Keith takes on a trifecta of idiocracy in his Worst Persons segment from Nov. 26, 2008. First up is LaDonna Hale Curzon from wsRadio.com for offering Sarah Palin radio all the time and instead letting listeners find John McCain radio.
And finally Keith takes on the myth of the $70 an hour autoworker and Andrew Ross Sorkin from the New York Times who gave the right wing their talking points on this B.S. Media Matters has more on Andrew Ross Sorkin.
In one of their first joint appearances as the new Fox wingnut tag-team event, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck sputter in outrage about William Ayers' interview on Good Morning America:
O'Reilly: So here's my question. I know I made a big deal out of it, I know you talked about it on your radio program, got a lot of calls on it, people were angry. But when I go out on the street and I say, "William Ayers, does that bother you?" Just as many Americans say, "No, I don't care." What is that mentality when they don't care about a guy like this? What does that tell you?
Beck: Cakes and circuses and too many dumb people. I mean, we should thin out the herd, you know what I mean?
Um -- I can't -- I can't get my arms around the country that can listen to that and say, 'Oh, well he's saying it's not violent.' And he's on GMA promoting a book about non-violent acts, and comparing what we're going through now with the Vietnam War. He is pushing a book that is not only promoting this 'non-violent act' [air quotes] of blowing things up if you disagree with the government, and on top of that, the man is a university professor, he is a teacher! He is organizing people and telling them what we should teach our kids!
This is a total outrage, Bill. There is a disconnect in America. We are at the place where the Constitution hangs in the balance, and I think we're at a crossroads here. We're still about here [points to spot on hand], where the roads are just starting to split, but pretty soon, this side and this side are not gonna understand each other at all, because we're living in different universes.
Yes, we are indeed, Glenn. And yours is known as Planet Bizarro:
At any rate, if this is the quality of discourse we're going to get from these two, I think I'll just go rent the DVD:
Indeed, Beck believes most conservatives voted for John McCain in the hopes that he would soon die:
I mean, I have to tell you if I heard once, I heard 1,000 times from people, and I never said this, never said this on the air because you just don't say these things, but I heard a million times from people, "I'm going to vote for John McCain and, you know, I mean, he's old. Maybe we get Sarah Palin in the first term." You know what I mean?
Of course, you could occasionally find wingnuts saying such things in public during the campaign, but now that I guess the election is over, the lid is off and the bats are flying out of the belfry.
I know David Neiwert did a post on this segment already, but I had to chime in for a minute. First of all, notice how Wolf fawns all over Joe the Plumber? OK, the real problem I have is this: Why do I have to see Beck on CNN's most serious political show (The Situation Room) at all? What value does he add? His whole purpose was to try and make it seem like Obama is as bad as McCain. They already have segments devoted to ideologues already.
When he stares into the camera to give America and McCain advice it practically burns out my eye sockets.
BECK: Yes. No, I don't think he -- I don't think he did.
I mean, I thought he was good, but he had to be Ronald Reagan. And he's just not Ronald Reagan. And he's not -- look, he needs somebody to be able to look into the camera and be able to say, America, I get it. You don't trust me, you don't trust him, and the reason why is because we've been lying to you the whole time.
This whole government has been telling you half-truths and nontruths for long enough. So look, here's the bad news: Blah, blah, blah. And here's exactly what I'm going to do, and I mean what I say.
If he could have connected with the American audience -- -- and also, neither of them -- you know, the Republicans need to police the Republicans and the Democrats need to police the Democrats. They need to get the bad ones out, the ones who are involved in scandal and double talk and everything else. People need to unite.
It seems Glenn Beck has a solution for all that ails John McCain: He wants McCain to take off the kid gloves and start calling out Obama and "all of these guys" as Marxists:
He's bringing up these topics in the wrong way. Not as a political strategist or a politician or anything else, just as a guy who says, OK: The problem with all of these guys is they're all Marxists -- they're all Marxists. They're all spread the wealth. So look, I'm not going to tie you to these people any more than they have to, but -- but -- I mean, all the way from Frank Marshall Davis to your Reverend, they all preach Marxism. Now, you say to Joe the Plumber, I'm going to take some of your wealth and give it to somebody else, that's Marxism.
Well, no that isn't Marxism, unless your understanding of it is at about fifth-grade level. But that's beside the point, isn't it?
We've already graduated from wingnuts calling Obama and the Democrats "socialists" to "Marxists." Next: "Pinkos" and "Commies."
We're not just living in Nixonland. We're living in McCarthyville. I guess the next step in the devolution of the right is for the white hoods to come out.
"This seems to be a movie that extols some of the conservative viewpoints that we are dealing with terrorists, that you can trust people to make the right decision, that sometimes you have to do things that you don't want to do, and you have to cross lines that you don't want to cross, if you're going to save - if you're going to save your city, in this case it's Gotham.
"But Batman goes into another country and with a C130, snatches a guy out, then throws him back here into Gotham. So there’s rendition! At one point, the Morgan Freeman character says to Batman, 'Wait a minute, hang on...you’re eavesdropping on everyone in Gotham?' And Batman says, 'Yes, to stop this terrorist.' Morgan Freeman says, 'I can’t be a part of it.' And yet Morgan Freeman does become a part of it, and they find the Joker. One of the ways they find the Joker is through eavesdropping. I mean the parallels here of what’s going on is to me stunning."
When I heard Michael Wiener Savage was going to appear on "Larry King Live" Monday night (with Glenn Beck guest-hosting) to "defend" his horrific remarks about children with autism -- "In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is." -- I knew to expect at least two things: (a) he would claim that he was "taken out of context", and (b) he would attack MediaMatters for bringing it to the public's attention. What I didn't expect, however, is that he would attempt the PR equivalent of a quadruple axel.
Beck: It seems pretty clear that you don't really believe autism exists.
Savage: No, no, no, no, no. Again, you took what they gave you. But you didn't take the entire preceding material. [...] This was in the broader context of the overmedicalization, the over-diagnosis of disease, using our children as profit centers. I've spent all day saying what a shame it is that I -- as a man who has spent his entire life defending the defenseless, mainly children -- should have to defend myself from charges leveled at me from men who specialize in hating families and children, namely MediaMatters -- who probably come after you as well -- by ripping things out of context and making me look like the monster that they are.
You see, Michael Savage is a humanitarian who's always looking out for the kids! When he says children diagnosed with autism are "brats" who just need a father to smack some sense into them, he's actually defending them. How dare anyone "take him out of context" when all he's trying to do is speak candidly about the epidemic of over-medicating children?! What do those so-called "experts" know about autism, anyway?
Here are a few other examples of Savage's humanitarianism and "defense of the defenseless":
Savage: "We're getting refugees now who have never used a telephone, a toothbrush, or toilet paper. ... [T]hey never assimilate. And then their children become gang-bangers."
Beck: This court has done some frightening. frightening things....If I'm president of the US, I would go on National television and say---'ladies and gentlemen, the Supreme Court said that we don't have Gitmo so that is over. We're going to release all of them, but I want you to know from here on out our policy is to not have prisoners. We're going to shoot them all in the head.'
If we think they are against us, we're going to shoot them and kill them---period because that's the only thing we've got going for us---cause we can put them away and get information. If we can't put them away and they're going to use our court system---kill them.
The Court never said we didn't have Gitmo or couldn't arrest or prosecute them. Maybe Beck could ask Bush why he can't get guilty verdicts with all the resources we spend on the war on Terror. What an example of American thought he represents. Mass killings are only predicated on what we (US Govt) think about them. How nice. It doesn't matter if he said this on TV or on the radio, he should be immediately fired by CNN to start with. What an embarrassment for them.
Leave more contact info in the comment thread. Bush was unhappy too.
Mr. Bush said he strongly disagreed with the decision - the third time the court has repudiated him on the detainees - and suggested he might seek yet another law to keep terror suspects locked up at the prison camp, even as his presidency winds down.....Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said Thursday's decision should not affect war crimes trials. "Military commission trials will therefore continue to go forward," Carr said.
Maybe the press can ask Bush and his PR staff if he'd like to shoot and kill them also.
If your only source of news is cable during prime time, you might be among those who believe that the U.S. government and American society are groaning under the weight of undocumented immigrants. You might believe that there is a terrifying crime wave attributable to illegal immigration. You might believe that undocumented immigrants feast on a cornucopia of social services, while avoiding paying taxes. You might also believe that they are voting illegally in large numbers, and that they bring with them all sorts of diseases. You might also believe that there are secret plans afoot to give away American sovereignty, as the United States joins with Canada and Mexico in a North American Union similar to the European Union. You might even believe that there is an enormous "NAFTA Superhighway," running all the way from Mexico City to Toronto, in the works as we speak.
All of these ideas are false, but you might believe them if you watch prime-time cable news. We at the Media Matters Action Network have documented the spread of this kind of misinformation in our latest report, Fear & Loathing in Prime Time: Immigration Myths and Cable News, which focuses on the three cable hosts most responsible for spreading misinformation and fostering fear and anger about undocumented immigrants: Lou Dobbs, Bill O'Reilly, and Glenn Beck. Read on...
It's bad enough he's on Headline News, but why does Glenn Beck show up as a financial analyst on CNN to defend big oil as they face Congress?
"On April Fool's Day, the biggest joke of all is being played on American families by big oil," said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
We could be experiencing "theapocalypse" and he'd be saying that we're just experiencing some unusual weather formations at the moment. "Stay in your homes, people. It'll all be over soon!" Ali Velshi begins a segment about Big Oil being grilled by Congress today over their huge profits, tax breaks and how it's affecting Americans. We really need a right wing oil apologist on the air to muddy the waters in a time when this country's economy is falling apart and people can't pay their bills. Of course we need Corporations making money, but at what cost to the people? And how much money should they be making and how are they making it? We need the CNN's of the world to give us facts and information---not far right opinions. We almost slipped into a depression with the Bear Stearns fiasco. How's your gas bill lately? He had a lot of nerve by praising Beck's intelligence:
Velshi: The average American struggle at the pump, my next guest says---not so fast, a good deal of the American public whether they know it or not have a vested interest in big oil making big money. Headline News host and radio personality Glenn Beck joins me now. He makes a lot of sense a lot of the time, what are you talking about. Glenn. We have a vested interest in these guys making more money?
Beck: When are we going to pull Big Milk to Capitol hill. When are we going to pull up Big Egg on Capitol Hill.
You can write a transcript if you like. Yes, food is up too. Maybe the erosion of the US dollar has something to do with it? Not that I'm an economist, but again, he's trying to fog up the issue. Here's a few of the very serious and sensible things Glenn Beck has said on the air in the past that made CNN use him during their important economy show.
CNN’s Beck on wildfire victims: On the October 22 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, host Glenn Beck stated, “I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.
*Whew* I bet that was keeping people up at nights.
That's right...you have a religious leader on your show who has spouted off such crazy, hate-filled rhetoric and is endorsing the other party's candidate, and the thing foremost on Beck's mind (such as it can charitably be called) is whether Rev. "End Times" Hagee envisions a Democratic candidate as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Apocalypse. Nice to see him contributing to the national dialogue in such an uplifting way, isn't it?
BECK: Let me ask you, because I got -- I get so much e-mail on this, and I think a lot of people do, and I`ve only got a couple of seconds. They say Glenn, you and the media, you`ve got to wake up. Barack Obama`s making people faint and cry and everything else. And he`s drawing people in.
There are people -- and they said this about Bill Clinton that actually believe he might be the anti-Christ. Odds that Barack Obama is the anti-Christ?
HAGEE: No chance. He has a lot of charisma. There`s a media love affair with him right now. He is a very formidable political person. I believe the best leader for America in the future is John McCain.
Reverend Hagee is a Class A kook. Stark raving mad. He believes someone will unite the whole world together and bring peace to everyone - and that person is the Anti-Christ. Yeah, God forbid we should have peace. So, Hagee prefers war instead.
He wants to preemptively strike Iran to start the festivities. So, will this bring peace later at least? No, exactly the opposite, it will bring Armageddon. Then nearly everyone will die - which, of course, is a great thing because Biblical prophecy will be fulfilled and the few people who agree with John Hagee will all be saved and laughing their ass off in heaven. And the rest of us will be dead. Killed by Rev. Hagee's righteous God.
"Some in the media continue to focus on Farrakhan's praise of Obama, even though Obama has repeatedly criticized Farrakhan, while McCain has actually embraced the endorsement from Hagee -- who has a history of inflammatory rhetoric about women, Muslims, the Catholic Church, and members of the gay community," said Karl Frisch, a Media Matters for America spokesman. "Why have so many in the media shied away from asking these tough questions of the McCain campaign? The double standard is very telling."
Beck, a recovering alcoholic, says he needed to bottom out before he could recover. He says the conservative movement might need to do the same thing...
"Let [Democrat] Barack Obama get in, let them put these policies in. It will either work, or it will be a disaster."
Such a scenario would be good for the conservative movement, Beck says: "Jimmy Carter gave us Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton gave us Newt Gingrich. Every time there is this swing to extreme, the other side comes back with real conservative values, and you start to move forward again."
Beck says the conservative he admires most these days is former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), who was defeated for re-election in 2006. "I think this guy really has it. I think he really understands the world we live in right now."
NPR, are you having fun yet? Morning Edition is running a "Conservatives Hate McCain" festival all week. Yesterday, they faked us out with an interview with the director of the Conservative Union. Today they had "noted conservative" Glenn Beck. And tomorrow they interview...wait for it...Grover Norquist.
I promise you, NPR, if you have Katherine Harris on by Friday I'll pledge for another tote bag. Honest.
I usually don't write much about this moron because after I watched him once I wondered how he had a job in radio let alone got a gig on CNN. I know talkies have a lot of time on their hands to kill, but what the heck is he talking about? Has he looked in the mirror lately?
"If you're a guy, you can get past it. I don't think you can as an ugly woman."
"You've got a double cross, because if you're an ugly woman, you're probably a progressive as well."
He later added:
"If you believed in God, you'd know that there's going to be another chance for you. You don't have to be ugly in heaven. You're going to be your perfect self, and there will be another perfect somebody waiting for you on the other side."
Beck: Tonight, here's what you need to know. The war, immigration, the economy, the primaries have pushed the Democrats too far to the left, but how long before the American people figure it out, and will it be too late? This is the time in an election that, you know, it's like young love. You're wild. You're impetuous and you're up for just about anything, but when the flirting is over and it's time to make a commitment the smart ones retreat back to what makes sense. You know, the girl you can take home to mom. You might date really really strong liberals, but you never marry them.
Is he really saying that he thinks we'd rather take John McCain home to mom that Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? EEeeew! Bartender! Cut that man off right now and call him a cab. Glenn's evidently fallen off the wagon and he's going to have one heck of a hangover in the morning (of Nov 5th). Lest we forget, which we won't, in what must have been one of his more sober moments, Beck himself promised to bring someone else home to momma this November.
I apologize in advance for following this idiot on his pathetic analogy, but if there ever was a candidate that was (electorally?) 'coyote ugly' it's John McCain. On every issue that Beck claims the Democrats have been pushed too far to the left on, just look at where their Republican candidate is:
Unless the GOP finds a way to slip the nation-at-large a mickey (like they did in 2000), voters will not be bringing John McCain home to meet the parents come November, and I didn't even have to point out that your mother would likely think he's too old for you anyway. Oops, I guess I just did.
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Glenn Beck has sure said some stupid crap in his lifetime, but the tortured logic he employs here easily makes this one a Top 5 contender.
When I heard Michael Wiener Savage was going to appear on "Larry King Live" Monday night (with Glenn Beck guest-hosting) to "defend" his 
