BLOG

FCC Chairman: We Don't Need to Preemptively Micromanage Every Business

Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), joined Glenn on radio to discuss the future of the internet and net neutrality. If a government regulator exists that Glenn likes, it's Ajit Pai, who stood alone in a hostile world at the FCC during the Obama administration. Pai favors light regulation to ensure consumers have a competitive choice and companies have a greater incentive to invest in the internet.

Enjoy the complimentary clip or read the transcript for details.

GLENN: The head of the FCC. The FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, now joins us.

Ajit, I don't know if you are aware of this at all, but we've been watching you for a while. I have -- I have no idea how you got by Obama. But we're glad you did.

AJIT: Thanks so much, Glenn. I really appreciate the kind words. And grateful to you for making time for me today.

GLENN: Oh, you bet. We have a lot of questions for you. And I want to talk to you about net neutrality. I want to talk to you about the cable industry and this cry of fake news and where you think we're going.

Let's start with probably net neutrality.

Net neutrality is -- is in some ways, a -- a nightmare and will limit people. In other ways, people will look at this and say, "Wait. I don't want my cable operator being able to pick and choose winners and slow down, you know, the speeds of YouTube, if they're trying to promote their own YouTube." Can you make the argument?

AJIT: Absolutely. I think the key point here is nothing about the internet was broken. From the dawn of the internet age in the 1990s until 2015, the internet economy in the United States was the envy of the world precisely because President Clinton and a Republican Congress agreed that instead of regulating the heck out of this new technology, we would let it develop and take targeted action as necessary.

And that's, I think, part of the reason why we saw the tremendous explosion and activity online. But in 2015, on the party-line vote, the FCC imposed these heavy-handed rules that were developed for Mondale, the telephone monopoly back in the 1930s.

And as a result, we've seen less investment in networks. We're seeing less competition than ever. And I think that's one of the things we want to address going further, is, you know, light-touch regulation I think is the best calibrated to make sure the consumers have more competitive choice, and the companies have a greater incentive to invest. And that's where we're heading.

GLENN: So how would you address -- I said this to Ray Kurzweil who is part of the Singularity University. Works for Google. And I said, "So, Ray, why wouldn't Google develop an algorithm that would find people who are using the search engine to create a bigger and better Google? Why wouldn't they just -- I mean, that's human nature to protect yourself. If somebody is coming -- you can piece together in advance, "Wait a minute. These people are looking to build a better Google." Why wouldn't you just shut them down? He said, "Oh, that would never happen because we're all good people." I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory.

But, you know, we are now in the internet age, playing devil's advocate, of these gigantic corporations that you're just not going to -- the little guy is not going to compete against Google. They're not going to compete against Apple. They're not -- you can't compete around Comcast.

AJIT: And the point I consistently made is we don't put our faith in people or in companies. What's that saying? If men were angels, no laws would be necessary.

GLENN: Right.

AJIT: Well, we have a system of laws, and interest in competition laws on one hand and consumer protection laws on the other. And those are administered by a -- say the Federal Trade Commission or Justice Department here in Washington, by state agencies across the country. So there's a whole framework of laws to protect against that kind of conduct.

What we don't need is the FCC preemptively micromanaging every single business in the United States, not just the big ones that you mentioned, but even the smaller companies that have told us we're holding back on investment now because of these heavy-handed investments.

GLENN: So we're talking to Ajit Pai, he's the chairman of the FCC. You know, as I look at the most hated services in America -- or service providers, it's your electric company, it's your insurance companies, it's your cable companies. Those are all the ones that are the most heavily regulated.

However, as somebody who has tried, without $200 million behind me, to break in and have a -- a groundswell -- a verified groundswell of -- of support behind me, these -- to break into cable is absolutely impossible if you are a voice that the companies want to block. You just can't do it. How do we balance that and make sure that, you know, the app system -- because that's why we -- that's why we're online. Okay. Well, good. We'll do it online. But how do we make sure that the app system isn't blocked now by a Comcast or an Apple, where you're just not going to get in and break through?

AJIT: That's a terrific question. And two different answers: Number one, the way you do it is by promoting more competition. You make sure that the barriers to entry, so to speak, are low. That people like you can express yourselves over a variety of different platforms. And number two, to the extent that that's a concern, remember that the people who are promoting this Title II regulation through the US government are not the friends of free speech and free expression. These groups are consistently saying that they want government control of the internet, not just for its own sake, but in order to regulate how speech and expression happens online.

GLENN: Right.

AJIT: And they've been very open about this throughout the years.

GLENN: But you can't -- as a person, I can't start my own cable company. It's all regulated. I can't start one.

AJIT: And that's why we've had a very aggressive agenda in the three months that I've been in the chairman's office to make sure that we enable more companies to make that decision, to enter the marketplace, removing some of the barriers that they found, in terms of the rules, and making it easier for them to raise capital and to enter these marketplaces. And we want the smaller companies that are getting squeezed by these regulations to finally enter the market and provide a competitive option.

GLENN: Good for you.

So help me out on this. Ted Koppel, who I have a lot of respect for, has done a lot of great journalism over his lifetime -- I was talking to him, and he was concerned about all this fake news. And I said, at the end of the day, go back to the revolutionary war, there was tons of fake news back then. We're just in a new situation. And we haven't found our way to balance it yet. But you got to trust the people.

And he immediately said, "I think that we need to start, you know, having a license for people to be on the internet and to present news. We have to verify those people who are online."

That's insane.

AJIT: I couldn't agree more. And I have a lot of respect for Ted Koppel's career. But, frankly, his comments are repugnant to the spirit and the letter of the First Amendment. In fact, that's the very reason why John Milton in 1644 wrote his great treaties on free expression, Areopagitica, where he said that, you know, look, the king has no business licensing people to allow them to speak. We -- the entire premise of western civilization is that you don't have a gatekeeper allowing you to speak only at the whim of the king. And that's the same here in the United States. The last thing I think we want is government -- sort of regulators like me deciding who speaks and who doesn't. That's the fantastic thing about the internet age, I think.

STU: Don't you think though, Glenn -- and Ajit Pai -- we're talking to the FCC chairman. You have this situation where it's not about what happened in 1644 or anything. It's about what's coming up on May 30th, which is season five of House of Cards.

JEFFY: Thank you. Thank you.

STU: People want their Netflix. They want it streamed. They don't want their evil cable company slowing it down. Is that something that needs to be regulated, or does the market actually work that stuff out?

AJIT: To me, the market works it out. The best evidence of that is the digital economy that we had, prior to 2015 when we imposed these rules.

Companies were not engaging in the blocking of lawful content. And to the extent that we have concerns about competition, the best way to get there is not by imposing these heavy-handed regulations that slow down infrastructure investment, especially by some of the smaller companies that would give you a competitive option. It's by making sure we have clear-cut rules of the road, that are market-friendly, that incentivize more companies to enter this space.

And so, you know, look, I'm all in favor of the government looking at any competitive problems as they pop up. Preemptively regulating, from the Fortune 500 companies, down to the tiny companies in Little Rock, Arkansas, is not the way to get there.

GLENN: I will tell you, Ajit, I look at this time period -- and I'd love to hear your point of view of this. I look at this time period of American history as a combination of the industrial revolution and heavy emphasis on Tesla and Edison, all in about a 20-year period. I mean, what's coming in -- in technology and communication has already been profound. But it's going to become even more profound.

And, you know, as a student of history -- and you obviously are one as well. When you look back at those days of Tesla and Edison, in many ways, Tesla was right. Edison was just good at playing the game with the government.

And he was a -- excuse my language, but a son of a bitch. And that's not French. That's English.

STU: Can we say that on the air, Mr. FCC Chairman?

GLENN: Oh, yes, I shouldn't have said that with the FCC chairman.

AJIT: I'll give you a pass, don't worry.

GLENN: Okay. Thank you.

PAT: You didn't think that one through. Did you?

GLENN: Yeah, I didn't think that one through. I forgot who we were talking to. Anyway, we never say things like that, by the way. Golly, gee, darn it. I'm sorry.

But we were pushed back because of the collusion with very powerful people like Edison and very powerful politicians. Do you see us -- how do you see what's coming our way?

AJIT: Boy, that's a great question.

I think the first thing is the empowerment of the citizen that the internet allows. It used to be that to do virtually anything, you had to work through some sort of gatekeeper. If you were buying a car, you had to go through a dealer. If you were wanting to stay in a place, you have to go book a room with a hotel.

And now, because of technology, you can do anything, basically by yourself. And that's an incredible amount of empowerment. But, on the other hand, we always have to guard against this instinct of essentially crony capitalism, the phenomenon that you talked about. And to that extent, I think what people need to understand is that heavy-handed regulation is actually the friend of bigger businesses and for those who believe in big government. Because -- the big companies are always going to have the armies of lawyers and accountants to comply with these regulations, to persuade government to do favors on this or that issue. It's the smaller companies that are disproportionately affected. And the second thing is that it's very seductive for a lot of people to think, "Well, the market just leaves consumers at the mercy of these wild and unpredictable forces." When in reality, the market has delivered more value for consumers than preemptive government regulation ever could.

I mean, the fact that we have billions of people who are emerging from poverty now is the result of free market policies. It's not because the governments of these various countries have suddenly decided to bestow largesse upon them. And so it's a case that we consistently have to make that crony capitalism and big government regulation, those are not the friends of the average consumer.

GLENN: So we have -- we have a situation now of fake news. And it's been around forever. But it's at epidemic proportions because the average person has access to everybody. And the average person, you know, unfortunately doesn't think things through and really read everything. They see a headline, they click on it, and they share it.

We have some really nefarious people, some of them in Russia, that are using our own technology against us, using our own freedoms against us. We have the press -- I told you about Ted Koppel. But we also have the president coming out and saying, you know, you're fake news. And maybe we should be able to sue you more.

Does the FCC have a role in the First Amendment in saying to all sides, "Knock it off. The freedom of the press is the freedom of the press, no matter if it's a printing press or the internet. Knock it off?"

AJIT: Well, I've consistently said -- and this goes back to my time as a commissioner up to five years ago, that one of the distinctive features of America is the fact that we have a First Amendment. It's unique in human history for the government to establish in its very founding papers the notion that anybody in this country has the ability to speak, anybody has the ability to write, anybody has the ability to worship as he or she sees fit.

And that's something that requires not just the cold parchment of the Constitution, but it requires a culture that admires that -- those freedoms. And so I've consistently spoken about -- about the need to preserve that culture of freedom for speech and free press. Because it's a slippery slope. Once you lose it, it's very hard to reclaim it.

GLENN: You have a 50 -- what is it? A 50 or 60 percent of so-called conservatives saying that there's a limit to freedom of the press. Is there?

AJIT: Well, the Constitution speaks for itself. And so long as I have the privilege of occupying this office, I'll keep defending that core constitutional freedom. It's one of the things that I think makes America a very unique place across time and across the world.

GLENN: So I think with that answer, I just have to end where I started: How the hell did you get past Barack Obama?

AJIT: That's a good question. I'm not sure how I slipped through the cracks.

GLENN: I don't know either.

AJIT: But maybe it's the -- sort of like the Forrest Gump of the Washington scene. Just kept gamboling on, and here I am.

(laughter)

GLENN: Yeah. Okay. Ajit Pai, thank you so much for talking to us.

PAT: Great.

GLENN: And keep up the good work.

AJIT: Thank you, sir. Thanks for having me on.

GLENN: You bet. Buh-bye.

PAT: And thanks for the shout-out to Areopagitica. That's -- I think that's a first.

JEFFY: Right.

GLENN: Oh, how many times have we talked about -- off the air --

PAT: All the time. All the time.

STU: Talked about all the time.

GLENN: Okay. You know what I love --

PAT: Talked about all the time. Milton's Areopagitica.

JEFFY: Right!

RADIO

What MASSIVE Amazon layoffs could do to America

Amazon, who famously promoted a high hourly rate to gain workers, is now set to eliminate 30 THOUSAND jobs in favor of artificial intelligence automation. This is a prime example of how artificial intelligence can be used in a negative way, and Glenn doesn't think American citizens will take too kindly to this...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I want to talk to you about the story that I saw today. Bill Gates says climate change will not lead to humanity's demise. Pardon me?

Wait. Hold on just a second. Let me go back into the records here, and see. Let's see. What has he said? 2015. Climate change is a terrible problem, absolutely needs to be solved. Deserves to be a huge priority. It is the poorer people in tropical zones, who will get hit by climate change, as well as some ecosystems nobody wants to see disappear. The threat of climate change is dire. He said that just two years ago. It will be the greatest challenge the world has ever faced.

We must take it on. We must reach net zero emissions by 2050, to avoid a climate disaster. 2021, to avoid climate disaster.

We need to eliminate emissions from the ways we create electricity, grow food, make things move around, blah, blah, blah. No one will be hurt more by climate change than the world's poorest people. It's already worse than most models predicted.

To prevent climate change scenarios, we need breakthroughs. In key areas. He's now put billions of dollars behind the climate change movement. Now he says, not so bad!

Not so bad! Not so bad!

What the hell just happened?

Okay. What just happened. On a completely unrelated note, let me give you another story today. Amazon, the first company to say, $30 an hour! You come on in, and work in our warehouses, is $30 an hour.

30 is an interesting number, because they just laid off 30,000 people. Why?

Because they're going AI. Okay?

It's all going to be automated. Everything. This is the first -- this -- warning. This is the first -- what do you call that aftershocks, when you get the rumbles before the big earthquake?

You know, it's like pre-shock. Just the quick, quiet, very low on the Richter scale rumble. And you're like, what was that? What was that?

That's an earthquake coming. Things starting to shift. Just a little bit. Not the big one yet. Just a little shift.

STU: Chooses to use the term birth pangs for this.

GLENN: Yeah, birth pangs. Birth pangs are the things you have -- you're just having that first birth pang. Thirty thousand people laid off.

Now, remember, gosh. Think of the money they're saving, because they were paying everybody $30 an hour. Because they were such a great company. They care about people. Until they could replace all the people.

Now, why am I bringing that story up. Next to the Bill Gates story about climate change.

What do those stories have -- what do they have in common at all?

Power! And I don't mean just political or economic power, absolutely. That goes without saying. I mean, energy. The world is starving for energy.

I've got a story for you next hour. And I'm going to show you exactly where you have to be, whether you're for climate change -- you know, we've got to go all green, or we've got to go all in, on server farms. One way or another, I will tell you what you have to do, and it is imperative that you do it, next hour.

But here's what snapped together today: We have been seeing this movement, and I know that the world is about to change, and our system doesn't work. The two parties don't work. It doesn't cover everything. We have been fighting over communism or fascism. Both of them are wrong! Okay. They don't work.

And they've been sold exactly the same way, over and over. Except, global warming. Global warming has been the one thing that has not been out and out Marxist, until it had to be.

And then you're like, okay. All right. We want people to -- we want people to die, because it will save the earth. So we're absolutely, you know, antigrowth.

Okay?

Pretty easy to see what side you are on. At least for me. Pretty easy to see what side you're on.

I am for growth. I am for technology.

I am for an end to this global warming nonsense. Except, I am also pro-earth.

I think we have -- we have a responsibility to make sure we do things that are right for the earth.

I am absolutely pro-pharmaceuticals. Until I'm not pro-pharmaceuticals. Because I think the pharmaceutical companies have gotten out of control.

I am absolutely for doing everything we can, with our farmers, to be able to have them grow and grow food to feed the world. Until we start screwing with the food so much.

It's not really even meat anymore. And we don't really know where it's from. So am I for big ag, or against big ag?

Because I like parts of it. I don't like parts. Am I for the pharmaceutical companies, or against the pharmaceutical companies? Because I like the pharmaceutical companies, until I don't like the pharmaceutical companies.

Am I -- am I for the planet, or against the planet?

I like AI. But I'm also terrified of AI. Am I for AI or against AI?

I am for jobs. I am for people. So how can you be for people if you are AI?

Do you see how none of this works? Do you see how you are -- you are literally. We are already dividing ourselves into. We're being pulled apart.

I don't know. I have another thing I will do next hour. After I tell you the other thing next hour. Hope to get to this other thing. Where you don't know what the truth is anymore.

We are pulling ourselves completely apart. Right?

You don't know what the truth is. You don't know what to believe anymore.

Did Erika kill her husband Charlie Kirk? Please! But there are a lot of people that don't know. They don't know the truth. Why? Why don't they know the truth? Because people who don't believe in anything, will fall for everything! And we don't know what we believe anymore. We going to elect Mamdani?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. New York is going Marxist.

Maybe Islamist to some degree.

It's going that way. It's going to happen. So how is that going to work?

Hmm. I brought in a chalkboard. Because I was explaining this to Stu. And, Stu, I want you to help me with this.

Because as I was laying this out for you. It's because -- I want you to know. I divided this chalkboard into two categories. And they are not good or bad.

They just are. Okay? Because there are things that I like on both sides of the chalkboard. But I'm going to show you what you're going to be asked to choose from. Because these are how these two sides are going to end up in the end.

STU: Sort of like a great realignment?

GLENN: Yes. Yes. Okay.

STU: Okay.

GLENN: So on one side, we're going to have the global warming people. Well, I'm not for the global warming people. Because that's all degrowth. Right?

I'm not for that. I am for workers.
And I am kind of anti-AI. I don't want AI to take over everything and control everything.

STU: Right.

GLENN: Correct?

Right?

But at the same time, I am AI and tech driven.

I just announced something with AI, okay?

But I am for ethical AI. Global warming and degrowth?

No, I'm for drill, baby, drill.

But I am -- I am big business. But I'm not big business.

I believe in capitalism. I believe in ethical capitalism. But I don't mind big business. But I have a hard time with, I don't know. Some of these AI companies like Google and everybody else, that now seem to be in better with our government.

I don't want them in bed with our government.

STU: I was going to say, you mentioned Amazon, Amazon is a good example of this.

It's a company that is obviously, very much big business.

Also, seen as capitalism. So do you like that, do you not like that?

There are things that I like about Amazon. There's things I don't like about it.

GLENN: I don't like that. I don't like the fact that they're the government's server farms? I don't like that.

Big Pharma, there's lots of it I like. There's lots of it I don't like. I don't like control and digital IDs.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I'm anti-Marxist. That drill, baby, drill side, that's anti-Marxist. But it also leans globalist. I'm against that.

But it is for abundance. Growth, growth. Growth.

Abundance. Right?

On the other side, and I'm showing you how these things will line up.

The other side is global warming and key growth. Because it's also going to be pro worker. Anti-AI, anti-capitalist, Marxists.

But it's going to deemphasize degrowth and Marxism. It will be for real food. It will be MAHA. It will be local. It will be free trade. But not really.

Fair trade? Maybe. Maybe.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: It will be --

STU: This classic free trade seems to align more with the other side.

GLENN: In the end, it will be a local farmers market. In the end, you will need to trade with one another, the way you want to trade. Okay? That's wait it will be sold. And it will be 15 minute cities. It will be 15-minute cities. Because the rest of the world is going to be AI, digital IDs, globalism, tracking everything, and this will be the anti-vat.

And so they will say, I will live in the 15-minute cities.

Remember, it will be growth and Marxism. But it will be packaged in a way, that we don't want to be that. We don't want to be that.

So I'll live in my 15-minute city. I don't need all of that technology. I don't need self-driving cars. I would rather know my neighbor. I would rather walk down the street, get my food, that I know I -- I know I get.

But I won't be able to do those things. But I don't want to do all those things with because I don't want to have the digital ID. Okay?

What you're going to get on one side, is in the end, going to be globalist and fascistic.

Global fascism on one side. The other side will be Marxist de-growth. These -- what I'm presenting to you, is pretty much especially on the Marxist de-growth side, the global warming side. That's going to be a utopia that will never survive. It will never survive. But that's the utopia that people are going to be offered. They are now going to be -- because global warming is now starting to be -- you know, a no-go zone.

It's going to be changed, and it's going to become pro-people, anti-tech, anti-big tech corporations.

It's going to become about anti-pharmaceutical companies. It will be about real food. It will be about health and MAHA. It's going to be about all the things that you probably go, I'm kind of for that stuff.

And the other side is going to be the other side of you that you're for. Well, I'm for capitalism. I'm for progress.

I'm for abundance. I'm for, you know, having energy.

This is the split, that is coming.

And I believe the Marxist global warming side is going to be extraordinarily appealing to a lot of people.

You may even have a -- right now, you'll hear this and go, I'm never going there.

Mark my words. It's going to be very difficult to see the difference of right and wrong.

Because everything is going to blur. On you.

Things that you think you're for, they're suddenly going to be for.

But are they actually for that? And that goes to both sides of this issue.

Because what's not on this chalkboard is the US Constitution.

This is the way the world will split. These are the choices, you're going to make.

Which way do you go?

There is a third way. And it's the US Constitution. That's not on the board. Because right now, that's not popular. No one is talking about it.

RADIO

Your electric bill is SKYROCKETING because of one MASSIVE change

Electric bills across the country are still going up, despite the prices of things like eggs and gas going down. Glenn explains how AI server farms, built by companies like Microsoft and Amazon, are likely to blame...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So can we talk about real issues?

Let me tell you about the coming blackout.

Right now, in the last few days, there is a group of lawmakers in the mid-Atlanta in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. They're all sounding the alarm. And they're sounding the alarm. Because they believe, and I do too. That the worst power bill crisis in a generation is happening right now. Skyrocketing bills and strained grids.

How is it, this is happening?

We've drilled, baby, drilled. We've put new power plants online. Or old power plants we brought back online. They're saying, part of the problem is all this green new energy crap. Everybody is still saying, we have to have green energy. We have to have green energy. I just want you to hear this out in a second. But because I want to give you the reality of what's going on. Green energy is wonderful, I guess.

But it's absolutely a thing that will set us back hundred years plus. Okay? Green energy does not work for the America of 2000.

It certainly doesn't work today. Every single month, a new server farm is breaking ground somewhere in America. Once a month, that means 12 new server farms every year.

That will snowball. By the end of 2026, you will see them built and breaking ground maybe one a week. What we have so far, not building things small here. Each one of these data centers, which is feeding artificial intelligence, crypto, cloud computing.

They consume as much power as 50 homes all the time.

Told you at the beginning of the hour, Bill Gates has just come out and said, you know what,, you know, global warming is not as bad as you thought it was.

It's so laughable, because it's so transparent.

It's so evil.

It's not as bad as everybody thought it was.

We have to get off this global warming went. But we need power plants, I'll tell you that right now. Why? You know who Bill Gates' partner is? OpenAI. ChatGPT. Okay?

That's his partner. So we know why he's off this bandwagon. Because they're struggling, right now to find enough electricity, for what they're currently running.

Let alone the next generation of systems.

You have Google, Meta, Amazon, that are buying up land in every -- next to every major substation that they can find, because they know what's coming. But wait a minute. They're building it near substations. Wait. Wait.

Hold on. Are you taking the power from my home?

In many cases, yes!

Listen to this. This is from the international energy agency. This is something they just released. Global data center power will double by the end of 2026.

That is equivalent to adding another Japan to our energy demand.

Okay. Another Japan.

And that's just for computers and server farms. Adding Japan.

What are we building to be able to serve that? Not enough. Ireland has just begun restricting the new data centers. Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to restrict them. And it's going to leave you in the past. Now, maybe you want to be left in the past. And that's what that chalkboard is about.

Maybe you want to be left in the past. But Ireland just said, no more server farms. Don't do it. Parts of the Netherlands. Singapore. Sweden. They are freezing construction now on all server farms. Because the grid can't handle the demand already. Tokyo's grid is so strained by the server farms that they have. Blackouts have already occurred in Tokyo during peak hours.

China, which is building a new coal fire plant. Every week, is rationing power to factories so they can keep the AI data hubs running.

So what happens when we shut down coal and install nuclear. And depend on sunshine and windmills. What happens?

Who's powering the cloud?

PJM. This is mid-Atlantic grid, PJM is one that runs it, one of the largest in the world. They say their grid in the mid-Atlantic is already at the breaking point. They have warned, quote, of critically tight capacity. Meaning, one bad to remember.

One bad heat wave. One bad cold spell. And you've got rolling blackouts.

Okay?

Why? Because the last administration retired reliable fossil fuel plants faster than we could replace them. We didn't replace them.

So we're already behind the eight ball. And now, the surge, and the search for power is on.

In Maryland alone. Energy production has dropped as consumption has surged. Why?

Because of the data centers. Virginia's data center corridor, which is, you know, the economic crown jewel of -- of Virginia. This giant data center corridor that happens in Virginia. It now consumes.

Now, today, you're still figuring out what AI does. Okay?

It now consumes one-fifth of Virginia's total energy output. One-fifth! Today!

Why is your electricity price going up?
Why have eggs gone down? They're back to over a dollar a dozen. Why has gas gone down. It's back to the price it was in 2018, 2019. Why is it that the prices have gone down? Yet your energy costs are skyrocketing?

ChatGPT. Amazon. AI. All the things -- Amazon just fired 30,000 people because they're going to replace them with electric robots and machines and AI. That takes power.

Imagine, you know, what happens to your price of housing, when you import 10 million people?

The price of housing goes through the roof. And nobody can afford a house. What happens to electricity, when the people aren't powered on food or have to live in a house, but just need electricity? When you have all that electricity demand for these AI systems and bots. Of course, the price is going to go through the roof.

Especially if we are at the same time that the -- the demand is going up. We're saying, limit the number of power plants. Let's go all are going to.

If you want green energy and you've known this. We've said this.

It's de-growth. But listen to me carefully. I'm not throwing you under the bus.

If you want green energy, then you have to recognize. And maybe you're fine with this. Probably are. No Bitcoin. No AI. And no modern digital economy. It doesn't exist.

If you want AI. And the server farms. And the EVs. And your self-driving car. Digital infrastructure.

You must start building power plants in your state, right now! The problem is, these two realities cannot co-exist. So we're going to see a split in the country. Okay?

The climate cult, as they're calling it, it's going to run head-long into artificial intelligence. And when that happens, lights go out, in your house. So what do you do? Let me give you two options.

If you live in a state, and you want to go net zero, you now have to demand, right now, that they top proving new server farms in your state, because that is in direct conflict with your green energy.

You cannot live in a state that is building new server farms or is supplying power to server farms across the border to another state. You must pass laws right now. And I'm not for this. But I'm just giving you the option if you're for green energy revolution. You must stop all server farms being built in your state.

Or they will bleed you try! And you must also pass a law saying, we are not selling our electricity, over state lines! For a server farm.

Got to do it. Got to do it now. You cannot run a trillion parameter AI model on fairy dust or solar power. Or wind power.

It doesn't happen.

Now, if you believe in innovation, if you believe in the free market, if you believe in progress. If you believe in AI.

You've got to call your state reps right now. And demand new stable, high output energy plants.

The president is saying, that all of these companies that are building these server farms, must be responsible for their own power.

They must build their own power plant.

You don't get anything from the grid!

But that's not happening.

So you need to go to your state rep and say, they cannot take the grid power.

They cannot take the power from the people. They have to create their own power. And I would say, and, in fact, if they want to do it, they must put some excess power into the grid, because they're the ones that will be able to build the nuclear power plant, not your state. They will! Gas, nuclear, hydro. Whatever it takes, you need to call your state and say, "We want power!" And we want the grids, and we want the server farms.

But if you are apathetic on this or if you're ignorant on this and you don't begin to act now, you are going to be -- you're going to be, you know, at the whims of whoever it is, that's running your state. California, we know which way you're going, but are you building server farms as well?

Because if you are, Utah, you should pass a law. We are not going to sell any more power to California because they will take your power, to fund their server farms, not the people. Their server farms. They will buy more power from you. Which, if they're buying it from you. Do you have enough for your server farms. And your people in your state.
Most likely, no! Unless you are doubling down on energy building, right now. This is the near-term problem.

Believe it or not, by the end of 2026, everybody will be very well aware of what energy is costing them. And what server farms are doing to the stability of our grid.

Unless people act right now. And, you know, it's one to things act at the federal level.

This has to be at your local level.

And, quite honestly, I want the energy in Texas. I am not -- I do not want to ship our energy someplace else for somebody else's server farm, if they're not pulling their own weight on electricity.

Because Texas is going to have server farms out the wazoo.

We are building the power plants. We're not building them fast enough.

But we are building tell me.

And until we know our population, which is growing exponentially. Our population can have the power they need to live, survive, and work!

And the power -- or, the server farms that we are building, they have their power as well.

There shouldn't be any -- there shouldn't be 1 kilowatt that is going across our border!

Especially to states who are green!
But this one is going to be up to you.
THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

How Big Food Companies Fed America a Diet of Lies | Jillian Michaels

Glenn Beck sits down with fitness icon Jillian Michaels to expose how modern culture has turned self-destruction into a virtue. What started as a call for kindness has become a “culture of death," where truth is labeled hate, and lies are celebrated as love. From the body positivity movement co-opted by Big Food, to the rise of victimhood as moral superiority, Beck and Michaels uncover how empathy has been weaponized to control people, dull responsibility, and destroy health — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Jillian Michaels HERE


RADIO

The REAL danger of Democrats' shutdown: Hungry children and chaos

The federal government is still under a shutdown and the responsibility falls directly on the Democratic Party. Glenn Beck explains why he believes the Democrats haven’t agreed to a continuing resolution yet and why it could soon get dangerous for average Americans as airports and the SNAP program remain unfunded…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So the federal government is -- has remained closed because they will not pass a continuing resolution, a clean CR as they call it. And the responsibility of that failure falls directly on one of the two major parties. And that party is the Democrat Party.

The political -- the political speak is echoing through the halls of Congress. Our military is now being funded by private dollars. Can you believe it?

This week, is the week air traffic controllers will stop receiving a paycheck. And so will be at the mercy of people who will be like, I'll work for free.

And worst of all, deep in America's neighborhoods, children are going to go to bed hungry. Now, I am not a fan of big, social programs. I think the welfare system that we have created in this country has done nothing for poverty. And all of the stats bare it out. Zero for poverty. In fact, it may have even gotten worse. But the party that purports to represent the weakest among us. The ones that are like, they want your children to starve in the middle of the street.

The ones who represent the weakest are the ones refusing to keep the lights on, or now to secure the food on the table for the poor and the vulnerable.

Literally, the poorest among us. The children they're saying, will starve to death. They are going to take the food out of their mouth. And it reveals who they really are. Okay? What matters to them.

Their inaction is truly a choice. And it's -- it's the condemning of the poor, that they say they're for through these government programs.

I say, that's not the way to do it. They say, it is.

But now, they've -- after they've enslaved people on these government programs, they're just yanking the carpet out. So here's what's actually happening: On October 1st, the federal government entered shutdown because Congress failed to pass a full year appropriations. Or a stopgap, CR, continuing resolution, to fund the essential programs.

The Republicans had been there the whole time. Saying, pass this. Pass this.

We can even do a two-week or four-week. Let's keep government functioning. But they won't do it. Now, among the programs at risk now, beginning in November 1st is the nation's primary food aid mechanism. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. You know, SNAP.

The one the Democrats said, they had to expand under Obama.

Now, according to the most recent data, SNAP is serving an average of 42 million people every single month.

That's 12 percent of all of the people that live here in the United States, in fiscal year 2024.

Okay?

12 percent.

And the US Department of Agriculture as has now said, okay. We don't have the contingency funds.

The ones we do have, can't legally be used to cover normal monthly SNAP benefits in the funding gap. The president has tried to do everything he can. But the court system just keeps shutting him down.

And I don't want to give the president more power, to be able to do whatever he wants. Okay?

Fund the government. Now, here's the implication. As early as next week, millions may no longer receive their benefits. Or they will face the delay and a reduction. We know, because we've gone through this over and over again. These are always partisan standoffs. But we're now witnessing where the Democrats are weaponizing hunger.

The SNAP program traces all of its roots back to the Democrats, the food stamp era of the 1960s and 1970s. By 2020, it was helping over 40 million people. Now, the previous shutdowns have delayed benefits. Okay?

But not endangered the monthly food assistance to tens of millions of people, directly.

Shutdowns are supposed to be a bureaucratic interruption. That's why I celebrate shutdowns.

Okay?

I don't want basic programs to be cut. But I do love the fact that we can look at the government and say, wow, a lot of you seem to be noncritical! Or nonessential employees.

But now we have a shutdown that threatens to pull the food out from American children!

I say this kind of with glee, because they've always said, "We want to harm children," and none of us want to harm children.

But the Democrats are actually going out, by choice. It is their choice, to pull funding they say is absolutely necessary to feed children in America. And they're okay with it!

This is the party of social compassion, remember. They have in recent years, accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate. Being unwilling to compromise on budgets.

Being unwilling to compromise on continuing resolutions. You know, on -- on just, you know, at least funding the basic floor, for the vulnerable!

And yet, the Democrats are now leading us into the longest shutdown in our history!

And they are knowingly using hungry children and babies to do it. And why are they doing it? Why are they doing it?

Let's be honest. Chuck Schumer is doing it, so he's not primaried by the left wing of his own party. That's what this is really all about. Okay? And this contradiction matters. When you accuse the other side of refusing to negotiate, yet, withhold life support for children. Your moral vacuum is a little stark and clear.

Now, because of the shutdown, USDA warns, 42 million have I seen may not receive SNAP benefits in November. In Texas alone, that means 3.4 million people who depend on SNAP are now being told the state is monitoring the situation. But the state of Texas may not be able to guarantee November benefits. And we're a state in good shape.

Imagine what's going to happen in California or in Illinois.

Virginia's governor has declared a state of emergency in the anticipation of the loss of federal food benefits. So what does this actually mean in human costs? Well, let's just take the Democrat's word for it.

We know families are already living on the margin. Children are relying on the kindness of the system. The system is not kind. We've told you forever, the system does not -- it cannot love you.

It doesn't care about you. The politicos in Washington, they don't actually care about you.

And we are seeing this now, with the Democrats!

This means, the food banks are going to be swamped. But food banks are already low.

Now, these are the ones who are bearing the burden of the political gains.

Further, now, listen to this. See who this might help. When food becomes scarce for families. What happens?

Stress rises.

That means, if you have stress, that means you're going to have more suicides. More sick people.

More people using the hospitals.

Theft is going to increase. And public unrest may brew!

Gee. Now who would want that? Except, all of those Democrats who are sewing the seeds of revolution.

Pushing for chaos in the streets. And taking officers on the field, while putting criminals back into the game?

The seeds of desperation have been sewn by this party. And what are they doing?

They're turning up the heat. And then what his this mean? If the government doesn't pay for this. That means the states have to pay for it. Which will make all of our states more vulnerable. Because they'll all have to dip into their rainy day fund.

Which makes, what?

All of our states more vulnerable.

Also, Chuck Schumer isn't primaried.

You can't wait for a political restoration when one of the political parties does not want restoration. You know, one party is not looking for common sense. In fact, one party is pushing for shooting those you disagree with. While funding Colour Revolutions in our own cities.

You know, while -- while everybody is trying to stop this -- this one guy, Melon, who is -- is sending a check for $130 million to pay for our military, all the short -- the shortfall for our military. $130 million personally coming out of his paycheck. What are they doing? They're spending almost $300 million on a No Kings rally. Hmm.

Which one is in favor of America, and which one is not?

You can't rely on a party that refuses to pass a clean funding bill, when they actually say out loud all the time, that the ends justify the means.

By the way, for those who don't get that. Maybe you soon will. The ends justify the means.

What does that mean? Well, to clarify. It's playing out right now.

That it's okay for people to suffer. It's okay if your plane is delayed or cancelled in the next few days.

It's okay for military families who are struggling already. Are pushed deeper into debt and despair. And children literally going to bed hungry.

Wake up, hungry, and then go to school hungry.

They know what is at stake.

But their plans, their goals.

Their primary election is more important. That's the ends, and it justifies all of the things that will happen. And all the things that will happen in our society. Every plane that's delayed.

Everybody that goes further into debt.

And every child that doesn't have food because their beloved SNAP program that they have enslaved people on, is now broke.

So here's what we have to do. First of all, you have to make sure that everyone. If you're traveling, the minute these airports start to fall apart and be your plan is cancelled or delayed because people aren't being paid. And so they're not showing up for work.

You make sure everyone knows that that's because Chuck Schumer didn't want to have -- be primaried by AOC. Okay?

Call your Democrat representative.

Anyone who is struggling to put food on the table. Anyone who knows of a hungry child. After helping them, call your Democrat representative, and say, "Enough is enough here."

But I would like to suggest something even further: And I'll share that with you, in 60 seconds.

So I'm going to ask you to do what you always do. And you do best. Get involved, and help in a real way. Our communities are going to suffer for a myriad of reasons. And right now, if you're living in a military town, they're already suffering. They're already suffering.

We have to rally our own communities. So our food banks all around the country are -- are going empty.

And we haven't even hit anything yet.

If the Democrats allow this to go through Thanksgiving, it will probably go through Christmas. That is going -- that will devastate the economy, that will -- we'll all be looking at food banks soon. Okay?

So we need to stock up our local food banks. You need to get your church involved. Get everybody involved. If your children has a food bank, please, deliver food to the local church. Okay?

We need to reach out to schools. We need to mobilize our churches, our civic groups, our community centers. We need to make sure that no one is going to bed hungry because of political inaction. This is our job in the first place. This is our church's job in the first place. But they have enslaved about 43 million people on food stamps. It's got to stop. It has to stop.

But you don't just -- you don't take a heroin user. And, oh, no more heroin user for you. You've got to have a plan. Well, there is no more plan. So it comes back to us.

Food is being used as a weapon. So we have to disarm that weapon. Because this makes that difference. You might say, well, you know what, those people can work. Or whatever it is you might say in your head. This is going to cause civil unrest, and you're already seeing it. The seeds are being planted online already. And if they don't give us our money, and they're not talking about the Democrats. They're talking about Donald Trump. They don't give us our money, well, then it's time take action ourself.

And you will see an increase in theft. You will see an increase in disillusionment. You will see an increase in violence in the streets.

It will happen. So let's disarm that. By doing the right thing ourselves. With kindness. With service. And responsibility.

Let's show people, that, you know, there is one side that actually cares about the poor. We always do! We're always there.

Let's demonstrate leadership when everybody else wants to demonstrate, I don't even know what.

You know, when the left fails to act, let us be the act.

When food becomes a bargaining chip, let's render it bulletproof, by putting some meals in some hands. Let's be seen doing real good. Politics be damned.

Principles are what matters.

You know, I can't believe all of these years, they've been saying, and they want your children to starve.

And they are -- I mean, I heard a Democrat this weekend say, we know this is going to cause pain. But it's important.

Really?

Because you have said when we're not talking about things like this, when we're talking about just not increasing the spending. Not decreasing. You're telling us, that we always want hungry children to starve.

You are literally taking the only safety net away, that they have. That you created. And enslaved them with.

I'm sorry. But, you know, an empty belly doesn't know compromise.

It doesn't.

We have to stand in the breach, while Congress stands idle.

How do you not pass a clean CR when food?

I mean, that's the minimum of decency, isn't it?

When they refuse, and I don't know when people will get this. What they're saying is, "We don't really care. We care about our politics more."

Enough is enough. Enough is enough. We'll do our part. We should feed the hungry in the first place.

We should support children.

We need to lean into service, a little bit more. And disarm the politics of hunger by living higher than politics, principles of love and responsibility.

I mean, it's -- it's clear, how truly little they care, for those at the bottom.

Time to carry the -- the torch for the powerless.

You know, I knew John huntsman, a good friend of mine. And in 2008, he almost lost his petrochemical company. He almost lost everything.

Had to mortgage everything. And everything was on the line. And when he finished to the banks. Now, I need a -- now I need a loan for charity. And the bank went, charity?

We don't loan for charity. And he said, I have promised millions of dollars to these charities. And they said, just tell them to wait. You're in a bad situation.

He said, "I'll tell you what, why don't I take you to the homeless shelter, and you tell the homeless to wait. Why don't I take you to the battered women's center with, and you tell them, 'Hey, there will be a place for you, so you can get away from your abusive spouse next month.' You tell them that."

He mortgaged literally his house and everything else, just to make his charitable contributions. That is a man of real principle. That is -- that's the way we should all live our life. First principles. Not asking you to mortgage the house. Just, if you have extra food, share it. Be aware.

So we don't have revolution on our streets.