Are people no longer allowed to speak freely?

.. dumb article

Sure, But don't expect responsible advertisers to be associated with it. Z

Beck is Spot ON! Words and their ACTUAL meanings have consequences, and in president Obama's case, he has said things that clearly match the description of "racist". Where were you when all of the hate speech was amplified on every tv channel, as well as the big screen, against president Bush?
Let's stop with this Left Right crap as well as the joke that is political correctness, and start being Americans!

Hate speech AGAINST President Bush? I think we differ on the definition of hate speech. Do you mean maybe hateful speech? Thanks. Z

I really can't stand Glen Beck, he is worse than all the others on FOX. I think that ad boycott would be a good start and critics like you can voice concerns like you do and I think this has to be helping. I am really worried for this country and I can't see any positives in all of the emotion and discord that comes with the cable news channels these days. I want the news without the opinion, but it seems like you can't find it. Very distressing. Z, at least you are using your Ph.D to help us and be a voice for watchdog in the media. I can't say I know to many people who are dedicated to this, keep up the good work!
By the way, I ran across an article from a young girl who had just graduated in the same field as you and is having trouble finding a job, maybe if I can find the link you can give her some pointers.

Do you put Keith Olberman in the same category as Beck?

Absolutely! Z

So let me get this straight. Beck called Obama a racist so that makes hoim a racist?? How crazy is that. Obama DOES hate whitey. There is no dispute there. Just read the guy's first book and see what he says.

"Beck is only one of several out-of-control hosts who traffick in innuendo, slander, smears and outrageous comments like the ones about Obama." I hear the truth in 95% of what they say. The other 5% is subject to interpretation. Perhaps your interpretation is too biased to see the truth behind the comments?

Do you hear the truth in 95 percent of what Keith Olbermann says as well? Because I include him in this group. Thanks. Z

Strange Olberman didn't apeear in your piece in fact only conservative names appeared. Is that to be considered Bias??

Check the Web for my history with Olbermann. I include him near the top of the list. Just search Olbermann and Zurawik, and come back and tell me what you find. Consider it your teraching moment for the day. Z

My comment was not about you or your track record it was about whether your editorial was even handed and without bias. You didn't answer the question.

Of course it is. Z

Too bad there is not a vaccination for these cable news channels opinionated views, like for the swine flu, we could use one. I think I will work on developing one.

Revolution!

Let me know which advertisers are boycotting his show. I want to boycott them.

No, with Olbermann I can't hear much of anything, however, its probably because I can only watch his show a few minutes at a time. Just a little bit too childish for me. Rush, Beck, Hannity O'mann and the like are commentators and have their own 'style'. As with most commentators, emotions are part of their schtick - being purposely slanderous, that's not. I'm sure there is a team of lawyers on the opposing sides who listen to every sentence uddered in the hope of finding slander and therefore grounds for a lawsuit. Hasn't happened yet - wonder why?

Has anyone bothered to included that weirdo Bill O' Reilly in this also! Because he is not exactly a Saint himself for all the remarks he has made since he has been on TV including Fox News.

Can't believe you compared today's climate to McCarthyism. Its just one small step to a Hitler comparison...should we look for that in your next article?

Glenn Beck has the same freedoms as any other journalist or private citizen, and if he wants to advance his criticism of Obama as a racist, its certainly legitimate. We already know he surrounds himself with people who engage in white hatred, like his WIFE, or Sonia Sotomayor, people who have a massive chip on their shoulder about race, despite enjoying immense privilege greater than that of 99% of white people!

So hypocritical.

The problem isn't the subhumans on Fox, the problem is the million of subhumans who love them for saying what they think. Americans need to change.

I am more likely to pay attention and buy products from the advertisers that have stuck with Beck. Solidifying a core number of advertisers that he can count on may be his marketing strategy, and the advertisers will stick around if they are making money.

You can go back further than the 50's and study the SA in Hitler's Germany. The Brown Shirts disrupted meetings, terrorized the opposition, and destroyed any chance of rational dialogue. You can see the same thing happening when Beck et al send out their thugs. It's scary, but we're heading for a revolution. Not guns, just a groundswell that will put our country on a new path. The right wing fanatics are getting shrill and desperate. They know they're losing, but the people of good will can't give up. We live in interesting times.

We live in perilous times and Glen Beck is one of the few members of the Media that's willing to speak out against the president that is trying to make America a socialist country.

I hope that people will take a look at the things Beck is reporting and instead of writing them off, really dig and you'll see that he is speaking the truth!

Our country is in trouble! Not because the economy, but because we have a President that not only won't honor the constitution, but if nothing is done will ruin the U.S.A.

I understand your point of view, but in reality these cable news shows are just that cable news. These men and women make a living being controversial not being PC. So he called Obama a racist, who cares. For a while many people called Sgt. Crowley a racist and Obama, indirectly, agreed by saying they acted stupidly when he did not have all the facts. Opinions are just that opinions if people don't like it than don't watch his show, problem solved. When did we become so sensitive as a nation? None the less you are fair in your comments.

Glen Beck IS A DOOMSDAYER!!

Glenn Beck and other conservative talkers have a much bigger problem to overcome right now, and that problem is behind the outlandish behavior we see across the conservative talk spectrum.

That problem is a little device called a Portable People Meter, a new way of measuring radio audiences.

In many radio markets, stations that carry Glenn Beck, et al, are dropping from number one or number two to number 20 or below when measured with a Portable People Meter.

This lack of measurable audience is causing advertisers to radically rethink paying for advertising on those stations and the talkers are desperate to bring in numbers that justify the costs.

Expect the behavior to get even more outlandish as these fast falling "stars" try to justify their existence and expect many of the stations that carry Glenn and his cronies to flip to sports or golden oldies in the very near future.

Clearly the writer of this article has never read Obama's book. If a white man said the same things about blacks, he would be labeled a racists. I guess what is good for one is not good for the other. Obama is given a pass because he is black. A racist is a racist in my book. The Baltimore Sun should fire this idiot!

Look at the viewership numbers for all the news networks and see which one is connecting with the majority of Americans. I don't think it ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNN - no I think it's Fox. The sword cuts both directions. The advertisers may pull their ads, but where are they gonna place them in prime time to get the exposure they get on Fox? Guess they'll have to quadrouple their advertising budget and run them on all the remaining networks. I remember all the reteric over the last 8 yrs under Bush, and talk about an out of control slanderous media - and it certainly wasn't Fox. What say you?

You said: "It would be preferable if the major media corporations that own the channels had their own standards of responsible speech -- or if they could be shamed by critics into demanding responsible speech from their prime-time cable hosts."

I would have to disagree with you. Glenn Beck mentions on his show that he is a commentator, not a reporter. Therefore, he had every right to say what he did. His comment was completely relevant to the Gates case. The first amendment, as far as I know, still applies. Let talk-show hosts talk.

You mentioned Joe McCarthy, as well. Even though he was a bit off his rocker, he knew something was wrong. He wasn't finding Communism, but he was discovering Socialism in the expanding Progressive and Liberal society.

Even though I disagreed with your views on the subject, I still would like to thank you for the information I found in the article. This article was most clear about what was going on with the boycott.

Free speech =/= harmless speech. I cant call in a bomb threat or yell fire. McCarthy's speeches created an entire era of hatred/fear. Hitler's speechs created one of the greatest trageties of human history. These comments read like a KKK convention with everyone unwilling to (whether beck has a good point or not) discuss what he is saying and just jump on a band wagon of how freedoms are being violated and stupid the article is, and ofcourse how white people have it Soooooooo tough here in the USA.

David, David, David,

Where were you when MSNBC was calling George Bush a racist after Katrina? Do you condone Olbermann's actions of having Janeane Garofalo call Tea Partiers Redneck Racists?

The most noteworthy thing about those of your ilk is that even when you are drowning in your own arrogance and the ox is in the ditch and the country is broke you will still have enough breath left to scream: "We Won."

I do not condone Olbermann's actions. Do a fast search of Zurawik and Olbermann, and you will see how vigorously I do not condone Olbermann's actions. Thanks. Z

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

I remember seeing this actually when it was aired. Glenn Beck tries to backtrack after he calls Obama a racist and the whole thing really makes him look bad. I remember thinking when I watched it he was not making sense, saying one thing and then trying to backtrack.

Great example today in a town hall meeting today in Tampa Florida over healthcare. People cannot even have a civil discussion in this country. Very scary.

Hi Sherry, Thanks. This is exactly the way this kind of angry and reckless speech threatens democracy. Thanks. Z

Wyoming, I like your comment!!! Z, I hope Beck's comments about Obama being a racist is already making a difference. Grassroot Americans do not, contrary to bleeding heart liberals and the majority of the presss, wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to what B.H.O. says and does. Grassroot Americans believe Glenn Beck is right on target with his "unpopular" comments about Obama's racist history and attitude. Beck is not out of line in calling Obama a racist. Get a picture here! Obama "belonged" to Mr. Wright's congregation for over twenty years. He listened to that idiot for brains spill his guts about the elite, white society of America and ya da, ya da, ya da... The recent incident in Cambridge gives a quick insight into Mr. Obama's views; he is a racist - period. Without the facts, he blamed the police department. As President of the United States, Obama should strive to unite Americans, not pit them against each other. He is a lying, manipulating ahole and that has nothing to do with his color. When I look at the "content of Obama's character", I am embarassed that he holds the office of the presidency. I repect the office, not Obama. A person's character, as in quality literature, is revealed in one's words, actions, and thoughts on topics. From Obama's book to his "flowery, yet lacking any substance talk, he is a sham. I do hope Glenn Beck's comments ignite Americans to speak even louder to the morans in Congress and this president about the dismal direction they are taking this beloved country. I love my country, but can't stand our government "leaders", including Mr. Obama. I agree. Obama does stand for One Big --- Mistake, America!

Had to edit for coarse langauge.Z

My thoughts exactly Sherry and Z. With guys/gals like Olbermann (sorry, I can't think of another loud mouth leftist who has his/her own TV show), Beck, O'Reily, Courtier etc, there will never be a chance to have cool-headed, rational discussions that follow logic and reason rather then emotion, though I will admit politics spurs passion as shown in the comments posted here. Our founding fathers must be rolling in their graves to see what has become of their democracy (albeit, that democracy was only for land holding white protestant males). Now, I haven't been alive for over 200 years, but, I can't think of time in history, sans the Civil War or War of Northern Agression depending on what side your on, that the country has been so deeply divided. Hopefully one day we will wake up and realize what is going on. I hate to think of the world we are leaving our children/grandchildren.

Very good point Chris about our children and grandchildren. I hope my children have a chance to have our grandchildren the way the world is going. Yes Z, deep, deep division, I agree with Chris!

You may put Olbermann in the same category as Beck and Dobbs, but unless I missed something, you continually fail to note the huge difference: Beck, Dobbs and O'Reilly call themselves commentators, while Olbermann considers himself a newsman and journalist. Keith believes that he is reporting the news, not interpreting it. He even hosted some of the election coverage. Did the others? Do you see the difference?

Given this, would you agree that Olbermann's situation is much more disturbing? Have you devoted as much time and column space to his views, or are only the transgressions of the opposing side deserving of this level of attention?

Your bias is showing (more than ever), and it isn't pretty.

Perfect analysis, and extra points for lumping Olbermann in with Beck. Olbermann would rather sit in a bathtub full of vipers than be equated with Beck. I think if either MSNBC fired Olbermann or Fox fired Beck, the network that did the firing would earn a lot of respect and new viewers for enforcing standards and proving that there are limits to what can and can't be said over the airwaves.

So I suppose the often lunatic level of hatred that the left wing dominated media spouts day after day just gets ignored for the oh so predictable lets attack fox news. Nobody watches MSNBC or CNN anyway so advertisers aren't tripping over themselves to get on there. Losing those advertisers will make no difference at all to Glenn nor should it.

I love how the critics attack Fox even while Fox destroys every other cable news network it's pure seething jealousy. Obamas racial controversy never seems to go away and he does and has made numerous suspicious comments that have a very uncomfortable air about them.

I don't really think Obama is racist and anyway last time I checked he wasn't Black he was Mixed Race.

Please read my comments about Olbermann at the bottom of this post, and then tell me what you think. Z

Glenn Beck is a scholar! He will always shape his arguments with point by point detail.

I challenge you classic liberals to argue against his facts and counter them with your own arguments. All you ever do is call names and recite the classic perjoratives.

You can't argue his scholarship.

That's why Beck is killing punks like (sour puss-Olbermann), (orgasmic leg-Matthew's) (I'm the guy-Maddow) etc...in the ratings,

because Beck comes loaded with facts and figures to back it all up.

Even his "Obama is a racist" is backed up, not just by Beck, but with "Obama's own words and deeds". Check his website, if you dare.

This is why the White House has been mum on Beck. They really don't want the light of day to shine on Obama's past remarks and associations.

Like Beck says, Bring it on, he has truth on his side. If he messes up, he'll tell you. But that's rare.

He is the most informed, educated, and learned commentator on the air today.

Challenge his arguments, with specificity, or go home, we all dare you liberals to focus on his detailed arguments and refute them.

You won't, because you can't. You don't even have the intellectual capacity to process details.

To the Liberal, it's all about lazy, sophomoric rhetoric.

Lawdy frickin da.

Beck is not only brilliant, he's funny and full of joy as well.

Look at the pusses on MSNBC, look at their faces. Keith, Chris, Rachael, Danny, Scarborough etc..

Have you ever seen such misery in faces?

Then look at all those on FOX, other than Geraldo, and it is evident, that they dig life. They are happy human beings and it shows in their faces.

aj arizona

I think Beck is great! And I won't deal with these advertisers that pulled out again. Hit em' right back where it counts. The only reason liberals hate Glenn Beck is because he scares them. They're afraid the American people are FINALLY awakening from their stupor. And they are. Amen

Obama is a racist and a hypocrite. Read his book and view his past interviews from several years ago.

Where were you David Zurawik when President Bush was called a racist? The ongoing hypocrisy of the left!

It's occurred to me that the many name-calling Obama haters could use a refresher course in political science. Some of them call him a fascist, which of course is at the far right of the political spectrum. Others deride him as a socialist. Readers will recall that Russia used to be called the Union of Soviet SOCIALIST republics. The Russians never attained the utopian goal of communism, which is at the far left of the political spectrum. So, the president is vilified for being, simultaneously, a fascist and a socialist. I guess the shouters are not embarrassed by their own ignorance, but I'm hoping that a responsible historian will study the attacks on Abraham Lincoln and compare them to the attacks on Barack Obama. The savage attacks took their toll on Lincolk, but he kept to his course of preserving the union. I also wonder if some who have not forgiven Obama (or any African American, for that matter) for winning the election have not yet forgiven Lincoln for preserving the union.

It would seem, while the left spouts freedom of speech... their only thought is freedom of speech... as long as you only speak as We think... when ever anyone says anything not keeping in Their beliefs.. they want to immediately squash the speaker into silence.

Am I wrong? Tell me I am wrong? Come watch this new video.

Glenn Beck should be worried about the proposed health plan,I'm sure there is a wating list to pull his plug.

I believe in freedom of speech, but it does come with responsibility. If people do not respect the person President Barack Obama, they should at least respect the position of President of the United States.

People should be held accountable for what they say. The station owners should not be held accountable for what people say on thier shows, but they should be held accountable for making sure that what is said is truth. News is fact and not opinion.

Bloggers! Bloggers! Bloggers!...... Where's the LOVE?

Now how for the life of me did I just happen to intuit, even before seeing her sign-off blurb, that dearest 'bloggette', Jan, hate-speaking so vociferously for all "Grassroot Americans", hails from that benevolent, 'turn-the-other -cheek' State of Texas, where more incarcerated folk than pretty much any other State in our fair Union are executed on a yearly basis..... ain't that right former Governor George W. Bush?

Must be somethin' in that dang corn-fed longhorn beef, artesian sweet water, mouth-waterin' pecan pie, or Southern Baptist holier-than-thou rhetoric, that just pushes these Lone Star rugged-individualists over the edge, bolstering their ranks of rabid ultra-conservative ideologues and self-righteous Rightists and doubting Thomases.

And aj from Arizona. Shame on you!

Hmmm....for someone who admonishes us "classic liberals" for "reciting classic pejoratives", I think you're doing equally as well in the casting-aspersions department, my man, w/ your cutting, less than edifying, references to MSNBC's (admittedly liberal) commentary trio, labeling them as "sour-puss Olberman, orgasmic-leg-Mathews", and " I'm the guy-Maddow".

Yeah aj, you're really elevating the level of scholarly discourse there.

Aj, you puff up Glen beck's scholarly 'creds' like he's just a few rungs on the intellectual ladder below the likes of economist John Kenneth Galbraith, political historian Arthur Shlesinger, or philosopher
Socrates (well, I admit that was a stretch w/ the old classical greek philosopher.)

Beck may be bright, possess a modicum of levity and humor, and on occasion play on his fragile emotional state (sob! sob!) to show us just how darn sensitive a conservative Right-wing s-----disturber, and all-around muckraker he can really be, but a learned scholar..... give me a break.

Yet, by and large, Glennie Boy's breezy, in-you-face on-air schtick is nothing but a well-orchestrated performance geared foremost for ratings-gains and least to stimulate fair and balanced political discourse and debate.

On the other extreme of the Cable T.V. political commentary Right---Left continuum, we have Mr. Keith 'Full-of-Myself' Olberman whom I would argue is even a markedly more biased, self-absorbed, strident, just plain mean-and-nasty blowhard of the Leftist persuasion, than Beck will ever be as an apologist for his loyalist Right-wing constituency.

But here again w/ Olberman, performs a contrived act, playing a character, and really not a very endearing, or likable one at that.

Oftentimes, Olberman's convoluted, rapid-fire diatribes are so packed w/ difficult, flowery vocabulary, that his argument-de-jour is extremely hard to follow, not unlike years back w/ the on-air, obfuscating narratives of the brilliant, but obtuse ultra-conservative protector of the Left, the late William F. Buckley.

Chris Mathews, on the other hand, has to be the constant focus of attention, even when he's engrossed in interviewing in-studio guests. One of his most irritating bad habits is constantly interrupting his guest(s) while they're in the middle of responding to one of his questions, and then firing off another query at them in mid-response. Very, very, annoying, and poor interviewing etiquette.

I think Mathews suffers from an over-active noggin' (always thinking) which is working ahead of his motor-mouth delivery, but i still think he brings a lot of political smarts and incite to the table, even though he unabashedly tends to flaunt his solid Left-wing bias a bit too often.

For me, Rachel Maddow has the proven credentials (former Rhodes Scholar, and all) and telegenics to be where she's at, and her rise to Cable 'stardom' was a meteoric one, in large part due to her relentless pounding of the drums for Obama and the Dems. during the drawn-out Primary season, the Election battle, and then the post-Election Obama 'honeymoon'.

Now her strong earlier ratings are tailing off, and I think many of the avid MSNBC viewers are a little tired of Rachel's frequent jabs and jibes at the Right that she can so deftly deliver, all w/ that slightly sarcastic, wide smile.

She does have a tad of that self-righteous Olberman smirkiness, and negative attach strategy, but her innate sharp wit and native intelligence still make her easier to swallow than the acidy treacle and mean-spirited invective that her colleague, Olberman spoons up on a daily basis.

I strongly suggest, fellow bloggers, that you may want to take a little stroll over to some of the PBS politically-relevant shows such as World Focus, The Jim Leher Newshour, Bill Moyers Journal and Washington Week w/ Gwen Ifill, The McGlaughlin Report, et al, where one can hear level-headed opinion and commentary from a myriad of intelligent journalists and reporters from a wide spectrum of news-gathering/ reporting agencies.

Of course you diehard Leftists out there will continue to chant the Sarah Palin-anti-West/ East coast media mantra, arguing that ALL these regular PBS News shows solely call on biased journalists from the New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, News Week, the L.A. Times and their pinko-socialist ilk, all plainly in bed w/ Pres. Obama and all the bleeding-heart-liberals who support him.

I mean, PBS host Gwen Ifill is a Black woman right? And she did write THAT book about up-and-coming, young, African-American male politicos and community leaders, (including Obama), right?

So let's face it, she definitely ain't worth listening to.

And that egg-head, Bill Moyers, didn't he work as a young speech writer back in the sixties for the then Dem. Pres. Lyndon Johnson? Why darn tootin' he did..... no way we can trust THAT left-wing wacko.

LET's GROW UP AMERICA!!!!!!!!

Enough already w/ this petty sniping from the extreme Right and Left fringes, and let's strive to find our common, positive ground, where we can at least, as a People, be more civil and constructive in our debate and political discourse, and not resort to cheap mudslinging and hurtful character assassination to vent our frustrations, or flaunt our deep-seated prejudices.

You bloggers out there (including yours truly) why don't you just honestly look at yourselves in the mirror, and ask yourself, deep down to your core, "Am I basically a HATER or a LOVER?"

I truly hope we see a lot more reflections of honest lovers than petty haters, folks, or this great country is doomed to repeat the blunders and travesties of its unglorious past.......AMEN

P.S.

I'm a transplanted Canadian, having lived in this wonderful country I now proudly call home for the past 30 years. But I feel very passionate about seeing a brighter, more optimistic future for America, my adopted country. Otherwise I'd just be sitting back, keeping my landed-immigrant 'yap' tightly shut.

Thankfully we have outlets for lively free-speech and exchange of ideas and opinions like this superb blog site that David Z. has created.

God Bless America!

Hey Mr. Z:
Are you old enough to remember Lennie Bruce? I can't help but imagine Glenn Beck as a latter day (pardon the pun) Lennie. Highly controversial AND entertaining, both may be judged. You see, we are those patient people who have run out of patience with our government. Socialism is not the answer, and when you look at the big picture, this is Glenn Beck's target. Remember how the 1930's ended? Wasn't pretty.

Glenn Beck as Lenny Bruce. That's a new one on me. Z

Mary,

I agree, it would be hard for him to be like you said a "fascist and a socialist" at the same time. That was good. I think Obama is neither. I think he is trying to do a good job for the country, I have to respect the office. You have convinced me to do more reading about Lincoln. My mom loves to read about Lincoln, I am sure that she has a lot of books I could borrow. Sounds like Lincoln and Obama have a lot of striking comparisons with divides and wars on their hands. I am off to church! I'll be back.

I think Beck is a HORRIBLE person (if a person at all).I wouldn't believe him if I was in my last breath of life.

Keith Oberman may be somewhat bias but I believe him any day before I believe anything Beck has to say.

The tone of the country right now is full of hatred and racism. From the hate tv spin doctors who fan the flames of hate, to the mostly middle aged to elderly white terrorists, who we see nightly at town hall meetings, not there to discuss anything, but there to show the sheer ugliness of their character. They look exactly like the white people who screamed at black people at lunch counters during the civil rights movement, at black children trying to enter all-white schools, or like the people who screamed at the Jews in Nazi Germany.

Tell us which advertisers are boycotting Glenn Beck and all of us can start boycotting them. this is ridiculous. Read the first book the President wrote - How about some Common Sense

Ok so from Beck's logic, Obama hates all white people, except his mother, his grandparents who raised him, his vice president, the majority of his white house staff, his white secret service agents, his white relatives, oh an his white supporters that he talks to everyday. Glen Beck is the BIGGEST IDIOT on television. And I welcome him to continue spewing this idiotic rhetoric, because the more he talks, the more money he, and FOX news will lose. And you know they hate losing money. Maybe if more sponsors pull their ads, Beck will actually get fired...GEE ya think?

Hey Joe!

Glen Beck as a latter-day Lenny Bruce?

Wow! That's a stretch if I ever did hear one.

Bruce was an unparalleled stand-up comic, light-years ahead of his time, who basically threw convention, civility, and propriety out the door, and w/ his rapier, intelligent, often profane satirical wit and pure genius, attacked w/ a passion, the sacred cows, false idols and hypocracies of his era (the '50s and '60s) w/ both a rage and an intellect that had rarely been witnessed on any stage before, or perhaps since.

To call him a mere stand-up comedian would be doing him a disservice, because in his in-your-face, raw, cut-to-the quick performances he was, in reality, more of a brilliant polymath, a modern-day oracle of the the ugly-truths and unspoken unjust hard realities that the 'average' American citizen had to face and endure each and every day.

Lenny Bruce was a child of the Jazz Age and saw himself not unlike a Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, or Charlie "Bird" Parker while on stage; an oral jazz-artist, or comedic-shaman, if you will, verbally riffing in an uncensored stream-of-conscious flow of random thoughts and quick observations, spiced w/ Tourettes-like bursts of obscenity, much like a jazzman/ musician would improv at a jam-session, or casual gig w/ fellow artists, just goin' w/ the eternal flow.

Bruce singularly paved the way w/ his irreverence and stage-bravado, for all those legions of stand-up comics who followed in his footsteps that worked "blue", or "dirty" in Vegas, as well as all those other huge talents who chose to push the envelop of 'naughtiness' to the legal limit, like George Carlin, Andrew Dice Clay, Redd Fox, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock.....the list goes on and on.

Sadly, in his attacking the monolithic Catholic Church, racism, hypocrisy, law-enforcement, the courts, and 'the Establishment', much of Bruce's career was plagued by brushes w/ the law, mostly involving the issue of public obscenity while performing on stage.

As a brilliant, but increasingly troubled, yet celebrated performer, he turned to hard drugs to merely cope w/ his internal demons and his outward 'persecutors', and tragically died of an injected morphine overdose in his West Hollywood home at the age of 40.

Now where FOX News-blowhard, Glenn Beck, fits into this equation, Joe, you've got me.

Joe, you're basically saying that aside from the profanity, the heavy-duty drug use, the frequent incarcerations, the stream-of-consciousness jazz-like satirical riffing, the loathing of racism and prejudice in all its many guises, the family background in burlesque theater and vaudeville, the litany of best-selling live-performance classic comedy albums, and his influence on an entire generation of successful stand-up comedians to this very day....... other than those incidental, minor points ......the pompous, sputtering, self-absorbed, Rightest -in-sheep's-clothing, Glenn Beck, IS the 21st-century reincarnation of the late, great Lenny Bruce?

Right on, bro!

And I have a gigantic bridge in the Sonoran desert I'd like to sell to you, real cheap.

David Z., as you so tersely put it, that's definitely "a new one on me", as well.

I fear Joe may have been smokin' some of that 'wacky tabbaky'.

(Sorry Joe, that was an uncalled-for, cheap shot...... and I apologies.)

ALEX

Unbelievable. Liberal Fascism at it's finest. Boycott anyone who opposes the Socialist leader that is Obama.

Now, where is this lie coming from? Obama DOESN't hate white people? Yet he went to Rev. Wright for a decade? His attorney general implied white americans were cowardly on racist issues? Michelle Obama saying she has never been proud of [white] America until now?
Shut up, Liberal Fascist.

To Annie the Canadian Socialist

AJ here.

Again, you prove my point. I challenge you to refute Glenn Beck's assertions.

He comes prepared with facts and figures in hand. Challenge them! Point by point! With Specificity!!!

Your lazy speaking in generalites, demonstrates clearly that liberals can never stand the details of any debate, they don't have the intellect.

You clearly demonstrate this point, once again.

Beck is a scholar. He does his homework and backs up his conclusions. He is a learned man and speaks clearly.

Bold and agressive at times? Yes. Tacky at times? Sure. Funny? Absolutely. Entertaining and informative, You Betcha.

His enormous popularity is well earned. He is a gift to Humanity in these troubled, doublespeaking, liberal-paradyme-shifting times.

He frustrates liberals, because they have no answer to his arguments.

They offer only, typical, angry, personal attacks, which are totally irrelevant to the issue at hand.

I married into a very liberal family, they never stay on point, of any argument and always devolve the discusision into irrelevancy.

Go back to your Socialist Country of Canada and stand in line for your MRI on your next headache, and hope to Heaven that in your "months" waiting for an exam, that your brain tumor does not blind or kill you.

Or move to England with it's Socialized medicine, and ask your daughter or grand-daughter, to wait until they are 25 before they can receive their "first" papsmear, and hope to God above, that ovarian or cervical cancer does not get them first.

And when you're 75 years old and you need a new hip, or knee, you to, will be told to sit over here and wait to die.

They'll make you comfortable, of course, but if you think you are getting a new hip or a bypass or agressive chemotherapy etc, in your later years of life?... forget it.

Sound paranoid, do we?

It's happening right now Einstein! Wake up and smell the baby seals.

You see, we've watched your little Country to the North, and we don't like what we see.

But then again, facts never get in the way of the liberal mind, because, they can't process them anyway.

We will fight to save the "Greatest Health Care System" in the World.

Does it need tweeking, yes. Nobody opposes that. However, this should be done slowly, with thoughtful deliberation.

What we oppose are 1100 page bills, which the so called lawmakers, have never read, and are willing to sign into law, anyway.

Glenn beck gives Americans a voice, so don't expect us to roll over for the Canadian Way.

We still value our loved ones in this Country, regardless of their age or condition.

And, if buying another year with them, is all we get, we'll pay that price.

Rationed care is always the end game with Government controlled health care. And the first to be cut are the elderly and so called un-desirables.

Hmm..shades of 1938 Berlin?

We don't need faceless bureaucrats making those decisions for families.

Yes Mam, that is indeed socialism bordering on facism.

Learn to study "definitions", apply them to what is happening now, and you also may be enlightended.

Then again, maybe not.

Hey Flash!

You obviously forgot to give your full moniker in your "Posted by:"-sign-off, which should have clearly read "FLASH-in the pan!

I guess it takes a semi-moron to come up w/ a full lame oxymoron like your "Liberal Fascism", kind of like Military Intelligence don't you think?

I would suggest you keep your covert bigotry, verging on overt, masked behind a feeble facade of being some kind of voice for anti-socialist governance, to your petty self, until you can manage to get all your 'facts' straight.

For one thing, Pres. Obama spent closer to 15 years as a member of Rev. Wright's church, not a "decade" as you stated.

And if you recall, Obama vehemently denounced the hateful sermonizing of the lime-light-seeking, over-the-top Rev. Wright on several occasions during his election campaign run, relegating the whole brouhaha, much to the Republican's chagrin, to non-issue status.

Secondly, I believe Michelle Obama stated, to the effect, that she has "never felt as proud to call herself an America citizen", when her husband, a man-of-color, was victorious in the Nov. 4th, '09 National Election.

It's no accident, Mr. Flash, that your recent blog-posting targets Pres. Barrack Obama, Attorney General Holder, and Michelle Obama; all African -Americans (Technically Obama is of mixed lineage).

It's not your irrational paranoia that America is going to hell in a (socialist) hand-basket w/ Pres. Obama at the helm that sticks in your craw, but the fact that after decades upon decades of oppression, subjugation,denial, and just plain hate, folks-of-color are finally getting their just due and their opportunity to shine and excel in all fields of endeavor, beyond entertainment and sport.

Diehard hate-mongering conservative-Rightist and 'status -quoers' like yourself, Mr. Flash, represent the most pathetic, simple-minded, prejudiced mudslinging sore-losers on the planet.

Fear of "The Other" has probably been w/ us Homo Sapiens since Neanderthals first encountered the more-evolved Cro Magnons (the progenitors of Modern Man) on the steppes of the Urals and the Neander River Valley in what is now today's Germany.

And U.S. history has been fraught w/ dark periods of xenophobia (fear of "The Other"); be it Irish Catholics in 19th century New England, Eastern-European Jewish emigrees in New York City, and Chicago, or Roma gypsies in any of the country's growing metropoli.

Of course slavery, "That Wretched Institution"of bondage and total objectification of "The Other"- the African slave, was the ugliest and most divisive chapter in American history, triggering the bloody Civil War and all the ensuing negative ramifications of that tragic enterprise that echo to this very day in the socio/political fabric of 21st -century America.

Mr. Flash, Barrack Hussein Obama, Attorney General Holder, and Michelle Robinson Obama are NOT "The Other", but they are most emphatically, US!....flesh-and-blood, feeling, sensitive, intelligent human beings, who shall ultimately be judged " not by the color of their SKIN, but by the content of their CHARACTER."

I believe those were the profound words of the late Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., slain in the prime of his life in the summer of 1968, who fought the good fight for the oppressed and disadvantaged, along-side Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Abernathy and the legions of other courageous and brave souls who steadfastly fought for freedom and equality for all Americans.

So Mr. Flash, I hope you truly make an effort to look beyond the color of one's skin, and take in the whole person, mortal warts and all. Remember, none of us is perfect in the eyes of our Creator, but we are ALL counted as His children.

As our courageous former Pres. F. D. Roosevelt proclaimed years ago at one of America's darkest hours, "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

Words to live by.

ALEX

P.S.:

I'm a Caucasian, lilly-white transplanted-Canuck, w/ roots in the West Highlands and Inverness, Scotland. Who knows, maybe I have relatives going back decades in U.S. history that emigrated to the America South, prospered and owned slaves like many of our Founding Fathers, including Thomas Jefferson.

Does that make me a racist, by historical proxy?

I think not!

Fellow bloggers, it's much easier to be a LOVER than a HATER.

Try it, you'll like it.

Flash,

I have to agree with ALEX. What are you afraid of? That President Obama might have some new ideas about the direction the country should take. Why would this be so scary? That is exactly why I like to try to remain an independent in my political views (my father-in-law a devout democrat would cringe hearing me say this). But, history tells us that discord is bad for the nation. I want to be able to hear from both sides so that I can make an informed decision enough of this fighting between parties, we can't move forward and that is the saddest part . ALEX totally agree that none of us is perfect in the eyes of the creator, but your post gives me hope that we can become better people. Please sign up for facebook it is a great way to communicate with friends.

Sorry that post about two minutes ago to Flash and Alex was mine. I am so frustrated with my computer it does not save any personal info. So half the time I post anonymous, haha.

Glen Beck sure loves Godwin's Law! Even when it makes zero sense!

After stating, "I am not saying that Barack Obama is a fascist," Beck compares auto bailout to actions of German companies "in the early days of Adolf Hitler"

Beck says he's not "comparing" banks who took bailouts to "people of Germany," while comparing TARP to "exactly what happened to the lead-up with Hitler"

Beck compared Gore's global warming "lie[s]" to "Goebbels or Hitler"

Beck on disputed claim of White House "threaten[ing]" hedge fund: "It's Brown Shirt stuff"

Beck cites Hitler example to state that "empathy leads you to very bad decisions"

Beck compares car dealership closures to Nazis; warns "Gang, at some point, they're going to come for you"

Beck attacks Wal-Mart for joining CAP, SEIU on health care, compares to "what happened in ... Germany ... under Hitler"

I love how people think Obama is a racist. He is half white. And if he's not racist, he's a socialist, a facist, the next Stalin...it's almost as if the people who dislike him will say anything to make him look bad.

And the people who love him (like Olbermann) are also idiots, just to be clear. 24 news networks are ruining news.

Eh, aj,

Loved your hysterical, defensive, Rightist hatchet-job of "that little Country to the North", as your so sarcastically put it, but please don't give poor, innocent fellow blogger "Annie" all your grief and anti-Canuck/ Socialist bombast.

Because it's MOI, ever-proud-to-be-a-Canadian and equally proud to have the privilege and the right to be living in America, ALEX MCRAE, who was your intended target.

Yeah, Mr. Canada-basher, you may have noticed that blog-posts come AFTER the commentary, not BEFORE, but I guess your seething frustration and eagerness to spew your pent-up, hostile "classic pejoratives" (from the Right) against Canada and basically any system of governance that smacks of that dreaded "Socialism", kind of threw you for a loop, EH?

Poor Annie must still be wondering what she said to deserve such a torrent of mean-spirited invective and pure reactionary drivel. She's likely as American as Barack Obama, and nary a socialistic Canuck secreted in her 'woodpile'.

Frankly, I welcome all that xenophobic balderdash w/ open arms, just as this still great and wonderful Nation has welcomed me some thirty years ago; aside from you, and your immigrant-bashing ilk, so tolerant, to a fault, all stepped in your sacred and sacrosanct "definitions".

My deep sympathies to you that you were saddled w/ such liberal-minded in-laws, and I might assume perhaps as liberal a spouse (although not necessarily),

It's so true that like our own parents, we don't really get to choose our in-laws; they just kind of come w/ the territory when you pick your mate. I imagine your wife's folks just didn't "study definitions" (as you put it) quite diligently enough, or maybe there's a couple of Canucks hidden away up their family tree contaminating their DNA.

I mean they're dyed-the-wool liberals, right? So there has to be something 'defective' w/ your wife's parents and siblings(?), who obviously ain't no "Einstein" like yourself?

Just for the record, my 84-year-old Mom was diagnosed w/ acute gall bladder disease about seven months ago; gall stones lodged in her bile duct. And within less than three days of her diagnosis she had gall bladder surgery (removal), spent five days w/ TLC in her local hospital in recovery, and was home, as good as new, all in less than a week.

Oh bye the bye, her Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP), one of those ineffective and disfuntional Canadian socialistic universal health-care programs, paid for the entire procedure and post-operative follow-up- w/ not even a token co-pay.

I guess my Mom's case was a glaring exception to the norm, eh, aj?

Now fess up, aj, you DO have a little devotional shrine dedicated to Glenn "The Scholar" Beck set up in your tranquil 'meditation space' at home, along w/ framed glossies of your other ultra-conservative heroes, Hannity, Limbaugh, and Dobbs. Light a candle for this disillusioned Canuck, would you?

If, as you so confidently stated in your blog that Glenn Beck "gives Americans a voice", are you really so sure it's THE VOICE most Americans really want to hear?

Aj, that little "You betcha" retort after your listing of Beck's strong-suits pretty much exposed your true-colors.... obviously an ex-Governor Sarah Palin-slaughtering-wolves-from-airplanes sympathizer.

(Just getting back at you for implying that ALL Canadians condone the inhumane, and barbaric slaughter of baby harp seals .... admittedly a cheap shot, but probably deserved.)

Man, not only can your sharp-eyed Sarah "see Russia and Putin's big head" from her doorstep in Wasila, but if she really squints her eyes hard enough she might even catch a gander of that no-count, 'pinko'-infested country to the south-east; YES, Canada, and if she's lucky Prime minister Stephen Harper's "big head" looming on the horizon, framed by the Northern Lights.

You betcha! EH?

Oh, and for a guy that's such a stickler for "definitions", and clarity of argument. you may want to use your spell-check app a tad more often, because the last time I looked at my trusty Webster's NewWorld Dictionary (2009 edition), your "paradyme" was spelled "paradigm", but maybe your using the Chaucerian, olde English version.

OOPS! Sorry. "English" just happened to have slipped out there. Wouldn't want to bring up yet another bastion of socialized medicine, aside from Canada, the jolly old British Isles.

Meanwhile, some 40 million+ American citizens currently lack any form of health care, or medical insurance.

But as you put it in your blog post, "We still value our loved ones in this country, regardless of their age or condition." Yeah, if they had health insurance!

What's wrong w/ this picture?

Go shout your high-minded refrain from the Sierra mountain tops and try to catch our Republican Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger's ear.

He just slashed millions of precious dollars from a whole range of social aid programs for disadvantaged children, hurting families, the elderly, the handicapped, and disabled of California, all in order to balance a totally out-of-whack State budget. Not to mention his threat to close down over 100 State parks.

Actions speak louder than words!

Rep. Gov. Schwartzenegger's actions don't seem to quite jibe w/ your earlier assertion, Aj, that " we still value our loved ones in this country, regardless of their age or condition".... or is kookie California just the exception to the rule?

Aj, honestly I don't feel very proud of myself, or in any way superior to you in how I've attempted to counter your argument and biases, and it would be refreshing to not have to lower ourselves to , as you say, "angry personal attacks" (from either side of the political divide).

My fallback, defensive position is generally sarcasm and hyperbole,which again I'm not particularly proud of.

Aj, I really sense your frustration and genuine passion for debate, and will defend both your right to express your opinions, and hold those opinions , even though we may not share much common ground.

Yet we can still agree to civilly to disagree in an open, lively forum such as David Z. provides.

I forgive you for calling me "Mam" in your last blog, HA! HA!

Now I know how "the Man in black", the late, great Johnny Cash felt when he penned that hit tune "A Boy Named Sue".

No hard feelings, EH?

Look forward to further, hopefully above-he-belt, healthy verbal sparring.

ALEX

Alex, did brevity kill your dog or something?

I must say I am a big fan of ALEX's comments. Thanks. Z

Okay, Corey has a sense of humor. I love reading ALEX's post albeit they are long. Try to be nice.

Corey,

Just had to throw this one in too. "Brevity is the soul of wit", you win hands down on this one.

Covertly-hostile, Corey!

NO!......Mr. Smart Aleck, "brevity " did NOT "kill my dog".

(My 14-year-old pooch is doing just fine, thank you very much.)

Frankly that's a new aphorism on me, but not bad, oh loquacious-one.

Actually, I would be the first to admit I could use a good editor, and tend to be a tad verbose. (Sorry)

Maybe I'm just aspiring to write for The New Yorker, whose stock-and-trade is long-winded, interminable articles. HA! HA!

But in my last post I was merely responding, at length, to several of fellow-blogger, Aj's (Arizona) blog assertions and outlandish pronouncements, point by point, as he claimed we bleeding-heart-liberals of the LEFT apparently never deal in specifics, or finer points of detail.

As far as brevity, do you prefer boxers, or jockies?

Obviously brevity and YOUR dog are getting along famously, oh man-of-few-words.

Corey, you remind me of the cowardly, uptight guy in the bar who instigates a huge bar fight, and lets his friends finish the donnybrook while you quickly, and stealthily vamoose.

So was this posting BRIEF enough for you?

Don't let those swinging doors hit you on the way out!

ALEX

You should write ALEX. I have said it before. I always read the posts because I always gain unimaginable insight from them not mention I have expanded my vocabulary. Join facebook, friends would love to see you out there.

I have pool parts laying all over the yard and it looks like it is going to rain.

Z, I enjoy reading them too. Thanks. C

Sherry T, I wanted to say something about brevity and I actually almost used that quote, but then opted for the more original and what I thought was humorous alternative.

Alex, clearly I offended you and that was not my intent, I should've included a smiley face at the end. My sincere apologies.

Glad to hear your pooch is doing well, as I type my kitten named Capone (he's a gangster) is crawling on my shoulders and head.

I think it is a tad presumptuous and judgmental to call me a coward based on a few words typed over the internet, but clearly I put you on the defensive and you felt a need to strike back. Again my apologies and no offense taken because...you don't even know me!

See, I can write a decent sized comment too, now admit it, my brevity line was funny!

Cheers,

-Corey

Obama puts me to sleep. -------------Beck wakes me up and talks about what is really going on while Obama tries to talk us all to sleep. ;)

Are Mr. Beck and the posters here who defend him aware of the fact that Barrack Obama is exactly fifty percent white? Are they aware that his mother was white, the grandparents who virtually raised him were white, his teachers were almost all white, the only blood relatives he had any kind of family-type relationship with were white, his university professors were predominantly white, his vice president is white, his chief of staff is white, the guy who gave the invocation at his inaugural could not be more white ... the list goes on and on. And yet, we're supposed to believe that Barrack Obama hates white people. How monumentaly stupid can you people be?

Mea Culpa!

Corey, I totally retract and apologies for that appellation of "coward" I put on you in my last posting.

I agree, as you so matter-of-factly put it, "you don't even know me."

I just got back from my cardio workout at my gym and have been stewing over that word "COWARD" all afternoon, and really regret having labelled you in that extreme and unwarranted way.

Calling you a coward was MORE than , as you phrased it, " a tad judgmental"; it was darn-right mean-spirited and totally inappropriate, and again I apologies for offending you.

I guess, deep-down, I'm a bit of a Canuck-chauvanist and very proud of my Canadian roots, just as you, Corey, are, as singer Lee Greenwood has professed in his popular anthem, "Proud To Be An American", and would defend your country come hell, or high water.

I confess that in responding to Aj I was assuming a very defensive posture vis-avis my "Home And Native Land"....The Great White North.

Actually I did see the humor in your "did brevity kill your dog" comment, but I've been dealing w/ an infection and swelling in my pooch, Ebony's front right ankle-joint for about two weeks now, treating it w/ Clavimox (antibiotics) and have been very concerned about her prospects of healing since she's pretty long-in-the-tooth at fourteen.

So I guess I took your admittedly humorous jibe a little too literally, and you unwittingly touched a raw nerve there.

Actually, my girl-friend is constantly telling me to "get to the point", as I tend to go off on wild tangents and lose the thread of my story, which can be very annoying.

I'm probably equally guilty of this bad habit in my blog commentaries, as well.

Corey, thanks for introducing your pussycat, Capone, who I'm sure was a huge fan of HBO's "Sopranos".

Rather than a coward, I now regard you as a person of genuine character and empathy, and I truly thank you for your honest candor and tough love.

I would hope going forward we can continue to exchange viewpoints and share opinions on David Z.'s blog, and keep the back-and-forth discourse on an elevated and less combative plane.

Corey, thanks for reminding me, through the gist of your frank and fair 'rebuttal', of Scotland's national-bard, Robbie Burns' profound and memorable line, "Oh, to see ourselves, as others see us." (My late Dad was born in Glasgow, Scotland)

And I DO admit, your "brevity line was funny", but like all comedy it's all in the timing.HA! HA!

All the Best, Corey,

ALEX

P.S.:

I know, even here, I'm still a bit of a wind-bag, but I've been toying w/ the alternative of pithy HAIKU blog posts. Could be interesting, no?

Sayonara!

Alex,

Apology accepted no worries.

I'm proud to be American sometimes, but not always, at times I'm ashamed to be an American. Countries are big things with lots of different people and philosophies and actions, I have pride in my city and the people I know more than anything else. Football, then Family, then Friends is the moral order which should guide all of our lives!

I've had to administer Clavimox to my kittenz too as they were pretty unhealthy after being rescued. Good luck to Ebony.

I fear you speak TOO highly of me now, just as before, you're basing a judgment on a few anonymous words exchanged, I could torture babies for fun for all you know!

I look forward to exchanging ideas with you as well here, though I do not watch Jon and Kate plus 8. The Ravens, the Orioles, the Terps, the Caps, the Food Network, Top Chef, and the Ultimate Fighter dominate my television experience.

Can you say "out and about" the right way? I'll give you a hint, it's not "oat and aboat." Canadian Bacon is inferior (the food not the movie).

Hakuna Matata,

-Corey

P.S. I F'ing hate that Lee Greenwood song.

Corey,

Can you believe it, I too am NOT a fan of "Jon & Kate + 8". Never watched. (OMG!)

Too much manufactured, exploitive melodrama and angst for my taste.

Even though I moved to L.A. from Toronto around the period when "The Great One"- Wayne Gretsky, was lured from the Edmonton Oilers to play for the Kings, I had pretty much lost my childhood mania for pro (NHL) hockey, having been like most kids growing up in Canada, a fanatic hockey nut (and player) almost from the womb.

NHL hockey was so much cooler and much easier to follow way back when, in those simpler, "Leave It to Beaver" days ('50s and '60s) when the league was a meager six teams, i.e., Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens.

These days I'm more of an individual-sport enthusiast, playing both golf and tennis and avidly following the exploits of the likes of Tiger and Phil, Roger and Raffa (Nadal) on the links and on the courts. respectively.

Corey, you mentioned "Top Chef" as one of your fav shows to watch on the tube.

David Z.'s recent blog-post introduced me, virtually for the first time, to chef, writer, and T.V. personality, Tony Bourdain, where, as you may recall, Z. addressed Bourdain's on-air unwitting, back-hand dissing of Baltimore, labeling it as part of the "Rust Belt".

More recently, a close buddy of mine who works as a copy-editor at the L.A. Times, e-mailed me a You Tube webloc download of a series of episodes from Bourdain's "No Reservations" Cable 'foodie' show; specifically a series of colorful video-reviews he did while visiting various iconic, venerable, still-thriving New York city landmark eateries, spanning the whole range of NYC ethnic cuisine, but w/ kind of a core Jewish deli-feel informing the whole piece.

Great, gritty stuff. Made me want to catch the next red-eye flight out of L.A. to New York, and check out every last place he visited. Pass the Rolaids, please. BURP!

Watching the old "No Reservations" clips on-line inspired me to buy Bourdain's best-selling book, "Kitchen Confidential", which i just started to get into, and am enjoying, so far.

(He's a fun, informative, and ofttimes funny read, but he can get awfully full of himself. I venture to say that most mega-successful chefs tend to have inflated egos.)

As far as the obvious tell-tale Canadian identity give-away line, "out and about", it's pronounced " oot and aboot", eh?

I agree w/ you on the bacon deal, at least the film part. Still enjoy, on occasion, that lean, pea-meal pork.

Loved the movie "Canadian Bacon" w/ former SCTV alum, portly John Candy, Alan Alda, Rip Torn, Jim Belushi and Wallace "Dinner w/ Andre" Shawn, as the film's Canadian Prime Minister.

"Strange Brew" starring SCTV's goof-ball MacKenzie Bros. (Bob and Doug), those beer-swilling, backwoods-bumpkin, total hosers, as I remember, was a fairly hilarious flick, as well.

As a former Disney Studios animation cartoonist (as well as Warner Bros., Hanna- Barbera,, and Cartoon Network), I appreciate your parting blog salutation from Disney Features' "The Lion King", i.e., Hakuna Matata.

Oh, I guess for a lot of people Lee Greenwood's unofficial anthem, "Proud to be An American", is an acquired taste, kind of like Brussels sprouts, blood pudding, or prairie oysters.

Corey, stop torturin' those little 'chilens', eh! (HA! HA!)

Ciao for now,

ALEX

Hi, Alex - I just want to apologize for the jingoists in our midst. Welcome to the joys of anonymous (and therefore often irresponsible) commentary. I'm very glad to see you can defend yourself ably and eloquently!

I find it helps to remember to bring a sense of humor to the table, and a sense of proportion never comes amiss, either! Mark Twain had it right when he said, "In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane."

Of course, it helps if you can differentiate between the two concepts of "fact" and "opinion." These words are NOT synonyms.

As a whole, this country seems to have lost its capacity to listen to alternate points of view. Sad, but true. I am often very happy that I have pretty much kicked the TV habit and rely heavily on National Public Radio.

I may return some day and even subscribe to cable if I could figure out a way to keep the Fox "Unbalanced" Network from automatically counting me as a viewer if I do so.

Anyway, I wish people would realize that they might gain a wider audience if they would drop the name-calling.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Jane

Thanks for the insight and civility, Jane. Z

Everybody knows only white people are racist!

Now I know where not to spend my money. Thans GB

Hello, RP!

I'm trying to figure out your point. Please elaborate. (Don't know whether Mr. Beck is racist or not, but I can't help but wonder if the butter hasn't slipped off his noodles, and that's putting it as mildly as I can.)

Thanks,

Jane

Please email me a list of advertisers for the Glen Beck TV show on Fox news. I personally wish to contact each and everyone of them and help the sane people here in Reno, to do so. I am 80 years old. Something must be down to get Glen Beck off the air and I do believe this will be of great value.

Thank you

It amuses me how against public health care and other programs some of these people are. Oh really? You don't want government run social programs? Okay! You'll then, unless of course a tad hypocritical, stop sending anything through the postal service, stop driving on public roads, take your children out of public school, Stop cashing those social security checks, quit medicare or medicaid if you have it, and stop paying taxes.

Because, after all, these are just slippery slopes to socialism, right? Can't have any of that!

If I called my grandmother a "typical black person" and attended a church for 20 years that routinely bashed black people, would there be any outrage or boycotts directed toward the person(s) who correctly called me a racist? Just wondering.

I love Glenn Beck. He reports/ gives information on things that the news refuses to. He has consistently brought attention to groups which threaten our democracy such as ACORN and the SEIU. He challenges people in both political parties. Most of all though, he uses humor to show the flaws inherent in the Progressive movement.

Oh, and to respond to some other posters, despite being on at 5:00 pm, he is the #3 show on Fox behind only Hannity and O'Reilly. Clearly, he is very popular.

Hi, Lawrence.

What's wrong with calling someone "typical?" We're all typical one way or another.

Also, while I suspect that 20 years is not quite an accurate number, I do remember going to an all-white grade school and being taught to use N word and at least one teacher who made horribly racist comments to us. The fact that I am not now a small-minded racist is solely due to the strong influence of my parents who lifted me above such wickedness, so I'm here to tell you it is possible to take no lasting harm from associating with prejudiced people.

You should not yell before you are hurt.

Thanks,

Jane

Typical liberal opinion columnist spiewing his putrid garbage about another person who voices his opinion against Obama! Take notice liberals, socialists etc. America is getting very ticked off and you will see how many Americans have had it with the direction this country has been headed for a very long time now. First they took prayer out of school then the pledge of allegiance. And this author Z come one buddy. You have a P.H.d in 1950's coulture??? My parents lived it did you? I didn't think so. This country has slowly been moving towards socialism and beyond for a very long time now. Socialst programs that people think are so great, which ones? Social security from one of the worst presidents in our history FDR. Social security is broke thanks to our government, the mail system (laughing) a joke and everyone knows it. Medicare and medicaid thanks to the rotten LBJ is broke from our government also. What liberals don't understand is that THEY are the minority and real Americans are the MAJORITY!! Obama is a disgrace to this country and we have only seen the beginning of his plan to destroy America as we know it.

I believe Glen Beck is correct in his statement about Obama. The left just can not handle that we are finally standing up and fighting back!!!! This is going to get very nasty. Since the left put pressure on the Companies to pull out of his show. I guess we, who support him, all 2 Million will have to put the pressure back on them. The left has been out of control far to long and it is going to stop. Thank God for Beck!!!

Glen Beck is correct about lots of what he says. He happens to be one of the few trying to spur the media into doing it's job. When Bush ran the press dug and dug into his military service and if he got preferential treatment...... But they won't investigate ANYTHING negative about Obama. He even gets a free pass on the birth certifacate when his Grandmother say's she was there in Africa during his birth. Who on the New York times has been searching for answers? Who at abc, nbc, or cbs? And we want to see the birth certificate with all the details not the certificate of live birth that can be done days later.

Glen Beck can have his show as he is an entertainer as well as a journalist. Refute what he says. Or have your own show. He and Rush and Sean must be believable as O's favorable opinion is now under 50% and sinking fast. It is good when truth is on your side.

It is amusing how naive most americans are, no wonder they take one man's opinion and run with it. Do your homework, listen to both sides and research the claims then make a decision on who to believe. If this political non-sense continues then its always going to be a nation of left Vs right.

Glenn Beck may be a moron but the advertisers are cynical hypocrites. Please list the Companies that pull ads from Hardball, Countdown, and Rachel Maddow and a few others who consistently deride, not only Elected official with who they disagree, but most Americans whom they disagree with. Anyone who opposes the current president is implied to be a racist and anyone who doesn't support their social agenda are likewise accused of racism on a regular basis. They allow Jeane Garafalo on often and Olberman's "worst Person in The World" rant is unwatchable.

The truly sad state of affairs is that on cable in the evening your choices are Dodds, Olberman, OReilly the first are outworldy revolting in opinion and ORielly is snarky holier than though but equally inaccurate and bolviator.

Hoo, Geoff B, you are one angry dude. Calm down, take a deep breath and laugh. You will live longer.

As I have said elsewhere, I am a liberal American and proud of it and every bit as much a voting, flag-waving, love-my-country patriot as you are. If you want to debate the best direction the country should go in, don't shout at the rest of us. If all you want is a fight, please take it elsewhere. Above, all, be civil.

You don't like Obama, I didn't like Bush. But the people have spoken once again and the man in charge is our President. The country would do better if we spend less time tearing each other down and more time finding ways to work together. Do you prefer to be part of the problem or the solution?

The same goes for you, Kim. As for the Left not being able to deal with you and others of similar kidney "finally standing up and fighting back", boy oh boy is your memory short. Those of us who did not support G. W. Bush were called everything but a child of God for eight years.

If it is going to get nasty, please for goodness sake don't add to the nastiness!

Thanks,

Jane

Glenn is an entertainer and as such can say virtually anything. If Letterman can do it so can Glenn.
In this situation Glenn is completely correct, this presidents ACTIONS speaks volumes about what he thinks of the working class white population. According to some of his followers, i.e. Janine Garrofalo, "those people are nothing but rednecks who hate a black president". I suppose that is OK because she is an entertainer right? But of course, the "protected" and "spoiled" and "victimized" black president of the United States of America cannot be tainted by any negative statements.
Interesting, some wanted this president to be biracial when convenient to get the white vote and now he is black. Let me be prophetic like Glenn (sic) and state that the worst move for the blacks in the USA was the election of Obama. The backlash from over 300 million whites against only 40 million blacks can be devastating if this president fails to live up to his campaign promises. Blacks need to wake up and see the danger around them; this guy is leading them into a conflict that they may not survive. They are over reaching as in the case of the Congressional Black Caucus interfering in countries in Latin America in order to create racial conflicts with the local blacks who have not had conflicts with the Amerindians and Caucasians until now that is. It seems that the CBC is trying to spread affirmative action in Latin America as well.
A dangerous move that may bring the weight of ALL races against the black race on this entire continent.

And by the way: For all those that call anyone who disagrees a racist. Keep abusing it and over using it; and the day will come when it will mean nothing.

Ooh look, another link...to another community organizing website for Obama.. You've shown your own colors on this one. The Community Organizer in Chief must be proud.

Its funny how Keith Olbermann could call President bush a "fascist", "nazi", "worst person in the world", and I'm probably leaving out a hundred or other worse names, and I'd even bet that Olbermann or some lefty on NBC has called Bush a racist before.... never heard outrage over them though. No ad dollars being pulled. The media so hypocritical, and this article adds to the fire. Wake up people!!!!!!

You should do a goggle search of Zurawik and Olbermann to see what I have said about that. Thanks. Z

I don't remember President Bush being called racist - can somebody give me an example?

Thanks!

Jane

I, like Glen Beck, have faith that Mormon Jesus will strike down the government option. No Kenyan will ever take from me my 50 co-pay or my right to carry loaded firearms in libraries, bars, and on the grounds of liberal left - wing universities I don’t attend

you are an idiot

This is exactly the kind of rhetoric I am talking about in the post. Thanks. Z

Jane this might answer your question above

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17438.html

I think there were some pretty strong feelings about the Katrina incident. I do remember a comment he made once in regard to this an I am not quoting because this just what I remember, but he said something to the fact that Those people over there in that part of the world, which made it sound like it was not even happening in America, but then his choice of wors, vocabulary we all had to get used to.

All I can say, is Spare me. The lack of of
any backbone here is beyond belief. First of all we have something
Known a "Free Speech",
Guaranteed by our Constitution,
until that Socialist/Dictator/Muslim Supporter destroys what little Democracy we will have left here in
what used to be a World Power,
and Country of Greatness.

I believe the right approach, would be to Immediately Boycott all the sponsors that just pulled their adds from Glen
Beck. Glen is right on. Come on People, grow a brain, and get a back bone.

We need to restore this country to its
former Greatness and Power, and world leader. The Great Power House of the USA, that we can be proud of again.

IMO, organized boycotts is just a way to try and silence peoples right to free speech.

No matter if I agree with a person or not. Boycotts are just wrong.

Why are they "just" wrong? Beck can have all the free speech he wants -- jst don't expect advertisers to underwrite his extremism with a salary of several million dollars a year. Thanks. Z

Broadcasters from other news stations call average everyday American citizens that disagree with this Administration's policies racist. Where's the outrage with that? Their sponsors should pull out too as I am just as important as any other American citizen including the President. If you try to silence Freedom of Speech we won't have much left in America. So sponsors since you have chosen to agree to TRY to silence our Freedom of Speech I will exercise my Freedom of Choice and spend my money in places that actually agrees with our freedoms.

I do not agree with everything said by Glen Beck. I do believe that he has the right to say what he thinks (1st Amendment). I believe advertisers have the right to pull their ads and I have the right to pull my business from any that do. Boycotts work both ways.
I called, sent emails and letters to all the companies that pulled ads, telling them that they have received the last of my purchases.
I have been around for a while (drafted by President Ike). I am not a Republican or a Democrat. Of all the Presidents I remember, Truman was the best.
I am not a racist because I dislike Obama, I wanted Condi Rice for President.
I am part of the smallest minority in America. I firmly believe that you should earn you franchise to vote by serving your country. A honorable discharge should be the qualifier to vote or hold office.

Hello, Disgusted!

You kiss your mother with that mouth?

I'll match my backbone against yours any day. I know you are not talking about President Obama because he is none of the things you mentioned.

If you are reading things that make you angry, please take a few deep breaths and don't post anything until you read it over three times. (It works for me!) If you are so angry that it makes your argument incoherent and badly spelled, you aren't thinking, only reacting.

Of course, you could simply be an angry, incoherant person with sloppy spelling and poor manners, but this may not be so.

Peace!

Jane

Hi, Sherry T!

Gosh, now that you mention it, I vaguely remember something of the sort being said about President Bush during the Katrina crisis, along with a LOT of other uncomplimentary things. Thanks for reminding me!

Of course the man wasn't a racist, but I can't possibly keep track of how often I was glad I hadn't voted for him!

Hope you are having a great day!

Jane

Hi Johnnie Owens!

Sufferage through national service. That is a splendid idea. Of course, it should also be possible for everyone who wants to serve their country to be able to do so. (I first encountered this philosophy in Robert Heinlein's novel "Starship Troopers" and found myself nodding in agreement.)

More power to you for having the courage of your convictions!

If only I could convince myself that before Mr. Beck tells us what he thinks that he thinks before he tells us ......

Thanks,

Jane

"Let's hope ad loss makes a difference"

Do ya think?

Well let's see.

The adoring, pro-Obama liberal news media has been blasting Beck and suppressing information about Van Jones.

Yet in spite of zero coverage of Jones before he resigned, Beck is still here and Jones isn't.

This the reason liberal journalists hate Glenn Beck and Fox News.

Since because of them the liberal journalists scheme to make Obama a cult hero is failing.