Obama's about-face on the sequester

Back in January, Glenn shared that his New Year’s resolution for 2013 is to avoid saying President Obama’s name and playing any audio of his remarks. Anyone who breaks this rule is fined $20 per offense. While there have certainly been some bumps in the road – very expensive bumps – Glenn, Pat, Stu, and Jeffy have really seemed to take the challenge to heart and are feeling much better for it.

Last week, Glenn intentionally broke his own rule, saying “that guy’s” name three times, when he proclaimed: “Socialism is not my religion, government is not my church, and President Obama is not my god.”

Glenn went on to say the line two more times, costing him $60. But he it was $60 well spent. “And I said it gladly and I put $20 in,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “And then I said it again and I put $20 in and I said, ‘You know what? I'm going to give you 40 because I'm going to say it again.’ And it felt good. Now Pat has come to us and said, ‘I have to play the audio from that guy.’”

“I sent this to Pat last night,” Stu said. “And I said to him, ‘I don't know that we could play this because we're going to get fined if we play it, but it's so good.’”

With the automatic spending cuts set to kick in on March 1, Pat and Stu dug up some audio that shows President Obama’s blatant about-face on the issue.

Up first, Present Obama had this to say about the sequester in November 2011:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Already some in Congress who are trying to undo these automatic spending cuts. My message to them is simple: No. I will veto any effort to get rid of those automatic spending cuts of domestic and defense spending. There will be no easy off ramps on this one.

Based on these comments, Obama’s stance is pretty clear: there is no getting out of the automatic spending cuts, but 15 months later, the President is singing quite a different tune. During a press conference yesterday at the White House, Obama had this to say about the effects of the sequester:

PRESIDENT OBAMA: …Emergency responders like the ones who are here today, their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded. Border patrol agents will see their hours reduced. FBI agents will be furloughed. Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go. Airport controllers and airport security will see cutbacks which mean more delays in airports across the country. Thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off. Tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find child care for their kids will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings.

“Wait a minute. So hold on just a second,” Glenn said. “This is making my blood boil. This is why we don't play this guy.”

The hypocrisy is astounding, even for this president, but perhaps the most ironic part of Obama’s recent remarks is how he keeps referring to the layoffs that will supposedly target firemen, teachers, and educators. Unless circumstances have changed in the last 24 hours – firemen and teachers do not work for the federal government.

“How many federal teachers and educators do we have? How many teachers are on the federal payroll? I want to know the number,” Pat said. “I want to know the exact number because it's zero! Federal teachers? There's no federal layoff of teachers.”

“But this is a strategy from this president, which is, when he makes these big speeches and public policy pronouncements, it comes out and he targets the things that only the people on the right care about,” Stu countered. “You know, again the border patrol, FBI agents, crime; federal prosecutors, crime; letting criminals go, more crime; airport security, terrorism; teachers and educators, family; child care for your kids, family. He goes after the rightwing catch phrases, the rightwing care groups, and he targets them to get them on board because he knows he's already got [Democrats]. They blindly follow.”

At the end of the day, the sequester is not substantial enough to actually prevent a credit downgrade or get government spending anywhere near under control, but it is a start –a start conservatives and Republicans should stand behind.

“It was [Obama’s] idea. He came up with it. So let's use this to our advantage,” Glenn said. “[Be] for sequester. Say, ‘Yeah, it's about time.’ And if it means that it's hard cuts on our side, we will go in there and we will target those cuts. Because you can't tell me that we can't cut 10% even out of the Pentagon and not survive. We'll take those cuts, and we urge the president to make more cuts across the board. We want another 10% sequester straight across the board. And after that one, we'll take another straight across the board 10% cut.”

“They could win that argument with the American people,” Glenn concluded. “But [Republicans] will not do it because they're big government progressives just as much.”

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

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The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

MATTHIEU RONDEL/AFP via Getty Images | Getty Images

Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

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Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

David Butow / Contributor | Getty Images

Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck joins TPUSA tour to honor Charlie Kirk

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If they thought the murder of Charlie Kirk would scare us into silence, they were wrong!

If anything, Turning Point will hit the road louder than ever. On Monday, September 22, less than two weeks after the assassination, Charlie's friends united under the Turning Point USA banner to carry his torch and honor his legacy by doing what he did best: bringing honest and truthful debate to Universities across the nation.

Naturally, Glenn has rallied to the cause and has accepted an invitation to join the TPUSA tour at the University of North Dakota on October 9th.

Want to join Glenn at the University of North Dakota to honor Charlie Kirk and keep his mission alive? Click HERE to sign up or find more information.

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

On September 17th, Glenn commemorated his late friend Charlie Kirk by hosting The Charlie Kirk Show Podcast, where he celebrated and remembered the life of a remarkable young man.

During the broadcast, Glenn shared an emotional new song performed by his daughter, Cheyenne, who was standing only feet away from Charlie when he was assassinated. The song, titled "We Are One," has been dedicated to Charlie Kirk as a tribute and was written and co-performed by David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond, founding member of The Osmonds.

Glenn first asked David Osmond to write "We Are One" in 2018, as he predicted that dark days were on the horizon, but he never imagined that it would be sung by his daughter in honor of Charlie Kirk. The Lord works in mysterious ways; could there have been a more fitting song to honor such a brave man?

"We Are One" is available for download or listening on Spotify HERE