WATCH: Glenn's tribute to friend Richard Mellon Scaife

May 20, 2014

Writer

Below is a transcript of this tribute

Yesterday was a sad but joyful day for me. On Friday, a dear friend of mine took my call. We don’t speak all that often, maybe every month or so, but I called him up just to see how he was doing and to see how life was in Pittsburgh. And as I’m about to hang up the phone with him, he told me that he had just gotten a bad diagnosis and prognosis from the doctor. And so yesterday, I went up to Pittsburgh and spent some time with him.

He’s truly a man that I wish you knew, and I wish you could know him the way I do. He’s a man who has absolutely changed the course of this country several times. I think he is the man who is responsible for Reagan in 1976 and 1980. He knew this guy would be good, in his words, not as good as he turned out, but he knew he would be good in the 1960s.

His father helped bring down the Nazis and then made him promise at a very young age that he would help bring down the communists here in America. His great uncle was probably the most hated man by FDR and one of the most maligned and hated men of the entire progressive movement, mainly because he was the architect of the roaring 20s.

This young man from this amazing family grew up to do great things himself, all of which have, I believe, given us a chance to be free for just a few more years, and then we’re on our own. Among these things, he helped launch the Heritage Foundation, now headed by Senator Jim DeMint. But I believe what will be a bigger legacy than any bank or university bearing his name is the newspaper that he has guided, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, one of the very few major newspapers that actually still searches for the truth and uses the truth as a keel because it has Dick as the guiding hand and his hand-picked team at the helm.

I got to know my friend, Richard Mellon Scaife, a few years ago when I was at FOX, and my office received a phone call. They said that Mr. Scaife wanted to meet me and get to know me, that he had watched my show every day, and that he had a few questions for me. Well, I told him that I would love to meet with him, but at the time I was so overbooked that I just couldn’t make the trip to Pittsburgh at the time.

I knew the meeting was one I shouldn’t miss when his team said if you could just get to the airport there in New York, Glenn, he would fly in, and we could spend some time on his plane chatting. I did, and that was one of the most movielike moments in my increasingly movielike life. There I sat with truly one of America’s great titans on his DC-9 on the tarmac of the Westchester Airport just outside of New York City.

Side note: It made me very happy. He let the engines run just to piss off Al Gore the whole time. But we spent some time getting to know each other, and then he got right to business. He spoke to me in depth of the communist movement here in America that he had watched since he was a kid. He quizzed me on my knowledge of the progressive movement, and then he gave me a personal play-by-play of the history that he had witnessed.

I spent much of the time honestly confused because it took me a while to realize that when he said names like Jack or Ron, he was talking about JFK and President Reagan. I had never met anyone who had personal relationships like this.

Yesterday, we were talking, and he talked to me about, you know, a couple of meetings that he had with J Edgar Hoover back in the 60s and the people that he had met. When I mentioned Patton, he said, “Oh yeah, he was a neighbor of mine.” He has met every president, good and bad, since FDR. In the end, he told me that he just wanted to see if I was really the man I appeared to be on television. He wanted to know if I really believed in what I was saying or if it was nothing more than an act.

He told me then about the dinner that he had with his father toward the end of World War II where his father made him promise that he would fight the communists in America and around the world. When he saw these same people whom he thought he had defeated come back online in American politics, I think, I don’t know, but I think Dick may have felt a little bit that in some way he might have dropped the ball. He hadn’t. He helped give us Ronald Reagan and the Reagan revolution. Because of that, the wall came down.

Over the years, I’ve met with him a handful of times. We’ve spoken about politics and the players, some of which we agree on, some of which we don’t. I have spoken to him about the tough things, the evil nature of Margaret Sanger. When I first brought up Margaret Sanger, he said, “Oh, come on, I remember her. She used to come over to my house, and she would have tea with my mother.” I mean, I can’t imagine what this man’s life has been like, but I do know this, he is a man that has truly lived.

I have read his book. I have read his press clippings. I have seen the best and the worst. I’ve seen the joy and the pain of his life from afar. Mistakes and all, he has left his mark on our world, and he continues to do so today. And most people on our side don’t even know about him. Long after he is gone, his legacy will still impact how we live. I have met those he has groomed to take over for him at the Tribune. He will leave it in good, decent, and honest hands, hopefully a long time down the road.

I didn’t know Dick in his prime, which is my alcoholic code for his drinking days. I know Richard Mellon Scaife today. As life has made him movie rich, life has also humbled him, and it is in the quiet times that a man becomes truly wealthy. They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps, not those who pop in for a check or an endorsement or whatever but those who are there around him.

I have seen those who are with him and at his side every single day. I see the love and loyalty they have for him and the love and loyalty he has for them. I don’t know what the world will, and especially with the left, what they will say about him, but I will say this, Richard Mellon Scaife is my friend. It’s an honor to know him, to learn from him.

In the end, I thought of this on the plane on the way up to Pittsburgh, I don’t think I’ve learned enough. This man is a living history book. I have never met anyone like him. I told my wife when I got home, “Honey, we will never have the chance to meet another man like that ever again.” They don’t make them like that ever again. And if I perhaps had a better sense of priorities, I would have spent more time grilling him for the knowledge that he alone has witnessed firsthand as it has impacted history.

In time, I hope that there are those who are at his side every day today that will tell his story that he has taught them, and I hope to empower them. In the meantime, I went to Pittsburgh yesterday to learn something new yet again from my friend, to have a laugh, to share a few stories of great American heroes, and to learn more about them. We’ll continue to have our phone chats from time to time, and if I’m lucky enough, I will be able to spend a few more hours with him in the weeks and months ahead, but they will mean more to me now.

It’s strange and I think unfortunate how we have to learn things. Friday, that call with my friend when he told me about his diagnosis, unfortunately it said something else to me – hopefully this time I’ll learn it – stop all the things in your life that seem to make you busy. Instead, find the people and the things that have real meaning in your life and invest your time there. Once again, my friend, Richard Mellon Scaife, has made my life better because he lives.

What will happen while Glenn is away on vacation?

As many of you now know, Glenn has taken off for a much-deserved, two-week vacation with strict orders not to watch the news. Well, two weeks is a long time in the news world, and a LOT can happen while Glenn is away.

What do you think will happen while Glenn is away? Will Biden take another fall? Will the government finally confess knowledge of alien lifeforms? Let us know what you think below.

Will the Government confirm the existence of aliens?

Is Biden going to fall again?

Will Kamala Harris become president?

Will Hillary Clinton announce her candidacy for president?

Will AI start an uprising?

Will World War III start?

Will Bud Light go out of business?

Will it be confirmed that Fidel Castro is Justin Trudeau's father?

Will California criminalize pianos due to their historic associations with the ivory trade?

Will Joe Biden give a speech where he recounts an encounter with Bigfoot?

How my family's Target boycott is affecting my wife (satire)

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If you've been tuning in this month, you'll know that my family and I have been boycotting Target since they released their problematic Pride collection. We are determined, but boy has it been difficult... particularly on my wife.

I'm not saying that I kept a diary of my wife's Target withdrawals... but I'm not saying that I didn't either.

Here are the "alleged" entries of my family's first week of boycotting Target.

Day 1

My wife began the day optimistic. Determined. She kept saying, "I can do it. I can do it. For the sake of what is right, I can do it."

For a moment there, I thought this boycott was going to be kind of easy. I thought she would bounce into action, and never look back.

At about noon on day one, she started to crack just a little bit. She looked at me and said, "The only jeans that fit me properly are from Target. Where am I going to get my jeans? What will I do without my favorite jeans?"

One weird thing. She has been speaking differently. It's almost like a nervous tick. Random words come out at random times. Day one, I kissed her good night and said, "I love you." She said, "I love Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Candy Truffles."

And I think that has something to do with Target, but I'm not really sure.

Day 2

My wife began laughing today... a LOT. But then, abruptly, her laughter broke into a disconcerting grimace that reminded me ever so slightly of a gargoyle.

I tried to remind myself, "This is going to be a good thing. This is going to make a difference," and my wife proceeded to give me a long-winded rant about how Satan tempted Jesus, and how this is my temptation in the desert. Shortly after, I found her reading her Bible in Matthew chapter 4, repeating, "40 days of THIS?!"

She tried to go to Walmart and even made it about 10 feet into the store... but then she sped home and took a shower for 45 minutes.

Day 3

Have you seen The Shining? The way Jack Nicholson slowly becomes unhinged?

It's beginning to feel like that on day three, at the house. Several times, I caught her petting picture frames. When I asked if everything was okay, she said, "I can't find gallery frames for an excellent price anywhere. You know. Think of the frames."

Later, I caught her piling bath bombs onto her side of the bed.

I said, "Honey, what are those for?"

And her answer was a little terrifying. I can't really remember. Only something about the onslaught of a war of sparkles and tiaras. So I don't know what that means.

And I didn't ask.

Day 4

The shakes have begun. Confusion has overtaken her eyes. Every couple of minutes she gasps and looks around, face full of panic.

She cries in agony, "WHERE will I find oversized blouses?" She gasps again, "What if somebody has a birthday? Where am I going to go? Where am I going to go? What if there is a birthday?"

Day 5

Midway through lunch, my wife shrieked, realizing she was only seven decorative pillows away from an empty bed top.

Our day somehow got worse when news broke that Chip and Joanna Gaines had just released their new candle trough.

That was day five.

Day 6

The rations have vanished.

The boycott now has begun to affect the family's food supply. This morning, I asked my wife, "Do we have any milk?

My wife whispered, "Don't you know where the milk comes from? Don't you know where I get the milk?"

I answered, my voice quivering, "Milk? What milk? I don't need any milk!"

She was almost out of Meyers soap and nearly caved when the revelation kicked in that she might have to go to Walmart.

To make matters worse, Target had just released their new Meyers fall scents, including, but not limited to pumpkin spice—and if you don't have pumpkin spice Meyers soap, who are you, really?

Then things really spiraled when she needed to pick up Starbucks honey flat white and some new laundry detergent. For the first time in a long time, this was going to require TWO stops, and let me tell you, those two stops did not make her happy.

At bedtime, she locked herself into the guest bedroom and insisted on being left alone.

Day 7

For the first day, I have a little hope.

The whole thing was awful. Terrible. Miserable. Heartbreaking.

But still not bad enough to make me or any of my friends want to chug down a Bud Light.

Do aliens... EXIST? Or is it a distraction?

Rastan | Getty Images

Yesterday, whistleblower David Charles Grusch, a decorated Air Force veteran claimed the Department of Defense has a secret team aimed at "retrieving non-human origin technical vehicles, call it spacecraft if you will, non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed."

Talk about UFOs and aliens has typically been siloed to the realm of sci-fi and "conspiracy theories." However, in recent years, publicized evidence of UFOs and whistleblowers, like David Grusch, have brought the once fantastical subjects into the mainstream. Could it be that alien life forms do, in fact, exist? Have they already arrived and been kept secret underneath the government's nose? Or could this all be a ruse to distract us from more pressing stories in the news cycle?

We want to hear from YOU! Do YOU think aliens and UFOs are a distraction tactic, or do you think there's truth behind these whistleblowers?

Do you believe the government has intel about UFOs?

Do you believe the government has intel about alien life?

Do you believe the government is hiding this intel from the general public?

Do you believe alien life exists?

Do you think the media is using this story to distract us from other issues?

Remembering D-Day: We are called to the same standard

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79 years ago today, my grandfather jumped out of a plane. He was 17 years old when he joined the 101st Airborne Division, and at the ripe age of 18, he boarded a C-47 aircraft with the rest of his company destined for Normandy. On June 6, 1944, he jumped out of that plane onto Utah Beach, becoming a part of what would become the largest amphibious invasion in military history, Operation Overlord, or, as it's more commonly known, D-Day.

Though only 18, my grandfather was one of the oldest soldiers in his company. He recounted how many, like himself, lied about their age in order to have their shot at fighting for their country. As Omaha Beach veteran Frank Devita recounted:

We were all kids. We were too young to drink. We were too young to vote. And we were too young to die.

And many of them did.

On June 6, 1944, almost 160,000 troops from the United States, the British Commonwealth, and their allies began what would become the ultimate demise of the Third Reich, concluding one of the darkest chapters in human history. 2,500 of these soldiers were American boys who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Normandy, where most of them remain, their bodies never making it back home to the country for which they paid the ultimate price.

2,500 of these soldiers were American boys who gave the ultimate sacrifice in Normandy.

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In an age seemingly devoid of courage and virtue, it is natural to picture these soldiers as the greatest of men. And they were. However, we must remember these exemplars of manhood were boys, young boys, who exhibited the courage and virtue that we so seldom see in those twice their age today.

We must remember these exemplars of manhood were boys.

Remembering D-Day is not only sobering regarding the loss of life and innocence; it's sobering to consider how far our country has strayed from the ideals exemplified by the "greatest generation."

79 years ago, Americans knew what they were fighting for. As a Jewish man born in Berlin, witnessing the rise of fascism and socialism at the expense of individual liberty and the sanctity of life, my grandfather was eager to go back to his birthplace as an American soldier to fight for the fundamental principles of life and liberty that he and his family had been denied in Nazi Germany.

They were some of the lucky individuals who were able to escape—and there's a reason why he and his family chose America as their new homeland. The life and liberty they had been denied in Germany were regarded as sacred in the United States.

Yet, do we still regard these things as sacred?

JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / Contributor | Getty Images

Most of the United States still hold that the sanctity of life is contingent upon convenience and circumstance. Economic policies continue to morph closer to the socialism adopted by the rest of the world in the 20th century, penalizing the success and merit that was once tantalizing to immigrants like my grandfather. Moreover, 2020 extinguished any doubt that the freedoms we hold dear are expendable at the whims of our ruling class.

This isn't the same America that provided refuge to my grandfather's family nor is it the same country that he and his brothers-in-arms fought for.

On this anniversary of D-Day, it is important that we remember the sacrifice given by the young American boys, who became the greatest of men, on the beaches of Normandy. However, perhaps it is just as important to remember that we are called to the very same standard as they so powerfully exemplified: to love our country and the principles of life and freedom that stand in stark contrast to much of the onlooking world and to have the courage to defend it, even if it requires the level courage that these young men were called to.

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