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How Glenn Beck Saves Lives
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People have tied the poisonous rhetoric of Beck and Bill O’Reilly to a spate of recent shootings. Reihan Salam says that the controversial hosts are preventing much more.
Glenn Beck is an American hero. Considered a buffoon at best by his liberal detractors, Beck is in fact a showman par excellence who draws on the passions of a small and alienated minority to create a television program that has done more to keep Americans safe than 10,000 public-service announcements. And for that, he deserves a medal from the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS, you might recall, issued a report in April on the threat posed by right-wing extremists, a report that many conservatives angrily denounced as a crude smear. Michael Savage, a radio host known for his scabrous denunciations of Democrats, liberals, vegans, backgammon enthusiasts, and other sinister elements, went so far as to file suit against the government in a fit of pique. But after a Holocaust Museum security guard was murdered by a deranged white supremacist, many observers loudly wondered if right-wing extremism represented a real and potent threat. After all, the shooting followed the slaying of George Tiller, the Kansas doctor best known for performing controversial late-term abortions. Are the two events a dark potent of a violent domestic terror campaign? The answer is probably no, and credit belongs to that most underappreciated part of the news business: cable talk shows.
If you watch some of Glenn Beck's more incendiary moments through the eyes of a crank, you get a very different perspective.
Of course, this runs counter to a familiar narrative. Tiller, for example, was frequently derided on The O'Reilly Factor. The Factor is a bizarro inversion of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, in which the wiseacre host berates an endless stream of alleged pedophiles and punks in lieu of puffing up "A-list" celebrities. Without villains, the show falls apart. And among others, Andrew Sullivan, Michael Tomasky, and Gawker went beyond just condemning O'Reilly for his incendiary language about Tiller, whom he dubbed "Tiller the Baby Killer"; all three suggested a connection between O'Reilly's rhetoric and Tiller's eventual murder. Scott Roeder, the man who actually killed Tiller, seems to have at least contemplated terrorist violence since at least 1996, when he was arrested for keeping an impressive array of bomb-making supplies in his car. One gets the sense he didn't need some cable-news blowhard to inspire him to violence. The obvious rejoinder is that O'Reilly's harsh tone could contribute to a hostile climate in which Internet obsessives can flourish. It's far more likely, however, that in giving voice to strong, harsh views, O'Reilly, like Beck, actually tamps down the threat of violence.
Remember that political violence runs deep in the American tradition. The United States was founded by sober Whigs, but independence was won by wild-eyed insurrectionists. While genteel Bostonian abolitionists protested against the evils of slavery, John Brown plotted a bloody uprising in the American South. The Weather Underground set off bombs to bring fascist AmeriKKKa to its knees and the white nationalist Timothy McVeigh did the same thing, though to far bloodier and more spectacular effect. America has more than its fair share of murderous idealists, and that's no less true today. The question is how we can keep this violent streak under wraps.
One approach is epidemiological. Like the swine flu, extremism should be subject to quarantine. Hateful sentiments should be suppressed to the extent possible, the better to prevent their spread. In Western Europe, neofascist political symbols and rhetoric are tightly regulated on the theory that violent extremism is a bacillus that must be contained. The end result, ironically enough, is that neofascist political movements, ranging from France's National Front to Britain's obnoxiously racist BNP, have had shockingly high levels of electoral success. By marginalizing certain political tendencies, the European approach makes it harder to domesticate them.
A healthier approach is to allow a wide array of screamers to soak up the angry energy of alienated citizens. Following the 2004 presidential election, a number of enraged lefties believed that George W. Bush's presidential campaign had stolen the presidential election by manipulating the vote count in Ohio through the misuse of electronic voting machines. In years past, this might have been ignored as a fringe belief. But it so happens that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann was willing to give the story considerable attention. Because Olbermann was willing to lend credence to the Ohio story, true believers treated him as an honest broker. And when Olbermann eventually moved on, they did too, for the most part.
Glenn Beck does something very similar. During a fascinating live chat with readers of The Washington Post, Beck addressed the question of extremist violence a number of times. One reader asked Beck point blank if he, like many of the commenters on his Web site, advocated a violent revolution. Beck condemned violence, and said that "we need to model ourselves after Martin Luther King and Gandhi." Another reader thoughtfully asked how Beck avoids pushing fringe groups to violence, to which Beck responded that "the fringe groups hate my guts. The fringe groups think I'm a government stooge." And in a sense the fringe groups were right. Rather than stoke the fears of his audience, Beck's occasionally loopy warnings about socialist totalitarianism and the coming American civil war actually inoculate his viewers against truly extreme sentiments. You couldn't invent a better government stooge than Beck.
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Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
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Beck promoted the idea that the government was running FEMA relocation camps. He was savy enough to say he didn't know for sure if it was true, but promoted it not only on his show but on Fox & Friends. This, along with the, Obama is coming to get your guns narative was the obsession of a Pittsburgh man who killed 3 cops. Apparently Beck's master plan failed. The idea that mainstreaming crazy paranoia is a good thing, might be the most twisted logic I have ever seen. Beck and Fox are making money by polluting our society, what's in it for you.
You may not agree with some of Beck's views, but the fact remains that our country is turning into something unrecognizable. When the government obtains total control of every move we make because you turned a blind eye to the corruption, you will long for the days when citizens held at least some measure of power. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has relinquished its role as a government watchdog in favor of serving as a willing accomplice to politicians eager to execute their self-serving, destructive agendas.
The time to be concerned with unprecedented government growth and disappearing freedoms would have been in the weeks and months after 9/11. The Patriot Act and Homeland Security will go down in the history books as an obvious power grab by the party in power and mainstream media were totally compliant in that deal, probably more so than anything they are glossing over these days.
Glenn Beck and his cronies continue to spout off about this crackdown on individual freedoms like it has just recently started under the Obama administration. Not only is this partisan as hell but it completely discounts everyone's intelligence since this all happened relatively recently.
Herr Beck said on THE VIEW that he is not bound to reporting the facts or the truth as he is not a reported but a commentator. Now get that,
not bound by the facts.....He would have done very well on Radio Berlin in 1933 to May 1945......after that he could have been arrested like the British "commentator" on Radio Berlin known as Lord HaHa.
You all can google the fate of Lord Ha Ha after he was tried in London in December of 1945.
I still recognize my country. Times change, we adjust to the world around us. Not everything is a giant conspiracy. We threw out the republicans that had proven to be completely corrupt and we will do the same with the dems if necessary in the future. I think your opinion is too bleak and shows more about your general attitude in life than the reality of our existence.
Glenn Beck is a perfect fit for FOX News, how he was ever able to stay at CNN for as long as he did is beyond me. He is a hate-monger, much like O'Reilly... on a network dedicated to the neo-con agenda.
Remember when the Bush administration floated the idea of canceling elections after 9/11? Now THAT would have been a real power grab!
palmharbor11: I don't think that Tokyo Rose was bound by facts either.
Internal negative commentary is fine, however, Newscorp has a monopoly in the News outlet business. Therefore, all these loonatic ideological rants are reaching far more folks than Americans. Many overseas are realizing that America is not a free, or stands behind equality as it professes to other Nations.
Ay Ay!! Great point!
Beck calls himself a "rodeo clown, a stooge."
To his credit, he predicted the economic
collapse two years before it happened,
and at the time people wondered who was
this whack job.
He predicted the housing collapse,
and the government power grab of
private industry, sound familiar GM, banks, healthcare ?
Some called his predictions looney, way out there.
He thinks the economic crisis could possibly get far worse.
Is there anyone out there confident enough to
challenge him on that possible scenario ?
Horse-hockey
Nope, somehow he has his finger on the mark. Glad to hear he is libertarian! I hope a lot of independents are thinking that way. Good to have a voice sometimes. Don't always agree but he is a voice.
Fuck Beck.
When I first heard Beck I thought he was a kook. I drive all the time and listen to him in the morning. I purchased his new book Common Sense and could not put it down. It is a very telling book and scary also. I checked out some of his researched articles and they are pretty accurate. There is reason for all of us to read this book as this man is not a kook...he is very serious about his country and the constitution. I know that Tina Brown makes fun of him...I did to...not anymore. He is so well informed and I think this has just happened the last few years according to him. He also is scary with his psychic ability...
wow whew! He predicted this current depression so others' did too.others I know and work with.I noticed in September 2007 bad inventory reports from the retail sector, on some financial web sites. This is a first sign of a recession ,but I also noticed it "NEVER REPORTED" at all until much much later.
Beck promoted the idea that the government is running FEMA relocation camps... by debunking the idea that the government is running FEMA relocation camps. Are there no depths to which these wingnuts won't sink?
There are plenty of things to criticize about Glenn Beck. (Just ask Glenn Beck.) You don't have to make stuff up.
The point is, who runs a story for a week that he got off of a conspiracy website, for a week when he knew it was total b.s. in the first place. He only totally debunked it coincidently after the Pittsburgh police were killed, I think that shook him up a little bit. Get a clue!
You obviously did not see the follow-up program where he disproved the myth of relocation camps AS PROMOTED BY THE LEFT - it was a farce as the supposed camp was a disused railway station.
Another lie perpetrated by the left to smear Beck. But when has the left ever let fact stop their lies.
Jimbob5: Relocation camps AS PROMOTED BY THE LEFT? You're either kidding or you've been listening to Rush Limbaugh too much lately.
It is a stretch to say that O'Reilly & Beck are doing some kind of social service by dumping upon the liberals. They are no Colberts. Rahim was Hitler also a soaker of hateful sentiments?
Using Olberman's name in the same vein is either PC hypocrisy or stupidity. Yes CD is full of liberal fervor, try finding one example of a lie on Countdown. In comparision, you will find them liberally sprinkled through Factor & Beck. And Hannity is literally bathed in lies and distortions. You never mentioned Hannity, I wonder where he falls in the spectrum, Keith........BillO..Beck.
BillO's objectivity charade, Beck's cover of Clowning & Hannity's insidious venom cloaked in Nationalism & Conservative Bravado - can not mask their delivery of poision to the already poisoned.
I guess any show, not just KD is a breath of fresh air after masochistically monitoring Hannity, Beck or BillO.
Very well put. I don't understand why people like these picture definitons of IDOIT. Like Joe Biden said on the campaign trail":IF YOU LIKED THE LAST 8 YEARS YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THE NEXT 4"Pointing to a what if Sen.McCain victory.
Luckily, we have that pesky little thing called the Constitution and it's First Amendment, which allows you to say what you just said and for those of us who think otherwise to watch Beck & Fox.
God Bless America....
I sure hope that God will bless America, because you conservatives are doing your best to destroy it.
Glen Beck "... an American hero ..." Salam is nuts !!!!!
Salam is filler for those frothing mindless uneducated people that have to have somewhere to fill their empty minds and The Daily Beast has to allow the Right Wing Nutters a voice to be well rounded and picking someone as ineffective, and such a a a nothing, as Salam fills that little niche.
You go baldknob head! Make a name for yourself amoung that litle niche that Glenn attracts.....what an accomplishment LOL
What's the matter? Upset b/c your "fair and balanced" Keith Olberman of "superior intelligence" isn't getting all the press?
Do you really think Salam has endeared himself to the people who take Beck seriously? If you read the article you will come to the part that Salom pretty much says these people need therapy and either they don't realize it or they don't care. Neither scenario is complementary. I believe there is some tongue-in-cheek in the article, if you're aware enough to pick up on it.
I'll say. Idiot. This web magazine is unfit for virtual toilet-paper.
So, does Andrew Sullivan watch when you're loving your bulldog?
The "little niche that Glenn attracts" has made his new book number one on Amazon.com.
abovethefray: Sorry, but "fair and balanced" is the trademarked lie of Fox News.
Just like your handle is a lie.
No he's NOT!
Brilliant comeback!
I don't believe,in all the time I have owned a computer,that I have read such unaldulterated B---S---- anywhere,at any time. What kind of meds is this guy on?
Remember that political violence runs deep in the American tradition. The United States was founded by sober Whigs, but independence was won by wild-eyed insurrectionists. While genteel Bostonian abolitionists protested against the evils of slavery, John Brown plotted a bloody uprising in the American South. The Weather Underground set off bombs to bring fascist AmeriKKKa to its knees and the white nationalist Timothy McVeigh did the same thing, though to far bloodier and more spectacular effect. America has more than its fair share of murderous idealists, and that's no less true today.
Our ancestors fought for this country, and no socialist carpetbaggers are going to roll in and take it from us without a hard, bloody fight. When John Brown announced he and his friends were storming Harpers Ferry and killing whitey, the locals grabbed everything they could find to load their muskets, since ammo ran out quick. Timothy McVeigh learned how to carry out crazy in the military, while Bill Ayers was a silver spoon-fed douchebag who blew up his own girlfriend with a nailgun. We're thrifty, mean and passionate about our freedom. Bring it on.
Damn, I like this very much!
possumdearie, you are a certified rightwing-nutjob by all indications. You're probably planning a 'spectacular' event a la Timothy McVeigh! You are the perfect candidate for waterboarding so you can spell out all your plans. Of course nobody will because those who are sick enough to torture are all in your camp.
DELUSIONAL.
Channeling Ma Barker.
But good for a laugh.
You LOST.
It's been almost 150 YEARS.
Take a cold shower.
Prediction: The entire message of this article will be lost and those who leave comments will basically take the opportunity to blame Glen, Bill, and/or Keith for all this countries problems.
There will be virtual blood.
"Beck's great strength is that he's a kind of national therapist for some of America's craziest people, few of whom are willing to go in for professional help. Without Beck and O'Reilly and even Olbermann, how exactly would these people let off steam?"
Spot on.
Wrong! We get the message of the article, some of us find it ridiculous, that's all.
How about this....Salam makes some interesting points and is probably correct to some degree that Beck's and Olbermann's rants help pacify the fringe freeks. HOWEVER, nothing is mentioned about the damage/brainwashing that is inflicted to the average maliable viewer of those shows. To me the result is a net negative (to say the least). So NO, they're are not resposible for all of the countries problems, but they certainly play a role in pushing the country apart.
yeah like the whole baby killer thing.. he tells people that an expected mother gets a little depressed or breaks up with her boyfriend and decides to get an abortion in her 6th month and goes to tiller who does it.. these things are absurd.. and it really is a mind-boggler to me that none of these guys have been successfully sued for slander..
Don't compare Beck to Olbermen. When Olberman starts putting ecoterrorists or 9-11 consipiracy people on his show then you have a comparison, until then it's apples to oranges.
Or when Olbermann puts on someone who disagrees with him, then we can compare them! Not until.
the average maliable viewer has no mind and goes to TV to find one! That is what the big 3 are for!
This has GOT to be a joke. It's like saying that child pornography is good because it distracts and prevents pedophiles from committing crimes against actual living children.
Good comparison. The twisted logic of this man is stupefying.
I agree completely. One need only remember that there likely wouldn't have been a Rwandan genocide without that country's radio shock jocks whipping up hatred with their very public voices.
His logic is not totally twisted. A similar argument is made about the purpose of free (even violent or hate-filled) speech by Constitutional scholars. The idea is that it free speech is a pressure release valve which prevents people from reacting with actual violence.
It is sound as a Constitutional theory, but seems preposterous when applied to other problems, as you point out. I think Reihan makes an amusing point. It's interesting and good, at least, for a laugh. C'mon, Glenn Beck, hero? How can anyone not chuckle at the thought?
Look Glenn Beck is a complete moron but I would agree with this article like it or not he there are people who think like him and who watch his program and are pacified to a degree by thinking there is a nutjob who agrees with me (but by the same token you can't argue that there has not been a small fringe of his audience that has bee encouraged and acted in violent ways to his insane rantings) . That's why free speech works because even the nutjobs have a place to vent (but by the same token you can't argue that there has not been a very small fringe of his audience that has bee encouraged and acted in violent ways to his insane rantings). Now as for Keith Olbermann he does interprits the news from a completly left point of view and I wish he would have a little more objectivity (just a little though his news items do not miss by much) but it is an insult that he is being lumped in with Beck and the others at Fox news. And stop it with the pedophile camparison it has nothing to do with that free speech is free speech it has nothind to do with the axt of pedophilia or any other illegal act.
As for this article it was another great article by one of the more sobering author.
I agree with Gary.. I think his article is very whimsical and it obviously generated the response he was looking for... Kind of like an essay I did in school once about how squirrels are smarter than humans because they have smaller brains.. so there's nowhere for them to lose any important stuff.. like where they left their nuts.
exactly. well put. salam is a friggin moron, and should be fired from this site. the beast is generally good, but they have this little club of right wing ass lickers that creep me out...
I think you totally missed the point of the article.
I'm not agreeing with Reihan. I just wish people would read the articles before commenting.
Yes! Fire people who say things I don't agree with!
great analogy!
Excellent analogy! Every act is preceded by a thought. Implanting fear and hate to the vulnerable is exactly what Bin Laden did. Do you believe that he is a force for good, also? These neo-cons are predators in the same way that child pornographers are predators.
WandaJeeter: "This has GOT to be a joke. It's like saying that child pornography is good because it distracts and prevents pedophiles from committing crimes against actual living children."
How do you know that's not true?
The core of the argument is that nuttiness needs an escape or else it festers and becomes more dangerous. I don't know if that's true or not but it sounds plausible.
Beck, O'Reilly, Hannity and even Limbaugh didn't create their audience. They service them. These people are out there whether or not they're vocal.
I personally would rather they be talking. At least we can all see them that way.
Missing from this analysis is the value of the words that are used in the dissent which is done by these people.
When words such as terrorist, fascism, and baby killer are used they create a sense that the person they describe is less than human, and certainly not due any kind of respect.
Dissent is good, and the ability to dissent is one of our strongest rights, but there is a responsibility that goes along with that dissent.
That responsibility is to be aware of and take responsibility for the UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES of your actions.
Rick Lord
With heroes like Beck, we don't need traitors.
I suspect Beck is sharing his meth stash with this would-be 'journalist'.
Humans can rationalize anything, even torture.
You seem to conveniently forget how Beck staged pouring gasoline all over an employee and plays montages of Hitler as he is talking about Obama.
Also, you seem to ignore the realities of what is currently happening because of the Fox News / Right Wing radio groups directly. For instance, they have played story after story about Obama trying to take their guns away, so there have been record gun sales. The gunman in Pittsburgh, PA that killed 3 police officers actually referenced Fox News, when he stated he did it because "Obama was going to take away his guns".
Personally, i know two Fox News groupies in my neighborhood that are literally building bomb-shelters and when asked why they will directly quote Michael Savage and Sean Hannity talking about revolution.
Also, my main problem with Fox News is not their opinions, it is their false portrayal of themselves as an objective news organization. When watching MSNBC for instance, they openly admit that they are opinion-based, especially at night - with Olbermann, Maddow, and Shultz referring to themselves as liberals and Matthews as a Dem. Fox, on the other-hand repeatedly repeats the "Fair and Balanced" mantra.
For most of the college educated, they can probably see through this veneer and understand they are an opinion station. On the other hand, most of my family that is not college educated and members of my church that have lower educational levels do not understand this difference. They honestly think that when a network calls itself "Fair and Balanced" that they can trust it. This is where the station is at its most dangerous.
When someone views the station as objective news and then sees one of its hosts comparing the president to Hitler, it is just a matter of time until someone that is a bit off to begin with gets so afraid that they do something stupid. Even Shepherd Smith recently admitted this.
Fox News is doing a grave public disservice and should be required either to actually present fact-based reporting or clearly label themselves as opinion-based.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
You are completely wrong. I love my family to death, but if you even try to tell them that Fox is opinionated or biased, they absolutely do not believe it. Same with people at my Church. I do not look down on these people - I am angry at Fox for them.
The fact that you call me a yuppie is laughable. I am just lucky enough to have gotten a good education. I am teacher that drives a run-down car, worked in a steal plant for years, construction, and was a "meat shoveler" in a meat packing plant. I make 40,000 a year and did not have health care for 8-10 ten years. I also owe nearly 100,000 in student loans and live in a small apartment. So, to stereotype me like that is ridiculous.
I am telling the absolute truth - most of my fam and church members all believe the "Fair and Balanced" mantra and if you try to tell them they are biased, they do not believe it - they say things like - well, why are they called a news station then? or say fair and balanced over and over.
I am not trying to belittle them in anyway - I am the first in my family to go to college and worked blue collar jobs 2/3s of my life to get where I am. I am more blue collar than white collar, just blessed to get a very good education.
People who do not attend college are by definition LESS educated than those who do, thus more prone to being swayed by those who are more educated and claim to know truths the others do not.
flaunt... history has been written by MAYBE (a high-side estimate) 10% of humans who have ever lived. Accordingly, only about 10% of Americans today really make a 'difference'. This is not downplaying people, it is just fact.
And no... the barista doesn't have an MBA from Yale... that's why he's making my coffee... (no he's not, actually.... I HATE coffee...)
flaunt,
The latte smear is so 2002. Education does matter. And, in case you hadn't noticed it, our society *is* collapsing, thanks to the stupidity of Americans who blindly follow their leaders into disastrous wars and accept the idiotic premise that we can have a functioning country without paying for it through taxation.
People who don't attend college ARE uneducated. Though frankly, the idiot pejorative can be applied broadly to my fellow Americans, rich and poor, conservative and liberal alike. We are not a very wise country.
flaunt...you fail to recognize that, by definition, half the population is of below-average intelligence. There is a large proportion of the American population (my guess is somewhere around 50%) that could accurately be classified as "idiots", and it isn't a coincidence that most of these people never attended college. Not attending college by no means equates to stupidity, but it is generally a predictible indicator of an individual's level of intelligence.
But I did go to college, and law school, so I guess I might just be another "yuppie" socialist. Gotta run, my triple venti latte is ready.
By definition, if you have not attended and completed an undergraduate course in an accredited college or university...you are uneducated. That doesn't necessarily prove that you're an idiot. Idiocy I can accept as unchangeable. Ignorance I cannot.
The thing is, while many people who have not gone to college are not at all idiots (my dad, for instance never went, and he's one of the smartest and most successful people I know) they still are less educated. I always considered myself a rather intelligent, open-minded person, but after going to college I realized there really is so little I know and understand about people and society. People make decisions based on experience and knowledge. Is it crazy to think that people with more knowledge may at times make more informed decisions? Or perhaps, even be able to look at things in a different way than is spoon fed to them? I find Fox news offensive and vile, and while I would never want to take away their right to spew hatred, violence, and propaganda, I would also like for them to not call their show "fair and balanced." I know some very intelligent people who never went to college and watch Fox news like it's the Gospels. They actually believe what O'Reilly and Beck (etc) say to be... truth... Keatsian makes a few great points, and as rightwingers often do, you chose to attack him/her rather than engage in intelligent argument. And as for the barista comment, a lot of those kids are actually in college, and for the ones who aren't, I can tell you because I actually worked as a barista for about two years, it doesn't require much brain power to complete, and certainly not an MBA from Yale or even an AA from a CC, it's just pouring coffee in with syrup and milk - and occasionally hitting the "decaf" button or using skim instead of whole.
One period that should have been a question mark. One use of the plural tense when it should have been singular. Use of the pejorative "yuppie" in an ad hominem attack.
Grade on your screed: D
Keatsian. You need to post your opinions on this sight more often. Your comments are quite thoughtful, well articulated, and void of hyperbole....quite refreshing.
Sadly enough, very well educated people will quote Limbaugh and Beck as well. One of these very well educated religious conservatives that I know that quotes these guys is actually a senior exec. in his mid-sized software company! And I have heard this person justify why Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma City govt bldg. (not that he thought it was right but that he sympathezied with McVeigh because he felt McVeigh had a valid grudge against the govt). I am sure it must be talking pts from Fox. SCARY!
and you said he was a senior exec.. I have met and work with several of these types.. they do not buy in to the bs that fox news and the radio guys are spewing.. they are selling it. They realize that the only way the republican party (who keep their taxes down) can get elected with such a gap between the rich and the rest is to convince some of us that the republicans are in some way righteous and are looking out for the common man..
I agree about the gasoline thing. For someone like Glenn Beck to sometimes say violence is bad and then turn around and pour gasoline on his assistant is inconsistent at best. I would say that Glenn Beck is better than Bill O'Reilly on this issue, but he's still dangerously inconsistent given his target audience. Bill O'Reilly is EXTREMELY dangerous. He all but paints targets on citizens who disagree with him, tells his audience these people deserve to be shot, and then tells people to go out and buy guns because Barack Obama is going to take away their guns. Obviously some people are more willing to use extreme or violent tactics, but commentators like Bill O'Reilly provide them with targets and then give them a freaking pep talk. It's sick.
Allright, while I am no great fan of O"Reilly, please point out the date and time that he advocated anyone to buy guns because Barack Obama is going to take them away. Please provide a copy of the transcript. You can't be cause he didn't. Now if you were talking Michael Savage...he would probably provide you with the citation himself.
Come on people, I heard some of the most vile things about a President coming out of the liberal websites like this for the last 3 years directed at Bush. Was that commentary no less incendiary??? oh I forgot, he's a Republican, they are by definition evil and liberal, open "open minded " democrats are just intellectually curious people who believe that government is a benevolent force that ...only wants to help.
Look Beck is a maniac, but he calls himself that, he's mostly comedian, but you have to admit, the guy has been ahead of the curve on many economic issues. In late 2006 when he was talking about the housing collapse...people thought he was nut...turns out he was right. In late 2007 when he said that GM and Chrysler were in too deep, people said he was a clown...turns out he was dead on. O'Reilly is a fool who will not admit it
Do you actually think that Beck doused an assistant with gasoline? Or that O'Reilly went on the air and said that someone should be shot? You are a gullible one, aren't you?
Keatsian - for you to imply that Fox news is not fair and balanced or at least has some balance to it is ridiculous; I happen to watch and read many different sources of media available to the public, and Fox represents how things used to be in this country. I have heard repeatedly talk show hosts like Rush, Hannity & Beck offer their podium to Liberal icons of the day, challenging these people to open debate, of course this never happens. Hannity at least had Coombs to provide some opposing voice to his, I have never seen Obermann, Couric or any of the other Liberal talking heads do anything remotely close. Yes, the "View" had Glenn Beck on their show, but it was clearly a personal attack instead of hearing any discussion of the issues whatsoever. The fact of the matter is that if such discussions were held, the Liberals would fare badly. Proof of this is in their talk shows, which don't make any money, just look at that Liberal genius Al Franken. If people like you were so right, the conservative media would be dead and buried. Yet their ratings by and large are better than the liberals.
And your observation that the conservative talking heads and Fox news is somehow responsible for the surge in Gun sales and the recent violence is just as off-base as the rest of your observations. The conservative media has had nothing to do with what is happening; the actions of the current President has everything to do with it by the actions and opinions of his current administration, as well as his recent appointment to the Supreme Court. The man you helped elect President has spent more money than any previous President ever dreamed of spending, while talking about "fiscal responsibility" and going through the budget "line by line" and promising "transparency". And this is money we don't even have and have not even earned yet.
So please don't refer to us as extremists or try to assign blame for the actions of others. Life is about choices, and the choices one makes is what defines us. Homosexuals are not born that way, they choose to be that way, just as people decide to use drugs, they decide to drink and drive, etc. No other President has enjoyed the Media support this current President has, and his "bold" moves to take over private business and nationalize certain industries and banking are very similar to things dictators like Hitler did in the past. Couple that with his proposals to expand the power of the Federal government to dangerous levels, even beyond what the previous President had ever envisioned, gives credence to what people like Glenn Beck are saying. And I remind you again, that this current President campaigned on a theme of limiting government intrusion into our lives, has said all along "we don't want to be in the car business" yet look at who owns two of our three automakers now? He says one thing and does another, a quality shared by every dictator without exception. And his appointment of "czars" to oversee all of these takeovers, is eerily similar as well. These Czars bypass the legislative process because they only answer to the President. Had the previous President even spoken about this type of thing, I can assure you a different response entirely. Off base? I don't think so.
And as for your references to your hard work and education, if you spent 100,000 dollars and only make 40,000 and live in an apartment, you wasted your money. I spent 20,000 and I make 80,000 today, live in a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath home. My vehicles are paid for and I have one credit card. So college educations make you a better person, more informed? Again, I don't think so. My Grandfather was a child of the great depression, who taught himself Geology and became a self-made milliionaire in the oil & gas industry, but his values and the values of his generation are my values. If they were all in their primes today, they would be appalled at what is happening to our country today. The Democrats in this country have been hijacked and slid way of to the left, and we are going to pay dearly for it.
Oh yes, I almost forgot - You say you are a teacher? you need to learn how to spell.
The banking industry was taken over by THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. Do you really think people are so stupid that you can pull that off. How about the fact that Bush was handed a surplus and ended with a huge deficit. These are facts that you can not get around.
You are fooling yourself my dear. Go spend 90 seconds on MediaMatters dot com. you used a lot of words to just add to your discredit, I'm afraid.
"homosexuals are not born that way, they choose to be that way"... really? how do you know? its your OPINION.
You are close minded and ill-informed.
There is nothing wrong w/ Fair and Balanced, in fact balance is a good thing in all areas of life. But Fox is far from fair or balanced.
it is more Liar and Unbalanced. And those who suck from its hairy teat tend to be Liars and Unbalanced as well.
But wait......
They won a lawsuit giving them permission to not tell the truth. It is not against the law to leave facts out of a news coverage.
What did you expect? However, the vitriol is unbearable, I wonder is there a line or not to what can be said about the Administration in a public forum. Is America safe with all this oppositional language coming from Newscorp worldwide?
Fox has the right to do whatever it wants, but when did it become okay for a station to call themselves a News Corporation and then call a sitting president Hitler-like. Maybe I am just getting old, but there was a time when if a station did that, regardless of what party the president was from, there would be so much pressure that the station would have to apologize or go off air.
While they have every right to say what they say, what is wrong with us as a country that we don't consider it horrific for a News station to compare our president with Hitler?
One can be educated without benefit of college. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind.
And you can be uneducated
WITH the benefit of college.
Ritarita - Yes. I once knew a liberal arts graduate who did not know who Shakespeare was.
ritarita:are you referring to W ?
That's for sure. I went to a 40 year reunion of my college fraternity, and they were all voting for Bush.
Now THAT's stupid! And recent history confirms it.
>>People who don't attend college ARE uneducated<<
Some would say that people who attend college are uneducated.
It amazes me to see how differently people view the same information. I agree that Fox News is not "Fair and Balanced" but it doesn't take more than a couple of shows to see that Beck considers his show an opinion show. He may act like an idiot, but I think he is much smarter than most give him credit for.
Speaking of intelligence... I have a few electives left on my BA so I'm not sure if I qualify as "educated". But I think people should spend more time educating themselves rather than listening to news networks tell them what is 'true". I feel that all the news networks express their opinions. Even if it isn't blatant you can here it in the tone of their voices.
I have to address the gun control issue. It doesn't take a masters degree to see the position this administration has on the 2nd amendment. The administrations position on gun control WAS posed on whitehouse.gov. in the Urban policy section, but they have since removed it. I believe that is why we are seeing record gun sales. Maybe this is a discussion for another day but people need to stop fooling themselves. No...Obama isn't coming for your guns yet... but his position is clear. He is not opposed to any measure of gun control.
Reihan, I know your bread and butter is to maintain your ultra right creds. Being reasonable and thoughtful and caring would not be in line with your image. And of course writing something outrageous always drives eyeballs which is the point isn't it. Some day you may wake up and be ashamed of this period in your life. I hope so.
It's embarrassing
To respond to this article
Because it's such a naked tabloid ploy
To attract commentary.
But instead of going on a Glenn Beck rant
I'm going to gift everyone who hasn't
Seen this video with one of my
Favorite TV moments.
Make sure to watch both halves.
Enjoy!
Thanks for the pointer. What a blast...
Ritarita
I had missed that thanks. Hilarious. Now I know the real truth about all those fields of soybeans. They do have a valid purpose.
at least colbert and stewart call themselves "fake news" maybe Fox News should have to change their name to Faux News
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
I dont understand what he is trying to say inn this article A good writter has to now how to write simpler.Beck is almost fun to watch.There is room for his complaints,and i agree with some of them I do not think,he is taken for real ,again he makes good points,we need diff,sides to issues,Orilley ,I have a problem , his sex,scandal was hushed up,but he just thinks he is superior.But i think calling someone the baby killer,if it is legal,the family should sue him.Crazy people are crazy,and they do not need reinforcement,but the Tiller case is something diff. he defamed this drs.name.its a legacy for the family.This was a human being working under the law.
These right wing nuts were more than likely ticked off by the likes of Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann and an unfair left wing press. The right wing pundits probably had nothing to do with it. They just get the blame. The left spews far more hate than the right. Their sanctimonious self rightousness just precludes any objectivity in their opinion.
Ann Coulter, Savage, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannitty, Glen Beck, Michelle Malkin, the most hateful group on the planet. If you've ever watched Chris Matthews, he does not foam at the mouth and spew hate like the above group does. Please give me a real list of leftwing commentators who are comparable. That's right, you can't.
Totally agree with you. Just read the threads on the blogs, especially on Politico.com, Realclearpolitics, etc. Many on the right wing is absolutely racist and show it when they slam Obama....comparing him to an ape or talking abt watermelon on the front lawn...talking about the size of Michelle Obama's lips, etc....absolutely disgusting!
matthews does spit alot & he constantly steps on his guests' replys
no injuries were incurred
more projection
sanctimonious
mark foley sen. ensign
sen. craig
newt gingrich
bob livingston
david vitter
henry hyde
dan barton
need more right wing holier than thou hypocrites?
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
Also,Fox might be number one,because it is the only station that serves the right ,Republicans,so completely. I thought journalism was supposed to be fair and balanced. This station is not that. And I watch some of it because I am not right nor left. But this article is weird. Orilley,did insite hatred for the dr. im not saying I agree with the dr.,but that was up to the dr.,his patient and the law.If that was my, father, brother,husband, i would bring a law suit against orielley,for sure.Beck really,has real issuess,but he is just entertaining. the one that is just a stupid,criticize all,no solutions,guy is hannity.This is a very badly written article.When you are in the media and radio,you have to be carefull ,you can influence someone on the fringe.
Saying that Beck and O'Reilly caused these atrocities is like blaming Ozzie Osbourne for committing suicide. Stupid. The uber-left always take themselves too serious. You get wrapped up in Beck's language and "incendiary" comments all the while calling him and his audience a bunch of "angry rednecks" and "America's craziest people". Liberals dish it out...but get their feelings hurt when it comes back to them.
Our feelings aren't hurt, "clear" thinker. We believe Glenn Beck is both crazy and mentally retarded. Which is surely why Fox News hired him.
hithere3 just proved my point. Why all the "mentally retarded" references just because he dissents from your beliefs? Beliefs you are entitled to, and beliefs he is entitled to. Folks like Beck uncover topics that the libs don't want to discuss or think about...the fact that their beloved Obama and Democratic party may be leading us down a wrong path.
clearthinker: Certainly not. Many conservatives (whose views I generally oppose) are neither crazy nor mentally retarded. This one is, however. That you can't recognize intellectual mediocrity is your failing, not mine.
Perhaps Fox News shines light on this so called new transparency. The left wingnuts resort to name calling and unintelligible ranting when confronted by real journalistic examination on current political activities. Lets hope Fox News continues to pursue revelations related to acorn, obamas spreading of the wealth and his so called redefinition of federal government, political corruption and dishonesty (Dodd/Murtha/Frank/Pelosi...) and on and on. Real journalism confronting and holding all politicals accountable. No shivers up the leg or ABC informercials which will not allow dissenting discourse.
Fox spent nearly half the day Tues running non-stop coverage of a bad joke by a late night comedian. Hmm, what else could a so called news station of covered that day?
Revolution in Iran?
Health Care debate?
Wars in two countries?
Problems in Afghan / Pakistan?
Sex scandal with a Republican Senator?
Instead, over half their coverage went to a bad joke. And they pretend to be a News organization.
At least MSNBC does not try to fake not being biased. All of their night time people openly admit being liberal and opinion, not News. Unlike Fox who pretends to be "fair and balanced" and most of their crazy right wingers pretend to be independents in the "No Spin Zone" that spins so much that even the title is Spin!
Keatsian-
That's the real issue with FOX.
They have a truth problem.
and don't forget we've never seen a birth certificate
other than the one that' been posted for 7 months
This comment deserves a "high five." Funny how the libs rant on about equality and fairness for their own, yet they denigrate anyone with a dissenting view for daring to speak their mind. The libs' response to the tea parties comes to mind. Instead of trying to gain an understanding about why these protests were occurring and intelligently pondering whether or not they were worthwhile, the libs engaged in a knee-jerk, group-think reaction that the tea party participants were a bunch of right-wing nuts. If our country is ever going to progress beyond its downward spiral, it will take ordinary citizens like us (NOT presidents made popular by the complicit media) to pull together against the corrupt practices of ALL political parties.
Judging by the footage of the Fox News Presents Tea Parties, they were a bunch of right-wing nuts. Sometimes knee-jerk reactions are right.
not long ago if you didn't march lockstep with pres cheney you were labeled a traitor & troop hater
All Beck proves is that the American Dream is alive and well. The man HAS worked hard to get where he is, and just like any showman, his 'blowing hot-airedness' is what got him there. It is extreme views/actions that get people anywhere in the media today and I have to commend Beck for realizing this.
But people... you DO realize that what you see on TV is a character... right? You don't really take him seriously, do you?
First, Beck, like others of his ilk, used welfare and other social services when needed and now that he is wealthy he decries it daily. He would not be where he is if it were not for the "socialist" welfare state - he would be in a poor house or prison for not being able to pay his debts.
Second, the unfortunate thing is that way too many people do not know that he is a character or opinion based, my family and church both take him very seriously to the point that a sunday school class was just taught based on his new program. Scary stuff!
There has to be a line drawn somewhere.
If I say the world is very close to ending because of some kind of strife, is it my fault if my friend gets upset and commits suicide? I say no... although you could feel 'guilty', it is not your fault... your friend was nuts and ANYTHING could have set him off.
I agree it's scary... Beck and O'Reilly both. I actually had a smidgen of repect for O'Reilly until Harry Browne, in one interview, made him look like a babbling fool. Beck I listened to on the radio when he premiered in my city around 1999-2000 or so, but was soon turned off by his increasingly crazy rants.
Keatsian, you seem to be a decent thoughtful person. I have been thinking about this topic a lot given all the violence that we have been experiencing with the Right Wing nuts. The only way to apply pressure to Fox is to identify all its corporate advertisers and to write letters to the CEOs and to boycott their products. I can't stand Fox News. I want to scream when I listen to that crap but it has to start somewhere and I may have to spend some time on that station. Start looking out for a petition to boycott Fox's sponsors!
but just like poor craig t nelson when he was down & out, on welfare & using food stamps, no one helped him
Fox ran an hour long "documentary" inside the Bush Whitehouse, very similar to what ABC is doing, I guess Karl Rove forgot about that one when he spouted off about the ABC special. Karl hasn't learned yet that google and youtube make his b.s. a little harder to get away with these days. The fact that you put Fox and real journalism in the same paragraph is pretty funny.
It will come as no surprise to those who know of Mr Salam's work but the man is a wit & his writing in Daily Beast shows that. Ms Brown & her employees know & hire talent. That's Ms Brown's established M O. Yes, yes, I'm very much off thread. It's a Friday of an exciting week. I want to rest so I can partake of the week-ends live blogging about Iran & what will be posted on the DB.
I saw Reihan Salam on Real Time with Bill Maher, and other than pausing to notice how much he looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turle with no shell, I found his opinions then to be well-founded and articulated with conviction. In this case, I can't say that I find the same thing. He's basically using the "Beck claims to protect against attacks, and no attacks have happened, so it must be Beck's influence" as his argument. That's pretty weak.
The truth about Glenn Beck is that he's a money-grubbing manipulator. His goal is not to report the news, and it's certainly not to educate his viewers. Glenn Beck's job is to sell Glenn Beck's books, and tickets to his "comedy" show, and drum up ratings for his show that that FOX pads his salary based on viewership. Glenn Beck serves Glenn Beck and no one else.
To imply that he deserves a medal only proves that Reihan Salam is a willing lemming on Glenn Beck's rush to the cliff.
It was worth reading this idiotic column by Salam to get the link from Ritarita. As she said, be sure to watch both. I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair.
http://www.colbertnation.com/video?keywords=doom bunker
This is the stupidest most naive and conveniently formulated argument I have ever read.
DB, give me a break!
Next you'll be publishing articles that incest is great because it actually prevents a nutjob gene pool from leaving the family.
The sad reality, apparently lost in this article and in the attendant comments, is that Glenn Beck is a mental midget. If he lived in any other country in the world, he wouldn't get anywhere near a microphone.
If he had half a brain, it would die of utter loneliness.
Name calling. Now there's intellectual depth. Try challenging Beck's arguments and facts in an open forum. I doubt your survival.
How about the fact that he constantly complained about the "whining" of 9-11 families three short years ago, and now he exploits 9-11 with his 9-12 project. What could be more despicable than that?
If he lived in Serbia he might be a member of whatever they call their local parliment by now.
This is an infuriating, outrageous thesis that flies in the face of all the data. This dangerous idiocy. Salam needs to study the way hate-radio drove African genocide before he is allowed near a keyboard again.
Mr. Salam would love to have us believe that Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly appeals only to a "fringe element"...yawn. His 912 Project site has almost 700,000 members, and is growing.
Several months ago, Glenn shined a spotlight on the school voucher program that President Obama was only too happy to consider scraping - a successful program, by the way, for over 1700 students in the DC area. After a week of programs, the President wisely reversed his decision, thus ensuring that 1700 students would be able to receive quality education.
Crank, indeed...Mr. Salam cannot be considered a responsible journalist in this case, because he didn't do his homework. Rather, he - like most of the liberal media - simply fires off this literary drive-by piece for The Great One and his growing minions.
The voucher program sounded good, but wasn't .It doesn't do much for under acheivers.
By Salam's logic Lenin, Sam Adams, and everyone else who ever railed against a government was functionally, if not intentionally, a government stooge. Definitely this is a novel and interesting take on history.
Thank you.
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