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Glenn Beck

What Will Change Iran Situation?; Is JonBenet Murder Suspect Just an Attention Seeker?

Aired August 23, 2006 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GLENN BECK, HOST: Plus the one and only Nancy Grace with the latest twist on the JonBenet case. You are not going to believe what that dude`s lawyer had to say. All that and more, next.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode of GLENN BECK is brought to you by "My Three Toms," the wacky new sitcom starring Tom Cruise, Tom Arnold, and President Tom of Iran. Be there.

BECK: All right. The U.S. and Europe are deciding today whether to move ahead on Iran with sanctions within the United Nations Security Council, after Tehran said it was willing to open up serious talks on its nuclear program but it wouldn`t freeze uranium enrichment.

Yesterday, at a rally in Tehran, Iran`s supreme leader said, quote, "America`s hands are tied, and they`re unable to do anything." It is spooky to listen to these people talk.

All right. We`ve known for a while now the leadership in Iran is full-fledged nuts. Man, they want the messiah to come. I can wait myself. But the people of Iran? You know, they`re kind of like us. You know, they like nice clothes. They like Levis. They like gadgets, pop music. So are they starting to unite behind President Tom and the nut parade?

Remember back in the 1980s when we had a real enemy? I mean, an enemy with a flag. It was great and spooky at the same time, you know. It was spooky, because I remember going to bed in the Cold War and being a kid, thinking, "We`re going to be vaporized at any minute." It was great because we had somebody to root against during the Olympics.

President Tom of Iran is such a good politician he`s making America the team to root against at the Olympics for the Iranians. He`s made us what the Soviets were during the Cold War. And President Tom is beginning to unite the Iranians and all of the Middle East. This is the scary part. He`s been able to unite the Shias and the Sunnis. That`s a big deal in the Islamic world.

In this country, that would be -- you know what? That would be like uniting the KKK and the NAACP. You know, it just doesn`t really happen very often. But in Iran, and increasingly, across the entire Middle East, they`re all starting to band together, because President Tom has given them something that doesn`t happen very often in the Middle East: self-respect and a real place at the world table.

Here`s how I think he`s doing it. Would you rather live in the old Soviet Union, you know, with the bread lines and the gulags, or would you rather live in freedom? Well, most people would say freedom, right? But believe it or not, if you look at the numbers over in Russia, some Russians are pining for the good bad old days, the days when they had those intimidating statues and flags and symbols everywhere because those were the symbols of their power.

They used to be somebody, and that means a lot to a society. I think it means a lot to Iran as well.

President Tom is basically telling the most hated man in the world, that evil President Bush, to sit down and shut up. It`s what Jacques Chirac`s been trying to do for years. That`s what he`s tried to do. He`s tried to have a place at the table. The Iranian people are just happy to be a major player in the game with some self-respect, because you know, at this point, it`s really not about right and wrong with a lot of people in the Middle East. And in Iran, it`s currently about nationalism.

So here`s what I know tonight. When Iran`s supreme leader said that our hands are tied, you know what? I think he may be right. But he`s only right because most Americans don`t understand the full scope of this problem. Furthermore, most politicians don`t really understand the full scope of this problem.

Furthermore, most of our stupid politicians -- my eyes just shoot blood out of them. They`re sitting around. They`re playing donkeys and elephants. They`re losing sight of the fact that we`re all on the same team. They`re busy trying to get reelected instead of solving what potentially is the biggest crisis this nation has ever faced.

I also know that the people of Iran are our good friends. So far, they like us because we`ve never negotiated with their nut job clerics. However, the nut job clerics are starting to have more street cred, and from what it sounds like with the stupid United Nations, we might be on the verge of negotiating with the nut job clerics.

This is not good news for us in the future. Because the Iranian people will see us the same way as the Saudi people do, the Egyptians see us, not as friends, but as opportunists who don`t really stand for anything, who will do or say anything just to hang on to power and oil.

Here`s what I don`t know. I don`t how to stop this crazy train. You know what I mean? I mean, what are the options? We can impose sanctions on Iran and then have that a rallying cry for the entire country and the Middle East, because it doesn`t hurt the clerics. It hurts the people.

Or we could negotiate with the clerics. But they`re still going to build the nukes anyway. Do you think that`s really going to stop them?

The only other option I can come up with is stay the course in Iraq. Most Americans don`t even understand that. It`s about planting democracy there and hoping it spreads to Iran and it gives the people the courage to stand up and topple their own government.

But you know what? At this point I don`t know if that will even work. Most Americans don`t have any real idea why we went into Iraq to begin with. It wasn`t about WMDs. It was about Iran.

I also don`t know how, assuming our only hope is through the average Iranian, I don`t know how to unite those people for us. But maybe our next guest can. Farid Ghadry, he is the president of the Reform Party of Syria.

Farid, what a great opportunity to have you on.

FARID GHADRY, PRESIDENT, REFORM PARTY OF SYRIA: Thank you.

BECK: So many people I hear say how come we never hear from any good Muslims who are out there fighting the fight with us? You are one of them, sir. Am I not -- am I mistaken?

GHADRY: No, you`re not, Glenn. And thank you for having me.

BECK: Absolutely. Tell me, sir, am I wrong on the assessment of the Middle East with -- when it comes to Iran and the people?

GHADRY: No, you`ve given a very good picture, Glenn, however, I`d like to add something to what you said. I think there`s a lot that this country can do. If we remember the times when we had problems with Milosevic. And when this country decided that Milosevic has to go, everything and the president at that time signed an executive order.

Everything, all assets of this country turned towards undermining Milosevic, and I think this country has to get to that point where actually the president, President Bush, will sign an executive order saying that regime change is in the best interest in Iran -- and Syria is in the best interest of the United States and the people of Iran and Syria.

Once he does that, then you`re going to see all the assets that this country can muster turn against these regimes, and in and by itself that`s going to create critical mass for the reformists and the people inside the country to gather momentum and go after the regime itself.

BECK: Farid, I agree with you. I mean, it`s kind of like what we were saying with Apartheid, you know.

GHADRY: Right.

BECK: You`ve got to be against it.

GHADRY: Right.

BECK: The problem is -- do this favor for me. People like me in this country, I`m labeled a nut job. I`m labeled a hate monger. I`m, you know, whatever; fear monger. You don`t have that label. Convince the American people right now that Iran is a global threat as big as what we`ve seen since the Nazis.

GHADRY: Look, we`re worried Iran on a daily basis but some -- I`ve heard some of the news saying, well, Iran is about 10 years away from owning a bomb. Iran is not a danger, an immediate danger, and we can negotiate with them.

These people miss the point. Iran could tomorrow go shop for enriched uranium. And I believe the North Koreans will be more than happy to -- to please them on that score. And all of a sudden, we`re going to wake up one day and we`re going to see the Iranians testing an atomic bomb without our knowledge.

BECK: Right. But wait, wait. Explain this, because most people will say, well, hang on. Pakistan has a bomb or Indian has a bomb. It hasn`t really been that bad. They want to control the entire Middle East, do they not?

GHADRY: Beyond that. They -- Ahmadinejad is a president, as you mentioned, and Ahmadinejad thinks that only through apocalyptic measures he can bring the twelfth imam into this world, and the last the imam with the Shia to rule the world.

And so he, in his own view and his own vision, he`s got to be -- he`s got to bring chaos and -- and Armageddon of some sort to the region in order to bring that twelfth imam.

And how can he do that? He`s doing it through Hezbollah. We`ve seen this in the last month or so. But I believe the atomic bomb is his only way and the best way to actually bring about this apocalyptic future that he -- that he envisions for to bring the twelfth imam. I think the danger of Iran is a little bit more different than Pakistan and India.

BECK: A lot different.

GHADRY: An understatement here.

BECK: Yes. Do you -- do you believe our friends in the Middle East - - because we do have some friends in the Middle East.

GHADRY: Right, right.

BECK: And we also have some people who are on our side because they`re terrified themselves, like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

GHADRY: Right.

BECK: Do you believe they even trust us after what we`ve seen with Israel after Hezbollah, I mean -- I don`t think Hezbollah -- I was trusting that Israel could go into Iran and strike those nuke -- those nuke bunkers. I don`t think they can. I don`t think they have the stomach to do it. Do they -- do our friends in the Middle East feel this way about us?

GHADRY: Well, they do. There`s still that trust. And Saudi Arabia, I believe, is doing its best to appease the region and not inflame the region. And I -- and I think the Saudis have gotten to a point where they have a weapon of their own that they can use at any moment to actually -- to actually stop Ahmadinejad, and that is the Sunni versus Shia. And I think -- and I think Saudi Arabia, if it feels that -- that Ahmadinejad is going to just take over, they`re going to try and bring this issue up front.

BECK: Farid, thank you so much. We`ll have you again.

GHADRY: Thank you.

BECK: In a minute, we have Nancy Grace on to talk you know who, the man who shall remain unnamed.

But first, some Islamic scholars had predicted yesterday would be the end of the world. Well, it didn`t happen, thankfully, and President Ahmadinejad has decided against using nuclear weapons, yes. Now he may or may not use them to blow us all to smithereens, but he has provided us with the following message. Watch closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I might have led some of you to believe that the world as we know it would be coming to an end on August 22. Well, it is now August 23, and sadly the world is still in one piece. Well, maybe two pieces, if you know what I mean.

And for that I apologize. Next time I promise to try harder. And that next time will be -- let`s see. How about -- well, I`m booked for September, and I have a bar mitzvah I can`t get out of in the first week in October. Boy. How about October 12? OK. October 12, doomsday it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I`m not going to give this guy any more fame. And so last night, would somebody write in if you have a name we can call him, because I don`t want to call him by name anymore. So we have a few suggestions. One of them is Olive Oyl, because he looks skinny. Or how about Barbie Boy, because his head is too big for his tiny toy body.

Jay, you have the winning name. From here on out JonBenet`s alleged killer is going to be known on my program as Captain Highpants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Look, the main suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey case, this weirdo, may turn out to be guilty, or I think he`s going to turn out to just be another lunatic who wants to be famous. And that is why I am not even going to mention this guy`s name on this program from here on out.

From now on, he will only be referred to as "Captain Highpants." If you ever see his picture on this program, his face is going to be blurred.

Anyway, one of Captain Highpants` legal advisers, Jamie Harmon, who can be named, represented him on child porn charges a few years ago. She said that her client has been, quote, "portrayed by the media as being mentally unstable, attention-seeking, mentally unwell, and he`s none of those things."

If this were my attorney, I wouldn`t be real happy. Could we go for the insanity thing?

She said, "I found him to be very engaging, very bright, very articulate and very, very much appropriate in his emotional response to what is going on."

What the heck does that even mean, man? Why not play the "Oh, I`m completely nuts, your honor" card?

Joining us now, the one and only Nancy Grace.

Hello, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: Hello, Glenn. Thank you for having me on tonight.

BECK: You bet. You know, when you were on vacation it was killing me. Because I`m thinking the only person I want to hear is Nancy. And I watched you last night. You don`t think -- you don`t think this guy`s guilty either, do you?

GRACE: Well, the story that he has projected has so many holes in it you could drive a tractor through them. A lot of problems with his story. It doesn`t match up.

But then, Glenn, surprisingly, when I saw the handwriting comparison I stopped in my tracks. Even though I think his story is full of holes, you cannot ignore that there are similarities to that handwriting comparison.

However, having introduced and used handwriting comparisons in felony trials before, I know that two experts can disagree on the same writing sample.

BECK: Right.

GRACE: That is not going to be enough to convict him, much less hold him as a valid suspect.

BECK: OK. Now you said -- you said last night, and I`d not heard this point from anybody else, that your biggest fear is if this guy does make it to trial and he turns out not to be the guy, what happens the next time, when we do catch the real killer?

GRACE: Let`s just take a look at who all have been semiformal suspects. Of course, the parents were suspects, and that is not unusual. That`s not to say they did it. But the people closest to the victim are always the first and most likely suspects.

Then remember the Santa Claus that was a suspect.

BECK: Yes.

GRACE: Then all the sex offenders in the area became suspects. Now you`ve got this perv over in Thailand claiming, "Hi, hi, I killed JonBenet." All right. Let`s fly him home and check him out.

The problem is when you try to take this to trial and police have already arrested and brought charges against another person, how can you stand in front of the jury and go, "OK, you know what? Forget all those other people I thought did it. Now I`m sure this guy did it."

BECK: OK. So let me ask you two questions here. One is, if you really don`t think this guy did it, will you join me on the Captain Highpants bandwagon? I mean, this guy, why are we giving him fame?

GRACE: Well, our society is giving him fame. I do not in any way, having prosecuted violent crimes and been a violent crime victim myself, advocate turning this into a made for TV movie...

BECK: Right.

GRACE: ... turning him into a celebrity the way Scott Peterson turned into a celebrity.

But long story short, there`s enough to his story, there`s enough to that handwriting sample, they`ve got to investigate him, they`ve got to follow through.

BECK: Right.

GRACE: I`ve got a big question. Where is the brother? Remember, he says his brother worked for John Ramsey and that`s how he got into the home?

BECK: Right.

GRACE: Why has he suddenly gone silent? What do they want a book or movie deal? Will they give us the Christmas photo in exchange for the movie deal? Fine, I`ll shoot the movie myself. Give me the Christmas photo.

BECK: So then how come, on the same thing, the brother`s missing. Where`s -- where`s Mr. Ramsey on all of this?

GRACE: He has remained unusually quiet, and I find that -- I think that`s very wise. You don`t want him commenting or anyone commenting any more than they already have.

I was stunned at the "we`re not his defense lawyers" coming out and saying he`s articulate, engaging, bright, emotionally appropriate. It sounds like a Match.com date. She should just date him.

BECK: That`s what I love about you.

GRACE: ... all the hair off his face. Did you see that?

BECK: Here`s the thing -- here`s the thing that I absolutely love about you. And -- and so I can ask you this question the way I want to ask you this question. You are so frank. I like you, because I know at some point you`re going to say we should just take him out back and shoot him.

GRACE: I don`t know what accent you`re suggesting, but go ahead.

BECK: If this guy is not guilty, he is a danger to all of our kids anyway. He`s seriously screwed up.

GRACE: I`ll tell you another thing. Another thing is a lot of people have referred to him as a wannabe, a hanger on, an attention seeker. It`s worse than that. Because you know who he`s messed with, all joshing aside? He`s messed with Lady Justice. JonBenet Ramsey deserves to rest in peace.

BECK: Say it. Say it.

GRACE: And if he is lying, by God, he needs to go to jail.

BECK: Say it. Take him out back and shoot him. Nancy, thank you so much.

GRACE: Thank you.

BECK: You bet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. You can hear my radio program every day on stations all across this great country, including 570 WSYR in Syracuse, New York; 1110 KFAB, great station in Omaha.

Now let`s get the buzz from Los Angeles, 790 KABC and Leo Terrell.

Hi, Leo.

LEO TERRELL, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hi, Glenn. Bow are you?

BECK: Very good, sir. Now Deb LaFave is still in the news, and I just -- I`m so. I hate this story because...

TERRELL: Me too.

BECK: Why do you hate it?

TERRELL: Because if you or I committed the crime Miss LaFave committed, we`ll be behind bars, and we would not be getting an interview with Matt Lauer...

BECK: Thank you.

TERRELL: ... on national TV and making a lot of money later on, maybe in the future.

BECK: Thank you so much for saying this. This woman should be behind bars. She has gotten every stinking break known to man because she`s hot.

TERRELL: Because she`s beautiful. You and I don`t fit in this category.

BECK: Leo -- Leo, she`s hot.

TERRELL: She`s hot.

BECK: She`s hot. She`s hot.

TERRELL: And the judge, apparently mesmerized...

BECK: Yes.

TERRELL: ... said, "Go to the hotel, do the interview." Come on, Glenn, it`s just not fair. It`s unfair.

BECK: OK. You know, Leo, what kills me is, you know, she`s under house arrest.

TERRELL: Yes.

BECK: The judge says go ahead and go do something with Matt Lauer. How do you -- how do you get that one?

TERRELL: And on top of that the probation officer said, "No, judge, don`t do it," but the judge is caught up in the Hollywood lights, Glenn. Because NBC probably called him and said, `Hey, judge, we want to do this great story, and he needs his 15 minutes of fame." But Glenn, it`s just not fair to guys like you and I.

BECK: Well, she -- well, I mean, I don`t know. I mean, life ain`t fair sometimes. I mean, you know, I -- I have a problem with this story because she`s a criminal. She`s a criminal. And what she`s trying to do is say, "Well, I have bipolar disease."

You know what? I was bipolar for a long type. Geez, man, suicidal. I didn`t go and raping kids and then making money off of my bipolar disease.

TERRELL: It`s amazing how that diagnosis came after she was arrested, after she was...

BECK: Yes.

TERRELL: ... facing this possible crime behind bars, no bipolar disorder before the arrest, before she was involved with this kid.

BECK: So let me -- I think we have -- I think we have a couple of seconds here. Let me -- let me just ask you the question about the minimum wage going up to $8 in California.

TERRELL: Come to Los Angeles, Glenn, you`ll get higher paying job here. Much more money here.

BECK: I think that was a slam on me.

TERRELL: No, Glenn.

BECK: I`m making $9 an hour, Leo.

TERRELL: I see. I`m sorry; I`m sorry.

BECK: I make $9 a day for this hour program.

TERRELL: It`s an increase. It`s an election year, and it`s an increase. And I`ve got news for you: people are crying on both sides. Labor unions are saying it`s not enough. The restaurant owner is saying too much. It`s amazing.

But I`ve got news for you. You`ve got a Democratic -- you`ve got a Democratic legislature and a Republican governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger. He`s moving over, and he wants to offer more money not only for California, but I guarantee you there`s going to be some people coming across the border accepting this increase.

BECK: Unbelievable. Leo, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

TERRELL: My pleasure, Glenn.

BECK: Best of luck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Each week, tens of thousands of you download Glenn`s podcast. Some of you have been critiquing his performance. Well, this week, Glenn has a few words he wants to say back.

BECK: Jay, we clicked on your name to find out what other podcasts you watch.

ANNOUNCER: "Ask Glenn". Download it on iTunes or at CNN.com/Glenn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Welcome to "The Real Story." This is the part of the show where we just cut through all the media bull crap and we figure out why a story really should be important to you.

Today, our first story finally has something to do with me. I mean, how long do we have to wait? Unfortunately, it also has to do with "The New York Times."

They wrote an article today about the interview I did yesterday with Joe Lieberman on my radio program, where he and I talked about our beliefs that the war in Iraq is much bigger than anybody is talking about. It`s our own security here. It`s all about Iran. It`s about, you know, the coming apocalypse.

The article went on to quote a lot of things that he said, all the while the "New York Times" doing their best to make it all about politics. They even called Ned Lamont -- "Ned, Ned, can you say something here?" Of course, he happily provided with the "New York Times."

But the real story is that, as usual, the "New York Times" has completely dropped the ball and missed the point. They missed the best part of the interview. I mean, you want something explosive, "New York Times"? Let me do your job for you. Watch this clip from yesterday`s radio program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I really, truly believe the West is over if we do not win this conflict.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN, CONNECTICUT: Yes, I agree, and it`s going to be a long one. And unfortunately, you can see in this country and certainly in Europe the same kinds of emotions, understandable human emotions. But leaders have to try to change them, which is to turn away from it, and to deny it, and to go into a kind of isolationism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Correct me if I`m wrong here, but didn`t a three-term U.S. senator, ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a member of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Committee, just agree with my statement that eventually losing this conflict would mean the end of the West? Gee, "New York Times," that sounds like a headline, huh? Too bad you were too busy trying to create a political controversy to cover the real story.

All right. The next big story today is that the Marines have called up 1,200 inactive reservists to active duty. This, of course, has led some people to immediately speculate, "They`re coming for your children! A military draft is right around the corner!"

Jon Soltz, he heads the group VoteVets.org, told ABC News, quote, "This move should serve as a wakeup call to America. It`s proof that our military is overextended there, and there is no plan for victory in Iraq. And it`s one of the last steps before resorting to the draft."

Here`s the real story: He`s right about one important thing. This should serve as a giant wakeup call for America. Look, you know what? I absolutely hated it when the Democrats tried to tell everybody, "You elect George Bush, and he`s going to bring back the draft." I hated it because they were trying to make it into a political issue. That`s not the case.

I`ve been saying all along: Something big is coming. Last night, I told you I really truly believe there is a perfect storm forming. And while it is, the only people I want fighting for me and protecting my family -- I have family members in the Middle East. The only ones I want watching their back are people who want to be there.

That being said, even if part of what I think is coming is true, it`ll become very obvious that a draft will be the only possible way for us to defeat the biggest enemy we have faced since World War II.

Finally, tonight the media is reporting that the cost of the Senate`s stalled immigration bill would be $126 billion over the next 10 years. That includes 870 miles of border fence -- which is about half of it -- helicopters, detention centers, a bunch of other stuff.

But the real story here is: It has nothing to do with money. I don`t care about the costs, and I don`t think you do, either. I don`t care if it costs $100 billion or $500 billion. I want a legitimate solution to seal our borders!

It is estimated that building a really high security fence, you know, like they have in Israel, along the entire Mexican border, not just 800 miles, would cost between $4 billion and $8 billion. To put that into perspective, one B-2 bomber costs us $2 billion.

Now, what do you think is going to make us feel a little more secure: a couple of more airplanes or a 2,000-mile high-tech fence to stop terrorists from strolling into the country? You know what? At that price, I`ll take two fences, please. Give me one for the south and one for the north.

This is not about money. It`s about finding a real solution, and not a political one. And you know what? When the leaders turn it into politics -- and they don`t get, and you do, you know what happens? It`s like everything else. When the people`s will is ignored year after year after year after year, we end up doing the job ourselves.

And in California, that`s exactly what`s happening. Businesses who are playing by the rules are now suing competitors who hire illegals because they have an unfair advantage over them. Mike Hethmon, he is with the Immigration Reform Law Institute. He`s one of the groups backing the California lawsuit.

Mike, thank you for doing this. I`ve been saying for a long time, "Choke these companies to death." Give me the lawsuit in a nutshell and the chances of it actually winning.

MIKE HETHMON, IMMIGRATION REFORM LAW INSTITUTE: In this lawsuit, we have a legitimate labor contractor, a guy that recruits through our H-2a program, guest workers from foreign countries, follows all the rules, brought them up to California, and was told they couldn`t pick grapes fast enough. And who replaced them? Scofflaw agricultural contractors hiring illegal aliens.

So this suit was brought under the unfair competition or the unfair business practices laws in California and is asking for damages. And damages are the only way that we are going to show these scofflaw employers how this situation needs to unfold.

BECK: So what are the odds this thing is going to win?

HETHMON: I think it`s very good. We don`t have to prove that different business practices led to lost profits. We know. The only business involved is the labor involved, and it is a fairly easy process to determine whether these workers were legally authorized or not.

BECK: All this stuff with the president and everybody else saying, "Oh, we care about this, and we`re going after those companies," is all B.S., isn`t it? I mean, we`re not arresting people. We know where they are. We`re not arresting them, are we?

HETHMON: Absolutely. This kind of private action in the courts is going in parallel with the local and state action that you`re seeing all around the country, where towns and states are having to deal with this situation because the Congress and the president are sitting on their hands.

BECK: Mike, does it ever occur to you, does it ever really -- does it bother you -- I was reading a story in, I don`t know, some Connecticut magazine where I live, and it was talking about Westchester County. This is where the Clintons live. And it`s very expensive to live there. I mean, it`s nuts. It`s like Beverly Hills.

And they were talking about how many illegal immigrants are there. And they said they make an average of $11,000 a year. They have to -- the only thing they can afford is to rent a bed, not a place that, you know, that they can sleep for eight hours, rent a bed every day for eight hours for $300 a month. And I thought, "What kind of compassion do you have?"

Because the article went on to say, "Gee, it will cost us too much to buy salad if we don`t have this." Does it ever strike you, as what kind of animals are we that we would allow this system to continue to go so we could have cheap lettuce?

HETHMON: We have a choice. We can follow the American model or we can follow the Brazilian model. We can do things for ourselves, and this is what this lawsuit is all about.

Most businesses are, in fact, law-abiding, and they want to do the right thing, and they want to uphold all the laws. But they have simply been intimidated by the fact that most of the lawyers are on the other side and most of the lawyers hire nannies and are generally sympathetic to this.

BECK: Right. Right. Mike, thanks a lot. That is the real story tonight behind immigration.

Now, I want to ask you something. If you see something on television and radio and you`re sitting there, and you do what I do, and you`re just - - you`re like, "You`re missing the point," I want you to e-mail that story and the real story behind it. Send it to GlennBeck@CNN.com. Do it now.

Let`s go "Straight to Hill" now with Erica Hill, the anchor of "PRIME NEWS" on Headline News.

Hello, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Happy Wednesday.

BECK: Happy Wednesday to you. I got an e-mail from a fan of the program today.

HILL: Really? Who could that be?

BECK: You know, don`t you?

HILL: I have an inkling.

BECK: It`s your dad.

HILL: My daddy.

BECK: He`s a fan of the show?

HILL: Big Steve is.

BECK: Yes, he wrote, and he said, "Listen, I want you to know, I`m really -- you know, I`m a big fan, and I`d like to have lunch when Erica comes into town." And, Erica, I think your dad is trying to hook us up, and I`m uncomfortable. I`m a married man. I am uncomfortable.

HILL: No, no, no, he`s not trying to hook us up. He`s trying to hook himself up with you.

BECK: Oh, that`s even more disturbing, but thanks for that beautiful picture.

HILL: No, he is a big fan. And he said first he wasn`t so sure about you...

BECK: Well, I would love to have...

HILL: ... but now he likes you.

BECK: I mean, please. Then he`s a man of discriminating taste. Erica, what is happening in the news today?

HILL: We`re going to start off in the Middle East. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora asking the U.S. for help now to help end that land, sea, and air blockade which Israel imposed on it about a month ago. He called it a violation of the U.N.-brokered cease-fire. Israel though, for its part, the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, saying the siege on Hezbollah will continue until an international force is deployed, which at this point could take weeks or months.

BECK: Let me translate. That means it ain`t ever going to happen because, you know, the French are involved. They`re never, ever going to be on the border.

HILL: You`re never going to like anyone French, are you?

BECK: No, really -- are you French?

HILL: No, I went to high school there, though, so I speak French.

BECK: Hmm. I`ve lost some respect for you.

HILL: Well...

BECK: I have. Erica, thanks a lot. Bye-bye. See you tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER: I am a devout Roman Catholic. I`m a layman, and I`m an exorcist.

BECK: Michael, you`re not a member of the Mel Gibson family, are you?

CALLER: No. As far as Iraq is concerned, we have to demand that the Catholic priests in Iraq bless all the water supplies. If you...

BECK: So maybe we shouldn`t drop bombs. Maybe we should get those big helicopters that put out fires in the forests, maybe we should just grab some water, bless it, and then mass baptize everybody from the air.

CALLER: That`s not possible. However, it is possible...

BECK: Damn!

CALLER: ... for the priests in Iraq to go to the water supplies and bless it, and that is going to change things, no question about it.

BECK: Michael, you have made my head spin. Oh, wait a minute. I shouldn`t say that to an exorcist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: This guy was nuts. All right, let`s change gears here for a second.

You know, when you`re a celebrity, it`s usually a good thing when somebody can say one short phrase and the first -- you know, you`re the first name that pops into -- like, for instance, if I said, you know, that really giving, really nice woman that does a TV talk show, you know, in the afternoon, you think of Oprah.

How about this one? You know that guy when was jumping up and down on that TV talk show host`s couch? And you think of, yes, Tom Cruise. That means you got a problem, when the one phrase is a really bad thing. And Tom Cruise, his problem isn`t so small any more. His public approval rating has dropped now to 35 percent. Perspective? That means George Bush is more popular than Tom Cruise.

Tom now has lost his deal with Paramount Pictures. Why? Well, did you see "M:I3"? Great movie. I`m a fan of Tom Cruise. When somebody asks me, "What did you think about `M:I3`?" I said, "It was really good." And all I thought about him jumping up and down on Oprah`s couch three times. Yes, problem.

Cruise`s company is saying, "Hey, we chose to get out of this deal with Paramount." Uh-huh. Paramount is saying, "Tom`s nuts." Now, I mean, I`m not kidding. They`re literally saying, "No, no, Tom`s nuts."

Tom O`Neil is now the senior editor at "InTouch Weekly." Tom, who left whom?

TOM O`NEIL, "INTOUCH WEEKLY": That is really an intriguing mystery, because I don`t think we can write off the possibility that Tom walked away, because he`s unrepentant and cocky in everything he does. Even the Brooke Shields fiasco he never seemed quite to get.

So you can imagine him, he gets this reduced deal packaged from Paramount, and he says, "Ah, this is terrible," and throws a little hissy fit, maybe a big one, to get Paramount mad enough to say nasty stuff about him in public. The question is: Why is this so personal? Why is Paramount getting so nasty to him personally?

One of two things. Either they`re getting back at Tom for a behind- the-scenes thing or grumpy grandpa Sumner Redstone just came in here and said, "What do you mean" -- to Paramount -- "you offered him a deal?" Then they pulled it back.

BECK: Well, don`t you think, if you were Paramount, I would be like so -- it`s like Steven Spielberg. I mean, doing the "War of the Worlds" thing, I would be Steven Spielberg, I would be like, "Tom, shut up and talk about the movie, man. Talk about religion on your own time, wouldn`t you?"

O`NEIL: He couldn`t help himself. He had tents, Scientology tents on the set of "War of the Worlds." This guy clearly just doesn`t give up. And, you know, had he just listened to his mom on that, didn`t his momma say, "Don`t jump on the furniture! How many times do I have to tell you?"

BECK: So, Tom, you know, it strikes me -- I mean, in Hollywood you can get away with any kind of bizarre behavior. You can do anything. But, really, his problems stem from religion, don`t they? I mean, that`s really what it all boils down to. You think of him and pour Katie Holmes, where he`s like, "Don`t you say anything or make any noise having this baby." I mean, that`s what you think of with Tom.

O`NEIL: Yes, it all comes back to that, because I think the first real sin that he committed was attacking Brooke Shields, a mother who was having postpartum depression and was reaching out to medical science for help. And he starts lambasting her on religious grounds. And then, when Matt Lauer starts talking to him about this, he gets really indignant and cocky. And he never seems quite to get it. It all does go back to religion.

BECK: OK, so do you think that Hollywood will ever go back to the studio system where the studios will just say, "You shut the pie hole or we stop paying you"?

O`NEIL: I don`t think they have control over these. These Mel Gibson things pop up. Russell Crowe hurls a phone at a hotel clerk. These are indulgent, little brats, and what`s amazing is...

BECK: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Say that again. I think I love you. Say that again about Hollywood.

O`NEIL: Indulgent, big brats. Let me take it up a notch here. But it`s all about religion for Mel Gibson, too, and see how terrible that is? But his studio stood by him. Disney just came out and said, "We`re going to release `Apocalypto` in December." So how bad did Tom Cruise tick off Paramount?

BECK: Yes, but, I mean, "Apocalypto," I mean, what is it, an ancient Aztec or something? I mean, we`re talking to -- I mean, I can`t imagine that making a lot of money.

Thanks a lot, Tom, appreciate it.

Now, let me ask you a question, and be honest with yourself and with me. The world is getting nuts, isn`t it? I mean, it`s getting crazier and crazy every day. Tom Cruise isn`t alone on the Whack Job Express. I mean, there`s a lot of people on that train. And, in fact, you know, come to think of it, I think there`s enough nut jobs right now in the news, just the news today, I think they could start their own league.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: August madness is heating up, and we`ve got all the crazy action. The Final Four Weird-Off begins at noon with two great match-ups. In the west bracket, it`s Tom Cruise squaring off against exciting newcomer and self-professed child molester John Mark -- I mean, Captain Highpants.

And in the east, two perennial powerhouses, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il. Which one of these maniacs will destroy the world first? You definitely don`t want to miss this one. Catch all the nutty action, only on BSPN, the Beck Sports Network, where all teams wear pink.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. We`ll get to your mail here in a second, but first let`s check in with Nancy to see what she has coming up tonight -- Nancy?

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Glenn, did Colorado authorities contaminate the only known DNA in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case? Can you believe that? And tonight, more statements, even more, by suspect John Mark Karr about the night the 6-year-old beauty queen was murdered.

And is it true, Glenn, that the Karr family goes for the gold, shopping book and movie deals? People, can we at least do justice for JonBenet first and let that child rest in peace before everybody cashes in?

BECK: It`s disgusting. Don`t forget, you can check out Nancy tonight 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Now, there are a lot of people who are anti-listening that are watching this show that are also writing in. The first one comes in from Phil today. "Looks like the world didn`t end today, despite your theory and suggestions last week that it would."

Look, I didn`t predict anything. I said a million times we were talking about Bernard Lewis` theory. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Princeton University`s professor Bernard Lewis, this guy -- look him up -- he has been called the most influential post-war historian of Islam and the Middle East. He is suggesting that Iran`s Islamic end-of- times prophecies could be fulfilled on August 22nd.

Let me make this clear: This is not my theory, and I hope that it`s wrong. I don`t know what`s coming. I don`t know if anything`s coming, honestly, but my gut tells me something big is, with every fiber of my being. It might not happen on 8/22.

This August 22nd Iranian end-of-days prophecy I told you about last week, I don`t know if that`s going to happen. It`s not even my theory. Bernard Lewis said we should look to August 22nd as a significant date. He`s not predicting anything is going to happen.

Remember, not me saying the end of the world is coming. It`s, you know, crazy people with bombs, and they believe that it is. Bernard Lewis thinks it just might be the end of the world. Now, I`m not jumping on that bandwagon.

I could point out for the 13,000th time that I wasn`t predicting Armageddon today, even though I did order a cake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Apocalypse cake. Yummy.

Look, the bottom line is, these people do want to kill us in Iran. They are trying to figure out right now how to pull it off. The other thing that I think is important is, I want more frickin` cake, OK? That`s where it really stands.

We`ll see you tomorrow on the radio, you sick, twisted freaks, if there is a tomorrow. Freak out!

END