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

Burgess Owens: John Lewis Stopped Being a Leader Long Ago

January 17, 2017
Staff

WRITER

Sixty years ago, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) was a courageous leader in America's Civil Rights Movement. Today, he silently sits by while policies pass that hurt the black community. For example, during Obama's first year in office, school choice ended for many African-American children and nearly 16,000 were taken out of great schools and put back into America's failing public school system. John Lewis said nothing.

Former NFL great Burgess Owens, author of Liberalism or How to Turn Good Men into Whiners, Weenies and Wimps, joined The Glenn Beck Program on Tuesday and didn't hold back when the subject of Lewis came up.

"We need to be honest about this, and we can't charge somebody with being a racist, an Uncle Tom, because we're telling the truth. So, yes, he did great things 60 years ago. Sixty years later is when we need him, and he is not available. He has not been for a long time. As a matter of fact, he's done everything he can to hurt our race: More abortion, less education, less jobs," Owens said.

Is it time for Lewis to retire?

Enjoy this complimentary clip from The Glenn Beck Program:

GLENN: Hello, America. And welcome to the Glenn Beck Program. As we enter the final days of Barack Obama, let's take a few minutes and look back. And we wanted to do so with Burgess Owens, an NFL great, friend of the program. Author of the book, Liberalism: How to Turn Good Men Into Whiners, Weenies, and Wimps.

And, Burgess, we wanted to take a look at Barack Obama and ask this question: Did he miss the biggest opportunity this nation has ever seen when it comes to healing the divide?

BURGESS: Good morning, Glenn. I'm looking forward to chatting with you about this topic. And the answer to that is absolutely.

Let me just start off by saying that one of the things that I was very fortunate to do was grow up in an era where we really had strong visionary, good, confident people moving forward. And if anybody out there wants to see what I talked about in my book, look at the movie Hidden Figures. You see a community that Americans would love to be a part of.

What has happened in the last eight years is that the black community, those who believe and trusted and gave all their hope to his man, has done so much worse than they have since in my memory.

One thing we've always had, even when things were tough, is we had hope. We worked hard, and we could educate ourselves. We can believe in the American Dream. We can work hard enough to overcome all obstacles.

And Hidden Figures, that movie shows you what happens when people believe that. We have now a community who is more hopeless, more miserable, more angry, and less educated and really believe that they have led to the man, just because of his color, that he is going to take care of them.

So we have a lot of making up to do now.

GLENN: Burgess, does the -- and I know, you know, the black community, you know, it can't be lumped together as much as the white community can't be. Any community can't be. It's not monolithic. However, in its vote, it is pretty monolithic.

Does the black community believe what you just said?

BURGESS: Well, what's happening -- and you hit it on the head. We're very monolithic. The great thing, the president -- with President Obama is that we're beginning to think now as a group, as a race, we're beginning to peel ourselves away and wonder about results now.

You have liberals and Democrats like Jim Brown, who I have a lot of respect for, Steve Harvey, I have a lot of respect for, because they're putting their race above their ideology.

When you have Americans beginning to do that and looking at Americans first, Martin Luther King III made a very strong point the other day: How in this nation can we have between 40 to 50 million people in poverty is -- is ridiculous.

We're now beginning to think and ask those questions. Why? And that's the one thing Obama has done for us, is put us in such -- he's failed in so many different ways, that we're beginning to wonder if his ideology is truly the best for us, and that's a great place for us to be.

GLENN: So are we worse off today, or better off?

BURGESS: All right. That's a good question. We're worse off in terms of statistics. We're better off in terms of the future. We're better off because we're finally asking those questions, and we're finally beginning to talk like we hadn't talked in a while, opening ourselves up. And we're having a dialogue about people, with people like John Lewis. John Lewis is a good example. When I talk about my book, the royalty of black class, he is the type of individual that has been the worst for our race, because he lives in the past. He lives in what he did 60 years ago. And then, meanwhile, 60 years later, people are living in misery. And he sits there and allows it to happen with total silence because of his allegiance to an ideology of socialist versus his race.

So we're -- in a way, our future is brighter, because we have these kind of dialogues. And we're have black men and women standing up finally and speaking against the group think. And we're having white Americans beginning to stop apologizing for themselves. And I think that's a good place for us to be.

PAT: Burgess, if anybody says that -- if a white person says what you just said about John Lewis, oh, my gosh. Oh, the humanity. What a racist. You know.

GLENN: What's amazing about John Lewis is this weekend, the two sides were so split, he was either a God or he did nothing, ever, in his life.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I mean, I heard -- I read so many posts and tweets that said, "John Lewis is a nobody and never really played a role in the civil rights movement." I don't think that's true at all.

Why do we have to destroy everything?

BURGESS: Well, what we have to do is we have to be honest about this process. And let me just use an analogy, guys. Since I played NFL, I can use this and be very confident with it. I played with two great quarterbacks in my career, Joe Namath, last three years with him, and Jim Plunkett. Both the most valuable players in the Super Bowl that they played in. Great athletes.

But guess what great athletes do? Leon Poker (phonetic), what he did is a great CEO. When you get to the point that you can't perform anymore, that you're no longer of value, you retire.

Now, what's happened with John Lewis is he should have retired a long time ago because he's not been doing the things for the black community. He sits over a community that's been going downhill fast and being very quiet.

I look at something like -- for example, there's 2,000 black kids, with the very first year that Barack Obama came to office that were taken out of great schools and put back into the failing schools because they decided to get rid of choice. That's 16,000 black kids impacted. John Lewis said nothing.

So, yes, 60 years ago, he did a great thing. He was very courageous. But leaders either maintain their courageous acts, or they stop being leaders. He has stopped being a leader for a long time. We need to be honest about this. And we can't charge somebody being a racist, an Uncle Tom, because we're telling the truth. So, yes, he did great things 60 years ago. Sixty years later is when we need him, and he is not available. He has not been for a long time. As a matter of fact, he's done everything he can to hurt our race: More abortion, less education, less jobs.

You go to Libya (phonetic), what socialists do to black people, and he's been at the very head of that, as he continues to get elected and lives like a king.

So I don't have a lot of respect for what John Lewis has done today. He did a great thing 60 years ago. When I was in the seventh grade, I was also demonstrating, along with thousands of other Americans all over the country. A lot of us demonstrated. A lot of people got bloodied. But we moved on with life and tried to make an impact and help our race in the future

GLENN: Burgess, you said in some ways, statistically, we're not better off. You were talking about the black community. Let's talk about the community at large.

Tensions are at I think record highs since the 1960s. I've never seen it like this. We do have a great opportunity, but this window will close.

How -- how do we -- if -- if the Democrats decide to sharpen the knives and go after this president and -- and have no self-reflection and the Republicans take this win without any self-reflection and they just sharpen their knives, we're not going to come together.

Do you see hope for us on the horizon coming together? Are there enough people saying, "I'm tired of this game?"

BURGESS: Well, yes, I do. I think the key to this is -- first of all, the Democrats will sharpen their knives. That's what they do. That's part of their nature.

Now, it's going to be up to the Republican -- the conservative branch of the Republican Party to very simply keep their word.

One thing that I'll say -- and when you have people who I respect, Jim Brown, Steve Harvey. Again, totally different ideology. But they're sitting down with Donald Trump and talking about how to work with the inner city. At the end of the day, it's all about people. If we allow and focus as a middle class country, that most -- that so many of us are and use the empathy that's always been part of the middle class, we're going to start focusing on our kids in the middle -- in inner city -- and poor kids around the country, to become educated.

Education is the strongest tool to keep a country free. You're going to have kids and young people getting jobs. Having a job and understanding the work ethic and the pride that comes from that is one of the greatest things to keep a country free.

We're going to start putting the value of life -- once again, having a debate about Planned Parenthood. What they are and where they came from. So educate people. So, yes, we have a tremendous opportunity. And I personally believe that American people will step to the plate once again. We voted for -- we voted against Hillary for a reason. We voted for our future and self-empowerment for a reason. And I believe we're going to step to the plate and demand that these guys keep their word and the poorest of us and those that are the most vulnerable will be taken care of and we're going to feel good about ourselves and move forward with that.

Democrats will never have that power over us again.

GLENN: What is your sense of Donald Trump? What are you hoping for, and what are you expecting over the next four years?

BURGESS: It's been a very pleasant surprise. I was not a Donald Trump fan, initially. But I will tell you, that morning, November 9th, I did wake up more hopeful than I had been in a long time because at least we have a chance. I believe at that point that Heavenly Father hasn't given up on us. They give us a little more time for us to get ourselves together.

And the people that he's surrounding himself with right now, I'm very, very excited about. So the most important thing -- and, you know, I grew up -- my great hero was Ronald Reagan. He was the first conservative that really got my attention, that I really understood. He was a great articulator. He was a -- he had a way of getting around the media.

It is scary at times to see Donald tweet, but I'll tell you what he's doing, he's getting around the liberal media like no one else has ever done before. And it's actually what had to happen for us to be able to connect. And for those to get away from the messaging that's been done in the last decade, we need to find a way for us to get some truth. And hopefully we can get that. So I'm hopeful in the short -- long answer to a short question, I'm very hopeful for what will happen in the next four years.

GLENN: Burgess Owens. Author of the book Liberalism. Or How to Turn Good Men Into Whiners, Weenies, and Wimps. This is an extraordinarily brave book and a look into the things that need to be said in America to all races. Burgess, it's always good to have you on.

BURGESS: Can I say this real quick?

It's all about team. All about team. Look right now, Glenn, we take what we have -- the talents we have, and together, message, debate, think through, and just make sure that we get the very best out of the whole process. We don't have to all agree. We just have to, first of all, believe our country, love our country, and try to do our best as individuals. We'll make this thing happen.

GLENN: Thank you very much, Burgess, appreciate it.

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.