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Glenn Beck

Is Maliki the Michael Corleone of the Middle East?; Is It OK to be a Single Mom?

Aired November 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: Coming up: President Bush sleeping with the enemy in today`s summit with the Iraqi prime minister.
And Chicago squeezes the Christ out of Christmas. Next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tonight`s episode is brought to you by the first sign of the apocalypse. Now that these three have met, the end is most certainly near. Underpants not included.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Earlier today, President Ahmadinejad wrote a creepy, hair- raising letter to the American people. I believe it is a fulfillment of a prediction that I made on this program with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel is being set up. And I will have the full story on that tomorrow. I need some time to really digest it and present the case to you tomorrow. Do not miss tomorrow`s episode.

Meanwhile, President Bush is in Jordan right now, for a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. Now, I`m sure this summit will be all handshakes and smiles, and nothing good will come out of it. In fact, I believe it will be quite the opposite. Why?

The answer is in the point tonight: while we`re all busy talking to the Corleone family of the Middle East, we are losing. Talking to our enemies is a sign of weakness. Our perceived softness is a big reason why we`re seeing such a dramatic rise in insurgent violence in Iraq.

Now, while our ambassadors are sitting around shooting the breeze, somewhere Michael Corleone is hiding a gun in -- right behind a water tank.

Here`s how I got there. Personally, I don`t think that we can ever negotiate with terrorists or people who want to murder you. Yes, call me crazy. I really don`t think there`s much to talk about with those people. To me, this summit is as pointless as the summit between these two.

I mean, when they were getting together everybody was talking about it. And really, America is only interested in those two getting together, mildly, because they want to know who`s wearing underpants. On this, nothing`s going to happen.

Now let me be clear, I am not saying that the Iraqi prime minister is a terrorist, but I do believe that there is a good shot that he is the puppet of a terrorist, a bad guy.

A key advisor to President Bush is just as dubious as I am. A memo from national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, was leaked to "The New York Times". It was on the front page today. It suggested that, while Prime Minister Maliki preaches unity in Iraq, he may actually have a secret pro- Shia agenda, which would really explain his happy trip to Iran last week.

In the memo, it says, quote, "Reports of non-delivery of services to Sunni areas, intervention by the prime minister`s office to stop military action against Shia and to encourage them against Sunni ones, removal of Iraq`s most effective commanders on a sectarian basis and efforts to ensure Shia majorities in all ministries, when combined with the escalation of Mehdi killings, all suggest a campaign to consolidate Shia power in Baghdad." Wow.

What this means is at best, is Maliki is just weak and totally ignorant of what`s going on around him. At worst, he is under the influence of al-Sadr, who is under the influence of Iran. Reminder: the people who want to destroy us.

I pray that it is just the former, but in my gut, man, it tells me it`s the latter. I could be wrong on this one.

Also today, "The New York Sun" is reporting that the Baker-Hamilton Commission is going to provide some very dangerous advice to the administration. According to the article, the 10-person panel is going to recommend that President Bush pressure Israel to make concessions, in a gambit to entice Syria and Iran to a regional conference on Iraq.

This is a colossal error. This is what Saudi Arabia and the U.N. want. But allow me to make a point here. So do three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

There is only one way out of it Iraq. It`s not through summits, like the one that`s taking place today, or conferences, like the U.N. wants. The only way out of Iraq is through the front door, after we`ve killed all the bad guys at the backdoor.

Now here`s what I know tonight. It is pointless to talk to people who want to kill you. You know, that`s -- that`s why we can`t expect peace from Maliki; he`s a leader who`s in bed, most likely, with radical Islam.

There are Muslim leaders that we can trust, kind of. I think I kind of trust President Musharraf from Pakistan. He`s been OK so far. But there are also those you just can`t afford to trust, and I believe Maliki is most likely in that category.

Now, here`s what I don`t know. I don`t know if President Bush actually believes this guy is a partner for peace. Was this "secret" memo accidentally leaked? Or did President Bush not only know about it but encourage it`s leaking?

If Maliki ain`t it, then who is? Is there a strong Iraqi leader out there who understands the meaning of democracy and freedom?

Cliff May, he`s the president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Is Maliki just weak, or do you think he has an agenda?

CLIFF MAY, PRESIDENT, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: I think he`s mainly weak. I think he has a very acute appreciation of who is lethal and who is powerful. And like a lot of people in the Middle East, he can smell in the wind which way the power is moving, and he wants to make sure he doesn`t get on the wrong side of those who are getting more power.

BECK: I mean, I`m torn here. I hope you`re right in some ways. But the second half of that statement, I just know you`re not. I hope you`re wrong. But I know you`re not. As we get weaker, they just smell it.

MAY: Oh, if we get weaker, it`s all over. What we`ve got to -- I think what Bush needs to impress upon Maliki is, A, we`re not going to abandon you. Americans don`t abandon their friends.

And, B, we`re also not going to give you carte blanche to do anything. Bush needs to prevail on Maliki to say, we have the same enemies. We`re involved in the same war. If we lose this war, it will be disastrous for the United States, and you`ll be dead. So let`s figure out how we win.

BECK: But you know what? He`s standing it alone. We`re going to talk about this. Did you get a chance to read the letter from Ahmadinejad today? I mean, there -- he is setting Israel up. He`s setting us up. He`s setting everybody up to look for peace. And, well, let`s just get together and talk. And as soon as that spreads around the rest of the world, man, this thing is over.

MAY: Ahmadinejad is very much our enemy. The Iranians are rivals with al Qaeda to lead the world militant Islamist resolution against the west. We need to understand that that`s our enemy and it`s more dangerous of our enemies, because Osama bin Laden, if he`s alive, is working out of a cave. And Ahmadinejad has that oil and hopes very soon to have nuclear weapons.

BECK: And everybody is talking about negotiating. Do you think that anything can be had here through negotiation with Syria and Iran? And, you know, what the U.N. and Saudi Arabia want to do?

MAY: Glenn, probably not. But the real question is not whether you negotiate but rather if you negotiate, what do you say? Don`t just talk for the sake of talking. If you talk, what do you offer? And what do you threaten? If you can`t answer those questions, don`t sit down at the table.

BECK: Well, we have no threats.

MAY: We better have threats. If we don`t have threats...

BECK: What? What are our threats, Cliff? Honestly, what are our threats going to be? We`ve been -- we`ve been saying a nuclear North Korea is unacceptable. Well, they`re breaking out the party hats. Where is any threat there?

MAY: We have to -- we have to stop this "Hamlet," "to be or not to be." We have to decide, are we a superpower or are we not? If we are a superpower, we can use military force and will do so if that is the last resort. We have not used force effectively; we have not used violence effectively. We have allowed our enemies to use violence effectively.

BECK: Yes.

MAY: The great example is, we knew when we went into Iraq, Syria and Iran were going to meddle. We`re going to aid and abet those killing Americans. I assume the administration was prepared for that, as anyone. And when that happens, there would be severe consequences. There have been no consequences, other than diplomats saying, "We`re very concerned. If we do this, we can`t be friends." That`s not enough. There have got to be consequences for this kind of behavior.

BECK: You know, and everybody -- at the same time, everybody is saying, this is turning into a civil war. We`ve got to get out.

Does this make -- two questions for you: one, what difference does it make? Colin Powell came out today and said it`s a civil war. Who cares if it`s a civil war?

And two, everybody is saying we should get out if it`s a civil war. Yet, the same people on the left who are saying we should get out here are telling us we should go in and do something about Darfur, which is a civil war.

MAY: Yes. Darfur is a civil war between black Muslims and Arab Muslims. Afghanistan was a civil war between the Taliban on one side and the Northern Alliance on the other. Bosnia and Kosovo, those were civil wars.

Of course, Rwanda was a civil war. Are we very proud of the fact we didn`t get involved there?

BECK: No.

MAY: The fact that it`s a civil war is absolutely -- you`re right -- absolutely meaningless. The question is, what do we do about it? But we have to understand, there are different conflicts taking place simultaneously in Iraq.

One conflict is with -- is between us and the remnants of Saddam`s regime and al Qaeda. We should pursue that, because wherever we find al Qaeda, wherever we find Ba`athists, we should be killing them, frankly.

And the other conflict is between Sunni and Shia. We didn`t create that conflict, and our leaving won`t make that conflict go away.

BECK: Cliff, that is -- they are killing Muslims faster than they`re killing Americans. That`s the bigger of the two conflicts, isn`t it?

MAY: Way by far. In fact it`s kind of odd. Every night we see this violence on the television. It`s mostly militant Islamists killing innocent Iraqis. That`s a terrible thing.

The worst option in response to that seems to me to say, "Let`s get out of the way. Let`s turn the country over to those doing the killing, because they`re the most brutal and, therefore, they deserve to run the place."

BECK: Unbelievable. Cliff, thank you very much for your perspective.

Now as far as strategy goes for Iraq, you know, the debate`s going to continue for all time, it seems. But one little suggestion, I think while we`re still there, hey, let`s make the most of it. What do you say?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Hey, kids, tired of the same old video games promising lots of violence but delivering only sissy computer animated violence? Well, your worries are over. New for 2006, it`s Grand Theft Auto Baghdad.

You`ll get tons and tons and tons of bloody, high-octane action. Flirt with your own mortality. Dodge real car bombs. Risk being torn to little bits by an angry mob. With special effects so real, you can even smell the ashes.

Grand Theft Auto Baghdad. So real, you`ll think it`s real. Oh, it is real? Yikes! I want my mommy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Coming up, the CDC says the number of women choosing to have babies on their own is on the rise, and we`re not talking about teen pregnancy. This is an adult decision. But is it the right one?

Also, returning to the front lines. This time the media is in the crosshairs. Are they being used by the insurgency? No! A startling situation between the Associated Press and the U.S. military you don`t want to miss. And if you go to any other program, you will.

Also, something else on the must-see list. Richard Simmons stops by. Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The nativity is being thrown out of a holiday fair in Chicago. The city said enough is enough with this Christmas stuff. You can celebrate the holiday but not Christmas.

What holiday would you be celebrating? Well, whatever holiday. Just don`t -- no, no, no, no. Not Christmas!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Speaking of Christmas, yesterday on this program we talked about how the 16-year-old unwed actress who plays the Blessed Virgin in the new movie, "The Nativity Story" just announced that she was pregnant. And everybody is, oh, that`s beautiful and special.

Our guest disagreed with me that that it might be just a touch hypocritical. Now comes the news that the Centers for Disease Control reports that a record 37 percent -- 37 percent of all U.S. births in 2005 were to unmarried woman. Even worse, over half of all the births to woman aged 20 to 24 happened now outside of marriage.

To me, the story of a 16-year-old pregnant actress is right in the heart of this epidemic. What kind of message is being sent when we put people like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie up on a pedestal for having kids out of wedlock?

Like it or not, putting pictures of Suri and Shiloh on the cover of magazines only -- not only implies that we`re OK with it; it is that we encourage it.

Christine Whelan, she is the author of "Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women". She wrote the article that I read about in "The New York Post" today, and I was fascinated by it. And I`m so glad that you can join me.

CHRISTINE WHELAN, AUTHOR, "WHY SMART MEN MARRY SMART WOMEN": Thanks so much for having me on.

BECK: Tell me -- let`s start with this. Because there are a lot of people I know, dopes (ph) out there watching the show, going, "What difference does it make? Who are you to tell me that it`s wrong?"

I`m not telling you that it`s wrong. I`m telling you it`s going to destroy our society. Back me up, can you?

WHELAN: It`s true. You know, the -- a lot of people talk about the stars who are having children outside of wedlock. I`m a little less worried about them, but that really obscures the real story, which is that the vast majority of these women are from low socioeconomic backgrounds and less educated backgrounds. This a real problem. It`s a problem of the highest social order and not one that we should gloss over by just looking at the celebrities.

BECK: Right. And this is not something that we should be looking -- I mean, I`m not coming to this as a religious guy. I`m coming to this as an American and, honestly, somebody who is just so stinking fed up with men being marginalized in our society. Where, yes, well, you got a dad. You don`t have a dad. It doesn`t really matter. It does, just as much as having a mom in the house matters.

WHELAN: It`s true. You know, children who grow up in married two- parent households have the best advantages, both social and economic. And cohabitation is on the rise. So about half of these women who are having children outside of wedlock are living with the partner or the husband or father of their child.

But this is not necessarily a good thing. These cohabitation unions are notoriously unstable. So I really think we should -- we should move away from looking at that and look at the fact that very few of these people end up marrying and a lot of these couples split before the child is even 1 year old.

BECK: OK. Now when -- as I was getting ready for this interview today, one of the researchers came to me and said, "Glenn, I`ve got to tell you, what about Kate Hudson? What about Kate Hudson? She was -- she grew up in a stable relationship. You don`t have to get married."

Do you have anything to -- do you have anything to combat that idea?

WHELAN: Certainly, I mean, these cohabitation relationships really are, for the most part, unstable. And again, they`re also for the most part with people who are in the lower education brackets.

If you look at women with graduate degrees, only nine percent of the births are to unmarried women, compared to more than 53 percent to women who have less than a high school degree. So again, the stars aren`t really a good example, but they`re not setting a good norm for our society either.

BECK: Right. What is the -- what is the percentage, or how much of a percentage or how much of a role does it play, the women who are educated and everything else? And they say, "You know, I`m just having me a baby." And they go out and they just make a baby. Well, I mean, that`s a little simplistic. But you know what I mean. I don`t think I need to do the math for you.

WHELAN: The media does like to focus on the idea of the 37-year-old high-achieving women who decides no man is coming along and goes to a sperm bank and has a child.

BECK: Right.

WHELAN: But this is a tiny fraction of the unmarried births. Really, again, what we`re looking at is not these women, but we should be looking at so many women for whom having being a single mom is a norm in their culture. And again, this is really a social program of the highest order that we need to look at and really take seriously.

BECK: What is the -- what`s the cause here? Is it the devaluing of men in our society? Is it the lack of any kind of shame in our society? Is it what?

WHELAN: That`s a very good question. We`re looking at the causes right now. And sociologists are very much trying to sort it out. But I think the thing to look at is that it`s not necessarily just the economic things that a child needs. But all sorts of other good influences, both male and female, in a child`s life.

BECK: Great. Thank you very much, Christine.

WHELAN: Thank you.

BECK: Families really do make a difference. And I hope someday we get a hold of that. We`ll be back in a minute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Lock the doors, hide the children, because yes, Virginia, Christmas is already here. Luckily, Glenn has just the recipe you need for keeping Santa at bay until Christmas Eve. Find out how by going to CNN.com/podcasts or iTunes. Then download Glenn`s podcast, "Sick, Twisted Freak."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Every day you can hear my radio program on stations all across the nation, including 1510 WALC in Nashville, Tennessee. And if you can`t find an affiliate in your area, you can just sign up and listen online at my web site, GlennBeck.com.

Roe Conn, WLS-890 AM in Chicago.

What the heck is wrong with you in Chicago, Roe?

ROE CONN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This town is out of control, Glenn.

BECK: I mean, it`s -- I mean, look behind you. It looks like Christmas behind you.

CONN: Well, it is. But here`s the deal...

BECK: A Seattle Christmas.

CONN: We are doing -- we`re getting a big snow tomorrow. So it`s going to be very Christmassy.

BECK: I wish I lived in Chicago for that snow.

CONN: They have a big Christmas festival going on in downtown Chicago right now, called Kriskindle Market. It`s sort of like one of those German European Christmas markets where they`re selling little tsochkes for Christmas.

Well, here`s the deal. They signed a sponsor. You know, in America you can`t do anything without a sponsor.

BECK: Sure.

CONN: My daughter has a sponsor. Just -- you know, she walks up and down her college campus. They signed New Line Cinema and this new movie, "The Nativity Story".

Well, now the city of Chicago said to the Kriskindle Market, because it`s on public property, "You know, we`re a little uncomfortable with your sponsor. Because your sponsor, it`s a little too Christian, a little too religious for us. So can you drop the sponsor?" Because what they were going to do is show clips from the movie on video screens around this market.

Now, check me if I`m wrong here, Glenn, but aren`t we at war in Afghanistan with the Taliban because they don`t want to put up with religious differentiation? Isn`t that the deal?

BECK: I don`t know. I think it would be too politically incorrect for me to speak my mind on this Christmas issue.

CONN: Yes.

BECK: You know, I have to tell you. I just saw -- we`re showing the footage while you were yapping. And I`m looking at the footage in Chicago. And it`s -- it`s pine, you know, swags; it`s red and white. It`s freaking Christmas. It has Christ in the first part of the name of the holiday.

How is it that this is offensive to people? If you`re really offended by Christmas -- if you`re offended by this -- I`m just looking at this footage again. It`s amazing. If you`re offended by it, we`re doomed. We are doomed.

CONN: Well, that`s the thing. I mean, when you walk down the streets, the whole reason, and I go back to Afghanistan, because it really is a very illustrative point. That we are sitting here fighting the Taliban. And the reason we are -- that we`re offended by the Taliban is because they were restricting people`s religious rights.

BECK: Right.

CONN: Now, we`re not saying that the United States government is supporting or the government or the city of Chicago is supporting Christmas or Christians over Jews or Muslims or anybody else. All they`re doing is celebrating something that`s coming up at the end of December. That`s really all it is.

Beck: So I really don`t get it. Who -- who have you ever seen that has been at a mall or anything like this that all of a sudden collapses on the ground and says, "I can`t go on. It`s this Christ thing."

CONN: You know what? If you are offended by this, join al Qaeda. That is my point. If you`re offended by somebody else having another point of view, having another religion, if it`s not yours, fine, that`s OK. Don`t go to the Christmas market if you don`t want to go to it.

BECK: Right.

CONN: But if you`re offended, you`ve got a mental problem.

BECK: Why -- why are you going to this market in the first place if you`re not going to get a holiday -- holiday gifts?

CONN: Maybe for some holiday treats. Maybe they`re hungry.

BECK: Sure.

CONN: Did you see what Wal-Mart did? Actually, they put Christmas back into their promotional stuff.

BECK: Yes.

CONN: Because last year they took it.

BECK: I know. What a -- what a surprise. As sales go down, they`re like, hey, maybe we should get back on the Christmas bandwagon.

More in a second. Thanks, Roe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Today, the big news is that President Ahmadinejad from Iran has released a letter directly to you, the noble American people. But the real story is this is just the beginning of a prediction I made on this program just days after we aired our special on Islamic extremism.

I believe that the world is at a pivot point. And, unfortunately, everything in me tells me we are beginning to pivot against Israel. Tomorrow, it is so important that you don`t miss this. I`m going to explain to you, not only what President Ahmadinejad said, but what he meant, and what he really means, more importantly, what it means to you.

I`m going to spend about a full hour on the radio on this tomorrow, and we will also cover it here in a condensed form on the TV program. Please, don`t miss tomorrow`s episodes of the GLENN BECK program.

Next, so many of us have become desensitized to all of the horrible news that seems to come out of Iraq almost daily now. But last Friday, a story that broke -- I think managed to shock everybody. I remember I read it this weekend, and I was freaking out. It was really gruesome.

According to Associated Press, Shiite insurgents grabbed six Sunni men who were leaving their mosque, then doused them with kerosene and then burned them alive. The insurgents then burned down four mosques and killed 12 more people.

Did you read that story? The story was reported to the Associated Press by Captain Jamil Hussein of the Iraqi police department. This guy has been the source of information for many of the most shockingly violent stories from Iraq over the last year.

Let me give you a few of them. Here`s one that was published by the Associated Press on April 30th. "In yesterday`s worst violence, the bodies of six handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured men were found in a Baghdad neighborhood of Doura, said police captain Jamil Hussein."

Or this one. This is from the A.P. on May 27th. "Violence resumed Saturday, as a bomb in a parked car exploded near a busy bus station, killing at least four civilians and wounding seven, said police captain Jamil Hussein."

These stories are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Captain Hussein. We counted 16 in the last six months. But the common denominator is they are all depicting some of the most horrific violence out there.

But the real story is: None of these events may have actually even happened, because Captain Hussein may not even exist. According to this program`s contact at the Iraq Joint Operations Center, Lieutenant Michael Dean, the Iraqi government has no knowledge of this person even being employed as a Baghdad police officer or as an official at the ministry of information.

In addition, the military has said that neither the police nor the coalition forces have received any reports about six people being burned to death, and they could confirm that only one mosque was burned, not four. I know, details, details.

But the A.P. has decided to stand by most of their original story, saying that the, you know, reporter has personally met with Captain Hussein in a police station. In response to that, before this program went on the air, the military sent another statement to us, saying that the official spokesman of the Iraqi ministry of information will lead off his next press conference with a statement saying that, if that man even does exist, he has absolutely no official capacity.

Now, aside from the obvious problem of major news outlets using -- shall we say -- questionable sources, there`s a bigger issue at play. The media, both in Iraq and here in the U.S., is one of our most powerful weapons, and it is a weapon that is in the hands of our enemies.

In fact, it was Al Qaeda terrorist al-Zawahiri who said that more than half of the battle that is taking place right now is taking place, quote, "in the battlefield of the media." It was also al-Zawahiri who said that we ran from Vietnam and that Al Qaeda should be prepared for when we run from Iraq.

Now, given that, would it really be surprising if Al Qaeda and others are feeding erroneous stories to our reporters? Of course not. And that means stories like the one about the burning bodies aren`t just reporting about the war. They are part of the war. They are the propaganda that our enemy is fighting with.

And, unfortunately, they are winning in that battle. They are getting these stories right into our newspapers and onto our television shows. I`m a rodeo clown. Can we get a journalist to follow this story, please?

Just like Vietnam, they`re using the same tactic. That is taking away the greatest weapon that we have in our arsenal, and that is our resolve to fight and win.

Robert Pollock, he is an member of the editorial board of the "Wall Street Journal." He`s been to Iraq four times to cover the war.

Robert, this is not just a problem -- I don`t mean to hang the A.P. out there. This is a problem with everybody in Iraq, isn`t it?

ROBERT POLLOCK, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": It`s a problem with a lot of reporters. Look, I mean, there`s no question that the reporting in Iraq is difficult and it`s dangerous. But there are a lot of reporters who are biased, and there are a lot of reporters who don`t do a very good job paying attention to the biases of the people they deal with.

That could be some of their Iraqi sources; that could also be some of their Iraqi employees. I know a lot of media organizations in Iraq have had a problem employing stringers; that is, local Iraqis to go out and get stories, who have ties, for example, to the former regime and are very sympathetic to it.

BECK: Right. Now, I have talked to several soldiers in just the last six, eight months. And they have told me that, quite honestly, they`re a little PO`d at the media because they say, "Well, the media just sits around in the Green Zone. When there`s something, then they call, and then they sneak a quick peak at it, et cetera, et cetera."

I mean, I`m not a journalist, but I got to tell you, I would be staying in the Green Zone, too. It is a very unsafe situation. But their point is well-taken. The journalists, for the most part, they`re not seeing these things firsthand. They are not out there and really witnessing it firsthand, true or false?

POLLOCK: Well, it depends a lot on which journalist you`re dealing with. There are some very good and very courageous journalists in Iraq, but there are some who do pretty much sit in their Green Zone or in their compound. And for that reason, their view of the situation is very limited.

And, again, I want to go back to this issue of the local Iraqi employees that they often send out to get the man-on-the-street quote or go to the scene of the latest car bombing or whatever. You know, a lot of these people, again, have links to the Sunni side in this conflict, to the former regime.

And this was a regime that, as we all know, was very skilled at disinformation and propaganda.

BECK: So how aware are you as a journalist, or, you know, in your role, how aware are you that there is a very good shot that our own media sources are being used against us? Do you sit around -- do you talk about this at all? I mean, are the general journalistic rooms sitting around saying, "You know, gosh, are we being used here?"

POLLOCK: Well, sure. And, look, I mean, in all reporting, whether it`s in Iraq or in the United States, you`re dealing often with people who are trying to spin you. And part of being a reporter is having a good baloney detector. You need to apply that just as much on the ground in Iraq as would you in, say, in dealing with the White House. And that`s one of the unfortunate things about the situation is you find a lot of reporters who are very skeptical when they hear the administration say something, who don`t apply very much skepticism when they hear somebody like the alleged Captain Jamil Hussein say something.

BECK: I am so glad that -- thank you. Thank you for finally saying that. I am so sick of our journalists who look inside our country for the enemy before they`re willing to look outside for our enemy. They really think that the people -- and I`m not saying everybody in the White House or Congress or anything else are clean, because they ain`t. But they`re more willing to see a bigger enemy with inside our White House or Capitol building than overseas, from the people who are saying, "By the way, I`m coming next week to kill you."

POLLOCK: Yes, that`s very unfortunate. And I think we`re seeing another example of this in the rush of many major news organizations to start labeling the conflict there a, quote, unquote, "civil war." Look, nobody can deny that the sectarian violence is very bad, but any reasonable definition of civil war would have to sort of contain as a baseline two militarily strong factions with popular support, and you don`t see that in Iraq right now.

BECK: OK, Robert, thank you very much. And that is the "Real Story" tonight. And if you`d like to read more about this or if you found a real story of your own that you`d like to tell us about it, please go to glennbeck.com and click on the "Real Story" button.

And tomorrow on "The Real Story," we are going to take a closer look at a report that was just out saying that the Islamic Shiara (sic) law is gaining an increasing foothold in Britain. I`m going to show you exactly what Shiara (sic) law really means when it comes to crime and punishment. We have exclusive video of an interview with a Saudi executioner. Here is a quick preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Do you cut off hands, or do you just do beheadings?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, yes. I carry out the punishment of cutting off thieves` hands, as well as the cutting off of a hand and a leg on alternate sides, as is written in the Koran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The rest of the interview, honestly, will make your blood run cold. Hopefully you`ll finally begin to understand what we are facing and what many of the Islamic radicals that live here in our own country want to bring here to our own country. That`s tomorrow. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: They`re lighting the tree here at Rockefeller Center tonight.

RICHARD SIMMONS, FITNESS EXPERT: So I had to walk here. I did. I signed some autographs; I took some pictures.

BECK: Wait a minute.

SIMMONS: I waved at people.

BECK: So now you`re saying to me...

SIMMONS: I sang a few holiday songs. "Just hear those sleigh bells ringing and jing, jing, jingling, too," stuff like that.

BECK: Do you know you`re wearing shorts and they`re lighting the Christmas tree tonight?

SIMMONS: Let me ask you a question: I feel like I`m doing an interview in prison. I don`t know if any of the listeners know this, but the king, Mr. Beck, is in a beautiful studio with art deco, beautiful paintings, and I`m in another room.

BECK: But you have an art deco painting right there.

SIMMONS: That`s Tamara deLempicka. I love her. But I`m in another room, like I`m in prison for something, and you`re Barbara Walters, and you`ve come to see why I killed my four children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: You know, my weight has been up and down my entire life. My physique usually goes somewhere between "pear" and "manatee," which is why I`m always happy when fitness guru Richard Simmons stops by to chat.

Now, our recent visit, I asked him what he was doing to stop the spread of childhood obesity, something he feels passionately about. And here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: You are actually trying to spread the word on obesity with children. I saw some new stats that -- what is it? In the last 25 years, obesity rates for children have more than doubled. And it`s because -- I mean, I turn on TV today, people lined up to buy the new PlayStation, and I see all of these fat lumps sitting there going, "Yes"...

SIMMONS: Well, don`t use the word "fat lumps." We don`t like that.

BECK: All right. That was negative.

SIMMONS: The problem is our children are obese and getting obese. Our children have no physical activity. I have decided that my crusade for the rest of my life is to bring P.E. back in the school system as mandatory curriculum.

BECK: Oh, I didn`t like P.E.

SIMMONS: But it`s not P.E. like you think. It`s not sports. Think of this. Thousands of people go -- what are you laughing for?

BECK: Because you do watch the show. You`re like, "It`s not sports, Glenn. It`s all right."

SIMMONS: No, it`s not, because, you know, thousands of people watch a football game. How many people actually play the game? That`s the analogy I want you to think of.

Some people are into sports; some are not. When I was in school at 200 pounds, who got picked for sports? Thirty-six years, I`ve been teaching. I had my exercise studio in Beverly Hills called "Slimmons" 36 years. I have children, I have teenagers, I have women, I have men.

And I found out that these schools, when the No Child Left Behind law came about, these schools had to let go of P.E., art, health, reading, math, science, because our children will compete for jobs with children all over the world.

BECK: Right.

SIMMONS: So I have created a program. I talked to Tony Snow, who got me sort of an introduction to the president. I have talked to Senator Bill Frist, who is very fit and wants it back.

Here`s my idea: There are over 250,000 certified aerobic instructors in the United States. I want to hire these instructors to go to the schools, with the money of the PTA, the school board, wherever I can get it. They`ll be taking cardio. They`ll be taking strength training and stretching, all fun with their own music, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, all of the hot music that they spend lots of money on and listen to their iPods.

I`m going to -- and I`ve done this in certain schools, and it`s been unbelievable. I`ve been doing a lot of work with the school board. I leave here tomorrow to do the Hartford, Connecticut, school board. And I`m trying to get the word out.

So I`ve created a questionnaire that`s called, "Richard Simmons Ask America." And I want your listeners to fill it out. You are a parent. You have two small kids. Now, you can afford the richest schools you want.

BECK: You have never seen my paycheck. You don`t know what this dump is paying me.

SIMMONS: Well, let`s move to a different subject.

(LAUGHTER)

The majority of people cannot...

BECK: Yes, yes.

SIMMONS: ... afford to send their kids to a Gymboree or some place fancy, OK? Many of these kids economically have hardly no money with their parents.

BECK: Let me stop you here. What do you say to -- I mean, because my biggest problem is that...

SIMMONS: Don`t upset me now.

BECK: No, no, I won`t. I promise. I promise. My biggest problem is, too many of us as parents don`t say, "Go outside and play. Go out and run."

SIMMONS: Who wants to go outside with all the shootings? Who wants to take...

BECK: Oh, come on.

SIMMONS: No, seriously. Either one parent works, or both parents works. The kids come home mainly to an empty house and a freezer full of pizza. They go on their computer and the PlayStation. The only place this can happen, Glenn, is in the school system.

BECK: That`s sad.

SIMMONS: It is sad. But I`m going to collect 250,000 questionnaires. I want your listeners to go to RichardSimmons.com, and right there on my home page is the questionnaire. It will take you no more than two minutes to fill it out.

BECK: Parents fill it out or kids fill it out?

SIMMONS: Parents, teachers, superintendents, principals, anyone in the school system. And I`ve gotten -- I did the "Today" show this morning. You can`t believe how many questionnaires came in...

BECK: I believe it.

SIMMONS: ... many from kids telling me exactly what I want to hear. They want cardio; they want funk; they want kick-boxing; they want toning. Why can`t they do the same things that we`re doing to get fit?

BECK: OK. OK. Richard, always a pleasure, sir. Thank you very much.

SIMMONS: Thank you.

BECK: God bless you. Bye-bye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: All right. Now, don`t forget, our Christmas comedy stage tour kicks off this weekend with two sold-out shows in Salt Lake City. Then it`s off to Denver, Omaha, Akron, Worcester, Toledo, Oklahoma City, those are the cities that still have tickets available. And if you think your family is messed up, I mean, you wait until you hear the stories about my family at Christmastime. Honestly, you`re going to come out feeling like you live in a Norman Rockwell painting where you grew up.

If you want a great night out, it is family-friendly, it is a lot of laughs, and you are going to feel the spirit of Christmas. You`re going to walk out feeling great. Make sure you join us. Check out glennbeck.com and see the full schedule and reserve your seats right now. Back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, let`s get right to the e-mail. Heather writes in, "Glenn, I saw on the Drudge Report that Danny DeVito may have been drunk on `The View` this morning. Being the kind of alcoholics" -- I mean, that`s not right -- "what do you think?"

Well, if you want my opinion, judging by the constant word slur-a-thon he put together, I`d say, "Yes. It looked like he picked up his face off the tile floor of the bathroom bar about 12 seconds before he walked onto the set." But, really, there is only one scientific way to tell, and that`s by playing our new fabulous game show, "Guess Who`s Drunk?"

Yes. We finally had to retire Mel Gibson, our returning champion of 15 weeks. And tonight, we have three new contestants. First up: Danny DeVito from "The View" this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DEVITO, ACTOR: What -- what -- what -- what -- what...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Great effort by DeVito. I`d give it a 1.6 on the breathalyzer scale. But our next contestant is a bumbling talk show host. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: It measures how many viewers age 2 years and older...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Shockingly completely sober there, if you believe it.

And our third contestant is being interviewed by Judy Woodruff on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As a matter of fact, Hamas, whom everyone criticizes, the fact is that Hamas, since August of 2004, has not committed a single act of terrorism that cost an Israeli life, not a single one.

JUDY WOODRUFF, PBS HOST: I think many Americans would be surprised.

CARTER: I know they would be surprised, but it`s an actual fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Amazingly enough, I was surprised that Carter wasn`t drunk. I`m trying to fine the line he`s walking here, even though those are ridiculous qualifications in October `04. Two Israeli children were killed by rockets fired by Hamas. A women was killed in July `05 by a rocket fired by Hamas and al-Aqsa.

I don`t know what Carter is trying to do here, but this is an American president trying to downplay the violence of Hamas when, just three weeks ago, James, their militant wing called on Muslims all around the globe to attack American targets. Three weeks ago.

And even if they were terror-free for two whole years, who cares? The KKK hasn`t been hanging black people for a while. Should we start electing them to Congress? O.J. Simpson hasn`t killed a white woman in at least a dozen years. I wonder if he`s available to take my daughter to the prom?

Is the world upside-down and turning against Israel? The answer is yes. I`ll explain tomorrow when we go into depth with President Ahmadinejad. Don`t miss tomorrow`s episode.

END