Beck and Palin -- stupid in stereo
January 13, 2010 5:39 pm ET by Simon Maloy
I'm watching the Glenn Beck interview of Sarah Palin, and it's really leaving me speechless that two people who are so woefully and determinedly uninformed have such an impact on the national discourse.
Beck just asked Palin if she'd heard about the Federal Reserve's record profits for last year, and then bemoaned that "nobody's having hearings on the Fed, nobody is looking for a windfall profit tax on the Fed, we can't even open the Fed's books." Palin responded by thanking Beck for "bringing this to light," adding: "I don't know anybody else who is."
There's a very simple reason why no one else is talking about taxing the Fed's profits or having hearings or even discussing this -- because people who care to know what they're talking about already know that 100 percent of the Fed's profits go to the Treasury. Every single cent. There is no talk of a windfall profits tax because it's already effectively at 100 percent.
Perhaps if Beck put his crack research staff on the case, or if Palin spent a little less time lying on Facebook, they would know basic facts like these before making (greater) fools of themselves on national television.
Anyone can make a mistake once. Now, journalists shouldn't make simple mistakes - they should do the necessary research first to prevent those mistakes. But mistakes and oversights happen. We're all human.
But when one repeats a mistake that's already been identified, then that 'mistake' undeniably becomes a lie. And this lie about the FED's record profits has already been debunked. So why is a person with a crack research staff still repeating a lie?
Because his original statement that he relied upon great researchers was also a disingenuous lie. He KNOWS that he doesn't honor the truth, but he's desperate for his listeners to not know that.
I think he meant to say that he has a research staff that's high on crack.
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Hey, when you pull all of your "facts" out of your...
Simon, I can only hope that you are being paid very well, but money isn't everything. Think of your mental health, man, please.
More thoughts later...
I realize the remaining Americans would probably need to have some of our taxes going to support the country,as most of them hate to work, and don't like paying their way, but it would be money well spent if we didn't have to be associated with these nincompoops any longer.
But; other than that, I have always supported that type of idea.
If you don't like the way the majority of america is living, leave.
These two in the same room makes that point over and over and over again.... It is truly mind-numbing....
I literally don't have sufficient mind numbing substances in my house to watch that video. The transcript is sufficient warning. Simon, you have my sincerest condolences that it is your job to do so.
In politics and sports this kind of B.S. (let's call it what it is) is accepted as common practice.
But once they turn to fields with provable facts such as math, finance, etc. their B.S. is easily disproved. They are literally so ignorant they don't comprehend that not only are they wrong, there are facts that prove them wrong.
The highly intelligent people with whom I work in Silicon Valley acknowledge when they don't know the answers, but will search for the answers and respond later. Their intelligence informs them that they don't know everything and they need to disprove their doubts with supporting facts.
Ignorant people assume they do know everything and never doubt their own knowledge.
"The big trouble with dumb bastards is that they are too dumb to believe there is such a thing as being smart."
She's gonna get you guys. Better run and hide.
Well, at least someone is giving Palin training in the "non-answer".
That is pretty much the same thing I say to the crazy people at work, when they start going off into conspiracy land.
If Sarah Palin could learn to put a coherent sentence together listening to her might be easier. Beck is just living on another planet.
Again, can you even imagine Palin in the White House? With two wars, a financial collapse, and massive unemployment?
Palin is actually much less than this. She has the main talking points down and can do the patter. She can nod well, and repeat back to you what you have just said. But, she seems to have the shallowest of information wells imaginable for a public figure.
At three points last night, Beck introduced pet peeve theories about cabals forcing crises that result in fundamental changes to the social, economic and political order. It was clear that Palin had no idea what he was talking about. Beck, picking up from O'Reilly's performance on the previous night, switched to asked a set of "yes or no" questions. Palin is not intelligent or learned, but she is savvy, and she quickly did her part. She kept saying "yes", "certainly" and "of course" on cue.
When he asked her for her favorite founding father, she fell back on her Couric strategy- "all of them". Then she rambled about their diversity (all white, all male, all from the upper echelon of colonial society) and their unity. When pressed she named George Washington. All of those dollar bills she is raking in served another purpose: a tutorial.
Of course, she could provide no reason. A good one would have sounded like this: "Although Washington was not a member of either the Continental Congress or the Constitutional Convention, he was the one that the other Founders turned to again and again when words were not enough. He was a man of action. I like that." THAT is a good answer, not too acadmic, but informed and it fits with her values.
So, they are both frauds...true believers in many ways, but frauds who are making very good livings off of the fears and ignorance of others.
Dissolve the Fed! Return the power back to the Treasury as is outlined in the constitution.