"Jellyfish Capitalism" and the Jeremy Lin saga

I am as much of a sports fan as most people are fans of Woodrow Wilson books.  They don’t care about Woodrow, I don’t care about sports.  My lifetime sports diet consists of the occasional story that transcends ESPN, movies like Jerry Maguire, and several memories of being picked last in middle school.   But even I have been drawn in by the story of ‘the headline.’

The online life of the ESPN story in question was about 45 minutes.  Since it was 2:30 in the morning, almost no one saw it. Yet, because the headline appeared in an article involving an Asian-American player, the phrase “Chink in the armor” would go from an innocuous cliché to the ultimate expression of racial intolerance.

America was faced with two possibilities:

1)     Give someone the benefit of the doubt.  Consider, perhaps, that the author was not an anti-Asian activist using subtle racial slurs in headlines of sports stories to underhandedly turn basketball fans towards hatred of those who are different.

2)     Freak out and call for the authors head.

Everyone knows what “chink in the armor” means.  It is used constantly to describe a weakness in an otherwise strong performance.  It properly described what the story was about.  The fact that the author didn’t notice the theoretically racial tie between the cliché and NBA star Jeremy Lin is a strong indicator that he wasn’t using it in a derogatory way.   No matter.

The mania eventually climbed to such a level that ESPN anchor Max Bretos was suspended for what amounts to an accusation of anti-Asian bias, despite being married to someone who is Asian.  This is a phrase that has endured centuries of use, with no offensive origins, and we have supposed news networks like MSNBC actually blurring out the words when covering the story.

Anthony Federico, the author of the original headline, was fired.  Once the dust was settled and the blood was spilled, America barely noticed when we were finally able to meet him.   He is a Knicks fan.  He loves Jeremy Lin.  He is a man of strong faith.  He is dedicated to charity.  He helps his friends in need.   He has no reported history of racism and no blemishes on his work record.

In short, there is no evidence whatsoever that would make any rational human being believe that he did this on purpose.  Are we really supposed to think a man who gives up his vacation time to travel to Haiti and help earthquake victims, moonlights as a guy who would risk his career on an anti-Asian pun?

In the aftermath, Federico has been incredibly gracious.  He took responsibility for the apparent mistake of not predicting that others would apply racism to his words.  He apologized to his employer for his role in their spinelessness.  He is taking what seems like a completely unfair event, and using his faith to deal with it, and his inner strength as a way to inspire others to consider a relationship with God.  He is using his darkest moments to try and share light with others.

Yet, no one stands up for him.  No one.  All Anthony Federico received from his employer was this public statement:

The ESPN employee responsible for our Mobile headline has been dismissed.

How does something like this happen?  It’s based on a cold bottom line calculation that probably seems extremely rational in a board room:

We are a multi-billion dollar company.  The public wants a scalp.  Investigating the truth, doing our best to discover the intent, soberly explaining the situation to the public, and patiently trying to do the right thing—does nothing for us.  There is no upside there.  There’s no possible benefit to us in doing the right thing for this nameless, faceless employee.  Let’s axe him, and move on with our lives.

This is jellyfish capitalism.  It is business without backbone.  Pressure groups target companies and their advertisers to create just enough fear to make them ask themselves: “Who cares what is right? Why bother fighting?  Where’s the upside for us?”

We’ve come to a point where freedom of speech only exists when others like it.  Where we only accept differing opinions from professors, as those professors won’t accept differing opinions form their own students. Where business owners routinely turn control of their companies over to whichever outsider is screaming the loudest.

Why should you care? This is far bigger than one online writer.  This isn’t about any one story, one company, or one industry.   Sure, it’s easy to sit down and watch a headline writer you don’t know go down in flames.  But if you don’t speak up for him, who will be there to speak up for you?  More to the point: why should anyone be there to speak up for you?

Anthony Federico’s job at ESPN was to write headlines.  It wasn’t to cause international incidents.  It wasn’t to put the mouse in Orlando at risk.  Everyone understands this, including Anthony.  A serious private discussion between Anthony and his manager might have been called for.  Perhaps a probationary period was understandable.  At worst, maybe a suspension equal to the air personality who made the exact same mistake would have been justifiable.

Instead, we have a giant corporation using the little guy as a scapegoat, with nothing more than fear and greed as motivators, and everyone is silent.  The same people who claim to defend the “99 percent” sit by and cheer.

Where is the guy saying that doing the right thing is worth the risk?

Where is the person in power standing up and saying—if he goes, I go?

Where is the Jerry Maguire in this ridiculous sports movie I’m watching?

I started GBTV because I believe the truth should never be compromised. That means maintaining that two plus two equals four, no matter who is telling you that it equals five.  It means recognizing that what is right, is always worth sticking your neck out for.  It means knowing that the most important time to stand up is when it’s uncomfortable.

The reward for doing so might not seem so obvious.  But it’s a long term investment that I firmly believe we all will feel in our businesses, in our communities, and long after our time on this earth is done.

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

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

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

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

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

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

Glenn's daughter honors Charlie Kirk with emotional tribute song

MELISSA MAJCHRZAK / Contributor | Getty Images

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

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

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

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