Let the 2017 resolutions begin! While co-host Pat Gray shuns making resolutions, that didn't stop him from encouraging listeners to call in with their own. Tuesday on The Glenn Beck Program, listeners shared their goals for the year --- and chimed in about smart devices like Alexa.
Read below or listen to the full segment from Hour 2 for answers to these questions:
• What's a top resolution for 2017?
• Are smart devices like Alexa always listening and recording?
• How many orders did Pat inadvertently place on listeners' Alexa devices?
• What motivated a caller to stop drinking for six months?
• Who uses resolutions to learn survivalist skills?
Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:
Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:
PAT: It is the Glenn Beck Program. As sometimes happens with fat people like us, Glenn just threw his back out by sitting there.
JEFFY: He was lifting a plate of food.
(laughter)
PAT: Lifting a plate of food and threw his back out. He wasn't even doing that. He just moved. I don't know. Sometimes, you know, when you've got a bad back -- when you have a bad back, it doesn't take anything. You just move a certain way, and bang, you're in massive pain, which is what just happened moments ago. And so he's kind of been carried off on a stretcher almost. Not quite a stretcher --
JEFFY: Pretty close.
PAT: -- but he was definitely helped out of the studio.
So Pat Gray and Jeffy for Glenn right now. And then Stu is really sick today. I went through that today. I got that flu really bad a few weeks ago. And I was in bed for several days and just feeling like crap. Did you get any of that?
JEFFY: No, I did not.
PAT: That's nice.
JEFFY: I'm very fortunate about that.
PAT: That's nice because it's definitely going around.
JEFFY: Yeah, I got the beginning -- I felt the beginnings of illness coming on, and then it's all good.
PAT: And then you were fine. Weird.
JEFFY: But the weather here in Texas has been so -- 80, freezing, 80, freezing.
PAT: That's a Dallas winter though. You know, it goes 75, 43, 68, 52.
JEFFY: It's a beautiful today. Let's go out -- tonight, it's going to be freezing!
PAT: Yeah. All right. 888-727-BECK.
Right before the break, we were talking about the fact that I just -- I never make resolutions anymore. And I -- I don't know anybody who does. Do you still make New Year's resolutions? No, of course.
JEFFY: Oh. I set the one for the workout and the gym. And that's gone so well, I decided, why do I need to --
PAT: For all of us, I mean --
JEFFY: No. It's the same -- you're setting yourself up for failure immediately. You're doing it and it's like, you're done.
PAT: Yeah. According to Business Insider, the most popular resolutions your coworkers are making for 2017, one-fifth of people, 22 percent of the 34 -- this is a pretty big survey: 3411 employees were surveyed. And they said their top resolution for 2017 is to leave their current job and find a new one.
JEFFY: Wow.
PAT: Among younger workers, the number is even higher: Thirty-five percent of those between 18 and 34 expect to have a new job by the end of the year.
It was conducted online by the Harris Poll. And about half of the respondents, 49 percent say they plan to put more of their paycheck into savings. About a third, 38 percent want to decrease their stress level. Another third would like to move up a step on the ladder over the next 12 months. 28 percent plan to consume less junk food at the office. That's just not going to happen, people. Why bother? Just understand it. And know it, and you won't have to be disappointed the whole year.
And just about 26 percent resolve to make more courses, training, or seminars in 2017.
JEFFY: Why?
PAT: I don't know. That's just stupid.
(chuckling)
That's just -- very few of these are actually going to happen, which is why I -- you know, and then the other resolution for most people is to eat right, exercise, lose weight.
JEFFY: And it's important.
PAT: And I want to.
JEFFY: I do too.
PAT: I really do. I just don't call it a resolution. Because, again, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.
JEFFY: Yeah. I mean, I want to. I want to drive by the gym and use that as a priority and pull in.
PAT: I don't want anything to do with the gym. I don't even want to pretend that I want something to do with the gym. I mean, eat right and exercise, maybe at home. Maybe take a walk from time to time. I do not want to go to the gym. I've got family members now -- several kids who are just obsessed with the gym.
JEFFY: I mean, my son, part-owner of gyms. I mean, no. I'm not doing it.
PAT: Plus, your son actually does work out.
JEFFY: A lot. Yeah, pretty sad.
PAT: Yeah. Yeah. That's how you get to be, what? 6-5 and 310 without an ounce of fat on your bones.
JEFFY: Yeah. Well, now he's lost a lot of weight by working out so hard. I mean, he's down like 50 pounds.
PAT: Oh, is he really?
JEFFY: Yeah, he's ready to play tight end. If you're looking to draft somebody, NFL, for a new contract, he's --
PAT: What is he, 43 now?
JEFFY: Yes.
(laughter)
PAT: It's probably a little -- a little beyond draft time.
JEFFY: Yeah, I know. I was just taking a shot.
(laughter)
PAT: 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.
If you got some resolutions that you'd like to share with us -- I don't even know if anybody even does this anymore. Does anybody do resolutions? There must be somebody, right? Because we talk about it every year.
JEFFY: There has to be.
PAT: There has to be somebody. Let's go to Pete in Texas. Pete, you're on the Glenn Beck Program with Pat and Jeffy.
CALLER: Hey, guys, how are you doing?
PAT: Good.
CALLER: So I actually was calling earlier. I guess my resolution would probably be that I don't have radio hosts order things off of Amazon for me anymore, seeing as you guys caused total chaos in our house this morning saying the Alexa key word over and over again.
JEFFY: You're welcome.
PAT: It's surprising how many people -- first of all, it's amazing how many people have that. Because we've heard that quite a bit today.
JEFFY: I know.
PAT: And that it would set off from listening to the radio is interesting to me too. I didn't even think of that when we were seeing Alexa. See, now we just it did again.
All right. Go ahead.
CALLER: Exactly.
So one thing you guys were discussing with that this morning was the way it works. You were saying that it always listens and it's always recording. There's that case in Arkansas, where, you know, the murder's happening -- or, the murder occurred.
PAT: Right.
JEFFY: Right.
CALLER: And they're trying to get a warrant to try to get the data. Anyway, so that -- it's not actually always listening and recording everything everyone says. I'm a software engineer.
What it does -- it listens for the key word, and then it starts listening. It's actually on the device. It's encoded on a chip in the device to listen for that key word for Alexa or, hey, Google or, hey, Siri or that sort of thing.
PAT: Yeah.
CALLER: Then it starts listening. You can test this too if you just sit and say, "Hey, what's the weather outside, Alexa?" It doesn't -- it's not recording to be able to pick up what you said before it.
PAT: Then why --
JEFFY: Oh, right.
PAT: Why would the police want access to its recordings?
CALLER: They don't realize that it's not function like a microphone. They think it's big brother-style. And maybe some day it will get to that. I could easily see Google or Amazon going, "Hey, let's offer this ability for it to have context," and then it starts recording everything. You can see that happening in the future. But today, that's not how it works.
PAT: So it would do them no good, is what you're saying. So even if Amazon said, "Sure, we'll give you the tape, the recordings," then it wouldn't do them any good because it wouldn't have recorded unless they said, "Hey, Alexa, I'm about to kill this guy."
CALLER: Exactly. Which if you're doing that, well, you're probably not going to get away --
PAT: Probably not. Yeah, you're probably not that smart a murderer.
JEFFY: Right. Alexa, I need cleaning products to clean up this blood.
PAT: Well, that's interesting. And that's a relief. Because I don't want it recording everything. I wouldn't want that in my house.
JEFFY: Yeah. Just in standby listening mode.
CALLER: It's an Amazon detriment if they were going for Google or anyone to sit and take in all of that data. If they were --
PAT: Right. Yeah.
CALLER: -- streaming -- I mean, think about the millions of people. And it would be a ton of data. And they would have to process it. And most of the -- what's the purpose in it? They want to sell you paper towels.
PAT: Yeah.
CALLER: You know, they don't want any of that other stuff.
PAT: That's a pretty good point. That's a pretty good point.
JEFFY: That is.
PAT: Appreciate the call. Thank you, Pete. Let's go to Zack in Ohio. Zack, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.
CALLER: Hello, how are you?
PAT: Good.
CALLER: Well, I've got a couple of New Year's resolutions. I need to lose a little bit of weight. I'm going to actually start holding my representatives accountable. I'm actually from West Virginia. I'm a truck driver, and I'm outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, right now. So my senators are Capito (phonetic) and Manchin. And my congressman is McKinley. And I've seen those suspense horror flicks of the smart houses from the '90s.
PAT: Yes.
CALLER: So I'm not ever going to get any AI fiberoptics. Because my fear is that it will enslave me in my own house.
JEFFY: Nah.
PAT: You know, I don't think that's ridiculous anymore.
JEFFY: It's not. It's not.
PAT: I think it could happen. Appreciate the call, Zach. Thanks.
JEFFY: We're pretty close.
PAT: I mean, it could happen, right?
JEFFY: Yeah. With the computer information and then the robotics, mixed with the robotics -- even without the robotics, just the information in your home, but with the robotics as well, yeah.
PAT: Yeah. It's not that farfetched.
JEFFY: No, it is not.
PAT: If anything went haywire -- I mean, let's say we're completely dependent on a smart home and the power goes out for an extended period of time. Then what do you do?
I mean, if your house -- I could see a scenario where you'd be pretty powerless. If you depend on the smart functions of your house to do everything --
JEFFY: Without power --
PAT: Then without power, you've got nothing, right?
JEFFY: There's no way to switch away from that.
PAT: I could see where that could become a problem. Even if it's nothing sinister. Just a power outage would screw things up.
JEFFY: Right. Right.
PAT: Let's go to Brian in Massachusetts. Brian, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.
CALLER: Hey, how are you guys doing? Happy New Year.
PAT: Happy New Year.
JEFFY: Thank you.
CALLER: I'm just calling now in regards to the Alexa.
PAT: Yeah.
CALLER: And now -- so I'm asking -- it's a two-party state, in terms of oral communication, in that both parties need to be aware.
PAT: That you're recording if you are. Yeah.
CALLER: Correct. So obviously there's exceptions: State and federal law enforcement, phone companies, et cetera.
So now the summary of mass law (phonetic) is -- prevents private citizens from secretly recording others or possessing a device with the intent to secretly record.
PAT: Okay.
CALLER: And I know the key word there is "secretly," but also "intent." But if you bring a case from I believe it's Arkansas --
JEFFY: Yes.
CALLER: I think the friend who found the dead guy in the tub, how could you argue, "Well, he doesn't know he's being recorded?" And how can you prove intent of a guy who is dead?
PAT: You can't. You can't.
CALLER: The guy can't --
PAT: So that would be an interesting thing to test in Massachusetts or any of these states with a two-party law. I would be interested to see. But it's kind of a moot point if what our previous caller is saying that it's true, in that it doesn't record all the time.
JEFFY: But if it does, buying the product is a simple admission that you're aware that it's recording him. I mean, that would be the argument.
PAT: It's true. It's like intent is implied -- like when you call a radio station, it's implied that you're giving us consent to put you on the air. It's different if we call you.
CALLER: Correct.
JEFFY: Right.
You know, I got the latest telephone, and I put in new applications. Do you read what's good? Do you read all the agreements that you agreed to with every app? Or do you just say "agree." I want to use the app. Move on.
PAT: Yes.
JEFFY: And all that information is going to those apps.
PAT: And they make it impossible. Thirty-eight pages of --
JEFFY: And you can't deny -- there's -- they used to break it up into sections where they could -- okay. Yeah, you can do this, but you can't do this.
No. No more of that. It's deny or not use the app.
PAT: Appreciate the call, Brian. Thanks. Let's go to Eric in California. Eric, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.
CALLER: What's up, Pat and Stu -- or, Jeffy? Jeffy.
JEFFY: What's up.
CALLER: I'm glad to see you guys again. I've been having withdrawals from missing you guys so much.
PAT: Oh, it's good to be back.
JEFFY: Us too. Us too.
CALLER: But, yeah, my -- my resolutions are -- I'm 24 years old from California. And my resolutions are to quit drinking alcohol.
PAT: Oh, wow. Completely? Not just cut back: You're going to quit?
CALLER: Yeah, completely.
PAT: Okay. When did that start? After New Year's Eve?
CALLER: Yeah.
PAT: Yeah.
CALLER: So, hey, three days. Three days.
PAT: That's pretty good. Congratulations.
JEFFY: Three days is three days.
PAT: Was there more, or is that it? I mean, that's a big one though.
CALLER: That's huge.
I tried it a few times. But I watched something on YouTube from Glenn Beck. You guys talked to an alcoholic. Actually, he called into the show.
PAT: Right.
JEFFY: Yeah.
CALLER: And it did motivate me, and it stopped me from drinking for six months when I was working for Ted Cruz.
PAT: Really? Nice.
JEFFY: Wow. So what I would do first is start by maybe watching that video every three months. Then you'll be all right. You just got to roll into that.
PAT: Yeah. Is that the guy who called us and said that he had gotten sober, inspired by Glenn, right? His sobriety?
JEFFY: He read the books. Read Liars.
PAT: Yeah, yeah. That was a powerful story.
JEFFY: Powerful.
PAT: It would have been great if it was true.
CALLER: It is awesome.
And it really speaks volumes to what you guys do. And I really do appreciate the network. And the Pat and Stu show as well. I DVR it every day.
PAT: Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Eric. Appreciate it. Thanks for the call.
Let's go to Andrew in Florida. Andrew, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.
CALLER: Hey.
PAT: Hey.
CALLER: Good morning. Hey, I just wanted to say, I have not only made my New Year's resolutions for the past four years, but kept every single one of them.
PAT: Really? And what are they?
JEFFY: Have they been difficult? Or are they just throwaway resolutions?
PAT: Yeah, give us an example.
CALLER: No. Obviously, I'm a fat man. So the obvious resolution is to become not a fat man. But that's not something that's going to happen.
JEFFY: Thank you. Thank you. Welcome, Andrew. Welcome.
CALLER: Yes, I'm weak.
PAT: Yes.
CALLER: But I made resolutions -- I started making resolutions to learn and become proficient at something new every year.
PAT: Oh, nice.
CALLER: So four years ago, I started with archery. I wanted to learn archery. Just something to do. So I learned archery, and I became proficient.
Then, you know, I wanted to learn to use a cast net. Catch my own bait. Clean a fish properly and become an angler. And this year, my goal is hunting. So I secured my hunting license. And I'm going to learn whatever I can about that. And, you know, how to clean an animal and do whatever else needs to be done.
PAT: Wow. So are you -- is this with a goal of becoming sort of more self-sufficient and survivalist?
CALLER: To an extent, yes.
PAT: Okay.
CALLER: I realized that, you know, things might always go as planned, and I'm going to be ready.
PAT: Nice.
JEFFY: Nice.
PAT: That's a good way to go about it. I appreciate the call. Thanks a lot, Andrew.
888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.
It's the Glenn Beck Program.
[break]
PAT: Pat Gray and Jeffy for Glenn on the Glenn Beck Program. He had a weird accident where he was sitting and hurt himself. So...
(laughter)
PAT: Yeah. You don't want to sit.
JEFFY: No, you don't. You don't.
PAT: And you've got to be careful. I mean, he was not careful.
JEFFY: I know. I worry about him every night. Because he's hurting himself sitting now, soon he's going to hurt himself sleeping.
PAT: Yeah. He was sitting there. And we were like, "Be careful." And he wasn't. Because he apparently moved.
JEFFY: No, he wasn't. He tried to move.
PAT: He apparently in some way. And seriously, he threw his back out really badly.
JEFFY: I know he did.
PAT: And had to be helped from the studio.
JEFFY: I saw it happen where -- you're right. He moved. He moved.
PAT: He moved.
JEFFY: And it was not pretty.
PAT: It was not good.
JEFFY: No, it was not.
PAT: So it -- just a cautionary tale, if you're a big, fat guy like we are, don't move.
JEFFY: Don't move. Don't move.
PAT: It's what I try to live by, I try not to move as much as possible. So don't be telling me about this gym stuff. Well, you need a gym membership and you need to work out your abs. That will strengthen your core. No. No. The thing is, don't move. And then there won't be a problem.
JEFFY: Your core is fine. Because it's not moving.
PAT: I'm not moving right now, and so my core is perfect.
JEFFY: Right.
PAT: 888-727-BECK.
We've been talking about New Year's resolutions. And if anybody makes them anymore. And apparently a few people still do.
And Business Insider just did a poll: Career Builder. Top resolutions for working people. About half the respondents, 49 percent plan to put more of their paychecks into savings. About a third want to decrease their stress level.
JEFFY: Of course.
PAT: About 22 percent of employees just want to change jobs this year. I mean, you hear that from a lot of people. A lot of people not doing what they like doing. I mean, it's important to do what you like, right? You're just better at it. 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.
If you've made a resolution...
[break]
PAT: Pat and Jeffy in for Glenn on the Glenn Beck Program.
Glenn threw his back out, so he's out for the rest of the day. He'll hopefully be on tomorrow.
JEFFY: Yeah.
PAT: Maybe from his bed. We'll see.
And then Stu came down with some kind of Chinese crud. I don't even know if he's been to China, but somehow he got the Chinese --
JEFFY: Right. I know.
PAT: 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.
It was so weird that, what, a week after the Rogue One Star Wars movie was released, Carrie Fisher died. Was it a week? Maybe a week? Something like that.
JEFFY: I don't know the time frame. But close enough to be part of the whole sad --
PAT: Really sad. She was only 60. Only 60. And, boy, 60 looks like -- to me, you look like a teenager when you're 60.
(laughter)
JEFFY: I remember when I turned 60.
PAT: Because that's just a few years away now. I know it's in your rearview mirror.
JEFFY: Yeah. I don't even think about 60 anymore. I remember worrying about turning 60.
PAT: Uh-huh.
JEFFY: And thinking, "Wow, that's horrible." But now once you're over --
PAT: Now it seems like you're an infant at 60, to you.
JEFFY: But they talked about her having problems on the air, playing. And then being rushed to the hospital. I was afraid she wasn't going to --
PAT: Didn't they then though -- like a while later they said she was stable. She was in stable condition.
JEFFY: Yeah, her mother made a big deal, that she was fine.
PAT: And then all of a sudden she was gone. Really sad. And then her mom dad within, what? A day of that.
JEFFY: Right.
PAT: So Debbie Reynolds, we lost like within 48 hours of Carrie Fisher.
JEFFY: So sad. Heartbreaking.
PAT: And then George Michael died. And that's kind of -- those are weird circumstances. Nobody really knows what happened there, right? Have they released that?
JEFFY: He died at home. No, but they were just saying he died at home. You know, everybody dies at home. We got to die somewhere.
PAT: So when they won't say, it's usual suicide or AIDS, right? Isn't that normally the case?
JEFFY: Well, one of the pictures that they show -- they saw of him last being photographed, which was in the last month or so before he died, he didn't look that thin.
PAT: No, he didn't. That is true. That is true.
JEFFY: Usually if you're close to death with a disease, you stop gaining weight.
PAT: Yeah, that's true. And then there seems to be some suspicion with his significant other person. Because, first of all, this guy said that he was with him all weekend. And then he suddenly, no, I fell asleep in my career. And I slept -- you fell asleep in your car? That must have been a good night's rest. So that's a weird circumstance too.
JEFFY: Yeah.
PAT: And then LaVell Edwards, one of my heroes, legendary coach of BYU for 30 years died as well.
JEFFY: They come in threes. Boy. Man.
PAT: Unfortunately, that's four. That's four people. That's four.
JEFFY: What?
PAT: So...
(laughter)
888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.
We're talking about New Year's resolutions. So if you've made one, if you still have those, we'd like to hear what yours is.
In Finland, they have an ambitious New Year's resolution in mind: They -- they want to find out how offering people free money for two years helps the unemployed get back to work.
JEFFY: Gets them back on their feet.
PAT: They're going to take 2,000 people who are currently unemployed and give them free money for two years.
JEFFY: No matter what, either. You're going to get the money the 1st the month, period.
PAT: And then they're going to see how that helps them get back to work?
JEFFY: That's going to get them right back to work.
PAT: Right back to work. Because if you're getting more money by sitting home doing nothing, you know you're going to be inspired and motivated to go out and get a job.
JEFFY: You're going to want to. Because you're going to be able to afford a new shirt and some new pants and get out there and look good.
PAT: Is that the theory behind it? It must be, right?
JEFFY: Of course, it is.
PAT: Because they're going to give them $590 a month, which is not a lot of money. But it as he wants people enough that maybe that will be enough for them. The critics --
JEFFY: And in Finland -- what? Most people are living in the small apartments anyway. You're a little bit familiar with Finland.
PAT: Yes. Yes. My son lived there for two years.
JEFFY: So I don't know how much it cost for one of the smaller places.
PAT: Yeah, I don't either. But everything is government-subsidized. So the taxes are ridiculous for everybody. And the government takes care of everything to be to begin with.
JEFFY: So the government that's giving out money to people for doing nothing --
PAT: Uh-huh.
JEFFY: -- charges a bunch of people money to do that with.
PAT: Exactly. And now they're going to do that -- even more of that.
JEFFY: Yeah.
PAT: So that's got to work out really well.
Opponents of the experiment say it will just allow people to sit on their couch all day, which, I mean, of course, that's going to happen.
JEFFY: Huh.
PAT: I can't wait to hear the results of this and see if they -- but if they tell the truth.
JEFFY: Yeah, they might not.
PAT: I mean, these are socialists to begin with. So are they going to tell the truth? Well, you know what, it didn't work giving people free money. We found out it didn't motivate them.
But proponents claim they'll actually use the money to make their lives better.
JEFFY: Yep.
PAT: In what way? How is that -- what? How? The system nowadays -- it's pretty negative for people who try to do something, even little in their lives and get something out of it. A basic income might turn risky -- might turn a risky move into a much safer one.
So they think that getting $590 a month will allow them to become more adventurous and try something new and give them a little bit more of a safety net than they already have?
It's a -- wow, that's a bizarre plan.
JEFFY: Okay.
PAT: That's a bizarre plan.
JEFFY: Good luck with that theory.
PAT: 888-727-BECK. And then you wonder why we're in the kind of situation that we're in.
JEFFY: But that's what some people have touted would be a fix here, right? As a theory.
The -- you know, just pay everybody a monthly -- their monthly stipend.
PAT: Yeah, and for -- for the most menial of jobs, to pay people $15 an hour to do them, even that is a terrible plan.
JEFFY: Right.
PAT: But when you're paying people absolutely nothing, how do you think that is going to work? We've seen over and over and over when people become reliant on the government, it doesn't motivate them to do better. They simply rely on the government.
JEFFY: I know. And there are some states that have made people do services for the state. Public service. Or have a job for the state, if they're going to take state money. And that's been where the people say, "You know, no, that's fine. You keep your money. I don't want to do that. I don't even want to work. I don't want to work at all."
PAT: Uh-huh.
JEFFY: I don't want to sweep a street and get your money. Okay.
PAT: It doesn't make any sense. 888-727-BECK.
Let's go to Johnny in Ohio. You're on the Glenn Beck Program.
CALLER: How's it going, guys?
PAT: Doing good.
JEFFY: Good.
CALLER: Just wanted to get my resolutions -- my three that I've had for the last eight years.
PAT: Oh, wow. Okay.
CALLER: They're very hard to keep a hold of. But, you know, I stay strong and I do it. My first one is to not write a novel.
PAT: To not write a novel.
CALLER: Yes, sir. To not write a novel. And my second one is to not climb Mt. Everest. And my third one is to not run a marathon.
JEFFY: How is that working out for you? Are you doing all right with that?
CALLER: You know what, I'm solid. I'm strong as could be with those.
PAT: Congratulations. That's commendable. That's commendable. That year after year, you've not run a marathon nor have you climb Mt. Everest. That's admirable.
CALLER: I've done my best.
PAT: Thanks, Johnny. Let's go to Ginger. Ginger, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.
CALLER: I love your program. I've been listening since you guys were in Tampa Bay. I'm in St. Pete. And I love the program. And I actually like it better with you guys without Glenn.
JEFFY: Oh, no. No, no, no.
CALLER: So good job. And I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not trying to be mean. It's just the truth. I think you guys are hysterically funny.
PAT: The man is injured, and you've kicked him when he's down.
JEFFY: He hurt himself sitting today.
(laughter)
CALLER: And I don't wish him any -- oh, I'm sorry he's not feeling well if he's listening. But you guys -- you two are hysterically funny, and I really enjoy listening to you.
PAT: Thank you.
CALLER: Oddly enough, isn't it ironic how your listeners share so many things in common? Because my resolutions were exactly the same as Johnny's. And that's just -- it must be the influence you guys have on me. But I always wanted to wish you Happy New Year and to say thanks for the entertainment and also to remind you that you forgot number five, William Christopher, the gentleman that played Father Mulcahy on MASH died on New Year's Eve.
JEFFY: Yeah, he just died too.
PAT: Oh, I didn't even hear about that one.
JEFFY: Yeah. Yeah.
PAT: But that's not the fifth one.
CALLER: Yes, he was 84 years old.
PAT: According to Jeffy, that would be the second of the new three.
JEFFY: Yeah, the second of the two. But back up one, there was one before Carrie. I can't remember the guy's name.
PAT: Right.
CALLER: Okay. Okay. Well, you forgot him. And he was a great actor. He was an awesome dude. I loved that show.
PAT: He was really good. Yeah, and I loved the show, and I really liked him in it.
CALLER: Yeah, me too.
PAT: So I hadn't heard he died. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Ginger.
CALLER: All right.
PAT: 888-727-BECK. Let's go to Dave in California. Hey, Dave, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.
CALLER: Hello.
PAT: Hi.
CALLER: How are you doing today?
PAT: Doing good.
CALLER: I made two resolutions. In 1989, I retired from the military with 31 years service.
PAT: Thank you for your service.
CALLER: One, I would -- thank you.
One, I would still be in the same shape the rest of my life till my dying days and wear the same size clothes. And I'm 72 now, and I do -- I play racquetball twice a week.
PAT: Wow. That's amazing.
CALLER: And the second one -- and the second one is: I would do something good every day, no matter whether it was little bitty or no matter what it was. And I've lived up to that every single day. You guys should try that. Something simple.
Well, I changed a lady's flat tire for her this morning. Every day -- something as simple as carrying someone's groceries to their car. Just something every single day.
PAT: What -- what did you do on June 6th, 1993? What good thing?
JEFFY: That's great.
CALLER: 1993. June 6th. Oh, I do remember that as a matter of fact.
PAT: June 6th.
You do?
CALLER: No. The reason I remembered that, there was a car accident. I pulled a guy out of a car.
PAT: Wow.
CALLER: I remember that exactly.
PAT: On June 6th, 1993.
CALLER: That's it.
PAT: How about that?
JEFFY: That's fantastic. You weren't so exhausted from pulling the guy out of the car, what happened on June 7th?
CALLER: I -- I can't tell you on June 7th because that wasn't a catastrophic event.
PAT: All right. It's amazing I picked a day you actually do remember. That's weird.
JEFFY: Right.
CALLER: You know what, at 72, I'm lucky I remember. The way this worked is from 50 to 60, you learn all your aches and pains. Tell Glenn that.
PAT: Okay.
CALLER: And then from 60 to 70, you learn to accept them. And then usually after 70, guess what, you start forgetting them.
(laughter)
PAT: All right. Thanks a lot, Dave. Appreciate that.
I'm not sure that's really comforting.
JEFFY: No. That's not.
PAT: But we'll take it. 888-727-BECK. More of the Glenn Beck Program coming up.
[break]
PAT: Is Zuckerberg Buddhist then? He seems to love Buddhism.
JEFFY: Yeah, he could be.
Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. Jeff Fisher, Jeffy, and Pat Gray in for Glenn Beck who had to leave a couple minutes early.
PAT: Well, he had a tragic accident, sitting in a chair and he moved.
JEFFY: I mean, it's almost as if we're joking, and we're not.
PAT: Let that be a cautionary tale to you if you're a big, fat person like we are and you're sitting in a chair, don't move. It's just that simple.
JEFFY: I got to be honest with you, Pat, I'm a fan of that.
PAT: I am too. I am too. You might think we're kidding, we're not. We're not.
JEFFY: We're not.
PAT: It looks like Mark Zuckerberg has gotten religion. We don't know what religion that is. But the Facebook cofounder and CEO says he's not an atheist anymore. His Facebook profile once identified him as an atheist, but he revealed that he's had a change of heart on his social media network after he wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah on Christmas Day.
JEFFY: Yeah, that was because he just had a kid though?
PAT: I guess. I don't know.
JEFFY: Was it because of the baby?
PAT: I guess. I don't know. But he said Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast, and me. That's his wife, daughter, and dog.
When a commentator asked him, "Aren't you an atheist?" He responded, "No. I was raised Jewish. And then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important."
JEFFY: Yeah.
PAT: That always bothers me. I mean, that's kind of disturbing. I went through a period where I questioned things. Like, what, religious people don't question things. They just blindly accept. That's the implications from all these intellectual atheists.
JEFFY: Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
PAT: I went through a period where I at least questioned things. Yeah, and so did the rest of us. Okay? We don't just swallow everything fed to us.
JEFFY: All the time.
PAT: But, you know, I don't want to detract from the fact that that's definitely a positive. He didn't provide any details on his faith. But he just said it's important.
So he apparently in 2015 went to China, and he posted at the time that he knelt in front of some Buddhist landmark. And he said, "Priscilla is Buddhist and asked me to offer a prayer from her as well. Buddhism is an amazing religion and philosophy, and I've been learning more about it overtime. I hope to continue understanding the faith more deeply." So it leads you to believe that maybe it's not Christianity. It's Buddhism.
JEFFY: Very possible. But it is all about -- they just had the baby, you know, end of November 1st. Part of December. So new life in your house and watching a birth makes you believe that there's something bigger than you going on.
PAT: A baby changes everything.
JEFFY: It sure does.
PAT: 888-727-BECK.
I also understand that Facebook is developing -- you know, we were talking about the Amazon, Echo, and the Ok Google, Google Home thing, supposedly Zuckerberg's developed something that's also pretty amazing along those lines, that does a lot of things in your home.
JEFFY: Good.
PAT: Yeah. I mean, I'm excited to --
JEFFY: Nothing bad could happen --
PAT: No. Nothing bad can happen from any of these wonderful innovations.
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