RADIOSeptember 13, 2023

Did RINO Texas politicians ACTUALLY impeach an elected Attorney General with ZERO evidence?

Something is very wrong in Texas, Glenn says, and if it's happening there, what could happen in YOUR state? The Texas state legislature is holding an impeachment trial for Attorney General Ken Paxton. But is this a legitimate trial or a RINO Republican hit-job? Texas Scorecard Managing Editor Brandon Waltens has been keeping an eye on the trial and he joins Glenn to explain how shockingly LITTLE evidence - if any - Paxton's accusers have brought.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I'm going to talk you to a little bit about what's happening in Texas. But I'm talking you to about this, because if it's happening in Texas, God only knows what's happening in your state.

I wanted to bring somebody on, who really watches this for a living. His name is Brandon Waltons. He does the Texas scorecard. And every day, he does, you know, headlines. Of what's about to go. And he watches us every weekday at 5:00. YouTube X, and podcast platforms. There is an impeachment going on of probably the strongest attorney general in the nation.

The one here in Texas Ken Paxton.

He's been on this show several times. I know Ken.

But I don't have a horse in this race. If he's guilty of a crime, he should be punished.

But it is really beginning to look, and I stayed off this story, until the testimony was out.

And I have to tell you, something is very wrong in Texas.

And Texans better pay attention to this. Brandon, welcome.

BRANDON: Thank you so much for having me, Glenn.

GLENN: So overall, can you quickly just say, you know, what this is supposedly about? And then let's talk about the actual witnesses?

BRANDON: Yeah. So how did we get here?

Essentially, three years ago, we had this group of employees at the office of attorney general, who accused Ken Paxton of wrongdoing, of abusing his office to help a friend, essentially. And they went to the FBI. They recorded him.

And that sort of set into motion, what we now have three years later. This impeachment process, which many of those impeachment charges are based off of.

Back in May, over Memorial Day weekend. Well, a lot of people were maybe grilling out or at the lake, whatever.

The House met on a Saturday.

They voted to impeach Ken Paxton. Based on testimony that wasn't sworn testimony. Ken Paxton wasn't made aware of their investigation, until it came out. Forty-eight hours before the vote.

And the House members themselves weren't able to actually look at their testimonies. They had to rely on the word of the House investigators.

GLENN: And, Ken, if I'm not mistaken, wasn't allowed to respond in his own defense.

BRANDON: Right. Right. And so you had a lot of these sorts of things, that people will look at this, like, this is odd.

Well, just like DC, you know, the House does the impeachment, goes over to the Senate to determine whether or not they would convict, which would actually remove him from office. So for the last few months, there has been a lot of talk, from those pushing the impeachment. Who are saying, wait until you see this testimony.

Wait until you see the evidence. You will be blown away by what we have.

And yet, this trial happened last week.

And so far. And we're more than halfway through this.

The testimony has really, really been weak.

GLENN: I would say, a little beyond weak.

There's no evidence of a crime. I mean, this is -- let me just read something. This was the third whistle-blower.

The concern began, when Paxton advocated for the AG's office to open investigation, into Nate Paul.

That see his friend and donor. Alleged mistreatment by the FBI. And Texas DPS. During a raid.

Paul's contention was that the Fed did him dirty by illegally altering his search warrants, after the fact to expand their scope, just to get him.

His technical experts theorized that there was altered meta data in the digital versions, that proved the documents had been changed.

Maxwell quickly developed the opinion, that the whistle-blower, the opinion that Nate Paul was a criminal, that we should not be associated with. Accordingly, he had dragged his feet.

And ultimately refused to open a formal investigation, into the alleged FBI and TBS misconduct. Paxton, convinced of the idea, that the FBI was untrustworthy. Well, that's farfetched.

He eventually hired outside counsel, to help explore and adjudicate Paul's claims, an act that would eventually become a primary catalyst for the whistle-blower complaints.

Now, did anything come of that outside investigation?

BRANDON: No. And the thing is, when you see these people testify, I mean, numerous of these former employees of the office of the attorney general has talked about how insane, literally that's what one of these people said. It would be insane to investigate the FBI.

Essentially, they trust them whole-heartedly. That there would been nothing. I mean, literally, one of them was asked, is there anything that maybe happened over the last two, three, four years, that might change your trust in the FBI?

They said no. Of course, that's in odds with Texas voters. I mean, Republican primary voters.

We have a poll after the Mar-a-Lago raid.
Shows that 73 percent of Texas primary voters have a negative opinion of the FBI.

GLENN: What a shock.

So I'm reading this. And my first thought was. And I dismissed it out of hand.

And I don't even know why it came at me.

But I'm reading all of the testimony. And I'm thinking to myself, this is George Bush. This is -- this is the George Bush wing of the party, that is -- that trusts the FBI. Is denying that there's a problem in America.

The problem is the Republican voters. All of that crap.

And then I continue to read on. And it looks like the whistle-blowers do have a relationship with George P. Bush. Is there anything to this, that this is a Bush ambush?

BRANDON: You know, there's been a couple moments during the testimony of the past week, where the Bush family has been invoked. And it looks like perhaps they were somehow involved in this.

One of those things, that when the whistle-blowers went to the FBI and reported Paxton.

And, by the way, without even asking him or talking to him beforehand, and then they also said they had no evidence when they went.

But when they were preparing to go to the FBI, on that same day, George P. Bush was reactivating his law license.

He would eventually challenge Ken Paxton and the Republican primary last year.

GLENN: Lose.

BRANDON: Lost in the runoff.

And then you also have the case, where Johnnie Sutton, who was a Bush lawyer. Somebody who was a US attorney under Bush, and very close to the Bush family.

He's been representing some of these whistle-blowers for the last three years, and hasn't sent them a bill. Hasn't been paid, essentially they're representing them pro bono.

So that's just another piece of the puzzle, people are looking at and saying, hmm, it looks like someone else. Some outside force is involved here.

GLENN: I -- honestly, the people who brought this impeachment the way they brought it. Should be impeached themselves.

I don't -- you know, the one thing I do hear about Paxton, is he's just a freight train.

And he's not good at playing the game. And making friends and influencing people, whatever. Well, neither is John Adams. And I'm not comparing him to John Adams.

I'm just saying, temperament-wise, John Adams is not a popular guy. But you do not bend the rules to get rid of somebody, if he is -- if he is a criminal. If he did something criminal, then I am for his impeachment.

But if this is just because he has made the right friends.

Or a Bush wants him out.

Or whatever it is. The people involved in this, because it's been so shady, the way they did this.

I think they should be impeached.

BRANDON: Certainly, there's been a lot of anger. Especially among Republican voters.

You know, it's one thing where we see what's happening with the president. Where we see Democrats going after. Using the justice system.

It's another one, here in Texas. And you have Democrats. And establishment Republicans, going along with it.

GLENN: It's really bad. Really, really bad.

Anything to the thought that this happened the week that Paxton said, you know, hey.

Why -- why is our speaker of the House giving, you know, chairmanship to the Democrats?

We don't need friends like this.

And then it was later that week, that the impeachment thing happened.

Was there any connection?

BRANDON: Well, I think absolutely, there has been a divide.

Dave, the establishment guy, that runs the House, who puts Democrats in power.

He has been at odds, with not only Ken Paxton, but the conservative grassroots, who have repeatedly elected Paxton.

So certainly, there's no coincidence there.
There's certainly been a lot of bad blood between the establishment and Ken Paxton.

It just shows why they worked so hard, to try to essentially overturn the election and get him out of office.

GLENN: And quickly, what do your sources tell you, how will this fare? How will this turn out?

BRANDON: Yeah. So they need two-thirds, to permanently remove him from office.

That vote is supposed to take place, maybe Friday and Saturday, and later this week. You know, it's a little tough. You have to do aftermath. The senators are under gag orders.

I would say, especially after people testifying that they essentially had no evidence, which is what we repeatedly saw this week.

I hear a lot of the senators are getting very, very frustrated that House members put them in this situation that they have to sit through this.

And I think that ultimately, that will be something that they will be considering there, when they make those decisions.

GLENN: But you will get all the Democrats. So how many Republicans do you need?

BRANDON: I think you need ten. Ten, if I recall.

GLENN: Ten weasels.

All right. I hope not.

Thank you so much for reporting on this.

And bringing us the story. I appreciate it.

BRANDON: Absolutely.

GLENN: You bet. Brandon Waltons. He's Texas scorecard. You can find Texas scorecard. Wherever you get to your podcast. And YouTube and X every day at 5 o'clock.

STU: And just one quick thing. In case you missed the show yesterday.

It sort of rolls off the tongue. To say, oh. This was brought without any evidence.

Those remember the words of the people, who brought the accusations.

GLENN: Yeah. We have no evidence.

STU: They were asked specifically, do you have any evidence, when you were brought this case? And the guy said no.

GLENN: The most credible said, no. It's just my feeling.

STU: Right. We thought we had some legal activities we brought to their attention.

Did you have any evidence? No.

France JAILS Right Wing Leader Marine Le Pen

A French judge has just sentenced right wing leader Marine Le Pen to jail for 4 years and barred her from running for president in 2027. How convenient, since she has been leading in the polls. Glenn takes a look at the case, in which she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds, and compares it to the Biden administration’s prosecution of Donald Trump during the 2024 election. Maybe the French should have learned a lesson from America: people don't like it when you try and take their choice away.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: This story just caught my eye. This morning, just breaking that the French far right leader, Marine Le Pen has been barred for running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of a vast system of embezzlement of European parliament funds, banned her for running for public office with immediate effect.

Now, that seems pretty convenient, doesn't it? Really convenient.

STU: Really convenient. Luckily, all the people that were going to be running against her, where she was the actual favorite, they now don't have to worry about that because of her crimes!

GLENN: Yeah. But it had nothing to do with that. It was all crimes. It was all crimes.

STU: No, it's just incredibly convenient for them. You would think, it's really hard to win against a particular -- it's like, I don't know if you know this, the Super Bowl champions. Philadelphia Eagles. They ran the Super Bowl this past year.

And now they're trying to ban the play, that they do better than every other year.

It's kind of like that! It's kind of like, hey. What if we stop them from doing something they're doing at? What if we stop the candidates that are running against, and accuse them of crimes. Then throw them out. So we don't have to run against them.

GLENN: Now, wait a minute, to be fair. With France, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted in 2021 of corruption and influence peddling. Remember that? Yeah. Yeah. He could still run, however.

STU: He can. He's not a threat though at all to win again.

GLENN: No. No, no, no. The former Prime Minister in 2017, presidential candidate was convicted in 2020.

This is Francois Feldman, he was convicted in 2020 of embezzlement and creating fake jobs for his wife.

STU: Did he get banned from --

GLENN: Well, he was five years. Three years suspended. But yeah. He could still run.

He could still run. He could still run. But not Le Pen. She somehow or another is different.

You know, this is serious crimes. Even though, the other two were serious crimes as well.
But she can't -- she can't run.

So we've got that. Well, it seems to be happening a lot in Europe.

Where they just seem to be finding these crimes. Or they just have found some elections. They're like, you know what, we just don't think that's right. We don't think that's what the people really meant to do.

Let's overthrow that election!

You know, Stu. You know, I'm not a historian, but I am a thinker.

And it doesn't seem like these things ever work out well. Yeah.

I mean, I don't have to go back to Nazi Germany. Which I could. Where they threw Adolf Hitler into the clinic.

Which made him a hero. I mean, I could go there, but I don't have to.

Did anybody notice the election of Donald Trump?

STU: Hmm. When did that happen?

Is that recent?

GLENN: I'm not sure. I'm not sure.

But I think there was some funny business there. Where they were trying to throw him in jail and trying --

STU: You know why that doesn't work?

I honestly believe this.

Is because the people get pissed off that you're trying to make the decision for them. It has nothing to do with whether the person who got thrown in jail or threatened to be thrown in jail is a good he person.

I don't know if Marine Le Pen is a good person or whether she should be president of France. No rooting interest. I heard her Dad was pretty bad. But I don't know. Who knows.

GLENN: Not French. Don't really care.

STU: Not French. Don't really care, and not following all that closely.

But the French people get annoyed by that, I think.

At least I know the American people do.

GLENN: I think all people do.

STU: I think so too.

GLENN: The number one I put on the list on don't do this too.

Germans. I don't know why I think that. You know, let's not have them, you know, recently. What you know they're doing now?

They've decided, you know what, we need to build an army. Okay.

I mean, let's not piss the people off, while they're building an army. What do you say? What do you say?

STU: Yes.

GLENN: It will be a bad thing.

STU: It will be a double-edged sword on building the army thing.

GLENN: What happens is you're exactly right. It galvanizes people. Because they no longer trust the system. They're like, what the hell? Why are you taking my choice away?

STU: Yeah, don't take it away. Let me make the choice. I think the American people, certainly, and I think the French people probably say. I can look at these allegations.

I can look at what's going on here. And make the decision myself.

People, by the way, did that. With all the allegations against Donald Trump. And they said, you know what, I don't see anything here. Right?

They were just like, no. I don't think this is going to happen. We're going to make this instigation. We talked about it all the time.

The largest jury in the world was just around the corner. There was no reason to try to throw them prison. Let the American people decide whether what they think, whatever he did with Stormy Daniels was big enough for him not to be president. They made a decision.

GLENN: No, no, no. We know better. Well, we don't know better. The judges know better.

The judges always know better. You know, they did this Erewhon. Does anybody remember?

Aren't they like a spooky state now, with Erewhon? Isn't he somebody that we should keep our eye on?

What happened? I think he either recited a poem, or published a poem deemed to be anti-secular. That's against the Constitution. So he was imprisoned. And what happened?

Because he was anti-secular in a largely Muslim country, everybody was like, he's my man.

The ban was lifted on him. And he became, you know, the Prime Minister again. And look at what happened.

Look at turkey now. Friendly nation. I don't think so.

Good news, it's in NATO. So something happens with them. We need to send our boys to protect them.

That's -- good news.

This is not going to work out well.

I mean, they just keep -- they just keep poking and poking and poking the bear.

Have you seen. Did you see what happened in Sweden this weekend. With all of the protests.

All of the things going on. It's becoming an Islamic state.

The whole place is becoming an Islamic state.

Look at what happened in England alone.

They're what, ten years away? Just from birthrates. Ten years away of being the -- the major population? Twenty years.

And that's if everybody stays cool. And wait a minute. How come you're throwing all of the people standing up going, hey. I don't have a problem with Islam.

I do have a problem with -- you know, they're banning -- not machetes. The -- the Japanese knives. Sword. Yeah. Samurai sword.

Why?

People are being beheaded. Why?

I don't know. I mean, it's just a -- it's not going to -- again, I just -- France, I know insular speak your language.

STU: You do, I have heard you.

You have done that before.

GLENN: Yeah. You wake up now, huh.

STU: That's perfect French.

GLENN: You should probably wake up. Because hmm. I'm just saying. I'm just saying.

Oh, by the way, there's another story out today, that is in our show prep, that is kind of reminiscent of this.

You know, the -- the judge that is -- is banning, you know, Trump from doing everything he wants to do.

STU: He was the judge that wanted the Venezuela flights to turn around midair. Mid-flight.

GLENN: Yeah. Boasberg.

Okay. I don't know. I mean, you know, he has been instrumental in a lot of things.

For instance, he was the guy who was like, you know, what do you mean?

What do you mean the FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith? Falsified information to get the -- to get the FBI wiretap going for Donald Trump.

Sure, he -- yeah. Okay.

So what?

He falsified information. What's the big deal then?

So he's the guy that let him off without any prison time for falsing information without a FISA court.

Not a problem.

I mean, this is just. It's comical.

It's absolutely comical.

He also is the guy who happened to hear the case of Ray Epps. And was like, oh, well. No.

He didn't do anything wrong.

You have him on tape. Saying, you know what, you should riot. You should go in there, and storm the Capitol.

He didn't mean that! He's the guy that let Ray Epps off the hook.

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe -- maybe we should talk about impeaching.

You can't do that! Yes, you can. Yeah, that's what's in the Constitution. Why is it that Justice Roberts, and all of these politicians just don't want to use things that are actually in the Constitution?

Well, it's never been done before. Yeah. You know what, I've never used the life vest on an airplane as a flotation device.

It doesn't mean if we're in the water, we shouldn't try it. Oh, you've -- we've never done this before. This has never been done before.

Well, wait. We've never been in the ocean. Floating around, needing a flotation device. I don't know.

Maybe that's an emergency thing that you use. That's why impeachment is there for the justices, in case things go badly!

STU: And the Founders actually thought it was going to be more useful and more common.

GLENN: Yes!

STU: They didn't see it as -- that's what it's turned into with the president, unless you could be Donald Trump. Which is a weekly occurrence.

When it's supposed to be -- it wasn't always supposed to be only this gigantic thing that happened every 15 years. It's something that was utilized a little bit more than it was.

GLENN: They thought people would be like, I don't know, that one was really bad, maybe we should get rid of that guy. Instead, we were passive.

We were, no. That's not so bad.

And in some ways, that's good.

In others, if you live that way, you then are in such bad trouble. By the time you pull that out, that it is an emergency crash landing.

It is the little wait, I have to blow into this little red hoes. And blow it up myself. Okay. This doesn't sound like it will keep me up above water.

But okay.

That's what those things are there for.

And I don't know, I think we should start. This guy, Boasberg.

Ray Epps.

All I need to say.

Ray Epps. Let me show you the video.

Here he is. Hey, everybody. You should go into the Capitol.

Get him. And nothing?

Because of that judge?

Hmm. Hmm. I can't wait until he has to hear a case on somebody with a burning up of a Tesla. Or rioting in the streets. Or beating up an old lady.

I'll bet. I'll bet he has examples there up his sleeve. Where he says, that really doesn't count. That doesn't count.

But I would love to weigh in on Marine Le Pen. I say, if she ever comes here, we execute her!

Okay. Judge. Thank you.

Kirk Cameron's Alternative to Woke Children's Programming

While Disney, PBS, and other “child-friendly” networks are introducing kids to gender ideology, Kirk Cameron has decided to return to the days of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Kirk joins Glenn to discuss his new children’s show, “Iggy and Mr. Kirk”, which he believes could be “the most important project I have ever done.” The show, he says, teaches kids about God, “the sacredness of all life,” our true identity, and other important lessons.

You can watch Kirk Cameron’s new kids’ show at https://BravePlus.com

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Let me -- let me take you next to our next guest. Good friend of the program. Just overall great guy. Kirk Cameron is on with us. Actor, producer. He is with Brave books.

And it's now Braveplus.com, and they launched something yesterday, that he was on this program, talking about. Oh, jeez. I don't even know. Six months ago, maybe.

And he was talking about Iggy and Mr. Kirk, which is kind of a Mr. Rogers for modern day.

And it talks about the basic principles. It teaches us -- to our little kids. Self-control. Honesty.

Putting others first. Et cetera, et cetera.

All the things that Mr. Rogers did. Welcome, Kirk Cameron. How are you?

KIRK: Glenn, it's so good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for having me on. We're so excited.

GLENN: Yeah, you bet.

KIRK: Iggy has landed, and kids all over America are so excited. And I'm doing my best to honor Mr. Rogers with this new kids TV show.

GLENN: I meant to look this up, before you came on. Do you know how old Mr. Rogers was, when he started? Compared to your age now. I don't either.

KIRK: I don't.

GLENN: But he had years and years. Stu, look that up for me, will you?

He had years and years in front of kids, raising kids. And became just this beloved figure.

And I remember, I mean, he started, you know -- I don't know. I don't even know, if he was around when I was a kid. I'm sure it was when it was all black and white.

The early stuff. You know, I only found Mr. Rogers when I was older. And I'm like, wow!

This is weird. Because now, in looking back, you know, nobody was that nice.

Nobody was -- now you suspect people that are that nice. And so sweet.

But that guy was truly an amazing hero. A godly, godly man.

And really a respected guy, by everybody.

STU: He was 40 by, by the way, Glenn.

GLENN: He was forty. How are you, Kirk?

KIRK: I'm 54.

GLENN: Fifty-four. So he was 40 years old when he started this, and to step into kind of a little bit of his shoes must be a little intimidating.

KIRK: It is.

And in this show for kids, we're teaching clear moral lessons like he did. Like forgiveness. Lessons on telling the truth. Lessons on overcoming your fears. We are even diving into cultural and political issues.

We're teaching children about the dangers of socialism. And about the sanctity of life. We're even having an episode, number four, on identity.

And Mr. Rogers doesn't really need to talk about some of those things. Back in his day.

Today, we have Disney's Snow White, and we've got Nickelodeon and other shows that are introducing stuff, like nonbinary Big Bird.

And we have all sorts of crazy stuff, that kids are trying to wrestle with. So we need to address these issues in a way that is safe for kids.
That parents trust. And that also ignites those little imaginations for the good, and imparts virtue and faith. And that's what we're doing.

GLENN: We're pumping so much garbage into our system. I've heard you talk about, it's like food, but it's true!

We're pumping garbage food into us, and expecting our bodies to work.

We're putting garbage drugs into our bodies, and thinking it's going to work out well.

And garbage into our minds. And it -- it's not going to work out well, unless we turn this corner!

KIRK: Yeah. That's right.

And I'm actually really thankful for all of the -- the weird, woke, and twisted things, that have come down.

Because in a sense, it's the wake-up call we've needed.

And now parents are leaning in. They're waked up. They're speaking up.

And there's an opportunity, with so many things going on politically in the country with Trump and DOGE and all these other things.

Where all of a sudden, these governments. Top-down institutions are now going to be drained to a degree, and there's a need for parents and communities and churches to work at the grassroots level to provide better alternatives.

So I think the timing of this is perfect.

I'm so excited. It could be the most important project I've done.

And it's available everywhere. For everyone to see. Kids and grandkids.

And you want to nourish their hearts and minds. When they're in the middle of Korean time.

Just check out Iggy, Mr. Kirk. And it's on Brave+.

The app on your TV, or BravePlus.com.

GLENN: And it's not the only thing. Don't you have like strawberry Shortcake? I'm trying to look. You had a bunch of stuff. Strawberry Shortcake. Bob the Builder is on there as well. So it's all these great character-building shows?

KIRK: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's what's really cool about Brave Plus. We're not waiting for Disney to pick up the clues on and figure out this is the stuff that parents actually want and can trust.

They've created our own streaming platform. And really high standards. So if it's overstimulating, that's as bad for your kids as processed foods. If it's not underlining good morals, traditional American and godly values, it doesn't make the cut. But there are over 50 shows on there, and you can watch the first three episodes of my new show, Iggy and Mr. Kirk, for free. If you want to watch the rest, we've got a whole season complete, along with 50 other shows, like you said. Bob the Builder.

Strawberry Shortcake. Madeleine. So many great shows there. That are safe, without a second thought. And your kids are going to love them.

GLENN: So let's -- can we just go through?

Because I really want parents or grandparents that have little kids, to understand what you're doing because this is so important.

We have to rebuild education from the ground up. And entertainment. And entertainment that you can actually feel comfortable in leaving the room for five minutes.

And you're not -- your kids are going to be coming back and speaking a language that you're like, wait a minute. You're confused in your own body.

What?

So can we just go over the first couple of episodes. First one is injured bird. The lesson there is?

KIRK: Yeah. This is injured bird, this is all about the sacredness of life. All life. Including unborn life. And Iggy is -- is essentially really upset at this bird that see snuck into his treehouse. And is stealing all of his worms. He wants to go fishing, and the bird is stealing his bait.

What he doesn't know, is that this is a mama girl, who is collecting worms because the little chicks in her eggs, in the nest, are about to hatch.

And he learns, that these little lives, inside these eggs are precious. And he has to learn to take care of them.

But then the episode continues on, to value disabled life and elderly life. And so it's way whole show, about the sanctity of all life.

GLENN: What an appropriate first episode.

KIRK: Yeah.

GLENN: So good. So good.

KIRK: Yeah. Yeah. And then episode number four is dealing with identity. And in the middle of it, Mr. Kirk. That's the Mr. Rogers character, reads to Iggy, the little adorable green iguana, a book called Elephants Are Not Birds.

And this is a show about identity. Where Culture, the vulture, tries to deceive Iggy into thinking, if he were somebody else, if he was someone other than what God made him to be. He would be -- he would be liked and loved more by his family and friends.

And so we have this whole show, helping Iggy to discover, that God made him just the way he is. And that when he embraces who he is, then he can fulfill the purpose they can't be God has given him.

GLENN: Have you heard of -- have you seen any of the research on this. Or talked to any of the viewers.

And discovered something that you didn't know was going to be a benefit of this. Or something that you were surprised by. And you were like, oh, my gosh.

I'm so glad. I didn't even think of that. But I'm so glad that this is happening with the audience?

KIRK: Well, you know, more and more data is coming out, that is showing that children's brains are negatively impacted by most of the children's programming coming out.

Because at the end of the day. Just like junk food is designed to be cheap.

And addictive.

And most children's shows are the same way.

Kids are staring like zombies at the screen, because they've been designed to addict them.

Through non-diegetic sounds, that are put in a post-production. This is not part of the world they're actually looking at, with flashing lights and jump cuts every two to three seconds. It's a literal brain hack on your kids, to keep them glued to the screen. And they say, nine minutes of that has measurable negative impact on their pockets and development.

And so we're going back the opposite way. Back to Mr. Rogers. Where we take our time.

And we lean into relationships. And develop trust.

And impart virtue the old-fashioned way.

GLENN: How difficult was that, to do?

Because, you know, everybody in the media, they didn't start out, well, some of them probably did.

They didn't start with nefarious purposes.

They were just like, we've got to get these kids to watch the show.

How are we going to do it?

And now to go to the opposite and say, we don't want to use any of those tricks.

That had to be a little scary.

KIRK: Yeah. It was.

But Glenn, you're a guy who says, no. My bottom line is I want to do the right thing by God and by my family.

I want to love people. I want to champion what's good and true and beautiful. At the end of the day, that's why I love working with Brave books.

That's really their bottom line. They don't want to go bankrupt. They want to make money. More than that. This is an eye doctor, who dropped that business to become the CEO of a book publishing company, and now, a whole media company. Because she's got kids, and nobody else is doing it!

So that's -- that's why we're doing it the way we're doing it.

Yeah, it's scary.

But at the end of the day, I have to answer for everything that I'm a part of.

GLENN: Kirk, I am -- I'm so proud, to be your friend, and to see what you guys are doing. And what Brave is doing.

I just think there's nothing more important than -- than beginning the journey, that is going to be a very long journey and generational journey. But beginning the journey right now, to put things back in order.

It is -- it's the most important thing anybody can do.

And especially well anything on education.

And I -- I know you know this, but anything I can do. Whatever I have, is yours.

You just tell me how we can help.

Because you're doing -- you're doing God's work. And you are helping save the -- you're helping save not just the country. Civilization. You're helping save civilization, so thank you.

KIRK: Well, you're so kind. You always put wind in my sails. Anything we've built.

And you're an inspiration to so many of us.

So, Glenn, thank you very much.

God bless you. And keep up the great work.

GLENN: I want you to go to Braveplus.com. That's Braveplus.com. If you have children, grandchildren, you know somebody that is -- you know, has young children.

This is so important, and it will help your kids take all -- we have to stop with the Sesame Street stuff. We have to. We have to.

The stuff that is being taught now to our kids so early. Is absolute poison.

And it's not what we grew up with.

You can look at all these things and say, well, but I was fine.

It's a different world now.

It's a totally different world.

And these are not the Jim Henson lessons that we used to get as kids.

And I am -- I am not against progress.

I am very progressive in the right ways.

I believe in the future.

I believe in making new things, and cutting edge. And everything else.

But we cannot disregard all of the things that have worked, for centuries!

The truth works!

And Kirk is doing Yeoman's job here, along with Brave. So go to braveplus.com. You can see the first three episodes free, but share it with all your friends. BravePlus.com. BravePlus.com.

Did "Snow White" Actress Rachel Zegler DESTROY Her Chances in Hollywood?

A producer for “Snow White” recently reprimanded the film’s star, Rachel Zegler, for mixing the film’s promotion with leftist activism. Her decision to trash the original “Snow White” film and focus on politics over publicity will likely cost Disney millions of dollars. But doesn’t she have the right to speak freely? Glenn explains why this is yet another example of a narcissistic generation that believes their careers should be handed to them. It’s not about free speech when she’s being paid millions to promote Disney’s movie. Glenn also reads the fiery comments of the producer’s son, who summarized the whole situation perfectly.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: But the problem with our society, can be found with Snow White, and what's going on with Snow White. We have too many people that don't know what it's like to actually work.

They -- they don't know what merit is. Because they get paid whether they succeed or not.

You know, they were talking about SNAP, and yesterday, we shared the information about SNAP and sugary cereals, and everything else, that shouldn't be a part of SNAP. Well, they should be able to buy whatever they want. No. Not on our dime. How is that? How is that? This really comes from Benjamin Franklin, he believes the best way to get people out of the circle of poverty is to make them uncomfortable in their poverty. Meaning, you know, you don't get what you want.

You know, you get what you need. And there's a difference between needs and wants.

And if we give people what they need, people want more than that.

Well, they'll learn that they have to change their behavior. Maybe their behavior is self-destructive.

Maybe their behavior is just pure laziness. Maybe it's a lack of education.

But we can find those solutions together, if you're not getting what you want. You're only getting what you need.

You know, it was Edward Bernays that said, you know, the problem with America is: We've got a problem of needs. We need to turn this around, to a country of wants. He, by the way, was the father of American propaganda. He's the guy whose books all taught Goebbels how to make germ my into an all-new place. He is the author of modern advertising.

We've got to just change this from a nation of needs to a nation of wants. No. We need to do the exact opposite now.

We need to make our nation, a nation of needs, again.

And that -- that one even understands needs. So the producer of Snow White, Marc Platt, the son -- sorry, the sone of the producer, Marc Platt has just gone on X, and hmm. Defended -- defended his family's name, and the father.

So one commenter wrote in his Instagram and tried to flip the switch here, and flip the narrative. Apparently, his dad had to fly to New York City, to reprimand what's-her-face? The woman who played Snow White. What's-her-face?

Rachel Ziegler. Had to reprimand. Because when they went on tour for publicity, she starts in with all of her political nonsense, and that wasn't helping Disney. It wasn't helping the movie.

You know, hey, Snow white.

Yeah. Let me tell you about Palestine and Israel. And how bad Israel is.

And how bad Trump is!

Okay. That's not going to help sell the movie. You've just divided the country in half. So you've lost half of the revenue, we could have had.

Because you pissed off half of the country.

Now, this is what exactly -- what would be said to me.

You know, I go in, and I say, hey. I would want to work at NBC.

First of all, it would never happen. Because I wouldn't want to work at NBC. But two, they would never hire me.

If it was a serious consideration.

You know why they wouldn't hire me?

If everyone was being honest.

The same reason why they wouldn't hire anybody from the View. Or Rosie O'Donnell.

Because I'm a polarizing figure. Because I speak about politics.

So I lose half the audience.

When you're in mass media. When you're making movies.

You don't want to lose half the audience.

You want to get everybody into a seat.

You're there not only to make a beautiful, arc film.

You're also there to put butts in the seats, to make money for the company or yourself.

So he has to go across the country, and say, hey. Can you top?

Can you please stop talking about your pro-Palestinian views and anti-Trump comments and, you know, how -- how this film was just creepy in the 1930s? Can you stop? This is a beloved film.

So somebody goes on Twitter and says to Jonah Platt, son of the producer, your Dad flew to New York City to reprimand a young actress. Any word on this? Because that's creepy as hell. And uncalled for. People have the right to free speech, shame on your father.

Oh, my gosh. I'm not the son of the producer. And I want to respond to that. But the son of the producer did respond.

Here's what he said: You really want to do this? Yeah. My Dad, the producer of an enormous piece of Disney IP with hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, had to leave his family to fly across the country to reprimand a 20-year-old employee, for dragging her personal politics into the middle of promotion for a movie.

Which she signed a multi-million-dollar contract for, to get paid and do publicity for.

This is what you call adult responsibility and accountability. And her actions clearly hurt the film's box office. Free speech does not mean you're allowed to say whatever you want in your private employment without repercussions.

Tens of thousands of people worked on that film, and she hijacked the conversation for her own immature desires, at the risk of all of the colleagues and crew, and the blue-collar workers who depends on that movie to be successful. Narcissism is not something to be coddled or encouraged.

I don't think I could have said it better. I would have said it meaner, perhaps. I don't think I could have said that better.

This is -- this is how narcissistic -- how narcissistic our society has become.

It's all about me.

It has nothing to do with the blue-collar workers that are depending on that movie to be successful.

Has nothing to do with the thousands of people, the tens of thousands of people, that worked on that movie.

No. It's all about her!

And what she believes. And what she wants.

You know, when I first went into Fox.

I turned Fox down, probably three or four times.

Stu, how many times it they offer that job? And I kept saying no.

STU: It was several.

GLENN: Several. And Roger Ailes finally called me into the Murdoch lunchroom, and I went over to meet with him.

And he sat there with a bunch of executives. And he said, what is it about our number one status?

And the money that I'm offering you, that is much more than I think you're making now.

What is it that just doesn't interest you?

And I said, Roger, I know your business.

I know it!

You don't know anything about my business.

And until you know and care about my business.

I can't do business with you. Because I have two masters I would be serving. My business, my career, and yours. And I know your business. So I know the lines that I cannot cross. This is not my company. So if you say, Glenn, you're not to do that. I need to evaluate before I go into business with you.

Am I willing to play by your rules?

Because I can't get on to your platform, and then have you say, Glenn.

And then break those, that would harm your company.

Because I am being paid as an employee by you. Now, that doesn't mean that we will agree on everything.

But I'm not going to do harm to your company. And I need you to tell you, you're not going to do harm to my company.

So that was the beginning of the conversation of going into business with Fox.

And -- and I -- I have prided that any company that I've ever done business with. That I was a good partner.

They weren't necessarily good partners of mine. Most of them have been great partners.

But I've tried to do the right thing, in looking at their company.

Because they have hired me.

Okay. Why is that any different, than these actresses, that just believe they have free speech?

You don't have free speech without consequence.

You can say whatever you want.

But she was on the Disney dime. She's being flown to New York City. To have interviews, that were set up by Disney about Snow White. It was -- she was there, being paid to promote the Disney movie.

Not her propaganda. Not her belief. I wouldn't have the right to sit there. I would have said -- if they would have asked me, and they would have. They would have tried to goad me into something. I would say, it's not the time or place. I'm here to talk about Snow White. I'm not hear to talk about Donald Trump. I'm not here to talk about Israel or Hamas.

That's what I would have done.

And if you don't believe me, well, then you haven't listened to me long enough.

I know what my responsibility is. And if I'm going to make that deal and get into business with somebody, I know the difference of when I'm on their dime and when I'm not on their dime.

Now, I want to leave that, and hold my own press conference.

I think it's unfair to do. Because you are still promoting that movie. So if you do it, at the same time you're in promotion, you're going to sabotage your partner Disney. And that's not right. But if I felt strongly about it. I would get off of the tour, after I finished the tour, and I would say something then, in my own space and my own time.

And I would make it clear. This has nothing to do with Disney.

It has nothing to do with the movie. The movie is completely separate.

Now, if somebody wants to make it about the movie. That's fine. That's their thing.

But I'm not on the company dime.

That's how freedom of speech works. You have freedom of speech. But if you're being -- if you're on somebody else's dime, you have the responsibility to respect their wishes and respect what they're asking you to do.

What you do in your own home. Fine.

However, Disney would have the right, and they wouldn't have, because they agree with her on everything.

Oh, men are just disgusting. Especially white men.

They're all there with you.

So they will not let you go!

They let Roseanne go.

Sure. But not her!

Even though, this is a massive flop, they didn't let her go. They just had the producer fly out and say, can you shut the pie hole for a minute?

You're killing us. You're killing the movie.

You're killing everybody who worked on this movie.

You're killing Disney. What you are doing?

If this woman gets another acting job in a movie?

It will tell you everything you need to know about Hollywood.

There's no way this woman should be hired for anything ever again.

One of the bigger box office bombs, the reason why it was a bomb.

Is because she was just completely irresponsible.

Now, how do we teach our children this responsibility?

We teach our children this responsibility, by not allowing them to become narcissistic.

You know what, sweetheart. Life isn't fair.

And it's not always about you. Once we start looking and gazing at our own image on social media all the time. And we begin to believe that we're the most important thing ever, the whole thing goes to the crapper!

We have to put narcissism back into the ugly place, that it has always been. And understand that we are a narcissistic society.

And that needs to change.

Why the Founders Would CRINGE at the SNAP Soda Debate

There’s a big debate brewing: Should people be allowed to buy sugary snacks, like soda, using SNAP benefits? Glenn and Stu look at how our founders, like Benjamin Franklin, looked at poverty and social welfare. Is it a problem that the number one item purchased with SNAP benefits is soda? Should our tax dollars only help the poor buy the basics, like meat and bread?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: I don't know. I mean, I don't want to turn anybody into Jeff Bezos.

But you might want to back off the sugar if you're on Snap. Oh, that's the word we're getting. No sugary treats, if you're on Snap.

And, you know, I'm torn.

If you are somebody who have got kids and you are struggling, you're not living off of the government. You're struggling.

I mean, it would be nice to have something. You know, an Oreo, to be able to have for dessert, or something.

But the argument is, and I agree with it, this is not good for you. We're going to cause more problems, if we're giving these really high sugary, high fructose corn syrup stuff to the people who can't necessarily afford the medical care and the medical treatment, and take care of yourself.

That's adding. That's just adding stupidity on stupidity.

But Stu and I are big fans of Benjamin Franklin. And how he looked at poverty.

STU: Yeah. Here it is.

I am for doing good for the poor.

But I think the best way of doing good for the poor. Is not making them easy in poverty.

But by leading or driving them out of it.

I observed, that the more public provisions were made to the poor, the less they provided for themselves. And, of course, became poorer.

On the contrary, the less that was done for them. The more they did for themselves. And became richer.

I'm a big believer in that philosophy.

GLENN: Me too. Me too. Me too.

STU: And I'm kind of like this with almost all government programs.

They should not give you some utopian life.

They should be something that you hate.

You should despise the fact that you have to stay on these rams.

And you should always desire to get off of them as soon as possible.

And this goes, when it comes to the snap benefits discussion. I don't -- it's not -- for me at least.

It's not about whether it's healthy or not.

I do -- you have a big place in my heart for your argument on -- that it's going to lead to a bunch of health expenses later on in life.

I think it's a real consideration.

It's not really that for me.

It shouldn't be things, that are like luxury items.

You shouldn't get a luxury item. Oreos, as much as I love them. And they feel like, it's part of my day-to-day necessity to live.

GLENN: Oh, it's the left hand side of my food pyramid. All the way to the top or the bottom, it's the left-hand side of that pyramid.

STU: Some would say, maybe not the best decision. But I'm with you on that. That should not mean, that the government provides those things for you. Like, I am like, I would rather go back to like government cheese.

They're delivering government cheese.

Government milk. They produce it.

It sucks! You hate it. You never want to eat it. That's what I want.

Do I want like -- if you are going to have a program like this.

The idea is to not make it a lifestyle. It might be something to get people through a really difficult situation. By the way, that is temporary.

It's supposed to be temporary.

A temporary situation, where you're struggling, and you help end meat.

But that means, you're alive! That doesn't mean, you're having the latest Mountain Dew flavor.

That's not what it -- you know the number one thing, purchased with Snap benefits is soda.

And I am the biggest soda advocate you will ever find. I constantly --

GLENN: Oh, yeah. You're 98 percent soda.

STU: I am. If anything, there was a story about conservative influencers perhaps getting payments to post in -- on behalf of big soda.

Which was really frustrating, and awful.

Because I didn't get an offer.

Like, I should be the number one --

GLENN: I know. I'm a little upset about that too.

STU: Where is my soda cash? I want it. You can pay me directly in aspartame. I'm fine with it. Deliver bags of aspartame to my front door.

GLENN: Honey, why is there a truckload of aspartame?

STU: Hold on, I need to post on X. So I -- from that perspective. Like I think there's a big hole here for considering what we do with these programs, and how we consider the relationship with the government and people who are on them.

People who are on these programs. Should desire to get off of them.

We shouldn't be. They used to have food stamps. Then they made the cards.

One of the talks. It's kind of embarrassing for these people who go and use them. Look, I'm not looking to shame people. You shouldn't have shame for going through a tough period.

But it also shouldn't be something where you're like, this is great. Hold on. Let me pay for all the food I have. So then I can use the extra money for liquor. Or I can use the extra money for an i Phone.

Or whatever else.

These should be desperation programs. The government, if it will provide these services at all.

Should be providing them to people who are desperately in need to get over a hump that is temporary. That should be the design of these programs.

GLENN: So do you know the history of that phrase, from Benjamin Franklin? Do you know what that's about?

STU: I think so. He was in Europe, right?

GLENN: He was in England. Yeah. He was traveling in England.

And somebody said, you know, you just -- you hate the poor. Because you don't. And he's like, no, no, no. I don't. I don't.

I'm watching what you're doing.

And everything that you're doing is making the situation worse for them. They're getting poorer and poorer and more reliant on you.

We found, you know, the churches should do it.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: And you shouldn't just give it out. We should make people uncomfortable in their poverty, so they want to get out.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: You know, if you read Noah Gerald Harari. Anyway, that guy.

STU: Geraldo. Yes. If you read Geraldo's book, yeah.

GLENN: You read Harari's book, and he talks about, what are we going to do to this useless population?

Well, there's your first problem.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. If you're looking at people as useless. Then you do have to do something with them.

But who is making them useless?

Our school system is making them useless.

They cannot read. They can't reason.

They can't think.

They can't do mathematics.

And then on top of it. You know, the elites are controlling all of our tech.

And it's going to get worse and worse and worse.

I mean, Stu. Tell the story about homework last night with your son.

STU: Oh, yeah.

So we had baseball. By the way, Zach two for two with the triple. So we get back from the game, and it's late. And he's been -- from the moment we left school, it was baseball all the way. And it's like 9:15. 9:30. He's done with the shower. He's beat. He's -- you have to run for a triple at that speed. That will do you.

So he has the homework. And he has math homework. He's in some advanced math class. Where he's now looking at -- he's to the level now in seventh grade, where he is beyond what I can actually remember and do easily.

You know, he's like, can I help me with this.

GLENN: I remember that hit me with my kids in first grade.

STU: It's some advanced graphing formula.

And I'm like, I sort of remember seeing something like this 30 years ago.

It's beyond my level.

GLENN: Right.

STU: So when these things happen.

I've been using. Like ChatGPT.

Or Grok, or whatever. To kind of reteach it to me in a brief lesson. So I can talk him through it.

It's really helpful like that. Don't let your kids get access to it.

GLENN: Right.

STU: Right.

So what I usually do, is I'll be like, hey, help me understand this and explain it to a seventh grader. And it gives you like a little outline of, like, okay. Here's a formula. This is how this works.

Then it kind of comes back to you. It's like a language you maybe learned a long time ago.

When you get kind of a couple of words, it starts piecing back together in your mind. So it's been really helpful.

But last night, I'm tired. He's tired. It's late. And I am like, I just -- even after I did that exercise, could not really remember how to do whatever he was attempting.

And so I was like, well, let me just try to type it out. And have -- graph the thing for me. Maybe it will set me up. I do that, I type in the question he's got on his paper. It does the homework and graphs it up for me. And I'm like, wow, that's amazing. But still, I'm at the point, my brain is not working, I cannot get there.

Then I wind up taking a picture of his actual question, just a picture of it. Input it into the AI, and it reads the question. It then explains it to a seventh grader step by step. And then answers it, at the bottom.

And so I have him, I'm like, you read this.

I'm legitimately not getting this. I read this. He reads the step by step. You know, how to understand what's going on. What each thing means.

And, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is easy.

Before he gets to the answer.

GLENN: You gave him the answer?

STU: I didn't give him the answer.

It was at the bottom. So I made sure to not get to the --

GLENN: All right. You just know, it's my son. He's never going to read all the way to the end.

STU: I think what you want to do.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Glenn. Because you're the AI expert here. What I should have done is say, don't give the answer at the end.

GLENN: Well, you could have, cut it off for you. So you could have it, and check his work.

STU: That's what wound up happening.
It's fascinating. And then I started thinking, I'm super restrictive on phones.
My kid doesn't have one.

Every single thing is locked down. They can't even log into their devices, where they're coming to me and make me type in or give my fingerprint to get in. I'm obsessive about this. I've read Jonathan Haidt's book.

GLENN: That is terrifying, by the way.

STU: The Anxious Generation, read it. Hopefully before they turn of the age where you might be considering giving them a phone.

GLENN: I wish I would have read that. I wish it would have been printed before I did. Because I gave my kids a phone when they got into high school.

Because the school said, they have to have one.

STU: And that's late.

You already did a great job of -- of --

GLENN: Oh, we just.

STU: It's so hard.

GLENN: I'm sure every parent feels like this.

You just feel like a failure.

Because everything is so overwhelming.

And you never dealt with any of this stuff.

It's not like our parents -- I mean, kids hadn't changed that much.

Life hadn't changed that much from the '60s to the '80s. It's totally different now.

You just feel like a bad parent at times.

STU: We were at dinner with some of his friends after baseball.

Five kids at the table. Four of them are on phones, at the table. My son is the only one without one. I'm sure this is going to lead to all positive things in the future.

GLENN: Oh, it will. It will.

STU: I do believe it will, for him. He will have some tough times.

My point there though, is that I'm obsessive about this. I lock all that stuff down as much as I can. It's still difficult.

Most of the parents I know, are like, they're going to get it anyway.

I can't sit here and obsess about freaking screen time all day.

So, you know, they're good kids.

Look, I -- I don't know -- was I a good kid? I don't know. But I will tell you, if I had access to that, I would be taking a photo of every single one of my questions and having ChatGPT or whatever answer them.

Filling it all in.

Getting on with my life. When I went to play video games.

And we're seeing it now. There was an instructor, who teaches a college course.

Been teaching it for years and years and years.

He said, all of my students seem brilliant all of a sudden. And it's funny because none of them come for help after school and office hours. None of them ever ask any questions in class. They all get incredible grades, and until we have an in-room exam! And then they all do worse, than everybody else.

From the previous years.

And he's like, what's happening?

Is -- ChatGPT. I think it's a coding thing. Their -- ChatGPT is doing all the coding for them, or AI or Grok or Gemini. Or whatever.

And they're not learning it. They don't have any of the process. They don't know how to answer the questions.

They don't know how to think through the problems. What -- what does that lead to?

GLENN: Stu, do you remember when I had Ray Kurzweil? 2008, 2009.

And he said, that this was coming.

And I said, Ray, that's going to make us incredibly lazy.

He said, no. It will give you time to think about other things.

And I thought, okay. You don't know who humans are.

I use it that way. I know people who do use it that way.

It's enhanced what they do.

And I said, oh, my gosh.

I can create so much more.

Most people are not like that. That's the spirit of the entrepreneur that is like that.

That's the discoverer in some people.

Most people are like, I just want to get by.

I just want to get by.

And I just want to do my thing for a few hours every day, just be left alone. Those are the ones that are going to be left way behind. Because they will use it to complete their work.

And not to help them learn or think.