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Glenn's Show Prep

Faith and the future

October 24, 2012
Wilson

Writer

"If I didn't have faith, I would have thrown myself off the top of a building a long time ago," Glenn said on radio this morning.

"If I didn't know the history of our country, if George Washington were just, you know, a cartoon figure like he is for most people, if Abraham Lincoln, if I didn't really know who Abraham Lincoln was and I didn't know how the Republic came to be and all the times that we had been in these kinds of jams and how God played a role, I would just have no faith ‑‑ I would have absolutely no faith."

"Somebody said to me the other day, 'So why do you think Romney's going to win?' I said God. They're like, okay, I got it. But, like, why do you think? And I said, uh, God.'Well..."' and I said, look, you've got to go back to ‑‑ I'm sorry, but you've got to go back to the times when people said in documents, with firm reliance on the protection of divine providence. I know that phrase. I believe that phrase. My only question is whether we have done enough to be on his side. God's never on man's side. He's never on anybody's side. He's always on man in the general sense, he's always on man's side. But he's on freedom's side. He's on the truth side. Now, have we restored enough truth in our own lives to be able to afford to ask him for that divine providence? Have we done that? That's the only thing that remains out there."

"I keep going back to people like Ralph Reed and all the pastors and the preachers. I mean, look what just happened with Billy Graham. Billy Graham took the cult status of the Mormons off of his website. Billy Graham. That is ‑‑ I mean, a few years ago Billy Graham didn't want to meet with me. Then we meet and we have a heartfelt conversation about Christ, and he really questions me on it. Sounds to me like you understand Christ. Now, that wasn't endorsement of my religion, but we had an open conversation about it. A good conversation. I mean, I like ‑‑ I mean, like how many times in the last six months, in the last six months I've corresponded with Billy or his daughters, you know, just in, 'How's your dad?' 'Hey, Dad was talking about you today,' things like that. I mean, it's bizarre. And then Mitt Romney comes in and meets with Billy Graham. And Billy Graham takes that off of his website. I'm sorry, but I think that's pretty miraculous. That's pretty miraculous to show how people have changed."

"I've had people in all faiths say, and Graham included, 'Look, I don't agree with your faith, but it's time we come together not to merge our faiths but to stand together and to stand with him.' This is what happened in the American Revolution. I can't tell you how many preachers and pastors and rabbis have said something's happening. God is absolutely involved. And we've never seen people of faith act like this before. I know I haven't. I've seen ‑‑ in five years I've seen a massive change in people of faith. Massive."

"Now the question is, 'Is that enough?' I'm like, I have no idea. Does he believe us this time? We don't have a good track record of saying, 'No, this time's going to be different, God.' But there are millions crying out to him. Millions. We're going to have to pay for the mistakes of the past. He's not going to punish us. We punish ourselves. Our actions punish ourselves."

"You know, people will cry out, why are ‑‑ why don't we have enough food? Why can't I afford this? Because that's the choice we made as a society. You know, how many Americans now will listen and dismiss the warnings of inflation, real true, frightening inflation? And they will mock and ridicule anybody who says 'Food storage'" Well, God's not going to punish you for that."

"But your actions will punish you and your family down the line. And then they'll cry out, 'Where is...' what are you talking about? He's been here the whole time. You can turn to Him and He'll help ease your heart but it may not ease your pain. We've got pain coming in front of us."

"How many Americans really, truly even understanding that, that what's happened to us in the last four years is the beginning. Romney's not going to get in and everything's going to be rosy. This is the beginning. And we're lucky. We're fortunate. Because we will be the leaders of this next phase. If we hold true to our principles and our values. When Romney gets in, we can either watch his back or if he decides to play more of the same with, you know, the GOP and Washington, if that's who he turns out to be, then we have to do the Tea Party against him. Have to. If they're coming after him because he is doing the right things, we have to stand with him. One way or another I don't know how it's going to turn out, but we can't change."

"Because I do believe in the protection of divine providence. I do believe those words. Because we're talking about man's freedom. You can talk about democracy all you want. Democracy, God doesn't care about democracy. God cares about man's freedom. That's what He cares about. And while we're not perfect, we are the best that the world has to offer. We've screwed things up you so royally and we are becoming less and less free every day. But we are still the best in the world for freedom. We are also the only ones that truly understand where our rights come from. And a lot of our citizens don't understand that anymore. What is there? But we're really willing to die for? My rights come from God. Not from anyone else. What do you think that is? 20%? Maybe? The rest haven't been taught. They don't know."

"When you think that only about 20% of this country really understands where their rights come from and are willing to really stand, in the end really stand for them and then you take that and you reduce that number? That's 20% of this country. Tell me Canada really understands rights come from God. Tell me Mexico understands that. Tell me Russians, anybody else. This is it. This is a very, very small number of people that really, truly understand it.

"You can't tell me that those people, if they live righteously, will not find themselves under the blanket of divine protection. It doesn't mean that things are going to go well for you. It doesn't mean that your business is going to prosper. It doesn't mean that your family's not going to go through trouble. It doesn't mean any of that stuff. It just means in the end you will be victorious. Remember God usually defines the end differently than man does. But in the end you are victorious. And that's all that matters. But it's a very small number of people, which makes the responsibility on our shoulders so profound. Because He will, as Bonhoeffer said, He's not going to hold you guiltless. You're going to be judged, and you know, you know the truth sucks. I hate this. This is the part I hate about God. It's like, 'Oh, well, then why did you tell me?' Have you ever had like ‑‑ we have fast Sunday in our church. It was like this with lent when I was growing up Catholic and it was like, you know, I'm having a chicken sandwich and I've got one bite in my mouth and somebody would say, 'no, no, it's Friday. You're not supposed...' and you'll be like, 'Why did you tell me? Now I can't eat it. I could have been fine. You could have waited 10 minutes and told me after and I went, oh, crap, I didn't know. Now I have to stop. That's the bad thing about God is once you know, oh, crap. Couldn't you tell me? There's parts of ‑‑ that are just like, 'I don't want to know.' Please."

"But it's an honor to serve at this time. It's an honor."

        The truth behind ‘defense’: How America was rebranded for war
    

         PAUL J. RICHARDS / Staff | Getty Images
    
Donald Trump emphasizes peace through strength, reminding the world that the United States is willing to fight to win. That’s beyond ‘defense.’
President Donald Trump made headlines this week by signaling a rebrand of the Defense Department — restoring its original name, the Department of War.
At first, I was skeptical. “Defense” suggests restraint, a principle I consider vital to U.S. foreign policy. “War” suggests aggression. But for the first 158 years of the republic, that was the honest name: the Department of War.
A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.
The founders never intended a permanent standing army. When conflict came — the Revolution, the War of 1812, the trenches of France, the beaches of Normandy — the nation called men to arms, fought, and then sent them home. Each campaign was temporary, targeted, and necessary.
From ‘war’ to ‘military-industrial complex’
Everything changed in 1947. President Harry Truman — facing the new reality of nuclear weapons, global tension, and two world wars within 20 years — established a full-time military and rebranded the Department of War as the Department of Defense. Americans resisted; we had never wanted a permanent army. But Truman convinced the country it was necessary.
Was the name change an early form of political correctness? A way to soften America’s image as a global aggressor? Or was it simply practical? Regardless, the move created a permanent, professional military. But it also set the stage for something Truman’s successor, President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower, famously warned about: the military-industrial complex.
Ike, the five-star general who commanded Allied forces in World War II and stormed Normandy, delivered a harrowing warning during his farewell address: The military-industrial complex would grow powerful. Left unchecked, it could influence policy and push the nation toward unnecessary wars.
And that’s exactly what happened. The Department of Defense, with its full-time and permanent army, began spending like there was no tomorrow. Weapons were developed, deployed, and sometimes used simply to justify their existence.
Peace through strength
When Donald Trump said this week, “I don’t want to be defense only. We want defense, but we want offense too,” some people freaked out. They called him a warmonger. He isn’t. Trump is channeling a principle older than him: peace through strength. Ronald Reagan preached it; Trump is taking it a step further.
Just this week, Trump also suggested limiting nuclear missiles — hardly the considerations of a warmonger — echoing Reagan, who wanted to remove missiles from silos while keeping them deployable on planes.
The seemingly contradictory move of Trump calling for a Department of War sends a clear message: He wants Americans to recognize that our military exists not just for defense, but to project power when necessary.
Trump has pointed to something critically important: The best way to prevent war is to have a leader who knows exactly who he is and what he will do. Trump signals strength, deterrence, and resolve. You want to negotiate? Great. You don’t? Then we’ll finish the fight decisively.
That’s why the world listens to us. That’s why nations come to the table — not because Trump is reckless, but because he means what he says and says what he means. Peace under weakness invites aggression. Peace under strength commands respect.
Trump is the most anti-war president we’ve had since Jimmy Carter. But unlike Carter, Trump isn’t weak. Carter’s indecision emboldened enemies and made the world less safe. Trump’s strength makes the country stronger. He believes in peace as much as any president. But he knows peace requires readiness for war.
Names matter
When we think of “defense,” we imagine cybersecurity, spy programs, and missile shields. But when we think of “war,” we recall its harsh reality: death, destruction, and national survival. Trump is reminding us what the Department of Defense is really for: war. Not nation-building, not diplomacy disguised as military action, not endless training missions. War — full stop.
   Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images
 
Names matter. Words matter. They shape identity and character. A Department of Defense implies passivity, a posture of reaction. A Department of War recognizes the truth: The military exists to fight and, if necessary, to win decisively.
So yes, I’ve changed my mind. I’m for the rebranding to the Department of War. It shows strength to the world. It reminds Americans, internally and externally, of the reality we face. The Department of Defense can no longer be a euphemism. Our military exists for war — not without deterrence, but not without strength either. And we need to stop deluding ourselves.
This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

        Censorship, spying, lies—The Deep State’s web finally unmasked
    

        Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images
    
From surveillance abuse to censorship, the deep state used state power and private institutions to suppress dissent and influence two US elections.
The term “deep state” has long been dismissed as the province of cranks and conspiracists. But the recent declassification of two critical documents — the Durham annex, released by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and a report publicized by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — has rendered further denial untenable.
These documents lay bare the structure and function of a bureaucratic, semi-autonomous network of agencies, contractors, nonprofits, and media entities that together constitute a parallel government operating alongside — and at times in opposition to — the duly elected one.
The ‘deep state’ is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment.
The disclosures do not merely recount past abuses; they offer a schematic of how modern influence operations are conceived, coordinated, and deployed across domestic and international domains.
What they reveal is not a rogue element operating in secret, but a systematized apparatus capable of shaping elections, suppressing dissent, and laundering narratives through a transnational network of intelligence, academia, media, and philanthropic institutions.
Narrative engineering from the top
According to Gabbard’s report, a pivotal moment occurred on December 9, 2016, when the Obama White House convened its national security leadership in the Situation Room. Attendees included CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Secretary of State John Kerry, and others.
During this meeting, the consensus view up to that point — that Russia had not manipulated the election outcome — was subordinated to new instructions.
The record states plainly: The intelligence community was directed to prepare an assessment “per the President’s request” that would frame Russia as the aggressor and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump as its preferred candidate. Notably absent was any claim that new intelligence had emerged. The motivation was political, not evidentiary.
This maneuver became the foundation for the now-discredited 2017 intelligence community assessment on Russian election interference. From that point on, U.S. intelligence agencies became not neutral evaluators of fact but active participants in constructing a public narrative designed to delegitimize the incoming administration.
Institutional and media coordination
The ODNI report and the Durham annex jointly describe a feedback loop in which intelligence is laundered through think tanks and nongovernmental organizations, then cited by media outlets as “independent verification.” At the center of this loop are agencies like the CIA, FBI, and ODNI; law firms such as Perkins Coie; and NGOs such as the Open Society Foundations.
According to the Durham annex, think tanks including the Atlantic Council, the Carnegie Endowment, and the Center for a New American Security were allegedly informed of Clinton’s 2016 plan to link Trump to Russia. These institutions, operating under the veneer of academic independence, helped diffuse the narrative into public discourse.
Media coordination was not incidental. On the very day of the aforementioned White House meeting, the Washington Post published a front-page article headlined “Obama Orders Review of Russian Hacking During Presidential Campaign” — a story that mirrored the internal shift in official narrative. The article marked the beginning of a coordinated media campaign that would amplify the Trump-Russia collusion narrative throughout the transition period.
Surveillance and suppression
Surveillance, once limited to foreign intelligence operations, was turned inward through the abuse of FISA warrants. The Steele dossier — funded by the Clinton campaign via Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS — served as the basis for wiretaps on Trump affiliates, despite being unverified and partially discredited. The FBI even altered emails to facilitate the warrants.
   ROBYN BECK / Contributor | Getty Images
 
This capacity for internal subversion reappeared in 2020, when 51 former intelligence officials signed a letter labeling the Hunter Biden laptop story as “Russian disinformation.” According to polling, 79% of Americans believed truthful coverage of the laptop could have altered the election. The suppression of that story — now confirmed as authentic — was election interference, pure and simple.
A machine, not a ‘conspiracy theory’
The deep state is a self-reinforcing institutional machine — a decentralized, global bureaucracy whose members share ideological alignment and strategic goals.
Each node — law firms, think tanks, newsrooms, federal agencies — operates with plausible deniability. But taken together, they form a matrix of influence capable of undermining electoral legitimacy and redirecting national policy without democratic input.
The ODNI report and the Durham annex mark the first crack in the firewall shielding this machine. They expose more than a political scandal buried in the past. They lay bare a living system of elite coordination — one that demands exposure, confrontation, and ultimately dismantling.
This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

        Trump's proposal explained: Ukraine's path to peace without NATO expansion
    

         ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Contributor | Getty Images
    
Strategic compromise, not absolute victory, often ensures lasting stability.
When has any country been asked to give up land it won in a war? Even if a nation is at fault, the punishment must be measured.
After World War I, Germany, the main aggressor, faced harsh penalties under the Treaty of Versailles. Germans resented the restrictions, and that resentment fueled the rise of Adolf Hitler, ultimately leading to World War II. History teaches that justice for transgressions must avoid creating conditions for future conflict.
Ukraine and Russia must choose to either continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.
Russia and Ukraine now stand at a similar crossroads. They can cling to disputed land and prolong a devastating war, or they can make concessions that might secure a lasting peace. The stakes could not be higher: Tens of thousands die each month, and the choice between endless bloodshed and negotiated stability hinges on each side’s willingness to yield.
History offers a guide. In 1967, Israel faced annihilation. Surrounded by hostile armies, the nation fought back and seized large swaths of territory from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Yet Israel did not seek an empire. It held only the buffer zones needed for survival and returned most of the land. Security and peace, not conquest, drove its decisions.
Peace requires concessions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says both Russia and Ukraine will need to “get something” from a peace deal. He’s right. Israel proved that survival outweighs pride. By giving up land in exchange for recognition and an end to hostilities, it stopped the cycle of war. Egypt and Israel have not fought in more than 50 years.
Russia and Ukraine now press opposing security demands. Moscow wants a buffer to block NATO. Kyiv, scarred by invasion, seeks NATO membership — a pledge that any attack would trigger collective defense by the United States and Europe.
President Donald Trump and his allies have floated a middle path: an Article 5-style guarantee without full NATO membership. Article 5, the core of NATO’s charter, declares that an attack on one is an attack on all. For Ukraine, such a pledge would act as a powerful deterrent. For Russia, it might be more palatable than NATO expansion to its border
   Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images
 
Peace requires concessions. The human cost is staggering: U.S. estimates indicate 20,000 Russian soldiers died in a single month — nearly half the total U.S. casualties in Vietnam — and the toll on Ukrainians is also severe. To stop this bloodshed, both sides need to recognize reality on the ground, make difficult choices, and anchor negotiations in security and peace rather than pride.
Peace or bloodshed?
Both Russia and Ukraine claim deep historical grievances. Ukraine arguably has a stronger claim of injustice. But the question is not whose parchment is older or whose deed is more valid. The question is whether either side is willing to trade some land for the lives of thousands of innocent people. True security, not historical vindication, must guide the path forward.
History shows that punitive measures or rigid insistence on territorial claims can perpetuate cycles of war. Germany’s punishment after World War I contributed directly to World War II. By contrast, Israel’s willingness to cede land for security and recognition created enduring peace. Ukraine and Russia now face the same choice: Continue the cycle of bloodshed or make difficult compromises in pursuit of survival and stability.
This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

        The loneliness epidemic: Are machines replacing human connection?
    

         NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images
    
Seniors, children, and the isolated increasingly rely on machines for conversation, risking real relationships and the emotional depth that only humans provide.
Jill Smola is 75 years old. She’s a retiree from Orlando, Florida, and she spent her life caring for the elderly. She played games, assembled puzzles, and offered company to those who otherwise would have sat alone.
Now, she sits alone herself. Her husband has died. She has a lung condition. She can’t drive. She can’t leave her home. Weeks can pass without human interaction.
Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.
But CBS News reports that she has a new companion. And she likes this companion more than her own daughter.
The companion? Artificial intelligence.
She spends five hours a day talking to her AI friend. They play games, do trivia, and just talk. She says she even prefers it to real people.
My first thought was simple: Stop this. We are losing our humanity.
But as I sat with the story, I realized something uncomfortable. Maybe we’ve already lost some of our humanity — not to AI, but to ourselves.
Outsourcing presence
How often do we know the right thing to do yet fail to act? We know we should visit the lonely. We know we should sit with someone in pain. We know what Jesus would do: Notice the forgotten, touch the untouchable, offer time and attention without outsourcing compassion.
Yet how often do we just … talk about it? On the radio, online, in lectures, in posts. We pontificate, and then we retreat.
I asked myself: What am I actually doing to close the distance between knowing and doing?
Human connection is messy. It’s inconvenient. It takes patience, humility, and endurance. AI doesn’t challenge you. It doesn’t interrupt your day. It doesn’t ask anything of you. Real people do. Real people make us confront our pride, our discomfort, our loneliness.
We’ve built an economy of convenience. We can have groceries delivered, movies streamed, answers instantly. But friendships — real relationships — are slow, inefficient, unpredictable. They happen in the blank spaces of life that we’ve been trained to ignore.
And now we’re replacing that inefficiency with machines.
AI provides comfort without challenge. It eliminates the risk of real intimacy. It’s an elegant coping mechanism for loneliness, but a poor substitute for life. If we’re not careful, the lonely won’t just be alone — they’ll be alone with an anesthetic, a shadow that never asks for anything, never interrupts, never makes them grow.
Reclaiming our humanity
We need to reclaim our humanity. Presence matters. Not theory. Not outrage. Action.
It starts small. Pull up a chair for someone who eats alone. Call a neighbor you haven’t spoken to in months. Visit a nursing home once a month — then once a week. Ask their names, hear their stories. Teach your children how to be present, to sit with someone in grief, without rushing to fix it.
Turn phones off at dinner. Make Sunday afternoons human time. Listen. Ask questions. Don’t post about it afterward. Make the act itself sacred.
Humility is central. We prefer machines because we can control them. Real people are inconvenient. They interrupt our narratives. They demand patience, forgiveness, and endurance. They make us confront ourselves.
A friend will challenge your self-image. A chatbot won’t.
  
 
Our homes are quieter. Our streets are emptier. Loneliness is an epidemic. And AI will not fix it. It will only dull the edges and make a diminished life tolerable.
Before we worry about how AI will reshape humanity, we must first practice humanity. It can start with 15 minutes a day of undivided attention, presence, and listening.
Change usually comes when pain finally wins. Let’s not wait for that. Let’s start now. Because real connection restores faster than any machine ever will.
This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.