GLENNFebruary 23, 2017

Finding Virtue in Hell: Glenn Headed to Bangkok With Operation Underground Railroad

Glenn will be joining Tim Ballard and the team from Operation Underground Railroad for a bird's eye view of the sex trafficking industry in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be his first trip into what he calls "the gates of hell." Ballard did nothing to dispel Glenn's ideas about what he'll soon witness.

"I've been doing this for 15 years, and I want to go home and vomit every time I walk down the street that I'm going to take you down in a couple days," Ballard told Glenn.

While Glenn knows he's going to encounter evil like he's never seen before, he'll also be on the lookout for something entirely different.

"You know, vice already exists. I'm going to bring our cameras with us. I'm looking for virtue. In the worst possible scenarios, where can we find the virtue?" Glenn said.

Enjoy the complimentary clip above or read the transcript below for details.

GLENN: Hello, America. Welcome to the program.

It's funny, as we were talking about underage sex, sex with minors, and you heard Bill Maher from the past, maybe ten years, they're kind of joking about it. And as long as it's happening with a boy, it's okay. As long as it's an older woman and a boy, it's okay. If it's a boy and an older man, it's not okay. I mean, we're seeing this with Milo. He talked about sometimes it's okay if the man is giving him a loving experience. And, you know, basically grooming him. It's okay.

Or -- and everybody was against that. Bill Maher was talking about that -- that case up in Seattle, where it was a, what, 34-year-old woman who was grooming a 14-year-old boy. And everybody is laughing. How do you rape a boy?

Well, it happens a great deal. Tim Ballard is in. Tim runs Operation Underground Railroad. Ourrescue.org. And it's an organization that this audience helped found and start. Raised the first million dollars to help get it off the ground. Tim is an old friend of the show. Was with the CIA and Department of Homeland Security for a while doing -- you know, busting up sex crimes. And just couldn't take it anymore because there's a lot of things that the government just can't do because of the role of government.

Started with us going out and trying to save kids. We have an update for you on Haiti. There was a big bust -- this is the Super Bowl bust?

TIM: That's right, yeah.

GLENN: While everybody else was celebrating the Super Bowl, Tim and his team were out having another Super Bowl party, if you will, in Haiti, that turned out to be a big bust. Biggest bust yet?

TIM: One of our biggest.

GLENN: One of them -- okay. Tell us about it.

TIM: Well, we -- as you know, because you were with us a couple months ago -- we've been setting things up in Haiti for quite some time. Actually, one of our first operations was a bust in Haiti. They were selling kids out of this illicit orphanage.

But Haiti is such a broken land. There's 300,000 slave kids. And we -- again, you know, Glenn, because you were with us, and you saw this firsthand.

And we've been working for some time with the police. In Haiti, to do something about this -- I mean, these poor kids are taken. They're slave labor. Sex trafficked.

GLENN: This literally -- every -- I can't say every. But if you buy an avocado from the Dominican Republic, which most of us have, a lot of those have been picked by literal slaves. Not like kind of slaves. I'm working for slave labor. This is slave labor wages.

No, no, no. Actual chained slaves is what we're talking about.

TIM: Yeah, it is -- it's the most incredible thing we've ever seen.

About two, three months ago, the Haitian police told us they had information that children were being sold for sex, in the Port-au-Prince area, a couple of nightclubs where this was happening. And asked us if we could go in, using our top undercover team, to play the role of the Americans because that's who the trappers will then come to.

They sent us in, and then within a couple of days -- in fact, while you're there, and, you know, this, that's when that team was working parallel to what we were doing on the rehab side.

GLENN: Yeah.

TIM: And they found about three different -- three different networks that were selling children as young as ten years old. And they -- they brought these kids after a series of negotiations, always working with the police, right? We work with the police. And they believed that they were coming down, a bunch of Americans for a Super Bowl party at a little resort on the eastern part -- or the western part of the island.

And they ended upbringing 29 victims, 20 of which were actual children. And then traffickers brought these kids. And they walked on to this scene. And we have some photos of this, or some videos. But they walked onto this scene that looked like this beautiful, you know, American bachelor party, Super Bowl party. And they walked these poor -- these kids in. My operators reported that some of them were branded with -- you know, as property with tattoos. At least two of them we know for sure had been the subjects of child pornography that had been produced and distributed internationally.

GLENN: Yeah, one of them was really quite a star of child pornography.

TIM: Right. One of them -- yes, they had been making videos since she was nine, ten years old.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

So you saved the 29?

TIM: Yeah. Yes.

GLENN: The bad guys went to jail?

TIM: All of them.

GLENN: All of them went to jail.

TIM: Yep.

GLENN: And the kids -- and we don't want to get into the details of this because it's -- it's amazing when Pat and I went over before Christmas, and we saw these kids. I mean, I don't think people would -- I don't think people understand. We went into these places, these orphanages where these kids are being brought in.

And literally, they would not leave us alone. They would not -- I have never seen kids -- little kids just come to your feet and look and put their arms up, like please hold me. And then they would cuddle next to you. I mean, they would put your cheek next to your cheek. And they would not let you go.

PAT: Just starved for affection.

GLENN: Starved for affection.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Which is odd. Now, not all of these kids that we saw are in sex crimes. But they're all orphans. And some of them are the lucky ones that went to the orphanage that wasn't selling them for slaves because, as we also found out, in Haiti, our own churches are -- are doing some things that are causing damage to Haiti.

We all go over there. We all want to do the right thing. But between the corruption of the government and us being do-good Americans, sometimes we don't know. And some of these churches -- hopefully not very many, but some of these churches are actually -- some of them knowingly engaged in the slave trade.

TIM: Yeah, it's crazy. It's just culturally accepted -- it's really no different than the church's involvement in 19th century America, where it's culturally accepted. There's 300,000 children. They call them restaveks. And they're kids who are -- it's domestic servitude. But it's slavery. The kids get sent to rural areas. Or, you know, they say, we can't afford them here, so we send them to our family or to our communities outside of the city. But we go in, undercover, we know what's happening. These kids are being treated as slaves. Sex slaves. Slave labor.

And we even came -- a couple of pastors who had two or three of them. And they were -- I mean, they were slaves.

PAT: Oh, my gosh.

GLENN: Like sleep on the floor, can't eat with the family, Cinderella stories.

TIM: Yes.

GLENN: True Cinderella stories. And the churches don't -- and the churches there -- not all of them, by any stretch of the imagination, but some of the churches there, it is so normalized there, that they don't think that they're doing anything wrong. And the kid -- and the parents will bring their kids to the pastors. And the pastors will say, "Oh, I'll take care of it," and ship them off to be sold into slavery. It's crazy.

PAT: What percentage of the kids that are in sex slavery do you know, Tim, have been sold by their parents? As opposed to kidnapped.

TIM: Yeah. Anecdotally, I can say it's -- either sold by their parents or lured out where the parents didn't really -- they were duped, I'd say probably 90 percent.

PAT: 90 percent!

GLENN: Wow.

TIM: Very few are like a hard kidnapping like in the movie Taken.

PAT: Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

Wow.

STU: The documentary.

GLENN: Tell the story about the dad who was told his children were great for -- what was it? You know, the Star of Brazil Show. You know what I'm talking about. It was in the Dominican -- I can't remember where it was, where the talent scout came to town.

TIM: Yes, yes. Unbelievable.

GLENN: Yeah. Can you tell that story?

TIM: What happened was -- this was in Cartagena in Colombia. And there was just this woman who 25 years old, beautiful. She was Ms. Cartagena 2012, I believe. So she was known in the community --

GLENN: This is like Miss America. Okay. Think of this.

TIM: And the traffickers had recruited her, and she knew exactly what she was doing. To go in -- and she would walk into these homes of kids. And they targeted them about nine years old. And they would go and sit down with the families and say, "You know who I am. I can make your daughter famous and rich like me. And I'm going to give her a scholarship to my modeling school." And it was a real modeling school. They had pamphlets. They had commercials. They were showing them on their laptops. And the families thought, "Oh, my gosh. My ship came in. And go -- go to the school."

And they take these kids, and they put them in the school. After they go to school, they go to their three or four hours in this modeling school. And slowly, they're desensitized. They're shown pornography. They're shown child pornography. They're given drugs. And they're told eventually, part of this job is you're going to go into that room, and there's going to be a person in there. And likely a Westerner. And you're going to do whatever sexual acts he wants you to do. That's part of being a model. And, by the way, if you tell anybody about this, you will be dead, your family will be dead. And these kids -- some of them go home every night, and they don't say anything. And that's where we were able to sweep in, and we were able to infiltrate that group.

And on that operation, we rescued over 100 kids.

JEFFY: Wow.

GLENN: This is really, really important work. Tim is going to be with me tonight on television at 5 o'clock. We're going to show some of this video of this bust. So you'll see some of the kids. And the most important thing is that these kids are all taken and they're safe. They don't leave the arms of Operation Underground Railroad really until they're 18. And they're safe and on their feet. They get an education. They are fed. They are given spiritual education. Spiritual healing.

And it's an unbelievable service. Really unbelievable. And it is all thanks to you.

We have a goal in the next year that we want to raise an awful lot of money. And we'll tell you why coming. But we sure would like your help. If you would be willing to help us on these -- I mean, really, you want your name written in the Book of Life, you want to know why you're here, how can I make a difference, did I ever make a difference? This one makes a difference.

How much to save a child?

TIM: Right now, we're running about 2500 to 3,000 for a kid who is outside of the United States.

GLENN: Okay. And we'll get to the United States. We'll probably talk about that a little bit tomorrow and next week. But if you would like to help in any way you can, go to ourrescue.org. That's ourrescue.org. Tim, I'll see you this afternoon.

TIM: Thanks, Glenn. Thanks.

GLENN: Thank you very much.

[break]

GLENN: Just a couple more minutes from Operation Underground Railroad, ourrescue.org.

I'm actually getting on a plane as we leave tomorrow to go to Bangkok. And, you know, this is -- this is the -- this is the seat of Sodom and Gomorrah, if you will. Is this ground zero for sex trafficking?

TIM: Definitely one of them. Maybe -- yeah.

GLENN: And he's going to take me through the gates of hell. And, you know, Vice already exists. I'm going to bring our cameras with us. I'm looking for virtue. In the worst possible scenarios, where can we find the virtue?

And we already have an idea -- a couple of ideas of where we can find it. But as the operators go in and rescue some children, they're going to be doing some things. We're going to be finding the virtue. But I -- the gates of hell -- you know, I've watched a few documentaries on it, and I don't know if I'm ready to see it myself. Pretty --

TIM: I've been doing this for 15 years, and I want to go home and vomit every time I walk down the street that I'm going to take you down in a couple days.

STU: I'm sorry we are missing this trip. I'm telling you, wow, I am really sorry we're missing this one. Because that's really difficult, man.

GLENN: We're going to spend more time in the airplane than we are on the ground, which is unfortunate. But it's going to be a whirlwind trip and hope to be able to come home and show you some stories of how you are making an impact. And this one involves us, except a different -- this is not rescuing the children alone. Because I get a lot of people -- why are we spending money elsewhere? Well, because children are children. I don't think the Lord sees borders.

STU: It also goes a lot further too. Right?

GLENN: But if it's happening here in America, we have to take care of it as well. But this particular case, we are. Because the bad guys, a lot of them come from the United States. We're going to a shelter -- I don't want to say anything about it. But we're going to one place where, you know, Operation Underground Railroad has teamed up with this Buddhist monk who actually goes and rescues these 7-year-old boys from the clutches of American men who have come over for a sex holiday. And we have to police our own. Get them out of the picture as well.

We'll have more on this tonight. Some more good news on this tonight. And so much more, coming up on the program. Next, Tim Ballard. Ourrescue.org.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Why Your Actions Matter More Than Words in the Eyes of God

Glenn Beck and Eric Metaxas expose the spiritual crisis gripping America’s churches — a moment they compare to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s warning before World War II. As the culture descends into moral confusion, too many Christians retreat into silence, claiming faith while refusing to act. Together, they argue that true belief demands courage — that “faith without works is dead” — and warn that neutrality in the face of evil is itself a form of complicity.

Watch the FULL Interview HERE

RADIO

The American Dream is in CRISIS - How Freedom Was Replaced by Comfort

The American Dream used to mean freedom and the chance to build your own life through hard work, faith, and independence. But today, it’s been replaced by comfort, consumption, and debt. Glenn Beck breaks down how America traded liberty for lifestyle, why socialism is gaining ground, and what it will take to reclaim the real American Dream before it disappears for good.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know if you saw the visualizing the American dream, Stu.

You know, what the American dream actually is, is that you can forge your own way.

You can -- you know, you can have a scrap of land, and grow your own food if up.

You can, you know, go to school. Not go to school.

You can find a job. If you're qualified for it, you have an equal chance of getting it, you know, based on merit.

But the percentage of Americans who say the American dream is retirement is 86 percent. Health care, 86 percent. Owning a home, 85. Raising two kids, 78. Owning a car, 72. Vacations, 71. Pets, 66. A wedding, 55 percent. That's the American dream, I can get married.

The American dream, if that's what you think, they've now estimated, the cost per household over the cost -- over the lifetime, retirement is $1.6 million. Owning a home now, 30-year mortgage, 20 percent you want to, is $957,594. Owning a car, buying and finance to begin with new cars every ten years is now $900,000 over your lifetime. Raising two kids to 18, plus four years of public college, $876,092. Two kids. Health care, over your lifetime, spending from ages 22 to 85, $414,000. Vacations, annual vacation from '22 to '85, $180,000. One dog and one cat for 11 to 13 years is $40,000!

That's more expensive than a wedding. The engagement ring, the ceremony, and the reception is now estimated to be $38,200.

There's a reason socialism is doing well. You look at that, and you're like, wow. I mean, if that's the American dream. And for a lot of people, that is the American dream!

That's not what the American dream is supposed to be, but, you know, once -- you know, once Woodrow Wilson and FDR got a hold of us and they started advertising, it became stuff instead of freedom. It became stuff. And, you know, when there's a new report out. Let me see if I have that.

There's a new report out now that shows, first time home buyers made up just 21 percent of the home purchases. That's the lowest on record.

The typical age of repeat buyers hit an all-time high of '62. The median downtowns, reaching 23 percent.

The highest since 2023.

And also, where is it?

The last one is -- the median age for first time home buyers, in 1981, it was 29 years old.

I'm sorry. Yeah. Twenty-nine years old. In 2021, it was 33 years old.

What is it this year?

Median age, first time homeowner, forty.

You're 40 before you can buy any kind of home. That puts these things that people want, dream about, out of reach, until you're 40?

You know, 29 is one thing. But if you're not seeing -- you're not seeing your life really kind of settling down until you're 40, I -- I can understand why you're like, you know what, this system doesn't work.

Because you've never seen it work. It's betrayed you.

Or so you've been sold. It's betrayed you.

And everything is being pushed out of your reach. And when you're young, the one thing you're not is patient.

And at 40, I can see why people are not, you know, yeah. Well, socialism is neat because capitalism isn't working. How would you respond to that?

STU: I mean, it's more lengthy than we have time for. But I would say that the response to, you know, you thinking that you want a home is not to embrace an ideology that murders 100 million people.

That's not -- that's not a good answer to the problem that you think you have.

GLENN: But they're not learning that anywhere.

They're not -- that is our responsibility! To teach those things. Because they're not learning it anywhere.

Glenn Beck Warns of 3 Economic Outcomes That Could Change EVERYTHING | Ep 467

Socialism is spreading fast among America’s youth, and the shocking election of Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor in New York City marks a major cultural and economic shift. Glenn exposes how runaway debt, record home prices, AI job disruption, and the collapsing stake in capitalism have led many Millennials and members of Gen Z to embrace socialism and communism. He reveals the three possible economic futures for 2026: two that are disastrous and one that could change everything if the Trump administration’s global financial overhaul succeeds. Plus, Justin Haskins, president of the Heartland Institute, joins to reveal some terrifying truths about why young Americans are embracing socialism from a poll he conducted with Rasmussen Reports.

RADIO

Glenn Beck warns: We're already in World War III

"The world doesn't understand yet. We're already in World War III," Glenn Beck warns. "That foe is not China. That foe is militant Islam." Glenn explains the battle we're currently facing and what's to come if we don't wake up soon...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: From New Jersey, it's Brian. Hello, Brian.

CALLER: Hello!

GLENN: Hey.

CALLER: Yeah. Thanks for taking the calls today.

GLENN: Sure.

CALLER: Yeah. I'm worried that we are headed towards another French Revolution-style because we have entire generations. Or actually people just not being heard by their representatives.

GLENN: Hmm.

CALLER: And it's not just here. It's around the world.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

I -- actually, I had scheduled for this time, I'll just do it some other time. Talking about what's happening in -- in England.

I think England is headed for a Civil War. And -- and it's very close.

I mean, you can't put 4,000 people. 4,000 people, in jail, or try them for hate crimes. And speech crimes.

You can't -- you can't do it. In England!

You can't do that in one year. And expect people to just put up with it!

You can't -- you know, we're -- we're -- America doesn't understand yet.

The world doesn't understand.

We're in World War III. We're already in World War III.

I don't know when it becomes a hot war. Or even a war that we on our side recognize. But we are in World War III. And that -- that foe is not China.

That foe is militant Islam, period. And, you know, when we have a situation to where people are -- when the government is just like, no. It's not a problem.

It's not a problem. You know. You've got illegals all over.

It's not a problem.

It's not a problem.

It is a problem. Don't tell me what -- what the problems are not!

Because we're the ones living it!

You're the experts, who keep telling us, no. It's going to work out fine.

And it doesn't work out fine. And it just gets worse and worse.

Oh. We can spend this money. No. It looks like we can't spend this money. Oh, we can afford this. No. It looks like we can't afford this.

You know, if we do this with Ukraine, it will work out fine. No, it didn't, did it? These endless wars, all of this stuff, don't tell me what the problem is. Listen to the people and start talking to the people. Honestly, this is the reason why I'm doing this today. I -- I need to hear from you.

I need to know what's on your mind, so I stay focused and -- and clear on what America is saying.

Because I don't think -- look, you know, me taking phone calls is -- is not a true representation of anything, but it does give me a sense of -- of where you are, as an audience. Maybe not as America, but as an audience. And there are lots of things that concern me. But I want to hear it from you.
But I think you're right! We're headed for real, real trouble. All you need is real economic trouble.

You start getting real, true economic trouble. 1930s kind of depression stuff. And we're in Civil War.

Dan, Oregon. Welcome!

CALLER: Hello, Glenn. How are you?

GLENN: I'm great!

CALLER: Yeah. Good. It's been a long time.

I guess it's been over ten years, since I've had a chance to talk with you. I was one of your first insiders. I was listening to you, since you were in Florida.

GLENN: Wow. Wow.

CALLER: So it's been a long -- yeah. It has been. And I can't say I've enjoyed all of it.
(laughter)

GLENN: Neither have I!

STU: I can't say that either, I'll be honest with you.

CALLER: You know, you were talking on yesterday's show, reminiscing with Stu about how you guys started. And I remember those old shows. And, you know, at the end of the -- the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Right.

CALLER: And there was a lot more entertainment. I remember I laughed a lot.

GLENN: Oh, yeah. I know. I know. Those days are long dead.
(laughter)

STU: There's nothing to laugh about now.

CALLER: Yeah. I -- I'm 78. I still work 40 hours a week. I love my job.

GLENN: Good for you.

CALLER: Been married for 55 years. I have seven kids.

GLENN: Good for you.

CALLER: I've got a daughter -- I've got a daughter who is in her 40s. And she has severe TDS. She -- we don't -- I mean, we're not cutting each other off. She hasn't done that at all. We're still very close as a family. But she was down visiting the other day, and got into a conversation with my wife. And I wasn't in the room. But Kathy said it was just like listening to one of those young people out on the street that was being interviewed by the news media. And she was -- and she was in tears about it. My wife and my daughter both.

And, I mean, I love her, and I continue to support her. She's a single woman, not by choice. She just never found the right guy.

GLENN: Yeah.

CALLER: And I really think that's part of the problem. Because she started reading -- back when Trump was first running, she started reading all of this stuff about him being misogynistic and all of this stuff.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

CALLER: And it's just gotten worse. I -- I'm at a loss. I really am. Because I -- like, I see the country doing better. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I still feel like that at least right now, we're doing better as a whole. But what do we do about -- what do we do about our kids about -- she went to Portland State University for the last two --

GLENN: Oh, jeez, for the love of --

CALLER: Well, yeah. For the last two years, she went to -- she went to a little college in Idaho called Ricks for the first two years, and Utah State.

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

CALLER: And then she served a mission for our church in Brazil and came home, but then she went to Portland State University. And it just seems to have gone downhill from there.

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. So, Dan, I think you are suffering from the same thing that almost all parents are suffering from. If you're not suffering from this, then, I mean, God bless you. You know, get on your knees and thank God. Because you are a lucky, lucky family. Everybody has in their family. I have it in my family.

And you have to ask yourself, what is your goal?

My -- what is your goal with your daughter? Your real goal?

CALLER: My real goal is for us to be united eternally. That's my goal. That's my goal as a father and has been to teach her --

GLENN: And how -- and how is that going to happen with politics?

CALLER: We just stay together as a family regardless of what politics does.

GLENN: That's exactly right. Exactly right.

I think we're in a place now where as parents, you can ask your kids, but it has to be honest. It cannot be trying to win. It has to be honest. How did you get there?

I mean, I remember. You know, we've talked about this before. And you didn't believe that before. What has changed?

Can you help me with that?

I would like to see what you're reading, or what that was.

And just ask questions. But they have to be honest. They can't be, you know, because I'm setting you up. Because I want to change your mind.

But keep a dialogue open with them. And just love them!

Just love them!

Because if you do anything else, you're going to drive them away. And then they're really lost. So just love them.

CALLER: Oh, I know that. Glenn, when she was young -- when she was young, I considered her one of the elect. And the Scripture says, that in the last days, even the elect are going to be deceived. And that's what I'm seeing. But everything you've said, I -- I am doing. I'm doing it that way. Because I know --

GLENN: Okay. Good. Then you didn't need to -- I appreciate it. I'm so glad you called me. But you didn't need to -- my advice, you already have it down. You're a very wise man.

Glenn's Show Prep

Finding Virtue in Hell: Glenn Headed to Bangkok With Operation Underground Railroad

Why Your Actions Matter More Than Words in the Eyes of God

The American Dream is in CRISIS - How Freedom Was Replaced by Comfort

Transcript

Glenn Beck Warns of 3 Economic Outcomes That Could Change EVERYTHING | Ep 467

Glenn Beck warns: We're already in World War III

Transcript