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Glenn Beck

Sharpton Weighs in on Imus Settlement; Arab Language School Fatally Flawed Project?; Macon Mayor Express Solidarity with Chavez

Aired August 15, 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, Imus settles with CBS and then is promptly sued by a member of the Rutgers basketball team. Should the I-Man be forgiven once and for all? Reverend Al Sharpton will be here to answer.

Plus, terror cells here in the U.S. A new report says dozens of radical cluster cells are ready to strike at any moment. Just how vulnerable are we to home-grown terror?

And the latest on self-proclaimed pedophile Jack McClellan. We talk about a reformed pedophile on what could be done to stop people like McClellan.

All this and more, tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America. Your long national nightmare is about to begin again. I`m back from vacation. And I think about 10 or 11 pounds heavier. Bu that`s only because I`m retaining water, and cake. So -- but the world didn`t stop being a crazy place while I was gone. We`ve got a lot to catch up on tonight.

For starters, let`s go back to April, when radio host Don Imus got fired for calling the Rutgers women`s basketball team nappy-headed hoes. Here`s the point. Tonight, Imus is back after that racist statement and 20 million dollars richer.

After nearly a four-month vacation/negotiation, Imus has settled with CBS radio. Now it`s not a question of if he`ll return to the airwaves, but when, where, and what he will say next. And here`s how I got there.

After CBS gave Imus the ax, he threatened them with a $120 million lawsuit. And you don`t exactly have to be Judge Judy to know that lawsuits are expensive to fight. So it`s no surprise that CBS settled. They just did the math.

Now Imus is free to go wherever he wants, and I guarantee you there will be no shortage of offers. The bottom line is that Imus will get ratings, and ratings attract advertisers. Advertisers mean money. And now that Imus has made a big new deposit into his savings account, it seems like at least one of the Rutgers basketball players wants to get paid, as well.

Her name is Kia Vaughn. She`s star center for the team. She has filed for a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount against Imus. She`s citing libel, slander, defamation. She resents being labeled an unchaste woman. I didn`t know people used that language today, but I guess they do.

I guess the team also forgot their old plan of taking the high road and being satisfied with an apology once Imus had his big pay day. It`s kind of reassuring to see that not only are today`s college students learning academics and athletics, but they`re also learning the valuable lessons that, in America, lawsuits and lawyers can turn three little words into cold hard cash.

Tonight, here`s what you need to know. Sorry, Kia, the lawsuit is just not going to hold up in court. Don Imus was speaking in parody. And like it or not, that kind of speech is protected in this country.

The Rutgers women`s basketball team may get another 15 minutes of fame, but is that really what you want?

Don Imus will get more than fame; he`ll get money, because he`s going to be back on the air. And he knows many people in America will be listening.

Reverend Al Sharpton led the charge for Imus` firing.

Al, do you feel kind of guilty at all that you got him a $20 million pay day?

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: No, what he got, as you said, he got $20 million pay day based on their contract.

What I think you are wrong is that it looks like Imus is back. There are only three or four companies that could put him in a morning spot that also simulcast. And they`ve been quoted in this morning`s "New York Times", particularly the company he said he was talking to, said, "We haven`t had any conversation at all."

BECK: Yes.

SHARPTON: I think that Mr. Imus will have a hard time getting advertisers and anyone to bring him back. I think that, despite the cheerleading of others, I think he`s way from not coming back.

And I don`t think any company should or will take him until he does settle this lawsuit with this -- the Rutgers girls. He apologized. I`m sorry, Glenn, an apology doesn`t mean just because I say, "Oh, I`m sorry. I know I did it 20 times before. I`m sorry," that that means it`s over with. You have to show you`re sincere.

BECK: I think the guy...

SHARPTON: Just making the apology means that all of a sudden, all is forgotten.

BECK: Brother Sharpton?

SHARPTON: Yes?

BECK: I think the man has shown that he is sincere in this apology. I mean, as much as Imus -- Imus is ever sincere on this kind of stuff.

SHARPTON: Well, first of all, I don`t think that`s up to you or me. I think that`s up to the victims. And I think...

BECK: But sir, I think as a reverend, you would know that that`s up to the lord to check into somebody`s heart.

SHARPTON: The lord would tell you, in any religion, that you have to apologize to who you offended. And if one of the ones that were offended is suing him now, how will you, me or anyone else -- going to say that they should -- oh, no -- not do that, and take the high road. What is the high road?

If they`re saying that they were slandered, they have the right to litigate that, just like he had the right to litigate...

BECK: Should I sue you, sir, for saying I`m not a Christian? You apologize to me.

SHARPTON: First of all, me saying -- no, no, I said I never said that. And therefore...

BECK: OK.

SHARPTON: ... it was understood that I apologized for the misunderstanding. I didn`t say that. So again, you`re trying to take huge leaps and go back on your own word and try to act like I said something I never said.

BECK: Go back on my own word? I don`t think I`ve ever done that with you.

SHARPTON: You said I will take you at your word and talk to you after you talk to the leaders of the church. Now you`re taking that back.

There`s never been a dispute that Imus said it, and he admitted he said it. And that`s what he meant when he said it.

BECK: You are going after -- and I stood shoulder to shoulder with you, Reverend Sharpton, when you were going -- even though I disagree with your tactic -- on people using the "N" word in rap.

SHARPTON: Yes.

BECK: You`re going -- what is your progress on this?

SHARPTON: Very good. We had a -- 22 cities had a vigil last Thursday in front of places in 22 different cities. And have announced that we are using the model that in New York state, State Senator Antoine Thompson, as part of the New York state senate, to actually have pension funds divested for major entertainment companies that have any part of record companies that use the "N" word, "H" word or "B" word.

Many record companies that thought they couldn`t be touched are now facing the loss of billions of dollars in public investments. And many of them now are finding ways to sit down and start discussing this. So we`re making a lot of progress. We have not stopped.

And again, that`s why I can take the same position as Imus, because I have been consistent in what I said I would do across the board.

BECK: I will tell you that you have been consistent on this particular case, Reverend. I -- and let me be consistent. I don`t understand, especially a man of the cloth, how you are targeting money when the real answer here is targeting people`s hearts. How...

SHARPTON: You`re talking about money how? What do you mean?

BECK: You`re targeting the companies, and you`re trying to put pressure on them. And I understand your tactic. You`re putting pressure on them so they will stop putting this kind of -- you know, these lyrics in these rap records, but as long as -- it`s like -- do you agree with the war on drugs? The war on drugs doesn`t -- hang on, Reverend. The war on drugs doesn`t work because people still want drugs.

You`ve got to target and change people`s hearts. Or they`ll get it someplace else.

SHARPTON: You have to do both. You have to lock up those that saturate America with drugs, and you have to change people`s hearts on both sides. You don`t tell law enforcement, don`t arrest people, change their heart. You have to enforce the law and change people`s hearts.

BECK: Will -- will...

SHARPTON: What we`re doing is saying that as consumers, who have pension funds and taxpayers, we`re not going to pay to be called the "N" word...

BECK: Right.

SHARPTON: ... while we try to change people`s hearts about using it. But right now they`re using our moneys that are invested in these companies to desecrate us. So you do both/and, not either/or.

BECK: OK. Reverend, are you going to protest a company that tries to hire Imus or does hire Imus? Or would you let him...

SHARPTON: If a company hires Imus, without him dealing with this lawsuit, and without him dealing with how, since how he was a repeat offender, they have guaranteed advertisers in the public, that he will not continue this, then clearly the National Association of Black Journalists, National Action Network and I would clearly want to protest that.

Clearly, we`ve said from the beginning, the problem with Imus was, this was the end of many atrocities. This wasn`t the beginning. He has the right to work again, but it ought to be established by who hires him, how they will safeguard against that conduct.

Otherwise, we wouldn`t have -- that conduct wouldn`t happen in the first place. But he also must make his peace with the Rutgers team. I said on your show he said they will be the ones to decide how forgiveness is handled. Well, there`s a lawsuit now. And when everyone thought that they would just have a meeting, it was over, and it was fine.

Now when you have one of them saying, wait a minute, I have to say what he does to address this in court. All of a sudden we want to tell them how to deal with penance (ph)? I don`t think that`s fair to them.

BECK: Reverend, always good to talk to you, and glad to have you back on the program.

SHARPTON: Glad you`re back from vacation.

BECK: All right. Coming up, an unfortunate Intifada incident leads to the resignation of a principal in the controversial Arab school. The woman appointed to take her place is Jewish. All better, right? Not so fast. Details in just a minute.

And Hugo Chavez is about to change his country`s constitution so he can rule it for life. Who would have seen this one coming? So why is the mayor of an American city sending this dictator love notes? Seems kind of like a bad idea.

Plus, a good idea may be on legally treacherous ground. Self- proclaimed pedophile Jack McClellan arrested twice this week. The charges may not stick. Details, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Coming up, the new report by the NYPD`s intelligence arm. It seems to indicate that home-grown terror clusters are an active threat to us here in America. Who would have known? You know, the crazy conspiracy guy, or just a thinker? I`m just saying. That`s tonight`s "Real Story" in just a bit.

But first, ding dong, the witch is dead. After an incredible grass roots campaign by concerned parents and New York City taxpayers, the controversial principal of an Arab language school has been forced to resign. But a lot of people, including me, are wondering if that`s enough.

I`ve been telling you about this story from the beginning. This Kahlil Gibran International Academy is an all-Arab language school, and it seems beyond reasonable to point out the numerous glaring and obvious political and religious problems with such a publicly funded institution. We`re talking New York tax dollars here.

The former principal and devout Islamist, Debbie Almontaser, sealed her fate when she supported and sanctioned the sale of T-shirts to young girls that read "Intifada New York". Interesting choice of school uniforms, I guess.

The zealot`s (ph) replacement is Danielle Salzberg. She is a non-Arab speaker who grew up in an orthodox Jewish home. And while that may seem like a radical about-face from her predecessor, it`s important to understand that Salzberg has been involved in the school`s development from the very beginning.

She is a past colleague of the woman who defended the sale of the T- shirts to children, emblazoned with hate speech. How can she be any better? Will the new leader of a fatally flawed institution make any real difference at all?

Even though the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, supports the existence of this school, it seems that, thankfully, the public has finally waken up and thinking straight. Common sense isn`t dead yet in America, it seems.

As of right now the school only has five teachers. It`s 25 percent undersubscribed by students. And an America Online poll, which is highly unscientific, found that over 80 percent of the public unsympathetic to this school. We can only hope that the New York City Board of Education eventually does the right thing and pulls the plug on this fundamentally bad idea.

Pamela Hall is the lead organizer of Stop the Madrasah Coalition, and Elizabeth Green is a reporter for the "New York City Sun".

Pamela, let me start with you. Tell me about the T-shirts. You were the person that actually took a picture of the T-shirts. What is the connection to the T-shirts, to the principal and what was her explanation?

PAMELA HALL, STOP THE MADRASAH COALITION: Well, her explanation was unacceptable, and that`s why she`s gone, which was that it just, Intifada just means shaking off. There`s no violence connected to the word and that we should all learn to understand the word differently and nothing to do with murdering of children in Israel.

And that outrageous explanation revealed what we know about her, that she`s apologist and an Islamist. And we must understand more about what they intend to teach at that school, since they will not reveal the curricula. And that still stays a problem.

BECK: OK. All right. Now you have an Orthodox Jew that is replacing her. What is your problem with her?

HALL: Exactly what you said. She was an associate of Almontaser. She has been with her all along, developing this curricula, hiring the teachers, working with the community that is the Muslim Arab community.

Where is the representation for the Coptic and Maronite and the Sephardic Arab speakers of that region? How are they going to teach about those people? The region is not just Arab speakers who are Muslim.

There`s a lot that has not been answered. And we want it answered.

BECK: Elizabeth, I`ve been following your writing for a while in the "Sun", and I think the "Sun" is just a fantastic newspaper that is doing a great service to this community.

ELIZABETH GREEN, "NEW YORK CITY SUN": Thanks.

BECK: What is the biggest threat that you see from this school? Why should people pay attention to this? Why is this not just another school?

GREEN: The interesting public policy question, I think, is about whether -- about culturally themed schools in general. And this is not the first culturally themed public school in New York City. There`s several others that teach in both Chinese and English, their classes, or another is opening up this year with a Caribbean cultural theme.

So the public policy question is really about whether it`s appropriate for an American public school to focus closely on one specific culture.

BECK: But you haven`t been able to see any of the textbooks. Have you ever had heard anything from the Department of Education? Have they explained what`s going to be taught here?

GREEN: They have. The school is going to have a standard curriculum, just like other schools, except for a few different electives.

I looked at a document, a proposal for the school. It lists the only differences from a regular public school are Arabic language classes.

BECK: OK.

GREEN: And cultural classes like Arab dance, Arab music.

BECK: OK. So, Pam, besides the cultural aspect, which I don`t think they should -- we`re in America. Let`s unite, instead of -- stop separating -- you know, and stop separating ourselves. But besides that argument, Elizabeth just says that she has seen the curricula. What`s missing here?

HALL: Because she hasn`t seen the curricula. We filed our Freedom of Information legal briefs, and they still have not revealed the real legal documents that tell us what they`re actually teaching.

What she read was a document that was released to Stop the Madrasah, which was an executive summary, which was a proposal that was given, and a hypothetical type of instruction that would happen at the school.

They have yet to reveal the real curricula. They just keep telling us it`s a public school, and they will teach according to those guidelines.

But Mayor Bloomberg gives the principal autonomy. She is creating, along with Salzberg and the other associates, they are creating a curricula they will not reveal. And we want to know why are they hiding it, since they were supposed to have revealed it.

BECK: Elizabeth, what I -- what brought my attention to this story months and months ago in the "Sun" was the fact that the former principal, the one that just resigned, would not go on record saying who was responsible for 9/11. Wouldn`t name Hamas or Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

Have you followed up on this new principal? Do you know anything about -- about her on these subjects?

GREEN: The new principal is not talking to the press right now. But we do know that she came from the public school system. She worked there for over ten years. She then worked for a nonprofit called New Visions for Public Schools, which was helping the school get set up.

She -- there`s a lot of new small schools in New York City. And this is one of many new small schools. She`s helped start several schools in the city. That`s what she`s doing now.

BECK: So...

GREEN: I know that her father told me that her politics are liberal. That`s all I know.

BECK: OK. Pam, the -- there`s lots of Muslim clerics that are onboard -- on the board of this school. Right or wrong?

HALL: Very wrong. This is a public school. Where are the academic advisers...

BECK: No, I`m asking, are there Muslim clerics on the board?

HALL: Excuse me. Yes, there are. And it is a religious advisory board that has not been changed. So Salzberg will be advised by the imam. It`s a very imam heavy board. And they will be advising her on how to run this school.

BECK: OK. Thank you very much.

Up next, is America right? Well, believe it or not, the mayor of one town here in the U.S. has declared solidarity with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and he doesn`t think we are. I`ll tell you why this guy is really the mayor of Crazy Town, coming up in just a second.

The U.S. is getting ready to declare Iran`s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. It`s about time, but I`m going to tell you why this is the first step on the road from a Cold War to a hot war. Don`t miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, today Venezuela`s nut job president, Hugo Chavez, announced he`s going to be reforming the constitution, allowing him to be reelected indefinitely. What a surprise. Who would have seen this coming?

This announcement has sent shock waves throughout the western hemisphere, as Fidel Castro fears his title of craziest dictator is now directly threatened.

Don`t worry, Hugo. Somebody down in the town of Macon, Georgia, has your back. He`s the mayor of the town. He`s Mayor Jack Ellis. He has formally reached out now to Chavez with a declaration of solidarity. Because Macon, Georgia, and Venezuela have so much in common?

Georgia state representative Allen Peake doesn`t think that this is the best idea.

Allen, tell me about this mayor. Who is this guy?

ALLEN PEAKE, GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, Glenn, thanks for having me on. I wish I wasn`t here today talking to you about this issue.

We are really disappointed and outraged, actually angry at these comments that -- this declaration of solidarity that Mayor Ellis has with Hugo Chavez. You need to make sure and tell everybody throughout the country that -- that Mayor Ellis does not speak for the vast majority of the good citizens of Macon.

We are outraged. We are angry about what he`s done. And in no way -- in no way, shape, form or fashion support this declaration.

BECK: Tell me who he is, though. Who -- who is this guy, politically? What are his leanings? Is he a -- well, what is he? Who is he?

PEAKE: Well, we`ve grown used to unusual comments from, and actions from him over the past eight years. And fortunately, he`s only got three more months in office and we`ve got a new guy, a new administration.

We`re disappointed that, as a result of his comments, and his declaration of solidarity, that people all over the country are saying, we`re not going to go to Macon, we`re not going to stop by your city, we`re not going to retire there. Let me assure people that Macon is a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to raise a family.

I`m born and raised here, will probably live all my adult life here, will probably die and be buried here. And so it`s a great place to come and visit. Please don`t let the outrageous comments of a mayor who will be out of office in three months keep you from coming to our city.

BECK: A couple of years ago, he went to Africa, and changed his name when he came back. How come I know him as Mayor Ellis and not Hakim Mansour Ellis?

PEAKE: Well, he`s -- his choice of religion is his personal choice, and I respect that. I`m disappointed that he has chosen to go that route as the mayor of our city.

And again, his personal and past life, you know, it`s hard for me to focus on. What I want to make sure people know this declaration of solidarity with Hugo Chavez is an outrage to the people of the community of Macon. We do not agree with him. We are absolutely opposed to this stance.

BECK: How far away are you from Cynthia McKinney? I mean, is there something in the water down there? What is going on in Georgia?

PEAKE: Listen, they -- listen, Glenn, there are great people here in Macon. There -- it`s a great place to live and raise a family. Please do not judge us by the comments...

BECK: I`ve got it. I`m trying to understand -- I`m trying to understand what is happening there. And this guy seems to have a pattern of making some pretty big radical moves like this. And I`m just wondering, what prompted reaching out to Chavez?

PEAKE: Well, I try not to understand what he`s thinking, because it`s so far out there.

BECK: All right.

PEAKE: Let me tell you, silence is -- silence is not an option. Come visit us down in Macon, Georgia. Glad to have you.

BECK: All right. Thank you very much.

More than two dozen clusters of Muslim men have been identified as potential terrorist threats. The only problem is, they`re already here. We`ll have the "Real Story" for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Coming up, everybody`s favorite neighborhood pedophile, Jack McClellan, fresh off not one, but two arrests this week. Now legal experts are thinking they may have trouble keeping him locked up. Great. Details in just a bit.

First, welcome to the "Real Story." The one thing I tried really hard to avoid during my vacation was thinking about how many different ways terrorists can kill us. You know, the beach, sun, violent death doesn`t really go together, at least in my wife`s book. Fortunately, the NYPD was thinking about it, and today they`ve issued a new report that I think was pretty startling.

It came to this conclusion, that the biggest threat to our country is not from another 9/11-style Al Qaeda attack. According to the New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, that was, quote, "an anomaly." No, the "Real Story" is the biggest threat we face is from unremarkable Muslims who have become radicalized while living right here in the United States. Officials claim that there are over two dozen clusters of young Muslims in the Northeast alone that could potentially be on a path to radicalization, and the report itself identifies places like mosques, prisons and cafes that are, quote, "radicalization incubators."

Now, we`ve known this for a while. We`ve known that certain countries in Europe -- England and France come to mind -- are in deep, deep trouble from home-grown extremists. But this report is remarkable, because it`s really one of the first times that people with access to this type of information are ringing the alarm bells here in the United States, as well.

Surprisingly, the findings aren`t sitting too well with many Muslim organizations. The leader of one group called it an "unfortunate stereotyping." To me, the only unfortunate thing is that political correctness has forced us to go this long without being honest about the real threats that we face here in our nation.

Think about this: None of the attempted attacks in England over the last few years, everything from the subway bombings to the liquid explosives on airplanes to the foiled attack just a couple of months ago at the nightclubs, have been planned by a terrorist in an Afghanistan cave. They have been planned by extremists living right there in the U.K. Now, given our Fort Dix situation, the JFK plots that we just broke up, there is absolutely no reason to think that the same hatred isn`t brewing here, as well. Let`s just hope the reports like today means, unlike the British, we`re finally brave enough to face it head-on.

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, counterterrorism expert and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Daveed, tell me about Brian Jenkins. He was the guy who was one of the advisers on this report. Who is he? And what is the significance of his role?

DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, COUNTERTERRORISM EXPERT: Brian Jenkins is a senior adviser to the president of the Rand Corporation. He`s been studying terrorism for about three decades, give or take a few years. He`s a veteran of Vietnam and was out in front in terms of looking at the role of terrorism in the 1970s, in the 1980s, and taking a look at the role of the threat.

He`s also somebody who, in my view, is very sober in his analysis. He`s by no means an alarmist, by no means a polemicist. He`s one of the outside experts who the NYPD drew on in crafting this report, and he also wrote an introduction to the report.

BECK: There`s also so many other things that are going on. All of these dribs and drabs and little pieces, the president said about a year ago, the problem with America is, or Americans, is they don`t look at the - - they look at each individual story as one piece, and they don`t see the lines that tie them together. I see all of these stories that have come out in the last few months and ask, why this one now? This is yet just another piece that should make alarm bells go off in everybody`s gut, shouldn`t it?

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: It`s an important piece. And this is an issue that really people should have been paying attention to a long time ago, because we were very hesitant after 9/11 to look at sort of the ideological roots of the current struggle that we`re experiencing on a global level. We were very hesitant, also, to look at the process of radicalization. And it`s about time that a report came out which studies this in great detail.

BECK: Did you read the report?

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: Yes, I have. I have it right here.

BECK: Did it name mosques?

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: It does not, no.

BECK: Why? Why can`t we know where these hotbeds of radicalization is or are?

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: There are two issues here. One of them is the various clusters of radicalism, which is discussed in the ABC News report. That isn`t put forward in the NYPD report. It said ABC News is relying on other sources for that. The report that the NYPD issued is looking instead at how is it that people become radicalized. It`s looking at the process. It puts forward four stages that are common to the homegrown terrorist plots that...

BECK: And what are they?

(CROSSTALK)

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: The four stages are first pre-radicalization, basically the background that someone comes from. Second is identification, where they start to identify themselves as part of the global Salafi jihad, which is what the focus of the report. The third stage is indoctrination, where people come to see themselves as part of the Salafi movement and also come to see violence as one of the only solutions to the problems of the Muslim community.

The final stage is jihadization, where the people actually come to see themselves as being Mujahedeen or holy warriors. It should be noted that the report says that this process is like a funnel. A lot of the people go in and start this process. Not everyone comes out at the end, at the jihadization stage.

BECK: Daveed, thank you very much. I ask the people of the media, where are you? Where are the "Dateline NBCs" that are following the mosques and looking into our own neighborhoods and finding out if there are predators in our own neighborhoods.

Next, story out today quote senior officials as saying that the Bush administration is getting ready to add Iran`s Revolutionary Guard to the list of official foreign terrorist organizations. This would be an exclusive invite. There are only 42 current members. But if it does happen, it would also mark the first time ever that the United States has added the armed forces of a recognized sovereign government to the list.

The real story? It would also mark something far more important: the first step in public relations campaign for a hot war. I have been telling you for a while now, I don`t believe the president is going to leave office without settling things with Iran one way or another. If you combine that theory of mine with the fact that Benjamin Netanyahu, a guy who sat in this studio and looked me in the eye and said, "Iran`s got to be stopped one way or another," this guy may become the next prime minister of Israel.

If you combine that, you have to acknowledge the potential for a real fight with Iran is greater than it ever has been before. What better way to start laying the groundwork for that possibility than to publicly label this group as terrorists? Not only is it accurate -- they are, after all, killing our troops in Iraq -- but it would also send a message to the entire world that this administration hasn`t forgotten about the policy that brought us to Iraq in the first place called the Bush doctrine.

Bob Baer is an intelligence analyst for Time.com. Bob, I said this to Tony Snow today. I asked him, isn`t this level one of the Bush doctrine? He said, "No, no, no, absolutely not." Do you buy that?

BOB BAER, INTELLIGENCE EXPERT: No. I mean, they can`t advertise it at this point, but it is a precursor for hitting Iran. And I do think, before January 2009, we`re going to hit Iran, no question.

BECK: Before -- are you tying that, like I am, to before Bush leaves office?

BAER: Absolutely. I think you have a lot of forces in play here. You`ve got Israel, you`ve got Netanyahu, you`ve got neoconservatives, you`ve got a security establishment in Washington that wants to hit Iran, and the time to do it is with Bush in office.

BECK: Do you believe it`s a coincidence that this happens at the same time that Netanyahu is starting to really gain power over there? I mean, just like we were talking with the last guest, there`s just a lot of things that are starting to happen, and they all don`t look related, but I think that they are.

BAER: Look, Glenn, the way they`re looking at it is, if we don`t do something about Iran now, Iran will own the Persian Gulf in more than name. Iran is the preeminent force. It`s got a million soldiers under arms. You`ve got the IRGC, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which does have American blood on its hands. And I`m not advocating war. I`m not advocating anything. I`m just giving you the facts. It does have blood on its hands. It blew up the Marines in `83. And I could go through a whole, long litany. And do we want these guys owning southern Iraq? And then you go right down the Arab side of the Gulf.

BECK: Here`s a scary thing, though, Bob. You know and I know -- and we`ve talked about this before -- going into a hot war with Iran, not something that we should eagerly look forward to. This is a very, very dangerous thing, and very bad. For one reason, a grand unified theory, wouldn`t this really be -- aren`t the radical Muslims looking for something that would unite the Muslims worldwide against us, and couldn`t this be it?

BAER: Oh, this would do it: 1.2 Muslims are going to be very angry if we go to war against Iran. It`s not only the Sunni, it`s going to be the Shia. Not only that, Glenn, this is a hobbyhorse I keep on getting up on, but the oil. The Iranians are a very short distance across the Persian Gulf. They can hit the Arab oil sites with missiles, and we`re talking about potentially taking out two-thirds of the world`s reserves. In a hot war, an uncontrolled war, a war that you`d have to ask a military officer whether we could win it easily, but I have my doubts.

BECK: Bob, there was a story today I read in the -- I think it was in the "Times" about Russia. They`re dealing with their own extremists, now Nazi extremists in Russia. They were beheading people on videotapes over the weekend. But Russia seems to be a real ally of Iran, and they`re in bed with oil and everything else. You see this as a strategic move?

BAER: Hey, the Russians, it`s going to be a field day for them. If there`s a war in the Gulf, taking out a certain amount of oil, they become the preeminent producer. They win economically. They undermine the United States. And every day there are crates of Russian arms going into Iran as we speak.

BECK: Does it amaze you how many people around the world just think that we could co-exist with Muslim extremists or that they can use Muslim extremists to their own advantage and then co-exist?

BAER: It`s a short-sighted policy, because there`ve got a large number of Muslims there, but the point is, they want to do as much damage to us as they can in the shortest period of time.

BECK: Bob, thanks a lot.

That`s the "Real Story" tonight. Coming up next, the bad guy in the black hat. Self-confessed pedophile Jack McClellan is on the loose. And is there a chance he can be reformed? In my book, absolutely not, but I`m going to speak to a man who says he was able to overcome his criminal urges after he raped his 3-year-old daughter, coming up next.

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BECK: Something is happening with the economies of the world. And isn`t this something, when you can take this economy and 40 percent of it you don`t know what`s swinging it? Is somebody testing something? What is it? Who is it? Isn`t this the question that somebody should be asking? When they close down the hedge fund in France, that`s not a good sign. When they have to inject $35 billion into our Treasury, just to calm the markets, isn`t this a conversation that we should be having in America? But we`re not, because we`re fat and sassy.

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BECK: Well, I read that admitted pedophile Jack McClellan was arrested twice on Monday. I was both thrilled and terrified. I was thrilled, because this guy off the streets, whether it`s for violating a restraining order or jaywalking, we should all feel safer with this pervert is away from our children and locked up in the cage like the animal that he is.

But I was terrified, at the same time, not only because the arrests are on shaky ground, but this freak is getting more brazen. McClellan is not just talking about his sick sexual fantasies about little girls anymore or writing about them. He`s taking action. He brought a camera to a daycare center filled with 3-month- to 3-year-olds and flaunting it to police.

I don`t know about you, but I feel like I`m watching a tragedy in slow motion. Step by step, inch by inch, this freak is getting closer to fulfilling his potential as a sex offender. It`s like when you`re in a movie theater and you say, "Turn around, the guy`s behind you!" I just pray that authorities do everything in their power to make sure he is permanently taken out of circulation before we`re forced to see that he`s just not making empty threats, this guy is making promises.

Believe it or not, some people believe that molesters can be reformed. I`m not one of them. But here with his unique perspective on this case is Jake Goldenflame, a self-prescribed reformed sex offender who was arrested and convicted of molesting his own 3-year-old daughter.

Jake, tell me about your story, sir.

JAKE GOLDENFLAME, CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER: Well, that was 20, 25 years ago, as a matter of fact. And the judge made the right decision: He decided I should go to prison. And as a matter of fact, that turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me, because, first, I was removed from circulation so I couldn`t harm anybody else. And, secondly, while I was there, the California Department of Corrections made help available to me. They gave me psychologists to see; they gave me a prison chaplain to work with; they gave me correctional officers.

BECK: So you`re cured?

GOLDENFLAME: Well, there`s no such thing as a cure, but you learn how to manage this thing and put it under control. And more importantly -- and this is the most important thing I want to stress -- you come away with an understanding that you are accountable to other people. You can`t just live your life on the basis of what you want. You`re accountable to your community; you`re accountable to its officials. Hopefully you`re accountable to something even higher than that, if you`re a religious person. But you walk away with this conviction that you must be accountable to other people or you`re going to get swept back into the chaos again.

BECK: You know, I understand that you`ve been on Oprah before. I don`t know, is she a fan of yours?

GOLDENFLAME: I wouldn`t use the word fan. I don`t have that relationship with her. I was her guest on a show of hers, yes.

BECK: I`m not. I`m not one. You can make sure that I`m not in that category. Anybody who molests their 3-year-old daughter, one strike and you`re out in my book. You still fantasize about 3-year-olds or 7-year- olds?

GOLDENFLAME: No, as a matter of fact, I never -- this was the thing that shook me up the most. I had a background, Glenn. I really did. I had a background of going after teenage boys. I want to make that clear. That went on for years. I was molested at 13, and like some people who were molested, I became a molester myself. And I went molesting after boys about the same age I was at that time.

BECK: Are you attracted to teenage boys now?

GOLDENFLAME: Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Now, when it happened, then I also went on and molested my daughter. This shook me up, because it made no sense. I couldn`t understand, where did this come from? It was so abhorrent, even to me, that when the judge sentenced me to prison, I was anxious for help. And that`s probably the best way you can be. That way you`ve got a chance of getting it and it will work. Now...

BECK: Hang on. Let me change it here to McClellan before we run out of time.

GOLDENFLAME: Sure. Right.

BECK: Do you -- are you afraid of this guy? Do you think this guy`s going to molest?

GOLDENFLAME: Yes. I think he`s sending us a cry for help. And I definitely think, if that cry for help isn`t answered by giving some help in a secure facility, I think he will act out.

BECK: What kind of cry for help is trying to normalize this kind of behavior? This guy is sending -- he`s a beacon to child molesters and trying to normalize it and make everybody think, "Well, you can just do this and it`s no big deal."

GOLDENFLAME: Well, in these times, if those are your yearnings and your urgings, and you stand up publicly on a blog site like he`s doing and saying, "Hey, everybody, look at me, I think it`s OK to have sex with little 3-year-old girls," that`s a cry for help. You`re asking for attention; you`re asking for a lot of attention. And when you couple that with wrongful behavior by defying a restraining order and going onto the campus of the university to get near a daycare center, you`re making yourself into a clearly perceivable threat. That`s either a cry for help or the next best thing I`ve seen.

BECK: How do I know -- you know, we put this guy away, and he gets the same therapy. How do we know he doesn`t do it again? How do we know? Should you be trusted with my 2-year-old daughter?

GOLDENFLAME: I don`t think they should be around children. That to me is my standard. I think that`s a smart way to go. I think that that`s unquestionably the way to go. On the other hand, the question is, can you be at large in the community without becoming a problem again? There are benchmarks that the pros use.

BECK: OK, Jake, thanks a lot.

Coming up, I`m away for a week, and my clever producers do a story about a guy who wraps his head in duct tape. Funny, sure. The other absurd stories that we may have missed while I was away, back in just a minute.

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BECK: Well, I`m just returning from vacation from the beautiful Pacific Northwest from the past week or so. And I`ve got to tell you, one of the best things about being away from here is that I don`t have to be reminded constantly of how incredibly stupid people can be. I want to show you this aerial shot. Look at this. Tornado damage, right? No, no, actually, more like toilet paper damage. The kids at Cathedral High in Indianapolis, TP`ing the trees, an annual ritual from them. Now, why do they do it, you ask?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just an amazing time and really a bonding experience for us. Just before this, we`d never really come together as a class, and this just really shows what the class of 2008 is really about.

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BECK: Let me remind you, children are the future. Scary, isn`t it? Now, onto Austin, Minnesota, where the local police have developed a groundbreaking new method of cracking down on drunk driving. I want to introduce you now to the talking urinal cake.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remember, drunk driving, over the limit, under arrest. If you`ve been drinking, now`s the time to take aim for a safe ride home.

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BECK: Talking urinal cake. I mean, seriously, think about this. You`re too drunk to know better than to get behind the wheel of a car? I`m sure you`re going to listen to reason when the urinal cake starts to talk to you.

One more story. This one actually made me sorry I wasn`t on the air when it broke yesterday. I want to introduce you to Kasey Kazee, otherwise known as the duct tape bandit. Police nabbed Kazee after he allegedly disguised his identity with duct tape and attempted to rob a Kentucky liquor store. Shockingly, Kazee denies everything.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they call you the duct tape bandit, that`s not you?

KASEY KAZEE, THE ALLEGED DUCT TAPE BANDIT: Look, do I look like a duct tape bandit, baby? I`m not no duct tape bandit, you hear me? Live one-on-one, asking Kentucky, you know this is not me. Now, look, do the math, do the homework, man.

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BECK: I`d wrap my head in duct tape right now, but I`m afraid he already beat me to it. And I think there was a lack of oxygen thing going on with him. Quick update on the story. Kazee has been charged with first-degree robbery. And, believe it or not, he has entered a plea of not guilty.

Don`t forget, if you want to know what`s on tomorrow`s show, or if you`d like my commentary on the abusing and I think ambushing of Mitt Romney last week, sign up for my free daily e-mail newsletter. Do it right now at glennbeck.com. From New York, good night, America.

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