Veteran Walking 2,200 Miles Across the US to Bring Attention to Veteran's Issues

Radio and news veteran Mike Opelka, host of Pure Opelka on TheBlaze and editor of FireWire, TheBlaze daily newsletter, filled in for Glenn on The Glenn Beck Program today, Friday, December 30.

Read below or listen to the full segment from Hour 2 for answers to these questions:

• How many years was Ernesto Rodriguez in the US Army?

• How can you follow @NerdNesto as he walks across America?

• How did Ernesto help a homeless veteran in Dallas?

• How many states have completely eradicated veteran homelessness?

• Since Ernesto does not accept donations, what would he like people to do?

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

MIKE: It is the Glenn Beck Program. However, Mr. Beck having a holiday. Mike Opelka from Pure Opelka on TheBlaze Radio Network, filling in for my friend, my boss, my old buddy, Glenn Beck. And I appreciate his trust with his franchise. Thank you, sir. Thank you, Dom Theodore, for the love and support this year.

So much good has come my way in 2016. And yet, so much troubling stuff in 2016.

So many things I will be happy to wave goodbye to, 2016. And welcome 2017.

I'm excited about the future. I am very happy to put 2016 to bed, the year I lost both my parents. Just not a good year for me. Not a good memory. And I hope if you had bad memories, you too can put them away, and let's all go forward.

As a matter of fact, there's a good memory I want to share with all of you from 2016. Let me see if I can find it. This was -- this was from the White House Correspondents' Dinner, just about a year ago.

OBAMA: Next year at this time, someone else will be standing here in this very spot. And it's anyone guess who she will be. But...

(laughter)

MIKE: How about a little bit of schadenfreude there? How about a little bit of oops? Oops. "It's anyone's guess who she will be." Wrong-o, sir. You missed on that one. Yes, that's a little bit of schadenfreude.

I can take pleasure at the unfortunate happenstance that President Obama and the Democrats had. You know what's really weird was the way the people thought this was going to be such a massive landslide. And we'll get into that.

I talked briefly last hour about the subpoena for -- for the voice that was recorded and some of the requests made by people who have one of those Alexas or those devices you put in your house and you tell them to search things for you or turn down the lights or play a music number. And we're going to get into that in an hour with a lawyer friend of ours. Dr. Wendy Patrick will join us.

But I also wanted to do a little hero saluting today.

We still don't have Donald Trump's pick for the VA cabinet post. We still do not have someone who Mr. Trump would like to see handling the VA. And I know yesterday, Mr. Trump was -- was floating the idea as he has in the past, as others have in the past, about privatizing the VA or giving every -- every veteran a card for their medical treatment that they could take to any facility in the country and get paid back.

Now, obviously there are some issues with that and some things that need to be worked out in terms of logistics. But the fact that this president-elect is looking to help our veterans gets me on his side, gets me in his corner, cheering.

And the problem is so huge that anybody who brings attention to the lack of care that is -- that our vets are not getting, anyone who brings attention to the problems of the VA, I will give room on whatever show I'm dealing with. And I -- I happen to be introduced to one such person, who also happens to be a veteran of the United States military.

And I wanted to introduce him to you today because he is doing something that he wanted to do, to call attention to it. He's not out there on the streets asking for money. He's not -- he's not -- he doesn't have a GoFundMe program. He's just doing what he's doing to draw attention to the problems of the veterans.

And while I'm -- I'm going to let him tell the story. His name is Ernesto Rodriguez. He served this country quite bravely. And just recently retired.

Ernesto, welcome to the Glenn Beck Program, my friend.

ERNESTO: Sir. How are you?

MIKE: I'm good. Now, where the heck are you today?

ERNESTO: I am in the heart of downtown Dallas.

MIKE: You're in the heart of downtown Dallas.

Ernesto, for this audience that doesn't know you, that didn't hear the interview we did on Pure Opelka earlier, how long did you serve this country, and in what branch, sir?

ERNESTO: I was in the U.S. Army. I was an infantryman, and I served 15 years.

MIKE: Wow. First of all, thank you for your service. Were you deployed overseas?

ERNESTO: I was. I deployed twice to Iraq, twice to Afghanistan. The first deployment being the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

MIKE: Wow. Wow. That's -- you were involved in the real serious stuff, sir.

ERNESTO: Uh-huh.

MIKE: And I'm glad you're here. You're all in one piece, I take it.

ERNESTO: I am. I am.

MIKE: Good. Good. Well, Ernesto, you decided that you were going to try to bring attention to the plight of the veterans, not just health care, but the fact that we lose between 20 and 22 vets every day to suicide and the mental health issues that we obviously aren't addressing quickly enough.

And you wanted to do something that would -- that would draw attention to the issue. And what is that, sir?

ERNESTO: Well, sir, I started walking from Clarksville, Tennessee, on November 11th, Veterans Day, and decided to start a journey towards Los Angeles, California. It will be a total of 2200 miles. And just -- just to bring awareness the 22 that we lose every day to suicide. And also, the need for reform in mental health care for active duty soldiers and veterans.

That's what I'm doing.

MIKE: Okay. And you started in Tennessee, but why Clarksville, Tennessee? Why that starting point?

ERNESTO: So when I -- when I medically retired from the military, I happened to be at Fort Campbell. And Clarksville, Tennessee, is the neighboring city of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

MIKE: Okay. So basically you checked out of your base and stood -- and headed towards the west coast hoping to draw attention. You're walking. You're walking the whole way. And from Veterans Day to today, you've made it to Dallas.

Now, I noticed something, Ernesto. And if you want to follow Ernesto and his exploits, he is @NerdNesto, which I think is a very funny name. I should talk, with Stunt Brain. You can follow him on Twitter @NerdNesto.

You are posting little videos and little bits and bites of information along the way, one of which really tugged on my heartstrings when you met a homeless vet living under a highway overpass.

When did that meet-up happen?

ERNESTO: That occurred on December 22nd, as I was walking into Dallas. It was on Interstate 30. I was walked down Interstate 30. And I came to this overpass. I looked to my side, and I see a big old green Army duffle bag.

Now, I didn't know if it was going to be a veteran or not, but there was somebody moving up there, and I felt really bad because Christmas was coming up.

So I dug into my bag. I grabbed some beef jerky, a protein bar, and five dollars, and I went up and said, "Happy Holidays." And as I spoke with him, I found out he was a veteran. So what happened was, I was doing a Facebook Live at the time to show people how unfair it is that this gentleman, if he was a veteran, is laying on the streets after serving this country.

So not even ten minutes later, I got three messages from different nonprofit organizations within the Dallas area, asking me the location of the gentleman, to come pick him up, put him in a hotel room for the night, bring him a meal, and try to get him back on his feet.

MIKE: Wow. If you want to see this video -- you posted that on Facebook as well?

ERNESTO: Yeah. So I do Facebook Live. I try to do a little bit on every social media network. But I do tag links. But that one was so important to me because I want to make sure that this man got helped, that I posted it on every single outlet I could find.

MIKE: Well, that's a wonderful story. Ernesto, I can't even begin to thank you. This is such an important -- an important mission of yours. And I salute you for having the courage and the stamina to do this. Obviously, you have a long road ahead of you.

How long will it take you, do you think, to get all the way to Los Angeles?

ERNESTO: I'm looking at around March, beginning to mid-March at this point. I've been doing a little research on walking through Death Valley. So it may take me a little bit longer because I'm going to have to conserve my energy and my food and my water, through that trek.

MIKE: So are you going across I-10? Is that the way you're going to get all the way across the southwest?

ERNESTO: Yes.

MIKE: Okay.

ERNESTO: So I'll go from 20 to 10. To El Paso, to Tucson, Phoenix, and then into Los Angeles.

MIKE: Got it. Got it. I've traveled that via Greyhound. Never on foot. So I had the benefit of having a Greyhound bus ticket that would get me across the southwest.

His name is Ernesto. He is a 15-year veteran of the United States military. He is a guy I call a hero. Ernesto Rodriguez is trying to bring attention to the plight of our vets, the 22 we lose virtually every day to suicide. Guys -- men and women who served this country who don't have to die. The one story, Ernesto, that always sticks in my mind is one that you and I talked about before, and that is the vet who actually took his own life in the parking lot of the VA.

ERNESTO: Uh-huh.

MIKE: And I don't think you can highlight something as more of a cry for help and more of a need for the government to get involved and straighten out the mess they have than a soldier who was so desperate, that they actually took their life on the property in the parking lot of the VA.

What do we do, Ernesto? What can we do to either help you get the word out or help you get across the country? Because I know you're not taking donations.

ERNESTO: Right. What I love, you know, saying to other people is, "If you do feel like donating money, please donate it to a local nonprofit local charity in your area." Do your research. Because some nonprofits don't work as well as others. But on my behalf, donate to them. I just don't want money.

I have been lucky enough to surround myself with enough people that my hotel rooms, when I get a chance to stay in a hotel, are taken care of. Food is taken care of. All I have to focus is on walking.

But check your local organizations. Spend time with your veterans. Make sure that they have someone to lean on. And make sure that they understand that they are still wrong people, even if they're asking for help.

MIKE: You know what I always tell folks, if you can't ask for help, you can't be strong enough to give help. And that perception that asking for help is weakness is so misguided, and it's one we need to break now.

Ernesto, I know we can find you on Twitter @NerdNesto. Where -- how do we find you on Facebook and Instagram?

ERNESTO: Well, I've -- Dallas has been very good to me. And I've been on a lot of local media. I was able to meet some very well recognized celebrities last night. So now they're starting to follow me. So I'm actually starting to hit top hit on Google. So if you look up @NerdNesto on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, you can see all the news reports. I'm definitely -- I'm getting there.

MIKE: Well, that's good. That's good. I love the fact that people are starting to pay attention. And the story that you -- you shared with us, that Facebook Live post of that veteran living under an overpass is just heartbreaking. And I'm so pleased that at least three agencies raised their hands and came to help this man. Maybe we can do this.

I'm happy to say, Ernesto, that the state where I'm coming from you today, Delaware --

ERNESTO: Uh-huh.

MIKE: -- is one of three states in the country that does not have homeless veterans. We were officially certified, on Veterans Day, as one of the states that's solved the homelessness problem and has gotten housing and care and counseling for those homeless vets. But we still have 47 other states we need to get moving on.

ERNESTO: I agree.

MIKE: And your work is so much appreciated, sir. I want to say, God bless you, and have a great New Year. You know there's an open door any time you want to get news out.

When are you leaving Dallas now? If we can rally support to wish you well on your next leg of your journey, when are you checking out?

ERNESTO: I am checking out on the 2nd at 9 o'clock. An organization here called 22 Kill has actually started organizing a walk with me. If you're from the Dallas area, there is a huge eyeball sculpture in the middle of downtown. We're leaving from there at 9 o'clock, and everybody will be walking 2.2 miles with me. And then I'll continue on my journey that day.

MIKE: Beautiful, beautiful.

Well, I will post that up and encourage people to follow you on Twitter as well. My buddy, Nerd Nesto.

Ernesto, God bless you again, friend. And have a great rest of your year.

ERNESTO: Thank you. You too.

MIKE: When we get back, there's more news. Plus, I have to give you the latest on the mic drop moment from Vladimir Putin to Barack Obama. And, oh, my gosh, there's this story you're not going to believe. An arrest was made in California that if I'm ever in California, there's a good chance I would be arrested too. I'll share the story with you next on the Glenn Beck Program.

[break]

MIKE: It is the Glenn Beck Program. Mike Opelka from Pure Opelka on TheBlaze Radio network, sitting in for my pal Glenn Beck, wrapping up 2016 and tying a cinder block to it and throwing it in the river. That's basically how I feel about this year. There are a couple of things this year that I will hang onto. One of which is the opportunity to be here. Another is my nighttime radio show on TheBlaze Radio network. If you want to know more, go to TheBlaze.com, click on the button that says Channels, and click on my mug and follow me. Would you?

I would appreciate it. And you will -- you'll see what I'm up to. Before we went away, I mentioned the fact that I don't know if I can ever go back to California.

And I have so many great -- great friends who are friends of this show and friends who live in California. I just don't know if I can go. I don't want to be arrested.

It makes me very nervous. My buddy at TheBlaze.com, Brandon Morris wrote this story a day ago. And he said: California police arrest a man for driving under the influence of caffeine. Not kidding.

This actually happened. A guy named Joseph Schwab, driving home from work in Solano County, reportedly he cut off a car. Driving that car that he reportedly cut off was an agent from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Now, I didn't know this, but those people have arrest privileges. The agent claimed that Schwab was driving erratically, which in California, is about 90 percent of the people I've been around on the highway.

The officer pulled Schwab over and said, "You need to take a breathalyzer test." The guy blew a double zero. 0000.0000. Nevertheless, she arrested him, took him to jail, said, "You've got to be on something, the way you were driving." They did a blood test. Everything came back negative. No drugs. Nothing illegal in his system. They did find he had caffeine in his system. So they have now charged him with a substance, being driving under the influence of a substance, which is perfectly legal, sold to drivers to keep awake. How many cops do you see at a doughnut shop with a cup of coffee? It's craziness.

California, I can't come back, until you fix this. Free Mr. Schwab or arrest everybody with a Starbucks card. Come back after the break. There's more.

[break]

MIKE: Mike Opelka with you on the Glenn Beck Program. Filling out the rest of 2016. And I will be back Monday to kick off 2017. Thank you, Mr. Beck.

Jeff is on the phone from Georgia, I believe. Jeff, we were just talking with my friend Ernesto a little bit earlier about the plight of the veterans in this country and the 20 to 22 we lose every single day to suicide. And you wanted to bring up something that is highlighting that as well. Hello, sir.

Did we lose him? Sounded like we lost his call. Well, put him on hold if he comes back. Let me know, please. Dallas, we will take care of that.

Earlier today, we talked about the fact that President Obama dropped the hammer, as he believed, on the Russians, kicking 35 Russian diplomats out of the country, giving them 72 hours to get out of town, the equivalent of the old west. You got to be out of town by sundown, son. Seventy-two hours to get out of town, to get out of America and go back to mother Russia.

And we also apparently told them we were going to take two of their compounds, one in New York and one in Maryland.

Well, Vladimir Putin -- Vladimir Putin dropped a bigger hammer, basically. He called Obama's tactics irresponsible kitchen diplomacy and said that it would -- it would hurt our relations, but they will take steps to further restore Russia/US relations based on the policies of the Trump administration. Which, you know, really?

The gracious thing to do would have been to do just that. The situation here -- what -- what President Obama has done in the past week, with both Israel and Russia, to me, is -- is akin to digging a bunch of holes in the White House lawn and putting explosives out there and then covering it over with new turf. You have landmined the future for an incoming administration, just because you lost. Just because the coronation of Hillary Clinton did not occur. And your legacy is at stake.

And what this president has done or is doing makes the shenanigans of the Clinton administration in the transition to the Bush administration look like a kindergarten prank.

Remember, they messed up all the White House keyboards. They took all the W's off. That will fix them. Yeah.

What a bunch of whiners. What a bunch of babies they were. But now this -- this to me borders on massive government meddling. And to say publicly that we're going to be supportive and we are going to help with the transition, and then to do the things that he is doing, are just disgusting to me.

They don't make any stinking sense, until you think about President Obama and what his intentions are and what his intentions have always been.

Here's a guy who -- well, let me go back to Putin and what Putin did. After Putin heard that -- that Obama was kicking out 35 diplomats and taking over these two compounds, Putin's right hand, his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said he had sent a recommendation to Putin to basically expel 35 American diplomats and take over a couple of American compounds. And everybody in the mainstream media said, "Yeah, yeah, that's what we'll do. That's what Russia is going to do. They're going to kick out the Americans." Well, after almost two hours of reporting that non-stop on CNN and MSNBC and just about everywhere, Putin put out a statement calling this -- as I mentioned earlier, the irresponsible kitchen diplomacy.

But he also -- this is when he dropped it right on Obama's toes, a big ol' hammer.

He said the diplomats who are returning to Russia will spend the New Year's holidays with their families and friends. We will not create any problems for the American diplomats here. We will not expel anyone. We will not prevent their families and children from using their travel and leisure sites during the New Year's holidays. Moreover, I invite all children of US diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and Christmas children's parties at the Kremlin.

Notice the wording. Notice the wording. And as I say, "Notice the wording," I'm staring at the Christmas card I received from Vice President Joe Biden just a week ago.

I'm sorry. It's not a Christmas card. It's a holiday card. It has a -- what looks like a Christmas tree on the cover, but on the back, it says, "The vice president's holiday tree, 2016."

And inside, the message from the Obama administration's vice president says, "Happy Holidays."

Vladimir Putin, in his message: I invite all children of US diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and Christmas children's parties in the Kremlin.

Gee. You think you just got the hammer dropped on your feet, President Obama? Then he added, my seasons greetings also to President-elect Donald Trump and the American people.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the perfect example of alpha maling somebody.

Putin just took the high ground. Just took all the air out of the Obama balloon. So there it is.

Oh, boy, this is going to be a fun one to watch. Now, on the subject of Israel. I want to talk about Israel as well and what's going on with the United Nations and Israel. We had hoped to have Louie Gohmert on the show today. Louie is introducing a -- a bill. And several in the House have said, "We need to defund the United Nations." Because in essence, we, one country out of the -- what is it? 260 countries that are part of the UN. We pay 22 percent of all the cost of the United Nations. And for those of us who live in New York, we incur 100 percent of the hassle every time the UN meets. Every single time those bobos come into town for their general assembly, which is also known as party weekends, every time those bobos come to town, New York is a mess. New York traffic is absolutely fishmeckled forever.

So I would not be opposed to defunding the United Nations or putting them on a barge and floating them out to sea. If you're so in love with the European Union, if you're so in love with -- or put them in San Francisco. Put them in a sanctuary city like San Francisco. But get them out of here.

But we were supposed to have Louie on to talk about that bill. And I guess he wants to be with his family on New Year's. So Louie is on the plane. So Louie, I appreciate you. I wish you could have been here to talk about this. But in the case of Israel and Barack Obama, we should talk about the duplicitous nature of this president. The duplicitous nature, especially when -- when you look at what John Kerry did and said recently and what Barack Obama said when he was trying to get elected in 2008 and he was speaking at AIPAC.

OBAMA: But any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, defensible borders.

(applauding)

MIKE: Wait. What? Any agreement? Any agreement? Let's go back and listen to the first part of that.

OBAMA: But any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, defensible borders.

(applauding)

MIKE: Hmm. Interesting. He seems to have changed his position on that. Or am I wrong? He also said something else.

OBAMA: Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

(applauding)

MIKE: Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided. Guess who got the votes. Guess who got elected in 2008. And then guess who has turned his back on Israel since that time. Barack Obama.

One of the more disgusting flip-flops ever. And now that he has 21 days left, he's going out the door, and he's sawing the bridge behind him. And is that word enough?

I wouldn't doubt he poured a little gasoline on it and dropped a match, as he wandered off into the woods, if only.

This president dropping -- dropping friends like Israel and treating them the way they are. Now -- now, you will hear from your friends that -- but wait a minute, what about -- what about the MUS? Do you know what the MUS -- the memorandum of understanding. MOU. The memorandum of understanding between Israel and America.

Everyone who you will talk to about Israel and what we've done with this UN deal -- and believe me, this -- this resolution is just the first part. In the next break, I'm going to tell you something that will shock you. But they all say, "But wait a minute. What about the MUS? What about the fact that we are -- MOU?" Why do I keep saying MUS?

The MOU with Israel. Where we give Israel $3.8 billion a year for the next ten years. We hand them that money. And it's -- it's money for foreign military financing as we call it.

But it also is a jobs program for the United States of America. The money we give to Israel, then they turn around and then buy stuff to protect themselves. And they don't buy it from Russia. They don't buy it from France. They buy it from the United States of America. In practical terms, this is a jobs program for America that also keeps our friends in Israel safe.

So if anybody pulls the MOU argument on you, just tell them, "Yeah, well, guess what, they buy those -- they buy those planes from the United States. They buy the fighter jets from the United States. They buy the parts they need for that fleet. Those F-35s from us, which keeps people employed here in America. Good jobs. Union jobs. Huge paying jobs. So don't play that game with me.

There's more on Israel though and what Obama's actions did, what the UN actions did, that I'll tell you about after the break. Mike Opelka in for Glenn Beck on the Glenn Beck Program.

[break]

MIKE: Mike Opelka in for Glenn Beck, wrapping up the new -- the old year and looking forward into the New Year. We'll kick that off Monday. You can join me here.

Before I jump to my guest, I wanted to tell you what I was talking about with Israel and the UN. Not only did they pass that resolution, they just approved $138,000 to build a database blacklisting any business doing ties with Israel. Anybody that's got a business doing business with Israel, prepare to be blacklisted by the UN. I'm telling you, the resolution was just the start. It is a big problem.

Now, I was talking earlier about this story -- this crazy story about Amazon's Echo, that speaker that you can talk to and it will talk back to you, and the subpoena from the prosecutors who think that it may have been a witness to a murder. And I wonder the legality of it. So I've asked our friend, Dr. Wendy Patrick. WendyPatrickPhD.com. To join us. Wendy has so much experience in the law. Well, she's a lawyer. She also understands the trial situations and how to watch candidate -- or, people testifying and see what their body language says.

But, Wendy, how are you going to know the body language of this device if it's feeding back all the data that it has? This scares me.

WENDY: Yeah. You know, we live in a brave new world, a world of drones and Siri and camera phones and all kinds of new technology, much of which has been untested when it comes to their admissibility in court. That is going to be the problem when you have devices that are witnesses. They're not live witnesses. You can't read their body language. They don't have any. They're not alive.

And it really sort of -- on the one hand, people could argue it's a greater sense of credibility because there's no inherent bias in a machine. On the other hand, if we are unsure as to the mechanics of how something works, that's going to be subject to judicial scrutiny.

So these are issues that have to be briefed on both sides. There's no precedent as of yet. And it's almost impossible to determine on a case-by-case basis, how these kinds of devices are going to be admissible in court.

Although, we're all going to be sitting back and watching because we're going to learn from each and every court decision as it comes down the line.

MIKE: Yeah, I sense this is going to go all the way to the top. I've got less than a half minute here. I hope you can hang up because I want to talk more about this, how it relates to our privacy, can you indict yourself, can you -- can you incriminate yourself because your voice was record by a technology company? So many questions, Wendy. Please hang out and join us around the corner. Will you?

WENDY: Will do.

MIKE: All right. Wendy Patrick will join us in the next hour as we try and unravel the legal problems from our brave new world of technology.

Can a drone deliver my drone? Hmm. Big questions. Mike Opelka on the Glenn Beck Program. We'll be back after the news.

Featured Image: Selfie by Ernesto Rodriguez

Is the U.N. plotting to control 30% of U.S. land by 2030?

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

A reliable conservative senator faces cancellation for listening to voters. But the real threat to public lands comes from the last president’s backdoor globalist agenda.

Something ugly is unfolding on social media, and most people aren’t seeing it clearly. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) — one of the most constitutionally grounded conservatives in Washington — is under fire for a housing provision he first proposed in 2022.

You wouldn’t know that from scrolling through X. According to the latest online frenzy, Lee wants to sell off national parks, bulldoze public lands, gut hunting and fishing rights, and hand America’s wilderness to Amazon, BlackRock, and the Chinese Communist Party. None of that is true.

Lee’s bill would have protected against the massive land-grab that’s already under way — courtesy of the Biden administration.

I covered this last month. Since then, the backlash has grown into something like a political witch hunt — not just from the left but from the right. Even Donald Trump Jr., someone I typically agree with, has attacked Lee’s proposal. He’s not alone.

Time to look at the facts the media refuses to cover about Lee’s federal land plan.

What Lee actually proposed

Over the weekend, Lee announced that he would withdraw the federal land sale provision from his housing bill. He said the decision was in response to “a tremendous amount of misinformation — and in some cases, outright lies,” but also acknowledged that many Americans brought forward sincere, thoughtful concerns.

Because of the strict rules surrounding the budget reconciliation process, Lee couldn’t secure legally enforceable protections to ensure that the land would be made available “only to American families — not to China, not to BlackRock, and not to any foreign interests.” Without those safeguards, he chose to walk it back.

That’s not selling out. That’s leadership.

It's what the legislative process is supposed to look like: A senator proposes a bill, the people respond, and the lawmaker listens. That was once known as representative democracy. These days, it gets you labeled a globalist sellout.

The Biden land-grab

To many Americans, “public land” brings to mind open spaces for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation. But that’s not what Sen. Mike Lee’s bill targeted.

His proposal would have protected against the real land-grab already under way — the one pushed by the Biden administration.

In 2021, Biden launched a plan to “conserve” 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. This effort follows the United Nations-backed “30 by 30” initiative, which seeks to place one-third of all land and water under government control.

Ask yourself: Is the U.N. focused on preserving your right to hunt and fish? Or are radical environmentalists exploiting climate fears to restrict your access to American land?

  Smith Collection/Gado / Contributor | Getty Images

As it stands, the federal government already owns 640 million acres — nearly one-third of the entire country. At this rate, the government will hit that 30% benchmark with ease. But it doesn’t end there. The next phase is already in play: the “50 by 50” agenda.

That brings me to a piece of legislation most Americans haven’t even heard of: the Sustains Act.

Passed in 2023, the law allows the federal government to accept private funding from organizations, such as BlackRock or the Bill Gates Foundation, to support “conservation programs.” In practice, the law enables wealthy elites to buy influence over how American land is used and managed.

Moreover, the government doesn’t even need the landowner’s permission to declare that your property contributes to “pollination,” or “photosynthesis,” or “air quality” — and then regulate it accordingly. You could wake up one morning and find out that the land you own no longer belongs to you in any meaningful sense.

Where was the outrage then? Where were the online crusaders when private capital and federal bureaucrats teamed up to quietly erode private property rights across America?

American families pay the price

The real danger isn’t in Mike Lee’s attempt to offer more housing near population centers — land that would be limited, clarified, and safeguarded in the final bill. The real threat is the creeping partnership between unelected global elites and our own government, a partnership designed to consolidate land, control rural development, and keep Americans penned in so-called “15-minute cities.”

BlackRock buying entire neighborhoods and pricing out regular families isn’t by accident. It’s part of a larger strategy to centralize populations into manageable zones, where cars are unnecessary, rural living is unaffordable, and every facet of life is tracked, regulated, and optimized.

That’s the real agenda. And it’s already happening , and Mike Lee’s bill would have been an effort to ensure that you — not BlackRock, not China — get first dibs.

I live in a town of 451 people. Even here, in the middle of nowhere, housing is unaffordable. The American dream of owning a patch of land is slipping away, not because of one proposal from a constitutional conservative, but because global powers and their political allies are already devouring it.

Divide and conquer

This controversy isn’t really about Mike Lee. It’s about whether we, as a nation, are still capable of having honest debates about public policy — or whether the online mob now controls the narrative. It’s about whether conservatives will focus on facts or fall into the trap of friendly fire and circular firing squads.

More importantly, it’s about whether we’ll recognize the real land-grab happening in our country — and have the courage to fight back before it’s too late.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

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

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

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

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

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

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

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.