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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)
Ed Brayton also blogs at Positive Liberty and The Panda's Thumb
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Posted on: March 25, 2010 9:23 AM, by Ed Brayton
The Glenn Beck crazy train is gaining speed. Now he is implying quite clearly that the Obama administration wants to kill him. You have to see this video.
This is hardly the first time he's tried this preemptive martyrdom prediction. Last August he claimed that there was "evil at play" in the Obama administration and that they're going to try to "destroy" him. 8 months later, no one has destroyed him, of course. He's still ranting at will.
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Comments
And to think people wondered whether Stewart and Colbert would still have enough fodder for their shows each night! Beck is the comedy gift that keeps on giving.
I do worry, though, that his insane rantings will one day make the wrong person snap - we're already seeing the results of extreme rhetoric with congressional offices being vandalized and congresswomen and congressmen being threatened.
Posted by: cubefarmed | March 25, 2010 9:36 AM
This is hardly the first time he's tried this preemptive martyrdom prediction. Last August he claimed that there was "evil at play" in the Obama administration and that they're going to try to "destroy" him.
I believe it was called "Color of Change".
Posted by: Mike H | March 25, 2010 9:37 AM
He is simply delusional. He is way over estimating his importance in today's American political discourse.
Posted by: Sheldon | March 25, 2010 9:38 AM
"And to think people wondered whether Stewart and Colbert would still have enough fodder for their shows each night!"
I'm more worried that there'll be a time when Beck&company will get so crazy that there won't be any way to parody them. I mean, conservatives already think Colbert is being serious.
Posted by: Kierra | March 25, 2010 9:43 AM
Oh please Glenn; you are more likely to die from blood shooting from your eyes than from President Obama. You're just showing off now which is quite repulsive even by your recently lowered standards.
Actually; Beck was destroyed before Ed. It's called getting your television show on CNN canceled. Of course Beck rose from the dead on FOX so that little scheme failed. He's like a (Hitler) zombie; or Jackie Fargo.
Posted by: Gregory Weagle | March 25, 2010 9:44 AM
So if the Tea Partiers take over the GOP can we expect Glenn Beck to have a prime time speech at their 2012 convention?
Posted by: Ericb | March 25, 2010 9:47 AM
Mike H - "...simply self-dramatizing and delusional..." Fixed it for ya.
The only way Mr. Bek can get people to notice him is theough suicidal ideation coupled with hysterical paranoia. If it weren't so amusing it would be needy and pathetic. - Dingo
Posted by: DingoJack | March 25, 2010 9:47 AM
Aw, come on guys. Quit making fun of...
Sorry, I couldn't even type it with a straight face.
Posted by: Michael | March 25, 2010 9:50 AM
I am absolutely convinced that Beck is a puppet doing what he is told, and that if he were offered more money to say the opposite, he would. No corporation, broadcast or otherwise, would permit such a clown freedom of speech, much less allow him to enter the building. And I doubt that Beck has the intelligence to think those things up on his own. He is being spoon-fed every word and coached on how to behave.
Posted by: Reverend Rodney | March 25, 2010 9:51 AM
The thing with this sociopathcic con man is that his career depends on this nonsense and he has to turn up the crazy. It's only 1 year into the term and where will this nonsesne end up?
Posted by: Naughtius Maximus | March 25, 2010 9:56 AM
Beck really wishes he were that important. He needs to go back to his AA meetings and take inventory. He has clearly jumped the tracks and ended up in meglomania-lala land.
Beck is clearly ill, I wonder how long it will be before he kills himself?
Posted by: Seeing Eye Chick | March 25, 2010 10:04 AM
Glenn, buddy, it's not just the Obaminator that's to get you. GOD is too. Check it out. People who disagree with GOD die every frackin' day! People who AGREE with GOD die every frakkin' day!! Eleventy-1!!!
Posted by: democommie | March 25, 2010 10:24 AM
And I have a friend who is convinced that Beck is an agent of the CIA, deliberately spreading disinformation.
Personally, I think that Beck, Limbaugh, Coulter and several others exaggerate their views for the sake of money and fame, but are, at heart, "I got mine" conservatives who have nothing but contempt for 99% of humanity.
In contrast, Hannity, O'Reilly, Savage, Hume, Cavuto, Malkin and many more appear to be earnest morons who thank the lord daily for the opportunity to enlighten the world with their deeply held convictions.
What's the difference? The first group always seem to be just at the point of collapsing into helpless laughter. The second group are all capable of saying "These go to 11" without the slightest hint of irony.
Posted by: xebecs | March 25, 2010 10:27 AM
I think this must be part of a common pathology of Beck's type of crazy. Alex Jones has been saying the same thing for years -- Clinton/Bush/Obama, it doesn't matter who is the president, and people like Orly Taitz, Larry Sinclair (remember him?), Pastor Manning, etc. all make the same sort of claim.
Amongst other things, it serves to grossly inflate their own sense of self-importance and success. After all, if you believe that you're the likely target of an assassination plot, then you must believe that your message and/or accusations must be true and that you are on the verge of bringing down the presidency.
Posted by: tacitus | March 25, 2010 10:33 AM
Beck has a list of 12 values that he babbles about. The list includes honesty, sincerity, courage, moderation, humility, and hope. Meanwhile, Beck is crying fake tears, cowering in terror, screaming about an imaginary conspiracy at the highest levels of government that exists solely to attack him personally.
Posted by: phantomreader42 | March 25, 2010 10:36 AM
Laugh if you will, but ten members of Congress have been threatened with violence because of their vote on health care. Beck's speech may be free, but whom will it inflame? What action will that deluded person take? Against whom?
Posted by: mdiehl | March 25, 2010 10:37 AM
phantomreader42 - You're telling me that Mr. Bek is a hypocrite!!! Next you'll be telling me water is wet or something. :) - DIngo
Posted by: DingoJack | March 25, 2010 10:39 AM
"Jesus preached many things, but he never preached Marxism"
Try this on for size, fella:
Matthew 25:37-40
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Go ahead and throw out the M-word, it doesn't change the fact that the Bible clearly commands those who have to give the have-nots above and beyond what they are in need of.
"Thou shall not steal, thou shall not COVET!!!1!"
Covet what, the ability to get decent health care? Fucking asshole. I hope Jesus goes Ananias and Sapphira on his ass.
Posted by: havoc | March 25, 2010 10:42 AM
even though i don't particularly wish for mr. beck to die, i would still pay money to see blood shoot from his eyes.
Posted by: Nomen Nescio | March 25, 2010 10:53 AM
Beck knows how to play the game: make yourself seem like the underdog, attacked by an unstoppable Goliath; and when the evil fails to destroy you, you will be seen as David.
Posted by: cleek | March 25, 2010 11:00 AM
Is it just me, or is Mr. Blech WAY overdue for his meds?
Posted by: WMDKitty | March 25, 2010 11:59 AM
Well, Mr Beck, what if we don't think much of your ridiculous Abrahamic rules? Moses might have brought the list of impossible rules, but he also eliminated good health care of lepers. So the Bible is anti-health care! (Insert crazy rambling here.)
Glen Beck wants to give us leprosy!
Posted by: JustaTech | March 25, 2010 12:00 PM
Heh heh. Exactly fifteen seconds from repeating "Thou shalt not bear false witness" to bearing false witness. But I suspect that's not his personal best.
Posted by: Scott Hanley | March 25, 2010 12:00 PM
As H.L. Mencken wrote, never trust anything you read by anyone who would be fired if he said the opposite.
Posted by: cdrealist | March 25, 2010 12:05 PM
Jesus certainly didn't preach a Marxian theory of history, but he certainly did preach that material wealth itself was a sin and that the pursuit of it was incompatible with righteousness. Aside from being incommensurate with modern living, that's far more radical than anything any modern progressive says.
Posted by: Tyler DiPietro | March 25, 2010 12:15 PM
This story reminds me of when Sean Lennon once posited that his father was killed because the CIA used a brainwashed Mark David Chapman to take him out because the senior Lennon was becoming too dangerous.
And mind you, this is not a joke. But it is as bizarre as Glenn Beck's manic persecution complex.
Posted by: CHV | March 25, 2010 12:37 PM
Glenn - Actually, it is Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity that want to take you out, because you even out-stupid-crazy them.
ps: If you want to be able to keep on spewing the bile, DO NOT respond to the upcoming Sarah Palin request to visit her in AK for her new show. There's nothing like an "accidently shot talk-show host" to boost ratings.
Posted by: J-Dog | March 25, 2010 1:09 PM
I see this as a weird sort of projection on Beck's part. I believe that he really, deep down, wants to see violence directed at the top levels of the government. And all he has to do is inspire one particularly unhinged listener to action. I don't think he would ever be successful (I have too much, perhaps naive, faith in the Secret Service), but I suspect that that's the direction the rusty wheels in Beck's head are turning.
Posted by: Sadie Morrison | March 25, 2010 1:19 PM
@ #11: Much too long. It is perhaps too much to ask that all of his viewers join him, you know, for solidarity.
Posted by: cgauthier | March 25, 2010 1:28 PM
Beck is channeling Howard Beal. He's a madman with a media pulpit. The only thing missing is an on-set blackout at the end of each show.
Posted by: Moon Jaguar | March 25, 2010 1:41 PM
I strongly disagree. I think that you cannot overestimate how important this man and his ilk (Limbaugh, etc.) are to the people who hang upon their every word. I think that these broadcasters essentially control about 10% of the American population. If they say "Jump!" their listeners say, "how high?"
Posted by: peter | March 25, 2010 2:08 PM
Glennie doesn't actually know his Bible very well, does he?
Paul also said to shut yer trap and pay your taxes in Romans 13:6-7. He's not Jesus, of course, but some folks--i.e., Calvinists--take him more seriously than Jesus anyway.
Posted by: James Hanley | March 25, 2010 2:18 PM
I remember when Howard Beale was outrageous satire.
Posted by: Siamang | March 25, 2010 3:00 PM
All President Obama has to do is wait for Beck's branez to asplode on camera.
Ir implode, if the vacuum in his head is as strong as is seems to be.
Posted by: Tsu Dho Nimh | March 25, 2010 3:16 PM
@32:
then there is the lovely parable of the rich fool:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+12%3A13-21&version=NIV
wherein someone congratulates himself on his wealth accumulation and God kills him for being an idiot.
or the parable of lazarus:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+16%3A19-31&version=NIV
wherein God sends some rich asshole to hell for not having taken care of the beggar at his door.
Posted by: andrew | March 25, 2010 6:17 PM
"I strongly disagree. I think that you cannot overestimate how important this man and his ilk (Limbaugh, etc.) are to the people who hang upon their every word."
Peter, I see your point and I agree with what you disagree with me about. Yes, he has alot of influence on uncritical minds out there. But he certainly overestimates his importance in thinking the administration wants to take him out.
Posted by: Sheldon | March 25, 2010 7:19 PM
havoc @ 18: "Go ahead and throw out the M-word [Marxism], it doesn't change the fact that the Bible clearly commands those who have to give the have-nots above and beyond what they are in need of."
1) You're mischaracterizing Marxism. The view you are defending is called philanthropy and it has nothing to do with Marxism. Beck is also mischaracterizing Marxism, but he's closer to the truth than you are, which is saying quite a lot.
2) The Bible isn't law. Even if it does have a few good moral precepts thrown in amongst the rest of the trash that fills its pages, they shouldn't be enforced legally (or, at least, shouldn't be enforced legally because they appeared in the Bible).
3) The Bible doesn't really "command it" in the passages you've cited. It just involves a king asking a few questions. And I've been told repeatedly by Christians who are uncomfortable with some of the other king-parables that the king in the stories don't refer to Jesus or to their god, so unless you live in that particular hypothetical monarchy, it wouldn't seem to offer any practical advice for living.
Posted by: Miko | March 25, 2010 10:11 PM
Glenn Beck is Mormon. Mormons are strongly encouraged to go through a number of religious rituals which must be performed at Mormon temples. If they don't perform these rituals - they won't receive the most important privileges and responsibilities of the afterlife. To get permission to enter the temple, one must be a member in good standing. "Good standing" requires a demonstrated record of adhering to Mormon doctrine, including regular payment of tithes. Mormon bean counters track tithes as aggressively as the IRS does, but their enforcement powers are of course quite different, and only meaningful for practicing Mormons. A portion of these tithes are used to provide welfare for poor church members who are also in good standing. Members are also encouraged to donate (in addition to tithes) time, money, and produce to the church, in part for the church welfare system. The LDS welfare system aims to provide food, clothing, shelter, and medical care for LDS members in good standing. The details differ, but its structure and aims have many overall similarities with the US government welfare system. The most relevant difference s that the US government welfare system goes out of its way to preserve the current profit-making methods of existing business, while the LDS welfare system does not. For example, government welfare provides food stamps which can be used to purchase food from profit-making business. LDS welfare, however, produces (terrible) food, which is provided to members in exchange for either work in kind, or exchange for simply being a member in good standing. LDS welfare also provides clothing, and encourages LDS doctors and dentists to provide medical care. Thus, in several ways LDS welfare competes (at the bottom rungs) with profit-making business, whereas US government welfare actually subsidizes business. LDS welfare is broadly similar, but substantially more socialist in detail.
All of this argumentation about whether or not Jesus promoted "Marxism" is therefor a distraction. Glenn Beck's own religion presently provides a welfare system which has more of the attributes he mocks and claims to despise than the US government welfare system does. (And while Mormons put "revelations" of their modern prophets, and their Book of Mormon ahead of the Bible, I more than once saw Mormon "seminary" teachers point to the very passages in Matthew, which havoc quoted, as secondary supporting scripture - as does much LDS church literature.)
Posted by: llewelly | March 26, 2010 12:49 AM
Now that'd be change I could believe in.
Unfortunately these @$$#013s just take way too long to implode on their own.
I mean, Coulter's now so desperate that she's gone to Canada--into the very mouth of socialisticness--to look for people brain-damaged enough to admire her.
Sadly, she and Calgary seem to be a match made in heaven.
Can't these people just have a screaming, frothing, fit on TV, retire to rehab, and be done?
Posted by: Metro | March 26, 2010 10:32 AM
This poor man.
But what if it's true? Good. Even better.
Posted by: Schmice | March 26, 2010 1:46 PM
I know this guy is quite popular in Fox "News" land, but I have such a hard time imagining how anyone can take him seriously. I know people - people who graduated from college - who watch Beck every night and think he's great. I just don't get it.
Posted by: vjack | March 27, 2010 9:24 AM