Oops: Huff Post, Reuters attribute comments to Glenn… but he never spoke publicly about the story

July 21, 2014

The Glenn Beck Program

Last week, TheBlaze published a story about the city of Salem, Massachusetts’s decision to end an agreement with Gordon College – a private, Christian school that recently banned “homosexual behavior” among students and faculty. The contract between the school and the town had been set to end in August, but Kimberley Driscoll, the mayor of Salem, confirmed the early opt-out because of the school’s “behavioral standards.”

Read the full article via TheBlaze HERE.

This particular article from TheBlaze’s Dean Graham was really no different than any other report, but it soon turned into a big story after news outlets like Reuters and Huffington Post picked up a Facebook post from the Salem mayor that attributed sentiments expressed in the comments section of the article to be Glenn’s personally.

On radio this morning, Glenn called out the media organizations who failed to follow the most basic journalistic practices when putting their own stories together, and he finally offered his actual thoughts on the topic.

TheBlaze article on Salem’s decision ran last Monday, and on Wednesday, the mayor of the city wrote posted a letter on her Facebook page about the feedback her office had received about its decision to cut ties with the school.

Post by Kim Driscoll.

The only problem? Glenn never commented on the story publically, and he admitted he actually hadn’t even read TheBlaze report on the topic.

“When I read on the Huffington Post about my opposition to the mayor's decision, it was the first I had heard about the story. I didn't even know the story. It was unbelievable. I'm reading this and I'm like, ‘Wow. I said that?’ I had never said a word,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “In fact… I wrote to Stu. I wrote to Tiffany. I wrote to Dan. I wrote to Pat. ‘Anybody heard of this story?’ All of them never even heard of this story. That didn't stop Reuters from printing a news story claiming that I had.”

While the Huffington Post and Reuters took Driscoll’s claims at face value, Esquire at least dug a little deeper into where the so-called Glenn Beck connection in this story came from – aside from the fact that he is the founder and chairman of TheBlaze.

“Beck’s website, The Blaze, ran a story about the mayor’s decision to terminate its contract with Gordon,” Esquire’s Ban Collins writes. “Somebody posted the phone number to Driscoll’s office in the comments section. Driscoll’s office started receiving dozens of phone calls.”

While Glenn has grown accustomed to reading media reports about him that are less than truthful, he found it difficult to understand how any purported news source could use an un-attributed Facebook post as the basis of a report without so much as a fact-check.

“They got this from a Facebook post as a source. That's not a typo. You didn't hear that in error. Reuters wrote a story about a Facebook post. They didn't call us for comment. They didn't search to see if I had ever said anything about the story,” Glenn explained. “Because of this, dozens of outlets ran with my supposed opposition to something I don't even know about. That's how bad our media is today… They are using Facebook posts as legitimate sources without calling for any secondary source.”

Reuters has since issued correction clarifying TheBlaze article referenced was not authored by Glenn himself. But that doesn’t really get at the heart of the problem. Glenn decided it would be best if he commented on the story – for the first time – so at least other news organizations would have a real, quotable opinion to reference.

“I'm in the awkward position of realizing that while my opinion about a story is apparently vitally important, nobody has asked me about my opinion about it,” Glenn said. “So let me give you my unsolicited opinion – and I mean completely unsolicited. Reuters, Huff-Po, nobody has asked me my opinion. But in case it matters to some journalists, here it is:”

I don't have anything bad to say about Salem or the mayor. Nothing. They can do business with whomever they choose. That's it. Even the college admits that the city had executed a valid clause in their contract. That's what the college says. It's a valid clause. They can opt out. Okay. Here's the thing. People of Salem, you choose whether that was a good decision or a bad decision the next time the mayor is up for election. And my guess is you're going to think it's a good choice. You're going to think it was fine.

You know what may be unpopular in Salem, or at least inside the mayor's office, is the constitutionally protected speech of the students and a faculty at a private religious college. That may be unpopular. But that's what the First Amendment protects. Unpopular speech. Things that other people don't like. Gordon College has a right to stand for their religious belief. And there's every indication that they will. And I applaud them.

I also applaud Salem for standing up for what you believe. You had a contract. That's what it said… You're just cancelling it. The town has a right to decide based on the First Amendment. The college has a right to stand its ground based on the First Amendment. When it comes to religion, we have to protect the things that we don't like, which you would think out of all the cities in America, Salem would understand… We don't have to agree on everything. But we do have to love and respect everybody…

I will continue to give people like the mayor the benefit of the doubt and just say I'm sure she's a fine human being. I'm sure she's really motivated by what she believes. I just dislike her actions, and it's wrong to lie. I strongly encourage politicians to stop lying. But I still believe that she's my sister through God. We're brothers and sisters…

I can't personally vouch for the North Shore Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Youth. That's the charity that she says [she’s] going to give $5 to. Everybody that calls, [she’ll] give them $5. They describe themselves as a safe place for LBGT youth to come together. And here's the great thing. Here's the bonus for you: They meet in a church. So I applaud the mayor's reliance on private charity and a church instead of government to advance the important issues affecting her community socially.

I don't know the mayor personally. I don't know whether she was sincere or not in her vow to donate $5 for each and every call that comes in. But based on her signed promise… she would donate to this service.

Now I'm tempted, because I'm giving you my unsolicited opinion, to encourage every single one of my listeners to call the mayor's office of Salem and issue a respectful complaint saying, ‘I love you as a sister… You're great. But I have to respectfully issue a complaint’ – because whether it's honest or not, she'd be forced to part with more money than she's ever earned somehow or another.

But that's the old me. (laughs) So I'm not encouraging that. And I'd be very disappointed if anybody ever did that. But I'm a work in progress.

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.

Underwood Archives / Contributor | Getty Images

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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