A Grunt's Eye View On Iran w/ John Cooper Jr.

 Welcome to another episode of the Carpefeade podcast where if the shoe fits you wear it and if the truth hurts you bear it. I am Justin Gruber and I am Jesse Gruber and today we hope you will seize the faith. Hey everybody welcome to another episode of the Carpefeade podcast. How you doing Jess? Doing alright man, doing alright. Jesse's coming live from a cave so you can't see it. This is an audio format but... I heard they were floating my name for the next day I told us so I figured I would take cover. Shelter in place, shelter in place. Oh man. Well this is episode 222 of the Carpefeade podcast. Nice even number you know. John, something about the triple do's. Oh my gosh the triple do's episode. And how appropriate it is because tonight we have a gruntsive view of Iran. We are bringing on our special guest tonight Sergeant John Cooper. Hey John. Is this really episode triple do's? It is episode triple do's so awesome. You couldn't plan this any better. You act like we planned anything at all. Well this year on February 22nd is a Sunday I got asked the preaching church locally and our motto is deeds not words and triple do's. I said I was like look it's triple do's day I have to preach on these. So they were like yeah that's fine with us. I got to scratch something off the bucket list. That's awesome. Perfect. That's awesome. So right away many of you might you should remember John. John's been on many times on the Carpefeade podcast. Although at 222 episodes there's just a lot of episodes of the Carpefeade podcast at this point. But right off the top before we do any cutting getting into getting into a gruntsive view of Iran and maybe talking about some of the things that are going on. Which we really haven't touched on a lot yet on the Carpefeade purposefully kind of like let's let's say let things simmer because you can't just talk about things right away nowadays. But right off the top John you are doing a lot of work up there with the Niagara gospel mission and before we got into anything I wanted to make sure everybody could hear what's going on. What's new, how the Niagara gospel mission is going and anyways that they can they can just connect help and be a part of what you're doing for those that are in need in Niagara. Yeah thanks for let me share some of that. I mean a lot's been going on so I'm not going to get into everything. I just kind of have a few things on the highway that have really been things that I'm. Really the Lord's been doing that has just been so humbling and one of them is is really what I took over which was about two years ago as executive director. We were we had kind of just skated by financially making it for the year and when I got hired as development director which many of us know it's the first using charge of fundraising. I pretty much got told like hey we got six months to turn the ship around and if we don't then there will be no more Niagara gospel mission and I'm like I'm great so that was going into my executive director ship if you will and just this past year we grew the mission 106% so we literally doubled our donation revenue. And people wanting to get involved and and we don't take any state or federal funding so that wasn't like we'd signed to deal with the double when we were you know good but really is people seeing what God's doing and I credit a lot of it to I took a I took a lot of time to look at our programs and really tear them apart and say is this how if Christ were running a rescue mission is this how he'd do it right obviously you know the level of the world. We don't have a limited resources so there's more we could do but what can we do with what we have and is it what the word God says. Hudson Taylor said you know God's book on God's way will never let God supply and so by digging deep into how we do homeless ministry and what we do a lot different than other organizations I believe God's been blessing it because we've taken the time to actually dig into his word and have a Bible burst every policy if you will. So one of the things that I really wanted to highlight on that is that guys since I've been there who have gone through our programs are now leaders within the mission and so I don't I don't want people to just think of themselves when they come into the mission as a customer who's here for our services for however longer there and then you know we some people we do they come in. They get saved they come to recovery they get transitional housing and then they get a job and then they're working in the community which is great but a lot of the guys we have actually taken leadership positions in the mission so our recon program which is our recovery and life transformation programs actually now run by a guy who went through the program so he's he's the manager so he manages the entire program we sent him to get some people counseling training. We've given him some teaching training and now he runs the program we got other guys running our co-blues so when we go out in our van and try to find homeless people who are stuck in snow banks and that kind of stuff it's actually guys who were homeless just six months ago who are driving that van and trying to find those people and so just one of the things that I want to highlight is that the guys on the ground at the mission kind of those lower level leaders are all people who are formerly homeless. 60% of our employees were poor mission graduates and so that's something I'm extremely proud of to see God really working in these guys lives and not just oh they're not doing drugs anymore and oh they're not drinking anymore but now it's they're actually reconcited back to the families are going to local churches every week they're studying their Bible on their own and they're leading the effort to help homeless and Niagara Falls which is super cool. And then in the future I know we've talked about before but our women center we're really coming a long way on that all the demo and a specialist of even has been done in the half of our building we're making the women center and we have 3.5 million left to raise so we're raising money for that and just kind of the stats there's over 400 women in Niagara Falls who are either homeless prostituted or trafficked across the Canadian border and traffic within and so. Then there's 308 children who are in similar situations when talking to the school district here so there's a lot of need a lot of need for a place like ours which is unfortunate but at the same time we're we're there and I really believe this is a chance for the church to rise to the occasion be who God's called them to be and that's kind of we're an extension of that in Niagara Falls so yeah really happy thank you thanks again for wow me to kind of give a plug if you want to get involved. Go to our website NiagaraGhostmission.org. If you want to donate to us there's a donation page there like I said we don't take state or federal funding if your church wants to do a mission strip to Niagara Falls what's one thing we just kind of started we have a church doing that the end of the month so we're really excited about that and yeah just go on that website send an email on there there's a contact thing and then we'll go there and we'll see you guys. John you you that I mean I was that was a lot of stuff yeah you know sometimes sometimes it's just hard to talk you know sometimes a little frog in the room okay so anyway as I was saying you you are doing you are doing with homeless people what most churches can't do with their power or staff which is which is disciple and funnel back into into ministry and that I I love hearing stories about the NiagaraGhost Mission and not all stories are bright and happy that that you have to share sometimes sometimes they're really tragic and and full of sorrow but there is I don't know if I could speak of any other ministry where I could guarantee you that every dollar that you might give or consider giving would go to the best of places. There's there's only one ministry that comes to mind that I would ever consider donating to that I would be like yeah no they're not going to squander this and that's that's John's and I'm so proud I'm so proud of that it's really cool man. Well all glory to God it's all all him I'm just a stumble and do try to fix it out turn this ship around or you're out of a job in six months yeah yeah that wasn't fun. Hey babe I got to do job I don't know how long I have it. It's like what? Sorry but you know it was well no it was really even in that moment it was trusting the Lord that if this was a work he had that he was going to sustain it and a lot of people talk about that and they're just like oh you know the Lord will provide but when you're when you have to when it's yourself it's hard like when my wife and I had the moves in Niagara Falls because of all you know her losing your job because of the COVID vaccine mandates and then that was kind of what made us move to Niagara Falls and again looking back and see God's hand on it you know when it was just us and see you got to trust the Lord that he's going to provide we saw him provide and for us personally that's that's four people and two dogs right but when it's you have a hundred people your response with war and you have to figure it out it's it really does test your steel and your faith you know you know there was never a moment of thought over and it'll take a state license or anything like that but there's always a thought back your head when it's like man Lord is this really what you want to have that you know and he does he wants the mission to be there which is which is why we're there and so yeah all glory to God it's it's great to see what you do on group of work. I think that's the can you guys hear me yeah yeah good unfortunately so sorry I think that's the real key because you need to hear church that when you have a gospel mission that's not taking state funds but yet is doing the work of the gospel they need support that's the whole idea and so if you can be a church or just personally a Christian I mean the the thing that Christians do is is getting a lot of work. We give and we give terribly and if you want to give to a place that I can assure you is doing amazing things with what you're giving it's it's the Niagara gospel so church get on that that is one of the things we love we as individuals and churches have as individual in a church have supported the Niagara mission we're glad to we're thankful to so so you we don't we don't have ads we don't recommend things all all the time we we ardently recommend supporting the Niagara the Niagara gospel mission so do it do it. Well thank you guys appreciate that. Yes and now that we've been you feel so good because that was what we really wanted to do. There's just so much happening and since we haven't talked about it and we really wanted to and what I like desperately wanted to do was have one of our one of the one of the grunts that we know on so so John I introduced you as Sergeant Cooper. Can you can you give the people your bonafides as as someone that we would call a grunt and why we call you a grunt. So a grunt is someone who's typically it's synonymous with the term it with the actual nomically which is infantrymen and so infantrymen are the ones who are in the trenches or the ones kicking in the doors and shooting back guys. They're the ones who you know the way it was described to me was no one makes a movie about a pug which is someone is a which stands for a person other than grunt. You know the movies that you watch that are regular soldiers out there living in trenches living in you know foxholes like that's an infantryman that's a grunt and so that's what I did in the army for six years. There's as an infantryman there's different positions you can have you know some people are machine gunners some people are you know saw gunners and stuff like that I was a sniper within infantry units. And I was a sniper section leader in Afghanistan. We were the deployment right before the pull out of Afghanistan and so we were not the ones who were there during the pull off we were we were ripped out which means replace by the guys you were. And so yeah that's kind of my army experience. Yeah it's six years and I loved it I loved a lot of people think I'm crazy for loving it but it was it was fun it was a good life hard you know but yeah but it was good so. So you come at this with the so you get to come at this from the perspective of someone who quite literally was boots on the ground service and I think that is probably lacking in I would say the ethos of conversation around everything that's happening in Iran or these law of the public as you know depending on how you want to call it. But but most people don't realize is that the the hostility I ran his head has existed against Americans and pretty much anybody that's not supporting sure you're law for like 47 years it's been a long time. Is there is there a like is that something that you yourself having served could like acknowledge like you've not that you had direct experience with it but that I mean a lot of the things that you're not going to do. The terrorism is connected in the Middle East and a lot of it does flow from Iran who was able to run in Islamic Republic. Quote unquote Republic in the country. Yeah I mean when I saw that we had bombed Iran not not for though but after you know and started this quote unquote war that we got going on now you know my my immediate comment was it's about darn time. I have people may not know that Iran is you hear it all the time the number one funder terrorism and that sounds like just a stat that's thrown out there you're like oh we know that but it's like well no. Well that's what the Jews say that Iran is. Well yeah well last I checked down Trump was in the Jew was our CIA and so no I mean it's just it's a known fact I don't care who who says it the they are they have funded not only funded the terror that's going on that we fought for 20 years or so over but we're still fighting we're still in Iraq we're still in Syria just because we pulled out of Afghanistan doesn't mean the global war on terror stopped. Like we're still doing combat operations in Iraq we're still doing combat operations in Syria and so it never actually stopped like that's a misconception that a lot of people have. I got friends who did come had combat tours in Syria in like you know 2024 is just kind of that's the way that's the way it works and so. You know with that they not only funded so that doesn't mean they didn't really fund like funnel money ISIS and and the Taliban but they they basically invented the effective roadside bombs that took out a lot of our soldiers and so. You know I've been on those clearances clearing routes from roadside bombs I mean it's I'm driven down those roads where you knew that roadside bombs were possibility and so I walk those roads drove those roads I mean it's they were a game changer because Iraq in the beginning didn't really know how to do it and then Iran sent them the kind of the prototype that could take out the middle. You know the the halls and our humbies which is why we have to go to the map be which is a V halls that way the explosion close up through the sides and it can help protect the soldiers inside so. You know I kind of did some research for coming on just talking about roadside bombs specifically you know 47% of all soldiers who have died and soldiers airmen and Marines I just used soldiers for all military numbers. 47% of those who died in Afghanistan Iraq were from roadside bombs so if you're looking at who is responsible for killing a lot of our soldiers in Iraq at yes and you could point to Iran not only from funding but from the technological standpoint of them sending arms and like I said it's about it's just about our time somebody did something about it and you know I'm very grateful to I call local Pete San Uncle Sam anymore it's Uncle Pete. And and the president for finally having the stones to actually go and do something about it. It's like the it's like the Zoolander scene where where Derek goes and works in the mines with his with his dad he's like. It's like Derek I've been working these mines for 26 years and you've been only that if a 26 minutes like I feel like that's kind of like the conversation about Iran it's it's it's a very long and and drawn out thing to consider it's not just we we forget we forget that things happened you know longer than like two years ago yeah you know the plan. You read the Old Testament and you see especially in the book of judges I mean it's like you look at before Debra and Barack rose up you know they had been harassed for 20 years and then God you know rose them up you look at Gideon is seven years and you just go through and you see all these times in the Bible where the governments are not doing what they're supposed to do this going after the people who are attacking them. And God finally rises somebody up in the Old Testament you know judges and warriors and kings and they finally go and do something about it and it's like that's kind of what it felt like on a practical level is just like okay finally someone is willing to say these guys are bad let's stop sending them money to make a nuclear bomb which makes a zero sense and let's just kill doesn't it let's just kill them and then they can't make a bomb. And then when their son becomes a leader let's kill him to and when the next guy let's just kill him to until they finally learn that this is not going to stop until they stop you know we'll keep the gay one alive just as a joke. Hey you keep the gay tola's name out of your mouth. I'm sorry I couldn't say his name. The reality and I think you you just touched on it nicely we're talking about a nation bent on inflicting terror on striking terror that doesn't have the means necessarily to hit us where we are with their munitions but can indeed through proxies and networks hit us. And then attack us where we are in the middle east and they have been doing this and funding this and making this happen from us five decades and no one has done anything. Even even back when we when we after after the the world trade centers. I mean it's funny because I mean the the powerful lobbying organization of the Jews. Has always back then was adamant that that it what Iraq wasn't the problem you need to go after Iran Iran is the problem. You have to cut off the head in order to stop all this going and then you can move on to to Iraq we didn't do that we went into Iraq but regardless there's a different field to what's happening now. This actually feels like what I would what would would be classified as a as a a offensive defensive measure like we're actually going with an intent to do something all in offense but as a defensive measure against what what is what the threat actually is. It hasn't happened in a long long long time where we're actually doing a thing instead of kind of half doing a thing I feel like ever since Vietnam the the department of defense which is now probably called the Department of War wouldn't actually do the thing they would slowly poke around at something and not do it. And I feel like this is what it looks like when you actually do war we're calling it a war it's it's really not much of a war i'm. For many reasons it's kind of just like it it's literally an offensive move to provide defense for our country to cease the flow of weapons and terrorism networks that have been all throughout the world i mean we've seen we've seen four attacks already and i think you'd see more if there was actually a way for people to communicate effectively to their networks. It's it's quite impressive it's just really impressive honestly just everything about is impressive but here in America where we're just fat slabs where we have we are we are so comfortable we have the ability to argue about a man becoming a woman we lack the perspective to be able to accurately address these things so I just wanted to go through just to be able to do a thing. Just some of these just from your perspective these are just some of the some of the reasons why we shouldn't do this probably the first one I mean I didn't like this is like the overarching one that is real super super like it's super exy super twittery but this is this is just the Jews john this is actually just the Jews we don't really we don't have a skin in this game I've alluded to this before. And I do want to say before we get before we get into this topic we have taken no money from anyone. We've taken no Jew money for this. Oh my god neither of our employers are Jewish. There are zero Jews have been involved in the making of this episode. Oh my gosh I just wanted to insulate us there. That's what they want you to think Jesse that's what they want you to think. That's what the Jew funded podcast would say. That's telling you a massage operative does not look like me telling you that right now. So I don't know this is my perspective it's feels very ludicrous but. John do you see this as being the Jewish American war like are we just doing what the Jews want. I mean no one tells us what to do I mean that's just kind of especially when Trump is in office nobody tells him what to do I mean you can see that in the way he interacts with people. You can see that in the way he interacts with foreign leaders. I kind of equate like you guys are talking before about how long it's been is like this is like it feels like the adults are in charge again like the kids kind of ran the show for a while. And it was fun but then it never got done. And now it's time for the adults to be in charge again and you know that's what this is what it looks like. People who just because you align with Israel you know as a as a foreign nation and they're your allies. It's not mean they get to tell you what to do. This is just as much in our interest as it is in theirs. They can't death to America just as much as they can't death Israel. And so I don't understand why people would think that we're just following Benjamin Netanyahu's orders and somehow that they've kind of tricked the president of the United States into doing things that he doesn't want to do. I just don't see it. Honestly if there would be any argument it would be that we're bossing the Jews around in Israel and the reason for that is they're doing more bombings. They're the ones who are actually and if there is to be a ground invasion I would assume it's going to be their soldiers not ours who actually go in there because it makes more sense they're closer. And so I yeah I just don't buy it. I don't think anyone gets the boss us around especially not when Donald Trump is in office especially now our uncle Pete is in charge of the Department of War. Yeah I find that just silly and it's just people wanting to get likes on social media as far as I'm concerned. I definitely definitely checks out I feel like when people tell Trump what to do he literally will do the opposite like they could say you know I'm sorry Mr. Trump you dropped that $100 bill you need to pick that $100 bill of he would be like I don't have to pick that dollar bill I can leave that $100 right there I won't do it I don't care what is a like it's just like whatever it is he's like I don't I'm going to do what I want to do. Absolutely right it is far more that America got Israel and what can we just be honest we just be super honest we talk about allies and we talk about Europe as an ally Europe doesn't do anything ever Europe sucks okay they suck I'm sorry like you're like for it and again and again like just calm down Israel by the way is not Jews like I don't I there's so much there's so much talk Israel is not Jews are there Jews in Israel yeah there's there's a lot of Jews in Israel there's also a lot of non Jews in Israel Israel is a nation with national interests and they're the only ones that ever show up to actually do what we want our allies to do it's freaking ridiculous we call countries allies that are like oh yeah we support you I mean we're not going to really support you but we'll say words that sound like we support you it's so annoying oh my gosh I've been like you know what everybody you know what everybody that hates the Jews loves Russia right now like you know what I say hey cool let's just let Russia roll through Ukraine right in Europe let's wait until they actually are like oh crap we really need your help now we've been spending all of our money on social security nets for our people and not on defense we could really use freaking America right now oh my gosh I randered I apologize no yeah and I think I ran to the yeah yeah I mean you even just look at what's going on when Trump's call for them to come and help with the street of four moves and it really is amazing that that's where their oil comes from and they're unwilling to lift a finger some places some places are helping but like you know there it seems to be an unwillingness to get in the skin the game and if I were Donald Trump I would just take it okay cool it's ours now we control this oil now and now you're going to pay us you know you you're more than willing to pay Iran I have a feeling that's probably on the table yeah seriously you're you're unwilling to defend your own oil supply let me know how windmills workout for you and you know yeah good luck we'll just take in our gas prices will be a quarter you know a calendar which would be nice we'll start doing Zoolander having gas elite fights exactly yeah friends died in a freak gasoline fight oh my gosh I don't know what a Yigoo Glee is and and it yet it's really that's really frustrating like I don't look at Israel as the Jews I look at Israel as a nation with its own interests that knows it needs America and so right now we have we have Israel doing most of the fighting we have Israel doing most of the flyovers we have Israel doing like yes we're there and we're super BA and getting super BA stuff done but Israel does have more skin in this game and if anything I'll look stay tuned because I have I will give you exactly how to understand the Trump administration Trump administration 2.0 I have the exact way to understand what's going on and it will absolutely play out over the next two and a few years and you will say oh my gosh this was it so stay tuned yeah I mean you think about this you talk about the Jewish you know you said Israel looking at Israel is Jews and Israel's Jewish population people were professing Jews there is 7.7 million well the United States is Jewish population is 7.5 million so I mean we have you know it's just kind of ludicrous to think that Israel's just running the show and these are Americans we need talk to some Jews they have a lot more alliance to America than Israel because they're Americans they're like why would I you know I live here I'm not moving to Israel so I can get bom you know it's like I'm gonna stay here and wherever I'm and they're probably gonna leave New York but you know yeah because the Scranpensalany is somewhere like that yeah seriously New York City with that new that new well tax if you die that that's gonna be rough I do want to point out also the the Hasidic Jewish community doesn't really participate in in the mandatory service they actually are anti like participating in the army So even if Israel was Jews the army isn't necessarily Jews like let's be honest with what we're talking about here people um one of the things that was interesting I saw um just that's just what the Jews want you to think oh yeah sorry no it's just that it's just that they can't this those little curly cues they don't stay well if you're in combat fatigue so they have to to keep a little cry I am just picture in a fighter I'm a dude rag I'm just picture to fight a fighter I'm sorry let me move my curl say it again okay um the one of the things that I saw just recently was um Joe Rogan and Joe Rogan is absolutely a non-interventualist much more libertarian uh in his political enings but he said that this was just another forever war in fact he said every war is a forever war which I then wanted to point out it is for the Muslims I was uh uh uh I just wanted to put out him um I did not I was not aware that the war of 1812 is still going on um felt like the seven years war also seven years were seven hundred years were um but but is this is this the fear here because I I feel like this is being fought in a different way it doesn't feel like a quote unquote forever war where we get where we do find ourselves in Afghanistan for 20 years because no one has the stones to actually do what they're supposed to do yeah I mean I in like I kind of took notes on that I said what kind of what is a forever war I mean we were in Afghanistan for 20 years I guess I were still in Iraq or still in Syria by the way we're still in Japan we're still in Germany we're still in Korea I mean we have interest abroad I mean the war between France and England was literally called the 100 year war it lasted 116 years started in the 13 you know hundreds and ended in the 14 hundreds crusades lasted 195 years and so it's like 18 days just seems too much and um it's just kind of an insane uh thought process that I understand that every every war can be a forever war in the sense of like it has lasting impacts forever right I mean I just give you an example like the war of 1812 a lot of it was fought where I live and so Lewiston and the city and Niagara Falls which used to be called Manchester were burned to the ground um and we had to rebuild it and there are a lot of people who say that like there was some infrastructure back then that would have helped us now that was destroyed when the British came over here and uh and kind of ransacked that while we were in Canada and so you know I guess in a sense like you you level an entire city to the ground they're going to be rebuilding it for a while and they're going to remember it um so in that sense I can see every wars of forever war in the sense of that there are parts of that war that remain um but sometimes that's good I mean you look at uh if you were to go to the Normandy uh the beaches of Normandy and you were to see the uh gravestones and remember the cost of freedom right you remember these things because it's a lasting impact um and yeah to think we've been there for 18 days and we're gonna have boots on the ground there for the next 20 years it doesn't seem the same way um and again you want to talk about 18 days as a forever war what about the past 50 years when we haven't done anything right like that that's something that just doesn't seem anyone wants to bring up 50 years we've been dealing with them as nuisance and now we're finally swatting the fly that's been flying around our head and so um yeah I just don't buy it now could we send troops on the ground could we put a base in Iran to make sure that they never rise up again yeah we could absolutely do that we should have kept our bases in Afghanistan for the same reason you there's an amazing story forget his name now but he was a uh he ended up being a general in the army his name escapes me but he uh got his first combat action as a lieutenant in Korea but the funny thing is is that when he got his first combat action in Korea it was during the Vietnam war we were still fighting in Korea during the Vietnam war and so it's like people don't realize that these things take time and are we in the centrips that Iran I don't know I have no say you know I'm not getting ptex up isn't calling me for advice but um but at the same time like if you want if you want Germany to change if you want Japan to change you put bases there you put a base on Okinawa where some of the most you know bloody war that our Marines ever fought was an Okinawa and we have a base there why because we wanted to make sure Japan was never gonna rise up and do that again and that's the kind of people see a base in Afghanistan and think oh well Afghanistan should have just been you know western by now so well that's just not the way it works and I think we we did a poor job I think of communicating that to the public and really again looking at Japan Germany Korea we have bases there for a reason yeah there's no reason to think that Iran is going to that the Persian people are going to adopt western style constitutional democracy that's not how they've ever lived that's not their culture and I personally think they can have their culture that's fine I would rather them come to know Jesus Christ and have eternal understanding of how they should live and move on this earth and know his joy and peace that that isn't my decision to make and if they would like to have a king or a sultan or if they want to look if they if they want to have civil unrest and continue war with you know you know the the Kurds I don't like I'm not there to build their culture I am there to make sure that they don't continue to live under the oppressive hand of a terrorist funding or nation I mean we're we're talking about we're talking about everywhere's a forever ward no look at North Korea what we don't go North Korea sucks I've said sucks a lot now but we don't go to North Korea because North Korea has nuclear weapons that that's the problem and and to think that we were you know just messing about with Iran letting allowing them to become a far more radical religiously radical nuclear capable power would have been the dumbest thing in the history of geopolitics absolutely and that really brings me to another thing in fact one of the problems that I'm seeing is that we have a serious push from non interventionists so just on on the geopolitical level you have non interventionists and the most probably the most quintessential non interventionist you can understand maybe something like Rand Paul Rand Paul is don't get involved with anything just focus here in America which would be fantastic except there's a lot of people that want to kill us and they are everywhere now I'm a big you know I understand the the post-work consensus and I'm not for the post-work consensus generally speaking the flattening of morality around some sort of pushed humanistic view across the world at the the removal of God in any for every way it was it's a gross general view at the same time I also can identify the fact that we have enemies not just you know inside of America but outside of America and the enemies inside of America they're easier to spot the ones that are outside are harder to spot and willing to do far more damage than than the ones inside so when I think about the non interventionalists they're just they're just saying that you know we should never get involved in these conflicts and yet these conflicts come to us over the past 47 years these these the violence done to us to Americans to American soldiers to Americans that are traveling abroad on behalf of the terror networks of Iran is a very real thing I don't know that I don't I am not a we need to democratize the world that's not what I'm for but to think you should be a non interventionist doesn't seem to really equate with me with the biblical perspective that we are to go into all of the world and to preach the gospel and it's hard to go into all the world when part of the world wants to kill you yeah I mean I I am I am not a non interventionist I mean I wouldn't have signed up to go to Afghanistan if I believe that that's yeah I think that you have to be careful that there's a verse that I often go to in my own personal life and I think that's that's what the the verse is meant for is those who know the right thing to do it to do and do not do it for them to sin but I also think that that has a obviously has a broader implication and when you're a nation that can do something to stop gross evil not just against your own people but other people as well I think that sometimes there is a case for hopping in and making sure that bad really bad things don't happen a nuclear bomb does not sound like something we want to see in this world again and explode in a nuclear bomb I don't want to see it and there's only one way to stop that right it's like how do you stop or bad to that with a gun it's a good guy with a gun and so how do you stop evil people from getting nuclear weapons you you know you make sure they don't get you bomb them you do what you have to to get in there and stop that and even not just nuclear weapons ballistic missiles I mean that's the other thing too is like people act like while they we bomb their nuclear facilities they just had other bombs they still bomb people like they still kill people like it's just bomb you know what I mean yeah yeah bomb bombs going to be bombs you know so I find it just kind of funny is like the they and the other thing is to like this war specifically they have attacked us and though it's taken us 50 years to do it we're finally responding um and that's what's happening here and I I understand I guess I can sympathize with someone who says well don't just go to Somalia and take out their you know their leader like in the 90s and intervene there and then you have black ox that go down in the streets and over the issue I understand that sediment but I think that a lot of those people have never seen what pure evil looks like um are the evil we have here in America because and I believe it's because we're a Christian nation we've been very blessed that even our evil isn't isn't in its purest form in a lot of places um would you say it's kind of like a it's kind of like a civilized evil uh yeah and I'm careful to say this because there are there is some pure evil that happens here like school shootings and things like that but I mean school shootings is like I'm like if there were schools in these areas like can I ran like this would be normal stuff like in Afghanistan the they're people their leaders are in raping boys I mean you look at what the Muslims did when they conquered a lot of the lands they now inhabit I mean they were taking uh they were taking nuns slitting their throats in the baptismal fonts and then baptizing babies into them as a mockery and then killing the babies I mean in their leaders are raping boys um they're raping women the throwing people off of towers I mean it's just it's savage and there's they are savages I know um I think those pheagsaff said that and a lot of people have been going after him for it but it's the truth the act like that you're gonna be called we're gonna call it how it is and these people they deserve to die and I know in our theology we say well we're all deserving to die because of sinners and that is true but when you inflict these kind of things on people here on the surki you don't get to live you don't get to continue to do it and us as Americans we have the ability to stop a lot of these things now where the hard part becomes is when do you get involved and when do you not because if you do this in Iran I think again I ran I think it was very clear but if you do this in let's say Vietnam but you don't do it in uh you know some of the slotters that happen in Africa where we had ships right off the coast and could have sent millions to stop it how do you choose and that's that's where I think the deeper issue comes and that's a conversation that I don't think I'm prepared for it but well I mean it's relatively simple those those conflicts are happening in Africa they they never inflicted violence upon our nation uh and Iran in the sessons yeah decades decades inflicted the American there have been American casualties the hands of the terror weapons of Iran for 50 years this is not this is not all of the sudden we're doing something this is correct why have we never done something we're asking the wrong question yeah um then then then what this is the most classic thing I've ever I've ever seen my life Americans immediately turn it around too but it's affecting me negatively so so we forget like it's like somehow we forgot that that what Trump was really most concerned about was the 34 plus thousand peaceful protesters which I really thought I really thought here in America we were really concerned about the safety of peaceful protesters the 34 thousand peaceful protesters that were mowed down absolutely mowed down by this government and and with this government doing that it turns out Trump really hates that stuff um and and they're just we don't even talk about that that's not even acknowledge anymore which is super stupid and super frustrating but immediately we forget that and Americans are like but oil prices are going up and I don't want to pay more for gas I'm like so your reason for not doing a a right thing that we should have done long ago is because gas prices are going up it it just feels so selfish to me like super selfish yeah I mean you want the oil prices to go down take straight to our moves well next next up will be car car car islands on the list my friend we're gonna have that we're gonna take that it's good to happen so but yeah no I agree I mean it is again 32,000 people are slaughter and my response is my gas prices have gone up and I think it's just you know the the sense of to be sensititation however you say that word um yeah I'm I'm trying yeah it's like I said we crans we don't write with them and the grunt world and um and so I uh it is sad that that's people's automatic reaction but I think it's death is become so normal to people and violent death of just oh that happens over there doesn't happen here and you look at the war uh world or two especially and everyone back home was willing to get on board is to not only fight against people who attack us but this to see a better life for people in Europe people in Japan um and to beat them back and so we're not willing to make that same sacrifice which I think says something about our current generations and cultures indeed I uh had this discussion with a person on the interwebs on Facebook um they posted I I can't believe I'm paying $3.85 for gas here in New Jersey this should never happen and I had to remind them that in 2022 gas prices in New Jersey were over $5 and we were actively and you know what you know the mystery is it was like why are they this much oh well it's because Russia and Ukraine are at war and I'm looking around like Russian Ukraine or still at war like Russia Russia and Ukraine are still at war we actually know why our gas prices are going up right now we know that this will end and our gas prices will go down and depending on how it turns out could go down a whole lot um like it's like the most disgusting gross I think it's I think it's super super gross um and then and then this this is this is you know what I haven't really heard a lot of I mean I feel like I feel like during the Biden administration campuses were just like borderline riots all the time I haven't really been hearing many headlines about that type of thing going on with with this like you know what I mean like if if if Joe Biden accidentally like looked in the direction of Iran like people people on the college campuses would be would be losing their minds but I feel he's about his time yeah I mean but I I haven't really I mean it could be happening I'm not aware of it there's certainly that possibility but it's at least not making headlines like and I think that that's a positive thing like if you're if you're if you're a father of a kid on campus that you just want a god forbid let them get an education I mean if you didn't you'd probably send him to Iran um but you know like if if you want him to get it agree if you want him to be educated you know I would want them to be in a place where there's not going to be stupid retarded riots all the time and I think that's a net good for for humanity and I think that that speaks to just some what you were saying earlier it just feels different like the whole the whole feeling about this it does it's hard to quantify but it it's having an effect in a very positive way this administration that um it's kind of it's kind of far reaching like I never thought about that until we started talking I'm like dude like if you're Biden like said the word Israel like people where people were losing their minds um because John what when you were mentioning earlier about how about how Iran has acted and Justin you do as well we're saying about how I ran his acted against the American people my mind immediately went to the universities like I don't really think if Iran is a terribly civilized nation and yet and yet their ideology has infected the minds of a generation of collegiate young adults that are entering the workforce that are going to become policy makers and and that's that's another huge interesting you know component to it but welcome to the I was just say I think it goes to kind of what I said earlier about the Trump administration the adults are back in charge so um last week we welcomed our fifth son into the world yeah yeah so Daniel Godfrey Cooper this is a name and um and so I've been home this week and I'll be home next week too um helping Liz out really with the four other boys playing playing offensive line um but when the she we were talking tonight before the podcast and she said me she's like the boys are a lot more well behaved now that you're here um you know you don't have to give the threat when your father gets home like father's home um and so and I think that's kind of to Jesse to your point is that you know Trump has been like if you guys are going to do his protest we're just going to pull your federal funding and um and all of these college campuses have been put on warning for a lot of this stuff and they know that he's not playing around and they're seeing this thing I'm sure they'd love to protest but the administration has done such a good job putting a lid on so many other issues that they're like you know what let's not protest this uh because we know it's not going to be good for us where before you weren't protesting I ran or you weren't protesting Israel then you know you were looked down upon by those who were even teaching you and so it really is amazing that though I don't personally believe Trump as a believer um he said I don't know I'm going to heaven usually as they know um however his effect has gone to is he wants to see America and the last go back to a Christian identity I think that's one of those things that they know this is where if if um the Trump administration as in you know J.D. Vance gets the next presidency and we continue on this day but yeah or marker rubio yeah we're not going to go back to um we're not going to go back to to silly town like this is um this is the adulterer in charge we're back to uh long order and a Christian ethic at least in our in our governance and in our culture and it's not perfect yet and I don't know that it'll ever will be but it's getting back to at least where we were in the 50s or something so the 50s when we oppressed women how dare you John um the I will point out that um Qatar actually is one of the uh chief givers donors to our universities in our country which is very interesting because Qatar always plays both sides uh when it comes to the Middle East and America which is just interesting and maybe just food for thought uh why why is Qatar giving so much money to the university anyway um one of the things that I I saw was that we shouldn't we shouldn't be doing this to Iran because Iran has terror cells all over the world including in our own country why would we do this and possibly risk terrorist action now simultaneous I'm seeing that argument from people um that tend to be more left in their politics who are also simultaneously holding up funding to the department of homeland security so I feel like one of those things can't really be true either you don't really fear for the terrorism or you just want to see Americans die because the terrorism um but I I and this is this blows my mind when so this will go I don't want to do it yet just try to make wait wait for the theory wait for the Trump theory you'll understand Trump perfectly after this but one of the first things when we were having the talks right we were talking with Iran we were going to sit down at the table and talk um one of the first the first thing that Iran's opening salvo here was to say to the United States of America we still have about 630 kilo grams of phisal material we know that we can get about 11 nuclear weapons out of that and that was their opening salvo which is basically me sitting down with my neighbor right sharing a property line and my neighbor my neighbor has you know built his fence you know three feet over along our 90 foot property line so so I'm I want to sit down and say hey can can we talk about this little mistake that's been made you kind of want our property now and their opening salvo is you know and I know a guy that can hide the bodies of your kids that are at school right now like that's not we're not sitting down to have a conversation about the property line you're now just saying hey I'm going to get nuclear weapons and and I'm going to blow you up so if you don't do what we say like you're this isn't a conversation these are evil people because they could inflict terror on us is not a reason to not it's actually a reason to go and destroy them like what are you talking about does it make a sense to me you know they they said that but maybe we should just wait and see like they're not they're not really they were serious when they were just they were probably just joking you know they're just being hyperbolic like any of the I told like I do oh yeah yeah the gay the gay tolla um yeah the gay tolla yeah don't call the straight up or a moves from the reason it's like it would like a parent be like well I don't want to actually I don't want to actually reprimand my child because they might throw a tantrum it's like well no you should actually discipline your child like all around like their response is also something you discipline like this is not okay um I don't know why I don't know why we have the dumbest people making political arguments but we just do we have the dumbest people making making political arguments you you brought up a good one John actually before we even started what was what was what was one of the things that you were saying as one of these headlines about not going to war with our we shouldn't have done this yeah it was it's people saying um we shouldn't do this because we have so many problems back home um why are we and it's always the you know because our military is doing the action it's well we have homeless veterans on the street so why would we go to war when there are still homeless veterans walking around the streets and as someone to share some homeless veterans you might be honest someone who faced a veteran who faced homelessness myself uh I can tell you um that number one is a nonsensical argument um in the sense that you know we can walk in two gum at the same time yeah like we we can do two functions at once we've been fighting wars pretty much since america i think there's i think there's only been 15 years in america's history where we were not engaged in a conflict of some sort um for the first one after the revolutionary war was the barber war and that was actually against muslim pirates um so we've been doing this for a while and uh and i just i find it interesting that the government has been funding you know because most of what people say is homelessness drug addiction you know um all of these things that are going on in our cities and it's like well the government has taken this role of trying to solve these issues and how are they doing because more money is funneled in the homelessness than probably the war across the across the united states and that's you know i have no proof to back that statement up so i could be completely wrong but there's a lot of money that's going into uh quote unquote the war impoverty um and nothing's happened it's actually gone worse and so number one maybe it's time for the government to do what's actually supposed to do that's co-fight wars that's gonna kill bad people i mean roman's 13 is pretty clear there to defend us um and to do things that you know are along those lines that hold it broad yeah yeah and then to at home in abroad yep and then there's to promote good yeah and i think really and one of the reasons i have been thinking a lot about this is that you know the government does a terrible job at social services because they're not supposed to do it um the church hey man the church is the churches are supposed to do it or again you know shameless plug organizations like the Niagara gospel mission um where Christianity and gods uh grace and truth are the centerpiece of helping people the gospel is the centerpiece of helping people with the issues are struggling with in their life and i'm sure Jesse you've seen it in the medical um system and that's the government's answer to any problem is a drug it's uh they start going with heroin give them suboxone you know are they just lock them in this room give them clean needles i had um there's a local organization that's losing their state funding um because of misappropriation of funds uh but they did a lot of um homeless or addict type stuff you know helping addict but they met with us because they wanted a partner with us and i'm willing to hear anybody out so i uh i'm listening to them and they said well one of the things that we do is you want to do a uh drug rehabilitation outreach so i said well what do you guys want to do and they said well we want to hand we want to find the heroin addicts and we want to give them clean needles so that way they shoot up with those hmm and i said so wait you don't want to stop them from shooting up and they're like well we know that we probably can't convince them to stop i was like well then i don't want to partner groups i believe we can't convince them to stop them it may not be first visit but but and you know i guess praise the Lord they're shutting down because we're really a um a mentality like that is just insane without i'm reading a book right now where that's like that's not just a hear that's that is in a lot of places this give them clean needles is a government initiative yeah safe sites safe sites yeah yeah so i was unaware until they had approached me with that and so all i had to say that people are saying well we well there's homeless problems here the government should be focusing on that well the government has been focusing on that they've been doing a piss poor job excuse the language and it's just it's about darn time the church rises up and sees that this is our responsibility because god may leave these people to a spot of hopelessness and helplessness because the only thing that that gives them hope and the only thing that helps them is the gospel of Jesus Christ combined with their needs right you know like James says those who see see those in need and just say you know be warm and filled and wave their hands i always i always say that as the people just share the gospel there's almost kind of street they're not willing to help them at all they're not willing to point them in the right direction they're not willing to say well god loves them man if you ever thought about repenting of your sin by the way i'm not going to help you in this situation i'm not going to point you in any direction um and maybe they just don't know the direction to point them but here's a bible you can't read yeah but here's a bible yeah exactly you know because i can tell you what they're going to do they're going to rip the pages out and they're going to start smoking out of those pages because the pages and a lot of the bibles are better if that i've been told better for doing dope this is he is heard he's heard in my script you know um and so it's just it's insane to me that that's the thought process when dallah the government's doing what it's actually supposed to be doing um we complain uh but i think hopefully as christians we can see that this is now the time to say you know what let's audit our own government in the sense of are they doing what the bible says are supposed to be doing and if they're not how are they doing it and what can we do as christians reclaim this uh this part of our call yeah a quick google search by the way and i mean it's not just homo says but i use the largest broadest bucket terms i could uh about 13% of our annual budget goes to national defense that's about nine hundred nineteen billion dollars but social services and welfare is uh almost 25% at one point six trillion dollars of spending that are you all so just yes indeed um it's it's not in that the records show john was right it's not close um man there's just so much well it's only a couple billion off you know when you go from when you're going from billion to trillion uh that's a lot that's a big that's a big number that's a large number um and only a couple a couple billions and uh that quarter of our budget is um is guaranteed uh we can't we we we we have a problem because we can't change that but uh that you'll see the budget for the military go up and down um yeah but depending on the budget the the the reality that also our national security go up and down uh that's a true um there's a very there's a very real sense publicly that the government wielding the sword against unrighteousness um is exactly what is happening i ran has been unrighteous towards us they have murdered uh americans and this is what righteousness being wielded against them but the sword is what the government is supposed to do the government is not good uh at at at orphans and widows that's the church's purview um and and so i we've been talking a while i'll i'll i'll i'll give my my trump theory now because i don't want people are like oh man just at their itching for this trump theory uh pretty sure they forgot but now that you've reminded them i'm sure they're ready to if you want to understand trump it is actually very the trump 2.0 trump trump trump trump 1.0 was uh i got elected a kind of just figuring this out trump 2.0 is not been like that um so trump has always been in the spotlight he's been a a um real estate mogul for forever but he really got famous right rap songs were written about him when he was on tv um and was on a very successful tv show um trump's 2.0 administration is run like a tv show and not that it's fictional but how a tv show is run to so many knows you watch season one you are currently watching season one especially in a reality tv show and as you're watching season one you're watching the past because season two is being filmed and season three is being planned we we are living in the trump administration by watching season one but trump season two but season two is already being filmed um people that are thinking this is going to be a forever war this war will be done one way or the other uh before June like there's no way it'll go past June because trump second season is coming up and you haven't seen it yet and you can see this literally play out with Iran Iran was don't shoot the protesters if you shoot the protesters something bad is going to happen and that turned into us wondering well they've killed 30 000 protesters why nothing bad happening why is he going to talk with these people all the while what's he doing moving some of the most sophisticated military craft into targeting range for an obvious mission an offensive mission into Iran that wasn't spoken mirrors that wasn't spoken mirrors that was season two of Iran it was being filmed we're watching season one and season two was being filmed we're we're now watching this happen right now it's season one what's happening well Venezuela we took out their president but as well as doing great we're getting more oil from red as wella we're simultaneously now shutting off oil to some of our key uh enemies like china who's getting a trickle instead of a flood like they were getting from Iran and guess what's happening in Cuba who got most of its oil from Venezuela now Cuba in an energy crisis the people are starting to rise up against the communist dictatorship and simultaneously you're now seeing what was being filmed while you were watching season one let me tell you what we're about to see is the ending of this war at the beginning of a years long from from July 4th onto December will be a celebration of the 250th anniversary of america people at the midterms will forget that Iran ever happened because trump season three has been being talked about already and soon they'll start shooting season three we're still watching season one that's been since day one of the trump administration so if you want to understand how the trump administration 2.0 is working it's working like a tv show as soon as the pilot launches it fits successful within 30 days they're already planning season two and then they start to shoot it that's how this administration is working and you've seen it at every turn you guys i mean we were talking about rene good and alix provetti like they were the end all be all of america news now tell homens in charge you don't hear anything about metasota you don't hear anything about it because season one was what was happening season two was already being filmed and now we're moving on to filming season three it's like on repeat if you think about the trump 2.0 as a successful a successful series of tv franchise you will understand what is actually happening anyway that's that's your theory that's my theory do you like it's a work it actually works really well it's really impressive it works it works so well you know joseph it was the best description that i've ever heard of any presidency thank you president thank you very much oh my god and i said just in what a guy he always comes at what seriously i want this day to be marked i i remember when just you remember when when the China said how they had an a i program that worked just as well as all of our a i i i i i do i do i do i do i do and i literally said guys just wait it's actually using the same amount of power and it's just our technology and what happened within the week it turns out oh no it's actually using the same amount of power and it's raised off of our technology it was like i'm telling you i'm telling you by july 4th a rand will have will be over and gas prices will be down and everyone will be grilling with gasoline instead of natural gas nobody will have a paint get will all be gasoline gasoline gas grills i said what's for pain no i have a gas grill while java gas leave gas grill yeah yeah i mean yeah i i see what you're saying he's he's three steps ahead of everyone um and i guess that's the way i've described kind of what you're saying he's he's three steps ahead he's already planning his next move while you're all looking at what he's currently doing i mean i i think it was pierced Morgan to someone who's interviewing him this was back in the first term of trump and he still maintained a friendship with trump uh and they said you know what does he like and he said well one time trump told me that he was watching the news while he was going to the bathroom and didn't really like what he was seeing on fox news so just sent out a wild tweet and watched the entire news cycle change just just to do and so like i mean i think that's like you said he's a he understands showbiz and i think you need a president who understands that because the attention span of the average american is you know three minutes so that's where he he gets that and so he's able to make maneuvers that just make people's head spin where Joe Biden took him just as long you know to get across the room it makes Donald Trump a seal of you yeah it feels like we've been it feels like Donald Trump has really been president forever uh he says well he hasn't even been in office for a year and a half yet uh and and that's what's so absolutely insane um i really do look forward to our 250th anniversary it is going to be phenomenal did you guys did any of you guys catch on new years eat new years um the Washington Monument display that happened i know oh my gosh you guys should definitely google that New Year's Washington Monument it was awesome and it was just it it was that was like an advertisement for what he has been planning for the 250th anniversary of our country it was super cool um but anyway that's what Trump theory this has been geopolitics with the car maybe they're back yes yeah uh we don't do it often but when we do we do it with john Cooper hey i'm always glad to be here yeah and once again john what's the website that everyone needs to go to now to make sure they're supporting yeah so it's naggergospa mission dot org uh i also encourage everyone to follow us on uh on facebook um i think we have we have a facebook and instagrams and a um linkedin and the youtube but if you follow us on there where we not necessarily me uh are extremely active on that putting out stories uh giving you updates i personal give an update every Monday about what's going on at the mission uh that you can watch and so um yeah just uh like to communicate with people exactly what their money's going to um and seeing lives change and really appreciate every your guy's support and everyone's support not who's a who currently does it and anyone who hears this and feels uh can tell who do so yep and definitely definitely follow them because when needs happen like you know a massive commercial freezer decides to shut down uh and they need food like you'll be a way a little where and be able to give directly to to those kinds of immediate needs uh so be paying attention to follow them and sometimes you get to see john you know all gross and sweaty having carried a rucksack for miles uh as he you know getting his disciplines getting his bikini fit on so i'm like you're gonna you're gonna fit into that you're gonna fit into that banana hammock real good this summer is like yeah he's like oh man summer's coming i got to rock for the homeless all right let's go well so yeah well i don't know how well i'll be fit in and anything after this two weeks of people dropping off meals and uh you know cookies every meal so um but yeah we're actually gonna be doing another ruck in uh in august my so my my number two guy at the mission uh David Tilly he was also a uh reconnaissance commander in the army so we had very similar career paths and we're gonna be rucking the entire uh perimeter of our county so we've planted out it's gonna take us five days and we're gonna be homeless for all five days and we're just gonna walk the entire perimeter of county and give updates on homelessness and try to meet with p-leaders as we're on our route and just uh yeah so it should be good so it'll be a fun fun thing to follow um and hopefully raise some money uh but we we help people from the entire county so uh we just want to raise awareness to that to that effect dude it's awesome awesome well we've given you some things to do to your christian to get after it and get doing it yeah some of you guys so not not a lot of you guys some of you guys are in like really really just pansy churches and you know like your leadership they're more comfortable donating the things than doing things and you know what i say leverage that for good so tell them about don't don't tell them this podcast but just tell them about the Niagara gospel mission say hey can we donate can we donate even just one time there i mean uh it's it's worth it it's worth it it absolutely is um and since we know we've we've talked bible in a geopolitical context the role of government and we've given you something that you can actually go and actively engage with and contribute to the ministry uh that john's doing you know it just feels appropriate that we would say this at the end of every episode we hope you disdied your christian wood seize the faith