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Glenn Beck
Smugglers Bringing Iraqis Over U.S. Border; New Haven Offers I.D. Card for Illegals; Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Linked to Dog Fighting
Aired July 18, 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, our border in crisis. A new report of a smuggling ring helping Iraqis cross our borders. Gee, who would have seen this coming?
Plus, the quarterback and canines. NFL star Michael Vick indicted for running a gruesome dog fighting ring.
And an Iranian hard line student group enters the video game business. Watch as the Iranian nuclear scientists are kidnapped by the evil U.S. military. What fun.
All this, and more, tonight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BECK: That Michael Vick thing is coming up in a minute. And it is really just -- I don`t even begin to understand it.
Hello, America. I`m your evil, hatemongering, racist, anti-immigrant host. And if you`re somebody who has ever thought that about me, oh, I hope you`re watching tonight, because you`re about to eat your words.
Here`s the point tonight. Right at this very moment, illegal aliens are streaming across our borders and into our neighborhoods, but they`re not all from Mexico. What? They`re not looking for jobs as dishwashers? No. They`re from Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries. What?
If you`re blind -- if you`re blind, you can still see how weak our borders are, and they are putting our lives in danger, and here`s how I got there.
According to a Brian Ross report from ABC News, the FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling ring based in Mexico. Hear that? It`s not some crazy conservative on CNN talking. Huh-uh. This is ABC News and the FBI.
Smugglers are incredibly common along our southern border. There`s nothing alleged about the smugglers, and it`s a beautiful practice. It really is. But this new operation, oh, this is a terrifying wakeup call, America, for anybody here that understands that border security and national security are connected.
It`s not about race. These new smugglers don`t even bother with the Mexican illegals, no, they`re not profitable enough. According to the report, the FBI says this ring is bringing in Iraqis and other Middle Eastern immigrants across the Rio Grande from Mexico.
And you know what? A report from Washington`s joint terrorism task force says they`ve been doing it now for more than a year. Hmm, that`s odd, isn`t it? If you remember, just last week, the Department of Homeland Security said that al Qaeda probably has a fully operational terror cell right here in America. Gee, what a weird coincidence.
Do you remember that little girl from "Poltergeist"? They`re here. I mean, how much clearer can the truth be? And how much slower do we need to speak the truth, Washington, for you to hear it?
According to the FBI report, Iraqi and other Middle Eastern illegals are charged 20 to 25 grand to be smuggled into the United States. Sure. No, that`s poor oppressed immigrants merely looking for dishwashing jobs. The jobs Americans just won`t do. They`ve got 25 grand lying around right now, I`m sure.
I might not be a human trafficker, but I am a thinker, and something tells me that smuggling is probably a cash-only business. And if you ask me, common sense says some of these Middle Eastern types are probably funded by some people who don`t really like us all that much, who will pay any price to get radicals into our country to help destroy us, period, end of story.
So tonight, here`s what you need to know. It is naive, it`s dangerous to think that this was the only smuggling ring specializing in Iraqis, or Middle Eastern people. It`s too easy to get across our border and too lucrative of a business. We need to take swift and decisive action to put the smugglers out of business, for good. If not, we`re inviting our own destruction.
And if you think this is only happening on our southern border, well, why are you so racist? In a minute, I`m going to tell you how crossing illegally from Canada is like a walk in a park and I mean that literally.
Never forget that Islamic extremists have made this very crystal clear they will stop at nothing in their holy war against the west. They have everything to gain, and we have everything to lose.
Ira Mehlman is the media director for FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Ira, I don`t know what to do with all of my hate now. I really don`t. Now I`m supposed to hate a whole other group of people: Iraqis coming across the border.
I -- they say this only happens in the last year. I find that even more terrifying. What happened all of a sudden, if a year ago, Iraqis wanted to come here? Why?
IRA MEHLMAN, MEDIA DIRECTOR, FAIR: Well, first of all, I don`t think it`s only happened in the past year. This has probably been going on for quite some time. And we just don`t know how many people are coming across, where they`re coming from, or what their intent is once they get here.
But basic common sense ought to tell us that al Qaeda isn`t stupid. And if there is a vulnerability, they will find it; they will exploit it. And if that border is open, they will find a way to move people across that border into this country. And unfortunately, we won`t find out until something goes boom and a lot of dead people are on our hands.
And the people who will be to blame are the people in the White House and people in Congress who have simply, for political reasons, not secured our borders.
BECK: It is also naive to think that when they say Iraqis, why is it that we are so blind to what`s going on? We`ll say, oh, look at the Iraqis and other Middle Eastern types.
You don`t think there are Saudis out there that are well-funded enough to spend 25 grand to get them into the country invisibly? Of course. How many Saudis are here, as well?
MEHLMAN: Absolutely. I mean, the operational cost of a terrorist attack is probably quite significant, and $25,000 to get some operatives across the border into the country is a drop in the bucket. And they`re more than happy to spend it.
But you know, the thing is, here we are six years after 9/11. We`ve spent countless billions in the so-called war against terrorism. We`ve shed all sorts of blood in that war. And this government refuses to take the most basic steps to secure this country. Namely, to get that border under control, and to make sure that people simply can`t walk across that border and kill Americans.
BECK: I`m telling you, Ira, it`s darn near criminal. It really is. We have sold the lives of those who have already died fighting in the Middle East for our security, and those lives that will die here on our own soil. We have been sold down the river, and we have sold those lives right -- right from underneath us.
MEHLMAN: That`s correct. And it really is to satisfy the demands of cheap labor interests in this country, demands of the Mexican government to keep that pipeline open, because that`s billions of dollars heading back to Mexico every year.
All this is a very conscious decision on the part of the Bush administration and on the part of Congress. We saw it play out just last month with the debate of the so-called immigration reform bill, where they want them to tie our national security to all sorts of political considerations.
What they ought to be doing is focusing on the business at hand, which is securing this nation, making sure we`re not vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
BECK: All right, Ira, thank you very much.
Now, if you`re looking to jump the border, if you go up to Canada, you don`t even have to jump. Just head to Derby Line. This is in Vermont. It`s a little border town. It doesn`t have guards, doesn`t have gates, doesn`t have anything. We`ve been telling you about this town for a while.
It`s up in the land of Ben and Jerry, where I think they all have ice cream headaches. The border crossing operates on the honor system. And I`m not kidding you. Heaven help us.
Daniel Griswald is the director at the Cato Institute Center for Trade Policy Studies.
Daniel, do me a favor, don`t overstate this. How big is the threat on the northern border?
DANIEL GRISWALD, DIRECTOR, CATO INSTITUTE CENTER FOR TRADE POLICY STUDIES: Well, first, let`s not overstate it. Our Canadian and Mexican allies have cooperated with us quite extraordinarily to keep dangerous people out of North America.
But if you`re looking at border security, we should be at least as concerned about the Canadian border as the Mexican border. It`s twice as long. We have one-tenth the agents on our Canadian border as the Mexican border. And I think the Canadian border is at least as attractive for Islamic radicals to come into the country.
You know, there was a terrorist cell in Toronto of 17 people who were actively planning a terrorist attack that was broken up. You go back to 1999. I mean, the one real terrorist we have caught trying to sneak into the country, Ahmed Ressam, the Millennium Bomber, was caught coming over from British Columbia into upstate Washington. So I think we should look at both borders.
You know, one reason, Glenn, why we`ve been obsessed with the Mexican border. I think the way we`ve used our resources, we seem to be more concerned that somebody will come in to be a janitor, or to pound shingles in a roof than to be a terrorist.
I think Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, is exactly right. If we had the kind of rational immigration reform that I think President Bush was rightly championing last month, our Homeland Security Department could turn its resources on catching the terrorists who want to come into this country and do us harm.
BECK: Our government just has no credibility, and that`s why that -- I mean, if this was 10 years ago, and a president would have stepped up and said exactly what Bush would have said. Ten years ago I think the American people would have said, OK, they`re serious about it. Nobody in America believes them anymore.
And what`s so unfortunate is this has been turned into, for people like me, people have turned us into hatemongering racists and everything else. And I have been saying on the air for years, hello, Canada, as well. Canada as well.
Now you`ve got a town up in Vermont where they share the sewer system and everything else. It`s really literally the honor system. And in Canada, you have Muslim extremist cells up there.
GRISWALD: Yes. We`re apprehending thousands of people a year trying to sneak in from Canada.
But look, we`re not under threat from Mexican terrorism. If we had an immigration reform that allowed peaceful hard-working people to come into the country legally, and do these jobs that yes, there are not enough Americans to do, then we`d know when people are sneaking across, they`re up to no good. We could concentrate our fire power.
Right now, we`ve got the ocean of humanity coming in just to work. And if anything, that creates an underground of smuggling and document fraud that makes it easier for terrorists to come in.
BECK: You and I agree on one thing. I have to disagree with you on there are enough Americans to do the jobs. Unfortunately, Americans won`t, because a lot of Americans have become fat and sassy and lazy, and they`d rather take it from the government. Thanks a lot.
Coming up, Congress can`t fix the broken borders, so Virginia County is taking matters into their own hands. I`ll tell you how they`re cracking down on illegals and the people who hire them.
Plus, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, have you heard this story? Scrambling to save his career. The guy should be behind bars if any of this stuff is true. He`s been indicted for his role in a dog fighting ring, and it`s much worse than that.
And the latest details on the two detained Iranian-Americans who have admitted their roles in a velvet revolution. Don`t miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: Coming up, if you missed any of the heated global warming debate with Robert Kennedy Jr., you`re in luck. The uncut interview in just a bit.
But first, for months I`ve been telling you that this country has been craving leadership on -- well, actually, just about everything. But specifically on illegal immigration.
As the federal government has once again refused to act, it is the towns and the counties who are stepping in to fill the power vacuum. Unfortunately, those towns aren`t exactly united on how to solve the problem, which has kind of created this fun little 21st century civil war thing that we`re doing and doing so well, where one town decides to crack down on illegal aliens while another town, sometimes right next door, provides a sanctuary for them.
For example, Loudoun County, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C., the board of supervisors recently approved a resolution that would limit illegal aliens` ability to use government services and would fine employers who hired them. Thank you.
Meanwhile, just up the street from here, on 995 in New Haven, Connecticut, officials there, led by the venerable John DeStefano, are preparing to hand out the first batch of city I.D. cards to illegal aliens next week.
The card can be used during a traffic stop or to open a bank account, or even at libraries, beaches and parking meters. Life is convenient in New Haven, Connecticut.
Joseph Budzinski -- try not to say Joseph Buttinski -- is a spokesperson for Help Save Loudoun. It`s a citizens group that supports that city`s new resolution. And Brent Wilkes is the national executive director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, who agrees with the New Haven I.D. card plan.
Joseph, let me start with you. Why are you involved? You`re just -- you`re not part of the group. You`re just an ordinary citizen.
JOSEPH BUDZINSKI, HELP SAVE LOUDOUN: We`re a group of grass roots activists, essentially, Glenn. And we`re trying to fix a problem in our community that the federal government isn`t going to fix. And up until recently, it didn`t appear any government was going to fix.
BECK: Well, what was it -- what was the straw that broke the camel`s back for you?
BUDZINSKI: Exactly. It was when I understood what was happening with the citizens that are suffering the worst of the effects of the influx of illegal aliens: namely, the people who have lost their livelihoods because of business that is have been able to undercut wages. And the people whose neighborhoods have been beset by boarding houses that used to be single- family homes.
BECK: OK. Let me go to you, Brent, because what Joseph just said is the people that suffer the most, and you know, what kills me are these people who, you know, would love to be able to let everybody in here illegally. They don`t really ever talk about the compassion of the -- for the illegal alien. And the slavery system that really is going in, because they`re doing jobs that Americans won`t do. And quite honestly, many of these jobs Americans shouldn`t do, nor should Mexican citizens.
But you`re for the I.D. cards. Tell me why, sir.
BRENT A. WILKES, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS: I think it`s a practical solution to a real problem in New Haven. They`ve had incidences where immigrants are being targeted by violent muggers because they know they have to carry cash, because they can`t open up bank accounts.
And this provides them with an I.D. It doesn`t say that they`re legally here. It just lets them open up a bank account. It identifies who they are and now they don`t have to carry cash. So it solves a real problem and doesn`t keep making these folks vulnerable to attack.
BECK: Joseph, you know, that`s a good point that Brent made. Have you seen any attacks on anybody in Loudoun?
BUDZINSKI: No, I sure haven`t. But it sounds like Brent has a good heart. And if that`s the case, then we have some immediate common ground. Because it really is about compassion.
Our group is focused on compassion for the people that are citizens here. But I applaud what he`s doing, if he`s doing it for those reasons.
BECK: Brent, to me, New Haven, this is a sign of a dying city. John DeStefano -- and quite honestly, New Haven has been run into the ground for quite some time. John is just the latest of mayors that have done it to it. Yale has done their part.
You can`t live anywhere near New Haven without making an extraordinary sum of money. My -- my in-laws just bought a condo there. It`s a small condo. Paid almost $250,000, and they work at Yale.
How -- how is it exactly this compassionate to bring these people in? And, quite honestly, you`re calling illegal aliens from all over the country to come to New Haven. How is it compassionate to bring them into a state like Connecticut that is crippling for financial means?
WILKES: Well, I don`t say -- we`re not calling on immigrants to come in illegally. In fact, we support legal immigration to the United States. We just think that the city of New Haven is being practical. They know that they`ve got people that have broken the law. They have come in undocumented.
But that doesn`t mean they have to continue breaking the law in a whole bunch of other areas. And by providing them with this I.D., they`re able to identify themselves when they`re stopped by police. They`re able to participate in other parts of the community without making them prey to violent criminals in the area.
I have to say, in Loudoun County, on the other hand, this is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. Its income is No. 1 in the nation. A lot of the reason why that economy is doing so well is because of the hard work of immigrants who have come into that county. It`s a shame that they can`t make some accommodation to help the folks that are there.
And I understand there`s an issue with overcrowded housing. But they can solve that through creating affordable housing opportunities.
BECK: Joseph, you know, you said earlier that you hadn`t seen any attacks. You know darn well in Loudoun County there have been attacks. And it`s not on illegal immigrants. You`ve got people that are afraid to walk the street in Loudoun County. You`ve got -- you`ve got an old man who was walking a dog that was attacked by an illegal alien.
BUDZINSKI: That`s exactly right. We`ve had citizens that have been reduced to staying inside and just peeking through the curtains at night. So it`s become a transformed community in Eastern Loudoun.
Brent`s correct, Loudoun is very prosperous, but it also has some very diverse areas. Eastern Loudoun is the area that has been most affected by the influx of illegal aliens.
BECK: OK. Guys, thank you very much. Joseph, Brent, appreciate it.
Coming up, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, facing some serious jail time over his alleged role in illegal dog fighting ring. Hanging onto the ball is the least of his problems. I`ll have the "Real Story" in just a second.
Plus, rated "T" for terror. I`ll tell you about the new Iranian video game that packs a little more punch than Pac-Man. Try killing American soldiers. I`ll show you the game when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, been indicted on charges. Did I say ignited? He should be set on fire if that`s the case, if these are true. Related to illegal dog fighting charges.
Allegedly, pit bulls were trained to kill each other, and then the losing pit bulls were put to death. Electrocution, drowning, hanging, gunshots. One dog allegedly taken and just slammed against the floor until it was dead.
The FBI has been investigating since April. They seized 54 dogs from a property owned by Vick.
I don`t know anything about sports at all. I know this guy is a quarterback. That`s it. I know a quarterback is supposed to be a team leader. I know he makes millions of dollars. And he`s allegedly torturing dogs on the side? This really doesn`t sound healthy.
Gene Wong, NFL editor for the "Washington Post".
Gene, this story, when I read the things that were happening to these dogs, whenever you see a kid and they start killing animals, you say, that kid, every psychologist would tell you, that kid is a psycho. What does this tell us about Vick?
GENE WONG, NFL EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": It certainly is very disturbing. I mean, what you mentioned earlier about the execution style, the way the dogs were killed if they didn`t perform well, it certainly is at the very least bothersome. And the abhorrent ways that these dogs were killed.
And Michael Vick has maintained since there was a raid in his -- at that home in April, that he did not live there. It was relatives who lived there. And that he needed to be more cautious in the future, that these relatives were taking advantage of him.
But if you read the indictment, his name is littered throughout it. It`s not just mentioned here and there, which tells you -- there`s really some serious stuff going on, yes.
BECK: In the indictment, is he at all present at any, or is he taking part in any of these executions?
WONG: Well, yes. In fact, in the one section, he allegedly gave about $30,000 worth of cash to some folks who won their dog fight. And then he was alleged to have received a phone call about a dog who did not perform well, and said is it OK if we douse him and electrocute him? And he gave the authority to do so.
BECK: What is -- what is -- what is going on? I mean, first of all, the dog fight thing, I don`t even understand. But, I mean, here`s a guy worth millions of dollars. Is this entertainment? Is it money? What is this?
WONG: It`s entertainment for a lot of these -- I won`t say a lot. For some athletes it`s a form of entertainment. You know, if there`s money involved, so there`s some bravado involved in that. I guess, if you want to say the lowest gladiator aspect of it.
And you know, for Michael Vick, it`s just -- right now the only thing he`s guilty of is poor judgment. And that`s very, very poor judgment. He`s an athlete making $130 million potentially in his contract. He`s a quarterback of the Falcons, a team that has been forecast to do well for many, many years.
And putting himself in this situation is certainly not what the Falcons want, especially with a new coach in place this year. They`ve tried to do their offense around him, and now they`ll be distractions throughout the season. Wherever he goes, every city, it`s going to be, what about the dog fighting?
BECK: Oh, my god.
WONG: It`s not how are we going to beat the Panthers, or how are we going to beat the Saints? You know?
BECK: I don`t -- I don`t think I`ve ever said this. I`ll stand shoulder to shoulder with PETA against -- protesting this guy. There`s no chance that they`re going to let him out of his contract or he`s going to be gone because -- until everything`s proven, right?
WONG: No. Because if that were the case, the NFL Players Association would get involved.
BECK: Right.
WONG: And there would be lawsuits there. No. But there is a stipulation in the NFL bylaws that allows the commissioner to suspend a player even if he`s not found guilty of a crime.
BECK: OK.
WONG: Now, the commissioner has suspended three players this year already for being found guilty of crimes. Pacman Jones has not been found guilty, but he has a long track record.
BECK: Gene, thanks a lot.
WONG: My pleasure.
BECK: We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: Well, welcome to the "Real Story." Last Thursday, I interviewed Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who I had invited on the show because he had called me a traitor to my country for asking honest questions about global warming solutions. Last week, I ran an edited version of that interview because of time constraints and because we had already scheduled another guest in that segment. Tonight, I want to show you the entire thing unedited.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECK: Tell me my stance on global warming.
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: Well, you know, I think what you`ve done is you`ve succeeded in taking a very serious issue and turning it into a clown act by parading people onto your show who are phony scientists...
BECK: OK, this isn`t the question, sir. This isn`t the question, sir. Tell me my stance on global warming.
KENNEDY: Your stance, as I understand it, Glenn, is that you acknowledge that global warming exists, that probably human beings are causing it, although I don`t know if you`ve really made that commitment, and that -- but you don`t understand, you`re not ready to commit to the idea that we need to invest energies or times or entrepreneurial resources in order to solve the problem.
BECK: Wow.
KENNEDY: That`s my understanding of your...
BECK: You know what? You`re going to stop calling me a fascist and stop calling for my execution on this. You`re kind of close. I do believe in global warming. I`m not sure if man is causing it, but I`m willing to listen to that side and be convinced of that. The biggest problem I have is, I`m not convinced that things like the Kyoto treaty are the right answer.
However, sir, I am -- I`ve been asking on the air for a moon shot. Where is the politician, where is the president that will do, like somebody famous in your family said, "We`re going to do this in 10 years, let`s get off of oil?"
KENNEDY: Well, you know, Glenn, you`re saying that now, but what you`ve done on your show, as I`ve said, you`ve turned the issue...
BECK: Is said that.
KENNEDY: Instead of getting serious people to seriously debate this issue on your show -- and there`s incredible scientists out there...
BECK: Yes, and I`ve had several of them on.
KENNEDY: No, you`ve brought people on like Jorn Wanberg (ph) and John Christy and these people from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the American Enterprise Institute without identifying ever to your audience that these people are on the payroll of Exxon and...
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: Sorry, sir, you are incorrect. Every time I have them on, sir, the first question I say is: What is the percentage you get from big oil? So I should, to be fair, ask you, what is the percentage of any kind of funds that you would get or any of these global warming people get from places like the Sierra Club, who is on the other side?
KENNEDY: Well, you know, the Sierra Club is a public interest...
BECK: I mean, you`ve said enough on that. Let`s get to some real meat.
KENNEDY: No, no, Glenn, there`s a very big difference. And this is one of the things that industry tries to confuse, and you as a spokesman for industry are part of that process.
BECK: Not a spokesman for anybody, sir.
KENNEDY: You are part of that process. Yes, you are.
BECK: I`m an American.
KENNEDY: You have consistently made yourself the spokesperson for -- you have read off the talking points of Exxon, American...
BECK: Sir, I am a spokesperson for me.
KENNEDY: OK.
BECK: I am a spokesperson for me.
KENNEDY: Well, let me make this point.
BECK: You can speak for you; I will speak for me; and the corporations can speak for themselves.
KENNEDY: Let me speak then. There is a big difference that you have persistently tried to cloud between public interest groups and for-profit groups that are trying to benefit themselves. And there`s all kinds of public interest groups, but it is a different animal...
BECK: Sure.
KENNEDY: ... than a public interest group that`s trying to increase its own economic benefits by lying to the American people.
BECK: Right, a lot of people will say some of those special interest groups are in it for their own power, sir. So we could argue about that, but does that make it treason? Should I be executed or should I spend prison time for my personal beliefs, sir?
KENNEDY: Well, if you want to ask me what your sentence should be -- and I didn`t call you a traitor. I called Exxon...
BECK: No, you did. You called me a corporate toady, and then later in the speech you said, "All these corporate toadies should be treated as traitors."
KENNEDY: No, no, no, I didn`t say that. Go look at the speech.
BECK: Yes, you did. Would you like me to show it again?
KENNEDY: Anybody can go to YouTube. But let me just say this...
BECK: Let me just show the text.
KENNEDY: No, stop interrupting me and let me talk on...
BECK: With the facts?
KENNEDY: Yes, let me talk on your show. You asked me a question, what your sentence should be. Your sentence should be that you should have to read the IPCC report and from cover to cover. And I know you don`t have -- and I don`t mean this with any particular disrespect, but I don`t believe that you have a long attention span.
BECK: I`m riddled with ADD.
KENNEDY: I understand that, and I sympathize with you, but you really need to read the IPCC report. This is a serious business.
BECK: I understand this.
KENNEDY: It`s the same thing -- you inviting these guys on is the same thing as you inviting the, you know, tobacco scientists on to tell kids that it`s OK to smoke tobacco...
BECK: I`ve never said -- no, sir.
KENNEDY: ... because you don`t believe that smoking -- you haven`t seen the connection, personally, between smoking and cancer. You know what? The danger of global warming is so much more momentous than the danger of cancer from cigarettes, and the science is so much clearer than the connection between cancer and cigarettes, and you have not done the due diligence to educate yourself on that issue.
BECK: I am sorry to say, sir...
KENNEDY: And that is the big problem.
BECK: I am sorry to say, sir...
KENNEDY: And you have this clown act...
BECK: I disagree with you again, sir.
KENNEDY: ... where you are trying to confuse the American public by being a contrarian, by being different, and by mouthing the corporate viewpoint.
BECK: I`m trying to be different? I am trying to ask questions, sir, honest questions. And yet you call me a fascist for asking questions. You, sir -- and I know you`ve probably -- and I mean no disrespect -- probably even have a shorter attention span, because I`m only asking you to read the definition of fascist. What, sir, is the definition of fascist? In your world someone who says, "Wait a minute, slow down, let`s just talk about this before we spend all kinds of money and raise all kinds of taxes for many people who would like to, in the 1970s, put soot on the global -- on the ice caps, on the polar ice caps to melt it because it was global warming." Let`s just slow down, sir.
KENNEDY: I don`t know what you`re talking about, but I will answer your question.
BECK: You should read "Newsweek" magazine.
KENNEDY: Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you a question. You asked me what the definition of fascist is.
BECK: Yes.
KENNEDY: The American Heritage Dictionary defines fascism as the domination of government by corporate power. Benito Mussolini complained that fascism should not be called fascism. He said it should be called corporatism, because it was the merger of state and corporate power. And you are one of the primary -- you, and John Stossel, Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh have made yourselves the primary spokesmen for the domination of corporate power over American government, and that is...
BECK: Sir, I`ve got to tell you -- you know what`s really sad?
KENNEDY: Are you going to let me finish talking?
BECK: No, I`m not, because I`m out of talking. I just want to say something uniting. You know, it`s really sad, Mr. Kennedy, is you and I actually agree on something. You and I agree that corporations have become far too powerful in this country. And if you actually knew me, you would know that I believe that with everything in me. And I speak out about it an awful lot. You and I also...
KENNEDY: Glenn, why don`t you use the power that you have, this enormous power to communicate with the American public...
BECK: Wow, a Kennedy said I have enormous power.
KENNEDY: Instead of being frivolous, instead of being sarcastic, why don`t you listen and have some real scientists on your show, and not these phony corporate-paid scientists. Even if you identify them as corporate, why have them on your show? Why don`t you have the real, mainstream scientists who are doing the real work...
BECK: Because there are actual scientists, sir, no matter how you want to spin it, there are actual, credible scientists that disagree with not global warming, they disagree with some of the steps that people like you are touting.
KENNEDY: Well, you know what?
BECK: And there is nothing more healthy to science than to be able to say to each other, "Hang on just a second. I disagree. How about this idea?" I`m just saying, how do we solve it, sir? That`s all I`m asking.
KENNEDY: Glenn, there are scientists out there who will tell you, who work for the Tobacco Institute, who will tell you that there`s no connection between cancer and cigarettes. We know...
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: I`ve got national scientists that are not working for ExxonMobil. There are scientists out there who have real problems with the solutions.
KENNEDY: The 2,500 top scientists in the world, from 120 nations, have made the following consensus: Global warming exists.
BECK: The IPCC...
KENNEDY: Listen, are you going to let me talk?
BECK: Everybody knows this fact from the movie.
KENNEDY: You invited me on this show. Are you going to allow me to respond?
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: The 2,500 scientists that you`re talking about had to each of them do one page on a specific thing. They did not have a consensus on everything in the report. That`s why some of them had to sue to get their name off of the IPCC report. They don`t all agree on the entire report, just their piece of the report.
KENNEDY: Glenn, read the report.
BECK: I have, sir.
KENNEDY: You`ve admitted -- no, you haven`t.
BECK: Yes, I have.
KENNEDY: OK, the report is clear. Get a real scientist on your show, rather than getting these guys who are just industry thugs and industry shills.
BECK: So it prison or execution for...
KENNEDY: Well, here`s what I think, that you go back to journalism school, number one...
BECK: I didn`t go. I`m not a journalist.
KENNEDY: Right, I can tell that.
BECK: I admit that.
KENNEDY: And, number two, that you read the IPCC report with somebody standing over your shoulder to help with your ADD.
BECK: That`s not the law for treason or that`s not the sentence for treason, but I guess we`re making up new laws in your world. Robert Kennedy, thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BECK: Well, there it is. Now, once again, due to time constraints, I have to take a break. But there are a few problems with that interview, and we`ll examine them when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: All right, if you`re just joining us, we just played the interview that I did last week with RFK Jr. in its exhausting entirety. After watching it, I thought we needed to make a few corrections. And, in fact, I`m going to start with myself.
I said that I had read the entire IPCC report, and actually I have only read the summaries. Part of the reason is because the full-length report hasn`t really been completely released yet, so I don`t know exactly how RFK Jr. got a copy of the new one already. Maybe he found it online, like the new Harry Potter book. And by the way, Bob, if you have read the whole thing, please, don`t give away the ending.
Throughout the interview, RFK Jr. kept saying that I needed to have real scientists on, and he specifically criticized John Christy. This is a perfect example of how the zombie environmentalists vilify any scientist who doesn`t completely agree with them. John Christy is a real scientist, but I`m going to let you decide.
He`s not only Alabama`s state climatologist, he also won the NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, along with a special award from the American Meteorological Society for, quote, "developing a global precise record of the earth`s temperature" and, quote, "fundamentally advancing our ability to monitor the climate," end quote. Oh, oh, and he also just happens to be the former lead author of that IPCC report that Bob seems to be so fond of.
Then, "Junior" also tried to make the case that global warming was more dangerous than cigarette smoking. I don`t know. To me, the projected one billion dead from smoking, you know, by the year 2100 might be slightly scary than the projected seven to 23 inches of ocean rise in that same time. But he also said that his brand of global warming scientists was so much clearer than the tie between cigarettes and cancer. I think he was serious on that, but I`m not sure. The cigarette-cancer link has been around for more than half a century, Bob, I mean, back in the time when the Earth was starting to cool we knew that, which also led then to the global cooling hysteria, which predates the global warming hysteria that you`re part of.
And, finally, since RFK Jr. had previously called me a fascism advocate, I asked him if he knew the definition of the word fascism. He said, quoting the American Heritage Dictionary, it defined fascism as the domination of government by corporations. Well, now, not that I don`t trust him, but we looked it up. Here`s the real definition. Not only is the word "corporation" nowhere to be found, there`s one part that RFK Jr. and others who try to silence the debate should pay particular attention to: quote, "suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship."
All right. Now, let me bring you up to speed on two stories out of Iran. Tonight, state-run television aired a video of two Iranian-Americans who have been detained in Iran since being charged with espionage last May. And on Monday, a hard-line Iranian student group released a video game that lets players attempt to rescue Iranian nuclear experts who have been kidnapped by the evil U.S. military.
So what do the stories have in common? Propaganda. I`ve been telling you for a while our best opportunity for a peaceful resolution in Iran is the people of Iran. And this kind of propaganda, this perception that all Americans are spies and kidnappers is nothing more than an attempt to sway the people and take that opportunity away from us.
Peter Brookes is a senior fellow for national security affairs at the Heritage Foundation. Peter, looking at the video game, it took these people three years to produce their game. Is it possible maybe that the nuclear people are just that inept, as well?
PETER BROOKES, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: We can certainly hope so, but I wouldn`t bet on it. What`s interesting about this group, Glenn, is it`s the same people, the same student group that sponsored the World without Zionism conference, at which Iranian President Ahmadinejad famously said he was going to wipe Israel off the map. So this is a nasty group of folks.
BECK: OK, now these guys are doing this propaganda, and this is to get the kids, but then you also have the propaganda of these, quote, unquote, "American spies."
BROOKES: Right.
BECK: I mean, this is hysterical, because these people work for George Soros, who I think would be more likely to overthrow our government than theirs. There`s no truth to any of this, and, at least that I know of, correct me if I`m wrong.
BROOKES: No, you`re right. You`re right. We`re talking about four people, actually, Glenn. There`s two intellectuals, one journalist, and also a peace activist.
BECK: OK. So do the people -- and this is such a hard question to answer -- do the people over there know this is bull crap? Are they buying into any of this?
BROOKES: I think they do, Glenn. But you know what`s going on that`s not being told is the fact that the harshest crackdown on Iranian people, on the intellectuals, on women, on workers and students is going on right now in Iran. So there is a tremendous crackdown. This Iranian-American angle is only part of that. There`s a domestic audience, and there`s also an international audience.
Ahmadinejad is trying to divert attention from the real problems in Iran. Internationally, he wants to divert us from the nuclear program, and domestically he`s got real economic woes. I mean, most people don`t realize, Glenn, that in Tehran today gasoline is being rationed, and so this is making a lot of people very unhappy. Ahmadinejad has poorly mismanaged the economy, and he`s under a lot of social pressure. So there`s a lot of different angles to this story.
BECK: What happens to these people that have been on TV, and they have basically said they`re American spies? Is this hopefully going to turn into some sort of British thing, where they turn these guys over? Are they going to ask us to turn somebody over in exchange? What happens?
BROOKES: Well, you know, first of all, we are holding at least four or five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, Quds force officers, in Iraq who were involved in aiding Shiite militias, arming and training Shiite militias. And the Iranians very much want them back. They could try to use these poor, innocent Iranian-Americans as pawns, but it could also, at some point, they could turn them over like they did the Brits and act as if they were doing the humanitarian thing, after holding them for quite some time.
BECK: Should we negotiate and trade? I hate to deal with people like this.
BROOKES: No, I don`t think so. I mean, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, we know what they were doing. They should be held. They`re not diplomats like the Iranians said. And these poor, innocent Americans should be released. They are not spies. In fact, most of them are very much for trying to bring Iran and the United States together. They`re more peace activists and very soft on Iran than anything else.
BECK: OK. Peter, thank you very much.
BROOKES: Thanks.
BECK: Coming up in just a second, you`re not going to believe, first, that people were lining up for the iPhone, now they`re lining up for a tote bag. It is amazing what people will wait in line for. You don`t want to miss this. I swear to you, we`ve got video that will blow your mind. I`ll explain in just a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECK: This morning, I`m coming into work, and lines are stretched around the block here in the pouring rain, as Whole Foods supermarkets unveiled a groundbreaking new product guaranteed to revolutionize our way of life. Look at these clowns. Yes, what they unveiled was a shopping bag. Thousands of people waited hours to be one of the lucky few to get this limited-edition $15 designer Anya Hindmarch designer tote bag that proudly reads "I`m not a plastic bag."
Apparently, it`s all the rage in Europe and Asia. And can`t you tell why? Here`s the footage in Taiwan of people actually rioting to get their hands on one of these things. Oh, environmentalism brings the best out in us, doesn`t it? According to Whole Foods, the bags are being sold to raise awareness of why we should use reusable bags instead of those horrible global-warming-inducing plastic bags that environmentalists made us use instead of paper bags a while back. Remember?
I just find this the teeniest bit amusing, because I want you to look at this. Here you have the "I`m not a plastic bag" tote bag, wrapped in, you guessed it, plastic, and now it`s being put inside another plastic bag. So that`s great. When people were asked why while they were standing in line, why do you want one of these bags, the most common answer this morning here in front of this building was, "I like what this bag says about me."
No, and it says a lot about you. It says you`re stupid! You`re stupid enough to wait eight hours in the pouring rain for a canvas bag, you dope. I mean, who am I to judge? I didn`t mean to be -- you know, pass judgment on these idiots who waited in line for an iPhone. Oh, wait, I just did it again. I`m sorry.
I`m afraid that this waiting-in-line trend not really going to go away anytime soon. Nowadays, as far as marketers are concerned, it`s considered a successful product launch unless customers are willing to wait in line for days. So using this logic, I guess the hot-ticket items that we can expect people to be waiting in line for this summer -- how about this one? The hip, cool, must-have, big-ticket item of the summer, it`s called the 5:45 p.m. Amtrak Empire Service from New York Penn Station to Albany. Yes, look at the line. I mean, who knew that Amtrak would be so far ahead of its time with this waiting-on-line phenom that`s happening?
Oh, and by the way, before I forget, those $15 tote bags are now available on eBay for about $150 bucks, or, you know, you could go down to Canal Street, just right downtown here in Manhattan and buy a knockoff for $7.50. Or just go back to the apartment and smoke more hemp, you freak.
From New York, good night, America.
END