Tomato, Tamahto: MSM Completely Sneaked Out of This Hot Debate

July 13, 2017

WRITER

There is a raging debate which the Trump-obsessed media has completely ignored --- but it must be addressed. Do you call athletic shoes "sneakers" or "tennis shoes?" How you answer is most likely determined by the region you are from.

That hot statistic was confirmed Thursday on The Glenn Beck Program, pitting Glenn and Pat Gray, who hail from the northwest, against northeasterner Stu Burguiere.

"This is completely insane to me because I grew up in the northeast, born in New York. I grew up in Connecticut, mainly. They are sneakers. That's what you put on your foot when you go to the gym," Stu Burguiere.

Yeah, not so much. As we all know, one man's tomato is another man's tomahto.

"First of all, why are they called sneakers? That's dumb... Yeah, I'm using them so I can burgle my father's house, who is out playing tennis," Glenn said.

Fellow northwesterner Pat wholeheartedly agreed.

"Where are you sneaking? I'm not. So they're tennis shoes," Pat said.

Don't even think about getting them started on soda pop.

GLENN: There's a very important debate raging now.

STU: This is absolutely stunning to me.

GLENN: This is one of the things that the media is not covering because they're obsessed with Donald Trump.

STU: I am completely stunned by this.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: Someone -- they released a map today.

GLENN: Map.

STU: And they do these maps every once in a while. What do people call things in certain areas?

PAT: They just did a map like this for the word "soda." What is soda called in --

GLENN: I swear to you.

PAT: And it's pop in the West. Some of the northwest.

GLENN: Okay. I don't know if anyone else experienced this. But I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. We not only called it pop, but there were times that we just called it Coke. What would you like? Coke.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: And Coke was anything. 7 Up.

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: Yes.

GLENN: It was like, what would you like to drink?

Coke.

Do you have 7 Up?

PAT: It was like Band-Aid. You mean an adhesive strip?

GLENN: Right. Right. Shut up. So is that -- you experienced that too, Pat?

(laughter)

PAT: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: Because I've said that to people. And they were like, no way. I'm like, yeah, we used to say Coke. Anyway...

PAT: Yes.

STU: So this is completely insane to me because I grew up in the northeast, born in New York. I grew up in Connecticut mainly. They are sneakers. That's what you put on your foot when you go to the gym.

JEFFY: No, they're not.

PAT: Tennis shoes. Tennis shoes.

JEFFY: What's your little map?

STU: Or you go play sports. Okay?

What my map says is that a little bit of Southern Florida and the northeast call it sneakers.

PAT: Wow.

STU: Almost everywhere else in the entire country calls them tennis shoes.

JEFFY: Thank you.

PAT: That's what I call them.

JEFFY: Thank you.

STU: Now, tennis shoes are a specific thing that they sell to play tennis in.

JEFFY: They're adhesive strips.

GLENN: No, I know. But back in the day, people didn't wear sneakers all the time. You didn't wear them. You had tennis shoes. They were converse.

JEFFY: Right.

PAT: And they weren't specialty shoes like that.

GLENN: Right. Everybody had Converse.

PAT: You used them for running. You used them for tennis.

GLENN: You used them for everything.

STU: This is why this would make sense in 1912. 1912, it would make sense.

There are those shoes now. So when you go in to buy basketball shoes, you say, "Yeah, where are your tennis shoes?"

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

STU: That doesn't make any sense to me at all.

PAT: Yeah, I do.

JEFFY: Yeah.

STU: That is absolutely crazy.

PAT: I'm wearing tennis shoes right now.

GLENN: Yes.

JEFFY: Yes. Those are tennis shoes.

GLENN: I would consider those tennis shoes. I would consider these tennis shoes.

PAT: Yeah.

STU: What. They're not tennis shoes.

PAT: Yeah, they are tennis shoes.

STU: No, they're not.

PAT: Tennis shoes are any shoes like this.

STU: They are sneakers.

GLENN: These are not sneakers.

PAT: I'm not sneaking around in these at all.

GLENN: First of all, why are they called sneakers? That's dumb.

STU: It is dumb.

PAT: Where are you sneaking? I'm not. So they're tennis shoes.

GLENN: Yeah, I'm using them so I can burgle my father's house, who is out playing tennis.

STU: It's like a generic word that means the thing. Like for example, if I were to say, hey, I would like a beverage -- and you say -- and we wanted to go and buy a Coca-Cola. And we went and said, I would like a beverage. And you said, I would like some orange juice.

Well, orange juice isn't Coca-Cola. They're both beverages.

GLENN: I know. Again, I grew up with beverage was Coke.

JEFFY: Yes.

GLENN: Anything that had fizz in it was Coke. And then you would narrow it down to, I would like a Coke.

STU: You would like a Coke 7 Up? A 7 Up Coke? That's insanity though. It's insane.

GLENN: It's the way it was.

STU: You can say it's traditional, but it's insane.

GLENN: You felt that way too? You grew up with that?

JEFFY: Yes.

PAT: If you said Coke, the waitress would say, what kind?

JEFFY: Yeah, what kind? What kind?

STU: What?

JEFFY: Beverage is not an orange juice. Beverage is sodas.

STU: No, it is not! Beverages are all drinks! Beverages -- that was a fake example.

GLENN: You are -- I lived in Connecticut.

STU: We used words that meant the thing they are. That's crazy, I know.

GLENN: I would talk to my auntie. Of course my auntie --

PAT: Right.

GLENN: She lived in southern Connecticut and knows southern people are rednecks.

STU: First of all, I lived in southern Connecticut. Second of all, you really want to get into elitism talk with me? Is that what you want? Mr. Beck.

(laughter)

Maybe if we could discuss it at the auction later today.

(laughter)

But, I mean, it's just a simple -- you should use the word that it is. Now, I will say there are some exceptions to this. Chicago and Cincinnati call them gym shoes.

JEFFY: Yep.

STU: Just Chicago. Not the rest of Illinois.

GLENN: That makes sense.

STU: Not the rest of Ohio -- why does that make sense? Just these two cities --

PAT: Because they're shoes that you'd wear in a gym.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Those were gym shoes.

STU: Right. Those make sense. Gym shoes make sense. Tennis shoes do not make sense. Unless I don't know that they're tennis shoes --

GLENN: Nobody played tennis. I didn't --

STU: But that's why it's so bizarre. No one plays tennis anymore.

GLENN: I grew up in Seattle, before you had indoor -- so nobody played tennis where I grew up, except the really rich people who had tennis courts.

JEFFY: Connecticut.

STU: Okay. By the way, Hawaiians, they just call them shoes, which is really kind of the best one.

GLENN: It really is. It really is.

STU: They kind of nailed it. They're just shoes, and then you can go from there to category.

GLENN: Do you have categories? Why wear shoes if you live in Hawaii? Seriously.

STU: That's true. They're like, oh, my God, someone is wearing shoes. Look!

GLENN: Shoes! Shoes!

STU: Shoes! I've seen them. They're on his feet.

Are Gen Z's socialist sympathies a threat to America's future?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

In a republic forged on the anvil of liberty and self-reliance, where generations have fought to preserve free markets against the siren song of tyranny, Gen Z's alarming embrace of socialism amid housing crises and economic despair has sparked urgent alarm. But in a recent poll, Glenn asked the tough questions: Where do Gen Z's socialist sympathies come from—and what does it mean for America's future? Glenn asked, and you answered—hundreds weighed in on this volatile mix of youthful frustration and ideological peril.

The results paint a stark picture of distrust in the system. A whopping 79% of you affirm that Gen Z's socialist sympathies stem from real economic gripes, like sky-high housing costs and a rigged game tilted toward the elite and corporations—defying the argument that it's just youthful naivety. Even more telling, 97% believe this trend arises from a glaring educational void on socialism's bloody historical track record, where failed regimes have crushed freedoms under the boot of big government. And 97% see these poll findings as a harbinger of deepening generational rifts, potentially fueling political chaos and authoritarian overreach if left unchecked.

Your verdict underscores a moral imperative: America's soul hangs on reclaiming timeless values like self-reliance and liberty. This feedback amplifies your concerns, sending a clear message to the powers that be.

Want to make your voice heard? Check out more polls HERE.

Without civic action, America faces collapse

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

Glenn's Show Prep

Tomato, Tamahto: MSM Completely Sneaked Out of This Hot Debate

Are Gen Z's socialist sympathies a threat to America's future?

Without civic action, America faces collapse

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

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

Taking up the torch

Start small and local

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

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.

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

Picking up his torch

Two turning points, decades apart

A time for courage

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