Glenn Beck: Obama’s Going to Murder Tea Partiers and Ron Paul Supporters

Wingnuts • Views: 3,401

Glenn Beck goes completely batshit crazy here, barking and ranting like a lunatic in the throes of a full-out psychotic break — and says the Obama administration is planning to murder Tea Partiers and Ron Paul supporters.

Un. Freaking. Believable.

Beck is crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first — but listen to what he’s actually saying here. This rant really crossed a whole lot of lines.

Youtube Video

(Hat tip: Killgore Trout.)

Jump to bottom

257 comments
1 jamesfirecat  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:09:23pm

My ears are too afraid to click "play" does anyone have a transcript?

2 Randall Gross  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:09:38pm

The specific here is Al Awlaki... of course Glen isn't going to tell his audience that.

3 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:09:43pm

I am gonna have to get some beer before I can watch that vid. BBL.

4 theheat  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:10:03pm

I can't listen to him anymore. And looking at him pains me. What, are the glasses supposed to make him look studious and legit? Puh-lease.

5 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:10:06pm

They have been pushing the meme of angry blacks gunning for their poor victimized white bottoms, allied with angry socialists and commies gunning for Christians, since before the election.

This fear, and fanning it, has always been the essence of the teabags and Fox news commentary in general.

6 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:10:16pm

a hell of an act...worth millions
"who is being feared?"

7 Randall Gross  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:11:03pm

Think of it this way: If Bush had of gotten a hellfire applied to Adam Gadahn during his term, Beck would have cheered like a madman....

8 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:11:55pm

OK, now I am going to compare Glenn Beck to Joseph Goebbels; He has richly earned it with this bit on lunacy. Speeches like this are utter slander and they're going to get people killed.

9 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:12:49pm

re: #7 Thanos

Think of it this way: If Bush had of gotten a hellfire applied to Adam Gadahn during his term, Beck would have cheered like a madman...

I think we here would all at least applaud that POS getting blown away.

10 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:14:18pm

re: #8 Dark_Falcon

OK, now I am going to compare Glenn Beck to Joseph Goebbels; He has richly earned it with this bit on lunacy. Speeches like this are utter slander and they're going to get people killed.

He's not smart enough to be Goebbels. I think of Beck as more along the lines of the racist/tribalist disk jockeys and radio hosts in Rwanda that stoked the Hutu/Tutsi resentments.

11 theliel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:14:26pm

so in three months when he calls for the violent overthrow of the US government on national TV can we PLEASE finaly do something about this guy?

He's a danger to himself and others and needs help, not to be left alone wallowing in his own shit. It's no better than bedlam's initial residents paraded for other's amusement.

12 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:14:36pm

And a song for Glenn:

Youtube Video
13 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:14:53pm

"Congress is irrelevant!"
hello! Glenn?

14 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:14:55pm

re: #8 Dark_Falcon

OK, now I am going to compare Glenn Beck to Joseph Goebbels; He has richly earned it with this bit on lunacy. Speeches like this are utter slander and they're going to get people killed.

Yes, watch him waggle his arms and gesticulate. Very reminiscent of other speakers from that earlier era when they pimped hysteria.

15 researchok  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:15:14pm

All pathologies left untreated, escalate.

Beck validates that truth.

16 Varek Raith  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:16:42pm

Okely dokely, Beck.
Fucking idiot.

17 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:18:12pm

By the way, it should be noted that gunning for known terrorists is something that most people in this nation are ok with.

I certainly am ok with that.

It should also be noted that most right wingers are really into the idea of torturing them for information as well - even if they are not known terrorists.

All this is, and has ever been is a statement in words of the fear that Obama will do to them, what they want done to others.

18 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:18:14pm

I was going to comment that Beck never fails to entertain but this is no longer entertainment. This is psychosis, or at the very least, IT'S NO LONGER FUNNY GLENN!

19 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:18:32pm

re: #3 Slumbering Behemoth

I am gonna have to get some beer before I can watch that vid. BBL.

I'd need a lot more than beer to be able to watch that. I'd also need someone else to drive afterwards. =P

20 Charles Johnson  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:18:38pm

He's crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first -- but this rant has really crossed a whole lot of lines.

21 Varek Raith  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:19:09pm

re: #20 Charles

He's crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first -- but this rant has really crossed a whole lot of lines.

Very true.
This was...
Scary.
Downright scary.

22 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:19:30pm

re: #10 Lidane

He's not smart enough to be Goebbels. I think of Beck as more along the lines of the racist/tribalist disk jockeys and radio hosts in Rwanda that stoked the Hutu/Tutsi resentments.

You misunderstand Goebbels then. Nazi propaganda was populist in nature. It was aimed at the angry and uneducated. Beck's tone is right on the mark.

23 bratwurst  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:19:46pm

The fact that there are more than a handful of people in this country willing to take a former morning zoo radio dj with no post-high school education seriously as an economist, a historian and a biblical scholar speaks to the ultimate triumph of anti-intellectualism. Heaven help us all.

24 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:20:45pm

re: #11 theliel

so in three months when he calls for the violent overthrow of the US government on national TV can we PLEASE finaly do something about this guy?

He's a danger to himself and others and needs help, not to be left alone wallowing in his own shit. It's no better than bedlam's initial residents paraded for other's amusement.

I am deeply impressed with the bedlam reference. I also agree with your point directly.

25 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:21:20pm

Obama's secret plan: to deploy his elite squad of cat-suited Splinter Cell-esque assassins to the homes of lonely bearded men who work in IT and read too much Ayn Rand

"Here lies Richard Munford, he was murdered by the dastardly Obama as he sat at his computer, surrounded by empty pizza boxes, Bud K replica swords, and Mountain Dew cans, arguing about the Cato Institute with someone on Livejournal."

26 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:21:21pm

re: #23 bratwurst

The fact that there are more than a handful of people in this country willing to take a former morning zoo radio dj with no post-high school education seriously as an economist, a historian and a biblical scholar speaks to the ultimate triumph of anti-intellectualism. Heaven help us all.

anything can happen and it probably will

27 akarra  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:21:26pm

re: #1 jamesfirecat

My ears are too afraid to click "play" does anyone have a transcript?

Same here. I don't really want to see this, but I do need to know what exactly was said, especially with millions of people parroting him.

28 Daniel Ballard  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:21:32pm

What must he say to get fired? What would will it take? This is the worst garbage ever tolerated. By coincidence tonight I got to debunk a funny one-if you type the word illuminati backwards and add dot org, you get the NSA. Seriously it's true. This was alleged to be proof of some big illuminati conspiracy. So for my own tiny ill informed audience I searched "Internet Redirect" and showed the truth.

I then said that this was absolute proof that somebody at NSA has a sense of humor.

Anti Idiotarian moments. Rare at home, cherished all the more.

Try it

www.itanimulli.org

29 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:21:52pm

re: #20 Charles

He's crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first -- but this rant has really crossed a whole lot of lines.

Agreed, this is becoming dangerous

like actual riot-inciting dangerous

30 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:22:02pm

re: #22 LudwigVanQuixote

You misunderstand Goebbels then. Nazi propaganda was populist in nature. It was aimed at the angry and uneducated. Beck's tone is right on the mark.

So how many people does Glenn reach? Or perhaps more to the point, does he reach the sort of people who have the power and influence to act on the fear this guy is generating?

31 Ojoe  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:03pm

And Fox puts this out, because it makes them money.

32 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:09pm

re: #30 eclectic infidel

So how many people does Glenn reach? Or perhaps more to the point, does he reach the sort of people who have the power and influence to act on the fear this guy is generating?

Fox news is by far the most watched of the cable news channels, so do the math!

Think of all the public places you've been that just have FNC turned on as a matter of habit

33 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:15pm

re: #28 Rightwingconspirator

What must he say to get fired? What would will it take? This is the worst garbage ever tolerated. By coincidence tonight I got to debunk a funny one-if you type the word illuminati backwards and add dot org, you get the NSA. Seriously it's true. This was alleged to be proof of some big illuminati conspiracy. So for my own tiny ill informed audience I searched "Internet Redirect" and showed the truth.

I then said that this was absolute proof that somebody at NSA has a sense of humor.

Anti Idiotarian moments. Rare at home, cherished all the more.

Try it

www.itanimulli.org

fired?...the guy is a gold mine

34 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:16pm

re: #22 LudwigVanQuixote

You misunderstand Goebbels then. Nazi propaganda was populist in nature. It was aimed at the angry and uneducated. Beck's tone is right on the mark.

Just so. Much of what Goebbels said was utterly outlandish and over-the-top, but plausibility was not something he was trying to achieve. Goebbels was trying to drive his audience into a frenzy, so they could be used to intimidate or destroy all those identified as "enemies of the New Order". Glenn Beck is doing that same thing.

35 Randall Gross  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:24pm

re: #20 Charles

He's crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first -- but this rant has really crossed a whole lot of lines.

Yes, he's gone full bull goose Jones here...

36 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:23:29pm

re: #30 eclectic infidel

Um, quite a few already have. They don't have to be high up muckety mucks to do a lot of damage.

37 Digital Display  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:03pm

re: #20 Charles

He's crazy all the time, so you may not get it at first -- but this rant has really crossed a whole lot of lines.

I posted earlier tonight after I saw this that Beck has really got that TV evangelist vibe going on.. these days..
I believe the quote was something like Jim Baker on political steroids..Just weird..

38 akarra  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:08pm

re: #31 Ojoe

And Fox puts this out, because it makes them money.

I don't really know what Fox wouldn't do for money, at this point.

39 McSpiff  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:17pm

re: #31 Ojoe

And Fox puts this out, because it makes them money.

Another civil war would be a rating bonanza. Even the hint of "an uprising among the masses". I think they know exactly what they're doing.

40 Reginald Perrin  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:20pm

I can't bear to watch the entire video, could someone be kind enough to please tell me where the extreme batshit lunacy starts?

41 The Shadow Do  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:25pm

re: #23 bratwurst

The fact that there are more than a handful of people in this country willing to take a former morning zoo radio dj with no post-high school education seriously as an economist, a historian and a biblical scholar speaks to the ultimate triumph of anti-intellectualism. Heaven help us all.

For what it's worth, Judge Napolotano is even scummier though well educated.

42 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:35pm

Ok. What is Beck going on about? Is this a memo released or a new law in effect?

43 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:24:46pm

re: #31 Ojoe

And Fox puts this out, because it makes them money.

...and pleases the GOP who rely on Fox and their extremist hosts to keep their base interested and win elections.

This isn't an accident.

44 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:25:05pm

re: #30 eclectic infidel

So how many people does Glenn reach? Or perhaps more to the point, does he reach the sort of people who have the power and influence to act on the fear this guy is generating?

of course...Beck could be shut down in a heartbeat...but the world does not revolve around principle, only ratings

45 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:25:12pm

re: #22 LudwigVanQuixote

You misunderstand Goebbels then. Nazi propaganda was populist in nature. It was aimed at the angry and uneducated. Beck's tone is right on the mark.

I was under the impression that Goebbels was slick enough to sucker people with his propaganda without being as crass as someone like Beck. Granted, it's been a while since I paid much attention to the Nazis, so I could well be wrong.

46 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:00pm

re: #28 Rightwingconspirator


To ask whether it'll take more to get him fired, is to accept the premise that Fox News doesn't want him to say such things.


I do not accept this premise. Fox News is encouraging him, not discouraging him.

47 McSpiff  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:18pm

re: #34 Dark_Falcon

Just so. Much of what Goebbels said was utterly outlandish and over-the-top, but plausibility was not something he was trying to achieve. Goebbels was trying to drive his audience into a frenzy, so they could be used to intimidate or destroy all those identified as "enemies of the New Order". Glenn Beck is doing that same thing.

Big lies are more effective because no one would believe that you'd bend the truth so far. Famously used by the Nazis: [Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

48 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:18pm

we're hosed

49 freetoken  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:27pm

This stuff has been going on as long as I can remember.

Even back in high-school I used to listen to late night radio - this was waaayyy before Art Bell's time. At night usually religious broadcasters of one sort or another would get into JBS type stuff.

With the advent of cable TV the nuts found an outlet via the local community service channel.

Then with 500 cable channels everyone had to compete more intensely, so the barons of media began dipping into the nut-pool to provide entertainment. Competing with X-treme sports and Playboy and MTV and HBO etc means that cable "news" is always going to be driven more and more x-treme.

So I expect this to continue and even get worse.

50 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:42pm

re: #44 albusteve

of course...Beck could be shut down in a heartbeat...but the world does not revolve around principle, only ratings

ratings + political will and political machinery. It's far more than just money and ad dollars

51 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:45pm

Ludwig, last week you told me that you've previously posted the Nuremburg speech. Do you still have that link?

52 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:26:57pm

re: #30 eclectic infidel

So how many people does Glenn reach? Or perhaps more to the point, does he reach the sort of people who have the power and influence to act on the fear this guy is generating?

I believe you have the paradigm backwards. The people with the power and the money are the ones seeing to it that Beck reaches an audience of uneducated and angry hicks. The right started using Fox as their propaganda arm some time ago. Then the propaganda took a life of its own and has legitimized through disproportionate air time the views of the fringe and created "new truths" for certain masses of people.

This is exactly how the early Nazis got their start. The German industrialists who were behind the initial rise to power realized that they no longer had control and became remoras on the shark.

53 Wozza Matter?  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:27:09pm

re: #11 theliel

so in three months when he calls for the violent overthrow of the US government on national TV can we PLEASE finaly do something about this guy?

"we" in the guise of the DOJ?..................

;-)


"Mr Becks freedom of speech is being impinged unduly........". Fox would back him all the way - Murdochs amnesia over Obama being called a racist on his airwaves would be chump change.

54 theheat  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:27:24pm

Tomorrow, I'll be flooded with warnings about the commies coming to take my guns, the coloreds taking over the government... This is what happens when paranoid America taps into Glenn Beck 24/7. Fox will prop up any ole bible thumping racist on TV, no matter how dishonest or inflammatory. That's Fox - it's what they do.

Americans want sooooo much for Beck's apocalyptic horseshit to be true. I can't imagine living with the day-in, day-out disappointment they shoulder. It's the ones cracking under the pressure of nothing happening fast enough, that will start stirring shit up for themselves. They're the gun toting wannabe revolutionaries, the seething racists, and end-of-day-ers.

Then it really gets scary.

55 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:27:36pm

I couldn't take more than a minute of that ugly rant before I hit pause...Glenn Beck is either a "certified genius [playing straight to his audience, while not necessarily believing it himself, which is unlikely] or a pathetic wacko [much more likely]"

/quote mostly attributed to Ray Stantz, Ghostbusters ;-P

56 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:27:42pm

re: #49 freetoken

I think you're right. Dammit though I wish you were wrong.

57 Wozza Matter?  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:27:56pm

Yeah, I've calmed down. I'm sticking.

58 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:28:08pm

re: #40 Reginald Perrin

I can't bear to watch the entire video, could someone be kind enough to please tell me where the extreme batshit lunacy starts?

The 1st second...

59 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:28:10pm

re: #49 freetoken

It's like, ask Alex Jones if the Genesis Communication Network approves of his behavior. OF COURSE THEY APPROVE, IT'S WHAT THEY SYNDICATED HIM FOR

:D

60 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:28:10pm

re: #28 Rightwingconspirator

What must he say to get fired? What would will it take? This is the worst garbage ever tolerated. By coincidence tonight I got to debunk a funny one-if you type the word illuminati backwards and add dot org, you get the NSA. Seriously it's true. This was alleged to be proof of some big illuminati conspiracy. So for my own tiny ill informed audience I searched "Internet Redirect" and showed the truth.

I then said that this was absolute proof that somebody at NSA has a sense of humor.

Anti Idiotarian moments. Rare at home, cherished all the more.

Try it

www.itanimulli.org

I'm going to put that to use, perhaps malicious use.

61 McSpiff  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:28:23pm

re: #57 wozzablog

Yeah, I've calmed down. I'm sticking.

I took a breather too. Good to see you still here.

62 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:28:46pm

re: #18 eclectic infidel

I was going to comment that Beck never fails to entertain but this is no longer entertainment. This is psychosis, or at the very least, IT'S NO LONGER FUNNY GLENN!

It never was funny. It has been deadly serious from the start. This is exactly the rhetoric of the early Nazis.

63 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:29:12pm

re: #52 LudwigVanQuixote


I believe you have the paradigm backwards. ****** The people with the power and the money are the ones seeing to it that Beck reaches an audience of uneducated and angry hicks. ***** The right started using Fox as their propaganda arm some time ago. Then the propaganda took a life of its own and has legitimized through disproportionate air time the views of the fringe and created "new truths" for certain masses of people.

This is exactly how the early Nazis got their start. The German industrialists who were behind the initial rise to power realized that they no longer had control and became remoras on the shark.



This is fucking it, right here

Cannot be overstated. This is so much bigger than "they do it for the $$$"

64 Ojoe  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:29:53pm

re: #54 theheat

Americans want sooo much for Beck's apocalyptic horseshit to be true.

Not at all. I don't, I'm sick of it.

This is a country where we get along,

Not fight each other like the idiots in Europe, twice in a big way, in the century before this.

65 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:29:54pm

re: #52 LudwigVanQuixote

I believe you have the paradigm backwards. The people with the power and the money are the ones seeing to it that Beck reaches an audience of uneducated and angry hicks. The right started using Fox as their propaganda arm some time ago. Then the propaganda took a life of its own and has legitimized through disproportionate air time the views of the fringe and created "new truths" for certain masses of people.

This is exactly how the early Nazis got their start. The German industrialists who were behind the initial rise to power realized that they no longer had control and became remoras on the shark.

No, what I am asking is this: do the backers of Glenn Beck - the real backers, not the backwater hicks who are glued to Fox News 24/7, have the power/influence to organize the profanum vulgis into an ugly mob, capable of committing violent acts?

66 jamesfirecat  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:30:25pm

re: #39 McSpiff

Another civil war would be a rating bonanza. Even the hint of "an uprising among the masses". I think they know exactly what they're doing.

It'd be a rating bonanza, but after the dust clears their viewing population would be decimated....

67 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:30:29pm

re: #28 Rightwingconspirator

What must he say to get fired? What would will it take? This is the worst garbage ever tolerated. By coincidence tonight I got to debunk a funny one-if you type the word illuminati backwards and add dot org, you get the NSA. Seriously it's true. This was alleged to be proof of some big illuminati conspiracy. So for my own tiny ill informed audience I searched "Internet Redirect" and showed the truth.

I then said that this was absolute proof that somebody at NSA has a sense of humor.

Anti Idiotarian moments. Rare at home, cherished all the more.

Try it

www.itanimulli.org

That's funny!

68 Randall Gross  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:30:43pm

Beck is getting weirder and weirder -- today on his radio show he said he was going to go blind...

69 Jetpilot1101  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:30:50pm

So if the right wing is calling the left Nazis and the left wing is calling the right Nazis, who are the real Nazis?

70 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:30:54pm

re: #54 theheat

I can't imagine living with the day-in, day-out disappointment they shoulder.

Neither can I. Sure, things could be better, but for fuck's sake, it's not like we're in some post-apocalyptic, Fallout-style nightmare world. I simply can't understand that level of paranoia and fear that drives these people. It makes no sense.

71 tnguitarist  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:31:21pm

It's a veritable wingnut-apalooza today. I would like to think Charles and all the other posters here that do such a great job of tracking this stuff down and keeping us informed.

72 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:31:50pm

Glenn himself is an actor. Think of him as a dude playing a part. He was a shock jock, now he's a conservative shock jock. He built himself a schtick that made him rich, and he's rich. He won. He figured it out.

NOW, ABOUT THE DAMN NEWS NETWORK THAT EMPLOYS HIM, SIGNS HIS CHECKS, PROMOTES HIS SHOW, AND MAKES SURE HIS EVERY WHIM IS CATERED TO


ahem.

73 Digital Display  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:31:57pm

re: #57 wozzablog

Yeah, I've calmed down. I'm sticking.

All you need to remember is that Jesus is on our side and everybody else is an effen Commie! (or even worse..A progressive)
/Don't forget if you don't..We will Murder you!
//

74 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:32:29pm

re: #65 eclectic infidel

No, what I am asking is this: do the backers of Glenn Beck - the real backers, not the backwater hicks who are glued to Fox News 24/7, have the power/influence to organize the profanum vulgis into an ugly mob, capable of committing violent acts?

Guess we'll be finding out

75 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:32:38pm

re: #68 Thanos

Beck is getting weirder and weirder -- today on his radio show he said he was going to go blind...

I guess that explains the glasses. Too bad he didn't say he was going mute. =P

76 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:32:57pm

re: #68 Thanos

Beck is getting weirder and weirder -- today on his radio show he said he was going to go blind...

this constant self gratification must end!

77 The Shadow Do  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:33:25pm

re: #62 LudwigVanQuixote

It never was funny. It has been deadly serious from the start. This is exactly the rhetoric of the early Nazis.

It will take a good deal more than the Beck's peckerwood sideshow to send America down that road.

78 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:33:38pm

Must be his mental masturbation that's gonna cause his blindness.

79 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:33:45pm

re: #72 WindUpBird

Glenn himself is an actor. Think of him as a dude playing a part. He was a shock jock, now he's a conservative shock jock. He built himself a schtick that made him rich, and he's rich. He won. He figured it out.

NOW, ABOUT THE DAMN NEWS NETWORK THAT EMPLOYS HIM, SIGNS HIS CHECKS, PROMOTES HIS SHOW, AND MAKES SURE HIS EVERY WHIM IS CATERED TO

ahem.

what more can be said about Fox?

80 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:33:50pm

re: #68 Thanos

Beck is getting weirder and weirder -- today on his radio show he said he was going to go blind...

Well, I knew he was a jack-off...

81 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:34:24pm

Evening Honcos.

82 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:34:59pm

re: #81 Cannadian Club Akbar

Hey northerly nieghborino.

83 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:06pm

re: #65 eclectic infidel

No, what I am asking is this: do the backers of Glenn Beck - the real backers, not the backwater hicks who are glued to Fox News 24/7, have the power/influence to organize the profanum vulgis into an ugly mob, capable of committing violent acts?

Of course they do. What exactly do you think the displays of fire-arms at teabag rallies with threats of "next time" and talk of secession mean?

However, the people funding this do not have the power per se, and it is not their goal either per se. They want their financial status insured. They want tax breaks and deregulation for their corporations. They want sweetheart government deals. Some of them have a racist or ideological agenda, but mostly it was about putting a pet government in power.

This is exactly why people like Krupp funded the early nazis. Much like Krupp, they do not have control of the thing when it takes a life of its own. What catalyzed it was an evil leader with the twisted vision to become the voice of the movement. The tea bags have not yet found that leader. When they do though, things will become interesting.

84 Varek Raith  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:17pm

re: #82 Irenicum

Hey northerly nieghborino.

Get lost, Flanders!

85 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:24pm

re: #82 Irenicum

Hey northerly nieghborino.

I live in Florida.:)

86 Racer X  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:37pm

Fear.

It is a powerful political weapon.

87 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:47pm

re: #72 WindUpBird

Glenn himself is an actor. Think of him as a dude playing a part. He was a shock jock, now he's a conservative shock jock. He built himself a schtick that made him rich, and he's rich. He won. He figured it out.

NOW, ABOUT THE DAMN NEWS NETWORK THAT EMPLOYS HIM, SIGNS HIS CHECKS, PROMOTES HIS SHOW, AND MAKES SURE HIS EVERY WHIM IS CATERED TO

ahem.

I'm not so sure that Beck is just an "actor"...just by his tone of voice and his body language, my gut tells me he's most likely a true believer in most of the crap he spouts. This routine of his (if you can call it that) is nothing new, but since President Obama was elected, he's turned it up to 11.

88 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:48pm

re: #69 Jetpilot1101

So if the right wing is calling the left Nazis and the left wing is calling the right Nazis, who are the real Nazis?

The ones who are actually using nazi propaganda techniques and attempting to abolish American freedoms.

That would be the right.

89 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:49pm

re: #79 albusteve

what more can be said about Fox?

Well, if they begin to incite direct violence, much more can and will be said about them

90 tnguitarist  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:51pm

re: #72 WindUpBird

Glenn himself is an actor. Think of him as a dude playing a part. He was a shock jock, now he's a conservative shock jock. He built himself a schtick that made him rich, and he's rich. He won. He figured it out.

NOW, ABOUT THE DAMN NEWS PROPAGANDA NETWORK THAT EMPLOYS HIM, SIGNS HIS CHECKS, PROMOTES HIS SHOW, AND MAKES SURE HIS EVERY WHIM IS CATERED TO

ahem.


There.

91 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:35:58pm

re: #65 eclectic infidel

No, what I am asking is this: do the backers of Glenn Beck - the real backers, not the backwater hicks who are glued to Fox News 24/7, have the power/influence to organize the profanum vulgis into an ugly mob, capable of committing violent acts?

Probably not, though the Lincoln Memorial meetup still is worrisome. The likely threats are more lone actor or family-ties freakouts.

92 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:36:58pm

re: #85 Cannadian Club Akbar

Hey southernly neighborino!

93 albusteve  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:04pm

re: #89 WindUpBird

Well, if they begin to incite direct violence, much more can and will be said about them

they have a billion dollars worth of lawyers...not gonna happen

94 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:06pm

re: #77 The Shadow Do

It will take a good deal more than the Beck's peckerwood sideshow to send America down that road.

Yes, yes it does. It takes several years of economic hard times coupled with convincing the majority that they are victims in their own nation.

You are a fool if you think we have not already started down that road.

95 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:10pm

re: #84 Varek Raith

Get lost, Flanders!

Excellent.

96 darthstar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:19pm

Glenn's wearing glasses...what, is he going fucking blind or something? Asshole.

97 Renaissance_Man  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:20pm

re: #39 McSpiff

Another civil war would be a rating bonanza. Even the hint of "an uprising among the masses". I think they know exactly what they're doing.

They do, but it is unrealistic to think it will go to civil war. Even a small uprising. Such is the stuff of fevered internet fantasies and nothing more.

It takes a lot of effort to have an actual uprising. It takes far more organisation and actual work than turning on FOX to get your Two Minute Hate. Frankly, there's just far too much lazy. People are too comfortable. Nobody is going to rise up and take arms en masse, even a very small masse, against those evil tyrants in Washington and the filthy commie liberals all around us, not when it's, you know, hot outside, and there's a good game on this weekend, and Frank's wife said we couldn't meet in his garage till next month cause she wants to finally have that garage sale.

It takes real hardship to get a large number of people to be willing to fight, kill, and die. It takes real starvation, disease, and your loved ones dying. If, for example, Glenn's hilarious prediction of Obama secretly assassinating Tea Partiers were to actually happen, then people might suddenly get off the couch and actually be willing to play out their fantasies. But it won't, so they won't.

However, what does and will happen are incidents such as some mouthbreather jumping into his car and having a shootout with the cops on a freeway because he hates those lefties in Washington. Or someone flying a plane into a building. Or, heaven forbid, someone deciding that the family of liberals across the street are just too liberal to be borne, and opening fire. That's very plausible. That takes a lot less effort.

But, unfortunately, that's okay. Because America has demonstrated that it is willing to accept, without question, sporadic violence like this. A guy with a few guns does his nut somewhere and shoots a few people? Not a blip on the national consciousness, even if it happens every week. So what if the motivations suddenly become political in nature? Frankly, most won't notice.

However, the ratings for FOX are very noticeable. The slavish devotion of a small plurality of the country who hang off your every word, who literally live in the fake world you've created - that's pure gold to the Conservative cult media. An actual civil war would not be good ratings. But a few collateral losses - nobody will notice that.

98 Jetpilot1101  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:30pm

re: #88 LudwigVanQuixote

The ones who are actually using nazi propaganda techniques and attempting to abolish American freedoms.

That would be the right.

Fair enough, thanks for your answer. Please tell me they won't abolish the stock market.

99 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:37:57pm

re: #87 talon_262

I'm not so sure that Beck is just an "actor"...just by his tone of voice and his body language, my gut tells me he's most likely a true believer in most of the crap he spouts. This routine of his (if you can call it that) is nothing new, but since President Obama was elected, he's turned it up to 11.

Ehh, sorry, can't agree.

My favorite radio host is Phil Hendrie, who has made a career of convincing callers he's fake people every night each one more inflammatory and insane than the last, but all of them quite believable as real people.

I DO believe Glenn is conservative politically, but I don't believe he believes any of the paranoid rhetoric. It's carnival barking, it's manipulation. Right down to the vicks vaporub he uses to induce tears on cue.

100 theheat  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:10pm

re: #64 Ojoe

It's my country, too. And I see a whole lot of not getting along. I see pundits throwing gasoline on the fire, every single day, for ratings. I see fringe racist groups that used to be marginalized becoming mainstream, and even players in one of the two major political parties. I see controversial egregious shit you'd never dream of seeing on television, now polished and presented as "editorial news" complete with commercial sponsors, and no opposing viewpoint to counter the 24/7 lunacy.

You know, to even say the things he does on TV, Glenn Beck is a raging piece of shit. It really takes a pair to claim the POTUS and his darkie friends are coming to a neighborhood near you, to kill you. Makes death panels look pretty fucking wimpy, by comparison.

101 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:13pm

re: #93 albusteve

they have a billion dollars worth of lawyers...not gonna happen

SAID, but not much will be DONE ;-)

102 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:32pm

I seriously think Beck has been reading the Turner Diaries.

103 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:41pm

re: #99 WindUpBird

I LOVED Phil!!! Woot!!

104 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:49pm

re: #86 Racer X

Fear.

It is a powerful political weapon.

Agreed but I don't think it's going to work out for the wingnuts. We've seen a few isolated cases of small scale violence but this could quite possibly lead to another Waco. All the Tea Party's political capital will evaporate immediately. The GOP is involved enough that it might take them down as well.

105 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:38:49pm

OT, but only slightly-- Hitchens takes on Mel Gibson in his newest column:

[Link: www.slate.com...]

106 Wozza Matter?  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:39:02pm

re: #97 Renaissance_Man


turning on FOX to get your Two Minute Hate

If it were only two minutes - there would not be a problem.

107 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:39:32pm

re: #96 darthstar

Glenn's wearing glasses...what, is he going fucking blind or something? Asshole.

It reminds me of the times Homer Simpson put on glasses to make himself look smart. Didn't work for him, either...

108 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:39:45pm

At the end of this clip, Glenn Beck is comparing Barack Obama to Augustus Caesar. Lunacy, just plain lunacy.

109 Racer X  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:13pm

Frank's musings on beer -

Blue Collar Brew Review -
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

The first sip was a jumbo surprise. Lots of malt and sweet flavors accompanied by a zip and a tang of sharp fruitiness made this first sip a real eyebrow raiser. Wow. What a complex taste it had. A sweetness in the front, lots of malt in the middle and a slap at the end. Almost like swallowing an open zipper.

Each mouthful was full of wonderful tastes each one different yet the same as the previous one. Judging from the taste of this beer, I’d say that the SN guys spared no expense or effort in concocting this delightful recipe. As an interesting side note, the head kept up all through the entire draining of the glass. Oh sure it diminished as time went on, but even the last sip had foam. Nice.

. . .

In my opinion, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA is a go-to beer. It’s one that’s so good, that you should always have it within reach, whether it’s one or two orphans in the back of the fridge or just down the street at the beer store. When you’re tired of the stouts and wheats and wee-heavies, grab one of these and just maybe a spontaneous party will break out in your mouth.

110 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:14pm

re: #102 Irenicum

I seriously think Beck has been reading the Turner Diaries.

That's a pretty safe bet...
The John Birch Society praises Glenn Beck for promoting their conspiracy theories

111 Walter L. Newton  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:20pm

re: #87 talon_262

I'm not so sure that Beck is just an "actor"...just by his tone of voice and his body language, my gut tells me he's most likely a true believer in most of the crap he spouts. This routine of his (if you can call it that) is nothing new, but since President Obama was elected, he's turned it up to 11.

He's not acting... he believes it, or at least, he believes in the feeling of power it gives him. Like any entertainer, he has to start with some persona, some character that he can fit into, he has to have a good sense of timing, the ability to communicate, the rhythms of the "act," much like a preacher... but the stuff he's saying, the stuff he's communicating, he believes it... he fell into the character and he doesn't want out, he's living it now... personal opinion from an entertainer...

Beck is a full blown believer in himself.

112 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:25pm

re: #107 JasonA

It reminds me of the times Homer Simpson put on glasses to make himself look smart. Didn't work for him, either...

IIRC, Joe Lieberman got Glenn into Yale.

113 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:31pm

re: #103 Cannadian Club Akbar

I LOVED Phil!!! Woot!!

he's on the air! (well, later tonight, 10 pacific) his website has 10 years of archives, I comment on his blog :D

114 tnguitarist  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:33pm

re: #107 JasonA

It reminds me of the times Homer Simpson put on glasses to make himself look smart. Didn't work for him, either...

Good point. Come to think of it, I've never seen Homer and Beck in the same place at the same time. Hmm...

115 Nimed  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:40:50pm

God, I hate Glenn Beck.

What he is doing is demogoging this to the tenth degree (and making it about the Tea Party), but he is partially right -- civil libertarians have been all over this for quite a while. The CIA can assassinate American citizens abroad, requiring the sole authorization of the White House . The New York Times and the Washington Post on this:

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric

Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill

This is genuinely unprecedented and worrying. The fact that Beck is exploring it in his little circus doesn't make it less so.

116 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:41:19pm

re: #108 Dark_Falcon

At the end of this clip, Glenn Beck is comparing Barack Obama to Augustus Caesar. Lunacy, just plain lunacy.

Yeah, I couldn't make it that far in but that's where he was headed with all this.

117 Aye Pod  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:41:48pm

This is about as nutty as I've ever seen him. I'm intrigued as to where Beck is going to go next with this act. "THEY'RE COMING TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW I TELL YA!"

118 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:41:50pm

re: #108 Dark_Falcon

At the end of this clip, Glenn Beck is comparing Barack Obama to Augustus Caesar. Lunacy, just plain lunacy.

Yes, Augustus. Who reigned during the end of the empire, according to dumb-ass.

119 Daniel Ballard  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:42:16pm

re: #94 LudwigVanQuixote

End the recession, end the power of the Tea Party and Glenn Beck.

120 Killgore Trout  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:42:34pm

re: #115 Nimed

There is a genuine discussion to be had on the policy. Glenn Beck's paranoid conspiracy is not part of that.

121 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:42:41pm

re: #49 freetoken

This stuff has been going on as long as I can remember.

Even back in high-school I used to listen to late night radio - this was waaayyy before Art Bell's time. At night usually religious broadcasters of one sort or another would get into JBS type stuff.

With the advent of cable TV the nuts found an outlet via the local community service channel.

Then with 500 cable channels everyone had to compete more intensely, so the barons of media began dipping into the nut-pool to provide entertainment. Competing with X-treme sports and Playboy and MTV and HBO etc means that cable "news" is always going to be driven more and more x-treme.

So I expect this to continue and even get worse.

Except that it is not the little fringe whackos. Ten years ago the thought of tea baggers as legitimate candidates was unthinkable. It is all about Fox spreading vile lies and stoking fears for years unchecked. It is all about the GOP embracing these loony things openly in a craven attempt to rride the popularity of the message into office. It is all about the fact that few people on that side see where it leads, and those that do are ostracized for pointing it out.

This is a major national movement backed by one of the two major political parties with the support of the on air Jesus freaks.

The worst threads of the American psyche have been twinged and laid bare. It will take either great time and great prosperity or a cataclysm to lay them to rest again.

122 Page 3 in the Binder of Women  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:43:13pm

re: #105 Lidane

OT, but only slightly-- Hitchens takes on Mel Gibson in his newest column:

[Link: www.slate.com...]

That was awesome! Glad you posted it.

123 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:43:29pm

I wonder if Glenn has a stockpile of weapons in his house along with non-hybrid seeds? At this point nothing would surprise me.

124 Racer X  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:43:33pm

Dilbert - The Knack

Youtube Video
125 freetoken  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:01pm

re: #115 Nimed

Thing is, the real civil libertarians were discussing this long ago, and during the time of the GWB administration many arguments were made against some of the tactics used.

Yet here we have, a couple of years later, a Fox talking head basically echoing some of the fringier antics of the Bush-hating "left".

The legitimate issues get steam-rolled by the $ machine of television.

126 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:02pm

re: #97 Renaissance_Man

This is well said. What is required for a second civil war is an economic collapse and that evil genius leader to take over the teabaggers. Everything else is in place.

127 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:15pm

re: #123 Irenicum

I wonder if Glenn has a stockpile of weapons in his house along with non-hybrid seeds? At this point nothing would surprise me.

Yes and yes. And freeze dried food.

128 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:22pm

Re: the outrage @ about the 3:58 mark or so...

Glenn's just pissed that someone else is using his shtick.

129 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:22pm

Only The O'Reilly Factor has a greater market share among cable news programs. Beck's show is miles ahead of all other competition.
How can the viewing public continue to be drawn in such numbers to this pathological crackpot?
[Link: tvbythenumbers.com...]

130 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:27pm

re: #111 Walter L. Newton

He's not acting... he believes it, or at least, he believes in the feeling of power it gives him. Like any entertainer, he has to start with some persona, some character that he can fit into, he has to have a good sense of timing, the ability to communicate, the rhythms of the "act," much like a preacher... but the stuff he's saying, the stuff he's communicating, he believes it... he fell into the character and he doesn't want out, he's living it now... personal opinion from an entertainer...

Beck is a full blown believer in himself.

He doesn't "believe it" in that sense. I believe the rhetoric and the details of it is basically stuff that's researched by his team, they come up with a good narrative, he puts his gloss on it, then it goes on the air. Research => show prep => host executes the show prep. He's into the character, and I;m sure he is conservative, and I'm sure he doesn't like liberals, but he has not convinced himself that Obama is going to murder people in the USA.

But he definitely is "into" the character he's made, like rock stars are into being a rock star, the fame and the influence empower them to act out as a character. Self fulling stuff.


I'm a geek about the broadcasting biz :D

131 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:46pm

re: #117 Jimmah

This is about as nutty as I've ever seen him. I'm intrigued as to where Beck is going to go next with this act. "THEY'RE COMING TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW I TELL YA!"

THE CALLS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE THE WHITEHOUSE

132 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:44:46pm

re: #117 Jimmah

This is about as nutty as I've ever seen him. I'm intrigued as to where Beck is going to go next with this act. "THEY'RE COMING TO KILL ME RIGHT NOW I TELL YA!"

Oh my god... I've cracked the code. Glenn Beck's trying to reenact Network!

/

133 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:45:36pm

re: #131 WindUpBird

The calls are coming from inside his feverish little head.

134 Wozza Matter?  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:45:40pm

OK, g'night folks.


And please, honestly, more absolutely pointless, easily resolved slap fights and i will definitely further my self imposed sabbatical.

135 Dancing along the light of day  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:45:57pm

"Caeser did this at the end of the Roman Empire, and then he became a dictator and a Roman god".

OMFG.
Send medications, STAT.

136 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:46:16pm

re: #115 Nimed

God, I hate Glenn Beck.

What he is doing is demogoging this to the tenth degree (and making it about the Tea Party), but he is partially right -- civil libertarians have been all over this for quite a while. The CIA can assassinate American citizens abroad, requiring the sole authorization of the White House . The New York Times and the Washington Post on this:

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric

Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill

This is genuinely unprecedented and worrying. The fact that Beck is exploring it in his little circus doesn't make it less so.

OK, up and up. There is nothing wrong with taking out an avowed enemy of America.

Weren't we gunning for Bin Laden? Seriously? Haven't we taken out a number of "big fish?" There is nothing wrong with killing such people. In the long run, it saves lives.

137 Reginald Perrin  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:46:18pm

re: #129 Spare O'Lake

Only The O'Reilly Factor has a greater market share among cable news programs. Beck's show is miles ahead of all other competition.
How can the viewing public continue to be drawn in such numbers to this pathological crackpot?
[Link: tvbythenumbers.com...]

We are talking about less than 1% of the population of the United States.

138 Racer X  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:46:24pm

re: #129 Spare O'Lake

Only The O'Reilly Factor has a greater market share among cable news programs. Beck's show is miles ahead of all other competition.
How can the viewing public continue to be drawn in such numbers to this pathological crackpot?
[Link: tvbythenumbers.com...]

A lot of Americans are going blind.

fapfapfapfap

139 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:46:45pm

re: #115 Nimed

God, I hate Glenn Beck.

What he is doing is demogoging this to the tenth degree (and making it about the Tea Party), but he is partially right -- civil libertarians have been all over this for quite a while. The CIA can assassinate American citizens abroad, requiring the sole authorization of the White House . The New York Times and the Washington Post on this:

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric

Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill

This is genuinely unprecedented and worrying. The fact that Beck is exploring it in his little circus doesn't make it less so.

Had Glenn Beck been on this if it was occurring during W's administration (which it most likely was in some form), I'd bet money Beck would be cheering it on. However, with the show on the other foot for the past year=and-a-half, politically speaking...

140 Aye Pod  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:46:55pm

OT - Also posted as a page

From The Competitive Enterprise Institute (hard to believe this was serious, but it was):

Youtube Video
141 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:47:01pm

re: #135 Floral Giraffe

"Caeser did this at the end of the Roman Empire, and then he became a dictator and a Roman god".

OMFG.
Send medications, STAT.

Or a textbook on Roman history...

142 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:47:25pm

This article will also be on speed dial whenever some idiot tries to tell me "Keith Olbermann is just as bad."

143 Aye Pod  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:47:46pm

re: #132 JasonA

Oh my god... I've cracked the code. Glenn Beck's trying to reenact Network!

/

That was my thought the first time I saw Beck doing one of his rants!

144 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:47:58pm

Glenn Beck tells audience he might be going blind:[Link: www.politicsdaily.com...]

145 Dancing along the light of day  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:48:18pm

Beck is now on the radio here in LALA land at 6am.
Can you imagine starting your day out with him?

I have written that radio station off my listen to list.

146 Drogheda  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:48:24pm

re: #115 Nimed

Anwar al-Awlaki is a dirtbag who calls for terrorists to kill Americans. I'd be worried if the government wasn't doing anything about him. Right now he's hiding somewhere that we can't just waltz in and arrest him so if a Predator drone with Hellfire missiles or a swarm of cruise missiles is what it takes to put an end to him then that's what needs to be done. I don't give a damn if he has American citizenship.

If he shows his face somewhere that he can be arrested that fine by me. Until that happens though the Bonnie and Clyde treatment is fine by me as well.

147 Walter L. Newton  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:48:49pm

re: #130 WindUpBird

He doesn't "believe it" in that sense. I believe the rhetoric and the details of it is basically stuff that's researched by his team, they come up with a good narrative, he puts his gloss on it, then it goes on the air. Research => show prep => host executes the show prep. He's into the character, and I;m sure he is conservative, and I'm sure he doesn't like liberals, but he has not convinced himself that Obama is going to murder people in the USA.

But he definitely is "into" the character he's made, like rock stars are into being a rock star, the fame and the influence empower them to act out as a character. Self fulling stuff.

I'm a geek about the broadcasting biz :D

But that is my point. I'm also someone who has spent a good amount of time around entertainers, personalities, actors, media people, both friends and coworkers... I've been involved in the regional entertainment business since I was 14... and to be honest, I don't have proof, just a feeling, just a feel for actors, acting and people who have taken "method" to far and becomes the crazy person... long other story, but it happened to me in the 70's, so I'm speaking from some experience...

This guy has gone over the edge... he's convinced that he sees boogey men behind everything... in my opinion , he's not acting anymore.

148 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:48:51pm

re: #144 prairiefire

Glenn Beck tells audience he might be going blind:[Link: www.politicsdaily.com...]

You can be blind a do a talk show. I mean, Rush is legally deaf.

149 mikhailtheplumber  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:12pm

"Caesar did this at the end of the Empire..."

Not to mention the tiny little detail that the comparison between the US constitutional republic and the slavist Roman republic is groundless, maybe somebody ought to tell Professor "Now I Wear Glasses So It Must Mean I'm Smart" Beck that Octavius, AKA Augustus Caesar, did that at the beginning of the Empire. He was, after all, the first emperor.

150 Jetpilot1101  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:18pm

re: #142 WindUpBird

This article will also be on speed dial whenever some idiot tries to tell me "Keith Olbermann is just as bad."

I think he won a Fiskie one year from LGF.

151 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:28pm

re: #104 Killgore Trout

Agreed but I don't think it's going to work out for the wingnuts. We've seen a few isolated cases of small scale violence but this could quite possibly lead to another Waco. All the Tea Party's political capital will evaporate immediately. The GOP is involved enough that it might take them down as well.

I don't think the GOP will collapse. What I think would happen in such a case is that the GOP would disavow the far-right, whereupon much of their base will flounce. The GOP would then be a minority party for at least a decade, until they could find a new coalition. It could be longer: Beginning in 1860, the Republicans won 6 presidential elections in a row.

152 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:35pm

re: #137 Reginald Perrin

We are talking about less than 1% of the population of the United States.

Well, less than one percent WATCHES.

Now think of all the people who don't watch, but hear the ideas parroted by their friends and family who do watch.


How many times here have I heard the story of "My grandfather/dad/aunt/brother believes all that Glenn Beck shit!"


and that's why the GOP needs these guys. The personalities who are all invested and think they're informed by this stuff? They go tell their families.

153 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:39pm

re: #32 WindUpBird

His Nielsen ratings are down to around a million plus TV viewers.

154 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:40pm

And "chomping on the bit"? Really?

155 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:49:57pm

re: #150 Jetpilot1101

I think he won a Fiskie one year from LGF.

?

156 Jetpilot1101  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:50:40pm

re: #155 WindUpBird

?

Must have been before your time, nevermind.

157 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:51:10pm

Just when I though Glenn Beck couldn't outdo himself he goes ahead and brings out this insane conspiracy. He might have surpassed Alex Jones in the crazy department.

I can safely say that watching Glenn Beck is harmful if not dangerous for people with existing mental health issues -- namely borderline and anti-social personalities.

158 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:51:41pm

re: #125 freetoken

Thing is, the real civil libertarians were discussing this long ago, and during the time of the GWB administration many arguments were made against some of the tactics used.

Yet here we have, a couple of years later, a Fox talking head basically echoing some of the fringier antics of the Bush-hating "left".

The legitimate issues get steam-rolled by the $ machine of television.

Yes, the hypocrisy here is astonishing.

So for the record, there is a difference between at war and not at war. There is a difference between a police action and a military action.

There is a difference between an American citizen and one who has declared war on the US. We shot a whole bunch of Southerners between 1861 and 1865 just as an example.

There is a difference between what you do as a military necessity - and taking out command and control has always been such a necessity and what you do with prisoners after you capture them.

Short form is that if the bastard is indeed a legitimate terrorist known to be making war on America then take him out. That is a no-brainer. He is a kosher target.

If you capture an enemy though, you treat him with the same principles as a POW. If you decide he is a civilian criminal, then you put him on trial.

This is not something that needs to be made hard or complex or difficult.

159 The Shadow Do  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:51:44pm

I detect a loss of perspective on this whole Beck/Palin/Paul phenomina. I know it is fresh for the young (well, younger than me), but I recall George Wallace for one. Now that was a serious bit of populist backlash. We worked through that shit too. This is not the end of America. It is pretty much business as usual.

160 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:51:46pm

re: #157 Gus 802

Just when I though thought...

161 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:52:20pm

re: #115 Nimed

God, I hate Glenn Beck.

What he is doing is demogoging this to the tenth degree (and making it about the Tea Party), but he is partially right -- civil libertarians have been all over this for quite a while. The CIA can assassinate American citizens abroad, requiring the sole authorization of the White House . The New York Times and the Washington Post on this:

U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of American Cleric

Muslim cleric Aulaqi is 1st U.S. citizen on list of those CIA is allowed to kill

This is genuinely unprecedented and worrying. The fact that Beck is exploring it in his little circus doesn't make it less so.

It can be worrisome, but in the case of Aulaqi there is no other way. We can't go in and arrest him, so we have to settle for just killing him. It's war and he's on the side of the enemy: Normal rules do not apply.

162 SpaceJesus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:52:23pm

what the fuck did i just watch

163 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:52:41pm

to anyone fasting: tzom kal.

in a similar, though not necessarily directly linked vein [hate begets hate begets hate], i would like to present for lizards' viewing pleasure - christopher hitchens views on mel gibson: [Link: www.slate.com...]

back to directly addressing the insanity at hand. does anyone feel as though the inmates are running the asylum?

164 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:53:16pm

re: #162 SpaceJesus

what the fuck did i just watch

A film clip of a soon to be released movie about a talk show host that eventually loses his mind and...

//

165 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:53:57pm

re: #164 Gus 802

A film clip of a soon to be released movie about a talk show host that eventually loses his mind and...

//

They should title it "Talk Radio".
/

166 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:10pm

re: #161 Dark_Falcon

It can be worrisome, but in the case of Aulaqi there is no other way. We can't go in and arrest him, so we have to settle for just killing him. It's war and he's on the side of the enemy: Normal rules do not apply.

Normal rules are the same that you apply to anyone who is intent on violent destruction of America. I repeat, between 1861 and 1865, we did not give all those American born southerners trials at Gettysburg.

167 KingKenrod  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:13pm

re: #159 The Shadow Do

I detect a loss of perspective on this whole Beck/Palin/Paul phenomina. I know it is fresh for the young (well, younger than me), but I recall George Wallace for one. Now that was a serious bit of populist backlash. We worked through that shit too. This is not the end of America. It is pretty much business as usual.

My thoughts exactly. Any republic that can't survive this fat clown doesn't deserve to. And we've seen in our history far worse examples of yellow journalism.

168 Nimed  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:23pm

re: #139 talon_262

Had Glenn Beck been on this if it was occurring during W's administration (which it most likely was in some form), I'd bet money Beck would be cheering it on. However, with the show on the other foot for the past year=and-a-half, politically speaking...

Look, I agree and cosign everything you and others are saying about Beck. Of course he would have been a cheerleader of this program if Bush was in power.

However, this doesn't detract from the fact that the assassination program was in fact implemented by this Administration. And that it is subject to abuse by every President from now on.

169 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:35pm

re: #166 LudwigVanQuixote

Normal rules are the same that you apply to anyone who is intent on violent destruction of America. I repeat, between 1861 and 1865, we did not give all those American born southerners trials at places like Gettysburg.

170 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:52pm

re: #159 The Shadow Do

I detect a loss of perspective on this whole Beck/Palin/Paul phenomina. I know it is fresh for the young (well, younger than me), but I recall George Wallace for one. Now that was a serious bit of populist backlash. We worked through that shit too. This is not the end of America. It is pretty much business as usual.

Ross Perot captured many an American imagination and vote.

171 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:54:55pm

Did you notice how his voice was trembling towards the end of the clip? That some crazy shit going on over there.

172 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:55:14pm

re: #168 Nimed

Look, I agree and cosign everything you and others are saying about Beck. Of course he would have been a cheerleader of this program if Bush was in power.

However, this doesn't detract from the fact that the assassination program was in fact implemented by this Administration. And that it is subject to abuse by every President from now on.

So would you be opposed to taking out Bin Laden? Yes or no?

173 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:55:19pm

I love that you can go on the air and say stuff like this but "shit" and "fuck" will get you fined.

174 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:55:25pm

re: #171 Gus 802

Did you notice how his voice was trembling towards the end of the clip? That some crazy shit going on over there.

Yes it was.

175 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:55:49pm

re: #170 prairiefire

Ross Perot captured many an American imagination and vote.

Yes. but Bush 41 threw that election.

176 Walter L. Newton  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:55:57pm

re: #171 Gus 802

Did you notice how his voice was trembling towards the end of the clip? That some crazy shit going on over there.

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

177 Dante41  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:56:35pm

Ahoy from Saipan, Lizards! The Golden Bear tied up yesterday, and I just got liberty to go around and find out what has been going on in the world for the month I've been at sea... and I find that Glenn Beck has topped himself again.

178 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:56:46pm

re: #176 Walter L. Newton

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

I know. That's all Glenn Beck we're seeing.

179 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:56:53pm

re: #176 Walter L. Newton

I believe you're right Walter. He's beyond the deep end.

180 Cannadian Club Akbar  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:57:17pm

re: #176 Walter L. Newton

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

I've been listening to Beck for 12 years on the radio. You are correct.

181 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:57:39pm

re: #173 JasonA

I love that you can go on the air and say stuff like this but "shit" and "fuck" will get you fined.

Are they allowed to finally say "fart" these days?

182 bratwurst  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:57:45pm

re: #176 Walter L. Newton

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

I totally agree.

183 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:58:16pm

re: #155 WindUpBird

?

Fiskies are our way of "awarding" the stupid re: #176 Walter L. Newton

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

Whatever Beck was when he started down this road long ago, he's definitely coming off now as having "gone native"...

184 bratwurst  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:58:27pm

re: #181 Gus 802

Are they allowed to finally say "fart" these days?

Remember the word that got Dr. Johnny Fever booted in LA?

BOOGER!

185 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:58:48pm

BOOGER BOOGER BOOGER!!!

186 The Shadow Do  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:59:02pm

re: #170 prairiefire

Ross Perot captured many an American imagination and vote.

Yes, but there is a distinction to be made with the cancerous variety of populism/racism.

187 Walter L. Newton  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:59:03pm

re: #178 Gus 802

re: #179 Irenicum

re: #180 Cannadian Club Akbar

re: #182 bratwurst

Thank you... thank you... otherwise, that's an insult to good actors everywhere.

188 Mocking Jay  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 7:59:34pm

Pretty sure a comment or page that read like that Beck clip would get someone blocked from LGF, too.

189 The Shadow Do  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:00:01pm

re: #176 Walter L. Newton

Please... take it from an actor... ok, don't take it from an actor, but what ever... he believes it... he's clinical... he's nuts... that's not acting.

Yup, says the one time amateur actor.

190 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:00:51pm

Glenn Beck must be the freak magnets of freak magnets.

Now wait a minute. Let me think about that. He might very well be both. He's a freak and a freak magnet.

191 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:01:19pm

re: #188 JasonA

Pretty sure a comment or page that read like that Beck clip would get someone blocked from LGF, too.

It did. Many times.

Now for the record, all of you who are going to get panties in a bunch from removing a known terrorist leader engaged in acts of war against US civilians, please tell me then if it is wrong to gun for Bin Laden?

192 Lidane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:02:16pm

re: #170 prairiefire

Ross Perot captured many an American imagination and vote.

Which was pathetic, IMO, given that Perot was demonstrably batshit insane, and poor Stockdale got thrown out there without knowing what the fuck was going on.

On the upside, Perot hated Bush so much that he did all of Clinton's dirty work for him. I can only imagine the headaches that the Bush campaign had back then.

193 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:02:35pm

re: #190 Gus 802

Yes, but how do they work?

194 Aye Pod  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:02:36pm

re: #162 SpaceJesus

what the fuck did i just watch

In the words of the late great Peter Cook, "It's not enough to keep the mind alive"

I think we all deserve a random UK comedy moment after watching that:

Youtube Video
195 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:03:28pm

re: #137 Reginald Perrin

We are talking about less than 1% of the population of the United States.

Great. Now what about the fact that more folks watch his show that all the other cable networks' top news shows put together. Again, what if anything does this say about the American viewership?

196 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:03:34pm

I think he is acting. I have heard him on the radio imploring, beseeching, his fellow Americans to recognize the impending doom. He then turned on a dime and said, "New from Goldline..."
One of many guff haws that man had provided.

197 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:03:51pm

re: #163 Kefirah

to anyone fasting: tzom kal.

in a similar, though not necessarily directly linked vein [hate begets hate begets hate], i would like to present for lizards' viewing pleasure - christopher hitchens views on mel gibson: [Link: www.slate.com...]

back to directly addressing the insanity at hand. does anyone feel as though the inmates are running the asylum?

Tzom kal.

Also, I ask that we remember the biggest lesson of this holiday.

2000 years ago, our sages taught that Baseless Hatred destroyed our land and cost us the Temple. We are seeing the most unsavory rise in baseless hatred today in America. Everything is about hate and fear. Nothing but destruction follows from those things and the penalties are steep.

198 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:04:41pm

re: #192 Lidane

Which was pathetic, IMO, given that Perot was demonstrably batshit insane, and poor Stockdale got thrown out there without knowing what the fuck was going on.

On the upside, Perot hated Bush so much that he did all of Clinton's dirty work for him. I can only imagine the headaches that the Bush campaign had back then.

In hindsight, I feel bad for Admiral Stockdale and how Perot tried to use him to get conservatives onboard.

199 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:05:11pm

re: #193 Slumbering Behemoth

Yes, but how do they work?

Like magic! Glenn Beck is a magician conjuror!

200 Nimed  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:05:24pm

re: #166 LudwigVanQuixote

Normal rules are the same that you apply to anyone who is intent on violent destruction of America. I repeat, between 1861 and 1865, we did not give all those American born southerners trials at Gettysburg.

Ludwig, when the US is at war, we can kill enemy American citizens without a trial on the battlefield. But what this program does is in essence deem the entire world a battlefield.

Forget about Awlaki (and Beck) for a second. Are you comfortable with the idea that every President from now on (not just Obama) has the authority to order the assassination of any American citizen abroad?

201 WINDUPBIRD DISEASE [S.K.U.M.M.]  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:06:26pm

re: #178 Gus 802

I know. That's all Glenn Beck we're seeing.

I still put him in "rock and roll" territory. More like the band that makes a big emotive show of their live performances, and then leaves it on stage. It IS them you see up there, it's not 100% fake, but it's also part of the show. I don't believe the Beck we see on screen is the whole dude.

I think it's just too easy to assume he's insane and believes it all 100%. And that also absolves Fox News of some responsibility. This guy has a staff, he has a producer, he has people at Fox News who fine-tune his show, there are meetings, there is a apparatus that is very calculated that puts this guy on the air. it's not just "wacky guy goes wacky on camera and he's totally insane wow we can't control him". His staff has to know what he's saying, they have to hew to a script, they have sets, cameras, props.

What I'm sorta seeing here is a lot of people who know a lot about acting and not much about broadcasting and all the stuff that goes into a broadcast.

202 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:07:19pm

re: #196 prairiefire

I think he is acting. I have heard him on the radio imploring, beseeching, his fellow Americans to recognize the impending doom. He then turned on a dime and said, "New from Goldline..."
One of many guff haws that man had provided.

Like I said upthread, Beck gives me the gut feeling of a man who believes every word issuing from his lips...the man is either borderline psychotic, sociopathic, or both.

203 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:07:38pm

re: #201 WindUpBird

I agree, WUB.

204 Nimed  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:07:45pm

re: #172 LudwigVanQuixote

So would you be opposed to taking out Bin Laden? Yes or no?

He is not an American citizen. We can discuss if this distinction is morally important, but the Constitution effectively confers protection to American citizens wherever they are (as well as everybody on American soil).

205 Dark_Falcon  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:08:27pm

re: #200 Nimed

Ludwig, when the US is at war, we can kill enemy American citizens without a trial on the battlefield. But what this program does is in essence deem the entire world a battlefield.

Forget about Awlaki (and Beck) for a second. Are you comfortable with the idea that every President from now on (not just Obama) has the authority to order the assassination of any American citizen abroad?

It's not any American, its a man we can't arrest who we already know to be involved in a terrorist network that has declared war on us. Against Al Qaeda, the whole world is a battlefield.

206 Decatur Deb  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:08:42pm

It's a good argument, but a poor night for it. "Nite, all.

207 jordash1212  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:09:24pm

And he'd probably turn around and support extraordinary rendition.

208 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:09:44pm

re: #201 WindUpBird

I still put him in "rock and roll" territory. More like the band that makes a big emotive show of their live performances, and then leaves it on stage. It IS them you see up there, it's not 100% fake, but it's also part of the show. I don't believe the Beck we see on screen is the whole dude.

I think it's just too easy to assume he's insane and believes it all 100%. And that also absolves Fox News of some responsibility. This guy has a staff, he has a producer, he has people at Fox News who fine-tune his show, there are meetings, there is a apparatus that is very calculated that puts this guy on the air. it's not just "wacky guy goes wacky on camera and he's totally insane wow we can't control him". His staff has to know what he's saying, they have to hew to a script, they have sets, cameras, props.

What I'm sorta seeing here is a lot of people who know a lot about acting and not much about broadcasting and all the stuff that goes into a broadcast.

Of course you are correct.
Beck is an industry, and he has a tremendous following.
Many folks seem to be in denial.

209 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:10:27pm

re: #197 LudwigVanQuixote

emet.

baseless hatred, yes. but eicha is about the destruction and, more importantly, the echoing silence afterward.

may we find our voices [and quickly] - especially in the face of such vehement, vociferous snakeoil salesmen. they'd sell hate on the streets for $5 if they could bottle it up.

instead they'll just poison the airwaves, and listening minds along with them.

frankly, glenn beck reminds me of heath ledger's joker in the dark knight. he draws the paranoid, the schizophrenic, the unbalanced to him - and then blows them up to further his own schemes.

210 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:10:47pm

re: #208 Spare O'Lake

Of course you are correct.
Beck is an industry, and he has a tremendous following.
Many folks seem to be in denial.

He has a very, very, small following.

211 Eclectic Infidel  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:11:51pm

Uh, Beck, calling Glenn Beck...Augustus didn't end the Roman Empire you silly twit, he laid the foundation for it, and the young man wasn't the only dictator in Rome either. His uncle before him was also a dictator...during the Republic.

But it's just history. The facts aren't important anymore.

212 Dante41  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:13:12pm

re: #211 eclectic infidel

Uh, Beck, calling Glenn Beck...Augustus didn't end the Roman Empire you silly twit, he laid the foundation for it, and the young man wasn't the only dictator in Rome either. His uncle before him was also a dictator...during the Republic.

But it's just history. The facts aren't important anymore.

Don't forget Cinncinatus, the epitome of a public servant. He was a dictator as well.

213 Spare O'Lake  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:14:08pm

re: #210 prairiefire

He has a very, very, small following.

Riiight, no problem at all, no one is watching and no one is paying attention.
NOT.

214 Gus  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:15:06pm

re: #201 WindUpBird

I still put him in "rock and roll" territory. More like the band that makes a big emotive show of their live performances, and then leaves it on stage. It IS them you see up there, it's not 100% fake, but it's also part of the show. I don't believe the Beck we see on screen is the whole dude.

I think it's just too easy to assume he's insane and believes it all 100%. And that also absolves Fox News of some responsibility. This guy has a staff, he has a producer, he has people at Fox News who fine-tune his show, there are meetings, there is a apparatus that is very calculated that puts this guy on the air. it's not just "wacky guy goes wacky on camera and he's totally insane wow we can't control him". His staff has to know what he's saying, they have to hew to a script, they have sets, cameras, props.

What I'm sorta seeing here is a lot of people who know a lot about acting and not much about broadcasting and all the stuff that goes into a broadcast.

If you look back at Beck's record you'll find a history of instability and irrational outbursts. No, he is not like this all the time but neither are those that are clinically mentally disturbed. What we experience with these programs is Glenn Beck having an episode. Over a period of time these episodes will lengthen and become more disturbing as we witnessed with this video. He is therefore become more deranged and with time. If one is to say it is all acting one also has to remember that over a period of time, actors who play the same role will adopt the characteristics of the part.

215 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:15:23pm

Beck the propagandist uses history the way children use playdoh, he shapes it into anything he wants it to look like.

216 jordash1212  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:15:38pm

re: #213 Spare O'Lake

I for one would like to know just how much of a following he actually does have.

217 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:15:52pm

re: #200 Nimed

Ludwig, when the US is at war,

We clearly are.

we can kill enemy American citizens without a trial on the battlefield. But what this program does is in essence deem the entire world a battlefield.

Yes it does. That is the nature of the conflict.

Forget about Awlaki (and Beck) for a second. Are you comfortable with the idea that every President from now on (not just Obama) has the authority to order the assassination of any American citizen abroad?

I expect there to be some oversight, and no I am not comfortable about that. Like you, I can clearly see an unscrupulous president misusing this. Like you I am afraid of the slippery slope. However, this is not an unscrupulous use of that power. If you restrict the case to known enemies of America who have taken arms against this nation, and you maintain a free press, I think it will be ok.

I think this because the United States has killed many American enemies of America on foreign soil in the past and we survived it. Obama is not the first president to do so. Nor will he be the last. The fact that the list is made public is a very encouraging sign. What would scare me is if the entire thing were clandestine. In any case, this was all power given him by the Patriot Act. I am very against most of the Patriot Act for many reasons. However, removing terrorist leaders does not bother me.

218 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:16:11pm

re: #210 prairiefire

You are kidding, right?

219 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:16:53pm

re: #209 Kefirah

emet.

baseless hatred, yes. but eicha is about the destruction and, more importantly, the echoing silence afterward.

may we find our voices [and quickly] - especially in the face of such vehement, vociferous snakeoil salesmen. they'd sell hate on the streets for $5 if they could bottle it up.

instead they'll just poison the airwaves, and listening minds along with them.

frankly, glenn beck reminds me of heath ledger's joker in the dark knight. he draws the paranoid, the schizophrenic, the unbalanced to him - and then blows them up to further his own schemes.

Hence the comparison to Goebbels and the early Nazis. These are very dark times. I hope you have an easy fast.

220 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:17:09pm

re: #216 jordash1212

Someone linked it up thread. Ratings for July 16, 2010:

(25-54) (35-64)
Glenn Beck – 1,862,000 viewers (489,000) (899,000)

221 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:18:32pm

re: #219 LudwigVanQuixote

i would be interested, mr. van quixote, in talking with you outside the bounds of green footballs. any way to do that?

222 Turu The Terrible  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:19:31pm

re: #196 prairiefire

I think he is acting. I have heard him on the radio imploring, beseeching, his fellow Americans to recognize the impending doom. He then turned on a dime and said, "New from Goldline..."
One of many guff haws that man had provided.


"I luff gooooooooooooooooooooooold!"

Youtube Video
223 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:20:26pm

re: #221 Kefirah

i would be interested, mr. van quixote, in talking with you outside the bounds of green footballs. any way to do that?

Sure. I will blue my nic, click on it, and you can send me a mail. I will keep it up for a few minutes.

224 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:20:34pm

Beck's TV and radio ratings consist of mostly people who agree with him, but with a minority of those, like us, who watch either for the crazy entertainment value or because of a sincere concern that he is mainstreaming extremism, and so we watch to know what the "other side" is thinking and doing. I would say a better estimation of Beck's followers is seen in his book sales. I'd guess that a much higher percentage of those sales are going to his true believers. I would never consider spending a cent to buy any book he writes, lest any of my money goes into his pocket.

225 Slumbering Behemoth Stinks  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:20:43pm

re: #221 Kefirah

Try smoke signals. If that doesn't work, tap it out in morse code on your monitor.
/

226 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:21:46pm

re: #221 Kefirah

i would be interested, mr. van quixote, in talking with you outside the bounds of green footballs. any way to do that?

Or just click my nic and tell me you did. I will then un blue it.

227 Nimed  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:22:31pm

re: #217 LudwigVanQuixote

Fair enough. -- As you point out, the advantages conferred by this program when it comes to fighting terrorism are clear and substantial (I feel pretty ambivalent about it myself). Let's hope the safeguards you mentioned will be enough.

228 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:23:00pm

re: #218 Irenicum

You are kidding, right?

7x more Americans tune into Wipeout, The Mentalist (rerun), 5x as many to "So you Think You Can Dance" He is exploitive and noisy, but his audience has shrank since Obama's inauguration.

229 jordash1212  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:23:04pm

re: #224 Irenicum

Looking at book sales is probably a more accurate way of determining how many people actually believe (and not just following) what he says. On the other hand, I'm not sure how many of his true believers can read or partake.

230 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:24:03pm

re: #201 WindUpBird

re: #208 Spare O'Lake

Maybe I'm being cynical, but while I think that Beck is being gut-wrenchingly genuine when he says shit like this, I believe his producer, [most of] his crew, and his bosses at Fox News tolerate his brain droppings because he still makes them money, even without the big-money, first-rate advertisers.

Take it from someone who got a degree in broadcasting (though I'm not currently in the industry)...Beck would not continue to be on the air anywhere, radio or TV, unless his shows was making his bosses enough money to look the other way and tolerate him.

Beck's bosses at Fox News and Premiere are only concerned with how many ears and eyes he brings...and they're riding the Beck crazy trains until it derails. If something really bad happens that can be directly tied to Beck and makes him radioactive, they'll drop him like a hot potato (see what happened to Don Imus, on a smaller scale).

231 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:25:04pm

re: #230 talon_262

re: #208 Spare O'Lake

Maybe I'm being cynical, but while I think that Beck is being gut-wrenchingly genuine when he says shit like this, I believe his producer, [most of] his crew, and his bosses at Fox News tolerate his brain droppings because he still makes them money, even without the big-money, first-rate advertisers.

Take it from someone who got a degree in broadcasting (though I'm not currently in the industry)...Beck would not continue to be on the air anywhere, radio or TV, unless his shows was making his bosses enough money to look the other way and tolerate him.

Beck's bosses at Fox News and Premiere are only concerned with how many ears and eyes he brings...and they're riding the Beck crazy trains until it derails. If something really bad happens that can be directly tied to Beck and makes him radioactive, they'll drop him like a hot potato (see what happened to Don Imus, on a smaller scale).

But by then it will be too late.

232 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:25:31pm

re: #226 LudwigVanQuixote

done and done, sir.

re: #225 Slumbering Behemoth

i tried morse code. and smoke signals. i would try a bat.signal sort of thing, but i'm afraid glenn beck might assume that his alien masters are here to swoop him off to a randian paradise.

wait a second...

233 MittDoesNotCompute  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:26:17pm

re: #231 LudwigVanQuixote

But by then it will be too late.

We know this, but in broadcasting, the old saw "money talks and bullshit walks" is in full effect...

234 Fozzie Bear  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:26:53pm

re: #230 talon_262

re: #208 Spare O'Lake

Maybe I'm being cynical, but while I think that Beck is being gut-wrenchingly genuine when he says shit like this, I believe his producer, [most of] his crew, and his bosses at Fox News tolerate his brain droppings because he still makes them money, even without the big-money, first-rate advertisers.

Take it from someone who got a degree in broadcasting (though I'm not currently in the industry)...Beck would not continue to be on the air anywhere, radio or TV, unless his shows was making his bosses enough money to look the other way and tolerate him.

Beck's bosses at Fox News and Premiere are only concerned with how many ears and eyes he brings...and they're riding the Beck crazy trains until it derails. If something really bad happens that can be directly tied to Beck and makes him radioactive, they'll drop him like a hot potato (see what happened to Don Imus, on a smaller scale).

But he's already gone WAY beyond Imus territory. And he's still here. What would he have to say to get Fox to give him the boot?

235 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:28:11pm

Reid takes lead in NV senate race:[Link: www.lvrj.com...]

236 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:28:18pm

re: #232 Kefirah

Just to be clear, because I do have a fan club, does the name Elisheva mean anything to you? Please pardon some paranoia on my part.

237 jordash1212  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:28:30pm

re: #234 Fozzie Bear

Something the FCC can nail him for. If they give him the boot now, he'll just scream violation of the First Amendment and try and find a new host.

238 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:28:43pm

re: #234 Fozzie Bear

i think a lot of posters have pointed out the fox news apparatus and glenn beck's role in the propaganda machine. to my mind, that means the question should be:

what would glenn beck have to stop saying in order for him to be fired?

239 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:29:56pm

re: #236 LudwigVanQuixote

mean anything besides it's original hebrew meaning? not particularly [besides my own fondness for my name].

paranoia pardoned.

240 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:30:45pm

re: #239 Kefirah

mean anything besides it's original hebrew meaning? not particularly [besides my own fondness for my name].

paranoia pardoned.

Thanks, then I got a mail from a stalker just now.

241 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:30:48pm

re: #228 prairiefire

Certainly many more people watch these entertainment shows than to Beck, but the audiences are fundamentally different in key ways. I don't see many people using the Mentalist to help them understand history or public policy. A good number of his viewers watch in order to be better informed about what's going on in America and the world. Have you seen the signs at the Tea Party rallies thanking him? A smaller amount of committed and faithful followers is a lot more powerful than a much larger, but lazier group that just wants their beer and boobs. That's the key difference, and that's what makes him dangerous.

242 Kefirah  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:31:23pm

re: #240 LudwigVanQuixote

wait. it IS the second part of my hebrew name.

243 elizajane  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:32:04pm

So now Obama is like Augustus Caesar? The next thing he'll be doing, in Beck's warped universe, is killing Christ.

244 Almost Killed by Space Hookers  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:32:08pm

re: #242 Kefirah

wait. it IS the second part of my hebrew name.

OK then no problems... :) I look forward to chatting.

245 Irenicum  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:33:06pm

re: #243 elizajane

He's barely one step away from calling him the antichrist.

246 prairiefire  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:34:37pm

re: #241 Irenicum

I think he in another in a long line of American shysters. The 27% Americans who seek him out, follow his lead, learn from him, are the same people who have been in America always.
I don't think they are to be ignored. They will always be a part of our Democratic experiment.
I think the Internet and blogs are a helpful way to examine them.

247 Max  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:39:21pm

My jaw is on the floor. Wow.

So Obama is making himself into a God-king and is gonna come kill the gold loving libertarians?

Our Republic would be lost without you, Mr. Beck!

248 Artist  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:47:52pm

I... what... words cannot describe.
What in the name of out planet earth did I just watch?

249 Artist  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 8:48:41pm

re: #248 SteelPH

I... what... words cannot describe.
What in the name of our planet earth did I just watch?


PIMF

250 CarleeCork  Mon, Jul 19, 2010 9:14:31pm

re: #4 theheat

I can't listen to him anymore. And looking at him pains me. What, are the glasses supposed to make him look studious and legit? Puh-lease.


He's going for the Palin look.

251 AK-47%  Tue, Jul 20, 2010 12:36:33am

REDRUM! REDRUM!! REDRUM!!!

252 boxhead  Tue, Jul 20, 2010 1:31:09am

I used to think Beck was am act. More and more I find myself leaning towards the "he REALLY is a nut" camp.

253 RogueOne  Tue, Jul 20, 2010 2:01:30am

re: #2 Thanos

The specific here is Al Awlaki... of course Glen isn't going to tell his audience that.

Actually, "the specific" here is unknown. The story has gone from confirmation of al awlaki, to "3", to "dozens". Read more:

[Link: rawstory.com...]

254 Romantic Heretic  Tue, Jul 20, 2010 8:58:08am

He can't even get his facts straight. Augustus Caesar was at the start of The Roman Empire, not the end.

And I kept asking myself, "How did we end up here?" Mr. Beck jumps all over the map.

Plus I notice that he only presents evidence from 'the enemy'; the ACLU and that bit from CNN. He doesn't present any evidence about his central fact, that the President is planning to kill Americans that oppose him. No press release, no documents discovered, nothing. Where is the recording of his 'call to the White House'?

I guess it all makes sense if you're as paranoid as he his.

255 ClaudeMonet  Tue, Jul 20, 2010 11:52:26pm

re: #189 The Shadow Do

Yup, says the one time amateur actor.

Yes indeed, says the current amateur actor (whose current gig and his next one pay a little).

256 Sacred Plants  Thu, Jul 22, 2010 7:33:51am

re: #115 Nimed

Too true. If they came after me I would have to drive them crazy.

257 Sacred Plants  Thu, Jul 22, 2010 7:34:44am

re: #125 freetoken

Yet here we have, a couple of years later, a Fox talking head basically echoing some of the fringier antics of the Bush-hating "left".

You know why?


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh
Once Praised, the Settlement to Help Sickened BP Oil Spill Workers Leaves Most With Nearly Nothing When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude erupted into the sea over the next three months — and tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired ...
Cheechako
Yesterday
Views: 69 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 0
Texas County at Center of Border Fight Is Overwhelmed by Migrant Deaths EAGLE PASS, Tex. - The undertaker lighted a cigarette and held it between his latex-gloved fingers as he stood over the bloated body bag lying in the bed of his battered pickup truck. The woman had been fished out ...
Cheechako
4 days ago
Views: 169 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 1