Tonight, once again, I have to blog about one of the most dangerous men in A-merry-ca. The other day I was listening to Glenn Beck (don't ask) and he was actually comparing himself and his movement to Martin Luther King. In between breaking down in tears over losing the A-merry-ca he loves and taking calls from crack pots who worship at his feet (or at the sound of his voice), he was ranting on and on about the progressives and how dangerous they are for A-merry-ca. He went on to say the president should watch his back because those evil people are going to take him out. (If you can't hear that dog whistle don't feel bad, you aren't supposed to.)
Then I stumbled on the following blog post thanks to my man Mike over at Crooks & Liars, and I just had to repost it. Why? Because I think it's important for those of you who are asleep at the remote switch to see where your country is going, and for you to meet one of the people who is taking it there. Why do you think people are embolden to do things like this and this? It's because of the Glenn Becks of the world, that's why. And this mid-term if the republicans and their teabagging friends do as well as they are expected to do, we all better watch out.
"In November of 2000, Americans sat on the edge of their seats waiting to find out who would be the next president. Protests were held, counter protests were organized to meet the challenge and everyone had an opinion. The 2000 election remains capable of igniting passionate debate. Some look it as the time that the Supreme Court stole an election for George W. Bush. Some mark it up to Al Gore having the campaign skills and spinal fortitude of a slime mold. There are those who rue Florida’s hanging chads and aging Jewish voters for Buchanan. And not a few still point to those tense days as proof that Ralph Nader is a festering sore on the ass of the Republic.
Any or all of them could be right. But when you read Alexander Zaitchik’s new book, Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance, you’ll turn the last page with the understanding that election 2000 brought something far more sinister than Bush/Cheney down upon America. Worse, you’ll know that it ain’t over yet.
Beck was working in Tampa at the time, unsuccessfully trying to break into conservative talk radio. In fact, he was about to be let go because he was terrible at his job, saved only by Clear Channel’s local monopoly. But when Bush v. Gore came to a head in Florida and Beck was one of the few local voices on the airwaves, Clear Channel saw the opportunity and went national with Beck. That exposure formed the foundation for his current media empire, and the experience turned Beck into the “real conservative” he is today. No more making fun of rednecks: from then on, Beck would fashion himself as one."....And at least Kurtz had the good grace to live with the natives; for all of Beck’s soft-focus talk about the “real America,” the man lives in a mansion in Connecticut and takes a limo to work.
Beck was working in Tampa at the time, unsuccessfully trying to break into conservative talk radio. In fact, he was about to be let go because he was terrible at his job, saved only by Clear Channel’s local monopoly. But when Bush v. Gore came to a head in Florida and Beck was one of the few local voices on the airwaves, Clear Channel saw the opportunity and went national with Beck. That exposure formed the foundation for his current media empire, and the experience turned Beck into the “real conservative” he is today. No more making fun of rednecks: from then on, Beck would fashion himself as one."....And at least Kurtz had the good grace to live with the natives; for all of Beck’s soft-focus talk about the “real America,” the man lives in a mansion in Connecticut and takes a limo to work.
"I’ll let you read the book to find out what kinds of crackpot conspiracies Beck subscribes to and the kind of hard Mormon rightwingism that he’s bringing into mainstream American culture. A god among the natives he may be, but he’s not off the corporate reservation: he’s just packaging the fascism in a way that would make Goebbels proud.
My compulsion to dog-ear every page containing important information, a laugh-out-loud turn of phrase or Zaitchik wielding stinging, sarcastic wit deformed my review copy. The reader never has far to go between examples like, “Weirder still is the fact that Beck has successfully grown a mass following while stumbling through a remedial self-education in U.S. democracy, which reflects the carnival mirrors inside his mind as much as it does the reality he struggles, in futility and desperation, to comprehend,” and “It seemed that the [Tea Party] protesters’ main enemies were Russian history and apostrophes.” They’re all great, but Zaitchik plays them subtly enough that they never detract from his presentation of vital information.
My compulsion to dog-ear every page containing important information, a laugh-out-loud turn of phrase or Zaitchik wielding stinging, sarcastic wit deformed my review copy. The reader never has far to go between examples like, “Weirder still is the fact that Beck has successfully grown a mass following while stumbling through a remedial self-education in U.S. democracy, which reflects the carnival mirrors inside his mind as much as it does the reality he struggles, in futility and desperation, to comprehend,” and “It seemed that the [Tea Party] protesters’ main enemies were Russian history and apostrophes.” They’re all great, but Zaitchik plays them subtly enough that they never detract from his presentation of vital information.
And that’s what makes this book special. A great many writers from the left could have spent 258 pages lobbing insults at Beck. Zaitchik takes the high road, blending straight biography with solid, investigative journalism. Sometime in the future, professors will be assigning Common Nonsense and historians will be referencing it.
Read it. It’s not going to make you feel better, but it will give you a much deeper understanding of America’s current insanity." [Article]
Towards the end of his show Beck was making fun the way he believes that black folks talk by imitating some guy from one of the big unions. He and his co-hosts were yucking it up as they went on and on trashing the guy. They stopped long enough to take a call from some lady named Kathy in Colorado.
"Hi Glenn, I just want you to know that I love your show, and I really appreciate what you are doing for America. I honestly don't know what my husband and I would do without you."
Kathy, just keep praying for me, and pray for our movement. With God on our side we cannot fail. America will be strong again. It has to be for our children's sake."
What's that quote by Wordsworth? :
"We bow our heads before Thee, and we laud, And magnify thy name Almighty God! But man is thy most awful instrument, In working out a pure intent."
Maybe I will go to church tomorrow. If god made me just like he did Glenn Beck, maybe he will hear my prayer as well.
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