Podcasts about iraqi war

There are moments in life, and in podcasting, when something shifts.This was one of those moments.In our latest episode, Tough Guys Are an Endangered Species, we opened a door that many still keep firmly shut:What happens when men feel broken, lost, and alone, and why don't we talk about it?This wasn't just another chat.It was an honest, emotional, and transformative conversation between three men who know the weight of silence all too well.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thewccs.substack.comThere are moments in life, and in podcasting, when something shifts.This was one of those moments.In our latest episode, Tough Guys Are an Endangered Species, we opened a door that many still keep firmly shut:What happens when men feel broken, lost, and alone, and why don't we talk about it?This wasn't just another chat.It was an honest, emotional, and transformative conversation between three men who know the weight of silence all too well.

Yancy Wallace was a twenty-five-year-old Sergeant in the United States Marines who served in the Iraqi War, making him a veteran at the time. He was recently married and had a kid. He and his family lived in Northern California. Before his arrest, Wallace also engaged in an explicit chat with an underage girl in Washington State, but never went to meet her due to the distance.  Yancy arrives at the house looking as happy and relaxed as possible as the decoy invites him into the backyard. She invites him to go in the hot tub with her as she returns to get changed. Wallace tries to follow when he runs face to face with Chris, who leads him back to the bar for a seat     Paid Partner of TruthFinder® https://www.truthfinder.com/predators    This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to HurrdatMedia.com or Hurrdat Media YouTube channel!

Ben and Charles Henderson break it all down, starting with…a tribute to the great activist Barry Romo, who died a few days ago. Barry was a Vietnam War vet turned anti-war activist who wasn't afraid to take on the Daley Machine. Also, a few words about the working class janitors and college protestors. And free speech. And abortion. And Ben's beloved Bulls. Charles is an Iraqi War vet and political activist. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

WWE WrestleMania VII was live in Los Angeles and the Iraqi War going on. The Rockers battle The Barbarian and Haku, The Model Rick Martel vs. Jake the Snake Roberts in a Blindfold Match, WWE Tag Champions The Hart Foundation vs. The Nasty Boys, The Undertaker takes on Jimmy Superfly Snuka, a special retirement match between Macho King Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior, WWE Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect defends against The Big Boss Man, The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase vs. The Big Boss Man, WWE Champion Sgt. Slaughter battles Hulk Hogan in the main event!

In this episode, I bring you an extraordinary story of resilience, faith, and unwavering hope. My guest, Karissa Rund, has endured unimaginable trials, from surviving the tragic Columbine High School shooting to the heart-wrenching loss of her Marine husband in the Iraqi War. And now, she faces a formidable opponent in the form of stage 4 colon cancer. Yet, through it all, her faith in Jesus is unwavering, shining like a beacon of light in the darkest of storms.Karissa's incredible journey, one marked by tragedy and pain but also by a steadfast belief that Jesus walks with us through our greatest struggles.Core Verse for this series:Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. –Romans 12:2Support the showQuestions or comments can be sent to steven@nookpodcast.comJoin The Nook Facebook page!Steven's Social Media:Instagram and TwitterCheck out some great Christian apparel: Pace Christian ClothingUse the promo code "STEVEM15" and save 15% on your order!

I honestly didn't know much about Alex Whitt leading up to our conversation. I knew he was a Navy Veteran of the Iraqi War and that he had a protein bar company, that was about it. However, one of the coolest parts of this job is getting to visit with fascinating people and Alex certainly [...]

I honestly didn't know much about Alex Whitt leading up to our conversation. I knew he was a Navy Veteran of the Iraqi War and that he had a protein bar company, that was about it. However, one of the coolest parts of this job is getting to visit with fascinating people and Alex certainly [...]

No Fair Remembering Stuff on the 20th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by the Bush Administration.  What we blogged, how we felt, what it means today.  More at proleftpod.com. Opening and closing music: Jumpin Boogie Woogie by Audionautixhttp://audionautix.com/Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/jumpin-boogie-woogieMusic promoted by Audio Libraryhttps://youtu.be/S2wYQlC0UswCreative Commons Music by Jason Shaw on Audionautix.compodcasts, blogging, left-wing blogosphere, netroots, No Fair Remembering Stuff, #CornfieldResistance, #BothSidesDont, #TheLeftRemembers, #BurnTheLifeboats, Go Postal Unions!, politics, progressive, media, history, Iraq War, Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, bloggingSupport the show

LTC (ret) Patricia Stoecker was commissioned Second Lieutenant on June 8, 1984, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She was assigned several units before being promoted to Captain. Her long-decorated career included command of the Headquarters Company of the 304th Military Police Battalion in Nashville, TN, Operations Officer for the 785th Military Police Battalion, United States Army Reserve Command at Ft. McPherson, Georgia in 1999 where she served as the Military Police Organizational Integrator, 220th Military Police Brigade (Combat Support) in Gaithersburg, MD where she served as the Brigade Operations Officer where she deployed with the unit in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Camp Doha, Kuwait in early 2003, stationed in the Provost Marshall's Office at the Headquarters for Combined Joint Task Force-7 at Camp Victory where she worked with the Iraqi Legal Aid Division of the newly established Iraqi Government ensuring their safety and access to all Iraqi Detainees, and moving to Army G-8 where she was responsible for the funding of some large scale military projects. Trish volunteered to deploy back to Kuwait to serve as the Liaison Officer for Army G-8 to Third Army, where she coordinated communications and information between the Pentagon and Theater Operations. As the Iraqi War drew to a close, she coordinated the movement of all Army equipment to Afghanistan, storage or destruction. Trish's decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (with one Oak Leaf Cluster), the Army Commendation Medal (with four Oak Leaf Clusters), The Army Achievement Medal, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and The Army Staff Badge. She retired in March 2016 and now resides in Apollo Beach, FL with her Husband, Phil. Trish is now a Pure Romance Consultant, which is a 180-degree change from her previous career. She absolutely loves helping women and couples with their relationship and intimacy issues. Her home office has an extensive inventory of products, so there's no waiting to get your order. Plus, her in-home or virtual parties for women are SO MUCH FUN! You can schedule one with her, and she'll show you a demo of some of the best bath, body, and intimacy items available. Just talk with her about what you have in mind! Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.stoecker.44 Insta: https://www.instagram.com/prbytrishstoecker/ Website: https://pureromance.com/?pws=patriciastoecker

Today's To The Moon episode is extra special because our guest, Raqi Zidane, an Iraqi war survivor who makes a fortune in real estate. Raqi holds an extra special place in my heart and in my life. Not only is he an Astro student but he has also become a personal friend. I admire him for how he is as a family man, teaching his children about real estate at their young age, and how he is as a student, always sharing to other people his time and his knowledge, always genuinely willing to help brand new students, making sure that they don't feel alone and that they know they are part of the Astro community. This real estate rockstar shares how he first started. He recalls how his dream began 2003, when the US troops rescued his family from the war zones in Iraq and Bagdad. He had started working in barber shops when he was 18 and even though he was always been laughed at by his classmates at school for not being able to speak in English, he didn't let that affect him. He knew his strength was connecting with people since he had started working at a young age and he was determined to overcome that language barrier and go to college. He made it to college however because of an accident, he had to stop for a season and he switched to aviation where he became a mechanic. Life was going smooth and steady until Covid hits and the company he was working for had to shut down. That time that he felt worried about his family's future was when Raqi found real estate. He first discovered Jerry Norton's YouTube channel and learned as much as he can on his own. It was only in 2021 that he had met me during a meet-up Pace and I had in Atlanta, and after a 2-minute conversation, he joined the Astroflipping community. He jumped into my mentorship headfirst, very much determined to succeed in his real estate investing journey, and he did succeed. And that was because of his go-giver mentality, and all the work, the time, the effort, the sweat and the blood that he had put in. It was impossible for Raqi not to succeed. He makes $70,000 in a month which is so much more than he ever makes in a year with his job as an aviation mechanic. Raqi now not only has a company doing wholesale deals but he's also into buy and hold and acquiring properties that cash flow. Raqi's life is more than an inspiration. He is a living proof that in life you always have a choice. Raqi could have chosen to live in self pity and with a victim's mindset with all the depressing events that he and his family went through in Iraq but he chose not to. Raqi chose to be an overcomer, a go-giver, a person who's determined to continue growing and becoming better every single day. Raqi's market is Atlanta GA. Go and connect with Raqi! Ph#: (404) 988-4115 IG: Raqi_Zidane Fb: Raqi Zidane

Air Force Major (ret) April Ames-Chase got her start in healthcare volunteering at Provident Hospital, a predominantly Black hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother “unknowingly signed her up” to work there as a candy striper at 15 years old. Inspired by the life-saving work provided by professionals who looked like her, Ms. Ames-Chase went on to receive her Bachelor's in Nursing from Coppin State University, after which she enlisted with the U.S. Air Force, continuing a family tradition, where she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.Working as a nurse with the U.S. Air Force, Ms. Ames-Chase served her country at numerous bases, both in the United States and abroad, including in the UK, Korea, Japan, and Iraq during the most severe stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She recalls long and grueling hours at a base they nicknamed “Mortaritaville” because of the daily shelling it endured. Camaraderie with her fellow medics, working out at the gym and evenings writing in her diary, helped get her through those intense months. However, as her children pointed out when she returned home, serving in the war had changed her. Ms. Ames-Chase's war time journal has since been published as a book titled “A Moment in Time.”On this week's episode of “Mental Health Trailblazers, Psychiatric Nurses Speak Up” our host, Indrias Kassaye and MFP Ph.D. Fellow April Ames-Chase discuss the psychiatric mental health impact that serving in a war zone had on her and how she was able to overcome the PTSD that initially she didn't even realize she was suffering from. Her own lived experiences have influenced her research interests which today focus on Black female Iraqi War veterans and their experiences adjusting to life back home in the United States. Ms. Ames-Chase finds that not all Black female veterans have been as fortunate as she has, with too many experiencing inadequate healthcare, substance abuse, homelessness and even sexual trauma, despite their patriotic sacrifice.To learn more about April Ames-Chase's work, visit https://emfp.org/mfp-fellows/doctoral/april-ames-chase

In this episode Mike sits with Darin Pepple to talk about his time in uniform and his book; Dodge Bomb: Outside the Wire in the Second Iraq War .Darin realized when was young that the traditional path wasn't for him. In this AIP Episode Darin and Mike talk about how that drove him to raise his right hand and join the Army. The Army's discipline is what gave Darin structure in life. When he initially joined, he was part of a mounted stinger team. Darin decided to become an officer after his initial commitment because he believed that officers made the decisions, and their leadership was crucial to the mission and military. Darin wrote his book because wanted to capture the real account of his experiences in the Iraqi War. From a conventional Army persons perspective and highlight the fact that not everyone is Special Operation operator that kills people and comes home angry with PTSD. In the episode they share the two sides, mike has the special operations perspective and Daren has the regular force. Central to the story is LT Eddie Fitzgerald which is made up of 60% Darin's real-life experiences. The book also helped Darin with the transition out of the uniform. He outlined some elements of toxic leadership, using a character in his book to show how detrimental it can be to organizations. On the counter to toxic leadership, leaders that lead with example can build respect and rapport with your organization. There is still a lot of stories to tell about the GWOT and leadership lessons to extract. These captured stories can also help veterans heal and do the hard work with recovering from the trauma. As veterans our failure to talk about these events creates distance and they don't properly understand who we are. Darin closes the episode with plans for a second edition of the book and a sequel. Where they will provide more stories, why they matter, and people can incorporate into their own lives and society. One of the officers that Darin talks about is CPT Douglas Hoyt. , which he credits with showing him what leadership is supposed to look like and always setting the example. Find Daren Pepple: Daren Pepple on LinkedIn Dodgebomb Book Page on Facebook Darin Pepple on InstagramDarin on Twitter If you enjoyed this episode of Always in Pursuit, please share with a couple of your friends and leave us a review on whatever platform you use. Also find out more about AIP and the team at www.alwaysinpursuit.org. Thank you for tuning in to the show!Check out our amazing Sponsors Adyton PBC and Learn more about MUSTR app which is streamlining systems for leaders across the Department of Defense! 

"Jesus loves me at the bottom of my garbage can."  An inescapable, inevitable truth that Hollie Koeningsberg came to realize along a long, perilous road.  An Iraqi war vet who worked in very difficult combat operations.  A Purple Heart recipient.  A former cop.  A survivor who saw her family devastated by cancer.  Hollie's story inspired the families, students, and veterans that came together on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021 for Northwest Christian School's all-school Veterans Day Chapel and still has everyone talking.  You will not soon forget her story as she reflects upon her life of service to the country, her insights regarding contemporary America, the lengths that our Savior will go to in order to win our hearts, and how deeply we are loved by Him.Hollie serves as a Director at Clydehurst Christian Ranch in Montana.  To learn more about her ministry at Clydehurst, please visit:  https://www.clydehurst.com/"Kingdom Culture Conversations" is a podcast created through Frameworks, a Biblical worldview initiative of Northwest Christian School.For more information on Frameworks, please visit:  https://frameworks.ncsaz.org/For more information on Northwest Christian School, visit:  https://www.ncsaz.org/To reach out to Geoff Brown, please email gbrown@ncsaz.org or you can reach him by cell phone:  (623)225-5573.

This podcast covers New Girl Season 2, Episode 23, Virgins, which originally aired on April 30, 2013 and was written by Elizabeth Meriwether and directed by Alec Berg. Here's a quick recap of the episode:After Jess gets a text from Teddy, the guy who took her “flower”, the whole loft (plus Cece) share their stories about how they lost their virginity. We discuss Pop Culture References such as:David Foster Wallace - When Jess was slowly telling her story, Schmidt asked her to get to the point and called her David Foster Wallace. The Rolling Stones vs The Beatles - Cece lost her virginity to Mick Jagger, the front man for The Rolling Stones. Schmidt, however, called out “Beatlemania”. Additional Pop Culture References such as:Dave Matthews / “Daver” - In Schmidt's flashback, Nick was going to a Dave Matthews concert and called himself a “Daver”. Dave Matthews Band is an American rock band, formed in 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia. As of 2018, the band had sold more than 20 million concert tickets and a combined total of 38 million CDs and DVDs. Dave Matthews Band is known for their concerts where they play songs differently each performance and that is a staple of their live shows since the 1990s.“Stay (I Missed You)” - Lisa Loeb - All throughout Jess's story, this song played over the scenes. "Stay (I Missed You)" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb that was released in May 1994 as the lead single from the original movie soundtrack to Reality Bites. Lyrically, the song deals with a relationship that has recently ended, but the narrator is now regretful.Titanic - During Nick's Dad's business trip, Winston and Nick were watching Titanic on TV. Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. The film incorporates both historical and fictional aspects of the RMS Titanic and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Annie - In the flashback, Nick's dad mentioned needing alcoholic drinks to get through Annie, which is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie and loosely based on the 1885 poem Little Orphant Annie written by James Whitcomb Riley. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for almost six years.“Anything Could Happen” - Ellie Goulding - When Jess and Nick get together, the song “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding is playing. "Anything Could Happen" is a song on English singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding's second album, Halcyon. "Anything Could Happen" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. We also cover the flashback scene of Schmidt and Nick talking about sex in college as our “Schmidtism”. For “Not in the 2020s” we discuss Nick's father getting a prostitute for his son and Jess asking her date to “be a man” again. For “Yes in the 2020s” we celebrate the consent and gender equality talked about on the episode as well as Schmidt and Nick's talk about intercourse. We also give a brief look into Brenda Song (Daisy) and Johnny Pemberton (Jess's prom date), the Guest Stars we feature on this episode.Also in this episode were the following guest stars who we do not discuss in the podcast: Dennis Farina (Walt - Previously discussed in S2E13), Merritt Wever (Elizabeth - Previously discussed in S2E22), Satya Bhabha (Shivrang - Previously discussed in S2E18), Lauren Weedman (Mysteria), Carla Renata (Octopussy), Christopher Wallinger (Teddy), Dylan O'Brien (The Guy), Trixx Ian Vitolo (Murder Victim), Joseph Culp (Mick Jagger Voice), and Nick Adams (Bartender).We also share this article (which contains spoilers) where we learned that while they were hoping for an easy episode, this was the hardest episode due to the costume changes and everyone being in each other's flashbacks. We also talk about how this was Dennis Farina's last role before his death.While not discussed in the podcast, we noted other references in this episode including:Tuxedo vs. Suit - When Nick says he's worn a tuxedo before, Schmidt explains to him that a tuxedo is different from a suit. The main difference is that tuxedos have satin details, are only worn with white shirts that have a wing or turndown collar, and typically are accessorized with a cummerbund, waistcoat, suspenders, and a self-tied bow tie.Iraqi War - Schmidt says it was during the Iraqi War that he learned that men could be on top during sex. The Iraqi War was a United states led invasion of Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein and lasted 8 years from 2003 to 2011.Took My Flower – Jess brings about the plot of this episode by talking about Teddy, the man who “took her flower”. This is a euphemism to indicate taking someone's virginity.This episode got an 8.5/10 rating from Kritika whose favorite character was Nick and Kelly rated this episode a 9/10 and her favorite character was Schmidt!Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Episode 24!Music: "Hotshot” by scottholmesmusic.comFollow us on Twitter, Instagram or email us at whosthatgirlpod@gmail.com!Website: https://smallscreenchatter.com/

Meet Coach Nurse Jean Turner, who is the Founder and CEO of Spirit of A Warrior Life Enterprise, The Author of There Must Be Balance, Your Life Matters, Podcaster, International Speaker. Jean shares her Why and shares her experience with Cancer and in this episode 4 words come up and I want you to write them down and follow the instructions for this week. There are some takeaways, see what you can take from this episode to help in your life. ***********Connect with Jean Turner************WEBSITE:https://www.spiritofawarrior.life/abouthttps://jean-turner-rn-chc.square.site/***************ABOUT JEAN**********************************************************Helping others achieve and maintain optimum wellness is the mission of Jean Turner, RN. Her knowledge and profound proficiency have laid the foundation for her to be the accomplished and highly sought-after author, speaker, Holistic Health Nurse Coach, and wellness expert that she is today. With a 25-year Army career (that includes service in the Iraqi War and providing nursing support to the people of New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina), Jean has taken a warrior's approach at inspiring others to be good stewards of their health.As such, she provides life-changing resources and services through media, published materials and workshops for all ages. She is the host of “Health Chat with Coach Jean,” Radio Show on 1570 WIGO AM Atlanta and a world-wide syndicated podcast featured on Positive Power XXI Media and available on Apple Podcast, iHEART, Pray.com, Spotify and Spreaker.com. She is a licensed minister and is a founding leader of her church's Health and Wellness Ministry. Additionally, she is a Blog Contributor for “Black Dawn Journal” Weblog, and she is a Partner in Health with Proactive Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, McDonough Georgia where she contributes bi-weekly blogs for their patient newsletters.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jean's commitment to the well-being of others is reflected in fitfoxy50 & BEYOND-, her signature wellness and lifestyle management program that is geared to the specific health changes and challenges that naturally come with turning “The Big 5-0!” In 2018, the support she offers others hit close to home as she experienced a “suddenly” moment that changed her life. This “suddenly” moment further fortified her primary focus on self-care for optimum wellness for those living with chronic illness, disease (particularly those undergoing chemotherapy treatments), and how the practice of self- care greatly impacts health outcomes and one's personal success. Jean is the author of “The Spirit of a Warrior: Jean's Self-Care Journey Through Chemotherapy” (which comes with a journal) as well as the journals, “My 7-Day Self-Care Journey to Healthier Habits”, “Recognize, Release, & Refocus” and “The Detox Advantage”. Her newest works, “A Time to Testify: The Remix” and “His Story, Her Story, God's Glory” released Spring 2020. She also looks forward to releasing a docuseries titled after her book, “Spirit of a Warrior”.Jean is a loving wife, mother, and lovingly referred to as "G-Ma" by her grandkids. In her spare time, the former marathon runner enjoys reading and traveling. To learn more about Jean, visit her online at www.spiritofawarrior.life.**************************************************************************************CONNECT WITH HOST:Email: shanta@authentictalks2.comwebsite: authentictalks2.comwebsite:aymbeyondthephysical.com

The Stanford Prison Experiment has been the topic of movies, newspaper articles, textbooks and TV shows. Extensively published controversy has surrounded the social psychology experiment ever since it was conducted in 1971. Now on the 50th Anniversary, we invite you to listen to a very unique interview with the man who orchestrated it all; Dr Philip Zimbardo PhD.  Was the Stanford Prison Experiment designed to measure the corruption of power? Were participants influenced by the context of the experiment itself and pressured into performing a role? How exactly did the environment influence the behavior of the participants, including Dr Philip Zimbardo himself? As he quotes; “a bad barrel can take a good apple, and make it bad”. At Stanford University in 1971, influenced by the work of his friend Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo assembled a mock prison in the basement of the university and used male student volunteers to become the guards and prisoners. What unfolded in the coming days surprised even Philip Zimbardo. What is less known about Philip Zimbardo is that he has since done extensive research on shyness, cult behavior, time perception, and more recently on heroism. According to him, we are all “heroes in waiting”, and he has founded the Heroic Imagination Project to help cultivate the heroes among us.  Our discussion with Dr Z (as he asked us to call him!) weaves through an enlightening reflection on his upbringing, the influence of his family and peers, and his transition into academia. Kurt and Tim intercept the conversation throughout to provide explanation and insights. And we end with how Dr Z's work can influence our behavior now. What can we really learn from the Stanford Prison Experiment? And how can we all become a hero in waiting? Topics  (2:59) Introducing Dr. Philip Zimbardo. (4:30) Dr Z's upbringing in the Bronx. (6:40) The significance of Dr Z's classmates at James Monroe High School. (11:06) How racism influenced Dr Z's application to Yale. (16:18) How Dr Z started the Stanford Prison Experiment. (19:05) What Dr Z was trying to understand from the experiment. (20:04) What went wrong. (21:59) How abusive guard David Eshelman explained his behavior. (23:10) Controversy around the experiment and why it ended early. (27:07) Chip Frederick's abusive behavior at Abu Ghraib prison during the Iraqi War. (30:15) If you can cultivate evil behavior, can you also cultivate heroic behavior? (33:36) The 4 steps to becoming a "Hero in Training". (35:14) Dr Z's offer to help with police brutality in the US. (37:04) Takeaways: how to be aware and intentional with our behavior. We look forward to welcoming you back next week for more about why context matters with esteemed Yale social psychologist, Dr John Bargh PhD.  Please consider donating to our podcast work through Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves). We also love hearing from our listeners, please leave us a podcast review or reach out to us on Twitter: Kurt Nelson @motivationguru Tim Houlihan @THoulihan Mary Kaliff @BeSciMary © 2021 Behavioral Grooves Links Stanley Milgram: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Milgram  Solomon Asch - Conformity Experiment: https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html  Charlie Parker “All The Things You Are”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTORd2Y_X6U  Episode 76: Nurit Nobel: De-Biasing the Recruiting Process: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/nurit-nobel-de-biasing-the-recruiting-process/ Chip Frederick: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/22/usa.iraq  Heroic Imagination Project: https://www.heroicimagination.org/ 

Check out our exclusive interview with Melissa Stockwell, a two-time Paralympic triathlete and swimmer, 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist, Iraqi War veteran and CP. Learn about Melissa's amazing and inspiring journey from wounded warrior to world champion.

Discussing the 9/11 attacks, The Iraqi War, Bin Laden. Originally published September 11, 2007. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stealth1986/support

Pause for Dramatic Effect is the story of Douglas Dire, a homeless Iraqi War veteran haunted by a darkness he brought back from war. Not all nightmares happen when you sleep!  Introducing Pause for Dramatic Effect (Season 1), a narrative audio drama about a veteran's challenge to survive dark forces and ancient magic. Follow the story at pausefordramaticeffect.com

Well, our last trip to a single-digit 'Mania was so good, might as well watch the same event, BUT AMERICAN. With the Iraqi War currently going on, we see Ultra-American Man Hulk Hogan taking on Iraqi Sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Title in the main event, which falls flat for a lot of reasons. But with a Retirement Match between Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage on the under card with TWELVE other matches, there is a lot more things than patriotism to talk about. Two And A Half Marks is not affiliated with the WWE/WWF/WCW/TNA/AEW/any promotion or any of the professional wrestlers named in this podcast. Music courtesy of Tyler Montgomery (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5o_0BoTvWg). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Joedy Cook is the founder and top researcher of the North American Dogman Project. Joedy's a retired member of the United States Army and a veteran of the Iraqi War. Joedy has been studying the Dogman phenomenon since 1991.

"Due to censorship restrictions, a veteran of Britain's MI6 intelligence service tells a fictionalized version of his covert action experiences" Publishers Weekly In my days there were five classified UK Eyes Only security clearance levels. The higher you went up the secrecy ladder, the less people knew about you... I held the highest security clearance level a British intelligence officer could reach. This book, the third in the NOC Trilogy covers my last five years in the field being in charge of the 'uncammo' (not in uniform) unit of the special forces, 2003-2007, which encompassed the Iraqi War and being in the field in Afghanistan, Somalia and The Yemen, among others. For obvious reasons I must remain anonymous. I am a British citizen and a 20-year veteran of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). I did three tours of duty, first serving in 1971-1983. I was recalled into active duty in 1992-1993 and 2003-2007, and volunteered for one more operation in 2008 after retirement. Since that time I have been granted political asylum in France, where I now reside. The first two books are: “NOC - Non-Official Cover: British Secret Operations and NOC Twice: More UK Non-Official Cover Operations.

Late one spring night in California, Driss Guerraoui—father, husband, business owner, Moroccan immigrant—is hit and killed by a speeding car. The aftermath of his death brings together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui's daughter Nora, a jazz composer returning to the small town in the Mojave she thought she'd left for good; her mother, Maryam, who still pines for her life in the old country; Efraín, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, an old friend of Nora's and an Iraqi War veteran; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son's secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself. As the characters—deeply divided by race, religion, and class—tell their stories, each in their own voice, connections among them emerge. Driss's family confronts its secrets, a town faces its hypocrisies, and love—messy and unpredictable—is born. Timely, riveting, and unforgettable, The Other Americans is at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/pbliving/support

Join Our Veteran Community host Jim Newman and his guest, Mike Hamilton, an Afghanistan and Irag War Marine Veteran, telling about his life, service, family, Scouts, and the Royal Rangers. Host: Jim Newman; Guest: Mike Hamilton; Producers: Jim Newman, Candice Michel The opinions expressed here are those of the individual participants. Curry Coast Community Radio […]

Iraqi War veteran Satinder Kaur shares her story of immigrating to the U.S. in middle school, enlisting in the Army just before 9/11, deploying to Iraq, returning to India to rediscover her roots, and sharing these experiences as a successful filmmaker in Los Angeles.

In this episode of the Place to Be Podcast, Justin, Scott and Peter Winson are officially hitting the Road to WrestleMania VII as they take a look at the 2/1/91 Main Event! The boys discuss the Herb Kunze Tidbits of the week, WWF and the Iraqi War angle, Hogan officially finishing off Earthquake on national TV, Sgt. Slaughter's first televised WWF Title defense, a big showing for Legion of Doom, Hulk Hogan being named number one contender for WrestleMania and much more, including end of show awards! So fire up this action-packed episode and join Scott, Justin and Peter as it’s time for another edition of the PTB Podcast!

Podcast 4 airs tonight on my youtube channel, Rainman's Take! I interview Dan Sheehan, Marine combat veteran and award winning author, of the war memoire, "After Action". Dan had combat tours in Iraq, one as a Cobra attack helicopter pilot and one as a Forward Air Control for the Marine Special Operations Command. We discuss Dan's experiences in combat and some of the challenges he had putting the war behind him.

John Tarleton interviews Iraqi War veteran Essam Attia about the decline and gradual privatization of the VA. You can read Essam's article on the topic here: https://indypendent.org/.

This is the May 25th segment of WBAI Evening News by The Indypendent. On Memorial Day John Tarleton, the show's host and The Indypendent's Editor-in-Chief, interviews Iraqi War veteran Essam Attia about the state of the VA. He also speaks with Reverend Billy Talen, founder of the Church of Stop Shopping, about re-opening New York.

Last Friday I talked about the historic scene that took place in Grant Park, Chicago the previous Tuesday night. If you had been alive, and in attendance at the Palace of Versailles on November 11th, 1918, you would have been a part of another historic moment. Leaders from around the world gathered outside of Paris to sign the armistice that ended the deadliest war in the history of the world. Literally millions of soldiers died on both side of the conflict. It was hoped that the absolute slaughter of humankind would prevent the waging of another war. It was not to be. In just about 20 years another world-wide conflict broke out with millions more sacrificed.We do take something from that day in 1918. The armistice, signed at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, is the point at which we stop to remember our fallen soldiers, sailors and marines. We don't have school tomorrow, and I hope you'll stop to thank those who have died in all the wars that America has fought. Since 1900, we have lost men, and in some cases women, in World War I, World War II, The Korean War, The Vietnam War, The First Gulf War, The War in Afghanistan and the Iraqi War. The last two continue as I speak.I hope that none of you will be put in a position to wage war and potentially sacrifice your life for the rest of us. I'd like to think that the world is going in the right direction, but until we reach that destination, we'll continue to remember and thank those who have laid down their lives to protect our way of life.

Dakota Meyer sits down with special guest Hamody Jasim aka The Terrorist Whisperer to discuss his life and work as a US Intelligence asset for the Marines during the Iraqi War. He aided in helping plan US attacks on al-Qaeda’s main operatives in the Fallujah/Ramadi area. The two discuss Hamody’s role in the war on terrorism in Iraq and beyond.  Watch Hamody’s Documentary on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Terrorist-Whisperer-David-Petraeus/dp/B07Y42Q5H6

Mira Sorvino stars in Melora Walters' third film, a story about a mother that deals with depression after her son goes to the Iraqi War. The post Melora Walters, Mira Sorvino – Drowning #RomaFF14 appeared first on Fred Entertainment Channel » FRED Entertainment Podcast. Melora Walters, Mira Sorvino – Drowning #RomaFF14 was first posted on November 10, 2019 at 8:04 pm.©2015 "Fred Entertainment Channel ". Use of this feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this article in your feed reader, then the site is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact me at radio@fred.fm

The week we are honored to share the story of CSM Hamody Jasim. From imprisonment under the Saddam Hussein regime to being a vital American intelligence asset during the height of the Iraqi War...Hamody's fight against terrorism is unmatched. And finally, he reveals the honest truth behind the hate Americans face from extremist groups across the globe. So gather around as we have an detailed discussion with "The Terrorist Whisperer". 

Imagine building your own army to tackle head on the injustice you see in the world.  That’s exactly what former Special Ops Sniper in the Iraqi War, Damien Mander, decided to do.  While visiting Africa after leaving Iraq he saw the damage and destruction being done to our planet’s most endangered species.   Damien decided he would do something about it.  He sold his investment portfolio and founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation. His army of 37 women in Zimbabwe protects elephants, rhino and other endangered species from poachers. He is now expanding to Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa.  On the Awesome Vegans with Elysabeth Alfano Podcast and Video Series, Damien, accompanied by lead ranger Vimbai Kumire, explains how empowering women to protect animals has been one of the most important things he has ever done.   For more information, visit http://ElysabethAlfano.com and https://www.iapf.org . 

We recently had the opportunity to sit down with ESPN anchor Hannah Storm, who was in town to emcee the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. With ESPN since 2008, Storm is an anchor for the network’s flagship show, SportsCenter, and has hosted other events across the sports-media giant’s various platforms. In addition to her work at ESPN, Storm has worked for CNN (1989-1992) and NBC Sports (2002-2007). During her time with CNN, she became the first female host of CNN Sports Tonight. Also, Storm, the first woman in American television history to solo host a broadcast network’s sports series coverage during NBC’s Major League Baseball coverage, worked at CBS News as a host of “The Early Show,” where she covered the 2004 presidential election, the Iraqi War and Hurricane Katrina.

From Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami comes The Other Americans, a timely and powerful new novel about the suspicious death of a Moroccan immigrant--at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story, informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture. Late one spring night, as Driss Guerraoui is walking across a darkened intersection in California, he's killed by a speeding car. The repercussions of his death bring together a diverse cast of characters: Guerraoui's daughter Nora, a jazz composer who returns to the small town in the Mojave she thought she'd left for good; his widow, Maryam, who still pines after her life in the old country; Efraín, an undocumented witness whose fear of deportation prevents him from coming forward; Jeremy, an old friend of Nora's and an Iraqi War veteran; Coleman, a detective who is slowly discovering her son's secrets; Anderson, a neighbor trying to reconnect with his family; and the murdered man himself.  As the characters--deeply divided by race, religion, and class--tell their stories, connections among them emerge, even as Driss's family confronts its secrets, a town faces its hypocrisies, and love--messy and unpredictable--is born. Lalami is in conversation with Charles Finch, bestselling author of the Charles Lenox mysteries.

I am blessed to be around remarkable people. There are always Takeaways to learn. That is what I am sharing on this podcast. Takeaways – Life. Lessons. Learned. explores learning from the wisdom of others. This was a landmark episode for Takeaways! We recorded in front of a live audience, we recorded on video (currently in editing) and we had to get official approval from the U.S. State Department to sit down with our guest!! February 5, 2019 Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, appointed Elan S. Carr to be Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat anit-Semitism. This position was established in 2004 as part of the Office of Religion and Global Affairs at the United States Department of State. Rewind to the summer of 1999. I was a rising sophomore attending UNLV. My fraternity brothers put me forward to receive a full scholarship to attend the Alpha Epsilon Pi International Convention in Morristown, New Jersey. At one of the leadership breakout sessions was this guy with radiating enthusiasm. Whenever he saw someone he knew, he would let out this signature "dooooooooode" as the pitch in his voice raised, his arms would open wide in anticipation of a brotherly embrace. He would then say in perfect Hebrew, "brother how I missed you!" Elan was already a legend to droves of Alpha Epsilon Pi brothers around the world back then as a major volunteer. He joined AEPi as an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley where he earned a degree in Philosophy and Political Science. Then he went to Northwestern University to get his law degree. Operation Desert Storm occurred when he was a first year law student. That compelled Elan to join the U.S. Army. It was that decision which lead him to serve in the Iraqi War after the events of 9/11. The stories Elan shares in this episode about his experiences in Iraq are almost unbelievable. Elan's day job for 13 years was as a criminal prosecutor in Los Angeles Country. He focused both as a gang prosecutor and in the Special Victims Unit prosecuting child molesters, rapists, and domestic abusers. In 2014 Elan ran for Congress and lost. It was that election, however, that put him on the radar of the National Republican Party to be considered almost 5 years later for this current role. Politics aside what else can you learn from a person like Special Envoy Carr? Here are just a few of the Takeaways that we discussed on this episode. • When you have an opportunity to express yourself and your faith you do it. • How you define a problem determines how you solve it. • What is the state of anti-Semitism in the world today? I hope you enjoy! Thank you for listening! Please subscribe to “Takeaways”, rate and review wherever you get your podcasts. You can find Takeaways at any of the links below: • ApplePodcast • Stitcher • Google Play • SoundCloud

Meet Michael Woudenberg. He is an engineer, an Iraqi War veteran, a father, and most importantly to your humble host, a home brewer. We discuss processes, life, and courtship. Oh, and we also had a nice chat about home brewing.

There is no shortage of motivational events, courses, seminars, quotes, and memes. Don't get me wrong, motivation has its purpose but discipline is a far greater asset on your path to accomplishing big things in your life. Where motivation falls short, discipline picks up the slack. Today, I'm joined by a man that needs no introduction, Jocko Willink, to talk about connecting future ambitions with present actions, why every man must find his mission, how to overcome fear and procrastination, and his mantra, "Discipline Equals Freedom." SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Why discipline equals freedom Key military tactics that translate into civilian life Anticipating the delayed results of discipline The pros and cons of focusing on strengths vs. weaknesses Where Jocko's discipline comes from How to connect your future ambitions with your present actions The importance of defining your path How to develop mental strength Why every man needs a mission The role of accountability when it comes to being more disciplined How to overcome procrastination Rasing kids to be strong and disciplined How to overcome your fear Where to start: mental preparation or physical action JOCKO WILLINK Gentlemen, I am stoked to introduce you to my return guest, Jocko Willink. I'm sure that you know Jocko but in case you've been living under a rock the past 4-5 years or so, let me introduce you to him. He is a Former Navy SEAL and commander of Task Unit Bruiser (the most decorated special forces unit of the Iraqi War), a recipient of the Bronze and Silver Star, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt, a New York Times Bestselling author of three books, and arguably one of the most disciplined men on this planet. I, like you, have been following him ever since I ran across his book, Extreme Ownership, in Barnes & Noble and have been fortunate enough to develop a close enough relationship with him and his team that I when I heard he was coming out with a new book, Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Manual, I was able to get a message to him and get him back on the show. Gentlemen, strap in, get your notepads out, and get ready to tune into one of the most qualified men I know to talk about how discipline will give you the freedom you're after. Please leave us a review at http://orderofman.com/itunes Shownotes: http://orderofman.com/135 Website: http://orderofman.com

The last person known to have seen Chase Massner three years ago vanished hours after he learned police were charging him in connection with the Iraqi War vet's disappeared. Nancy Grace gathers Team Chase, the citizen detectives who helped resolve the missing man mystery, to discuss the search for suspect Brad Clement.

Chase Massner's wife says when the Iraqi War vet went missing in 2014 she became the victim of cyberbullying, stalking and "horrible gossip" by some people who suspected her in his disappearance. In this 8th episode of our "Finding Chase" series, Amanda Massner tells Nancy Grace why she no longer obsesses over what happened to her husband.

Amanda Massner has stayed publicly silent in the 3 years since her husband Chase Massner mysteriously disappeared 3 years ago. Not only has she suffered through the pain of losing her husband and the father of her 2 young daughters, but she has also been targeted by those who think she knows what happened to the Iraqi War vet. This 7th episode of our Finding Chase series is the first of 2 with Amanda speaking exclusively to Nancy Grace.

The disappearance of Chase Massner on March 27, 2014, has stumped police and devastated the Iraqi War vet’s family. As the probe is handed over to a cold case unit, Nancy Grace leads her own investigation at the request of Chase’s mom. She shares what she's finding over the next weeks in a special “Crime Stories” series, starting with episode 1 on the 3rd anniversary of Chase’s vanishing. (music by audionautix.com)

The mother of missing Iraqi War veteran Chase Massner worries that Georgia police have run out of leads in the investigation of what happened to her son. Massner was 26 when he vanished from a friend’s home in Kennesaw, Georgia, on March 27, 2014. “I just want the truth,” Stephanie Cadena tells Nancy Grace in Wednesday’s “Crime Stories” podcast.

The search for Saddam Hussein in the second Iraqi War had similarities with the search for Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The search for Jesus Christ in the months prior to the Passover had been frustrating and humiliating for the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. When Judas offered to betray his master, the leaders of the Jews were careful to not loose the opportunity.----The Greek word for the captain means the commander of a 1,000 Roman soldiers including 10 centurions. Because trapping Jesus had been so difficult for so many months, the Jewish Leaders didn-t want to miss this opportunity. ----The Captain was with the representatives of the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees as they were led by Judas Iscariot who was the informant. Six Centurions with their 600 soldiers would have been left at the palace in Jerusalem to guard Pilate the Governor from the Zealots. Four centurions with their soldiers surrounded the garden of Gethsemane and began moving toward the center trying to make sure that Jesus couldn-t escape.

Sean Davis is not a politician. But he is running to be the next mayor of Portland, Oregon. In a year of political outsiders and upside down campaign logic, he just might have a shot. Sean is an Iraqi War veteran, a Purple Heart recipient, and an accomplished author, artist and volunteer firefighter. He is also the Post Commander at the American Legion Post 134 in the Alberta Arts district in NE Portland. Sean believers art can save lives, because it helped to save his. The guy is a friggen' force of nature. Sean sees human need and suffering and throws himself into addressing it with such wild abandon; with little regard for his own personal safety. On the Block Radio usually stays away from politics. Our issues are more evergreen and touch on the eternal aspects of human consciousness and spiritual transformation. But at the end of the day, if we are not involved in changing our communities and limiting human suffering, we are on the sidelines of a struggle as old as civilization itself. Shout out to Matthew Robinson for help with the research and questions for this episode. Matthew is another flawless writer and veteran. Like we always say, look to the person to your right or left, often they will amaze you with their story and their talent.

In the last couple of years, criticism of the government has become a risky business in Turkey. Hundreds of journalists critical of the government, including some prominent ones, have been dismissed. Turkey even found itself for a period in the same camp as North Korea, China and Iran by banning Twitter and YouTube. Enormous tax evasion fines have been levied against the free enterprise that dare to remain critical. Offices of numerous businesses have been raided and their assets have been frozen through illegal seizure. Join us for a luncheon talk with Kerim Balci to hear insights into the extent and changing nature of government infringement on individual, enterprise and media freedoms over the last few years. Biography: Turkish writer, journalist and academician Kerim Balci is recently the Editor-in-Chief of Turkish Review, a bimonthly journal published by Zaman Media Group of Turkey. Balci is a frequent columnist in Today’s Zaman and Zaman dailies, both the largest circulating newspapers in their boulevards, and correspondents to several local and international TV channels on issues related to the Middle East. Apart from his professional job in journalism, Balci works with interfaith dialogue groups in Europe to promote multiculturalism in Europe. He served as the President of the London based Dialogue Society for two and a half years before his current assignment in Istanbul. He has edited a book named Whose War? in Turkish dealing with the Iraqi War and published an album called Ottoman Jerusalem in Photographs (IRCICA, Istanbul, 2009, Published in Turkish, English and Arabic.) and another album with modern photographs of the city called Kutsallığın Başkenti Kudüs [Jerusalem: Capital of Sanctity](TİMAŞ, Istanbul, 2011). Balcı published several articles in academic and popular books and encyclopedias, mainly about the Middle East, Turkish Politics, US Policy in the Middle East, and interfaith dialogue. Kerim Balci studied Physics and Political Science and International Relations in the Bosporus University of Turkey. He has an MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the city where he served as the representative of Zaman Turkish Daily for eight years. Balci is currently a PhD candidate at the Durham University of the UK on linguistic philosophy. Event Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Season 2 of the Word Crimes podcast continues with Scott Detrow reading "Bliss" by Merry Jones, a short story originally published in the anthology Liar Liar. Merry is a prolific author whose most recent book, IN THE WOODS, is a thriller set in a Pennsylvania state park. The protagonist is Harper Jennings, an Iraqi War vet and an archeology graduate. Check the show notes at ErikArneson.com for links to Merry's website, all of her Harper Jennings novels, and more.

(RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE TO SAVE THIS EPISODE TO YOUR COMPUTER) John and Paul have been given a new Critical Assignment.  With the success of The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 by Dynamite Comics, it stood to reason that a The Bionic Woman Season 4 comic would follow.  But as most bionic fans know, The Bionic Woman does not usually feature the same kind of story telling as her male counterpart.  Dynamite's previous attempt at a Bionic Woman comic was less than stellar.  Is it possible they can get it right by using the original source material?  Writer Brandon Jerwa has been tapped for the assignment and he sits down with John and Paul to discuss what he feels it will take to make The Bionic Woman a successful comic for both the fans of the series and the general comic book reader.   00:00 - Show introduction 03:00 - Bionic Renaissance 04:10 - Brandon Introduction 08:00 - "Where you a fan of Six Million Dollar Man & Bionic Woman?" 12:45 - Viewing the Differences Between the Two Bionic Shows and Characters 19:55 - Announcing The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 21:30 - Where Dynamite's First Bionic Woman Went Wrong 23:25 - Picking Up Where "On the Run" Left Off 25:55 - An "All Ages" Comic 29:00 - Dialogue That Sums Up Jaime Sommers 31:25 - How Brandon Got the Gig 35:20 - Brandon Will Come Back If We're Not Satisfied 35:55 - Who From the Series Will We See? 37:10 - "Will We See the Coach House?" 38:35 - "Where Does the Story Take Place in Relation to Six Million Dollar Man Season 6?" 40:10 - Likenesses of the Characters 44:45 - Brandon's Documentary and the Prism Award 53:45 - Brandon on the Web 55:20 - Sign Off   Comment on this episode here or by writing abionicpodcast@gmail.com   Brandon's Links   Facebook Twitter   BJ Shea's Geek Nation Podcast Brandon Jerwa is a writer, musician, and recently, a documentarian. He's been writing comics for over 10 years - and is no stranger to licensed tie-in storytelling. In 2003 he broke into the industry - literally - as a fan, submitting a GI JOE script to DEVILS DUE COMICS who was publishing the title at the time. They liked it, hired him to write the story for A G.I. Joe anthology and then gave him the main book to write a few months later. He even had a GI JOE action figure made in his likeness!   In 2006 Brandon went to work for Dynamite Comics, doing a stint on their HIGHLANDER tie-in before enjoying a very popular run on their BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA tie-in 2007.   Since then he's written for more high-profile comics publishers like IMAGE COMICS, VERTIGO and DC Comics.   In 2011 Brandon ventured into documentary filmmaking with an ambitious peak into the world of comic books and telling the stories of the people who make them. We'll talk more about that later on.   In 2012 Brandon’s work on the Graphic Novel SHOOTERS about a Post-9-11 IRAQI War veteran WON a PRISM AWARD recognizing the comic’s accurate depiction of mental illness.   Brandon is no stranger to podcasting, you can hear him DAILY on BJ SHEA'S GEEK NATION PODCAST which covers all things geeky in NEWS, TV, MOVIES, COMICS.   On JUNE 15th of 2014, based on the success of their SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN SEASON SIX title (by James Kuhoric), Dynamite revealed to BLEEDING COOL.com that they would be releasing a BIONIC WOMAN SEASON FOUR title in SEPTEMBER. Written by Brandon Jerwa, art by David T. Cabrera and a cover for issue one by Sean Chen along with a photo cover of series star Lindsay Wagner. We'll get to Chen's cover in a moment, too.   In that brief news item, Brandon is quoted saying, “If you’ve never seen the show, or haven’t read James Kuhoric’s Six Million Dollar Man comic, you’re still totally fine, longtime fans won’t be left out in the cold, though. The Bionic Woman: Season Four is a continuation of the classic TV series, so I’m definitely treating it as such in terms of continuity and thematic carry-through.”

Wars are almost as old as the world itself. During the early years, clans killed one another for pride and land. Troops of various descent pillaged villages and cities to establish domination. The idea of conquering the world was not a product of mere illusion at all.    Fast forward to hundreds of years after, wars still continue to thrive. Though the reasons may have changed, only one thing remains the same: they only feed violence and deep loss.    In 2011, over $1 trillion of taxpayers' money was used for the Iraqi War. More than 4,000 U.S. troops died, and around 55 percent were no more than 25 years old, and 19 percent died in non-hostility.   Read Full Story...

The Alligator and the Mockingbird Few people are as tiresome as the person who lives life in a minor key. Pessimistic people remind me of Eeyore the donkey: “I don't think we can do it.” “This idea will never work.” “It's probably going to rain.” On the other hand, few people are as terrifying as Eeyore's opposite.  Have you ever known a person with Fatal Optimism? “If we just think happy thoughts, everything will turn out okay.” “I am a child of the Universe. I have a right to be here.” “I'm a winner. I can do it. I'm special.”    I'm a http://mondaymemo.wpengine.com/newsletters/boldness-buys-the-priceless (proponent of boldness.) But I also believe you should count the cost and be willing to pay the price. The comedians at Despair.com spoke the truth when they said, “FAILURE: Because sometimes your very best just isn't good enough.” In her essay, How Positive Thinking Wrecked the Economy, Barbara Ehrenreich writes, “Besides greed, another habit of mind should get its share of the blame: the delusional optimism of mainstream, all-American, positive thinking.” Barbara writes, “Everyone knows that you won't get a job paying more than $15 an hour unless you're a ‘positive person' — doubt-free, uncritical, and smiling — and no one becomes a CEO by issuing warnings of possible disaster.”How do we become infected with Fatal Optimism? Malcolm Gladwell says it happens slowly. “As novices, we don't trust our judgment. Then we have some success, and begin to feel a little surer of ourselves. Finally, we get to the top of our game and succumb to the trap of thinking that there's nothing we can't master. As we get older and more experienced, we overestimate the accuracy of our judgments, especially when the task before us is difficult and when we're involved with something of great personal importance.”In the early part of WWI, the British thought: 1. The Turks would lose at Gallipoli, 2. Belgium would be an obstacle to Germany's advance and 3. Russia was sure to crush the Germans in the east. The French believed their army would be at the Rhine within six weeks of the start of the war. Meanwhile the Germans were predicting the same amount of time would take the German army to the outskirts of Paris. Each of these predictions was horribly, tragically wrong. Do you remember all the people who claimed we would be “out of Iraq” within 30 days of the invasion? I knew it was politically dangerous and that it would cost me friends, clients and money, but I responded by voicing my concern that we were launching the next Viet Nam. More than a few people snorted and said to me, “You're a fool if you think we're going to fight this war with men. This will be a pushbutton war.” And then they accused me of “not supporting our troops.” That was six and a half years ago. I wonder how many of those troops wish I had shouted louder, longer, sooner? But today's memo isn't about politics, it's about business. I included the Iraqi War memory because, other than the recent mortgage meltdown, I couldn't think of a more stinging example of overconfidence than our invasion of Iraq. (Yes, I'm fully aware this comment will anger some people. But when a man volunteers to wear the handcuffs of public opinion, his words become flaccid and his advice becomes suspect. I don't want to be that man.) In 2004, Oxford University Press published a book by psychologist Mark Fenton-O'Creevy. Too few people read it. http://www.amazon.com/Traders-Decisions-Management-Financial-Markets/dp/0199269483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249656995&sr=1-1 (That prophetic book) was the result of a 3-year study O'Creevy conducted involving 118 managers and traders at four leading investment banks. One of O'Creevy's tests involved a computer program that mimicked the ups and downs of the stock market. As the line moved across the screen, the traders were asked to

Alex Kingsbury, U.S. News and World Report

There have only been two medal of honor winners in Operation Iraqi Freedom thusfar (despite the Iraqi War having lasted just as long as US involvement in WWII, when there were 464 medals awarded).  They are the 3rd and 4th medals awarded since the Vietnam War. Paul Ray Smith (posthumous): Single-handedly fought off 100 enemy Iraqi Republican Guardsmen with an M2 Browning Machine Gun and essentially saved the lives of his 16 men and the 100 wounded in the nearby aid station near Saddam Hussein International Airport.Jason Dunham (posthumous): Saved the lives of his fireteam as he smothered a grenade with his head, sacrificing his life in order to stop the blast from reaching his companions.  He is the first marine to receive the medal since 1945. For more information, read: Paul Smith: http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2005/Medal-of-Honor/ http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_040505_Honor,00.html http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110008153 http://www.cmohs.org/recipients/paulrsmith_cit.htm Jason Dunham: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/10/medal.honor/index.html http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2087 Military History Podcast is sponsored by: Armchair General Magazine, International Research and Publishing Corporation, and Axis and Allies Reserves

Introduction We are resuming our study in Matthew, looking at verses 22 through 29. There are few types of stories that at least for me are as appealing or exciting as heroic rescue stories. There are fairytales in which the prince, endowed sometimes only with courage and with cleverness, is able to rescue the damsel in distress. In real life also there have also been heroic tales and it is encouraging for us to read them, to look at the valor, the heroism, the willingness to sacrifice, even to lay down lives so that hostages may be rescued. For example, there’s the experience of the Navy Seals in 1991 as a civil war was raging in Somalia and the warlords had surrounded the US embassy in Mogadishu. There were frantic calls from the American ambassador there to get them out. There were a number of civilians or families and other diplomats from foreign countries. Our country sent the Seals in undercover of darkness. When they arrived, it was not a moment too soon because already there were rebels and insurrectionists climbing the walls of the embassy that very night armed to the teeth. The Seals went in and basically held that perimeter until helicopters could come in and rescue 281 hostages, and not a single soldier, and not a single hostage lost his life that night. It was incredible valor and heroism, and done by the Seals. You never hear about it, they don't want you to know about it, but this is the way that they act, a heroic rescue. Some military rescues are done just when the battle lines advance far enough to overtake POW camps or concentration camps. That happened recently in the Iraqi War as we just advanced so quickly that we were able to rescue some POWs, and a number of you, I'm sure, saw direct answers to prayer, as some of you were praying for the POWs that they would be set free, and so they were. The same thing definitely happened in World War II as the battle lines advanced beyond the place where the concentration camps were, and the horrors at last of Nazi concentration camps were exposed to the world as these emaciated victims were hugging and kissing their liberators, freed at last from tyranny. Some rescues involve not a military conquest but just the heroism perhaps of running into a burning building to rescue heroically some that are surrounded by flames and have no other way to escape. You remember what happened in 9/11 when policemen and fire were willing to rush into an inferno. It'd be no other way to describe what was happening at the World Trade Center but incredible courage and valor. Satan’s Kingdom and God’s Kingdom at War The annals of history are filled with heroic rescues, but there is no greater rescue in all of history than the one that was done for your soul by Jesus Christ, if you're a Christian, this morning. Jesus Christ went against great opposition, the kingdom of the devil, took Him on and all of His strength against His will, plundered you and brought you over into the kingdom of light. You were rescued from a kingdom of darkness. The story that we're going to look at today, the account of the miracle that Jesus did, shows very, very clearly, I think for the first time in Matthew's Gospel, the two kingdoms that are at war with each other. They're opposite kingdoms, and opposites attack one another. For example, in our text, Matthew 12:26, Jesus speaks of Satan and says, "If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then can his kingdom stand?" So Jesus ascribed to Satan a kingdom of sorts. Then look at verse 28, "But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." In verse 26, Satan's kingdom, in Verse 28, God's kingdom, and the two are opposites and they attack one another. The beautiful news of the gospel is that Christ's kingdom is far stronger than Satan's kingdom, and that He is able with great authority and power to plunder Satan anytime He chooses. That's what we're talking about today. Jesus says in verse 29, "How can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man, then he can rob his house?" That's what's been going on now for 2,000 years. The last time we talked about Matthew's gospel, we talked about the incredible gentleness of Christ. He is of a kind that a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick, He will not snuff out until He leads justice to victory. In His name the nations will put their hope. Christ advances His kingdom through an irresistible gentleness with us. That's how He deals with us at the human level. But in the spiritual realm, there is warfare, there is immense warfare, violent and vicious. And as a matter of fact, if we had our eyes opened and could see even what was going on now in the spiritual realm, even around this room, I think we would be cowed into terror, it'd be difficult to even move. God shields us as the sheep that we are, as the little children that we are, so that only occasionally can we feel the impact of that spiritual battle which He sees all the time. There is a warfare going on in the heavenly realms, and this text that we're looking at today opens it up for us so that we can look at it. The context here is of a powerful sign that Jesus does, a miracle.Verse 22 says, "They brought to Him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him so that he could both talk and see." This is an opportunity for Satan's powerful kingdom to be exposed, to be brought to light. Indeed, whenever Jesus did these kind of exorcisms or driving out a demon with a word, Satan's evil kingdom is exposed to some degree. We can see in the five-sense world some evidence of these spiritual beings called demons. Demons are powerful spiritual beings. Just as there are angels, there're also demons that rebelled, that joined Satan in his rebellion, and they fell and they're in opposition to God, and they together comprise Satan's kingdom. They are around us all the time and they really are that with which we have to do as we seek to advance the Kingdom. In Ephesians 6:12 it says, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So that is Satan and his kingdom, or we could say the devil and his angels. As Jesus says in the sheep and the goats, He says, "Depart from me, you who are cursed," this time speaking to speak to people who have joined league with Satan in his kingdom. He says to them, "Depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." His angels are demons and they joined him in his rebellion. They are Satan's henchmen. They're in some kind of a structured order. Satan's kingdom is orderly, powers and principalities and hierarchies of structure and order. Demon Possession What is demon possession? What was going on with this individual? A demon can possess a human being in this sense to indwell them and to kind of take over their personality to a point where they really don't have any choice in the matter whatsoever. They so thoroughly dominate that individual that they become somewhat of an incarnation of evil. Jesus has already driven out many demons, in Matthew Chapter 4, and then again in Matthew 8. Many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus, and in every case, he drove out the spirits with a word. Jesus has the power to do this. Demons are powerful beings. I am troubled sometimes by our understanding, or really lack of it, of the spiritual realm. The fact of the matter is that demons are fallen angels, and your view of angels therefore might color your view of demons. Angels are immensely powerful beings. In Daniel chapter 10, Daniel is by the great river of the Tigris and he looks up and it says, "I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen with a belt of the finest gold around his waist, his body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like a multitude." That's an immensely powerful angel. It says, "Daniel was the only one who saw the vision, the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone gazing at this great vision, I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless." Now, this is a good angel, and Daniel is prostrated before it, just powerless even to speak. The angel explains to Daniel, that he had been dispatched from heaven as an answer to Daniel's prayer, but it had taken him twenty-one days to get there because there was battle in the heavenly realms. There was warfare in the invisible heavenly realms. It says "The Prince of Persia opposed me." If this angel could be opposed by one of these demonic figures, how powerful must that demon have been? He couldn't get past him until the Archangel Michael came and assisted him. He said, "There's no one else that helps me, only Michael who came to assist." I guess the implication is all the other angels were engaged in warfare of their own, they couldn't be removed from the line, and so he had to battle it out for twenty-one days in the heavenly realms. Do you see what I mean about the invisible world around us and all the warfare that's going on? To some degree, aren't you glad you don't see it? How would you even carry on your lives? How would you sit down to dinner if you saw what was going on in your kitchen? How difficult that would be. God is gracious to us. We cannot see what's going on, but we must believe in Scripture that this is happening. Luther put it very well when he said, "For still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on Earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing? Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God's own choosing, thus ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He, Lord Sabaoth His name, the Lord Almighty, from age to age, the same. And He must win the battle." Spiritual battle is in the heavenly realms. Luther was well aware of it. There are different types and effects of demon possession. We've already seen how Jesus took on the Demoniac of the Gadarenes. Remember the demon inside named himself Legion for there were many; so many demons can inhabit one person. Jesus drove out that demon with a single word, "Go," and out he went. That demon-possessed man was so violent that he was ripping to shreds chains of iron. He couldn't live among people, absolutely out of his mind berserk, and living out in the tombs and hurting himself, dashing himself against the rocks, that was him. This second demon-possessed man is of a different order, rather kind of meek and mild. It says then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. They just kind of led him as you would, a blind man. He seems kind of docile and quiet. There's different levels it seems of these demons and of demon possession. Jesus heals the man completely. When Jesus heals you, you're healed. He drove out the demon and healed him, so that he could both talk and see; an incredible display of power. Realize before Jesus came to do miracles, there's no record anywhere of anyone ever giving sight to blind people. It seemed that this miracle was reserved for Christ alone who is the light of the world. It’s an astonishing miracle. As a result, all of the crowd is astonished. The Greek word is very strong here. They're almost outside of themselves. It doesn't seem that this is all that great a miracle compared to the others. The people were stunned almost into silence. You get the feeling of being amazed. There's a story of Martin Lloyd-Jones when he was preaching a revival in Wales and the spirit of God was so powerfully present during that time, just there in a mighty way, that when he finished, no one moved in the congregation for about half an hour, they just sat there stunned. It was just a sermon, but it wasn't. It was event in which they were interacting with the living God. I think the spirit was just so powerfully present at this moment that everyone was in awe. Beelzebub The people who saw the miracle began to toy with a very dangerous question. They asked in the negative in the Greek, "This couldn't be the son of David, could it?" The NAS has it right in the translation. They're willing at least to ask the question. Later on in John's gospel in John Chapter 9 with the story of Jesus healing the man who was born blind, that kind of question can get you thrown out of the synagogue. By this point they had, I think their defense arranged. If you even asked the question or came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Son of David, He was the Messiah, you would be evicted from the synagogue. But they're toying with the question. When the Pharisees hear this, they begin to lash out. They make an accusation.When the Pharisees heard this [verse 24], they said, "It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." They just, in effect, shot off their own leg to save themselves, so they thought, to get out of the trap that Jesus's miracles had put them in. They were stuck. John Piper uses that analogy, he talks about the Samaritan woman at the well, and Jesus brings her to a realization of her sinfulness by pointing out her adultery. Jesus says, "You're right in saying 'I have no husband', for the man you now have is not your husband and you've had seven others." She says, "I perceive that you're a prophet, and while we're talking about my adultery, let's talk about the proper place of worship." That's called changing the subject. It's known as a red herring. Piper says a trapped animal put in a trap will chew off its own leg to escape. The Seminarian woman mangles the flow of conversation so that she can change the subject. That's exactly what the Pharisees are doing here. They're trapped, they're put in a box, they don't know what to do with Jesus, they hate him, but they can't deny what he's doing, and so they don't know how to deal with it, so they come up with this rather shocking conclusion. I think the spirit of God was so powerfully present there that the people were astonished and amazed and didn't know what to say. There was a sense of amazement there, and in the midst of that they say "It's only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that he drives out demons". It's astonishing. The word Beelzebub is related to the word “Beelz. You can kind of see it in the first four letters, it's Beel, the Lord of the flies, or perhaps of dung. It's a Jewish insult for a demon god. It's really the name of Satan. They accuse Jesus of being a con artist working undercover for Satan's kingdom. He's an undercover operative for Satan's kingdom and he's doing his miracles by Satan's power and the whole thing is a big trick, the whole thing a big ruse. Now in one sense, it is possible, it is plausible, because evil people can do miracles, they do in the Bible sometimes. For example, Jannes and Jambres, these magicians opposed Moses and were able to mimic some of his miracles at the time of the Exodus. In Deuteronomy 13, Moses warns the Jewish people and says, "If a prophet or one who foretells by dreams comes among you and if he performs some kind of great sign or wonder but then says, 'Let us follow other gods,' gods you have not known, then do not listen to him. God is testing you to see whether you'll be faithful." It is possible that a demonic kind of figure could do a miracle. Certainly at the end of the world, you who are God's children, be warned because the anti-Christ will be able to do great signs and wonders, false miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. So be warned, be ready, that just because someone can do miracles doesn't mean that they're from God. This is therefore a very deadly serious accusation. It is very serious to accuse Jesus of doing miracles by Beelzebub. What was their logic? How were they thinking? Their major premise in life was that they personally were righteous, right with God and made the rules so that others could be right with God, and therefore, anyone who disagreed with them was, by definition, wicked. That's the major premise. They're righteous and everyone who opposes them is wicked. A fact is that Jesus constantly broke their regulations on the Sabbath and other things. What was their conclusion then? Jesus was wicked. They've already figured that out. They start with their own righteousness and they reason based on that that Jesus must be wicked. The second phase of their reasoning; anything done supernaturally can only come from one of two sources. It can only come from God or the devil. In this they are right. So there must be only one of two possible explanations for a miracle; it's either from God or from the devil. But we've already proven that Jesus is evil and wicked, right? So therefore, His miraculous power must come from the devil. Do you follow their logic? Every single point was right except their original premise. What was their original premise? That they were righteous, in need no savior and that everyone who opposed them was wicked. That was their flaw. They started with their own self-righteousness, and from there they ended up lost. Jesus’ Defense of Accusations that He is of Beelzebub How does Jesus defend himself? He does so using logic, using experience, and he does so with a statement of power. First, logic, verse 25 and 26. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?" Now, note, right from the beginning in verse 25 Matthew doesn't miss an opportunity to say, "Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them... " He wants you to know as the reader that Jesus is divine. He has supernatural power to read minds. This is established again and again in the gospels. He frequently will engage in a debate with somebody's thoughts. “I know what you're thinking. Let's go ahead and deal with that question that you're bringing up in your mind.” He establishes this deity of Christ. His logic is that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The simple way of looking at this is that anybody who drives out a demon must be from God. It’s really hard to justify that because in Matthew 7, it seems that people drive out demons and end up in hell. The seven sons of Sceva do it, and they're none of God's. And so how can it be? It really has to do with common way of thinking. A civil war destroys the country. If you get a country divided and in factions and they are ripping themselves to shreds, when it's done, there may be nothing left of the kingdom. Many times in Europe, Europe has been rent to shreds by what we call wars of succession. A king would die with two equally qualified sons. That's a big problem if you don't have rules and regulations, so the British have very clear delineated lines of succession, who's next and how it all works so that they can avoid these kinds of wars of succession. The American Civil War is still the bloodiest war that we ever fought as we really tried to rip ourselves to shreds over this issue of slavery. Abraham Lincoln, when he accepted the Republican nomination for US Senate in June of 1858 actually quotes this verse and he says, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other." The point is that this kind of a major civil war is a disaster for the kingdom. Christ's point is not that Satan is not capable of a ruse or a trick or a con. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is.” You're missing the scope and scale of the damage that I'm doing to Satan's kingdom. I am ravaging it from one end of the country to the other.” Everywhere Jesus went, he was driving out demons. Everywhere Jesus went he was healing people. Even more significantly, everywhere he went, people were repenting from sin, trusting in Him and walking over into repentance and righteousness like Zacchaeus that tax collector who had been plundering everybody. When Jesus comes from then on, Zacchaeus’s different. He's been plucked from Satan's wicked kingdom and now he's righteous. Jesus is doing serious damage. Imagine to try and understand Jesus's way of thinking. Imagine during the Cold War, a CIA operative in Moscow was suspected of being precisely that, and he's brought in. The Russian government wants the spy to prove his loyalty to communism. They might ask him to do something that only somebody who hated the United States would do. Realize that at a low level, the spy would be willing to keep up the ruse. So he might be willing to do some minor damage against the United States. But if they said, I want you to launch this missile that will sink this aircraft carrier, he won't do it. Because the damage to the country is far greater than any benefit of his spying could ever do. So he'd be exposed at that moment. Jesus said, "It's the scope of the destruction I'm doing to the kingdom that makes your argument false. If Satan is divided against Satan like this, his kingdom is destroyed." In 1 John 3:8, " The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work," and that's what He was doing. He was laying waste to the devil's kingdom. In the second argument, Jesus uses experience. Verse 27: “By whom do your sons drive out demons?” Jesus said. “If I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out so then they will be your judges?” Now, it's hard to understand. I don't really know if they're disciples, I think “sons” means “disciples”. Disciples were actually driving out demons, but think of it this way. Let's say Mr. Pharisee, that you had a disciple who actually did drive out a demon. What would you say? "Oh, what a glorious teacher I am, and look at my disciple. Look what he can do. I'm so proud of him, like father like son." It's evidence and proof that God is with him. Jesus is saying it's only fair then if you ascribe to your own disciples proof that God is with you through the driving out of demons, why do you deny it when I just destroy Satan's kingdom? Do you not see what you're doing? He uses experience with them. Thirdly, he uses power. Verse 28, "But if I drive out demons by the spirit of God then the kingdom of God has come upon you." This is really a word of warning. The Kingdom of God has come upon you. You have to deal with the kingdom of God, you have to deal with me as the king of the kingdom of heaven. It's in effect, a warning. Jesus says, "I drive out demons by the spirit of God." From the beginning of His miraculous ministry, Jesus stood in front of his fellow townspeople in Nazareth and he said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, and to give sight to the blind, and to give walking ability to the lame; all of that by the power of the Spirit of God." He says, "That's happening now. I am here and by the power of the Spirit of God, I'm driving out demons, and so therefore the kingdom of God is here. It is upon you now." Notice this is the first time that we've had a clear indication, a clear statement from Jesus, that the kingdom of God is here, now, and that was 2000 years ago. So the kingdom of God is here now, today, and yet it's not here because we pray in the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come.” May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So the kingdom is an already not yet kind of thing. It's already here, but it's not yet here. Therefore, it's started and it's advancing, it's growing. When we get to the parables of the kingdom in Matthew 13 we'll see the growth of the kingdom explained. The kingdom has come, it is here now and it is growing; it is getting established. Jesus says, "I advance my kingdom through violence in the heavenly realms. Through violence, I advance my kingdom. I bind the strong man and I plunder his kingdom." Look at verse 29, "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house, and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man, then he can rob his house?" There's no negotiation possible with the devil, none. Jesus says He’s going to plunder him. He’s going to bind him and plunder him, and Satan can't stop Him. Yesterday I was reading in the newspaper a letter to the editor in the Durham paper and there continues to be a debate about the propriety of the United States having engaged in war in Iraq and back and forth. People are still saying even in the Democratic debate last night in South Carolina that some of the candidates feel that we should have brought Sadam to the negotiating table, we should have worked with him, talked to him, try to negotiate a settlement, this kind of thing. I will say this, that God will never bring Satan to the negotiating table, ever. He has nothing to negotiate. He's going to dominate his kingdom. He's going to keep advancing that kingdom until he has conquered it and destroyed it and there's nothing left. Nothing. There's no negotiation possible with the devil, none. Jesus says He’s going to plunder him. He’s going to bind him and plunder him, and Satan can't stop Him. That's what he's saying; it's a matter of warfare and He’s not going to negotiate with the devil. The kingdom of Heaven is advancing forcefully and it's continuing to move. The kingdom of Satan is fighting back violently. It does not want to give up even a single soul to Christ, not one, and yet we keep getting saved, more and more of us around the world. How many will be saved today? Jesus Wins the Battle with Satan The kingdom of heaven is advancing forcefully and Satan is fighting back violently. He really believes this world is his. He really does. When Jesus was tempted, the devil took Him to a high mountain and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, and he said, "All this is mine," for a while. "All this is mine for it has been given to me and I can give it to anyone I want. So then, if you'll just bow down and worship me, I'll give it to you." Jesus said, "Away from me, for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.'" But the devil has a sense of ownership and so in 2 Corinthians 4:4, he is called god of this world, he kind of owns it. That's the house, the world, and Jesus comes and takes on the strong man, the devil, and He overpowers him. He binds him up and He plunders him. A good example of this is in Luke 13:16, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Do you notice how many times Jesus healed on the Sabbath? He's just tweaking the Pharisees' initial pre-supposition, again and again, "We're self-righteous. You should not do such-and-such on the Sabbath." "Well, here I am again, doing it on the Sabbath. What are you going to do? “Might I urge you to challenge your pre-supposition? Maybe you're not righteous, maybe your laws are not perfect, maybe they're just laws made by men. Maybe you need to repent and come to faith in Christ.” Anyway, He heals on the Sabbath, and it's a woman who's hunched over and kind of bound by some kind of a paralysis or something, and Jesus ascribes it directly to Satan. Jesus says, "Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for 18 long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" He says, "Woman, you're loosed, you're set free from Satan and his power." Oh, the power of Christ to set us free, not just physically, but spiritually. He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free. That's Jesus Christ, His kingdom advances powerfully and Satan is therefore plundered. In Luke 11, the parallel passage here says, "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils." So there we were huddled, wicked, sinful, just like the devil, rebellious against God, dead in our transgressions and sins, unable to change the situation, and suddenly light breaks in, Christ comes. He rescues. He transfers us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, and all glory to Him, and there was not one thing the devil could do to stop it. That's our salvation, rescued from the devil. Christ has been doing this for 2,000 years. He didn't just want to win one victory, like He won the major victory at the cross, but He wants to enjoy the unfolding of the victory. For 2,000 years, you've been enjoying it. As the gospel has marvelously spread from shore to shore, every tribe and language and people and nation, people coming to faith, and all the marvelous stories as a thing unfolds, and all of it to His glory. It's marvelous, this defeat of Satan that's been going on for 2,000 years.We have displayed here for us, an act of power, of raw authority of Jesus Christ, an act of violence in the heavenly realms. Application What application can we take from this message, from this text? First, just stand in awe and worship Christ for His power. Just take this text and say, "Thank you, Lord. I praise you for your awesome power." Just worship Him for His power. There's no disease that He cannot cure. There's no demon too powerful for Him to drive out with a word. There's no effort on His part. There's no mind that He cannot read, and there is no false doctrine that He cannot refute. There's no combination of demonic powers that can stop Him from doing what He wants to do. That's the power of Christ. Secondly, understand how Christ's kingdom is advanced by aggressive conquest, not in the physical realm, but in the spiritual. Nothing good in this world is given to us by the devil. Everything must be taken by force. Do you understand that? The devil doesn't concede anything. Therefore, we have to understand the nature of spiritual warfare that must go on for the kingdom of heaven to advance. He's not going to give up an inch of territory. No one can be saved. No one unless the devil is bound and restricted from what he's been doing to that individual and stopped from doing that, so he cannot blind that person's mind anymore. You can't be saved unless that work is done. Thirdly, I want you to see the incredibly destructive power of self-righteousness. Jesus calls this kind of display of self-righteousness acted out through unbelief, the unforgivable sin. It's incredible that self-righteousness will bring you to hell. The Pharisees thought that they were righteous. Beware that the same thing doesn't happen to you. If you're sitting in the pew right now listening to me, and I ask you, "On what basis do you think you're going to go to heaven?”, if your answer has anything to do with your good deeds and the good person you are, then you're in danger of falling into the same pit that the Pharisees displayed, self-righteousness, trusting in your own righteousness. Don't do it. Trust in the righteousness that Christ alone can give through the cross. Trust in Him. Fourthly, if you have trusted in Him, you are a Christian. Rejoice and give thanks for your salvation. Do it today.Two weeks ago, we celebrated Easter. Celebrate Easter, celebrate the resurrection victory. Celebrate the fact that you were rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought over into the kingdom of Christ. Fifth, get busy advancing the kingdom. Get busy advancing the kingdom through force and power in the spiritual realms. First, through prayer. Paul says after talking about spiritual force of evil in the heavenly realms, and spiritual armor that we should wear and all that, he says, "With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." We don't pray enough, brothers and sisters, and I think, therefore, we don't see all the fruit that we should. We are not the witnesses we should. We're not seeing as many people baptized as we should. It's not going to come easily. It's going to come through trusting prayer, understanding these kinds of things, warfare prayer, you could call it. Now I want you to understand, I'm not advocating all the things in the spiritual warfare movement. There are some real problems there, but I do believe that we underestimate the demonic element that surrounds us. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It's not that individual but realize that that god of this world has blinded that person, and we need to pray and trust against that force. Christ is sufficient and powerful and He will succeed.