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Glenn Beck

DNC Avoids Paying Taxes at Colorado Pumps; "National Enquirer" Accused John Edwards of Affair; Louisiana Appealing Supreme Court Decision on Death Penalty for Child Rapists

Aired July 23, 2008 - 19:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, a candid President Bush at a Texas fundraiser opens up about the mortgage crisis. The video is leaked against the president`s wishes, but I think this is exactly what he should be saying from the Oval Office.

Plus, prosecutors in Louisiana want the Supreme Court to take another look at the ruling that prevents the death penalty for child rape. We`ll talk to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

And House Republicans challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get real about solving America`s gas crisis. ANWR, offshore, everywhere. How about all of the above?

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

When it comes to gas prices, I`ve got good news, and I`ve got bad news. The good news is I`ve just heard of a way you can start saving over 40 cents a gallon. The bad news is, in order to do it, you have to tart working for the Democratic National Convention committee.

According to a shocking article in Denver`s "Rocky Mountain News" today, since March of this year, the DNC host committee members have been getting their gasoline directly from official city pumps. That way, they have avoided all state and federal taxes. Here`s "The Point" tonight.

Not only is this glaring hypocrisy and a flagrant abuse of political power, but it is anti-business; it is anti-capitalism; it is anti-American; and I am sick to death about it and of it. Here`s how I got there.

I hate gas prices as much as you do. But unlike some Democratic officials, I don`t think I`m above paying my fair share. According to a spokesperson for the Denver`s Department of Public Works, DNC host community members are fueling up at the city pumps. That`s where the cops get their gas.

Now the city doesn`t pay any taxes on the fuel for its fleet. The spokesman -- spokesperson says the host committee doesn`t, either. The city of Denver is one thing. When you`ve got to fill up a cop car, that`s one thing. But guests doing business in your city that just happen to be a political party, the DNC host committee, that is entirely a different story.

You are a nonprofit business. You are not except from fuel taxes. Who the hell do you think you are? Who made you politicians king?

Since March, the DNC has bought almost $10,000 worth of gas. Until they got caught this week, they didn`t pay a dime in taxes. The host committee now has to pay the city all those back taxes.

Here`s a little perspective. If you got away with the same crap that the DNC host committee was pulling, you`d be saving about $5.66 with every single fill-up. That is the equivalent of a half dozen eggs, half gallon of milk, and some juice boxes for the kids.

So is it illegal? Well, according to Colorado`s attorney general, he says, quote, "It would seem that way."

Even worse, one of the only benefits of having all these dopes and clowns, you know, in these political conventions invade your city is that they pump money into the local economy. You know, the hotels, the restaurants, and yes, even the locally-owned gas stations.

This is a shameful example of Washington political elitists taking advantage of the system, once again, screwing the little guy. Plus, these are the same damn people who said, "Oh, a gas tax holiday. That`s not going to be worth it. I mean, it`s not worth doing. You won`t save enough money." Really? I guess it saved enough money for them. To hell with you, you know, you little people. You`re an irritant, really.

So tonight, America, here`s what you need to know. The DNC`s first instinct wasn`t to apologize and go, "Oh, crap." You know, no. Quite possibly, they broke the law. They didn`t apologize. Instead, they acted like children: "The Republicans are doing the same thing in Minneapolis." Really?

The RNC denies that, but I don`t trust them either. There`s absolutely no evidence. But let me tell you something: if it were true, it`d be just as wrong. And you know what? If it is true, I`m going to hammer the back snot out of the Republicans, as well.

These are tough times for everybody. It`s the politicians in Washington that help make it that way. Maybe you should feel some of the average person`s pain. Pay up, dead beats. This is America. And nobody rides here for free. You`re not above us because you`re a politician. You work for us, damn it.

Bobby Jindal is Louisiana`s Republican governor.

I`m a little steamed.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Glenn, you should be. Here`s the greater irony. You`re right. This is the same party that doesn`t want to do the gasoline rebate for average working, voting taxpayers.

This is also the party that doesn`t want to do more domestic production, has not helped come up with a comprehensive energy plan. So there were some in the party, not all of them. There were some that were even advocating higher gasoline prices as part of their global warming crusade.

And here`s the irony. You know, the same people that are saying that they don`t want to increase production or lower prices for the rest of us are themselves benefiting from lower prices by breaking the rules.

BECK: OK. First of all, Governor, will you tell me on national television that if the RNC is doing the same thing in Minneapolis, that you will come on with me and hammer the back snot out of your own party?

JINDAL: Absolutely. Here in Louisiana, we`re prohibited from giving away state resources to groups like that. We can`t -- in our constitution, we`re not allowed just to give away things like that. Absolutely. It`s not right for either party to do it.

The Republicans in Congress got in trouble a couple years ago. They lost the majority because they failed to apply the same standards they were applying to the Democrats to themselves. It`s absolutely wrong for either party to do this.

BECK: Let me -- let me show you something, Governor. These are the pitchforks. I said jokingly last week, send me a pitchfork. I`m getting - - now I`m getting pitchforks. This is what came in today. I`m getting pitchforks now with names on them. People saying I have had enough of this.

We are turning into 18th century France, where the politicians in Washington are just saying, "Let them eat cake."

JINDAL: Well, and you know, the Founding Fathers had it right. They intended to be part-time officials who`d go back, limited to the rules they passed for everybody else. The danger is we don`t have our elected officials living under the same rules, the same inconveniences, the same regulations, same taxes as everybody else, they won`t feel that burden.

You remember, there was an incident a few years ago. Congresswoman from Georgia got irate when Capitol police wouldn`t let her skip to the front of the security line.

BECK: Yes, yes.

JINDAL: Struck a security officer. Now, Glenn, if you and I tried to do that, we`d try to hit a police officer, they would rightfully arrest us. They would rightfully say you can`t come to the front of the line. And we`ve got to change that entitlement mentality. She was mad they didn`t recognize her. She wasn`t wearing whatever pin or whatever...

BECK: It`s Cynthia McKinney. She`s nuts.

Let me -- let me take you here. The Air Force says that oil is our biggest threat to national security. That not having enough energy and enough jet fuel is the biggest threat to our national security. That`s why they have started the synth fuel thing. They`re changing coal to oil.

If the government can do it themselves, why won`t they let us have coal-to-oil technology?

JINDAL: Absolutely. Oil to -- not only that. We`ve got so many clean coal and other technologies. America`s got -- we`re -- we`ve been termed the Saudi Arabia in coal when you look at deposits. And here`s what`s crazy. We -- some of the same leaders in Congress, Saudi Arabia and other countries produce more oil in the Middle East, but they don`t want to do it at home.

As many as 18 billion barrels, potentially more off the OCS off the coast. We`ve got billions of barrels up in Alaska we`re not allowed to go get. And it`s ridiculous. This is the same country. We haven`t built a refinery in 30 years. We haven`t built a nuclear reactor in 30 years.

And the debate in D.C. misses it all. One side says no drilling; the other side says only drilling. We need to do it all. We need more domestic production. We need nuclear. We need clean coal. We need -- we absolutely need renewables and conservation, but we need -- we needed to have started years ago. We have waited too many years to come up with a rational national energy policy, and they still don`t have one. I`m not optimistic this Congress will get one done before they leave town.

BECK: Is it true you turned down -- or didn`t turn down, but you made an announcement to John McCain, saying, "Don`t even ask me. I`m not going to." Please, Bobby, I`m begging you. Please. Some sanity in Washington. Please say yes if asked.

JINDAL: I`ve said publicly and privately, I`ve got the job that I want. I love...

BECK: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I`ve got pitchforks.

JINDAL: We`ve got work here to do to turn around our state. I told the voters that this is an historic time. The problem is, too many of our elected officials don`t keep their words. I told the voters, this is an historic time. I want to help change our state. We`ve got a lot more work to do. We`ve done six tax cuts. We`ve got a lot more work to do.

BECK: I think here`s the Republican ticket. You atop or vice president. Romney the other one, at top or vice president. I don`t care which. You guys switch off every other day. It doesn`t matter. Let`s just move on.

Thanks, Governor. I appreciate it.

JINDAL: Thanks, Glenn.

BECK: All right. Now let`s turn to the co-author of "How to Ruin the United States of America." It`s Mr. Ben Stein.

Ben, this is anti-business. I mean, they`re not even paying for tax on car washes.

BEN STEIN, CO-AUTHOR, "HOW TO RUIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA": It`s not just anti-business. It`s anti-law and order. It`s anti- the idea that there are rules, and people have to play by the rules. And the DNC cannot just say, "OK, wait a minute. Now it`s magic time in Denver and the rules are suspended."

BECK: Have you sent me my pitchfork yet, Ben?

STEIN: No, I haven`t sent you -- sent you a pitchfork. But I -- but I want...

BECK: I want a torch.

STEIN: I was -- I`m glad you brought up this Denver thing. I don`t like the idea of Senator Obama giving his acceptance speech in front of 77,000 wildly cheering people. That is not the way we do things in political parties in the United States of America. We have a contained number of people in an arena. Seventy-five-thousand people at an outdoor sports palace, well, that`s something the Fuhrer would have done. I think whoever is advising Senator Obama to do this is bringing up all kinds of very unfortunate images from the past.

BECK: Well, you know what? I`ve been -- I`ve been saying that we`re heading towards a Mussolini-style presidency forever. I mean, it`s crazy.

STEIN: It`s a scary situation. I think he has to recognize some bounds on his own ego. I understand politicians are politicians because they have ego deficit problems and they try to cure them by having lots of worship and adulation and adoration. But 75,000 screaming in an outdoor arena, that`s just too much. It`s scarily authoritarian. It`s like Juan Peron and Evita.

BECK: It`s not going to make a difference. Do you think it`s going to make a difference? Do you think the average person -- I mean, here they are, buying gas without a gas tax. The party that says, "Oh, the little people don`t need that gas tax relief. That`s not enough." Yet they`re not paying the gas tax.

They`re not going to be outraged. I bet you nobody else is covering this story, except burying it. You know, not at the top of any show tonight.

STEIN: Well, the problem is, as we have often discussed, you and I, Glenn, the media is just madly in love. It`s just got this school boy, school girl crush on Senator Obama. No matter what he does, they`re going to love it.

And he happens also to be an extremely lucky man. His trip to the Europe either was brilliant -- and the Middle East was either brilliantly planned or incredibly lucky, because that has worked out unbelievably well.

Maybe he is very, very smart. I`m sure he is very, very smart. If he graduated from Harvard Law School, he has to be at least medium smart. But this idea about the sports palace, the idea of thinking they`re above the law on taxes. It just doesn`t ring democracy.

BECK: Ben, real quick, this is how out of touch they are. Not only are they doing this, and it`s like screw the little people, but they also have the DNC meal time guidelines for this event.

STEIN: Oh, no. Please don`t say that.

BECK: Oh, no. No, it`s all about being green.

STEIN: Oh, no.

BECK: Here`s one of them. This is the actual quote from the "Rocky Mountain News": "At least one of the three following five colors must be on every plate: red, green, yellow, blue, purple, and white. Garnishes don`t count," because they think that vibrant colors mean healthier food. I`m not making it up.

STEIN: This is what really scares me about the environmental and the energy conservation movement. It`s about controlling people.

BECK: Yes.

STEIN: It`s not really about saving energy. They couldn`t care less about that. They really want to control other people`s lives. And that is very scary. The Constitution is ever in danger.

BECK: OK. Ben, thanks a lot. Stick around. We`re going to come back to you here in a second.

Coming up, President Bush had an off-the-record comment that got caught on a tape, and it`s gone viral on the Internet. I`ll show you the clip in tonight`s "Real Story" and explain why this comment should have been made public in the first place, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: "The National Enquirer" is at it again. First, if I remember right, they accused comedienne Carol Burnett of being drunk in public, and so she sued and she won. Then they said some members of kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart`s family were involved in a gay sex ring. They sued; they won. Then they said actress Kate Hudson was dangerously thin. She sued; she won.

These guys, they have a reputation of being -- I don`t know -- the "National Enquirer."

Now they`re after former Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards. Last December, they said that he had a pregnant mistress. They now claim that he met her and their love child in an L.A. hotel.

For starters, an aide of Edwards came out and said, "I`m the father of the woman`s child." Plus, John Edwards has a family. His wife continues to struggle with cancer. If this story is indeed true, then you know what? John Edwards should crawl under a rock and never, ever be heard from again. He should hide his face in shame for all time.

But if the "Enquirer" is wrong -- go with me here for a second -- then they`ve crossed the red line, and I hope to God that Edwards sues them for every cent they have. There is only one black cat in the story, and someone needs to go down.

But will we ever find out the truth, and how do you find the truth and get to it in the court of public opinion?

Lisa Bloom is an anchor for "In Session" on TruTV.

Lisa, I`ve got to tell you, I heard this story and I thought, I`m not a fan of John Edwards. I don`t like anything he stands for. I don`t like him as a politician et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But if I were John Edwards, I would hold a press conference, and I would swab my own mouth, and I`d hand it to the biggest genetics expert and say, "Test the kid, too." And then I would own "The National Enquirer."

LISA BLOOM, TRUTV: Well, I can understand that point of view. Here`s the problem. No. 1, the story might be true, and that would prevent him from doing that. No. 2, the story might be false, but he wants it to just go away. He doesn`t want to have it continue to be in the media day after day. The day he files the lawsuit, the day it goes to trial, the day it gets continued, the day he testifies.

BECK: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Is there -- is there...

BLOOM: ... just don`t want to do that.

BECK: All you have to do is swab your mouth and swab the child`s mouth.

BLOOM: Yes.

BECK: I mean...

BLOOM: For the lawsuit, it`s talking about years and years of having this in the public eye.

BECK: Is there no shame in America? Is there no shame? Does the truth not matter at any time? Can people just say whatever the hell they want to say and get away with it?

BLOOM: Well...

BECK: Can John Edwards, if he`s guilty, get away with things, no, and get away with it? Can the "National Enquirer" say these things?

BLOOM: I would ask you the other question, Glenn, which is why do we care? Why is it our business?

BECK: Look...

BLOOM: Every private sexual peccadillo...

BECK: ... everybody...

BLOOM: ... of people in the public life? He`s not even in public life any more.

BECK: Every...

BLOOM: He`s not a senator anymore. He`s not a presidential candidate. Why do we even care?

BECK: First of all, if you think he`s out of politics for all time, you`re crazy.

BLOOM: Why is it our business?

BECK: Everybody says -- wait a minute. Everybody says character doesn`t matter. Well, here is the perfect example. Character does matter. And if that were my character being assassinated, I would demand that -- this isn`t a slight smear campaign. This has been going on for a year.

BLOOM: It`s absolutely horrendous. But look, you know, Jesse Jackson had a love child out of wedlock.

BECK: It`s insane.

BLOOM: Thurgood Marshall, a great Supreme Court justice, had -- I just saw a show about him last night -- had a lot of affairs, as did Martin Luther King.

BECK: Then admit it.

BLOOM: We didn`t care in those days. Now we have the worst public scrutiny, and it puts people in a very difficult position.

BECK: No. No, we did care in those days. It was never reported.

BLOOM: Right.

BECK: Now, we don`t care. So here`s the thing. I mean, I just get back to this. This story is -- is -- I can`t fathom the stupidity of the "National Enquirer" for the editor to say, oh, you want to take on a guy who`s running for president who also made, you know, how many millions of dollars...

BLOOM: Glenn.

BECK: Wait a minute. How many millions of dollars in litigation?

BLOOM: That`s true.

BECK: This what he does. This guy could give the closing arguments at his own trial and say, "My wife is dying from cancer."

BLOOM: Right.

BECK: "And you`re putting this seed in her head." And I would even pay the man if it weren`t true.

BLOOM: OK, Glenn. But Glenn, do not assume the "National Enquirer" and their lawyers are stupid. This is a company that makes many tens of millions of year every year. It has been copied by "Us Weekly," "Star," "InTouch" and a lot of successful magazines.

BECK: Right.

BLOOM: And I think they write off the cost of litigation in cases like this. Yes, they paid Carol Burnett and the others, but they really don`t care. It`s a highly profitable venture.

BECK: You know what? Then as a man, John Edwards should put a stop to that. He should put a stop to that in the court of public opinion. These people, if this is a lie, these people should be run out of business.

BLOOM: Well, and you`re right in the fact that "The National Enquirer" doesn`t mince words in this article. They don`t say he might be, he could be. They said he did. He cheated on his life. He has this love child. He`s sneaking off and seeing him. So if it is false, you`re right; he has a terrific case. All he has to do is bring it.

BECK: OK. Lisa, thanks a lot.

Prosecutors in Louisiana are asking the Supreme Court to take a second look at the decision of overturning the law of allowing the death penalty for people convicted of raping a child. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, do you see this picture behind me? These guys know better than you, you little, little person. The Supreme Court, and they struck down a Louisiana law that proposed giving a child rapist the death penalty.

State lawyers are now asking the high court to reconsider -- pretty please -- citing a 2006 federal law and a 2007 executive order making child rape a capital crime under military law. Joining me once again is Louisiana`s Republican governor, Bobby Jindal.

Governor, here`s the thing. Child rape, is there -- is there anything that can get the death penalty if it`s not child rape?

JINDAL: Glenn, you would think if there`s any crime that cries out for capital punishment, for the death penalty other than murder, it would absolutely be child rape. What was so offensive about this, really, not only did they strike down Louisiana`s law, look at the rationale behind it. The Supreme Court said not only was this not a proportional punishment for the crime. They said this was based on an emerging national consensus.

BECK: Yes.

JINDAL: They sounded like pollsters. I thought they were supposed to read the Constitution and interpret it, not try to write new laws.

BECK: Thank you very much for saying that. Let me give you the exact quote, because here it is. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in an opinion last Monday, including that "On balance and on light of evolving standards of decency, there is a national consensus against such punishment."

When did this ever become the rule of law? Consensus?

JINDAL: And what laws of decency is he talking about? He`s not talking the people of Louisiana. He`s not talking the little girl who was brutally attacked. He`s not talking about victims` advocates. I have no idea what he`s talking about. But evolving norms and standards of decency.

Again, I thought their intent, their job is to read the intent of the Constitution, not to come up with new law, new precedence.

BECK: When did we -- when did things go off -- off the tracks here? When did the Supreme Court -- I mean, I know the history of the Mulberry case and everything. When did the Supreme Court start to tell us, and we start taking it? They have become -- I mean, why don`t we just go to the system in Iran? They`ve got a nice supreme counsel over there that just says what laws can be done and what laws can`t be. Why not?

JINDAL: Well, two things. One is it`s not just the Supreme Court. We had a federal judge a year ago in Louisiana rule that ministers couldn`t pray before school board meetings, because he was worried there -- in part, one of the rationales was they were worried that children may be accidentally exposed to prayer. And you think about that, so they said it was OK for legislators and the Supreme Court to open in prayer, but not school boards because students may be there.

The second thing I think is so incredible about this. One of the attorneys is -- that is helping the state with this appeal, is helping the prosecutors with this appeal, he himself does not believe in the death penalty but said he thought it was so ridiculous the Supreme Court was trying to substitute their judgment for that of the people and their elected legislators.

So even an attorney that doesn`t believe in the death penalty is helping us to argue our side of the case, because even he thought the ruling was just wrong.

BECK: Are you going to castrate child rapists in Louisiana?

JINDAL: Absolutely. We`ve got a law that gives judges that option on a first offense, mandatory on the second offense. We`ve got several other laws, lifetime registration. We increase the penalties. We still would like to have the death penalty as an option. We`ve got mandatory life imprisonment without parole.

But we absolutely want to send a message. If you intend to do harm to our children, stay out of Louisiana.

BECK: Good for you, Governor. And let me tell you something, you`ve got a few alligators down there. I`m just saying. If they accidentally slip and fall into an alligator pit, it wouldn`t -- I wouldn`t cry my eyes out.

Governor, thanks a lot.

Coming up, House Republicans challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi to get the ball rolling on more domestic drilling. We have Minority Leader John Boehner. He`ll be by to explain in tonight`s "Real Story." That`s next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, welcome to the real story.

One of the reasons that we`re in this energy crisis is that no one can seem to agree on what the best option is going forward. Crazy idea. I say how about we try all of them?

Isn`t that the way America used to function? A bunch of people would come up with a bunch of different solutions to the problem, and then people would some up with the best combination of quality and price. I think they used to call that American capitalism. But it`s been so long since I have seen it, I don`t remember it anymore.

Now, instead of trying ten different things, the real story is we`re not even allowed to try one. While we wait, crazy conservatives like me are like, "Hey guys, hang on. While you try to figure out how to save the country, can`t we at least drill for the resources we already have with the technology we have already proven?"

Silly rabbit. That seems like common sense, but you`re in upside down world now. When it comes to ANWR, the place we bought for its oil, suddenly controversial, but why? Well, maybe if we spent a minute looking at the real ANWR instead of the one the media and environmentalists always make sure you see, you`ll change your mind.

First, this is a picture of Alaska -- a map of Alaska. Now, you see a little white highlighted area. That is the infamous Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR.

If you look even closer, this is the area that has actually been approved for drilling. It`s called Area 1002. And you can see it`s a coastal plain, right up against the wall. It`s right at the northern edge that makes up about 8 percent of ANWR.

Now let`s look at the way the media loves to portray this area. They usually show you things like this, a beautiful picture of gorgeous mountains and flowery valleys. Or maybe this, oh, it`s a rainbow reaching down from the mountaintop. Where`s Julie Andrews?

The truth is the pictures I just showed you are of ANWR, but did it look like a coastal plain to you? No. Those pictures are all taken in the southern part of ANWR where everything is majestic and pristine and where, more importantly, nobody is even asking to drill there.

It`s like taking a picture of one house, a nice one, the one that exists in downtown Detroit, and then saying we should never, ever renovate another building in Detroit. I mean, look how beautiful it is there. You`re kidding me, right?

The pictures you see of ANWR on TV do not represent the area that anyone is talking about drilling in. So what does that area actually look like? Well, here are a few pictures that the "National Review`s" Jonah Goldberg took. He took a trip out there.

Wow, look how pretty that is. It`s flat, it`s watery. Mosquito infested for your enjoyment during the summer months. It looks exactly like Prudhoe Bay which is just a couple hundred miles in the other direction. We have been drilling for oil there for years. And when all the cute caribou leave for the winter, ANWR looks even more like Prudhoe Bay; a snowy, barren wasteland that, I say, looks pretty good with that big oil well sticking out of it.

Now, if you don`t want to drill in a desolate, frozen tundra we bought for its natural resources, that`s fine. I think you`re an idiot, but who am I to judge? But an important issue like this, shouldn`t we at least, have an honest debate? Shouldn`t we prevent -- present the facts honestly to each other? Don`t we owe it to each other and our country?

Ohio Congressman and House Minority leader, John Boehner just returned from a trip in ANWR. I have to tell you, John, when I saw the pictures come across my desk here a couple weeks ago, when we started looking into this, I couldn`t wait to have you on now because you have even more news. It`s exactly like Prudhoe Bay.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) OHIO: Yes, the whole area on the northern coast of Alaska, Prudhoe Bay, where we have been drilling for 30 years, where we`ve produced almost 12 billion barrels of oil, it`s right in the middle of that northern coast. And the National Petroleum Reserve is just west of it, and ANWR, the coastal area the 1002 area is just east of it.

It`s a broad, coastal plain. There`s nothing there. There is an Eskimo tribe that lives near this ANWR area; a group of 240 people who actually want us to drill because they know we can drill in a responsible way, but there`s nothing there. Now, I saw caribou, but I saw more caribou at Prudhoe Bay, and over at the National Petroleum Reserve than I saw over at ANWR.

BECK: I want to show you some pictures a friend of mine sent to me. I swear to you, I thought this was enhanced. I thought, there was no way; that somebody put this caribou in. Look at this picture. Tell me if this is anything like what you saw in Prudhoe Bay.

BOEHNER: Yeah. We saw -- we were at the beginning of the Trans- Alaska pipeline. There were 25 of us there talking, milling around, and there were a handful of caribou that just kept walking towards us and towards us. They were 30 yards away from us, and they couldn`t care less whether we were there, the pipeline was there, or the oil company was there.

BECK: A picture of the bear. The bear is a bear. He doesn`t know if it`s a tree or a pipeline.

BOEHNER: We were out on a man-made island, out in the Arctic Sea, man-made by British Petroleum, and they asked us to be careful when we went outside that day because there was a polar bear out earlier. And they looked under the building because the polar bear likes to get under the building. If you have got polar bears and you`ve got caribou, it`s clear that we can drill in a environmentally friendly way.

BECK: Let me tell you something. I love polar bears. No, I really do. I just think we should not forget the "Arggh" part of polar bear, but maybe that`s just me. You`re introducing starting tomorrow the "All of the Above" bill. What is that

BOEHNER: Well, the Republicans have had the strategy of being for all of the above. And today, we introduce the American Energy Plan. The American Energy Plan really does say we need to conserve more. We need bio-fuels. We need to develop alternative sources of energy. We need nuclear energy. And yes, we need to drill in America for more American- made energy in an environmentally friendly way.

If we don`t do all of the above, our energy security is threatened. And when our energy security is threatened, our national security is threatened.

BECK: Congressman, how do we help? I`m getting pitchforks sent to me. I got a call from security today saying, Glenn --

BOEHNER: Glenn, this is really simple. All we`re asking for is for Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama to allow us to vote. Let the Congress vote. There`s a majority in the House in favor of the bill. There`s a majority of the Senate in favor of this bill. They won`t allow us to vote.

BECK: What do you want from us?

BOEHNER: I want a demand that Nancy Pelosi allow the Congress to vote. This is what we were sent here by the American people to do, is to vote.

BECK: So you just want an up or down vote?

BOEHNER: Up or down vote on "All of the Above."

BECK: The people should just call and say the "All of the Above" bill, just give it an up or down vote.

BOEHNER: That`s all we`ve got to do.

BECK: All right. Congressman, thanks a lot.

BOEHNER: Thank you.

BECK: Last week, I was in Houston and I was asked by a friend to introduce the President of the United States, Bush, at a private party. I was honored to do it. Apparently, the little invitation hadn`t been vetted by the White House yet, and there were all kinds of protocol issues, I guess.

And let`s just say by the end of it, old Glenn suddenly had other things to do that night and I couldn`t go. I was told that it was a stance on the border. It hadn`t set well with the White House and considering that I had just met the night before where the jailed border patrol agent, Nacho Ramos, who also I interviewed for my magazine, which is weird.

I`m sure they weren`t really excited about the prospect of me of potentially embarrassing the president, which, by the way, I would never do. I don`t care what party the president is from. I have too much respect for the Office of the President.

But in irony of all ironies, the president was embarrassed even without me there when someone leaked an undercover YouTube video of him filmed at the party I was mysteriously dis-invited from.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Wall Street got drunk. It`s one of the reasons I asked you to turn off your TV cameras. It got drunk and now it`s got a hangover. The question is how long will it sober up?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Ben Stein, co-author of "How to Ruin the United States of America" is back with us. Ben why the -- he should give this right from the Oval Office. Why should this be off the record?

BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, "HOW TO RUIN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA": It shouldn`t be off the record. By the way, it`s kind of silly because Wall Street got drunk. That`s true. They did incredibly foolish things; that`s true. But we get the hang over. We, the ordinary citizens, are going to pay for the clean-up. We`re going to pay for the mess.

BECK: Oh, yes, they`re getting bailed out.

STEIN: The rich people on Wall Street get their $20 million, $30 million, $40 million paychecks, and go home and live it up. We pay for it, we ordinary guys. I`m a fairly wealthy guy. I can afford it but the ordinary citizen is getting kicked in the teeth. The guys on Wall Street still have their yachts. Something`s wrong with that picture.

BECK: I have to tell you, Ben. I love you, and you`re a great guy, but I don`t understand your rich thing. I can afford it.

STEIN: I can afford one tenth as well as you.

BECK: I employ people. I have a small business. Since when do you just -- do you smoke your money? Because what I do is --

STEIN: Never.

BECK: I employ people. If they would give me more of my money, I would employ more people. I`ll go a step further. If they would stop debasing the dollar, you wouldn`t have to worry about people being able to afford milk. This is not my problem or your problem. This is Wall Street, the Fed, the White House, and the Congress.

STEIN: Yes, but they`re not going to suffer for it. That`s my point, and by the way, I`m not at all rich compared to you. But the point is the ordinary taxpayer is the one who`s going to be bailing all these people out. It`s not going to be bailed out by the guys on Wall Street.

The ordinary guy in Wall Street is going to stay rich; he`ll keep all the money he made during the sub-prime boom. He`ll keep all the money he made during the tax boom eight years ago. They always get to keep their money. It`s you guys out there in ordinary Middle America who are picking up the tab for the rich people. Bear that in mind.

BECK: By the way, you`re about 100 times more rich than I am.

STEIN: No, I`m not.

BECK: Yes, you are.

STEIN: Only in dogs and cats because we now have seven cats. We now have seven cats.

BECK: Yeah, right. Here is the thing, the house now has approved the Freddie and Fannie bail-out. This includes $25 billion coming right from the taxpayer right away. Local governments now can buy $4 billion of foreclosed homes. $300 billion worth of refinanced mortgages we`re on the line for and a federal mortgage guarantee. What do you think that`s going to do to the economy and the dollar?

STEIN: I don`t think it`ll do a darn thing. I`m sorry to disappoint you, Glenn, because I love you like a brother. But it`s not going to do a darn thing. And we need to do it and the fact is -- no because you`re rich -- is we need to get this housing market straightened out. And in the future, Fannie and Freddie have to be a lot more careful. And we`ve got us some supervision --

BECK: A lot more careful? A lot more careful? Do you remember the speeches the president gave? Do you remember the speeches that John Kerry and all the Democrats said that these banks need to start opening up the doors to more people, more minorities, make the American dream more possible? They caused this.

STEIN: That was part of it. Part of it was allowing the investment banks and the commercial banks to merge and repealing.

BECK: Let`s see if we can -- I`ve got 30 seconds. Let`s see if we can agree on this. 1970 stagflation, coming our way or not? It seems to me we`re repeating the `70s.

STEIN: No. Oil is going to correct, and the economy will be fine.

BECK: I don`t know how you made all that money, Ben. But don`t smoke giant $100-bill cigars.

That`s "The Real Story" tonight. Thanks a lot Ben.

Coming up, 39-time best selling author James Patterson has a plan to get all ages excited about reading. And it all starts with his latest book, "Daniel X." He joins me to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: If you`re ever stayed up way later than you were supposed to and the next morning you were like, I can`t go to work, chances are, you have my next guest to blame. James Patterson is the author of 39 "New York Times" bestsellers. Latest book is "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X."

James, how are you sir? Good to see you.

JAMES PATTERSON, AUTHOR: Terrific. Glad to see you in person as opposed to on TV. He`s good looking.

BECK: This is an uncomfortable moment. I think James Patterson -- but he is rich. You can hit on me all you want, James.

You had 39 best sellers. You have 15 hard cover novels that have in 2000 alone sold under your name. In the last six years, try this on for size, more best sellers than J.K. Rowling, Tom Clancy and Dan Brown combined. You`re a machine.

PATTERSON: I didn`t know that stuff. But that sounds good. I like it.

BECK: You`re a machine. You clearly don`t need the cash; unless you had a very bad adviser. This book is --

PATTERSON: There is that.

BECK: This book is a work of passion for you in a different way, right?

PATTERSON: Absolutely.

Daniel X and the books that I write, these are kind of like Ironman movies, like that, where parents will take the kids, and everybody likes it. "Daniel X" is like that. It`s a book that both you and the kids can enjoy; 9 and up maybe.

BECK: You`re doing it because kids aren`t reading enough.

PATTERSON: Right. My notion about kids reading is you have to give them stuff they`re going to love. In fact, I have a 10-year-old. And my deal with Jack and I`ve done it the last three summers, I go out and get him 8 to 10 books I think he`s going to love. This summer, he`s already read seven. And it`s not far into the summer.

BECK: So now, for instance, there`s "Twilight," which my kids have read. "Maximum Ride," of yours, my kids have read. But then I just saw a list today of schools that are -- I have never heard of it, The Click, which is basically a "Gossip Girls" kind of thing for eighth graders now.

Do you think that there`s something to be said for books that -- that are not just the dregs of society and bringing that into the -- into an eighth grader or tenth grader?

PATTERSON: That`s not what I`m trying to do, certainly. I mean, this is book -- it`s interesting.

"Daniel X" has the greatest superpower of all, the power to create. And what I like about it is that he stops stuff with his head. He figures out solutions. He`s very clever. So that`s what we`re trying to get. This whole notion of waking up kids` imaginations, getting them to think, that`s a part of who they are.

BECK: I know I didn`t read a book for my own pleasure until I was out of high school.

PATTERSON: Same deal with me.

BECK: Really? 18 years old, it was "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" for me. What was it for you?

PATTERSON: Well, I worked my way through college in a mental hospital.

BECK: You worked your way through college in the hospital.

PATTERSON: I worked my way through college in a mental hospital. And I had a lot of time at night to read. That`s when I started reading a lot of stuff; pretty serious stuff. Then I evolved into liking a lot of --

BECK: Does -- do you think there`s a problem with -- I mean, here we have the dangerous book for boys out. Boys have been so emasculated that there`s really nothing left. When we were kids, there were good adventure books. The boys were boys, and is there something to be said for the importance of that?

PATTERSON: You know, all I try to do is give them a good time; boys, girls, whatever. I think boys will, and boys are a problem getting to read. And "Daniel X" is -- my 10-year-old, he likes "Maximum Ride" which is my other young adult series, but when he read "Daniel X" he said, "Dad, you finally got it right."

BECK: What was that like?

PATTERSON: It was great.

BECK: I bet it was.

PATTERSON: I make him say that over and over.

BECK: The Page Turner Award is something that you have done with some of your success and you try to do what exactly with it?

PATTERSON: The Page Turner Awards are for people who spread the joy of reading. You get so many people, especially adults, who say it`s a drudgery, it`s not something I do for fun. Books, if you`re reading the right books, if you get into it the right way, it`s a joy and a joy for your entire life. The Page Turner Awards are for people, librarians, book sellers, charitable organizations, who spread the joy of reading; people who send books to the troops, et cetera.

BECK: May I tell you something? Reading is a joy. How much is it worth, James?

PATTERSON: We`ll talk about it later.

BECK: "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X," go grab a copy for yourself then give it to your kids. It`s in stores right now.

We`ll be back in just a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: It`s time for a few stories that you might have missed. While you were busy waiting in line to see "Mamma Mia," that sounds fantastic doesn`t it? You might be worried about gas prices here, of course we`re just too stupid to actually use our resources.

Norway, on the other hand, does use their own natural resources. They are the world`s fifth largest exporter of oil. So, gas has got to be really, really cheap, right? Not so much. They`re now paying about $11 a gallon for diesel. Why? Taxes. Incredibly high.

They just passed yet another gas tax increase despite the fact that over 70 percent of the people actually opposed it. Let me introduce them to the pitchfork.

So why are taxes so high? It`s part of their climate change strategy; kind of confused by this. I`m not really sure how you export more oil than every other country on earth except four and still claim to be battling climate change. Then again, I don`t understand Arnold Schwarzenegger`s daily private jet commutes either. I guess I`m just not in touch with Mother Earth.

Now, a follow-up story from Africa. You know about our inflation. You know that`s a problem, right? Not quite as bad as in Zimbabwe. Their inflation is now over two million percent.

I told you last month Zimbabwe recently introduced a $500 million bill; $500 million just isn`t what it used to be. Today that`s barely worth anything forcing the government to print some brand new $100 billion bill. It`s all about the billion Benjamins, baby, I`m just saying. Each $100 billion bill will buy you a grand total of two loaves of bread, two. By the way, this is not the worst inflation of all time.

In Yugoslavia inflation reached five quadrillion percent. That`s five, with 15 zeros after it. After World War I, Germany actually was using a hundred trillion mark note.

So speaking of records that you don`t really want, finally I leave you with this. A man has broken the record for the highest blood alcohol in the history of Rhode Island. The AP says it was "the highest ever recorded in Rhode Island for someone who wasn`t dead." His blood alcohol level was 0.491; that is six times the legal limit.

By the way, that is just short of the 0.5 level that the Department of Health considers fatal. So, hey, you might be having problems, but at least you aren`t that guy.

From New York, good night America.

END