BLOGMay 24, 2017

'You Don't Need Your Eyes for Vision': Blind Entrepreneur Floors Glenn With Perspective on Sight

To say Isaac Lidsky has an impressive resume would be a massive understatement. A child actor from Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Lidsky graduated Harvard at 19 and then clerked for Sandra Day O'Conner and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He then started his own tech company which sold for $230 million. By any measure, his accomplishments have been remarkable --- even without the knowledge that he's blind.

Lidsky's lost his sight as a teenager --- a curse that ultimately transformed his view on life.

"Sight is this masterful illusion," Lidsky said. "And as that illusion sort of shattered for me, it kind of helped me to realize all this stuff. By the time I was in my early to mid-20s --- in a remarkable way, in a beautiful way --- the disease itself was reaselly sort of the cure in many ways."

Lidsky joined Glenn on radio Wednesday to talk about his new book Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World That Can't See Clearly, which delves into navigating the abyss and avoiding mindsets that limit human potential.

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: I just want you to listen to this guy's resume. Because just one of these things people would chew on for the rest of their life and say, "Yeah, I did that." Listen to this.

He was on the TV show Saved by the Bell, the New Class. He played Weasel. He went to Harvard and graduated with a degree in mathematics and computer science at 19. He then graduated magnum cum laude from Harvard Law school. He then went to clerk for the Supreme Court for Sandra Day O'Conner HEP and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He then argued more than a dozen federal cases and never lost a single one.

He then decided, you know what, I'm going to start my own tech company. He started his own tech company and sold it for $230 million. He's the CEO of a construction company, which has grown in value by ten times since he took over. Oh, and I forgot to mention: He realized very young that he was losing his sight. He went completely blind at 25. But it didn't slow him down. After he went completely blind, he decided he was going to start a charity called hope for vision that funds development and treatment and cures for blindness, which he believes he will be able to see again and you'll be able to cure some forms of blindness within five to ten years.

Now, I don't know about you, but I had a hard time getting out of bed today. Let's say hello to the mass overachiever that makes us all look bad, Isaac Lidsky. How are you, Isaac?

ISAAC: I'm doing great. Thank you.

GLENN: Good.

Your book is called Eyes Wide Open. I want to add one more thing to your resume. He lives in Florida with his wife Dorothy and their three triplet daughters. So he's also raising triplets while he's doing the other thing.

So do you ever sleep, Isaac?

ISAAC: Yeah, I do. I do. I sleep, and I sleep well, Glenn. Because I'm very blessed, as you mentioned. I got to do a lot of interesting and rewarding things in my life. And, you know, in many ways, the experience I had losing my sight was -- was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

GLENN: So I -- I'd like to start there. I have macular dystrophy. And if you -- you probably know --

ISAAC: I know it well.

GLENN: You can lose your eyesight quickly, or you can have macular dystrophy for the rest of your life, and it will never change anything.

But I will tell you, when I was diagnosed, it freaked me out. And it's made me a better man. But I didn't lose my eyes.

Can you take us to the tree limb, when you're seven years old?

ISAAC: Sure. Actually I was diagnosed when I was 13 years old.

GLENN: Thirteen. Okay.

ISAAC: Yeah. And at the time, you know, I was living this Hollywood fairy tale. And, you know, like most 13-year-old boys, I thought I was perfect and invincible and, you know, on top of the world.

At the time, you know, I received the diagnosis, basically told you have this disease, you're going to go blind, there's no treatments, there's no cures. You know, we don't know much about the disease, good luck, was essentially the message. I was terrified.

GLENN: And when you were diagnosed with it, did you know that it was going to be a rapid decline?

ISAAC: You know, the doctors -- the experts said that -- he couldn't tell me how long it would take. You know, we hoped, best-case scenario, 30s, 40s, or 50s, you know, before I'm blind. But he really had no idea. You know, at the time, they knew very little about the disease.

I wound up losing my sight, as you said, in over about a dozen years.

At the time of the diagnosis, not only was I terrified, but I knew that blindness was going to destroy my life. I knew it was going to be an end to my achievement. And it meant I would live this sort of small and unremarkable life, you know, very sad and likely alone.

And, of course, you know, those were lies. That was sort of the fictions born of my fears. Awfulizing, as psychologists call it. But at the time, it felt real. It felt like my reality. Like my destiny.

GLENN: So you're sitting on the tree branch. And you're actually 17. Seventeen at this time. And you realize, "It's coming quickly?"

ISAAC: Yeah. So, you know --

GLENN: Oh, you've got to be kidding me. The overachiever can't get good cell service? I think we lost him.

STU: Oh.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: So young too.

PAT: I know. We barely knew him.

STU: No, he's still alive. But we just lost the call.

GLENN: Oh, we lost the call? Good. Then can you get him back on the phone, because it would have been a really depressing rest of the show.

ISAAC: No, I'm here.

GLENN: Oh, you're there. Okay. Good. Okay. We lost you. Go ahead. Sorry.

ISAAC: I'm back.

Well, so anyway, by the time I was in my early to mid-20s, I was -- in a remarkable way, in a beautiful way, sort of the disease itself was really sort of the cure in many ways. As I lost my sight, the way that I sort of progressively lost my sight, the bizarre kind of visual effects I experienced gave me just tremendous insight into the -- into the awesome power of the mind, the way our minds work, and our ultimate, you know, power to really create the reality we want for ourselves.

GLENN: You say you don't need your eyes to see the world.

ISAAC: No, no, no. You don't -- well, you don't need your eyes for vision. You don't need your eyes for vision.

So, you know, people -- I'm a big stickler on the distinction between sight and vision. And to my mind, vision's got nothing to do with the eyes. And losing my sight is what gave me this very rewarding vision that really has brought me just immeasurable joy and fulfillment and success in my life. And it's been such a blessing for me.

The vision had nothing to do with blindness or disability or -- I mean, in my case, it came about because of that. But it's really for everybody. And that's why I wrote the book.

GLENN: Can you be the person -- the -- the complete person that you were born to be without some form of adversity?

PAUL: As a general proposition?

GLENN: Yeah.

PAUL: I think so. I think so. To my mind, sort of my experience, what I've seen is really in every moment, we are choosing who we want to be and how we want to live our lives. You know, whether we like it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, we're making that choice in every single moment.

GLENN: So how did you learn that, if not through adversity?

ISAAC: I learned it by the sort of bizarre experience I had, you know, going blind, losing my sight. I literally saw that -- far from some kind of passive experience, some sort of perception of the world out there. Sight is this masterful illusion. Very compelling illusion. And as that illusion sort of shattered for me, it kind of helped me to realize all this stuff.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Go back. That is such a profound statement. And I want to make sure I understand it. What do you mean that sight is a masterful illusion?

ISAAC: So, you know, the experience of sight -- you open your eyes, and there's the world. Right? It feels very passive. It feels like sight is -- we even say "seeing is believing." The fact the the matter is altogether different. The reality is sight is sort of a unique, personal, virtual world that your brain sort of cooks up for you, and it implicates your conceptual knowledge, your memories, your opinions, your emotions.

You know, really only about 10 percent of the experience of sight is data from the eyes in any given moment. And yet, it feels -- it feels so real and so objective. So we literally create our own realities, and we believe it.

Studies -- studies show this. And there's all sorts of optical illusions that show this. You know, just life experience. But yet, you know, it feels so real.

And I saw that firsthand. I literally kind of got a peek at the wizard behind the curtain, so to speak. And then I realized that the same is true of so much of life, the way we experience our fears, the way we experience our self-limiting assumptions about ourselves, what we tell ourselves about, you know, strength and weakness. And, quote, unquote, success and all that. And, you know, so much of our world, our reality is machinations of our own minds. And if we want to be aware of it and intentional and live with discipline, we can take control of that reality and really create the lives we want for ourself in every moment. And that's been my life. And I feel profoundly blessed.

GLENN: And this what you mean when you say, "We have to take responsibility for our -- for our -- I want to quote it exactly." We have to take ownership of our mental images.

ISAAC: Absolutely. Absolutely.

You know, we -- there are so many examples. But take -- you know, take the self-limiting assumptions we make about ourselves, the things we tell ourselves we cannot do, the purported shortcomings we perceive in ourselves.

You know, all -- all these awful cues, you know, we make up from those around -- we read into things. And, you know, a lot of times, it's not always obvious to us, that we're the author of these fictions. But we ultimately -- we are. And when we can see that and when we can see our role, you know, we can make better choices for ourselves.

GLENN: So we're talking to Isaac Lidsky. He's the author of the book called Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World That Can't See Clearly.

And, Isaac, I wanted to have you on because it's my job and my mission in my own life. But it's my job to try to make sense of a world gone mad and not follow it over the cliff.

And we're dealing with so many lies now and so many -- so much chaos in the world. We can't keep up with it. We -- I think we have this -- this -- this cultural fear of -- of losing what we know. And part of that is because there -- we are losing, you know, some of our past. But in some ways, some of it is really good. With high-tech, yeah, we -- we're in this tension now of losing jobs that just are never coming back. But the future is very, very bright.

Where -- what did -- what -- advice do you have on navigate through some of these fears, both real and maybe overhyped or perceived?

ISAAC: Yeah. You know, that's a fantastic question. And it's true. It's a world of madness these days. When truth is -- you know, is a relative term and accountability seems -- seems absent, it's hard to stay grounded.

But I firmly believe it's got to start from within. It's got to start with yourself. And we all face challenges and great fears and struggles in our lives. But what I always come back to, always, always you will find people who have done far more with far less and been a lot happier doing it, by the way. So it can't be the circumstances we face that determine the quality of life that we live. I mean, how those circumstances manifest themselves in our lives, is entirely within our control. And it's not easy to do, but it's certainly worth it. So I would encourage folks to live with, you know, awareness, intentionality, and purpose. Live -- embrace your role as the master of your reality, as the person who gets to decide the life you live in every moment.

And you can abdicate that responsibility, if it's overwhelming. But I certainly think that's a bad choice.

GLENN: Help me out on -- I'm an alcoholic -- recovering alcoholic.

ISAAC: Yeah.

GLENN: And it's -- understanding the 12 steps has just changed my life. Understanding the -- the message of surrender, but that doesn't mean you accept -- you accept the part that you play -- you have you noticed to the things that you're powerless to change. But then you pick up your -- your gauntlet -- you pick yourself back up and you charge ahead.

We don't have a real understanding of what you say -- let me see, a thin illusive line between acceptance and surrender, between confidence and vulnerability. What do you mean?

ISAAC: Yeah. You know, among -- among the many, you know, unfortunate things we can tell ourselves, you know, we have this understanding that vulnerability is weakness sometimes. We get cues from society. And we tend to tell ourselves that. And, you know, I certainly struggled with that, as I was losing my sight. I thought that being vulnerable, needing help, all those things was weakness. I thought disability was embarrassment. And, you know, just sort of awful narratives that -- you know, they're self-fulfilling to the extent that we tell ourselves those things and believe them. You know, we make them true.

But they're -- you know, there's nothing that -- there's no inherent truth in those lies. In fact, they're toxic. So I learned -- and it took me a while. It was a journey that I describe at length. But I learned to embrace, you know, who I am, challenges and all, blindness and all, but to see strengths where I might have first seen weakness or where others saw weakness and define my own -- my own confidence and embrace who I am in my own life. And, you know, think about the circumstances -- you have prisoners of war who have undergone years of torture.

You know, you have Victor Frankel in a Nazi concentration camp. You know, he wrote a book, Man's Search for Meaning. He talks about how he insists that he was going to find purpose and even happiness, in a concentration camp. All these examples of remarkable people who transcend, despite their circumstances. I -- you know, probably wouldn't put it exactly the same way that I do, but I am sure if you ask those folks, every one of them would view him or herself as in control of their reality, as the master of their own fate, as the person who gets to decide how the circumstances -- they're going to manifest themselves in their lives. And that's a power we all have, whether we realize it or not.

RADIO

New York just CROSSED A LINE

"Are you part of a culture of death, or a culture of life?" Glenn Beck exposes a new lawmaker-approved bill in New York that puts death over life in the name of "compassion" amid the loneliness epidemic.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: When you look at everything that is going on. The choice in front of us is so clear. And it is so easy to make.

It's just, which do you just, life or death? Life or death? Are you part of a culture of death or life?

Are you fighting for life in all of its forms? Or are you fighting for death in all of its forms?

And it's really clear to see which side is which. It really is.

You know, isn't that what God said, when the Israelites went into the Promised Land.

Choose life!

Isn't that what lakai (phonetic) means? Delight, delight. I think it is. Choose life. I don't know. Everything I learned about Hebrew, I learned from fiddler on the roof.

But that's a different story. Not exactly true, but almost true.

True in this case! Anyway, you have to choose life!

And the left is becoming more and more about death! In every way. Today, the more enlightened left. I mean, the more enlightened they become, the more left the doctrine. The more barbaric it actually becomes.

We've seen it on the streets of LA, right?

Look at that. That's not about life. That's about destruction of everything. According to their doctrine, the left believes that the only -- you know, that -- that not doing a thing to police, illegal immigration.

Is the only solution to compassionate, you know, service.

You know, you just can't do anything about it. That way, we're compassionate. And we're loving. And we're handling the situation. Okay?

And you can't do anything about it. And if not, well, we're going to prove how compassionate and loving we are, through mob violence. And arson and theft. And assaulting officers. It doesn't make any sense. Let alone standing up for the people who have -- who have horribly raped 14-year-old children.

I don't understand. How are you doing that?

How is that choosing life at all?

Now, in New York, things are even worse. In the legislature, where the people's representatives have passed a bill to make it easier for people to kill themselves.

The US Surgeon General's office calls loneliness and isolation in America an epidemic. How many people do you know that have either killed themselves or have had their children almost kill themselves?

I don't think I can count them on two hands. My mother killed herself when I was a child, and she was the only one I had ever heard of doing that except at TV shows and movies.

Now it's an epidemic. Yet, New York is choosing to declare open season on anybody vulnerable.

This bill is assisted suicide. And it is dressed up as always, as compassion.

But it's not mercy. It is absolute madness.

It's now sitting on the governor's desk of New York. Kathy Hochul. Waiting for her signature to make it law. But this bill is an absolute nightmare.

It requires no waiting period, after the first -- after the person's first request to die.

So, in other words, hey, I've got some bad news for you. You have cancer. Oh, and it's probably untreatable. Oh. I just -- I just want to die. Okay.

No waiting period. Nurse, can we bring that in?

No waiting period. Somebody who has a term I believe diagnosis, one day, can be handed the lethal cocktail the very next day.

Unlike -- unlike other states that are at least nodding to some other health evaluations, you know. No. New York will just check, make sure that it's an informed decision. What you know they're saying? Right? You want to kill yourself? Yeah, I do.

Okay. Good. You're informed.

I mean, when people are staring death and depression in the face, despair and depression clouds everything. You don't make a decision, when you're like that. And as somebody who has had major depression when I was young, you -- it is insane!

It's insanity.

And as somebody who was older, who has -- I mean, this week, my back has been so bad.

I went to my doctor, and I said, I can't live this way. I just -- I can't walk.

I can barely breathe. I just can't live this way. And I didn't mean I want to kill myself.

But I understand how people can get there. I get that. But is that who we are? Is that as a society, is that who we are?

I mean, it's crazy. You know, since when is the left concerned about patience being informed.

They don't want a woman who is considering an abortion to see an ultrasound of their baby.

I don't know.

Is that informed consent?

One guy, he's a bio ethicist from Washington State.

He's tracked these laws down for 40 years.

New York bill.

The bill in New York.

It's probably the worst law of its kind in the US.

What a surprise, their last governor, was killing people in nursing homes.
The language that is in this bill. The lies are disgusting.

They call prescribing poison, a quote, medical practice.

And the poison is medication.

Now, listen to this: It also prohibits referring to this practice, as suicide.

Hmm!

In the worst part of this bill, and remember, we're talking about killing people.

This shows you how they know they're lying.

Even when I write out the death certificate of a person who dies, through assisted suicide, you were only allowed to list the person's underlying condition or illness as the official cause of death. You cannot say it had anything to do with suicide or any medical aid in dying.

So if I have cancer, and I'm not going to treat it, and I just want to die.

If I have depression, I just want to die. I would die of depression or cancer.

You know what that does?

That hides the actual stats. It hides the crime. You won't be able to track, how bad is this getting?

They're trying to memory hole suicide. Making doctors lie about it. No!

Helping doctors lie about it.

I'm sorry. If you're a doctor. And you are going along with this. And you're not standing up. Where is your Hippocratic oath?

First, do no harm.

Are you kidding me?

Abortion, you excuse that. Now we're going to get on the other side and excuse that. And you don't even have to medically evaluate the person.

And then you cover it up. Wow!

New York State has been, you know, developing this culture of death, since 1970.

Three years before Roe vs. Wade they were doing it. More than half a century of month pro--choice messaging.

It greased the slippery slope. And we're now at the bottom of it.

According to the left, the compassionate thing, toward a pregnant woman is to allow her to kill her unborn child, that's just the short jump to assisted suicide being considered the compassionate way out for the terminally ill or mentally ill. After all, it's my body, my choice.

Right?

Dr. Lydia Dugdale, she's from the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, New York City. She wrote an op-ed last month. And she said, this is not compassionate policy.

Instead of investing in the infrastructure of support for the lonely, the depressed, the disabled, and the poor. We just offered them a prescription for death. And we call it autonomy. But it's nothing, but abandonment. The art of dying well cannot be severed from the art of living well.

And that includes caring for one another, especially when it's hard, when it's inconvenient or costly. It's not enough to offer the dying control. We have to offer them dignity.

And not by affirming their despair. But by affirming their worth!

Life is worth it!

She went on to say, even when they're suffering.

Even when they're vulnerable. Even when they are in worldly terms, a burden, to anyone who has common sense, left in New York. And California.

I mean, you seemed to be outnumbered by barbarians. It must be an awfully hopeless feeling. I'm glad we can be there for so many of you today.

Just don't give up.

Don't give up.

You are not without hope.

As long as you're still in the fight.

So I live in New York. Call your governor's office.

Urge her to veto this evil bill of death.

Choose life! Do not give up on trying to salvage a culture of life. Because once you do, we're completely done. Choose life!

RADIO

The REAL reason Democrats FUMED over Sen. Padilla arrest

Democratic Senator Alex Padilla was arrested after heckling DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a press briefing, and his fellow Democrats are furious! But is this more “theatre” than anything? Glenn Beck breaks down the hysteria.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: You know, every show today, can talk about the theatrics of Senator Padilla. And senator Warren yesterday. But it takes the special podcast to introduce to masterpiece theater! Tonight, we present a spectacle so sublime, so stupendous, it shall sear itself into the annals of human history. Behold, America's greatest thespians. Nay! Titans of the stage. Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senator Cory Booker. Prepare yourself for a torrent of theater, a deluge of tears, a veritable hurricane of histrionics.

First, witness Senator Alex Padilla as the poor, downtrodden, utterly helpless, yet inexplicably powerful senator from California. See him bum-rush the stage in a mostly peaceful, chaotic sort of way.

Then Senator Elizabeth Warren takes the stage, with her heart-wrenching monologue, which we've dubbed the trail of tears.

Watch as she channels the anguish of a thousand ancestors. Her voice trembling with the weight of a nation's sorrow.

Or possibly just a really bad day at the Capitol cafeteria. And finally, Senator Cory Booker unleashes the full outrage in our climactic opus, the Coming of a Tyrant. Feel the earthquake beneath his righteous fury.

Marvel as he roars defiance. His every move to the heart of despotism.

Or at least, the heart of anyone who forgets to mute a Zoom call. So dear audience, gird your loins. For an evening and episode of passion, pathos, and possibly a few pulled hamstrings. Because this is masterpiece theater! We join the action now in California, at a Kristi Noem press conference, and in the room, somewhere in the back, Senator Alex Padilla. Let's listen in!

VOICE: -- the burdensome leadership, that this governor and that this mayor have placed on this country, and what they have tried to insert into the city. So I want to say, thank you to every single person that has been able to do this.

VOICE: Senator Padilla.

I have questions for the Secretary.

Because the fact of the matter is, half the dozens -- that was on your -- on your --

GLENN: Okay. How dare them -- how dare them, indeed!

Okay. So here he is. He's identified himself after he bum-rushes the podium for a live press conference. He comes in, bum-rushes. He is not wearing his Senate pin which would identify him. They have no idea if he's a senator or not.

I've never even heard of this clown. Certainly would not have recognized him.

He looks like someone you would find I don't know, sitting in the center of a Wendy's, you know, for a lunch. I don't know who this guy is.

And so they get him out of there, as they should.

I don't know if you know this. But this was his big stage debut. This was his moment!

But before Israel could strike in those waning moments of his fame, Elizabeth Warren takes the stage.

And here, in the episode, we call the Trail of Tears, she says this.

VOICE: When Senator Padilla had pushed, shoved, thrown to the -- handcuffed. Because he is asking questions, because he is engaging. In the very oversight that senators are supposed to engage in. Then what we're really talking about here is a Trump administration that just wants to shut down the ordinary functions of government.

VOICE: We went there to observe and ask questions.

GLENN: Oh, here's a bonus.

VOICE: And I watched with horror, on this video, seeing these agents grab my colleague, my fellow senator from California. Grab him.

GLENN: Oh.

VOICE: Push him out of the hearing. And I am -- I am shocked.

GLENN: Shocked!

VOICE: By far how we have descended in the first 140 days of this administration.

GLENN: Oh. Oh, my goodness. He's never seen this.

VOICE: House Padilla forcibly --

GLENN: Now Cory Booker.

VOICE: Before his executive. When does it stop?

GLENN: When! When, dare I ask!

VOICE: Attempt to kneel to his knees, violently. When does it stop!

GLENN: When!
(laughter)

VOICE: This is a crossroads.

GLENN: This is it.

VOICE: This is a day in which the character of his body will be defined.

GLENN: I say, dare I say a day which will live in infamy. I shall not boy, or even introduce myself. Or, you know, just I'll crash the press conference, and then just try to hijack it. That's you all I'm going to do. That's all I'm going to do.

How dare you stop me!

When did the Senate lose its decorum?

May I expect this now from the Congress?

Generally, we've always known there are a few clowns in Congress, but now the senators are all doing it.

STU: I mean, there's nobody better at it than Cory Booker though. You want to talk --

GLENN: He is good. He is good.

STU: Pathetic, in every single way. I love it.

GLENN: A titan of the stage.
(laughter)

STU: Glenn, now, you're -- you're a bit of a historian. You own a museum. Right?

You've been looking back at our history and throughout it. At any point in the Federalist Papers, or in our founding doctors, was there a path created for a senator to talk to a government official, other than interrupting a press conference?

Has anyone ever thought of a way for them to meet and discuss an issue of importance?

GLENN: No. No. No. It's in section two, subsection three.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: Of the Constitution.

STU: Right. From the back.

GLENN: Where they say, you've got questions. You've got questions.

You've got to storm the room.

You've just got to storm the room.

STU: Don't tell anyone you're coming. Don't announce yourself in advance.

Don't talk to security.

Hey. I have to talk to --

GLENN: Or if -- if you did say that.

And they said, sir, this is a closed press conference. She's not taking any questions. This is just a live broadcast.

You can wait for it. She will talk to you after.

And then you say, I have the right to storm the room!

STU: Now, I --

GLENN: How pathetic is it, that they only have this little -- they have this pathetic little 20-minute period, and now nobody is talking about it.

STU: Oh, I will say, the greatest party heard by the -- Israel's actions overnight, was not Iran.

But it was Alex Padilla's fundraising.

Because this was his big plan. This was his big moment in the sun.

He will take in millions of dollars, and get all this attention, and get all these MSNBC hits. And all the things that every senator seems to go to Washington for these days. Certainly, it's not making laws. And he was going to have this wonderful wave of attention. Instead, he remained the giant zilch, he remained yesterday.

He will remain a giant, pathetic, empty nothing of a senator. That I might note, you as a Radio Hall of Fame member and a person who follows this every day, did not even know who this was.

GLENN: I mean, it was kind of like, you know, this guy named Alex Padilla. Maybe. I don't know.

STU: Heard the name.

GLENN: He's a senator!

GLENN: Is that the --

STU: From where?

GLENN: Is that the ball club in Washington, DC?

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: No!
(laughter)

STU: It's incredible.

And that's who he is.

And it's funny. The successful version, I suppose all of this. Is Cory Booker.

Like he did this -- he did this, you know, big speech, a few months ago.

That, you know, everybody was -- was talking about.

GLENN: Oh, everybody.

STU: And, you know, it's on the heels of his 2 percent presidential run.

Effort. Which was impressive as well.

Back in the day. I think he has a huge future, as well.

Elizabeth Warren. Kind of a trail of tears, that we saw there.
(laughter)

GLENN: There's no acting involved in that.

STU: I know.

GLENN: She was just going into her kitchen, to grab herself a beer. And her husband will pop in.

Unexpectedly.

Hey. Whoa, whoa. Hey, husband.

You want a brew? (

STU: The fascinating part of this, obviously, they're bad at governance. But they're also bad at this.

Is there not convincing people, that anyone could take seriously, even if they tried?

GLENN: Well, they are -- all they are, now, is just story line.

They are just telling a story. You're watching a play.

When you're watching the Democrats and the left now. It is nothing, but a play.

What are they doing?

They're getting rid for the big no kings thing on -- on Saturday.

Right? All over the country. No kings.
He's a tyrant. He's a king. So they've been planning this one for a while.

So what do they do this week?

They make sure he's acting like a tyrant in Los Angeles.

Then they say, he's acting like a tyrant. Because he's scooping people in the middle of the night.

Then he's acting like a tyrant, because he has a giant missile parade, and nobody does that.

Nothing.

Nobody, but North Korea does that. And then this. They storm in. They know that they're going to be pushed back. They're hoping to be pushed back. And why?

What do they get out of it?

They all run to the -- run to the social media boxes. But, oh, my God.

He's a tyrant. He's a tyrant. That's all they're doing.

Is they're setting this up for him to be a tyrant. It's not working.

I mean, I'm not buying it.

There's really stupid people in the country, that look at that and go, I think those are real tears, coming from that squaw.

I think those are real squaw-like tears. By the way, I heard the New York Times, the Daily, with Michael Barbaro, wow!

They did the whole thing on the missile parade. Stu, you've got to listen to this. It will drive you out of your mind!
(laughter)
So this is what they said. They said, first, it was a bad idea. Why did he do this?
We're talking to expert on parades, on the missile parade. Why would he do this?

GLENN: Well, a lot of people are upset. Because no democracy does this. Only dictators. Well, actually, I will get to that here in a second. But we don't do these things.

And except -- except for Wilson, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK's inauguration, none during Vietnam, and then after the Gulf War with George W. Bush.

But we haven't done these things. We just don't do them. We never had.

Also, I would like to point out, the VFW and the foreign legion every year, and thousands of parades all around the country. But they don't usually have tanks.

But it's a really bad idea, because it's also Trump's birthday. You know, now it takes them almost eight minutes, before they also say, and it's the army's 250th birthday.

They never say, and, by the way, we're going into the 250th anniversary.

Of America. But it's just Trump's birthday. And then they say, it's a bad idea.

Because Washington, DC, is a dangerous place.

And people could get hurt.

Dangerous?

Since when is Washington, DC, dangerous to the New York Times?

Are you racist? My gosh, it's safe. And the new socialist mayor, who defunded the police and painted BLM on the streets has that city running like a top.

It's completely safe.

But then, it was too expensive.

You can't do that military parade. Because it's too expensive

Yeah. $45 million, it is.

My problem is, you won't cut anything from the budget.

Even the corruption. So how am I going to take you seriously about the budget?

And then my favorite, which is what they started with.

They said, Trump got this idea.

Because he was over in France. I can't explain France.

But no democracy does this.

This is just dictators.

We don't ever do this.

You know, Republicans, sorry.

Republics, or democracies.

You know, they don't have these military.

And they went on and on and on.

About how it doesn't happen. Except for our closest cousin. England.

Every year. I know because I got caught in it, last year.

Oh, jeez.

They have something called trooping the color.

And that's it official birthday celebration of the king or the queen.

And one of the oldest military traditions in the UK.

And they -- they have all these guys. Military.

And they do all these drills. And they march out into -- it's not even on his birthday. His birthday is, I don't even know.

In the fall. Is in a complete sham.

They don't have any missiles.

They have been dragging the troops out there. So prince Charles can stand there all day. And look at them and go, yep. Those are my boys!

Okay. So you do it in England. Then you also do it in France. They have been doing it. Bastille day.

Military parade.

Then you also do it in India. Didn't know that. Did you know that? They do it in India.

And they also do it in another democracy as well. I'm trying to remember which one it is.

So it doesn't just happen in North Korea. Uh-huh.

Shoot!

I guess they were wrong on all fronts, New York Times.

RADIO

Could this be the END of Iran’s reign of terror in the Middle East?

Former IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus joins Glenn Beck with the latest information about Israel’s strikes on Iran. Lt. Col. Conricus reveals how many Iranian leaders were taken out, what the tipping point for the strike was, and whether he believes President Trump deceived Iran.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Friend of the program, and friend, lieutenant Colonel retired Jonathan Conricus.

John, how are you today?

JONATHAN: So far, so good. Thankful of everything happening. And happy to be on your show. And discussing about what we are about to discuss, Glenn.

GLENN: A lot of people were praying for you last night. A lot of Americans are a little freaked out. I kind of -- I'm not freaked out, but I'm very concerned.

You know, one of the things the president -- one of the things he really ran and won on is, we will stop all these endless wars.

And we don't have an end in sight for Russia and Ukraine. And this one, while this is your battle and a very important one, it is going to affect the entire world, what happened.

How -- what was the convincing evidence, if you can tell us, how close were they, to a bomb?

JONATHAN: Yeah. I think you're right. And I think the concerns of the Americans that you refer to, they are very valid. That this will affect other people in the world.

I think what Israel did had the potential to affect significant positive change in the region.

And currently, the ball is in the Iranian hands. They have now the option to choose how to respond, to what you incorrectly described as quite a magnificent and unprecedented military strike, surprise against Iran.

Taking out more than 20 of their senior leaders, conducting hundreds of strikes in -- all across Iran.

About eight, 900, a thousand miles away from Israel, we struck. And all of our pilots have come home safely, and there's many months of preparations.

And many years of collecting intelligence. Mossad. And Israeli Air Force cooperating together here.

Maybe also Special Forces on the ground.

But bottom line, this is really, I think a historic operation. That we will be studying by military experts.

But we will leave that side for a second, and address the concerns of the people. Now the Iranians have to decide, what are they going to do?
How are they going to respond? They have tried to respond by sending about 100 drones.

They have been intercepted. And we will see how the Iranians will respond. And the president correctly telling them, well, you have the options of going and making a teal. Because you the Iranians will not have a nuclear bomb.

And if you continue going downtown path of violence, then this will end badly for you.

That's what the US president is saying. Now, in terms of what the tipping point was Iran has been dark for the bomb for a long period of time.

I think the atomic agency report that verified that Iran is not only enriching uranium to weapon's grade.

And has enough material for at least ten bombs. But Iran is also in noncompliance when it comes to their obligations, to allow international supervision of their sites.

And I think that, and a lot of intelligence that I think we will have declassified in the future, was the tipping point, and at the end of the day, this has been, you know, months if not years in the making.

Iran has an open goal to annihilate the state of Israel.

They say clearly in Farsi. In their language. We know that they mean business.

And we also know that if we allow them to develop the tools to do so. They might be tempted to use them.

That's what Israel has today, started town ravel in terms of those Iranian capabilities.

GLENN: So I was a little disappointed today. Two Israeli officials. That's all it said. Axios article. That they said, President Trump was instrumental in all of this et cetera, et cetera.

But he and Benjamin Netanyahu were engaged in deception.

And I -- I read this as, I don't think Israel would have done something this massive without the United States, you know, in their corner.

But I don't think it's deceptive when the president says, you have 60 days to negotiate. And you don't want to see what happens on day 61.

I don't think that's deceptive to make plans, to go in, on day 61.

He kept giving them the same warning over and over again. Do you read that as deception? Or a negotiator that is telling you the truth?

JONATHAN: I think actually it's both.

It's deception in the good way of how to wage war. And how to capture enemy unaware of his.

And unprepared. And that is what Israel did.

Has the US president been deceptive?

No, I don't think so.

I think he's been very straightforward. Telling the Iranians time and time again, this is the best deal you can get.

You should relinquish all attempts to enrich material in Iran, and you should allow full comprehensive inspection of all of your sites, nuclear as well as weapons development.

And if you do that, nothing bad is going to happen. And we will probably free sanctions, and good things will happen to Iran. The Iranian dealership heard that, but didn't do it. And as you said, correctly, we are today on Day 61 of the presidential ultimatum, and this is what happens.

GLENN: Right. Yes. The president draws a red line and then actually meets it.

Ben Rhodes came out today and said, war is breaking out. Because Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran deal and got humiliated by Netanyahu while trying to negotiate his own.

And he will have a military parade for his birthday. This is the weakest strong man ever. Is that why this happened? Because Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran Deal?

JONATHAN: I think that sounds like a very bitter former personal influence, who, you know, was part in devising a lousy deal for America, a lousy deal for the world.

And he's bitter because the other perspective and the other line of thought is prevailing.

And I think that if we look at the current situation in the Middle East. The biggest destabilizing and terror-supporting country in the region.

That has its tentacles. Or had its tentacles in Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq, Syria. And, of course, trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran is now being right-sized, and put in a tight spot.

Maybe Mr. Rhodes has sympathy for the Iranian regime.

I do not.

I do not wish to see what happens if that regime is allowed to develop. Because I know that they are a genocidal and absolutely crazy regime that might do the most horrible things.

And then, of course, Mr. Rhodes probably doesn't assess it like that, because he lives far away and he isn't an Israeli. But for us, Israelis, it's as tangible, and as existential as it gets. And so to the contrary. I think just one thing.

You know, President Trump in his first presidency, he gave the brave and correct order to take out Qasem Soleimani, the very important Iranian general at the time there was an entire chorus around the world American media, blaming President Trump for escalating. Opening World War III. And all matter of all other fabricated nonsense. None of that happened.

And what President Trump did, what he ordered. And what US troops did, was to take out the most important mastermind of Iranian expansionism.
And I think today, that is also important.

Because had he been around Soleimani. I'm pretty sure the Iranians would have fared better since October 7th, and we would have a more difficult situation.

He is not around, and I give credit for President Trump for doing that. And I give credit to President Trump for supporting Israel and for working together with Israel.

Of course, keeping America's interests first and Israel's interest second. That's what the US president should be doing.

But the interest here, they are aligning. And I think we are in a very good situation. I hope good things will come. I hope prosperity. I hope freedom for the Iranian people is just around the corner.

And I hope prosperity for all the people in the Middle East is around the corner.

It can happen, because the Iranian regime was standing in between that progress.

And now, there's a different time for the Iranian regime.

GLENN: It would be amazing, if we saw the regime actually topple and the people were free.

Because the Persian people are wonderful.

Let me ask you. You know, we're seeing -- we're seeing riots on our streets. We're seeing it in Europe. It always has a communist, socialist, anarchist. And an Islamist tit to them.

The Palestinian protests are growing everywhere.

And I just look at this and say, this is our future for the entire Western world.

Should we be concerned that this activity now, green lights will be given to let's say the 8,000 terrorists that we know are here in America. Let alone all over Europe.

JONATHAN: Yeah. I think that the West, Europe to a more severe extent, and the US to a certain extent. In certain states and certain cities, mostly along the coasts, unless inside the country, perhaps barring Chicago and the few areas of the Great Lakes.

But by and large, there's a significant threat to the Western-based system of democracy, civil liberties, law and order, and it is being implemented on the ground and carried and pushed forward, by many rogue elements.

One of them being Islamists that are espousing terrorist ideologies. And that deep down, do not agree with the Judeo Christian values.

That are today governing the world. And led by free democracies.

And they are trying to import their failed system of governance. And their outlook on life. Which they brought from the Middle East. And from other places. And enforce that on free democratic societies.

And they're abusing the system. The liberties.

The freedoms, and the rights that democracies like the US and in Europe, avail people. They're marching on the streets.

Under the guise of free speech.

They are advocating violence. They are trying to undermine the social fabric of society.

They are e- spousing terrorism.

They are glorifying violence. And, of course, anti-Semitism is also in that bag of negative things.

And I think it is high time, that there's a serious debate in the US. And in the west.

I think the situation in Europe is far worse than it is in the US.

I think Americans can look at the streets of London and Paris.

And heed warning.

And say, if we want to reach a situation where the streets are dominated by the Islamists. And an order white Christian or Jew or someone who isn't a Muslim extremist.

Can't walk the streets safely, in the streets of their own country, then we better look at what's happening in Europe.

And take action before.

Now, to be clear. I am not branding all Muslims as terror supporters.

There are many great Americans who are Muslim heritage. Who are local American citizens.

Who are not e- spousing terror pessimism.

But who those do. Those who seek to undermine western democracy.

Who those seek to undermine law and order.

And a free and bright based society.

And to import dark worldviews from the Middle East.

Based on all kind of extremist ideologies, they should be met with a firm response.

And in most cases, they are not met with firm responses. And then they expand.

GLENN: Lieutenant colonel. I know you have to run.

You have to a busy day. Thank you for spending time.

Is this over now?

Or is there more to come?

JONATHAN: No. No. This is not even the end of the beginning.

GLENN: Okay. Lieutenant colonel, thank you, so much.

God bless.

Glenn's Show Prep

'You Don't Need Your Eyes for Vision': Blind Entrepreneur Floors Glenn With Perspective on Sight

Who REALLY controlled the Biden White House?

New York just CROSSED A LINE

Transcript

Transcript

Could this be the END of Iran’s reign of terror in the Middle East?

Transcript