The 3 failed promises of gay 'marriage'



Many people supported gay marriage in good faith, based on promises its advocates made. Here are three assurances that are no longer so sure.

  1. LGBT people need marriage.
  2. Legalizing gay marriage will make LGBT people feel better.
  3. The kids will be all right.

The children of cohabiting same-sex couples seem to fare better than the children of legally married same-sex couples.

Failed promise #1: LGBT people need marriage.

The reality: Evidently, LGBT people don’t agree that they need marriage.

There has been no dramatic "rush to the altar" among same-sex couples. Recent Gallup data show that only 8% of Americans who identify as LGBTQ are married to a same-sex spouse, while 6.4% are living with a same-sex partner. By comparison, 11% of those who identify as LGBTQ are married to an opposite-sex spouse and another 11% are living with an opposite-sex partner.

These figures suggest that much of the increase in marriages among LGBTQ-identified individuals has been driven by bisexual or nonbinary people in opposite-sex relationships. Presumably, many of these individuals could have married the person of their choice, even under pre-Obergefell law.

Also please notice heterosexual people are marrying in much larger percentages than self-identified sexual minorities. Even after years of legally permitted same-sex marriage, same-sex-attracted persons are not drawn to married life “just like everyone else.” Redefining marriage did not radically transform the relationship behavior among same-sex-attracted individuals.

Failed promise #2: LGBT people will feel better if we redefine marriage.

The reality: The mental health numbers for sexual minorities have not improved. In fact, there is some evidence that their mental health has declined. Researchers have long observed that sexual minorities report higher rates of psychological distress than exclusively heterosexual populations. What remains contested is the explanation for those differences.

We were told that stigma and discrimination were driving elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental-health challenges. Reduce the stigma, and the disparities would narrow. Yet after extraordinary gains in legal recognition and cultural acceptance, including gay marriage in the U.S., the worldwide evidence is difficult to reconcile with the so-called minority stress theory.

A study using data from UCLA's Williams Institute compared different generations of sexual minorities, ranging from those shaped by the Stonewall era to those who came of age during the push for “marriage equality.” The expectation was that younger cohorts, who experienced significantly greater social acceptance, would demonstrate substantially better mental health outcomes.

But the study found that the “equality generation” experienced higher rates of psychological distress and suicidal tendencies.

The researchers acknowledged, and I quote, “Our findings are clearly inconsistent with the (minority stress) hypothesis” that declining social stigma would produce corresponding declines in mental health problems.

A 2025 systematic review of 123 studies from 31 countries reached a similar conclusion. The review found substantially higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and bipolar disorders among LGBTQI+ individuals than among the general population. Nor were the disparities small: The rates of distress among LGBTQ individuals were between eight and 11 times greater than the general population.

In fact, the combined studies found that 35.3% of LGBTQI+ individuals reported depressive disorders, compared with 3.8% of the general population, or nine times greater.

None of this proves that discrimination plays no role in mental health outcomes. But surely, if “minority stress” or discrimination were the primary explanation for the high rates of psychological distress, we would have seen some positive movement in these numbers. That is exactly what we do not see.

Failed promise #3: The kids will be all right.

The reality: High-quality recent evidence shows that children of married same-sex partners are not “all right.”

This topic is so important that it deserves its own article. For now, let me give you evidence that casts doubt on the very strong assurances the sexual revolutionaries gave us.

A 2017 study showed that by the fifth year of elementary school, young children in same-sex parent families had significantly lower emotional well-being on three different standardized measures.

The measures include:

  • interpersonal skills,
  • externalizing well-being (which includes things like aggression and acting out), and
  • internalizing well-being, which includes things like anxiety and depression.

Compared with children living with their married biological parents, the children in alternative living arrangements have higher levels of psychological problems. The children of same-sex parents, shown on the far right-hand side of the chart, have as great or even greater problems than other children, even children in alternative family forms.

The authors attribute those difficulties to higher instability, meaning that same-sex couples have more changes in relationships and living arrangements.

The 'hold constant' fallacy

But this shouldn’t make us feel any better about these findings. More instability in the parents’ relationship is not a factor that we can legitimately “hold constant” or “factor out,” as if it were a completely independent factor. The well-documented increased instability in same-sex parents’ relationship means the kids experience more divorces, breakups, re-partnering, changing living arrangements, and so on. This instability is part of the package of having same-sex parents.

This reminds me of researchers back in the day trying to say that single parenthood isn’t so bad, if you “hold constant” their income. But having a reduced income is part of the experience of having unmarried parents. This attempt to explain away an unwelcome finding in no more valid when applied to same-sex parents today than it was when applied to unmarried parents back in the 1990s.

Another study examined a wide range of family structures, including married biological parents, single parents, cohabiting couples, stepparent families, legally married same-sex couples, and same-sex cohabiting parents.

This study found that children with same-sex cohabiting parents were 3.3 times more likely than those with intact married biological parents to suffer serious emotional problems. Children with same-sex married parents were 5.4 times more likely to have serious emotional problems when compared with biological parents married to each other.

These empirical results directly contradict the assurances we were given prior to the Obergefell ruling. With man/woman parents, marriage supported better emotional outcomes for children than with any arrangement of unmarried man-woman parents. But with same-sex parents, the opposite was true. The children of cohabiting same-sex couples seem to fare better than the children of legally married same-sex couples.

And yes, these estimates were adjusted to eliminate the effect of demographic factors, such as the child’s race, sex, and age. We don’t really know what exactly accounts for these findings. But we can conclude this: The idea that “the kids will be fine” is no longer a slam-dunk, end-of-discussion statement.

Full disclosure: The author of this 2021 paper is my colleague, Fr. Paul Sullins, Ph.D. a retired professor of sociology. If you are going to dismiss him because his clerical collar indicates a conflict of interest, you should probably also dismiss the findings of self-described gay or lesbian scholars. They certainly have an interest in some research outcomes rather than others.

RELATED: Hello Fresh's unappetizing 'Pride' ad exposes the sordid truth about gay 'marriage'

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Genderless marriage

In any case, I have shown enough to cast serious doubt of the assurances that advocates of genderless marriage gave us. Make no mistake, “genderless marriage” is a better description than “gay marriage.” The court removed the dual gender requirement for marriage. That was a tacit assertion that the sex of the body is irrelevant for marriage and by extension, irrelevant to parenthood.

We were told that gay people needed to get married. Evidently, not too many of them got that memo.

We were told that gay people would feel better. Evidently, and sadly, that is not the case.

Finally, we were told that the kids would be fine. The evidence I’ve presented shows that this is not self-evidently true.

People are making life-altering decisions based on the assurances of activists. The decision to have a child is not a decision that can easily be walked back if you figure out you had bad information.

It’s time to reopen these important conversations.

'Go get a job': Armed thugs get violent with Philly corner store worker who couldn't open safe — and neighbors are disgusted



Two gun-toting males entered a Philadelphia corner store late last month and got violent with a store employee who couldn't open a safe — and disgusted neighbors are fed up.

Police said two suspects entered Diaz Grocery at 1501 North 29th Street around 4 p.m. Sept. 29 while a third suspect kept watch outside.

'I come here all the time, every day. Whoever's around here that's doing that, you should just chill out. ... we're not living like that no more.'

The suspects produced handguns, announced a robbery, and forced the victims to a rear stockroom, where they demanded access to a safe, police said.

Marianny Hernandez, a store employee, told WTXF-TV that her uncle and cousin were working in the store at the time, and the suspects wanted the "password for the safe" — but the workers didn't know it, so one of the suspects resorted to "hitting my uncle."

Police said one suspect pistol-whipped the store owner in the face, resulting in a large cut under the victim's eye. Police said the suspects were unable to access the safe, after which the front point of sale area was ransacked, and they fled eastbound on West Jefferson Street with the victim’s keys, phone, and about $7,000 cash.

RELATED: Deadly shoot-out between off-duty cop and male who pistol-whipped him caught on police dashcam video

Police gave the following descriptions of the two suspects who entered the store:

  • Suspect #1: Black male, 25 to 30 years old, KMSL hooded sweatshirt and Sprayground backpack, armed with a black handgun.
  • Suspect #2: Black male, 17 to 20 years old, ear-length twists/braids, black/white Spiderman backpack, armed with a black handgun.

Hernandez told WTXF that since the robbery, she and the other store workers are "watching the cameras 24/7," along with "every weird car" that shows up, and if people enter the store wearing masks, "we tell them to take them off."

Conchita Bradley told the station that the violent store robbery is "real sad and very scary because I could've been in there, I could've sent my granddaughter to the store, and she could've gotten caught in there."

An unnamed man added to WTXF that he's a regular at Diaz Grocery — and he has a message for the violent crooks: "I come here all the time, every day. Whoever's around here that's doing that, you should just chill out. ... we're not living like that no more, like, go get a job."

Police added that if you see these suspects, do not approach them — instead contact 911 immediately. To submit a tip via telephone, dial 215-686-TIPS (8477) or use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously. Police said all tips will be confidential.

Police also said that those who have information about this crime or these suspects should contact the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3047/3048.

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Allie Beth Stuckey took on ‘exvangelical’ Monte Mader. Now she’s sharing her top 3 debate tips.



BlazeTV’s Allie Beth Stuckey recently debated progressive commentator and former evangelical Monte Mader on Jubilee’s “Face Off” series. Their hour-long discussion focused primarily on four claims — two from each participant.

Allie’s were “Christians must oppose abortion” and “Christians cannot affirm same-sex marriage,” while Mader’s were “America is not and will never be a Christian nation” and “Patriarchy, not feminism, is at odds with Christ's ministry and teaching.”

Allie defended biblical Christian positions on all four claims, and Mader critiqued them from her deconstructed progressive worldview.

On a recent episode of “Relatable,” Allie reflected on the debate and shared with her audience advice and tips for handling high-pressure exchanges as a Christian.

Tip #1: Back to brass tacks

Given the format of this particular “Jubilee” debate — time allotments for speaking, a shared clock, and a strict no interruptions rule — Allie acknowledges the difficulty of formulating responses to her opponent’s “monologue.”

“They make too many claims in a matter of say five minutes that they're talking. You've got to pick and choose what claims you are going to respond to,” she explains.

Her strategy in this scenario was to always get back to the “brass tacks” of the central claim.

While typical back-and-forth conversations aren’t limited by a ticking clock and allow for interjections and clarifying questions, honing in on an opponent’s core points instead of getting sidetracked on tangents remains an excellent debate strategy.

“That’s what I encourage you to do as well because it's really easy when someone is spouting a lot of information that might seem factual because they're very confident to kind of follow them down that trail, but that's called a red herring,” says Allie. “That is making an argument that is actually totally unrelated and irrelevant to the logic and the substance of the main claim. It's your job to get back to the main claim.”

Tip #2: Watch out for the ‘Gish gallop’

A Gish gallop, Allie explains, is a tactic where someone tries to “overwhelm” their opponent with a high volume of “rapid fire” claims.

The goal is to create a situation where the opponent is literally unable to respond to every claim presented.

“If you tried to go through each claim one by one, you would end up going down the trail of a red herring of something that actually doesn't have to do with the main point at all,” says Allie, “or you end up having this tangential conversation, and then you go off the reservation and you lose the spirit of what the debate is supposed to be about.”

But once spotted, a Gish gallop is simple to dodge.

“Your job is not to meet them by responding to every argument or talking just as quickly. Your response has to be ‘slow down,’” says Allie.

“You could even say that out loud — ‘Slow down. Hang on a second. I want to go back to the claim. I want to go back to what you originally said, and let me get down to what this actually means,”’ she advises.

3. Kindness and compassion ≠ compromise

The reason Allie says she agrees to do “Jubilee” or other kinds of debates is not to change the minds of her opponents or even their audiences.

“My debate is for you,” she says.

Allie shares that since the debate with Mader, some people from the “exvangelical’s” audience have sent her vile messages wishing for her and her unborn child’s deaths. But their callousness doesn’t discourage her because the debate was never for them in the first place.

“Me going into these situations to go back and forth with these ideas is to hopefully, by the grace of God, exemplify how you can respond with kindness, with respect, with peace, without compromising at all in what is good, right, and true,” she says.

“A lot of people, especially Christians, think that in order to love someone, you have to nuance your positions; you have to compromise a little bit; you have to give in in just a few areas in order to relate to someone. You don't have to do that,” she declares.

To hear more of Allie’s debate breakdown, check out the episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

One of America’s fastest-growing Christian voices is joining Blaze Media



At Blaze Media, we strive to consistently bring you the best conservative talent on the market. Today, we’re excited to announce that pastor and podcaster Josh Howerton has joined our lineup.

As senior pastor of Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas, and host of one of the fastest-growing shows in the faith and culture space, “Live Free,” Howerton brings a large and loyal audience of faithful churchgoers and cultural observers who value his clear, biblically grounded perspective on the issues of our day.

Howerton told us he’s excited about joining the Blaze Media team because it allows him to accomplish the two things he’s “most passionate” about: “Telling everybody everywhere the good news of Jesus Christ" and applying "the whole word of God to the issues of the whole world.”

“This partnership advances both, so we’re in and excited about it,” he said.

We share in that excitement.

“Josh has built something rare: a podcast with genuine chart momentum and a growing audience that’s actively looking for clarity on faith and culture,” said Tyler Cardon, CEO of Blaze Media. “'Live Free' fits naturally into our lineup, and we think our distribution can help Josh reach even more people hungry for the truth.”

“Live Free with Josh Howerton” launches today on BlazeTV+, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.

"Live Free with Josh Howerton" is currently ranked #2 in Apple Podcasts' religion and spirituality category and #39 overall. It has also surpassed one million YouTube subscribers, with an audience that spans committed churchgoers, conservatives, and cultural observers alike. Josh is building something special, and we're honored to come alongside him and his team to support and amplify the great work that he's doing.

When you subscribe to BlazeTV+, you’re helping us bring more voices like Josh Howerton to Blaze Media, voices willing to speak clearly about faith, culture, and the issues shaping our country.

Join BlazeTV+ and start watching Josh today at blazetv.com/JOSH. Use promo code JOSH40 to get $40 off your subscription.

New bodycam video shows sheriff's deputies fatally shooting knife-wielding male who authorities say stabbed deputy



Newly released bodycam video from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department shows deputies fatally shooting a knife-wielding male who authorities said stabbed a deputy last month in a Lancaster parking lot.

The video was released Tuesday; the incident occurred June 20 after deputies responded to a 911 call, KABC-TV reported.

'Stop reaching.'

"Hey, I just want to make a report of a guy with some knives, swinging them in public," the caller told a dispatcher, KABC said, citing an audio recording the sheriff's department released.

Surveillance video shows three sheriff patrol vehicles arriving at the scene, the station said, adding that authorities said the suspect — identified as Robert Castro — is seen in the video walking away from the deputies and across a parking lot.

"Before Deputy #1's patrol vehicle came to a stop, Castro turned and rapidly walked in the deputy's direction," the sheriff's department said in a statement, according to KABC. "Castro then ran at Deputy #1, drew a knife, stabbed the deputy, and Deputy #1 discharged his service weapon."

A second deputy also opened fire and then checked on the other deputy, who was bleeding from a stab wound, authorities said, according to the station.

Investigators said the body camera video shows Castro removing a knife from his pocket before the stabbing, KABC reported.

Following the initial confrontation, the second deputy is heard ordering Castro not to move, the station said.

"When Castro moves his hand, Deputy #2 commands him to 'Stop reaching,'" the sheriff's department said, according to KABC, adding that the second deputy then opens fire.

Castro was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the station reported, adding that the injured deputy also was taken to a hospital and treated for the stab wound.

Authorities said Castro was in possession of three knives at the time of the incident, KABC noted.

RELATED: Knife-wielding male enters BBQ restaurant 'frightening customers and staff' — and then concealed-carrying patron steps up

Image source: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

"Following notification of this incident, DOJ's California Police Shooting Investigation Team initiated an investigation in accordance with AB1506 mandates," California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said in a statement last week, KABC reported.

After the state's Department of Justice investigation is complete, it will be turned over to the department's Special Prosecutions Section within the Criminal Law Division for independent review, the station said, citing a news release.

You can view the full sheriff's department video here.

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3 females caught on video brutally beating, stealing from victims on Philly street; suspects still at large, police say



Three females were caught on video brutally beating and stealing from victims on a Philadelphia street, police said.

The Philadelphia Police Department's Central Detective Division is seeking the public’s help in identifying the individuals responsible for the attacks, and police provided video and still images showing the suspects.

'Conceal carry. A 9 mm would have resolved this issue.'

Police didn't specify the number of victims in the brutal attacks, but WTXF-TV reported that there were two victims.

The beatdowns occurred around 2:15 a.m. April 18; police posted the notice describing the attacks earlier this month.

Police said the three culprits assaulted the victims along the 1300 block of Chestnut Street. Video shows one attack occurring on the sidewalk against the outside wall of a building; the other attack occurs on the street next to a parked car. The victims are repeatedly kicked and punched while on the ground.

Police said the victims' bags were stolen, and their credit cards were later used fraudulently.

Video shows the street was crowded with pedestrians, but it appears only one person attempted to help the victims.

The victims were hospitalized with significant face and head injuries, police said.

Police offered the following descriptions of the suspects:

  • Suspect #1: Black female, 25 to 30 years old, 5’5″ to 5’7″, 150 pounds, medium build
  • Suspect #2: Black female, 25 to 30 years old, 5’2″ to 5’4″, 130 pounds, medium build, tattoo on right side chest
  • Suspect #3: Black female, 25 to 30 years old, 5’5″, 175 pounds, heavy build

RELATED: Penn State senior shot dead just yards from his family's South Philly home — after thugs apparently stole his phone

Police said if you see the suspects, do not approach — instead call 911 immediately.

To submit a tip by telephone, dial 215-686-TIPS (8477), police said. Tipsters also can use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously, police said. All tips will be confidential, officials added.

Those with any information about this crime or these suspects also can contact the Central Detective Division at 215-686-3093 or 3094, police said.

More than 600 comments hit WXTF's Facebook post about the beatings, and commenters did not hold back. The following are but a few reactions:

  • "Caught on camera! It’s just a matter of time before they are caught! Good for them!" one commenter exclaimed.
  • "When caught, make an example of them!!" another user declared.
  • "They’re good girls," another commenter wrote sarcastically.
  • "Conceal carry," another user suggested. "A 9 mm would have resolved this issue."

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Steve Deace drops 8 key lessons for conservatives after Zach Lahn’s stunning Iowa upset



On June 2, Zach Lahn won the Iowa Republican gubernatorial primary. Campaigning as an "Iowa First" outsider focused on water quality, reducing corporate influence, and core conservative issues, the political newcomer and farmer/businessman pulled off a shocking upset, earning about 38% of the vote in a crowded five-candidate race and narrowly beating Trump-endorsed Rep. Randy Feenstra.

On this episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace extracts “8 lessons” the political right can learn from Lahn’s stunning victory.

Lesson #1: Christian conservatives are changing from being profile-driven to issue-driven.

Deace explains that historically, Iowans have voted for people that look the part.

“We're flyover country, and a lot of times the rest of the country just kind of wants to look down and sneer at us. So understanding us — being from us, one of us — is a big thing,” he says, noting how Iowa’s longtime senior Senator Chuck Grassley has been running successful campaign ads showing him “driving a tractor” for his entire political career.

But Lahn’s victory proved that voting based on profile is “no longer the model.”

“We can now see it's a paradigm shift — that issues now matter more than the profile does,” says Deace, highlighting how Lahn “spoke to the issues” and defeated opponent Adam Steen who “represented the profile.”

Lesson #2: MAHA and Christian conservatives are the coalition of the future.

Lahn’s success was largely a result of his ability to appeal to Make America Healthy Again supporters. Endorsed by RFK Jr.’s MAHA Action PAC, his campaign zeroed in on Iowa's cancer crisis, water toxicity, and use of chemicals and pesticides in farming.

Deace predicts that the union of MAHA advocates and conservative Christians will be the right’s strongest weapon in future elections.

“You see this especially with our mamas and our nanas,” he says, noting how the government’s handling of COVID-19 created a deep skepticism that will surely continue to influence voting.

Lesson #3: Issues still trump everything.

Just days before the primary, Deace — who had earlier endorsed Adam Steen — released a last-minute video endorsement for Lahn, which he says was the “last spackle of frosting on the cake” that pushed him to his razor-thin victory.

But that’s not a pat on his own back. Lahn, Deace argues, was only in the position where he could be nudged to victory because he ran on “hard-right issues.”

“If I put that video out about Zach Lahn, but he hasn't been running all the issue ads they did the last few weeks, does it work? No,” he declares.

“They baked the entire cake. I helped them with the frosting.”

Lahn’s victory, he argues, is proof that “the number-one thing our people want to vote on is issues.”

Lesson #4: This wasn’t a 'loss' for President Trump, but one of his most impressive shows of force yet.

Many political observers and media outlets are interpreting Lahn’s win as a notable loss or setback for Trump, who endorsed Feenstra.

But Deace pushes back on that narrative. “Folks, this was actually one of the most impressive shows of force that Trump's ever had with an endorsement,” he counters.

Deace marvels that Trump was able to “[take] a candidate that his own base did not like, who saw his negatives go up by 20 points in the last three months” and “in less than four days with no major media in our state” made him jump “at least 10 points.”

“He got people to vote for a guy they didn't like because they like him more,” he says, calling it an “incredibly impressive feat.”

Even more impressive is that Trump was able to accomplish this despite rural Iowans suffering the most from the rise in diesel prices thanks to the U.S.' ongoing conflict with Iran. The fact that Feenstra only narrowly lost to Lahn is proof of how deep Iowa’s Trump loyalty runs.

Lesson #5: The generational divide is real, and it’s here.

“What we saw is Feenstra won the oldest of voters, and Zach Lahn won every other group,” says Deace.

“If you're 65 or older, you narrowly voted for Randy Feenstra, and if you were under 65, you narrowly voted for Zach Lahn,” he continues, noting that this same dynamic played out in the Thomas Massie-Ed Gallrein race.

Deace interprets this as proof of the “generational divide” within the Republican voter base.

Lesson #6: Reports of the demise of TPUSA continue to be greatly exaggerated.

Since the atrocious assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in September 2025, several outlets have reported that the nonprofit, which is heavily credited with helping Trump get re-elected in 2024, is losing influence.

But Deace says Lahn’s victory debunks this claim.

Immediately after Trump endorsed Feenstra, TPUSA formally endorsed Lahn, which Deace speculates was not a counter-endorsement but rather coincidental timing.

Even though this was the first time TPUSA has ever gone against Trump, the organization stuck with the endorsement and went “all in,” with door-knockers and full effort the weekend leading up to the primary, proving TPUSA is still a strong, committed organization.

Deace calls it “a helmet sticker for TPUSA.”

Lesson #7: If you don’t come in with your money or already have high name ID, you probably can’t beat the establishment in a statewide election.

Deace argues that in today’s environment, it’s almost impossible for a first-time candidate like Adam Steen to win a statewide race unless he comes with wealth (like Lahn) or already has high name recognition — because campaigns are very expensive.

The other factor at play is Trump’s “king” power. His endorsement holds so much weight that major donors and organizations are scared to back anyone else, fearing that Trump might endorse an opponent and make the investment worthless.

That’s why Feenstra, who was “as dead as Star Wars” on the Thursday before the primary, almost won, says Deace. Trump’s last-second endorsement was powerful enough to boost him from hopeless to the narrow runner-up.

Lesson #8: Nominate candidates who energize and unify the base.

Deace argues that Lahn is a much stronger general election candidate than Randy Feenstra because Iowa Republicans have a huge built-in advantage: “over 200,000 more registered voters than Democrats.”

Feenstra, he says, “disappointed” and “dissed” the conservative base as a congressman, which would negatively affect voter turnout. At the same time, Democrats would do what they always do and call him “the worst, most Nazi, most homophobic, transphobic, racist that's ever racisted and transphobited.”

With Lahn, however, the base is actually excited and unified, meaning more Republicans will actually show up to vote in November.

“With Zach, we have a chance to control what we can control — mobilize, unite our base, inspire our base with messaging they want to vote for, not branding they want to vote against,” says Deace.

To hear more, watch the episode above.

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THESE predictions Glenn Beck made 10 years ago are playing out in real time — but it’s all about to come to a screeching halt



Ten years ago on his radio show, Glenn Beck gave “three possibilities” of what America’s future would look like in a decade’s time.

Possibility #1: “Slow Decay” — “Corruption would become routine. Violence will become background noise. Currency ... buys less and less year after year until you just have to adjust your expectations downward. The border will blur. Drugs will flood in. Institutions will continue to weaken, but they won't break. They just stop working the way they once did.”

Possibility #2: “Control” — “A moment will come when the system decides dissent is a real threat, when the people who warned, protested, resisted are no longer just wrong but dangerous. And the label will change from opponent to enemy.”

Possibility #3: “Wake up” — “Citizens would wake up, that grassroots movements (imperfect but loud) ... would remind the country who it was supposed to be. And people will look back and say, ‘Wow, that was the moment that it really turned around."’

“I think a little bit of all of those things happened,” says Glenn.

The first predication, he says, was spot on — “Corruption is routine? Absolutely. Violence, a background noise? Absolutely. Currency hasn't died, just buys less year after year. We have to adjust our expectations downward. The border has absolutely blurred. The drugs are flooding in (still are). The institutions haven't broken but they weakened, and things aren't working the way they used to,” he says, confirming his old hypothesis.

The second prediction about mitigating chaos via control, he argues, also came true, specifically “during the Biden administration, where the system decided dissent was a real threat, and they started to silence people.”

The third and most hopeful possibility — a nationwide grassroots movement to restore order and morality — has also partially come to fruition.

“I think all three paths happened at the same time — bits and pieces. Here's what hasn't happened: We haven't decided which one,” says Glenn.

But we have to choose, he urges, because the next ten years won’t afford us the same wiggle room.

“In ten years from now, what does the world look like? Well, it's not going to be a combination of all three,” he says bluntly.

“We’re out of runway,” Glenn warns. “You have to choose: Do we slam on the brakes with this plane right now, or do we pull on the yoke and start to fly?”

To hear more, watch the video above.

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Make your own record player: A simple project with a profound lesson



We live in a scaled-up, real-world version of the classic children’s board game “Mousetrap.” The built world is over-engineered, too interdependent, and so precarious that a slight disturbance might bring the whole thing down.

The interconnected, precarious Rube Goldberg contraption that is modern society has more than just rolling balls and baskets and levers. Our real, physical-world interdependencies include reliance on digital algorithms and computing devices that no one can intuitively understand. It’s the worst of both worlds, physical and electronic.

This is a real-world lesson in physics and mechanics that teaches universal principles that can never be altered by whim or historical vogue.

A friend’s internet service went out recently. Even though she was able to get a human staff member on the phone, that human wouldn’t talk to her to even confirm that the company recognized that she was a paying customer.

Why? Because she couldn’t log in to her email on another device and recite a “one-time code.” Remember, she was calling because she didn’t have internet access. Cell signals in rural states are often insufficient for internet use. You see the problem.

Everything is like this, but everyone is acting like this is the way things have always been. It’s not true. There is no reason to live this way. It is not a natural law. The overcomplicated world is not something that just “happened.”

This setup is a result of choices. Disconnected choices, yes. There’s no central mind that has created our society. There’s no single controlling cabal that has engineered the way we live, communicate, procure food, or any of that. There are powerful interests, legal and commercial, that influence our society more than you and I as individuals can influence it. But it’s not a conspiracy in the classic sense. It’s a result of accumulated errors. We need a reset.

Memories of the analog world

1979. My family slipped away from Tully, New York, in the dead of night by means of my grandmother’s silver Buick Electra. The Buick told you that she had a V-8 through the distinctive muffled bass rumble from twin tailpipes. She was what I call an “honest mechanical.”

We boarded the Amtrak to cross the country so my stepfather, a glassblower who specialized in making electrodes, could find a job. There was nothing left for a working-class man in Upstate New York in the 1970s.

On arrival in Los Angeles, my Uncle Lee and Aunt Sherry were waiting in a 1979 lemon-yellow Cadillac Coupe de Ville. A Cadillac. I was going to ride in a Cadillac!

The trunk mechanism on my Uncle Lee’s Cadillac was my first introduction to what I would later think of as overcomplicated or dishonest mechanicals. It did this amazing thing I had never seen before. The trunk lid raised and lowered all by itself, untouched by human hands. After my mother loaded the last suitcase into the cavernous trunk, the enormous yellow deck lid silently, slowly crept downward. When the lid reached the latch, the mechanism slowed down to a crawl to give you a “soft and silent” latch.

Today, my base-model Toyota has all those bells and whistles plus more. The “more” is the irritating part. Nothing in the car is controlled mechanically or directly. Everything is drive-by-wire. The car decides when to spin the wheels when stuck in snow, even though I could do a better job if I were allowed to control the traction. Even the heater fan and lights are programmed to slowly, softly ramp up and ramp down, as if a too-sudden onset of sound or light would strike the driver with apoplexy.

Man and machine

The legend of John Henry both horrified and fascinated me as a child. The steel-driving man of folklore tried to prove he was as good as the new-fangled steam drill at chipping out a tunnel to lay track. John Henry swung his sledgehammer until his muscle fibers broke and he died exhausted on the ground, while the steam piston kept reciprocating.

I understood that this tale from America's railroad age was really about our present. It was obvious to me even as a kid in the 80s: Machines were crowding out the men. The mechanization of work inverted our values; humans had to live up to the demands and preferences of machine logic, not the other way around.

John Henry’s last act was a way of saying, “I am a man, and I live.”

RELATED: America needs mechanics; here's where to apply

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Honest mechanicals

Honest mechanicals are machines that can be observed, understood, and intuited. They show their works; nothing is hidden from the hands or the eyes. Compare honest mechanicals to modern digital devices. Call those devices “black boxes” whose function cannot be observed, understood, intuited, or reverse-engineered by human senses alone.

Black boxes (computers of various sorts) are not mechanicals at all. They don’t have levers or pulleys or counterweights, or sprockets, or escapements. They have invisible states of magnetic orientation. You cannot see the works with your eyes, and the complexity of a chipset is beyond the human mind’s ability to grasp.

A piece of photographic film with a light-sensitive emulsion that forms an image is an honest mechanical. The image is readable by the human eye.

A .jpg picture file is a black box. The image cannot be read or intuited by humans without another black box we call a computer.

A steam locomotive is an honest mechanical. Observe that you can understand how the machine turns heat into steam, turns steam pressure into lateral force, and then translates lateral force into rotary motion, thus moving the train and its passengers along.

You can intuit an honest mechanical. And if you have children, especially boys, I recommend that you introduce them to honest mechanicals. Show them how steam engines work. Show them a cutaway of an internal-combustion automobile engine. Let them take apart a blender or a stand mixer to see how electric motors produce rotary motion.

Here’s an easy hands-on lesson you can and should do with your kids, starting at about age 4. It doesn’t matter that the lesson uses “obsolete” technology. That is a benefit. This is a real-world lesson in physics and mechanics that teaches universal principles that can never be altered by whim or historical vogue.

Make your own record player

Materials:

  • 1 33 and 1/3 long-playing record album — one that’s scratched that you don’t care about
  • 1 #2 pencil
  • construction paper
  • Scotch tape
  • 1 sewing needle

Instructions:

Form the construction paper into a cone and tape together. Tape the sewing needle securely to the small end of the cone. Think of an old gramophone with a needle attached to a brass horn — that’s what you’re doing.

Put the pencil inside the center hole of the record. Spin the record like a toy top, and help your kid lower the needle-in-a-cone onto the guide groove at the edge of the record.

Magically, you’ll hear the sound on the record, slightly amplified by the paper cone. Sure, it’ll be at the wrong speed, and maybe you won’t be able to parse the words. But you and your kid will immediately understand basic sound recording and reproduction. You will understand that sound can be transcribed as a wave form that can take real-world, physical form in the bumps and pits of a piece of material.

Most importantly, your child will understand that the material world actually exists and that it is analog.

This matters. It matters more than you probably know. Modern young people have grown up in a world of portable computers and phone screens that appear to show them reality, but that do nothing but arrange points of light into virtual simulations. Have you noticed that young Millennials and younger seem not only put off and frightened by simple mechanical technology — mechanical telephones, cars that use a clutch and a gear shift — but almost disgusted and embarrassed by devices from just a generation ago?

This is not merely the universal plaint of the old about the shortcomings of the young. The world today is different to an extreme degree from the world of just one or two generations ago. Young people don’t know how to get around town without GPS, they’re frightened to get driver’s licenses at 16, and few can even whip up a basic meal on a stovetop. Why would they know these things when they’ve been reared to believe that food and transportation just “happen” by sliding your fingers along an iPhone touchscreen?

Do what you can to ground yourself (first) and your kids and grandkids back inside the real, physical, material, analog world. Remember what John Henry knew: We are men and women, and we live.

Allie Beth Stuckey shares her 3 biggest takeaways from the DOJ’s latest Epstein drop



On Friday, January 30, the U.S. Department of Justice released a massive trove of over 3 million pages of documents, along with roughly 180,000 images and 2,000 videos, related to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.

This third file dump — the largest to date — has drawn intense attention due to its massive scope and the unverified but sensational claims linked to high-profile figures, including President Trump, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, and Prince Andrew, among others.

On a recent episode of “Relatable,” BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey shared her three biggest takeaways.

Allie first delivers an important preface: “Some of the files do mention prominent figures. … They have not been tied to any wrongdoing, any substantiated criminal activity in connection with this case. It is important to note that a mention of a famous individual does not necessarily mean that they were involved in Epstein's nefarious activities,” she says, noting that much of what is currently going viral is “uncorroborated tips” from anonymous sources, many of which have been deemed "not credible” by the FBI.

That said, there are still plenty of lessons we can take away from the information we were given.

Lesson #1: “Notice the nature of sin.”

“Sin makes you stupid. Lust, envy, selfish ambition — they all have a way of arresting our thinking. And Satan does his most effective work by overplaying the benefits of sin in our minds and downplaying its eventual consequences,” she says.

“These powerful people in science, medicine, business, finance, and politics all got caught up in Epstein's web, and they were enticed by this promise of connection and greater power and maybe unfettered pleasure in a lot of cases.”

“Some of them probably didn't intend to be involved in a criminal enterprise,” says Allie, “but little by little and small justification by small justification, they found themselves connected to an evil person, and, in some cases, they themselves started practicing evil things.”

Lesson #2: “Recalibrate our definition of success.”

Allie cautions against chasing wealth, power, and fame, as they can be a slippery slope into “ruin and destruction.” Sometimes when we’re denied by man — a promotion, invitation, or endorsement that would have given us a boost — there’s a good chance that it ends up being “God’s protection” over us.

She points to Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 19:24: “Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” as well as Paul’s warning in 1 Timothy 6:9-10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pieced themselves with many pangs.”

“The seeking of wealth and power for the sake of wealth and power has a way of crowding out godly affections and replacing those affections with idolatry,” she summarizes.

“So we should thank the Lord for what he gives and what he takes away, knowing that his glory and our holiness is ultimately his goal. So we recalibrate the definition of success.”

Lesson #3: “Be grateful for a Christian civilization.”

“There are Jeffrey Epsteins throughout history across a wide variety of cultures. In fact, in many non-Western nations today, child marriage or raping underage girls is not seen as perverse. It's not seen as criminal,” says Allie. “The reason the West and the United States has a general consensus around the evil of pedophilia is because of Christianity.”

In the ancient world, she explains, children were often aborted, left outside to die, killed after birth, or forced into labor or prostitution.

“They didn't possess the physical strength that was lauded by Rome, and they didn't possess the full intellect or the logos that was lauded by Greece, so they were treated as kind of subhuman," says Allie. “And it wasn't until Christians introduced the world to the imago dei and preached this radical message of equality before our creator that slowly but surely the world changed how it saw children — not as animals but as these vulnerable people in need of extra protection.”

“The revulsion to Jeffrey Epstein and his ilk, whose actions are incredibly common throughout history, is actually evidence of the vestiges of the Christian conscience that forged the West and inspired the words that we read in the Declaration of Independence.”

To hear more, watch the full episode above.

Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?

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