Join us in discussing timely topics on this week’s National Crawford Roundtable podcast. We honor the legacy of John MacArthur, a spiritual leader who stood firm in his convictions even when faced with immense pressure. The episode also examines the intricacies of the Epstein files debate, questioning the narratives around it while considering Donald Trump’s stance. Discover what our hosts have to say about the progressive revelations concerning COVID-19 and how leaders in the church responded in trying times.
SPEAKER 01 :
Welcome to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of culture, current events and politics through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the Preborn logo to donate to save babies now. and by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. And now, here are your hosts, Neil Boron, Bob Duco, and John Rush.
SPEAKER 03 :
Back with another week of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast with most of the guys. I’m myself, Bob Duco. John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado. Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live. Be back with us next week. We’ll talk about him behind his back. John, how are you doing?
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m doing very well, Bob. Good morning.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good morning to you. All right, folks, here’s what we’re going to talk about on the podcast this week. First of all, the passing of John MacArthur, the significance of that. The latest on the whole Epstein-Files lack of a client list issue. This is being treated as though it’s some kind of massive cover-up scandal. Is Donald Trump and Pam Bondi trying to cover for him being on this list or not? Donald Trump expressing outrage over people trying to make an issue of this, saying, you know what, just let it go. I’m tired of this. So some of the left saying, oh, he’s got something to hide. All right, we’ll talk a little bit about that. The Major League Baseball All-Star Game was Tuesday night. And so congratulations to the National League for winning, but it was held in Atlanta, Georgia. Well, wait a minute, I’m a little bit confused. I thought that Georgia was Jim Crow 2.0 after the voter integrity laws of 2021. They haven’t changed. Anyway, that and maybe a couple other things we’ll get to if we have time. First, though, the passing of John MacArthur. John MacArthur, Grace Bible Church in California, and of course, Grace to You, which is heard on Crawford radio stations across the country. And John MacArthur, for decades, well over 50 years, one of the most influential theologians, Bible scholars, Bible teachers in is known for being kind of a five-point Calvinist. So people that aren’t five-point Calvinists might doctrinally disagree with him in some of those areas. But I’ve interviewed John MacArthur many times over the years, and he’s a guy who has been willing to stand on biblical principles and values and not cave in to wokeness, political correctness, the winds and waves of society and culture. And in that regard, I think he’s been a champion for the faith. I really do. But he also, and John, you may remember this, back during COVID, He was the biggest church in California that told Gavin Newsom, on you, we’re not closing down. Good for him. And here’s the thing. John MacArthur made an excellent point back then. John, he was like, wait a minute here. Essential businesses are allowed to stay open, so you’re calling pot dispensaries necessary businesses, okay? You’re calling liquor stores necessary essential businesses, but a church is not. We’re not closing down. He had to fight this in the courts, and he took— He won. Yeah, he won. But it was—I mean, I really, really applauded him back then for standing his ground.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, he did things that I have been critical of a lot of other churches across the country for not doing. Every church in America should have done what he did.
SPEAKER 03 :
I agree. I agree. Every church. He showed incredible courage. And, of course, now, when you look at it after the fact, that we now realize things about COVID that maybe we didn’t completely know then, what do you know? Social distancing didn’t do jack squat.
SPEAKER 02 :
that actually didn’t buy into all of that stuff that we’re talking about how nonsensical it was and the fact that none of the things we were doing were really working there were no scientific uh you know there was no scientific evidence backing up any of that it all was whimsical so you know there were some of us myself you included that were talking in that way problem is we were the you know i guess majority in our areas but minority as far as you know the rest of the the country was concerned about you know In this case, John MacArthur was, I don’t think it even was so much what you and I were talking about just now in regards to, you know, does these, you know, do these things work? Is it necessary? And so it was more of the principle of, wait a minute, you’re letting other essential businesses stay open. You’re considering a church non-essential. That doesn’t fly.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. And as far as the stuff that we know now, you’re right, John, we were saying it back then. I joked with my audience about this saying, hold on a minute, let me take a minute here and read the emails of apologies from people who called me every name in the book in anti-science. Yeah, I had some that wanted me to die, Bob. You know, trust me, I got the same thing. Me, my family, you know, you all need to, you know, and so, but I was like, hold on, let me take a minute and read all my email of apologies from those people. Okay, I’m done. Yep, exactly. There weren’t no, you know, it’s like, I’m ready for the apologies anytime, but. No. What do we know now? We now know that those masks were a joke, okay, that they didn’t stop anything. As Rand Paul wisely put it one time, trying to stop a COVID virus wearing one of those cloth masks is like trying to catch a fly with a chain link fence. It’s just not going to happen, which is absolutely true. So we know that the masks were a joke. We know that the social distancing was a joke. We also know now that natural immunity was way stronger and better than the vaccines themselves. And what do you know, all the people that got censored on YouTube and Facebook and everybody else for dangerous rhetoric and you having death wishes on you and me as well and everything, well, what do you know, we were proven right by But it is what it is. But you know what? John MacArthur, though, about him, it was very courageous on his part to stand up in the way that he has. And I think he left a very powerful and lasting legacy. He’s with the Lord now. And I would just encourage everybody to be praying for the family of John MacArthur, certainly for his congregation. And he wrote over 400 books and study guides. My goodness. Amazing. What an amazing legacy to leave. Absolutely. We do have other stuff to talk about. I want to dive into the Epstein files. But before we do and talk about all the latest with the Epstein controversies and such, we appreciate you folks listening to this podcast. And we very much appreciate the sponsors to this podcast. And if I can be blunt, we want you folks to support Epstein. Our sponsors, not just as a favor to us, but as a favor to you because they do tremendous work. Perfect example, John, SunPower LED. People are learning that, wow, this red light therapy, this photobiomodulation, this is the real deal. It can actually help people in a lot of areas like getting out of pain.
SPEAKER 02 :
Getting out of pain, it can help with your skin care. It can help with tinnitus. It can help with, you know, Bob, we just go down the list. And the reality is more and more people, not just the medical community, but more and more people, as you said, are realizing the benefits of, and folks, it does work. I can’t stress that enough. Now, one thing I want to say as well, though. and I don’t know that we talk about this enough, what SunPowerLED has in their red light therapy is not the same as what you’re going to look at in other areas. If you go Google red light therapy, you’re going to get all sorts of what I would call imitators that are out there, folks that are you know, products that are coming from other countries and so on. And no, they are not all created equal. SunPower LED has got technology, patented technology, in fact, that no one else has. They’re doing things with red light that no one else is doing, meaning theirs is more effective than some of the other machines you’re going to find on the market where you might think, listen, I can save a bunch of money, you know, buying a product somewhere else. The reality is it is not apples to apples and you’re probably not going to get the same results out of it as you will from SunPower LED. led so go to crawfordmediagroup.net use roundtable 10 giving you a nice discount on any of their products and again something we probably don’t say enough either there is multiples of products here it’s not just a single product go check out the website look at all the different products find out what works best for you and as what bob said a moment ago is so true this isn’t just to benefit us in this podcast this benefits you at the end of the day and your health sun power led
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. And by the way, John, you’re so right about the difference between this and the cheaply made imitators out there, because all those are are basically topical red lights. It’s not photobiomodulation that goes deep at the cellular level. That’s what SunPower LED does. The others are just nothing more than a little red light you put on the topical surface, and it just doesn’t do anything. But And we want you folks to support pre-born too. A lot of you have, and we appreciate that. We really do. Because those of you that have given to pre-born, you know you’re saving babies’ lives. You’re stopping abortions, which is incredible. And maybe some of you have given to pre-born, but you haven’t given in a while. Would you consider maybe giving again? Okay? We’re trying to save as many babies’ lives as possible. What you’re doing is you’re paying for ultrasound images. Okay? Ultrasound images of babies is what causes moms to choose life. They see these images in pro-life centers across the country. Pre-born is the one that supplies the ultrasounds in pro-life centers across the country. Problem is, we don’t have enough ultrasound machines. We don’t have enough ultrasound images being paid for because it does take money. That’s where you folks come in. So… $28 is the average ultrasound expense to stop one abortion, to save one baby’s life. So how many babies’ lives will you save? Take $28 times fill in the blank, and that’s your gift to preborn. And if you can buy an ultrasound machine, we need people to do that too. They’re 15 grand a piece, nice tax write-off for you, but your forever legacy is you’re stopping thousands of abortions. year after year. But either way, we want you to go right now. Just give them a call at 833-850-BABY. That’s 833-850-BABY. They answer the phones 24-7. You can give right over the phone or go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. 100% of what you give goes to fund ultrasounds, folks. Nothing for overhead. That’s all covered by private donors. So support Preborn, support SunPower LED. So, John, let’s dive into the the Epstein files issues. All right. First of all, just for a little bit of background to catch people up if they’re not really that familiar with Jeffrey Epstein and his partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell. for all intent and purposes, a couple of pretty sleazy lowlifes. Jeffrey Epstein and his Epstein Island was in essence an island of a big playboy mansion, if you will. Prostitutes, women brought in there, all kinds of sexcapades happening. But it turns out that He was also involved in what appears to be trafficking of underage girls as young as 14 years old. Wouldn’t put it past me at all that a bunch of sleazy Hollywood celebrities might get into it. Personally, I see pedophilia in Hollywood so much anyway. Wouldn’t surprise me at all. So he goes to prison. He’s awaiting trial. Maxwell’s in prison. She’s still in prison now. While he’s awaiting trial, he, quote unquote, kills himself. He’s found hanged in his cell. Hence the meme. Epstein didn’t kill himself. All right. Well, did he really? Did he not? There is a debate over that. Well, Trump and a lot of Trump supporters said, you know what, we need to release the Epstein files. Now Trump’s in charge. Pam Bondi, the attorney general, says, you know what, I’ve looked through the files. There’s no client list in there. So you have not only a bunch of liberals going, oh, this is baloney because they’re hoping and salivating that Donald Trump’s name will be on that so-called client list. But you even have some conservatives that are upset saying, wait a minute here. We know there’s going to be some major left-wing power brokers on that list. And so we’re mad that this isn’t being put out. Is maybe Donald Trump and Pam Bondi protecting his own rear end in this case and letting all of those left-wingers off the hook? So you’ve got this big brouhaha going on. John, what is your take on this whole Epstein controversy? Donald Trump is saying let it go, and if you’re conservative people making an issue out of this, okay, just stop it. I don’t know. What do you make of this whole thing?
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m with Donald Trump, and I’ve taken a lot of heat on my program for kind of having – That stance, if you would, Bob, because I am one that, you know, I think a little more background on all of this, too, because I don’t think people really understand even the timeline in regards to Epstein. Keep in mind that what he was actually going to be on trial for, what he was actually in jail for. happened between 2002 and 2005. So everybody thinks that this was just, you know, right before he went to prison. No, these were things that were going on long before then and, you know, uncovered and so on. But the reality is he was going to be on trial for things that happened between 2002, 2005. So two decades ago. So I think that’s one thing that’s really important to remember. Right. There is an interview out there between Cuomo and Dershowitz where Dershowitz talks about being his lawyer, being Epstein’s lawyer, and talking about all the different things that he saw and what was actually there and the fact that, no, there is no list. In fact, some of the people that were actually mentioned in that, which have not been open because the court deems some of those folks victims versus, you know, perpetrators, which again, that’s yet to be determined. Probably, probably never will be determined at this point. But what he said was, A lot of those people are now dead. They’re not even around anymore. So the reality is, I believe, and I’ve said this all along, he would be so stupid to actually have a list. I think anybody with any common sense at all looking at this would say, wait a minute, okay, this guy is dealing with all of these major power brokers literally around the world. And if they had any kind of faith in him whatsoever, they would have to have some sort of agreement that, listen, my name, my image, my likeness, videos, whatever, none of this is ever going to show up anywhere, anyhow. And otherwise, this is a no-go for me. So I don’t think he would be dumb enough to actually have any kind of a client list. Again, I know that flies in the face of a lot of hardcore clients. MAGA supporters, which I want to talk about in a moment as well, Bob. But to me, I’m with Donald Trump. I wish we would just move on. And I’ve been accused of not caring for the victims in these particular crimes, Bob, which I think in my particular case, and I know you’re the same, I have interviewed so many people over the years when it comes to the sex trade end of things and doing everything I possibly can to bring light to that and letting people know what happens and how to keep your kids out of it, and on and on we go, that I think it’s, number one, very offensive for anybody to ever tell me that I don’t care about these young victims. I absolutely do care. Reality is they’re not young anymore. Most of them now are going to probably be in their mid-30s, if not older. Reality is not that that takes anything away from what happened back in 2002 to 2005. But I think it’s important to realize what Donald Trump is doing in the whole sex trade end of things, closing the border, shutting those things down, what Tom Holman is doing as far as all that goes. He’s talked about those things in regards to illegal immigration, what’s happening with, you know, the cartels and so on. So the reality is this administration is doing a ton in that particular effort. I think, though, Bob, what happens with with Megan and I’ll tell you, I think Trump makes some mistakes at times. He tends to listen to the base. He then feeds the base. In other words, you know, when I become president, I’ll release the files. Well, you know, he probably should have said once I see what’s in them, I’ll determine whether I’m going to release them or not. But let’s get elected first and then we’ll cross that bridge. You know, when we get there, he didn’t say that. So to his fault, he made some promises to MAGA that now he really can’t fulfill. And MAG is very mad over that, which, by the way, I think they’re wrong in being mad because, as I’m saying, I just don’t think this is that big of a deal when it’s all said and done. And I say that big of a deal. This issue with the files, it’s a big deal in what he did. But on the same token, he’s no longer around. He’s dead. Has he paid the price? I’m guessing right now he’s probably in a place where he’s most likely paying that price, Bob. So the reality is, I think he most likely is. So at the end of the day, I’m with Trump. I just feel like this is a nothing burger, unfortunately, for MAGA. Maybe this is something we can get into and talk a little bit more in detail throughout the podcast here. Unfortunately, we have a movement whereby we’re always looking for a single silver magic bullet that’s going to end the other side. And the reality, Bob, is that doesn’t exist. The way you beat the other side is through winning, winning elections, constantly working hard to make sure that we are ahead of them. It’s something our side, frankly, Bob, hasn’t learned. Our strategy stinks at times. Our messaging stinks at times. We’re always looking for the silver bullet. And this isn’t it. I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
John, I’m with you on this. And I’ve caught a little bit of heat as well for saying that I’m on Trump’s. Oh, you’re just taking Trump’s side no matter what. You’re just helping him cover something up. No. You know what? I really do believe the better thing is to move on here with this. The fact is that Donald Trump, and you brought up the closing of the borders, and this is so true, just closing the borders alone has done more to save children from sex traffickers and human traffickers than just about anything any Democrat Party combined has done. This has been really huge. So this is a passion issue for Donald Trump. And I’ll just tell you, John, what I mean, one of the things that I told my audience on my show is that do I think Jeffrey Epstein has a client list and Pam Bondi is lying? No, I think Pam Bondi is telling the truth. But I can’t rule out the possibility – and here’s where you and I might disagree a little bit. I can’t rule out the possibility that Jeffrey Epstein may have told a lot of the power brokers that he would deal with. told them there is no client list, but secretly in a safety deposit box somewhere, he has one just in case he needs it for leverage. If he’s getting whatever, you know, if he gets into some kind of blackmailing thing with somebody or whatever that he’s got some kind. So it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t have a secret list somewhere. And that’s why I don’t want to completely die on the hill that there is no list that’s ever going to come out I can’t rule out the possibility that Maxwell might not end up producing one at some point that was a secret list that nobody knew about. Okay. But even if that did happen, then we have to ask ourselves, who would be on that list? Well, number one, I think the overwhelming majority of them are going to be liberal left-wing Hollywood types, Hollywood producers, directors, actors, a bunch of politicians, mostly Democrats, probably some Republicans. Okay. And so, you know, that wouldn’t surprise me. Now, might Donald Trump’s name be on that list? If there were a list and his name were on there, somehow connected to underage girls, that would absolutely shock me because I do believe- You’d already know, Bob.
SPEAKER 02 :
If that list existed, and I said this last week on the podcast, if that list existed to And it’s known and it’s out there someplace. And there was the ability for the left to have leaked that out prior to the last election. They would have.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s what I was going to come back full circle to. OK, because then the counter counter argument to this is with everything that they did with Donald Trump starting in 2015, they went through not only every orifice of his body, but every orifice of everyone who’s ever known Donald Trump’s body. Yeah. There is no way in the world if Donald Trump’s name was on some client list of Jeffrey Epstein, that would not have been uncovered. Somebody would have leaked that. Somebody would have stabbed him in the back. So there’s just no way. So for that reason, I tend to say I don’t believe that there’s a Donald Trump smoking gun on a client list somewhere. But let’s take the absolute worst case scenario and that he actually really was on some client list. Let’s be honest. Back then, Donald Trump was a liberal, Democrat-voting, sleazy, womanizing, vulgar, playboy billionaire. I wouldn’t have put it past him back then to have a prostitute or two. That doesn’t make it right as a Christian. We certainly consider that wrong. But that’s the world that he was part of back then. He left that world in 2015 and said, I’m going to go across the street and associate myself with born-again believers and pro-lifers and conservatives. And he traded in that old world for this world. As Christians, we believe in redemption. I don’t know his heart. I’m not going to pretend to know his heart. But I do know the fruit that he’s produced. And he’s left that group and he’s come over to this group. So if he had it, you know, Stormy Daniels, maybe he didn’t sleep with Stormy Daniels. If she’s lying, that’s fine. But I wouldn’t put it past him to have slept with some other porn star back when. That’s who he was at that point. Okay, fine. But… And so to me, even if there was a list that came out and his name was on it, I think we’d have to put it into context of that was back during his Playboy billionaire sleazy days anyway. But frankly, I don’t think there’s a list that’s going to be out there, and I don’t think his name would be on it because I think that would have been uncovered by now.
SPEAKER 02 :
I agree with you on that. And again, that’s why I wanted to mention to folks that I think we tend to forget how long ago, you know, these events and what’s actually going to be in these files actually is 2002 to 2005. Because there’s folks I’m still getting, you know, text messages and emails on. Well, then, you know, I know where you stand, John. I don’t necessarily agree with this. So just just have them release everything. Well, we can talk about that for a moment as well, Bob, because frankly, on that one. No, I don’t agree with that one either, because the reality is most people would be like a monkey reading a road map. They would have no idea the press included. It’s like it’s like when when, you know, you talked about the analyzing of Donald Trump and looking at every orifice, including his tax returns, by the way, that were leaked in the reality back then. And we talked about it on this program. How many reporters and folks don’t even know how to read a tax return and nonetheless know exactly what’s in it, what’s going on, and accusing him of fraud when they don’t even know what’s inside of the return and can’t read one in the first place. So you take that end of things to where they don’t even know how to read a tax return, and you’re going to have them go through and read the Epstein files and come up with some determination as to what’s actually there. Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. And are there going to be pictures of Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein? Of course there is. Anybody who’s a mover and shaker has been to Jeffrey Epstein parties, has probably been to his island, has been photographed with him. Anybody who’s a mover, shaker, liberal or right wing, it makes no difference. So that that to me is now I will say this. If it turns out in the files that there are some prominent people who were engaging in underage prostitution, illegal stuff, you know, raping some 14-year-old girl, fine. Throw the book at them, okay? If statute of limitations is still in place, then you hold them accountable legally for that. But this notion of let’s get into the titillating aspects of laying everything out there so that we can divert away from the attention of the business of this country and foreign policy and everything else and spend the next two years doing nothing more than sifting through supermarket tabloid kind of sleazy stuff. I do that. Even James Carville said, you know, this is a distraction, you know. So let’s get to the business.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. So let’s get to the business at hand.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m with you. And so, Bob, really quick. And I know that, you know, I know we’re always short on time here, but reality is, you know, why then are there such hard? I’ve had them call in. I’ve had conversations. I’m trying to get some of these folks to really calm down and even look at things differently than they they currently are. You know, look at things through a rational lens versus just emotional. How do we get that hardcore mega supporter to understand the things you and I are talking about?
SPEAKER 03 :
I don’t know. Just say what we’re saying. And the problem is some MAGA people are going to be – they either A, want some prominent Democrat scalps and so they’re pushing for that or B, they’re feeling like we’re acting like Democrats by doing a cover-up thing for Trump potentially. And I’m just saying that the logic doesn’t support that. It just – it really doesn’t. So – But anyway, we’ve got a lot more to talk about here. In the second half, we’re going to get to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which happened on Tuesday night of this week. But first, we do want you folks to support the sponsors to this podcast, like John’s SunPower LED.
SPEAKER 02 :
And like I said earlier, folks, don’t be fooled by some of the other products that are out there. Some of you may very well go to the SunPower LED website. You look at what they have. You then go out and do a little bit of shopping and you compare what others have in regards to the same, you know, roughly same looking devices. And let me tell you what, they are not the same. They are far from what SunPower LED has. The price is going to be different. And by the way, I think that alone tells you a lot. If you, you know, it’s that old you get what you pay for, end of things. And SunPower LED, it is top-notch product. It does work. The way that they have designed the machine itself works in a way, and there’s different settings, by the way, something we probably should cover a little more in these commercials as well, is there’s different settings depending upon what you’re trying to achieve health-wise. Again, none of the other devices have that. It’s a lot like Bob said earlier. They’re just, in some cases, just a topical red light. That is not what’s happening here. This is getting deep down inside of the tissue and doing things that you’re not going to get done otherwise. And it absolutely does work. Roundtable 10 is a nice discount code for you. SunPowerLED. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
And when you’re at CrawfordMediaGroup.net, also check out Preborn. We want you to click on that. Preborn is the main pro-life group that’s showing ultrasound images of unborn babies to expectant moms in pro-life centers around the country. And moms see a picture of that baby. They don’t go across the street to Planned Parenthood. They choose life. By the way, they usually accept Jesus Christ as Savior, too. I’d love to say that every pro-life center in America has ultrasound machines, and every one of them can show unlimited ultrasound images to the women. But that’s just not true, folks. The demand is higher than the supply. That’s where you folks in the audience come in. We’re asking you to save babies’ lives by providing ultrasound images. Either option A, buy an ultrasound machine. They’re 15 grand apiece. It gets placed in a pro-life center. Your forever legacy is you’re stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year. And it’s a nice tax write-off for you. Option B, to a lesser level, pay for an individual number of ultrasound images. $28 is the ultrasound expense to stop one abortion. So how many abortions will you stop? Take $28 times fill in the blank. Pray about a number. Whatever that number is, that’s your forever legacy. And if you’ve given to Preborn already, consider doing it again. We need to keep on giving. And 100% of what you give to Preborn goes to fund ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead. That’s all covered by private donors. So here’s how you give. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or the answer to the phone is 24-7. So just call 833-850-BABY. That’s 833-850-BABY. Mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. We appreciate you supporting our sponsors. We appreciate you listening to this podcast. Appreciate your five-star reviews, of course. And we’ve got a lot more to get to in the second half, like, for example, Major League Baseball, the all-star game. Are we supposed to get amnesia to 2021? It’s coming up in the second half.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is a Crawford Media Group production.
SPEAKER 03 :
Continuing the second half of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast with John Rush, Rush to Reason out of Denver, Colorado. Myself, Bob Duco, The Bob Duco Show out of Detroit. Neil Boron, Neil Boron live out of Buffalo, New York. He’ll be back with us next week. So, John, let’s talk about the All-Star Game. It was Tuesday night. We’re recording this podcast on Wednesday morning, so for us it was last night. For people that are into all-star games, I mean, any kind of game you look at, the National League was up 6-0, and then the American League rallied back and made it a 6-6 tie. Okay. And at the end of the ninth inning, it’s a 6-6 tie. The Major League Baseball, before we get to the controversy about Atlanta, first, I’m curious to get your take on this. What do you think about this swing-off thing today? that they do now. They don’t go into a 10th inning, 11th inning. What they do is they just have each side pick their best three hitters, and their best three hitters go out there and swing. And you get three swings, and whoever hits the most home runs in those three swings from a soft pitch, that’s who wins. And so the National League hitters hit four home runs, where the American League hit three home runs. And so there you go.
SPEAKER 02 :
Me personally, anything you can do to change up the game of baseball to make it more watchable, I’m in because that is not my favorite sport. Does that make it more watchable though? And everybody else is going to be mad at me for saying that. But keep in mind, I grew up in Colorado where we did not until the Rockies came in around 1990 or so. We did not have professional baseball in Colorado. So I did not grow up like a lot of the nation did, you know, watching baseball because frankly, Bob, we didn’t have it.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. Well, look, I have to say, in all fairness, the number one team in all of Major League Baseball right now, the number one team happens to be the Detroit Tigers. So I got to tell you, it’s on everybody’s radar screen here in Michigan, of course. I’m sure. And understandably so. And I’m sure if the Rockies were. We’re number one team. Yeah, that ain’t ever going to happen, so don’t worry about that one. That’s not happening, so don’t worry. Yeah, I thought it was weird. But anyway, the swing-off thing. But here’s the main thing I want to talk about, all right? I want to throw this out on the table, and allow me to rant for just a couple of minutes here, John, and then I want to get your take and reaction on this. We all remember back in 2021. When Georgia, the Republicans in Georgia passed the voter integrity law. Now, this voter integrity law was one of the requirements in there was that you had to show photo ID to vote, just like you have to show photo ID for just about everything else that you do. And by the way, can I say, if you want to attend the Democratic National Convention, you have to show photo ID. If you want to go to the All-Star Game and pick up your tickets at Will Call, you have to show photo ID. So does that mean that they were trying to stop black people from seeing the All-Star Game? They’re trying to stop black people from getting into the Democratic National Convention? This is absurd. You need photo ID for just about everything. That was part of the voter integrity law. They also actually made it easier for people to vote. They increased the number of voting precincts so you’d have shorter lines. They lengthened the hours for voting. They extended the dates for early voting to make it easier for everybody to vote. And the boxes, the ballot boxes increased. which were never – there wasn’t one single ballot box anywhere in Georgia before COVID, but then they were everywhere during COVID. Democrats wanted to keep ballot boxes. Republicans wanted to get rid of ballot boxes. Why? Because they’re rife with fraud. It’s easy to take a whole stack of fraudulent votes and stuff a ballot box with them. So why do you think Democrats wanted to keep them, of course? So Republicans said, you know what? We’ll give you the ballot boxes, too. We’ll keep them. But we are going to reduce the number of them. But we’re going to go ahead and keep the ballot boxes. Well, anyway, we were told this is Jim Crow 2.0. Those are the words Joe Biden used. Democrats called it Jim Crow on steroids. And I got to say this, too. It’s an important point. When you say there’s something on steroids. What that means is that what you’re now talking about is a stronger version of what was before. So if you say asking people for ID is Jim Crow on steroids, what you’re saying is that that’s more racist than turning fire hoses and dogs on black people trying to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I mean, seriously? It’s worse than Jim Crow laws were? Anyway… I’m going to suppress the black vote. Well, it turns out that didn’t happen. In the 2022 midterms, black voter turnout in Georgia hit the highest levels ever recorded. And since then, voter turnout has been higher than it was before the voter integrity law. But doesn’t change the fact Major League Baseball in 2021 said, we’re going to stick up for black people and here’s how we’re going to do it. We’re taking the All-Star game out of Atlanta and we’re moving it to Denver, Colorado. Well, the All-Star Game brings tens of millions of dollars of revenue to local businesses. Most of the local businesses in Atlanta were black-owned businesses that lost out on that money so that it could go, nothing personal, John, to Lily White Denver. Where most of the businesses there are white-owned businesses, so they got to enjoy your backyard, but they got to enjoy tens of millions of dollars of revenue in 2021. And that was MLB’s way of sticking up for the black voter in Georgia. Well, now here we are, 2025. The All-Star Game, what do you know? It’s back in Atlanta. But, John, unless I’ve missed something, the law, the voter integrity law has not been changed. It’s the very same voter integrity law. So if it was Jim Crow on steroids back then, why isn’t it Jim Crow on steroids now? And where do all the conservatives who are called racists go to get their apologies? All right. Rant done. I’d love to throw this.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, no, you’re you’re spot on. And you’re right. And we talked about this on the podcast, I believe. You know, back then, because of the fact that it moved from Atlanta to Denver, to your point. And again, I’m a native here. I know our area. And yeah, there’s probably only a few other places in America that have stadiums whereby there would be less black individuals than Denver, Colorado. We don’t have a large population. We have a lot of other minority populations. here but we don’t just straight up we don’t have a lot of of you know black individuals that live in this area i’ve got several friends that are you mind you which is odd because we just don’t have as a as a percentage a lot of them uh but at the end of the day bob yeah they took it from a place and i think the point that you made was really really clear and we talked about this again back during that time is the amount of black business owners i’m a small business owner myself i can’t think of anything that would have been more disheartening at that time black white or otherwise to have had that game pulled, you’re gearing up, you’ve got everything ready, you’ve got all your staffing put together, you’ve been knowing this has been coming now for quite some time, you’ve got everything all dialed in, and all of a sudden the MLB, because of some stupid reason, pulls it, it then goes to Denver. Yeah, I would have been very, very, very ticked off at that no matter what race I was. Oh, I know. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
But you know what? To me, it shows the absolute hypocrisy, stupidity, everything else of what they did. And they’re hoping that people get amnesia to this. And it’s like, no, no. I want everybody to remember what was being said back in 2021 and what Major League Baseball did and all the people that are boycotting Georgia and everything else. Which, on a side note, can I just say, John, if I were a black guy… And I’m a white guy, so I know you can say, what do you know, Bob? OK, fine. But if I were a black guy, I really honestly believe that I would be offended by the notion that I’m too stupid to be able to get a photo ID to go vote. OK, it’s like, really? You talk about the racism of low expectations. Black people are no less capable of doing this.
SPEAKER 02 :
And they feel the same way you and I do that. This is just ridiculous. And by the way, these are people that are not as far right as you and I are. And they feel like, yeah, this whole this whole discussion, the whole dialogue around it is absolutely ludicrous. I mean, these are people that, you know, we know where they’re they’re very involved in the community. One of them’s a police officer. I mean, the reality is they understand their community about as well as anybody and they think it’s stupid.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. So maybe, just maybe, I doubt it, but maybe some wokest out there will learn a little bit of a lesson and maybe remember something like this the next time somebody on the left starts playing the race card about something so ridiculously stupid as this. Think about all the things you need photo ID for. And by the way, if black voter turnout increased after this law and it’s continued to increase since the law went into effect, maybe just maybe it was the liberal left lying to you about this and trying to pour lighter fluid on racial tension in this country. So how about we get mad at them for that? And demand some apologies.
SPEAKER 02 :
Bob, they are the biggest racists of all time. If you really want to get down to it. They are total racists through and through. You know, I keep talking about it all the time. It literally is good versus evil. And that is the evil side. And anything they can do to stir things up and make themselves look better. And as we always say, anything they’re accusing us of is what they’re doing.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right. That’s right. Well, they need to keep racial tension red hot in this country so that they can continue to buy votes from people convincing them that they’re part of a victim class. That’s how they try to hold on to power in the Democrat Party because they can’t win a debate on the actual issues and results. from policy. Hey, listen, we do want you folks, because we got more to talk about this afternoon, this morning in this podcast, but we want you to support our sponsors, okay, like SunPower LED, like Preborn. Preborn shows, in pro-life centers across the country, shows ultrasound images of babies to their moms. And moms choose life when they see a picture of their baby. They don’t go across the street to Planned Parenthood. So we’re asking everybody in the audience to pay for ultrasound images because they do cost money. And you could do this one of two ways. You can either on a larger scale, buy an ultrasound machine or on a smaller scale, pay for an individual number of images. Now, if you can buy an ultrasound machine, they’re 15 grand a piece. Nice tax write off for you. But you know, your forever legacy is you’re stopping thousands and thousands of abortions year after year. Think about that. Maybe you’ve given a pre-born already. Would you consider doing it again? Now, on the lesser scale, if you could pay for an individual number of images, $28 is the average ultrasound expense to save one baby’s life. How many babies’ lives will you save? Take $28 times, fill in the blank. Pray about a number. That’s your forever legacy. So everything you give to Preborn 100% goes to fund ultrasounds, not a dime for overhead. That’s all covered by private donors. So here’s how you give. Go online to CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on Preborn. CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Or they answer the phones 24-7, so call 833-850-BABY. That’s 833-850-BABY. Just mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. Support Preborn. Support SunPower LED and this red light therapy, which, John, really is remarkable in how it works.
SPEAKER 02 :
And one thing we need to remember, too, that all of you can find when you go to the website. So go to sunpowerled.com. They do webinars every single week, typically on Tuesday nights. This next one’s coming up 722, 7 p.m. Eastern time. So what I’m saying is if there’s something where you’ve just been curious about this, how does it actually work? What are all the ins and outs? We hear, you know, Bob, John and Neil talk about it. OK, great. Go to one of the webinars, watch it, and then after that, you’ll, I’m sure, be convinced of what you need to do when it comes to your own health. And again, as I said earlier, these are products unlike anything else in the marketplace. One of the things, too, that you guys all should think about, I think most of you would probably know this is the case, but some of you that have some sort of an HSA or an FSA plan, these products would qualify for you buying that through that particular end of things where you’re You’ve in some cases may have funds to actually go towards this. Don’t forget, you can use those funds in this particular area as well. So SunPowerLED.com. And again, folks, if you want a nice discount, use Roundtable 10 while you’re there. You can use it in the checkout, get you a nice little discount. Again, SunPowerLED. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net to find them.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. And we appreciate you folks supporting that. So, John, let’s talk a little bit about the issue with Ukraine and Russia, some of the latest there.
SPEAKER 02 :
Before we do that really quick, Bob, because that’s a really important topic and I don’t want to skip it. I think, you know, going back to our earlier topics in regards to the Epstein files and so on, don’t forget, we’ve got the auto pen thing, which is also a major deal. And I feel like, again, it’s another one of those situations for us on our side, whereby there’s a ton of focus there. And while no, I don’t agree with the auto pen. In fact, I don’t agree with it. I think it ought to be used in very, very minimal situations, not on a routine basis. That’s my own opinion. That’s maybe something we could do at a later date on a different podcast. But But I look at it on our side as being another one of those issues whereby, yes, we can be very upset about some of those things. But here’s the deal. At the end of the day, nothing, absolutely nothing is going to change other than maybe we can put some legislation in place as to how that gets used moving forward, possibly. But as far as changing things that have happened in the past, I’m sorry, folks, you’re not going to move on to other things that are far more important, like Bob, ending the war in Ukraine and Russia. Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, let me ask you that real quick. And for the most part, I’m with you on this. What about the pardons? Do we make an issue if there’s been some people pardoned by a president when they actually really weren’t pardoned by a president? They were pardoned by either the first lady or the chief of staff or a coalition of Democrats who decided these are the people we’re going to pardon.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And I thought of that one too, Bob. And again, I think the thing there is, is coming back to even what we’ve talked about with the Epstein end of things, prove all of that. Now you’re going to have to do a complete congressional investigation. What actually happened, who was in the room, who gave the approvals, this, that, and the other. And, and again, I’m one where it’s like, no offense. There’s just so many other big fish to fry. And I get it. There were probably people released that shouldn’t have been given those pardons. But at the end of the day, Bob, is it changing anything for us as far as how the country runs and do we have bigger fish to fry? Yes, we do.
SPEAKER 03 :
I do believe that you’re right about that. The only area that I would push back a little bit is if the left isn’t held accountable for doing some of these kind of things, then they’re just going to keep on doing it.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s what I’m saying. Let’s put in some legislation and make to where that pen can only be used in certain circumstances moving forward, whereby there are some checks and balances in place where it’s just not an automatic, you know, some aid says, you know, pen, sign this. Yeah, let’s put some things in place to where that actually has some different parameters around it than it does right now. That’s what I’m saying.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. So Trump, when he campaigned, of course, I know a lot of the anti-Trumpers, they grab a hold of him during the campaign saying, I’ll get the Ukraine-Russia war ended in 24 hours. That was clearly hyperbole. I don’t think anybody expected it would be 24 hours. So I don’t agree with Trump using language like that. But I do also say that if there’s anybody that can bring about a negotiated ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia… It’s Donald Trump. So I would trust him more than anybody else to make this happen. If it hasn’t happened yet, I don’t think anybody else besides Donald Trump could do this. But he, for a while, he was throwing Zelensky under the bus and flexing muscles with him. Zelensky kind of got online, said, OK, I’ll go along with the rare earth deal and such. And then now Putin is like, OK, well, now I’m playing hardball. I’m going to do my leverage. And so Trump, after a few months, is basically saying, you know what, that’s it. Enough is enough. I’m done playing around with this. And so, Putin, if you don’t come up with a deal, if you don’t agree to some kind of a peace agreement in 50 days, then you know something? First of all, in the meantime, I’m going to go ahead and sell billions of dollars worth of U.S. arms, including Patriot missiles, to Ukraine via NATO and NATO nations. And then number two, I’m going to financially cripple you because your trading partners, I’m going to slap 100 percent tariffs on your trading partners if they keep doing business with you and say you can’t do business with you and me. So it’s time for you to take peace negotiations seriously now. What do you think about this? What do you think about Trump’s strategy to basically now strong arm Putin?
SPEAKER 02 :
You got to do something. And I’m like you, Bob. And I really did think and I talked about this even before. you know, Trump getting elected. I didn’t think he’d get it done in 24 hours, but I did think in a pretty short timeframe, say 90 days, he could get that thing ended. And I think it just shows you how ingrained, uh, you know, how entrenched I should say Ukraine and Russia both are in this. Neither one of them wanting to give up anything at all when it’s all said and done. I I’m with you. I think if anybody’s going to get it done, it’s going to be Trump. And I also believe what you’re saying. He’s fed up. He he’s, he has done. It’s sort of like you guys, um, You know, these are two kids that are battling it out. And I am tired of your nonsense. I’m going to get to the bottom of this one way or the other. And it’s going to be painful on you. He made it painful in a lot of ways for Ukraine already. They’ve come in line. I think he’s now going to do the same thing with Russia. The only difference, I don’t get your opinion on this, Bob. The only difference is Russia is not Ukraine. In other words, Putin is not Zelenskyy. Right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that is a huge difference here. And this is where the Putin factor comes in. And that’s what actually I was talking on my show about, John, is that I believe if we could be a fly on the wall in the Oval Office or the room where Trump is talking with his advisers, my best guess is that Trump is probably saying to his people, Look, we need to come up with a plausible exit strategy for Vladimir Putin where he doesn’t appear weak. He appears strong. He doesn’t appear to have lost the war. He appears to have won the war. He’s got to save face with his own people, and he cannot appear to be kissing my ring. So we have to come up with an exit strategy for him that will work for him because, let’s face it, Russia was embarrassed after the 12-year Vietnam-type war with Afghanistan, and Russia – on all intent and purposes, lost that war, even though it was a stalemate. And now the same thing. After several years, Russia can’t even beat Ukraine. If he comes out of this looking like he lost the war with Ukraine, let alone kissing Donald Trump’s ring, then Vladimir Putin weakens his standing, not only with his own people, but in the rest of the world as well, among his allies. So that, to me, is what’s really at play here. Somehow, someway, Trump, I believe, is telling his advisers, I want you to come up with a way that Vladimir Putin can at least come out somewhat smelling like a rose, being strong, victorious and not bowing to me, but still agreeing to peace. And I don’t know what that strategy is. I expect Donald Trump to start complimenting Vladimir Putin publicly now, stroking his ego so that he removes the possibility of making it look like Putin’s crawling to Trump.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I can’t argue with that. And the other thing that’s weird, just as a side note to all of what’s going on over there, Russia especially, and I don’t know if you’ve seen any of these stories of late, but I’ve been intrigued by some of this because I don’t know where this mindset comes from, but there are literally evangelical Americans that are immigrating to Russia because of their stance on family values and quote-unquote conservatism and And they’re actually literally leaving the U.S., going to Russia because of their stance on the LGBTQ end of things and so on. And I just find it so weird that you would leave America. And I get it. We have our set of issues here. Don’t get me wrong, Bob. We have lots of things. You just talked about the MLB end of things and some of the things that happen here politically and so on. But at the end of the day, we are still a free country that believes in freedom and believing in the best for people individually. And I will tell you right now, that is not the way it works in Russia. So I just find it fascinating that people would leave the U.S. to go to Russia. I know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, unfortunately, you get a lot of them that are buying into the anti-American rhetoric that comes from the left and hyper-focusing on the flaws and shortcomings in America. We’re not a perfect nation? Of course not. But my goodness, over in Russia, they don’t have the kinds of freedoms and liberties that we have here. This is a communist nation. Correct. And communism, I got news for you, communism is not scriptural. People make the mistake of thinking Acts chapter 2 and Acts chapter 4, the believers were sharing their possessions. They were sharing their possessions voluntarily. At no time did Jesus declare or Paul declare or anyone else that Rome should step in and reach into everybody’s pockets and take their money and force a distribution of collectivism. That is not biblical at all. We’re to give without compulsion. That’s what it says in Scripture. And Communist nations like Russia don’t operate that way. So they may – yeah, they may give some areas where they support some traditional values and it’s like, OK, fine. Well, guess what? Homosexuality is also illegal in North Korea. So why don’t we go live there? I mean, no. America – And really quick, don’t give me the –
SPEAKER 02 :
Ananias and Sapphira story either about they being killed because they didn’t share their goods.
SPEAKER 03 :
They lied to the Holy Spirit is what that was about. Right, they lied to the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, there you go.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. They, in essence, mocked God by claiming that they had something. So it’s not about that. If you make a vow to God, you honor that vow, okay? You don’t break that vow and then lie about it to God’s people.
SPEAKER 02 :
It had nothing to do with the possession part of it at all other than they lied about it.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s right, that’s right.
SPEAKER 02 :
My point, Bob, is there’s Christians out there that would say that in support of communism that you will look at what happened there. Yeah, you’re not looking at that correctly.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right, exactly. Because Ananias and Sapphira were not killed by God because they didn’t give everything they had, okay? It’s because they lied to God. They lied to the Holy Spirit. That’s specifically what it says in Scripture. And that’s what God takes seriously. Don’t play me. Don’t try to play me that way. That’s in essence the message that God sent.
SPEAKER 02 :
And really quick, I appreciate what you said about the whole… communist end of things is I think, you know, some of these quote unquote, you know, Christians, and I put air quotes around that on purpose that are, you know, migrating to Russia thinking they’re going to have some sort of a better life. I just think to myself, do you guys not hear yourself? Do you not understand what you’re actually buying into? How deceived can you be?
SPEAKER 03 :
I know. And I just I mean, I don’t mean to sound rude, but I just my attitude is, well, then does Vidanya. OK. Yeah. Which people don’t know that’s goodbye in Russian, although I don’t know that my Russian is necessary. Actually, you know, John, when I was in high school, I took Russian. And I was a Russian dancer.
SPEAKER 02 :
I did not know that.
SPEAKER 03 :
And I learned a little bit of, you know, like… You know, which I’m just saying, hi, how are you? But if somebody then started speaking to me in Russian, I’d go… Which is basically, no, I don’t speak Russian.
SPEAKER 02 :
So…
SPEAKER 03 :
But that’s about all the Russian.
SPEAKER 02 :
So really quick, you know, just to, and I know we’re getting tight on time, but what kind of a deal could you put in front of Putin that would make it seem like he’s winning? Do you give, you know, do you figure out a way with Zelensky where he gets a portion of Ukraine? Yes, I think we go back to the 20% of Ukraine.
SPEAKER 03 :
You go back to the 20% of Ukraine. You give him a piece of the land.
SPEAKER 02 :
And I agree with you, by the way.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you make that you make that part of the deal. And that way, Putin comes out of this with something that looks like he’s got some kind of trophy he can put on his shelf. You got to give him that. You got to stroke his ego. And if anybody understands managing egos, it’s Donald Trump. Let’s face it. OK, but he’s also a high stakes negotiator. He knows how to do stuff like this. Folks, we want you to support our sponsors. Support Preborn. If you haven’t given already, go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Click on Preborn. You can give right there. Remember, you’re paying for ultrasound images so that babies’ lives can be saved. Okay, how much can you give? Pray about a number. $28 saves one baby’s life. Take $28 times fill in the blank. Whatever that number is, that’s your gift to pre-born, okay? If you’ve given already, please consider giving again. And don’t forget, 100% of what you give to pre-born goes to fund ultrasounds, not a penny for overhead that’s all covered by private donors. So CrawfordMediaGroup.net, click on Preborn. Also, they answer the phones 24-7. So go ahead and call 833-850-BABY. That’s 833-850-BABY. Mention National Crawford Roundtable when you call. Why don’t you support Preborn? John, we wanted to support SunPowerLED because it really benefits them too.
SPEAKER 02 :
Absolutely. At the end of the day, this one, I mean, Preborn does as well. It benefits all of us because it’s a life issue. But when it comes to your life and living a better life, SunPower LED can do that. And again, folks, the tremendous uses for this. I think some people just think, well, you don’t have any pain right now. Well, Kate, it’s not just pain. There’s all sorts of other things. that red light therapy can do including for a lot of you ladies that are listening skin care and things along those lines there’s just so many different things that it can do to help your body not only heal but actually stay healthy as well and all you do is go to the website sunpowerled.com don’t forget about the webinars that they hold typically every week they’re usually on tuesday nights when you go there it’ll be right across the top of the website where you can check to see when the next one is And again, folks, I can’t say it enough. It is not the same as a lot of the other red light therapy. that you’ll see out there. I’ve got a great doctor that’s a sponsor of my program. We’ve talked about this before. The reality is you have to have the right tool. It has to be set up correctly. Otherwise, it is a waste of your time using that device if it is not done correctly. SunPowerLED, they do it correctly because they’ve done it in a way that really nobody else is doing. And I mean that sincerely. So go check them out today. Go to CrawfordMediaGroup.net. Check out SunPowerLED. Buy a device, and make sure when you do, you use the discount code ROUNDTABLE10.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely, and we appreciate you folks doing that. We always thank you for listening to this podcast, telling your friends about it, giving us your five-star reviews. I look forward to next week as well. And on behalf of John Rush, Rush Reason out of Denver, Colorado, Neil Boron, Neil Boron Live out of Buffalo, New York, who will be back with us next week, myself, Bob Duco, The Bob Duco Show out of Detroit, thank you for listening, everybody, and God bless you.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’ve been listening to the National Crawford Roundtable podcast, a view of today’s culture through a biblical lens brought to you by Preborn, saving babies and souls. Join us in the fight to save babies from abortion. Your gift provides a free ultrasound for a mother in need. 80% of the time she will choose life. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on their logo to donate. And by SunPower LED light therapy devices. Bring light to your pain. Visit CrawfordMediaGroup.net and click on the SunPower LED logo to get out of pain and improve your overall wellness. You can download this podcast from Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and more from your local Crawford Media Group stations website or at CrawfordMediaGroup.net. And please give this podcast a five-star rating on your Apple app. Look for the notification on your app for when the next weekly edition of the National Crawford Roundtable podcast is ready for you to download. This is a Crawford Media Group production.
