Countdown on the 'Fearmonger in Chief': 'We cannot just dismiss him'
By David Neiwert Friday Nov 20, 2009 12:00pm
Every time we run a Glenn Beck post, someone trolls into the comments and asks, "Why bother with this guy? We should just ignore him! Post more videos on [insert name of preferred progressive figure here]!"
We'd like to refer them to this week's special report from the ADL on the rise of populist anti-government rage, the one that officially dubbed Beck our national "Fearmonger in Chief".
Keith Olbermann invited Arianna Huffington onto Countdown to discuss the report last night:
OLBERMANN: It would be nice to think of Glenn Beck just as a joke, as fodder for this show and the “Daily Show” and others that point out how stupid some of this stuff is. But this report, you know, suggests something else, this is—fearmonger-in-chief term is frightening.
HUFFINGTON: It is frightening. Well, I would say the fearmonger-in-chief title should still be reserved for Dick Cheney, even in retirement. But barring that, there is something that we need to really pay attention to with Glenn Beck. We cannot just dismiss him. Because the truth of the matter is that there is a good reason why we have an exemption to the free speech protection by the first amendment when we say you cannot shout fire in a crowded theater.
And he's doing that every night. He's basically using images of violence to bring together with all that he's accusing the Obama administration of, which varies from racism to communism, Nazism and everything else in between. So, all that has definitely an impact. I believe words matter, language matters and he's using it in incredibly irresponsible ways night after night.
OLBERMANN: What do you say to the argument that this country has always self corrected, that whether Father Coughlin on the radio in the ‘30s or Bo Carter (ph) who was a newscaster who presented literally stuff that was made up on the hour in CBS News in the ‘30s or the columnist Westbook Pegler or Senator Joe McCarthy? All these people a finale in which they exited the stage and suddenly. What is to say that that‘s not going to happen here?
HUFFINGTON: Well, I hope it's going to happen, but it's not going to happen without people pointing out what Glenn Beck is doing.
Indeed, since the report was issued, Beck seems to have turned up the Wingnuttery Dial all the way 11.
We put together a compendium of Beck's finest fearmongering of just the past year on Fox, inspired largely by the instances cited by the ADL -- with a few of our own favorite moments thrown in for good measure.
As Arianna says, confronting the Becks is vital to keeping our discourse healthy -- because he is polluting it daily with the toxic garbage of disinformation, paranoia, and scapegoating.
We discussed this recently in the matter of Lou Dobbs:
[I]t's one thing to hold a contrary opinion ... It's quite another to irresponsibly demagogue and demonize an entire bloc of the American population with provably false information and paranoid conspiracy theories derived in large part from hate groups whose entire purpose is to poison the well of our national discourse.
Dobbs wasn't in trouble with the public merely for attacking Latino immigrants or peddling conspiracy theories -- the public sought his removal because he had become a major conduit for right-wing extremism in the mainstream of our discourse.
The free press, and free speech, are indeed vital to the functioning of our democracy, precisely because they are the only means by which the citizens of a democratic society can obtain the information they need to function effectively.
What this means, however, is that the people in the press who dispense that information have an incredible responsibility not just to their readers, but to democratic society, to report accurately, truthfully, and responsibly.
And when they fail in those responsibilities, the public has not just the right but the obligation to demand accountability. Purveying false information is in itself fundamentally irresponsible; so is reporting with the intent to demonize people and target them for elimination; and the combination of the two is particularly toxic, because it almost inevitably has violent consequences.
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http://insidetv.aol.com/2009/11/17/is-it-time-to-stop-picking-on-glenn-beck/?icid=main|main|dl2|link3|http%3A%2F%2Finsidetv.aol.com%2F2009%2F11%2F17%2Fis-it-time-to-stop-picking-on-glenn-beck%2F
If you go there you get to vote!
Ok...that was even more disturbing than Beck and his show.
..they're talking about whether the spoofers are going to far. Who the f is spoofing beck? South Park, maybe. Everyone else is calling his BS, BS; how is that wrong? And in the comments, people are defending him saying politicians won't answer his questions. Well, when you ask whether the President is a racist, I wouldn't give you the time of day!
beck is a train wreck and here's hopin' there's no collateral damage!
... that if you ignore a misbehaving child, they'll settle down and/or wise up and stop acting out. It is acknowledging that the behavior in question is WRONG, and ignoring it is but one method parents have of coping. (In my day, it usually meant a swat across my backside.)
With Beck, ignoring him simply causes him to amp up his fearmongering.
Stop picking on Beck, AOL/TW? Why, certainly - if you will acknowledge his behavior is irresponsible, dangerous, and wrong, and he puts an end to it.
as used with Beck is that contrary to his behavior, Beck is NOT a child. He's an irresponsible unethical adult. Unfortunately, there's no clear law against that. He must be hit in the wallet for it to hurt. Although getting him off Fox won't happen as getting Lou off CNN. It'll be best to corral all these wingnut pundits onto Fox, and then metaphorically nuke the network, taking them all out at once.
He's a bad actor who can't even believe his own lies.
It's nice to see other people mention what I am thinking. I do not believe Glenn Beck believes everything he is saying, and is self-aware about what he is or might be doing. I think he is doing this either for the money or to see how far and for how long he can do this kind of stuff, or both.
I've said elsewhere that I believe there will be a day when he will walk out in front of the camera and say that he has been pulling everyone's leg and it was a great joke to him, everyone was a fool to believe him. I already suspect that the OligarHY thing was an INTENTIONAL JAB at his own audience.
I was wondering who would do the "Leave Glen Beck Alone..." cry.
Ricky never fails to disappoint.
The tragedy of Glen Beck is that he's not a very good actor.
His followers remind me of the drug runners in the movie "Tropic Thunder" that thought Jeff Speedman's performance in "Simple Jack" was Oscar worthy.
Those guys should have known all it was worth was a Golden Globe.
The name of this blog is crooks and liars. Beck is a liar and maybe a crook. Certainly an enemy of all working people.
Great post!
What can we do to stop Beck and all the other incendiary Foxscum?
Watch Glenn Beck every day. very closely. do not let up. do not miss even one word he says.
... but one of the problems is that regulation, such as the Fairness Doctrine, will be sandbagged as 'liberal thought policing' and inherently against the 'free market.'
It's an uphill battle explaining to people that Limbaugh's 'free market' isn't free, or that objective reporting nonetheless requires making judgments. What objective reporting is supposed to avoid is PERSONAL bias, not some make-believe fake equivalency between 'left' and 'right.'
That seemed to work for a short while....it got him off the air and on a "vacation" for a short bit.
Stop giving money to the entities on this list:
http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=news...
I've been meaning to find out the sccpe of "News"Corp.
That's an awfully big list to boycott, but I'm gonna try.
At some point, Christanic extremism and insanity becomes treason. People who actively work to promote our nations' enemies' ideologiesused to be tried and either inprisoned or executed for their treason.
As a nation it's probably to our benefit and our shame that we no longer do so.
While Fox is a cable show, isn't there an FCC process that citizens can use to provide comment on this type of mis-communication?
I strongly encourage anyone who is sick of hearing about Fox's lies to file a complaint to the FCC. You can do that here: http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm The appropriate Complaint Type is "Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues" and the Complaint Category is "Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts" (the form states that this includes "Biased or distorted news stories by the media"). We have an avenue to correct this type of falsification and to make change we must make a complaint
Thanks for the direction. It would be nice to have more specifics for the complaint but the form they provide is quite good at directing us to the show itself.
It's here. Be prepared to note the time of the broadcast and the offensive material.
(To that end, as C&L posts clips, perhaps a note as to when in the broadcast said clip occurs would be useful and enable readers to file complaints without actually having to personally DVR or watch the program. Something like, "At around 23 minutes into the program, X happened ...")
Other than that, the usual rules apply. Be clear, concise, and polite.
I maintain that a legitimate form of combat on this crap is to reposition it as dummies talking to each other in an entertaining way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8LU4B7JFTY
MTD
Beck is laughing all the way to the bank. he builds upon an element of some perceived truth and spins it with negative linguistics. certain demographics that are already angry very possibly due to the president they themselves voted for prior to obama. Beck is also part of the cause to maintain an extreme right wing movement so not to allow a "moderate" movement. I'm SICK of talking about BECK but I realize he's part of the problem......but what's the solution........sunlight doesn't seem to work.
Taking drugs off the street isn't going to stop people from buying drugs, it'll just make those other drugs worth more.
We can't just keep going after Beck, it just reinforces his resolve and the resolve of his viewers. What we can do is just approach Beck as a bad actor. Diminish his worth in the eyes of his viewers and we'll see his bank account start dry up.
The other day I was bored while my wife and kids were browsing in a bookstore, so I started to move Beck's books back to the humor section.
Beck and his listeners are anti-intellectual and perceive any such "critique" as liberal media spin on the untold truth.
Seriously, I have (as many here I'm sure have) gotten into intense debates with Beck listeners and you can tell them that community organizers are not brownshirt soldiers looking to lead them off to a FEMA concentration camp a hundred times. They won't believe you.
you mean there isn't brownshirts that will lead them into FEMA concentration camps? I was hoping there would be to shut them up.
A stake through the heart?
Holy water?
A crucifix pressed against his forehead?
Communion wafers stuffed in his mouth?
Oh, wait, that's an entirely different kind of bloodsucking undead monster ...
he would be Banshee or Wailing Spirit.
I think he would be Australian.
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1601477888/tt0339840
But the off button rule still applies to me.
I won't watch Beck or Faux or CNN, MSNBC, etc.
I seldom even watch the clips provided because I pretty much know what to expect.
If the progressives stopped watching Beck he'd lose half of his viewership.
A post a day about Beck still feeds his popularity.
Shame on you David for calling people like me a troll.
You have no idea how weak name calling exposes you.
Shame shame shame.
... when you write and publish a book about how ignoring pestilential demagogues like Beck, Hannity, and Limbaugh has returned discourse to a new golden age of reason and civility, then you have reason to throw stones at David.
I don't even watch Rachel, Olbermann....nada. And I can't watch the clips here either.
The teevee stays off.
It all makes me sick sick sick.
I find it hard to take anyone seriously who has a segment titled "Worst Person In The World" condemning others for over-the-top rhetoric. Unless that segment features Eric Prince, Robert Mugabe and truly awful people of that nature.
I don't even think Keith takes it seriously.
We think it's funny when Keith does it because we agree.
I'm sure those who like O'Reilly and Beck don't think it's funny. Just like I'm sure you and I wouldn't laugh much at a Glenn Beck stand-up comedy show.
I don't think I would find it funny if Keith was making up lies and conspiracy theories claiming people were out to get me and I ought to get them first. If Glen Beck was just using OTT rhetoric he wouldn't be Glen Beck. It's more like when O'Reilly calls people pinheads. Olberman even does it with silly music and delivery to show he's being over the top. There's a grey area where both sides can be insulting and sling mud, but sometimes it's a false equivalency.
Contrast what WPITW is like with Hannity's "Enemy of the State" segment (does he still do that? Is Hannity's America still on the air? I don't know. I refuse to watch Faux unless it's clips here).
Keith knows the title of the segment is hyperbole, and while sometimes he's serious about the person and offense he's chosen for the gold one night, other times he may be more lighthearted, like the time Prez. Obama got the gold for forgetting his and Mrs. Obama's wedding anniversary. Best Person in the World is also not meant to be taken too seriously, especially as sometimes the awardees are chosen on a humorous or sarcastic basis too.
Contrast that with Hannity. He really *does* believe Sean Penn is an enemy of the state!
"America is the Best Goddamn, Crack-Smoking Mofo of a Kickarse Nation God Ever Gave the
WorldGalaxyUniverse?" Here.*
was if s-elected he would turn the U.S. into a right wing nut farm.
Wish I had placed some serious money on a real bet.
Fox could find any moron to replace Beck, and they would if need be. He's not the problem, but rather the most obvious symptom in a diseased culture of low standards and intellectual dishonesty. Post all you want about him but every time demand Fox management take responsibility for airing his show. Every time demand they go on record and make their assured lack of response the focus of the story. Beck is only a brown shirt doing as told. Go after the head or it won't matter what you write.
felt that the South Park parody was a compliment, not a slam. So why are the nuts pissing and moaning? Oh right, it's what they do.
And Beck is either just plain evil or totally clueless...or perhaps, both.
This one is actually funny and shows that aside from being devious, they are just outright stupid:
Fox Accidentally Promotes 'Going Rouge'
in a thread about a FOX 'News' train wreck...seems on topic to me.
:P
i think Bleck is going to have some serious misgivings about all his crazy talk.
people will want his head on a stick.
Just start talking about Beck's magic underwear and his belief that Joseph Smith is a divine prophet. Conservatives like using religion as a sword and a shield, why can we?
Glenn Beck is someone who supports the rule of law and is an American. His views are perfectly valid. I hate Fox News, I don't care much more for Keith Olbermann, except his views exhibit compassion, and I am a staunch progressive. I am a progressive as Thomas Jefferson was. As Thomas Paine was. I believe in social programs and personal liberties. I believe the Federal government should always be held accountable through transparency.
So here's the question. Why are you so offended by someone with very conservative views. Someone who says he loves his country? Who disliked the atrocious policies of George Bush?
A democracy cannot stand if it cannot defend itself against dissent. Any bureaucracy which is legitimate worries not about dissent. Even if that dissent is truly propaganda. Because the people who support that institution are well aware of the virtuosity of that bureaucracy. (A term I use to describe a large organization not a negative connotation.) If Beck's remarks have no legitimacy, then why do you or others try to marginalize his dissent? Why is it so important to impart your will and perspective on someone who likely shares many of your virtues but has a different view on politics?
I believe most liberals, not to be confused with progressives, because the two broke direction ages ago, have lost their way. And, they want to believe Obama fulfills their desire to return to truth. Yet, when we look at a host of issues, it seems our President has instead become of a cult of personality. One where people aren't banking on the virtuosity of Washington but on the hope of an individual.
Only will Washington be returned to what you and I and all posters on this board want when Washington's legitimacy is restored by the people. By voting for substantial and radical progressive reforms. I voted for Obama but I have no allegiance to anyone. I have allegiance to my country. He has failed to deliver the restoration I expected. He's not going to wake up tomorrow and become a great leader. He is instead a great orator.
I think what we all wish for is what Cornel West talks about here. Cornel West hopes for a great Obama but believes he is too much of a politician and not enough of a transformational leaders. In actuality doesn't Glenn Beck want the same for our country? Virtues of honesty, integrity, trust, compassion, personal freedoms, a government of the people and by the people?
http://bigthink.com/cornelwest/big-think-inte...
I have followed C&L for years. I have a link to it on my blog. And, if the blog's author cares to have that link to validate what I am saying, I will gladly share it with HIM. Ad hominem attacks are standard fair for those who cannot defend their positions with reason and virtue. Just as is the case with any illegitimate institution.
Now ad hominem attacks are "fair"?
Doesn't that seriously undermine your feigned victim-hood?
Whiny troll...I knew I hurt your itty bitty feelings.
I notivce no response to any of the other replies that so effectively shoot you down.
And Site mon, no offense, but I get deleted when this fool blog whores and then whines about be called on it?
[No. Your criticism was rather rude. That's why it disappeared. And I did not consider that blogwhoring. Just a difference of opinion-Sitemonitor]
And no thank you tool, Rotten.com ain't my thing.
you have missed many of the things Beck has propagandized.
and Obama has become a cult of personality.
Wow. Now if we could just do a Vulcan mind meld...
The biggest problem I see with your theory is that Beck is not honest, has no integrity, and couldn't spell compassion.
After all, Beck himself said that he is an "infotainer".
Thought I might return the favor.
Wow, Tim. Well done. Let me see if I caught all your reposition attempts:
Progressive = Thomas Paine (Tea Party hero)
Fearmongering = Legitimate dissent
Obama = Liberal, Cult of Personality, politician (common rightwing repositions)
Beck = honesty, integrity, trust, compassion
Go crawl back in bed and play with your tool.
MTD
really? you're dissing tom paine just b/c the loonie right has bastardized his writing? that is kind of sad...
I'm not dissing Paine. I recognize how the nutjobs have repositioned him and I'm making sure the tool understands that we're on to him.
[deleted--keep your comments on the topic of the post and not other commenters, thanks. Site Monitor]
I think you need to do away with the propaganda and read Thomas Paine. Everyone wants to be associated with him yet the reality is he would surely vomit over the Republican party today. It's a great lie of name association in the spirit of all great propagandists. Thomas Paine was the forefather of Social Security, of a living wage, of programs to help the poor. You need to do your diligence. Paine was America's first great progressive. In fact, he was so progressive that the more conservative founding fathers too marginalized his views. Because they were considered extremely radical.
Glenn Beck has a different view than you. Does he say things I don't agree with? Sure. Much less so than Rahm Emanuel.
I guess posting on here was a waste of time. Ideology runs deep. Only when ideology all the way around is broken can the people of this country rebuild Washington into a virtuous organization. Remember me. I'll be back when the economy collapses again. First due to Bush and Clinton. Next due to Obama. Because he didn't embrace the progressive movement and instead perpetuated the same neoliberal ideology of Bush and Clinton.
http://mediamatters.org/search/tag/glenn_beck
"perpetuated the same neoliberal ideology of Bush and Clinton"
very true.
Just because we're on to you doesn't mean we don't want you to keep hacking away with your talking points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCZObrjDA0s
MTD
beck has the right to his opinion (altough not necessarily a megaphone to broadcast his hate rants), as much as C&L and people here have to point out his lies, inconsistencies, and oddities.
that said, i have no idea what "conservative" means anymore...
"A democracy cannot stand if it cannot defend itself against dissent."
They are about making money and attention whoring. If they WERE about dissent, they'd have a grasp on facts. These crapmasters make stuff up and whip up crowds over untruths who are too lazy or stupid to think for themselves.
"...it seems our President has instead become of a cult of personality."
If you want to talk about 'Cult of Personality,' it is NOT this president. Rather, it is those who wish him dead, failure, incorrectly name healthcare after him, make up racist songs about him, call him a Nazi-Commie-Fascist-Socialist, without even knowing the meaning of those words, and pass on those mis-definitions on to their throngs of adoring lazy fat-arsed fans.
"Why are you so offended by someone with very conservative views." "In actuality doesn't Glenn Beck want the same for our country?" No. Glenn Beck wants money fame adoration and a following. He's a liar, not a conservative (he doesn't know the meaning of the word), not a revolutionary, nor a dissenter.
Corporate America are bigger threats to this country then Beck and his cohorts.
Beck and these clowns are just lackeys being made rich to distract people from whats really happening "behind the scenes".
First, I'm not a troll.
Second, I'm in the camp that says ignore this guy and others like him. Why? Because the only reason he's notorious is because the left wing keeps him in the spotlight.
Third, if you think confronting him is the answer, then why isn't your method working?
All you folks who think that "keeping the pressure on" is how to handle it then why is this guy getting more air time than, say, the president?
Seriously, ignoring him may not be the answer but we'll never know because it's never been done. But your way has been done and it is proven not to work.
It does not magically go away.
Clever, but nothing to do with the actual subject.
Again I ask, why isn't your way working? Why is Beck everywhere I go?
Answer, because most places I go are liberal leaning and they're doing everything in their power to make the man relevant.
But keep on feeding him and say your way works. I'll believe it when the evidence doesn't show just the opposite.
doesn't go away when you ignore it...if you want to be ignorant...go right ahead, live in a hole and ignore reality.
Calling the sponsors did work for a while, not long enough, but it made a dent. Rather than whine and hide in your pitypot, try actually doing something. Filing complaints, calling the sponsors. No one said it would be easy and magical. A media that has been basically allowed to become the propaganda arm of the RW is very hard to fight, but it can be done. Or you can just ignore and clap your hands and believe in fairies.
I'm not the one whining or detached from reality.
The reality is that your way doesn't work. The reality is that instead of addressing that (I've now asked at least three times) you decide to name call and make extreme claims about somebody who can see your method for what it is - impotent.
Why can't you answer the question I asked?
Why isn't your way working?
unlike yourself...we live in a reality that is not instant gratification. I just see you as "if it doesn't happen ommediately if's not worth bothering". And I've answered your question many times...you just don't want to get off your lazy assand think for a change.
Your "cancer" analogy may sound clever to you but it's not.
Beck isn't a cancer. He's a really stupid person. He's especially stupid if he believes the garbage he spews and slightly less so if he knows it's garbage and is laughing his way to the bank.
And frankly, everyone taking the bait and coming out with their pitchforks and torches aren't much smarter.
and the analogy is apt. You just refuse to intelligently look at the situation. I gave you sensible ideas and you ignore them because they don't allow for instant results.
Ok, when Beck dies of natural causes be sure to claim victory. Until then we'll just be inundated with him because your methods are so successful.
I'm intelligent enough to see the evidence. It's not on your side.
But carry on making Beck relevant enough to you to waste your life on him if that makes you happy.
I'll do something productive instead.
Good call!
Again, ignore or obsess - either way it won't do a thing. People like Beck and his listeners need scapegoats. Life sucks and they need to blame someone. They need a daddy (Beck) and mommy (Palin) to tell them everything is going to be OK and the bad people - the "others" - aren't gong to get them as long as mommy and daddy are looking out for them.
You can't ignore stupid away and you can't keep calling someone stupid and expect them to suddenly want to be smart. Stupid relies on base "fight or flight" and therefore they become much more defensive, stick to their own tribe and lash out at anything they don't understand. Like Sarah Palin.
Again, the only way to rid ourselves of stupid paranoid people is to change our nation. The economy, education and social structure.
Beck is dangerous, and ignoring him would be like ignoring the blood in your urine.
I agree with you in many regards. I think you're going to easy on Beck though. Blatantly making up ridiculous conspiracies and ranting about it to a massive audience theorizing it might be true and no one else is courageous enough to talk about it is not defensible.
That said, all the ranting he does about Fascism and liberties are similar to things many progressives ranted about in the Bush years (think Naomi Kline and the Shock Doctrine). The thing about it is that both sides are right, they just need to get over blaming each other and realize the problem isn't conservative or liberal - it's power and money.
The too solutions are either the liberal "socialist" reforms or the conservative/libertarian anarchy proposed by Beck and his listeners.
Personally, I'd prefer a more Socialist country that a Libertarian state of anarchy.
Sure, just like it didn't work with Lou Dobbs.
So...if left wing people didn't challenge his wild stories at all...what would happen? Do the people he's popular with not exist? People are suggesting that the only reason Rush et al. became big was because the left didn't ignore them, but it seems like they came to national attention when a whole lot of people went crazy over loving them.
I don't think people listen to and love Glen Beck because the "liberal media" or "liberals" hate the guy--that's just more proof that everything he says is right to him. They love him because they like what he has to say--and even if pointing out his lies don't immediately make them disbelieve in him, that doesn't mean they would do that on their own if he wasn't challenged. I don't think his audience is made up of angry leftists any more than Countdown's audience is made up of angry conservatives.
... and, for that matter, ignoring Sarah Palin, I heard about 15 years ago as an argument for ignoring Rush Limbaugh: You're only raising his profile; he's just an opportunist/entertainer who doesn't even really mean all the stuff he says; it's more important to look forward; hell just dry up and blow away because no sane person could take him seriously; etc. etc. etc.
Look how well that worked out.
George "No way he'll win!!1!!" Bush.
Anyone over 50 (pick me)remembers a time not so long ago when Limbaugh was considered a harmless loud mouthed schmuck to be mocked and pitied.
Unfortunately the septic blob has done far too well for himself,wallowing in fear mongering and hatred of Liberals whilst raking in millions and garnering a huge twitchy jumpy audience.
These creeps are ignored at our peril and must be called out at every
juncture.This is the service that C&L provides with such passion and devotion.
was ignored. I've never known any of these people to be ignored.
Tell you what, everyone talk about the crazy guy on the corner with the bullhorn crying that the end is coming. Make sure to refute him on every news channel, in every newspaper and on every blog that thinks he's crazy.
That method will do great things to make him the most well-known wacko on the planet.
I remember the same cries about Limbaugh too. Guess what, we can ignore them and they won't go away either. We aren't their listeners and their listeners don't read these sites or watch MSNBC so aren't made aware of them by our obsessing.
You know why they won't go away?
Because people are trapped in second-class, stressful and deteriorating lives, and they need someone to blame. Beck, Limbaugh, Palin and all of the blowhards give them people to blame.
The only way to get rid of these people is to improve the nation's standard of living, education system and social structure (less tribal cults and a more non-sectarian community). These are of course huge things and need to be worked at on all levels from the top down to us little dirty hippies. And it is daunting because the rightwing media is against everything that needs to be done to eradicate it. They are against living wages and the unions that deliver them, they are against quality public education and they are gungho about Theocracy.
I'm pessimistic about the possibilities of it, but if we're looking for ways to get rid of people like Beck, this is the only way.
I think you're right. Instead of giving negative people negative attention, maybe we should just ignore them and put our energy into whatever we can do to improve things.
Fundamentally, the education in this country sucks. That would be a great place to start.
The people who accomplish the most worthwhile things aren't obsessed with destruction which is why those people are never right-wingers. The people who create good things are intelligent liberals who are focused on creating and they aren't bogged down in battles with stupid people.
The best way to change people is to find commonality and build from there. Not differences and tear each other apart.
before you can rebuild. Never underestimate the importance of a solid foundation. IMHO, America's has been seriously eroded.
Glenn Beck is a stick man with strings, Ruppert Murdock is pulling those strings.
Murdock is waging class war, the main strategy of which is to divide and conquer. He is the fearmonger in chief.
That has been the strategy since Jay Gould.
All of the Capitalists, shy only a very tiny minority who are held as traitors to their class, are waging this war. To one degree or another. They know it, but the working class has forgotten. It has been lulled and hammered into submission.
The working class, which is the great, even the super majority of people in this country, has even forgotten of its own existence, having being called the middle class consumer for going one hundred years.
It is class war and the language of choice is propaganda, until you recognize it you will be fighting stick men.
You can knock each one down but another will quickly take its place.
More videos on Karl Marx, or someone who understands what he was talking about, please.
Let them take on Ruppert Murdock.
either devoting shows to stuff like "Folks, did you know that Corporate America, that's right our own Officers, Captains of Industry, have left this country in shambles and they now pay people in China $3,500 per year to do the same things you did when we once had a manufacturing base in this country?"
No sir eee!
big league economics why bother.
Seems like you have identified your call to action which would be to help less Americans be so "clueless" about big league economics.
Howard Beale, the un-Glen Beck here
Be sure to watch the entire clip.
that anyone who even mildly disagrees with a post on this blog (and not just this one) is automatically labeled a "troll." Is there no room for debate? Must each and every comment amount to "rah rah sisboom bah?"
I disagree often enough and I've only been called a troll once and only by one person.
Like most tech jargon just refer to people as people.
As one who has been called a troll more than a few times, I'd agree. Not because it hurt my feelings, but because it's hard to take someone using schoolyard insults seriously.
That said, I'll take the troll label any day over the stuff I've been called on right-wing sites! :)
To anyone throwing around the "Troll" epithet is to first check that person's comments.More often than not,they've been here a long time and were being sarcastic,were playing devil's advocate,or simply found themselves siding with conservative thinking for some reason or other,which in and of itself need not be a crime.
The World isn't quite that black and white.
sometimes it fits, other times it doesn't.
Most often people don't know how to use it, much like some people who cry "socialism", "fascism", etc.
I woke up in the middle of the night with the TV blaring. After a moment, I realized the 700 Club was on. They posed a question: Is homosexuality a choice? You could dial one 900 number to vote 'yes,' and another 900 number to vote 'no.' In my stupor, I grabbed the phone to vote 'no.' Then I realized all the 'no' voters were contributing money to Pat Robertson, and I put down the phone and turned off the TV. If everyone did that, there would be no Pat Robertson, at least not on TV. Ditto Beck.
Are you suggesting that the only people calling to vote in the poll were people calling to vote no??
I'm saying that no matter where you stood on the issue, you were contributing money to the 700 Club via their 900 number, so that even if you disagreed with Pat Robertson, you were making him richer.
Where I work we often toyed with setting up a 1-900 number to take complaints. At least we would get something out of it.
Right--which is a good reason for people who disagree with him not to call in, but would just be more reason for people to agree with him to call in. The people who don't want to put down the phone or turn off the TV are his audience.
Good story. That 700 Clus is certainly crafty.
I usually mutter STFU as I turn these guys OFF. No audience, no show. We can't control the willing that lap this stuff up (can we?)
Beck is a little like Jim Jones, and his shtick has a lot of cool aid in it: he presents ideas like they will save the common man, but in fact they are poison.
keep commenting on these threads? You just raise their profile, make them more popular, etcetcetc.
Hmmm that sounds so familiar.
LOL!
here we go 'round in circles...
I don't often watch the clips, or go to the comments (BillO, Beck, Hannity), but Arrianna told us we have to, so I came into this one. :) Just to see, not cuz she said. Curiosity... you know.
Everyone likes a scapegoat: oldest rule in the book. Beck provides: truth irrelevent.
Troll debate (above)
Calling someone a troll and hurling insults will not change their opinion. Pointing out where you disagree and why is much better, however, this world seems to love controvesry, so that's what we get served in our media.
_______ the anti-Christ? Discuss. Waterboarding, chucking water or torture? Discuss. There is no news, instead we get Hasslebeck-fueling-controversy today. Everyone log in at________ our blog to comment, and, of course, we can see more ads there.
Even with FOX News and other networks promoting his 9/12 March, and even with tons of Big Health Care cash financing that march, Beck still couldn't even fill a small football stadium. Obama did far better with a campaign stop in Portland. Heck, George W. Bush got about 15,000 people to pay to see him as a motivational speaker.
Glenn Beck is not the reason Goldman Sachs has been given full control of our economy;
Glenn Beck is not the reason we are escalating the war in Afghanistan;
Glenn beck is not the reason war criminals have been given de facto immunity; and
Glenn Beck is not the reason health care reform has morphed into a massive corporate give-away.
Glenn Beck is a shiny object, an irresistible distraction for far too many on the Left. He effortlessly shifts the argument to why a given issue isn't being addressed conservatively enough, and scores of lefties take the bait and argue against "death panels" while a former WellPoint executive writes a supposedly Democratic bill behind their backs.
Heck, many on the left are even prepared to defend these corporate bills against
distractionsattacks from Beck and his ilk.I get that airwaves are the public's and that the public has every right to pressure his hate off the air. I applaud it.
But don't spend all your efforts swatting at the flea while the lions perfect their ambush.
.
This is cable t.v. If you order cable t.v., you pay for Fox whether you want it or not. If you call your cable provider and ask for a package (cable bundle) that doesn't include Fox, all they are going to tell you is that you can block Fox if you don't want it -- I know because I have called and asked. Blocking it means, of course, that you don't let Fox in your home, but you're still paying for it when you pay your monthly fee for your bundle because it's still part of the bundle, right?
What I want is to get a shitload of people all over the country writing and phoning their cable providers saying they want a bundle WITHOUT Fox in it. I'd even like to see legislation enacted that says either cable companies provide such a bundle OR they have to pay back the portion of the monthly fees that covers Fox. Certainly, the providers would find it cheaper to provide a Fox-less bundle. And I'm willing to bet there're a lot of people who'd order it. THAT would get advertisers' attention. Screw boycotts.
Not very likely with the big guns all aligning against it.
See Wired:
Would be nice to have a choice.
and the people loved it a little too much.
There's no such thing as competition among cable companies.
I have one choice.
... but I don't see it happening. Evangelicals are well aware that hardly any one would pay for their religious nonsense channels (unless, of course, they sexed 'em up a bit) if given a choice.
Same with shopping channels.
"I Blocked Fox" campaign, asking people to call their cable providers and have Fox blocked, with a sign-up site to show advertisers how many people will not be seeing their comercials on Fox?
Direct TeeVee.
Where do I sign up?
Unfortunately, no cable. It just doesn't come this far up the mountain. :(
Maybe next year.
Knowing that one will not be able to block this Nit Wit net work here is another hopefully positive suggestion.
A lot of the cable companies are soliciting in the Big Box Stores i.e. Target and Best Buy etc. now tell these solicitors NO NOT unless you can BLOCK fox Noise Net Work, this is a on the ground fast track feed to the regional and corporate MORONS that put Profit over decency, the worst they can due is pill the solicitors and then they are still hurting.
What the hell its worth a try.
I agree. if something aweful were to happen to the president, Glenn, Hannity and limbaugh would have to head for a bunker. I would bet one of them wouldn't live through the backlash. Karmas going to be a bitch for them.
They'll just blame the liberal media (or "drive-by media") for taking them seriously.
i suspect the angry mob heading for glenn becks house or studio could careless what his excuse after the fact would be. It would be very easy to identify who instigated all this idiocy. When some old white racist teabagger tries to even hurt this president the youth of this country will finally stand up and say no more. The riots in the 60s would be childsplay compared to what would happen. Please be safe mr. president! we have your back
Rupert Murdock is the puppetmaster, and that is the true scary guy. He's the one with the money that supports Beck and keeps him on the air. If Murdock wasn't giving Beck a stage, he would be just yacking away to his neighbors who would roll their eyes and think he was crazy.
Yes! Give us Beck. Lot's of Beck. Give us a "best of Beck".
is everywhere
and it's all well and nice that C&L devotes a lot of server space for him but at times i feel like saying
i'm not here.
Arianna takes him seriously (yawn) too
all teh way to the Russell Crowe likeness
but when she says that the character he plays is scaring everyone... not true.
John never wanted to scare anyone. he was very sick and drew so many connections on chalkboard that he was himself scared.
John didn't even have conscious memories of many incidents when he had been delusional.
Beck is different in that he believes that his beliefs and perceptions are validated by an audience that understands him.
let's not wake him just yet.
Beck is the little boy that received so much conditional love for having, being, doing and belonging to success that the adult Beck uses absolutes to climb upon the unconditional sh*t pile of lifes problems and it's uncontrollable leaders/participants who weren't invited into the inbred definition of Beckean success.
Beck doesn't want to be caught hazing anyone so Obama and his methods will remain uninvited until the end which in Becks world is his beginning.
animals simply sniff each others butts but with Beck a complex set of social rules of statehood and legitimacy apply so that a smokescreen of civility about Beck may appear to prevail.
heck, we all do it.
... but that reply seemed perfect.
distinguish between the truth and the insane ravings of Glenn Beck. He has made his way in media on delivering message based on shock. It surprises me that so many people respond to him but I don't believe it's because of what he is saying so much as giving them reason to vent themselves. The americans that Beck appeals to are insecure, and have personal problems with racism with change. Any kind of change scares the shit out of them and what they don't understand is that the way the status quo has evolved is a scenario that is no longer sustainable, that on so many issues, the country and the world have reached a point of either having to deal with and resolve problems that have been formulating for decades, or we will not be able to solve them after a certain point. That certain point is here now. Yes, it's scary, but we have to do something about global climate change, we have to address our insatiable need to use fossil fuels and transition over to green technologies that will free us from continuing to degrade the environment, we need to transform the banking and financial service industry and strip it of its ability to gamble away the present and retirement prosperity of average working americans, we need to have universal health care coverage. These are just a few of the very pressing problems that we face. They are huge problems and they have to either be resolved now or they will overwhelm us and may no longer be solveable. Why is it that so many americans are so afraid of tackling these changes? Why is it that they are clinging so stubbornly to a model that has run us into a ditch in so many ways. Glenn Beck gives voice to the absolute lunacy, the most far-fetched and delirious anxiety that the most paranoid of minds can bring into this scenario. I agree with Ariana Huffington in that Glenn Beck is dangerously crying fire in a crowded theater. His mania is not appealling so much as gripping and clawing. He reaches directly into the inner most depths and fears of people, and his boss, the America-Hater-in-Chief, Rupert Murdoch, condones and promotes what the insane Glenn Beck does and says. It's infantile of me to wish only the worst for Rupert Murdoch. But, like Beck fuels the anger of average americans who are not using more than their paranoia brain cells, Rupert Murdoch aroused my hatred for the harm that he does to this country by the poisonous views that he broadcasts. I believe in freedom of speech. But Murdoch's doctine as made manifest in what he condones being broadcast, is dangerous. It's anti-American. I am all for freedom of speech, but not when it serves no other purpose than to arouse anger, suspicion, uncertainty, violence as does Glenn Beck's speech, and by extension, his boss, Rupert Murdoch. Where there is violence and anger and rage and complete irrationality and a complete breakdown of civility, it is because Glenn Beck and Rupert Murdoch fan the flames.
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