Point of View April 16, 2025 – Hour 2 : Seeing the Good in It

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson. You know, uncertainty, fear, cancer, life can change in a moment. I think we still also have an opportunity to see how God can use difficult circumstances to provide hope.

[00:00:34] And you may be in the midst of a challenge. You may be coming out of a challenge. Maybe in the future you're headed towards a challenge. I think you're really going to benefit from this book, which is written by Phil Zilke. He was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma. Then after chemotherapy and treatments, was able to move on. But three months before his wedding, news of his cancer came back again.

[00:01:03] Going through the disease two times, of course, affected him in very significant ways. But we also want to focus on the hope. But while he was in a hospital bed, that's where he had the vision for Phil's Friends. And we have a link to philsfriends.org. But first of all, let's welcome to the microphone Phil Zilke. And Phil, thank you for being with us today here on Point of View. Thank you, Kirby. It's great to be with you. Well, I guess I just need you to tell the story.

[00:01:31] I left out a lot of details, and I know you probably can fill them in in a better way. And then I might just point out that your book really takes us through all sorts of issues. Perseverance, finding hope in the midst of this, a promise, maybe even sometimes needing an attitude adjustment.

[00:01:50] So in some respects, the book is a little bit about your disease, but mostly about how you've really developed a ministry to help people if they're going through one of these very significant challenges. Yes. So my story started when I was 22 years old, and I'd been in and out of the doctor for about a year already at that point. Didn't know what was wrong with me. And I think sometimes the worst things in our life is the fear of the unknown that can just creep up and you just want answers.

[00:02:19] And for me, I had lost 40 pounds, had night sweats every night, hip pains and fevers, and the doctors couldn't figure it out. So I really thought I was going to pass away before I had any news. And so it was in April of 2004 when I had a fever for about 103 the entire week, and I had lymph nodes up in my neck, in my arms, under my groin, a lot of different places. And finally, they referred me to a surgeon, went into the surgeon's office, and they wanted to do a needle aspiration.

[00:02:49] And I remember looking at the doctor saying, needles, I don't do needles. But they ended up putting a needle into my neck, threw out some fluid, and so much fluid came out, it spilled all over the floor. So I saw the doctor look at the nurse. The nurse looked at the doctor with horror looks on their faces. Next day, results still came back negative. They said as a precaution, let's get a couple of lymph nodes taken out. So they did. The day after that, we had arranged for my dad to hear the results, and he came home early from work, sat on my bedside, and he said, Phil, I don't know how to tell you this. I talked to the doctors, and you have cancer.

[00:03:18] I remember looking at him, just wondering how this could be when a couple days ago they said it wasn't. And right there, my dad did something very important with me. He prayed with me on the side of my bed. He said, Lord, I know that fills your child. No matter if he's supposed to live another six months, another year, another 40 years, whatever it may be, may he and his life bring glory to you, and may his life just basically shine light on how good you are.

[00:03:43] And after that, I went to my hospital bed for the next six months, did chemotherapy, ended up getting better, started my first year as a fourth-grade teacher, and I got re-diagnosed a year after my first diagnosis. Right. And I went through it for another year, the chemo, the stem cell, and the radiation. But it was the things that people did for me. It was how I learned how faithful God was in those difficult moments. That's really what brought me through and really gave me the hope to live each and every day when I face this.

[00:04:12] Let me talk about the medical, and, of course, most everything we're going to talk about is just how to deal with that. But when the doctor actually pulled out that fluid, and it was so significant that it spilled on the floor, he said, Phil, I've been practicing as a surgeon for over 30 years, and I've seen a few similar situations. There's a 50% chance it's cancer. And so in some respects, you already had that possibility. He had that.

[00:04:39] But it is interesting that even at that late date, they still couldn't give you the actual diagnosis, which I think gets back to that anxiety. I've had some people say, at least once I got a diagnosis, whatever it was, you know, it could have been, you know, Hodgkin's disease. It could be bone cancer. It could be breast cancer. It could be whatever. At least I had a diagnosis.

[00:05:04] I think in some respects up until that time, there was just a massive amount of uncertainty in your life, wasn't there? There really was. And I think, again, those uncertainties, that's where fear really can creep in. If you focus on your situation, you know, it's really as you go through that and, you know, as you get some answers and as you go day by day, keeping your eyes focused on the Lord, and that's really where when there are uncertainties in your life that the fear can dissipate.

[00:05:30] One of the things I appreciate about your chapters is each one of them at the end has some possible areas for you to have some reflection. So this is certainly a book I'd want to give to somebody who's going through whatever it might be. It might be cancer. It might be a variety of other issues. But you have chapters, for example, on perseverance and courage. And in some respects, it almost doesn't matter what your diagnosis is.

[00:05:57] In some respects, you're really sharing some biblical principles to help us get through those difficult and tough times, aren't you? Yes. And I think, you know, if you look in what Paul said in the book of Philippians, where I've learned to be content whatever the circumstances, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, you know, and that those verses they end up ending with, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And on my hospital bed, that's when I learned that I couldn't do all things on my own.

[00:06:25] It was really Christ, you know, stepping into my life of me surrendering this entire situation to him. And once you do that and surrender your life to him, you're able to have the fruits of the Spirit and really enjoy having love and joy and peace and patience. And, yes, cancer, stage four cancer was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. My family's had to journey with me on. But I've got to tell you, I was better off losing my physical health and finding the Lord through that journey than I was before that sickness.

[00:06:52] I just mentioned, too, that if you go to the book, there's a wonderful picture of you and your family and the rest. But let's take a break. When we come back, I want to talk about maybe finding hope in the midst of fog, which is one of the chapters in your book, because that's key. And also the importance of words and encouragement and even a chapter on comfort to comfort others.

[00:07:17] Because one of the questions, Phil, that I think a lot of people have is when I hear that Phil has cancer, I don't know what to say. Probably what I say is the wrong thing to say. But even if I want to provide some comfort, I sometimes don't know how to do that. But also maybe to share how if we have been through a difficult situation, in some respects, that prepares us for others.

[00:07:44] And then during the break, I want to encourage you to click on the picture that we have here of Phil. And then click on the button that says visit the website, because that will take you to Phil's friends. And I want you to see that that might be a great resource for you in terms of some of the things that are available there as well. We'll talk about what Phil's friends is, how you could request a care package, how you might even want to donate or be involved in some of the activities there.

[00:08:11] But if you find yourself saying this might be a book I would like to read, or this might be a book I'd like to purchase to pass on to someone else, because the title of it is simply Seeing the Good in It. And as you might imagine, we have information about that on our website. And if you click on that, again, you might be able to find the book in your local bookstore. But here we have it available in hardback, and it's something you can pass on. There's also an audio CD that you might want to consider.

[00:08:38] So while we go to a break, good time to go to our website, pointofview.net. And also check out the website that Phil Zilke has, and we'll be back right after this. This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:04] Target is the latest in a string of retail giants who have taken a stance against the wildly unpopular diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. That is how Steve Forbes begins his commentary on DEI in the business world. He adds that the recent move comes in the wake of similar actions by Walmart, Amazon, Meta, and Tractor Supply Company. As I mentioned in my commentary last week, the decision by large companies like Walmart to move away from DEI will certainly encourage other businesses to do the same.

[00:09:33] Target first announced its bathroom policy about gender identity back in 2016. It triggered a backlash in boycotts. But Tim Wildman of the American Family Association announced on my radio program they were ending their Target boycott. Not only are businesses changing their view about DEI, but Steve Forbes points to political leaders, who are also expressing concern about DEI.

[00:09:55] Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has recently criticized companies that use DEI training because it makes people sit through training that looks like something out of Portlandia. Longtime Democratic Party strategist James Carville has been critical of his party's self-destructive language and attitudes. He criticized the party's woke gender rules as stunningly stupid policies. You know, DEI policies are not only unpopular, they are unproductive. As I've cited in other commentary, several business school studies illustrate the failings of DEI.

[00:10:25] Steve Forbes observes that numerous initiatives have unnecessarily raised the prices of energy, food, transportation, and housing. It appears that corporate America has discovered that DEI is a problem and it is time to get back to work to please their customers. I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view. For a free booklet on biblical reliability, go to viewpoints.info slash biblical reliability.

[00:10:53] Viewpoints.info slash biblical reliability. You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Back once again with Phil Zilke as we talk about his book, Seeing the Good in It. And, Phil, I might just mention that your father, Steve, is the one that wrote the introduction. But I think it illustrates the fact that really an individual does not go through a cancer journey or anything else.

[00:11:20] You go through it with your extended family, don't you? Oh, it's so true. Cancer, I mean, when we think about cancer and people having it, we often think about the physical effects and affected us in your body, but it affects you emotionally, spiritually, psychologically. Every part of you and every part of your family and friend network that's connected to you. People that care for you. People that stay up late at night and pray for you.

[00:11:45] But I was so grateful to have my dad on my bedside almost every night sleeping on the couch in my hospital room. And after he worked full-time and he knew what to do, he knew how to come in and knock on the door and let me know that he's there and meet my energy level and where I was and just sit with me. A lot of times, you know, when someone's sick or when I was going through this disease, it's just about being there, your physical presence. There's so much power in your presence. Wow. Well, you talk about the mental issue.

[00:12:11] Of course, you do talk about the fact that as bad as the physical toll of cancer is, the mental toll was even worse, wasn't it? It really was. And thankfully, you know, God sees every detail of our stories. And so I had a group of people put a care package together for me. They all signed their names to it. They said they were thinking about me, praying for me. I got that about a week after I was diagnosed. And it caused me to break down and cry, you know, in tears to know that I wasn't going to be alone. I had people that took time out of their busy schedules to do this for me.

[00:12:40] And that I wasn't going to walk this journey again, you know, by myself. And then I had individuals who sent me cards in the mail that came every single week. And when I was well enough, I'd lay upstairs. When I was out of the hospital, I'd lay upstairs on the couch. And I'd look forward to when it was 1 o'clock. And why 1 o'clock? Because that's when the mailman came. And so I worked my energy to the edge of the couch, you know, down the stairs, out to the front door to see what remembered me. And every single week for two years, I pulled a card out with my name on it. It always came at the right time with the right messages if God personally put that letter

[00:13:10] into the mailbox himself. And so I'd go back up the couch, go back up the stairs, sit on the couch, and I'd open that card. And if I was weak, it'd be a verse such as Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. And then I had my grandfather who had driven 300 miles. God rest his soul. He went to heaven to be with the Lord about a month ago. But he had driven and showed up in my hospital room. He was sitting in the corner of the room. He had papers all over the place because he was in highlighters. He was a lifelong learner, teacher and pastor.

[00:13:39] And he said, Phil, I went to your house, I grabbed your Bible, and I highlighted all the verses with hope and strength and peace. And then he read those aloud to me, walked over to my bedside, got down about eye level, and he said, Phil, I need to tell you something. Your grandma and I, we love you. But most importantly, your Heavenly Father does. And then he took that Bible, put it on my nightstand and walked out. And when I couldn't have visitors or didn't want visitors, it was opening that book of God's Word and committing those verses in my head and into my heart that kept me going day after day.

[00:14:07] And much of that, of course, you do share in your book, seeing the good in it. And certainly that is the case. One other thing I thought I'd bring up since we're talking about the mental issues is how sometimes when you have fear and anxiety, you tend to exaggerate what is happening. I had a guest in studio a while back and said, you know, I thought about all the things I used to worry about. And I concluded that 90% of those things never really took place.

[00:14:33] And so in some respects, there is a tendency sometimes for us to exaggerate reality, isn't there? There definitely is. I think when you're in a hospital room where you're going through something difficult in your life, if you focus on that situation instead of your eyes on the Lord, that's where fear really creeps in. The image that I always got was when I was laying in my hospital bed. But it's as if those fears just came in toxic, odorless gases, you know, through the air vents. Before you know it, other people that are with you might even recognize that you have fear

[00:15:03] before you even do. But the way that those things can really dissipate, again, is by looking at the book of James chapter 4, verse 8. And it says, when I draw near to God, he'll draw near to me. And so whether you're sick on your hospital bed or at home and you reach your hand up to him, he's putting his hand inside of yours. Or you're walking down the road into something difficult or a family issue. He takes you by the hand. And when you focus on him, all of a sudden those fears can wash away.

[00:15:29] Some of your chapters about changing from the inside out, needing an attitude adjustment. Certainly that is. But again, comforted to comfort others. Because in some respects, that's what your book is about. But it's also what Phil's friends about. Because you have traveled through this journey, I say that if I went to a hospital bed of somebody dealing with cancer, I can certainly have empathy and sympathy and certainly have a presence there.

[00:15:58] But the impact that you can have is greater because you've traveled that road. And that's one of the reasons why we wanted for a few minutes to talk about what is on your website, philsfriends.org. One of those is you can find out more about that. And I think you can see some of the stories. And they're really incredible stories. Some of the pictures and care packages, cards of hope, hope centers, and the rest.

[00:16:23] But talk about what people will find when they come to that website. Because they may even know somebody who would want to click on that button to request a care package. And so you're really providing some opportunities for our listeners. So what will they find when they land on your website? Sure. First of all, if you know someone who's been diagnosed with cancer, a loved one, a family member, a co-worker, anywhere across the country, you can go to our website, philsfriends.org, and request a free care package for them.

[00:16:53] It goes out in a decorated box. We have volunteers that pack those in our hope centers. The same way that I got a care package where everybody signed their names to it, everybody will sign their names to that. But it has comforting items in there, such as blankets and journals and crosswords. We put a Bible in there and a gospel letter just because we want to make sure that people know who the Lord is, that he's there for them as they go through this difficult time. And then that care package shows up anonymously on someone's doorstep.

[00:17:19] And if you request it today, it's going to be on someone's doorstep next week. And then after that, we send cards of hope the same way that I got cards. We send cards every month that go in the mail for a year. And so we have kids as young as three or people as old as 95 that are working on these cards. They have a joke on them because laughter is very good for the soul when you're going through something difficult and a prayer and a Bible verse. And you might get a card from someone in Ohio one week and Texas the next week.

[00:17:46] But that's one way that you can start the process is by requesting a care package for someone you know and someone you love. Also, there's volunteer opportunities that you can get involved in, such as making blankets, having events at your church. We have hope packing parties where you can collect the items. We get everything ready to go. And then we help you connect with the local hospital or get those in your hands to go and bring God's love and encouragement into the community. And I know in God's word, it says that, you know, when you're sick, it was as if you visited me.

[00:18:15] And so that's our calling to go out and do that. And that's why the Lord is blessing this ministry. And then also, if you'd like to give or you want a copy of the book, you can make a donation. A $50 or more. And I'll send a signed copy out. And that'll help to fund these care packages and these cards. Again, I'll hold up the book for those of you watching online. And, of course, you can find out all that by going to the website, Providing Christ-Centered Support and Hope for Those Affected by Cancer. Matthew 25, verse 36. I was sick and you visited me.

[00:18:42] And I might just mention real quickly that you have some events. And because you're located in the Illinois, Indiana area, there's golf tournaments and there's various events. And, of course, people could come by. But wherever you are listening to this all around the country, you can certainly find the link to all of this. And that would be really helpful. But just before I let you go, talk about this book. Because in some respects, whether they go to the website or not, I hope people will, they

[00:19:11] could get a copy of this book and pass it on to someone. And with their own handwritten notes in it or maybe some of the other material, then, of course, you have a QR code in the back that will take them to philsfriends.org. And so those individuals could be beneficial in that respect. But there's a way in which this book can be that first step to reaching out to an individual who is suffering. And you don't know what to do. You don't know what to say. But maybe the first step could be handing them a copy of this book.

[00:19:42] Yeah. And the book is called Seeing the Good in It for a Reason. Because we all go through difficult times in our lives and they become difficult to navigate. But really seeing the good in it is really seeing God in it, which I really think is a miracle when you're going through something difficult, to see God in the midst of those circumstances. And so it can be an encouragement to you. We've had churches that have read that in studies up to 60 people at a time and gone through the process themselves or read it individually. But we really want this to be a tool and also a challenge to you of how God wants to use you

[00:20:12] when you go through difficult times to be able to help others. Let me mention, too, as he said, that there are reflection questions at the end of each one of the chapters. So this is one that you could go through individually. But I know for those of you that maybe have a small group or a Sunday school class or a Bible fellowship, this might be a way that you could go through this together. And so, again, you can find out more by going to our website at pointofview.net. We have information about the book.

[00:20:38] We have information about Phil's friends and all sorts of other great resources. So, Phil, thank you for taking the time to write the book. Thank you for establishing that ministry. And thank you for joining us today here on Point of View. Thank you, Kirby, and God bless your ministry. Going to take a break. And when we come back, you know what? About time to talk about a few issues in the news. And I'm going to try to clarify some misinformation. I know that happens every once in a while.

[00:21:04] Some actually, I think, even deliberate disinformation that we need to address before it goes any further. And so we'll see if we can stop a few of those myths and misinformation, disinformation, and quite frankly lies about a few things. And we won't have a lot of time, but I'll try to run through a few of them fairly quickly. All that coming up right after this.

[00:21:31] In 19th century London, two towering historical figures did battle, not with guns and bombs, but words and ideas. London was home to Karl Marx, the father of communism, and legendary Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon. London was in many ways the center of the world economically, militarily, and intellectually. Marx sought to destroy religion, the family, and everything the Bible supports.

[00:22:00] Spurgeon stood against him, warning of socialism's dangers. Spurgeon understood Christianity is not just religious truth. It is truth for all of life. Where do you find men with that kind of wisdom to stand against darkness today? Get the light you need on today's most pressing issues delivered to your inbox when you sign up for the Viewpoints commentary at pointofview.net slash signup.

[00:22:27] Every weekday in less than two minutes, you'll learn how to be a person of light to stand against darkness in our time. It's free, so visit pointofview.net slash signup right now. pointofview.net slash signup. Point of View will continue after this.

[00:22:57] You are listening to Point of View. The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station. And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson. Final half hour, we're going to talk about, if we have time, three different attempts by those people that may disagree with some of the things we talk about here on Point of View to completely misrepresent what is happening.

[00:23:26] And the first of those has to do with our action item. If you go to our website right now, and this has just been posted the last few minutes, so you might have to refresh it if you've been on our website. We have a section that says, Stop Illegal Immigrants from Voting in Federal Elections. Now, what we're talking about is a piece of legislation that has already passed the House. It is called the SAVE Act. SAVE stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

[00:23:53] Now, you are going to hear people say that this is an attempt to disenfranchise different individuals who want to vote, and they're going to lose their ability to vote in American elections. Don't believe it, first of all. The particular piece of legislation would require a person to vote in person, to register to vote in person, showing proof of citizenship. And that could be anything. It could be a birth certificate, passport, naturalization cards, whatever it might be.

[00:24:23] It stipulates that each state must create procedures to ensure that citizens who have changed their legal name, for instance, due to marriage, are still able to register to vote. But the biggest issue, of course, is this, that you need to actually be providing some kind of proof of citizenship. Last time a survey was done, 83% of Americans support the idea of proof of citizenship requirements when registering to vote.

[00:24:49] What is so interesting is this piece of legislation not only was passed in the House of Representatives, where I believe all the Republicans voted for it. I know that at least four Democrats in the House voted for it. But I also know, because I receive these emails all the time from people on the Democratic Party, arguing that this is going to be something that is being pushed through by Trump and by Republicans,

[00:25:17] and trying to prevent people from voting. No, we want people that are eligible to vote to vote. We just don't want people who are not eligible to vote. And we know this is not speculation. We now have very good facts. There are a good number of people that are not citizens of the United States, have been voting and been voting for some time. And so this is an opportunity for you to contact your two United States senators. You know the drill.

[00:25:45] We have contact information. Again, let me mention that if you haven't filled it out recently, we have a different system. So you may have to fill it out again. But once that's the case, you can click on the button that says Remember Me, and then next time it will have it automatically. We then have for you the suggested letter, just two paragraphs long, very simple. You can modify it any way you want.

[00:26:10] You can then click Send, and then it's sent to both of your senators in that state. Or you might say, well, I'd like to print it out and then maybe sign it or add some material to it. So you can click on that button that says Print and Mail. Or if you say, well, I just want to look at how it's going to go out, you can hit Preview. So again, that is on the website right now. And so if you said, wait a minute, I wanted to do the one on DEI,

[00:26:37] especially since, Kirby, your commentary today was on DEI and business, well then click on the button that says See More Action Alerts, and then you will see that the previous one we had just up until about an hour ago on Contact in Congress about Dismantle DEI is available for you there as well. So this is the latest one. It's an action item. And even though we didn't have a chance to talk about it in the first hour, we'll try to cover some of that tomorrow once again.

[00:27:05] And this you can find on the website, pointofview.net. Go to the middle section that says Take Action, and click on the button that says Take Action, Stop Illegal Immigrants from Voting in Federal Elections. Pretty straightforward, something we've talked about so many times. We will send out an email, but it will not be going out right away. I think we'll send it out after Easter because all the things that are happening right now.

[00:27:32] But you can take action right now, and we make it possible for you to do so very easily. So that's our first one. Our second one is simply this. One of the other emails I received last night was saying that Republicans are trying to destroy Medicaid. And if you receive Gary Bauer's end-of-day report, you'll see that the one from yesterday says it's day 86 of President Trump's second term.

[00:28:01] No one has lost their Social Security, Medicare, or veterans' benefits in spite of constant media and leftist lies. He will have one in just a few months coming out. It's day 87, and nobody has lost anything from Medicare, Medicaid, and all the rest. And that is, I think, this constant drumbeat that people that are trying to save Social Security

[00:28:26] and trying to make sure that we can have a more effective Medicaid system aren't trying to destroy it. And that brings me to my first article. This comes from the Wall Street Journal. It's from the editors of the Wall Street Journal. And it says simply, The Moral Case for Reforming Medicaid. And they point out that Republicans in Congress passed their budget outline this week, and now they have to fill in the blanks with new policies. It's a once-in-a-generation chance to reform the government,

[00:28:56] but it will be squandered if the Republicans shrink from their difficult policy fights. Exhibit A, they say, is Medicaid, a fast-growing entitlement that now spends more than $850 billion a year while delivering, and I think this is their words, an accurate subpar health care for the poor. They argue that right now the press and the left are trying to intimidate Republicans,

[00:29:23] but again, the argument that comes from the editors of the Wall Street Journal are Republicans can win the Medicaid argument if they understand how the program has gone wrong and make their case in the moral terms it deserves. What are we talking about? Turns out that when we do any kind of reasonable evaluation,

[00:29:45] we find that more than 6 in 10, in other words, more than 60% of the individuals on Medicaid are adults who reported no earned income. Now, you can begin to see where that takes us, because this would suggest that you are taking advantage of something which was intended for poor people, and as a result, you are able-bodied, but you're not working.

[00:30:15] And, of course, the bottom line is people, mostly, most voters, tend to think of Medicaid as a safety net for, like, low-income pregnant women, disabled Americans. That is true. But the argument has been that, well, we need to expand it, and under Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, it expanded that into what has become kind of a permanent entitlement,

[00:30:41] and you will then sometimes hear what I think is a false figure, a false statistic that 92% of able-bodied Medicaid adults under age 65 worked full or part-time. Well, it turns out, and again, that's why I give this article to you, because it's a way to counter all of the deliberate, I think, misinformation out there right now, because that figure is derived from government survey data.

[00:31:10] In other words, are you working? The people say, yeah, I'm working, even if they haven't worked for years. Well, there have been individuals that have said, maybe that is not necessarily right. And so what they did is the group that was working in this particular area, the Foundation for Government Accountability, they went back and looked at the administrative records from the various state Medicaid agencies

[00:31:36] in 23 different states to get a more complete picture of those individuals who are, it's 21 million able-bodied adults that are on Medicaid, and then could look and see whether or not they were actually working, and guess what, they were not. So, again, there are, in these particular areas of Medicaid, recognized that some people might be able-bodied, but they may not be able to work.

[00:32:05] And so Republicans, when they've talked about Medicaid, have offered exceptions for all sorts of plausible reasons. You're pregnant, have children, caring for an incapacitated relative, you're exempt. You got a doctor's note attesting that you're unfit for work, you're exempt. If you're enrolled in school or getting help for alcohol or drug abuse, you're exempt. But as the House speaker, Mike Johnson, put it the other day,

[00:32:35] he said Medicaid isn't for a 29-year-old male sitting in their couches playing video games. And he says we're going to find those guys and we're going to send them back to work. If you've heard any of the commentary I've given over the last couple of months about the growing number of individuals who are able-bodied and they're not working,

[00:32:58] they're not looking for work, and they are in many cases receiving all sorts of government benefits, it seems to me that encouraging an individual that has the ability to go out and get a job, and thus, once you get a job, probably have access to better health care is good, because let's face it, Medicaid isn't exactly the best way to deal with health care, because oftentimes doctors won't even accept it because of the low reimbursement rates.

[00:33:28] So that's my second argument, which again is being deliberately, seemingly misrepresented. And if you'd like to get the facts, that's our first article today on the website, pointofview.net. Let's take a break. We've got more to cover right after this.

[00:33:55] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth. Back for a few more minutes. Let me real quickly go through one of the other articles here, which I, again, hope you will read in its entirety, because it's pointing out the fact that the title by Matt Vespa is former Rolling Stone editor on globalism. It's time to blow it up or time to end it. And really what he's talking about is an individual we've quoted before,

[00:34:22] and that's Matt Taibbi, who used to be an editor for Rolling Stone magazine. Now he looks at things from a left-of-center point of view, but you hear me quoting him quite often because he is an individual that has seen what has happened with the censorship of divergent points of view, and he certainly believes in free speech. He's also been observing and really had a place of great observation

[00:34:50] because of his position in the past and even now to what has happened with this whole idea of globalism, that we need to lower all sorts of trade barriers. We should forget about tariffs. We should agree to have China in the World Trade Organization. We should implement NAFTA and on and on and on. And he is, interestingly enough, as a classic liberal, as Matt Vespa points out,

[00:35:17] recognizing that maybe it is time to rethink everything from free trade, tariffs, globalization, and the rest. And he points out, as an individual that really does appreciate what used to be the core of the Democratic Party, what he calls the working class, he says union workers know that it's a red flag when you have the political class telling us we need NAFTA, we need World Trade Organization,

[00:35:46] we need the World Economic Forum, we need to have kind of a globalist perspective, when, as a result, it ends up not benefiting the working class. And as a result, his argument is, this comes again from a person looking at this from a liberal point of view, the working class has been slaving away, denigrated, forgotten, and taken for granted. And as a result, then when they started voting Republican,

[00:36:11] the Democratic Party turned its attention from what used to be kind of the core of the Democratic Party to, again, some of the comments Matt Vespa says, replaced by the over-educated wealthy snobs who go online to anyone complaining about the cost of living to mock these people for not going to college and gives you some links. And then a very lengthy piece, first with a presentation by National Public Radio, and then some of the response to it.

[00:36:38] And so you can read it, given the limited amount of time I have left, I did want to get to our third point, and that is, again, this almost deliberate misrepresentation of what is taking place. And, of course, the other day, when we had this attack against the Pennsylvania governor, we certainly were aware of the fact that this was an individual who,

[00:37:03] if you follow any of the information about him, looks like he was kind of a socialist. At one point, they left that out in some of the presentations and made it sound like, well, he's really a Trump supporter. He hates Trump even more. He was, in a sense, attacking Governor Shapiro because, if anything, it wasn't liberal enough. Let's also just admit that some of these people are just crazy. I mean, they just really are. So to try to assign them as left or right is really kind of ridiculous.

[00:37:31] But the reason I bring it out is this last article, because Derek Hunter reminds us that there on CNN, and I alluded to that yesterday, you had somebody coming on saying that the real problem is not left-of-center violent actions, which would require you to not pay attention to a list I'll give you in just a minute, or even the latest surveys that we talked about that suggest that the left-leaning individuals

[00:37:58] were quite okay to a majority that would say it could be justified, or at least partially or somewhat justified to assassinate Donald Trump, assassinate Elon Musk, to destroy Tesla dealerships and cars and things of that nature. And so as a result, it was just a reminder that we are getting what some people have referred to as an assassination culture. It's one thing to have a cancel culture.

[00:38:26] It's quite another to have an assassination culture. And this is where, again, Derek Hunter says, you know, when he goes all the way back and says, well, look at the dangers of the right wing and goes back to Oklahoma City, the bombing which took place in 1995. So that's 30 years ago, illustrates that. But he says it would be nice if you were just to ignore the number of trans activists, especially one trans activist that shot up a school one day,

[00:38:55] and then another one that did it in another venue, or James Hodgkinson trying to murder as many Republicans as possible on a baseball field. And CNN at the time moved off the story before Steve Scalise was even off of life support. Of course, roving bands of leftists spending a year trying to attack police, business owners, burning down buildings, and it was all part of the summer of love.

[00:39:23] And just a reminder that if you doubt that there is left-wing violence today, he says, well, just ask any Jewish student on campus right now. Ask anybody that maybe owns a Tesla car, and you will certainly see that there is a big issue in that regard. And so I just think one more time, it's an illustration of why you should read widely. In this particular case, just a minute ago, we talked about, yeah,

[00:39:52] read some of the substack material from Matt Taibbi, left of center, individual, used to write for Rolling Stone magazine because he's got some really interesting things to say. But also I saw this interesting little meme that came out from Peachy Keenan. I didn't know much about Peachy Keenan, but I did some research because I've already looked at Penna Dexter's commentary for Friday, which you can read, and she quotes from Peachy Keenan. Yeah, that's not her name. But nevertheless, she says, you know, right now,

[00:40:22] look at the people that are being put front and center by people that are left of center. First of all, a murderer named Luigi, and Luigi Mangione, who killed the health care CEO Brian Thompson. Number two, the murderer named Carmelo. You might say, who is that? Well, that just happened down the road from us. Carmelo Anthony is a young man who had an argument with Austin Metcalf at a track meet,

[00:40:50] pulls out a knife, plunges it into his body, and kills him. And then I see this piece from Dinesh D'Souza saying that Carmelo Anthony has now been able to make bond. He's renting a $900,000 house in a gated community with a family, bought a new car after his release. And, of course, under that, Dinesh D'Souza says, who says crime doesn't pay? Then they talk about an MS-13 illegal gang member.

[00:41:19] We'll get into that probably tomorrow. And even a Palestinian Hamas supporter. And as I've said on more than one occasion, I think there are reasons to be concerned about some of the cuts that are being done by Doge. But if you're concerned about that, maybe you should have been concerned about all the money that's been misspent up until this time that nobody seemed to really care about.

[00:41:43] There's a reason to be concerned about a person here or there that might be deported without the proper vetting. But if you're concerned about that, how about being concerned about all the people that were let into this country without any kind of vetting at all? And I think it's just a reminder that right now this is pretty odd that the leaders that are part of the Democratic Party, or at least the leaders in the left part of the Democratic Party,

[00:42:11] they are actually willing to die on a hill that makes no sense to me. And focusing so much time and attention on an individual that is an MS-13 gang member, which is right now in El Salvador, when there are some very legitimate issues to be addressed as legislation is making its way through Congress, one of which is, again, I hope you'll take some action. It's on the website. Stop illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections.

[00:42:41] If you'd like to have your two United States senators hear from you, we've made it possible for you to do that today. We'll talk about it again tomorrow. And that's really all we have for today. I've left a lot on the table. We'll see if we can get to some of that tomorrow. Most importantly, I want to thank Megan for her help engineering the program. Steve, thank you for producing the program. We'll see you back here tomorrow, right here on Point of View.

[00:43:11] It was not that long ago that censorship appeared to be almost inevitable. Free speech was being attacked and strangled in many places. And some of us wondered if this was the end. But now many feel a new sense of hope, a chance for a fresh dawn. Let me caution you. Now is not the time to relax.

[00:43:34] It's a time to press forward, to use this fresh opportunity to proclaim and learn how to apply truth to current issues. By the fact you're here, listening right now, that tells me that you recognize the vital role Point of View plays as a voice of truth. For more than 50 years, we've informed and equipped people who have made a real difference.

[00:43:57] And when you give to Point of View today, you breathe life into what can be a new golden era for the truth. Please, take a moment right now and invest in truth. Visit pointofview.net or give it 1-800-347-5151. That's pointofview.net. Click in now or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:44:27] Point of View is produced by Point of View Ministries.