The Man Who Made Glenn Beck

[Miles Teg]

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.

Pat, there's a difference between liking a book and incorporating some or most of it into how you view the world. I liked, say, David McCullough's book on the Panama Canal. But other than making me fond of the concept of water lock canals, it doesn't really inform my view of the world. You won't find references to it in my everyday conversation, I don't even know Mr. McCullough's politics, and I don't make a point of recommending it to people. However, these are all true in the case of Glenn Beck and The 5,000 Year Leap. Since man is in many ways the sum of his experiences, I think it's entirely fair to bring up this book, and it's author in connection to Beck.

I never really listened to the rest of them.

Your politics is showing.

 

[Dachs]

I was amused that anybody would name their son Cleon. His namesake wasn't exactly the kind of name to inspire people, even if you strip away the Nikian and Aristophanean propaganda.

 

[tariqari]

Beck is only a talk show host, Obama is the president.

I think the media is more powerful than the government in some cases. Not that I'm saying that man is more powerful than the President.

 

[Counterclaw]

I think the media is more powerful than the government in some cases. Not that I'm saying that man is more powerful than the President.

The media can be influential, but it has no real power of its own. It has to influence others to act. The president can issue executive orders, Glenn Beck can...spell "Oligarchy" wrong.

I think if its possible for Obama to be inspired by Wright without being influenced by Wright's radical beliefs, then Beck can draw inspiration from his own religious mentor, without necessarily becoming a radical. If Beck says crazy things on his show, it's fair to attack him for that. But just as we can't accuse Obama of believing every loony thing his friends say, we can't assume Beck is loony, simply because a friend of his is.

 

[Bill3000]

We can't assume Beck is loony, simply because a friend of his is.

No one is saying that Beck is a loony simply because his friend is. That Beck is a loony was known beforehand, simply through what he says.

 

[Zulu Impi]

I haven't listened to/watched Glenn Beck in several months but he used to be a pretty entertaining talk show host a few years ago before he went all crazy end of the world.
Though I think he still makes some good points.

 

[downtown]

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

I think you could argue that the church was pretty progressive at the very beginning, with Joesph Smith was in charge. Smith gave the Priesthood (ability to perform church leadership roles) to blacks, and had at least one hold a very high office. The Church also had a radical wealth redistribution plan in an attempt to eliminate poverty from their ranks. The idea of temporal social justice, at least for their own people, was quite a focus. I think we saw a shift away from that with Brigham Young (who ended both of those practices).

The real radical leap came in the 1950s and 1960s though.

 

[civ_king]

I think you could argue that the church was pretty progressive at the very beginning, with Joesph Smith was in charge. Smith gave the Priesthood (ability to perform church leadership roles) to blacks, and had at least one hold a very high office. The Church also had a radical wealth redistribution plan in an attempt to eliminate poverty from their ranks. The idea of temporal social justice, at least for their own people, was quite a focus. I think we saw a shift away from that with Brigham Young (who ended both of those practices).

The real radical leap came in the 1950s and 1960s though.

I didn't know you were Mormon, so as far as I can tell that makes 2 Mormons on this forum

 

[Holycannoli]

I haven't listened to/watched Glenn Beck in several months but he used to be a pretty entertaining talk show host a few years ago before he went all crazy end of the world.
Though I think he still makes some good points.

Beck is the guy exposing most of these stories of corruption, and the democrats have no idea how to counter him so far, other than to attack his "sanity". They are desperate to find a way to shut him up though.

I didn't get the whole frog thing either, but it was obvious right after he did it that it was fake; he said so immediately afterward. Even PETA said so, but they did ask him to say it on his next show because they were getting complaints.

Beck is an entertainer and makes his living off political commentary. But some of the things he's been reporting on are alarmingly true (screw that whole "Van Jones is an ex-communist" bit. Mussolini was an ex-communist too. Jones is a Marxist and racist who should never have gotten that position. He even said "The white polluters and the white environmentalists are essentially steering poison into the people of color communities because they don’t have a racial justice frame.”)

I'd say most of the people who think Beck is a loony are people that never actually watch him except for certain bits on the internet. He hasn't become hugely popular because he's been lying. He's become hugely popular because he hasn't been afraid to expose Washington for what it is (that includes the Bush administration).

 

[El_Machinae]

I knew Beck was a loony when I saw him draw a pipe from his SUV to Mars to explain Mars's warming.
This was almost a year after the cause of Mars's warming was published.

The man has no mechanism by which to learn if he's right or wrong in his stances, and has to spend too much time saying what a lot of people want him to say.

 

[Bill3000]

But some of the things he's been reporting on are alarmingly true (screw that whole "Van Jones is an ex-communist" bit. Mussolini was an ex-communist too. Jones is a Marxist and racist who should never have gotten that position. He even said "The white polluters and the white environmentalists are essentially steering poison into the people of color communities because they don’t have a racial justice frame.&#8221

Nope.

You're aware that people can change their minds, right? Also, you're wrong; Mussolini was a socialist, not a communist, and that didn't really matter much once he broke away from it, considering that his fascism was highly anti-communist/socialist.

He's become hugely popular because he hasn't been afraid to expose Washington for what it is (that includes the Bush administration).

He was a huge Bush administration supporter.

 

[civ_king]

Beck is the guy exposing most of these stories of corruption, and the democrats have no idea how to counter him so far, other than to attack his "sanity". They are desperate to find a way to shut him up though.

I didn't get the whole frog thing either, but it was obvious right after he did it that it was fake; he said so immediately afterward. Even PETA said so, but they did ask him to say it on his next show because they were getting complaints.

Beck is an entertainer and makes his living off political commentary. But some of the things he's been reporting on are alarmingly true (screw that whole "Van Jones is an ex-communist" bit. Mussolini was an ex-communist too. Jones is a Marxist and racist who should never have gotten that position. He even said "The white polluters and the white environmentalists are essentially steering poison into the people of color communities because they don’t have a racial justice frame.&#8221

I'd say most of the people who think Beck is a loony are people that never actually watch him except for certain bits on the internet. He hasn't become hugely popular because he's been lying. He's become hugely popular because he hasn't been afraid to expose Washington for what it is (that includes the Bush administration).

I'd say most of the people who thought Hitler was a loony are people that never actually watched him except for certain bits on the internet. He hadn't become hugely popular because he's been lying. He became hugely popular because he wasn't been afraid to expose Weimar for what it was (that includes the Friedrich Ebert administration).
demagoguery s what beck is

 

[Aleenik]

What do you think?

What do I think?

Well Ill get heat for this...When don't I around here?

But...

I'm glad Glen Beck is around.


Ahh I can feel the /flame post coming! lol jk.

 

[civ_king]

What do I think?

Well Ill get heat for this...When don't I around here?

But...

I'm glad Glen Beck is around.


Ahh I can feel the /flame post coming! lol jk.

why??

 

[Onionsoilder]

Here's his latest idiocy*:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9nVpO1Dvfk&

My favorite part of that video:

"[Obama] has forced us to think and get involved!"

 

[Counterclaw]

I'm glad Glen Beck is around.

As am I, though I rarely listen to him. I think it's important for the opposition to have a voice. It keeps tyranny at bay. I've always welcomed liberal talk shows. Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz crack me up. I've always thought that when liberals are loony or overboard, it helps conservatives. But the reaction to Beck has been downright hostile. I think that hostility helps him and other conservatives more than it hurts them.

 

[Aleenik]

As am I, though I rarely listen to him. I think it's important for the opposition to have a voice. It keeps tyranny at bay. I've always welcomed liberal talk shows. Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz crack me up. I've always thought that when liberals are loony or overboard, it helps conservatives. But the reaction to Beck has been downright hostile. I think that hostility helps him and other conservatives more than it hurts them.

I agree.

 

[Bill3000]

As am I, though I rarely listen to him. I think it's important for the opposition to have a voice. It keeps tyranny at bay. I've always welcomed liberal talk shows. Randi Rhodes and Ed Schultz crack me up. I've always thought that when liberals are loony or overboard, it helps conservatives. But the reaction to Beck has been downright hostile. I think that hostility helps him and other conservatives more than it hurts them.

I'm perfectly fine with a voice for the opposition, but it ought to not be someone who has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. (I'm not even talking about in the sense of knowledge, but in the sense of coherence.) And preferably not some stupid talk show host.

 

[Aleenik]

I'm perfectly fine with a voice for the opposition, but it ought to not be someone who has absolutely no idea what he's talking about. (I'm not even talking about in the sense of knowledge, but in the sense of coherence.) And preferably not some stupid talk show host.

What other voice of opposition is there around? Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck really Id say?

 

[Aleenik]

why??

He is opposition to Obama.

I don't watch him a lot...but he is at least opposition.

There have even been democratic adds attacking him...and he isn't even running for an office lol.