Second Column, under Wei Yunsong, positioned itself at Suwei to block any reinforcements heading toward Nanning, cutting off potential enemy supply lines.   On the eastern flank, Cai Tingkai's Eastern Route Army aimed to disrupt key logistics. The 46th Army moved against Luwu and Lingshan, intent on severing the vital Yongqin Highway. At the same time, the 66th Army joined the assault on Kunlun Pass before pushing onward to Gula and Gantang. To bolster these efforts, the remaining two divisions of the 99th Army were kept in reserve, ready to reinforce wherever needed.   The very next day, on December 16, Du Yuming—now serving as army commander—gathered his officers for a critical conference within the 5th Army. There, they crafted a clever encirclement strategy dubbed "close the gate and fight the tiger," designed to trap and overwhelm the opposition. The plan's core involved the 200th Division, led by Dai Anlan, and the 1st Honorary Division under Zheng Dongguo launching the primary attack on Kunlun Pass. Flanking from the right, Qiu Qingquan's New 22nd Division would seize Wutang and Liutang, then turn to intercept any incoming reinforcements. On the left wing, Peng Bisheng commanded two regiments in a daring bypass of Gantang and Chang'an, aiming to strike at Qitang and Batang and seal off the enemy's retreat routes.   The enemy at Kunlun Pass was the Matsumoto Sozaburo Battalion of the 21st Brigade. Its 42nd and 21st Regiments were along Jiutang-Nanning. On December 16, Imamura ordered Major General Kawai Genshichi of the 9th Brigade to lead thousands in a surprise attack on Longzhou and Zhennan Pass, departing on the 17th.   At 8 p.m. on December 17, the Battle of Kunlun Pass began.   On December 18, Chinese forces began their attack and captured Kunlun Pass and Jiutang on the same day. On December 19, it captured Gaofeng Pass. On December 20, Gaofeng Pass, Jiutang, and Kunlun Pass fell into the hands of the Japanese army again. At dawn on December 18, the artillery of the 5th Army opened fire. After extension, the 200th and 1st Honorary Divisions attacked. Hundreds of Japanese planes bombed. By night, the 1st Honorary captured Fairy Mountain, Laomaoling, Wanfu Village, Luotang, and Hill 411; 200th captured Hills 653 and 600, taking Kunlun Pass. At noon on the 19th, massive Japanese air raid. Imamura dispatched the 21st Regiment under Colonel Miki Yoshinosuke, recapturing it. Positions were contested repeatedly. The New 22nd occupied Wutang and Liutang; Wutang recaptured by Japanese, but Liutang held, blocking reinforcements. When Imamura ordered Taiwan Mixed Brigade reinforcement, they were blocked at Liutang by Qiu Qingquan. Du Yuming ordered Zheng Dongguo to send Zheng Tingji's 3rd Regiment to encircle Jiutang from the right. They captured high ground west of Jiutang at night. On December 20, enemy at Kunlun Pass weakened, sending urgent reports. Imamura ordered Nakamura Masao with 42nd Regiment to reinforce, but blocked at Wutang for two days, reaching Qitang on the 22nd, blocked again. Nakamura was wounded on the 23rd morning. At 1:30 pm, Miki reported: "If the brigade cannot arrive before dusk, the front line will be difficult to secure."   Imamura ordered Colonel Lin Yixiong's 1st Regiment and Colonel Watanabe Nobuyoshi's 2nd Regiment of the Taiwan Mixed Brigade to reinforce, but blocked by 175th Division on Yongqin Road. Watanabe's regiment blocked at Luwu by 524th Regiment (Chao Wei), and after three days, couldn't pass. Watanabe was killed, remnants fled to Qin County. On the 20th, Imamura ordered the 9th Brigade's 3rd Battalion of Ito's unit back in 105 vehicles to reinforce.   The Japanese confirmed the attack and Imamura ordered Nakamura Detachment rescue. Over two weeks, encirclement and breakout battles occurred on the Nanning-Kunlun Pass highway.   On the 18th, the 170th Division launched the Battle of Gaofeng Pass, capturing a hill on the 19th but ambushed that night. On the 20th, the pass fell, retreating to Gewei. Bai inspected but no improvement; failed to capture Gaofeng Pass or block reinforcements. Ito's unit on Yonglong Road intercepted by 131st at Xichangwei. On the 22nd, Imamura sent two companies from Nanning, intercepted by 188th near Suwei. Ito's battalion besieged in Xichangwei for three days, spared because 131st avoided close combat. Under air cover, both broke through to Nanning on the 26th.   On November 21, Chiang was dissatisfied with Kunlun Pass progress, ordering: "If front-line troops and artillery fail to attack or complete tasks, they shall be punished for cowardice."   By the 23rd, two divisions of 5th Army had over 2,000 casualties; Japanese over 1,000. Six days yielded no results, with reinforcements arriving. Du changed tactics to concentrate forces, tightening encirclement.   On the 24th, Oikawa Detachment ordered back to Nanning, destroying captured materials and withdrawing from Longzhou and Zhennanguan. Bai learned some escaped, telegraphing Wei Yunsong: "If the second batch escapes, it affects the main force. The deputy commander-in-chief should be punished." Main force still escaped; local troops preserved strength, benefiting Japanese.   On the main position, Zheng Tingji spotted Japanese officers meeting and ordered fire, inflicting heavy casualties, requiring airdropped officers.   On the 25th, Second Regiment of First Division captured Luotang South Heights, annihilating over 200. From December 25, Fifth Army and 159th and 92nd Divisions occupied key high grounds. Fierce battle until December 31, capturing Kunlun Pass and Tianyin, killing Nakamura Masao, annihilating over 5,000.   Following the intense clashes at Kunlun Pass, the battle's toll on the Japanese forces became starkly evident in the weeks that followed. On January 19, just a month after the fighting peaked, the Japanese rushed in 3,389 fresh replacements to replenish their battered 5th Division. This influx was distributed unevenly: 1,848 went to the 21st Infantry Regiment and 814 to the 42nd, figures that likely corresponded directly to the number of dead and seriously wounded who had been evacuated back home—though those with minor injuries weren't factored into these counts. The ferocity of the engagement was further underscored by the capture of numerous Japanese strongholds, where Chinese forces found that every defender had been killed, leaving no survivors behind.   In many ways, this outcome represented a stunning annihilation for the Japanese, particularly the 21st Brigade, which was effectively wiped out. Key figures fell in the fray, including Brigade Commander Masao Nakamura, Acting Commander Sakata Genichi, Miki Yoshinosuke, along with various deputies and battalion commanders. The leadership losses were catastrophic: over 85% of officers above the squad leader level were killed. Japanese records themselves acknowledged more than 4,000 soldiers dead, painting a grim picture that their own war histories later described as "the darkest era for the army." On the Chinese side, the victory came at a heavy price, with over 10,000 casualties suffered, yet remarkably, the core officer corps remained largely intact, preserving command structure for future operations.   Zooming out to the broader theater in December 1939, the Japanese 5th Division and the Taiwan Mixed Brigade found themselves holding the line against an overwhelming force of more than 150,000 Nationalist troops. At the same time, the Japanese 21st Army was shifting its focus to Guangdong Province in preparation for Operation Weng Ying, while the Oikawa Detachment—primarily composed of the 11th Infantry Regiment—pushed forward to Longzhou. They captured Zhennanguan on November 21, securing valuable stocks of fuel and arms in the process. However, these stretched deployments and insufficient troop numbers left the Japanese without adequate reserves when encirclement loomed at Kunlun Pass. Ultimately, they were forced to abandon their offensive plans in Guangdong, pulling back to consolidate defenses around Nanning. Meanwhile, from their base in Chongqing, Chinese commanders had meticulously planned the recapture, turning the tide through careful strategy and sheer determination. Shocked, Japanese dispatched Vice Chief of Staff Sawada Shigeru to Guangzhou. On December 29, 21st Army sent staff to Nanning. Failed to change 21st Brigade's defeat. Imamura planned personal charge for revenge on January 1, but Ando ordered holding Nanning for reinforcements: "The 21st Army is transferring powerful force to annihilate enemy. 5th Division secure Nanning and key locations."   After capturing Kunlun Pass and annihilating two regiments of 21st Brigade, 5th Army thought to recapture Nanning. Remaining 21st Brigade and Taiwan regiments between Jiutang and Batang. At noon January 1, 1940, Oikawa's thousands arrived at Batang; Imamura ordered Oikawa replace killed Sakata. First battle on Hill 441. 1st Division held north side; Japanese south. On January 1, Japanese bombed and attacked; 1st Division reduced to hundred but held. At dawn 2nd, counterattack all day, no progress. On 3rd, Du mobilized 200th and part New 22nd; brutal fighting, heavy casualties. At nightfall, Japanese retreated to Jiutang. On 4th, Japanese abandoned Jiutang to Batang. New 22nd moved into Jiutang. 5th Army attacked Batang; by 12th, no progress. Exhausted with heavy casualties, 5th Army ordered to Silong for rest. Mission transferred to 36th Army. 5th Army withdrew.   On January 7, Chiang flew to Guilin, visiting Qianjiang on 10th to discuss plans with Bai, Chen, Zhang, Xu, Lin. Bai proposed offensive with new armies to recapture Nanning. Chiang approved. On 11th, as Bai issued orders, Chiang overturned, changing to defensive. Japanese gained time for counter-offensive.   To salvage defeat, Japanese transferred 18th Division and Konoye Brigade from Guangdong. Combined with existing, formed 22nd Corps under Seiichi Kuno, under South China Front Army commanded by Reikichi Ando, preparing counteroffensive.   On January 25, a brigade from the Japanese 18th Division and elements of the 15th Division attacked frontally along Yongbin Road, while Konoye Brigade flanked toward Guizhou via Yongyong Road, in Binyang Campaign. Konoye crossed at Tingziwei, then Yongchun County, via Gantang, Luwei, Gula, Wuling to Binyang, cutting rear. Bai Chongxi rushed 175th Division of 46th Army north to tail Konoye. After reinforcements, 21st Army launched offensive to drive and encircle south of Binyang; accumulated supplies in Nanning. On January 22, 18th and Konoye reached attack points. 38th Army Group HQ in Binyang bombed, communications cut, independent combat.   On January 28, Japanese launched offensive (Binyang Operation). On February 3, 41st Infantry of 5th Division occupied Kunlun Pass. On February 4, Ando reached captured Binyang. Nationalists lost Kunlun Pass, lines collapsed, many encircled. Battle ended with withdrawal; February 13, Japanese withdrew to Nanning, lines stalemated.   In the wake of the Binyang clashes, the 18th Division was indeed shifted to Guangzhou. Japanese records from January 28 to February 13 painted a picture of their spoils: they claimed to have captured 19 tanks, 5 light armored vehicles, 30 automobiles, 20 field or mountain guns, 13 rapid-fire guns, and 41 mortars. Additionally, they reported counting 27,041 Chinese bodies on the battlefield and taking 1,167 prisoners. The Chinese forces, for their part, regrouped with their main strength positioned east of the Yongqin Highway, while some elements maneuvered west to harass Japanese rear lines and coordinate actions from the north bank.   On February 21, 1940, Chiang arrived in Liuzhou, residing at Yangjiao Mountain. From February 22, he convened over 100 generals for a four-day Liuzhou Military Conference to review Guinan operations. Chiang demoted Bai Chongxi for poor supervision and Chen Cheng for poor guidance from first- to second-class generals. He also punished and rewarded other senior officers. The 46th Army and 175th Division were commended for discipline. On February 26, Fourth War Zone Commander Zhang Fakui announced: "No need for counterattack on Nanning currently." The entire Guinan Campaign ended.   The defeat embarrassed Chongqing; not only disrupted Guangxi-Vietnam traffic, but massive effort ended in rout. Pre-battle, Guilin Headquarters misjudged Japanese intentions; during, both Guangxi and Huangpu clique leaders showed poor performance, infuriating Chiang. Post-battle punishments were unprecedented in the war.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In November 1939, Japanese forces, including the 5th Division and Taiwan Brigade, landed at Qinzhou Bay, captured Nanning, and advanced to Kunlun Pass. Chinese troops, under Bai Chongxi and reinforced by the elite 5th Army, launched fierce counteroffensives, recapturing Kunlun Pass in December with heavy casualties. 

On this Monday edition of Sid & Friends in the Morning, Sid discusses the New York Mets' 11-game losing streak, all thanks to him and the curse he put on the team after Mr. Met was seen NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani at Citi Field. In other news of the day, the Mayor appeared with Kristen Welker on Meet The Press over the weekend, the Mayor and former President Barack Obama met for the first time in New York City on Saturday -- a high-profile sit-down that took place at a time Mamdani is trying to maintain a working relationship with the more mercurial current commander in chief, President Trump dismissed Iran's claims that it will not participate in the latest round of peace negotiations in Pakistan -- saying he'd be willing to meet with senior Iranian leaders if a breakthrough is reached, and he Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence on Saturday in a deal with the Bengals, ending the first offseason drama in the John Harbaugh era after the defensive star had requested to be dealt after he and the Giants couldn't come to an agreement on a reworked contract. Alex Zdan, Anthony D'Esposito, Arthur Aidala, Joe Benigno, John Catsimatidis & Vickie Paladino join Sid on this Monday installment of Sid & Friends in the Morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like any 13-year-old, Kenny Witkowski is more interested in playing Mortal Karnage than he is with engaging in politics. But that all changes when it turns out an anonymous stranger he meets in a chatroom is none other than the President of the United States! If you think that sounds like a vaguely unsavoury premise for a film, well, good instincts. Buckle up for Mail to the Chief (2000), starring Randy Quaid as the titular Commander in Chief.If you crave bonus episodes of Mom Can't Cook!, monthly livestream watchalongs, or a shoutout at the end of the show, remember to check out our Patreon at Patreon.com/extrahelpings.If you've watched Mail to the Chief and have your own thoughts, email them to us at momcantcookpod@gmail.com for a chance to have them read out on the show. Next time on Mom Can't Cook! we'll be watching 1995's Congo. See you then!This episode is sponsored by Greenchef. Head to Greenchef.com/50momcantcook and use code 50momcantcook to get fifty percent off your first month, then twenty percent off for two months.This episode is also sponsored by Insert Coin Clothing! Visit insertcoinclothing.com and use code PRESIDENTIALMOTORQUAID for 10% off online orders. Codes are not applicable on charity items, bundles, gift cards, postage and some products at launch. Codes cannot be combined with other deals or promotions and are valid until June 2026.Contact Multitude for Advertising Inquiries: multitude.productions/adsCheck out the official Mom Can't Cook! store for sweet merch and check out Mom Can't Cook! Extra Helpings for bonus episodes, ad free episodes, monthly watchalongs and more!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While the Trump administration emphasizes a swift four-to-six-week operation to end the conflict with Iran, questions remain regarding how a president elected on a "no new wars" platform reconciles campaign promises with the realities of international conflicts. The White House remains committed to its bold messaging strategy to bring adversaries to the table, aiming to wrap up the mission in just over a month to avoid the pitfalls of past long-term conflicts. Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and Senior Fellow at the Ronald Reagan Institute, joins the Rundown to discuss the evolution of the wartime commander-in-chief, the strategic use of non-diplomatic language, and how President Trump's negotiating style compares to his predecessors.CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Haywood Talcove, joins to explain the reports of waste and abuse that he says are costing taxpayers an eye-opening amount every year—driven largely by foreign criminal networks. PHOTO CREIDT: AP PHOTO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1. Military Morale and Leadership U.S. military morale has significantly strengthened by a commander-in-chief who is willing to risk substantial resources to rescue a single American service member. Trump is contrasted against Clinton (Somalia), Obama (Libya), and Biden (Afghanistan), portraying those administrations as failing to protect troops. The U.S. military ethos: soldiers fight aggressively because they trust that medics, rescue forces, and leadership will risk everything to save them. 2. U.S. Military Culture and “Quiet Math of American Violence” Highlight inter-service respect (Marines, Navy corpsmen, Air Force PJs). American combat effectiveness comes not just from training or equipment, but from certainty that help will arrive under fire, reinforcing battlefield courage. 3. Trump’s Iran Policy and Deterrence Strategy Trump’s foreign policy is: “FAFO” (forceful consequences for aggression) Transactional with allies (support is conditional) Infrastructure strikes are: Intended to cripple military and economic capability Designed to pressure the population to overthrow the regime A deliberate choice not to destroy oil infrastructure to preserve post‑conflict recovery potential 4. War Crimes Accusations and Legal Defense Democrats and media figures are labeling infrastructure strikes as “war crimes.” This is countered by citing the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual, arguing that power generation and infrastructure supporting military operations can be lawful military objectives. 5. View of Iranian Leadership Iran’s rulers are theocratic extremists who: Do not care about civilian suffering Are willing to sacrifice large portions of their population Doubts are expressed about whether economic devastation would deter or influence regime behavior. 6. Immigration and Violent Crime Violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants are widespread and underreported Democratic policies (sanctuary cities, TPS, opposition to ICE) directly enabled these crimes Several specific criminal cases argue that border enforcement failures have led to American deaths. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When President Trump didn't annihilate “a whole civilization” on Tuesday, as he had threatened to do, much of the world exhaled. But the damage of his statements — a U.S. president, the commander in chief of the world's most powerful military, threatening to commit war crimes — continues to linger in the shadow of an uncertain cease-fire. Fareed Zakaria is the host of CNN's “Fareed Zakaria GPS” and the author of “Age of Revolutions” and other books. In this conversation, we discuss whether Trump's threats on Truth Social worked as a negotiating tactic, the significance of crossing this kind of moral line and how the decline of American leadership is already reshaping the world. This episode contains strong language. Mentioned: Age of Revolutions by Fareed Zakaria “The Predatory Hegemon” by Stephen M. Walt “Iran is an imperial trap. America walked right in.” by Fareed Zakaria Book Recommendations: A World Safe for Democracy by G. John Ikenberry The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr The Quiet American by Graham Greene Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs. This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our recording engineer is Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Jack McCordick, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker and Aman Sahota. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In breaking news, Senator Elissa Slotkin is taking on Trump's genocidal threats against the Iranian People, and reminding the military chain of command that they have a duty not to follow illegal, war crime-oriented orders of the deranged Commander in Chief. Popok reports that this is EXACTLY the time that Senator Slotkin, Senator Kelly and 4 other members of Congress who served in the military predicted would happen when they made their now famous “Don't Give up the Ship” video which led Trump to try to indict them for treason. But they are back as warriors to protect our Democracy. Veracity: For up to 65% off your order, head to https://VeracityHealth.co and use promo code: LEGALAF Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Mark Levin Show, there is an ongoing effort to hijack the conservative movement and MAGA, which is rooted in the Tea Party and constitutional conservatism. We reject any defense of the Third Reich, attacks on Christians, Jews, or Israel, and sabotage from within. True patriots focus on real threats like illegal immigration, Islamism, economic socialism, ideological Marxism, and figures from George Soros to the woke Reich neo-fascists. These infiltrators pretend to seek debate but aim to control and destroy the movement, much like Marxists and Islamists. Joe Kent, the former deputy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is a reportedly serial leaker who was hostile to President Trumo's agenda and rejected the commander-in-chief's decisions on military operations. His resignation letter, written publicly for the press and Democrats rather than privately to the president, is intentionally crafted to create controversy, undermine the president's war effort against, question the existence of an imminent threat, give aid and comfort to enemies, and dishonor current military personnel. There is no divide among MAGA supporters. President Trump has our unanimous support. But there are a small group of malcontent podcasters who appeal mainly to leftists who are trashing the country, Trump and the military while placing acolytes in the administration to undermine both Trump and U.S. military. Next, the FBI is actively investigating Joe Kent for allegedly leaking classified information, including allegedly sharing secret details with figures like Tucker Carlson and leaking from a government server to a media contact. Will Carlson publicly deny receiving classified information from Kent or texting with Iranian regime contacts? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show, Joe Kent, the former deputy at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, is a reportedly serial leaker who was hostile to President Trump's agenda and rejected the commander-in-chief's decisions on military operations in Iran. His resignation letter, written publicly for the press and Democrats rather than privately to the president, is intentionally crafted to create controversy, undermine the president's war effort against, question the existence of an imminent threat, give aid and comfort to enemies, and dishonor current military personnel. Later, Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai who's imprisoned in Hong Kong, calls in. Jimmy Lai is a prominent courageous Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate, media owner, and journalist who stood up against China's crackdown on Hong Kong's freedoms. Despite his age, Lai has been imprisoned since the crackdown began. Sebastian expresses gratitude for Trump's public support and mentions that releasing the elderly Lai would be an easy, moral, and rational gesture for China, especially amid upcoming diplomatic opportunities, but stresses that more pressure is needed as his father's health rapidly worsens and his death in prison would serve no one's interest. Afterward, Sen Rick Scott calls in to explain that the Senate must look at all the options to pass the SAVE America act because the Democrat party wants fraud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices