Op/Ed by Sammy Glick
I simply have to go back to this (Commenter, Harvey Dent’s) statement…“I never have heard of Glenn Beck, I do not even have Fox News, but I do belive now he is telling the truth, it sounds too much like Chavez to be just a coincidence. I heard Obama diversity Zar is a great fan of Chavez.”
It’s fine to have opinions on the world — but to admit you don’t know what you’re talking about, rather defeats having a reasoned debate. Perhaps you might try watching Beck’s show, along with watching the other nighttime programs on Fox News, before making judgments on the network and its hosts and how ‘truthful’ their statements and analysis of complex issues are.
Yet this again, speaks to my original statement that part of the problem with American politics, is that segments of the populace are not as informed as they think they are. They watch cable news, or listen to the radio; but that’s just it…they passively listen and never engage their minds or seek out other sources to better understand the complex issues facing the world. I often laugh to myself over how Rush’s fans PROUDLY call themselves ‘ditto-heads’ (as in, yes Rush…I agree 110% with what you just said…no need for me to investigate or think for MYSELF…I’ll just agree with ANYTHING you say about the world…”).
No wonder people like Rush make such a hissyfit about the ‘Fairness Doctrine’. For if there was really a government mandate for ‘equal time’ on the airways, he might lose some of the power he and other conservative radio people have gained…as they wouldn’t own the debate on radio 24/7 unchecked.
How many of Beck’s fans know he’s a recovering alcoholic, suffers from ADD and hyperactivity, has a family history of suicide and mental illness (much less that he converted to Mormonism upon moving to Utah early in his life). How many of his fans know he got his start in radio from winning a DJ contest, or that he dropped out of college. Better yet, does any of his history bear on his present activities? Should it? Might one ask why a college dropout, former rodeo clown, ex-top 40 radio DJ, with a history of mental illness should have such a large platform in which to voice their opinions?
Or put it this way — if that SAME person walked into a TV/Radio studio with a resume with those details, should they be hired to host a political opinion show? The way in which this nation treats someone who simply had sex on camera, makes you wonder how THAT person is a notch above a leper, and yet Beck and his baggage makes him a ‘hero of the people’ because he’s asking dopy questions about the government (questions that I dare say, even Tanner Mayes, Sasha Grey or Brian Pumper could ask).
Again, for a political party that is always talking about the ‘power of prayer’ and how we should be judged on our ‘actions’ not our ‘past’ — the Republicans sure to tend to ignore one’s past when it’s politically expedient, and use it when it politically serves their interests.
Thusly, we’re supposed to ignore Rush Limbaugh’s past history with drug abuse and the law (all of which files contrary to his public statements about abusing drugs), Rep. DeLay’s ethics problems with lobbyists, Col. Oliver North’s illegal activities (Iran/Contra), O’Reilly’s sexual harassment of a staffer, Bush Jr.’s DUI & spotty Air National Guard records (not to mention his battle with alcohol and cocaine) — but we’re never supposed to forget that Clinton got a BJ from a pudgy intern, Sen. Byrd was once a high-level KKK member, Sen. Edwards screwed around on his wife while she had cancer, Hillary’s Whitewater dealings, and now that Obama was a ‘community organizer’ familiar with ‘left wing’ literature.
For a guy like Beck who claims to just be ‘asking reasonable questions’ about a whole range of issues (but let’s be honest, he’s not asking a lot of those questions about Republicans or Conservatives) — why can’t his critics do the same about him? Or for that matter, when did the ‘truth’ become exclusive to one political philosophy?
Quote:
How many of Beck’s fans know he’s a recovering alcoholic, suffers from ADD and hyperactivity, has a family history of suicide and mental illness (much less that he converted to Mormonism upon moving to Utah early in his life). How many of his fans know he got his start in radio from winning a DJ contest, or that he dropped out of college. Better yet, does any of his history bear on his present activities? Should it? Might one ask why a college dropout, former rodeo clown, ex-top 40 radio DJ, with a history of mental illness should have such a large platform in which to voice their opinions?
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Anyone who has ever listened to Beck for more than 5 minutes knows all of these things, as he discusses them frequently. Second point, Beck was not plucked out of an alcoholic stupor and put on 100+ radio stations and Fox News the next day. Beck started, as you stated correctly, as a small time DJ. Beck worked for years and years to get where he is now.
It is your prerogative to disagree with Beck or anyone else, but you lose your credibility when spew BS like this.
Ignorant ass.
Man this Beck dude is causing quite a stir. He’s got a bug up so many people’s butts that one has to wonder why. If you don’t like what he says, don’t watch.
Isn’t that what we tell the anti-porn nutters?
“If you don’t like what he says, don’t watch.
Isn’t that what we tell the anti-porn nutters?”
That is my point, porn people should be very vigilant of censorship.
“but to admit you don’t know what you’re talking about, rather defeats having a reasoned debate.”
Again, I do not care a fuck about Glenn Beck, but I care about the argument of his foes, they are the same Chavez uses to shut up is opposition, and most were put foward by people like Spanish communist college professor Ignacio Ramonet years ago. If someone sounds like a dog, looks like a dog and acts like a dog, its most likely a dog. If Glenn Beck foes use arguments and tactics put foward by comunists they might be comunists.
The fact is private property of the media and freedom of speech are vital for freedom.
“How many of Beck’s fans know he’s a recovering alcoholic, suffers from ADD and hyperactivity, has a family history of suicide and mental illness”
I do not know but that means there is hope for many Porn People, see you can be Glenn Beck!
‘Truth: the most deadly weapon ever discovered by humanity. Capable of destroying entire perceptual sets, cultures, and realities. Outlawed by all governments everywhere. Possession is normally punishable by death.’ -John Gilmore
The truth has no place in American media, for if the truth was to be addressed, discussed and discovered, the powers that be who own America from top to buttom, from the government to financial institutions, manufacturing companies, oil fields, media, etc. would lose their grip on power and fall apart. This whole country, the whole ‘American Dream’, the whole system is based on lie, corruption and deceit. When falsehood becomes the law of the land, the truth becomes forbidden, forgotten and forsaken.
There’s no way you’re going to get censorship now, now with democratic majorities in Congress. However, the Dems are blowing it so badly right now that both the House and the Senate could flip back to Republican control next year. And Beck will not be the main reason for it. Who’s fearful and paranoid now?
It is amusing to watch Obama’s bullshit blow up on him.
This puppet is so full of shit… Hey Obama hows that ACORN working out for you? Sad fact is there has not been any change in govt. The confiscation of our income continues, we are still attempting empire building in other countries. I think we need more people in public office calling out lies and what the fuck is so wrong with that. Save the “political correctness” for the fucks that don’t want freedom.
For political correctness is to lie and deny the truth to accommodate emotions.
Anyone who has ever listened to Beck for more than 5 minutes and believes what he says should have their head examined. Hell, anyone who listens to Fox News at all should be given a pysch exam. Nothing but a bunch of idiots talking to/at other idiots. It’s a big circle jerk party where they appeal to nobody but each other.
That’s why Fox will never be taken seriously by anyone with a brain and the ability to think for themselves, it’s a niche network run by conservatives for conservatives. OHHHHH, the boogie-man is coming to get you, be afraid of everything. Jesus will save you. Terrorists. 9/11.
When you leave out 2/3 of the country (moderates and liberals), and consistently get things wrong or skew things for your own agenda you’re exposed as the frauds you are and easily dismissed. The only thing that makes these fools “relevant” is their inflammatory speech that gets their opponents panties in a bunch, who then respond. If we would just ignore them they’d lose a lot of their power and have to retreat to some cave where they could all say the same thing and at the same time say nothing at all.
The Republicans did their best to run this country into the ground and because Obama hasn’t completely turned things around in 9 months we’re supposed to give up on him and turn back to the party of evil? Give me a break. That shows the stupidity and impatience of this country more than anything else. Instant gratification.
“Fair and Balanced” might be the best satire in America today.
It amazes me that anyone in porn would support censorship. If you look at the whole of what the fairness doctrine or whatever the progressives want to call it this week, you will see it is a form of censorship of ideas. If commentators from the left had successfull radio shows this wouldn’t be an issue. If you look at the bias of the media supporting everything from the left even when polls don’t support that the majority of the country are for those ideas, there is no other conclusion you can reach other than to recognize that it is biased.
As for Glen Beck anyone watching his show know about his past there is no hiding it but like other Americans people learn and grow from those trials hopefully and now that he is successful people are attacking him. Even when he was on CNN you saw the left attacking him so this is nothing new. It’s funny that the people attacking Beck call him names and try to discredit him and not the facts he is exposing on tv. If he is lying why are the ratings and audience growing so much over their rivals and for that matter why is FOX News doing so well. Is everyone watching FOX an idiot and racist like MSNBC would like you to believe. Do you really believe Americans are that bad and haven’t grown in their beliefs and ideas?
I would challenge everyone reading this to look at things objectively and try to see both sides without the lies and bias of party and try to see what is really best for this country and if you support the ideas and actions of either party in the government and work to change things constructively.
A few points I’d like to elaborate:
I watch a lot of cable news (all three major networks and CSPAN). I’ve watched Beck’s show a few times, not the whole show mind you, but enough to get his major points (which, like most everyone in the Cable News world, they reiterate again and again and again within the same segment and across different programs so you need not watch endlessly the same show/person).
Thusly, I dispute the notion Beck is so ‘honest’ with his background — rather, he only brings it up, when he’s backed into a rhetorical corner (in that when he says something totally loopy, he falls back on the ‘well, you know I was a rodeo clown! I used to be a drunk! I have ‘issues’…so anyone who takes what I say at full value is crazy!!!!!’)
Secondly, when you really think about it, Rush, Fox News and many of their on-air hosts are a million times closer to the notion of a ‘state run media’ than ANYONE on the Left. Reason being is, they would have no problem with a media controlled by the government…just as long as it was the Republicans in control. Karl Rove many times talked about how his goal was to create a ‘permanent majority’ for the GOP. He wanted to so demonize the Democrats and the Left, so rig the system in their favor via redrawing congressional districts…they lose elections from now till the end of time.
How often have you watched Fox News, or listened to Rush, and all they can do is talk about themselves, how great they are, how smart they are, how many people listen to them, how many people don’t listen to their media rivals, how only they are covering the ‘correct’ stories, et cetera.
Their arrogance is stunning when you sit back and look at it — for when Rush is challenged by the few callers who do not kiss his butt 24/7, he’s offended. When other news outlets are not covering the exact same stories as Fox, such as the Tea Party Protests/Van Jones Controversy, or even something as unpolitical as the death of a cop or a popstar’s latest meltdown, they’re offended. Beck spends half his show asking ‘why isn’t anyone else talking about this, why am I the ONLY ONE who cares about this issue?’ — at which point he either gets indignant or weepy.
My god, they lose two election cycles, and it’s as the heavens fell and the oceans dried up and cats and dogs are now living in harmony! Likewise, the Republicans had eight years to run this country (six of it controlling both Congress and the White House) and they failed miserably (except for increased money to fight AIDS in Africa and more minority representation in the higher levels of government – I’ll give Bush credit for that).
Yet the same people who ruined this great nation, also expected Obama to FIX EVERYTHING in a matter of months?! The same people told America via Rush/Hannity/Beck/Fox News that Obama should be able to fix it all in a few weeks (all the while, laughing at the voters and labeling them idiots, fools, dolts, and worse for somehow giving someone other than the Republicans control of the government).
Sure, Obama’s supporters love and revere him (ummm…jealous guys as that sure sounds a lot like you all just can’t stop talking about Ronald Wilson Reagan…), and perhaps had unusually high expectations for him — but the GOP and Republicans were going to take that to the bank. They wanted him to REALLY BE THE MESSIAH. They REALLY EXPECTED HIM TO WALK ON WATER more so that I dare say, his actual supporters. Oh odd…it’s nine months later, and the seas were not parted and heavens are not singing and WTF Democrats!?! Your goddamn leader didn’t turn the economy around on a dime? Your ‘messiah’ didn’t wave his Harry Potter wand and give everyone two $300 ‘tax rebates’ to stimulate the economy…oh sorry, that was Bush. Forget that we mentioned that…
Give me a fucking break. As we all know if McCain had won, they’d be telling the country to give him as much time as he needs…all but ordering everyone to just plan on voting for McCain in 2012 and whoever he picks as his successor in 2016. Oh and he’d probably just be handing out $300 tax rebates to everyone telling them to use them to pay down your mortgages, pay down your credit cards, buy a house, buy a car, open a business (because you know, $300 goes really really really far in 2009…lol).
Take for example Beck’s obsession with the Czar System. If he was being truthful, he’d freely admit Bush had as many as Obama (31 positions, with 46 appointments, compared to Obama’s 32 positions and 35 appointments) along with how U.S. Presidents going back to FDR had them. Beck would also be truthful how some of the so-called Czars (as they’re really just lower level advisors with little, to no, power or even access to budget $ or significant effect on public policy as they’re ‘advisors’ pure and simple) have been approved by Congress (as he tries to paint the ‘sinister’ picture the Czars are ‘radicals’ handpicked by the President with ZERO Congressional oversight).
Point of fact, Cass Sunstein, John Holdren and a few others have been approved via Senate hearings. It’s one thing to disagree with their policy viewpoints, yet it’s totally dishonest to say they were appointed to their post minus a Senate hearing and that they’re ‘radicals’ hellbent on taking over the government and turing it into a tech geek’s iStalinist iRussia.
That’s the core of the problem right there. Beck, Rush, Fox News, play fast and loose with the facts. They have no problem just ‘casually omitting’ facts to suit their political viewpoints. Granted, other cable news outlets do likewise, yet at least they don’t come at it from a base of smugness and outright arrogance. Furthermore, they don’t do it in such a routinely dishonest fashion or cry ‘foul’ at the top of their lungs when corrected. As say, with the 9/12 Protests — the number of people who attended has been widely reported by ALL political persuasion of media outlets (ABC, CBS, Fox News Sunday, KFI et cetera) as between 50,000 and 70,000 (with many simply saying tens of thousands or putting the upper number close to a 100,000).
Yet if you tune into Rush/Beck/Hannity — you’ll hear it was 2 million and counting. Where did they get their figure? From a DC Parks Dept estimate that was printed in a Right-leaning British paper. Which is amusing considering if the British press were to report an Anti-War, Pro-Immigration protest as being that large, and they did…and the American press had lower figures, they’d use the American press number over the British press (which again, they generally distrust, except when it has what they want to hear) simply to dismiss it.
Ultimately, the debate (or if you’re Fox News its a conspiracy) over the Fairness Doctrine is a smokescreen to promote themselves. For they’ll argue six ways to Sunday how the ‘liberals and Left’ want to ‘take away your right to listen to AM Radio and Fox News’ because no one listens to them and they need to keep their grip on the media because they’re so outnumbered and outmatched by Conservative Talk Radio/Media — only to seconds later, complain and whine about the ‘state run media’, the ‘drive by media’, and how much they control and dominate the airways and keep them (Conservatives and the Right) from getting their points across to America at large.
They trumpet their ratings, how many years at number one, how fast so-and-so show has grown, how much the nation as whole watches them — only to turn around with how ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/MSNBC are the ‘mainstream’ media and they (Conservatives) have no power or say in America Media.
Fox News is somehow oppressed, even though O’Reilly has over three million viewers a night (which is about three times as many as Anderson Cooper or Larry King).
Rush has over fifteen million listeners a day (and left wing/liberal radio isn’t even close — not even the well-known NPR, let along the failed experiment that is AirAmerica). Yet he’s scared the Fairness Doctrine (or some version of it) will kill his show overnight and leave him begging on the streets for a microphone. Here’s a guy who proudly proclaims his ‘talent is on loan from God’ and that he’s so intellectually smart he ‘ties one half of his brain behind his head’ just to be fair to his opponents. Yet he’s scared/upset/angry he’d have a Liberal Talk show up against him, or on the same channel (which already is the case and it hasn’t hurt him one bit).
Let me get that straight Rush/Beck/Hannity/Fox News — you guys are crushing the media competition…yet you’re still toiling away in the media junior varsity? You’re not ‘mainstream’ — but all of your on-air hosts and primetime shows are the ‘most watched’ and are on the cover of major magazines like Time and Newsweek?
You’re telling me up is really down and east is actually west and if I dare question that, I’m nothing more than a dumb liberal lefty commie radical idiot who wants the government to wipe my ass from cradle to grave?
Makes you wonder who has really drank the so-called kool-aid.
And your point was?
Well, do you thing the Fairness Doctrine is politically correct for censorship or not?
And well, Obama turning the country around, my ass, he is actually giving the coup of grace, ending what the Republicans started.
Now helicopter Bernake is saying, the recesion is over! CNN talks about the road to recovery, but the Chinese and Russian are trying to get rid of as many dollars as they can and Stigliz, hardly a Republican friendly pundit, say that a temporary recovery is just the prelude to a deeper recesion. So good luck.
It’s also true for people on the left. On Bill Maher on Friday he talked about being in favor of the death penalty and the audience cheered, when the audience is supposed to be all liberals. Point being people find someone to espouse “their” views instead of informing themselves properly and coming to their own conclusions
The Fairness Doctrine was around long before ‘Political Correctness’ — so for me at least, the two are totally different arguments.
As for Bernanke’s recent statements, they are ‘true’ in a totally academic sense (he’s not a politician and as such, isn’t going to spin the numbers to win votes). As far as his data tells him, the Recession has basically run it’s course and is nearly over. Now for Mr. & Mrs. Main Street, all they care about is do they have a job…and does said job pay enough to cover their bills and put some away for savings. Once those questions are laid to rest, then will the populace feel that their leaders have done their jobs.
Any economist will tell you that jobs are a lagging indicator of economic growth. Now we very may be in a Jobless Recovery — so if you find fault in Bernanke’s recent statements that don’t address this part of turning around the economy, then so be it.
As for Bill Maher, what was the context of his statement? Did he use the idea of the ‘death penalty’ against someone like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Rep. Joe Wilson et cetera? In that case, he’s using the term ‘Death Penalty’ to skewer those on the Right he doesn’t much care for and I would guess his audience ‘got the joke’ (abet it would have been a stronger joke if he used the term “death panel” but from what you say, he still got a big laugh so it’s a moot point).
Otherwise, just because you’re a liberal, doesn’t mean you can’t support the use of a tangible deterrent against crime (of which the death penalty is the ultimate ‘deterrent’). Most opposition to the Death Penalty has more to do with it being applied within a justice system whose critics view as being unfairly biased against minorities and/or the use of sufficient evidence to convict one to the harsh of penalties (again within a system whose critics view as being ‘racist’ in some way, shape or form).