Glen Beck-Reconstructing History

[Hobbs]

So I saw about five seconds of him today, which is all I can really stand. He's apparently saying that 'Progressives' are revising history for their own gain. My first thought was...I haven't heard of Progressives since the 1920s, and secondly, if anyone's revising history, it's Beck. I caught a previous show and he was estolling Woodrow Wilson's economic policies...yes, the same Wilson who sunk us deeper into the Depression. As a historian, I can't fathom how people actually believe this.

[BlaqueKatt]

As a historian, I can't fathom how people actually believe this.

quite simple most people don't remember their HS history-heck one of the hosts for the tonight show once did a "man on the street" asking random new yorkers if we had ever been at war with either Germany or Japan....over half the ones shown said no.

Heck there are those that believe the "gone with the wind" version of the reformation of the south with the "Republican Carpetbaggers" being the reason it failed-hint it was going well until the lynchings started. Read "lies my teacher told me" and "lies across america" by James Lowen for the crap that gets passed off as actual "history" these days....

[kiwi]

As a historian I can not stand Glen Beck and more importantly as a human I CAN NOT STAND Glen Beck...

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Actually, Beck has been commenting a lot lately on how Woodrow Wilson did many things that were NOT good for the country, He's certainly not supportive of him.

Kiwi,

Do you think that Glenn Beck has a twisted view of history or is there another reason you can't stand him as a historian?

[kiwi]

Do you think that Glenn Beck has a twisted view of history or is there another reason you can't stand him as a historian?

I could go through all of the reasons I can't stand that clown but to be honest there are people who could do it much better than me and really he isn't worth the energy. Very briefly, Cenk from The young Turks is a good source on why this douchebag is such a fucking maroon, this site is another By clicking this link you agree that Glenn Beck is an idiot

My favourite rant of his total nincompoopery can be found here Becks blonehead blackboard antics

[Boozy]

That chalkboard bit is a Fox News classic already. An idiotic concept performed idiotically.

[mikoyan29]

Do you mean Wilson or Hoover?

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

If Glenn Beck is an idiot, then he's an idiot with a huge audience. There are millions of people who watch his shows and read his books.

I agree that he blurs the lines between entertaining and educating but there seems to be some substance backing up at least some of his theories.

[kiwi]

If Glenn Beck is an idiot, then he's an idiot with a huge audience. There are millions of people who watch his shows and read his books.

Jackass had a huge audience when it aired, so does the Jersey Shore that doesn't make it quality television.
Y2k was a huge so called crisis that never actually happened but the media make it into a huge circus. People who shout the sky is falling will always have an audience.
Pandering to the lowest common denominator might make you popular but it does not make someone right or their information correct. That's what I feel GB is, he is a fear monger and a sensationalist.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Jackass had a huge audience when it aired, so does the Jersey Shore that doesn't make it quality television.
Y2k was a huge so called crisis that never actually happened but the media make it into a huge circus. People who shout the sky is falling will always have an audience.
Pandering to the lowest common denominator might make you popular but it does not make someone right or their information correct. That's what I feel GB is, he is a fear monger and a sensationalist.

But let me ask you, do you think everything thing he says is wrong or at the very least, a distortion of the truth?

Because I've watched a few of his programs and he usually drums up a fair bit of evidence to back up some of the claims he makes.

For example he said last year that health care reform would not allow you to keep your doctor when Obama was saying it would. Then during the state of the union, Obama admitted the legislation may NOT, in fact, allow you to keep your doctor, saying that he felt certain things that had been "snuck in" to the bill had changed that.

[kiwi]

Im sure once in a while he might have a valid point, hell I will even admit that Bill o'Reily occasionally gets it right but...
The overwhelming amount of utter shit that spews from this entertainers mouth (because lets face it this man show is as much about fact based news as paris hilton is a good role model for girls) makes finding the tiny flecks of truth he may speak not worth my while.
Short of a lobotomy I will never respect Glenn Beck.

[Boozy]

But let me ask you, do you think everything thing he says is wrong or at the very least, a distortion of the truth?

Who would (or could) possibly argue that? Even the world's biggest idiot tells the truth sometimes.

Glenn Beck is simple-minded, hypocritical, and offensive. Watch the video link provided by Kiwi and try to tell me that's an intelligent man.

[lordlundar]

But let me ask you, do you think everything thing he says is wrong or at the very least, a distortion of the truth?

Everything in the absolute reference? No.

Mostly everything on the other hand, yes.

He has all the markings of a conspiracy theorist. He will find some minor piece of info that most people overlook, drum up it's importance (in his case by bringing in "experts" in fields that have nothing to do with the "issue") and then ask people if his train of though is wrong. Now the problem is he ignores conflicting info as unreliable regardless of the source, drills that all important question (which is always a yes or no answer and is worded so disagreeing with it makes you look bad) into his show, and won't allow anything that could render the question null. He then uses this to scare people into thinking he's right.

And yes, he's an idiot, But he's an idiot with a huge following that thinks he's a genius. There's a comforting thought, no?

[Talon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAyCNxl8I54

At 0:39, fake pundit Colbert points out Beck is on record with the New York Times admitting "I'm not a journalist.", and at 0:41, "I'm a rodeo clown."

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Actually you could argue Glen Beck is a genius of sorts in the sense that he stumbled on to a rather unqiue type of "edutainment" style programming and made millions of dollars doing it.

I don't see Beck as a journalist and I don't think he sees himself that way either. He's more like a cross between a stand up comic and a university professor more than anything else.

Let me ask this question: If Glenn Back is wrong about most of his theories then why does he have so many followers? Surely these aren't just people whose only source of information is Beck's show? We have other new channels, we have the internet, we have libraries. Anything he says can be researched and vetted (or disproved).

I guess what I am getting at here is are his followers willfully ignoring the information out there that counters some of his theories...or are perhaps some his theories more accurate than some of us would like to believe?