The real death of shame

Another off the record conversation Glenn shared on radio today focused on technology. After speaking with a silicon valley power player, Glenn relayed the new way of thinking about emerging technology discussed in the conversation. Basically, no matter how hard government tries, they will not be able to contain advancements. How will this all lead to the real death of shame?

GLENN: Facebook is now cited in a third of all divorce cases.

PAT: That's amazing to me.

GLENN: That is incredible. Now, what does that mean?

Because Facebook is an ongoing log of our lives, the sharing of written posts and pictures many times with geotracking provides a record of activity that is being used today in court cases in divorces. In one-third of all divorces.

If a partner refers to an impending bonus, a new job offer, plans for a holiday, it may provide evidence that they're not telling the truth about their financial pos. At the very least, it could call their credibility into question. It's like having a massive public notice board.

Someone says she's not in a relationship with anyone new, but then posted a message inviting everyone to a house-warming party for her and her boyfriend. Specialists at the firm examined over 200 cases and found Facebook was used by legal teams in a third of the divorce cases.

This is -- this is the new future that I want to talk to you about here.

And I think there are very few people in the world that understand this. And I may come to the wrong conclusions, but I want you to understand this because we should have a debate -- a conversation about what is coming.

I think, and I told you at the time, that the Sony hacking was a massive moment. Was something really, really important. Because I thought it sent a signal -- wait a minute. I can get a company like Sony. I can go in and hack in. I can get a company like Sony to move. Why wouldn't I do that with GM or GE? Why wouldn't I do that with some of the biggest corporations in the world. Why wouldn't I do that with the federal government? And they're now hacking into the federal government.

I've also told you that what you put online and this is one thing -- I said this to somebody yesterday and they looked at me for a second and they said, oh, crap, I never even thought about it that way.

Look at your phone. Your phone has a listening device and an eye. It has -- it has those two things that we would never bring in to -- I'd never say, hey, if I put a -- I was going to put a secret camera in your bedroom and a listening device in there. And you don't know if I'm listening or not. Or somebody else might be listening. Do you mind if I put it in there? Everybody would say no. But because I put it on a phone, you immediately say, oh, I'll do that. And it's unlike a phone that you have in your bedroom now, that doesn't have an eye and doesn't have a receiver end.

This is propped up in a cradle, so as you put it in to the cradle to recharge, the eye is staring right at you in bed. Everything that you look at -- and I don't know if you've ever seen those guys that people hack in and they're online. And all of a sudden porn comes on to the screen and it's people hacking in, and they're putting really inappropriate things up on the screen.

JEFFY: I hate that.

GLENN: Yeah, I know.

[laughter]

And you watch their reaction and some people follow the scent of the porn. And that is able to happen without somebody putting the porn on your i Pad. Somebody can be watching what you're doing -- somebody can be watching what you're reading, what's happening. Okay.

Now, we know that all of those things can happen. We know now that Sony has been hacked into. We know that Google has told us -- Eric Schmidt has told us that this generation will have to change their name by the time they're 25 to be able to get away from all of the stupid stuff that is online under their name. Because you just will have too much out there.

PAT: It's already costing kids jobs now because employers are looking at their Facebook posts and what they've done on Instagram and all that stuff and they're saying, no. No. I don't want you.

GLENN: Yeah. So you're an open book.

Now, let's add the Sony factor in. And let's add the future of technology. Phones are going to be everywhere. Phones will be on your watch. You know, some -- or cameras. Cameras will be on your watch. Some cameras will be embedded in your home. Some will be embedded in clothing. And you'll put them on. Your glasses. Did you guys see what happened yesterday with Microsoft? Their new hologram glasses?

PAT: No.

GLENN: Oh, jeez. Go to my Facebook page and see if there's any audio worth pulling up. I pulled it off Microsoft yesterday. They're on -- it's unbelievable. It's absolutely unbelievable. So they're holographic glasses you wear. And it's unlike -- it's more like the Google glass, except it puts in your environment all your apps. You want to watch Netflix, you don't have to have to have TV.

PAT: The HoloLens?

GLENN: Yeah.

PAT: Is it good audio or just visual?

GLENN: I think it's mainly visual. We'll listen to it during the break and see. But it's up on my Facebook page. You should watch it. This is what came out yesterday. That's a two-way street. It's gathering information, and it's giving you information. Whatever you're looking at, it's seeing. Whatever is in the room, it's seeing. It's recording. Two-way information. So when people hacked into Sony, they knew, okay, now we have real power. Governments will be the first ones to say, we have to fight for -- we have to fight for the right to privacy, for them.

For instance, a friend of mine suggested that we put a camera on a politician all the time. That they have to wear a camera. You want a candidate that says, I have nothing to hide. He has to wear a camera all the time. So you see what he sees all the time. If there's anybody who should not have privacy, it's the people who work for the public. But they'll the first ones to say, no, no, there has to be secrets. The next ones that will say that are the corporations. We have no power, no money, we're last on the food chain. Whatever it is that will protect their information, it will trickle down to the private individual.

Here's where it gets good, there is no way to protect the privacy. At this point, there's nothing to protect the privacy. And things will get so bad. What's going to happen is, something called the death of shame. Now, I think we're already at the death of shame. That people just don't have -- there's no shame anymore.

But once there are cameras everywhere, recording everything, once everybody can see what you look like in the bedroom, everybody can see -- I mean, think of this. How many of us -- how many of us even charge our phones there at the bathroom sink? So there you are in all your naked glory, brushing your teeth.

PAT: I'm never naked when I brush my teeth. I put clothes on as quickly as I possibly can so I don't have to look at anything.

GLENN: I do too.

STU: Unless you're in really good shape. Because things are jiggling.

GLENN: Anyway, so -- how many of us have that exposure all the time?

When you have that kind of exposure, when you're seeing the things that people are posting online, and when it is out, whether you want to post it or not, now, everybody is shameful. Now everybody is like, holy cow. That came out about you. Don't worry about it, Bob, you should see what came out about me last month. So shame dies in our society.

What is that like? When there is no shame.

How do you have self-regulation?

Right now, shame is meant -- is used to hold together and keep our feet on a course. And the more that shame dies, the worst it gets.

Okay. So what do you do?

As shame is dying, secrets are opened. Somebody is going to need something where they can embed secrets. Where you have privacy again.

I believe bitcoin is the future of that privacy. Not just for money, but for information.

I was talking to somebody yesterday at Silicon Valley, and they were talking to me about bitcoin. And we talked about the ability for bitcoin, that blockchain, to be able to have information. Because what I was talking to him about was the rise of fascism. And I said, how do we fight against the rise of fascism, when these global governments start to block the way?

And he said, you're not going to be able to -- you'll have to shut down the entire internet. You won't be able to do it. The faster fascism rises, the faster this change will come. The way to do it, is blockchain, he said.

And that is the way to transfer money in bitcoin. He said you'll be able to do it in packets of information. Right now, they can see what you're writing and watching online. But if you encode everything with blockchain, which is the way it's going to have to be done because the giant corporations will need to be able to keep their servers protected. They're going to need to have their money protected. The only way to do that is through a blockchain.

And so he was suggesting that you embed in the blockchain, that's also the way you deliver pacts of information. So all your emails will be individually encrypted and individually opened. If you go online, they won't be able to follow you on what you're watching online. What you're doing online because you'll have an individual blockchain.

If that is true, that solves a lot of the things we're worried about. If that is true, you cannot put the genie back into the bottle. Because what I've been afraid is, do they cut off the supply of information? Can they track you and your every thought?

The answer is yes. However, if you introduce the blockchain, freedom comes with that. Freedom of money -- freedom is money. The more money you have, sometimes, the more free you are. You can go do things.

But money is also freedom of speech. And what that means is, that blockchain, that bitcoin blockchain will protect your freedom of speech, and it will protect you having money. Because you go -- you go across the border now and they'll say to you, you have $10,000 -- you have $10,000? You carrying any currency across the border? Nope. But the minute I cross the border and I have bitcoin and a blockchain, if I have the code in my head, yes, I'm carrying more than $10,000 cash. I'm carrying everything across the border. And there's nothing they can do with it. So they can no longer stop people. You no longer have to smuggle money. You no longer to have smuggle things because it's all in your head. And as long as you have your blockchain memorized, you're fine.

That's a significant development. And for me, at least, significant hope that we have really weird times coming our way. Really weird times. The death of shame. That's going to be an interesting ride.

However, because of technology that is right over the corner, right over the horizon, we have the possibility of being more free than we've ever been before.

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

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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

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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

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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.

How private stewardship could REVIVE America’s wild

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The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.