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Glenn Beck: Balloon Boy

October 16, 2009
 Radio Clips

The Glenn Beck Program



Kids say the darndest things...

GLENN: 888 727 BECK, 888 727 BECK. So I want to finish up the Falcon story. I mean, why worry if your kid's name Falcon. Maybe you could fly. I swear I thought Falcons could fly. This is the story from Colorado and the big flying muffin that actually had everybody, you know, including me freaking out a little bit saying, good heavens, man. And when it was starting to come down towards Earth, I'm just thinking there's no way that kid's going to be able to survives any kind of impact. And then I see the guys out with the shovels beating the muffin.

PAT: Had shovels and axes.

GLENN: Why not just shoot it out of the sky, guys? And the kid was at home. Now, could kids think that they got into trouble and, you know, hide? Yeah, I guess. I mean, I think if you beat your kids they would hide like that, would they? I mean, have your kids ever hidden because they thought they were in so much trouble?

PAT: I don't think so.

GLENN: Yeah, I don't think so, either.

PAT: But I've never built a giant muffin in my backyard, either.

GLENN: So we don't know.

PAT: I can't really relate to the story.

GLENN: We don't know because we've never built the muffin. But the kid and his dad is on Wolf Blitzer and here's what happens.

BLITZER: And Falcon was really in the garage this whole time. I don't know if Falcon can hear me but was he because I know at some point he fell asleep in that garage, but he was hiding out because he thought you were going to punish him for something that happened earlier in the day. Did you hear anything, did he hear you screaming out Falcon, Falcon?

FALCON’S DAD: Did you hear us calling your name at any time?

FALCON: Mmhmm.

FALCON’S DAD: You did?

FALCON’S MOM: You did?

FALCON’S DAD: Then why didn’t you come out?

FALCON: You guys said that, um, we did this for the show.

FALCON'S DAD: Yeah.

GLENN: Wait. Stop, stop, stop, stop, hold it. So wait a minute. So you said

STU: You guys said.

GLENN: We did this for the show.

STU: Right.

PAT: So in other words, you told me not to come out.

STU: Yeah, implication was we wanted you to hide so we could get some publicity. That's what everyone's saying it is. Now, you have to the previous thing that he was asked, he just repeated the last two words his dad said.

PAT: Yeah, yeah.

STU: And then he just kind of blurts out. But I mean

PAT: Sounds bad.

STU: It sounds bad.

PAT: Very.

STU: I think there is an outside possibility.

GLENN: I think it sounds a little worse than bad.

STU: See, I think there's an outside possibility that he's just, the kid's just like, he's just saying words. Listen to what he can you go back a few seconds there and listen to the first thing he says?

VOICE: You did?

STU: Go back a little earlier than that.

GLENN: What is he?

PAT: 6.

VOICE: Falcon, did you hear us calling your name at any time? You did?

VOICE: You did?

VOICE: Then why didn't you come out?

STU: That's the mom, I think.

PAT: Yeah, that's the mom.

FALCON: You guys said.

GLENN: You guys said.

FALCON: That we did this for a show.

PAT: (Laughing). There's no chance. There's not even an outside chance.

GLENN: This is the best episode of... kids say the darnedest things.

PAT: Yeah.

STU: It really is.

PAT: Yeah, yeah.

STU: It's hard to get around it.

PAT: It's tough.

GLENN: If you think the train went off the tracks there, here's where the train really goes off the tracks. Listen to Dad's response.

STU: This is are you saying you want to go to the part where Wolf presses him on it a little bit?

GLENN: Falcon, Falcon said lie, lie.

PAT: Caw, caw.

GLENN: Birds don't fly at midnight.

VOICE: Richard Haney, the father of little Falcon. Richard, earlier in the show I asked you to relay the question to Falcon. He was hiding in the garage for about four hours. And I asked you to ask him, why didn't he come out after he heard you and his mom and everybody else screaming for Falcon. And you said to him, Falcon, why didn't you come out. And Falcon said, you guys said that... we did this for the show and you said, mmm. What did he mean, we did this for the show?

VOICE: I have no idea. I think he was talking about the media that had been asking him a lot of questions. So somebody asked him that question earlier.

GLENN: Hang on, hang on. As a dad... I'm having a hard time making that one work.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: Maybe, maybe as a dad I'm thinking of Raphe. He's 5.

STU: Yeah. I mean, think about it this way. He's had cameras in front of him before. They have been on two shows. And he knows whenever he sees cameras around, he's on the show. And now there's all these cameras around again. I mean, he's 5 years old. Maybe he's just thinking that this is part of the show.

GLENN: So maybe he thinks, yeah, the interview.

PAT: Kind of a stretch. Kind of a stretch.

GLENN: Now wait a minute, wait a minute, let's give him the benefit of the doubt here. Let's think this through a little bit. That maybe he thinks that no?

PAT: I don't think so.

GLENN: Okay, hang on just a second. Hang on, hang on. Then maybe he doesn't want maybe the kid thought he was talking about now, we're going to come on, we're just going to do this for the show. Not the balloon ride but this interview for the show. We're going to do this for the show.

PAT: Maybe the kid is the youngest dementia victim of all time.

GLENN: Really?

PAT: And you don't buy what he's saying.

GLENN: You don't buy it?

PAT: Not at all, not at all.

GLENN: Listen. It gets worse here.

VOICE: I have no idea. I think he was talking about the media been asking him a lot of questions. So somebody had asked him that question earlier.

BLITZER: Do you want to ask him now? I don't know if he can hear me, what he meant, he said we did this for the show?

GLENN: Oh, boy.

PAT: Love the delay.

BLITZER: Do you want to ask Falcon?

STU: Not that big of a delay, though.

FALCON'S DAD: Falcon, they want to know why you were in the attic, okay, for so long.

PAT: He's terror stricken right now. He doesn't know what to say.

FALCON'S DAD: And why you say it again?

BLITZER: Why he said, he said we did this for the show in explaining why he didn't come out of the attic.

FALCON'S DAD: Yeah, let me interrupt this real quick because I think

GLENN: You are not interrupting anything. It's dead silent.

FALCON'S DAD: I can see the direction you guys are hedging on this. Because earlier you had asked the police officers the questions. The media out front we weren't even going to do this interview, and I'm kind of appalled after all of the feelings that I went through up and down that

GLENN: What did you go through?

VOICE: you guys are trying to suggest something else, okay?

PAT: No, it was your son that suggested something else.

VOICE: I'm really appalled because they said out in front that this would be the end and I wouldn't have to be bothered for the rest of the week with any shows or anything. So we said, okay, fine, we'll do this.

PAT: He is on the Today Show this morning, by the way.

VOICE: So I'm kind of appalled that you guys would say something like that, you know?

PAT: Look, all this guy wants to do is get away from the media. That's all he wants to do.

GLENN: And the best way to hide is on the Today Show.

STU: Right. And two separate reality shows.

PAT: I'm only going to do this one and then I'm done for the week except for the Today Show tomorrow and then I'm going to do the Tomorrow Show today and then I'm going to do it tonight.

GLENN: I may do Good Morning America if I can get off the Tonight Show in time for the Good Morning show. I mean, jeez.

PAT: Come on, man.

STU: I feel like there you have to allow for a kid saying something dumb that makes no sense. I feel like that's part of it, isn't it? But he does not he's not convincing in his defense, I will say.

PAT: Not at all. Not at all. She's blaming Wolf Blitzer for asking the question. You've got to ask the question when a kid says that.

STU: You've got to.

PAT: He's not inferring that. The kid did.

A contested Democratic convention could lead to the ONE candidate who could beat Trump, says Michael Medved

Paul Morigi / Stringer/ Getty

On Wednesday's TV show, Glenn Beck sat down with radio show host, author, political commentator, and film critic, Michael Medved.

Michael had an interesting prediction for the 2020 election outcome: a brokered convention by the DNC will usher in former First Lady Michelle Obama to run against President Donald Trump.

Watch the video below to hear why he's making this surprising forecast:

Use code BECK to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

FLASHPOINT? Virginia Gov. Northam declares state of emergency to ban firearms ahead of gun-rights rally


Zach Gibson / Stringer

On Thursday's "Glenn Beck Radio Program," BlazeTV's White House correspondent Jon Miller described the current situation in Virginia after Gov. Ralph Northam (D) declared a state of emergency and banned people carrying guns at Capitol Square just days before a pro-Second-Amendment rally scheduled on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Jon told Glenn that Gov. Northam and the Virginia Legislature are "trying to deprive the people of their Second Amendment rights" but the citizens of Virginia are "rising up" to defend their constitutional rights.

"I do think this is the flashpoint," Jon said. "They [Virginia lawmakers] are saying, 'You cannot exercise your rights ... and instead of trying to de-escalate the situation, we are putting pressure. We're trying to escalate it and we're trying to enrage the citizenry even more'."

Glenn noted how Gov. Northam initially blamed the threat of violence from Antifa for his decision to ban weapons but quickly changed his narrative to blame "white supremacists" to vilify the people who are standing up for the Second Amendment and the Constitution.

"What he's doing is, he's making all all the law-abiding citizens of Virginia into white supremacists," Glenn said.

"Sadly, that's exactly right," Jon replied. "And I think he knows exactly what he's doing."

Watch the video to catch more of the conversation below:

Use code BECK to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

Ryan: Trump Louisiana Finale

Photo by Jim Dale

Part One. Part Two. Part Three.

At the end of Trump rallies, I would throw on my Carhartt jacket, sneak out of the press area, then blend in with everyone as they left, filing out through swinging doors.

Often, someone held the door open for me. Just 30 minutes earlier, the same person had most likely had most likely hissed at me for being a journalist. And now they were Sunday smiles and "Oh, yes, thank you, sir" like some redneck concierge.

People flooded out of the arena with the stupidity of a fire drill mishap, desperate to survive.

The air smacked you as soon as you crossed the threshold, back into Louisiana. And the lawn was a wasteland of camping chairs and coolers and shopping bags and to-go containers and soda cans and articles of clothing and even a few tents.

In Monroe, in the dark, the Trump supporters bobbled over mounds of waste like elephants trying to tiptoe. And the trash was as neutral to them as concrete or grass. They plodded over it because it, an object, had somehow gotten in their way.

It did not matter that they were responsible for this wreckage.Out in the sharp-edged moonlight, rally-goers hooted and yapped and boogied and danced, and the bbq food truck was all smoke and paper plates.

They were even more pumped than they had been before the rally, like 6,000 eight year olds who'd been chugging Mountain Dew for hours. Which made Donald Trump the father, the trooper, God of the Underworld, Mr. Elite, Sheriff on high horse, the AR-15 sticker of the family.

Ritualistic mayhem, all at once. And, there in Louisiana, Trump's supporters had gotten a taste of it. They were all so happy. It bordered on rage.

Still, I could not imagine their view of America. Worse, after a day of strange hostilities, I did not care.

My highest priority, my job as a reporter, was to care. To understand them and the world that they inhabit. But I did not give a damn and I never wanted to come back.

Worst of all, I would be back. In less than a week.

Was this how dogs felt on the 4th of July? Hunched in a corner while everyone else gets drunk and launches wailing light into the sky? configurations of blue and red and white.

It was 10:00 p.m. and we'd been traveling since 11:00 a.m., and we still had 5 hours to go and all I wanted was a home, my home, any home, just not here, in the cold sweat of this nowhere. Grey-mangled sky. No evidence of planes or satellites or any proof of modern-day. Just century-old bridges that trains shuffled over one clack at a time.

And casinos, all spangles and neon like the 1960s in Las Vegas. Kitchy and dumb, too tacky for lighthearted gambling. And only in the nicer cities, like Shreveport, which is not nice at all.

And swamp. Black water that rarely shimmered. Inhabited by gadflies and leeches and not one single fish that was pretty.

Full of alligators, and other killing types. The storks gnawing on frogs, the vultures never hungry. The coyotes with nobody to stop them and so much land to themselves. The roaches in the wild, like tiny wildebeests.

Then, the occasional deer carcass on the side of the road, eyes splayed as if distracted, tongue out, relaxed but empty. The diseased willows like skeletons in hairnets. The owls that never quit staring. A million facets of wilderness that would outlive us all.

Because Nature has poise. It thrives and is original.

Because silence is impossible. Even in an anechoic chamber, perfectly soundproofed, you can hear your own heartbeat, steady as a drum. A never-ending war.

I put "Headache" by Grouper on repeat as we glided west. We were deadlocked to asphalt, rubber over tarface.

And I thought about lines from a Rita Dove poem titled "I have been a stranger in a strange land"

He was off cataloging the universe, probably,
pretending he could organize
what was clearly someone else's chaos.

Wasn't that exactly what I was doing? Looking for an impossible answer, examining every single accident, eager for meaning? telling myself, "If it happens and matters the next year, in America, I want to be there, or to know what it means. I owe it to whoever cares to listen."

Humans are collectors and I had gone overboard.

Because maybe this wasn't even my home. These landmarks, what did they mean? Was I obvious here? When I smiled, did I trick them into believing that I felt some vague sense of approval? Or did my expressions betray me?

Out in all that garbage-streaked emptiness — despite the occasional burst of passing halogen — I couldn't tell if everything we encountered was haunted or just old, derelict, broken, useless. One never-ending landfill.

Around those parts, they'd made everything into junk. Homes. Roads. Glass. Nature. Life itself, they made into junk.

I cringed as we passed yet another deer carcass mounded on the side of the road.

As written in Job 35:11,

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds in the sky?

Nobody. Look at nature and you feel something powerful. Look at an animal, in all of its untamable majesty, and you capture a deep love, all swept up in the power of creation. But, here, all I saw were poor creatures who people had slammed into and kept driving. Driving to where? For what reason? What exactly was so important that they left a trail of dead animals behind them?

So I crossed myself dolorously and said an "Our Father" and recited a stanza from Charles Bukowski's "The Laughing Heart"

you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.

Out here, nothing but darkness. Needing some light, by God. Give me something better than a Moon that hides like an underfed coward.

Jade told me about some of the more traumatic things she'd seen while working at the State Fair.

"Bro, they pull roaches out of the iced lemonade jugs and act like nothing happened."

"All right but what about the corn dogs?"

"You do not want to know, little bro."

She looked around in the quiet. "Back in the day, the Louisiana Congress refused to raise the drinking age from 18 to 21," she said. "They didn't want to lose all that drunk gambler money. So the federal government cut off funding to highways."

We glided through moon-pale landscape for an hour before I realized what she had meant. That there weren't any light poles or billboards along the road. Nothing to guide us or distract us. Just us, alone. And it felt like outer space had collapsed, swallowed us like jellybeans.

Like two teenagers playing a prank on the universe.

In the cozy Subaru Crosstrek, in the old wild night, brimming with the uncertainty of life and the nonchalance of failure, we paraded ourselves back to Dallas. Alive in the river silence that follows us everywhere.

New installments come Mondays and Thursdays. Next, the Iowa caucuses. Check out my Twitter. Email me at kryan@blazemedia.com

Amid election security concerns, states should look to blockchain

Wikimedia Commons

The Iowa primary is just around the corner, and concerns of election interference from the last presidential election still loom. Back in 2016, The Associated Press found that a majority of U.S. elections systems still use Windows 7 as an operating system, making them highly susceptible to bugs and errors. And last year, a Mississippi voter tried multiple times to vote for the candidate of his choice, but the system continuously switched his vote to the other candidate. It's pretty clear: America's voting systems desperately need an update.

That's where blockchain voting comes in.

Blockchain voting is a record-keeping system that's 100% verifiable and nearly impossible to hack. Blockchain, the newest innovation in cybersecurity, is set to grow into a $20 billion industry by 2025. Its genius is in its decentralized nature, distributing information throughout a network of computers, requiring would-be hackers to infiltrate a much larger system. Infiltrating multiple access points spread across many computers requires a significant amount of computing power, which often costs more than hackers expect to get in return.

Blockchain voting wouldn't allow for many weak spots. For instance, Voatz, arguably the leading mobile voting platform, requires a person to take a picture of their government-issued ID and a picture of themselves before voting (a feature, of course, not present in vote-by-mail, where the only form of identity verification is a handwritten signature, which is easily forgeable). Voters select their choices and hit submit. They then receive an immediate receipt of their choices via email, another security feature not present in vote-by-mail, or even in-person voting. And because the system operates on blockchain technology, it's nearly impossible to tamper with.

Votes are then tabulated, and the election results are published, providing a paper trail, which is a top priority for elections security experts.

The benefits of blockchain voting can't be dismissed. Folks can cast their vote from the comfort of their homes, offices, etc., vastly increasing the number of people who can participate in the electoral process. Two to three-hour lines at polling places, which often deter voters, would become significantly diminished.

Even outside of the voting increase, the upsides are manifold. Thanks to the photo identification requirements, voter fraud—whether real or merely suspected—would be eliminated. The environment would win, too, since we'd no longer be wasting paper on mail-in ballots. Moreover, the financial burden on election offices would be alleviated, because there's decreased staff time spent on the election, saving the taxpayer money.

From Oregon to West Virginia, elections offices have already implemented blockchain voting, and the results have been highly positive. For example, the city of Denver utilized mobile voting for overseas voters in their 2019 municipal elections. The system was secure and free of technical errors, and participants reported that it was very user-friendly. Utah County used the same system for their 2019 primary and general elections. An independent audit revealed that every vote that was cast on the app was counted and counted correctly. These successful test cases are laying the groundwork for even larger expansions of the program in 2020.

With this vital switch, our elections become significantly more secure, accurate, and efficient. But right now, our election infrastructure is a sitting duck for manipulation. Our current lack of election integrity undermines the results of both local and national elections, fans the flames of partisanship, and zaps voter confidence in the democratic system. While there's never a silver bullet or quick fix to those kinds of things, blockchain voting would push us much closer to a solution than anything else.

Chris Harelson is the Executive Director at Prosperity Council and a Young Voices contributor.