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Glenn Beck

Former JonBenet Ramsey Murder Suspect Still Dangerous?; Iran 101; Smokers Snubbed in California?

Aired August 29, 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: All right, the guy who said he killed JonBenet Ramsey didn`t. But is he still guilty? You decide.
Plus: Hurricane Katrina, the anniversary tonight. The myths and the bullcrap stops right here -- all that and more coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode of GLENN BECK is brought to you by DNA in a Can. If you think someone`s guilty, but don`t have any proof, why not plant some evidence with new DNA in a Can? May cause dizziness and/or pregnancy. For external use only.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: All right.

Right off the top, let`s call a spade a spade. The guy who claimed he killed JonBenet Ramsey is more dangerous tonight than he was a week ago. Let me tell you how I got there.

Two weeks ago, I told you there`s no way this guy did it. He just wanted to be famous. That`s why we have been blurring out his face on this program and referring to him as Captain Highpants. I`m not giving him what he wants. I honestly wish more people in the media would have joined me on that.

Turns out -- surprise, surprise -- he didn`t kill JonBenet Ramsey. DNA evidence cleared him of any charges. Now, to add insult to injury, Captain Highpants sent out his attorney out to speak to the press. I hope you have duct tape to wrap your head up, because it`s about to explode. Listen to his attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH TEMIN, ATTORNEY FOR JOHN MARK KARR: We`re deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know what? You know what my mother would have said to Seth. You should be ashamed of yourself. My grandmother would have slapped him across the face.

Are you kidding me? They took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok? Did you miss, Seth, all of the news for the last couple of weeks? First of all, this lunatic confessed to the crime. If he didn`t open his creepy, pasty mouth, and typing away, he would still be a free man, surfing the Internet for the young girls he liked so much.

Second of all, if being dragged from Bangkok means getting a free business-class flight to America with champagne and shrimp, drag me away, brother.

So, the reason he was dragged is because, after he confessed, police needed to get a DNA sample from him to see if his saliva matched with the blood found in JonBenet`s underpants. Don`t look into this any deeper than that. You don`t want to know.

But he refused, when he was over in Thailand, to give them a sample, until he got here to America. Maybe that`s the way he wanted it, to create this stupid media circus around his arrival, to have those pictures of him on the plane.

This guy has done some weird, dangerous stuff. According to the prosecution`s motion, Captain Highpants obsessed with young girls. He was in Thailand teaching young girls, and having -- quote -- "an ongoing personal relationship" -- end quote -- with one of them.

Then, he went and he made up this whole JonBenet thing, because he said he was smitten with her. He just wanted to be famous. The bottom line is, this guy is dangerous. In no way has this guy been wronged, as his attorney claims.

So, here`s what I know tonight. I know that this creep is far more dangerous now than he was just a week ago. This guy is no longer the guy who killed JonBenet Ramsey. He is the guy -- remember him? He`s the guy who said he killed her, remember? Yes. Now, he has been humiliated, and he has got something to prove.

I also know that, in spite of the charges being dropped, Highpants still belongs in jail. I know this might sound a little like Tom Cruise in "Minority Report," but if there was ever a candidate for a future crime against our daughters, I think this is the guy. And I don`t need any psychics laying around in a pool reading lottery balls to figure it out.

Now, here`s what I don`t know. I don`t know how to do it. I don`t know how to keep him off the streets and away from our kids. If -- if -- if someone is too perverted for Bangkok, oh, you know they have no reason being, you know, your next-door neighbor.

I also don`t know what we can charge him with. Other than being a total nut job, how do you keep him in jail? At the very least, please, can we make him pay for his airfare, his food, and his drinks on board, and the extra creepy man/boy pantsuit that he made us go out and buy?

I mean, at least, in California, he is going to face earlier charges of child porn possession. But, from what I understand, it`s basically like getting a parking ticket in California.

Lisa Bloom, she`s from Court TV. She is here with -- with some analysis on this.

Lisa, first things first. Let`s talk legal matters. There was a press conference today. District attorney Mary Lacy, she is defending her decision of having Captain Highpants arrested. Listen to what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... had nothing, essentially, other than his statements?

MARY LACY, BOULDER, COLORADO, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We had probable cause to arrest him, based on our having tested other statements within the e-mails and the telephone calls, which is typically how we test credibility on someone. Are they prone to lying about other things in their lives? Because if they`re lying about other things, they`re probably lying about this, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: So, Lisa, I hear a lot of people trashing the police today.

LISA BLOOM, COURT TV ANCHOR: That`s right.

BECK: I -- I don`t think they had a choice. Do you?

BLOOM: No.

I say this to Boulder County DA Mary Lacy. Nice job. Good work. Sorry it didn`t turn out to be the right guy. But we know it was a guy just like this one. She had two things, probable cause and a high likelihood of flight. She had to get him in custody. He`s obviously a creep. He`s a ticking time bomb.

Get the DNA. Talk to his family, because, if she had talked to the family first, he could have fled to Honduras or Costa Rica or any of the other places he likes to go when he`s under fire. So, she did the right thing. Turns out to be the wrong guy. She let him go. All right. Case closed.

But I think she handled the thing the right way, beginning to end.

BECK: Right. Now, here`s -- here`s the problem, because I -- I am telling you, there`s no way for these people to win, because now he is going to go back to California.

BLOOM: Mmm-hmm.

BECK: He is going to spend how long in jail? Maybe six months?

BLOOM: Well, he`s got five misdemeanor charges. They`re all a maximum of one year. Hopefully, he will be sentenced consecutively, meaning one after the other, not concurrently, all at once.

He`s got five misdemeanor charges. So, the maximum would be five years. He has already served about six months -- the maximum, four-and-a- half.

But I think, most likely, Glenn, most likely, he will only serve a few more months, if anything, on those charges.

BECK: Unbelievable.

OK. So, now, here`s how she can`t win. Because he goes and spends -- let`s say he spends four years. He gets out, he rapes and -- or kills a child.

BLOOM: God forbid.

BECK: And everybody is going to be screaming, you knew he was a freak. We all knew. Why didn`t you keep him behind bars?

BLOOM: That is right. That is right.

BECK: Is there anything we can charge him?

BLOOM: Well...

BECK: How about just charging him with lying about the false confession? Really.

BLOOM: Yes, Colorado can`t do that, apparently, because he wasn`t lying under oath. That would be perjury. But simply lying in Thailand and saying you did something, that is not a crime, under Colorado law.

But there is some good news here, Glenn. The good news is, he will be a registered sex offender in California, if convicted of those child porn charges. He will have to go from state to state and register. If he fails to register, that will be a new crime.

And the world knows what he looks like now, knows that he`s a pedophile.

BECK: Yes.

BLOOM: I don`t think anyone is going to hire him as a teacher, as a nanny, as a day care worker. That`s a good thing, right?

BECK: Yes. You know, I -- I`m actually very torn, because I said I wasn`t going to give this guy any fame. And we blurred out his face. And I haven`t been using his name on the air.

BLOOM: Right.

BECK: And I -- I -- I`m actually wondering maybe if we should un-blur his face now, because now everybody needs to see his face.

BLOOM: Right.

BECK: Because, you see this guy coming down the street, you know, look out, brother.

BLOOM: Right.

BECK: You got problems.

BLOOM: Run. Shield your children.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: Right. Exactly right.

So, there`s nothing you can do with a false confession. This is almost kind of a freedom of speech thing. You can say whatever -- whatever you want.

BLOOM: Yes. I mean, that`s our system. You can think what you want. You can say what you want. You can have fantasies. You can write letters on the Internet about how you wished you had killed a child. You got the sexual thrill of asphyxiating her. As sick as it is, that`s freedom of speech, and that`s protected, not a crime, under our system.

BECK: Lisa, did you see the press conference with the attorney -- we led with that -- yesterday?

BLOOM: Yes. Absolutely.

BECK: Please, tell me, do you think this is a setup for this guy suing the -- the -- the Boulder DA, and trying to go for damages?

BLOOM: You knowledge -- you know, anybody can bring a lawsuit. But I don`t think this one would have any validity whatsoever.

This is a guy who inserted himself into the situation. He confessed. He said: I was there when she died. I am not innocent.

That`s probable cause. It`s not proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but it`s certainly enough for a prudent DA, like Mary Lacy. Bring him in. Get him off the streets. Investigate him further. I don`t see him winning any kind of a lawsuit.

BECK: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: You know what? That`s good news. That`s good news.

BLOOM: Yes.

BECK: You know what? I`m just -- I`m just hearing -- Conway, our executive producer, should we un-blur the face or not?

(LAUGHTER)

BLOOM: Maybe just half the face.

BECK: Yes?

Hang on.

Show -- show them the face.

America, remember this face.

Can you bring it up here?

BLOOM: Yes.

BECK: There it is.

Remember this face, America. He could be living next door to you.

Lisa, thank you.

BLOOM: Thank you so much.

BECK: Appreciate it. Bye-bye.

All right. Coming up in just a second, we have more with "Iran 101," another chapter in our weeklong series. We are going to show you tonight the web of evil that these guys are spinning.

But, first, Captain Highpants` 15 minutes of fame may finally be up, but, oh, the memories, they will last a lifetime, won`t they?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: New from Get a Life Video, the life and legacy of Captain Highpants, 16 hours of often before seen footage tracking the life and times of America`s most beloved whack job. Relive all the magical memories, including the baggage check, the waiting, the embarking, the disembarking, the flying, the driving, more driving, and the garage door closing.

Buy the first DVD. And, each month, we will send you a new one, every excruciating moment of Captain Highpants` life, captured for eternity, because it`s what he would want.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: I am more and more convinced every day we are being lied to. We are being distracted, so nobody has to solve the real problems, because the real problems are there. You know what the real problems are. I know what the real problems are. How come nobody`s do anything about it?

We have got grandma sitting at the fricking border in lawn chairs. Grandma is willing to protect the border, but our government isn`t? How does that work?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: We are so distracted, but hang with me here for a second, because here is one of our big problems that are facing our nation and we need to pay attention to.

Earlier today, Iran`s President Ahmadinejad -- as I like to call him, President Tom -- pledged to continue with his peaceful nuclear technology. He said that the entire international community, except for the U.S. and England, approves of this.

Then, he challenged President Bush to a televised debate, which, I don`t know about you, man, but I would gladly shell out $40 on pay-per-view to watch.

As I have said before, I believe Iran is the biggest threat maybe that we have ever faced in our history. And we all need to decide if that is true or not, and then decide what`s the best way to handle this information.

That`s why we`re doing a weeklong series, "Iran 101." You need to know who they are, and decide for yourself if they are a huge threat.

My mother used to say to me, show me your friends, and I will show you your future.

Well, we thought we would take that for tonight`s chapter. I am going to show you Iran`s friends, and then show you our future. The friends speak volumes about whether Iran is just totally evil with a bomb, or just plain annoying and just kind of evil.

Ariel Cohen, he`s from the Heritage Foundation.

Ariel, I wanted to go through some of these countries. And you tell me what -- what this friend does for them and what it means to us, all right?

ARIEL COHEN, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW IN RUSSIAN AND EURASIAN STUDIES, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Well, Iran`s friends are after Iran`s money or Iran`s oil. And, in order to do that, they`re willing to sell them nuclear weapons, nuclear technology, train their scientists, sell them conventional military or, for that matter, anything else in the kitchen sink.

BECK: OK. So, let`s -- let`s go -- let`s go one by one.

Let`s start with Russia. You know, we have always tried to think that Russia is our friend. I think they`re in the foe category. But they are clearly friends with Iran. What do they provide?

COHEN: Russia, first and foremost, provides conventional nuclear technology. They sold them the nuclear reactor in Bushehr. But, also, they`re a major source of anti-aircraft missiles, of missile technology, of tanks, and anything...

BECK: There`s no way -- there`s no way Russia, on the Security Council, is ever going to put sanctions on these guys, is there?

COHEN: They are dragging their feet, but it`s so obvious that Iran needs a nuclear reactor for conventional electricity like Al Capone needs a bunch of M-16s and Glocks to go duck hunting.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: I know.

China, next friend of Iran, what do they provide?

COHEN: China wants uranium, oil and gas, and they would be selling their grandmother, if they can.

They are investing $100 billion -- they are committed -- and then maybe another $100 billion for gas projects and oil projects.

BECK: Do you think that China will be a -- in the grand scheme of things, if we ever really saw global war, and it was basically Iran and the United States, do you think China would sit on the sidelines? Are they kind of a...

(CROSSTALK)

COHEN: Absolutely. Both Russia and China will not go and fight for Iran. I don`t think Russia is going to threaten us with nuclear weapons.

But they will do everything to discredit us, to deny us international legitimacy through the Security Council.

BECK: OK.

North Korea.

COHEN: North Korea has invited Iranians to observe their missile launches, have sold Iranians medium-range ballistic missiles, and is of the -- the chief attendant for the Iranian nuclear -- for the Iranian missile program.

BECK: Yes. And North Korea`s -- I don`t think North Korea is the kind of a country that is going to wipe us off the face of the Earth with a missile, because they know what -- I mean, they want to live.

But I -- I -- I mean, do you agree with me? North Korea would sell Iran a nuclear weapon in a heartbeat.

COHEN: North Korea is broke but, they throw posh dinners for the Iranians when the Iranians come there, and North Korean people are starving.

BECK: Right.

Syria and Lebanon, what do -- what are they providing?

COHEN: Syria signed a mutual defense treaty with Iran, which means that, if Syria escalates something with Israel, and if Israel defends herself, Iran may have a -- a cause to intervene.

Hezbollah is Iranian fully-owned subsidiary in Lebanon. It Shia Arab, and it gives Iran a long arm in the Middle East.

BECK: Venezuela.

COHEN: Oh, a great friend of Iran. Hugo Chavez was recently in Tehran, after it -- after Hugo Chavez visited this beacon of democracy, Belarus, and Russia to lobby for a seat...

BECK: Yes.

COHEN: ... on the Security Council.

BECK: Yes. I -- we have something on Venezuela and Hugo Chavez coming up in a second.

There`s something that my gut is telling me. I will try to explain here in about 15 minutes.

Last one is Europe. Friend of Iran?

COHEN: Not really. They`re scared of Iran, because they know that these ballistic missiles that the North Koreans and everybody else is helping Iran to build can reach European territory. And, as Iran is building bigger and better missiles, more and more European cities will be in the Iranian sights.

BECK: OK. Thank you, Ariel. Appreciate it.

I -- I don`t know about you, but I don`t want to be in bed with really any of their friends.

Now, we have been spending an awful lot of time telling you about Iran, and the threat that that country represents. But I want to show you how Iran is posturing itself in all of this. Here`s some headlines. I -- I asked some people on the staff to see if they could look into the Iranian news sources and find out what they are saying on their own news sources.

This one comes from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting: "More U.S. Soldiers Deserting Army."

I mean, this is propaganda at its finest. Quoting from the article here, "Thousands of American soldiers have fled to Canada, for fear of being dispatched to Iraq."

I -- I must have missed that jam into the -- into the border crossing. The source for that information? An Arab news channel. Just saying.

Then, there`s this one: "Iran Is Superior Power of Middle East: Official." That official, by the way, is Iran`s expediency council secretary being interviewed about his belief that the U.S. is poised to attack. And, during that interview he said -- quote -- "Iran will benefit a great deal from such U.S. idiocy, because the oil prices will hike dramatically."

Remember, I really, truly believe we have to take these people at their word. They don`t threaten. They don`t bluff. They make promises. This is not what they`re telling you for your consumption. It`s what they`re telling their own people of Iran.

Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Every day, you can hear my radio program on stations across the country, including 98.3 WOW-FM in Des Moines, Iowa, 97.1 FM Talk in Saint Louis.

And let`s go to Los Angeles now, with Brian Whitman, to get the buzz from L.A.

Hey, Brian.

BRIAN WHITMAN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hello, my friend. How are you?

BECK: Good.

So, yesterday afternoon, it broke that the DNA with Captain Highpants, as we like to call it, the guy who claimed to kill JonBenet, didn`t match. Not so much.

WHITMAN: Yes.

BECK: You surprised we by that?

WHITMAN: No, not really...

(LAUGHTER)

WHITMAN: ... not really knocked of my feet by that one.

BECK: Yes.

WHITMAN: I`m not an expert, but I think he might be delusional, and I think he might have had nothing to do with this crime, oddly enough. I guess we will have to wait to find out.

BECK: I have been asking people all day, does that make him more dangerous or less dangerous in your eyes?

WHITMAN: Well, you know, some people say we should take people at their word. And, if a guy says we did the , well, then, let`s treat him as if he did it.

We are going to have to get to the bottom of it. He`s creepy, no matter what. And I have to tell you, this week -- this story, Glenn, doesn`t surprise me of this DNA not matching.

BECK: No, not at all.

Brian, there is a -- there`s an effort in California to ban smoking.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITMAN: That`s right.

BECK: Yes.

WHITMAN: The -- the -- the local government in Dublin, California, just outside of San Francisco, has -- they`re making it easier now for you to sue your neighbor for secondhand smoke.

They`re treating secondhand smoke like a public nuisance, like you would treat loud noises.

BECK: Brian, Brian, get out of California. What are you thinking, man?

WHITMAN: Well...

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I mean, you know, Brian is our token liberal. Brian and I disagree on almost everything politically. But we`re good friends, and have been for a long time.

But, Brian, as your friend, I`m begging you, get out, before it`s too late.

WHITMAN: You know, this is an amazing story about -- you know, what they really want to do, a lot of local governments, Glenn, they really want to ban cigarettes. But they -- they don`t -- they don`t have the political might to do that...

BECK: Right.

WHITMAN: ... and to propose something like that.

But, look, the people in California, we need to butch up here. When I was a kid growing up on Staten Island, my brother and I would be in my mom and dad`s station wagon, all of the windows sealed, mom and dad smoking like chimneys, and the station wagon was like a rolling air-sealed ashtray.

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I grew up in that same household, man.

(COUGHING)

BECK: And I`m fine.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITMAN: I think -- I think I have turned out all right.

BECK: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITMAN: Let`s -- let`s -- please, let`s butch up. It`s a little cigarette smoke. If people in California think that cigarette smoke is going to pollute the air, you should see what`s in the air without the cigarette smoke.

BECK: I know. Here`s the thing. If you are going to ban cigarettes, then ban cigarettes.

WHITMAN: Right. That`s right.

BECK: You know, it`s this -- this giant game. And you know why they will never ban cigarettes? They will never ban it because the government makes way to much money in taxes on cigarettes.

WHITMAN: Well, that`s right.

BECK: So, they want it both ways.

WHITMAN: Yes.

And it`s a freedom issue. I mean, this is America. If you can`t smoke in your backyard legal cigarettes, my gosh, you know, what can you do?

BECK: So...

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: You can -- you can actually sue your neighbor, because...

WHITMAN: Yes.

BECK: What? Do you have to have cancer? I mean...

WHITMAN: I don`t know that you have to have the big C, but I think the smoke needs to be -- you know, needs to be shown to the ladies and gentlemen of the jury that the smoke is billowing over the backyard fence, and infecting you and your precious children.

BECK: What, are you living next to Winston Churchill?

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: I mean, how much do you have to be smoking to have it billow over the fence?

WHITMAN: But this is California.

I mean, people are crazy about cigarettes. They are crazy about coffee. You wouldn`t know much about this. As a Mormon, I know that the coffee is not in your -- is on -- not on your radar.

BECK: Sure.

WHITMAN: But if I were to drag you and some of your Mormon friends kicking and screaming into a Starbucks, you would see that people just hang out there all day. They call them the Starbucks squatters.

BECK: Oh, yes.

WHITMAN: And these -- they -- they buy a $4 cup of coffee, and they think they can sit there all day, every day.

BECK: Brian, I got to tell you, I got to run, but I`m not going to anybody`s office at Starbucks. And that...

(LAUGHTER)

BECK: Too many people are setting up offices in Starbucks.

Thanks, Brian.

WHITMAN: Thank you, buddy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Welcome to "The Real Story," where we cut through the media spin and try to figure out why a story is actually important to you. Now, at the top of the show tonight, we covered the latest in the JonBenet case and where Captain Highpants goes from here.

But the real story today isn`t about the scumbag who claimed that he killed her. It`s about the fact that we all now know for sure that her killer is still out there. You know, the 10 years that have passed, combined with all the media sensationalism, the investigative false starts, have made us -- I shouldn`t include you in this -- it`s made me somehow or another forget that a little girl was murdered and the killer is still walking free.

Roger Depue, well, he used to be the lead guy for the FBI`s behavioral science unit. He`s taken a look at some of the evidence in the case, including the ransom note, and he still believes JonBenet`s mom, Patsy Ramsey, fits the criminal profile. Are we back there again?

But, you know, it`s still impossible to say whether or not she`s the killer, because now she`s dead. And I hate to say it, but I don`t believe that we`re ever going to find JonBenet`s real killer. And I say that, not only because the killer may already be dead, but because of this whole Captain Highpants debacle that has proven to me that the investigators have absolutely no other real leads.

They wouldn`t have gone this far down the road with Highpants if they had any other real avenues to explore, do you think? The only thing I think that we`ve learned in the last couple of weeks is that this case is now colder than ever before.

Next up, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, he is reportedly on his way to meet with the leaders of Syria today. Now, I know I`ve been saying this for a while, but the real story about Hugo Chavez is that he is quickly positioning himself as a real enemy of the United States.

In just the last few months, his official travel schedule -- I swear to you -- reads like an enemy of the state laundry list. He`s visited Syria, Cuba, China, Russia and, yes, even our good friends in Iran. The best part is Chavez is signing deals with each of these countries at each stop. In Russia, he dealt for arms. In China, it was oil. In Iran, it was reportedly a deal to help him start a nuclear program. Oh, that`s great.

Now, before I went on the air today, I was looking through all of the things on Chavez, and I have to tell you here, I don`t have anything here but my gut, but there`s something to this. I believe that Chavez is -- I don`t know -- maybe like the connecting tissue between each of our enemies. You know, they may not all be friends with each other, but they`re all friends with him, and that puts him into a very unique and dangerous position.

As always, we will keep our eye on Hugo Chavez, and we`ll continue to bring you the latest developments in his worldwide tour of our enemies countries.

Finally, as I`m sure you have been hearing over and over and over and over again today, this is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina making landfall. News coverage today has mainly focused on the rebuilding efforts of the region, but it has largely ignored many of the storylines that were the big headlines last year. It seems like the media has amnesia here.

Do you remember what everything was happening? This is really an unfortunate event today, since most of the stories that were the most popular and the most sensational are still alive today. The ones that people remember the best, these stories have turned out to be false. Since the media isn`t covering the myths of Katrina, we`re forced to live with the lies and the finger-pointing and the divisiveness of those lies.

It not only makes it hard to move on, but it also makes it hard to learn any of the lessons that this storm is supposed to teach us. So the real story tonight is that the truth can set us free, but we have to be willing to hear it, embrace it, and learn from it. And that`s exactly what we intend to do right now.

James Meigs, he is the editor-in-chief at "Popular Mechanics" magazine. He`s here to take us through some of the more popular myths that developed during the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

James, let me just start with -- let me take everybody back a year and show you what was happening and spilling out onto our living rooms on television a year ago tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: What we`re about to show you is going to make your stomachs churn. We have some shocking new pictures of the horror and chaos at the New Orleans` Convention Center in the days that followed Hurricane Katrina.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it wasn`t ordinary chaos. The New Orleans` police chief said people had been beaten and raped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would grab the women that they wanted to assault, drag them into the Convention Center, and rape them, and sometimes they would kill them. I heard a report of a 6-year-old that had been raped and died during the trauma of the rape.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Leon Doby (ph), what did you see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, ma`am, I saw everything, from stabbings, to fights, to women hollering, being dragged off in bathrooms. I like to call it the mouth of hell; that`s what the Convention Center was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. Ray Nagin on Oprah`s show said they have people that have been in that, quote, "frickin` Superdome for five days watching dead bodies, watching hooligans killing people and raping people." True or not, James?

JAMES MEIGS, "POPULAR MECHANICS": No, it wasn`t true. You know, there was so much of this kind of thing, about armed gangs going around shooting helicopters, rapes and murders in the Superdome. The Superdome was a mess, but it wasn`t a prison riot.

In the end, when they pulled everybody out of there, they expected to find dozens of bodies. They talked about possibly hundreds of bodies in the Convention Center. In fact, they found 10 bodies, one possible murder. They never found a bullet hole in a helicopter. Things were very bad in there, but it wasn`t the way it was portrayed.

BECK: Next one, possibly the second most popular, is the aftermath of Katrina. This is Aaron Broussard. He was a president of Jefferson Parish. He said this on "Meet the Press." "The aftermath of Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history."

MEIGS: Right. You know, Katrina was a disaster, and it caused so much mayhem for so many people and so many tragic stories, but the idea that the government just sat on its hands and didn`t do a thing has really sunk into our culture, and it`s simply not true.

Within 72 hours after the storm passed, there were 100,000 first responders. They didn`t all come from FEMA. FEMA was probably the least effective. But you had the National Guard, the Coast Guard, you had the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a lot of local resources, and they did an extraordinary job. The Coast Guard alone rescued 33,000 people in a matter of days.

BECK: Next myth -- and I love this one. This drives me out of my mind. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. This comes from Ray Nagin.

MEIGS: This is the thing we really have to fight. If we`re going to understand the lessons of Katrina, we have to do a better job. This will happen again.

You know, we`re in the early phase of a 40-year hurricane cycle, a cycle of heightened hurricanes, we believe. And we`re going to see this hit -- we could see it hit Miami. We could see it hit Houston. We could see a storm like this hit New York. And all of these cities, none of them are built below sea level like New Orleans, but they all have massive areas that would be well below the storm surge. And we could be facing fatalities that could be worst than the New Orleans` situation, if we don`t accept that hurricanes are a fact of life today.

BECK: James, this is such a dangerous myth. Well, I think all of them are, because, I mean, it`s gone to divide us and let people that haven`t taken real responsibility for what happened just let them go scot- free. But this one, Ray Nagin was on TV on "60 Minutes" on Sunday. I don`t know if you remember if you saw it, but he was standing there by the levee and he said, "Look at this. This will withstand a hurricane Category 3, possibly a 4." A five is coming. A four is definitely coming in our lifetime.

MEIGS: You know, maybe New Orleans will get lucky again. You know, they`ve had a long lucky streak before this, but the city is below sea level. It`s sinking all the time. We have to look at the whole Mississippi Delta region and find a way to replenish those marshes, to fix the levees so that they really do protect the city in a worst-case scenario and really deal with the problem that is the whole region. It`s not just New Orleans. Those marshes are disappearing.

BECK: Michael Brown, former FEMA director, said this: "The failure to evacuate was the tipping point for all other things that went wrong." True or false?

MEIGS: That`s false. The evacuation could have been a lot better, but actually, by the standards of other hurricanes in other regions, it was not bad. About 80 percent of the residents of the New Orleans` metro area evacuated. They did it in 38 hours, which was much faster than most experts thought they could do it.

The sad thing is that people who were left behind -- there wasn`t a good plan to get out people in hospitals, the poor people who didn`t have a lot of options. So much more could have been done to plan ahead.

BECK: James, thank you very much. And that is the real story about Hurricane Katrina that you need to know.

Now, if you see something in the news and you`re thinking to yourself, "Jeez, how is the media completely missing the mark on this one?" I want you to e-mail it to me, along with what you think the real story is, by writing to realstory@CNN.com.

All right, let`s go "Straight to Hill," Erica Hill, the anchor of "PRIME NEWS" on Headline News.

Hello, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi there, Glenn. How are you today?

BECK: I`m good, except I know you`ve got kind of a -- I mean, just a heart-breaking story.

HILL: It really is, and it`s probably one you`re familiar with. It happened in Connecticut, because I know you lived there. A Connecticut`s mom`s conviction on charges her housekeeping habits actually led to her son`s suicide have now been overturned, that after the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the charges against Judith Scruggs were just too vague.

Here`s what happened. Her 12-year-old son hanged himself in the home in 2002, and prosecutors had argued that it was the filthy home which endangered his safety and his mental health and may have helped contribute to that suicide. Scruggs`s lawyer though argued her son was traumatized by bullies at his school. Witnesses say the boy was punched, kicked, ridiculed, and spat on.

Scruggs is now suing the school system and the city in connection with her son`s death. I mean, just a terrible story all around.

BECK: Horrible, horrible. You know, I come from a family that`s riddled with suicide. And it is just such an amazing place to find yourself in, you know? To see what suicide, how it can just play with your mind. You know, it wasn`t the mom`s dirty housekeeping. It might have made things worse, but there`s something seriously wrong with somebody when they think the only answer is to kill themselves.

HILL: And so sad that they see that as the only way out.

BECK: It is. Thanks, Erica. See you tomorrow.

HILL: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: He was looking to get famous, and I also believe that his quest for fame will continue. And I also believe there will be those who will give him the fame.

I mean, if we just gave the fame to Deb LaFave, all he has to do now is say, "I should have been on Paxil, because now I`m taking Paxil and I feel so much better. I`m no longer attracted to little girls. I no longer believe that I killed JonBenet. And if I could just give this interview on `Dateline,` then my whole ordeal would just be worth it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You watch. It`s coming, man.

Well, in a tradition that dates back to the late 1300s, it`s once again the time of the year where parents and kids venture out together in something we both love doing: buying new clothes for the first day of school together. In one Indiana town, apparently that meant buying lots of baggy pants, low-cut shirts and tank tops. Approximately 10 percent of the student population at Morton High School showed up in those banned outfits on the first day. What is wrong with parents? Seriously.

Unlike the typical slap on the wrist that you would probably expect from a high school administrator, 128 students were promptly told, "Hmm, you, Prosti-tot, turn around. Bye-bye. Go back home." Morton High School Principal Theresa Mayerik is the one who finally decided enough is enough.

Theresa, I love you. I love you for having the courage. How have the parents been reacting to you sending their kids home?

THERESA MAYERIK, PRINCIPAL, MORTON HIGH SCHOOL: Well, Glenn, there`s a story behind all of this.

BECK: I bet there is.

MAYERIK: Well, the story is this, that for the last two years, we have been looking at uniformity of color because the kids haven`t been coming to school properly dressed.

BECK: OK, wait a minute. What does uniformity of color mean? It sounds so politically correct, I think I may vomit.

MAYERIK: OK. It means wearing the khaki pants, the polo shirts, those type of things, but having a certain dress code, a real strict dress code.

BECK: OK, so it`s not an uniform. You`re just saying nothing crazy.

MAYERIK: Right.

BECK: OK. Is that what -- I have your dress code guidelines. Students cannot wear pajamas, nightgowns, house slippers, swim wear, clothing accessories that advertise lewd or illegal acts -- I mean, what are your students wearing, man?

MAYERIK: Well, let me finish here. I`ll tell you, what happened...

BECK: OK.

MAYERIK: ... is we`ve been looking at uniformity of color. And what the parents said to us last year was, "Let`s not do uniformity of color. Let`s just strictly enforce the current dress code."

So this summer, I met with my PTSA, which is my parent organization, drafted a letter to send home to all the parents. And we sent it at the end of the July saying, "We`re going to enforce the dress code." We attached the dress code, told them we were going to send them home to their parents if they didn`t come dressed appropriately.

BECK: I love you.

MAYERIK: And that`s what we did the first day. And believe me, we are like five days into school, and it is remarkably better at Morton High School.

BECK: Let me tell you something. You are the principal that I would have hated when I was a kid. And now that I have -- God help me -- four children, I love you as a principal. So the parents, no complaints on this?

MAYERIK: Well, you know, I can`t say completely because...

BECK: Right.

MAYERIK: ... of course, the kids that did get sent home and the parents that were inconvenienced on that day, there were a number of them that weren`t very happy with us on that day.

BECK: Do you have any idea -- I mean, have you seen -- it`s probably too early -- you see any difference in behavior when people aren`t -- you know, for instance, guys. I mean, jeez. Do women not understand? I practically have like eye magnets that God put into my eyes and, if somebody`s wearing a low-cut anything, I am -- my eyes, I can`t stop it. I look there on women. Do you see a difference in behavior with the kids?

MAYERIK: Definitely. In fact, already teachers have been telling us what a difference in the classroom when we`re enforcing the dress code. And that is what`s behind all of that, and that is we want to eliminate the distractions in our school. We want to focus on education. We want to raise test scores. We want our kids to be successful.

BECK: Right. I got to tell you, I think that -- well, I mean, it`s our whole society. It is a stupid fashion show at our high schools. You know, just -- have you thought about just -- you know, I know you like the uniformity of color thing. But have you thought about just uniforms? I`d be for it.

MAYERIK: Well, like I said, we discussed the uniformity of color and we`re going to do more conversations...

BECK: Stop saying that, OK? I hate that.

MAYERIK: OK.

BECK: Uniformity of color?

MAYERIK: I call it uniforms for you, Glenn.

BECK: Thank you.

MAYERIK: So...

BECK: All right. Well, thank you very much. And best of luck to you. Anything else you`re thinking about banning?

MAYERIK: Not at this time.

BECK: OK, good. Well, you send out that letter, we`ve got your back. Theresa, thank you.

MAYERIK: Thank you, Glenn.

BECK: Now, time to check in with "NANCY GRACE" to see what she`s got coming up on the show tonight. I bet there`s something about Captain Highpants.

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Glenn, after all of these legal bombshells, no DNA, no charges against John Mark Karr, what`s the next step in a decade- old murder mystery of JonBenet Ramsey? What happens to John Mark Karr, now facing child pornography charges in California? Why are they misdemeanors? I don`t understand that. And after this massive blunder, will we ever learn the truth?

BECK: Here is an unfortunate prediction. I say what`s next: movie of the frickin` week. Don`t forget you can check out Nancy, tonight 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on "Headline Prime."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, let`s get right to the e-mails. Stan in Salt Lake City writes, "I just read about that dirt bag, Warren Jeffs, in a July issue of your `Fusion` magazine and saw today that he was caught. Just wanted to thank you for taking one of our 10 most wanted off the streets. Oh, yes, and thanks to the FBI, for whatever small part they may have played."

You`re welcome, Stan. I`m glad "Fusion" could be of some service to you. Warren Jeffs was arrested in Nevada for sexual contact with a minor. This guy wasn`t some wannabe child freak like Captain Highpants from the JonBenet story. This guy was the real deal, "allegedly." Standards and practices are making me be accurate again. This guy is going to spend a very long time in prison and eventually some place much, much warmer.

Patty in Georgia writes, "Mr. Beck, Sir, last evening on your show you rushed past the crown prince of Iran who is our only hope for anything good to happen there. And then you went to a dreadful commercial. Then you took a long, leisurely time to talk about Captain Highpants. That sequence made a hopeless statement."

I mean, is it just me? I was just being criticized for talking too little about Iran? When did that happen? Did I fall through a wormhole? Patty, I`m covering Iran as best I can without President Tom getting, you know, royalties for it. In fact, I believe we`re ready -- are we? Yes. Yes. We are now ready to make a significant announcement on -- well, this is global significance -- in regards to Iran.

Here it is: Earlier today, the president of Iran challenged the president of the United States to do a debate on the state of the globe. And we now can announce that we are willing to host the proposed debate right here on this program.

I will, of course, moderate. And, you know, I`ll commit the entire hour to it, maybe. I mean, remember, there are two repeats to the show. So you`d get on TV three times in one night, President Tom. I`ll even print a short summary in "Fusion" magazine, plus unlimited water. Yes, yes.

I mean, I think I could even score you an autographed picture of Anderson Cooper. I don`t know, you know, if I can get it personalized. No promises on that one, but Bush is right here in the U.S. I`m sure he`ll be easy to get. But President Tom may be a little more difficult due to the travel time and, you know, lack of direct flights from Tehran to New York, which is probably a good thing.

So I appeal directly to you, President Tom. Contact me at GlennBeck@CNN.com.

END