Blog
LatestArticlesVideos
Radio
LivePodcastSerialsStations
TV
Podcasts
The Glenn Beck ProgramThe Glenn Beck PodcastThe Beck Story
Fine Art
Real Estate
More
AboutCharityBooksSponsorsShopContact
SEARCH
Live Radio

©2024 MERCURY RADIO ARTS.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

Live

Glenn's Show Prep

Trump Supporter Calls to Apologize and Forgive: 'You're My Fellow Brothers.'

November 09, 2016
Lori Hanes

Writer

Following a bloody and divisive 2016 election season, Glenn looked for ways to begin healing on Wednesday, the day after Donald Trump's historic win.

"I want to hear how you're feeling today, and if you want to gloat, it is gloat fest. If you want to gloat, feel free to call us," Glenn said, encouraging listeners to call in.

Glenn took two calls from two very different listeners.

RELATED: Glenn Wipes the Slate Clean: I’ll Call Donald Trump to Offer My Support

Reese from Pennsylvania called to compliment Glenn and crew on their election night coverage.

"I think last night's room was a really great microcosm of what a lot of rooms in America were last night, that we may disagree on policy, but we agree on principle. And we can get there together," Reese said.

Nate from Virginia, a Trump supporter and previous caller, approached things from a different angle.

"I want to tell you guys, after last night and early this morning, there was a burden that's been lifted off me. I don't hate you guys anymore," Nate said.

Nate took it one step further, apologizing for his hatred and identifying how to start rebuilding the nation together.

"We're going to start with the Constitution. And I know you guys were behind that 100 percent, so let's start there," he said.

Read below or watch the clip for answers to these unifying questions:

• What did Reese praise Tomi Lahren for?

• Where can Stu and Tomi find common ground?

• How did Nate describe his last call to The Glenn Beck Program?

• Which presidency compares to the difficulty Trump will face?

• How did Glenn respond to Nate's heartfelt apology?

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: I want to take -- I want to take some of your phone calls. We want to get into his acceptance speech here in a second. But I want to hear how you're feeling today. And if you want to gloat, it is gloat fest. If you want to gloat, feel free to call us. We'll even play the song for you.

Reese in Pennsylvania. Hello, Reese. Oh, Reese is gone.

Are you there, Reese?

CALLER: I am. Can you hear me?

GLENN: Oh, hi. Yes, I can.

CALLER: First of all, thank you, guys. All of you, for everything you did last night.

I hung in there with you until about 2:30.

GLENN: Wow.

CALLER: And really appreciate everything you guys did.

PAT: Nice.

CALLER: Second of all, I wanted to give a lot of props to Tomi Lahren. It was obvious that she was sort of the odd man out in the room last night at least.

PAT: She was outnumbered. There was no question. She was outnumbered.

CALLER: At least at the beginning. And you talk about gloat fest, she had every opportunity to, "I told you so," to every person in the room, and she didn't.

You know, before this election, before last night's coverage, Tomi wasn't really on my radar. I was -- I'm 38. I'm not a millennial or at least I don't identify with millennials. And seeing her last night and keeping her poise and keeping her professionalism and moving forward -- I think last night's room was a really great microcosm of what a lot of rooms in America were last night, that we may disagree, but -- on policy, but we agree on principle. And we can get there together.

GLENN: We -- I tell you --

CALLER: So thank you for that.

GLENN: Honestly, at TheBlaze -- TheBlaze programming management, they even thought of at one point not doing election coverage because they said everybody is too divided. And our case was, "No, no, no. That's exactly what it should be. It should be --

PAT: Because the that's where America is.

GLENN: Yeah, that's where America is. A group of people coming together and saying, "We got to work this out."

CALLER: Exactly.

GLENN: At times, it was tough to do, tough to even endure. And I don't know if it was tough to watch. But it was -- it was one of the more tough things I've ever had to do.

CALLER: And I'm really glad, Glenn, that somebody at some point finally got Tomi a blanket. You could see on television how cold that poor thing was. I've been married long enough to know when it's cold --

STU: Look, Tomi and I have not agreed on everything as we go to the election obviously, but I mean, I fully agree with her opinion on how freaking cold this room is. We can unite right there.

JEFFY: Once the results came in, she seemed to be warmer.

PAT: She and Sarah Gonzalez were both just out of their minds cold last night. Sarah was like, "I can't feel my hands. I've lost all feeling in my --

CALLER: But thank you guys very much for you do.

GLENN: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

CALLER: This is where the unity begins, and you guys are doing it in true form. Thank you.

GLENN: Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Last night -- you know, what are the things we all did? And I don't know about -- well, Stu drank. You didn't play your guitar. You brought your guitar in --

PAT: It's just -- it's too loud. And so I couldn't -- I didn't know where it fit.

GLENN: Okay. I painted the night.

PAT: Painting was much quieter.

GLENN: Yeah, it was very quiet. But I have to tell you, it's what got me through. I said to everybody yesterday, whatever you have to do to relax --

JEFFY: I had to watch my porn on mute, but I made it through okay.

(laughter)

GLENN: Yeah. Right. And you were very relaxed. You didn't say anything, except, "Oh, yes," a few times, which was disturbing when we were reading the election results.

PAT: Creepy.

GLENN: But strangely, it kind of worked for a lot of people.

JEFFY: Yeah.

GLENN: Let me go to Nate in Virginia. Hello, Nate.

CALLER: Hey. Hey, how are you guys doing this morning?

PAT: Good.

CALLER: I'm listening to WLNI 105.9. They carry you guys.

GLENN: Yes. Thank you.

CALLER: Listen, can I tell you something? I'm a -- well, I was a Trump supporter. I called you maybe four months ago because you were inviting Trump supporters to call and explain themselves. And we had a long conversation.

GLENN: Yes.

CALLER: I was perhaps, if you remember, the gloomiest conversation you've probably ever heard.

STU: That's a challenge on this show.

GLENN: Yeah.

CALLER: Right. Yeah. I know.

GLENN: Those don't stand out.

CALLER: I hated you guys for a long time now.

GLENN: You hated us?

CALLER: Hated us -- hated you guys. You know, I'm a conservative person.

PAT: Because of Trump?

CALLER: Yeah, because of everything that happened.

I want to tell you guys, after last night and early this morning, there was a burden that's been lifted off me. I don't hate you guys anymore.

STU: That's awesome.

CALLER: I understand you guys. Even though I didn't want to listen to you guys, I still did, like an idiot. And that made me even angrier.

GLENN: So what happened today? What happened today?

CALLER: It was like when I got saved, to be honest with you.

PAT: Well, Trump won, right?

CALLER: Something came and took away all that hatred inside of me that I had for you guys, and it's released, and it's gone. And I don't have any other explanation for it. I know where you stand. I know everything about you guys, but you're my brothers. You're my fellow brothers. We're conservatives.

And I'm sorry. Can I apologize to the listener, to you for hating you? Because all's it did was hurt me in the end, you know what I mean?

PAT: Yeah.

STU: Wow.

GLENN: Wow. Nate, this is the nicest call --

CALLER: And I just want to let you guys know that I love you, and we're going to build this nation again.

GLENN: We are.

CALLER: And we're going to start with the Constitution. And I know you guys were behind that 100 percent, so let's start there. And let's worry about the problems when they come. This is -- I pity Donald Trump because he's got a lot on his plate and he's got to come through for us, you know. He's got to.

STU: It's a tough job.

GLENN: I will tell you, this is going to be the hardest job any president has had possibly since Abraham Lincoln.

CALLER: Yeah, no, it's going to be rough.

GLENN: This is going to be a difficult four years.

STU: That was a great call.

PAT: Yeah, thanks.

STU: That was awesome. Thank you for doing that.

GLENN: Nate, can't thank you enough. Thank you. Thank you. And apology accepted. And our apologies to you if we did anything that -- that caused you to hate. Caused you to hate. That happens.

STU: Oh, there's lots of -- people hate us all the time for real, legitimate reasons all the time.

GLENN: Yeah, I hate these people who like have seen one clip of me on YouTube and hate me.

PAT: And that's not the case here.

GLENN: He's watched me for a while. Listened to me for a while. Come up with some good reasons.

JEFFY: You can build up some serious --

GLENN: Yeah, no. You can have a really legitimate case to hate me.

STU: And, by the way, you played the clip earlier. That -- to me, that's what this means. This is -- when you have a president -- there's a lot of things we've said about Donald Trump and things I believe are real negatives. And I'm a skeptic going into this. However, with every president, left, right, Barack Obama, you get a clean slate when you go into that job. Because you're trying to analyze what a president will be, you have to look at their past and what they've done. That's how you do it. But there's no reason to look at that once they get into office. You judge them on the job they've done.

GLENN: It is a complete -- in fact, may I suggest this? Would you, in our audio archives, Pat, will you go and delete every negative thing on Donald Trump, everything that he said during the campaign --

PAT: Yeah. As soon as the show is over, I'm going to do that today.

GLENN: Yeah, delete it. Delete all. It's a clean slate. We start with the man he is today. And there's -- and I can't -- Nate, thank you for that call. It means the world to us. It really does. But let me -- let me say this, the ones we really need to reach out to are the people who are truly afraid today. They really, truly believe that Donald Trump is going to be the death of us.

Now --

PAT: And we believed that about Obama.

GLENN: Yeah. And, quite honestly --

PAT: To the very depths of our being.

GLENN: Quite honestly, if it wasn't that I have weathered Barack Obama, I would be saying the same thing today about Donald Trump.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: I -- I have my issues that everybody knows. However, clean slate. We will survive -- we'll survive anybody. We will, if we stay together.

Don't dismiss those people who are afraid. Don't allow yourself to be dragged into what we just went through. Because, listen, what did we just go through? We just went through a year where, listen to what he just said, "The only one who lost was me." In many ways, I feel the same way: The only one who lost was me. Because we couldn't even talk to each other anymore.

I want you to listen to next hour. Because I want to tell you a story about my grandmother. And I want to tell you a story about --

PAT: Plutarch?

GLENN: You're such a jerk. Somebody else's family that missed 20 years. Somebody -- Ronald Reagan.

I want to tell you a story about Ronald Reagan that you need to hear today. Because it's happened in my family with me and my grandmother, and I so regret it.

I think of my grandmother Beck, who my grandfather Beck was not a good guy. And I was not close to him at all. And I -- I was spooked by him, quite honestly. Didn't like him.

But my grandmother was sweet. And my grandmother, quite honestly, was an abused woman. And I didn't know that.

PAT: Hmm.

GLENN: And my grandmother, when she would see me -- the only real memory I have of my grandmother is, A, reading to me, which nobody used to read to me when I was a kid. My mom didn't read to me, my dad didn't read to me. My grandmother did. And only my Grandma Beck. And the other was, she had a lot of grandchildren. But I was the only one that she would bake a pie for when I would come over.

If I was coming, she would make lemon merengue pie, and it was just for me. And she made the best lemon merengue pie. My grandmother died asking, "When will Glenn come and visit me?"

I didn't because of my own stupidity and fear and history and awkwardness because it became too late and I didn't know how to say it and I didn't know what to do. And I so regret it.

Let me share a story of another broken family that you will -- we're not a country. We're family.

And I always say, "Well, it's blood. You're born into it. And you don't choose your family." Yes, you do. I chose. I chose. And I chose incorrectly.

You can stop calling your brothers and sisters and stop seeing your brothers and sisters and stop going to -- but you go usually -- you go because you know you have to. Because in the end, we're family.

We have to choose today. Are we family? Or are we people that just live in the same planet in the same space at the same time?

Let's choose family.

Featured Image: The Glenn Beck Program, November 9, 2016.

URGENT: FIVE steps to CONTROL AI before it's too late!

MANAURE QUINTERO / Contributor | Getty Images

By now, many of us are familiar with AI and its potential benefits and threats. However, unless you're a tech tycoon, it can feel like you have little influence over the future of artificial intelligence.

For years, Glenn has warned about the dangers of rapidly developing AI technologies that have taken the world by storm.

He acknowledges their significant benefits but emphasizes the need to establish proper boundaries and ethics now, while we still have control. But since most people aren’t Silicon Valley tech leaders making the decisions, how can they help keep AI in check?

Recently, Glenn interviewed Tristan Harris, a tech ethicist deeply concerned about the potential harm of unchecked AI, to discuss its societal implications. Harris highlighted a concerning new piece of legislation proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This legislation proposes a state-level moratorium on AI regulation, meaning only the federal government could regulate AI. Harris noted that there’s currently no Federal plan for regulating AI. Until the federal government establishes a plan, tech companies would have nearly free rein with their AI. And we all know how slowly the federal government moves.

This is where you come in. Tristan Harris shared with Glenn the top five actions you should urge your representatives to take regarding AI, including opposing the moratorium until a concrete plan is in place. Now is your chance to influence the future of AI. Contact your senator and congressman today and share these five crucial steps they must take to keep AI in check:

Ban engagement-optimized AI companions for kids

Create legislation that will prevent AI from being designed to maximize addiction, sexualization, flattery, and attachment disorders, and to protect young people’s mental health and ability to form real-life friendships.

Establish basic liability laws

Companies need to be held accountable when their products cause real-world harm.

Pass increased whistleblower protections

Protect concerned technologists working inside the AI labs from facing untenable pressures and threats that prevent them from warning the public when the AI rollout is unsafe or crosses dangerous red lines.

Prevent AI from having legal rights

Enact laws so AIs don’t have protected speech or have their own bank accounts, making sure our legal system works for human interests over AI interests.

Oppose the state moratorium on AI 

Call your congressman or Senator Cruz’s office, and demand they oppose the state moratorium on AI without a plan for how we will set guardrails for this technology.

Glenn: Only Trump dared to deliver on decades of empty promises

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

The Islamic regime has been killing Americans since 1979. Now Trump’s response proves we’re no longer playing defense — we’re finally hitting back.

The United States has taken direct military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Whatever you think of the strike, it’s over. It’s happened. And now, we have to predict what happens next. I want to help you understand the gravity of this situation: what happened, what it means, and what might come next. To that end, we need to begin with a little history.

Since 1979, Iran has been at war with us — even if we refused to call it that.

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell.

It began with the hostage crisis, when 66 Americans were seized and 52 were held for over a year by the radical Islamic regime. Four years later, 17 more Americans were murdered in the U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut, followed by 241 Marines in the Beirut barracks bombing.

Then came the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996, which killed 19 more U.S. airmen. Iran had its fingerprints all over it.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian-backed proxies killed hundreds of American soldiers. From 2001 to 2020 in Afghanistan and 2003 to 2011 in Iraq, Iran supplied IEDs and tactical support.

The Iranians have plotted assassinations and kidnappings on U.S. soil — in 2011, 2021, and again in 2024 — and yet we’ve never really responded.

The precedent for U.S. retaliation has always been present, but no president has chosen to pull the trigger until this past weekend. President Donald Trump struck decisively. And what our military pulled off this weekend was nothing short of extraordinary.

Operation Midnight Hammer

The strike was reportedly called Operation Midnight Hammer. It involved as many as 175 U.S. aircraft, including 12 B-2 stealth bombers — out of just 19 in our entire arsenal. Those bombers are among the most complex machines in the world, and they were kept mission-ready by some of the finest mechanics on the planet.

USAF / Handout | Getty Images

To throw off Iranian radar and intelligence, some bombers flew west toward Guam — classic misdirection. The rest flew east, toward the real targets.

As the B-2s approached Iranian airspace, U.S. submarines launched dozens of Tomahawk missiles at Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities. Minutes later, the bombers dropped 14 MOPs — massive ordnance penetrators — each designed to drill deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers. These bombs are the size of an F-16 and cost millions of dollars apiece. They are so accurate, I’ve been told they can hit the top of a soda can from 15,000 feet.

They were built for this mission — and we’ve been rehearsing this run for 15 years.

If the satellite imagery is accurate — and if what my sources tell me is true — the targeted nuclear sites were utterly destroyed. We’ll likely rely on the Israelis to confirm that on the ground.

This was a master class in strategy, execution, and deterrence. And it proved that only the United States could carry out a strike like this. I am very proud of our military, what we are capable of doing, and what we can accomplish.

What comes next

We don’t yet know how Iran will respond, but many of the possibilities are troubling. The Iranians could target U.S. forces across the Middle East. On Monday, Tehran launched 20 missiles at U.S. bases in Qatar, Syria, and Kuwait, to no effect. God forbid, they could also unleash Hezbollah or other terrorist proxies to strike here at home — and they just might.

Iran has also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz — the artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil flows. On Sunday, Iran’s parliament voted to begin the process. If the Supreme Council and the ayatollah give the go-ahead, we could see oil prices spike to $150 or even $200 a barrel.

That would be catastrophic.

The 2008 financial collapse was pushed over the edge when oil hit $130. Western economies — including ours — simply cannot sustain oil above $120 for long. If this conflict escalates and the Strait is closed, the global economy could unravel.

The strike also raises questions about regime stability. Will it spark an uprising, or will the Islamic regime respond with a brutal crackdown on dissidents?

Early signs aren’t hopeful. Reports suggest hundreds of arrests over the weekend and at least one dissident executed on charges of spying for Israel. The regime’s infamous morality police, the Gasht-e Ershad, are back on the streets. Every phone, every vehicle — monitored. The U.S. embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place warning for Americans.

Russia and China both condemned the strike. On Monday, a senior Iranian official flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. That meeting should alarm anyone paying attention. Their alliance continues to deepen — and that’s a serious concern.

Now we pray

We are either on the verge of a remarkable strategic victory or a devastating global escalation. Time will tell. But either way, President Trump didn’t start this. He inherited it — and he took decisive action.

The difference is, he did what they all said they would do. He didn’t send pallets of cash in the dead of night. He didn’t sign another failed treaty.

He acted. Now, we pray. For peace, for wisdom, and for the strength to meet whatever comes next.


This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Globalize the Intifada? Why Mamdani’s plan spells DOOM for America

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

If New Yorkers hand City Hall to Zohran Mamdani, they’re not voting for change. They’re opening the door to an alliance of socialism, Islamism, and chaos.

It only took 25 years for New York City to go from the resilient, flag-waving pride following the 9/11 attacks to a political fever dream. To quote Michael Malice, “I'm old enough to remember when New Yorkers endured 9/11 instead of voting for it.”

Malice is talking about Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist assemblyman from Queens now eyeing the mayor’s office. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative emerging from relative political obscurity, is now receiving substantial funding for his mayoral campaign from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR has a long and concerning history, including being born out of the Muslim Brotherhood and named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror funding case. Why would the group have dropped $100,000 into a PAC backing Mamdani’s campaign?

Mamdani blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone.

Perhaps CAIR has a vested interest in Mamdani’s call to “globalize the intifada.” That’s not a call for peaceful protest. Intifada refers to historic uprisings of Muslims against what they call the “Israeli occupation of Palestine.” Suicide bombings and street violence are part of the playbook. So when Mamdani says he wants to “globalize” that, who exactly is the enemy in this global scenario? Because it sure sounds like he's saying America is the new Israel, and anyone who supports Western democracy is the new Zionist.

Mamdani tried to clean up his language by citing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which once used “intifada” in an Arabic-language article to describe the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. So now he’s comparing Palestinians to Jewish victims of the Nazis? If that doesn’t twist your stomach into knots, you’re not paying attention.

If you’re “globalizing” an intifada, and positioning Israel — and now America — as the Nazis, that’s not a cry for human rights. That’s a call for chaos and violence.

Rising Islamism

But hey, this is New York. Faculty members at Columbia University — where Mamdani’s own father once worked — signed a letter defending students who supported Hamas after October 7. They also contributed to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. And his father? He blamed Ronald Reagan and the religious right for inspiring Islamic terrorism, as if the roots of 9/11 grew in Washington, not the caves of Tora Bora.

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

This isn’t about Islam as a faith. We should distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Islam is a religion followed peacefully by millions. Islamism is something entirely different — an ideology that seeks to merge mosque and state, impose Sharia law, and destroy secular liberal democracies from within. Islamism isn’t about prayer and fasting. It’s about power.

Criticizing Islamism is not Islamophobia. It is not an attack on peaceful Muslims. In fact, Muslims are often its first victims.

Islamism is misogynistic, theocratic, violent, and supremacist. It’s hostile to free speech, religious pluralism, gay rights, secularism — even to moderate Muslims. Yet somehow, the progressive left — the same left that claims to fight for feminism, LGBTQ rights, and free expression — finds itself defending candidates like Mamdani. You can’t make this stuff up.

Blending the worst ideologies

And if that weren’t enough, Mamdani also identifies as a Democratic Socialist. He blends political Islam with Marxist economics — two ideologies that have left tens of millions dead in the 20th century alone. But don’t worry, New York. I’m sure this time socialism will totally work. Just like it always didn’t.

If you’re a business owner, a parent, a person who’s saved anything, or just someone who values sanity: Get out. I’m serious. If Mamdani becomes mayor, as seems likely, then New York City will become a case study in what happens when you marry ideological extremism with political power. And it won’t be pretty.

This is about more than one mayoral race. It’s about the future of Western liberalism. It’s about drawing a bright line between faith and fanaticism, between healthy pluralism and authoritarian dogma.

Call out radicalism

We must call out political Islam the same way we call out white nationalism or any other supremacist ideology. When someone chants “globalize the intifada,” that should send a chill down your spine — whether you’re Jewish, Christian, Muslim, atheist, or anything in between.

The left may try to shame you into silence with words like “Islamophobia,” but the record is worn out. The grooves are shallow. The American people see what’s happening. And we’re not buying it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Could China OWN our National Parks?

Jonathan Newton / Contributor | Getty Images

The left’s idea of stewardship involves bulldozing bison and barring access. Lee’s vision puts conservation back in the hands of the people.

The media wants you to believe that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is trying to bulldoze Yellowstone and turn national parks into strip malls — that he’s calling for a reckless fire sale of America’s natural beauty to line developers’ pockets. That narrative is dishonest. It’s fearmongering, and, by the way, it’s wrong.

Here’s what’s really happening.

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized.

The federal government currently owns 640 million acres of land — nearly 28% of all land in the United States. To put that into perspective, that’s more territory than France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom combined.

Most of this land is west of the Mississippi River. That’s not a coincidence. In the American West, federal ownership isn’t just a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a stranglehold. States are suffocated. Locals are treated as tenants. Opportunities are choked off.

Meanwhile, people living east of the Mississippi — in places like Kentucky, Georgia, or Pennsylvania — might not even realize how little land their own states truly control. But the same policies that are plaguing the West could come for them next.

Lee isn’t proposing to auction off Yellowstone or pave over Yosemite. He’s talking about 3 million acres — that’s less than half of 1% of the federal estate. And this land isn’t your family’s favorite hiking trail. It’s remote, hard to access, and often mismanaged.

Failed management

Why was it mismanaged in the first place? Because the federal government is a terrible landlord.

Consider Yellowstone again. It’s home to the last remaining herd of genetically pure American bison — animals that haven’t been crossbred with cattle. Ranchers, myself included, would love the chance to help restore these majestic creatures on private land. But the federal government won’t allow it.

So what do they do when the herd gets too big?

They kill them. Bulldoze them into mass graves. That’s not conservation. That’s bureaucratic malpractice.

And don’t even get me started on bald eagles — majestic symbols of American freedom and a federally protected endangered species, now regularly slaughtered by wind turbines. I have pictures of piles of dead bald eagles. Where’s the outrage?

Biden’s federal land-grab

Some argue that states can’t afford to manage this land themselves. But if the states can’t afford it, how can Washington? We’re $35 trillion in debt. Entitlements are strained, infrastructure is crumbling, and the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service are billions of dollars behind in basic maintenance. Roads, firebreaks, and trails are falling apart.

The Biden administration quietly embraced something called the “30 by 30” initiative, a plan to lock up 30% of all U.S. land and water under federal “conservation” by 2030. The real goal is 50% by 2050.

That entails half of the country being taken away from you, controlled not by the people who live there but by technocrats in D.C.

You think that won’t affect your ability to hunt, fish, graze cattle, or cut timber? Think again. It won’t be conservatives who stop you from building a cabin, raising cattle, or teaching your grandkids how to shoot a rifle. It’ll be the same radical environmentalists who treat land as sacred — unless it’s your truck, your deer stand, or your back yard.

Land as collateral

Moreover, the U.S. Treasury is considering putting federally owned land on the national balance sheet, listing your parks, forests, and hunting grounds as collateral.

What happens if America defaults on its debt?

David McNew / Stringer | Getty Images

Do you think our creditors won’t come calling? Imagine explaining to your kids that the lake you used to fish in is now under foreign ownership, that the forest you hunted in belongs to China.

This is not hypothetical. This is the logical conclusion of treating land like a piggy bank.

The American way

There’s a better way — and it’s the American way.

Let the people who live near the land steward it. Let ranchers, farmers, sportsmen, and local conservationists do what they’ve done for generations.

Did you know that 75% of America’s wetlands are on private land? Or that the most successful wildlife recoveries — whitetail deer, ducks, wild turkeys — didn’t come from Washington but from partnerships between private landowners and groups like Ducks Unlimited?

Private stewardship works. It’s local. It’s accountable. It’s incentivized. When you break it, you fix it. When you profit from the land, you protect it.

This is not about selling out. It’s about buying in — to freedom, to responsibility, to the principle of constitutional self-governance.

So when you hear the pundits cry foul over 3 million acres of federal land, remember: We don’t need Washington to protect our land. We need Washington to get out of the way.

Because this isn’t just about land. It’s about liberty. And once liberty is lost, it doesn’t come back easily.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.