Yesterday Glenn Beck attacked a plan presented at a small left-wing convention to pressure the financial system with strikes and civil disobedience as “economic terrorism,” but two years ago Beck's show heavily promoted the idea of withholding taxes and breaking the law in the process.

On the May 28, 2009, episode of Glenn Beck, Beck had an interview with actor Craig T. Nelson who told Beck he was “really thinking about” not paying taxes anymore because “there are programs that they're asking me to fund that I refuse to fund.”

Later in the program, discussing programs for “saving the sea otters,” Nelson said that “people who want to save them should pay for them” and asked,“if I don't want to save the sea otters -- is that anarchy?” Beck responded: “No! This is American.” He added, “I think you're the first person I have heard that is expressing the way I feel that you get to a point where, enough, I'll go to jail. I will go to jail before I pay you another dime for this insanity.”

The following day, Beck replayed the Nelson interview, and went on a rant prefaced with the warning that "-- I am not advocating that people should not pay their income tax," quickly followed by, “let's just say a million people don't pay” their taxes.

BECK: I want to be clear on one thing -- I am not advocating that people should not pay their income tax. This is a spooky, spooky area, but I think he connected with an awful lot of people last night. But one Craig T. Nelson or Wesley Snipes is not going to send a message, you know? They're just two out of 100,000 tax evaders in prisons today, halfway homes or under house arrest.

But what if -- for argument's sake -- a million Americans intentionally did not pay their taxes? Right now, the IRS is already able to go through over 150 million tax returns and punish those -- you and me - - harshly who fail to pay, you know, their income tax. They fine them between 5 percent and 25 percent. They'll collect about $30 billion in back taxes.

And going forward, the Obama administration is preparing. They are devoting an additional $400 million of your money to get more money from you. And 800 people are being added to the rolls of the IRS to catch tax cheats.

Still, most actual tax evaders don't wind up in jail. They -- well, I think they usually end up as nominees for Obama's cabinet, but maybe that's a different show. Let's just say a million people don't pay, not because they're cheats, but because they believe the principles that we were founded on have been violated, and they think this is wrong and they try to do something that they think is the only thing they can.

Put aside the fact that America's 2.3 million federal, state and local prisons are already overcrowded. They are packed 36 percent beyond their rated capacity -- overcrowded to the maximum. If you want to send these million people to minimum security, 192-bed prisons, you can house them for a meager $30 billion every year.

Or, if you want to grab those tax cheats and since they're probably mostly like all just hacks for the GOP, right-wing tea-partygoers, extremists, you know, you better put them in a maximum security prison. That's a 500-bed prison. That will cost you $100 billion every year.

All in all, it's probably not worth the government's time to toss you in jail, but they've got to do something -- otherwise they're in trouble, and we're going to be locked in shackles.

You know, I think there's probably a better role model for “Coach” than Howard Beale. It might be Gandhi. Gandhi said, “Withholding payment of taxes is one of the quickest methods of overthrowing a government,” and it makes common sense. Starving them out of trillions of your hard-earned dollars would literally put them out of business.

But do Americans want to do that? Do Americans who want to do that have the guts to follow Gandhi's example in order to save children, our grandchildren, our great-great-great-grandchildren from all of this insane debt.

Beck followed up his speech with a segment with Dr. Keith Ablow, citing internet commentary approving of Nelson's idea. He failed to denounce any “economic terrorism.”