Introducing the Conservative News section


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Introducing the Glenn Beck and Fox News section

(Note from MSK: This section used to be called the Glenn Beck and Fox News section which is why this post is titled the way it is. I'm keeping this opening post for historical reasons, but now the section is called Conservative News. See explanation in Post 8 here.)

 

I finally decided to set up this place on OL. I have mentioned it a few times, but didn't have the time to do it right.

Then Barbara said something about Glenn that totally resonates with me:

On 5/26/2010 at 2:38 AM, Barbara Branden said:

It is long past time that someone told the American public that they should be afraid of their government. What Obama and his cohorts have done in a year-and-a half is terrifying -- and if we don't understand that, and understand where we are being led, this country is lost. Glenn Beck is today's Paul Revere.

Some people agree with this and some do not. The important thing is that people in the mainstream are now discussing ideas--important ideas with a distinctive Objectivist and libertarian slant--because of the enormous popularity of Glenn Beck and the heartening surge in audience and editorial direction of Fox News in general.

Remember, broadcast TV and radio are not forced on anyone. People listen to it by choice. Fox has grown big simply by offering a competently-presented alternative to the left-wing bias of practically the entire mainstream media. In other words, Fox is saying and covering what many people want to hear and view.

I think the thing that finally put me over the top on setting this section up was this presentation by Beck yesterday:

On 6/2/2010 at 10:26 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

On today's show, Beck announced that the summer of 1969 was a turning point in America. And what happened that summer is an excellent opportunity for us to measure who we are as Americans.

In other words, are we people who can put a man on the moon like happened with the Apollo moonshot, or are we people who wallow in the mud like they did in Woodstock?

Sound familiar, anyone?

He didn't credit Ayn Rand for her essay, "Apollo and Dionysus," but the parallels were too striking to have been a coincidence. He had to have gotten this comparison from her. Probably he didn't mention her because he didn't want to lead with an atheist on an idea like that with his religious audience base, but I have no doubt he will credit her after a while. (I can almost hear some of his more libertarian fans bringing this up in a loud voice.)

. . .

EDIT: Here's a video of the "Apollo and Dionysus" segment on Glenn's own site (sorry, it doesn't embed):

Glenn Beck: Woodstock or Moonwalk?

 

Beck mentions Ayn Rand often enough that her influence on him is obvious. I only see good coming from this.

He is religious, of course, and I do not agree with his views on religion. But his promotion of freedom of choice and constant calls to question even the existence of God (citing Thomas Jefferson) make this quite palatable to me.

Anyway, here it is, a section on Glenn Beck and Fox News. It's in the Outer Limits section for obvious reasons. I will migrate all the different pertinent threads over to here.

Enjoy...

Or not...

:)

Michael

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Michael,

I am surprised that this thread isn't getting activity. I am not a huge Beck fan and it is sad indeed that his is the most sane voice in the media today, unless you want to count the less known John Stossel on Fox Business Network. Yet I find him entertaining and listen to him occasionally until he broaches the subject of religion. It always amazes and disappoints me when a seeminly sane, rational, intelligent person cannot apply logic to the topic of religion.

John

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John,

Give it time. Good things are coming...

As to religion, my criteria is free choice, not belief in God. So long as a person does not force me to believe as he does, I don't care what he believes in.

I do know that belief is important to our species in a manner usually ignored in our neck of the woods. More wars are fought over differences of belief than any other motive. And it hasn't stopped. It goes on even today.

So merely saying belief is evil--like Rand did--hasn't made much of an impact. And holding to that line in an all-or-nothing stance when seeking political change won't either.

But...

Our Founding Fathers did the freedom of religion thing, they did it on a political level, and I believe this has had a stronger impact on humanity than any other so far.

That's where Beck is, so I'm cool with it even as I disagree with his religion.

Michael

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Michael,

I am surprised that this thread isn't getting activity. I am not a huge Beck fan and it is sad indeed that his is the most sane voice in the media today, unless you want to count the less known John Stossel on Fox Business Network. Yet I find him entertaining and listen to him occasionally until he broaches the subject of religion. It always amazes and disappoints me when a seeminly sane, rational, intelligent person cannot apply logic to the topic of religion.

John

That's where the audience and the money is?

--Brant

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Hello Brant and Michael,

Michael, you say "That's where Beck is, so I'm cool with it even as I disagree with his religion." I agree that is where Beck is, but my point is that it is difficult for me to respect anyone who accepts or adopts anything based upon other than logic. That attitude has severely restricted the number of friends I have, but at the same time has improved the quality. I'll take quality over quantity.

Brant, you may be correct, but it seems to me that Beck is sincerely and truly a mystic, although he probably does play to his audience.

What's going on this weekend? Nice weather here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm working tomorrow morning and then some chores around the house in the afternoon. Maybe Sunday can be a play day!

John

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  • 8 months later...

Well I sure found this interesting. I've grown up leaning to the left. The video you provided us with does show the logical side of Beck. When he talked about the hedonists hippies who abused drugs and had orgies under the "banner of love" that was eye-opening. The images of the people surrounding the television, the skyline, and the moonlanding were very Randian to me. A euphoric feeling came over me. Men coming together to accomplish what just a decade earlier was believed implausible. It brings to my mind images of Henry Rearden developing his Steele.

A personal aside: in the months after the 2008 election I was sickened by the repeated obama ass-kissing sessions on CNN, especially by Anderson Cooper. (even though i voted for the guy)

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filling in for Beck, Judge Napoletano said, a problem with America is that the government has a monopoly on the use of force. The Judge seems to have unclear or anarchist tendancies. Did anyone else hear him? I missed part of his exposition.

Of course there are disputes over jurisdiction, but as long as a state, county, or private defense agency follows the constitution, they can use the retaliatory use of force. They cannot take away anyone's individual rights but in an emergency situation they can temporarily suspend those rights to protect the lives or property of others.

I still like the Judge but I felt like writing him a letter. I would have also mentioned that he yells too much.

Peter

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  • 2 years later...

I listen to his show often and I am constantly surprised and a lot of the things I agree with him on. So great idea Michael. I have been wanting to get The Blaze to check it out. I believe At&t has got it now. If nothing else its probably a better alternative cable news program. Also I hear him mention Rand, especially Atlas Shrugged a lot and has started promoting and defending Libertarian thoughts. Its been a few months but i was surprised when I heard this, and I quote "if we could all be Libertarians the world would be a better place". He also has been at Libertarian events as of late. I even hear Hannity mention Atlas Shrugged and has a little skit in ASPT2. So I am very pleased to hear these gentleman discuss Rand and her ideas. Even if they are very Conservative. After all, its not the conservatives im concerned about.

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  • 2 years later...

Changing the name of this section to Conservative News

Back when I started this section, Glenn Beck had his show on Fox News. He was suddenly saying many things that needed saying at the time, things I believed in and still do. As other people on Fox sometimes did the same, I decided to feature him and Fox News. A kind of fellow traveller thing.

Over time, Glenn has been preaching religion more and more as the solution to all the woes of the world while setting himself up as a modern-day prophet. It doesn't make any sense on a site that is oriented toward discussing Objectivism to feature him anymore. However, he comes out with good stuff once in awhile, so when that happens, I will probably post the relevant things here.

Fox News is not the only conservative media that often has interesting takes on current affairs. So I broadened the scope to include all conservative news outlets. That way, when they talk about the good stuff, we can have a place to feature them. When they get repugnant with elitist manipulations (like Fox News does sometimes), we can now ignore them without inadvertently advertising them through the title.

OL just suffered a major update and I was not able to make these changes before without making a major project out of it. Now it is done.

Over time, let's see if this section becomes a hall of fame and chamber of horrors for conservative news organizations. Like it or not, we have to live with them in today's culture. So we might as well tell the truth about them as we go along.

Michael

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