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Glenn Beck

Bush Commutes Scooter Libby`s Sentence; Poll Ranks Children Low as Factor for Successful Children; Pork Out of Control in Congress

Aired July 03, 2007 - 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, Scooter Libby celebrates Independence Day a little bit early. President Bush spares Libby 30 months in prison. I`m a conservative that will tell you why this guy should do the time.

Plus, the latest on the U.K. terror attacks. Yet another doctor taken into custody. Is what we`re seeing now the new face of terror?

And, Benoit`s doctor accused of improperly dispensing pain killers and other drugs. Could this have played a role in the wrestler`s murder/suicide?

All of this and more, next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Hello, America.

I fear I may hack off a lot of people who watch this program regularly because as you know, I`m a conservative, but conservatives aren`t going to like this. I want to talk about Scooter Libby and how he is not going to jail. And we`ll start with the point tonight.

Punishment without consistency is not justice. It is bias. But that`s not only unfair; I believe it`s un-American. And here`s how I got there.

First of all, I think we should start with Scooter Libby. Scooter, a guy, a grown man who chooses to go by the name Scooter? I think we should lock him up for that alone.

But more to the point, Scooter Libby may have lived his life in Washington and the life of a Washington elite. But he committed a lowly crime, lying like a kid, blaming his dog for eating his homework.

Libby was tried for his crime. And a jury of his peers said he should go and do the time. But his life of privilege and entitlement got him a real-life "get out of jail free" card.

After President Bush made his decision behind the closed doors of the Oval Office, he issued this following statement, quote, "I respect the jury`s verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive." Really? Wow, that`s great.

Let me ask you this, Mr. President. If I or any other American had been given the same sentence for the same crime, would you have been so quick to get out a big presidential eraser and erase my jail time? I don`t think so.

And by the way, if you truly understand what an excessive sentence is, you should be taking a look at that 11-year prison term handed out for our border agents Ramos and Compean. Oh, wait -- no, hang on. You still refuse to get involved in those cases.

By undermining the judicial process, you have confirmed our worst fears about the beltway boys club yet again. The -- it`s really all about who you know. That`s what gets you off the hook for what you did.

Of course, the Democrats know a political opportunity when they see one. Senator Joe Biden has his own outraged reaction to Bush`s decision. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, that is what you might call tone deaf or brain dead. One of the two. Because seriously, think about it.

Here, when the world is going to hell in a hand basket, when our leadership around the world is literally on the balls of its heels, instead of engaging in any united -- united effort to bring the country together, what does he do? Takes one of the most controversial political stands he can do to enrage the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Unbelievable. Like the Democrats have never done anything like that.

You know what? I should -- I should remind you about six years ago when Bill Clinton was pardoning Marc Rich. Remember Marc Rich, whose wife, Denise, had coincidentally given generously to Clinton`s campaigns and his presidential library? The abuse of executive privilege was just as wrong then as it was now.

So tonight here`s what you need to know. Am I alone in thinking that the truth matters? I can`t put it any simpler than that.

I know that politics is a dirty business in Washington and, sadly, right and wrong are open to interpretation. But not in my book. We have to demand more from our elected leaders than this kind of stuff.

Until we draw the line and say, "no more backroom wheeling and dealing," then this kind of stuff will happen again and again and again. And we`ll continue to not trust our leaders in Washington.

We, the people, took one on the chin yesterday. And it hurts even more coming from the president of the United States. No, in fact, the second president of the United States in a row that has done this kind of stuff.

Jeffrey Toobin is CNN`s senior legal analyst.

Jeffrey, what exactly is the sentence for somebody who`s convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice? Is this sentence out of line?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, it is precisely in line. And, in fact, there are federal sentencing guidelines that restrict a judge to a fairly narrow window for each offense.

When I was a federal prosecutor, one thing the -- the first thing you got on your first day on the job is the chart of federal sentencing guidelines. Each crime gets a number, and each number corresponds to a number of months.

And the number of months is 24 to 30 months for this crime. It`s precisely within the guidelines that are enforced in every single federal court in the country, in every criminal case except this one.

BECK: You know, I have to tell you. I am -- I`m -- I`m so disillusioned with really -- quite honestly, a lot of my own fellow Americans and fellow conservatives who were screaming that it doesn`t matter.

When the Democrats were screaming about Bill Clinton and saying, "Oh, it was a witch hunt." I mean, that`s what the whole vast right-wing conspiracy was. Well, this has nothing to do with what they were even looking for, and this was just a sexual crime.

It`s the same story. Correct me if I`m wrong. Same story, just a different party. And they flipped places.

TOOBIN: And this happens all the time in Washington. The issue is not who`s right and wrong. It`s whose ox is gored.

And here you have a situation where a Republican insider is being taken care of by the president of the United States, his former employer.

And the think that gets me about this is you mentioned Ramos and Compean, the two border security agents, and many people -- many conservatives have been agitating for a pardon.

And the thing that the White House has always said is, "No, no, we have a procedure for that." You go through the pardon attorney in the Justice Department, and you make an application and you have to wait a certain number of years and then we`ll consider a pardon.

Well, those procedures went completely out the window when it came to Scooter Libby. And I am sure that the people who -- who care about Ramos and Compean are out of their minds in furry.

BECK: I know -- I`ve got to tell you, I`m out of my mind that this guy would do -- here it is, a political insider. And you`ve got two border guards, sitting there rotting in jail for 11 years.

TOOBIN: Yes. That`s a long time.

BECK: Jeff, thanks a lot.

Now let`s take a look at the political implications of this decision. Let`s turn to Mike Allen. He`s the chief political correspondent for the Politico.

Mike, this is going to play well with the Republicans, isn`t it?

MIKE ALLEN, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, THE POLITICO: Well, happy Fourth, Glenn. And first of all, I admire you for taking a non-reflexive position. I think you`re right about how it`s going to play with many Republicans, the conservative base.

But, Glenn, this presidential eraser, as you so aptly called it, is going to be very heavy in the packs of Republican `08 presidential candidates, who already must feel laden down with rocks and are calling for the sherpas.

And the fact that the president now is saying that he`s not ruling out the possibility of a full pardon, which would completely wipe away the conviction, as opposed to this commutation, which simply sets aside the sentence.

BECK: This is -- tell me if this is just a trial balloon to see if -- how outraged the American people would be? Because the only thing I could hang my hat on is, well, at least he didn`t erase everything. At least he didn`t take away all of the punishment.

But now he`s saying, "Well, I`m not closing the door on that. I might erase all of it." Why?

ALLEN: Well, this president is not one for trial ballooning, so I frankly doubt that that`s the case.

But, Glenn, as your opening suggested, this opens the door, to use a Jeffrey Toobin legal term, opens the door for Democrats to say, Republicans -- they have a candidate who plays on law and order, but they`re not the law and order party. They will be able to say that Republicans, how can you plan to secure the border if you can`t secure the White House?

Now, what we`re already seeing is Republican candidates not wanting to talk about this. My Politico colleague, Jonathan Martin, was out last night with a former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, who sort of tried to dodge, deflect. He said, "Well, the Clinton administration, they gave out pardons like lollypops."

BECK: I don`t care. I don`t care. I mean, Mike, do you think the average person cares? When these politicians say things like that, do you think they care?

I don`t care if the Clinton administration was setting everybody on fire. It was wrong then; it`s wrong now. Stop trying to say that the other side did it, so what`s the big deal?

The other side is doing it with pork barrel spending now. That`s what Nancy Pelosi is saying: "Well, the Republicans were worse than we are." Who cares?

ALLEN: Right. Now what the White House says is that the president did not consider anything beyond the fact that he thought that this sentence was excessive and that he thought it was wrong.

Other Republicans will tell you, look, if you can`t do what you think is right when you`re at the place in the polls that the president is, how can you? It`s perversely liberating to be at the place in the polls where he is. He doesn`t have to worry about losing anyone else. That he`s -- he`s down to the bottom that he -- that he had with nothing else to lose.

BECK: Mike, thank you very much.

America, will you make a promise? No matter whose side is in this, that you`ll just say the truth matters. Please?

We`ll have much more on this tonight at 8 p.m. on CNN as we continue our weeklong special, "We the People", issues that matter, no matter what side of the aisle you`re on. That`s all this week on CNN. Don`t miss it. It`s coming up.

Now coming up on this show tonight, what is the key to a successful marriage? Apparently, it is not kids. Wait until you see this new study that is revealing some intriguing changes on the way Americas -- Americans view wedded bliss.

Plus, more than half of the suspects arrested in the connection with the terror plot in the U.K. are doctors. Proof that profiling doesn`t work? The changing landscape of terror, or so many Americans think. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: In our continuing series, "We the People", tonight, we look at the state of the American family.

There`s a new national survey by the Pew Research Center that shows, while children still rank as the highest source of personal fulfillment for their parents, having actual kids ranks ninth as a factor in a successful marriage.

Some of the things that the married couples in the survey found more crucial to their marriages` success than having children were good sex, dividing up the chores, and shared tastes and interests.

Now, I don`t know, I may either be old-fashioned, or I`ve gone completely nuts, but I can`t think of anything more important than family and children. We are truly becoming a nation of narcissists, self-involved to the point that we`ve forgotten that family is the very foundation and the building block of a healthy and prospering society.

We are living in a time where disposable values and starter marriages are far too common. Having children is an investment in a relationship. Kids solidify commitment and add meaningful dimension to a marriage and -- what do I know -- to life. If we lose sight of that, then we lose sight of what makes "We the People" so strong.

Cary Funk is a senior researcher with the Pew Center.

Cary, what was higher on the list than children?

CARY FUNK, SENIOR RESEARCHER, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Well, of the nine things that we asked about, actually eight of the nine, or seven were higher.

What was really striking about the finding is actually the changes that we saw over time. A similar survey asked these exact same questions back in 1990, and that`s where we`re seeing the big change, is that fewer people today are saying that children are very important for a successful marriage than said so back in 1990.

BECK: OK. Do you have the other things that were ahead?

FUNK: Yes. Faithfulness was certainly No. 1. And nine out of ten people say that that`s very important for a successful marriage. A good sexual relationship. An adequate income, good housing, shared religious beliefs, tastes and interests in common.

The only thing that was lower in terms of fewer people said that was very important was agreement in politics.

BECK: Wow. And this has changed. Sixty-five percent in 1990 said that children were -- were part of the happy marriage, 65 percent. Now it`s 41 percent?

FUNK: That`s right. And what`s striking about that is that everything else has stayed more or less the same, that there`s been two changes. One is in terms of people -- fewer people saying that children are very important for a successful marriage.

And then kind of a reverse placement in terms of rank order. More people saying that shared household chores are very important for a successful marriage.

BECK: And single moms and out of wedlock birth, that`s becoming more and more popular now? And what did you find on that in the survey?

FUNK: Well, it`s becoming more common. And one of the things we did was take stock of the changes that have gone on in American society for the past 30 or 40 years, and one of them has to do with increasing numbers of unmarried births, births to unmarried women.

And so we asked a number of questions about reaction to these kinds of changes. There certainly is public concern in terms of that. If you ask them, is the increase in unmarried child-bearing a problem, about 7 in 10 say it`s a big problem.

BECK: OK.

FUNK: And then we also asked them to evaluate a lot of these different trends, in terms of whether this is a good thing, a bad thing or doesn`t make much difference for society. And more people say that unmarried child-bearing is a bad thing for society than say that about anything either.

BECK: Cary, thank you very much.

I want to go to Jeff Gardere, who is a clinical psychiatrist.

Jeff, I mean, this is a sign of our narcissism. We say it`s a bad thing. This survey says that we -- you know, moms and dads are important. But you know what? More and more people are becoming single moms, which they`ll say that it`s important for our society but not for them. They got it. They can do it. Not a problem.

Isn`t this a sign of narcissism?

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIST: I believe it is a sign of narcissism. And let me tell you why.

We find that people who are middle and upper-middle class now are saying more and more, "You know what? I don`t need marriage in order to raise a family."

And we do know in order to have a successful marriage, it would be very nice, it would be preferable if we`re able to have a mother and father there.

Now, that`s not to say, Glenn, that people who are raised in single homes don`t do well. But the preference, again, we want to be role models for our children, to show them how men and women do get along, how partners do get along. So I think this is very important.

BECK: You see -- I mean, you see now that people are saying that, you know, well, hey, you know, I can afford a nanny. So we can both work, and they think that that`s OK.

Where a nanny is not a substitute for -- I mean, if you`ve got to work, you`ve got to work and I understand that. But if you`re just doing a nanny because you want to work and, you know, your 1-year-old is sitting at home with a nanny, there`s no substitute for Mom or Dad, is there?

GARDERE: There is no substitute. And the big secret that we`ll let out is that the nannies know that, too. And a lot of the nannies that I know actually try to pull the parents in more. They try to get Mom and especially Mom and Dad involved together with the kids. They don`t want to become the parent.

And I`m afraid to say that a lot of parents do that now, because they trust their nannies to the point of where they leave them completely in charge with the kids.

But the kids are saying to the nannies -- they`re saying to me as a therapist, "Hey, we want Mom and Dad there." There is no substitute.

BECK: What is the -- what is the -- what are the ramifications of this continuing out like this? This is a major shift in the last 15 years. Play this out. What are the ramifications in the next 15 years?

GARDERE: I think what we`re going to see, Glenn, is a society where we take out the term "parents" and put the term "guardians." We`ve already started using that term in foster care. Now we`re using it now with birth families. Guardians. A guardian to a child. And I don`t think that`s really healthy.

Now what ends up happening with these kids, is they learn by the example of the absentee parents, and then they will start putting their kids in the care of the guardians.

BECK: Not only that. Hey, guys, you`re going to be old some day, and guess who`s going to put you in day care? Your kids.

GARDERE: That`s right.

BECK: Coming up, the latest on the U.K. terror investigation. Reports now are coming out that all suspects are in custody, but the profile of the disenfranchised outsider doesn`t exactly fit these guys. Is it time to start changing our strategy on the war on terror?

And, because I can`t always tell you about how we`re all going to die, I`m going to mix it up a little bit. We`re a nation obsessed with competition and food. Our two loves come together in one ridiculous event tomorrow, and everybody lives at the end. I promise. Coming up. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: It`s appropriate we continue our series, "We the People", today with the subject of pork. We`ve got Joey Chestnut on, the hot dog eating champion, is going to be here with us in a minute.

But when you think of pork, you think delicious. Yes, pork, not bad, especially maybe with some cheese fries. Yes, yes. Unfortunately, the pork we`re going to spend some time on here tonight is -- is really the kind that hacks -- hacks you off when you think about the people in D.C. that are thrusting all of their pet projects into something important like, I don`t know, securing our borders or funding our troops.

This Congress pledged a new anti-earmark era. Speaker Pelosi promised a more transparent legislative process. Yes, right. Not so much.

Thomas Schatz, he`s the president of Citizens Against Government Waste.

Thomas, the pork is a little out of control still in Washington, is it not?

THOMAS SCHATZ, PRESIDENT, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: This was supposed to be the most ethical Congress and the most open Congress in history. And the only thing we have, at least in the House, is a list of the members of Congress who have requested these earmarks. Those rules don`t apply in the Senate.

And, of course, about 60 percent of the pork is going to the Democratic majority and 40 percent to the minority Republicans, the reverse of what it was when the Republicans were in charge.

BECK: Is there any way to actually get these guys to stop with the pork? I mean, this is the way they think that, you know, this is what helps get them elected.

SCHATZ: It does, in their minds. Of course, it didn`t help the Republicans last fall when they tried to essentially buy their way with all of the pork, including the Bridge to Nowhere and a lot of other ridiculous projects, like the Teapot Museum in North Carolina.

But taxpayers kind of like this stuff when it appears in their own back yard. And members have kind of learned over time to use it politically to try to convince taxpayers they`re doing something good for them.

BECK: CNN called all of the members of Congress and said, "Tell us about your earmarks. Tell us what you`ve requested."

Only 15 percent of our members of Congress actually called the reporter back here at CNN and said, "OK, you know, it`s either this," or just called back and said, "None of your business." Only 15 percent of the members of Congress. We have that report coming up in about an hour from now.

It`s no more transparent. Is there any way to get these guys to go on record at all?

SCHATZ: They have to be shamed into it. Citizens Against Government Waste has something on its web site on these requests. There`s a lot of people -- are putting pressure on the members to put out their list of requests.

Why shouldn`t we know what they`re asking for? Then you can compare to what they actually got.

And we do know, as has happened in the past, that a lot of these earmarks go to the members of the appropriations committee. And the interior bill, one particular program, Save America`s Treasures, every single earmark, all 43 of them, went to members of the appropriations committee. It`s just unfair.

BECK: Give me -- give me the worst offenders. Do you have them?

SCHATZ: The worst offenders throughout the last ten years have been Senator Stevens of Alaska, Senator Inouye of Hawaii and Senator Byrd of West Virginia. Senator Byrd has long been the king of pork. Senator Stevens became the emperor when he was the chairman of the committee.

The Senate is much worse than the House. These bills have just started going through the House. Now they`re going to go through the Senate, where those rules of transparency don`t even apply.

BECK: OK. Thank you very much.

We`ll have much more in depth look on this topic tonight on CNN. Pork, it`s the other white meat. As we continue our weeklong series, "We the People", a chance for you to get even angrier at the politicians. Yes, good times right ahead. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Coming up a little later on in the program, a guy who gives new meaning to the phrase "top dog." With the Fourth of July just around the corner, what better way to celebrate than by eating four dozen hot dogs. I`ll explain in just a minute.

But first, welcome to "The Real Story." The media`s really worked itself up today, with news that as many as six of the eight suspects under arrest in the U.K. terror investigation are, gasp, doctors. How could that be? I mean, aren`t all terrorists just poor, uneducated villagers, who are angry at the man for keeping them down?

No, actual, media, the real story is that we just haven`t been paying attention. Nothing has changed about the profile of Islamic extremists, except America`s understanding of it. Think about it, the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, he earned a mechanical engineering degree from a U.S. university. Osama bin Laden got the best education possible in Saudi Arabia and he has a degree in civil engineering. Al Zawahiri, al Qaeda`s number two, is described as a brilliant doctor.

And even the 9/11 pilots were western educated. And if you look at the different groups, in fact, let`s look Hezbollah, it`s even more conclusive. A study found that Hezbollah militants were more educated and have a lower poverty rate than the general population. Just a few years ago, President Bush, who I think understands what we`re facing better than most leaders, gave a speech where he said, quote, "we have to fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror."

Man, I don`t think I agree with that. I wish that were true, but it shows even how misguided even our own president is on the root causes of terrorism. After 9/11, the myth that terrorists are all repressed, poverty stricken young men began that was being perpetuated on us was a lie. It was a lie then, and it`s a lie now.

Poverty does not create terrorists. It`s the other way around. Terror and violence cause poverty which then allows these so-called leaders to repress and exploit their people.

The common denominator among terrorists is not their education or their career choice or their age, or their sex or their language that they speak. It is their fascism. It`s their perversion and politicizing of Islam. And it`s their singular focus on destroying everything we stand for.

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, he is from the American Islamic Forum on Democracy. Zuhdi, I mean, blood must have shot out of your eyes when you heard people say, what? They`re all doctors? This is not surprising news.

M. ZUHDI JASSER, AMERICAN ISLAMIC FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY: Right. By the way, happy Fourth.

BECK: Thank you.

JASSER: On U.S. Independence Day, I keep thinking to myself as a physician, these are fascists. The Nazis employed doctors. You said Zawahiri is a physician.

You take Kevorkian and you cross him with Osama bin Laden and you get Zawahiri. The bottom line is at some point it`s our Day of Independence tomorrow. Our forefathers were escaping religious persecution and the anti-Islamists around the Muslim World, we need to start helping them. Because they`re fighting theocracy. They`re fighting autocracy, remember, the Wahhabis and Saudis in the House of Saud send their children to be educated in the Ivy League. They come back still to be autocrats and despots and exert autocratic society. So this is about fascism. It is about control. And when are we going to get it? It`s about political Islam.

BECK: I read something that you wrote just recently comparing it to Groundhog Day. That America is like that Bill Murray movie. Would you explain that?

JASSER: Yeah. Phil Conner finally got out of that cycle of the routine by finally coming to the moral courage to stand up to what he believed in his life and he broke out of that cycle. And every month we see the bombings in London and Spain and Bali before that. And it`s almost like we`re not -- we`re like a physician treating the symptoms, but not looking at the disease.

And the disease is the Islamic state, the dream that the -- that the theocrats and the Islamists have to get the West out of their society and impose their will upon their own people. So at some point, I hope the administration can start to listen to its own verbiage that they want the Iranians and the Saudis to live to their own potential and independence, free of oppression.

BECK: I find it very interesting because the people who are leading this movement, and, you know, they say that it`s, you know, it`s a duty to Allah, you never hear about their children blowing themselves up. For instance, Osama bin Laden has anywhere from 12 to 24 kids. He has got an even two dozen kids. Has any of them ever died in a suicide attack? Have any of them ever been sent off to militant training that you know of?

JASSER: Not that I know of. And that shows you the -- the deep hypocrisy of their movement. When people say it`s about poverty, you know what, the poor people in those societies are simply the weapons, the tools, the soldiers. The imams and the radicals are actually autocrats like the Nazis who are trying to use their people to maintain control.

And if we see, for example, what`s happening economically in Iran, in many ways I see the poor that are impoverished as the answer in that when they finally understand that they`re only going to get freedom through free markets and capitalism and opening up of the economy, that`s actually going to be what frees them from the control of the autocrats.

BECK: Zuhdi, thank you very much.

And happy Independence Day to you as well. Next -- the tragic story of Chris Benoit. He is the WWE wrestler who murdered his wife and child before killing himself, took another turn yesterday, with the arrest of his personal doctor on seven counts of distributing excessive amounts of pain and anxiety medicine -- along with amphetamines to two patients, who have yet to be identified. The U.S. attorney said that Dr. Phil Astin was handing out dangerous drugs, quote, "like candy" and that he`d prescribed over a million doses of steroids, painkillers and anxiety medications in just the last two years.

In addition, "The Smoking Gun" reported today, that Benoit had been prescribed, get this, a 10 month supply of steroids every four weeks, for the last year.

Now while the doctor sure seems to clearly at fault here, the real story is that this is an epidemic. There is an epidemic of abuse involving the prescription drug system in our country.

From instances of drug companies lying about their drugs and how addictive their medicines really are, to patients who doctor-shopping for prescriptions, to pharmacists who either don`t use common sense or aren`t vigilant enough, or doctors who don`t perform adequate evaluations, to the DEA, who is still supposed to regulate all controlled substances. There is plenty of blame to go around.

But I have this question. How is it, in the year 2007, that I can watch live television on an airplane or get real time stock quotes in a diner, yet we don`t have any kind of standard national database to track prescriptions of highly addictive controlled substances? Even the DEA database that tracks the worst of the worst drugs is only in about 33 states right now. It always seems to take a tragic event to promote real change in America, and now we have another one. Just piling on another death. Let`s make advantage of this, shall we?

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the director of Public Citizen`s health research group. Doctor, whose fault is it in this case? You just look at Benoit`s forehead and you`d say this guy is clearly on steroids.

DR. SIDNEY WOLFE, PUBLIC CITIZEN: Well, I think one of the culprits here is the state medical board in Georgia. Two years ago, two years ago in May, the state medical board fined Dr. Astin $500 basically for lying on his application to the medical board. When he applied for re-licensure in 2003, he lied by omitting the fact that he`d been thrown off the staff of a hospital before that in 2001 because of issues of competence or character. That`s what it said.

A good medical board would have seen that as a red flag, bell-ringing and would have started right then, two years ago, an investigation into him in terms of his prescribing practices. There is a nationally kept up to databank that tells anything that`s happened to any doctor in the country in terms of other state medical boards, in terms of being thrown off the staff of hospitals and so forth.

The Georgia medical board fell down when it didn`t really do a better investigation. Because we now know that even before then, before that May 2005 $500 fine for lying about his license that Dr. Astin had, in fact, been engaged in dangerous misprescribing.

So this is one of the culprits, the medical board not doing a good job. The Georgia medical board is sort of fair to middling. We rank the state medical boards every year in terms of serious discipline actions. This was not a serious disciplinary action, even though Dr. Astin lied on his application. So the medical board is responsible. You can say the DEA, had they known that this guy lied on his application, they might have started an investigation back in 2005.

So it is entirely possible that had there been an adequate investigation based on this guy lying about his application in 2003, some of these things would have been averted, as would have been some of the other prescriptions to other people who also were the victims of misprescribing. Let`s not get off -- the victim -- you know, the people -- the victims are obviously into getting more prescriptions for steroids or narcotics or whatever, but they can only get these with a doctor`s signature on it. So the doctor is really the gatekeeper.

BECK: OK. I`ve only got like 20 seconds now and I`ve got like six questions. I don`t know what to -- I don`t know what to ask. I guess it`s just this. So many of us trust doctors when we go in for a prescription. And we trust the doctor to do the right thing. And I think that`s part of the problem that so many people abuse it because they`re like, well, it`s not really drugs. The doctor gave it to me. I mean, they really play on important role. If they drop the ball, we`re in trouble.

WOLFE: They are. Most doctors are quite trustworthy, but some are not. And the ones that aren`t should be brought to attention and disciplined appropriately by state medical boards. Dr. Astin was not. And I think that`s a serious part of the problem here.

BECK: Doctor, thank you very much. That is "The Real Story" tonight.

Coming up, he first shattered the world`s hot dog eating record. Yeah we`re down to this. Now he`s looking to bring the Coveted Mustard Yellow Belt back to America. It`s Independence Day. Look out Kobayashi. Here comes Joey Chestnut. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: For anybody who loves this country, tomorrow is a very important day. It`s not the Fourth of July. It`s our Independence Day. And it`s not about hot dogs and fireworks. It`s about taking a moment to give thanks on how good we`ve got it here. And for the men and women who are serving our country far away from home to maintain this way of life.

Today, some good news on the progress of their sacrifice. The Associated Press reports that Iraqi civilian deaths have dropped to the lowest level since the security operation in Baghdad began. Down 36 percent from just a month ago. I know how tired you must be from reading that stat. Oh, that`s right. Nobody else is reporting it. I wonder why.

We need to be grateful for all of the things that these people do, not just on the big holidays or when there`s a headline to report that nobody does, but every single day. This next story honors one man`s lifetime commitment to our country. He`s been in the military now for more than half his life. He has a beautiful family, lovely home, and an amazing success story.

But he`s put it all on the line for a greater cause.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECK (voice-over): This is Dennis Witte. A dad. A businessman. A soldier. A man with clear priorities.

DENNIS WITTE, SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT, AIR NATIONAL GUARD: I serve my God, I serve my country and I serve my family. And they`re so closely intertwined.

BECK: He joined the Air Force when he was just 19 years old. Twenty years later, he`s still doing it. Now in the reserves as a command chief in the Air National Guard. His story may sound like countless others serving their country. But Dennis Witte is different because he`s a self- made multimillionaire.

WITTE: All right. I think you`re doing just fine.

BECK: He didn`t have to be here. But he is.

WITTE: This is just something that I have to do. I don`t believe I could sit at home knowing what our country is going through and faced with at this point in time, being an able body, physically able to serve and defend our country.

BECK: Dennis is in the restaurant franchise business. He made his first million when he was 38 years old.

WITTE: Business is very good.

BECK: He started with one restaurant in July 2001. Business was booming. He was just about to open his second restaurant and then September 11th.

WITTE: I was -- it`s emotional. I don`t know that it will ever change. I can remember so vividly, I knew. I knew. I knew what it was without question. And I remember looking at my wife and I said, they`ve got to get the fighter jets up because this is an attack.

BECK: Within just a few hours, Dennis had left his new business and his family to serve his country.

WITTE: I dropped everything for everything, really. This is -- this is my country. It`s my country. And it`s my children`s country and it`s your country. And we were under attack.

How`s it going. What`s new?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing.

BECK: It wasn`t the only time Dennis was called to serve his country. In the past year, he was called again. This time to Iraq.

WITTE: It was pretty intense. You know, some long days. Living in tents. Being mortared daily.

BECK: And he says the next time his country calls, he`ll be there again. To protect his country and the ideals of the American dream.

WITTE: Only because of the opportunities in this free country have I been able to accomplish what I have accomplished. And I want my children and their children to have the same opportunities. And I believe it`s my - - it`s my duty to protect that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: What an amazing guy. Dennis was only recently promoted to command chief, which means he won`t be sent beck to Iraq any time soon. But that`s not what he wants. He told me that he is going to volunteer his services so he can do yet another tour in Iraq.

Time to introduce you now to a 16-year-old young man who since the age of six has been saving lives of children all over the world by giving them their most basic necessity, clean water. He`s today`s CNN "Hero."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by. Go ahead, please.

RYAN HRELJAC, FUNDED WELLS: Every day, 6,000 children die. Because they don`t have access to clean water. That`s like 24 full jumbo jets crashing every day of the year. I feel that we shouldn`t live in a world like that.

I was six years old and I was in my grade one classroom. They teacher said there are people that have to walk 10 kilometers to get to a dirty mud hole and I decided to do something about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan told me has he been saving money to put up a well in Africa. And he said he wanted it in a school. The well which Ryan built was the first clean water they ever had.

HRELJAC: I went to Uganda when I was 10. I was pretty excited to go and see what the impact was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan`s well. Funded by Ryan H.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up to that moment, maybe Ryan never knew how much this means. A little boy who had this big dream now look where he is. Not only doing one well, but so many wells. The clean water has reached far and wide.

HRELJAC: When a well is built in a community, the health, it sky rockets. Just to see smiles light up on people`s faces because they have clean water to drink, it`s great to see the impact.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan has changed many, many lives out here. So he is a hero. He is a warrior who made it happen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: The most highly anticipated sporting event of the summer, at least for me, will take place tomorrow in Coney Island. Yes, its the annual Nathan`s hot dog eating contest. Joining me now, the man who shattered the world record by eating 59 3/4 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Joey Chestnut. How are you, sir?

JOEY CHESTNUT, COMPETITIVE EATER: Great to be here.

BECK: When did you know you had a talent for this?

CHESTNUT: I didn`t really know it. My little brother had watched me eat and he knew I was the best eater of all four brothers.

BECK: So you decided I`m going for it, man?

CHESTNUT: He signed me up and I was hooked after that.

BECK: What are you pulling down a year?

CHESTNUT: I think last year I made about 70,000 eating.

BECK: Seventy thousand. Did anybody ever in your family say, get a real job?

CHESTNUT: I work and I go to school.

BECK: Do you?

CHESTNUT: But this is a weekend hobby.

BECK: On the weekends?

CHESTNUT: Yeah.

BECK: What do people make when they`re selling drugs? That`s probably pretty good.

CHESTNUT: It`s pretty decent but my grocery bills are ridiculous.

BECK: They`re pretty high? Now there is - I notice when you`re eating you dunk it in water.

CHESTNUT: Oh, definitely.

BECK: That just makes me gag every time I see it.

CHESTNUT: Well, when everybody eats they drink some kind of liquid, soda or coffee.

BECK: But not together.

CHESTNUT: We`re being smart. We`re -- it`s giving us that .

BECK: Why don`t you just grind it up and drink it like a shake? And you actually told me when we were off that you have to shake yourself a little bit?

CHESTNUT: Yeah. You flex the muscles in your stomach and abdomen to force the food to the lower part of my stomach.

BECK: It`s scientific hot dog eating thing.

CHESTNUT: I`m making use of my body the best that I can. Making use of every capacity.

BECK: Is there a possibility that -- are you for drug testing? Because I understand that that Kobayashi may be using stomach relaxants.

CHESTNUT: I heard that, but I .

BECK: Come on.

CHESTNUT: I don`t know if I believe it.

BECK: Come on.

CHESTNUT: I`m eating the same number as him 100 percent natural. I`d be open to it if anybody wanted to test it.

BECK: Sure. So you`re saying yes, you`d go for drug testing?

CHESTNUT: Yes, I`d go for it.

BECK: Mandatory drug testing?

CHESTNUT: Even if it was a mandatory or voluntary.

BECK: I`m just saying. He`s also injured.

CHESTNUT: So he says. I mean, I can`t go into the contest thinking I`m not competing against him.

BECK: Any tip on how to get it all? Do you just swallow it whole?

CHESTNUT: No, just like you normally eat.

BECK: You just chew it really fast?

CHESTNUT: Just enough to swallow.

BECK: All right, ready?

CHESTNUT: You`re going for it?

BECK: I`m going for it.

CHESTNUT: Yeah, I`m going for it.

BECK: You haven`t eaten in like two days.

CHESTNUT: No.

BECK: You`re hungry? It`s really good. Would you like one? I have a whole plate of them.

CHESTNUT: I`m going to eat 60 tomorrow. I guarantee it.

BECK: Really? You`re eating 60 tomorrow? I`ve got to tell you I think I`d barf after one of these. Don`t forget your last chance to enter to win a free iPhone and two years of service be signing up for my free newsletter ends tomorrow. Get all the details at glennbeck.com. And we`ll see you tomorrow from Utah. Happy Fourth.

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