Here are the 14 states fighting ESG. Is YOURS?

This week on his Wednesday night Glenn TV special, Glenn will delve into ESG and how large corporations are using YOUR money to fund woke agendas—while also compromising the return on your investment. As Glenn's audience is well aware, ESG stands for "environmental, social, and governance." It's a scoring system for businesses based on their compliance with environmental and social standards that has turned into a quasi-extortion scheme, forcing investment companies to use YOUR assets to fund progressive projects.

It is vitally important that fighting ESG becomes a central campaign item heading into the 2024 Presidential debate. 14 states have already stepped up to put measures in place to fight ESG. Did your state make the list? If not, as Glenn said, you should call your Congressional office NOW to push them to bring this legislation to the table. Though it can be discouraging to watch national politics, heroes in YOUR state are stepping up to defend your rights and freedoms through legislation that is actually getting things done.

1. Arizona

The Arizona State Board of Investment adopted anti-ESG revisions to its investment policy, specifying that only "pecuniary factors" may be considered in the investment management of its asset pools—that means they can only use your money for a return on investment, NOT to fund a woke agenda.

However, Arizona's new Democrat AG Kris Mayes recently announced the state will no longer conduct investigations into corporations over ESG matters. Here's what she said:

Corporations should be permitted to access capital markets in ways that they feel are necessary for the advancement of their investor objectives and for society, as long as they are doing so in a lawful manner. Corporations increasingly realize that investing in sustainability is both good for our country, our environment, and public health and good for their bottom lines.

If you are an Arizona resident, call your Congressional office to push back against Mayes' recent policy.

2. Idaho

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Republican Idaho state legislators have been preparing anti-ESG legislation in 2022 to push to the floor in 2023. If you are an Idaho resident, contact your Congressional office to help push this legislation forward.

3. Indiana

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On February 28th, Indiana's state House passed anti-ESG laws. The bill's author Rep. Ethan Manning said:

ESG, or so-called environmental, social and governance policies, are highly subjective measures that have real-world impacts. We need to focus our pension investments, the roughly $45 billion in assets we control, on financial factors, and leave politics and social and ideological considerations out of it.

Manning hit the nail on the head: investment firms should leave politics out of YOUR money. If you are an Indiana resident, help push this bill into law by contacting your local Congressional office.

5. Florida

​Florida has been one of the original states leading the pack in passing anti-ESG laws. On the day of its announcement, Governor Ron DeSantis said:

Today’s announcement builds on my commitment to protect consumers’ investments and their ability to access financial services in the Free State of Florida. By applying arbitrary ESG financial metrics that serve no one except the companies that created them, elites are circumventing the ballot box to implement a radical ideological agenda. Through this legislation, we will protect the investments of Floridians and the ability of Floridians to participate in the economy.

DeSantis said it well: anti-ESG laws are about protecting consumers from elites who want to use YOUR money to fund their own political agendas.

4. Kansas

Glenn had Kansas state Rep Michael Murphy on his show (3/06/23) to discuss the anti-ESG legislation he is pushing in the Kansas state House. Kansas residents, give Rep. Murphy and the other GOP Reps the extra help to push this legislation forward!

6. Kentucky

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Not only does Kentucky have anti-ESG laws in place, but moreover, the state's AG Daniel Cameron launched an investigation into major banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo for "anti-trust" practices and for locking consumers out of their assets over ESG conflicts. AG Cameron said:

Kentucky’s consumer protection and antitrust laws prohibit companies from engaging in coordinated practices that block certain Kentucky businesses from accessing banking services. We joined this investigation to ensure Kentucky companies that reject the Biden Administration’s anti-fossil fuel climate agenda have the same financial freedoms as those who accept it.

It is inspiring to see states like Kentucky take such a strong stance for the consumer rights of their people!

7. Louisiana

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Louisiana liquidated ALL of its funds from BlackRock, totaling $800 million, over its ESG and anti-fossil fuel practices. Louisiana state Treasurer John Schroder said:

Your blatantly anti-fossil fuel policies would destroy Louisiana’s economy. This divestment is necessary to protect Louisiana from actions and policies that would actively seek to hamstring our fossil fuel sector. In my opinion, your support of ESG investing is inconsistent with the best economic interests and values of Louisiana. I cannot support an institution that would deny our state the benefit of one of its most robust assets.

Without anti-ESG laws, states like Louisiana, whose economy relies largely on fossil fuels, would be victim to investment funds using THEIR state money for anti-fossil fuel agendas. Sound unfair? Because it is...

If you live in a state that relies on a fossil fuel economy, it is VITAL that you push anti-ESG legislation in your state.

8. North Dakota

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​South Dakota passed anti-ESG laws, however, there is a risk that the state is pulling back its ESG protections. The North Dakota House voted down a resolution to boycott pro-ESG institutions and block financial institutions. This is especially troubling for North Dakota, which has an oil-dependent economy. If you are a North Dakota resident, it is vitally important that you push back against this regression away from ESG protections

9. Oklahoma

Oklahoma passed the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act in May 2022, and it went into effect in November. The law declares the oil-and-gas industry a vital part of the economy and that the state and companies that do business with the state should not boycott the oil and gas industry. Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ subsequently sent questionnaires to national financial institutions to determine which companies are in breach of state law. Russ said:

I [...] began compiling a list of companies, banks, and other entities that act against Oklahoma’s interests because of their ESG stance. It is my responsibility to ensure Oklahomans’ tax dollars will not be used to enrich organizations that act counter to our taxpayers’ interests and our values.

Oklahoma is another example of how oil-rich states are leading the fight against ESG.

10. Texas

Texas was the first state to pass anti-ESG legislation in 2021. However, Texas lawmakers are now proposing to expand anti-ESG protections, prohibiting pension fund managers and insurance managers from making investment decisions that are detrimental or in conflict to Texas' oil and gas industry. Like Louisiana and other fossil-duel dependent economies, this expansion of anti-ESG legislation is vital. If you are a Texas resident, contact your local Congressional office NOW to help push this legislation through the floor.

11. Pennsylvania

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In 2022, the Pennsylvania state House proposed the "Liberty, Virtue, and Independence Act" against ESG. The bill stated:

The practice of discrimination against any Commonwealth inhabitants, including individuals, associations and businesses, through use of their social credit score or environmental, social or governance score is a matter of Statewide concern. Discrimination based on the scores not only threatens the rights and privileges of Commonwealth inhabitants, but menaces the institutions and foundation of our free democratic state and threatens the peace, order, health, safety and general welfare of the Commonwealth and its inhabitants.

Unfortunately, this bill has not been passed, but state Republicans are still fighting to pass anti-ESG legislation to protect the state's vital coal industry. If you live in Pennsylvania, contact your Congressional office NOW to help push this legislation through.

12. South Carolina

South Carolina has been trying to push anti-ESG protections since August 2022. One of the state lawmakers promoting this legislation, state Senator Josh Kimbrell, said, "(ESG) scores represent a great threat to free speech and free enterprise in South Carolina and across America." If you're a South Carolina resident, contact your local Congressional office to help push this legislation through.

13. Utah

Utah's state government is currently pushing anti-ESG legislation, arguing that ESG violates antitrust laws. Rep. Ken Ivory, who is one of the bill's sponsors, calls ESG the "weaponization of capitol." If you are a Utah resident, contact your Congressional office to help push this legislation through.

14. West Virginia

In late July, West Virginia became the first state to punish banks that abide to ESG standards and the first state to divest their funds from BlackRock, inspiring other states like Louisiana to follow suit. Now, they are expanding their anti-ESG protections to include pensions fund managers.

Revealed: The quiet architect behind Trump’s war on Big Gov’t

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Trump’s OMB chief built the plan for this moment: Starve pet programs, force reauthorization, and actually shrink Washington.

The government is shut down again, and the usual panic is back. I even had someone call my house this week to ask if it was safe to fly today. The person was half-joking, half-serious, wondering if planes would “fall out of the sky.”

For the record, the sky isn’t falling — at least not literally. But the chaos in Washington does feel like it. Once again, we’re watching the same old script: a shutdown engineered not by fiscal restraint but by political brinkmanship. And this time, the Democrats are driving the bus.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills.

Democrats, among other things, are demanding that health care be extended to illegal immigrants. Democratic leadership caved to its radical base, which would rather shut down the government for such left-wing campaign points than compromise. Republicans — shockingly — said no. They refused to rubber-stamp more spending for illegal immigration. For once, they stood their ground.

But if you’ve watched Washington long enough, you know how this story usually ends: a shutdown followed by a deal that spends even more money than before — a continuing resolution kicking the can down the road. Everyone pretends to “win,” but taxpayers always lose.

The Vought effect

This time might be different. Republicans actually hold some cards. The public may blame Democrats — not the media, but the people who feel this in their wallets. Americans don’t like shutdowns, but they like runaway spending and chaos even less.

That’s why you’re hearing so much about Russell Vought, the director of the United States Office of Management and Budget and Donald Trump’s quiet architect of a strategy to use moments like this to shrink the federal bureaucracy. Vought spent four years building a plan for exactly this scenario: firing nonessential workers and forcing reauthorization of pet programs. Trump talks about draining the swamp. Vought draws up the blueprints.

The Democrats and media are threatened by Vought because he is patient, calculated, and understands how to leverage the moment to reverse decades of government bloat. If programs aren’t mandated, cut them. Make Congress fight to bring them back. That’s how you actually drain the swamp.

Predictable meltdowns

Predictably, Democrats are melting down. They’ve shifted their arguments so many times it’s dizzying. Last time, they claimed a shutdown would lead to mass firings. Now, they insist Republicans are firing everyone anyway. It’s the same playbook: Move the goalposts, reframe the narrative, accuse your opponents of cruelty.

We’ve seen this before. Remember the infamous "You lie!” moment in 2009? President Barack Obama promised during his State of the Union that Obamacare wouldn’t cover illegal immigrants. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted, “You lie!” and was condemned for breaching decorum.

Several years later, Hillary Clinton’s campaign platform openly promised health care for illegal immigrants. What was once called a “lie” became official policy. And today, Democrats are shutting down the government because they can’t get even more of it.

This is progressivism in action: Deny it, inch toward it, then demand it as a moral imperative. Anyone who resists becomes the villain.

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Stand firm

This shutdown isn’t just about spending. It’s about whether we’ll keep letting progressives rewrite the rules one crisis at a time. Trump’s plan — to cut what isn’t mandated, force programs into reauthorization, and fight the battle in the courts — is the first real counterpunch to decades of this manipulation.

It’s time to stop pretending. This isn’t about compassion. It’s about control. Progressives know once they normalize government benefits for illegal immigrants, they never roll back. They know Americans forget how it started.

This shutdown may be inconvenient. But it’s also an opportunity — to stop funding our own destruction, to reset the table, and to remind Congress who actually pays the bills. If we don’t take it, we’ll be right back here again, only deeper in debt, with fewer freedoms left to defend.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

U.K. forces digital IDs on workers—Is the U.S. next in line?

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From banking to health care, digital IDs touch every aspect of citizens’ lives, giving the government unprecedented control over everyday actions.

On Friday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stood at the podium at the Global Progressive Action Conference in London and made an announcement that should send a chill down the spine of anyone who loves liberty. By the end of this Parliament, he promised, every worker in the U.K. will be required to hold a “free-of-charge” digital ID. Without it, Britons will not be able to work.

No digital ID, no job.

The government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Starmer framed this as a commonsense response to poverty, climate change, and illegal immigration. He claimed Britain cannot solve these problems without “looking upstream” and tackling root causes. But behind the rhetoric lies a policy that shifts power away from individuals and places it squarely in the hands of government.

Solving the problem they created

This is progressivism in action. Leaders open their borders, invite in mass illegal immigration, and refuse to enforce their own laws. Then, when public frustration boils over, they unveil a prepackaged “solution” — in this case, digital identity — that entrenches government control.

Britain isn’t the first to embrace this system. Switzerland recently approved a digital ID system. Australia already has one. The World Economic Forum has openly pitched digital IDs as the key to accessing everything from health care to bank accounts to travel. And once the infrastructure is in place, digital currency will follow soon after, giving governments the power to track every purchase, approve or block transactions, and dictate where and how you spend your money.

All of your data — your medical history, insurance, banking, food purchases, travel, social media engagement, tax information — would be funneled into a centralized database under government oversight.

The fiction of enforcement

Starmer says this is about cracking down on illegal work. The BBC even pressed him on the point, asking why a mandatory digital ID would stop human traffickers and rogue employers who already ignore national insurance cards. He had no answer.

Bad actors will still break the law. Bosses who pay sweatshop wages under the table will not suddenly check digital IDs. Criminals will not line up to comply. This isn’t about stopping illegal immigration. If it were, the U.K. would simply enforce existing laws, close the loopholes, and deport those working illegally.

Instead, the government is introducing a system that punishes law-abiding citizens by tying their right to work to a government-issued pass.

Control masked as compassion

This is part of an old playbook. Politicians claim their hands are tied and promise that only sweeping new powers will solve the crisis. They selectively enforce laws to maintain the problem, then use the problem to justify expanding control.

If Britain truly wanted to curb illegal immigration, it could. It is an island. The Channel Tunnel has clear entry points. Enforcement is not impossible. But a digital ID allows for something far more valuable to bureaucrats than border security: total oversight of their own citizens.

The American warning

Think digital ID can’t happen here? Think again. The same arguments are already echoing in Washington, D.C. Illegal immigration is out of control. Progressives know voters are angry. When the digital ID pitch arrives, it will be wrapped in patriotic language about fairness, security, and compassion.

But the goal isn’t compassion. It’s control of your movement, your money, your speech, your future.

We don’t need digital IDs to enforce immigration law. We need leaders with the courage to enforce existing law. Until then, digital ID schemes will keep spreading, sold as a cure for the very problems they helped create.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

The West is dying—Will we let enemies write our ending?

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The blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, and soldiers built our civilization. Their sacrifice demands courage in the present to preserve it.

Lamentations asks, “Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?”

That question has been weighing on me heavily. Not just as a broadcaster, but as a citizen, a father, a husband, a believer. It is a question that every person who cares about this nation, this culture, and this civilization must confront: Is all of this worth saving?

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

Western civilization — a project born in Judea, refined in Athens, tested in Rome, reawakened in Wittenberg, and baptized again on the shores of Plymouth Rock — is a gift. We didn’t earn it. We didn’t purchase it. We were handed it. And now, we must ask ourselves: Do we even want it?

Across Europe, streets are restless. Not merely with protests, but with ancient, festering hatred — the kind that once marched under swastikas and fueled ovens. Today, it marches under banners of peace while chanting calls for genocide. Violence and division crack societies open. Here in America, it’s left against right, flesh against spirit, neighbor against neighbor.

Truth struggles to find a home. Even the church is slumbering — or worse, collaborating.

Our society tells us that everything must be reset: tradition, marriage, gender, faith, even love. The only sin left is believing in absolute truth. Screens replace Scripture. Entertainment replaces education. Pleasure replaces purpose. Our children are confused, medicated, addicted, fatherless, suicidal. Universities mock virtue. Congress is indifferent. Media programs rather than informs. Schools recondition rather than educate.

Is this worth saving? If not, we should stop fighting and throw up our hands. But if it is, then we must act — and we must act now.

The West: An idea worth saving

What is the West? It’s not a location, race, flag, or a particular constitution. The West is an idea — an idea that man is made in the image of God, that liberty comes from responsibility, not government; that truth exists; that evil exists; and that courage is required every day. The West teaches that education, reason, and revelation walk hand in hand. Beauty matters. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Sacrifice is holy. Justice is blind. Mercy is near.

We have squandered this inheritance. We forgot who we were — and our enemies are eager to write our ending.

If not now, when? If not us, who? If this is worth saving, we must know why. Western civilization is worth dying for, worth living for, worth defending. It was built on the blood of martyrs, prophets, poets, pilgrims, moms, dads, and soldiers. They did not die for markets, pronouns, surveillance, or currency. They died for something higher, something bigger.

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Yet hope remains. Resurrection is real — not only in the tomb outside Jerusalem, but in the bones of any individual or group that returns to truth, honor, and God. It is never too late to return to family, community, accountability, and responsibility.

Pick up your torch

We were chosen for this time. We were made for a moment like this. The events unfolding in Europe and South Korea, the unrest and moral collapse, will all come down to us. Somewhere inside, we know we were called to carry this fire.

We are not called to win. We are called to stand. To hold the torch. To ask ourselves, every day: Is it worth standing? Is it worth saving?

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Pick up your torch. If you choose to carry it, buckle up. The work is only beginning.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Stop coasting: How self-education can save America’s future

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Coasting through life is no longer an option. Charlie Kirk’s pursuit of knowledge challenges all of us to learn, act, and grow every day.

Last year, my wife and I made a commitment: to stop coasting, to learn something new every day, and to grow — not just spiritually, but intellectually. Charlie Kirk’s tragic death crystallized that resolve. It forced a hard look in the mirror, revealing how much I had coasted in both my spiritual and educational life. Coasting implies going downhill. You can’t coast uphill.

Last night, my wife and I re-engaged. We enrolled in Hillsdale College’s free online courses, inspired by the fact that Charlie had done the same. He had quietly completed around 30 courses before I even knew, mastering the classics, civics, and the foundations of liberty. Watching his relentless pursuit of knowledge reminded me that growth never stops, no matter your age.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures.

This lesson is particularly urgent for two groups: young adults stepping into the world and those who may have settled into complacency. Learning is life. Stop learning, and you start dying. To young adults, especially, the college promise has become a trap. Twelve years of K-12 education now leave graduates unprepared for life. Only 35% of seniors are proficient in reading, and just 22% in math. They are asked to bet $100,000 or more for four years of college that will often leave them underemployed and deeply indebted.

Degrees in many “new” fields now carry negative returns. Parents who have already sacrificed for public education find themselves on the hook again, paying for a system that often fails to deliver.

This is one of the reasons why Charlie often described college as a “scam.” Debt accumulates, wages are not what students were promised, doors remain closed, and many are tempted to throw more time and money after a system that won’t yield results. Graduate school, in many cases, compounds the problem. The education system has become a factory of despair, teaching cynicism rather than knowledge and virtue.

Reclaiming educational agency

Yet the solution is not radical revolt against education — it is empowerment to reclaim agency over one’s education. Independent learning, self-guided study, and disciplined curiosity are the modern “Napster moment.” Just as Napster broke the old record industry by digitizing music, the internet has placed knowledge directly in the hands of the individual. Artists like Taylor Swift now thrive outside traditional gatekeepers. Likewise, students and lifelong learners can reclaim intellectual freedom outside of the ivory towers.

Each individual possesses the ability to think, create, and act. This is the power God grants to every human being. Knowledge, faith, and personal responsibility are inseparable. Learning is not a commodity to buy with tuition; it is a birthright to claim with effort.

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Charlie Kirk’s life reminds us that self-education is an act of defiance and empowerment. In his pursuit of knowledge, in his engagement with civics and philosophy, he exemplified the principle that liberty depends on informed, capable citizens. We honor him best by taking up that mantle — by learning relentlessly, thinking critically, and refusing to surrender our minds to a system that profits from ignorance.

The path forward must be reclaiming education, agency, and the power to shape our minds and futures. Every day, seek to grow, create, and act. Charlie showed the way. It is now our responsibility to follow.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.