Three Things You Need to Know - November 9, 2017

Screaming Helplessly at the Sky

You could hear the screams from a block away. The shrieks sounded desperate and filled with agony.

The screaming went on for what seemed like hours. But their cries for help would not be answered. Because there really was nothing to save them from.

These group of protesters were helplessly screaming at the sky.

Literally.

Last night activists gathered together on street corners in New York City, Chicago, and DC, to attend a Facebook event called “Scream helplessly at the sky on the anniversary of the election.”

People actually RSVPed and showed up in major cities to shout into the night sky about how much they hate Trump.

Sure, it’s a better way to relieve their frustration than trolling people on social media and typing nasty messages to those with different political views, but come on.

Do these people have jobs or families or anything better to do with their lives?

Were there no reruns of Friends or Golden Girls to watch last night?

Was there no fresh paint to watch dry?

That would be a better use of their time. If you’re a leftist activist at least take some sort of peaceful action or come up with a witty limerick to chant. You’re better than this.

Screaming helplessly at the sky just makes you look ridiculous and won’t eject Trump from office. But it will add a ton of unnecessary CO2 to the atmosphere. And you don’t want that, do you?

Racial Graffiti Hoax

What defines who you are?

In late September, five black students woke up to find a message written on the marker boards outside their dorm rooms. The messages read, “Go home n*****.” The students attend the Air Force Academy’s Prep School, hoping to become cadets at the Air Force Academy.

In the aftermath of Charlottesville and the NFL national anthem protests, these hate messages just threw gasoline on the fire of racial debate in America. How could racism like this exist at one of our nation’s most prestigious military academies?

The messages prompted Lieutenant General Jay Silveria to gather the entire Air Force Academy student body and staff for a forceful rebuke. He said, “If you can’t treat someone with dignity and respect – then you need to get out.” Video of his rebuke was viewed over a million times on YouTube.

This week the Air Force Academy Prep School announced they have one less “cadet candidate” in their ranks. He has been expelled because he admitted to writing the racial slurs outside the dorm rooms of his black schoolmates.

It also turns out that this racist incident was a hoax because the perpetrator was actually one of the five black students.

Why did he do it? Apparently, it was a weird attempt to get out of trouble he was in for other misconduct at the academy. This sounds like an immature teen who made a terrible decision – one he’s already paying for now that he won’t have a chance to attend the Air Force Academy.

But this is not a time to gloat and say, “See? These alleged hate crimes are all hoaxes!” Some of them are hoaxes, but real hate crimes still happen in our country. Racism is still a cancer in our society.

This message obviously isn’t getting through to our youth, so I’ll repeat it – your skin color does not define you. Your background does not define you – it affects you, but it doesn’t define you. Unless you let it. What was it someone said?… something about being judged by the content of your character? Only you define you.

If we all spent a lot more time working on the content of our own character, we wouldn’t have time for racism, real or imagined.

Al Green's Deadline

Parlor tricks and sideshows. That’s what the Democrats are resorting to. Yesterday, Texas Democrat Al Green stood before the House and gave his colleagues a Christmas deadline to vote on impeaching President Trump.

This is hardly the first time he’s done this. Green actually unveiled formal articles of impeachment last month. Spoiler alert: it never made it to the floor for a vote. Now, I’m no law student or anything, but I’m just gonna go out on a limb here. Maybe you need evidence or a reason to impeach a sitting president? I know that sounds crazy… I mean, I’m just saying.

Even if Democrats DID have somewhat of a good reason to attempt an impeachment, it would never make it through the House. So what is Green doing?

Hardly anyone is talking about this, but the Democratic Party is in serious trouble. Eight years of Obama has left it bankrupt and even extorted by the Clinton campaign. Funding continues to be a disaster. The RNC raises over 3 times the amount of money as the DNC month after month. All the hoopla has been on the Virginia election, but Republicans still have governors in over 30 states. Over 20 states have GOP control in both the governorship AND the legislature.

It’s no surprise what we’re seeing now. Donna Brazile has declared open war on her party. Why? She’s clearly jumped on team Bernie, but - ultimately - she probably just wanted to sell books and make some money. Congressman Al Green knows there’s no shot his impeachment call goes forward. Why’s he doing it? For the same reason Brazille did what she did… to get some attention and raise some money.

Democrats are in serious trouble. They’re broke and they lack any cohesive unifying message. They’re not connecting with anyone. So what can we expect to see the next few months leading up to the midterms? Parlor tricks and sideshows.

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U.K. forces digital IDs on workers—Is the U.S. next in line?

OLI SCARFF / Contributor | Getty Images

From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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

Harvey Meston / Staff | Getty Images

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

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

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.