The Man Who Made Glenn Beck

[Counterclaw]

The OP is about a person who was the ideological inspiration for Glenn Beck, which is not the same as merely knowing who he is. You are aware that it's possible to know a person or group of people without being very ideologically inspired by them, right?

Jeremiah Wright was so close to Obama that Obama claimed he could no more disown him than his own grandmother. I guess in libspeak, that means they were mere acquaintances.

And then there's ACORN. Here's a quote from The AP:

"I've been fighting alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career," Obama told ACORN leaders in November 2007, according to a posting on Obama's campaign Web site at the time. "Even before I was an elected official, when I ran Project Vote voter registration drive in Illinois, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it, and we appreciate your work."

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5inR1M_vhtS2lkl_cEpH5gTRVtPXwD9AQQHT03

Right. He just knows who they are, that's all!

Either Obama is lying, or he knows them quite well.

 

[Bill3000]

Jeremiah Wright was so close to Obama that Obama claimed he could no more disown him than his own grandmother. I guess in libspeak, that means they were mere acquaintances.

Sure, but that's not the same as being ideologically inspired by him. (Well, yes on being ideologically inspired by his social justice sermons, no on the crazy stuff.)

And again, ACORN isn't relevant since we're talking about ideological inspiration here.

And of course, this is all completely off topic; if you want to make another stupid anti-Obama thread, go ahead, but keep this thread about the OP, kay?

 

[Counterclaw]

Sure, but that's not the same as being ideologically inspired by him. (Well, yes on being ideologically inspired by his social justice sermons, no on the crazy stuff.)

And again, ACORN isn't relevant since we're talking about ideological inspiration here.

And of course, this is all completely off topic; if you want to make another stupid anti-Obama thread, go ahead, but keep this thread about the OP, kay?

Your point was that he "merely knew them", which is simply not true. But sure, we can get back to the topic at hand.

 

[Ecofarm]

Originally Posted by Counterclaw
[stuff that pwnd everyone]

Um, guys?

I, for one, welcome our new overlord.

 

[Bill3000]

Um, guys?

I, for one, welcome our new overlord.

(p.s. don't ever whine about someone being a partisan hack ever again)

 

[Ecofarm]

(p.s. don't ever whine about someone being a partisan hack ever again)

Is that to me or DT?

 

[.Shane.]

Actually, shane, I thought that skit was pretty funny. Word is it was a rubber frog? Funny stuff.

Well, if it was real, then it was stupid. If it was fake, he really blows it because his point is, as per his standard, almost nonsensical. So, no matter how you spin it, he comes across as a doofus.

Watching it, it looked to me like he didn't throw anything in there, so a rubber frog that I just couldn't see makes sense. But even so, its mind boggling to try and understand WTH his point is.

 

[.Shane.]

The political mainstream of the church (and its leadership) has shifted dramatically towards something more progressive...if you can believe that.

And hard-selling Prop 8 from the pulpit and checkbooks supports this theory of their progressivism how, exactly? I'm assuming a rule to the exception?

 

[Bill3000]

Is that to me or DT?

You, dear sir.

If you're calling DT a hack, that's merely your own psychological projection.

 

[Ecofarm]

Can you feel the iconism slipping away?

 

[Babbler]

Salon also ran a three part series (part 1, part 2 and part 3) on Glenn Beck's pre-talk show career as a Top-40 radio show host. Beck's main talents are as an entertainer and a publicity whore, which probably an indicator of how bad the intellectual state of modern US conservativism and US public discussion is with him at the helm. Although it does make him a really interesting person to examine.

 

[downtown]

And hard-selling Prop 8 from the pulpit and checkbooks supports this theory of their progressivism how, exactly? I'm assuming a rule to the exception?

I don't think anybody would mistake the LDS Church for being a progressive institution in the absolute sense. I think you have to consider really how conservative it was in the 1950s-1960s, and compare the two (and I don't have as much hard data on this as I would like).

It was a different church then...small, and mostly concentrated in the very white mountain west united states. The rest of the country was starting to explode with civil rights questions, gender roles were being challenged, etc. Culturally, I think the church freaked out a little bit, and turned super insular. Plus, their prophet was a Republican cabinet official and a John Birch Society member. Members saw this as a subtle nod that the Republican Party is the correct party for Mormons, and the church made a huge jump to the right.

Looking at how BYU has changed is indication I think. There was practically no campus democrat group in the 1960s. There was a division of public safety to look for "honor code violations", and suspected gay students. Today, while nobody would confuse it for a traditional campus...it has invited several liberal speakers (and bosts a campus dem group that is thousands strong), and somebody like the man in the OP wouldn't be a getting a professorship.

I think looking at some of the talks from General Confernence might show a subtle change in attitudes towards certain controversial topics. Church demographics have changed a TON...there are more Mormons outside the US than inside, and more speak Spanish/Portuguese than speak English. Our last Prophet, perhaps the most beloved in generations, made a concentrated effort to bring the LDS church more into the mainstream. While there may still be events like Prop 8 (although I doubt we'll be doing stuff like this in 30 years), there are far less fire and brimstone time speeches.

 

[Left]

When you say it took a huge jumped to the right, how progressive was it before?

 

[civ_king]

yeah, Reverend Wright said some racist things, so did MLK at least he isn't Rick Warren whose logic shows that Hitler was a divine agent of God

 

[MobBoss]

Well, if it was real, then it was stupid. If it was fake, he really blows it because his point is, as per his standard, almost nonsensical. So, no matter how you spin it, he comes across as a doofus.

/meh. Mind you I am no Glenn Beck fan, but I thought it was actually more entertaining than his usual sob story fare.

Watching it, it looked to me like he didn't throw anything in there, so a rubber frog that I just couldn't see makes sense. But even so, its mind boggling to try and understand WTH his point is.

Well, it was supposed to be some analogy of the american people....but I didnt get it completely either. I just thought his reaction to the whole thing funny, especially after playing it up the way he did.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Did Glenn Beck just equate the magnificent American People with the French?

 

[Evie]

Did Glenn Beck just equate the magnificent American People with the French?

"It was a compliment, and so, of course, not true." - JRR Tolkien (via Merry).

 

[bhsup]

Why are we talking about Obama here? He has nothing to do with Glenn Beck. Moving on...

Beck has brought up good points from time to time, but he (along with Rush and Hannity and Franken and Randi Rhodes) have become so twisted and hateful over the last several years, it's not even fun anymore to listen as entertainment.

 

[Patroklos]

Or you could read the OP. DT's not throwing stones, he's exploring the background of someone who, right or wrong, good or bad, is a pop culture and political culture phenomenon.

I fail to see how Beck liking a particular book makes that author the cornerstone of his existance. I could say the same thing about pretty much every lefty and Marx. Also, just because a person is insane most of the time does not mean they don't have flashes of insight some of the times. In fact, I would say most flashes of brilliant insight normally come from the generally eccentric.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Why are we talking about Obama here? He has nothing to do with Glenn Beck. Moving on...

Beck has brought up good points from time to time, but he (along with Rush and Hannity and Franken and Randi Rhodes) have become so twisted and hateful over the last several years, it's not even fun anymore to listen as entertainment.

Hannity ceased to be amusing a long time ago, but Beck is just now getting there. He was still pretty good as recently as this spring, imho.

I never really listened to the rest of them.