Sunday, September 21, 2025

9/16/25 Friends of Charlie Kirk Podcast Notes

 9/16/25 Friends of Charlie Kirk: Matt Walsh, Ben Shapiro, and Michael Knowles (Interesting discourse between 3 who do not always agree)

https://salemnewschannel.com/host/charlie-kirk/full-episodes

Charlie’s principles:

-go to where the people are 

-go to the people who disagree with you 

-go do Biblical, values, and political outreach

convince people they need to make a choice 

-prove me wrong was about asking simple questions as truths can’t be proven wrong 


Points made:

-can’t have unity with people who celebrated the murder of Charlie Kirk

-there are always people we can convince

-people need to make that choice

-they must choose to side with the demons or the side in civil discourse

-marketplace cannot survive if you just kill it off 

-the people who celebrate murder illuminates the other side

-an employer doesn’t owe the employee a job if they do not reflect

-and employer has the freedom to choose who works for them


It works both ways:

-speech being cancelled= true, normal, and right

-speech being cancelled= objectively vile and even illegal 

-right = no institutional power over them

-left= has institutional power

-the battle is the truth vs. a lie 

-harness the beating heart of America

-sharpen you mind=campus tent revivals (Charlie’s legacy)


Problem: no internal accountability 

Clips of Charlie haters: What they perceive

-take the failures in their own lives who externalize those into a shadowy group of people who are responsible for all of their own failures

-and then you say those who are victimizing me to the point of they are erasing me (ex. trans-genocide)

-then you say if those people who are trying to kill me then its self-defense

-speech has become violence

-justifies that its self defense for me to shoot someone like Charlie to silence their words of violence 


Clip of a young woman asking why are you so hateful?

 -She perceives facts as hate because it is a denial of her sense of identity and a sense of threat that justifies violence

-violence is the after effect

-extreme ideologies result in extreme violence ex. BLM and Islam

-conspiracy theory that all our failures are the fault of these other people

-these people are trying to harm us therefore we are justified in doing violence to them

-by their very existence they are harming me

-they are evil for just existing

-not surprising murdering people is celebrated as it is looked on as liberating the world of their evil existence

-post fact justification after the murder

-most political debates do not end in killing someone

-vast majority of political violence is not from the right

-medias and politicians try to classify killing by the left differently


Freedom of Speech:

Response to Pam Bondi (she cleared up her statement)

-hate speech is illegal

-threats of incitement are illegal

-celebrating the killing of Charlie is not illegal, but does have social consequences

-Antifa is now identified as a terrorist group

-they give money to groups inciting violence


****Stephen Miller clip: 

-we have to route out the people who are funding the violence 

-we need to have an organized strategy to go after the organizations that are promoting violence in this country. 


***Unfocused anger or blind rage is not a productive emotion (Stephen Miller)

-Focused anger, righteous anger directed for a just cause is one of the most important agents of change in human history


Channel all of the anger:

-we have to follow the money over the organized campaign that led to this assassination

-a goal to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks:

-organized doxing campaigns

-organized riots

-organized street violence

-organized campaigns of dehumanization vilification

-posting people’s addresses

-combining that with messaging designed to uproot the triggers that incite violence in the organized cells that those who carry out and facilitate the violence 

-it is a vast domestic terror movement


****Goal: to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people


How do we restore order?

-the left has a monopoly on violence

-conservatives do not turn to violence

-the left are enemies of western civilization

-they want to dismantle and tear down patriarchy

-as conservatives we want to  conserve western civilization

-we have disagreements on how to do this but we are all fans of civilization

-we understand that we just walk up to a guy and just shoot him

-we know we can’t have that to have a civilized country

-these assassinations are what we see in 3rd world countries

-we fundamentally know this is a bad thing

-the left do not see civilization itself being a good thing

-violence is always a tool in their arsenal

-the religious right see a God centered ordered universe

-we can discern

-we have a duty in the world to act within that universe in rational ways

-we have duties to God to do the things that God told us to do

-we are told not to kill people (not to murder people) 

-if you do not believe any of that and you believe the world is just a system of power that every argument is a guise for power and that all arguments at their essence are just a way of me getting power over you then the response to the attempt to get power over you is to use power in response and that leads to revolutionary violence

-left that is so nihilistic in its desire to see every argument silenced

-Charlie was killed to silence the argument

-It was the thing he died doing

-he was making the argument

-to many annihilationist's see the argument as just a form of power that is to be met with a bullet 

-warnings from Charlie


Now what?

-we have a fork in the road

-we must in our power to make sure America doesn’t fray

-he wanted revival not revolution

-he wanted the blood of Jesus not blood in the streets 

-he wanted a country that his kids could inherit and be prosperous and thrive

-his tone was revival

-the left doesn’t have the same tone

-the great rational leftist model = slice and dice them 

-media and politicians in their nice studios push violence and defend the leftist lunatic that carries the violence out in our streets 


-do not neglect the the law-do not neglect the politics of our country 


***justice contained by the authorities and the structures that we the people voted for vs. anarchy in the streets 

-we need unity that is not just random


We unite for what? What purpose? To do what? Around what? 

-conservatives unite by putting aside squabbles

-we mourn with each other

-unite as friends/the enemy in the battle on the battlefield

-you can’t have any marketplace of any kind if you shoot up the marketplace 

-the loud and widespread celebration shows us that 

-step 1: we want to have a robust conversation in a good country

-step 2: question mark-no liberty is no order-cultural response-government to do its job

-step 3: flourishing and speaking and national unity 


Closing:

-we trust Charlie

-get back to Christ

-keep the Maga coalition together and grow it bigger

-conservatives unite stop squabbling 

-focus on long term unity

-big movement change

-reasoning Charlie went out to talk to people who disagree 

-build around those core values

-Bible, free markets, family, coalition around values he lost his life for


***Be better = personal accountability = own your mistakes and your successes



Hillsdale College Lesson 1: A Proper Understanding of K-12 Education in Theory and Practice

 Lesson 1:Teaching Education at Hillsdale College


We used to know our history:

The four organic laws that appear in the front of the U.S. Code, or United States Code:

-these four documents were first compiled and published as the “Organic Laws of the United States” in 1878

-these four documents served as a type of preamble to the revised U.S. Code

-they are included in the first volume of the code


1st Document: Declaration of Independence

(a good government that protects our right-safety and happiness)

-Established principles: Declared the self-evident truths of natural rights, including “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”

-Justified Independence: Set out the reasons and principles for the thirteen American colonies to separate from Great Britain


2nd Document:  Articles of the Confederation

-First Government: Established the first government of the new nation and served as its constitution from 1781 to 1789

-Weak central government: Created a “perpetual union” but with a weak central government and strong, sovereign states 


3rd Document: Northwest Ordinance

Governed territories: provided for the governance of the Northwest Territory, an area in the upper Midwest

Established precedent: set a precedent for how the U.S. would expand westward, admitting new states as equals to the existing ones

Banned Slavery: notably, the ordinance banned slavery from the territory, setting a significant precedent

“Religion, morality and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

-this landmark U.S. law established governing principles for the territories and laid a foundation for public education, emphasizing citizenry and the success of self-government 

-Article 3: declared that education was crucial for the well-being of society, stating that religion, morality, and knowledge were essential for good government and human happiness 


Constitutional Convention of 1787 held in Philadelphia:

Key Achievements:

-established bicameral legislature through Compromise (offering equal representation and a House of Representatives representation based on population and Senate for equal representation for all the states)

-created an independent executive and branch

-the Three-Fifths Compromise regarding enslaved balance power between large and small state (counted the enslaved population for the purposes of representation and taxation)


Purpose:

-goal was to revise the Confederation, but delegates shifted to drafting a completely new government

-produced the United States Constitution establishing a framework for a stronger federal government with a separation of powers 

-Executive branch: ultimately agreeing to a single executive, the president

-Legislative Representation: Senate=equal representation for all state, House of Representation=representation based on population

-provide guidance on how the government would grow

-moved government owned land into people owned land-townships

-paid off the cost of the Revolutionary war 


Key Figures:

George Washington: elected to preside over the convention

James Madison: leading delegate who played a key role in drafting the Constitution

Benjamin Franklin: offered wisdom and humility-in the heat of debate-essential to rallying cohesion among the men so the document was signed 


Influenced:

The Homestead Act of 1862:

was a U.S. law signed by President Lincoln allowing settlers to claim public land (last claim granted in Alaska in 1988)

-in financial terms we can't compare to what the founders gave


Education:

-endowment to states-states controlled the education

-federal govt will not administer it or control it

-in 1785, the U.S. government set aside public lands to support education in the states

-by 1917, 145 million acres had been set aside for public schools 

-One-eighth of this total area would be 18.1 million acres

-Separate Morrill Acts in 1862 and 1890 gave land grants to states to establish colleges 

-the first institution established under the Morrill Act was Kansas State University in 1863


Government takeover of Education:

***key development included the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965

-that attached federal funding to schools and students

-established the Department of Education in 1980 as a cabinet-level agency responsible for implementing federal education policy 

50’s-60’s

-1957-Sputnik launch led to increased federal funding for science education through the National Defense Education Act (NDEA)

-1960s “War on Poverty” President Lyndon Johnson initiative to expand federal funding and created programs to improve education for disadvantaged students at all levels

-1965-ESEA landmark act provided significant federal aid to states serving low-income students

-1965-Higher Education Act provided assistance for post secondary education and financial aid for college students

1970”s

-1979-Department of Education Organization Act: Congress passed this act to create a cabinet-level Department  of Education

-1980-Department of Education Operations: consolidating federal education programs and civil rights enforcement under one agency


Education Today:

-we have national standards

-national criteria testing

-we have federally standardized every classroom

-today

-education has to be the same

-steps farther away from the child who is learning

-States can't do it so a big federally funded government took over

-should be that education is mainly an effort made by the child

-do not do the work for them

-you succeed in making them bored

-should be good to struggle and grapple with things

-not our job to make their conclusions

-should be you pose the question, the student grapples with the answer

-we should let them draw conclusions and turn to peers for discussion

-we should guide not dictate thought

-students should be the agents unto themselves

-you have to know them to be helpful

-driven by the people doing the work

-fallacy that national standards/the right tests we can compete with China

-before all the national standards/tests the US was in the forefront in education

-education is a big public policy issue because it commands a lot of money and done bureaucratically

-basics: what you need to learn and the importance of how you learn it 


4th Document: the Constitution of the United States

Current Government framework: replaced the articles of the Confederation and established the current framework for the U.S. federal government 

-the highest law in the U.S., and no law will contradict its principles 

-address the nation’s economy, collection of taxes, and enforcement of laws

-signed September 17, 1787

-ratified and implemented officially in 1789

-outlined the federal government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial 

-a system of checks and balances to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful

-a system of checks and balances of authority between the federal and state governments (federalism)

-guaranteeing the rights and liberties for citizens

-the Constitution serves as the foundation for governance and values


Bill of Rights:

-guarantee fundamental rights and liberties of American citizens, protecting from overreach

-first 10 amendments was ratified in 1791 guaranteeing fundamental individual freedoms and limiting government power

-subsequent amendments: 17 more added to the Constitution to address various issues 

Ex. 12th amendment changes the presidential election procedures

Ex. 17th amendment is the direct election of senators 


****The originalist holds that the Constitution should be interpreted based on its original meaning at the time it was adopted. 

-the Constitution is a legal document with a fixed meaning

-not malleable text for judges to reinterpret based on personal or societal preferences

-interpreting the Constitution based on its original meaning ensures stability and predictability in the law

-the original context prevented unelected judges from legislating from the bench by imposing their own policy preferences as they must adhere to the amendment process

-preserved and upholding the original meaning respect the compact made by our Founders and the principles they established


Today:

-the Constitution is in constant attack as the courts keep interpreting its content with the Supreme Court as a significant role in shaping it application over time 

-we have lost the original intent of the Constitution 

-living constitutionalism sees the Constitution as flexible and adaptable to changing societal values and circumstances 

**proponents believe the text should be interpreted in the context of a modern society to remain relevant

-Evolution of society: the country has changed dramatically since the 18th century, and the Constitution must evolve to address issues the Founders never envisioned, such as the internet or modern civil rights

-Protection of rights: a living document interpretation has been used to advance and protect rights not explicitly mentioned in the text, such as the right to privacy

-Flexibility: since the formal amendment process is difficult, a flexible interpretation allows the Constitution to respond to contemporary needs

-living constitutionalism: wants to add their interpretation on constitutional rights on gun rights, abortion, gender ideologies, crime, public safety, discrimination, education, women, healthcare, immigration, citizenship, and the list continues to grow 


***originalism and living constitutionalism is an ongoing debate today, which will you defend?