Ugh

POSTED BY JHW22

When trying to think of a title of this post, I couldn't do better than, "Ugh." Why? Because, for starters, Glenn Beck moved to my metroplex. He lives pretty close to one of my FAVORITE places to eat and I fear the day I see him there. I told someone that I hope he chokes on a chicken bone while I am there: I don't want him to die, but I'd really like to see the fear and panic in his face. The same fear and panic he spreads throughout the country with his lies and mongering.

We've all thought, at one point or another, that Glenn Beck is a snake oil salesman, a con man, and even a televangelist of sorts. He talks about God as if he somehow understands what it means to be Christian. Well, he acts like the very type of Christian that helped me decide to be atheist. But He doesn't act like the type of Christian that matches the Christ part of the Bible. I want to tell Beck that he takes the Christ out of Christian. But, wait, is he still Mormon? And are Mormons really Christian anyway? I can't keep track of what people "are" and what they "profess" to be and who gets to decide what someone really is. Sorry, that's a bit of a tangent on the Reverend Jeffress calling Romney a Mormon but Obama a "professed" Christian thing. Isn't it interesting that Reverend Jeffress is super close to the name Jeffs?

Anywho, Beck lives near me and it makes me shiver.

But that's not the real ugh of it. The real ugh of it is that he is buying a church, yes, a church, to run his media empire out of. And that's even closer to me than his house. I actually drive past the church several times a week. Ugh.

My first thought was, "So he really IS a televangelist." My husband's first thought was, "What does that say about the area we live in that Glenn Beck thinks his type of nutty is a perfect fit here?" My next thought was, "How much nuttier are our neighbors gonna get?"

In all the controversy over the Beckoning of Glenn's media empire in our area, people have focused on the risks associated with his brand of controversy and ill-will. People are seriously nervous about the property and the surrounding homes. The agreement is that there will be security staffing to protect people. But the odd thing is that they seem to think the people who need protecting are the people who will attend the Beck Freak Show. They seriously worry that "liberals" will cause them harm. It's funny that Palin was completely blameless in the tenor of the country around the time of Gabby Giffords' shooting but Beck will somehow cause all the area liberals to rise up and cause harm. Baffling.

But I do think Palin was, in part, responsible for the tenor of the nation's rage and disgust. And I think Glenn Beck is a huge reason many in the country think violence and aggression is acceptable.

So my fear isn't that people who show up for the cattle call will be hurt. My fear is that liberals with Obama stickers driving by the Tea Party Church will be harmed. Can you imagine the sewage that he will fill my community's heads with and how he will enable rage? And can you see some Obama-supporter driving by as the hounds are released en masse? The street is a congested mess already. The traffic moves faster than it should. People switch lanes and tailgate worse on that road than most others. Add a bunch of pumped up angry Becker-heads, and I think bad shit will happen.

So I am trying to wrap my brain around this. I am for the First Amendment (the speech part should only apply here since he's not a religion, but the undertones seem religious, don't they?). I think he has a right to be there. As long as he owns the building as his business and not his non-profit, then I think the taxes and employment are good. BUT to think that his anger and ugliness will be near me, well, just simply, ugh.

I hope local liberals don't add to the madness of that street and picket. I hope local liberals live and let live and show the Beckies that we are better than they think we are. But above all, I hope the community quickly sees him for what he is: a charlatan.

On his own website he says the following is one of his core values and principles (perhaps I should get a bumper sticker of this when he opens for business):

"Unapologetically profit focused"

Now, I don't live in the town where the church is. I live on the "other side of the tracks." But to get a real idea of the town he's moving into for his fear mongering, profit focusing, here's a peek of his neighborhood. Is that where Jesus would go?

Just like a Nazi Youth Camp

POSTED BY JHW22


Glenn Beck likes to make wild statements, cloaked in some vague innuendo so that he can later walk back his references as wildly misunderstood. It's his M.O. And his latest is one he's probably tried to spin as misinterpretation. I could care less what he's saying today. Because anyone who makes a career on making statements and then warping them into a way to blame listeners, doesn't deserve to be heard on day two. Frankly, he doesn't deserve to be heard at all. But he definitely doesn't get to spin his shit into a web of other shit.

But I digress.

His latest shit is about the kids in Norway who were attacked and killed because they cared enough about being citizens that they went to a camp to celebrate that. He said, on his radio show:

"There was a shooting at a political camp, which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler youth. I mean, who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? Disturbing."

Yeah! Who does a camp for kids that's all about politics? WHO would do THAT?


Per his website:

On radio this morning, Glenn interviewed 912 Project leader Yvonne Donnelly about a new camp she is setting up for kids.

Yvonne described, “It is a camp that’s going to teach children ‑‑ you know, we’re going to really steer them in becoming better patriots. We need to teach our children about our history, we need to teach our children about our Founding Fathers, and we need to teach our children about the Constitution. So we ‑‑ it’s a fun camp. You can do it ‑‑ it’s really set up where you can really make it your own. And it’s really in line with the 9/12 project as far as connecting back to your community.”

Glenn pledged to donate $10,000 of his own money to the effort, and encouraged other to donate as well. Click here to read more and watch the full interview in the clip above.

It's one thing to want to draw parallels in this world. But it's usually best to do it when a) the evidence supports it and b) you haven't just made yourself part of the damn parallel by having done EXACTLY what you say is so Nazi-like.

Kids went to a camp. Just because they were left-leaning, does NOT support any parallel between them and the Nazi Youth, who were a generation of kids manipulated and scared into attending a brain-washing environment. Want to draw a parallel? OK, Glenn, let's talk about the camp YOU support. Or not. But you did ask the question, "who does a camp for kids that's all about politics" and you DO find it disturbing.

Tweet of the Day

For those who haven't heard, Glenn Beck is done on Fox. I can't wait for the bowling pin scene!

This Man Is Nuts

Listen to Beck play the communist card like a fiddle. Asked to elaborate on what groups make up One Nation, the supposed organization that will bring down the US, he answers, "the labor unions, communist organizations and the Green movement." Labor unions, that were created to stop employer abuses of its workers, AKA the Average American. The Green movement and their hateful ideas to protect our environment and develop a new revenue source of green jobs in the country to save energy and control waste. He lumps them in with "communist organizations" but doesn't mention any one specific group. Way to scare the rubes there, Glenn.  Of course, if you're intellectually lazy and don't bother looking it up for yourself, why not just take his word for it? Also, buy some overpriced gold coins while you're at it - Glenn wouldn't rip you off, would he?

Here's One Nation's summarized mission statement:

One Nation Working Together is a social movement of individuals and organizations committed to putting America back to work and pulling America back together. Coming from a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and orientations, we are determined to build a more united country with good jobs, equal justice, and quality public education for all.

Good jobs, equal justice and quality public education... ooooh, those evil commie bastards!

Seems like everyone who does not agree with Beck is apparently a communist. It also seems like spreading democracy in the Middle East is a good thing when a Republican is in charge. Where was Beck when we were deposing dictators by force and propping up banana republics?

Oh, and by the way, Bill, it's "foment" not "forment."

Dead Birds: Science or End Times?

So... dead birds. Many dead birds... thousands of dead birds. What could the reason be? Speculation was that the birds were "shocked" to death by fireworks nearby. Really? I never thought that could be a possibility, but okay.

Then I heard a scientist on MSNBC discuss the possibility of a microburst, a column of sinking air coming down forcefully. The lead bird gets disoriented and flies directly into the ground, and the rest follow, kamikazi style. It's taken airplanes down before, so it sounds plausible enough.

But leave it to CNN and Anderson Cooper to play the Armaggedon angle with an interview of Kirk Cameron.

Cooper: ...Some people are even saying that these mass deaths are a sign that the end times are near, some have cited The Left Behind series of books, so we thought we'd talk to actor Kirk Cameron. He's a born-again Christian. He's written a lot about his faith. He's also starred in the Left Behind series of films. I spoke to him earlier.

The sad part is, Cooper probably had nothing to do with the booking, it's the CNN producers that thought this would make good television. How are those CNN ratings doing again?

My theory: The birds were shocked that Glenn Beck was canceled in New York, and soon in Philadelphia, and did an imitation of Beck's ratings.

By the way, the dead fish nearby was a completely unrelated incident and attributed to disease since there were no pollutants and it was only one particular type of fish that died... although I haven't ruled out the Glenn Beck theory.

Let them eat cake -- or whatever

POSTED BY JHW22

Michelle Obama is NOT telling parents what to feed their kids. There isn't some food Gestapo in America. A parent can send their kid to school with a paper sack full of lard if they want. All she is saying is that if schools are going to use tax dollars to feed kids, those tax dollars should provide healthy meals. So if you want to spite Michelle Obama, go ahead and pack some slabs of bacon and blocks of caramel for your kid's lunch. That'll show her.

Oh, and by the way, what does Sarah Palin have against farmers? Doesn't she know that Michelle Obama's initiative is good for farmers?

Hey, if Sarah Palin can send her kid around the country telling teenage girls not to get pregnant, I think the First Lady should be able to tell families they should try to eat healthy and get some exercise. But apparently food is a taboo subject for some.

Edit: Or as my husband put it, "We can talk about nookie but not about cookie."

A Steaming, Hot Bowl Full of Crazy

More Like This, Please

I know this is old news, but Anderson Cooper did a great job and took the time to debunk the "$200 million a day" myth for President Obama's current trip to Asia. If only more journalists would follow suit.

I add this here for archival reasons, as I'm sure you'll eventually get an outrageous anti-Obama smear email sooner or later pertaining to this issue.

We Are All Socialists

This is perfect.

Publicity Stunt

Last night I received a text message from a family relative:

Beck to go on leave of absence because he loses feeling in his hands and feet?!

To which I immediately responded:

"God's vengeance!" (If I believed in God.) That's what he gets for making fun of a family whose house burned down. It's probably a publicity stunt."

Then I read this piece of shit and I knew I was probably right.

Glenn Beck is setting himself up to be a martyr. It's sad, really. This pathetic excuse for a man is so insecure despite his fame and fortune, despite his status as the quintessential confidence man of the 21st century, that he is now losing feeling in his extremities.

Who knows? If true, maybe it is stress related. God knows it has to be very stressful to be making over $30 million per year on the backs of ghostwriters, conning helpless rubes hanging on your every word, and the realization that the bullshit you spew daily has gotten so out of control, it has pushed a quarter of the country to the verge of canning food and stocking ammo in preparation for the Rapture, that even a douche like Beck may be suffering from guilt.

But I doubt it.  Maybe he just wants a vacation... but due to his opportunistic, manipulative ways, is making it look like it's all just too much for the Beckster. After all, there's nothing like having millions of rubes not only follow you religiously, but while you're at it, you may as well have them be concerned over your well being in order to give your ego a hand job in the process.  Check out the comments section to see what I'm talking about.

(H/T Elvis Dingeldein)

Beck Reveals Himself To Be Most Despicable Human Being On Earth

Glenn Beck thinks health care reform is bad. Because of government involvement. Because it's "enslaving the American public." Oh, and by the way, slavery was not really evil until the government got involved.



Besides being completely wrong and just pulling things out of his ass about the history of slavery, he's equating slavery to participating in health care reform. This guy will say anything, ANYTHING, to put his audience into a frenzy. And the rubes who listen to his daily insane rants take it at face value, without fact checking or reasonable analysis.

Now call me crazy, but there's got to be some kind of blowback from these abhorrent statements. If not from the sane people of the world, there must be at least one of his listeners who'd think to question Beck's deranged train of thought. At least one, no?

If you're a Beck fan, I'd ask you to take a step back and seriously question what it is that makes you follow someone who is obviously a narcissistic, sociopathic, financial opportunist. Glenn Beck is clearly a confidence man.

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck

Via Roger Ebert: "Wise to watch it NOW while it's still online."

Religious, right?

POSTED BY JHW22

In his book, "The Great Awakening", Reverend Jim Wallis said, "Ironically, despite how the Religious Right has discredited the role of faith in politics in recent decades, faith is now coming back to life as a force for progressive social change." And Reverend Welton Gaddy and his Interfaith Alliance often say, "The Religious Right is neither."

These two men consistently speak to what should be good about Christianity. They remind listeners, readers and watchers that the messages of Christianity are about helping your neighbor live the best life they can, reaching out your hand and helping them up when they are down, seeking those in need and providing them with opportunity, and simply caring. These two men speak to my heart and mind despite the fact that I am an atheist. They speak to me deep inside because we share the same values. My values are those of a Christian's and a Jew's and a Muslim's and a Buddhist's. I am an atheist but I care about humanity. And that is why I am also a Democrat.

After watching what Glenn Beck presented as some mock revival I felt a mix of emotions. Disgust and anger over this fraud he is perpetuating on people desperate for something missing in their lives. Sadness for those people who don't realize that they can find what is missing if they'd stop looking for it to come from charlatans. I felt laughter for the ridiculousness of all that is Glenn Beck. But what came through most intensely for me was a great sense of relief that I am confident in what I believe and what my values are. I am more sure each day I see the likes of Beck and Sarah Palin that my principles are embedded so deeply in me that I don't need to seek answers from an entertainer masquerading as a beacon of inspiration. My anger is at people like them trying to confuse so many. But my pride is in the fact that I am one of the millions who see it for what it is -- a sham.

And so I choose to listen to Reverend Gaddy's weekly internet radio show and read Reverend Wallis's books, Sojourner's, and essays. I don't need to be a Christian to know that these men consistently, honestly and humanely speak about true values for the right reasons and not for the right's reasons.

Clueless

Ricky Thomas, 43, a SWAT team police officer from Chesapeake Beach, Md., brought his 10-year old son Chase to the Beck rally. "I wanted my son to see democracy in action," Thomas said.

He said he wants government to stay out of people's lives. He acknowledged that he works for government, but said it's "a part of government that helps people when they are in trouble."

I wonder if Ricky Thomas' was one of the jobs saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act? If so,  I can only imagine what he'd be saying had the government stayed out of his life?

Jon Stewart on Beck: I Have A Scheme

Beyond Crazy

POSTED BY JHW22

Give me the "Sarah Palin isn't Trig's Mom" conspiracy any day over the "Obama and Soros are emailing each other and want Glenn Beck dead" conspiracy. Glenn Beck hasn't exactly said that there's a plot to kill him (well, maybe he has but I'm not going to listen to him enough to find out) but he has sprinkled enough seeds about some relationship between Soros and Obama and has planted the seed that Soros would possibly try to kill him. Water those seeds a bit with references to Obama as Lucifer (when we ALL know that Cheney is Lucifer), Obama wants to take your guns, religion, money (do I really need to provide links for any of that?) and all of a sudden, you have people who think that Obama AND Soros want to kill Glenn Beck.

Now, as a former X-Files fanatic, I can say that some conspiracies do exist. I have some serious doubts about a few things that if I asked questions about would have me tagged as crazy. But I'll tell you what, when Democrats cling to conspiracies, we tend to have a few more facts that raise more questions than answers. When right-wing freaks cling to conspiracies, they make even Fox Mulder roll his eyes.

The only conspiracy going on with Glenn Beck is his own. He is a charlatan manipulating viewers into not thinking. He doesn't want them to think because he makes money off zombies. Now, even zombies are more believable than anything Glenn Beck can come up with -- just LOOK at his viewers.

(Now, Mr. Soros, I will be looking for that check that I have heard you'll be sending me.)

h/t to Desert Crone for the heads-up on the latest crazy.

A personal note

POSTED BY JHW22

I had to take my son to the dentist for the first time ever today. I had to endure Glenn Beck in the waiting room. I think that experience was worse for me than it was for my son.

Thank you. Good night.

Cartoon of the Day

Who's Waterloo?

Much was made, and rightly so, of Senator Jim DeMint's comment about the failure of health care reform as President Obama's Waterloo. They wanted to "break him," proving that the defeat of the administration was first and foremost on the minds of the GOP, and not about the welfare of the American people.

Well, someone on their side happens to disagree. Just as the failure of health care reform may have been Obama's Waterloo, the passage of it may signal the Republican Party's own demise.

Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s.

It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. Conservatives may cheer themselves that they’ll compensate for today’s expected vote with a big win in the November 2010 elections. [...]

No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President Obama sign such a repeal?

We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led us to abject and irreversible defeat. [...]

So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s Waterloo all right: ours.

Boehner and McConnell bet 'NO' and lost. Instead of being part of the process, they put their hopes on fringiest of the fringe and a Tea Party revolt, preferring to let Michele Bachmann and Steve King lead. They delayed for a year and it still passed.

And as David Frum notes, the only winners here are Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Fox News.

(H/T HuffPo)

Eric Massa, WTF?!

I hate to kick a man when he's on the verge of/in the middle of a nervous breakdown, but what the hell is up with Eric Massa? He punched a one-way ticket to Crazytown yesterday with his appearance on Glenn Beck last night (an instant classic) followed up with a Larry King appearance, but refused to go on Countdown being hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell.

But seriously, I feel sorry for the guy. There's something definitely wrong there. His excuses for the past couple of weeks ranged from resigning due to health reasons, to being forced out because he wouldn't automatically vote for whatever the Democrats wanted him to vote for, to re-enacting a shower scene between he and Rahm Emanuel akin to Caged Heat, to "forcing himself out," to taking responsibility for er, "rough housing" with some of his aides. And then confusing his Navy time for a stint with The Village People?

Man, when you outcrazy Glenn Beck on his own show, you've got issues.

Adding... Glenn Beck, hoping to take down the White House and Congress with Massa, got nothing! (...heh.) And then he apologized to his audience for "wasting an hour of their time" at the end of the show. Why bother? He wastes their time every night.