Wednesday, April 01, 2009

On the Glenn Beck Show Today

Topic: Is it Fascism or Socialism?

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Cool. Glenn's been "getting" more libertarian lately. He quietly came out for drug legalization about 1 month. That kind of thing is near suicide on Fox. But I guess the executives like him enough that he can get away with it...

Darian said...

This better not be an April Fool's joke, because I plan to watch.

Mike said...

Make sure you can get a Youtube or other interweb video for us in Canada who don't ge or would rather not support Fox News.

Anonymous said...

I really never thought I'd willingly tune in to the Glenn Beck television show before now...

Marcel Dubois said...

Whether this is a joke or not, the picture is the work of an amateur (although it's not bad at all).

You also wouldn't have to tune in. You will probably be able to download the show from torrentz.com. I've searched 'Glenn Beck' there a few hours ago. The episodes of the last few days show up as mp3s.

Josh said...

How nice of him to let you speak for approximately a minute! Ugh. How does he even have an audience?

Kevin Carson said...

A shame I missed it--should have checked my feeds earlier in the day.

Phil said...

It wasn't a waste. It drew me and hopefully others to your blog. I have enjoyed what I have seen so far. I am grateful to have a bit of sanity and logic. I look forward to hearing more in the future.

Unknown said...

Here's a link to the video.
Sheldon be sure to watch this over so you can improve your skills for the next time your interview on TV--Glenn did say at the end that he would have you back as a guest.

Sheldon Richman said...

Patrick, you call that an interview? If you believe that he said he'd have me back, I have a bridge to sell you. (Would I accept another invitation?)

Tom said...

Sheldon,

3-4 minutes of you is better than hours of so-called free-market conservatives.

Tom

P.S. You did a great job on the AETV show.

Sheldon Richman said...

Thanks, Tom. I've been feeling lousy since the show, so this does cheer me up.

CL said...

Just watched this -- Beck is atrocious, enormously disrepectful and arrogant. This could be par for the course on Fox or any MSM show for all I know (I don't watch TV), but I was kind of shocked. I watched the AETN show afterward for perspective and that just solidified my opinion of Beck even more. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that "The Glen Beck Show" is all about Glen Beck. So sorry for you Sheldon.

Sheldon Richman said...

In case anyone wants to watch it, though I do not advise it, here is the link:

http://www.foxnews.com/glennbeck/index.html Scroll down to "Road to Socialism and click on "Flirting With Fascism."

steven said...

I second Tom's comment. You were very good on the AETV show, Sheldon. As I see it, Beck is mostly about sound bites and glitz, while you are about substance. Please keep up the good work.

Dr. JY said...

I show your videos to my college Business Ethics students and Language,Logic and Persuasion students.

I compare your presentation to others such as Limbaugh , Coulter, Obama , etc.

Guess who I shill for ? that's right .... SR

Bill Page said...

I'm sorry you had a bad time on with Beck. I could feel your frustration in the "interview." It did inspire me to find your site. You sounded like a sane voice in these crazy times. I look forward to exploring your thoughts.

Mike D said...

"I'm sorry you had a bad time on with Beck. I could feel your frustration in the "interview." It did inspire me to find your site. You sounded like a sane voice in these crazy times. I look forward to exploring your thoughts."

See, Sheldon? It worked, at least a little.

Kevin Carson said...

Sheldon, will a transcript be available anytime soon for those of us with dialup? I figure you made a heroic effort just attempting to communicate a sane message with that buffoon's interference.

I hardly ever watch Beck, but I used to watch O'Reilly semi-regularly, and cringed at seeing people with fifty IQ points on that cretin being constantly interrupted and then told "I'll give you the last word, professor"--only to be interrupted agin.

Anonymous said...

To any new readers, be sure to check out a MUCH better interview with Sheldon (on AETV): http://www.aetn.org/programs/unconventional/archives/posts/march_27,_2009

BTW, didn't Beck screw up the name of FEE? Didn't he call it Freedom Foundation for Economic Education? Maybe he was thinking of the Future of Freedom Foundation? ;-)

Richard G.

Sheldon Richman said...

The transcript is here: http://tinyurl.com/dflby4

Beck called FEE the Freeman Foundation for Economic Education.

Mike said...

Sheldon,

Just watched and wow, what a putz. Clearly he has no interest in the truth or the nuances of the situation, he merely wants sensational scare mongering.

Sheldon Richman said...

Ed, he absolutely knew. I had three discussions with his production assistant. The premise of my appearance was that I wrote the entry.

Todd Andrew Barnett said...

Sheldon, I thought Beck was an arrogant clod who couldn't even ask an intelligent question to you the entire time you were on his show. It's not your fault that the interview went sour during the course of it; that was his fault and ONLY his fault.

Beck seemed to be leaning towards libertarianism, but then he attacked Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project for supporting medical marijuana in California (showing his pro-Drug War colors during that segment) and had neo-con loon David Howoritz a few days later. His true conservative colors have been shining brightly since he's been on the air.

Let me put it as gently as possible: if Beck's a "libertarian," then Bill O'Reilly must be a Jeffersonian-style classical liberal. While we're at it, Ann Coulter must be a flower child/hippie of the 1960s.

Beck is an embarrassment to freedom in general. Anyone who willingly agrees to go on his show again after he or she has done it the first time must be on crack. It must be good stuff if that's the case.

Sheldon, you're right not to go back on his show. I'd stay away from it. Don't be so hard on yourself; Beck is a jerk. I wonder how a mind-numbing blockhead like him ever got a gig as a radio host and then a talk host host on CNN and now Fox News.

Here's the YouTube URL to his video, which I put up for everyone to see:

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

Kevin Carson said...

"I wonder how a mind-numbing blockhead like him ever got a gig as a radio host and then a talk host host on CNN and now Fox News."

Actually, I think "mind-numbing blockhead" is probably in the written job description for a talk host on Fox News.