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#FreeCole update: Jerry Falwell, Jr. & Liberty University offer help

May 03, 2013
Wilson

Writer

Glenn's radio and TV broadcast from the NRA is brought to you by PrimeGuard Personal Defense, Target Focus Training, and Stansberry and Associates Investment Research

Cole Withrow’s life was thrown into disarray over a simple mistake: he forgot his gun in his car and drove to school. When he realized his mistake he tried to make it right by asking his parents to come and get it. The school decided to call police on the honors student. What did Liberty University and Jerry Falwell Jr. do when they saw the story?

Transcript of interview is below:

GLENN: Yesterday we told you about 18 year old Cole Withrow. He is an Eagle Scout. He's weeks from graduation. He shows up at his school on Monday and he realizes that he left his shotgun in it because he had been out hunting over the weekend. He had been out shooting I'm sorry, not shooting but skeet shooting over the weekend. And he realizes that his shotgun is in the vehicle as he locks the truck up. He's like, oh, crap. So he goes right to the office and he makes a phone call. And he's calling from the office and he says, "Hey, Mom, can you come? My truck is locked. I have the key. Would you come and get my shotgun. I left it there over the weekend. I shouldn't have it in the truck. Could you come go could you come and get it for me?" Well, he tries to do the right thing, but he's overheard by somebody in the office and so they immediately say, "Oh, my goodness, there's a shotgun and this crazy kid has it. He just called his mom and I just saw a crazy mom of Islamic terror and she was crazy and she was dismissing things, I know these guys are probably not Islamic terrorists because Islamic terrorism doesn't really exist. These guys are probably Christians, and Christians are spooky and she's got a gun!" So she

PAT: That was the thought process right there. I think that was the thought process.

GLENN: Thank you very much. Well, that's what I do.

PAT: I know.

GLENN: And so anyway, next thing you know, cops are there and they arrest him. Now, this is an Eagle Scout. They arrest him. And then the school expels him for a year. And then the school won't budge. Nevermind the vastly different, you know, treatments, adults who work for the school, you know, when they get when they're in the exact same situation, they get suspensions.

Well, somebody happened to be noticing a T shirt that this kid was wearing. He was wearing a T shirt that said Liberty University and so the chancellor of Liberty University who happens to be a friend and an unbelievably decent and gracious man, Jerry Falwell, Jr., called him up. Well, I called the chancellor up and asked him to be on the program today. Jerry, how are you, sir? Are you there? How are ya?

FALWELL: I'm here. Can you hear me?

GLENN: I can. I can. So yesterday you called Cole up?

FALWELL: Well, I was in North Carolina. A dear family friend of my wife's, we were there for her funeral and I was watching the late news at the hotel room, saw the story about Cole that you just described and saw the Liberty T shirt, called found on Facebook and saw that his sister was a graduate of Liberty. So I reached him through Facebook, ended up talking to him late at night at the hotel room, found out that his dream was to attend Liberty University but couldn't afford it. So he was going to go to a state college and I found out he was an honors student, an Eagle Scout, just the type of student that we're looking for here at Liberty. And so we have a special fund for kids that are outstanding and like Cole and so it wasn't a hard decision for me to make to award him a scholarship and to make sure that he's able to go to Liberty for four years and graduate. And so I think it was just one of those things, it was meant to be. I'm not in that part of the country very often and but I couldn't believe how unreasonable and politically correct the administrators were. I mean, the kid is asking permission to take the gun home, he's an Eagle Scout, an honor student, never has caused any trouble. Where's the common sense? I mean, you don't call the police unless you're trying to make a point and unless you don't support the Second Amendment and you're trying to prove a point, but they

GLENN: They are not even proving a point. They are trying to strike terror in the hearts of all of the students that are currently enrolled in any of our public schools. They are trying to strike terror that when you say the word "gun," you flinch. And so everybody, they are making such a point that guns are bad, guns are evil, and you are automatically bad and evil if you have one.

PAT: And let's say there's a legitimate concern that they fear for their safety. Could you not have someone at the school escort him to make sure he doesn't go retrieve the gun and then bring it back in until his mom gets it and takes it home? I mean, there's reasonable things you could do there without calling the police and having him arrested and then expelling him from school.

GLENN: Now chancellor, I just want to ask you a question. I mean, it sounds you know, he's an honor student and an Eagle Scout and everything else, but may I ask you this question: Did you check? Because if he's a Christian, he's bound to be a terrorist, you know.

STU: (Laughing.)

FALWELL: Well, that's another reason we gave him a scholarship I could sense that he's a humble and great Christian kid and he I just thought he would be a perfect fit and Liberty and we're excited how it all came together. But it's but Liberty recently loosened our concealed carry policy in response to what happened at Sandy Hook, you now can we're one of only a few dozen colleges in the country now where you can, if you have a concealed carry permit, you can carry in our buildings. And we just believe we're only an hour and a half from Virginia Tech and if something like what happened there happened here, I believe I believe the answer is to make sure as many responsible people as possible have guns, at least there's a chance then that somebody will be there who, somebody good who has a gun and can stop the crazy people from doing what they do. And it's just, I think the answer to gun violence is putting guns in the hands of the right people.

GLENN: I have to tell ya, let me may I embarrass you here for a second? I think Liberty University is one of the best universities in the country. I think its faculty and its staff are unbelievable, its campus is unbelievable. What you are doing to try to raise up another generation of lawyers and legal experts that understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and can really, truly argue it is remarkable.

Now let me tell you, at the height of me being slaughtered by the press and when really, because I'm a Mormon, I was getting hammered by a lot of Christians, Jerry Falwell gave me an honorary doctorate, which I have I want you to know I've been drilling people's teeth for ever since and it's great.

STU: (Laughing.)

GLENN: But he gave me an honorary doctorate and asked me to speak

PAT: Made some good cash on the side.

GLENN: Oh, it's great, especially with the healthcare, universal healthcare that's coming.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: It's going to be great.

PAT: It's worked out nicely.

GLENN: Anyway, he stood up and took an awful lot of heat and invited me to give the commencement address one year and he is an extraordinarily brave man and a real true Christian leader and it is an honor, sir, to know you.

FALWELL: Well, we were honored to do that and to have you here, Glenn, and we it's the least we can do. You're on the front lines every day fighting for our country and we appreciate it. And you've got to come back soon. We've totally rebuilt the campus since you were here.

GLENN: It's beautiful.

FALWELL: And it's just exploding with growth, and it's gone far beyond our wildest imaginations just in the last few years and so I hope you can visit again soon.

GLENN: I would love to come visit again. I will tell you this: I'm a little concerned because you have Christians with guns now on campus.

PAT: (Laughing.)

GLENN: And God only knows what will happen then. I also want to thank you and can I announce this, Joe? David Barton and I are doing a museum and we have some of the most amazing pieces of American history that you will ever see. Some things have not been seen, some of them, you know, in a hundred years, and they are all really important pieces of history and they tell the story of America the way David and I think it should be told. And we were we didn't want this to be a self guided tour and we certainly didn't want a bunch of museum people telling it. We wanted this to appeal to families and youth, and we also wanted to make sure that 20 somethings knew our history really, really well and so the first thought was we should reach out to Liberty University and ask if they would supply the students that David and I could teach and show the history and they'll conduct these tours. And so at Jerry's expense, he is sending all of these people out to do a fundraiser for Mercury One, our charity, to put this museum together and they are the students from Liberty are going to be explaining liberty in our museum this week of Fourth of July, and I thank you so much for that, Jerry.

FALWELL: We're glad to do it. The students are excited about it and we also are looking, we've got 85,000 online adult students now in addition to our 13,000 here on campus and we are we're creating an American history course that we're going to provide to high school students free of charge, college students free of charge because so many colleges and high schools that don't teach American history anymore and we actually are going to award credit for this free course so that if they can't get history at their school like the school up in Maine where the, I forget the name of it, but the donor did a survey and found that there's not even a single American history course in the curriculum, if you're in a school like that, you can take this course and get credit for it and complete the rest of your courses there and that goes hand in hand with what you're trying to do. I think it's so important for our young people to learn American history.

GLENN: So when does that start?

FALWELL: We're actually creating the course right now. It will be this fall before we can offer it.

GLENN: Would you please do me a favor. When you have it all ready, would you let me know and I want to expose that on TheBlaze in the news, I want to I'd love to do a whole show on this and show what you guys are teaching, and I'd like to help you in that in any way I possibly can. I think that's absolutely fantastic.

FALWELL: Well, we deeply appreciate it and hope to have you back here soon, Glenn.

GLENN: You got it. Thank you very much. Well, if you can I know I'm a doctor I'm a doctor now, but if you could make me maybe a chiropractor next time or...

FALWELL: Our new medical school opens Fall of 2014. So maybe you can

GLENN: Maybe you could give me a specialty in, like, podiatry or something. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it, chancellor Jerry Falwell from Liberty University.

Is the U.N. plotting to control 30% of U.S. land by 2030?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

A reliable conservative senator faces cancellation for listening to voters. But the real threat to public lands comes from the last president’s backdoor globalist agenda.

Something ugly is unfolding on social media, and most people aren’t seeing it clearly. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — one of the most constitutionally grounded conservatives in Washington — is under fire for a housing provision he first proposed in 2022.

You wouldn’t know that from scrolling through X. According to the latest online frenzy, Lee wants to sell off national parks, bulldoze public lands, gut hunting and fishing rights, and hand America’s wilderness to Amazon, BlackRock, and the Chinese Communist Party. None of that is true.

Lee’s bill would have protected against the massive land-grab that’s already under way — courtesy of the Biden administration.

I covered this last month. Since then, the backlash has grown into something like a political witch hunt — not just from the left but from the right. Even Donald Trump Jr., someone I typically agree with, has attacked Lee’s proposal. He’s not alone.

Time to look at the facts the media refuses to cover about Lee’s federal land plan.

What Lee actually proposed

Over the weekend, Lee announced that he would withdraw the federal land sale provision from his housing bill. He said the decision was in response to “a tremendous amount of misinformation — and in some cases, outright lies,” but also acknowledged that many Americans brought forward sincere, thoughtful concerns.

Because of the strict rules surrounding the budget reconciliation process, Lee couldn’t secure legally enforceable protections to ensure that the land would be made available “only to American families — not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests.” Without those safeguards, he chose to walk it back.

That’s not selling out. That’s leadership.

It's what the legislative process is supposed to look like: A senator proposes a bill, the people respond, and the lawmaker listens. That was once known as representative democracy. These days, it gets you labeled a globalist sellout.

The Biden land-grab

To many Americans, “public land” brings to mind open spaces for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation. But that’s not what Sen. Mike Lee’s bill targeted.

His proposal would have protected against the real land-grab already under way — the one pushed by the Biden administration.

In 2021, Biden launched a plan to “conserve” 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. This effort follows the United Nations-backed “30 by 30” initiative, which seeks to place one-third of all land and water under government control.

Ask yourself: Is the U.N. focused on preserving your right to hunt and fish? Or are radical environmentalists exploiting climate fears to restrict your access to American land?

  Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor | Getty Images

As it stands, the federal government already owns 640 million acres — nearly one-third of the entire country. At this rate, the government will hit that 30% benchmark with ease. But it doesn’t end there. The next phase is already in play: the “50 by 50” agenda.

That brings me to a piece of legislation most Americans haven’t even heard of: the Sustains Act.

Passed in 2023, the law allows the federal government to accept private funding from organizations, such as BlackRock or the Bill Gates Foundation, to support “conservation programs.” In practice, the law enables wealthy elites to buy influence over how American land is used and managed.

Moreover, the government doesn’t even need the landowner’s permission to declare that your property contributes to “pollination,” or “photosynthesis,” or “air quality” — and then regulate it accordingly. You could wake up one morning and find out that the land you own no longer belongs to you in any meaningful sense.

Where was the outrage then? Where were the online crusaders when private capital and federal bureaucrats teamed up to quietly erode private property rights across America?

American families pay the price

The real danger isn’t in Mike Lee’s attempt to offer more housing near population centers — land that would be limited, clarified, and safeguarded in the final bill. The real threat is the creeping partnership between unelected global elites and our own government, a partnership designed to consolidate land, control rural development, and keep Americans penned in so-called “15-minute cities.”

BlackRock buying entire neighborhoods and pricing out regular families isn’t by accident. It’s part of a larger strategy to centralize populations into manageable zones, where cars are unnecessary, rural living is unaffordable, and every facet of life is tracked, regulated, and optimized.

That’s the real agenda. And it’s already happening , and Mike Lee’s bill would have been an effort to ensure that you — not BlackRock, not China — get first dibs.

I live in a town of 451 people. Even here, in the middle of nowhere, housing is unaffordable. The American dream of owning a patch of land is slipping away, not because of one proposal from a constitutional conservative, but because global powers and their political allies are already devouring it.

Divide and conquer

This controversy isn’t really about Mike Lee. It’s about whether we, as a nation, are still capable of having honest debates about public policy — or whether the online mob now controls the narrative. It’s about whether conservatives will focus on facts or fall into the trap of friendly fire and circular firing squads.

More importantly, it’s about whether we’ll recognize the real land-grab happening in our country — and have the courage to fight back before it’s too late.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

URGENT: FIVE steps to CONTROL AI before it's too late!

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

  

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

   USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

   Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

 

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.