Crosstalk America

Those of us that follow Jesus and his teachings know that he has a message that must continue to go out. Souls are depending on it whether they know it or not. That's why Trail Ridge Camp in Hillsboro, Wisconsin, exists; to share the good news of Jesus Christ and what he did for sinners. Last year, Trail Ridge Camp hosted their father/son retreat, which included hearing challenges from God's Word. This included the closing message just after the breakfast fellowship featuring Dr. Dean Taylor. Dean was once a youth pastor, a senior pastor and now a professor at Faith Baptist Theological Seminary in Iowa. He shared a message that looked at the following 5 points: God has a plan. People have personal responsibility. Sin has a price. Jesus has great love. You and I have a choice regarding what we see at Calvary. This last point is of great importance. When you look at Calvary, you have a choice, just like the criminals on either side of Christ. What side have you taken? It's the most important question you'll ever face. Consider its implications, and hear how Jim helped Dalton wrap things up, when you review this special edition of Crosstalk.

Brad Mattes is president of Life Issues Institute which was founded in 1991 to serve the educational needs of the pro-life movement. Brad is the host of Life Issues, a daily radio commentary, also the weekly Straight Talk on Life Issues and has produced numerous radio specials standing for life. 19 years ago on March 31, 2005, after almost 14 days without nutrition or hydration, Terri Schindler Schiavo died by severe dehydration. What was her crime? Her crime was that she needed a feeding tube and fluids, all to stay alive. Terri's case went national. President Bush became involved, the Florida legislature sought to intervene on her behalf, while requests made by her parents were struck down by the courts. Pro-life organizations from around America were involved as well and eventually her case went all the way to the Supreme Court, more than once. What led to the collapse at her home? What do we know about her then husband Michael? Was she brain dead, in a coma or reliant upon machines to keep her alive? What led up to her death sentence by court order? Join Brad as he answers these and many more questions surrounding this tragic death that we must never forget.

Mat Staver is founder & chairman of Liberty Counsel. He is a constitutional attorney with three landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mat is an author and the host of the radio broadcasts Faith & Freedom and Freedom's Call. This program dealt with a number of issues, but the primary focus concerned recent Supreme Court cases. The first one dealt with the court's hearing of oral arguments on March 18th in the case of Murthy v. Missouri. At issue was the Biden administration's pressuring of social media platforms to remove posts that they believe are falsehoods dealing with topics such as the COVID pandemic or the 2020 presidential election. The next item discussed involved the court's hearing of oral arguments over two cases that were consolidated: FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and Danco Laboratories LLC v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. Some say that this could have the potential effect of stopping mail-order abortions. That's because, as Mat explains in detail, these cases deal with the FDA's approval of Mifepristone, a drug that's used to terminate pregnancies during early stages. Listeners brought their comments to the discussion during the second half of the broadcast.

Twila Brase is president and co-founder of Citizens' Council for Health Freedom, a national patient-centered, privacy-focused, free-market policy organization to support health care choices, individualized patient care and medical and genetic privacy. Twila is a certified public health nurse and author of the eight-time award-winning book, Big Brother in the Exam Room: The Dangerous Truth About Electronic Health Records. She's the speaker on the daily Health Freedom Minute heard on radio stations across the nation. 14 years ago this past Saturday, the so-called Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama. Jim shared the opening of a press release that went out last Friday from the Biden-Harris campaign. It communicated that the ACA provides millions of Americans with the freedom and security for people to live life the way they want without the fear that one accident or illness will bankrupt them or their families. Twila agrees this was a very consequential law but she believes it didn't improve freedom or security. It gave us unaffordable premiums and deductibles and no other options. So from her perspective, there's nothing affordable about it and the price for care itself is not any lower. The high prices are at every level from care to coverage and in addition, the health plan is allowed to deny you access to care. For Twila, it all fits the agenda of moving us toward a national health care system. Join Jim and Twila as they look at more including: Has this situation pushed medical professionals into early retirement? How secure is everyone's medical information? What do we know about the cyber attack that took place last month.

Deportation cases dismissed, massive spending bill creates controversy, the so-called Affordable Care Act celebrates a birthday and more. These and other headlines are covered on the "Round-Up" this week. --The massive spending bill presented by House Republican leaders is filled with millions of dollars in funding for LGBT organizations, including $845,000 for gay garden parties. The 1.2 trillion dollar spending bill released by Speaker Mike Johnson was blasted by Representatives Chip Roy and Marjorie Taylor Green. Jim provided audio from both representatives. --Days after underwriting the 92 million dollar bond for former President Donald Trump's E. Jean Carroll defamation appeal, insurance giant Chubb, has now declined to underwrite the half-billion dollar appeal bond that the GOP frontrunner needs in his New York civil fraud case. --New York Attorney General Letitia James recently took the first steps toward seizing Trump's assets according to public records. --Former President Trump and other defendants in the Georgia election interference case have the go-ahead to appeal last week's ruling that allows Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis to continue to lead the prosecution. --Tomorrow is the 14th anniversary of the so-called Affordable Care Act. --Despite the fact that over 90% of the U.S. population has some form of health insurance, medical debt remains a persistent problem. --By nearly two to one, voters believe President Joe Biden is using the Justice Department to hobble former President Donald Trump and jail him so that he can't win the Fall election.

We have an identity crisis in America. People are trying to discover who they are, especially those from the younger generations. In fact, some will spend large sums of money to discover themselves on self-awareness retreats. With this phenomenon there's been a rise in attention on psychology, gender, sexuality and identity politics. Life has become subjective for many as their search is based on feelings and the flames of this model are being fanned by social media, politics and pop culture. Appearing on Crosstalk to discuss this issue was Martyn Iles. Martyn is an Australian-born lawyer, commentator, and the Executive CEO of Answers in Genesis, home to the highly acclaimed Creation Museum and the world-renowned Ark Encounter. Previously, Martyn was the co-founder of a not-for-profit law firm specializing in religious freedom cases. He also led one of Australia's largest grassroots political movements through a period of remarkable growth. Martyn believes the genesis of this identity crisis starts with the fact that for some their ultimate authority has changed. It used to be that people looked above themselves to ultimate authority in God, seeing him as the one who defines reality and how we should live. Then we went through the secular age where it's believed that science answers everything. However we know that can't last because without God, science makes no sense. After all, the only reason we do science is because we believe there's ultimate truth in reality. So people have been searching for yet another ultimate authority and truth and they're attempting to find it in self. Listen in as Jim has Martyn explain the puzzle pieces in the book.

The State of Texas has been overrun by those attempting to enter illegally. The safety of residents has been put in jeopardy, crime has increased, public services have been stretched, the healthcare system has suffered, disease has been brought in and more. The state is saying, "enough is enough" because the federal government has refused to follow the law so the state legislature and governor have stepped up to deal with the issue. The problem is that at every turn, they've been opposed and taken to court by the Biden administration. With more on this issue, Crosstalk welcomed back Mark Krikorian. Mark is a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues serving as the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Earlier this year, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that the federal government has broken the compact between the U.S. and the states and that the executive branch of the U.S. has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting the states, including immigration laws. Mark responded by noting that what states are now experiencing from this lack of protection by the federal government should be considered an invasion under the Constitution. This argument hasn't been fully litigated but the contention is that since the states are being invaded, they can't be expected to simply stand by when the federal government refuses to do its job. Mark indicated that politically speaking this is true. However, does that come under the definition of an invasion in the Constitution? That's what needs to be answered while ultimately, the federal government needs to change its policies.

Scott Schara is the father of Grace Schara, the 19-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome who tested positive for COVID, was hospitalized and treated following the protocols carried out in hospitals across the country. Grace was ushered into eternity on October 13, 2021. Scott is presently engaged in a landmark lawsuit, Schara vs. Ascension Health et all. He warns about the dangers of incentivized healthcare. His work and story have been chronicled in a chapter of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Rise of the Fourth Reich. Scott began with a brief review of the equipment and drugs that were used to treat his daughter. Part of this involved the drug "cocktail" that she had been given for her COVID condition. Another critical factor is the Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order that was placed on her without Scott's permission at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin. As a result, Scott brought forth a landmark lawsuit (Schara v. Ascension Health et al). In the lawsuit, Scott has a wrongful death claim, a medical malpractice claim, a lack of informed consent and a declaratory judgment for both the illegal DNR and illegal medicine combination. However, it's the fifth claim that's the most important. It's a medical battery claim. This takes Grace's claim outside of state statutes because such statutes attempt to shield doctors and nurses so they cannot be sued. At stake are factors such as informed consent and whether health care workers should have the right to unilaterally, with limited liability, be able to label patients as DNR. Scott has been granted a trial date of November 6th in the Outagamie County Court system.

April 15th is a day that has gone down in notoriety. On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died. He was shot the night before in Ford's Theatre. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank, having struck an iceberg the night before. April 15, 1927, was the Great Mississippi Flood where some 15 inches of rain fell in 18 hours causing the river to break out of its levee system at well over 100 locations and caused flooding in 10 states. In 1954, April 15th became the deadline for filing income tax returns. No doubt you've heard the familiar quote of Benjamin Franklin who said, 'Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.' We have all come to realize the impact taxes have upon us, but are you aware of the history of the income tax and how it came about? What was its purpose? Is today's modern system of taxes a breach from what was originally intended?

The "Round-Up" brought the following stories and more to listeners this week: --Israeli and U.S. leaders reacted to what some are calling an unprecedented call by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for new elections in Israel. Schumer wants elections so Israeli citizens can replace the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. --The Israeli Defense Forces aided an international, non-profit organization in evacuating nearly 70 orphans from Gaza and transferring them to safety in Bethlehem in the biblical region of Judea and Samaria. --The Israeli Cabinet convened earlier today to discuss the response of Hamas who is shifting their demands in a new hostage swap offer. --The Biden administration is poised to issue a fresh sanctions waiver for Iran that will grant them access to upwards of ten billion dollars in frozen assets. --With all of his influential critics dead, jailed or in exile, Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to win a controversial presidential contest cementing his role as the nation's longest running leader since Joseph Stalin. --Leaked Kremlin documents have shown that it wants Putin to win 80% of the vote on a high turnout and to prove that Russians support his war in Ukraine. --Ukrainian drone attacks halted 3 oil refineries deep within Russian territory in an assault Russian President Vladimir Putin said was aimed at disrupting the presidential elections. --A drone attack in Odessa, Ukraine, resulted in the tragic deaths of 12 individuals including a Baptist pastor's daughter and grandson. --On Tuesday the White House announced a 300 million dollar military aid package for Ukraine.