Glenn Beck (1 Viewer)

[Darth Cheney]

I agree with this. But if Beck thinks it's true does that mean he's ignorant, thus a racist? Or just ignorant?btw-I don't believe either Obama or Beck are racists.

Actually, I think I want to strike my last sentence. I don't really know what is behind Beck's rant. I don't think he is ignorant. And I think the term "racist" gets thrown around entirely too much. I don't even know what it means anymore. I don't think Beck is stupid.I guess I think that Beck makes simple and generalized conclusions (he would say "common sense") based on information that fits his world-view. If something strikes him as true, he's going to say it, possibly before really thinking enough about it. In essence, I think he believes his own memes. I think Beck thinks its true. But that means he must accept the information that he thinks is important, and dismiss the information that he thinks is not important. Everybody does this to some extent, but he seems to be particularly guilty of it. Things get categorized in his head as either worthy of accepting or not. Information comes in, and he immediately dumps it in either the "good info" bucket or "not good info" bucket. When you do this for everything, crazy statements like his make sense.For what its worth, I think Kanya West probably did the same thing. That makes it easy to think "Bush doesn't like black people" becuase he is only looking at half the available information out there.

Beck just wants to make a lot of money. He found the right niche. Hell, I'm considering becoming a Right Wing talk show host.

 

[Parrothead]

And he has all you fools talking about it.

Well... he is on the right wing propaganda tv channel during prime hours and getting repeated twice a day and then on the right wing radio for 3 more hours. His exposure (via the right wing) is massive. This is exactly what the conservatives want to put forward. Its the very face they choose to show.

not all GOPers like BeckSo how many Libs have ripped Olbermann??

 

[Fennis]

I agree with this. But if Beck thinks it's true does that mean he's ignorant, thus a racist? Or just ignorant?btw-I don't believe either Obama or Beck are racists.

Actually, I think I want to strike my last sentence. I don't really know what is behind Beck's rant. I don't think he is ignorant. And I think the term "racist" gets thrown around entirely too much. I don't even know what it means anymore. I don't think Beck is stupid.I guess I think that Beck makes simple and generalized conclusions (he would say "common sense") based on information that fits his world-view. If something strikes him as true, he's going to say it, possibly before really thinking enough about it. In essence, I think he believes his own memes. I think Beck thinks its true. But that means he must accept the information that he thinks is important, and dismiss the information that he thinks is not important. Everybody does this to some extent, but he seems to be particularly guilty of it. Things get categorized in his head as either worthy of accepting or not. Information comes in, and he immediately dumps it in either the "good info" bucket or "not good info" bucket. When you do this for everything, crazy statements like his make sense.For what its worth, I think Kanya West probably did the same thing. That makes it easy to think "Bush doesn't like black people" becuase he is only looking at half the available information out there.

Beck just wants to make a lot of money. He found the right niche. Hell, I'm considering becoming a Right Wing talk show host.

:tuning-in:

 

[the moops]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

 

[jamny]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

Honestly, how much have you watched or listened to Beck? I can see your argument with Rush or Hannity but I really don't see it as much with Beck.

 

[urbanhack]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

Honestly, how much have you watched or listened to Beck? I can see your argument with Rush or Hannity but I really don't see it as much with Beck.

I've seen enough to know that he despises Obama and everything on the left.The fact he groups "fascism, progressives, the left, and communism" all in the same group should be telling.

 

[jamny]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

Honestly, how much have you watched or listened to Beck? I can see your argument with Rush or Hannity but I really don't see it as much with Beck.

I've seen enough to know that he despises Obama and everything on the left.The fact he groups "fascism, progressives, the left, and communism" all in the same group should be telling.

To despise Obama would mean that he hates him personally and I really don't feel he is that type of person. I also don't think he despises the left unless they show a radical fringe element. I'm not naive in thinking he isn't playing to a certain audience but I would imagine many that do "lean left" might be leery of what's happening in our government at the moment. I rarely watch any of the other Fox shows but I do feel Beck gives an open forum for discussion from both sides. I don't watch him a lot, I still laugh at his goofy antics, and probably don't know enough about him to defend him. I just find it interesting how the attacks have ramped up proportional to his rising popularity. Goes with the territory I guess. More power to him.

 

[Tigran Petrosian]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

 

[Da Guru]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

True..but look at the hate in Courics face during the whole interview. Why?? Why do people like Katie, and Letterman let their own personal views get in the way of the interview? Would Couric or Dave have that look of hate with Nancy Pelosi or Al Franken?

 

[Fennis]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

True..but look at the hate in Courics face during the whole interview. Why?? Why do people like Katie, and Letterman let their own personal views get in the way of the interview? Would Couric or Dave have that look of hate with Nancy Pelosi or Al Franken?

I didnt watch the whole interview, so can yoiu help me out? At what point is there hate in Couric's face? Can you give an example like at 20:32 she looks hateful? TIA

 

[cstu]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

Honestly, how much have you watched or listened to Beck? I can see your argument with Rush or Hannity but I really don't see it as much with Beck.

I've seen enough to know that he despises Obama and everything on the left.The fact he groups "fascism, progressives, the left, and communism" all in the same group should be telling.

To despise Obama would mean that he hates him personally and I really don't feel he is that type of person. I also don't think he despises the left unless they show a radical fringe element. I'm not naive in thinking he isn't playing to a certain audience but I would imagine many that do "lean left" might be leery of what's happening in our government at the moment. I rarely watch any of the other Fox shows but I do feel Beck gives an open forum for discussion from both sides. I don't watch him a lot, I still laugh at his goofy antics, and probably don't know enough about him to defend him. I just find it interesting how the attacks have ramped up proportional to his rising popularity. Goes with the territory I guess. More power to him.

You mean after he left CNN to go to Fox. This is the same guy who was pro-bailout last year, but now acts like the country is going to go bankrupt.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

Thanks for sharing. He contradicted himself over and over and over in that piece. And he never did answer the "white culture" question. It is absolutely unbelievable that this clown has become one of the leading conservative voices. I feel for my conservative friends who have brains and have this guy on their side.

 

[Saints-Man]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

 

[spacevan]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time.

I prefer journalism not sensationalism.

Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

 

[Saints-Man]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

Sadly, it has long been gone from American discourse. Actually, it may never have existed.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

I would love to know where you find any sort of true journalism any more. Good luck finding it.

 

[LHUCKS]

It should be embarrassing for conservatives that this guy is one of their leading voices...everything about this moron's past is alarming as far as I'm concerned.

Beck and his older sister moved to their father’s home in Bellingham,[7] where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in 1982.[10] In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope.[11] When he was 18 years-old, Beck moved from Washington state to Salt Lake City, Utah, following graduation from high-school. It was while sharing an apartment in Salt Lake with a former Mormon missionary that Beck was first exposed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[citation needed]

Beck met his first wife, Claire, in 1983, after relocating to Washington, D.C. in order to work at radio station WPGC.[12] The couple married and subsequently had two daughters, Mary and Hannah; daughter Mary was born in 1988 with cerebral palsy, the result of a series of strokes at birth.[12] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. Along with being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict[13], Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[14] He cites the help of Alcoholics Anonymous in his sobriety and attended his first AA meeting in November 1994, the month he states he stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.[15]

In 1996, while working for a New Haven-area radio station, Beck was admitted to Yale University through a special program for non-traditional students. One of his recommendations for admittance came from Senator Joe Lieberman. Beck took one theology class, "Early Christology," and then dropped out.[15][16]

Red flag after red flag....leading the Fox news audience...perfect, exactly what this country needs right now.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Yes, he's goofy. Yes, he leans right. But I really feel he's not malicious or targetting anything more than what he feels is wrong in the world in his opinion.

You're really kidding here, right? He's not malicious? Yeah, he's just a moderate conservative that loves his country.

 

[jamny]

Yes, he's goofy. Yes, he leans right. But I really feel he's not malicious or targetting anything more than what he feels is wrong in the world in his opinion.

You're really kidding here, right? He's not malicious? Yeah, he's just a moderate conservative that loves his country.

I won't defend him on that statement because I don't believe Obama is racist but there were many on the left that felt Bush was racist after Katrina. I don't let one opinion shape my whole perception of a person.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Yes, he's goofy. Yes, he leans right. But I really feel he's not malicious or targetting anything more than what he feels is wrong in the world in his opinion.

You're really kidding here, right? He's not malicious? Yeah, he's just a moderate conservative that loves his country.

I won't defend him on that statement because I don't believe Obama is racist but there were many on the left that felt Bush was racist after Katrina. I don't let one opinion shape my whole perception of a person.

Then you need to watch way more Glenn Beck.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

Still claiming to be an "objective" moderate in the middle?

 

[urbanhack]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

I would love to know where you find any sort of true journalism any more. Good luck finding it.

NPRPBSBBCare good places to start.

 

[TommyGilmore]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

Most attempts at "real journalism" are shouted down and labeled as "biased" by those who disagree with it.

 

[ElGatoLoco]

Yes, he leans right.

I think you don't know the definition of lean.

Heck, Beck is in danger of being off-the-spectrum loony.

 

[Balance]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

Most attempts at "real journalism" are shouted down and labeled as "biased" by those who disagree with it.

There is no money in the middle.

 

[Big Score]

Can't stand Beck.

Besides the fact that his ideology is wingnut wacko, the tears & sobs he's constantly squezzing out, do nothing to add to whatever tinfoil conspiracy he's promoting. In fact it's annoyingly distracting.

Watching some middle aged, fat, out of shape, quivering blob of wingnut blubber, cry & sob like a little girl makes me want to tell Beck to stop by his nearest parts department & see if they've got a pair of testes for him.

 

[Black Sunday]

True..but look at the hate in Courics face during the whole interview. Why?? Why do people like Katie, and Letterman let their own personal views get in the way of the interview? Would Couric or Dave have that look of hate with Nancy Pelosi or Al Franken?

Look conservative wing-nuts,People don't hate or look like they hate "conservatives" like Glenn Beck because they lean right; they hate or look like they hate "conservatives" like Glenn Beck because they have only a passing relationship to the truth and make their money by innuendo and fear-mongering. Which is different from the MO of Nancy Pelosi or Al Franken (neither of whom I have no idea as to why there's a passing comparison). I may be the first one to break this to any of you.... BUT NOT EVERYTHING IS POLITICS. Some people believe in something more than left/right, progressive/conservative, Democrat/Republican. And those some people represent a significant number. And some of the antics on the right, especially on Fox News, just has no apples to apples comparison on the left. You have an apples to orange comparison as in, "Here is a conservative commentator and here is a liberal commentator" but if you actually listen to their content, listen to their delivery, and listen to the message that they are purporting to give.... they are in no way, no how similar.Do you want to know why you guys are "persecuted"? It's because you're F'ing nuts, that's why.

whoa.. it's getting a little hostile in here. I'm conservative. I like Beck. Am I "f'ing nuts" based on those two statements? Is that your definition of "nuts": anyone that disagrees with you? I hope that this is limited to just you and not other people that share your ideology. Your comments are quite offensive and need to be toned down a bit. I think you need to take a step back and understand that people can have different belief systems, based on legitimate experiences and still function just as well as the folks on the other side of the aisle. More than that, they can actually get along and agree on many things.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

Beck in this interview is trying desperately to distance himself from his over-the-top fear mongering TV and radio shows and someone pretend as if he's been this apolitical libertarian stalwart for years. It's laughable. You can't have it both ways, Glenn. Own your comments or shut up. Beck's defense seems to be that he was just as tough on Bush as he is on Obama. Objectively, that's false. Plain and simple. If we are to believe that Beck is some kind of consistent libertarian (which seems to be his claim throughout this interview), you wouldn't be able to find all kinds of comments from him about how scary the world is and how much the government needs to protect us. He tells Couric that he was against the Patriot Act when there are numerous clips of him saying precisely the opposite.

And this mess about him being an equal opportunity basher is just insulting to anyone paying attention. His diatribes are completely incoherent and lack any kind of logic whatsoever. Did you see that little clip of Beck connecting the warning label on a tin of Copenhagen ("May cause cancer") to Obama's trip to Copenhagen in support of Chicago's Olympic bid? It's garbage like that that just makes sensible people barf, especially when he titles his new book about how to argue with idiots. Rich stuff.

When Couric presses him about some of his more inflammatory comments about Obama being racist and hating white culture, Beck just balks entirely. Sure, give him his own show with no rules and he'll espouse about Obama being a racist and socialist for hours on end, but when asked to merely clarify what he meant, he whines about this being "gotcha" or reducing things to soundbites. It's the hypocrisy that people immediately spot and mock, not his politics.

At the end, Beck goes on this weird rant about how he spends too much time thinking and talking about politics when we all know he has ratings because of his loony soliloquies. Who can take him serious for even a moment? It's puzzling. He's totally out of his element during one of these serious interviews. Just has no idea what he's doing. Even someone like O'Reilly would do better than this. Beck is an intellectual lightweight that creates his own reality and whines when someone challenges it. He doesn't even take the invitation to clarify what he really means. To me that's a pretty big sign of weakness. There's a reason he doesn't do these types of interviews. He's out of his element and has no control. He also looks ill-prepared and fairly dumb.

This isnt' about political views. There are many many conservative voices that make infinitely more sense than Beck. Even Liz Cheney has a better handle on things than this guy. I get the ratings and why people watch/listen to him, but I don't get why anyone would allow him to be the champion of conservatism. Makes less than zero sense.

 

[the moops]

It should be embarrassing for conservatives that this guy is one of their leading voices...everything about this moron's past is alarming as far as I'm concerned.

Beck and his older sister moved to their father’s home in Bellingham,[7] where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in 1982.[10] In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope.[11] When he was 18 years-old, Beck moved from Washington state to Salt Lake City, Utah, following graduation from high-school. It was while sharing an apartment in Salt Lake with a former Mormon missionary that Beck was first exposed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[citation needed]

Beck met his first wife, Claire, in 1983, after relocating to Washington, D.C. in order to work at radio station WPGC.[12] The couple married and subsequently had two daughters, Mary and Hannah; daughter Mary was born in 1988 with cerebral palsy, the result of a series of strokes at birth.[12] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. Along with being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict[13], Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[14] He cites the help of Alcoholics Anonymous in his sobriety and attended his first AA meeting in November 1994, the month he states he stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.[15]

In 1996, while working for a New Haven-area radio station, Beck was admitted to Yale University through a special program for non-traditional students. One of his recommendations for admittance came from Senator Joe Lieberman. Beck took one theology class, "Early Christology," and then dropped out.[15][16]

Red flag after red flag....leading the Fox news audience...perfect, exactly what this country needs right now.

Drinking Jack Daniels, going to AA, having ADD, and dropping out of a theology class are red flags?I think the guy is a loon, but it has nothing to do with his drug use or non use.

 

[Saints-Man]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

Still claiming to be an "objective" moderate in the middle?

I only watched the first 17 minutes. Do you know what was contained in the first 17 minutes of that interview?I have no exposure to his ideas or his radio program(by choice). I was only judging by what I saw in that 17 minutes.

Can you watch that 17 minutes and remove all that you know about him(that way, putting you on equal footing as me) and then comment on my post?

 

[Saints-Man]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

I would love to know where you find any sort of true journalism any more. Good luck finding it.

NPRPBSBBCare good places to start.

The most objective sources I can find are those.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

It should be embarrassing for conservatives that this guy is one of their leading voices...everything about this moron's past is alarming as far as I'm concerned.

Beck and his older sister moved to their father’s home in Bellingham,[7] where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in 1982.[10] In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope.[11] When he was 18 years-old, Beck moved from Washington state to Salt Lake City, Utah, following graduation from high-school. It was while sharing an apartment in Salt Lake with a former Mormon missionary that Beck was first exposed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[citation needed]

Beck met his first wife, Claire, in 1983, after relocating to Washington, D.C. in order to work at radio station WPGC.[12] The couple married and subsequently had two daughters, Mary and Hannah; daughter Mary was born in 1988 with cerebral palsy, the result of a series of strokes at birth.[12] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. Along with being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict[13], Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[14] He cites the help of Alcoholics Anonymous in his sobriety and attended his first AA meeting in November 1994, the month he states he stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.[15]

In 1996, while working for a New Haven-area radio station, Beck was admitted to Yale University through a special program for non-traditional students. One of his recommendations for admittance came from Senator Joe Lieberman. Beck took one theology class, "Early Christology," and then dropped out.[15][16]

Red flag after red flag....leading the Fox news audience...perfect, exactly what this country needs right now.

Drinking Jack Daniels, going to AA, having ADD, and dropping out of a theology class are red flags?I think the guy is a loon, but it has nothing to do with his drug use or non use.

True. I actually admire him for having overcome those things. That part of the interview was the most interesting to me. Seemed to strip away the veneer and expose a real person.The odd part about that discussion came when Beck equated his difficulties in these areas with being a social liberal. It was a pretty strange bit of logic that didn't make any sense.

 

[Saints-Man]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

Most attempts at "real journalism" are shouted down and labeled as "biased" by those who disagree with it.

Like what? Who shouts down PBS? NPR? BBC?

 

[Saints-Man]

whoa.. it's getting a little hostile in here. I'm conservative. I like Beck. Am I "f'ing nuts" based on those two statements? Is that your definition of "nuts": anyone that disagrees with you? I hope that this is limited to just you and not other people that share your ideology. Your comments are quite offensive and need to be toned down a bit.

I think you need to take a step back and understand that people can have different belief systems, based on legitimate experiences and still function just as well as the folks on the other side of the aisle. More than that, they can actually get along and agree on many things.

Being conservative and being on the other side of the aisle has nothing to do with it. I've had a number of friends who were dyed in the wool conservative and some who called me the only left/liberal person they knew with who they could have a rational conservation about politics. But Glenn Beck? Bill O'Reilly? Rush Limbaugh? These clowns have nothing rational about them, except to the extent that they rationally exploit people who don't know any better for their own personal profit.Also, objective truth is not dependent upon any belief system or life experience. I think that's what you need to take a step back and understand.

Maher? Moore? Olbermann? They fit into the same categories as those you mentioned(and I completely agree with your description of them).

 

[Saints-Man]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

Beck in this interview is trying desperately to distance himself from his over-the-top fear mongering TV and radio shows and someone pretend as if he's been this apolitical libertarian stalwart for years. It's laughable. You can't have it both ways, Glenn. Own your comments or shut up. Beck's defense seems to be that he was just as tough on Bush as he is on Obama. Objectively, that's false. Plain and simple. If we are to believe that Beck is some kind of consistent libertarian (which seems to be his claim throughout this interview), you wouldn't be able to find all kinds of comments from him about how scary the world is and how much the government needs to protect us. He tells Couric that he was against the Patriot Act when there are numerous clips of him saying precisely the opposite.

And this mess about him being an equal opportunity basher is just insulting to anyone paying attention. His diatribes are completely incoherent and lack any kind of logic whatsoever. Did you see that little clip of Beck connecting the warning label on a tin of Copenhagen ("May cause cancer") to Obama's trip to Copenhagen in support of Chicago's Olympic bid? It's garbage like that that just makes sensible people barf, especially when he titles his new book about how to argue with idiots. Rich stuff.

When Couric presses him about some of his more inflammatory comments about Obama being racist and hating white culture, Beck just balks entirely. Sure, give him his own show with no rules and he'll espouse about Obama being a racist and socialist for hours on end, but when asked to merely clarify what he meant, he whines about this being "gotcha" or reducing things to soundbites. It's the hypocrisy that people immediately spot and mock, not his politics.

At the end, Beck goes on this weird rant about how he spends too much time thinking and talking about politics when we all know he has ratings because of his loony soliloquies. Who can take him serious for even a moment? It's puzzling. He's totally out of his element during one of these serious interviews. Just has no idea what he's doing. Even someone like O'Reilly would do better than this. Beck is an intellectual lightweight that creates his own reality and whines when someone challenges it. He doesn't even take the invitation to clarify what he really means. To me that's a pretty big sign of weakness. There's a reason he doesn't do these types of interviews. He's out of his element and has no control. He also looks ill-prepared and fairly dumb.

This isnt' about political views. There are many many conservative voices that make infinitely more sense than Beck. Even Liz Cheney has a better handle on things than this guy. I get the ratings and why people watch/listen to him, but I don't get why anyone would allow him to be the champion of conservatism. Makes less than zero sense.

That is a fair post, Mr. Pickles. I know nothing of him, so I don't know how much of the interview matches with what he has said in the past. It seems, however, that Couric could have brought up the fact that he did not complain about Bush in the way he claimed. That seems like it would have been an easy thing to do, given how public his comments are(with a TV show). I wonder why she didn't hammer him with that? She came across poorly and unprepared, at least in the first part of that interview. That is the reason for my comment, and I do appreciate your thoughts.I didn't have time to go back to it today, and probably won't. His right-wing ilk and the corresponding left-wing ilk are not deserving of my time.

 

[tommyGunZ]

whoa.. it's getting a little hostile in here. I'm conservative. I like Beck. Am I "f'ing nuts" based on those two statements? Is that your definition of "nuts": anyone that disagrees with you? I hope that this is limited to just you and not other people that share your ideology. Your comments are quite offensive and need to be toned down a bit.

I think you need to take a step back and understand that people can have different belief systems, based on legitimate experiences and still function just as well as the folks on the other side of the aisle. More than that, they can actually get along and agree on many things.

Being conservative and being on the other side of the aisle has nothing to do with it. I've had a number of friends who were dyed in the wool conservative and some who called me the only left/liberal person they knew with who they could have a rational conservation about politics. But Glenn Beck? Bill O'Reilly? Rush Limbaugh? These clowns have nothing rational about them, except to the extent that they rationally exploit people who don't know any better for their own personal profit.Also, objective truth is not dependent upon any belief system or life experience. I think that's what you need to take a step back and understand.

Maher? Moore? Olbermann? They fit into the same categories as those you mentioned(and I completely agree with your description of them).

There you go, equating people again, even though in your very next post, just a few minutes later, you admit to "knowing nothing about" Beck.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

That is a fair post, Mr. Pickles. I know nothing of him, so I don't know how much of the interview matches with what he has said in the past. It seems, however, that Couric could have brought up the fact that he did not complain about Bush in the way he claimed. That seems like it would have been an easy thing to do, given how public his comments are(with a TV show). I wonder why she didn't hammer him with that? She came across poorly and unprepared, at least in the first part of that interview. That is the reason for my comment, and I do appreciate your thoughts.I didn't have time to go back to it today, and probably won't. His right-wing ilk and the corresponding left-wing ilk are not deserving of my time.

Well, Couric wasn't prepared to deliver any knock-out blows here. She did seem intent on exposing inconsistencies, but lacked the research or desire to follow through with it. Her interviewing style is kind of needling and self-righteous. She did the same thing with Palin "I'm just curious..." but Palin put up even less of a fight than Beck did.Interviewer aside (I agree that Couric isn't blameless in her approach), Beck was largely given an open forum to clarify or say anything he wanted to, but balked on several occasions to do so. To me, that's a giant red flag that someone is more interested in being outrageous and making news than they are in a serious discussion of their perspectives. Beck has no checks on Fox News. He just rants and raves for an hour and stirs the pot. Lots of TV personalities do. I do think that he's probably the worst of the bunch, right or left, though. Given time to articulate his point of view and to expand on soundbites that he himself generated among a friendly audience, he took a pass and basically backed away from most of what makes him even remotely interesting. If your shtick is to be Mr. Over-the-top and you show up and act like the past decade never happened, it's a little disingenuous. It was almost like he was saying "Glenn who?"

 

[spacevan]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time. I prefer journalism not sensationalism.Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

I would love to know where you find any sort of true journalism any more. Good luck finding it.

NPRPBSBBCare good places to start.

These are exactly what I was going to post.I just want the facts. I'm smart enough to form my own opinion. I don't need or want anyone to tell me what to think and neither should anyone else.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I haven't read the thread, so I don't know whether this has been discussed.

But you know how one of Beck's rhetorical tactics is to say stuff along the lines of, "I'm not saying Obama [is a communist / was born in Kenya / is a Muslim / etc.]. I'm just asking the question, because a lot of people want to know the answer. So why isn't he denying it??"

Parodying that kind of rhetoric is this website: DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com.

Beck wants the site taken down. He can't sue within the U.S. for it to be taken down because of the First Amendment; so he's made a complaint to an international internet governing body, the World Intellectual Property Organization.

(It's funny that Beck wants to get around U.S. law by appealing to international laws instead in a case that involves two Americans. As the opposing attorney pointed out, Beck very recently said on his show -- when criticizing liberals -- "Let me tell you something. When you can't win with the people, you bump it up to the courts. When you can't win with the courts, you bump it up to the international level." Beck also said: "Once we sign our rights over to international law, the Constitution is officially dead.")

Beck's argument to the World Intellectual Property Organization is that the parody site defames Beck because viewers are likely to take it seriously, or to believe that the site is affiliated with Beck himself.

The opposing lawyer filed an awesome brief in response. A short excerpt:

There is no indication that the Respondent has intentionally attempted to confuse anyone searching for Mr. Beck's own website, nor that anyone was unintentionally confused - even initially. Only an abject imbecile could believe that the domain name would have any connection to the Complainant.

We are not here because the domain name could cause confusion. We do not have a declaration from the president of the international association of imbeciles that his members are blankly staring at the Respondent's website wondering "where did all the race baiting content go?" We are here because Mr. Beck wants Respondent's website shut down. He wants it shut down because Respondent's website makes a poignant and accurate satirical critique of Mr. Beck by parodying Beck's very rhetorical style. Beck's skin is too thin to take the criticism, so he wants the site down. Beck is represented by a learned and respected legal team. Accordingly, it is beyond doubt that his counsel advised him that under the First Amendment to the United States' Constitution, no action in a U.S. Court would be successful. Accordingly, Beck is attempting to use this transnational body to circumvent and subvert the Respondent's constitutional rights.

 

[Mr. Retukes]

I'm 38 years old and proud to say that I've never seen his show once. Actually when I think about it I haven't tuned in to any of these kind of shows left or right in a very long time.

I prefer journalism not sensationalism.

Does anyone remember what journalism is???????????????????????????

Most attempts at "real journalism" are shouted down and labeled as "biased" by those who disagree with it.

Like what? Who shouts down PBS? NPR? BBC?

Apparenly, NPR's own listeners think that it is biased.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

I haven't read the thread, so I don't know whether this has been discussed.

But you know how one of Beck's rhetorical tactics is to say stuff along the lines of, "I'm not saying Obama [is a communist / was born in Kenya / is a Muslim / etc.]. I'm just asking the question, because a lot of people want to know the answer. So why isn't he denying it??"

I don't know if that's elsewhere in the thread either, but he did this in the Couric interview when they talked about FEMA camps. Beck said something along the lines of "we set out to debunk it, but we couldn't." He loves to set things up as being so "outrageous" that they couldn't possibly be true, but then propagates them when, shockingly, their alleged "research" results in "inconclusive" results. Then he'll say something like (as he did in the interview) "I can't confirm or deny this."Beck also had some interesting interviews with fringy (even more so than himself) guests that were saying things like "Obama is the anti-Christ." He'll let these guys go on and on about this, and they "challenge" the guest saying "you don't really believe that Obama is the anti-Christ, do you?" as if to put up some kind of nominal resistance.

It's also telling that Beck continually insinuated that Ron Paul was a loon, yet suddenly Beck is this big champion of libertarianism. It's funny in this era of media that people like Beck think that there's no record of past comments.

 

[Saints-Man]

whoa.. it's getting a little hostile in here. I'm conservative. I like Beck. Am I "f'ing nuts" based on those two statements? Is that your definition of "nuts": anyone that disagrees with you? I hope that this is limited to just you and not other people that share your ideology. Your comments are quite offensive and need to be toned down a bit.

I think you need to take a step back and understand that people can have different belief systems, based on legitimate experiences and still function just as well as the folks on the other side of the aisle. More than that, they can actually get along and agree on many things.

Being conservative and being on the other side of the aisle has nothing to do with it. I've had a number of friends who were dyed in the wool conservative and some who called me the only left/liberal person they knew with who they could have a rational conservation about politics. But Glenn Beck? Bill O'Reilly? Rush Limbaugh? These clowns have nothing rational about them, except to the extent that they rationally exploit people who don't know any better for their own personal profit.Also, objective truth is not dependent upon any belief system or life experience. I think that's what you need to take a step back and understand.

Maher? Moore? Olbermann? They fit into the same categories as those you mentioned(and I completely agree with your description of them).

There you go, equating people again, even though in your very next post, just a few minutes later, you admit to "knowing nothing about" Beck.

They are all partisan shrills for their side. They have different shticks and personalities, and they all detract from honest debate the same. I don't have to spend my time dissecting every spoken and written word of each one of them to acknowledge that. It only takes a short exposure to any of these partisan shrills to realize they are not interested in intellectually honest discussions.You refuse to acknowledge that both sides have their partisan hacks that all they want to do is denigrate the other side so their side is seen as "right". Their methods and tactics may differ, but the end result is all the same.

So, @ you for having your head stuck so far up your partisan butt that you can't see this obvious truth.

Your whole focus is they are not exactly equal. You are OCD focused that 3.999 <> 4.001 . While that may be true, objective observers see this as no discernible difference. And that is the point that completely escapes you, over and over.

You went through an entire thread about ACORN defending ACORN while refusing to admit you were defending ACORN. Given that, I am not surprised that you can find anything remotely redeeming about either of these partisan extremes.

 

[Saints-Man]

That is a fair post, Mr. Pickles. I know nothing of him, so I don't know how much of the interview matches with what he has said in the past. It seems, however, that Couric could have brought up the fact that he did not complain about Bush in the way he claimed. That seems like it would have been an easy thing to do, given how public his comments are(with a TV show). I wonder why she didn't hammer him with that? She came across poorly and unprepared, at least in the first part of that interview. That is the reason for my comment, and I do appreciate your thoughts.

I didn't have time to go back to it today, and probably won't. His right-wing ilk and the corresponding left-wing ilk are not deserving of my time.

Well, Couric wasn't prepared to deliver any knock-out blows here. She did seem intent on exposing inconsistencies, but lacked the research or desire to follow through with it. Her interviewing style is kind of needling and self-righteous. She did the same thing with Palin "I'm just curious..." but Palin put up even less of a fight than Beck did.Interviewer aside (I agree that Couric isn't blameless in her approach)

, Beck was largely given an open forum to clarify or say anything he wanted to, but balked on several occasions to do so. To me, that's a giant red flag that someone is more interested in being outrageous and making news than they are in a serious discussion of their perspectives. Beck has no checks on Fox News. He just rants and raves for an hour and stirs the pot. Lots of TV personalities do. I do think that he's probably the worst of the bunch, right or left, though. Given time to articulate his point of view and to expand on soundbites that he himself generated among a friendly audience, he took a pass and basically backed away from most of what makes him even remotely interesting. If your shtick is to be Mr. Over-the-top and you show up and act like the past decade never happened, it's a little disingenuous. It was almost like he was saying "Glenn who?"

This was solely my point in my original post. I agree...his ilk have no interest in generating a useful discussion. They have no interest in honest debate.

 

[Saints-Man]

...

Parodying that kind of rhetoric is this website: DidGlennBeckRapeAndMurderAYoungGirlIn1990.com.

...

Did Couric bring up this obvious hypocrisy later in the interview?

 

[Mr. Pickles]

I'm curious how many times Couric said "I'm curious.." in her interview. That started to distract from the content of the question. It's like an interviewing "tell" with her: you know she's irked when this comes up.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

I didn't realize this guy was mormon until tonight.

I get it now...he is Karl Rove's creation to grease america for the adjustment to mainstream mormonism so it'll have no problem electing Romney in 3 years. Brilliant.

"See America? Glenn Beck is a normal conservative guy and he's a mormon. Milt here's the same zact way, see? We're all alike, 'cept after shooting animals, we get beers, they get Sprites. Same difference..."

 

[Mr. Pickles]

"See America? Glenn Beck is a normal conservative guy and he's a mormon. Milt here's the same zact way, see? We're all alike, 'cept after shooting animals, we get beers, they get Sprites. Same difference..."

I think Couric's mention of Beck being a Mormon was to cast some aspersions on what you are proposing. I think it works more like this: "See, Beck's a nut job Mormon.. and Mormons, of which Romney is one, cannot be trusted."

 

[tommyGunZ]

whoa.. it's getting a little hostile in here. I'm conservative. I like Beck. Am I "f'ing nuts" based on those two statements? Is that your definition of "nuts": anyone that disagrees with you? I hope that this is limited to just you and not other people that share your ideology. Your comments are quite offensive and need to be toned down a bit.

I think you need to take a step back and understand that people can have different belief systems, based on legitimate experiences and still function just as well as the folks on the other side of the aisle. More than that, they can actually get along and agree on many things.

Being conservative and being on the other side of the aisle has nothing to do with it. I've had a number of friends who were dyed in the wool conservative and some who called me the only left/liberal person they knew with who they could have a rational conservation about politics. But Glenn Beck? Bill O'Reilly? Rush Limbaugh? These clowns have nothing rational about them, except to the extent that they rationally exploit people who don't know any better for their own personal profit.Also, objective truth is not dependent upon any belief system or life experience. I think that's what you need to take a step back and understand.

Maher? Moore? Olbermann? They fit into the same categories as those you mentioned(and I completely agree with your description of them).

There you go, equating people again, even though in your very next post, just a few minutes later, you admit to "knowing nothing about" Beck.

They are all partisan shrills for their side. They have different shticks and personalities, and they all detract from honest debate the same. I don't have to spend my time dissecting every spoken and written word of each one of them to acknowledge that. It only takes a short exposure to any of these partisan shrills to realize they are not interested in intellectually honest discussions.You refuse to acknowledge that both sides have their partisan hacks that all they want to do is denigrate the other side so their side is seen as "right". Their methods and tactics may differ, but the end result is all the same.

So, @ you for having your head stuck so far up your partisan butt that you can't see this obvious truth.

Your whole focus is they are not exactly equal. You are OCD focused that 3.999 <> 4.001 . While that may be true, objective observers see this as no discernible difference. And that is the point that completely escapes you, over and over.

You claim that you don't watch these shows, "know nothing" about Beck, so how would you know that "they're all partisan shills not interested in legitimate debate? Is this shtick? The more I think about it, I'm probably being fished; no one can argue that they don't even pay attention yet are somehow more informed to render an opinion than those who follow the debates on a nightly basis.Throwing Glenn Beck in the same "ilk" as Rachel Maddow is akin to equating Curtis Enis to Adrian Peterson.

 

[Red Eyed and Blue]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5330485n

The problem I have with Beck in this interview is that he runs from all of his histrionics and defends none of it.

In the first 17 minutes(no time for the 40+ minutes) of this, he comes across as more reasonable than her.

Beck in this interview is trying desperately to distance himself from his over-the-top fear mongering TV and radio shows and someone pretend as if he's been this apolitical libertarian stalwart for years. It's laughable. You can't have it both ways, Glenn. Own your comments or shut up. Beck's defense seems to be that he was just as tough on Bush as he is on Obama. Objectively, that's false. Plain and simple. If we are to believe that Beck is some kind of consistent libertarian (which seems to be his claim throughout this interview), you wouldn't be able to find all kinds of comments from him about how scary the world is and how much the government needs to protect us. He tells Couric that he was against the Patriot Act when there are numerous clips of him saying precisely the opposite.

And this mess about him being an equal opportunity basher is just insulting to anyone paying attention. His diatribes are completely incoherent and lack any kind of logic whatsoever. Did you see that little clip of Beck connecting the warning label on a tin of Copenhagen ("May cause cancer") to Obama's trip to Copenhagen in support of Chicago's Olympic bid? It's garbage like that that just makes sensible people barf, especially when he titles his new book about how to argue with idiots. Rich stuff.

When Couric presses him about some of his more inflammatory comments about Obama being racist and hating white culture, Beck just balks entirely. Sure, give him his own show with no rules and he'll espouse about Obama being a racist and socialist for hours on end, but when asked to merely clarify what he meant, he whines about this being "gotcha" or reducing things to soundbites. It's the hypocrisy that people immediately spot and mock, not his politics.

At the end, Beck goes on this weird rant about how he spends too much time thinking and talking about politics when we all know he has ratings because of his loony soliloquies. Who can take him serious for even a moment? It's puzzling. He's totally out of his element during one of these serious interviews. Just has no idea what he's doing. Even someone like O'Reilly would do better than this. Beck is an intellectual lightweight that creates his own reality and whines when someone challenges it. He doesn't even take the invitation to clarify what he really means. To me that's a pretty big sign of weakness. There's a reason he doesn't do these types of interviews. He's out of his element and has no control. He also looks ill-prepared and fairly dumb.

This isnt' about political views. There are many many conservative voices that make infinitely more sense than Beck. Even Liz Cheney has a better handle on things than this guy. I get the ratings and why people watch/listen to him, but I don't get why anyone would allow him to be the champion of conservatism. Makes less than zero sense.

Damn. That was awesome.:subscribe:

 

[Spanky267]

It should be embarrassing for conservatives that this guy is one of their leading voices...everything about this moron's past is alarming as far as I'm concerned.

Beck and his older sister moved to their father’s home in Bellingham,[7] where Beck graduated from Sehome High School in 1982.[10] In the aftermath of his mother's death and subsequent suicide of his stepbrother, Beck has said he used "Dr. Jack Daniel's" to cope.[11] When he was 18 years-old, Beck moved from Washington state to Salt Lake City, Utah, following graduation from high-school. It was while sharing an apartment in Salt Lake with a former Mormon missionary that Beck was first exposed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[citation needed]

Beck met his first wife, Claire, in 1983, after relocating to Washington, D.C. in order to work at radio station WPGC.[12] The couple married and subsequently had two daughters, Mary and Hannah; daughter Mary was born in 1988 with cerebral palsy, the result of a series of strokes at birth.[12] The couple divorced in 1994 amid Beck's struggles with substance abuse. Along with being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict[13], Beck has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.[14] He cites the help of Alcoholics Anonymous in his sobriety and attended his first AA meeting in November 1994, the month he states he stopped drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.[15]

In 1996, while working for a New Haven-area radio station, Beck was admitted to Yale University through a special program for non-traditional students. One of his recommendations for admittance came from Senator Joe Lieberman. Beck took one theology class, "Early Christology," and then dropped out.[15][16]

Red flag after red flag....leading the Fox news audience...perfect, exactly what this country needs right now.

Hey Hucks. Did you realize that the section about his first exposure to Mormonism ends with "citation needed"?I was in Salt Lake City last summer and drove past the Tabernacle. Does that count as "exposure" to LDS? I've had mormon missionaries knock on my door. Does that count as exposure?

The guy admits he started drinking as a teen to cope with his mom's suicide. He admits to using drugs and ruining his first marriage. But he also admits that he saw the light that his drinking and drug use was ruining his life and those of the people around him. He sobered up and turned his life around.

I don't see how these things are red flags. Seems like he's had things go bad in his life, much of it his own making, and he's turned his life around.

I've been listening to the guy for years. I don't take anything he has to say as the gospel truth. I try to learn on my own. I rarely listen to Rush, I don't listen to Hannity and Savage is an ###.

He puts his foot in his mouth al ot, but he does serve up some stuff that peaks my interest and that I want to learn more about.