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Marysville dad speaks about school shooting and the thing Glenn Beck did to change him

October 28, 2014
Wilson

Writer

Glenn spoke with a dad from Marysville on radio today, in the wake of a deadly school shooting at the high school there. Lance Van Winkle’s daughter texted him as she hid under a desk, reporting that her friend was shot in the head, suddenly something changed in Lance. He explained on radio today.

WATCH:

Read a rough transcript of the segment below:

GLENN: On Sunday night, right before I turn off the lights, I wrote this on Facebook. I just said my prayers with the kids and tucked them in. Rarely do I remember my prayers with my family being so pleading. For me, the family, those in our military, those in our government, our neighbors, and all those around the world who have never even known hope. Please, Lord, help us. Please help us. I don't need or want any special favors. I don't need my prayers answered my way. Just please, please give us the strength to find joy and to find you in whatever is coming. We have endured many things, but hope to endure all things. And with you, we can and will.

I spent the weekend working on a series of episodes that are going to air on -- beginning November 10th. I'm writing every word of these episodes myself as it is really important to get this right because this is a very personal message from me and from my family. And something that has been coming for five years, but I haven't been able to share it. Haven't been willing to share it. And I didn't know exactly what it was going to mean for our relationship. And where, you know -- what we were going to do.

But because of our relationship, now comes the time that I need to share. And that episode is happening on November 10th on television.

But I wrote on Facebook after I had finished writing some more of those episodes, I wrote: You don't know how much you mean to me and how much you lift my family.

This afternoon, my daughter Hannah had her in-laws -- they were in town. They're so great. They asked us if we would go with them to the air show to see the thunderbirds. So we did.

When I got in, a woman and her son stopped me right at the gate at the air show and said, Glenn Beck, we're such huge fans.

Just that simple kindness brightened my day. She told me that her husband happened to work for the thunderbirds or work with the thunderbirds, and she invited us to go and meet and greet them. It was a thrill for me and the kids.

What happened however was a mini miracle for me. So many things had been verified and answered this weekend. I had been struggling with a few things and wondering what we are to do. Wondering if what we have done in the past has even mattered or if it's just in our heads. We all have jobs to do. How much do each of our jobs actually mean.

This woman told me about how she had volunteered for Restoring Honor, 8/28 in Washington, DC, how it changed her and her family. We spoke together with the jets rolling overhead with tears rolling down our faces about that day and the hope that we lived on and feasted on for so long. I think it's time to gather again.

What I have in my mind makes 8/28 look like a birthday party, but I would ask for you to pray and join me as I lay some ideas down at your feet soon.

But what I really want to tell you is I love you. And I really thank you for making my life so complete. We don't really have many friends. But it seems that no matter where we go, we're always surrounded by family.

I wrote that about 11 o'clock at night on Sunday. The next morning I get up and I see this from a guy named Lance Van Winkle.

Lance wrote and said, please, all of you, pray for us in Marysville, Washington. Glenn, I wish I could so sit and talk with you. I'm only one man, a man your recent reaffirming new direction has changed.

I'm moving away from divisiveness and moving towards God will. Your decision started me thinking the events in my town made me realize, it really is the only way. When my daughter called and then texted me and said she was under a desk hiding and that her friend had been shot in the head, I was really done. My son also goes to that high school. We didn't know where he was at. I was terrified.

I had the means to protect myself, and there was nothing I could do. I was utterly and totally helpless. I felt a little like I did in 9/11, except I had family and friends in the building. My kids were safe, but that tragedy made me think of Glenn and his solution. It's been there all along. Thy will, not mine be done. Pray all of you that you never have a day like we had in Marysville. Prayers and thoughts that those who have had that day, God bless you.

This has bothered -- not bothered me -- stuck with me since I read it. Early Monday morning. I thought of Lance last night as I was saying my prayers. We went to the football game here, the Redskins/Cowboys. It was about 11:30 by the time we got home. My son went upstairs to go to bed. Said our prayers. And Lance came to mind. He came to mind again this morning as I was saying my prayers. He said, I wish I could just sit and talk with you.

I asked Keith to get him on the phone. He's on the phone now.

Lance, how are you?

LANCE: I'm okay, Glenn. Good morning.

GLENN: How are things?

LANCE: Things are okay. It's just very emotional for me. And speaking to you and your audience, I never thought anything like this would happen. It was kind of funny. I was watching the game last night, and sorry about the deal, but I know that you were there. And I was thinking about you being there, and I almost mentioned it. I almost said, Glenn Beck is at that game. But everybody would have looked at me like, what? So I kept it to myself. But I was thinking of it there.

My kids are doing well. My daughter is kind of taking a leadership role. She took some friends to the Space Needle last night. She's trying to help as many people as she can. Just talking to them. Being with them. It's -- you know, everybody seems to be doing well. The community has totally blown me away with the support and what they're doing to help everybody get through this.

I saw a thing with the Seahawks praying for our students, and I just found out last night that Pete Carroll invited the Marysville-Pilchuck high school football team and also the Oak Harbor football team that were supposed to play Friday night down to an extended practice at the Seahawk facilities. And I've never witnessed anything like this so close. I've seen it, of course, like everybody has in other situations.

But it's -- it's a beautiful thing, you know.

GLENN: I will tell you: Lance, I don't know you keep coming to mind, but I'm glad we have this chance to talk. When I read your letter and you talked about how your daughter had called and then texted that she was under a desk, did she -- and I don't need to get into anything you don't want to discuss, but did she see her friend shot? How far away was she?

LANCE: No. She didn't, thank God. I know some kids -- this is a community that's grown a lot, but it's a small hometown field community.

GLENN: I grew up in Mount Vernon, which is not far away. So I group up in Mount Vernon, and we used to pass Marysville. And Marysville was just this small little town. I'm not surprised that the community is reacting this way, but maybe it's changed -- it had to have. It's been 30 years. But it used to be just a small little town where everybody would treat you right.

LANCE: It's -- you know, the stories are starting to come out, and Maria didn't see anything. She was out of the lunchroom. Of course, it's also came out that this was planned and premeditated, which is just horrific to me.

You know, the reservation, the Tulalip Indian reservation is right across Interstate 5 from us. And it's tied to the community, I mean, in a real deep way. I know a lot of Native Americans over there. It's -- we're always doing things together as a community and everything else.

And so when this happened, of course, it -- who knows what -- what people think. I hear a lot of things. I read a lot of things that are just awful. I know some kids that were there and saw it happen. They're remodeling the lunchroom. The school shut down for a week because I know several kids that would never go back in there again.

GLENN: I can't imagine.

LANCE: Yeah. And I don't know what to think. I don't have any answers for this. It just totally -- I'm just one guy in the community that feels the same way. Of course, we have families that lost loved ones. They're still in the hospital. My prayers go out for them, you know.

GLENN: So, Lance, help me out on this. You wrote: I'm just one man, a man your recent, reaffirming new direction has changed. I'm moving away from divisiveness and moving towards God's will. You wrote that when the tragedy happened, you thought of -- you thought of what we've been talking on the program. Can you tell me a little about that?

LANCE: Sure. I had been listening to you for some time. And, you know, I got to be careful. I don't want to go off on some weird rant. But I love the United States of America. I love our country. I feel it's being attacked from every which direction. Culture, language, borders, everything. But I -- and I've listened to your show.

I've enjoyed the controversies and the, you know, calling different sides out on the carpet. Whatever. The whole back and forth thing that goes on. And I've listened recently -- of course, it's well-known you've changed a direction. And it stopped me. I went, wow. And at first -- and I heard -- I mean, I heard while people thought -- were calling Glenn Beck, well, now he's a traitor and all this stuff, you know. And I just thought that that was a huge honorable thing to do in such a public life that you have. And to apologize and to -- I mean, it was just humble.

And so this was going on in the back of my mind. And I've had a lot of rants myself on Facebook sharing posts about this, that, the other thing.

GLENN: Right.

LANCE: And then this school thing happened. And I was sitting at my desk looking out the window of our office. I'm a real estate agent. And I get this call that's kind of broken up. And then pretty soon, my daughter and I are texting. And, as you know, what was said, she had described where she's hiding under a desk. Nobody knew about it. There were no sirens yet. There were no helicopters overhead. Her mom didn't even know. Then she texted me that her friend was shot in the head. And my world just kind of collapsed.

It was -- the only thing I can liken it to is that 9/11 event. I remember that so clearly and how it felt. And so I'm heading up to the school. I get up there. And they've got a perimeter set up. Nobody is getting in. I call my daughter's mom. We meet around the other side. We walk to a church where they're already assembling. Things went pretty fast after that. The whole event took about four minutes. They were assembling in a church nearby. And I -- our daughter and her mother were already at the church. I parked four blocks away. And was walking toward the church, and the -- it seemed like half of Marysville was there.

And the streams of people heading to the church and the frantic women and just the whole thing. I get there and we haven't seen our son yet. We had word that he was okay. So I waited outside for him to get out of the bus. And he's 6'4" and 15 years old, so he's not hard to spot. But he comes -- we're in the middle of this huge crowd of people being reunited with their children, and all this thing going on, I just realized, there's no answer for it. I don't have an answer for it. I don't have an explanation. I read all the posts. I see the anger, the frustration the hate. I see the tribal members come forth and they're talking about forgiveness and love. There are families and victims of the shooting have forgiven the person that shot their family members. And it started to sink in. It just hit me that the only answer is not on this earth.

And I've been a spiritual person for a long time. I believe in the Lord, but it never sunk in like this, that that's the only way. There is no other way. And, you know --

GLENN: Lance, I have to tell you. It's an honor to talk to you. And I'm so glad that you wrote and you posted that on my Facebook page. And you're one of the good guys, and you're now -- now your responsibility to be a force for good because you're awake. I'm sorry it took this to really have it set in, but thank goodness it did. Thank goodness it did. God bless you, lance. You and your whole community.

LANCE: Glenn, can I say something. It means a lot to me that I know you're bombarded with everything all the time. And it means a lot to me to know that you picked it up and listened. It's an honor to speak with you. I love you guys. You guys crack me up. I'm one of the guys driving down the road and people are looking at me as I'm laughing and talking to myself when I'm listening to your show. I've enjoyed it for a long time and believe you're a force of good in this world and you're making a difference in a big way. And so thank you also.

GLENN: Thank you God bless you. Thanks, Lance. Good people. We are surrounded by good people.

The Deep State's NEW plan to backstab Trump

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move.

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked the world by defeating Hillary Clinton. Conservatives cheered, believing we’d taken back the reins of our country. But we missed the bigger battle. We failed to recognize the extent of the damage caused by eight years of Barack Obama and decades of progressive entrenchment. The real war isn’t won at the ballot box. It’s being waged against an insidious force embedded deep within our institutions: the administrative state, or the “deep state.”

This isn’t a new problem. America’s founders foresaw it, though they didn’t have a term for “deep state” back in the 1700s. James Madison, in Federalist 48, warned us that combining legislative, executive, and judicial powers in the same hands is “the very definition of tyranny.” Yet today, that’s exactly where we stand. Unelected bureaucrats in agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice hold more power than the officials we vote for. They control the levers of government with impunity, dictating policies and stifling change.

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege.

We’ve felt the consequences of this growing tyranny firsthand. During COVID-19, so-called experts ran our lives, crushing civil liberties under the guise of public safety. Our intelligence agencies and justice system turned into weapons of political warfare, targeting a sitting president and his supporters. Meanwhile, actual criminals were given a pass, turning American cities into lawless war zones.

Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1816 that “the functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.” Today, we see Jefferson’s prophecy fulfilled. The deep state exercises unchecked power over our freedoms, and information itself is controlled by the fourth branch of government: the legacy media.

Even when we win elections, the deep state doesn’t concede defeat. It switches to survival mode. Trump’s first term proved this. Despite a historic mandate to dismantle the bureaucracy, the deep state fought back with everything it had: leaks, investigations, court rulings, and obstruction at every turn. And now, with the possibility of Trump returning to office, the deep state is preparing to do it again.

Progressives are laying out their attack plan — and they’re not even hiding it.

U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) recently boasted about forming a “shadow cabinet” to govern alongside the deep state, regardless of who’s in the White House. Nickel called it “democracy’s insurance policy.” Let’s be clear: This isn’t insurance. It’s sabotage.

They’ll employ a “top down, bottom up, inside out” strategy to overwhelm and collapse any effort to reform the system. From the top, federal judges and shadow officials will block Trump’s every move. Governors in blue states like California and New York are gearing up to resist federal authority. During Trump’s first term, California filed over 100 lawsuits against his administration. Expect more of the same starting January 20.

From the bottom, progressive groups like the American Civil Liberties Union will flood the streets with protesters, much as they did to oppose Trump’s first-term immigration reforms. They’ve refined their tactics since 2016 and are prepared to unleash a wave of civil unrest. These aren’t spontaneous movements; they’re coordinated assaults designed to destabilize the administration.

Finally, from the inside, the deep state will continue its mission of self-preservation. Agencies will drag their feet, leak sensitive information, and undermine policies from within. Their goal is to make everything a chaotic mess, so the heart of their power — the bureaucratic core — remains untouched and grows stronger.

We cannot make the same mistake we made in 2016 — celebrating victory while the deep state plots its next move. Progressives never see themselves as losing. When they’re out of power, they simply shift tactics, pumping more blood into their bureaucratic heart. We may win elections, but the war against the deep state will only intensify. As George Washington warned in his Farewell Address, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence — it is force; and force, like fire, is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

This is the fight for the soul of our nation. The founders’ vision of a constitutional republic is under siege. The deep state has shown us its plan: to govern from the shadows, circumventing the will of the people. But now that the shadows have been exposed, we have a choice. Will we accept this silent tyranny, or will we demand accountability and reclaim our nation’s heart?

The battle is just beginning. We can’t afford to lose.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Drone mystery exposes GLARING government incompetence

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

The drone issue is getting way out of hand.

Earlier this month, Glenn first reported on the mysterious drones stalking the night sky over New Jersey, but the situation is increasingly concerning as the sightings have escalated. Not only have drones been seen across the Northeast Coast, including over New York City, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, but recently, they have been spotted over the night skies of San Diego and other parts of Southern California.

It doesn't take an expert to identify the potential dangers and risks that dozens of undetectable, unidentified six-foot or larger drones pose to national security. Yet, our government's response has been one of unimaginable incompetence, leaving us to speculate on the origin and intention of these drones and wonder in astonishment at the government's ineptitude. Here are three examples of the government's lackluster response to the mystery drones:

Iranian Mothership and Missing Nuclear Warheads

- / Stringer | Getty Images

After several weeks of hubbub, New Jersey Representative, Jeff Van Drew gave an interview on Fox News where he claimed that the drones originated from an Iranian "mothership" off the East Coast of the United States. This theory has since been disproven by satellite images, which show that all Iranian drone carriers are far from U.S. shores. Another theory suggests that drones may be equipped with sensors capable of detecting nuclear material and that they are looking for a nuclear warhead that recently went missing! With these apocalyptic theories gaining traction in the absence of any real answer from our government, one can't help but question the motive behind the silence.

Pentagon's Limp Wristed Response

Alex Wong / Staff | Getty Images

In a recent press conference, national security spokesman John Kirby responded to reporters demanding answers about the government's lack of transparency, which has caused increasing public anxiety. He insisted that the drones did not pose a threat and were not assets of a foreign power, such as from Iran or China--even though he is still uncertain about their identity and origin. He also claimed that many of the sightings were simply misidentifications of normal aircraft.

This lackluster answer has only further inflamed national anxieties and raised even more questions. If the government is unsure of the identity of the drones, how do they know if they are a threat or if they aren't foreign assets? If they aren't foreign, does that mean they are U.S. assets? If so, why not just say so?

The Pentagon has also stated that they are leaving it up to local law enforcement to spearhead the investigation after concluding that these drones pose no threat to any military installation. This has left many feeling like the federal government has turned a blind eye to a serious issue that many Americans are very concerned about.

Where's Pete Buttigieg?

Chip Somodevilla / Staff | Getty Images

We are in the closing weeks of the Biden administration, and with the finish line in sight, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg probably figured nothing else could go wrong on his watch—but boy was he wrong. As Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg is in charge of the FAA, the agency responsible for managing all air traffic across the nation. One would think that mysterious, 6-foot-long, seemingly intractable drones are invisible on radar and flying above major cities would pose a serious threat to the myriad of legal aircraft that traverse our skies. Yet, Buttigieg has been silent on the issue, adding another failure to his resume which includes: malfunctioning airplanes, the train derailment in Ohio, and the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, just to name a few.

Glenn: How Alvin Bragg turned hero Daniel Penny into a villain

Michael M. Santiago / Staff | Getty Images

We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty.

America no longer has a single, shared understanding of justice. Two Americas now exist, each applying justice differently depending on who you are and where you live. One America, ruled by common sense and individual courage, praises heroes who stand up to protect others. The other, driven by political agendas and corrupted institutions, punishes those same heroes for daring to act.

This stark division couldn’t be clearer than in the case of Daniel Penny, the Marine whose trial in New York City this week drew strong reactions from both sides across the divided line of justice.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare.

Penny was on a subway train last year when Jordan Neely — a man suffering from severe mental illness and reportedly high on drugs — began threatening passengers, saying, “I’m going to kill you all.” The fear on that subway car was palpable, but nobody moved. Nobody, that is, until Penny did what needed to be done. He took action to protect innocent lives.

In the America many of us used to believe in, Penny’s response would be heralded as heroic. His actions mirrored the courage of Todd Beamer on Flight 93, who, on September 11, 2001, rallied others with the words, “Let’s roll,” to prevent further tragedy. But in New York, courage doesn’t seem to count anymore. There, the system turns heroes into villains.

Penny subdued Neely using a chokehold, intending only to restrain him, not kill him. Tragically, Neely died. Penny, filled with remorse, told the police he never meant to hurt anyone. Yet, instead of being recognized for protecting others from a clear and present threat, Penny stood trial for criminally negligent homicide.

In Alvin Bragg’s New York, justice bends to ideology. The Manhattan district attorney has made a career of weaponizing the law, selectively prosecuting those who don’t fit his narrative. He’s the same prosecutor who twisted legal precedent to go after Donald Trump on business charges no one had ever faced before. Then, he turned his sights on Daniel Penny.

A jury may have acquitted Penny, but what happened in New York City this week isn’t justice. When the rule of law changes depending on the defendant’s identity or the prosecutor's political motives, we’re no longer living in a free country. We’re living in a state where justice is a game, and ordinary Americans are the pawns.

The system failed Jordan Neely

It’s worth asking: Where were activists like Alvin Bragg when Neely was suffering on the streets? Jordan Neely was a tragic figure — a man with a long history of mental illness and over 40 arrests, including violent assaults. The system failed him long before he stepped onto that subway train. Yet rather than confront that uncomfortable truth, Bragg’s office decided to target the man who stepped in to prevent a tragedy.

This isn’t about justice. It’s about power. It’s about advancing a narrative where race and identity matter more than truth and common sense.

It’s time to demand change

The Daniel Penny case — and others like it — is a wake-up call. We cannot allow corrupt institutions to punish those who act to protect life and liberty. Americans must demand an end to politically driven prosecutions, hold DAs like Alvin Bragg accountable, and stand up for the principle that true justice is blind, consistent, and fair.

If we let this slide, we accept a world in which heroes are treated as criminals and the law is a weapon for ideological warfare. It’s time to choose which America we want to live in.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

CEO Brian Thompson's killer reveals COWARDICE of the far-left death cult

Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Early on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 4th, Brian Thompson, CEO of health insurance giant, UnitedHealthcare, was walking through Midtown Manhattan on his way to a company conference. Suddenly, a masked and hooded figure silently allegedly stepped onto the sidewalk behind Thompson, drew a 3-D printed, silenced pistol, and without warning fired multiple shots into Thompson's back before fleeing the scene on an electric bicycle. After a multiple-day manhunt, a 26-year-old lead suspect was arrested at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania after being recognized by an employee.

This was not "vigilante justice." This was cold-blooded murder.

As horrific as the murder of a husband and father in broad daylight in the center of New York City is, the story only gets worse. Even before the murder suspect was arrested, left-wing extremists were already taking to X to call him a "hero" and a "vigilante" who "took matters into his own hands." Even the mainstream media joined in on the glorification, as Glenn pointed out on air recently, going out of the way to show how physically attractive the murder suspect was. This wave of revolting and nihilistic fanfare came in response to the findings of online investigators who surmised the murder suspect's motives to retaliate against healthcare companies for corruption and denied coverage. The murder suspect supposedly underwent a major back surgery that left him with back pain, and some of his internet fans apparently viewed his murder of Thompson as retribution for the mistreatment that he and many other Americans have suffered from healthcare companies.

The murder suspect and his lackeys don't seem to understand that, other than depriving two children of their father right before Christmas, he accomplished nothing.

The murder suspect failed to achieve his goal because he was too cowardly to try.

If the murder suspect's goals were truly to "right the wrongs" of the U.S. healthcare system, he had every tool available to him to do so in a constructive and meaningful manner. He came from a wealthy and prominent family in the Baltimore area, became the valedictorian at a prestigious all-boys prep school, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's in engineering. Clearly, the murder suspect was intelligent and capable, and if he had put his talent into creating solutions for the healthcare industry, who knows what he could have accomplished?

This is the kind of behavior the far-left idolizes, like communists on college campuses who wear shirts that celebrate the brutal Cuban warlord, Che Guevara. Merchandise celebrating the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect is already available, including shirts, hoodies, mugs, and even Christmas ornaments. Will they be sporting his face on their T-shirts too?

This macabre behavior does not breed creation, achievement, success, or life. It only brings death and risks more Americans falling into this dangerous paradigm. But we still have a chance to choose life. We just have to wake up and take it.