Listeners Share Their 2017 New Year's Resolutions

Let the 2017 resolutions begin! While co-host Pat Gray shuns making resolutions, that didn't stop him from encouraging listeners to call in with their own. Tuesday on The Glenn Beck Program, listeners shared their goals for the year --- and chimed in about smart devices like Alexa.

Read below or listen to the full segment from Hour 2 for answers to these questions:

• What's a top resolution for 2017?

• Are smart devices like Alexa always listening and recording?

• How many orders did Pat inadvertently place on listeners' Alexa devices?

• What motivated a caller to stop drinking for six months?

• Who uses resolutions to learn survivalist skills?

Listen to this segment from The Glenn Beck Program:

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

PAT: It is the Glenn Beck Program. As sometimes happens with fat people like us, Glenn just threw his back out by sitting there.

JEFFY: He was lifting a plate of food.

(laughter)

PAT: Lifting a plate of food and threw his back out. He wasn't even doing that. He just moved. I don't know. Sometimes, you know, when you've got a bad back -- when you have a bad back, it doesn't take anything. You just move a certain way, and bang, you're in massive pain, which is what just happened moments ago. And so he's kind of been carried off on a stretcher almost. Not quite a stretcher --

JEFFY: Pretty close.

PAT: -- but he was definitely helped out of the studio.

So Pat Gray and Jeffy for Glenn right now. And then Stu is really sick today. I went through that today. I got that flu really bad a few weeks ago. And I was in bed for several days and just feeling like crap. Did you get any of that?

JEFFY: No, I did not.

PAT: That's nice.

JEFFY: I'm very fortunate about that.

PAT: That's nice because it's definitely going around.

JEFFY: Yeah, I got the beginning -- I felt the beginnings of illness coming on, and then it's all good.

PAT: And then you were fine. Weird.

JEFFY: But the weather here in Texas has been so -- 80, freezing, 80, freezing.

PAT: That's a Dallas winter though. You know, it goes 75, 43, 68, 52.

JEFFY: It's a beautiful today. Let's go out -- tonight, it's going to be freezing!

PAT: Yeah. All right. 888-727-BECK.

Right before the break, we were talking about the fact that I just -- I never make resolutions anymore. And I -- I don't know anybody who does. Do you still make New Year's resolutions? No, of course.

JEFFY: Oh. I set the one for the workout and the gym. And that's gone so well, I decided, why do I need to --

PAT: For all of us, I mean --

JEFFY: No. It's the same -- you're setting yourself up for failure immediately. You're doing it and it's like, you're done.

PAT: Yeah. According to Business Insider, the most popular resolutions your coworkers are making for 2017, one-fifth of people, 22 percent of the 34 -- this is a pretty big survey: 3411 employees were surveyed. And they said their top resolution for 2017 is to leave their current job and find a new one.

JEFFY: Wow.

PAT: Among younger workers, the number is even higher: Thirty-five percent of those between 18 and 34 expect to have a new job by the end of the year.

It was conducted online by the Harris Poll. And about half of the respondents, 49 percent say they plan to put more of their paycheck into savings. About a third, 38 percent want to decrease their stress level. Another third would like to move up a step on the ladder over the next 12 months. 28 percent plan to consume less junk food at the office. That's just not going to happen, people. Why bother? Just understand it. And know it, and you won't have to be disappointed the whole year.

And just about 26 percent resolve to make more courses, training, or seminars in 2017.

JEFFY: Why?

PAT: I don't know. That's just stupid.

(chuckling)

That's just -- very few of these are actually going to happen, which is why I -- you know, and then the other resolution for most people is to eat right, exercise, lose weight.

JEFFY: And it's important.

PAT: And I want to.

JEFFY: I do too.

PAT: I really do. I just don't call it a resolution. Because, again, I think you're setting yourself up for failure.

JEFFY: Yeah. I mean, I want to. I want to drive by the gym and use that as a priority and pull in.

PAT: I don't want anything to do with the gym. I don't even want to pretend that I want something to do with the gym. I mean, eat right and exercise, maybe at home. Maybe take a walk from time to time. I do not want to go to the gym. I've got family members now -- several kids who are just obsessed with the gym.

JEFFY: I mean, my son, part-owner of gyms. I mean, no. I'm not doing it.

PAT: Plus, your son actually does work out.

JEFFY: A lot. Yeah, pretty sad.

PAT: Yeah. Yeah. That's how you get to be, what? 6-5 and 310 without an ounce of fat on your bones.

JEFFY: Yeah. Well, now he's lost a lot of weight by working out so hard. I mean, he's down like 50 pounds.

PAT: Oh, is he really?

JEFFY: Yeah, he's ready to play tight end. If you're looking to draft somebody, NFL, for a new contract, he's --

PAT: What is he, 43 now?

JEFFY: Yes.

(laughter)

PAT: It's probably a little -- a little beyond draft time.

JEFFY: Yeah, I know. I was just taking a shot.

(laughter)

PAT: 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.

If you got some resolutions that you'd like to share with us -- I don't even know if anybody even does this anymore. Does anybody do resolutions? There must be somebody, right? Because we talk about it every year.

JEFFY: There has to be.

PAT: There has to be somebody. Let's go to Pete in Texas. Pete, you're on the Glenn Beck Program with Pat and Jeffy.

CALLER: Hey, guys, how are you doing?

PAT: Good.

CALLER: So I actually was calling earlier. I guess my resolution would probably be that I don't have radio hosts order things off of Amazon for me anymore, seeing as you guys caused total chaos in our house this morning saying the Alexa key word over and over again.

JEFFY: You're welcome.

PAT: It's surprising how many people -- first of all, it's amazing how many people have that. Because we've heard that quite a bit today.

JEFFY: I know.

PAT: And that it would set off from listening to the radio is interesting to me too. I didn't even think of that when we were seeing Alexa. See, now we just it did again.

All right. Go ahead.

CALLER: Exactly.

So one thing you guys were discussing with that this morning was the way it works. You were saying that it always listens and it's always recording. There's that case in Arkansas, where, you know, the murder's happening -- or, the murder occurred.

PAT: Right.

JEFFY: Right.

CALLER: And they're trying to get a warrant to try to get the data. Anyway, so that -- it's not actually always listening and recording everything everyone says. I'm a software engineer.

What it does -- it listens for the key word, and then it starts listening. It's actually on the device. It's encoded on a chip in the device to listen for that key word for Alexa or, hey, Google or, hey, Siri or that sort of thing.

PAT: Yeah.

CALLER: Then it starts listening. You can test this too if you just sit and say, "Hey, what's the weather outside, Alexa?" It doesn't -- it's not recording to be able to pick up what you said before it.

PAT: Then why --

JEFFY: Oh, right.

PAT: Why would the police want access to its recordings?

CALLER: They don't realize that it's not function like a microphone. They think it's big brother-style. And maybe some day it will get to that. I could easily see Google or Amazon going, "Hey, let's offer this ability for it to have context," and then it starts recording everything. You can see that happening in the future. But today, that's not how it works.

PAT: So it would do them no good, is what you're saying. So even if Amazon said, "Sure, we'll give you the tape, the recordings," then it wouldn't do them any good because it wouldn't have recorded unless they said, "Hey, Alexa, I'm about to kill this guy."

CALLER: Exactly. Which if you're doing that, well, you're probably not going to get away --

PAT: Probably not. Yeah, you're probably not that smart a murderer.

JEFFY: Right. Alexa, I need cleaning products to clean up this blood.

PAT: Well, that's interesting. And that's a relief. Because I don't want it recording everything. I wouldn't want that in my house.

JEFFY: Yeah. Just in standby listening mode.

CALLER: It's an Amazon detriment if they were going for Google or anyone to sit and take in all of that data. If they were --

PAT: Right. Yeah.

CALLER: -- streaming -- I mean, think about the millions of people. And it would be a ton of data. And they would have to process it. And most of the -- what's the purpose in it? They want to sell you paper towels.

PAT: Yeah.

CALLER: You know, they don't want any of that other stuff.

PAT: That's a pretty good point. That's a pretty good point.

JEFFY: That is.

PAT: Appreciate the call. Thank you, Pete. Let's go to Zack in Ohio. Zack, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.

CALLER: Hello, how are you?

PAT: Good.

CALLER: Well, I've got a couple of New Year's resolutions. I need to lose a little bit of weight. I'm going to actually start holding my representatives accountable. I'm actually from West Virginia. I'm a truck driver, and I'm outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, right now. So my senators are Capito (phonetic) and Manchin. And my congressman is McKinley. And I've seen those suspense horror flicks of the smart houses from the '90s.

PAT: Yes.

CALLER: So I'm not ever going to get any AI fiberoptics. Because my fear is that it will enslave me in my own house.

JEFFY: Nah.

PAT: You know, I don't think that's ridiculous anymore.

JEFFY: It's not. It's not.

PAT: I think it could happen. Appreciate the call, Zach. Thanks.

JEFFY: We're pretty close.

PAT: I mean, it could happen, right?

JEFFY: Yeah. With the computer information and then the robotics, mixed with the robotics -- even without the robotics, just the information in your home, but with the robotics as well, yeah.

PAT: Yeah. It's not that farfetched.

JEFFY: No, it is not.

PAT: If anything went haywire -- I mean, let's say we're completely dependent on a smart home and the power goes out for an extended period of time. Then what do you do?

I mean, if your house -- I could see a scenario where you'd be pretty powerless. If you depend on the smart functions of your house to do everything --

JEFFY: Without power --

PAT: Then without power, you've got nothing, right?

JEFFY: There's no way to switch away from that.

PAT: I could see where that could become a problem. Even if it's nothing sinister. Just a power outage would screw things up.

JEFFY: Right. Right.

PAT: Let's go to Brian in Massachusetts. Brian, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.

CALLER: Hey, how are you guys doing? Happy New Year.

PAT: Happy New Year.

JEFFY: Thank you.

CALLER: I'm just calling now in regards to the Alexa.

PAT: Yeah.

CALLER: And now -- so I'm asking -- it's a two-party state, in terms of oral communication, in that both parties need to be aware.

PAT: That you're recording if you are. Yeah.

CALLER: Correct. So obviously there's exceptions: State and federal law enforcement, phone companies, et cetera.

So now the summary of mass law (phonetic) is -- prevents private citizens from secretly recording others or possessing a device with the intent to secretly record.

PAT: Okay.

CALLER: And I know the key word there is "secretly," but also "intent." But if you bring a case from I believe it's Arkansas --

JEFFY: Yes.

CALLER: I think the friend who found the dead guy in the tub, how could you argue, "Well, he doesn't know he's being recorded?" And how can you prove intent of a guy who is dead?

PAT: You can't. You can't.

CALLER: The guy can't --

PAT: So that would be an interesting thing to test in Massachusetts or any of these states with a two-party law. I would be interested to see. But it's kind of a moot point if what our previous caller is saying that it's true, in that it doesn't record all the time.

JEFFY: But if it does, buying the product is a simple admission that you're aware that it's recording him. I mean, that would be the argument.

PAT: It's true. It's like intent is implied -- like when you call a radio station, it's implied that you're giving us consent to put you on the air. It's different if we call you.

CALLER: Correct.

JEFFY: Right.

You know, I got the latest telephone, and I put in new applications. Do you read what's good? Do you read all the agreements that you agreed to with every app? Or do you just say "agree." I want to use the app. Move on.

PAT: Yes.

JEFFY: And all that information is going to those apps.

PAT: And they make it impossible. Thirty-eight pages of --

JEFFY: And you can't deny -- there's -- they used to break it up into sections where they could -- okay. Yeah, you can do this, but you can't do this.

No. No more of that. It's deny or not use the app.

PAT: Appreciate the call, Brian. Thanks. Let's go to Eric in California. Eric, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.

CALLER: What's up, Pat and Stu -- or, Jeffy? Jeffy.

JEFFY: What's up.

CALLER: I'm glad to see you guys again. I've been having withdrawals from missing you guys so much.

PAT: Oh, it's good to be back.

JEFFY: Us too. Us too.

CALLER: But, yeah, my -- my resolutions are -- I'm 24 years old from California. And my resolutions are to quit drinking alcohol.

PAT: Oh, wow. Completely? Not just cut back: You're going to quit?

CALLER: Yeah, completely.

PAT: Okay. When did that start? After New Year's Eve?

CALLER: Yeah.

PAT: Yeah.

CALLER: So, hey, three days. Three days.

PAT: That's pretty good. Congratulations.

JEFFY: Three days is three days.

PAT: Was there more, or is that it? I mean, that's a big one though.

CALLER: That's huge.

I tried it a few times. But I watched something on YouTube from Glenn Beck. You guys talked to an alcoholic. Actually, he called into the show.

PAT: Right.

JEFFY: Yeah.

CALLER: And it did motivate me, and it stopped me from drinking for six months when I was working for Ted Cruz.

PAT: Really? Nice.

JEFFY: Wow. So what I would do first is start by maybe watching that video every three months. Then you'll be all right. You just got to roll into that.

PAT: Yeah. Is that the guy who called us and said that he had gotten sober, inspired by Glenn, right? His sobriety?

JEFFY: He read the books. Read Liars.

PAT: Yeah, yeah. That was a powerful story.

JEFFY: Powerful.

PAT: It would have been great if it was true.

CALLER: It is awesome.

And it really speaks volumes to what you guys do. And I really do appreciate the network. And the Pat and Stu show as well. I DVR it every day.

PAT: Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Eric. Appreciate it. Thanks for the call.

Let's go to Andrew in Florida. Andrew, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.

CALLER: Hey.

PAT: Hey.

CALLER: Good morning. Hey, I just wanted to say, I have not only made my New Year's resolutions for the past four years, but kept every single one of them.

PAT: Really? And what are they?

JEFFY: Have they been difficult? Or are they just throwaway resolutions?

PAT: Yeah, give us an example.

CALLER: No. Obviously, I'm a fat man. So the obvious resolution is to become not a fat man. But that's not something that's going to happen.

JEFFY: Thank you. Thank you. Welcome, Andrew. Welcome.

CALLER: Yes, I'm weak.

PAT: Yes.

CALLER: But I made resolutions -- I started making resolutions to learn and become proficient at something new every year.

PAT: Oh, nice.

CALLER: So four years ago, I started with archery. I wanted to learn archery. Just something to do. So I learned archery, and I became proficient.

Then, you know, I wanted to learn to use a cast net. Catch my own bait. Clean a fish properly and become an angler. And this year, my goal is hunting. So I secured my hunting license. And I'm going to learn whatever I can about that. And, you know, how to clean an animal and do whatever else needs to be done.

PAT: Wow. So are you -- is this with a goal of becoming sort of more self-sufficient and survivalist?

CALLER: To an extent, yes.

PAT: Okay.

CALLER: I realized that, you know, things might always go as planned, and I'm going to be ready.

PAT: Nice.

JEFFY: Nice.

PAT: That's a good way to go about it. I appreciate the call. Thanks a lot, Andrew.

888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.

It's the Glenn Beck Program.

[break]

PAT: Pat Gray and Jeffy for Glenn on the Glenn Beck Program. He had a weird accident where he was sitting and hurt himself. So...

(laughter)

PAT: Yeah. You don't want to sit.

JEFFY: No, you don't. You don't.

PAT: And you've got to be careful. I mean, he was not careful.

JEFFY: I know. I worry about him every night. Because he's hurting himself sitting now, soon he's going to hurt himself sleeping.

PAT: Yeah. He was sitting there. And we were like, "Be careful." And he wasn't. Because he apparently moved.

JEFFY: No, he wasn't. He tried to move.

PAT: He apparently in some way. And seriously, he threw his back out really badly.

JEFFY: I know he did.

PAT: And had to be helped from the studio.

JEFFY: I saw it happen where -- you're right. He moved. He moved.

PAT: He moved.

JEFFY: And it was not pretty.

PAT: It was not good.

JEFFY: No, it was not.

PAT: So it -- just a cautionary tale, if you're a big, fat guy like we are, don't move.

JEFFY: Don't move. Don't move.

PAT: It's what I try to live by, I try not to move as much as possible. So don't be telling me about this gym stuff. Well, you need a gym membership and you need to work out your abs. That will strengthen your core. No. No. The thing is, don't move. And then there won't be a problem.

JEFFY: Your core is fine. Because it's not moving.

PAT: I'm not moving right now, and so my core is perfect.

JEFFY: Right.

PAT: 888-727-BECK.

We've been talking about New Year's resolutions. And if anybody makes them anymore. And apparently a few people still do.

And Business Insider just did a poll: Career Builder. Top resolutions for working people. About half the respondents, 49 percent plan to put more of their paychecks into savings. About a third want to decrease their stress level.

JEFFY: Of course.

PAT: About 22 percent of employees just want to change jobs this year. I mean, you hear that from a lot of people. A lot of people not doing what they like doing. I mean, it's important to do what you like, right? You're just better at it. 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.

If you've made a resolution...

[break]

PAT: Pat and Jeffy in for Glenn on the Glenn Beck Program.

Glenn threw his back out, so he's out for the rest of the day. He'll hopefully be on tomorrow.

JEFFY: Yeah.

PAT: Maybe from his bed. We'll see.

And then Stu came down with some kind of Chinese crud. I don't even know if he's been to China, but somehow he got the Chinese --

JEFFY: Right. I know.

PAT: 888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.

It was so weird that, what, a week after the Rogue One Star Wars movie was released, Carrie Fisher died. Was it a week? Maybe a week? Something like that.

JEFFY: I don't know the time frame. But close enough to be part of the whole sad --

PAT: Really sad. She was only 60. Only 60. And, boy, 60 looks like -- to me, you look like a teenager when you're 60.

(laughter)

JEFFY: I remember when I turned 60.

PAT: Because that's just a few years away now. I know it's in your rearview mirror.

JEFFY: Yeah. I don't even think about 60 anymore. I remember worrying about turning 60.

PAT: Uh-huh.

JEFFY: And thinking, "Wow, that's horrible." But now once you're over --

PAT: Now it seems like you're an infant at 60, to you.

JEFFY: But they talked about her having problems on the air, playing. And then being rushed to the hospital. I was afraid she wasn't going to --

PAT: Didn't they then though -- like a while later they said she was stable. She was in stable condition.

JEFFY: Yeah, her mother made a big deal, that she was fine.

PAT: And then all of a sudden she was gone. Really sad. And then her mom dad within, what? A day of that.

JEFFY: Right.

PAT: So Debbie Reynolds, we lost like within 48 hours of Carrie Fisher.

JEFFY: So sad. Heartbreaking.

PAT: And then George Michael died. And that's kind of -- those are weird circumstances. Nobody really knows what happened there, right? Have they released that?

JEFFY: He died at home. No, but they were just saying he died at home. You know, everybody dies at home. We got to die somewhere.

PAT: So when they won't say, it's usual suicide or AIDS, right? Isn't that normally the case?

JEFFY: Well, one of the pictures that they show -- they saw of him last being photographed, which was in the last month or so before he died, he didn't look that thin.

PAT: No, he didn't. That is true. That is true.

JEFFY: Usually if you're close to death with a disease, you stop gaining weight.

PAT: Yeah, that's true. And then there seems to be some suspicion with his significant other person. Because, first of all, this guy said that he was with him all weekend. And then he suddenly, no, I fell asleep in my career. And I slept -- you fell asleep in your car? That must have been a good night's rest. So that's a weird circumstance too.

JEFFY: Yeah.

PAT: And then LaVell Edwards, one of my heroes, legendary coach of BYU for 30 years died as well.

JEFFY: They come in threes. Boy. Man.

PAT: Unfortunately, that's four. That's four people. That's four.

JEFFY: What?

PAT: So...

(laughter)

888-727-BECK. 888-727-BECK.

We're talking about New Year's resolutions. So if you've made one, if you still have those, we'd like to hear what yours is.

In Finland, they have an ambitious New Year's resolution in mind: They -- they want to find out how offering people free money for two years helps the unemployed get back to work.

JEFFY: Gets them back on their feet.

PAT: They're going to take 2,000 people who are currently unemployed and give them free money for two years.

JEFFY: No matter what, either. You're going to get the money the 1st the month, period.

PAT: And then they're going to see how that helps them get back to work?

JEFFY: That's going to get them right back to work.

PAT: Right back to work. Because if you're getting more money by sitting home doing nothing, you know you're going to be inspired and motivated to go out and get a job.

JEFFY: You're going to want to. Because you're going to be able to afford a new shirt and some new pants and get out there and look good.

PAT: Is that the theory behind it? It must be, right?

JEFFY: Of course, it is.

PAT: Because they're going to give them $590 a month, which is not a lot of money. But it as he wants people enough that maybe that will be enough for them. The critics --

JEFFY: And in Finland -- what? Most people are living in the small apartments anyway. You're a little bit familiar with Finland.

PAT: Yes. Yes. My son lived there for two years.

JEFFY: So I don't know how much it cost for one of the smaller places.

PAT: Yeah, I don't either. But everything is government-subsidized. So the taxes are ridiculous for everybody. And the government takes care of everything to be to begin with.

JEFFY: So the government that's giving out money to people for doing nothing --

PAT: Uh-huh.

JEFFY: -- charges a bunch of people money to do that with.

PAT: Exactly. And now they're going to do that -- even more of that.

JEFFY: Yeah.

PAT: So that's got to work out really well.

Opponents of the experiment say it will just allow people to sit on their couch all day, which, I mean, of course, that's going to happen.

JEFFY: Huh.

PAT: I can't wait to hear the results of this and see if they -- but if they tell the truth.

JEFFY: Yeah, they might not.

PAT: I mean, these are socialists to begin with. So are they going to tell the truth? Well, you know what, it didn't work giving people free money. We found out it didn't motivate them.

But proponents claim they'll actually use the money to make their lives better.

JEFFY: Yep.

PAT: In what way? How is that -- what? How? The system nowadays -- it's pretty negative for people who try to do something, even little in their lives and get something out of it. A basic income might turn risky -- might turn a risky move into a much safer one.

So they think that getting $590 a month will allow them to become more adventurous and try something new and give them a little bit more of a safety net than they already have?

It's a -- wow, that's a bizarre plan.

JEFFY: Okay.

PAT: That's a bizarre plan.

JEFFY: Good luck with that theory.

PAT: 888-727-BECK. And then you wonder why we're in the kind of situation that we're in.

JEFFY: But that's what some people have touted would be a fix here, right? As a theory.

The -- you know, just pay everybody a monthly -- their monthly stipend.

PAT: Yeah, and for -- for the most menial of jobs, to pay people $15 an hour to do them, even that is a terrible plan.

JEFFY: Right.

PAT: But when you're paying people absolutely nothing, how do you think that is going to work? We've seen over and over and over when people become reliant on the government, it doesn't motivate them to do better. They simply rely on the government.

JEFFY: I know. And there are some states that have made people do services for the state. Public service. Or have a job for the state, if they're going to take state money. And that's been where the people say, "You know, no, that's fine. You keep your money. I don't want to do that. I don't even want to work. I don't want to work at all."

PAT: Uh-huh.

JEFFY: I don't want to sweep a street and get your money. Okay.

PAT: It doesn't make any sense. 888-727-BECK.

Let's go to Johnny in Ohio. You're on the Glenn Beck Program.

CALLER: How's it going, guys?

PAT: Doing good.

JEFFY: Good.

CALLER: Just wanted to get my resolutions -- my three that I've had for the last eight years.

PAT: Oh, wow. Okay.

CALLER: They're very hard to keep a hold of. But, you know, I stay strong and I do it. My first one is to not write a novel.

PAT: To not write a novel.

CALLER: Yes, sir. To not write a novel. And my second one is to not climb Mt. Everest. And my third one is to not run a marathon.

JEFFY: How is that working out for you? Are you doing all right with that?

CALLER: You know what, I'm solid. I'm strong as could be with those.

PAT: Congratulations. That's commendable. That's commendable. That year after year, you've not run a marathon nor have you climb Mt. Everest. That's admirable.

CALLER: I've done my best.

PAT: Thanks, Johnny. Let's go to Ginger. Ginger, you're on the Glenn Beck Program. Hi.

CALLER: I love your program. I've been listening since you guys were in Tampa Bay. I'm in St. Pete. And I love the program. And I actually like it better with you guys without Glenn.

JEFFY: Oh, no. No, no, no.

CALLER: So good job. And I'm not trying to be mean. I'm not trying to be mean. It's just the truth. I think you guys are hysterically funny.

PAT: The man is injured, and you've kicked him when he's down.

JEFFY: He hurt himself sitting today.

(laughter)

CALLER: And I don't wish him any -- oh, I'm sorry he's not feeling well if he's listening. But you guys -- you two are hysterically funny, and I really enjoy listening to you.

PAT: Thank you.

CALLER: Oddly enough, isn't it ironic how your listeners share so many things in common? Because my resolutions were exactly the same as Johnny's. And that's just -- it must be the influence you guys have on me. But I always wanted to wish you Happy New Year and to say thanks for the entertainment and also to remind you that you forgot number five, William Christopher, the gentleman that played Father Mulcahy on MASH died on New Year's Eve.

JEFFY: Yeah, he just died too.

PAT: Oh, I didn't even hear about that one.

JEFFY: Yeah. Yeah.

PAT: But that's not the fifth one.

CALLER: Yes, he was 84 years old.

PAT: According to Jeffy, that would be the second of the new three.

JEFFY: Yeah, the second of the two. But back up one, there was one before Carrie. I can't remember the guy's name.

PAT: Right.

CALLER: Okay. Okay. Well, you forgot him. And he was a great actor. He was an awesome dude. I loved that show.

PAT: He was really good. Yeah, and I loved the show, and I really liked him in it.

CALLER: Yeah, me too.

PAT: So I hadn't heard he died. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot, Ginger.

CALLER: All right.

PAT: 888-727-BECK. Let's go to Dave in California. Hey, Dave, you're on the Glenn Beck Program.

CALLER: Hello.

PAT: Hi.

CALLER: How are you doing today?

PAT: Doing good.

CALLER: I made two resolutions. In 1989, I retired from the military with 31 years service.

PAT: Thank you for your service.

CALLER: One, I would -- thank you.

One, I would still be in the same shape the rest of my life till my dying days and wear the same size clothes. And I'm 72 now, and I do -- I play racquetball twice a week.

PAT: Wow. That's amazing.

CALLER: And the second one -- and the second one is: I would do something good every day, no matter whether it was little bitty or no matter what it was. And I've lived up to that every single day. You guys should try that. Something simple.

Well, I changed a lady's flat tire for her this morning. Every day -- something as simple as carrying someone's groceries to their car. Just something every single day.

PAT: What -- what did you do on June 6th, 1993? What good thing?

JEFFY: That's great.

CALLER: 1993. June 6th. Oh, I do remember that as a matter of fact.

PAT: June 6th.

You do?

CALLER: No. The reason I remembered that, there was a car accident. I pulled a guy out of a car.

PAT: Wow.

CALLER: I remember that exactly.

PAT: On June 6th, 1993.

CALLER: That's it.

PAT: How about that?

JEFFY: That's fantastic. You weren't so exhausted from pulling the guy out of the car, what happened on June 7th?

CALLER: I -- I can't tell you on June 7th because that wasn't a catastrophic event.

PAT: All right. It's amazing I picked a day you actually do remember. That's weird.

JEFFY: Right.

CALLER: You know what, at 72, I'm lucky I remember. The way this worked is from 50 to 60, you learn all your aches and pains. Tell Glenn that.

PAT: Okay.

CALLER: And then from 60 to 70, you learn to accept them. And then usually after 70, guess what, you start forgetting them.

(laughter)

PAT: All right. Thanks a lot, Dave. Appreciate that.

I'm not sure that's really comforting.

JEFFY: No. That's not.

PAT: But we'll take it. 888-727-BECK. More of the Glenn Beck Program coming up.

[break]

PAT: Is Zuckerberg Buddhist then? He seems to love Buddhism.

JEFFY: Yeah, he could be.

Welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. Jeff Fisher, Jeffy, and Pat Gray in for Glenn Beck who had to leave a couple minutes early.

PAT: Well, he had a tragic accident, sitting in a chair and he moved.

JEFFY: I mean, it's almost as if we're joking, and we're not.

PAT: Let that be a cautionary tale to you if you're a big, fat person like we are and you're sitting in a chair, don't move. It's just that simple.

JEFFY: I got to be honest with you, Pat, I'm a fan of that.

PAT: I am too. I am too. You might think we're kidding, we're not. We're not.

JEFFY: We're not.

PAT: It looks like Mark Zuckerberg has gotten religion. We don't know what religion that is. But the Facebook cofounder and CEO says he's not an atheist anymore. His Facebook profile once identified him as an atheist, but he revealed that he's had a change of heart on his social media network after he wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah on Christmas Day.

JEFFY: Yeah, that was because he just had a kid though?

PAT: I guess. I don't know.

JEFFY: Was it because of the baby?

PAT: I guess. I don't know. But he said Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah from Priscilla, Max, Beast, and me. That's his wife, daughter, and dog.

When a commentator asked him, "Aren't you an atheist?" He responded, "No. I was raised Jewish. And then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important."

JEFFY: Yeah.

PAT: That always bothers me. I mean, that's kind of disturbing. I went through a period where I questioned things. Like, what, religious people don't question things. They just blindly accept. That's the implications from all these intellectual atheists.

JEFFY: Yes, it is. Yes, it is.

PAT: I went through a period where I at least questioned things. Yeah, and so did the rest of us. Okay? We don't just swallow everything fed to us.

JEFFY: All the time.

PAT: But, you know, I don't want to detract from the fact that that's definitely a positive. He didn't provide any details on his faith. But he just said it's important.

So he apparently in 2015 went to China, and he posted at the time that he knelt in front of some Buddhist landmark. And he said, "Priscilla is Buddhist and asked me to offer a prayer from her as well. Buddhism is an amazing religion and philosophy, and I've been learning more about it overtime. I hope to continue understanding the faith more deeply." So it leads you to believe that maybe it's not Christianity. It's Buddhism.

JEFFY: Very possible. But it is all about -- they just had the baby, you know, end of November 1st. Part of December. So new life in your house and watching a birth makes you believe that there's something bigger than you going on.

PAT: A baby changes everything.

JEFFY: It sure does.

PAT: 888-727-BECK.

I also understand that Facebook is developing -- you know, we were talking about the Amazon, Echo, and the Ok Google, Google Home thing, supposedly Zuckerberg's developed something that's also pretty amazing along those lines, that does a lot of things in your home.

JEFFY: Good.

PAT: Yeah. I mean, I'm excited to --

JEFFY: Nothing bad could happen --

PAT: No. Nothing bad can happen from any of these wonderful innovations.

Featured Image: Pixabay

Kamala Harris' first interview as nominee: Three SHOCKING policy flips

Anadolu / Contributor | Getty Images

On Thursday, Kamala Harris gave her first interview since Joe Biden stepped down from the race, and it quickly becameclear why she waited so long.

Harris struggled to keep her story straight as CNN's Dana Bash questioned her about recent comments she had made that contradicted her previous policy statements. She kept on repeating that her "values haven't changed," but it is difficult to see how that can be true alongside her radical shift in policy. Either her values have changed or she is lying about her change in policy to win votes. You decide which seems more likely.

During the interview, Harris doubled down on her policy flip on fracking, the border, and even her use of the race card. Here are her top three flip-flops from the interview:

Fracking

Citizens of the Planet / Contributor | Getty Images

In 2019, during the 2020 presidential election, Harris pledged her full support behind a federal ban on fracking during a town hall event. But, during the DNC and again in this recent interview, Harris insisted that she is now opposed to the idea. The idea of banning fracking has been floated for a while now due to environmental concerns surrounding the controversial oil drilling method. Bans on fracking are opposed by many conservatives as it would greatly limit the production of oil in America, thus driving up gas prices across the nation. It seems Harris took this stance to win over moderates and to keep gas prices down, but who knows how she will behave once in office?

Border

PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor | Getty Images

In her 2020 presidential bid, Harris was all for decriminalizing the border, but now she is singing a different tune. Harris claimed she is determined to secure the border—as if like she had always been a stalwart defender of the southern states. Despite this policy reversal, Harris claimed her values have not changed, which is hard to reconcile. The interviewer even offered Kamala a graceful out by suggesting she had learned more about the situation during her VP tenure, but Kamala insisted she had not changed.

Race

Tasos Katopodis / Stringer | Getty Images

When asked to respond to Trump's comments regarding the sudden emergence of Kamala's black ancestry Kamala simply answered "Same old tired playbook, next question" instead of jumping on the opportunity to play the race card as one might expect. While skipping the critical race theory lecture was refreshing, it came as a shock coming from the candidate representing the "everything is racist" party. Was this just a way to deflect the question back on Trump, or have the Democrats decided the race card isn't working anymore?

The REAL questions that CNN should ask Kamala tonight

KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

The Democrats don't want the American people to know who they are voting for. It has been well over a month since Biden dropped out of the presidential race and Kamala was hastily installed in his place. During that time, Kamala has not given a single interview.

The Democrats' intention is clear: they have spent the last month gaslighting the American left into believing that Kamala is their new "super-candidate." Now that they've taken the bait, they can allow Kamala to take a softball interview to combat accusations from the Right.

Kamala's first interview will be hosted by Dana Bash on CNN and is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET tonight. Kamala will be joined by her running mate, Tim Walz, for an unusual interview. Between the tag-team approach and the more-than-sympathetic interviewer, it's almost certain that this will not be a particularly substantial interview full of easy, soft-ball, questions.

The American people deserve to know who is on the ballot, and that means that they should be able to see how their candidates stand up against tough questions. Here are five questions that CNN should ask Kamala tonight:

Will she build a border wall?

SOPA Images / Contributor | Getty Images

After years of bashing Trump for his proposed border wall, Kamala has suddenly changed her mind. During the DNC, Kamala pledged to support a bill that included money for a border wall and other border security measures. This change seems like a knee-jerk response to recent criticisms made about her abysmal performance as the "border czar." The question is: how genuine is it?

What is her stance on the Israel-Hamas war?

BASHAR TALEB / Contributor | Getty Images

Kamala has been mushy on the issue of the Israel-Hamas war so far. She said that she would support Israel while simultaneously expressing sympathy for the Palestinians in Gaza. With mounting pro-Hamas support within the American left, just how far is Kamala willing to go?

How does she explain defending Biden against allegations that he was too old for office now that those allegations have proven true?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

For the last four years, Kamala and the entire mainstream media have vehemently defended President Biden's mental fitness, despite countless incidents that indicated otherwise. After Biden's senile performance at the June presidential debate, the truth couldn't be hidden any longer, and Kamala was quickly swapped into his place. Now that the cat's out of the bag, how does Kamala justify her lies to protect the incompetent president?

How does she plan on fixing the economy, and why hasn't she already done it?

NurPhoto / Contributor | Getty Images

Kamala has claimed that she could lower consumer prices starting on the first day of her administration, accompanied by other promises to fix the economy. So why the wait? If she knows how to fix the economy that is causing so many Americans to suffer, can't she do something right now as the Vice President? Why has the economy only gotten worse within her three-year tenure in the White House?

Why does she keep flipping on her policies? Where does it stop?

Andrew Harnik / Staff | Getty Images

As mentioned above, Kamala has already changed her stance on a border wall, but it doesn't end there. During her 2019 presidential campaign, Kamala vowed to end fracking, a controversial method of drilling for oil, in the name of climate change. But now it seems her position has softened, with no mention of a fracking ban. Why does she keep changing her stance on these major policies? What other policies has she changed without any indication? Why has she so far failed to produce a clear campaign platform?

POLL: Who is better equipped to bring our astronauts home, Boeing or Glenn's dog, Uno?

MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / Contributor | Getty Images

Two astronauts who went up to the International Space Station for an eight-day mission are going to be stranded for another six months... thanks to the ineptitude of Boeing and NASA.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams went up to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's newest spacecraft, the Starliner, in early June. The eight-day mission quickly became a nine-month mission as Boeing and NASA had one problem after the next over the past three months, which culminated with SpaceX being brought in to bail them out. In six months, SpaceX is set to launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft to retrieve the stranded astronauts.

This is more bad PR for Boeing coming after several high-profile malfunctions on commercial airliners, which have raised serious questions about the safety of Boeing's aircraft. This is also another glaring example of the government's ineptitude. Despite all of your taxpayer dollars, they are once again relying on a private company to bail them out.

So, what do you think? Can NASA retrieve the astronauts? Who is the most equipped to bring them home? Let us know what you think in the poll below:

NASA

Could NASA bring our astronauts home?

GREGG NEWTON / Contributor | Getty Images

SpaceX

Could SpaceX bring our astronauts home?

SOPA Images / Contributor | Getty Images

Boeing

Could Boeing bring our astronauts home?

Scott Olson / Staff | Getty Images

A class of kindergarteners

Could Kindergarteners bring our astronauts home?

JENS SCHLUETER / Contributor | Getty Images

Glenn's dog, Uno

(Not an actual image of Uno)

Stu Burguiere

How Harley-Davidson’s woke pivot betrays true American values

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Modern progressives are attacking American greatness, one beloved brand at a time. But you are not powerless.

I once read an amazing analysis about the birth of modern America. It explained how veterans returned from World War II and how programs like the GI Bill opened new avenues and opportunities that hadn’t existed before.

As American soldiers returned home, many of them were battle-hardened warriors who had faced the worst of humanity. They fought for freedom and brought back skills that aren’t taught in any elementary school or university.

We learned to see American brands as icons for what we stood for, but we are now being conditioned to be 'unburdened.'

Veterans’ benefits made the American dream possible for over 13 million people. Some went to college, while others bought homes. Many started businesses, empowered by new skills in engineering, auto mechanics, and air mechanics — all fueled by a grit and determination reminiscent of the American pioneers.

A few years later, some of those men helped build the U.S. interstate highway system, which connected this new generation of American pioneers like never before. “Go West, young man” was replaced with “get your hands dirty,” “work for what you believe in,” “improve your community,” and “fix what is broken.”

Americans once took pride in maintaining their heritage. We valued American brands like John Deere, Tractor Supply, Ford, Chevrolet, Indian, and Harley-Davidson, and we actively protected their legacy. We worked on these products in the fields and in our home garages, building businesses to ensure they continued serving the American public. These weren’t just commodities. They were our livelihood. They plowed our fields, fed our families, and took our kids to school. They embodied the American spirit, symbolizing everything we were willing to fight and die for.

To the children of some of those returning veterans, how many of you learned about real American muscle while leaning over the front end of a 1965 Shelby GT, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, or a 1970 Chevy Chevelle, or learned about the internal combustion engine while Pop tore apart a 1941 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead?

How many of you assisted your dad in keeping the plowing season alive by repairing the family’s 1949 Model B John Deere tractor? How many trips to Tractor Supply did it take?

You no doubt bloodied a bunch of fingers. You sat in the garage, on the hood, or in the field and dumped about 10 gallons of sweat, but you did it proudly. You listened as Dad or Granddad patiently said, “There’s where the crankshaft is. That’s the water pump. That’s the alternator. That’s the fuel pump, and that’s the line that goes up to the carburetor.” He might have even let you pull on the throttle linkage so you could hear that baby sing.

There was no agenda here besides pure American greatness. American brands built our country. We relied and depended on them. We built businesses of our own from them, and we passed that legacy on to our children. It was their birthright, and it created modern America.

Harley’s woke surrender

This is a big part of the reason why today’s corporate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” craze is such a huge slap in the face. Woke politics have replaced the purity of the American brands that we grew up with. We depended on these products. We built income from them, and we supported our communities with their logos displayed proudly on barns and in garages. Those symbols are now being replaced by corporate boards who get their marching orders from people like Larry Fink at BlackRock.

Robby Starbuck has recently exposed multiple companies for this behavior: John Deere, Tractor Supply, and especially Harley-Davidson.

Can you think of a bigger slap in the face than the woke capitulation of Harley-Davidson? Harley is one of the brands that helped win World War II. The Harley-Davidson WLA carried American GIs to war against the Nazis. The WLA was brought back to the United States, and a new era of motorcycles was born after the veterans began chopping them up for civilians to use. The “chopper” was born.

Bettmann/Getty Images

Veterans returning from war from the 1940s through today have ridden Harleys as both a therapeutic mechanism to deal with what they saw on the battlefield and as an homage to experience the openness of American freedom. And that legacy has been taught and handed down to Harley-Davidson riders from father to son enthusiastically since 1903.

What has Harley-Davidson done with that legacy? Here are just a few of the things that Starbuck exposed:

  • Harley-Davidson openly supports the Equality Act, which would allow men into girls' bathrooms, sports, and locker rooms.
  • The company funded an all-ages Pride event that featured a "rage room" next to drag queen story time.
  • 1,800 employees were required to attend a virtual training course on how to become “LGBTQ+ allies.”
  • The woke CEO, Jochen Zeitz, signed the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion Pledge.
  • The company made February and March "months of inclusion" because, apparently, Pride Month isn’t enough.
  • The company hosted multiple woke United Way trainings.
  • Harley-Davidson sent some employees to a “white male only” woke diversity training program.
  • To top it off, the company is openly working to have fewer white suppliers, dealers, and employees.

And the list goes on.

What globalists want ... and fear

The purpose of modern cultural Marxism and progressivism is to destroy what was once great by attacking everything that made it great back in the beginning. You have to be “unburdened by what has been,” as Kamala Harris says, in order to open the door to “the fundamental transformation of America," to quote Barack Obama.

Twenty-first-century fascists are doing this, one beloved brand at a time, and we’re seeing it happen in real time. Woodrow Wilson once said, "The use of a university is to make young gentlemen as unlike their fathers as possible.” We’ve been seeing that from academia for decades. By and large, universities are lost.

Teach your kids that getting their hands dirty is a good thing. Something fought, bled, and sweat for has meaningful value. It’s part of who we are as Americans.

But that wasn’t enough. Progressives then turned their sights on our children in grade school. But that wasn’t enough either. They’re now going after the heart of the American entrepreneurial spirit and the beloved brands that made us who we are today. We were brought up to love them. We learned to see them as icons for what we stood for, but we are now being conditioned to be “unburdened.”

Reconnect your children to the basics of what makes American products so great. “American made” is more than just a slogan. It represents the weary men and women working in factories in small towns across Middle America. It’s the dad teaching his kids to change their own tires and oil. It’s the multiple trips to the local parts store and the thrill of victory as the family tractor roars back to life.

Teach your kids that getting their hands dirty is a good thing. Something fought, bled, and sweat for has meaningful value. It’s part of who we are as Americans. It benefits the family. It supports the community. It spreads that beloved American brand all over the country — and the world.

That connection goes all the way to the top of the corporate boardroom. That connection is what the globalists fear the most. Your passion has the power to destroy every coercive motive they can ever dream up. It is the same passion that fueled the American pioneer. It carried our soldiers into war against the Nazis and then drove them to catapult this country into the modern era.

That passion is why they’ll ultimately lose.

Unburden your families from the unburdening. Teach them the history of what made this country great. If a corporation tries to pervert a beloved American brand, show your kids what made them beloved to begin with.

Explain how the Harley-Davidson engine noise was specifically designed to be iconic, how the crankshaft has only one pin, and how the arrangement of the cylinders makes the pistons fire unevenly. No other motorcycle sounds the same. Why? Because it’s a friggin’ Harley! It’s part of Harley's story, and that is why American companies are so beloved to us. Sure, they sell quality products, but we fall in love with their story.

Reconnect these great American brands with their incredible stories. Get some oil, grease, and brake dust on your hands, and take pride when your kids ultimately cover their faces in it while trying to help you. Passion drives change, and it is your passion that scares these tyrants the most.

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