"I'm Glad You Said That" - Jim Minnery Talks Faith & Politics

Sarah Vance, the Alaska House Representative from Homer, is on the show today talking sex trafficking and minors accessing porn online. Despite the Democrats in charge this session, she is pushing forward. Support the show

David Fowler has always been thinking outside of the box.As a former State Senator, choir director, author and my friend and colleague at Family Action Council of Tennessee, David has always challenged current dialogue and jurisprudence that ignores the fundamental definition of what it means to be human.Today, on "I'm Glad You Said That", I get to speak with him about the landmark case heard at the U.S. Supreme Court on whether the Constitution requires medical experimentation on children. As our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom have noted, the United States of America v. Skrmett case is about "the ability of states (Tennessee in this instance) to govern the practice of medicine—a responsibility that states have exercised since our nation’s founding."Support the show

How often have you felt like you defiled yourself ?I did again myself this morning with my wife. Said something that I wish I could put "back in the tube" but toothpaste, and words, don't work that way. Thankfully, my wife, and my God, offer forgiveness. But that is most attributed to the fact that I am in relationship with them. What about words we use that harm others that we have never even met or have no real relationship with ?As is often said, the world of politics is a full contact sport. Emotions often run high around beliefs that run deep. Words are used all the time that make assumptions, cast broad nets and have direct and collateral damage.At a recent State Policy Network training event I attended, I came across a session presenting a way of analyzing speech. It wasn't focused on policy or politics or party. It was highlighting the reality that much of the divide in our nation right now has as much to do with how we address disagreements as it does with the disagreement itself.It's called The Dignity Index and it hit me pretty hard. Scripture, as you likely know, is full of words about how we use words. Jesus Himself is called, "the Word of God."  He is the personification of the written and spoken word. The testimony that God revealed through the prophets during the Old Testament period was now made human with the coming of Christ. Hence the Word became flesh.We are image bearers and when we talk about other image bearers, we are to be like Christ.  Not easy and a very high calling but the more we can do it...the more we will be witnesses to the Truth.Tami Pyfer is one of the creators of The Dignity Index and is my guest today on "I'm Glad You Said That". The show is a podcast you can access on most of the standard platforms and it's also broadcasted on Wednesdays at 1pm on KATB (89.3 FM) and at 5pm on KVNT (1020 AM, 92.5 FM & 104.5 FM).Support the show

John Daniel Davidson is a senior editor at The Federalist. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Claremont Review of Books, The New York Post, and elsewhere.Raised in the MatSu Valley, he graduated from Hillsdale College, spent time overseas and lived in Austin, Texas before retracing his family's journey back to the Great Land where he now resides in a log home on the Davidson Homestead.His brother Joel, a good friend and fellow master of words, is Editor for the Alaska Watchman. Their family is really good stock.We'll chat on the show today about John's take on the Presidential election as well as the bigger canvas of what has made America great and how it is crumbling.John is the author of Pagan America: the Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come. Follow him on Twitter, @johnddavidson.Support the show

I'm grateful to sit down with former Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty today to discuss the judicial selection and retention process in the Great Land.As Co-Chair for Alaskans for Fair Courts, Geraghty has spent a lot of time defending the current system of judges having to go through the Alaska Judicial Council, a quasi-Governmental agency, to get appointed by the Governor.He is passionate and sincere in believing that our process is the envy of the country. I argue that the Alaska Judicial Council’s retention evaluation process is severely deficient because it includes no analysis of a judge or justice’s overall “judicialphilosophy” regarding the proper methodology for interpreting statutory and constitutional provisions. This is a fatal flaw, because no other aspect of judicial performance has a greaterpotential to impact the lives of all Alaskans – not just those who happen to find themselves in a courtroom at some point in their lives.Hope you can tune in. It's a cordial and necessary conversation.Support the show

Michael Jamieson Williams intrigued and inspired me almost immediately when I met him for the first time at my church in Anchorage this past Sunday.He's someone who attends Holy Family Cathedral downtown but is close friends with members of our congregation and was there to tell his story.It was intense and disturbing and beautiful and not unlike what many Christ followers have gone through. The battle against our fleshly inclinations manifests itself in so many different ways. John Piper has called it "sacred schizophrenia" and every member of The Way struggles with it.Michael's has to do with same-sex attraction.And as he notes, overcoming our desires is not about will power or discipline. It's about complete surrender to the will of God. Yes God loves us but in turn...he wants us to love Him and to do so, we need to listen to what He has to say about true human flourishing. We need to deny ourselves and pick up our cross.I'm honored to speak with Michael on the show today.Support the show

Ben Carpenter is a peony farmer and former soldier on the Kenai Peninsula who has served several terms in the Alaska House. He's fed up with how the Alaska State Senate can't organize around conservative principles of developing our natural resources and managing how much we spend as a Government. Tune in today to hear more.Support the show

Mikaela Emswiler is on the program again because I listened to another horribly deceptive ad from the NO on Ballot Measure 2 folks and realized we may not be able to compete against their dark, outside money pouring in to our state (something they ironically pretend they are fighting against) but we CAN proclaim the truth as loud as we are able.Mikaela is running the Yes on 2 campaign to end rank voting and although she is facing a Goliath who is a lying, pile of money...we might just have the smooth stone to end this madness. Tune in.Support the show

David Hoyt started a classical education academy in Florida but has realized that no matter how strong the school choice options are in the foreseeable future, we can't let public schools continue to rot.As Executive Director of School Boards for Academic Excellence, David is all in on their mission of ..."cultivating and empowering a nationwide network of state-based professional school board associations dedicated to ensuring that every school board member in their state has access to the training, tools, and resources needed to advance achievement-focused educational policies and equip them to serve as strong, competent advocates for the children and parents in their district."That's a big mission but one that is worthy of our time and attention.Hope you can tune in to my chat with David today.Support the show

Bunni Pounds is a bundle of energy. After running a very successful political consulting firm, she founded Christians Engaged to awaken, educate and empower Christians to pray, vote and engage regularly in efforts to improve the nation's well being.Most Christians would agree that our government would be in better shape if more Christians were involved. However, polling tells us that in many places up to a third of the Christian community sits out key elections. Many of the people who share our values simply don’t vote.Alaska Family Council has worked hard over the years to increase voter turnout in the pews. But we've lacked a dedicated staff person and solid technology to truly have as great of an impact as we'd like.Until now.Family Policy Alliance, our national partner we've worked side by side with since our founding in 2006, and Christians Engaged (CE), the nation’s leading Christian-based, voter turnout operation, have united to form a powerful alliance dedicated to advancing biblical values in our nation’s political landscape for generations to come.Bunni and I will chat about it on today's show. For more info about this strategic merger, watch this video.In short, Christians Engaged has developed the technology and tools we need as a movement to inspire and activate Christ-followers to get to the polls. However, CE lacked the national presence to effectively bring the program before the larger Christian community. Family Policy Alliance, and its network of state-based organizations like Alaska Family Council, has the footprint across the nation but lacked the right technological tools.Together, with FPA and CE now fully merged, Alaska Family Council is prepared to immediately implement this program. The goal is to educate and equip one million Christians across the nation—many of them from right here in Alaska—ahead of the November 2024 Elections.Stand by for more details and take a few minutes to tune in today.Support the show

Dr. Guy Golan is an Associate Professor of Strategic Communication at Texas Christian University, speaker and author on issues of public diplomacy, geopolitics and social media. His latest book, called My Brother's Keeper ? The Complicated Relationship Between American Jews and Israel, is as hot of a topic as it gets today.Addressing such questions as...Who will American Jews vote for in the next elections?Why are American Jews liberals and Israeli Jews conservative?How has Zionism become a litmus test for American Jews on the progressive left?What gave rise to the new antisemitism on college campuses? And what can be done about it?Why do Evangelical Christians love Jews, while American Jews distrust them?...his book is a must read. I'm very honored to have him on I'm Glad You Said That today.I hope you can tune in.Support the show

When ranked choice voting was being thrust on Alaskans, the advocates for it, if you remember, used the horrible analogy of ice cream preferences. Go to the shop and they don't have your favorite chocolate peanut butter ? Easy. You just choose rocky road or vanilla or rainbow unicorn.The problem ?  They didn't tell you that ultimately, you had to choose diesel or manure or acid flavored ice cream.  Sounds yummy right ?They also said it all had to do with getting rid of "dark money" when in fact, the progressives LOVE dark money. The more the better. Between now and November, expect dump loads to come into the Great Land.Today, I get to chat with Mikaela Enswiler, Chair of the Yes on 2 Campaign, an effort to end ranked choice voting in Alaska and get rid of ice cream we never wanted in the first place.Support the show

Sue Swayze Liebel with the Susan B. Anthony List is on the show today to chat about what's relevant now in the pro-life arena.The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America was founded in 1992 as the political arm of the pro-life movement.  Since their founding, SBA Pro-Life America has grown into a nationwide network of more than 1,000,000 Americans committed to serving women and saving babies. Hope you can tune in. Support the show

Gabby Ide is one of the nicest people I've met. With a great smile and a ready hug every time we see each other, she has truly become a friend.But don't doubt her tenacity.As a former champion mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Gabby knows we are in a battle not just physically with our flesh against our spirit. We are fighting against principalities. Evil forces that want to separate the influence of parents over their own children.Not on her watch.And that's why she's the head of the Anchorage chapter of Moms for Liberty. As she notes though, as an athlete getting in the cage, if you are angry with your opponent, you've already lost. She epitomizes the Moms for Liberty brand calling their members to be "Joyful Warriors."Super grateful to have her on the show today.Support the show

Why did the Alaska Superior Court undermine tens of thousands of Alaskan families utilizing educational choice options other than Government-run schools ?What does the latest Alaska Supreme Court decision upholding the private and homeschool allotment program mean ?Joel Davidson, my good friend at the Alaska Watchman, is one of the most educated and articulated citizens I know regarding this issue. I'm blessed to have him as a brother in Christ and to have him on the show today. Support the show

Shishmaref, as the crow flies, is about 100 miles north of Nome on the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, known in some circles as the "nose" of Alaska.Tyler Ivanoff, a school teacher, community leader and basketball coach, among other vocations, took a break from hunting seals and sea bird eggs recently to chat with me about his campaign to represent District 39 as a House member.He's running as a Nonpartisan candidate against Democrat Neil Foster who has served in the House since 2009 after he was appointed to the House to replace his father, Richard Foster, who had died in office the previous month.In 2022, Foster edged out Ivanoff by less than 100 votes. Ivanoff has said he is unwilling to join a coalition majority in which the opposite political party controls a majority of seats. He's also noted that his priorities include "safeguarding our children and their futures, enacting legislation to protect salmon, preserving the Permanent Fund Dividend, and ensuring the integrity of girls' sports." In legislation passed by the House last month, Foster joined with all the other Democrat lawmakers voting to allow biological males to compete against girls.Grateful to have the opportunity to visit with Alaskans from the farthest corners of our state. I hope you can tune in.Support the show

We live in extraordinary times as Christ-followers.Not that there hasn't been chaos and antagonism or being marginalized for holding to scriptural truth. People of the Way have always been a minority. As C.S. Lewis noted, we are in..."Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.”What is new, and is one of the central themes in local author and influencer Leigh Sloan's new book Pride and Privilege is that words and their meanings have changed. The book's title is in fact a play on words that in today's context, mean something far different than in another era not that long ago. Leigh gives sound advice on what it means to put on the "glove of cultivation" in terms of how we engage with those around us with different realities, different assumptions, even different vocabularies.We are each placed in a particular place at a particular time to engage with particular people. Are we doing more than complaining ? Leigh has provided clarity for those of us who really want to be salt and light as Jesus asks. I'm honored to call her a friend and grateful she's on the show today.Support the show

Zeke Kaleo Thompson is a discipler of students at Cru...and a killer drummer.Join me today for a chat with a young influencer in the college arena in Alaska. You'll be encouraged about the baton of faith being passed.Support the show

Joel Penton knows what it means to tackle things.As a former defensive end for THE Ohio State University Buckeye football team, he has plenty experience identifying a target and wrapping it up.For now though, he's tackling much bigger issues.Joel is the CEO of LifeWise Academy, a religious education program that provides Bible studies to public school students DURING SCHOOL HOURS.And this ministry is literally exploding all across the country ! CLICK HERE to join the effort in the Anchorage School District that is already in the planning stages.A U.S. Supreme Court opinion has long ago clarified the legality of such programs as long as they are 1) off school property 2) privately funded and 3) opted in by parents.  Alaska Family Council is working closely with LifeWise Academy to bring this exemplary program to every school district in the Great Land.Their proven record of significant improvements in the areas of character education, mental health, academic outcomes and community involvement has created massive interest from schools and families.We're excited to ride the wave and I'm thrilled to shoot the breeze with a fellow Buckeye :-)I hope you can tune in.Support the show

Joel Penton knows what it means to tackle things.As a former defensive end for THE Ohio State University Buckeye football team, he has plenty experience identifying a target and wrapping it up.For now though, he's tackling much bigger issues.Joel is the CEO of LifeWise Academy, a religious education program that provides Bible studies to public school students DURING SCHOOL HOURS.And this ministry is literally exploding all across the country ! CLICK HERE to join the effort in the Anchorage School District that is already in the planning stages.A U.S. Supreme Court opinion has long ago clarified the legality of such programs as long as they are 1) off school property 2) privately funded and 3) opted in by parents.  Alaska Family Council is working closely with LifeWise Academy to bring this exemplary program to every school district in the Great Land.Their proven record of significant improvements in the areas of character education, mental health, academic outcomes and community involvement has created massive interest from schools and families.We're excited to ride the wave and I'm thrilled to shoot the breeze with a fellow Buckeye :-)I hope you can tune in.Support the show