Merry Christmas from the ACLJ

Live from Washington, D.C., Jay Sekulow Live. Phone lines are open for your questions right now. Call 1-800-684-3110.

That's 1-800-684-3110. And now, your host, Jordan Sekulow. Hey, welcome to Jay Sekulow Live. I hope you are with your family. I know with these COVID rules, you may not be with as much family as usual, but I hope you are celebrating. And also, you know, the importance of Christmas.

Yes, it's important to gather with family, friends, and loved ones, but it's really to remember why we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I'll be back in just a minute to talk about how the ACLJam we'll be talking about today on the broadcast is fighting for you and looking forward to fighting for you in 2021. But we wanted to start off today's broadcast with some Christmas music. Kind of put you in the mood for the season as we do talk about some serious issues today on the broadcast. But we'll start with the Jay Sekulow band with some of their Christmas music.

Let's go to one of their songs right now and I'll be back in a few minutes. O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in all the exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, now, King of David come and open wide our heavenly home, make safe the way that leads all right and close our path to misery. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, thou root of Jesse's tree, an instant of thy people be, before thee, ruler, silent fall, all peoples on thy mercy call. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. O come, desire of nations mine, in one the hearts of all mankind. Did thou also division cease and be thyself a King of Peace?

Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. I just want you to know that today you still have time to be part of our matching challenge. Until midnight on the final day of December, you can double the impact of your donation to the ACLJ at ACLJ.org. That's ACLJ.org, a $50 donation. That's like $100 for the ACLJ because we have a group of donors ready to match every donation that comes through the month of December until midnight wherever you are. So you've got until the end of December to make your matching challenge donation.

Do it. Send the ACLJ strong into the new year by donating online at ACLJ.org. We'll be right back. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, playing parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. All right, welcome back to Jay Sekulow Live.

This is Jordan Sekulow. We are launching right now the broadcast, a brand new initiative for you. Different from the school choice initiative, which again is about expanding the access to vouchers. It's different from the legal representation we're doing at absolutely no cost for all those 1,800 plus families they were contacting and still contacting the ACLJ because of educational hardships they're facing because of what their public schools and districts are doing with virtual learning and things like that. With all this happening on the legal side and the government affairs and policy side, we've got a production team here that can help a lot of these families who are doing virtual learning or maybe who have decided to do homeschool learning maybe for the first time, maybe they've been doing it for years, and to use that creative side of our production team to create something unique for kids when it comes to teaching history specifically. It's called Bald Beagle. Yep, not going to be the first time.

Bald Beagle, and you'll get that once you start seeing the imagery of it. Baldbeagle.com is the website. And I want to just explain to people, when you support on that website, that's a donation to the ACLJ. We're just trying to segment it out so we know that you're supporting this initiative for kids. And the reason why we need your support to produce these is because we want to make it absolutely free to every kid, to every parent to access. We're not going to charge anyone to access this content.

And so that's very important for us at the ACLJ that we raise the funds to produce excellent content for these kids that they're going to pay attention to and enjoy and learn from the real history, but at the same time not having to charge them anything because of your financial support. So we can do that through creating BaldBeagle.com. That's right, and we're doing that through YouTube. We're doing that through other free streaming services. The initial one will be on YouTube as well as on our website, like you said, BaldBeagle.com. The YouTube channel is already there, so just search for Bald Beagle or just find it directly through. You can subscribe right through the website.

We did feel like it was important. This isn't you signing up for another Netflix or signing up for another different streaming service. Now, some of that content may end up on some of those ones, but the content will always initially be in a location where it is free and available to all users, whether again that's on YouTube or other outlets. You want to meet kids where they are and where they are is on these free services. I want to spell it out, too, for some people. I've seen their chat.

They're having some issues. So it's Bald, B-A-L-D, Beagle, Beagle, like the dog. You understand it when you see the website, B-E-A-G-L-E.com. And part of that was because, specifically, one, it's fun to say, we know it's fun to say, and you're going to see the promo video here in just a second, but also you had a Beagle in law school. I did, Beagle. Beagle to Beagle, and we thought, well, this was a perfect tie-in.

As you see, he's a hybrid, half Beagle, half Beagle. But you see it. Should we show this? So if you're listening on radio, this is the longer video promo that's at baldbeagle.com. You can, of course, watch it today. But I think even the audio-wise, if you're listening on radio, kind of tells the idea behind this. And think about it.

If you're a grandparent, this is important. If you're a parent who's struggling through virtual learning and also just not sure about the historical history part about what your kids are being taught, this is awesome, especially for younger kids. So check out, here it is. This is kind of like the idea behind it video, the intro video of what Bald Beagle is all about. Check it out.

Hi, I'm Logan Sekulow. Right now, your kids are stuck at home trying to learn online, and the ACLJ is here to help. We believe the great and sometimes complicated history of our nation is too important to let anyone overlook, not because of a pandemic and certainly not because of someone's political agenda. But there are people out there right now, even political leaders, that have called to abolish history classes.

They want to erase American history from classrooms and from textbooks. And that's why now, more than ever, we need to be honest and educate our kids on who founded this country, how government works, and what, even as a kid, they can do to protect it. You see, creating engaging and entertaining content for kids is one of my passions. I've been blessed to work with the biggest players in the industry, including Disney and Nickelodeon.

But there's a glaring hole in that space. A channel that shares the same principles that you want to instill in our next generation. That's why we came up with this exciting new project that will offer fun and educational video content that you can share with your children and grandchildren.

It's a brand new channel from your friends at the ACLJ. We call it Bald Beagle. I know it's fun to say, and yes, our logo is a half bald eagle, half beagle.

But it'll be even more fun to watch. Bald Beagle will have your children's interest at heart with great content that at times will feel over the top and ridiculous, but it's actually very serious business. Bald Beagle's initial launch will be on YouTube. We believe our content needs to be available to kids where they are. And if your kids are anything like mine, that's YouTube. You have a unique opportunity to be part of this revolutionary endeavor.

Did somebody say revolutionary? As you can see, we're busy here at the studio, but our goal at Bald Beagle is to produce high quality educational content from a source you know and trust, the ACLJ creative team. It can be used as a supplement to what your kids' schools are offering them, for homeschooling, or as just a safe entertainment space where you as a parent can relax. The quality of Bald Beagle content will compete with the top players of cable TV, streaming services, and other YouTube content being produced by... Well, who even knows?

I'll never unsee that. To do that, we have to be constantly creating and releasing exciting new videos on the Bald Beagle channel. And the truth is, that kind of production schedule requires resources.

Logan said release the horses! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, resources! Raise horses! No, resources! We'll get this handled. Your generous support makes it possible to teach and inspire your kids and grandkids for years to come, all while filling your home with smiles, singing, and laughter. And what more could you really ask for? George Washington once referred to kids... As the future guardians of the liberties of this country.

Right. And we at the ACLJ and Bald Beagle believe we must provide an option now to raise those future guardians. I like the sound of that. Me too. If you believe in this mission and want your kids and grandkids to benefit from an educational entertainment platform that honors the same core values you do, help us launch Bald Beagle.

Visit BaldBeagle.com today. And, you know, I'm already seeing Logan a lot of positive comments and chats from the grandchildren. I can't wait for them to use it.

They're homeschooled. I know that they're going to want to use it. My kids are going to definitely want to use it. But the purpose of this right now is we want to make sure we've got the kind of the resources to start producing these. Absolutely. And so that's what we're doing by launching this day at the BaldBeagle.com. It's to donate there. It's an ACLJ page. So you're getting the same donations like you are to the ACLJ.

It's just so that we know that you're donating specifically for the production of these products, these videos, historical videos. And tell people it's going to walk kids through. Absolutely. It'll be really engaging and really fun. But at the end of the day, it's going to be a very important fact-driven information. So there are videos that are going to come out that are going to be biographies on the founding fathers. There's going to be fun songs.

But they're all going to be wrapped in a way that kids will want to watch it regardless of the educational content. And that's how you get them. Look, that's the place I came from. I came from working in children's entertainment. I at least have a good idea of what that is. We all have kids.

What's good here? And our production staff, I think there's probably 100 kids that can be our little focus group. And we are working on creating content that not only is going to help replace the content that your schools may not be teaching right now. It may also be an option just to help supplement and to even make that even easier and more fun way to remember, not just U.S. history.

That will be the primary focus, U.S. history, but also the faith of the founding fathers and some of the other elements that we're going to tie in. And again, all for free. As long as we get support on the back end to create this stuff, because as you saw, just small clips. It's a big production. It's a big production. We want to make sure that the quality matches up to what kids have as other options on mainstream television. I think the quality already, what we're seeing is the quality that you'd see on PBS, on Nickelodeon, on Disney.

I mean, it's that kind of quality. Now, here's why it's important. I'm going to talk to the parents and grandparents here, and that is this.

Look, there is a concerted effort, and it's real, to not only rewrite history, but maybe not even teach history in American public schools. On top of that, as you know, Jordan and Logan initiated that help for students. And I think it was – Jordan was on 1,850 families? Yeah, it's about that number now.

I mean, they're still coming in every single day. Every day we're getting – I spoke to Skip Ash, one of our senior attorneys, yesterday, and he said these case stories are heartbreaking of kids that are not getting needs. But so what we're trying to do with our resources is advocate for your kids by teaching them the real story of American history in a way that they can relate. Now, Logan set up a special page, the team did, baldbeagle.com.

It's up there on the screen. I want to encourage you to donate right now to that page because we'll be able to track that and know that we can go into production to start producing this. To scale it. To scale it, we're going to need to be able to scale from, you know, from making videos like this, promo videos, to making full-fledged videos, see people saying that they're subscribing to the YouTube channel. That is incredible and we really appreciate it. You may see that promo video. Please share that. We're going to also post it on Facebook. We do want people to subscribe to the page.

Talk about it. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel. That helps get your eyeballs seen, more kids seeing it because as more people subscribe, the more it gets served to you.

I've noticed that just with my own personal channel. When you hit certain milestones, stuff gets served to you. So please support it that way, but also support the work of the ACLJ through Bald Beagle against baldbeagle.com. Right now, it is, like you said, a project to the ACLJ. If you look at all the verbiage at the bottom, you are just giving a donation to the ACLJ. But what this does is help us say these are who's coming specifically from here and also create a new email list of people who maybe want to be notified when there's new Bald Beagle happenings. You may not be specifically your audience. So if you're looking for how to be state update on what we're doing with Bald Beagle, that's through there.

So you go to baldbeagle.com. We come back. We'll start taking some of your calls and comments as well about this. 1-800-684-3110 and the former acting director of national intelligence, former US ambassador to Germany, Rick Rinnell will be joining us live in the second half hour of the broadcast to discuss the media and just their non-coverage of these major historical events. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Welcome back to J-Secula Live. This is Jordan Sekula. We are taking your phone calls to 1-800-684-31 until we're joined second half hour by a special advisor to the ACLJ, Rick Rinnell, talking about the media and their lack of coverage of these major historical events like what happened with Kosovo and Serbia and the recognition of Israel and Serbia moving the embassy to Jerusalem and Kosovo even opening an embassy in a majority Muslim country in Israel for the first time recognizing Bosnia, another majority Muslim country recognizing Israel, and yet the media won't cover these major diplomatic victories by the Trump administration. And Rick Rinnell really lectured the media on this from the White House briefing room. So we're going to play some of that when he joins us live in the next half hour of the broadcast. But right now we're talking about this new initiative, Logan.

It's called Bald Beagle. And I know that a lot of people are checking out the YouTube page right now and they're saying, I'm having some issues. This is what happens when a lot of people start going to a page right away. A lot of people are going to our YouTube channel. We appreciate it.

Subscribe. You will notice that promo video that's up right now. And some of you may just beginning that we just published it.

We click publish as we're going on the air. So some of it may still be populating. However, new content will be coming within the next few weeks as we start to really create new stuff.

People are asking about specific content. Are we going to cover this part of history? What about the good?

What about the bad? Are we going to focus on that? Obviously, this is age. This is age appropriate. It'll be age appropriate for every school. What age group are you kind of? I would say the primary focus of this is elementary school students for Bald Beagle's initial launch.

We have plans, long term plans to go well beyond that. But the initial launch is I'd say even some it may even some go into preschool. But I think the majority of it is elementary school. If there's puppets, think about what age group.

Yeah, you're thinking seven, eight, 10 to 10, probably topping out. But the content itself will be so funny and ridiculous and over the top. We think kids will love it. We think adults will love it.

And mainly we just feel like it's really needed right now. The history books and things your kids are reading, even not just the ones. There are the exceptions where people are legit saying we need to abolish history classes.

But really take a good look at what your kids are learning and see if it really lines up with the core values you have. Also, people are asking about are you what about the negatives that come from American history? Look, we're going to age appropriately touch on all topics. So we're not just going to glance over things now. And we're going to go into deep, dark things that happen for a seven year old. No, probably not. But, you know, we will address it as appropriate for age appropriate content.

Well, at Bald Beagle dot com. Here's the thing that I want to say. And I was I was going to stand about this. I mean, we're watching in D.C. these attempts to remove memorials and monuments. You know, we had that whole thing that backed off on that somewhat.

But the idea you've got young kids. I mean, to me, I look at this as saying in the early grades is when you've got to start teaching American history. And you've got people in major cities calling for the abolishment of history classes.

You're in Washington where they're trying to rewrite the history by either contextualizing or removing monuments. We've got to teach history and you've got to teach it from a source that you trust. Look, one of the things that I'm the most proud of of this effort and our efforts on school choice is just how tangible it is. We told our members from the very beginning, Jay, that we were going to try to provide real solutions to real students for a very specific year. I mean, you guys talked about how many students are going are at home for school for the first time. My kids are actually online for the first time this year. So, Jay, as so many are, this is an opportunity yet again for us to provide resources and tools for parents to take control of their own education.

And I'll tell you this. I think it's right in line with where we've been for a decade. We want to take the power out of Washington, D.C. We want to turn it over to parents. And then, Jay, we don't want to abandon them. We want to give them resources by which they can teach real history lessons. And I think that's what this does.

Absolutely. If the government in your local school district won't handle this, we'll step in and fill the gap where we can. And if we can do it with content, we're going to do it with content. We can do it with legislation, we'll do it with that. If we can do it with helping you legally, we'll do it there. So, we're going to take all of this work that we do here at the ACLJ and see where we can always utilize our talents and the best available part. And we have some of the best creative team you'll ever see. And I think it's going to really shine through the work of the new ACLJ project, Bald Beagle.

Let me just say two things really quickly here. One is go to the Bald Beagle YouTube page and subscribe because we want you to be able to see this. The one piece is up right now, which would be good to show your grandkids, and for you to understand what's coming up. So, go to the Bald Beagle. It's BaldBeagle.com YouTube page. Subscribe. That's number one. Number two, we'd like you to support the work here of the ACLJ through the BaldBeagle.com website so we can track the support. That's also very, very important because there's more content, obviously a lot more content in the works and we just want to make sure we have the resources to do it. Just BaldBeagle.com.

Yeah, BaldBeagle.com. We're also getting a lot of comments coming in. Yeah, I think people are connected to this.

I was going to read some of this for you. So, Mike on Facebook said it was a great intro video. Tommy on Facebook wrote in that this is going to be great. Michelle on Facebook said I'll be sharing this with all my friends. Jeremy said this will help lessen the false content that our children are being taught.

Absolutely. Debbie said thank you ACLJ. Our children need to know the truth. Renee said I've supported Bald Beagle for my grandchildren. So, she's already made that donation.

I appreciate you doing this for our children. And Janice on Facebook, as we all know, she said you would be shocked what public schools in my area are teaching in, quote, history class. You know, they're afraid to teach history right now.

It's the truth of the matter. Yeah, how do you even teach history through – depending on where you are in the country, it was very different in history books, but now their teachers are afraid. How do I teach this? Do I teach George Washington as a good person? The slavery issue? All those issues that come into context. First, you have to have a basis of U.S. history. If you have no basis, you can't get into the tough parts.

You can't get into the darker parts. There has to be a basis of learning so that you can then add on to that basis the cons, the negatives, the kind of nuances to history that none of these people are perfect, of course, but that if you don't have a basis, then you've got nothing. Right. And we're adding in, like you said, we're going to talk about the faith side of a lot of these people, faith in general and some of those practical things that go into the way government works, not just the founding fathers and these people. Also, how government works, how bills pass, some of the classic stuff that everyone needs to know, the three branches of government. We're working on all this great content, but we're also looking at it, Jordan, from a different point of view because we're trying to also humanize, in some ways, these legends that you think of. And I think that will also help in softening the blow that these people were not necessarily unfallible people and find human connection points.

There's one that we're talking about specifically, I'll spoil a little bit of it, why not? There's one about George Washington. There's a fun fact that George Washington loved dance. He loved to dance. If you look at it, Mount Vernon has a whole thing about George Washington loved to dance. Well, that's great because you know what kids love to do?

Dance. So we're going to connect that and tell you the real history and the story behind it, but you know what? We're giving kids tangible things to make these people human beings and show that they had good and bad, but also that they were humans.

These aren't just fictional characters because the further and further we get away from it, the more they become myths. We want to make sure that they stand up and we have this great content you can share with your kids. And if you know your kids are listening, awesome.

I know a lot of homeschoolers listen. This stuff is coming for you. Don't worry if you've been listening to Jay Sekulow Live for many years and you're like, when are they going to do something for me?

Now it's coming. But we do need help and we do need support and resources because these are full blown productions. These aren't stuff we're just throwing together. We've already made some initial investments.

Clearly you can see some puppets, but there'll be animation, there'll be puppets, there'll be so much. And again, you can do that through baldbeagle.com. Again, baldbeagle.com.

There's a support page. You can put a financial donation. Again, it's a donation to the ACLJ, but what it does, it helps us track that that's where it's going. Right.

That you're specifically donating for this initiative. That's at baldbeagle.com. And again, you can see that longer video that we played during the air.

So if you're listening on radio, as most of you are, and you're not watching on Facebook and Periscope, you can go back and watch that video at either baldbeagle.com or on the YouTube page. Yeah, we're going to share it on the ACLJ page. Yeah, so I'll be sharing.

You're going to get this multiple places. You'll be able to find it. And so I encourage you, click that support button and that's how we'll know that you're supporting this effort, the Bald Beagle effort from the ACLJ. Coming up, second half hour, former acting director of national intelligence, Rick Grinnell, a special advisor to the ACLJ joining us live. We take your questions to 1-800-684-3110 to talk to us on the air and to talk to Director Grinnell.

1-800-684-3110. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. I want to encourage everybody, too, as we're back on Facebook and on YouTube now, and welcome. That was kind of new, people who are interacting on YouTube.

I think that's great. Parler and places like Periscope and Twitter and, of course, the 1,000-plus radio stations we're on each day and Sirius XM. Make sure that you understand part of your support for the ACLJ, financial support of the ACLJ, goes to this broadcast. I mean, I wish I could turn the cameras around and show you the whole team that is here right now. But, I mean, you know, there's 10 people in the control room.

There's people taking your calls. There's people making sure that this goes up live and the video's going up live. There's our producers putting the content together. There's people making sure this is going out audio-wise and everything's working correctly.

I mean, the team is there. And then, of course, we have a whole social media team that cuts up the show for you after so you can get little pieces of it to share on social media, little chunks of it as well. But we wanted to show you some of the unique and impactful things the ACLJ is working on right now. And the broadcast this week are going to focus on some of the things that we do with the ACLJ. And sometimes you might rarely hear about, especially this last year when we have impeachment and we had an election. And, of course, that election is kind of still going on as we speak right now.

This is sometimes you don't get the same focus. We brought in a lot of new audience, too, because of our work separately from the ACLJ for President Trump as his attorneys. So there's a lot of people who are still learning about what the ACLJ really is all about from taking on early on the deep state, from the days of the Obama administration and, of course, fighting back under the Trump administration and preparing, if necessary, to fight back against the deep state under a Biden administration. We've launched a brand new program for children, you know, that is and it's great.

I think it's really kind of like pre-K because my daughter is kind of pre-K age, she loves it, all the way up to about like 10 years old or so. Educating them, it's called Bald Beagle. You're going to learn about that in these broadcasts during the holiday. And we've also got a lot of updates on protecting the unborn that we have not gotten to recently on the broadcast. You know, there's a lot you can see at ACLJ.org about all the work we're doing all the time at the American Center for Law and Justice.

But we wanted to highlight some of the issues that we maybe didn't get to spend enough time on during this election year, during this time when we had so much controversy post-election. So let me encourage you, I really want you to listen to these shows, watch these shows, share these shows with your friends and family so that they learn about the ACLJ. Now this is a critical time for us at the American Center for Law and Justice because it's the end of our matching challenge month of November, that ends November 30th. And what a matching challenge month is and why it's so important for the ACLJ is that we have a group of donors in a matching challenge month that agree before the month begins to match every individual donation that comes through to ACLJ.org. So if you make a donation right now at ACLJ.org and you do it because you love the broadcast or you do it because you love the pro-life legal work we do or the government affairs work we do on Capitol Hill or the international work or you just love all of it. And the constitutional protections, protecting your constitutional rights that we do at the ACLJ in the courts around the country and of course protecting freedom around the world and defending freedom around the world. If you support the work of the ACLJ, this is a great time if you've been thinking about it, if you're able to, to make a financial contribution to the ACLJ.

Why is that? Well let's say you could just, you know, you're able to donate $10 right now to the ACLJ and that's what you donated at ACLJ.org. That's all you're charged on your credit card.

But because you did it during a matching challenge month, it is effectively doubled. So that $10 is like $20 for us at the ACLJ. $25 is like $50. $50 is like $100.

$100 is like $200. You can do the math. You understand. But it's a great time for us because if you donate, we're prepared not just for the battles we're fighting right now, but for the battles we're prepared to fight in 2021. And we are doing that as we speak right now at the American Center for Law and Justice. So let me encourage you, donate now at ACLJ.org. Be part of our matching challenge.

We'll be right back on JCEC-YO Live. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad, whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith. I'm covering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress. The ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's matching challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support.

Take part in our matching challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected is there any hope for that culture to survive. And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. Welcome back to Jay Sekulow Live. This is Jordan Sekulow.

We are taking your phone calls at 1-800-684-3110. Another major pro-life victory out of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, an en banc panel. And this en banc panel, 11-member majority, Judge Priscilla Owen writing the opinion for that en banc panel. Four of the nominees, by the way, four of the judges that participated in that en banc panel are Trump nominees. He's nominated six to this court. One had to be recused, one joined the court too late. But it just shows you how the courts have been changed.

Frank Mannion is joining us again, senior counsel with the ACLJ, because Frank, I want to take people through, again, what happened in the Sixth Circuit and then what happened in the Fifth Circuit. These are battles that we have been fighting, Frank, for a number. I mean, this one, this case, the Fifth Circuit dates back to the Obama years of 2015. Right.

That's right. The point you're making, which I think is something that people have to know, is that these pro-life victories don't come overnight. And we weren't getting very many pro-life victories for years.

In cases, because it's the right thing to do, we make the arguments and we go into court and we get shot down. But with this latest batch of appointments that we're seeing to the federal courts of appeals, it's a whole new day. I mean, whatever ends up happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, for pro-life litigators, it is morning in America. And it looks like it's going to be that way for a long time. Because remember, federal judges have lifetime appointments.

They don't run for office every four years or every eight years. They're there for as long as they want, as long as God wants them there. And so this is a whole new day. Two days in a row, we're talking about court of appeals pro-life victories. This is unprecedented.

You know, I want you, so let's just explain that to people because everybody doesn't listen to each day. That was in the Sixth Circuit court of appeals. We were asked by the, there's a case out of Tennessee. We were asked by the Tennessee Attorney General directly for the ACLJ to get involved, write a brief, amicus brief in that case. Explain just quickly that victory and then we'll move on to the new victory today.

Right. In that case, the court ruled in favor of the state of Tennessee with regard to its ban on abortions for race, gender, and down syndrome diagnosis. Again, there are courts of appeals decisions out there that go the other way.

But this is a new day and this is a huge victory for the cause of life. And today we get news out of Texas, out of the Fifth Circuit, that the states of Texas and Louisiana are allowed to disqualify Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider. There are courts of appeals around the country.

In fact, the majority of them go the other way. The Fifth Circuit now joins the Eighth Circuit, which of course sets up the, you know, the classic circuit split, which is the kind of case the Supreme Court takes. These decisions weren't happening four years ago, even two or three years ago before some of these recent appointments actually got on the bench. But we are seeing a whole turnaround in what federal courts are going to do on the issue of life. And the other thing to remember is these cases build on factual records that the ACLJ in its litigation over the years, sometimes even in losing litigation, has established. The cases out of Texas and Louisiana are based on the CMP videos, Center for Medical Progress. We represented a board member of the Center for Medical Progress. There were cases filed in Texas against Planned Parenthood for billing practices that we were involved in years ago. All of these are part of the case that we saw today out of Texas and Louisiana, and that's kind of the nature of what we do. It doesn't happen overnight, but we're now seeing the fruits of our labors finally.

So let's move on. So we've got the Sixth Circuit. Now to the Fifth Circuit. This was an en banc panel, cases out of Texas and Louisiana, but it also affects Mississippi now, their opinion. We briefly told people about this is a way that states can actively defund Planned Parenthood. Tell people about this victory, because it took going to the en banc panel of the Fifth Circuit.

Right, and here's the significance of that. The first time this case was argued, the states lost in a 7-7 tie. En banc means all of the judges of a particular circuit. Normally, courts of appeals make decisions based on three judge panels. But when there's an issue of exceptional importance that more members of the court think that they need to weigh in on, they convene the entire court called the en banc court. And in this case, it was, I believe, 16 judges. Well, a few years ago, before the recent Trump appointments, the case lost. Our side lost 7-7. And now we have an 11-5 victory. It shows the importance of judicial appointments.

You know, I think that this, again, I want to go to Thanh Bennett, too, because, Thanh, we look at this. President Trump's nominated and confirmed six new judges to the Fifth Circuit. Four of them were participating yesterday.

One had to recuse, one joined too late. But there are more coming as well to the federal bench. I mean, this is, again, it's breathing new life into the battle for life that the ACLJ has been engaged in since our founding.

Yeah, all across the country, Jordan. I mean, first of all, there are three circuit courts that have flipped majorities outright. The Second, the Third, and the Eleventh. There's another court like the Ninth, which notoriously has been the most difficult circuit court for us to litigate in. Ten of those 29 judges have now been nominated by President Trump, Jordan. We've seen good rulings come out of there because, you know, the closer that spread is, the more likely it is that you're going to get a good draw out of it. Then you have cases like the Fifth Circuit that Frank just talked about, where it's not necessarily been a flip, but it was a draw in the last time this same case was heard.

And now it's an overwhelming 11-5 win. And Jordan, that was without one of the Trump nominees even getting to hear the case because of joining it too late and another being recused. So just dramatic improvement. And again, you want to talk about continuing to work through the end of the deadline here. There's a lot of other things that we're looking at, Jordan, and this is something that you and I discussed yesterday. There's the ongoing election litigation.

There's the potential transition that's moving forward. But Jordan, as Frank mentioned, these are judges that would have lifetime appointments on the federal bench. They've been nominated by President Trump.

They are currently sitting in the United States Senate, and the United States Senate has full constitutional authority to consider them and confirm them. And no matter how those other things shake out, Jordan, they would sit on the federal bench for the rest of their lives or until they retired. That is absolutely something that is worth fighting for, and it yields, Jordan, the results that you talked about yesterday and that we're talking about again today.

You know, I'd say that, you know, these cases, Frank, to me, it just underscores how you can continue to fight for life and see victories. Regardless of who's in the White House in January, these states began this battle under the Obama administration, a hostile administration to life. We may have another hostile administration to life.

We don't know yet, but we might in the Biden administration. And if we do, though, these are battles that are waged in court, and the courts have been fundamentally changed because of what President Trump has done. And we're able to take a much more kind of aggressive approach to these cases across the country because other states will now look at this, states that have pro-life majorities in their state legislatures, their governors, and say, you know what? These aren't just going to be cases, legislation that we passed because we feel like it's the right thing to do, and then we're going to have to fight it out in court and probably likely lose. Now it's, hey, we can fight this out in court and likely win.

And what a refreshing change that is, Jordan. I mean, I can't tell you how many meetings or phone calls or conference calls I've been on over the years with your dad and others at the ACLJ, where we talked about, well, we could bring the case, but we're going to lose. Let's save our ammunition for another court somewhere else. It's a whole new day. I mean, we have a chance in basically every single federal circuit now that we didn't have before.

I'm excited about it. What you just said there is so important. Again, it kind of underscores with the anti every federal circuit. It's not like the Ninth Circuit is not the Ninth Circuit of 2012.

Let's put it that way, Frank. Exactly. I mean, it's not, you know, it hasn't flipped. But the idea of bringing a case on behalf of life in the Ninth Circuit in past years was just sort of tilting at windmills when there's nothing wrong with tilting at windmills. But it's nice to win once in a while. And I think we finally have the chance to do that. And it's a good chance. I mean, so we're looking at ways states can defund Planned Parenthood.

We're looking at. And by the way, they're defunding Planned Parenthood because utilizing those videos they saw of how Planned Parenthood was misusing funds and carrying out abortions the wrong way so that they could sell body parts and things like that of aborted babies. That's what these states base their defunding on. Why are they defunding this way through Medicaid?

And then you've got an en banc panel saying you can do that now. And you can do that now in Texas and Louisiana and Mississippi. And I think it'll encourage other states to to pass similar laws. They'll be challenged by Planned Parenthood, but they know they've got a much more friendly. It's not 100 percent, but a more friendly federal court system. And then, of course, and we're talking about the next segment all the way to the top at the Supreme Court, too. So, Frank, just quickly, I think this this just it kind of shifts how in the I mean, we're working on all these cases, but it shifts how we'll be approaching even regardless of who the President is, how we'll be approaching these cases and working with state legislatures and governors that are pro-life to get things done. Yeah, it's a whole new day for the pro-life cause.

It really is. Thanks to the judicial appointments going forward. Think about that. I think, Frank, for joining us again today. Jeff Surtees will be joining us the next segment. Talk about how this may end up at the U.S. Supreme Court. But understand that, folks, it's a new day and a new battle. Let's be ready for the battle. Let's be ready to file.

Let's be ready to assist those states and those governors. Support the work of the ACLJ pro-life cause is one of our top causes. Donate today ACLJ.org. Only when a society can agree that the most vulnerable and voiceless deserve to be protected.

Is there any hope for that culture to survive? And that's exactly what you are saying when you stand with the American Center for Law and Justice to defend the right to life. We've created a free, powerful publication offering a panoramic view of the ACLJ's battle for the unborn.

It's called Mission Life. It will show you how you are personally impacting the pro-life battle through your support. And the publication includes a look at all major ACLJ pro-life cases, how we're fighting for the rights of pro-life activists, the ramifications of Roe v. Wade 40 years later, play on parenthood's role in the abortion industry, and what Obamacare means to the pro-life movement. Discover the many ways your membership with the ACLJ is empowering the right to life. Request your free copy of Mission Life today online at ACLJ.org slash gift. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. Whether it's defending religious freedom, protecting those who are persecuted for their faith, uncovering corruption in the Washington bureaucracy, and fighting to protect life in the courts and in Congress, the ACLJ would not be able to do any of this without your support.

For that, we are grateful. Now there's an opportunity for you to help in a unique way. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20.

A $50 gift becomes $100. This is a critical time for the ACLJ. The work we do simply would not occur without your generous support. Take part in our Matching Challenge today. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family.

Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org. I want to encourage everybody, too, as we're back on Facebook and on YouTube now, and welcome. That was kind of new, people who are interacting on YouTube.

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Donate today at ACLJ.org. Than, you brought up something interesting and I want to get back to you. It goes in line with what Wes is talking about too, which is that under the Trump administration, we have fortunately got used to an administration with Mike Pompeo and Trump and Pence and their advisors who are very tough when it comes to religious persecution abroad, especially Americans in prison abroad. And with these other administrations and with these other people that Joe Biden is talking about, it is like pulling teeth to get the State Department engaged.

And certainly, you probably won't have Joe Biden tweeting out that he's about to sanction a NATO ally like Turkey to get an American home. Yeah, Jordan, the difference quite simply has been Presidential level engagement. I mean, look, this is another example of an issue where we draw on decades of experience. We've worked on religious freedom issues across the globe, but specifically religious prisoners of conscience.

So people that are being held, usually Americans, Jordan, who are being held in other places of the world on account of their faith. And look, going back through Democrat and Republican administrations, it has been like pulling teeth to get the bureaucracy and specifically to get the President to raise that to the level of their particular interest, their particular focus. And so therefore, the wheels of government did not engage as aggressively as they should have on this. Jordan, that turned on its face during the last four years. President Trump, I think one of the things he did most effectively is say, no, as the leader of the United States of America, when we have one of these issues, I am not going to put it on the back burner because it might upset the economic apple cart.

No, I'm going to engage. And as a result, Jordan, there is a long list of resounding success where these prisoners were returned home, they were released and they're back home now because of that. And I will just tell you, as we look forward to the next four years, I would hope no matter who is President, that we would very simply look back at the last four years and then juxtapose that with the last previous decades and see that there has been a dramatic improvement in that track record. No matter who's President, Jordan, the model that President Trump put forward, it is just plain and simple. It's the one that America should follow going forward.

Let me just say, folks, too, and let me go to Wes Smith on this. I mean, this is a model, again, that we've gotten used to, but we know that we need to prepare for the potential of an administration that comes in and goes right back to the same old way. The Republicans and Democrats in the past did it, which was go, you got to go through all these levels of the State Department, all this diplomatic, and the President won't say anything about it, and if he does, it will be a written statement that's kind of blah and that you hope to God that maybe you get these people back home.

Yeah, yeah. You know, what President Trump has made very, very clear, and he's very candid, he's very direct, you know, people criticize him of not being nice to our allies and provoking our enemies. He's actually done neither of those, but he made it very, very clear, Jordan, that with people like Turkey who held, you know, Americans and Iran and other places, it is in your best interest to support the United States as we try to look at our national security and personal interests as well. The same is true with our NATO allies. It was very clear, we will support you, we have this common defense treaty, but it is in your best interest to help the United States with our national security and other interests as well. That message has been so consistent and so clear, and it's that message and that policy that really hangs in the balance right now.

You know, Donna is on YouTube, she gave a super chat, she donated too, and I want to thank her for that, and she said just thank you for all you do at the ACLJ, but thank you, Donna, as well. You know, a name we haven't talked about yet too, resurfacing from the Obama years, and someone we had to deal with a lot on this Iran issue. John Kerry is looking to make a comeback then as this time climate czar. Now this goes back again to those Georgia Senate races and the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal could go right through Congress if Chuck Schumer becomes the majority leader then of the US Senate. I don't know if it'd be exactly everything people like AOC would want because there are some moderate Democrats there that they'd have to get through, and there'll be Republicans as well, and there's a legislative filibuster. We'll see if they try to get rid of that or want to get rid of that, but that is why those two Georgia Senate races are so important because John Kerry is going to be now part of this group as well if Biden gets there, and now he's coming in as climate czar. Yeah, nothing good can come out of this, Jordan. I mean, we know where John Kerry is on this issue. Look, whether it's Green New Deal or Green New Deal Lite, which would be bad enough, one thing we do know that he would do is advise that the incoming President rejoin the Paris Climate Accord. I mean, Jordan, if that's not bad enough, you don't even have to get all the way to Green New Deal to know what John Kerry would say, I think it's yet another example in this foreign affairs space where this group of people, the names that we're hearing coming out, would use that sort of maximum latitude that a President has in the foreign affairs space, not having to go through Senate, to do an awful lot of damage. Now, Jordan, as you relate it to Georgia, if Democrats pick up those two seats and Vice President Biden transitions into the White House, then the Paris Climate Accord is the least of your concerns when it comes to this issue. Right.

I mean, that's why we're talking about this, folks. You've got to be realistic. If you're going to be a good warrior for the causes you care about, if it's for conservatism, or for the kind of policies that President Trump put forward, the populism and America First kind of ideas, you've got to be a good warrior. And that means you're going to sometimes have to battle back against bad policies and bad Presidents.

And you want to have all the tools at your disposal possible. You could have a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate that can, again, make the Paris Climate Accord kind of the worst of where they could go. Instead of, as Than just said, that could be the least of your worries if you got a Green New Deal. And economically, that could be disastrous for America. Yeah, I take very, very seriously the hair stood up on my neck when I heard it when Chuck Schumer says, first we take Georgia and then we change America. Change America. I'm not sure I want to change America the way Chuck Schumer does.

No, I don't think you do want that, folks. But you also, we've got to be in this battle right now. Do not just assume that things are going to turn out the way you want them to. That's not how the world works.

That's not what the Bible teaches either when it comes to worldly affairs. No, turn out the way you want. Prepare for battle. Always be ready.

Always be ready. Support the work of the ACLJ. ACLJ.org during this Matching Challenge Month.

We'll talk to you next time. At the American Center for Law and Justice, we're engaged in critical issues at home and abroad. For a limited time, you can participate in the ACLJ's Matching Challenge. For every dollar you donate, it will be matched. A $10 gift becomes $20. A $50 gift becomes $100. You can make a difference in the work we do, protecting the constitutional and religious freedoms that are most important to you and your family. Give a gift today online at ACLJ.org.