Breaking Battlegrounds

Tim Ballard on Rescuing OUR Children

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by the founders of two incredible organizations. First, Tim Ballard calls into the show with a look at how Operation Underground Railroad is rescuing children from the horrors of sex trafficking. Later, Marcee and Lance Foster of REACH Humanity join us to share how they are helping Ukrainian refugees. - Timothy Ballard is the Founder and President of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). He is also CEO of The Nazarene Fund which seeks to save oppressed religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. Ballard spent over a decade working as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and deployed as an undercover operative for the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team. He has worked every type of case imaginable in the fight to dismantle child trafficking rings. Ballard has worked undercover in the United States and in multiple foreign countries to infiltrate child trafficking organizations. In this effort, he has successfully dismantled dozens of these organizations and rescued countless children from slavery and exploitation. He is an expert at managing Internet investigations, particularly those dealing with file-share networks where pedophiles and traffickers go to trade child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers and has testified before the United States Congress on best practices to liberate children from sex slavery. In 2013, Ballard and a team of former government operatives left their careers to go about the work of saving children as a private foundation, Operation Underground Railroad. After serving a church mission to Chile, Ballard graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Spanish and Political Science from Brigham Young University. He went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude with an MA in International Politics from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He resides in California with his wife and children. - Lance and Marcee Foster have always had a passion for Humanitarian work.  For years; they have taken their family to the far corners of the world serving.  They have long had the dream of starting a non profit to provide humanitarian aid to those most in need.  While REACH Humanity has been in the works for years; the timing has been right to start it now.   The goal of REACH Humanity is to raise funds and awareness and then travel right into the heart of the crisis; those parts of the world that have been ravaged by war, natural disasters, political unrest or extreme poverty.  We want to lift and serve where the need is acute and the impact immediate.  Following an overwhelming feeling to travel to Poland to help with the Ukrainian refugees; the Foster family realized with absolutely clarity that the need is overwhelming.  Women and children are fleeing with the clothes on their backs to a place that really isn’t equipped to handle them.  Generous donations have poured in from friends, family and strangers.  But the need remains vast. Now; REACH Ukraine has become the first project of REACH Humanity.  While we are learning and adapting our mission in real time.  The impact that we have had through generous online donations and an amazing army of boots on the ground volunteers has been overwhelming.    We hope to continue our efforts as we build out our infrastructure and fundraising ability past our own community.  The structure is being put in place to create a lasting organization that will be able to impact those in need for years to come.  Please join us on this journey.  We have been able to serve many but there are SO many more in need of help. Our help. - Connect with us: Website: www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote [https://www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote/] Twitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com [https://breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Austin Knudsen on the Fentanyl Crisis and Increasing Energy Costs

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Austin Knudsen, Republican Attorney General for Montana. Later in the show, Michael McKenna of the Washington Times calls into the show. - Austin Knudsen grew up just outside of Culbertson, in the northeast corner of Montana, where his family has farmed and ranched for five generations. Austin grew up participating in 4-H, raising steers to show at the fair, and Future Farmers of America (FFA) throughout high school. In fact, Austin met his wife, Christie, while they both served as FFA State Officers during their freshman year at Montana State University-Bozeman. Austin put himself through college in Bozeman working jobs at the local butcher shop and a hardware store, and returning each summer to work on the family farm and ranch, growing wheat and sugar beets, and raising angus cattle. Austin and Christie were married shortly after graduation and moved to Missoula where Austin earned his law degree from the University of Montana. After law school, Austin and Christie moved their young family back to the farm and ranch where Austin worked at a law firm in Plentywood before opening his own practice in Culbertson. As a private attorney, Austin represented just about every kind of legal case imaginable, including estate planning, probate, civil litigation, land use, oil and gas, and real estate transactions. In 2010, Austin defeated a two-term incumbent and was elected to serve as the Representative for House District 34. While serving in Helena, Austin quickly noticed the extent of the disconnect between Helena bureaucrats and the political insiders and the rest of the people across Montana, so he pursued leadership roles in his caucus and was elected Speaker Pro Tempore during his second session. During his third and fourth sessions in 2015 and 2017, Austin was elected by all 100 members of the House of Representatives to lead them as Speaker of the House. Austin was one of the youngest people to serve as Speaker in Montana history — and in the nation. Austin was also the only two-term Speaker since term limits were imposed. The Knudsen family lived just about as far from Helena as any other legislator, so during the sessions Austin and Christie and their three kids — Leah, Connor, and Reagan — would move as a family to Helena. As a Legislator and Speaker, Austin worked to ensure his constituents had a voice, and that taxpayers were getting the most out of the hard-earned money they send to the state. In addition to his maximum four legislative sessions, Austin presided over a 2017 Special Session in which he led a united Republican caucus to defeat multiple tax increase attempts by the Governor. Back in Culbertson as a private attorney, Austin was astounded by the lack of prosecutions coming out of the County Attorney’s office, and the illegal drugs and related crime that was devastating his community. Following a drive-by shooting outside of their kids’ school, Austin and Christie knew they had to do more to make their community safe, and in 2018 Austin was elected Roosevelt County Attorney. As a county prosecutor, Austin worked hand-in-hand with the full range of law enforcement personnel, including on the Fort Peck Reservation, to ramp up prosecutions and put violent offenders behind bars. In 2020, Austin ran for Montana Attorney General because the illegal drug pandemic and resulting violence are a statewide problem. In fact, violent crime has increased more than 30% in just over a decade. As Attorney General, Austin has made combating the drug pandemic and supporting law enforcement a main focus — ensuring that Montana is a safe place to live and raise a family. - Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House. He can be reached at mike@mwrstrat.com [mike@mwrstrat.com]. - Connect with us: www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote Twitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com [https://breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Congressman Andy Biggs on Immigration and Border Security

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Congressman Andy Biggs, Republican from Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.  - Andy Biggs was first elected to serve the people of Arizona’s Fifth District in 2016. He currently serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. From 2019 through 2021, he served as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. He is currently co-chair of the Border Security Caucus, Vice Chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, and a co-founder of the bipartisan War Powers Caucus. Prior to his election to Congress, Andy served in the Arizona State House of Representatives for eight years, and in the Arizona State Senate for six years. In 2012, Andy was elected Senate President. Andy received his B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University, his J.D. from University of Arizona, and his M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University. An Arizona native, Andy and his wife, Cindy, have lived in Gilbert for 35 years. They have six children and are the grandparents of eight grandchildren. - Connect with us: www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote Twitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com [https://breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Dennis Prager on COVID, Education, and Radio Success

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are honored to be joined in studio by best selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager. - Dennis Prager is a best-selling author, columnist and nationally syndicated radio talk show host based in Los Angeles and heard on 150 stations across the country. A Fellow at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, where he did graduate work at the Middle East and Russian Institutes, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords, and by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. He holds an honorary doctorate of law from Pepperdine University. A highly sought-after speaker and frequent cable news show guest, Dennis has lectured all over the world. His New York Times best-selling books include Think a Second Time, Happiness is a Serious Problem and Still the Best Hope: Why American Values Must Triumph. His newest book is The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code. - Connect with us: www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote Twitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com [https://breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Matthew Continetti on the Evolution of the Right

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Matthew Continetti, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. Later in the show, we check in with Tom Horne, Republican candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. - Matthew Continetti is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century. A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard. Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. He has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. He also appears frequently on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier and MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” with Chuck Todd. Mr. Continetti is the author of two books: “The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star [https://www.amazon.com/Persecution-Sarah-Palin-Elite-Rising/dp/1595230610]” (Sentinel, 2009) and “The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine [https://www.amazon.com/Street-Gang-Rise-Republican-Machine/dp/038551672X]” (Doubleday, 2006). He has a BA in history from Columbia University. - Tom Horne is a candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mr. Horne has served both his community and our state impressively in several elected offices:  Paradise Valley School Board member and president; Legislator where he was chair of the academic accountability committee; Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction; and, Arizona Attorney General.  As Superintendent, he is most famous for enforcing the English immersion mandate for mostly Spanish-speaking children and getting rid of La Raza studies in Tucson schools. As Attorney General, he earned acclaim for winning lawsuits for Arizona that he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.    - Connect with us: www.breakingbattlegrounds.vote Twitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_Battle Facebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegrounds Instagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com [https://breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]