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Glenn's Show Prep

Glenn gives his account of the devastation and resilience in Oklahoma

May 21, 2013
Wilson

Writer

Donate to the Mercury One Midwest Tornado Relief Fund HERE.

"Yesterday I completed my television show at 5:00 and I... I walked off the air, and the head of Mercury One said to me, 'Glenn, just a devastating tornado in Oklahoma in a little town called Moore, Oklahoma'," Glenn said on radio this morning.

"Joe came to me and he said 'Devastation'.  I said, 'Well, I think we should get there as soon as we can.'"

"So last night I tweeted:  Does anybody, anybody have a couple of tractor‑trailers we can borrow for the night?  And about 9:30 last night my team was packed and ready to go and the tractor‑trailers that had been supplied really by a local church were already at the gates of a place called Operation Blessing.  It's an organization that we have helped fill the pantries of and they have helped deliver food for different things whenever there's been a crisis.  We couldn't use their trucks this time because they were all on the East Coast and it would be a couple of days.  We knew that here in this little teeny town in Oklahoma, there were people that needed food and water and just whatever it is that we need to run our life every day.  They needed it not in a couple of days but last night, early this morning.  So we loaded up the trucks, two eighteen‑wheelers and four SUVs hit the road last night about 11:00.  We arrived here about 4:00 a.m."

"And so we pull up to the place that is kind of the Epicenter for anybody who is hungry, anybody who is in need, anybody who needs a bed, anybody who needs someplace to gather together as a family because they've lost everything. It's the First Baptist Church here in Moore. And we pulled up, I don't know, about 4:00 or 5:00 this morning. They just finished unloading the second truck about 20 minutes ago," Glenn continued.

"As I went to see the devastation early this morning before the sun was up, it was raining again and lightning was streaking across the sky, and a woman came up to me. Surprising how many people are just wearing flip‑flops, wearing pajamas, wearing anything that they happened to have on. And she came up to me in her flip‑flops and her T‑shirt and she said, is this where we can get food? Is there going to be breakfast served here? And I said, "Yes, ma'am. I don't know all the details, but I think it's right on the other side of the church building is where you can get a hot meal."

"We drove past all of the places that were reporters. All the reporters are kind of outside a specific zone. Some of them have been allowed into this hospital here I'll tell you about here in a second. But most of them are sitting outside of the zone. Police have stopped all of them from coming in. I can understand why. Like vultures they circled this building last night. Like vultures they circled this building this morning wanting to get an interview with one of the family members who had lost a child last night. People from the police and fire and sheriffs, churches, the volunteers sickened by them," Glenn said.

"We went through the barricades and we did a different group of interviews this morning. I think if you need a sobbing parent to tell you what it was like to lose their child within a couple of hours after losing their child, I think there's something wrong with you. Instead while everybody else is here in their battle fatigues trying to look like "We're really important and we're going to tell you exactly what happened," we quietly went around with our cameras and our microphones and I just talked to the people that were coming from different states, people who had come in from their churches, people who had come in from their firehouses, people who heard about it and just called somebody and said 'We've got to go and help.'"

"I went and I talked to the district manager of the Home Depot because there in the midst of the devastation, on one side of the street is a strip mall that has just been devastation, cause blown through the windows, nothing on the roof, trees stripped of their bark. And on the other side is the Home Depot."

"Home Depot opened their doors, kept them open for the First Responders and anybody that needed anything. You need a shovel, you need a flashlight, you need some plywood? What do you need? The cash registers were locked. The cash registers were turned off."

"You see, I found something interesting this morning. I found that the State was here. I found that the local was here, found the sheriff's department, the police departments, I found the fire departments from several different states. One national organization that I did recognize. I noticed that the Salvation Army was here. They were feeding the First Responders. I didn't see FEMA. I saw the National Guard, but that's under the direction of the governor. I didn't see the FEMA trucks yet. Perhaps they're here. But what I did see are the churches, the pastors, the priests, the people of faith.

"I ran into a guy from Dallas, Texas. What was the name of that, the Minutemen. The Minutemen from Dallas, Texas. They said they went up to help the people at the last hurricane. They said they learned a lot. And the thing they learned about, the thing they really realized is here are men that are supposed to be good Christian men who sat in their pews. They sat in their pews and they didn't really do a lot. They read the scriptures and they said their prayers and they took care of their families and they ran their businesses, but they weren't really involved. And then Joplin happened."

"And when Joplin happened, they decided, 'We have to go help,' and they did. And when they were there, they realized, 'We're not fast enough. We're not prepared enough.' And so this group of businessmen, this group of Christian men got together and started something called the Minutemen. You'll meet them tonight on television. An amazing idea."

"I told them we would sit down and talk because they are exactly the kind of people that Mercury One wants to find and help fund. They're exactly the kind of people that you need to hear the story because there should be Minutemen all around the country."

"I got a lot of heat on Twitter last night for saying that we're the First Responders. 'Who does Glenn Beck think he is?' I don't know. An American citizen. That's who I think I am. I don't know. A Christian. You're right, I'm not FEMA. I actually wear that as a badge of honor and I think everybody here should wear that as a badge of honor as well. We're here because we love each other. We're here because we're an American. We're here because, don't you want to feel for your fellow man?"

"I'm sitting in an upper room at this church now, this conference room with big glass windows and I'm looking at the gray sky of Oklahoma, the traffic that is stuck on the interstate, and I'm seeing a big water tank that says "Moore, Home of Toby Keith." Even though I know Toby, even though I know Toby listens, even though I have pictured him listening, writing his songs in his head while he's driving that tractor, I still won't think of Moore as the home of Toby Keith. I'll think of Moore as one incredible town that knows what America is supposed to be like. That knows you don't give up, you don't pack it in, you don't walk away, you don't wait, you don't make a sign that says "help." You help each other. You help yourself. Makes you stronger. Moore isn't the home of Toby Keith. Moore is just one great town in Oklahoma where a country singer happens to live."

"Last night I'm proud to say that our audience is so amazing. Last night on Twitter and Facebook, I suggested that if you knew of somebody that could provide a truck or two, we sure would like their help. And that you could donate. 100% of the proceeds if you donate to MercuryOne.org now, you click on the tornado disaster relief. Every dollar raised will go, 100% will go to Moore and that's one of the reasons why we're on the ground now, to see where that money should go. Who needs it? Who's not going to waist your money? Who's going to make the most of that dollar? I would urge you to go to MercuryOne.org now and donate. I'm proud to say it's now up to $121,000 and we haven't even mentioned it on the air yet."

Britain says “no work without ID”—a chilling preview for America

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

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.