Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/Fox in general

Started by Maric, March 28, 2010, 12:50:20 AM

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Maric

So evidently I hear these guys are racist/bigoted/the devil.  I don't listen to the news very often.  Generally speaking, I look up stories on the internet and take whatever hits come up first.  So, I don't really know how valid these comments are and don't care to watch often enough to find out.  I watched one Glenn Beck show, the general gist of which was "That guy who flew himself into the IRS building?  He was nuts.  Don't be like him."  This doesn't seem like the kind of radical right-wing position he's usually accused of, but then again, it was only one show.

So I'm asking any opponents of Rush or Glenn to give me some solid evidence as to why I shouldn't listen to these guys.  Or, more accurately, why I shouldn't start listening to these guys, since I don't really listen to them right now.

Since I'm bored and feel like being equal opportunity, let's turn the same thing around on Michael Moore.  Can anyone provide evidence as to why he shouldn't be listened to?  Alternatively, can anyone provide evidence as to why he (or the right-wing guys mentioned above) should be listened to?

OldSchoolGamer

Meh.  I think they're all a bunch of talking heads who really don't have much of a clue what's really wrong with America.  If nothing else, their popularity is instructive, in that it shows how we as a country will cling to the whole Left versus Right thing long after it's become a net liability (and it has!).

Maric

Quote from: OldSchoolGamer on March 28, 2010, 01:06:01 AM
Meh.  I think they're all a bunch of talking heads who really don't have much of a clue what's really wrong with America.  If nothing else, their popularity is instructive, in that it shows how we as a country will cling to the whole Left versus Right thing long after it's become a net liability (and it has!).

Please elaborate.  How has it become a liability?

OldSchoolGamer

Quote from: Maric on March 28, 2010, 01:09:39 AM
Please elaborate.  How has it become a liability?

Because the Left versus Right paradigm fits the industrial, geometric-growth economy of the late 19th and 20th centuries, not the post-industrial economy we're in today.

Take the current recession.  The Left wants more government.  More programs, more stimulus, more regulation.  Trouble is, the federal government alone is $12 trillion in the hole (and that doesn't include unfunded liabilities).  State governments are just as badly off--and they can't print money.  There's really no more room to expand government.  The throttle is all the way open already, and the engine is beginning to overheat.

Then you've got the Right.  They think the economy is doing badly because the rich aren't rich enough.  America already has one of the most lopsided wealth distribution curves of any developed nation--but no, Bill Gates needs another LearJet and Donald Trump needs a new skyscraper.  But if you look at the numbers, the rich have been getting richer for quite some time now, and our standard of living is falling.  So how is giving billionaires more billions going to help the rest of us?

The actual story behind the recession is oil depletion...a reduction in the amount of energy available per capita.  But that's not even on the radar screens of Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh.

Oniya

Well, personally, I feel rather uncomfortable with listening to someone who thinks 'Mind Numbed Robot' is a high honor, but then again, I'm a Long-haired, dope-smoking, maggot-infested, good time rock 'n roll plastic banana FM-type.

(And Rush doesn't want to know what the plastic banana is really for!)
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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Maric

Quote from: OldSchoolGamer on March 28, 2010, 01:17:10 AM
Because the Left versus Right paradigm fits the industrial, geometric-growth economy of the late 19th and 20th centuries, not the post-industrial economy we're in today.

Take the current recession.  The Left wants more government.  More programs, more stimulus, more regulation.  Trouble is, the federal government alone is $12 trillion in the hole (and that doesn't include unfunded liabilities).  State governments are just as badly off--and they can't print money.  There's really no more room to expand government.  The throttle is all the way open already, and the engine is beginning to overheat.

Then you've got the Right.  They think the economy is doing badly because the rich aren't rich enough.  America already has one of the most lopsided wealth distribution curves of any developed nation--but no, Bill Gates needs another LearJet and Donald Trump needs a new skyscraper.  But if you look at the numbers, the rich have been getting richer for quite some time now, and our standard of living is falling.  So how is giving billionaires more billions going to help the rest of us?

The actual story behind the recession is oil depletion...a reduction in the amount of energy available per capita.  But that's not even on the radar screens of Michael Moore or Rush Limbaugh.

What is your supporting evidence for the conclusion that oil depletion is causing the current recession?

Vekseid

Let's pick a video of Beck at random:

Glenn Beck: Global Warming greatest scam in history

This line is at the beginning, so you don't have to watch much, but it is illustrative of Beck's style: "Deaths per year from extreme weather are down 95% since the 1920's"

Gee, I wonder why no one talks about that fact. I mean, it couldn't have anything to do with the National Weather Service (clearly a communist organization anyway - anyone who wants to be warned of severe weather should pay for it) or the Coast Guard. Above and beyond the fact that, you know, we in the United States are less concerned about deaths from weather pattern changes and more about the economic uncertainty they cause.

His intentional confusion of fascism, socialism, communism, and the progressive movement probably deserves it's own thread. Has he ever made a succinct definition of fascism? It would be interesting to compare that to actual fascist developments and his own work for the Republican party and Fox.

Quote from: Maric on March 28, 2010, 02:53:23 AM
What is your supporting evidence for the conclusion that oil depletion is causing the current recession?

It's his mantra here. You get used to it >_>

It does prop up the current account deficit of the United States, however, so you can take the value of oil imports, divide it by $100,000/laborer, and come up with a value that would basically end the recession. You could of course say the same thing for correcting our trade relationship with China, ending investment and banking scams (hedge funds buying out companies, emptying them of assets and then letting the resulting husk fold into bankruptcy, for example), or providing single payer health care (eliminating the economic waste generated by actively preventing labor).

It would be really nice to remove our oil dependency. A lot of things would be really nice, however.

Pumpkin Seeds

I think the more telling portion of that conversation occurs at the end when Glen Beck asks if the world is headed toward “global socialism.”  Once more he throws the word socialism out there knowing of its negative connotations, but really absent from the meaning of the word.  Countries banding together in order to reduce pollution on a global level doesn’t strike me as socialism.  Yet he enjoys using fear tactics in that regard.  Also the man’s credentials that he presented are….”founder of the weather channel.”  Granted he is a meteorologist, but that does not detract that he is lacking in some credentials while making a lot of research claims.  Being the founder of the weather channel has little to do regarding his credentials in weather, especially considering the other founder of the weather channel was involved in buisness.  The other credential is that he was the first weather man on Good Morning America.  Makes him better than the average Joe, certainly.  On the same footing as dedicated researchers, not likely.

While I am not sure about Glen Beck’s policies on race and such, he is quite infamous for his general lack of supporting evidence.  As Veks pointed out, its quite erroneous to say that 95% of deaths from severe weather are down since 90 years ago and use this as evidence that the weather is better. 

Jude

#8
Glenn Beck loves to spew rhetoric that is essentially an apocalyptic vision of the United States where all of our freedoms and prosperity are gone.  Then he does advertisements for Food Insurance; yes, food insurance.  http://www.foodinsurance.com/food_insurance/news.php  Check it out.

He warns of even deeper economic chaos then turns around and advertises for Goldline (a company which sells gold).  During the advertisement he tells people to "pray on it," as if they're going to receive information from god on whether or not they should diversify their portfolio with the crazyman's investment strategy.  www dot goldline dot com There's an interview with him on the bottom right of the page.

As you can see, the guy is selling paranoia and the products that come with it.  He accuses Obama of being a racist (on Fox and Friends) then five minutes later says he's not accusing Obama of being a racist.  He thinks Global Warming is a Conspiracy yet he has no formal training or understanding of Science.

The most enlightened book, to him, is the 5,000 Year Leap which was written by an Anti-Communist Crazyman who decided to reinterpret the founding of our country in a religious context (ignoring you know, Thomas Jefferson, the other deists, and the Treaty of Tripoli).

The 9/12 project is perhaps the most insane of his attempts, I got banned from their discussion area for suggesting they were misrepresenting the facts about the foundation of our country in a respectful manner using solid resources (quotes FROM the Founding Fathers).

The guy is a nut, and an extremist Mormon nut at that.

***

As for Rush, he plays things like Barack the Magic Negro on his show, then claims he's not racist.  He says he wants Obama to fail, but says he's a patriot (as if Obama's failure wouldn't hurt the country).  He likes to rant against people who want to legalize drugs, yet he had a drug problem where he was abusing (and I believe even forged) a prescription.

When he tried to buy a football team, the St. Louis Rams, many players said they would not play for the man because of the racist things he's said in relation to the national football league; he has often gone as far as to call them a bunch of thugs while insinuating that the black players try and root out the white ones.

He's angry, possibly racist, definitely hypocritical, but at least he's not as crazy as Glenn Beck about the whole THE END TIMES ARE HERE thing.

Pumpkin Seeds

I'm actually in awe of Jude.  Maybe the end of days is near.   :D

Maric

You're going to have to prove that Beck is inaccurate before you can prove he's selling products based off of paranoia.  Otherwise, he's simply advertising common sense.  I am not taking anything on faith.  I do not own the 5,000 Year Leap and have no intention of purchasing it, and Wikipedia offers no useful information as to how accurate or inaccurate the book may be.  It hasn't even done me the courtesy of informing what the twenty-eight great ideas the book mentions actually are.  Therefore I can draw no conclusions as to how valid Glenn Beck is as a political commentator based on his support of the book.  The 9/12 Project does not appear to be immediately malevolent, as the only one of their nine principles I am even uncertain on is the one concerning religion.  The rest seem like generally good ideas to me.  I'm interested to know what "The Plan" is, though.

Regardless, none of the information provided about Beck stands on its own, however I'm certain you have more.  Please be as detailed as possible, because I'm looking for solid evidence that Glenn Beck is saying things which are untrue and/or dangerous to the nation.

As for Rush Limbaugh, I agree the Barack the Magic Negro segment is racist, having looked it up.

Jude

#11
Quote from: Glenn Beck transcript on Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 at 11:29 AM EDT: Adella the atheist in OrlandoCALLER: I'm a moral person, but I do not believe in god. And it makes me cringe when you equate American patriotism with a belief in god.

GLENN: No, I didn't say that --

CALLER: At least that's how.

GLENN: Excuse me. Don't put words in my mouth, Adella. That's not what I said. I said our founders believed that without religion our country would fail.

CALLER: Okay. I do not believe in that. I think our country would still continue.

GLENN: Well, okay. Well, that's fine. That makes Adella smarter than Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

CALLER: See, that's the thing. I don't understand why what someone said 250 years ago, should we still follow that. I mean, we're progressing, you know. I am a fiscal conservative. I'm a social liberal in other ways.

GLENN: Hang on just a second. Hold on just a second, Adella. I just, I couldn't thank you enough for calling. You don't understand why we're listening to words that came out of some people's mouths 200 years ago because we're progressing. Right?

CALLER: Well, that is my opinion of it.

GLENN: That's your opinion. There is no right opinion. That's just your opinion.

CALLER: Okay, Glenn. Then does that mean that we all have to believe in God because they did?

GLENN: No, no, no. I just want to understand what you're saying because you are saying we're progressing. In other words, what you say is that man progresses, that man evolves and we are more evolved and enlightened than those guys were 250 years ago?

CALLER: No, I think I used the wrong word, "Progressing."

GLENN: I'm sure you did.

CALLER: I don't want to say they did bad. That's not what I'm --

GLENN: I'm not saying that. I'm not saying this was bad. It was just their understanding at this time and we're more evolved.

CALLER: Yes.

GLENN: Yes.

CALLER: Well, see, that's the thing. I don't know if I used the right word, "Progress."

GLENN: Sure.

CALLER: But what I want to say is --

GLENN: Hang on a second. Why do you hesitate on that word?

CALLER: The word "Progress"?

GLENN: Yeah.

CALLER: Because I don't think religion is a bad thing. You know, people can believe in it. There's nothing wrong with that. I personally don't believe in it.

GLENN: Right. What's the problem with using the word "Progress"?

CALLER: Because I -- well, what the problem is to use the word "Progress"?

GLENN: Yeah.

CALLER: There's nothing wrong with the actual word "Progress." I did not use the right word to say from 200 years ago we're progressing. I did not use the right word but there's nothing wrong with progression. There's nothing wrong with that.

GLENN: Sure. You know who agrees with you 110%, you stated almost verbatim the words of Woodrow Wilson. He's a progressive. And there were lots of Republican progressives back around the turn of the century. It's the people that Hillary Clinton talks about. In fact, Woodrow Wilson said that the Declaration of Independence has no standing whatsoever because we have progressed past that. In fact, he believed the preamble of the Constitution should be completely disregarded because those were different times. And he believed that man continues to progress and what we had back then in the Constitution should not be looked at really anymore. We should look at case law because what happens is people look at the Constitution. Well, that was set up for the 1700s. That was set up, you know, by these guys who are, you know, worried about tea taxes, et cetera, et cetera. And now the world is much more complex and so what we have here is where the law should be and where we are today. So we can just keep moving the law by looking at case law instead of referring back to the old Constitution. So you'll agree with a guy who was very instrumental in the 20th century.

CALLER: Well, I agree with one thing. We have moved away from slavery. I mean, a lot of those founders did have slaves. We moved away from that.

GLENN: Now, did we move away from slavery? I mean, I know that we no longer -- I know we no longer have the chains of slavery, but have we -- are we enslaving people in any other way? Is there only one kind of slavery, Adella?

CALLER: There's welfare dependency I think is slavery.

GLENN: There's what?

CALLER: Welfare dependency.

GLENN: Oh, okay.

CALLER: And I think that is not really relevant to this -- to what I was saying which was that like myself, I am an American patriot, an Iraq war vet and I don't believe that we need God, at least in my life.

GLENN: Adella --

CALLER: In my life.

GLENN: Adella, I'm fine. You don't have to believe in God. But let's not confuse the issue on what you believe and what the founders believed. If you want to restore the Constitution, if you believe in the Constitution, then you're on the wrong path, Adella, and the reason why you're on the wrong path is because you believe in progressive thought. That is the whole concept. That's why they're called progressives. It stemmed from here. It stemmed from evolution, that if man evolves from monkeys, then man also evolves in thought, and government may have been bad in the past but we have evolved from that. And those laws that were -- those laws that the founders had are outdated now. We have progressed from that. We have different thoughts. So we don't have to regard that. I'm not asking for -- you know, what we have now is relative law. We have progressive law. I'm not suggesting that we should stay here. What I'm talking about is restoring the Constitution. So if you want to restore the Constitution and the principles that our founders had, well, then you've got to understand what they believed. And I don't think you do, Adella.

Quote from: Thomas JeffersonBut it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.

Quote from: Thomas JeffersonQuestion with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.

Quote from: Thomas JeffersonI never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.

Quote from: Thomas JeffersonChristianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.

As you can see, he knows little to nothing about the Founding Fathers, yet claims himself an expert.

Vekseid

Quote from: Maric on March 28, 2010, 04:43:11 PM
You're going to have to prove that Beck is inaccurate before you can prove he's selling products based off of paranoia. 

What, pray tell, is accurate about comparing pollution regulations to 'global socialism' or using annual deaths due to violent weather as a barometer of global warming?

I picked a random video for a reason. A comprehensive list of Beck's engagement in fallacies would be amusing, but I'm rather curious as to why you would choose to opinions from us, rather than the multitude of criticism available elsewhere.

Jude

#13
Quote from: (Carl Van Doren. Benjamin Franklin. New York: The Viking Press, 1938, p. 777.)As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion, as he left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see; but I apprehend it has received various corrupt changes, and I have, with most of the present Dissenters in England, some Doubts as to his divinity; tho' it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and I think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an Opportunity of knowing the Truth with less Trouble....
Hardly a Christian or someone who believes religion to be absolutely key to the success of our nation, Franklin was a self-affirmed Deist who placed emphasis on his own conception of virtue.  They're listed here:  http://www.historytools.org/sources/Franklin-religion.pdf and you'll notice that faith isn't among them.

Oniya

Sometimes, I think more people should take a few pages from Franklin's playbook. ;D
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Serephino

Funny you should mention Franklin.  I was watching a show on the History Channel about Hell.  That should tell you how bored I was...  Anyway, they got to the part where they started talking about groups of people who embraced the concept of Hell.  The first known group like that was the Hellraiser's Club in England in the 1700's.  They gathered to have drunken orgies and mock Christian ritual.  Benjamin Franklin was known to attend their parties, especially the drunken orgies.  That doesn't sound very Christian to me. 

As for Glenn Beck?  I also don't see how fewer deaths from extreme weather is proof that global warming doesn't exist.  That isn't proof that we have gotten better at climate control of our homes and predicting severe weather and warning people.  I also find it interesting that he claimed the reason scientists were saying global warming exists is they want fame and money.  He's saying all of this to promote his book.....  So what, is he giving it away as a public service?  Somehow I think not...

There was a post here earlier about him telling people to leave churches that believed in social justice.  Strangely, Jesus Christ, the figure they supposedly follow, healed the sick for free, preached for free, and there's a story where he took a fish and a loaf of bred and fed a bunch of people.  He taught people to love and care for one another.  If that isn't Socialism I don't know what is.  Of course one of my biggest bitches with the Christian church is they seem to focus on the Old Testament more than the teachings of Jesus.... there umm.... founder...  But that's a rant for another post. 

Then there's Rush Limbaugh.  He's just a bag of hot air in my opinion.  The most recent thing I can remember is him saying that the Socialists needed to be run out of the country.  That sounds awfully familiar.... Ah yes, the Nazis used to say that if we got rid of Jews everything would be peachy!

Maric

Quote from: Vekseid on March 28, 2010, 05:15:59 PM
What, pray tell, is accurate about comparing pollution regulations to 'global socialism' or using annual deaths due to violent weather as a barometer of global warming?

I picked a random video for a reason. A comprehensive list of Beck's engagement in fallacies would be amusing, but I'm rather curious as to why you would choose to opinions from us, rather than the multitude of criticism available elsewhere.

Simple.  This community is both intelligent and appears to have a generally low opinion of Rush and Glenn.  I've never been able to extract a coherent argument against either of them, until now.

Also, thanks to everyone who replied to help me with this.  I enjoyed the Thomas Jefferson quotes, particularly.  Thomas Jefferson was an awesome guy.

Doomsday

Michael Moore is just as uncredible as Beck and Limbaugh. He displays some of the worst logic ever in some of his movies.

"Columbine kids bought bullets at k-mart, therefore, stop selling bullets at k-mart." Or... You know... Only sell bullets to adults or people who are licensed to own guns?

Jude

I've listened to Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Moore talk many times and come to a very basic conclusion.  The problem isn't paying attention to polarizing figures, they all have some wisdom to add to the discussion despite many misrepresentations of fact that they're guilty of.  Glenn Beck misrepresents the Founding Fathers and the origins of our country (ignores slavery and other fundamental defects, plays up the religious basis), Rush Limbaugh is most certainly an untrustworthy hypocrite (drug problem, very hateful, extremely egocentric, probably a bigot), and Michael Moore often misrepresents fact in order to get his points across (for one, in Roger & Me the head of GM did agree to give him an interview, it just ruined the premise of his documentary).  That does not, however, mean that everything they say is worthless.

It's important to separate the individual from the things they say.  You're only foolish if you trust any of these people, not simply for listening to them.  It's important to be critical of all points of view that are expressed to you in order to enact an active filter in your mind that keeps garbage from coming in, because it's so easy to let the charisma of a particular person bypass your logical faculties, which ends up with you uncritically accepting their ideologies.

Don't trust anyone.

I love my girlfriend very much, but when she says, "I heard x" I will ask her, from who.  I trust that she would never lie to me, but that doesn't mean I trust that other people wouldn't lie to her or that her thinking is infallible (she's super smart, but we're all prone to errors in judgment from time to time, as am I).  Question your friends, your family, your idols, and yourself, only then can you be sure that your opinions are at least mostly logically sound.

Critical thinking is the key to making plausible political wagers.

Oniya

Quote from: Jude on March 30, 2010, 03:46:21 AM
It's important to separate the individual from the things they say.  You're only foolish if you trust any of these people, not simply for listening to them.  It's important to be critical of all points of view that are expressed to you in order to enact an active filter in your mind that keeps garbage from coming in, because it's so easy to let the charisma of a particular person bypass your logical faculties, which ends up with you uncritically accepting their ideologies.

Don't trust anyone.

...snip...

Critical thinking is the key to making plausible political wagers.

Excellent advice.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17