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Glenn Beck

Mexican President Critiques U.S. Border Policy; Does Fred Thompson Have the Right Stuff?; Arabic School Opens Despite Protests

Aired September 04, 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, Mexican President Calderon attacks U.S. border policy. Really? I think the president of Mexico needs to buy himself a map.

Plus, Fred Thompson on the eve of his long-awaited presidential announcement. Does he have a fire in the belly to get to the White House? Lazy like a fox.

And actor Owen Wilson now out of the hospital after a reported suicide attempt. We`ll take a look at what it takes to overcome an addiction.

All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America. Or if Mexican Felipe Calderon had his way, I guess I would be saying, "Hola, Mex-America."

Over the weekend, Mexico`s el presidente, had some words for it that made blood shoot out of my eyes. Here`s the point tonight.

Hey, President Calderon, shut the pie hole. And here`s how I got here.

I can`t believe I actually have to say this, but it is America, 2007. So what the heck. Just so there`s no misunderstanding. I am not anti- immigrant. I`m not prejudiced against Mexicans or anybody else. Immigrants built this country. I honor their contribution.

Now, look, it`s 2007. Not 1937. Different time, different world. No longer faced with European refugees fleeing the Nazis. Our immigration problem, courteous -- is courtesy of the half million Mexicans that illegally cross the border every single year. Key word: illegally.

In a speech this past Sunday, Mexico`s President Calderon said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELIPE CALDERON, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: (speaking Spanish)

GRAPHIC: In the name of the government of Mexico, I again issue an energetic protest against the unilateral measures taken by the Congress and the United States government that exacerbate the persecution and the vexing treatment against undocumented Mexican workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Oh, he`s getting tough there. Did you notice he started with "in the name of the government of Mexico." Ooh, I`m frightened now.

By the way, President, why don`t we -- why don`t we stop with the little name game here? Undocumented workers, while that`s cute and clever, they`re illegal aliens, period.

Secondly, our immigration measures are unilateral because, oh, crap, it`s our damn country! We don`t need a second opinion, especially from Mexico.

Then Calderon said, quote, "Mexico does not stop at its borders. Wherever there is a Mexican there is Mexico." Oh, my goodness. Wrong again, my amigo. Mexico does stop at the border. And if you don`t believe me, we put together this little map here. There it is. See this little red line right there? Yes, it`s kind of squiggly. That`s what we like to call a border.

The place above it is where they have cable TV, water you can drink and a place everybody wants to live. That`s called the United States. The place below that red line, that`s your country. That`s where people can`t leave fast enough, including your own family. Yes. That`s Mexico.

So tonight, America, here`s what you need to know. Politically incorrect or not, the simple fact remains, Mexico and America currently are separate nations. I don`t care if there`s 12 million Mexicans here or 112 million. They go through the steps to stay and work here in this country legally, or they get the hell out. Every undocumented worker is an illegal immigrant, a criminal and a drain on our dwindling resources.

Make no mistake about it. Mexico`s president doesn`t really care about Mexicans being persecuted by the big bad green ghost. All he cares about is money. Illegal Mexicans here in the United States send $20 billion back to Mexico`s economy every single year. For those who don`t speak English that`s mucho dinero.

President Calderon talks a good game about protecting rights and the principles of his countrymen, but that`s bull crapo. Felipe Calderon is a lazy president and worthless leader. If he wasn`t, he`d spend more time improving his country than bad mouthing ours. Then maybe Mexico`s leading export would stop being Mexicans, comprende?

Ted Poe is a Republican congressman from Texas.

Congressman, where am I -- where am I wrong with this? I mean, let`s start with this speech over the weekend. It`s incredible that he wants Congress and the president to stop with unilateral decisions on what we do on our border.

REP. TED POE (R), TEXAS: His comments are really outrageous. You know, Mexico is colonizing the United States. President Calderon is encouraging his people to come to the United States because he can`t take care of them.

And then he has the arrogance to say that we shouldn`t close our borders for people who are coming here illegally. A very unfortunate statement. But we don`t need to ask his permission to close our borders, to build a fence or anything else, whether he likes it or not.

BECK: What did it tell you that, when he said this, he got a standing ovation?

POE: It tells me, he is supported, obviously, by the Mexican people. And part of the problem is, with illegals who come into the United States, they are not immigrants in the sense that they want to become Americans. They want to stay Mexicans. They are loyal to Mexico, loyal to that government. So loyal, they send their money back to that country. They`re just working here. They`re not part of this nation, as far as becoming American.

BECK: Tell me a little bit about the trucks. I`ve been on the radio show. I`ve been getting calls for weeks now about these trucks that are now able to cross the American border. And they`re Mexican trucks, and they can go as far as they want. It`s no longer the 20-mile limit.

When you look at these trucks, Bush didn`t want to do this. Clinton didn`t want to do this. He was forced to do this by a NAFTA tribunal. Am I wrong?

POE: That`s my understanding, as well. The House of Representatives has passed legislation, although it hasn`t gone to the Senate yet, to prohibit this from taking place.

In spite of that, the Transportation Department, our Transportation Department, is letting 100 Mexican trucking companies bring their cargos into the United States, no longer offload within 20 miles of the border but go anywhere they wish. And we`re talking about trucks that are overweight, bad maintenance, poor safety records and maybe drivers who can`t read a street sign.

BECK: I have to tell you this, Congressman. I have a researcher working on this right now for the radio show tomorrow, on who this tribunal is. Who is telling our president that we have to allow these trucks in? Who is it that said you have to do exactly what`s in NAFTA?

Clinton didn`t want to do it. Bush didn`t want to do it. And in 2001, he was instructed you had to. By whom?

POE: Well, my understanding, it`s a tribunal made up of judges from other parts of the world making this decision for the United States.

BECK: But isn`t that exactly what we`re talking about? I -- I`m called crazy every time I say we`re losing our sovereignty. Isn`t this exactly -- I mean, an example of our losing our sovereignty?

POE: No question about it. The United States should make decisions for the United States. We shouldn`t be looking to any other country to make decisions for us or to interpret our own treaties. And apparently, that`s what we`ve done.

I personally disagree, though, whether NAFTA says that or not. My interpretation we can prohibit those trucks...

BECK: Do whatever the hell we want.

POE: ... if we want to.

BECK: Let me ask you this on the D.A. test and the ICE memo that was released, I think, last month that was just a clarification and said you`re going to get hefty fines if you have hired illegal aliens, and we`re coming in to get them.

Now the Chamber of Commerce and these unions are starting to come in and say, "Hey, you can`t do this, because this hurts big business."

Isn`t this the time that the American people need to shut these special interest groups down just as hard as they did with Congress? I mean, Congress needs help. If you guys and the president and ICE and DHS are going to go after these guys, the American people have to stand up and tell the Chamber of Commerce and these unions, "You shut the pie hole now. Let them enforce the law."

POE: No question about it. As you mentioned earlier, it`s all about money. And the Chambers of Commerce in the United States seem to promote illegal immigrants in the United States. They don`t want businesses prosecuted, because these businesses make money.

If it`s against the law to hire these people, I think we should go after the businesses. You see some of these CEOs carted off to jail, they`ll quit hiring illegals.

BECK: Good, good. Thank you very much, Congressman.

And we will have more on the truck situation on tomorrow`s program.

Now, I want to remind you once again about the men I consider to be the nation`s first political prisoners, former U.S. border agents Compean, Ramos and Gilmer Hernandez, all serving long sentences in federal prisons for the crime of, yes, doing their job. It is time these men got justice that they truly deserve. It`s time for them to be released.

Coming up, Fred Thompson is ready to announce his run for the White House. Some critics are questioning his resolve. Does Fred Thompson have what it takes to make a difference?

Plus, China has reportedly hacked into our Pentagon computers. Sure, the lack of security a little scary. But the idea that China is not frightened to mess with us is even scarier. Don`t miss tonight`s "Real Story".

And Owen Wilson may be out of the hospital, but just a small victory in the recovery process. The No. 1 question I hear from people is, "Glenn, what`s it going to take to keep people clean and sober?" Oh, I`ll give you the answer you don`t want to hear, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: So John Edwards wants mandatory doctor visits. You would be required to get, by the government, to get a doctor`s visit every year. Wow.

John, let me ask you this question. You`re against the government listening into calls originating from suspected terrorists overseas, right? Because you believe it`s a violation of privacy? But you have no problem forcing Americans living here to undergo a prostate exam. That`s just OK with you?

What government bureaucracy is -- is going to be set up to monitor my butt check? Which one?

GRAPHIC: Department of Internal Affairs

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Coming up, there`s a new report that says the Chinese hacked into the Pentagon`s computer system last June. Of course, China denying it. But did they really pull off the most successful cyber attack in U.S. history? Details in just a bit.

First, Fred Thompson. Undeniably presidential, isn`t he? Not only is he a former senator, but an imposing 6`6" with plenty of swagger. Good old boy charm. He was an actor. He seems right out of central casting, which I think is why Hollywood loves him in the movies but not necessarily in the White House.

Here`s the thing. After months of testing the waters and dancing around the issue, he`s been dragging his boot heels when it comes to actually committing to being the candidate for the job until this week. The cover story in the current "Newsweek" some have suggested Thompson is lazy and lacks the fire in the belly to mount an aggressive campaign. And the way the 2008 election is shaping up, the need to be aggressive is kind of an understatement.

Too bad elections, you know, aren`t really won like acting roles, you know. They don`t just give you the job because you look the part.

But let`s look at the big picture here with Fred Thompson, if we will. Fred Thompson, as a senator, had some legitimate experience inside the belly of the beast. He left the job disillusioned. To me, that`s a bonus. I don`t trust guys who drink too much of the D.C. Kool-Aid.

Thompson also has been out in the real world for a while, as much as you can count Los Angeles as the real world. So that gives him somewhat perspective. Bottom line, I love a break from the usual suspects. I don`t know about you. And I like the idea of another actor in the White House. After all, the last time we tried it, it seemed almost, oh, I don`t know, perfect.

Jonathan Martin is a senior political writer at "The Politico".

Jonathan, fire in the belly. Does this guy have the fire in the belly?

JONATHAN MARTIN, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, "THE POLITICO": Glenn, it`s great to be here. Thanks for having me. There`s no question that the sort of narrative that is already set in here about Thompson is what you`ve mentioned. Does he have that fire, does he want to go and do the countless fundraising phone calls, the never-ending chicken dinners and the sort of dawn to dusk campaigning that you`ve got to do to win the nomination and then win the presidency?

There are some folks who say that he doesn`t have it in him. But Glenn, his people say just because this is a small-town guy from rural Tennessee, and he`s got a certain smile about him does not mean that he`s not very...

BECK: Here`s -- there`s two differences here. Fire in the belly. If he didn`t want to go do the chicken dinner, I don`t really care. I`m not electing a guy who`s willing to sit there and say, "Oh, you`re Miss Butter USA. I love you; you`re great."

I want a guy who has the drive in him, the core that says we are a unique nation. We are worth fighting for. Our culture is worth defending in our own country, within our own borders, let alone the rest of the world.

Does he have that fire in his belly, where he believes that he has a purpose that he is a guy to stand up and defend us?

MARTIN: Well, I think that remains to be seen. There`s been a lot of chatter this summer about Fred Thompson. But the person that we have not heard a lot from is Fred Thompson, especially as it pertains to what his vision is for this country. Why is he running, Glenn, and where exactly he wants to take the nation?

And I think that`s going to be one of the most fascinating things about this next week, ten days, when he does formally announce and hit the campaign trail. It`s why exactly are you running, sir?

BECK: OK. I had a very high senator in the Republican Party say to me, "You know, Glenn, he`s lazy." And that kind of bothered me. At the same time, they used to say that about Ronald Reagan. And Ron could have taken naps every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, as far as I was concerned. He did a good job. He got the job done.

But I get the impression from this article that he`s not lazy. He was disillusioned. He was like this is a game, and he doesn`t want to play a game. That works to his advantage, if indeed that`s true.

MARTIN: Well, I don`t think he much enjoyed the U.S. Senate. He isn`t the first person to have that experience. He certainly won`t be the last.

But the important question, Glenn, for Fred Thompson is this: over the course of the next few weeks, can he come out of the gates strong, not have any more gaffes during the course of his announcement tour. He had a pretty rough summer. Can he get over that, come out strong?

And then, Glenn, at the end of the month, is he going to show the sort of fund-raising during the course of the past three months in this third quarter of the year that`s going to put him among the big boys?

BECK: You know, I find it very interesting the way the media has attacked these GOP candidates. I mean, first you have Mitt Romney. He`s a Mormon, you know. Mormon, Mormon, Mormon, run for your life.

And then you have Giuliani. I really truly believe the media has held back, because there`s stuff out there about Giuliani...

MARTIN: Right.

BECK: ... that, you know, why waste that ammo right now? Fred Thompson, I`ve heard that he`s a Hollywood guy. He`s had a past.

MARTIN: Right.

BECK: Is that the -- is that the attack mode that`s going to come out? What should we expect from the media?

MARTIN: I think that will certainly be part of it. Look, in this day and age with this media era that we`re in, everything is fair game. So you would hear all kind of whispers about -- about his past as a bachelor. There`s no question about it, Glenn.

But his folks are going to make this big point, that he is both a consistent and comprehensive conservative. It`s a three "C`s" approach, if you will. And that is that he`s got the consistency that Romney lacks, and he`s comprehensive in the sense that his conservatism includes those cultural issues where Giuliani is more of a moderate. So that`s what you can expect to hear from the Thompson folks here in the weeks ahead.

BECK: You said that -- he isn`t playing the game, fire in the belly of playing the game, but he does play YouTube unlike any other candidate. You put a guy up who can reach through the camera like he can.

I mean, he has the skill that Ronald Reagan had, as far as being able to speak a line and communicate directly to the American people. He could really change things, the way we`re using YouTube right now, couldn`t we?

MARTIN: He only takes one cut, Glenn. There`s no need for Fred Thompson to go and do five or six takes. The fact is, he is gifted when it comes to performing.

And so much of running for the White House and a national campaign is about performance. And you got to be able to seize new media. Not that his folks aren`t going to try to do that.

BECK: Yes.

MARTIN: But you can`t, at the same time, abandon completely the sort of grassroots things you have to do to win a campaign.

BECK: Yes. Jon, thanks a lot.

MARTIN: Thanks.

BECK: Security now is tight as a controversial Arab language school opens in Brooklyn. We`ll have the details from the first day of school.

Plus, President Bush promised to confront Iran before it`s too late. Now, he`s got a plan. We have the administration`s battle plan for Iran. Don`t worry. We`re not "The New York Times"; we`re not giving away anything we shouldn`t. That`s coming up in tonight`s "Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, after a summer-long battle, New York`s first city- sponsored Arabic public school opened its doors this morning. And 55 sixth grade students took their seats.

Extra cops from the local precinct are standing guard. But the new New York school chancellor, Joel Klein, says, "What? Any new school that we open there`s added police security." Uh-huh.

Pamela Hall has led the battle against the school opening with Stop the Madrassa coalition.

Pam, now that school is in session, what`s your next step?

PAMELA HALL, STOP THE MADRASSA COALITION: Well, we had a press conference today on the steps of city hall. We`ve been announcing to Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein that we do expect them to, now that school is open, finally reveal the textbooks and the curricula and the lesson plans that they continue to hide for the school.

They tell us they can`t find them, by the way. We got a response last week in which they told us the sixth grade curricula was so complex, it`s going to take a very long search. And they probably can`t let us know the results until maybe the end of September, after September 21.

BECK: You`re kidding. Conway, our executive producer. Conway, are you in the studio? Can you please -- can you put an official request in to Klein`s office or let`s get Klein on?

HALL: Yes.

BECK: Thank you very much.

I mean, you can`t find it? They`re teaching it. Give me a textbook, for the love of Pete.

HALL: Thank you very much. We said, yes, go to the school. You`re doing something there. So at this point, it`s a cover-up. What are they covering up? What are they hiding?

BECK: OK. Here`s the thing. I mean, I -- we -- you know, we need more Arabic-speaking people, because we`re in a war with the Arabic- speaking world right now, or at least members of it.

And you know, it`s like in World War II. We should have more people that speak German. But what this class is, from what I understand, what the school is, is an Arabic culture school. We don`t need to be teaching the Arabic culture. We don`t need to be teaching the Canadian culture. We need to be teaching the American culture.

HALL: Absolutely. And that`s why we don`t support these schools that are Balkanizations of our whole school system.

We had members of the Friends of Khalil Gibran speaking today also, talking about the hijacking of the name Khalil Gibran. Because if they`re teaching culture, whose culture? How are they teaching about those Maronite Christians and Melkite Christians, and whose culture are they teaching?

BECK: Well, we even have the textbooks over in the Middle East, I believe it`s in Israel, where the textbooks are two different textbooks about Middle East history. One says that the `67 war against Israel was justified. And the other says it wasn`t, that, you know, Israel just attacked innocent bystanders. And the other textbook -- I mean, so it`s kind of important that we know what`s in the textbook and what version of history we`re teaching.

HALL: Absolutely. And we`ve done our research. You know that, Glenn. We`ve gone across the country. We`ve looked at who are publishing these textbooks. We know that there is an Islamist ideological propagandist textbook out there, put out by the Council of Islamic Education. These textbooks have been in our schools for about ten years. We know what is the type of propaganda that`s already being put out for our teacher training.

And why -- why Chancellor Klein and Garth Harries, why they say they can`t release the textbooks is a mystery to us. We know they`re teaching something.

BECK: We will -- we`ll put out a request, now that school has officially started.

Pamela, thanks very much.

Up next, a new report says the Pentagon has a three-day plan to annihilate Iran`s military. And so it begins. Don`t miss tonight`s "Real Story".

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, Owen Wilson is out of the hospital and apparently doing better. But I am so sick of people whining about how these guys can stay clean and sober. How do they do it? As a recovering alcoholic, I`ll tell you exactly what it takes. A lot of people aren`t going to like what I have to say. It`s coming up in just a second.

Welcome to the REAL STORY. A few months an attack that you likely never heard about before, someone infiltrated defense secretary Robert Gates secure Pentagon computer network and started downloading data. Officials don`t know how much information was compromised. It is frightening. It is frightening enough that those critical networks are vulnerable to attack.

The real story is, it`s much more frightening once you hear who is reportedly behind the attack. The people`s liberation army of China. Look who looks so surprised? Are you surprised because everybody in the media is trying to tell you, oh, please, they`re your friend? China, they`re great. It`s time for somebody to tell you the truth. China is not a friend. They`re not an ally and they don`t need us. What they are is a growing super power that is slowly and methodically threatening us both militarily and economically and it is the second part the economic threat that I don`t think most people even begin to understand.

I`m no Ben Bernanke, yeah, true. But I am a thinker. Let me give a 60- second thinkers version of economics 101, the class you slept through when you were in school. First, the U.S. has a massive trade deficit. Everybody is saying this is great. I don`t think so. It means we import more than we send out. Actually it`s about $58 billion a month more. But who`s counting. Before 1980, it was exactly the opposite, we actually exported a lot more than we consumed. That has changed over the last 27 years. Why? The rise of China and their cheap exports that we just can`t get enough of. We are addicted to it. Secondly, we have a massive budget deficit. Which means our government spends more than it earns, just like us you it charges the difference on lots of different credit cards which is they call U.S. Treasuries.

Normally, not a big deal. Except, the U.S. consumers buying those treasuries and taking on the debt, it`s done by foreign governments who are doing it. Yes, yes, China, near the top of the list and they are doing it for all kinds of great reasons. Now, conventional wisdom holds none of this is a big problem because they cancel each other out. China needs us -- no. The conventional wisdom is if we stop buying our stuff then their factories go bankrupt, then they go into a depression. Maybe, maybe not.

What if China was able to take their 1 billion people and turn them into consumers? Would they really need us? Would they really need to keep buying and holding our debt? That is unfortunately when my econ101 class ends.

You let me bring in Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and author "Crash Proof, How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse." Peter, I`m just beginning to read your book. It`s fascinating and frightening. When I saw this story today, I thought, America, China is not afraid of us. Bush will tell us, Peter, oh, they`ll never do anything. They`ll need us. Explain how they don`t.

PETER SCHIFF, PRESIDENT, EURO PACIFIC CAPITAL: You`re right, we are addicted. We`re spendaholics. And the Chinese are enablers they`ve been supplying us with both the products and the savings. If China had just produced our own goods, you see, we`ve been enjoying the fruits of the Chinese labor. They`re keeping their prices low for us while their own citizens are going without things. They`re artificially suppressing the value of their own currency to keep the goods that they produce unaffordable for their people. We`re benefiting. When the Chinese stop buying all these treasuries and all these mortgage-backed securities, I think they will their own currency the Chinese yuan is going to go through the roof. Their own citizens, 1 billion people are suddenly going to find that everything is a lot less expensive.

BECK: When you say they`re artificially keeping their currency down. That`s what President Bush is asking them to do, isn`t it?

SCHIFF: That`s what they`re saying in public, but I`m sure behind the scenes, it`s an entirely different story. The last thing we want the Chinese to do is stop buying our dollars and our Treasuries. Why would we want that, why would an incumbent politician want to force higher consumer prices and higher interest rates on American citizens, you wouldn`t? Certainly, the Chinese are not doing us any favors. The longer we dig ourselves into this whole the longer it is to get out.

BECK: Why is everybody telling us China is not a problem, and yet the world economic forum just met and they said the biggest threat to America is China and the biggest threat to China is America?

SCHIFF: China is not the problem. We`re the problem. It`s America that is consuming without producing. We`re the ones that are not saving; we are the ones that are buying all of this stuff. China`s not the problem. Temporarily, they`re the solution. They`re keeping us from suffering.

BECK: But the other side is saying that we are intellectual exporters. We come up with the ideas for the rest of the world.

SCHIFF: Yeah, but, see, that`s a bunch of nonsense. If we really did that, if we could export enough information-based stuff to pay for all the goods, all the goods that we import, we would have the trade balanced. Where`s all the stuff that we are exporting? Where is all the intellectual capital? We`re not selling it, the world isn`t buying it. That`s the problem.

BECK: How bad does it get if they stop carrying our debt?

SCHIFF: They`re going to. It`s just a question of when. I think the fact that they`re holding all this subprime and mortgage debt. They`re not going to get paid back. They realize they`ve lent us more than we can repay. I think with in the next year or two it`s going to be over. What is going to happen then is America is going to have to live within its means; we`re only going to be able to borrow money if we have it safe. We are only going to be able to consume what we produce.

BECK: Peter, thank you very much and we will have you on again. I`d love to do a special on the economy with just with you for a few nights.

SCHIFF: We should.

BECK: Coming up next, I`ve been telling you for a while now that I don`t think President Bush is going to leave office next year without first insuring that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon.

Unfortunately, as I`ve also been telling you, the REAL STORY is, a lot easier said than done. Earlier this summer officials from the Pentagon, the State Department of Homeland Security and Department of Energy got together to war game a scenario in which the U.S. bombs, Iranian military and nuclear sites. The results -- not pretty. The price of oil doubled around the world. Shias in southern Iraq began an uprising and the U.S. economy lost a million jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in disposable income overnight. And that doesn`t take into account the likely retaliation from Iran.

According to one U.S. dissident living there, quote, if they attack Iran, the problem of terrorism that they are trying to solve will get 100 times bigger than they are now. Americans will not feel safe in their own homes. Well, where do I sign up for that? I hate to ask the obvious question. If military attacks won`t divert a disaster, in fact cause a disaster and if diplomacy is going nowhere, what`s next? James Carafano he is the senior researcher from the Heritage Foundation. James, you`re the guy what ran the war games scenario, what was the lesson that you learned?

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: We actually did a war game scenario if Iran tried to provoke an oil crises, the price of oil did skyrocket. But actually the U.S. government did two things, first of all in our scenario; we did what we did in the 1980s when Reagan was president, so everybody else`s oil could flow freely. That really calmed markets. The other thing we did is domestically, the United States didn`t do a lot. We didn`t get very intrusively into markets; we didn`t raise taxes, or change gasoline cafe standards. The result is the price of oil kind came right back down. Iran doesn`t a free lunch here. I mean if they don`t sell their oil, the county is bankrupt.

BECK: Right.

CARAFANO: And they import other gasoline.

BECK: Did your scenario, though, include Saudi Arabia, them hitting the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia just put 35,000 troops around their oil fields. Did your scenario count that in at all?

CARAFANO: Well, yeah. Well -- we -- I mean, the Saudis aren`t stupid. The Saudis know that their oil fields are a big target and they`re doing a lot to protect them. It`s true. If we did something the Iranians can make life miserable, they can make more trouble in Iraq. They can encourage Hezbollah to make trouble in Lebanon. They would try to draw people in to a war with Israel to make it a regional war.

On the other hand Iranians are feeling heady these days. The United States has got an awful lot of power around the world, if the Iranians want to go toe to toe with us, it think that`s a big mistake. The question is how we get out of this limit. The answer is really simple. Look, we start winning. We stick it out in Iraq. We show people we`re not going to quit. We get the Iraqis going. That`s bad for Iran. We have success in Afghanistan that`s bad for Iran. We push back in Lebanon, we push back against Hezbollah. We cut off all the Iranians way to make and then things will look a lot different and then there will be --

BECK: I`m convinced; I said this before the Iraq war. Pay no attention to what you`re hearing about weapons of mass destruction and everything else. Setting the whole country free from Saddam Hussein, it was about planting democracy there to pop the head of Iran. It is the only logical way to defeat Iran, is to squeeze it with democracy all the way around. And shut all of its legs of and let it collapse from the inside.

CARAFANO: Well, we agree on that. We agree that you got a wacky government that`s made up of wacky little groups all going in different directions that don`t have the interest of the people at heart. It`s like Castro`s Cuba. And underneath that you have this amazingly wonderful Iranian people who are really ill-served by their government.

BECK: James, real quick. Bluffing or not bluffing, George Bush, I don`t thing he`s bluffing, I think he will take him out if he has to before he leaves office. Is he bluffing or not?

CARAFANO: Well I will say this; you never take the military option off the table. On the other hand, you need to really seriously think about the use of military force because it is not doing the attacks is not the problem it is what you do the day after, you have to have a good answer for that.

BECK: Thanks James.

Up next, actor Owen Wilson may be out of the hospital. But he still faces a tough road to recovery. I`ll tell you what it takes for both stars and regular Americans to back away from that abyss. Stick around. That`s coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: All right. Owen Wilson is back home after last week`s apparent suicide attempt landed him in the hospital. Still, no clear answer on what drove Wilson to the edge. But what is clear, we`ve got a culture of struggling celebrities whether it is depression, addiction, and sheer stupidity. You can`t open a magazine or turn on the TV today without seeing the latest star who`s gone off the deep end or checking into rehab for the umpteenth time.

So if being famous so great, wire so many of today`s young Hollywood "it" kid so screwed up. Gary Stromberg is the author of "The Harder They Fall" he is a recovering alcoholic himself. Gary, let`s start with Owen Wilson. It`s my understanding that he has a heroin problem. Is less than a week in a hospital, you`re ready to be back home?

GARY STROMBERG, AUTHOR, "THE HARDER THEY FALL:" That`s doubtful, Glenn. I would do think if he does in fact have a heroin problem, he needs to be in treatment a lot longer than a few weeks.

BECK: One thing I hear Gary from people over and over again, is gee, Glenn, you`re an alcoholic, what can we do? What kind of program can we put people in where they`ll recover and stay recovered? I`m like, none. None. You have to want it. You have to hit bottom. Am I too callous to say that some people, perhaps Lindsay Lohan, some people, their bottom is death?

STROMBERG: Oh, boy. Unfortunately, that`s true, Glenn. In my book, I point out at that road -- amongst celebrities is littered with people that didn`t make it into recovery. We all know the names. The Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin and even Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison. The outlook is not good if you suffer truly from addiction and alcoholism.

BECK: Here we are, making fun of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. It was a year ago, everybody was saying, oh, no, look at poor Anna Nicole. How did we miss this? We`re seeing it again. It`s repeating itself again and yet, nobody seems to notice that.

STROMBERG: Oh, yeah, it`s tragic. These are deadly diseases. You look in the tabloids and it seems like we`re picking these things up for our own amusement. This isn`t funny stuff. This is deadly serious stuff.

BECK: Gary, you see all the celebrities and people keep saying, well, gee, Glenn, they`re so rich, they`re famous, they`ve got everything going for them. Why? Why would they possibly do this? Because a, I don`t think -- in their own head, they`re not creating anything of value. You could never live up to what people think you are if you`re this manufactured celebrity. You`re surrounded by fame and fortune. Things that aren`t real. Why do you think that celebrities are --

STROMBERG: You alluded to it, Glenn. When you`re a celebrity, you`re living on the edge. You`re living in this rarefied air. You`re surrounded by sycophants that just say yes. No one tells you the truth when you`re abusing substance. You represent a payday for various interests. And very seldom are these people dealt with in an honest way.

BECK: And people around them don`t want them to fail because then they`ll fail. In your book, you talk to several celebrities. And I`m in your book as well.

STROMBERG: You certainly are.

BECK: What is the best advice or the best tidbit that you heard from somebody?

STROMBERG: Well, actually, you alluded to it. The only thing that can direct someone towards recovery is that honest look in the mirror and say, hey, I`m in trouble. I don`t want to live like this anymore. I`ve reached the bottom. That`s really what has to happen before recovery can take place.

BECK: And there`s no way you can push somebody there?

STROMBERG: No, it`s like you said, you have to want it. It`s not for somebody who needs it; it`s for people who want it. Unfortunately, there`s no way to make somebody want it.

BECK: Great, Gary thank you very much. Time for CNN`s hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORAL LEE BROWN, "CHAMPIONING CHILDREN:" These are the kids. We should at least take them to a position in their life that they can lead their way. And they can`t do it without an education.

An education can get you anything you want. You can go wherever you want to go. It`s the way out of the ghettos, bottom line.

YOLANDA PEEK, FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPLE: She says give me your first graders who are really struggling and who are most needy.

I want to adopt the class and I want to follow the class until they graduate from high school. And she says that she was going to pay their college tuitions.

BROWN: How many are going to college?

At the time, I was making $45,000, $46,000 a year. So I committed $10,000 to the kids. I grew up in Mississippi I lived off $2 a day. That`s what we got, $2 a day for picking cotton. So I feel I was blessed from god. So I cannot pay him back. But these kids are this kids. These kids, some of them are poor like I was.

LAQUITA WHITE, FORMER STUDENT: When you have that mentor like this Miss Brown, a very strong person, you can`t go wrong. Because she`s on you constantly every day. What are you doing? How are you doing?

BROWN: The world doubted us. I was told, lady, you could not do it. And I would say, you know what, these kids are just like any other kid. The only thing, they don`t have the love and they don`t have the0 support.

WHITE: They call me yesterday and said that I was accepted.

BRIWN: Yea! Good for you.

You`re looking at doctors and lawyers and one president of the United States. When you give a kid an education and they get it up here, nobody or nothing can take it away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Well, there are four different winners from Friday`s mega millions jackpot, $330 million. So far on one lucky winner has come forward. Lucky for me, he`s a fan of this program. He`s a Maryland accountant who credits his luck with a pact made with various gods. Joining me now on the phone from Knottingham, Maryland, he just got back, Ellwood "Bunky" Bartlett. Bunky, you`re a fan of the program?

ELLWOOD "BUNKY" BARTLETT, MARYLAND RESIDENT & MEGA MILLIONS WINNER (via telephone): Sure.

BECK: That doesn`t sound sincere. You did not pick the numbers through --

BARTLETT: No, quick pick.

BECK: So there was no pact with gods?

BARTLETT: Oh, no, I did make a pact with god, I did say while I was sitting at the coffee shop at school village if you want me to start teaching full time and drop my accounting business, you got to make me be able to have the funds to do that. And the only way I knew how to do that is let me win the lottery.

BECK: Was it one god that you spoke to or like a council?

BARTLETT: I put it out there for the universe to hear. No one has come forward as far as deity as to which one is credited.

BECK: So it was a consensus, did they give you the numbers or how did you do it?

BARTLETT: No, I did a quick pick. I always do quick pick. I look at it this way; the gods are going to make a choice they can manipulate the machine a lot easier than me.

BECK: You`re yanking my chain, right?

BARTLETT: No.

BECK: You don`t believe that the gods --

BARTKETT: Why not?

BECK: What do you mean -- come on.

BARTKETT: Yes. The gods have blessed me. Plain and simple. They have given me a wonderful gift.

BECK: So you`re going to teach what full time?

BARTLETT: Wicca.

BECK: Really?

BARTLETT: I`m going to teach Wicca, I going to teach (inaudible) and I`m going to teach pretty much anybody who wants to learn anything in the paganism or any esoteric belief that I know.

BECK: Bunky, you know the odds are that you`re going to be broke in about 18 months?

BARTLETT: That`s not going to happen.

BECK: I`m just getting that from upstairs.

BARTLETT: Really?

BECK: Yes. Burt, he`s probably a lesser-known god named Burt.

BARTLETT: OK. Do you want to put your money where your mouth is?

BECK: No. But I would like to borrow some?

BARTLETT: I`ve got $500,000.

BECK: All right. Thanks a lot. Don`t forget if you want to know what is on tomorrows radio program or tomorrows television show or you like a little more in-depth commentary of the news of the day, sign up for my free daily e-mail news letter from glennbeck.com.

From New York, good night, America.

END