by Glenn Beck
“Black Abortions: Necessary Health Care Policy or Genocide?” Palash R. Ghosh, International Business Times, July 17, 2012, http://bit.ly/RUI7kx.
In Chapter 15 George Pierce goes on a rant about the JFK assassination. According to some conspiracy theories, Lucien Sarti was really the person who shot President Kennedy from the grassy knoll. The theory was presented by British television program The Men Who Killed Kennedy in October 1988 and claimed that Sarti was a French gangster who was hired by U.S. organized crime to kill the president.
“French Accused of Killing JFK” Observer-Reporter, October 27, 1988, http://bit.ly/11mTjae.
Nearly sixteen years after the tragedy, the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that while Oswald was firing from the Book Depository, another shot was fired from the grassy knoll. Needless to say, some of the methods and conclusions of the HSCA continue to be controversial.
“JFK Assassination Records” National Archives, http://1.usa.gov/EIWIP.
In Chapter 16 the plethora of violations that have been levied against the Merricks is laid out. This intimidation tactic is becoming easier and easier for our government to use as it keeps adding new rules and regulations—many of which are either impossible to understand or comply with. From 2009 to 2011, 11,327 pages have been added to the Code of Federal Regulations.
“Under Obama, 11,327 Pages of Federal Regulations Added,” Penny Starr, CNS News. 10 September 2012, http://bit.ly/TNVB00.
In Chapter 18 Aaron Doyle summons the rain that he later watches fall. This is not an exaggerated act of science that we included simply to show how powerful he is, it is a currently functioning technology. In 2010, Swiss scientists from Meteo Systems International were able to create fifty-two rainstorms in Abu Dhabi.
“Scientists Create 52 Artificial Rain Storms in Abu Dhabi Desert,” Josh Sanburn, Time, January 3, 2011, http://ti.me/eztSo3.
“Secret Scientists Claim to Create Rain in Arab Desert,” Matthew Hall, AOL News, January 10, 2011, http://aol.it/fclvhz.
In Chapter 22 Virginia Ward sees a sign along the road from the Bureau of Land Management advising people to refrain from traveling through the area due to a high rate of crime, especially drug and human smuggling. This sign is an exact copy of one found on Interstate 8, south of Casa Grande, Arizona.
“29 Gunmen Dead in Shootout 12 Miles from the Arizona Border,” Borderland Beat, July 3, 2010, http://bit.ly/ZvZrOV.
More from Chapter 22:
Virginia talks about a confluence of events that lead to a number of guns, drugs, and money falling into the hands of a Mexican drug cartel. The ATF did, in fact, implement a gun-walking operation, called “Fast and Furious,” that purposely put about two thousand guns into the hands of criminals. Many of these weapons are now either unaccounted for or have been used in serious crimes, including one that resulted in the murder of a U.S. border patrol agent.
In 2011, the media discovered that agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency had smuggled and laundered drug money. The agents said their intent was to bring money into Mexico to learn how criminals, primarily drug cartels, move their money around and where they keep their assets.
In 2009, Jesus Vicente Zambada Niebla, a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in Mexico City for drug trafficking–related charges. After his arrest, he claimed that he should be allowed to go free due to an agreement between the U.S. and the Sinaloa cartel allowing them to traffic drugs into America in exchange for information on competing cartels. At the time of publication, Niebla is awaiting trial.
“Evidence Suggests Cover-Up in ATF Scandal, as More Guns Appear at Crime Scenes,” William La Jeunesse, Fox News, September 2, 2011, http://fxn.ws/odCrp3.
“U.S. Agents Launder Mexican Profits of Drug Cartels,” Ginger Thompson, Ginger Thompson, The New York Times, December 3, 2011, http://nyti.ms/uFX7l4.
“High-Ranking Mexican Drug Cartel Member Makes Explosive Allegation: ‘Fast and Furious’ Is Not What You Think It Is,” Jason Howerton, TheBlaze.com, August 9, 2012, http://bit.ly/XvDL2x.
Los Zetas is, of course, a real Mexican drug cartel. The group was started by former Mexican special forces troops (trained by the U.S.) and is now considered the largest and most dangerous drug cartel in Mexico. The United States has called the Zetas “the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.”
“Los Zetas Called Mexico’s Most Dangerous Drug Cartel,” Michael Ware, CNN, August 6, 2009, http://bit.ly/10M7lN.
“The Cartels Behind Mexico’s Drug War,” Kazi Stastna, CBC News, August 28, 2011, http://bit.ly/qTBADa.
One of the key leaders of the Zetas is really known as “the Executioner.” His name was Heriberto Lazcano, and he joined the Zetas in 1998 after he deserted from the Mexican Army. In 2003, Lazcano took control of the Zetas and became widely known for his extraordinarily brutal tactics. (Some reports say that he fed his rivals to tigers and lions that he kept at his ranch.) Lazcano was killed in 2012 after a shootout with Mexican armed forces.
“Mexico Says ‘The Executioner’ Is Dead—But Where’s the Body?” Tim Padgett and Ioan Grillo, Time, October 10, 2012, http://bit.ly/YzWWI6.
“Heriberto Lazcano Dead: Mexico Zetas Boss Killed by Accident, Navy Says,” Olga R. Rodriguez, Huffington Post, October 10, 2012, http://huff.to/QVSlNU.
In Chapter 24 Warren Landers tells Virginia that Thom Hollis and the Founders’ Keepers have been added to the president’s kill list. Although it should sound outrageous that our president could be granted the power to unilaterally authorize the killing of American citizens on U.S. soil, this is now a reality.
The National Defense Authorization Act has a section that not only legalizes martial law in the United States, but also allows the military to detain people indefinitely without a trial. In addition, both the president and Attorney General Eric Holder have refused to rule out the possibility of a drone strike against an American citizen on U.S. soil if they believe that citizen is “engaged in combat.”
“NDAA: What Obama Hoped You Wouldn’t Notice About This Bill,” Zack Fulkerson, Policymic, January 2013, http://bit.ly/W1HILe.
“Holder Does Not Rule Out Drone Strike Scenario in U.S,” Terry Frieden, CNN, March 6, 2013, http://bit.ly/15w8y3t.
“Video: Ted Cruz Gets Eric Holder to Admit That Killing Americans with Drones on U.S. Soil Is Unconstitutional,” Debra Heine, Breitbart.com, March 6, 2013, http://bit.ly/11vRiKo.
In Chapter 27 Noah explains to Ellen that the facility in which he is being kept is called a “fusion center.” Fusion centers, which are located around the country, are complexes used to collect, analyze, and share data concerning threats to the U.S. between all levels of government. That may sound great, but transparency is required. The public must understand what this data is, how it’s obtained, and what the privacy implications are.
“State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers,” http://1.usa.gov/NqY4bk.
“Fusion Centers: Force Multiplier for Spying in Local Communities,” http://bit.ly/ZCvsl5.
In Chapter 29 Noah goes to his fridge and sees a display that alerts him that he is almost out of milk and offers him the ability to immediately place another order. Smart appliances are becoming more and more prevalent, and while they can often be very convenient, they can also have some serious downsides.
In 2007, the California Energy Commission proposed new rules to allow utilities to override people’s thermostats in their homes during “emergencies” in order to prevent widespread outages. Fortunately, these proposals were met with outrage and never came to fruition, but many still believe that California, and other states, will soon try again. If that happens, it’s not hard to see that smart thermostats could be just the beginning of the government’s intrusion into our homes. (Imagine what Mayor Bloomberg could do if he could see in real time what you’re taking out of your refrigerator to eat!)
“California Seeks Thermostat Control,” Felicity Barringer, New York Times.
January 11, 2008, http://nyti.ms/104s0P6.
“The Thermostat Nanny,” John Seiler, Cal Watchdog, January 18, 2010, http://bit.ly/fAG9N1.
More from Chapter 29:
Noah mentions a technique known as “Trotskying.” It is not an exaggeration. Take a look at these photos of Stalin from the Soviet Union:
“Falsification of History,” http://bit.ly/13Mhew.
Noah tells Virginia that just six corporations control almost all of our media today. This is true. General Electric, News Corporation, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS now control 90 percent of all media in the United States.
“These 6 Corporations Control 90% of the Media in America,” Ashley Lutz, Business Insider, June 14, 2012, http://read.bi/KXHRyn.
In Chapter 30 the bedtime story that Noah tells Virginia is not fictitious. Lee Atwater really did spread a rumor that Thomas Foley was gay, and Barney Frank threatened to out six homosexual Republican senators on the floor of the House.
“Clinton’s Sexual Scorched-Earth Plan,” Jonathan Broder and Harry Jaffe, Salon, August 5, 1998, http://bit.ly/XVrLvM.
In Chapter 33 Noah walks into an argument between Ira and Lana regarding U.S. immigration policy. While the media seems to want to make people believe that the U.S. excludes far more people than it allows in, the fact is that the United States accepts more legal immigrants than the rest of the world combined.
“300 Million and Counting,” Joel Garreau, Smithsonian magazine, October 2006, http://bit.ly/92IGo6.
In Chapter 36 the portion of a speech that Noah hears through his radio is from Ronald Reagan’s 1964 speech “A Time for Choosing.” Some credit this speech as the one that put Reagan on the map and resulted in his election as president sixteen years later. Here’s another snippet from it, but it would be worth your time to read the whole thing.
You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down—up to a man’s age-old dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order—or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism, and regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.
“A Time for Choosing,” Ronald Reagan, October 27, 1964, http://bit.ly/3XTwG9.
In Chapter 37 Virginia finds the same tattoo on many of the male victims that she examines. The markings point to the House of Percy, from which George Pierce is descendant. Thomas Percy was, in fact, of this line and was a co-conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot that attempted to kill King James I and blow up the House of Parliament. Fortunately, the plot was uncovered before any harm was done and the conspirators, including Thomas Percy, were executed.
Today the symbol of Guy Fawkes, the man who was discovered actually guarding the gunpowder, has been turned upside down to become one of resistance against a tyrannical government. His symbol has been adopted by different movements, including “Anonymous” and “Occupy Wall Street.”
“Thomas Percy,” History Learning Site, http://bit.ly/11LLiNp.
“The Gunpowder Plot: A Detailed Account,” David Herber, Britannia History, http://bit.ly/12t1HHH.
“How Did Guy Fawkes Become a Symbol of Occupy Wall Street?” Edward Lovett, ABC News, November 5, 2011, http://abcn.ws/sWBXJC.
In Chapter 38 George Pierce fantasizes about the new United States that will come after the revolution. He also recognizes that there will initially be a tough period when those Americans (about 25 million) who cannot assimilate must be eliminated. In the late sixties and early seventies, an FBI agent infiltrated a radical group known as the Weather Underground. They too were preparing for a new United States and believed their top priority after the revolution would be to reeducate all Americans and eliminate those who would not accept the indoctrination. According to their estimates, that would be about 25 million people. Check out this clip from the 1982 documentary “No Place to Hide” for more.
“FBI Agent Larry Grathwohl–Bill Ayers’ Weather Underground Plan to Kill 25 Million Americans,” http://bit.ly/11sap51.
In Chapter 40 the quotes recited by Esther come from well-known sources. “We walk by faith, not by sight” is from 2 Corinthians 5:7 and “Hell is empty and all the devils are here” is from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
2 Corinthians 5:7, King James Version, http://bg4.me/117WrX4.
William Shakespeare. The Tempest. Act 1 Scene 2. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/tempest/full.xhtml.
In Chapter 44 Noah arrives at the Ordo Seclorum, where his father’s funeral is being held. This place was inspired by the Bohemian Grove, a club north of San Francisco in the Redwood Forest, where the world’s richest and most powerful men meet for two weeks every summer. The club’s real motto is “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here,” a slogan alluding to the idea that business discussions are to be left outside the gates. Unfortunately for members, that has not always been the case. The Manhattan Project was reportedly planned here, as were several other world-changing events.
The Grove also really does have a giant forty-foot stone statue of an owl on which one of their main rituals is centered: the Cremation of Care. In this ceremony, the men, dressed in robes, sacrifice the effigy of a child known as Care, who symbolizes the worldly cares of the men.
“Bohemian Grove: Where the Rich and Powerful Go to Misbehave,” Elizabeth Frock, The Washington Post, June 15, 2011, http://wapo.st/jjvBHF.
“Masters of the Universe Go to Camp: Inside the Bohemian Grove,” Phillip Weiss, Spy Magazine, November 1989, 59–76, http://bit.ly/L7XZK0.
In Chapter 51 we see Warren Landers in the Talion Corporation showcase facility. While Talion is not based on any single military contractor, the United States government has outsourced many combat and support functions to various powerful private companies, with Blackwater (now renamed Academi) being the most well known.
“The Blackwater Plot Deepens,” Jeremy Scahill, The Guardian, November 11, 2009, http://bit.ly/11BHdv.
More from Chapter 51:
After collecting all the computers from the remains of the Merrick ranch, Warren Landers is able to get a clear understanding of who Lawrence Cole, the owner of the home improvement stores who aids Molly and Hollis, really is by sifting through his online records. This is not an exaggeration. The National Security Agency (NSA) gathers as much data every six hours as has ever been stored in the entire Library of Congress. And now the NSA is building a top-secret $2 billion facility in Utah to store and analyze the data it is collecting. This facility will reportedly be five times the size of the U.S. Capitol and, according to some published reports, it could hold 5 zettabytes of data—that’s as much data as contained in 310 billion iPhones.
“Every Six Hours, the NSA Gathers as Much Data as Is Stored in the Entire Library of Congress,” Dan Nosowitz, Popsci.com, May 10, 2011, http://bit.ly/lmRSwd.
“The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say),” James Bamford, Wired, March 15, 2012, http://bit.ly/FOPeok.
“NSA data center front and center in debate over liberty, security and privacy,” Catherine Herridge, FoxNews.com, April 12, 2013, http://fxn.ws/11vmERo.
In Chapter 55 Noah alerts Ellen to how easily their movements can be monitored by government surveillance. While some liberties were taken for the sake of the story, there is a very real push for these kinds of capabilities in future law enforcement. In March 2013, the FBI’s general counsel said it was a “top priority” to modernize surveillance laws so that it can keep up with the expanding technological communication abilities of Americans. The FBI has also proposed a law that would require Internet companies to make their customers’ social networks and email providers more “wiretap-friendly.”
“FBI’s Lawyer Says Modernizing Surveillance Law for Real-Time Online Snooping Is a ‘Top Priority’ in 2013,” Gerry Smith, The Huffington Post, March 28, 2013, http://huff.to/YLLMQg.
; In Chapter 62 we visit Garrison Archives. While this fortress of archived secrets and priceless treasures does not exist, it is based on some actual facilities, like Iron Mountain in Pennsylvania.
“22 Stories Underground: Iron Mountain’s Experimental Room 48,” Lucas Mearian, ComputerWorld.com, December 9, 2009, http://bit.ly/8yILhS.
In Chapter 64 we see the Total Information Awareness (TIA) program in action. TIA was developed by the Information Awareness Office (IAO) in 2002 in response to 9/11. The New York Times reported that the TIA program sought to “revolutionize the ability of the United States to detect, classify, and identify foreign terrorists by developing data-mining and profiling technologies that could analyze commercial transactions and private communications.”
In 2003, Congress defunded the IAO after the public voiced privacy concerns, but various projects continued to be funded, including those dedicated to “processing, analysis, and collaboration tools for counterterrorism foreign intelligence.”
In March 2012, reports surfaced that TIA was being fully resurrected by the National Security Agency with the construction of a state-of-the-art data center being Utah.
“Overview of the Information Awareness Office,” Dr. John Poindexter, Federation of American Scientists, August 2, 2002, http://bit.ly/8rVjcZ.
“Total Information Awareness,” Jeffrey Rosen, New York Times, December 15, 2002, http://nyti.ms/TewDa2.
GLENN BECK,
the nationally syndicated radio host and founder of TheBlaze television network, is a ten-time #1 bestselling author and is one of the few authors in history to have had #1 national bestsellers in the fiction, nonfiction, self-help, and children’s picture book genres. His recent fiction works include the thrillers
Agenda 21
and
The Overton Window
; his many nonfiction titles include
Control
,
Being George Washington
,
Cowards
, and
Broke