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Blast From Obama's Past at Gun Town Hall

January 08, 2016
Lori Hanes

Writer

An unlikely character was paraded out Thursday night at CNN's Town Hall on gun control.

Moderated by Anderson Cooper, the town hall featured both gun rights and gun control advocates---including the controversial Fr. Michael Pfleger, the radical Chicago priest from Obama's Jeremiah Wright days.

Father Pfleger was markedly composed during the town hall, but his comments remained rife with radical ideas.

"The reality is that I don't understand why we can't title guns just like cars," said Pfleger.

Naturally, a little thing like the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution means nothing to him.

The radical priest typically displays a more ginned up persona in the pulpit or in front of the media. In case you've forgotten some of Pfleger's more flagrant comments, here are a couple of reminders:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.

GLENN: I was pretty amazed and impressed that Taya Kyle was there and some of the other people that were there in the audience of this town hall meeting. I did not expect that. But I was absolutely astounded, astounded that the president, on his side, welcomed Michael Pfleger.

PAT: Nutjob. Absolute nutjob.

GLENN: Complete nutjob.

PAT: I don't know if people remember because it's probably been seven or eight years. It's been almost eight years. He was around the time of Jeremiah Wright. He would come in and guest speak at Jeremiah Wright's -- they were fast friends. He's another one of those psychos from Chicago, just out of their mind. He's a Catholic priest, but I don't see any Catholicism in him.

GLENN: No, I believe the church has asked him to shut up and sit down.

PAT: Stop? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised.

STU: They asked him to leave at one point, didn't they?

GLENN: Yeah, they were like, "You're crazy. So shut up."

But Michael Pfleger is the guy -- if I'm not mistaken, he's the guy that when Jeremiah Wright was exposed, he was like, "I'm not with Jeremiah Wright." And it was Pfleger that he said was his spiritual adviser. And Pfleger would go to the White House or call him and pray with him and give him spiritual advice.

PAT: Where did Wallace fit in there then?

GLENN: Jim Wallace?

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Yeah, Jim Wallace was in there too.

STU: Yeah, Pfleger was in that series of characters that surrounded Obama in that Jeremiah Wright --

PAT: Look at the radicals with this guy. It's just --

STU: And listen to him speak. I mean, he's --

PAT: Oh.

GLENN: Okay. So let's listen to him a little bit. Do you have last night --

PAT: Oh, this is going to fill you with the Spirit.

STU: Oh, really?

PAT: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: This is not from last night.

PAT: No, this is from several years ago.

GLENN: Yeah, so this is one of the president's spiritual advisers and one of the people that he felt was qualified to help him make his case against guns.

PAT: Be prepared to almost be lifted up here and just weep, like a 3-year-old girl.

MICHAEL: -- honest enough to address the one who says, "Don't hold me responsible for what my ancestors did."

CROWD: Yes! Yes!

MICHAEL: But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did, and unless you are ready to give up the benefits, throw away your 401 fund, throw away your trust fund, throw away all the money that's been put away in the company you walked into because your daddy and your granddaddy and your great -- unless you're willing to give up the benefits, then you must be responsible for what was done in your generation because you are the beneficiaries of this insurance policy!

PAT: Crazy, man. He's crazy. That is crazy.

GLENN: Amen. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

STU: Talking about reparations.

PAT: Yeah.

MICHAEL: -- if you're honest enough (breathing), to expose white entitlement.

VOICE: Entitlement!

PAT: The guy is white, by the way.

MICHAEL: The supremacy, wherever it raises its heads.

JEFFY: Does he identify as white?

PAT: I don't know.

STU: That's a good point. I don't know.

MICHAEL: I said before, I really don't want to make this political because you know I'm very unpolitical.

(applause)

GLENN: Oh, yeah.

MICHAEL: But when Hillary was crying and people said that was put on, I really don't believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought, "This is mine."

(applauding)

(laughter)

MICHAEL: I'm Bill's wife. I'm white. And this is mine. I just got to get up and step into the plate.

PAT: Remember how anti-white he was? I mean, he can't even breathe, he was so --

GLENN: I know. Yeah, he was so -- he reminds me of another piece of audio. If you remember somebody else ranting and -- (heavy breathing)

(laughter)

VOICE: (heavy breathing) You don't care.

GLENN: Mel Gibson.

STU: Yeah, one of Mel Gibson's crazy phone calls. Another off-the-reservation Catholic.

PAT: Oh, man.

GLENN: You know, those two have a lot in common. I think the Pope would go, "Yeah, these guy are not really with us."

STU: I didn't feel the love. And it did seem like -- was he on a treadmill during the --

PAT: No, he wasn't. No.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: Okay. So we had Taya Kyle on our side and the rape victim. To help bolster the president's argument, he goes to Michael Pfleger. And these are the same guys that say because you are Christian, you're clinging to your God and your guns. Because you're a conservative, you're clinging to your God and your guns. This is his spiritual adviser. Wow.

PAT: I mean, you forget sometimes how many radicals he was surrounded by because --

JEFFY: Was?

PAT: And still is. And still is.

GLENN: Is.

Featured Image: US President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting with CNN's Anderson Cooper on reducing gun violence at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, on January 7, 2016. Obama announced limited measures two days ago to tackle rampant US gun violence and called on Americans to punish lawmakers who oppose more meaningful reforms. (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

Civics isn’t optional—America's survival depends on it

JEFF KOWALSKY / Contributor | Getty Images

Every vote, jury duty, and act of engagement is civics in action, not theory. The republic survives only when citizens embrace responsibility.

I slept through high school civics class. I memorized the three branches of government, promptly forgot them, and never thought of that word again. Civics seemed abstract, disconnected from real life. And yet, it is critical to maintaining our republic.

Civics is not a class. It is a responsibility. A set of habits, disciplines, and values that make a country possible. Without it, no country survives.

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Civics happens every time you speak freely, worship openly, question your government, serve on a jury, or cast a ballot. It’s not a theory or just another entry in a textbook. It’s action — the acts we perform every day to be a positive force in society.

Many of us recoil at “civic responsibility.” “I pay my taxes. I follow the law. I do my civic duty.” That’s not civics. That’s a scam, in my opinion.

Taking up the torch

The founders knew a republic could never run on autopilot. And yet, that’s exactly what we do now. We assume it will work, then complain when it doesn’t. Meanwhile, the people steering the country are driving it straight into a mountain — and they know it.

Our founders gave us tools: separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, elections. But they also warned us: It won’t work unless we are educated, engaged, and moral.

Are we educated, engaged, and moral? Most Americans cannot even define a republic, never mind “keep one,” as Benjamin Franklin urged us to do after the Constitutional Convention.

We fought and died for the republic. Gaining it was the easy part. Keeping it is hard. And keeping it is done through civics.

Start small and local

In our homes, civics means teaching our children the Constitution, our history, and that liberty is not license — it is the space to do what is right. In our communities, civics means volunteering, showing up, knowing your sheriff, attending school board meetings, and understanding the laws you live under. When necessary, it means challenging them.

How involved are you in your local community? Most people would admit: not really.

Civics is learned in practice. And it starts small. Be honest in your business dealings. Speak respectfully in disagreement. Vote in every election, not just the presidential ones. Model citizenship for your children. Liberty is passed down by teaching and example.

Samuel Corum / Stringer | Getty Images

We assume America will survive automatically, but every generation must learn to carry the weight of freedom.

Start with yourself. Study the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and state laws. Study, act, serve, question, and teach. Only then can we hope to save the republic. The next election will not fix us. The nation will rise or fall based on how each of us lives civics every day.

Civics isn’t a class. It’s the way we protect freedom, empower our communities, and pass down liberty to the next generation.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

'Rage against the dying of the light': Charlie Kirk lived that mandate

PHILL MAGAKOE / Contributor | Getty Images

Kirk’s tragic death challenges us to rise above fear and anger, to rebuild bridges where others build walls, and to fight for the America he believed in.

I’ve only felt this weight once before. It was 2001, just as my radio show was about to begin. The World Trade Center fell, and I was called to speak immediately. I spent the day and night by my bedside, praying for words that could meet the moment.

Yesterday, I found myself in the same position. September 11, 2025. The assassination of Charlie Kirk. A friend. A warrior for truth.

Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins.

Moments like this make words feel inadequate. Yet sometimes, words from another time speak directly to our own. In 1947, Dylan Thomas, watching his father slip toward death, penned lines that now resonate far beyond his own grief:

Do not go gentle into that good night. / Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Thomas was pleading for his father to resist the impending darkness of death. But those words have become a mandate for all of us: Do not surrender. Do not bow to shadows. Even when the battle feels unwinnable.

Charlie Kirk lived that mandate. He knew the cost of speaking unpopular truths. He knew the fury of those who sought to silence him. And yet he pressed on. In his life, he embodied a defiance rooted not in anger, but in principle.

Picking up his torch

Washington, Jefferson, Adams — our history was started by men who raged against an empire, knowing the gallows might await. Lincoln raged against slavery. Martin Luther King Jr. raged against segregation. Every generation faces a call to resist surrender.

It is our turn. Charlie’s violent death feels like a knockout punch. Yet if his life meant anything, it means this: Silence in the face of darkness is not an option.

He did not go gently. He spoke. He challenged. He stood. And now, the mantle falls to us. To me. To you. To every American.

We cannot drift into the shadows. We cannot sit quietly while freedom fades. This is our moment to rage — not with hatred, not with vengeance, but with courage. Rage against lies, against apathy, against the despair that tells us to do nothing. Because there is always something you can do.

Even small acts — defiance, faith, kindness — are light in the darkness. Reaching out to those who mourn. Speaking truth in a world drowning in deceit. These are the flames that hold back the night. Charlie carried that torch. He laid it down yesterday. It is ours to pick up.

The light may dim, but it always does before dawn. Commit today: I will not sleep as freedom fades. I will not retreat as darkness encroaches. I will not be silent as evil forces claim dominion. I have no king but Christ. And I know whom I serve, as did Charlie.

Two turning points, decades apart

On Wednesday, the world changed again. Two tragedies, separated by decades, bound by the same question: Who are we? Is this worth saving? What kind of people will we choose to be?

Imagine a world where more of us choose to be peacemakers. Not passive, not silent, but builders of bridges where others erect walls. Respect and listening transform even the bitterest of foes. Charlie Kirk embodied this principle.

He did not strike the weak; he challenged the powerful. He reached across divides of politics, culture, and faith. He changed hearts. He sparked healing. And healing is what our nation needs.

At the center of all this is one truth: Every person is a child of God, deserving of dignity. Change will not happen in Washington or on social media. It begins at home, where loneliness and isolation threaten our souls. Family is the antidote. Imperfect, yes — but still the strongest source of stability and meaning.

Mark Wilson / Staff | Getty Images

Forgiveness, fidelity, faithfulness, and honor are not dusty words. They are the foundation of civilization. Strong families produce strong citizens. And today, Charlie’s family mourns. They must become our family too. We must stand as guardians of his legacy, shining examples of the courage he lived by.

A time for courage

I knew Charlie. I know how he would want us to respond: Multiply his courage. Out of this tragedy, the tyrant dies, but the martyr’s influence begins. Out of darkness, great and glorious things will sprout — but we must be worthy of them.

Charlie Kirk lived defiantly. He stood in truth. He changed the world. And now, his torch is in our hands. Rage, not in violence, but in unwavering pursuit of truth and goodness. Rage against the dying of the light.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Glenn Beck resurrects the 9-12 Project to support Charlie Kirk's family

Glenn Beck is once again calling on his loyal listeners and viewers to come together and channel the same unity and purpose that defined the historic 9-12 Project. That movement, born in the wake of national challenges, brought millions together to revive core values of faith, hope, and charity.

Glenn created the original 9-12 Project in early 2009 to bring Americans back to where they were in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. In those moments, we weren't Democrats and Republicans, conservative or liberal, Red States or Blue States, we were united as one, as America. The original 9-12 Project aimed to root America back in the founding principles of this country that united us during those darkest of days.

This new initiative draws directly from that legacy, focusing on supporting the family of Charlie Kirk in these dark days following his tragic murder.

The revival of the 9-12 Project aims to secure the long-term well-being of Charlie Kirk's wife and children. All donations will go straight to meeting their immediate and future needs. If the family deems the funds surplus to their requirements, Charlie's wife has the option to redirect them toward the vital work of Turning Point USA.

This campaign is more than just financial support—it's a profound gesture of appreciation for Kirk's tireless dedication to the cause of liberty. It embodies the unbreakable bond of our community, proving that when we stand united, we can make a real difference.
Glenn Beck invites you to join this effort. Show your solidarity by donating today and honoring Charlie Kirk and his family in this meaningful way.

You can learn more about the 9-12 Project and donate HERE

The critical difference: Rights from the Creator, not the state

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

When politicians claim that rights flow from the state, they pave the way for tyranny.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) recently delivered a lecture that should alarm every American. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, he argued that believing rights come from a Creator rather than government is the same belief held by Iran’s theocratic regime.

Kaine claimed that the principles underpinning Iran’s dictatorship — the same regime that persecutes Sunnis, Jews, Christians, and other minorities — are also the principles enshrined in our Declaration of Independence.

In America, rights belong to the individual. In Iran, rights serve the state.

That claim exposes either a profound misunderstanding or a reckless indifference to America’s founding. Rights do not come from government. They never did. They come from the Creator, as the Declaration of Independence proclaims without qualification. Jefferson didn’t hedge. Rights are unalienable — built into every human being.

This foundation stands worlds apart from Iran. Its leaders invoke God but grant rights only through clerical interpretation. Freedom of speech, property, religion, and even life itself depend on obedience to the ruling clerics. Step outside their dictates, and those so-called rights vanish.

This is not a trivial difference. It is the essence of liberty versus tyranny. In America, rights belong to the individual. The government’s role is to secure them, not define them. In Iran, rights serve the state. They empower rulers, not the people.

From Muhammad to Marx

The same confusion applies to Marxist regimes. The Soviet Union’s constitutions promised citizens rights — work, health care, education, freedom of speech — but always with fine print. If you spoke out against the party, those rights evaporated. If you practiced religion openly, you were charged with treason. Property and voting were allowed as long as they were filtered and controlled by the state — and could be revoked at any moment. Rights were conditional, granted through obedience.

Kaine seems to be advocating a similar approach — whether consciously or not. By claiming that natural rights are somehow comparable to sharia law, he ignores the critical distinction between inherent rights and conditional privileges. He dismisses the very principle that made America a beacon of freedom.

Jefferson and the founders understood this clearly. “We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights,” they wrote. No government, no cleric, no king can revoke them. They exist by virtue of humanity itself. The government exists to protect them, not ration them.

This is not a theological quibble. It is the entire basis of our government. Confuse the source of rights, and tyranny hides behind piety or ideology. The people are disempowered. Clerics, bureaucrats, or politicians become arbiters of what rights citizens may enjoy.

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

Kaine’s statement reflects either a profound ignorance of this principle or an ideological bias that favors state power over individual liberty. Either way, Americans must recognize the danger. Understanding the origin of rights is not academic — it is the difference between freedom and submission, between the American experiment and theocratic or totalitarian rule.

Rights are not gifts from the state. They are gifts from God, secured by reason, protected by law, and defended by the people. Every American must understand this. Because when rights come from government instead of the Creator, freedom disappears.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.