Three Things You Need to Know – February 12, 2018

Kim 2.0

Kim Kardashian has got a big problem. The media has their sights set on replacing her with a new Kim 2.0. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, was all the media could talk about this weekend.

Kim 2.0 made an appearance at the Olympics, but she didn’t bring tanks or missiles. She brought an army of red costumed smiling cheerleaders. Hmm… women dressed in red and forced to do the bidding of a tyrannical regime. You’d think since it’s all the rage right now, that the media would have went all Handmaid’s Tale on Kim 2.0, but here’s the headline that most outlets ran with: “North Korean Cheerleaders are stealing the show.”

That was from USA Today specifically regarding the cheerleaders, but CNN used the exact same headline for Kim: “Kim Jong Un’s sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics.”

The Washington Post called her “enthralling” and the “Ivanka Trump of North Korea.” Reuters flashed a smiling picture of Kim 2.0 and deemed her the “winner of diplomatic gold at the Olympics.”

I feel like I have to say this every week, but I have completely given up on the media. It’s comical… they actually have no idea why no one trusts them anymore. While they were glamorizing and legitimizing a mass murdering slave state, they were simultaneously vilifying MIKE PENCE. Look, I get that their opposition to Trump has made it to where they’d prop up anyone opposed to him, but this is getting out of control.

Far be it for the media to report the truth, but this is the reality. Those red-clad cheerleaders are probably the most tragic sight at the Olympics. Make no mistake, those are human slaves. Do you think they have a choice to be there? What do you think happens to their families if they make a mistake or, God forbid, run away? They’d be put to death, and every media outlet turning the Kim family into the Kardashians knows it.

And this new Kim 2.0? She’s number two behind her brother. She sits at the top of the North Korean Politburo. When Kim Jong Un gets sick, she fills in until his return. She’s responsible for the enslavement, torture, and murder of thousands upon thousands. And probably the most ridiculous thing about the media’s grotesque fawning is that her primary job - as head of North Korean State propaganda - is to put on these shows specifically to deceive the press! Is the media that gullible, that stupid, or that eager to support literally ANYONE that defies Trump?

Imagine being Otto Warmbier’s mom and dad, flipping through the channels this weekend and having to deal with this media coverage. This is grotesque and sick. So, to the media, thank you for giving us one more reason not to trust you. Thank you for showing us who you are and what you stand for. I’m done with you.

What $1.5 trillion is going to buy us

Are the bridges and roads in your town climate-change proof?

Today, President Trump is expected to unveil the $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan that he talked about often on the campaign trail and highlighted in his State of the Union address.

The extensive repair list has apparently been prioritized and the bill tallied. Cracked bridges? Check. Crumbling roads? Check. Rusted railways? Check. Climate-change threat assessment? Oops – I knew we were forgetting something.

The federal government does not have $1.5 trillion to pay for infrastructure improvements, but according to The New York Times, that is the very least of the concern here. In their alarming story over the weekend, non-specific “engineers and researchers” say Trump’s plan is probably not taking into account that many parts of the country are “increasingly vulnerable to rising waters and other threats from a warming planet.”

Clearly, we’re just days away from having to grow gills like Kevin Costner in Waterworld, because all land is about to disappear and those science-haters in the White House aren’t factoring this into their infrastructure plan. Couldn’t they at least budget for floaties and snorkels for America’s women and children? The humanity!

According to the Times story, questioning the risk that America faces from global warming and rolling back climate change regulations is one of the Trump administration’s “defining regulatory principles.”

The climate-change crowd is beside themselves with grief that their alarm is not front and center in the government’s infrastructure planning. They say if we don’t consider now how global warming and climate changing will destroy our bridges, and roads, and drown our airports, then it will cost the country way more money in the future. That’s certainly a new strategy in promoting climate change – as the fiscally responsible thing to do.

So, the Left is concerned about how much something is going to cost the government in the future? That’s a new one too.

The climate-changers shouldn’t lose too much sleep over this one. The way parties and politicians have been switching sides lately, they’ll probably just end up dumping all of that $1.5 trillion into climate change research.

Further proof the internet has made us dumber

Dachau concentration camp in Germany is a place overrun with misery and despair.

It was established by the Nazi government in 1933 as one of the first concentration camps.

At Dachau, many medical experiments were tested on the prisoners.

Here the Nazis’ froze people to determine how to treat hypothermia. They used them to test their attempts at making seawater safe to drink. They intentionally inflicted people with contagious diseases like malaria and typhoid fever to test how they could treat them.

At least 28,000 prisoners died horrific deaths at Dachau.

Vice President Mike Pence and his family visited the concentration camp last year.

When the photos of this event were posted, the Pence family all appear overcome with sadness. How could they not be?

If you’ve ever been to a Nazi death camp, that is the only way you know how to feel.

But recently, their photo has turned into an internet meme of sorts—with people mocking the Pence’s for looking grim. They are trying to make a game out of the photo. ‘On a level of 1 to the Pence family, how sad are you?’

What can someone possibly gain from tastelessly commenting on the Pence family? A few chuckles from a stranger in their basement? A few retweets by like-minded idiots?

I’m really not sure if the internet has made us smarter or dumber.

There’s a bigger lesson here. Just because you can post it, doesn’t mean you should.

MORE 3 THINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Muhammad to Marx

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

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

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

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

John Greim / Contributor | Getty Images

Gifts from God, not the state

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

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

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.