The Art Critics Of The American Taliban

Posted by on October 7, 2010 at 1:08 pm. 7 Comments :

Taliban Art CriticAt the Loveland Museum Gallery in Colorado a controversial work of art was attacked and damaged by a woman offended by the content. The work that incited Montana resident Kathleen Folden to travel to Colorado to deface the art contained a representation of Jesus who appears to be receiving oral sex. What do these extremists want? At least he wasn’t engaging in intercourse, and Christine O’Donnell would be pleased to know that he wasn’t masturbating either.

Stanford University professor Enrique Chagoya created the work entitled “The Misadventures of Romantic Cannibals.” He described the piece as a statement about religious and political institutions, not beliefs. But that didn’t assuage Folden who was arrested after she took a crowbar to the piece, shattered the glass frame, and ripped the print, while shouting, “How can you desecrate my Lord?”

Islamic jihadis around the world could be heard celebrating Folden’s act of intolerance. Her behavior was perfectly in sync with Sharia law which forbids the depiction of God. Perhaps she was inspired the Taliban, who destroyed several historic sculptures of Buddha after they assumed power in Afghanistan.

The only people praising Folden more fervently are the American Taliban of the Christian Right, along with the censorious denizens of the Fox Nation and other rightist web bunkers and culture warriors. It’s ironic because these are the same people who are so vocally defensive about the Constitution and the freedom it provides. It is these hardcore conservatives that always pretend to be so concerned about freedom of speech and religion, and the protection of private property. They are the first to condemn the censorship of artists who portray the Islamic prophet Mohammad. They say they want smaller government, but they want it to remain big enough to suppress thought and actions that they disapprove of.

Another irony is that Folden, the art mauler, was wearing a t-shirt that reads: “My Savior is Tougher Than Nails,” with a reference to Revelations 1:18. Apparently nails are no match for her savior, but paper hanging on a wall is a mortal threat.

Folden’s ill-conceived vandalism is not going to further her cause. More likely it will make a media star of Mr. Chagoya, and enhance the demand for his work. (I wish some nutcase would slash up some of my work). Furthermore, her disgraceful intolerance serves as a case study for what we can expect if we allow that brand of fundamentalism to become entwined in our cultural and legal institutions.

So thank you, Ms. Folden, for demonstrating so clearly the sort of repressive, small mindedness our nation seeks to avoid. Thank you for being a repulsive and ignorant jerk whose stupidity will set back the efforts of other neanderthals like yourself. Thank you for helping an obscure artist gain some much needed attention. Your court-ordered compensation to the artist and the gallery will also be welcome, I’m sure. And no doubt society will benefit from your incarceration. Thanks again, goodbye, and good riddance.

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Glenn Beck Says Glenn Beck Devalues Humankind

Posted by on October 6, 2010 at 5:56 pm. 6 Comments :

In an epic rant about how progressives are plotting to engage in all manner of mischief if they don’t get what they want, Glenn Beck revealed something about himself that is far more enlightening than his routine delusional obsession with left-wing radicals.


Beck was rolling along in his customary panic-addled fashion, disinforming his viewers about environmentalists, whom he portrayed as so desperate to enact their planet-saving agenda that they would do anything, no matter how grotesque, to protect the Earth. The end justifies the means…Saul Alinsky…collapse the system…kill babies. Beck employed every scare tactic he has used in the past year for this one subject in order to imply that these treehuggers would stop at nothing.

Climate Change has been affirmed by hundreds of reputable scientists around the world. The evidence is voluminous. And the only opponents are those with political or business affiliations and other conflicts of interest. It is imperative that we alter our relationship with this planet if we hope to continue living on it. The reality of that perspective resulted in the production of some hard-hitting public service announcements in England that have sparked Beck’s outrage.

Whether or not these ads exceed the bounds of good taste is something people can decide for themselves. But Beck seems to be convinced that they represent a literal method of dealing with Climate Change deniers. He thinks the eco-terrorists are actually coming to blow you up. His fear of this leads him to castigate all environmentalists as murderous thugs whose extremism will necessarily result in atrocities.

BECK: If you literally believe the world is doomed unless we act, then you’ve devalued humankind.

Really? You mean like…..

“I don’t need to convince you that there are people intentionally destroying our country.”

“The rain is coming. I think you feel it in your gut. It is time to build an Ark. It is time to prepare yourself for some tough times.”

“You’re gonna see a black and white world, man, that is nothing but destruction and ugly.”

“Please, please America, don’t debate, don’t compromise on these things. […] They’re building a machine and they’re about to turn the darn thing on. You don’t compromise on your destruction.”

“Find the exit closest to you and prepare for a crash landing, because this plane is coming down, because the pilot is intentionally steering it into the trees. […] They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered.”

“It is the eve of destruction in America.”

“If we don’t face the truth right now, we’ll be dead in five years; this country can’t survive.”

“This is about man’s freedom. This is it, gang. If we fail here the world is plunged into global darkness.”

These are just a few examples of Glenn Beck expressing his demented view that the world is doomed unless we act. He very specifically declares that destruction is on the horizon and that we must not only act, but we must do so without compromise. Therefore, by his own definition, he is devaluing humankind. And it should also be noted that the video above is an allegorical tale, while Beck’s admonitions of doom are delivered with utter seriousness.

The absurdity of Beck accusing others of fear mongering exposes a severe malfunction in his psychological profile. But to specifically criticize them for inventing doomsday scenarios of the very sort he has been mass producing for years goes beyond the scope of modern psychiatry to understand.


Poll: Tea Party Is Wildly Out Of Touch With America

Posted by on October 5, 2010 at 3:23 pm. 5 Comments :

Fox/GOP Tea PartyA new poll (pdf) by the Public Religion Research Institute reveals what most conscious observers already knew: The views of the Tea Party are wholly removed from those of the rest of the American people.

The differences between the Tea Party and everyone else are so stark that it should give pause to any media outlet that contemplates treating the so-called movement as if it has any relevancy to current public affairs. The survey identifies a number of examples of what has been considered conventional wisdom and blasts them out of the water.

The first example of note is the notion that the Tea Party itself represents a significant segment of society. The truth is that there are just 11% of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Partiers. Only 24% say that a Tea Party affiliation would make them more likely to vote for a candidate, while 31% say it would make them less likely to give that candidate their vote.

Another example is the belief that Tea Partiers have an independent, Libertarian point of view. The survey shows that that is not the case. The Tea Partiers are predominantly Christian, social conservatives who oppose abortion and gay rights. And they are also far more likely to vote Republican (83%).

Tea Party views on public figures are also outside the mainstream. Seventy-five percent have an unfavorable view of Obama (25% favorable), while the rest of us view Obama favorably by 58% (40% unfavorable). On Sarah Palin the Tea Partiers are 80% favorable (14% unfavorable), compared to 52% unfavorable (40% favorable) for the rest of the country.

A couple of other interesting results in the poll that are not widely recognized: A majority of voters (54%) say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care reform. And nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Americans favor a policy that provides a future path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for several years. On that subject, 64% of Tea Partiers think that immigrants are a burden on society, while only 48% of Americans overall have that view.

Some things we already knew, or could reasonably guess, about the Tea Party were affirmed in the survey. They are overwhelmingly white: 80%, compared to 69% of the population at large. They are concentrated in the south with 43% of their numbers residing there. And they are glued to Fox News. While only 23% of Americans overall regard Fox as their most trusted news source (about the same as CNN and the broadcast networks), two and a half times that many (57%) Tea Partiers do. That’s an even higher number than Republicans (48%) or Christian conservatives (39%).

The conclusion that is abundantly clear is that the Tea Party is a fringe cadre of extremists who have little in common with average Americans. So why do they get so much attention in the press? Well, partly because the press loves controversy, even if they have to invent it. And partly because the Republican Party is anxious to hitch its wagon to the Tea Party express in hopes of enhancing their electoral prospects.

But the main reason the Tea Party gets so much attention in the press is because they have their own press (i.e. Fox News, talk radio, etc.) that pours out their propaganda in a flood of fury, fear, and foreboding.

In the face of that Apocalyptic onslaught, it is comforting to see that majorities of Americans have not bought the snake oil being peddled by the Grand Old/Tea Party. And there is obviously still hope that the American people will surprise the media lackeys who would rather stir the pot than tell the truth.


James O’Keefe Defends Being A Loathsome, Cretinous, Scumbag

Posted by on October 4, 2010 at 3:47 pm. 4 Comments :

Fox News James O'KeefeIt’s been five days since the Fox News pimp, James O’Keefe, was caught trying to “seduce” CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau. He has finally come out with a statement on the web site of his mentor, Andrew Breitbart. And, as would be expected, it is a thoroughly dishonest exercise in self-justification.

But before we get to O’Keefe’s comments, let’s take a look at what Breitbart had to say about him:

“From what I’ve read about this script, though not executed, it is patently gross and offensive.”

That’s the view of the man who supported O’Keefe through his equally offensive escapades as a pimp. Now Breitbart thinks O’Keef’e antics are gross. He even denied in a tweet that he was associated with O’Keefe. However, he still gave him a platform to publish his response. And in that response O’Keefe begins by acknowledging the low level of ethics he and his comrades have:

“If you were to roam through my personal emails there are many outrageous plans, some parts of which I may approve of in principal [sic] with an ‘I like it’ in an email thread. But I may well object to a host of things about the plan, though I like the objective.”

Taken at his word, O’Keefe is admitting that he liked the objective of the CNN Caper. But this is someone who can never be taken at his word. He is a compulsive liar whose word has no value. Here is how he soft-peddled his version of the the plot against Boudreau:

“She would have had to consent before being filmed and she was not going to be faux ‘seduced’ unless she wanted to be.”

That is utterly false. He never sought the consent of his previous video victims. Why should we accept his assertion that he was going to start seeking consent now? If he was going to seek her consent, then why did the plan call for hidden cameras at the scene? And what would make him think that she would ever grant such consent to be filmed on his boat? And can anyone even tell me what he means by suggesting that the faux seduction would not have occurred “unless she wanted” it? What an arrogant and disgusting remark.

He goes on to assert that he was repulsed by parts of the plan and had no intention of going through with it. He offers as proof of this the fact that none of the things that were described in the script actually took place. Of course, the reason they didn’t take place is because his plan was foiled in advance by an accomplice with integrity pangs. This would be like the failed shoe bomber insisting that he never intended to blow up the plane by saying, “See? The plane isn’t blown up.”

To offer as a defense his assertion, after the plot fell apart, that he didn’t really plan to do it, is laughably absurd. He still needs to explain why his accomplice, Izzy Santa, was in the house, right where the script called for her to be, and he was still on the boat, right where the script called for him to be, and right where Santa was supposed to direct Boudreau. The plot was obviously in effect when Santa decided to pull the plug and O’Keefe cannot credibly claim otherwise.

The fact that it took O’Keefe five days to come up with an excuse this lame tells us a lot about what an ignorant slob he is. And if any media outlet gives this twerp a passing mention for whatever BS he produces in the future they should lose their license to broadcast.


Is Rupert Murdoch Funding Al Qaeda?

Posted by on October 4, 2010 at 12:01 pm. 7 Comments :

A couple of recent revelations regarding the charitable proclivities of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp are now raising chilling questions for which there has been no answer to date.

It was widely reported a few weeks ago that News Corp made a $1 million donation to the Republican Governor’s Association. Reaction to that report was swift and damning. The notion that News Corp, parent company of Fox News, is bankrolling the campaigns of people they are also purporting to cover in their newspapers and on their TV networks, is appalling and unprecedented. To make matters worse, Fox continues to give positively biased coverage to GOP candidates without disclosing their contributions.

Last week another story emerged that revealed another $1 million contribution by News Corp, this time to the pro-GOP US Chamber of Commerce. This has the same potential for conflict of interest as the gift to the GOP governors and, again, Fox puts a muzzle on its reporters to suppress the story.

Now Ben Smith at Politico reports what may be the worst part of this scandal of all. Responding to a query as to why News Corp would make these donations that overtly contradict their claims to fairness and balance, and further damage their already mutilated journalistic credibility, Smith reports that…

“A person close to News Corp. told me this week the company didn’t realize its $1 million to the RGA would become public. And the $1 million to Chamber of Commerce was supposed to be secret as well.”

That explains a lot. If Murdoch never believed that these donations would become public he would have no reason to be concerned about the blowback. But what is even more troubling is this: If Murdoch made these donations with the expectation that they would be kept secret, what other donations might he have made whose secrecy has actually been preserved?

Could Murdoch have contributed to the Tea Party Express or other AstroTurfers like FreedomWorks? Could he be bankrolling the operations of Sarah Palin’s PAC or Glenn Beck’s Holy Rollover Revue? Since the Citizen’s United decision by the Supreme Court earlier this year, the ability of corporations to sink unlimited resources into politics has been greatly enhanced. It created an open door for multinational corporations to influence American elections

Murdoch’s business connections have deep roots in many financial and political matters around the world. He is closely tied with Saudi oil and media barons and billionaires like Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. Alwaleed is a backer of the Park51 project to build a Muslim community center a couple of blocks from ground zero in Lower Manhattan.

What other Muslim initiatives might Murdoch be connected to? Could he have an interest in the affairs of Al Qaeda? There is presently reporting on Fox News about the escalated terror alerts in Europe. Murdoch could be seen as being a beneficiary of this because it could reflect badly on President Obama’s national security policies. And Murdoch is always happy to see this President in decline. What contributions might he have made to bring about this or any other event that accrues to his benefit?

Seriously, the problem here is that we have no way of knowing what sort of enterprises Murdoch (or any other corporate baron) is financing. If we only find out by accident, there is a very real prospect that there are far worse things that have not yet been revealed. And the new legal interpretations make it harder, if not impossible, to acquire this information.

Is Rupert Murdoch funding Al Qaeda. Probably not. But that’s not the point. Who is he funding (besides the GOP governors and the Chamber of Commerce) that is still being kept secret from us? His scope of influence, due to his position and wealth, makes him a significant figure on the political landscape. The fact that he runs an international media empire makes his political contributions relevant to his readers and viewers. And the fact that he is making donations that he presumed would be secret suggests that he may have made others that still are.

Murdoch needs to either come clean about his political largesse or stop making contributions altogether. He cannot operate a media enterprise that he asserts is unbiased without greater transparency, especially in light of what has become known already. And the rest of the media must stop treating Fox News and other News Corp operations as if they were legitimate journalists. Fox News is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party. Their partisan reporting has made that more than clear, and their financial activities prove it again and again.


One Nation Working Together Till Election Day And Beyond

Posted by on October 3, 2010 at 3:47 pm. 16 Comments :

One NationWith the massive One Nation rally in DC over, the post-game analyses have been flying furiously around the media and Webosphere. It was clearly a successful event that served to energize progressive activists and demonstrate that the left is not cowering under the national basement.

However, most of the press is making the mistake of comparing One Nation to Glenn Beck’s Acute Paranoia Holy Rollover Revue. This is typical of the horse race mindset of the media that is incapable of putting information in context and making relevant evaluations.

Let me make this crystal clear: The purpose of One Nation was NOT to draw more people than BeckFest. That would have been a shallow and unproductive goal. The purpose was to motivate the activists and organizers who attended, as well as those who watched from afar, so that they would be more effective and engaged in these crucial final weeks before the midterm elections. It was also intended to demonstrate the commitment of progressives to maintaining the course of the past couple of election cycles and to show the media that not everyone out there is a Tea Bagger. There were several reasons why attendance was never meant to be the yardstick by which this event would be measured.

First of all, One Nation did not have the benefit of the highest rated cable “news” network (Fox News) pumping out promotions for the event day in and day out for six months. They didn’t even have the second highest rated cable news network (MSNBC). Only Ed Schultz made much of an effort to promote One Nation. And while he is a popular radio and TV talk show host, recent surveys show that 70% of the country have never heard of him. It would be absurd to suggest that he would have the same impact on marketing that Glenn Beck, Inc. would have (despite what Ed says about himself).

Secondly, the demographics of the audiences are not remotely similar. Beck’s audience is a much older and more affluent crowd. In fact, he has one of the oldest skewing programs in all of cable news, including a high percentage of retirees. That’s partially how he manages to produce such high ratings in the middle of the day when normal people are at work. His viewers as a group are far better able to afford a trip to the nation’s capitol. They also are more likely to have the spare time available for outings like these. The folks attending One Nation are more likely to be working people who cannot just take time off from their jobs and their families, and sink scarce funds into traveling.

Fox News GOP Tea PartyThirdly, the incentive to attend a rally often hinges on the celebrity star power of the event. While the speakers at One Nation were all fine people who are dedicated to positive change, there was no one with the fan base of Glenn Beck. His devotees regard him as a prophet whom they must follow with unquestioning allegiance. Plus he had help from the Queen Tea, Sarah Palin, who has her own bevy of believers. Can anyone honestly say that 8/28 would have drawn more than a handful of garden-clubbers in a Dodge Caravan if someone like Newt Gingrich was the headliner? For evidence of this look no further than the second annual 9/12 rally a couple of weeks ago that featured teen idols Dick Armey and Andrew Breitbart. They drew a crowd that barely exceed a triple-a ballgame, and far fewer than One Nation.

On a side note, Beck’s fabled popularity may have peaked. A report from New Jersey yesterday reveals that his appearance at the first of his “Restoring America” gigs was filled to only 10% of capacity. Perhaps the $50.00 tickets (or $125.00 for “VIP privileges”) suppressed demand enough to allow 90% of the seats to go unfilled.

The above notwithstanding, One Nation can be considered a roaring success if it achieves its goal of invigorating the electorate, recruiting volunteers, and turning out voters. The right has become fully invested in an outcome that requires them to take majority control of the House and Senate. If they do not, they can only be regarded as failures. That is their projection, not mine. It’s all they’ve talked about for weeks. Now they must be prepared to be judged by the standard they set.

The past few weeks have seen momentum shifting in the election nationwide. The right may be played out. The left are just getting warmed up. In order to close the deal we need to insure extraordinary turnout. So get involved and make the demagogues on the right eat substantial portions of crow. Organizations like MoveOn and Democracy for America are presently recruiting people for their GOTV projects. Call them, or a local Democratic campaign office, and be a part of something positive.

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Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck UPDATE: Mickey Mouse Too

Posted by on October 3, 2010 at 9:33 am. 5 Comments :

Who knew that Disney was so far ahead of their time. This cartoon captures perfectly the manner in which Glenn Beck and his ilk employ lies and fear to indoctrinate their congregation of the feeble-minded. Plus, it is F@%KING HILARIOUS. Enjoy it before the Copyright Cops take it down.

And a shout out to its creator, Jonathan McIntosh at Rebellious Pixels.

The Mad BeckUpdate: This video is getting a lot of attention, as it deserves. There were about 6,000 views when I posted it, and now it is over 200,000 (I’m sure I’m responsible for most of that). People clearly enjoy satirizing Beck. There is plenty of material there to work with. I have been down that road myself (see Malice in Wonderland)

I think it’s interesting that it has been featured at both the Huffington Post and Fox Nation.

The Fox Nationalists are aghast that Beck is being parodied. Some are vowing to boycott Disney. Seriously, they think that Disney produced this. That’s the level of their intelligence. Others think the ending is an incitement to violence, particularly an incitement to harm Beck. Someone needs to tell them that radios are inanimate objects. And, oh yes, that cartoons are not the same as real life.

At HuffPo there is a more generally sane reaction. They have an appreciation for the quality of the work and, of course, the good humor. I’m just glad to see this getting some exposure.

Plus…..Beck responds. On his radio show Beck made a point of weaving his conspiratorial delusions around this video and its creator. He spun a tale that entwined the federal government, the National Endowment for the Arts, and even the White House. Of course, without a hint of evidence. His paranoia knows no bounds.

“It is some of the best, well made propaganda I have ever seen.” […]

“If I’m not mistaken, some of these remix videos – it’s very interesting – I believe get federal funding. I believe it was…one these things that he’s involved in was one of the first to receive federal funding. We’re looking into the funding of this gentleman and the incredible propaganda against me, like you’ve never seen. using Disney and Disney cartoons.”

Listen to the whole thing yourself. His tone of voice is ripe with disgust, and his inflection on words like “social justice” and “Chicago” fill them with foreboding. And now Mickey Mouse joins in the fray:

The “incredible propaganda” against Beck is a wonder to behold. But no more wondrous than the propaganda he spews everyday on his own. Watch your back, Jonathan. Beck is “looking into” you.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.


Washington Post: Glenn Beck Isn’t Saying…

Posted by on October 2, 2010 at 1:48 pm. 6 Comments :

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank has a cute article posted today that illustrates how Glenn Beck gets a point across by pretending he isn’t making any such point. He simply says that he isn’t saying it:

“I’m not saying that Obama has an enemies list, but I wouldn’t put it past him, either.”

“I’m not saying that we have a bunch of mullahs or some star chamber running the country.”

“I’m not saying that we’re like Russia. I’m not saying Obama is going to kill anybody.”

“I’m not saying being poor in America is sweet.”

“I’m not saying to shoot anybody.”

“I am not saying that Barack Obama is a fascist. I’m not saying the Democrats are fascists.”

And who could forget…

“I’m not saying that he doesn’t like white people. I’m saying he has a problem. He has a — this guy is, I believe, a racist.”

Detect a pattern? Well, just for the record, I’m not saying that Glenn Beck raped an murdered a young girl in 1990.


Did CNN Fire Rick Sanchez? Or Was It You Know Who?

Posted by on October 2, 2010 at 2:19 am. 15 Comments :

Memo to CNN news hacks: Don’t fuck with Jon Stewart.

I’m not saying there is any connection, but the last time a CNN anchor went toe-to-toe with Stewart he also found himself out of job. Today Tucker Carlson is an Internet peddler of borrowed stories and Rupert Murdoch’s fluffer on Fox News.

When Rick Sanchez agreed to be interviewed today to plug his new book he probably had not planned to end his career, it was just one of those things that happens. We’ve all been through it. He just got caught up in the excitement of spewing anti-Semitic stereotypes and thought he could one-up Mel Gibson. Here is what he said:

“Everybody that runs CNN is a lot like [Jon] Stewart. And a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart. And to imply that somehow they – the people in this country who are Jewish – are an oppressed minority? Yeah.”

So Sanchez thinks that Jews are not victims of discrimination, and they are in control of the media. And he feels perfectly at ease expressing that opinion aloud. That is certainly justification for terminating a network anchor, but I am somewhat skeptical that that’s how it happened.

Generally it takes some period of time for a gaffe like this to build up a head of steam and accumulate some outrage from offended parties. But Sanchez got the boot before most of America even knew he had screwed up. What’s more, CNN has a new chief, Ken Jautz, who is not known for being controversy-averse. Jautz was the man who hired Glenn Beck at Headline News. With all the crap that Beck has said, we are now supposed to believe that Jautz was suddenly shocked by Sanchez’s remarks? Beck said that he hated the 9/11 victims’ families while he was working for Jautz. Then there was the time that Beck asked Keith Ellison, a Muslim member of Congress, to “prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.” Yet Jautz didn’t rush to call security and have Beck removed from the studio.

Beck has continued his reign of error at Fox News, famously saying that President Obama was “a racist with a deep-seated hatred for white people.” Yet Fox keeps him on the payroll, as they do Liz Trotta who joked that Obama should be “knocked off” along with Osama. Fox contributor Michael Scheuer opined that the only hope for America was for Bin Laden to hit us again with a WMD. And Ralph Peters, another Fox contributor, advocated military strikes on the media.

There doesn’t seem to be an outer limit of acceptable behavior for Fox. Which makes it a great place to work for bigots and psychopaths who won’t have to worry about saying something totally insane. On the other hand, MSNBC has David Shuster on an indefinite suspension for having done a screen test for CNN. And they canceled Don Imus for making racially insensitive comments about a women’s basketball team (he now works for, that’s right … Fox). CBS fired Jimmy the Greek. ESPN canned Rush Limbaugh. And now CNN shows Sanchez the door. Fox may not have a crossable line, but every other network seems to.

Still, I have to wonder what precipitated Sanchez’s departure. Could it really have been a revulsion of his clearly offensive remarks? Or did he walk out indignantly after being reprimanded? Perhaps Jautz wanted the schedule cleared for some new programming he is developing. Who knows? It just seems like there is more to this than has been made public. We may not know the answers for a while, or until Sanchez tweets. But just for old times sake, here are a couple of occasions where Sanchez did some work for which he could actually be proud:

~~~

This will actually be a good opportunity to find out what kind of programmer Jautz intends to be. Will he fill Sanchez’s slot with his next Beck-like discovery? Will he shoot for more tabloid sensationalism? Or will he develop a show that has journalistic ethics and standards and returns CNN to its original mission of producing honest news?

For the record, I had a suggestion for a new CNN program when Campbell Brown left the network: Replace Campbell Brown With The Daily Show. The idea still works. A man can dream, can’t he?


Halloween 2010: Threat Out The Vote: Glenn Beck Shows His Bloody Hand

Posted by on October 1, 2010 at 5:28 pm. 7 Comments :

With just one month left before the midterm elections of 2010, politicos of all stripes are about to gear up for the most important part of any campaign: Get Out The Vote (GOTV). After all the backyard barbecues, the bus tours, the thirty second ads, the hand kissing and baby shaking, it comes time to ensure that your supporters actually make the trek from porch to polling place.

Different candidates employ different methods of doing this. Some recruit phone-bankers to call every supporter and remind them of the need to cast their ballot. Some send mailers. Some spend less time motivating their own supporters than they do demoralizing those of their opponent. And some just try to scare the shit out of you with gruesome tales of the end of days and Satan’s imminent domination of your immortal soul.

The latter is the approach favored by notorious fear monger, Glenn Beck. It seems appropriate that election day is just two days after Halloween because Beck wants to make sure that you are as frightened as deer in a headlight factory. He has turned “Get Out The Vote” into “Threat Out The Vote,” and if you aren’t trembling by the end of his show your veins are pumping ice water. This is a call to arms on the part of Fox News who is initiating perhaps the biggest and most partisan voter drive ever attempted by a media organization. The following is from Beck’s TV program on 9/30/2010:

BECK: This is their shot. They have been waiting and building since the 1960’s. Well, if you’ve just been agitating and everything, you’re not good at ruling, and we’ve seen that right? We’re on to them. We know who they are. This is a nightmare. But they’re about to go back to agitating, because once they lose control of the House they have to. That’s what they’re good at.

It is important to know that the “they” to whom Beck is referring is the President, the Democratic members of congress, and their progressive allies in unions, churches, and advocacy groups, particularly those involved with the One Nation Working Together rally on October 2nd. He spent much of his program prior to this segment disparaging them and the tens of thousands of Americans who are expected to show up on the mall tomorrow in Washington.

Beck believes that these folks have been agitating for fifty years to reduce America to some sort of third world Marxist ghetto. Since Obama, and likely the majority of the other agitators, aren’t even fifty years old, Beck must view this as an inter-generational plot by subversives who have been shut out of power until only recently and have no experience governing. Not surprisingly, Beck’s facts fail to align with reality. For the past fifty years Democrats have had control of the House for all but 12 of them. And they even held the White House for 40% of that time. Nevertheless, Beck is on to us. He knows who we are. And he is predicting that we will erupt in some nightmarish fashion when we lose control of the House this November, as he predicts. So his prescription is…

BECK: You must overwhelm them in numbers. Get out and vote this November. Get someone else to vote. I don’t care how they vote, just get them to vote. Get off your couch. Get your neighbors off your couch. Be pro-active. You just make sure – are you registered to vote yet? Register to vote. Make sure people in your neighborhood are registered to vote. Get them out in droves and then stand peacefully arm in arm because I fear the trouble is just about to begin, and it will only get worse.

Who does this clown think he’s kidding? He spends hours and hours, day after day, castigating liberals as evil, as cancers that must be “cut out,” and now he pretends not to care how you vote? Let’s be clear, Glenn Beck cares very much how you vote. He just knows that if he gets his audience to the polls they will vote exactly as he has trained them to. So he is free to make ludicrous and disingenuous assertions that he just wants everyone to vote, without putting anything at risk. And then he can reassert what he regards as the real risk:

BECK: The “Sting” I believe happens maybe after January. If I’m right there’s not gonna be a lot of people in Washington that will offer peaceful leadership and the streets will not be peaceful. They will start protesting and agitating again. The peaceful leadership role will fall, unfortunately I believe, on your shoulders. Be ready to accept that challenge.

Beck is fond of forecasting future calamities. Last year at this time he warned that the stock market was going to collapse “sometime after Christmas” (it’s up over 12% since that prediction). In this case it involves some imagined conflagration that will erupt early next year after Democrats lose congressional power and take to the streets to wage war.

And therein lies the heart of Beck’s voter participation crusade. He is not seeking to motivate citizens to fulfill their civic duty and elect the candidates that best represent their views. He is terrifying them with monstrous bedtime stories about how they will be become tragic victims of evildoers who thirst only for blood. He is adamant that you turn out “in droves” and vote as if your life, nay your soul, depends upon it. Do you want to go to Hell?

And how does he want you to vote? Well, he says he doesn’t care. Were that true he would be conceding that it’s fine with him if you vote for the Satanic forces he feverishly opposes. That would be insane and obviously isn’t true. He very desperately wants you to vote, and to vote for Republicans only. He has stated clearly that he wants the Democrats to lose control of congress. He and his viewers know that there is only one other party that can achieve that end. This should finally put to rest his dishonest portrayal of himself as non-partisan. He is fanatically pro-GOP and the next time you hear him deny it you’ll know that he is lying, a skill he has mastered.

I’m not sure I’ve ever before seen this massive and undisguised amount of partisan pressure to coerce voters to the polls emanating from a major “news” network. Fox News is placing itself firmly in the electoral battle and they have decided that getting out the vote is a first tier priority that deserves Beck’s unique and unnerving attention.

With a month to go it is imperative that Democrats match this Fox News effort and mobilize their voters with at least as much enthusiasm. We don’t have network to assign to the task so we must use more traditional tools. If you have never been part of phone bank, consider volunteering for one now. If you have never walked precincts, call your local Democratic party office and sign up. Organizations like MoveOn and Democracy for America are presently recruiting people for their GOTV projects.

Do it NOW! Because that ogre under your bed will get you if you don’t. (OK, I’m not quite as good at the fear mongering as Beck, but you should still do it).