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An American airman was shot down in Iran on Good Friday. The message that he radioed out to call for his rescue was God is good. He hid out in a 7,000 foot mountain, seven being the number of divine completion. And he was rescued seven hours after the start of the rescue mission before dawn on Easter Sunday, Good Friday, he goes down. Easter Sunday he's rescued. And the atheists will still say that that is all meaningless. We will get to this amazing mission as well as to President Trump's Easter message praising Allah and the undeniable Christian Ray Conquista of the popular culture on this very happy Easter Monday. I'm Michael Knowles. This is the Michael Knowles. Welcome back to the show. ICE and Border Patrol have arrested and removed from America the niece and grand niece of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. The niece and grand niece apparently hated America, referred to America as Satan. They've now been deported, leading to the question how did General Soleimani's niece and grand niece get into America? What a joke. We were under Joe Biden and Barack Obama. First though, I want to tell you about Policygenius. Go to policygenius.com knowles k n o W L E S Folks, there is a lot in your life that you have to keep track of. You've got dozens of passwords stored in three different places. Your kids, school and sports schedules are a complete disaster. Your small business to do list is never ending. For all the stuff we remember, we forget 10 more things. What happens to your family financially if something happens to you? The responsibility of protecting your loved ones and planning for the future is heavy. Trying to navigate life insurance on your own can be a big Mess. Our sponsor, PolicyGenius makes that process dramatically easier by acting as an online insurance marketplace, not as an insurance company. So you can compare quotes from America's top insurers side by side for free. These people work for you, not for the insurance company. Policygenius is just great. Don't put it off anymore. Just do the responsible thing. Sleep easier. Get that stress off your mind. Protect your family with a policy that grows with your life. With Policygenius you can see if you can find 20 year life insurance policies starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage. Go go to policygenius.com knowleskles to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you can save. Policygenius.com knowles I'll give you the brief version of this story. Details are still coming out about this amazing rescue operation in Iran. One of the most incredible rescue missions we've ever seen in American history, if not the very most amazing. This is a plane that was shot down in Iran on Good Friday. The pilot was found immediately. He survived. He was found. But there was a weapons systems officer who was pretty seriously injured, but who was not found right away. And then the clock was ticking because the Iranians put out a $60,000 bounty on his head. $60,000 is 10 times the annual income in Iran. And so you had not just the IRGC and the Iranian military going after this guy, but you had locals, you had tribesmen, you had ordinary people who were trying to get the 60 grand. So everyone trying to get this guy, the Americans trying to keep the enemy forces off this guy, he hid out in a mountain, in a 7,000 foot mountain. This number seven is important because it's the number of divine completion. It takes God seven days to create the world. Seven days in a week. Seven is very significant. So he's hiding out in the Zagros mountains, climbs a 7,000 foot ridge, and, and he's hanging there for 36 hours with just a handgun for defense. Whenever the Iranians start to get within a couple of miles of where he is, apparently our drones were just zapping them. But nevertheless, that's pretty dangerous because if you keep zapping all the people around this guy, then that means the enemy forces know where the guy is. Which is why the CIA had to run a diversion op. They ran kind of like a fake rescue for this guy. They planted fake intel that he had already had been rescued, that he was being driven out of Iran. And then there was this daylight operation Sunday morning involving dozens of aircraft, MQ9 Reaper drones. They provided the protective perimeter and they get this guy out. And there were no US casualties during his rescue. So according to a US military official familiar with the operation, the US Air Force had to use multiple bombs to blow up all the aircraft they abandoned at the airstrip. The they created an airstrip just for this operation, then blew up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of American military equipment, all to get this one guy out. This guy who goes down on Good Friday, radios and says, God is good, goes up 7,000ft. Rescue operation initiated seven hours later. Easter Sunday, he's rescued. And atheists will still say that's all just a coincidence. The thing you have to ask yourself what is most interesting about this story to me is not the military prowess, though. It's amazing. We have the greatest military force ever in the history of the world. That's beyond dispute Even our enemies would admit it. What's most impressive to me is the significance. All those symbols that I just mentioned. And so the question I have to ask you is, is that really significant? Is it significant that the guy was shot down on Good Friday, the day of Christ's resurrection, and rescued, Sorry, the day of Christ's crucifixion and rescued Easter Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection, is that significant? Does that mean anything? Does the fact that he radioed God is good when he was basically hopeless, does that mean anything? Does it mean anything? What modern people, even some quasi religious people are gonna say is, no, not really. No, look, that's a weird coincidence, isn't it? But no, the only reason it seems like it has meaning is because we impose meaning on it. These events happen and then we read into those events meaning. Really apply this to the rest of history. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two men who kind of hated each other, but they were also kind of. They were frenemies. The second and third president of the United States, men of the revolution were. They died on the same day, 50 years after the revolution. They died on the 4th of July. They died on the 4th Of July, 50 years after the Declaration of Independence. They died within hours of each other. Is that significant? Does that mean anything? Christ is born within the confines of the Roman Empire. He's known as the Son of God. He is born while the son of the divine Caesar Augustus is reigning on the throne. He's called the Son of the Divine because when Julius Caesar died, a comet that was flying through the air was understood to be Caesar being deified, going up to the heavens. And so Augustus was called the son of the divine, Filius Divi. Christ is called Filius dei, Son of God. Both are known as Prince of Peace. They inaugurate peaceful eras, the Pax Romana on earth and the eternal peace. Is that just mere coincidence? I don't think so. Probably in your own life you've had these little weird glimpses of what seems numinous, what seems like more than coincidence, what seems like providence. It seems like there's an order to the world. It seems like things happen for a reason. You've probably seen that, you know, a relative dies and some special thing associated with that relative pops up. Everyone has these experiences. In fact, we all act as though the world has meaning. So I guess my takeaway from this story, this amazing story that everybody's going to be talking about today, this unbelievable rescue of this pilot or of this weapons systems officer in Iran, if That has meaning, which it obviously does. That means that there is an intelligence that comes before our intelligence. That means that there is an order to the universe that is outside of us. That means that there is an objective truth that we should feel impelled to align ourselves with. It means that there's something more than our own will and our own desires. That is part of the miraculous part of the story, is what it tells us about our own lives. Really, really magnificent stuff. Okay, now, speaking of Iran and President Trump's operations, President Trump marked Easter by tweeting out. Do I have the tweet? Yes. Here's the tweet from President Trump. Tuesday will be power plant day and bridge day all wrapped up in one in Iran. There will be nothing like it. Open the effing straight, you crazy bastards, or you'll all be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah. President Donald J. Trump. I love it. I am wearing. I'm in Washington right now. I'm gonna be at the White House Easter egg roll in a moment with my boys. Very exciting. And I'm wearing a little political artifact. This is a tie from the first Trump term. And if you can, if you look in really closely, it's little white houses and little Twitter birds. That's the. And it. The tweets really define the Trump era. And this is one for the history books. There are people on the right, putatively on the right, even sincerely on the right, who have a big problem with this tweet. Trump is threatening war crimes. How could he talk about Allah on Easter? He's lost it. He's out of control. Ten years in, they still don't get it. Look at this tweet again. Tuesday will be power plan day, meaning he's going to blow up the power plans. He's tried not to do that so far. He says, I only want to destroy the Iranian military, but I don't want to totally destroy their country because I want to give them the ability to rebuild once they either replace their regime or align their regime closer to American interests. Then he says, look, you don't wanna make a deal? Okay, Tuesday is power plant day and bridge day. I'm gonna blow up all your bridges all wrapped up in one in Iran. There's gonna be nothing like it. And then, in case you don't get what he's asking for, he tells you directly, open the effing. He says he doesn't just say effing, he says the real word. But this is a family show, so we don't open the effing straight, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell. Just watch. Praise be to Allah. President Donald J. Trump. So this tweet is three things, and it's the opposite of what everyone's saying it is. People say, this isn't funny. This isn't funny. First of all, stop. Stop it. I don't care how much you hate Trump. I don't care how much you've been radicalized. It's very funny. This is very funny. This might be the funniest tweet ever sent. Even if you hate it, even if you think it's gonna bring on World War iii. Come on. It's hilarious. But then what they say is, this is Trump acting emotionally. He's a madman. He's a tyrant drunk with power. No, again, you could say, I don't like the tweet. I don't like the war in Iran. I don't like the threats. Now, we've now ended the five weeks of war in Iran. So obviously we're in week six. That's when people are starting to get concerned. Trump said it was gonna last about five weeks. Now we're in week six. They wanna wrap this up. Even if you hate the war, this tweet is not reckless. It's not impetuous. Obviously, this is a disciplined tweet. You know the proof that this is a disciplined tweet, that second to last line, praise be to Allah. So it sounds like, I'm going to blow this up. I'm going to blow that up, you effing dirty jerks. I'm going to blow you all up. You're going to live in hell. Praise be to Allah. The praise be to Allah is the signal that this was not written in a fit of rage. The praise be to Allah is a dry joke. He's not actually giving praise to Allah. He. He's mocking their religion. He's mocking even the kind of diction that you get out of Iran. Trump is, in this tweet, speaking their language. When the Ayatollah rip. When the Ayatollah used to say, you know, death to America, the great Satan will go down. The little Satan will be destroyed in Israel, and the great Satan will go down and destruction will rain down on the. Trump is mocking that kind of dictionary, and he's telling you he's doing that by mocking their religion, basically saying, praise be to Allah. Open the strait or I'm gonna destroy your whole country. And then finally, the last thing that this tweet is, though we'll see how much it is, is effective. I don't mean that the tweet is gonna end the Iran war. I don't mean that the tweet is gonna open the Strait of Hormuz. It might. The reason that the tweet is effective is because you don't know if he's serious or not. That's the reason. The reason the tweet is effective is because people, including people who are putatively on his own side, think that he's totally lost it and he's going to start glassing Iran and nuking civilian centers. That's why it's effective, because Trump's greatest strength in foreign policy is unpredictability. Now, what we do know, this part is predictable, is the five weeks are up. People are starting to get concerned, including plan trusters, including people who are not panic insurance. They're starting to get concerned because they don't want this war to go on for two months or three months or through the midterms or for 10 years. They want this thing to be wrapped up. I think Trump probably wants this to be wrapped up. He clearly wants out. And so the question is, how's he gonna do it? How is he gonna get Iran to the negotiating table? He can bring people in the negotiating table, and if they cross him, he can kill them and move to the next guy. He's doing that, but he wants us to move faster. And so now he starts speaking their language. The tweet may or may not work to end the war, but it's very funny, it's very disciplined, and it's very effective as a negotiating matter, that part is beyond dispute. If you have a problem with that, man, I don't know. Politics just isn't for you. Okay? Speaking of tweets, Zoran Mamdani of New Yorkistan. Zoran Mamdani sent out an Easter tweet that was a lot better than his Good Friday tweet. And it tells you a lot about the big cultural news story. Which is? Which is that everybody is getting baptized. Now, speaking of baptisms, I want to tell you about Preborn. Go to Preborn.comKnowles A lot of good movements in the culture. We're seeing a return to tradition, a return to faith. But the odds are still pretty rough out there. Okay? The truth is often silenced in our culture. That silence has a cost. Right now, women facing unexpected pregnancies are bombarded with pressure and fear before they ever have a chance to pause, to breathe or to hear the truth about life and hope that is why. One of the many reasons why I stand with our sponsor, Preborn. At every Preborn Network clinic, a woman is welcomed with compassion and given a free ultrasound. In that sacred moment, she sees what she's never seen before. 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He says, today many people mark a day of sacrifice and they will. Some will abstain from food, some will abstain from speaking. Some will abstain from speaking. Is that a thing on Good Friday? You don't speak? I don't. Maybe for you pray, you go to church for a little bit. What are you talking about? I don't know. He didn't know. But it's a day of sacrifice. And I hated that tweet because that's not what Good Friday marks. You know what Good Friday marks? Good Friday marks the conquest of death on the cross by Jesus Christ, who is not a generalization. He's not an idea, he's not a vague sentiment. He's a man who also happens to be God. That's what Good Friday marks. It does not mark some vague generality that Zoran Mamdani can kind of ambiguously wave his hands at. It marks a real historical event and the most significant historical event in the history of the world. The turning point of history, when Christ conquers death on the cross, he is resurrected on the third day in accordance with the scriptures and as the sign that he has conquered death on the cross. But the cross is the axle on which the world turns. The whole cosmos turns. And it's a man who does it. A man who happens to be God. So I hated the Mamdani tweet. Some Christians said, oh, it's nice. He's kind of acknowledging the day. Not good enough. Sorry. Say nothing at all if you're not going to say what it's really about. But anyway, Zoran got the message because on Easter, he tweets out, happy Easter, New York. Today, millions of New Yorkers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the victory of hope over despair and faith over fear. Yeah, that's more like it. Zoron, do you remember there was that shooting at a church and I think. Was it Muslims were attacking the church? I don't even remember. There's so many of these incidents, but Hillary Clinton referred to the Christians there, the congregants, as Easter worshipers. They're Easter worshiper now. They're not worshiping Easter. They're worshiping Jesus Christ because they're Christians. They don't want to say that name. Zoron didn't want to say the name on Friday. Now he's saying it. Happy Easter, New York. Today, New Yorkers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then he goes on. As the air warms and cherry blossoms begin to bloom, this holy day is a sacred time to pause and reflect on a season of rebirth. Good. Whether you spend this day singing in pews, parading down fifth Avenue, joining a processional guided by the bamboo trumpets of Haitian rah rah music, or hunting for painted eggs amidst the spring grass, I wish every New Yorker a joyous day. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What? Hold on. What did you just say? Oh, I just said, if you're parading down fifth Avenue. No, no, no, after that. Oh, no, I said, if you're painting eggs. No, no, no, before that. What was the. The Haitian rah rah? Bamboo. What? He can't help himself. He can't help himself. He has to get in some lib nonsense that no one's ever heard of. I googled it. It's some weird thing that Haitian slaves used to do before they launched the voodoo revolution and slaughtered all the white people on the island and became the worst country in the world ever since, just for. Just an absolutely cursed, awful country. Anyway, though some Haitians are good people. Bamboo trumpets of rah rah. Is that what you do on you remember? You think I've got my Easter bonnet, my bamboo, and my rah rah to have a Haitian parade? No, you never. You didn't do that. Whatever. Whatever. Whatever. He goes on. Let us all embrace this holiday's spirit of hope and renewal as we build the city and the world that we deserve. You know what I love most about that tweet? Zoran had to send it. He didn't want to send it. He was forced to send it. We know he didn't want to send it because we have his Good Friday tweet. Good Friday, the most solemn day in the Christian liturgical calendar about the day that Christ sacrificed himself to redeem mankind. He refuses to mention Jesus and then he changes his tune two days later. Why? Because of the outcry. Because of the pressure. Because it would hurt his political prospects if he didn't mention Christ on Easter. I don't want to be uncharitable here and read cynicism, but come on. I have the Good Friday tweet. I'm just being rational here. He got forced into it. And you know what? That's fine. Hypocrisy is a tribute vice pays to virtue. I'm cool with it. In fact, I'm happier about it because I don't look for Zoran Mamdani's soul. I hope that he is Christian. I hope that's good for him. But as a political matter, I don't really care about him sending the tweet out of the goodness of his heart or his true sentiment. I like that. The political conditions are such right now that Christianity is back. And if you want to be a successful politician, a successful public figure, it actually helps you to support Christianity. That was true for basically all of American history. But for the last 20 years, 25 years, that has not helped you. In fact, people had to downplay their Christianity. Christianity was seen as stupid and backwards and oppressive and all the opposite of what it really is. And now we're back. You know the proof. You want to know the proof positive of this? A true Easter miracle happened yesterday. Forget about the rescue in Iran. Google in the Google doodle referenced Easter. Do we have the Google doodle? We do now. Of course. There's no Christianity. There's no cross. There's no empty tomb. There's no. None of. Look, baby steps. It just said Google spelled out in little Easter eggs in little egg cups, little oofa la coc kind of cups. Google. Now, why should this be Easter? It's the most significant event of the Christian liturgical calendar. Surely Google puts up little doodles almost every day for some nonsense birthday that you've never heard of for National Pygmy Muslim Day in Zimbabwe. But they don't. Surely they would put something up for Easter, right? No. The last time that Google had A doodle that referenced Easter was 26 years ago. It was the year 2000. It was right after Google was founded. That was the last time because Google is extremely left wing and deeply anti Christian. So why are they putting up the Google doodle Easter eggs now? They would reference the craziest things on Christian holidays. Oh, today. Today was actually the birthday of the 24 year old Sumerian beat poet Click clack Abedngo say. I thought it was Christmas. No, no, no. The more important thing to remember is the slam poetry of mx. They them abadingo. That's what they would do like every year. And now they have to put up the Easter eggs. Why? Because the people expect it and the people demand it. Baptisms are up, Confirmations are up all over the country, specifically among Catholics. But it is a part of a broader religious trend. If you've been looking at social media, you've probably seen it, but it's backed up by data from specific parishes. Even CNN has to admit it. We'll get to that in a second. First I want to tell you about Leaf filter. Go to leaffilter.com knowles k n a W L E S Knockoffs are one of the great lies of modern life. We convince ourselves that the cheaper flimsy version is basically the same thing, you know. Hey mom, can we get leaffilter? Oh, don't worry son. We have Leaffilter at home. No you don't. No you don't. You're gonna get some cheap nonsense that's gonna screw up your house. It's not gonna keep all the gunk out of your gutters. It's gonna screw up your foundation. Your house is gonna collapse on you and won't you feel the fool? Do not cheap out when it comes to your gutters, okay? There is nothing more annoying than getting up on the ladder trying to clear out the gutters. Leaffilter trademark is where it's at, okay? Every installation comes with a lifetime clog free guarantee. Leaffilter trusted pro will clean, realign and seal your gutters before they install it. So you're not just covering up a problem, you are fixing it. No wonder that leaffilter is already trusted by over a million homes already. Start protecting your home today with Leaffilter, America's number one gutter protection system. Schedule your free inspection at leaffilter.com knowles canada wles that is up to 30% off at l eaf filter.com knowleskinewles See representative for warranty details Lest you think it's wishcasting, we Say, oh, religion's back, Christianity's back. Catholicism in particular is back. Lest you think it's just wishcasting, I turn to cnn.