RADIOOctober 01, 2024

How the port worker strike will affect YOU

Port workers along the East and Gulf Coasts have gone on strike, demanding higher pay and job security with AI on the rise. But how long do Americans have before this strike affects the economy? Should you rush out and stock up before groceries become scarce? Or is there no need to panic? Glenn reviews what will likely happen week by week if the strike continues, including how long it will take for this to have months-long effects that impact the holidays. Plus, Glenn asks, why is this happening right before the election?!

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. Let me take you first to another issue. You get up this morning, scrolling through your phone. Checking your news feed. Have a cup of coffee. Then there's this headline. US port workers begin nationwide strike.

Hmm. Okay. Good. Good.

Now, we could -- you could just blow this off, because of the ports, and, you know, dock workers sounds distant.

STU: It was the worst season of the wire.

GLENN: Okay.

STU: It's kind of the one you skip, I feel like.

GLENN: Okay. This one is about to reach out into your home. Your wallet. Your daily life.

So I need to explain what's coming our way.

First, in week one, in the first week, you might not notice much.

So there's no reason to panic. You can go and, you know, go to the store. Stock up on some things. But there's no reason to run out and do that, this week.

Your online orders are still arriving. Maybe you hear a blip on the news. About some ship stuck offshore. For a few industries hinting at some delay. But for most people, life will go on as normal, during week one. It started last night.

Now, behind the scenes, things are starting to shake and crack a little bit. Retailers, manufacturers, and businesses, that depend on regular shipments are beginning to feel the pinch, in week one.

The just in time supply system, you know, that we all learned about in COVID. That's beginning to have a little bit of a strain. And it's starting to wobble a little bit.

And while the shelves are still full for now, the stockrooms in the back are running thin. By week two, by the second week, you're going to start feeling things.

So next week, maybe midweek. If it's still going on, maybe you head for the store, and something as simple as bananas or a pair of new shoes. Suddenly the shelves aren't as full, some items just aren't there.

Fresh avocados or berries that you've gotten used to, are sitting on ships waiting to dock. And it's not just food. It's electronics. It's clothing. Even toys for your kids. They start becoming harder to find.

Prices, by week two, they may start on some items to inch upward.

Businesses are now scrambling to get their hands on what's left.

And the competition drives up cost.

That cheap TV, that you were thinking of buying, you may have to add anywhere from ten to 30 percent to the price tag.

By the end of week two.

If you were planning on doing some home repairs or upgrades.

Good luck.

All of the tools and materials are sitting in crates, gathering dust at the ports.

This is also a problem. Because of the hurricane. Had anything that you get at Home Depot is going to be in short supply, because of the hurricane, and by week two, the dock worker strike.

Now, by the third week, if it goes on that long, now we're getting into some problems.

It's no longer just a shortage of bananas or phone chargers. Entire industries begin to slow down. Factories that rely on parts from overseas. Just in time.

Can't keep running. So the workers in those factories. People you might know. Maybe it is you.

Are getting furloughed. Sent home without pay. Because there's nothing for you to build.

Grocery stores begin to ration some items. And limiting on some items how much you can buy.

Now, at this point, the strike is not a nuisance. This is week three. This point in week three, it becomes a crisis.

The online orders you placed, delayed. Weeks out. Businesses are pleading with the government for help by now.

But even if the strike ended, in week three, it would take weeks to untangle the mess at the ports. By now, inflation is beginning to rear its ugly head. Everything from groceries to gas to clothes is more expensive, than it was just two weeks ago.

Week four. This is -- this is when it becomes the full weight of the strike, is unavoidable.

And I believe it becomes a national security problem. And possibly by this time, in week four, it is just one part of what I am looking for. And will explain later on in the show.

A polycrisis. A polycrisis is what will take us out in a knockout blow. And you already have a little bit of a polycrisis with the dock workers and the hurricane.

Small businesses are now closing their doors. Because they can get their inventory. Grocery store shelves are sparse with some items missing altogether.

Your favorite brands might be out of stock. Maybe you head to the hardware store. Only to find that the building materials that you need are either unavailable or so expensive, they're out of reach.

Now, let's talk long-term. Timing couldn't be worse. Because we're heading into fall. And you know what that means. The holiday season.

Retailers are counting on the next few months for a huge chunk of their sales. And the Christmas gifts you've been eyeing. There's a good chance, they won't make it in time for Christmas. Toys, electronics. Clothing. They're sitting in ships. Or back ordered in factories. They can't get the parts. Even if the strike ends after four weeks. The backlog will last for months. Shipping will be slow.

And prices, you'll be paying a premium for anything you can find. So here's -- here's what you need to know: Week one, just be aware.

If you want to get some fruit. And you have some extra fruit in the house. You know, for week two, if it goes on that long, great.

I can't imagine, that strike goes on very long.

Because it will create a national emergency.

However, I'm not sure if our president is too busy lathering on sunscreen at the beach.

Or if his goals are just not the same as our goals.

To keep America safe and healthy.

So I don't know why. Remember the train negotiation?

You know, when you kept the trains running. He got involved immediately.

And he made sure that strike didn't happen. Well, where is he now?

And the media is saying, well, he can't really do anything.

He can't really -- maybe in a couple of weeks. Really? Maybe in a couple of weeks.

He stopped the train thing from going in to strike. Why isn't he involved this time?

He's Mr. Labor Union.

So I don't know. What's happening. In -- in a normal America, the president would make sure this strike was settled. But wait until you hear what they're asking for. And what they've already turned down.

So for, if it goes four weeks, truckers, rail workers. Warehouses will be overwhelmed, trying to just move everything.

Prices will stay high through the holiday season.

Supply chains will struggle to recover. Holiday shopping season will be lienor, fewer options on the shelf.

Less to spend, because inflation will chip away at your budget again. The economic hit, won't be limited just to higher prices.

Jobs will be lost, as industries scrambling to adapt disruptions. Companies may start to shift operations to avoid reliance on our US ports in the future.

That's great, huh.

Potentially relocating manufacturing or looking to automate more of their processes to reduce reliance on labor.

That will mean fewer jobs for the very workers that are striking today in the long-run.
So when you hear about the port thing. Know, this is a very serious issue.

Not today, but if you want to be prepared. You might not go crazy at a Costco.

Just make sure you have what your family needs, in case things get worse.

Because I have no idea, what will happen.

Okay. So, you know, when you hear what the dock workers are striking for, maybe you think, it's reasonable.

But let's get into the details. They're striking for two big reasons.

One, they want higher pay. Everybody does. They want assurances, that their jobs won't be taken over by machines. By automation. Everybody wants that.

Got it. So on the surface, it sounds reasonable.

Everyone wants better pay. No one wants to lose their job to a robot. But when you start unpacking what they're asking for. And comparing it to the average American worker. And when you consider the long-term effects on our country's economy, especially in competition with China, picture gets a little more complex.

Okay. First, let's talk about the pay raise.

The average longshoreman, the dock workers already make about 100,000 to $200,000 a year. Six figures. Some even earn more when you factor in over time.

Now, if you compare that to the average American worker who pulls in around $56,000 a year. That's quite a gap. Now, they're not not just asking for more.

They are pushing for significant raises. Sometimes ten to 15 percent a year, or even higher, depending on the location and the union negotiations. For someone already making $100,000, that could mean a ten to 15 or 20,000-dollar raise, every year.

Meanwhile, the average American worker, we're lucky to see a two or 3 percent raise. Lucky!

In fact, with inflation running hot, many workers are losing purchasing power. And wages are not keeping pace with inflation and the cost of living.

But it isn't a small pay raise. Over the term of the next six years, they are asking for a 77 percent pay raise, over the six-year life of the contract.

Now, they've been offered a 50 percent increase, and have turned that down.

Now, the -- the dock workers in California, and the west coast, they've got a 34 percent pay raise over the course of their -- their contract.

These guys are asking for 77 percent increase over the next six years.

Been offered 50 percent, and have turned it down, walked away.

Okay. I mean, that -- I mean, that's going to be hard for people to swallow.

And understand, I get it. Dock work is tough. It's physically demanding. It's risky.

It's not an old man's game. But the pay is already far above the national average. And their demands for even more, seem a little out of sync with what most people are experiencing in their lives. And I am for people making as much money as they can, but we're all connected and everyone has to remember, this is a business. All of this stuff has to work for business. Everyone has to win, because if it's just the dock workers, nobody wins.

Even at a 50 percent pay increase, that is going to be passed on to you, in higher costs.

And that's not the real problem. The real problem comes in what their second demand is.

The dock workers want ironclad guarantees, that the ports will not replace any of them, with a machine.

Now, think about that for a moment.

They're asking for a commitment, that even as technology advances, ports won't introduce things like automated cranes, or self-driving trucks or robotics to do the work faster, cheaper, more safely and efficiently. This is a conversation that America and the world should have had 20 years ago, and I talked about it 20 years ago.

And I talked about it every year since. We're going to come to a time, where if you don't know, what the meaning of life is, you're going to be kind of upside down.

Because people are going to start losing their jobs. Maybe we should start looking at the jobs of the future, and start training people for those.

Because the average job is going away. Well, now you're in it.

This is like AI. Should have had -- should have had that discussion 20 years ago.

But now we're all scrambling.

Why?

Because there is no leadership in this country.

That's why. There's no real leader. And without vision, without a leader, with vision. The people will perish. And that's what's happening. So I can sympathize with the dock workers. No one wants to be told, we have a machine that can do your job faster and without breaks, good luck. But here's the thing, automation is happening. Just like AI thousand. It's too late to stop it.

It's happening. So now, we have to figure out, how do we retool instead of just saying, you know what, you're out. How do we retool?

Because if we don't retool, if we are acting like people who said, the horse and buggy have to be kept, we lose.

China, their ports. Have you seen the video, that's circling the world now?

The ports in China are highly automated.

It's like one office. And the whole port runs in one office.

They move goods faster. More efficiently. Than we do.

They have automated cranes. AI-driven systems.

The robots work around the clock.

Minimal human influence.

It is safe safer, faster, cheaper.

This allows China to process millions of more containers, than we do, at a fraction of the cost and time.

Why do you think people buy their products from China? Because through slave labor and now through automation, they can make it cheaper.

If we don't automate our ports, we are putting ourselves in a advantage for a long-term knockout punch.

Global trade is cutthroat.

Companies will ship through countries and ports, that can move their goods faster and cheaper.

And if the US sticks with old, labor intensive methods, shipping companies will look elsewhere, to countries like China. That can get the job done more efficiently. This will mean lost business for US ports.

Fewer goods flowing through our economy. And ultimately, fewer jobs for dock workers in the long run.

We, I'm sorry, gang. Have to automate.

To be able to compete in today's world.

If you're willing to go back and live like the old timey days, where, you know, back in the -- you know, back around the turn of the century, 80 percent live below the poverty line.

Okay. 80 percent of Americans. So if you want to go back to that, that's fine.

But we have a Brave New World, that we are facing now.

And these dock workers are in trouble.

Democrats in Congress CROSSED a Red Line that We Can NEVER Accept

America just crossed a constitutional red line — and Glenn Beck breaks down why this moment may be the one historians look back on as the final warning before national fracture. From Congress signaling military insubordination, to judges erasing separation-of-powers, to a cultural class obsessed with ideology instead of safeguarding the republic, the “Bubba Effect” is now in full force. Glenn explains why collapsing institutions, media silence, and public distrust are creating a perfect storm — and why citizenship, not rage, is the only path to restoring the republic. Are we witnessing the moment America snaps, or the moment Americans finally wake up?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program.

We're glad you're here. I want to talk to you today. Today's theme of the show is the Bubba Effect. Because it's here. And we are seeing it in full force. I will show it to you in Dearborn, Michigan. I will show it to you with Nick Fuentes. I will show it to you, with Epstein.

And I just showed it to you, a different kind of the Bubba Effect, institutional Bubba Effect. With that statement that came out, you know, telling the troops to, you know, disown, you know, the president. Or don't -- don't follow orders.

Question orders.

And you should do that. And that is something they're taught in the military. But they're taught within the system.

You know, it's not just that they made a message to the military.

They sent that message.

Imagine if the Duma would have sent that message to Putin. And we received it, and saw it. We would be like, their government is fall apart.

Their military is falling apart.

Look at this. What message is that sending to China and Russia and all their allies.

It's bad. It's very bad. There is a moment in every republic. Every empire. Every nation. The historians will look back and say, yep. That was it.

That was the biggest warning. That was the last warning.

And I think we are living in that moment right now.

When Congress told active duty military to ignore the orders of the commander-in-chief, you've got a problem.

When you can't get a federal judge impeached, because he approved something that has never been done in American history.

Granting one branch of the government, the right to secretly surveil the other without notice.

You have to -- constitutionally, you must notify you're under surveillance.

Okay?

If they're doing a mass thing. You have to notify.

Because that's a second branch!

Otherwise, you break up the branches, okay?

These are not political stories.

These are constitutional earthquakes.

And no one is talking about them! So now the question is: What now?

What has to happen, if the republic has to survive the stress of these fractures. That everybody seems to be creating or dancing on.

Let me outline it plainly here. Because all of us have a role. One, Congress. Congress, you have to discipline your own. If lawmakers can publicly encourage military resistance without consequence, then Congress has surrendered its moral authority.

You cannot police the executive branch. You can't oversee the intelligence agencies. You can't demand transparency, if you cannot police your own members.

Censure is not vengeance. It's maintenance. It's routine. It's necessary.
Constitutional maintenance. And if Congress refuses to do it, then the precedent remains. It gets worse.

And history shows us, no nation survives a politicized military. Ever!

Two, the military.

You to have restate the -- the chain of command.

Publicly and immediately. The Joint Chiefs don't need a press conference. They don't need hearings. They just need to say, the United States armed forces obey all lawful orders of the president.

That sentence, those exact words, that's the firewall between an American republic, and every failed nation in history.

The silence so far is not reassuring.

Three, the judiciary.

Especially the Supreme Court. Close the door on the book -- the Boasberg case! He opened a door that is so dangerous.

No judge, no matter how noble his intentions, has the authority to rewrite the separation of powers.

If one branch can secretly spy on another, then you have no checks and balances! You had a surveillance government. The Supreme Court must intervene. Not Trump! Not even Congress. But for the survival of coequal branches, if they don't, this is the new normal!

And you don't come back from that one, either! And now, the hardest part, the that one everybody talks about. Nobody does. The role of the cultural leaders and people like me in the media. In a functioning republic, this is supposed to be where the media steps in!

This is where the cultural leaders. The voices, left, right, center, stop obsessing over click bait. And start explaining to the people, what just happened. Why it's unprecedented, why it matters. How we as citizens need to respond. But look around. Do you see anyone in the press doing that?

Do you see anyone in Hollywood, doing that?

Do you see anyone in academia doing that? No. You don't. Because America's cultural class no longer sees its role as the guardian of the republic. Who is the guardian?

They're guardians of ideology. So what do we do?

Well, we do what Americans have always done, when institutionals fail. We step in our self. But if we don't care, that's it.

The Founders never trusted the press.

They trusted the people.

So that's where we are now.

And we all have to model what a responsible media. Or a responsible citizen should be doing.

So let me show you right now, how a responsible broadcaster responds to a constitutional breach.

My fellow Americans. This is not about Donald Trump.

This is not about Democrats. This is not about Republicans.

It's not how you vote.

This is about whether the military stays under civilian authority.

Whether our adversaries overseas are given the indication that we are ripe for the taking. This is about judges, that want to erase the separation of powers!

The separation of power is what has kept this constitutional republic going for all of these years!

Most importantly, this is about whether your children will inherit a functioning republic. And if the mainstream media won't tell you, then I will!

That right there, is the job. To preserve the republic!

So our children and grandchildren and that is what we all should be doing. That's what the press should be doing. That's what the cultural figures should be doing.

You call out the violations of Constitutional order, no matter who benefits. No matter who gets angry. No matter what tribe demands your silence. This is what leadership looks like!

This is wrong! This has never been done before. This breaks Constitutional boundaries.

And it has to be corrected immediately!

Americans, you understand the Bubba Effect is here. And it's everywhere!

You're going to see people that you're like, well, he's really wrong on that! And that's really outrageous. And I don't agree with that.

But at least he's right on this one!

And it will always be to question the system. To break it down.

So what do you do?

Well, you don't riot. You don't panic. You don't is it fair. We're headed into Thanksgiving. Give thanks for the crosses that we bear. Give thanks because our liberty, our freedom, should we decide to keep it, will be more valuable to us.

But you should call your representatives. I'm so sick of calling my representatives. But you should do it anyway.

You need to demand transparency. You need to insist on consequences! Don't normalize what is happening. Well, they're all like that! Stop it!
Stop it.

If that's what you expect, that is what you will get. But understand this: The cure for Constitutional drift is not rage. The answer is not anger. It's not division. It is citizenship!

It's also not apathy. If we sleep through this, the system will break, guaranteed.

But if you wake up, stand up, and insist on boundaries, eventually it will happen! I know you're tired.

I know you don't want to do it anymore. I know you're just desperate for an answer. Because the time is running short.

But now is not the time to act in -- in ways where we dishonor ourselves. In ways where we -- we throw in with a lot. We're like, that's really bad!

But at least they're pointing it out. You point it out! Once you start standing up, once we as a people, all you need is 20 percent! Twenty percent. Anywhere between 15 and 20 percent of the American people. If they understand the Constitution, if they understand the Bill of Rights. If they understand that God has put us in this place, at this time, and each of us have a reason to live!

We're here for a reason!

Everything snaps back into place!

It always has!

From 1800 to 1868 to 1974.

Institutions bend.

People break. But the Constitution can be restored.

But if -- and only if, you know it, you love it. You never betray it yourself, and you demand it of the people who represent us.

5,000 missed wires? Epstein bank scandal just EXPLODED

New evidence suggests that JPMorgan Chase overlooked 5,000 "yellow ticket" suspiciouos activity flags connected to Jeffrey Epstein, which resulted in #1.$ BILLION in sketchy transactions. Glenn Beck explains why this may be the scandal that finally brings some of Epstein's enablers to justice.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So where does the real story lie with the Epstein story? And I think it's the money, okay?

That's the real story. I'll tell you about the billions who have gone to terrorists from the US and Minnesota taxpayers here in a second.

And when I talk about that, what most people will do, is they'll fight over ICE.

They'll say it's Islamophobia. They'll fight over CAIR. Whatever. USAID, when that went down. Well, that's just about feeding hungry children. It's all misdirection, to get you away from the money. So let me bring this now to Epstein.

When a banker detects suspicious activity, when they see something that looks like money laundering. Human trafficking. Tax evasion. Sending money overseas to terrorists. They don't send a polite note to the supervisor, in hopes somebody reads it.

They are required by federal law, after 9/11, to file what is called a SAR. It's a Suspicious Activity Report.

A SAR.

They have to report that directly to the US Treasury Department. Through FinCEN. Financial center of crimes. Okay?

Once a SAR is filed. The bank isn't even allowed to tell you that they filed it. They just hit send. It's locked. The Treasury is notified. Now, this system like I said, was built after 9/11.

Built after decades of financial corruption.

A system design that no single banker. No single executive. No single billionaire can make illicit money and then have it just disappear offshore.

This is -- this is activated. If you draw $10,000 out, of your account. You are moving $10,000. You get a SAR report. And it goes directly to the Treasury. And when the bank flags something suspicious, it's called -- the SAR is called a yellow ticket. And it's not a suggestion. It's not a memo. It is a federal alert. That triggers monitoring by the Treasury, the FBI, Homeland Security. Depending on what the flags indicate. Now, that you understand that, let me talk to you about Jeffrey Epstein.

Between 2002 and 2016, JPMorgan Chase filed seven SARS. Seven yellow tickets on Epstein. Seven! Over 14 years. Those reports flagged a grand total of $4.3 million in sketchy activity.

Okay. It's all -- you know, it's a decade replace plus, $4 million.

You can make all kinds of excuses for that. Right? But after Epstein died, when the government finally unsealed the sex trafficking details, details that they had held on to for years. JP Morgan Chase suddenly panicked. Because the floodgates suddenly opened. In 2019, two SARS were flagged. Two SARS were sent to the Treasury.

They flagged over 5,000 suspicious wire transfers. We're not talking $4 million.

This is 1.3 billion dollars. Five thousand suspicious activity transfers, and transactions, of 1.3 billion dollars.

Now, let me just say this clearly, so nobody really misses the gravity of this. You do not accidentally forget to report 5,000 suspicious wires.

You don't like, where did we put that $1.3 billion.

Okay. You don't misplace a billion dollars in wires, to foreign banks and Shell companies, connected to then a convicted sex offender under federal investigation. It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen.

It doesn't happen, because a Jr banker made a mistake.

It doesn't happen because the compliance officer was sleepy. It doesn't happen because somebody's inbox was full.

To not report that level of suspicious activities directly to the Treasury, first of all, is against all federal law.

And at a minimum, multiple officers, multiple departments. Multiple signoffs, choosing not to look.

$1.3 billion. 5,000 suspicious activities. Hmm.

Why?

Why did nobody report that?

Well, now, according to internal emails, JP Morgan Chase held off the filing of the SARS. Now, let me ask you this: If you had one suspicious -- if you withdrew $10,000 from your bank, are you really clear that your bank would do what the federal government directs. And I have to report this.

And it's going to go to the Treasury. Are you clear that they would do that on you?

Because the answer is, yes, they would. Federal law requires it!

But the bank decided, well, we want to continue to work with Epstein. He's valuable. He's connected. He's a referral engine to some of the richest people in the world.

He had sensitivities according to the bank. Wire transfers to Russian banks. Wire transfers to Shell corporations. Wire transfers from a guy who is engaged in sex trafficking.

Links to top political figures. Relationships with two US presidents. Both of whom Epstein at various times claimed to be very, very close with.

Let me explain: Something that most people don't know. Banks file SARS, suspicious activity reports, to the Treasury, for far less than this.

$10,000. They flag it. A business wires to an unusual location. They flag it!

It's sent to the Treasury. A client sends repetitive round number transfers to an unknown entity. They flag it!

It goes to the Treasury. A wire connected to anything resembling terror or human trafficking or exploitation. They flag it right now.

Banks don't wait for a 5,000 -- for 5,000 suspicious transactions. They don't wait. They file over one!

So how did Epstein get through 5,000 suspicious activity reports without triggering any alarms.

Not because the alarms were broken. Because they weren't. It's because somebody turned them off.

I would like to know who turned those off.
I would like to know, why they were turned off? I would like to know, if it was just the leadership of the bank. I would like to know, that every single one of those bank officers. All the way to the top, go to prison!

Not some slap on the wrist. Not some, well, you're well-connected. So we're going to let this other guy pay for it.

I want all of them in prison. You broke federal law!

Something we all -- all of us have to abide by.

We -- we have had our Treasury. We've had our government snoop into our lives. Watch everything we do. And we're not connected to human trafficking. We're not selling children. We're not convicted felons.

We're not transferring 1.3 billion dollars after we've been convicted.

SARS are not -- these suspicious activity reports, they are not decided by a single teller. They have to pass -- they pass through compliance teams. Risk divisions. Bank lawyers. Federal liaison officers. This isn't one bad apple. It's an entire system. And Senator Wyden, no conservative firebrand, I might point out, is now openly saying what everybody knows privately. JP Morgan Chase should face criminal investigations, and it should go all the way to the top!

And it should not be civil. It should be criminal. Because if you or I did this, if we had sent just a handful suspicious wires, the bank would freeze your account, notify the Treasury, before you could blink!

But Jeffrey Epstein, a billion dollars worth of exceptions. Hmm. Hmm.

Wow. That seems much more important than a stupid birthday card!

Let me ask you this, the question the DOJ doesn't want to touch.

How many people does it take inside a bank to make 5,000 suspicious transactions just vanish for 17 years? Is it five people? Is it ten? Is it a department head, a board member?

Five thousand. 1.3 billion dollars. Was Epstein. Did it happen because Epstein was useful to the powerful?

So nobody wanted to know. Did this happen because others were involved?

Does it really matter what their excuse was?

Here's the terrifying question. If a bank can look the other way on $1.3 billion for a sex trafficker. What else have the banks learned to ignore?

Hmm.

I'm beginning to think the banks are a real problem. Hmm.

There's a new idea.

This story isn't just about Epstein.

This is about the machinery that allowed him to operate. All of the middleman. All of the financial networks. All of the institutions, that treated him like an asset, instead of a criminal.

And I do believe he was an asset. Intelligence asset.

I do believe he was probably an asset to our intelligence. Although, you I hear both sides.

No, no, no. That's not true. Oh, yes. It's definitely true.

I don't know what the truth is. I don't think it's unreasonable to say, he was an asset for a foreign government. Maybe Israel.

Maybe somebody else. I don't know.

But also an asset for us.

That helps all the. Apparently.

We do all kinds of horrible things. Why not?

Senator Wyden says, he wants to follow the money.

Well, good!

For the first time in a long time, maybe the money is finally pointing us somewhere. And it's not just here.

And, by the way, if anybody still believes this ends with one dead man in jail. I don't think you're paying attention!

Because this is where it really leads.

Are Antidepressants (SSRI's) Worsening America's Mental Health Crisis?

A former FDA psychiatrist reveals what Big Pharma never told the public: the “chemical imbalance” story behind antidepressants was never proven — and SSRIs don’t fix a biological defect, they numb the brain. Glenn Beck and Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring break down how America became the most drugged nation in the world and how millions are being overprescribed medications that can cause paradoxical agitation, emotional blunting, and even suicidal behavior. With 15% of Americans — including millions of children — on SSRIs, are we facing a public health crisis hiding in plain sight?

Was the Cracker Barrel Rebrand a SABOTAGE?! - Glenn Beck Reveals what REALLY Happened

Cracker Barrel’s massive public meltdown didn’t happen by accident. Behind the scenes, the company was bleeding institutional knowledge, taking disastrous advice from DEI strategists, and making decisions that alienated the very customers who built the brand. A major board shake-up, the quiet removal of DEI frameworks, and the sudden resignation of a key DEI-linked board member reveal how deep the problems ran — and how desperate the company was to course-correct. This breakdown uncovers what really went wrong, how Cracker Barrel was influenced internally, and why the Glenn Beck interview triggered major internal moves that the public was never supposed to see.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So, Stu, you can just questions about the special tonight.

STU: Yeah, for sure. I'm interested in this.

It's a big -- you know, a big special. You're back and forth with it. With them there. Was kind of fascinating. Right?

You have a situation where they -- they do seem to be sort of avoiding the question there on DEI. Is that how you read it? Oh, we lost connection with Glenn. Is that what's about to go?

Well, that's how I read it at least. You know, you listen to that clip of them going back and forth and it does appear to be them just sort of avoiding the question. We should get back to Glenn. Because I know he has this breaking news on this happen. Should we go to another clip on the Cracker Barrel thing, while we're waiting for Glenn to reconnect? Because it sort of sets the stage. You know, it was interesting to see their approach here, which is to try to explain themselves and try to work themselves through what is one of the biggest PR disasters probably in our lifetimes.

And let's go to this next clip.

VOICE: If we came out of COVID, A, trying to hire 50,000 people, we have a lot of our employees, original -- we did -- we lost a lot of very long tenured employees. A lot of them, a little bit older, and scared to come back into the -- into the environment.

And so --

GLENN: That's a lot of institutional knowledge.

VOICE: Oh, it hurt. I mean, it really hurt.

And in '22, as we started opening back up, we had the new menu that we had. So we lost a lot of people. We put a ton of training into that new menu.

Now we're coming back to open up, guests, any way we can get them. We had patio dining. We were testing a rock garden.

They were going to sit out in the landscape. And I always say that co-ed even made Cracker Barrel start drinking alcohol.

Because that's how -- it was out of COVID, that it was like, how are we figuring out how to drive top line sales and try to get a guest in.

GLENN: Okay. So that is a good example of you don't know any of the story. You think Cracker Barrel has never served alcohol before. Why are you shoving alcohol? That's a cultural. So it's easy to think, you're selling people alcohol now. What other values are you --

VOICE: And it's fair.

GLENN: That one, is at least understandable. Now that I understand the story.

VOICE: Yeah. Exactly. And so as we got into '23, I came out of my office administration role, and came into operations.

And I was leading field operations. And the best way for me to describe it, we were throwing Velcro balls at a wall to see what would stick.

STU: And it's understandable. You know, it's easy to kind of look at the Cracker Barrel situation and get lost at how badly it went.

A lot of these decisions come down to the information they had at the time. Right?

And they're looking at the time as a place that maybe people aren't coming into as much as they would like.

They are trying to -- maybe it's fading a little bit. Maybe some people find it's stale.

They think the situation at Cracker Barrel is not one that they're not necessarily trying to get involved with on a week to week basis, like they used to.

Maybe they had those warm feelings of the past. But they're not going in it anymore. Well, we'll freshen it up. We will do all these new things.

This will be great! And you realize, sometimes, when you're in that moment, you hit a -- you hate a vein. Right?

You're trying to do something positive for the company. And you hit a vein, and everything starts bleeding all over the place.

Let me give you another piece of this interview. Glenn Beck, up in the headquarters of -- of Cracker Barrel.

And somehow, I will give Glenn credit. Not eating throughout the interview.

I kind of thought, when they put food in front of him. He would just be shoveling it down his gullet the entire time.

You wouldn't be able to hear him. It would be like talking with his mouth full.

He got through it, without taking as many bites. Here is Glenn with the CEO of Cracker Barrel.

GLENN: Let's just get this out.

VOICE: Okay.

GLENN: What happened to the choices that were made?

I said on day one of this. I remember when they rolled out new Coke. And I thought, that was the dumbest marketing move, the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

We're taking the original formula and ditching it. And let's start over with a brand that people love.

The day this broke, I said on the air, new Coke!

That's what this is. And it was -- no offense. Stupid!

Just stupid from start to finish.

Can you walk me through how that happened?

VOICE: Yeah. Sure.

Look, our guests have every right to be upset.

GLENN: Yeah. You want to watch this. And I -- you know, what I really want to you watch for is a moment where I said to her, are you surprised you haven't been fired yet.

That spoke volumes. Her answer, and I hope it is captured on camera.

But that answer was the first non, you know, when you're a CEO. You know, I've -- Stu, do you remember when we used to have to do really important interviews.

And our PR people would be like, drill, drill, drill.

No, don't say that. Don't say that. And we would be like, yeah. Whatever.

And when you are in charge of a Fortune 500 company. And you're in the trouble that they're in, you do -- you know, you follow the people that you have hired to make sure crisis management. You don't make any more mistakes.

And so everybody was very, very careful.

They were very honest. But, you know, like that DEI thing.

She didn't really answer the question.

Of course, we want everybody to be welcomed. Yeah. I know. But that's not answering the question.

When I asked her, are you surprised you still have a job, and you haven't been fired yet. Her answer spoke volumes.

Now, the other thing that you need to know, that while she didn't answer me on the DEI thing. And I -- I -- you know, I can't tell you exactly how this happened.

I just know that they knew, that they didn't answer the question.

And somebody has been in touch with my people. And said, hey. You might want to watch the board meeting that is happening.

We can't tell you that anything is going to be happening. But the DEI thing may be solved. At the board meeting. That happened this morning. And they were going to release something at 11:15 today.

We didn't know exactly what it was.

We had -- we had an indication that it might be about DEI.

And what they've done, at first.

Remember, in August. You know, they just deleted the Pride pages. And the DEI pages.

And they just got rid of it all, at Cracker Barrel. That is just hiding who you are. The real problem was, they had a guy who was on the board of directors. Named Gilbert Davila.

And he's just resigned from the board, today!

Okay? They had a meeting with the board, and shareholders and everything else. And they voted on all of these people. And they did not renew him. And so he is -- he has resigned.

Now, his job -- he was a member of the standing board committee.

And his job was to assess the social and political risk to the company's business.

Well, who is he?

Well, he's also the CEO of a company called DMI Consulting.

That's a DEI strategy firm, that's been in business since 2010.

So he's one of the guys. He was the guy who, his job as the CEO -- as the CEO of DMI, is to promote, you know, DEI.

To make sure everybody is living up to the DEI standards. So Robby Starbuck, who is a friend of the program and, you know, great conservatives, who has been responsible for -- you know, getting a lot of these people out of these companies, or at least drawing attention on what these companies are really standing for.

He's been asking trial. What does he do to deserve this seat on the board?

Well, that's it. He owned a DEI consulting and strategy firm. That was pushing DEI and DEI advertising. So what's happened here is I think while she couldn't answer that question at the time, because the board hadn't acted, I think it's -- I think it's not not coincidental that the day the interview with her drops. With us.

Which they've known for a couple of weeks. This is when this interview would drop.

They -- they announced that morning, that seat has been eliminated. DEI is gone from Cracker Barrel. So I think that's really, really good news if you're a fan of Cracker Barrel.

And the things that I saw at Cracker Barrel, I'm -- I'm going to tell you some stuff tomorrow.

I just have to make sure that it's exactly accurate. Because I don't want to cause more problems.

For us!

And I want to make sure that I get it exactly right. But there were some things that I learned in the show prep.

And, you know, studying up for this interview.

That no one was prepared to talk to me on camera about. And always says to me, oh, well, there's something there.

And so we have done even more homework on it. And tomorrow, I will tell you about something that you might have heard about. This guy who owns, what is it?

Steak and Shake?

STU: Yeah. He's a big activist shareholder, isn't he?

Kind of against some of the leadership there at Cracker Barrel. I think I read about that.

GLENN: Correct. Yes. Yes.

And he has an interesting history.

And I want to -- I want to take you through some of that tomorrow.

I think by tomorrow, you're going to understand, what you saw with the DEI vote on the board today. Get that gone. That's gone.

The interview that you'll see tonight with Julie. The CEO. She's not who you think she is.

It doesn't mean she didn't make huge mistakes. She says she makes huge mistakes. But she's not who you think she is.

You may not agree with her or whatever. But it's important you know who she is. And what she said.

And the key tonight is that question: Are you surprised that you haven't been fired yet.

And really, what happened after she answers the question. And she's very uncomfortable. Answers the question.

And then she immediately switches topics. And I'm like, wait. Wait. Wait.

Stop. Stop. Go back. Why are you switching topics here?

Because it was an amazing moment. Is she immediately changes the subject. After she answers. And then she comes back, and she he says a few things. You'll see.

And then I bring it back to her again. And she switches topics again. And I'm like, why are you doing that?

Why are you doing that?

And she said a very interesting answer on all of that.

That is one of the most honest things I think I've ever seen a fortune five company or CEO ever say.

It was really uncomfortable. But really, really honest.

I think once you see this. And then I tell you tomorrow about the -- the board member, on the things that I can verify. I'm not sure what we can verify yet.

But the things that I've heard. And the things I think I can verify tomorrow. You will see that -- that I think they made stupid moves. They have really bad advice from DEI people.

And they were set up.

To some degree.

They were set up.

The company was. Not individuals. The company was set up.

I think it will -- I think you will have every question you needed to know about Cracker Barrel and what happened answered.