The L.A. Times on Glenn Beck’s “joke”…
The L.A. Times editorializes against Glenn Beck’s California Wildfires “joke”…
Conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck is the latest high-profile figure to say something idiotic in the face of tragedy, but he’s got plenty of company. Disasters can bring out the best in humanity as rescuers risk their lives to save others and communities band together to rebuild, but they can also bring out the worst.
“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,” Beck told the audience of his nationally syndicated show on Monday, as parts of Malibu were in flames. That actually ranks pretty low on the mindless insensitivity scale compared to some of the sludge uttered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said his city was devastated because “God is mad at America”; in this, he was in full agreement with a host of Islamist bloggers who claimed that the hurricane represented Allah’s judgment on America’s sins, including a Kuwaiti minister who wrote that the storm was “a wind of torment and evil that Allah has sent to this American empire.”
From ABC’s “The View”
GEORGE CARLIN: “The planet is fine. The people are [bleeped out]. Because everyone is trying to save the planet. The planet doesn’t need that. The planet will take care of itself. People are selfish. And that’s what they’re doing is trying to save the planet for themselves to have a nicer place to live. They don’t care about the planet in theory. They just care about having a comfortable place. And these people with the fires and the floods and everything, they overbuild, they put nature to the test and they get what’s coming to them. That’s what I say.”
Expect the LA Times to editorialize against George Carlin any day now… any… day… now.
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
Are you really comparing Glenn Beck to George Carlin? Why don’t you get back to me when Carlin gets his own show on a 24 hour cable news channel and is treated like a serious news commentator rather than a comedian.
Comment by Steve — October 27, 2007 @ 1:00 pm
George Carlin in on stage 24/7 he can do his Act anyplace the wind blows him .Most of his Act is built around Hot Air anyway.
Comment by mike — October 27, 2007 @ 1:13 pm
So let’s see… a guy who has his own cable show… that gets a few hundred thousand people to watch each day…
Or George Carlin, a famous pioneer of a comedian, who was on a broadcast discussion show… reaching over 3 million people.
Hmmm. Who you gonna be more upset about? The guy reaching a handful of people… or the guy reaching a whole lot of people. Oh that’s right… which one isn’t a liberal icon… he’s the one to get angry at.
Hypocrisy in action. Either it’s offensive when ANYONE says it… or it’s not really offensive.
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 1:24 pm
Steve, Beck is a commentator, but lots of his stuff is comedy in nature. But since he’s a conservative, he’s held to a different standard than is Carlin.
Comment by Missy — October 27, 2007 @ 2:11 pm
Missy he’s held to a different standard than Carlin, not because he’s a conservative, but because he’s on CNN and also not a comedian. There is a huge difference between a political commentator who happens to be funny and a comedian who happens to be political.
It stretches the limits of believability to use George Carlin as an excuse for Beck’s outrageous attack on fire victims.
Comment by Steve — October 27, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
But is what Beck said really any worse than Dems like Boxer and Reid and members of the MSM like KO trying to use the fires for cheap shots at Bush?
Comment by mlong — October 27, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
mlong, here’s the apparent logic: it’s OK for comedians and democrat Senators to opine away, but somehow it’s not for a conservative talk show host. Even though you’d think the talker would be somewhere in between a Senator and a comedian, this is apparently not the case. If we were to illustrate, it would be kinda like how gerrymandering works. Go figure.
Comment by Missy — October 27, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
The topic at hand is Beck’s comments , not what politicians or comedians have said or haven’t said. It isn’t because Beck is a conservative talk show host. It’s because he is a talk show host.
Comment by myview — October 27, 2007 @ 3:42 pm
Well Missy I guess it’s the double standards we should be use to by now…thats why Dem Joe Biden can make comments about how schools are better in Iowa because of the lack of minorities and nothing is said….but O’Reilly makes some comments about a Black run restaurant and is treated like the Grand wizard of the KKK.
Comment by mlong — October 27, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
TEST TEST TEST… I’ve tried to post this same response here about 5 times… am I working yet?
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
Maybe if I don’t use paragraphs… sorry about the formatting if it works. So let’s see… a guy who has his own cable show… that gets a few hundred thousand people to watch each day… OR George Carlin, a famous pioneer of comedy… who was on a very popular daytime talkshow, which reaches over 3 million people daily. Hmmm… Who should you be more upset about? The guy reaching a handful of people… or the guy reaching a whole lot of people? Oh that’s right… which one isn’t a liberal… go after that guy. He’s remarks ‘hurt more.’ — Feh… it’s hypocrisy in action, folks. Either it’s offensive when ANYONE says it… or it’s not offensive at all. — Oh, and because he’s a comedian he can say things that other people can’t and somehow not be offensive… right. Go tell Michael Richards that… I’m sure he’ll appreciate the laugh.
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 4:00 pm
“It isn’t because Beck is a conservative talk show host. It’s because he is a talk show host.’
If that’s true then why is KO allowed to keep making racist remarks about people and never nailed on it?..
I mean really why are only Conservative talk show hosts attacked for their comments but Liberals like KO and Chrissy Matthews are not?
Comment by mlong — October 27, 2007 @ 4:25 pm
I mean really why are only Conservative talk show hosts attacked for their comments but Liberals like KO and Chrissy Matthews are not?
First of all huh? Second of all if you would step out of your echo chamber you’d see that Matthews, who could hardly be described as a liberal, catches crap all the time.
Here I’ll let you and the rest of the conservatives in on a little secret. The left thinks holds the media in as much contempt as the right does. SO the next time you’re Pavlovian instincts kick in and you want to scream liberal bias, you’re political opposite is wanting to scream conservative bias.
Comment by Steve — October 27, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Matthews may not be a liberal… but he’s hardly anywhere near the center of the isle or right. If you want to draw distinction between Democrat and Liberal… okay, then Matthews is a Democrat.
And no amount of “He once voted for Bush!” shouting will get around his propensity for bashing Republicans and Conservatives. Chris “they (republicans] don’t like being called racists” Matthews… HA!
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 5:38 pm
Journalists: Language counts, a major Carlin theme.
Glen Beck says they deserve it because they “hate America”
George Carlin says they deserve it because they are “selfish”..
Get the difference?
Comment by News Hell — October 27, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
Good grief, Carlin is always saying something that will offend some one if taken seriously.He’s a comedian and that is his thing. To compare him to Glen Beck is just stretching things too thin in the effort to once again play the old “woe are us conservatives”.
Comment by myview — October 27, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
After reading everybody’s comments, there are two points of view, and a fundamental difference between them.
Either you believe that it’s WHAT is said, that can be offensive.
Or, you believe that it’s WHO says it, that makes it offensive.
IMO, something is either offensive or it’s not… who said it is just part of the facts surrounding the event. Either Carlin AND Beck are wrong for what they said… or they’re not. There should not be two sets of standards for celebrities… there should be no double standard.
Comment by ImNotBlue — October 27, 2007 @ 8:27 pm
I think mlong is making excuses for Glenn Beck’s behavior.
Comment by LJP — October 29, 2007 @ 11:52 am