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Glenn Beck

Michael Richards Apologizes for Racist Tirade; Syria, Iran Making Play for Lebanon?

Aired November 21, 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. Coming up, the real story behind the insane rants of Michael Richards. Is he racist? Is he just an idiot or is he both? The Reverend Al Sharpton will weigh in just a second.
Plus, a leading anti-Syria politician is murdered in Lebanon. Iran behind the hit? Oh, yes. You bet. That and more coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode is brought to you by the Career Suicide Awards with special guest stars Michael Richards, Representative Mark Foley, the Robert Blake dancers, and music by Kevin Federline. The Career Suicide Awards: train wreck TV at its finest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. Former "Seinfeld" star Michael Richards appeared on the David letterman show last night to apologize for his racist tirade at a comedy club. And here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL RICHARDS, COMEDIAN: I lost my temper on stage. I was at a comedy club, trying to do my act, and I got heckled. And I -- I took it badly and went into a rage. And I said some pretty nasty things to some Afro-Americans, a lot of trash talk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: All right. You know what? I`m disturbed by the apology. I`m also disturbed by the people laughing in the background. And I got to tell you, based on that apology, you got to believe this guy is a racist.

It`s almost like he was saying, "Yes, I used the `N` word at a comedy club. Not like there`s anything wrong with that."

Actually, Michael, there is something wrong with that at best. At best -- at best, Michael Richards is a terrible comedian and bitter, a bitter, angry man. Basically, I think because he`s Gilligan, a typecast actor who can`t get any work. At worst, he`s an absolute racist who let his true feelings on stage be shown. Now, you get to decide, which one is it?

Well, here`s the point tonight. It`s hard sometimes to decide because we have a double standard for the "N" word. You cannot have a double standard with this word. If you find it repugnant, which it most certainly is, then you must find it repugnant in all contexts, whether it is in a rap song or at a comedy club by a Lenny Bruce. The "N" word must be banned completely from our vocabularies.

Now, here`s how I got there. To see Kramer, a character I love, spew the "N" word was shocking and disturbing.

In the aftermath of that incident, something stuck out in my mind. It was a line I saw in an article in "The Times". It was comedian Paul Rodriguez. He was at the Laugh Factory that night, and he said afterwards, quote, "Once the word comes out of your mouth and you don`t happen to be African-American, then you have a whole lot of explaining," end quote.

That is some of the most ridiculous things I`ve ever heard. The "N" word is offensive to everybody, or at least it should be. Anybody who uses it, no matter what color you are, should have a whole lot of explaining to do, Paul.

The "N" word is a type of word that sits all by itself. It incites hatred, no matter who uses it. If white people say it, it incites justified anger in blacks, because of all of the negative and shameful baggage that it carries with it. If African-Americans use it, then it incites justified anger in white people who say, "Hey, wait a minute, this is a double standard. It`s either right or wrong."

It is disgusting when Michael Richards says it, but it`s just as disgusting when it`s used in a song lyric by an African-American rapper, period.

So, now, like with Mel Gibson, we`re on the trail to find somebody`s true inner thoughts. Remember during the election of 2000, the whole hanging chad nonsense when people tried to gauge the intent of the voter? That`s impossible to do. And it`s damn near impossible to do and tell what Michael Richards, what his true intent was on stage when he was on in a comedy show.

He said last night on Letterman that he wasn`t a racist. Well, gosh, it sure looked like that, but are you willing to look inside his heart and know, know the real answer? Considering how much tangible racism exists, honestly, does it matter what a washed-up former sitcom star thinks?

Ban the "N" word, and then we don`t have to worry about looking in people`s hearts. Stop saying it. Stop allowing it to pick at the scab of real racism that is, sadly, all too prevalent in the world and in America.

Do you know, in our country, there are people being -- there are people being killed solely because of their color of their skin? I`m sorry. This is planetary wide. Solely because of the color of their skin. They`re being killed because of their religious beliefs in our country. There were 7,000 hate crimes last year.

The fact that that stuff is still happening is far more shocking than anything that could ever come out of Cosmo Kramer`s mouth.

Here`s what I know tonight. We are an amazing collection of selective hypocrites. We are understandably outraged by Michael Richards, yet we embrace the music that liberally features the same hateful language. It doesn`t make any sense.

Until we stop using the "N" word completely, anybody who`s offended by it but still buys the CDs or laughs at the jokes that that is used in, you`re a hypocrite. I have never laughed at that word. I hope I never do. It is ugly in any context.

Now, here`s what I don`t know. Why does the double standard exist around the world? You know, why is it we have the double standard on this word? Everybody finds it offensive? Really?

Reverend Al Sharpton joins me now.

Reverend, on your radio show, you actually had somebody who was in the audience. What did they tell you about this performance?

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, they said that at some point when Richards was feeling like they were not listening to him, some group of guys, who were not all African-American, he just went into this tirade. And I read the transcript. I saw the tape because it was taped. And this wasn`t just a slip of the tongue.

BECK: Oh, no.

SHARPTON: This was over and over again, and that 50 years ago you would have been hanging on a tree. We could have stuck a fork in you or you don`t know how to talk to a white man. I`m in charge. I mean, this was a racist tirade.

BECK: Yes.

SHARPTON: And usually, Glenn, when people regurgitate, they can`t bring out what is not in them. Somewhere in him this had to be. Now, was he a die-hard racist? I don`t know. Did he have racism in him? Obviously.

BECK: OK. Now, Reverend, you and I agree on a lot of things. We also disagree on a lot. One thing we do agree on is the use of the "N" word. It is despicable. It is horrible.

However, tell me the difference between Lenny Bruce and Cosmo Kramer. Lenny Bruce was a genius, and this could have been a very angry, for other reasons, angry spewing of some sort of twisted comedy.

If he was saying this out on the street, man, I would nail him as a racist like Mel Gibson, nail him like that. However, he`s on a stage. What`s the difference between art and...

SHARPTON: Well, first of all, I think that Lenny Bruce, as I understand it, was expressing things in a free-speech manner, in a shocking way to address issues.

This was directed at people in the audience that was not even part of his act that he felt were not listening to him. So he was making personal attacks, and in his personal attacks he attacked their race. So, this was not part -- he wasn`t making a comedic statement here. He had gone off his show and started attacking by race people in the audience.

BECK: Have you ever been to a comedy club -- and look, I don`t mean to stand up for this guy. I really don`t. I thought that what he said was horrible. But I have to play devil`s advocate here for a second.

Have you ever been to a comedy show where you are dealing with a horrible comedian? I had a friend whose mom and dad went to a comedy show, and the guy started attacking them and saying that they were doing despicable things to their dog, et cetera, et cetera. There are bad comedians who just have absolutely no idea of the bounds.

SHARPTON: Well, I`ve seen that happen. And I know people that are in the comedy field. However, there`s a line you cross when you start attacking a race or a gender of people. Then you`re going way beyond even tasteless attacks on people in the audience.

He did not just attack these individuals. He attacked race. He went into the history about 50 years ago what happened to blacks. I mean, this went way beyond a tasteless attack on audience members.

BECK: OK. Will you -- I mean, here`s -- people always try to separate people like you and me because of our politics. I`m a conservative. You`re not.

SHARPTON: I`m a conservative. I`m trying to conservative civil rights in this country.

BECK: Right.

SHARPTON: I`m trying to conservative civil liberties in this country.

BECK: OK. I get it. I get it.

SHARPTON: I`m more conservative than you are.

BECK: All right. People are always trying to separate people like you and me, and you and I can agree on so much. What will it take to finally have everybody stand up and say, you now what? Don`t ever use it in your comedy act, whether it`s comedy, because if we all agreed as people, you use it on your CDs. You don`t use it in your comedy act. You don`t use it if you`re white, you`re black, you`re brown. It doesn`t matter. You don`t use the word. When the word was used you would know that`s clearly racist.

SHARPTON: I think when all of us can come together despite our disagreements is if we are all saying to whatever constituency we have, you the people that are politically in agreement with you, there`s no excuse for the word, and me saying, as I said even on your show...

BECK: Yes.

SHARPTON: ... that we have got to stop saying it even in the African- American community, even in private. And I`ve used it and others have because it then leads to a Kramer and worse.

We have people making hate crime attacks and using the excuse that it`s no longer a bad word. Blacks cannot be the only ones in America that there`s no hate crime in calling us our names. It becomes a term of endearment. We cannot tolerate that.

BECK: Thank you very much. Reverend, appreciate your time.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

BECK: You bet.

Now, if you`re one of those celebrities who can`t afford a team of publicists and damage control experts and you find yourself in trouble, well, there`s still hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Are you a celebrity in need of some damage control? Then pick up the Pocket Excuse Generator from Exploitico. Now excuses are just an arm`s reach away. You`ll get "that was the booze talking," "I was once molested by my priest," "I must have blacked out, because I don`t remember a damn thing", "I`m just a performer trying to push the envelope" and "yes, I knew she was a tranny hooker, but I was simply doing research for an upcoming role."

Act now, because once they`re gone, you may have to tell the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: I hate to, you know, say I told you so, but I told you so. And actually, it`s not that I just hate saying that because I was taught it was impolite to gloat. I really hate saying that because what I think I`m right about is the coming threat to the west.

As I told you back in July and August, when Israel and Lebanon were at war, keep your eye on Iran. That`s the real story. Because they are funding Hezbollah. They are the putter masters for the entire Middle East.

It`s now beginning to be very, very clear to most people. I warned you at the time when we were at that Chamberlain moment that you should keep your eye on Syria, Hezbollah and Iran to mount a hostile takeover of the government of Lebanon. Well, today it began.

This morning, a prominent Lebanese politician was assassinated in Beirut, and that leader was both a Christian and fervently anti-Syrian. Gee, who do you think might have been behind that execution? Of course it was Iran.

Now, that`s just me saying it. Remember, I`m a rodeo clown. You know, no experts are going down on this road yet. But as I see it, Hezbollah does all of Iran`s dirty work in Lebanon. They promised to topple the Lebanese government if they don`t get a bigger say in cabinet decision making.

Yes, I believe it is all part of Iran`s master plan to manipulate Israel into yet another war on their way of controlling the Middle East, conquering the west, and domination of the world.

Now, here`s the good news. You can eat turkey and send yourself into a food coma in about two days. That`s about all I got.

Until then, joined by Ariel Cohen. He is the senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He`s an expert on the conflict in the Middle East.

Ariel, what are the odds that this wasn`t a Syrian, Hezbollah, Iranian plot?

ARIEL COHEN, SENIOR FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Just about zero. It is obvious that after the prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was assassinated by the Syrian or pro-Syrian forces, five Lebanese prominent politicians and journalists died since then, and the U.N. was planning to publish a report...

BECK: Yes.

COHEN: ... on the Hariri assassination several hours before Pierre Gemayel was murdered. This is very obvious that the footprint or fingerprints of Damascus and possibly Tehran is on this murder, too.

And I would also mention that the uncle of the current victim, the former president of Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated by the Syrian intelligence back in 1982 when he was president of Lebanon.

BECK: This thing is -- I mean, I personally believe that part of the reason of the kidnapping of the soldiers back in the summer and that war was a distraction to help cover or scare the U.N. and tell them back off of Syria; don`t publish that report. I don`t know if you find any credibility in that theory.

And the other thing is I think these guys are now so emboldened by the inaction of the rest of the world and Iran -- or the U.N., they don`t care anymore. They`re stating their intentions, and they are going for them.

COHEN: Iran is building an arch of instability from the Mediterranean all the way to the Persian Gulf. They are dominating the Shia population of Iraq. They are threatening the oil-producing Sunni Arab government, and as a result, there`s a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, morocco are all looking to develop nuclear energy, nuclear power, and possibly nuclear weapons. And if Tehran goes nuclear, Turkey will go nuclear, and we will get a nuclear armed Middle East, a nightmare scenario, a true Armageddon.

BECK: OK, see, thank you for saying this. I got to tell you, it is so good to see that credible people are now starting to say the truth, that this is a true Armageddon situation, that these guys are looking to block that whole region and take that whole region.

So many people think, oh, well, it`s just Iran, they can`t do it. They`re serious. And, you know, Kissinger said this weekend that the allies, our allies of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which are kind of allies like this, are panicked by these moves.

How come you`re not seeing them rise up and say, OK, enough?

COHEN: These countries are easily intimidated. They are playing a double game with their own jihadis, their Sunni jihadis they want to use against the Shia pro-Iranian jihadis. That`s how the Sunni jihadis in Iraq are getting support from the Sunni countries in the Middle East.

So you have the two extremes: the Sunni extreme and the Shia extreme at each other`s throat in the Middle East. And the problem is that this arch of instability from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf is about 50/50 Sunni/Shia.

So, there`s no clear victor -- there is no clear outcome, but Iran is a rising power. Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. And as you, Glenn, outlined in your terrific program on the agenda of radical Islam that was broadcast very recently, you have a rising force of hatred and radicalism that is threatening the Arab regimes as well as the western interests in the Middle East.

BECK: Ariel, we`ll have you back again. It`s good to hear the voice of reason from you. Appreciate it.

Now, the special that Ariel was just talking about that did air last week, the special -- you know, that was never going to ever see the light of day again, due to the incredible ratings on this thing, our special, "Exposed: The Extremist Agenda", is airing yet again this Friday at 7 and 9 Eastern. Please, tell your friends and family to watch it this Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Every day you can hear my radio program on stations all across the country, including 630 KHOW in Denver. And if you can`t find an affiliate in your area, please sign up and listen online at my web site at GlennBeck.com. Dave Glover, KFTW 97.1-FM in St. Louis.

Hello, David.

DAVID GLOVER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hey, buddy.

BECK: I understand there`s a new survey out that shows that we are the most -- how is it phrased? The most hostile country for visitors?

GLOVER: This is -- it`s an important study for me, because it officially makes me the meanest man in the world. Follow me. I was just named the most politically incorrect individual in St. Louis, which you know is the most violent city in America.

BECK: Right.

GLOVER: Which is now the most hostile country in the world, vis-a- vis, meanest man in world.

BECK: You are Dr. Evil. Because you kind of look like Dr. Evil.

GLOVER: I`m a Bond character. Well, they did. They did a study of 2,000 foreign travelers and said who do you hate the most? And they said clearly the United States.

BECK: Well.

GLOVER: It`s mostly our customs agents, the officials who greet them. They don`t like them so much.

BECK: Well, they shouldn`t like our customs officials.

GLOVER: I couldn`t agree more.

BECK: I mean, our -- I mean, our customs officials, I don`t want like Mr. Rogers meeting you.

GLOVER: No.

BECK: I want people that put the fear of God in you.

GLOVER: On a serious note, you`ve probably seen the interview with one of the gentlemen who let Mohammed Atta through on 9/11, and he says, "I had a bad feelings. My Spidey sense was tingling, but I did not want to appear rude."

BECK: Right.

GLOVER: I`m very happy that we`re now...

BECK: I`m trying to remember the name of the guy down in Florida that didn`t -- that stopped the 19th hijacker because he did say -- his boss said, "Hey, hey, hey, this could cause all kinds of problems."

GLOVER: Yes.

BECK: And he said, "I don`t care. I`m going with my gut."

GLOVER: I say we recruit. We go out to Walgreen`s and Piggly Wiggly and DQ and find the meanest counter people there and we put them in customs.

BECK: OK. So, it`s the customs people. It`s not the people coming in. I don`t think there`s a friendlier country in America -- I mean, in the world besides France, of course.

GLOVER: That`s a given. But you know what? Really, we are the most giving country by far. If the Nazis invade or Saddam wants your oil, who do you call? You call us. And where does it get us? We`re the most hated everything.

So I think the American people, although this is just one segment, but I`ll speak for a lot of us, I think we`re tired of being so nice. It`s gotten us really nowhere.

BECK: You know what? I`ve got to tell you: there are only times when I hated my parents growing up. I hated them when they were tough on me and made me do things I didn`t want to. It`s what happens when you make the tough decisions and the rest of the world, you know, acts like they`re 13 years old.

Tell me about Pahrump real quickly. We`ve got less than a minute. This is kind of a related story.

GLOVER: It really is. Small town in Nevada has outlawed the flying of any foreign national sign unless it is under the United States flag. I`m sorry -- foreign flag cannot fly by itself. It`s against the law.

BECK: Now, is this because John Goodman is now a judge in Pahrump? I saw that on "Studio 60". And he seemed like an evil conservative.

GLOVER: Here`s the thing. As unconstitutional as it can be but it`s a symptom, once again, I think, of America saying, "You know what? We`re sick of it. Screw you guys."

BECK: Thanks a lot. Dave, the meanest man on planet earth. Talk to you again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Welcome to "The Real Story." This is where we try to cut through the media spin and figure out why a story is actually important to you.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Iran has decided to host a little get- together for Iraqi and Syrian presidents. You know, have them over, come on over to Tehran for the weekend, play some Yahtzee, a little scheming. It`s Black Friday.

The real story is Israel and the U.S. are being set up as pawns in the biggest chess match the world has ever seen, and this is a move that could very well spell "game over" for the West. Remember, these are the people who invented chess. They are always thinking 10 moves ahead.

This is yet just one of those situations where I really don`t want to be right, but in my heart I know that I am. I have been telling you repeatedly, when it comes to the Middle East, Iran is the head of the snake and they are pulling all the strings. They have been forever the godfather; they have always been in bed with Syria.

This latest move makes it crystal clear that, since the Democrats took the election and Kofi Annan claimed that we are trapped in Iraq -- thanks, Kofi -- Iran sees our immediate withdrawal or, in their eyes, our hopeful defeat, as an opportunity to fill that power vacuum once we`re gone. No matter what you read about politics in the Middle East, always go back to "The Godfather." Remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend in the Middle East.

You think I`m wrong? Then why are a bunch of Saddam Hussein`s kingpins reportedly being kept safe and sound in Iran where they are orchestrating much of the civil unrest in Iraq?

While much of the Muslim world may have political differences, a great deal are eternally united through a common faith in extremist interpretation of Islam. Iran will orchestrate any coalition necessary to stack the deck against Israel and then us.

The former Israeli prime minister said on this program last week that he was concerned for the future of his country. Iran wants to create a threat to Israel and force them to react. The U.S. will come to Israel`s aid, and then Iran will point the finger of blame to the Jews and to us in America that we started the war.

As I mentioned earlier, just this morning, a prominent anti-Syrian Christian politician -- this may not be on most people`s radar screens, but it needs to be on yours. This guy was pro-democracy. He was assassinated in Beirut.

As random as the world sometimes seem, events like this, the coming meeting in Iran and the murder of the prominent anti-Syrian leader, are not coincidental. I have been telling you for months about my perfect storm theory. Here is yet another piece of evidence. You are not hearing the full story anywhere else on television.

I hope that I`m wrong, but I promise to keep giving you all of this information and try to help make some sense of the world we`re living in.

Now, in a turn of events that surprised even me, the FOX network has decided not to run their O.J. Simpson interview and to not publish the companion book, "If I Did It." O.J., if you did it? Maybe it`s just me.

FOX big shot Rupert Murdoch issued the following statement: "I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill- considered project. We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

The real story here tonight is we haven`t learned our lesson. You know, I firmly believe that people are fundamentally good, and I am proud of us for raising our collective voice to say that O.J. Simpson is, at least in my opinion, a cold-blooded killer. To have let him appear on our public airwaves would have been a low point in our culture, and there`s not a lot lower we could go, quite frankly.

But as happy as I am about this, that it didn`t happen, you`ve got to ask yourself a question: Where was the collective outrage after O.J. Simpson was acquitted? Is our memory really that short that we don`t remember how he literally got away with murder? This long after the fact, it seems clear to most everybody that O.J. is far from innocent. That`s why we couldn`t let the flaunting of his guilt stand.

And even though the book and TV deals have been squelched, O.J., or whatever phantom third party he`s fabricated, is still going to have a gigantic payday. And Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman still have no justice.

The one unexpected benefit in this whole debacle is that we can now clearly see that Judith Regan is a demon who is plenty comfortable cozying up with killers. She`s the woman who orchestrated this whole mess. She now claims that she was motivated to work with O.J. as a way of claiming a small victory for battered women, like herself.

She said, and I quote, "I didn`t know what would happen, but I knew one thing: I wanted the confession for my own selfish reasons and the symbolism of that act."

Judith, bull crap. You stood to earn millions of dollars from this spectacle, and every penny of it would have been blood money. And I bet you would have slept just fine on your silky down pillows every night. Your greed and rationalizations are an insult to abused women planetary- wide. Judith, if there is a Hell, I`ll bet you they`re saving you a seat.

Don Dutton, he`s a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia. He has testified for prosecution at O.J.`s pretrial hearing. He also assisted attorneys in the deposition for the civil trial.

Let`s start with O.J. here, Don. Is this about money, celebrity, or does he strangely want to confess?

DON DUTTON, PHD, PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR: I don`t believe he strangely wants to confess. I don`t see any sign of guilt in his psychological makeup. You have to understand that, as a forensic psychologist in this case, I was privy to a lot of information about him through interviews, through psych tests, et cetera.

If he`d felt guilty, I think he would have left the country when this was all over. Bear in mind, Floyd Patterson left the country over just losing a boxing match. All O.J. did was to change states, largely for tax purposes.

BECK: Yes. Do you have any doubt in your mind that he`s guilty? Can you even say that...

DUTTON: In my mind, he`s guilty. The evidence that -- the Bruno Magli shoe print, the blood in his car, the blood on his socks, the fact that even though there...

BECK: Yes, but you have been -- you, again, had access to him, though. So, I mean, what I`m saying -- what I`m saying is you saw what`s in his head. Is he the kind of guy that just -- I mean, cold-blooded killer doesn`t even begin to scratch the surface of this guy.

DUTTON: In my view, he was capable of the type of homicide that happened here. It was an abandonment homicide. His wife was leaving him. He`s very narcissistic. He wasn`t going to put up with that. There was a tremendous rage that followed from it. In my view, that`s what occurred.

BECK: Let`s talk about the psychology of what he`s doing to his kids. What are they going through?

DUTTON: Well, you know, I don`t think that he is all that concerned with the impact of his actions on other people, including his kids. I don`t know what it`s like to be a kid of his and having to deal with all this publicity, but again, all he really did was to change states, and so the glare of publicity is pretty strong. And he`s drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

I think that`s one of the reasons why he wrote this book. The money is obviously another reason, but I think the fact that he`s been out of the limelight so long is troubling to him because he loves the limelight.

BECK: Do you think there`s ever a chance that we finally say, "All right, enough," and nobody pays attention to O.J. Simpson? Do you think there`s ever a chance that he is not on anybody`s radar screen and, if so, what does he then do to get on people`s radar screen?

DUTTON: Well, you know, I think there`s two reasons why he stayed on the radar screen. One is he was in the trial that got the greatest media coverage in the history of all trials. And the second one is there`s a sense of non-closure with this trial, because a lot of people didn`t agree with the verdict, and so it`s kept it alive.

But I think, on the other hand, given what`s happened to the publisher of this book and to Rupert Murdoch, they`ve kind of learned that the old adage, "There`s no such thing as bad publicity," is wrong. There is such a thing as bad publicity. I don`t think anybody`s going to touch it again, and maybe that`s what it`s going to finally take to keep him down.

BECK: What does it say, however, about us? This was number 20 on the bestseller list, hadn`t even been released yet. Some people will get a copy of this book. What does it say about us? We`re still wanting to consume it.

DUTTON: Yes, just the prurient interest, I guess. But, I mean, the thing you have to bear in mind here -- this is speaking more to the people who want to buy the book -- it`s not a confession. It`s a quasi- confession. It`s framed in a hypothetical. I don`t think they`re going to get what they`re looking for.

BECK: OK. Don, thanks a lot.

That is the "Real Story" tonight. If you`d like to read more about this or if you`ve found a real story of your own that you`d like to tell us about, please visit glennbeck.com and click on the "Real Story" button.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. There are two Thanksgiving traditions in my household. One is to eat my own weight in my mother-in-law`s stuffing and the second is to take the family to a movie. And if you`re looking for an action movie this holiday weekend, this is it, "Deja Vu," Denzel Washington. I recently spoke to the producer of "Deja Vu" and other popcorn movies, like "Armageddon" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." His name: Jerry Bruckheimer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Jerry Bruckheimer, what a privilege to meet you, sir.

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER, FILM PRODUCER: Nice to meet you, Glenn. Pleasure.

BECK: I`m just looking at your film credits, and just a few of them, page one of -- I think it`s seven -- "National Treasure," "King Arthur," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Blackhawk Down," "Pearl Harbor," "Remember the Titans," "Gone in 60 Seconds," "Enemy of the State," "Armageddon," "ConAir," "The Rock," "Crimson Tide," it goes on and on and on all the way to "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Top Gun."

Good God in heaven, how many people in Hollywood just hate your guts because you`re hogging all this?

BRUCKHEIMER: It`s terrible, isn`t it?

BECK: It`s amazing! This movie now is -- at least the synopsis that I`ve read of it is kind of, in a way, science fiction, because it involves time travel?

BRUCKHEIMER: Yes, we have a little science fiction there, but it`s science fact, too. I mean, Einstein proved at the turn of 1905, I think it was, that it`s possible to have time travel.

BECK: OK. And so tell me about the movie.

BRUCKHEIMER: Well, Denzel Washington plays an ATF agent who has to investigate a horrendous crime, and the government takes him in on something that`s kind of special that they`ve been working on, and it`s a machine that looks a little into the past.

BECK: OK. Now, I don`t know how much you want to give away. I mean, I would imagine people know there is some sort of terror link. Caviezel plays a bad guy, which is a little odd to see Jesus go bad, but he plays a bad guy, and there`s a terror link.

Let me ask something -- and I`ve got so many questions about Hollywood that you are perfect to answer. One is, if I see another episode of "24" where the terrorist is a white German, I`m going to kill myself. In today`s world -- you know, when we had Clancy movies, we had -- the bad guy was the Russians. How come our terrorists on movies and in television can`t be Muslim extremists?

BRUCKHEIMER: Because you have a problem, you know, like you have with any ethnic group or any kind of race, no matter whether there`s a religion or whether -- it doesn`t matter.

BECK: You`ve got "The Godfather." "The Godfather`s" not played by a bunch of Irish people.

BRUCKHEIMER: But that`s just the way it is, unfortunately. The Germans were always safe. The Nazis were always safe as bad guys.

BECK: Wow.

BRUCKHEIMER: What we did, in "Deja Vu," is we took transcript from the actual bombers, the bombers in this country, and took kind of an amalgamation of their thoughts and their thinking. And when you see Caviezel being interviewed by Denzel, that`s exactly their kind of manifesto.

BECK: So this was really -- and you took it right out of the -- that`s a little frightening.

BRUCKHEIMER: We hired an ATF agent to work with us. He was involved in every major bombing in this country for the last 20 years. He`s the go- to guy to find these bombers, and he worked with us very closely, as we hired a physicist who worked with us, also, to work out the science part of the show.

BECK: You consider yourself a filmmaker or a moviemaker?

BRUCKHEIMER: A little bit of both. You know, film and movies are -- movies, I guess, are big entertainment. Film is more the artistry of it, so we try to do both.

BECK: Yes. You know, you strike me as kind of Spielberg, you know? I like Spielberg, because generally speaking he makes movies. You know, they`re good, they`re beautiful, they`re great, they`re well-done, but they`re good movies, too, you know?

BRUCKHEIMER: Well, that`s a real compliment. He`s an amazing filmmaker...

BECK: Yes.

BRUCKHEIMER: ... and an idol of mine.

BECK: When you try to make a movie, do you think of the person like me who -- I`m just tired, man. I just want to go and I just want to go enjoy myself and have a good time. Or do you feel that people really want to go out and get some meat? Is it an escape, or is it meat?

BRUCKHEIMER: I just think of me. I don`t know what you like; I really don`t. And I want to escape. I want to forget about everything. I want to take an audience on a ride. We say we`re in the transportation business. We transport you to another place and another time. When those lights go down, it`s got to be a mystical place. We`ve got to take everything from you and have you just focus on what`s on that big screen.

BECK: You are one of the few that, generally speaking, most of your movies are PG, right, PG-13?

BRUCKHEIMER: PG and PG-13.

BECK: Why is it -- I have never been able to get anybody to answer this question for me -- why is it that these movies are already edited from R to PG for airplanes, and yet they`ll release the unrated version to make an extra buck, but they won`t go the other way? There are some of us who don`t watch and consume R-rated movies. How come that doesn`t happen?

BRUCKHEIMER: I think it`s more the filmmakers and the studio decide that that`s the way the film should be presented, the way they originally made it, and don`t want to show it another way. I mean, "King Arthur" is an example that went the other way. You had a PG-13 movie in the theaters and released an R version on DVD. Now, believe it or not, the R-rated version did three times the business of the PG-13.

BECK: Did it really?

BRUCKHEIMER: Yes, which is really unusual.

BECK: Jerry Bruckheimer, what a privilege, sir.

BRUCKHEIMER: Thank you so much, Glenn.

BECK: And best of luck.

BRUCKHEIMER: Thank you, sir.

BECK: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The atom blast heard `round the world. North Korea stuns the international community by testing its first nuclear device. North Korea`s Kim Jong Il is a candidate for "Time" magazine`s person of the year.

ROMESH RATNESAR, WORLD EDITOR, "TIME": The testing of a nuclear weapon by North Korea in some ways was the biggest single news event, if you could point to just one event, because not only is that a major disruption of the balance of power in Asia, but it also, I think, has kind of crystallized this larger danger that the world faces from nuclear proliferation.

The real concern with Kim Jong Il is not so much that he would ever use a nuclear weapon but that, as the head of a really desperate, poor, starving country, he would be tempted to sell some of the technology needed to develop weapons to other states that are interested or even to terrorist groups.

ADI IGNATIUS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "TIME": He has continually tied pretty much every other nation in the world in knots, as countries from the U.S. to China to Japan to South Korea try to figure out how to contain the North Korean threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right, let`s get right to the e-mails. First, Al in California. "Please note we are cutting and running from your program." Al, please, get it right. You`re simply instituting a phased redeployment to "King of Queens" reruns. But realize that you are creating a vacuum here on my show that is sure to be filled with evil hatemongers.

Jennifer in Utah has something to say about phased redeployment, as well. "It is unfortunate that it has become such a messy war, but our troops should be allowed to stay the job and finish the job that was started. However, if this was the intended plan of action, then the Democrats need to call a spade a spade and stop mincing their words. It is not a phased redeployment but rather a phased retreat. Please, let`s just end all of the word games."

Jennifer, come on. "Retreat"? Sounds so negative, and it would look terrible on a campaign sign. Maybe we could change it from redeployment to indefinite vacation or constant lack of presence? Either that or we could just put our troops on Congress`s work schedule, show up, fight for a couple weeks or every few months. You know, I`m not a retired general, but I am a thinker.

Joe in Illinois writes in, "I agree. What Kramer said was terrible and inexcusable. I also remember when Ray Nagin of New Orleans said that he would like to bring the chocolate back to his town. Do we have a double standard in this country?"

Joe, no, clearly there`s a double standard right now in this country, when it comes to what you can say and what you can`t say. The funny thing is, when it comes to the n-word, we only need one standard: Don`t say it. White, black, Hispanic, Hawaiian, Canadian, South American, South African, stop it, stop saying it!

Freedom of speech currently gives you the right to say it, but with that being said, don`t say it! Am I being clear enough?

Joanie writes in, "Two men who disrupted Michael Richards` show need to apologize to Richards and the audience. They were obviously acting like a couple of n-words."

Jeez, I just said don`t say it! Joanie, even Michael Richards himself isn`t blaming the audience members. Heckling is a part of doing live comedy, which is one of the reasons it`s quite possibly the most difficult job in entertainment to do. It was his job to handle these people without turning into an insane maniac. Now, he`ll have a nice, long vacation to think about how he can do that.

You can e-mail me at GlennBeck@CNN.com. We`ll see you tomorrow, you sick, twisted freak.

END