Glenn Beck

Once upon a time, just a mere four years ago, Glenn Beck was listed as the fourth most admired man in America, just behind Nelson Mandela and just ahead of Pope Benedict.

But those days are long gone and now he is "one of the most despised men in the world," simply because he insists on standing for the truth.  And the change is a sign of just how much the country has lost its way that now he is seen as little more than a crazy conspiracy theorist/borderline doomsday cult leader ... and it is all because "the smear machine" has destroyed his once sterling reputation:

David Barton returned to Glenn Beck's television program last night for a program focusing on the history and use of presidential executive orders.  During the course of the discussion, Beck asked Barton if he had seen the movie "Lincoln," with Barton admitting that he hadn't because there was too much profanity ... but that didn't stop him from claiming that the film was totally inaccurate because there was no need for any "wheeling and dealing" or back room deals in order to secure passage of the 13th Amendment because "it was slam dunk, big time" and passed easily without any real opposition, which prompted Beck to declare that he now wished he could "unsee" the movie:

Apparently Barton doesn't realize that constitutional amendments have to be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, so the 119 to 56 vote in the House that the movie chronicles was anything but a big time "slam dunk."

• Erik Rush continues to demonstrate that he is completely unhinged.
• Without a hint of irony, Matt Barber says he manages to remain optimistic by laughing at liberals: "I make fun of their dull-witted, self-defeating, abjectly wicked worldview."
• Rick Santorum says President Obama is a "sore winner," which sounds like the sort of thing that a sore loser says.
• Liberty Counsel does not like the new report from West Point analyzing the threat posed by "individuals and groups who self-identify with the far-right of American politics."
• Bryan Fischer offers a "two-minute argument for natural marriage."
• Finally, last night Glenn Beck held a "Misfit Ball" for all those who are "no longer welcome in Obama’s America," which featured the likes of Rick Santorum, David Barton, John Hagee, Ralph Reed, and many more.

• Janet Porter celebrates the ten year anniversary of her Faith2Action organization with the most boring video imaginable.
• "Molotov" Mitchell explains to Glenn Beck that he is a pretty big deal which is why Beck needs to change the name of his forthcoming news program to something besides "For The Record," because that is the name Mitchell has been using.
• Bryan Fischer says he will henceforth only refer to "assault rifles" as "sporting rifles."
• James O'Keefe is so very, very courageous.
• FRC says that Louie Giglio's withdrawal is an example of government persecution and prays that it will end: "Just as we were warned, neither tolerance, nor safety were the aim of activists, but a silenced pulpit and silenced Church ... May God's people arise to pray and effectively withstand government persecution over Biblical beliefs about homosexuality!"
• Finally, just how utterly delusional is Glenn Beck?  While discussing Sandy Hook Truthers and the like, he warned that conspiracy theorists are dangerous and cannot be trusted!

• Oh good, James Dobson's "relentlessly-paced, faith-based, dystopian thriller" is now available for sale.
• Who wants to watch Scott Stapp of Creed on "Life Today" with James Robison?  Anyone?
• The Evangelical Immigration Table has launched a 40 day prayer effort in support of immigration reform.
• We can now add Rep. John Flemming (R-LA) to the list of Republican members of Congress who have no qualms about appearing on Bryan Fischer's radio program.
• Speaking of Fischer, he has penned a long "Open Letter to Louis Giglio" calling on his to stand by his anti-gay sermon while Peter Sprigg says that what is happening regarding Giglio is "downright Orwellian."
• On the same topic, Janice Shaw Crouse claims that "the Obama administration has thrown down a gauntlet, declaring that anyone who espouses historic, biblical Christian teaching will be prohibited from participation in events in the public square."
• Finally, there is honestly no way to coherently summarize this clip of Glenn Beck in which he wildly speculates about how Obamacare will destroy the Second Amendment and force people to euthanize their parents while turning doctors into tools of the Nazi state:

After spending last week mocking Alex Jones for believing in crazy conspiracies, last night Glenn Beck put forth his own theory about how President Obama is seeking to foment civil war in America, the catalyst of which will be an executive order he issues gutting the Second Amendment.

As Beck foresees it, Obama will initially accept some sort of compromise gun control legislation from Congress but then start complaining that it didn't go far enough while waiting patiently for another high-profile gun crime to take place which he can then use as evidence that the compromise legislation was insufficient and thus provide justification for issuing an executive order banning and confiscating weapons. 

At which point, Americans will have two choices: either to hole up in heavily armed compounds à la Waco and Ruby Ridge or to peacefully protest and resist.  Beck prefers the latter because, as everyone knows, things Waco and Ruby Ridge just provide an opportunity for the government to kill its citizens while the media portrays the victims as a bunch of crazies:

Beck went on to advocate for the other course of action where all gun owners refuse to hand over their weapons, get arrested and fill the nation's jails with peaceful Second Amendment martyrs who will overwhelm the legal system and generate a groundswell of opposition to the government's violations of the Constitution. 

Because the alternative, he explained, was outright civil war in which the US government would blame the world's economic problems on the right-wing free-market gun nuts who are leading the rebellion, eventually leading to NATO planes bombing America in order to protect the government.

When Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News, Ben Shapiro, shows up on Glenn Beck's radio program to promote his new book, "Bullies: How the Left's Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences Americans," what do you think they talk about?

Why, the need for "civility" of course!

Shapiro claimed that groups like Media Matters colluded with the White House in weekly meetings where they plotted strategy on how to destroy Beck by monitoring his program in order to find clips they could take out of context and then use to target his advertisers and ultimately drive him off the air.

"These are not pro-First Amendment people," said Shapiro. "These are not pro-free speech people. These are not pro-civility people. They're not civil and we have to stop treating them as though civility is going to win the day ... The moral high ground doesn't do us a lot of good when we're fighting people who are absolute thugs."

Shapiro justified his call to stop being civil with liberals on the grounds that there is some of a "Geneva Convention with regard to civility" whereby only those who abide by the convention deserve its protections. And since liberals basically operate like terrorists, they are not entitled to the convention's guarantees of civility; an idea that Beck thought was absolutely "profound":

Again, this was Glenn Beck and the Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News claiming that other people are uncivil and therefore undeserving of being treated with civility.

• Joe Strupp @ Media Matters: Dick Armey Dishes On FreedomWorks’ Deals with Beck & Limbaugh. 

• Matthew Yglesias @ Slate: Sen. John Cornyn’s Outrageous Op-Ed on the Debt Ceiling.

• Alex Koppelman @ The New Yorker: The GOP’s Sandy Problem.

• Scott Keyes @ Think Progress: Republican Congressman Claims Hammers Could Be Outlawed Under Assault Weapons Ban. 

• Jeremy Hooper @ Good As You: Hubristic Thomas More Law Center claim discrimination is victimized position.

Glenn Beck returned from his lengthy holiday vacation to announce a new policy for his daily three-hour radio program: anyone who mentions the name of President Obama or plays any audio from him is fired: