Beck on An Inconvenient Truth: "It's like Hitler"
CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck became the latest critic to compare the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth, about former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to raise awareness of global warming, to the Nazis. Beck dismissed many of the conclusions drawn from the documentary, stating, "When you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. ... It's like Hitler. Hitler said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in 'and it's the Jews' fault.' "
On the June 7 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck became the latest critic to compare An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film about former Vice President Al Gore's campaign to raise awareness of global warming, to the Nazis. Beck dismissed many of the conclusions drawn from the documentary, stating, "[W]hen you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. ... It's like Hitler. Hitler said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in 'and it's the Jews' fault.' That's where things get a little troublesome, and that's exactly what's happening" in An Inconvenient Truth.
As Media Matters for America has previously noted, Sterling Burnett, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, called the film "propaganda" and added: "You don't go see Joseph Goebbels' films to see the truth about Nazi Germany. You don't want to go see Al Gore's film to see the truth about global warming."
From the June 7 broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program:
BECK: So, if you look at this chart, you will see the CO2, and it mirrors the temperature. Now, what I find interesting about this chart is CO2 seems to naturally go up by itself. Hmmm, I don't remember those 200,000-year-old cars; I think Henry Ford wasn't around yet. I don't know if Fred Flintstone actually did have a car, but apparently, according to this chart, somebody was driving around in a car or an airplane. Maybe it was Al Gore giving the frickin speech at Stone Age colleges. I'm not sure, but it definitely correlates.
Now, what happened where this thing falls apart -- and it won't for most people who go to this movie -- is he then projects what's coming. Again, it's the projection that's the problem. See, when you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. You know? It's like Hitler. Hitler said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in "and it's the Jews' fault." That's where things get a little troublesome, and that's exactly what's happening. Now, if Al Gore's projection is right about the CO2 level going as high as he says it will, then the temperature here on planet Earth will be about 400,000 degrees. We'll be the sun; we'll be the frickin sun. But that's a huge "if."
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Beck said a little bit of truth, and then he mixed in 'and it's the Liberals' fault.' "
Great catch.
Help me, Help me, A Neo-Con Butt head is attempting critical thinking, and interpreting science!!!!
We need to put this guy on the T.V., he really knows how understand that stuff?!?!?!?
Yup, them radio guys really know their stuff, they read and everything, huh??
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
Have elevated the art of propaganda to a level only dreamed of by Hitler.
If Hitler had satellites, internet, sophisticated encryption and unrestricted, widespread broadcast capability?
Thank God he was limited to code machines, which were deciphered by brilliant and dedicated codebreakers.
Hitler's codes were never "broken." The Allies recovered an encryption machine from a Nazi sub....
The Enigma machine used at Blechley Park (in the UK) used to break the Nazi code did NOT get captured by a USA submarine. STOP using movies as your historical sources. The British codebreakers at Bletchley Park received an Enigma machine and rotors I to V from the Polish Cipher Bureau in August 1939. Next time you're watching a War movies keep in mind that they are "fictional historical dramas" not an accurate representation of what actually happened. Hollywood loves to play with the facts to make the story "more interesting". The statement "based on a true story" doesn't mean it's an accurate representation of history.
--"See, when you take a little bit of truth and then you mix it with untruth, or your theory, that's where you get people to believe. You know?"--
I do know. It's called "The O'Reilly Factor".
Who could ask for more knowledgeable sources on Hitler's techniques than Beck and the other un-popped boils of his ilk?
Similar to the mediamatters.org website, Al Gore's film exposes today's mass media for what it is... a vehicle for propaganda for big oil, the Bush administration, and more. It's not at all surprising that several media organizations are trying to debunk the film, discredit Gore, and downplay the crisis, but the level of ignorance displayed in such attacks is somewhat surprising. Well, OK, maybe it's not surprising.
You can see the worm turning a bit. Now I am seeing more and more the focus on the predictions. The science on prediction is "iffy". The attempt at seemless transition. The result is the same, no need to act bc scienctists cant accurately predict. No longer is it outright denial. Look for this subtle difference in the right wing noise machine. I really dont understand the Right's stubborness on this issue. I understand the theocrats think it may lead to the crapture. But here is a chance for new industries and technologies to be developed with the chance for huge world wide profits.
don't believe Al Gore, why not ask instead the leaders of the 141 nations who signed the Kyoto Protocol (Tony Blair included), NASA's Chief Climatologist, the CEOs of BP and Shell, and the United Nations and see what THEY have to say about global warming. I am positive you will not hear anything different than what Gore is saying.
The fact that these guys have the gall to talk about mixing fact and fiction is...well, just disgusting. The seems to be a tried-and-true method of these liars = calling the kettle black.
should be frogmarched to hell.
I don't know if it's just the shows I watch, but I CONSTANTLY see commercials for Beck's CNN program.
They promote him as "bringing common sense " back to political commentary. They then show him railing about an old conservative complaint that security officials should only focus on Muslim men when trying to prevent another terrorist attack.
How is that "common sense"? It's more like common idiocy. What is preventing a terrorist group from, say, putting a bomb in a SpongeBob/Squarepants book bag, then exchanging it with a child's SpongeBob book bag when they are not paying close attention? What is preventing a terrorist group from, say, kidnapping the family members of an Anglo woman, then telling her they will all be killed unless she brought a package onto a commercial airline? What is preventing terrorist groups from recruiting European-looking terrorists, or from simply finding a lunatic of the McVeigh/Nichols vein to commit their attack for them?
Beck sounds like a typical clueless right-winger.
you actually spent time thinking the issue through as opposed to Beck who just rants on impulse, not concerned for the veracity of his statements.
Like someone once said: "If it's got webbed feet, craps through feathers and quacks..."
They'll just say it's a chicken, and then smear you for "hating the ducks".
can only dream that he has one ounce of Gore's ability. Beck cannot even articulate a complete thought. He is an idiot, and he looks like a fraud in his pink shirt. I hate the CNN commericals. As a matter of fact, CNN can go somewhere.....
He's say we'll go to 400k degrees. So, increased CO2 levels are going to turn the planet into a sustained nuclear fusinon reeaction?
What did you say about mixing a little bit of truth with theory?
What a putz.
When you don't know, shut up and read, listen, learn.
A skill that is a threat to the whole belief system at work here.
We are told that the conservative movement will preserve, and protect freedom and democracy based on their firm belief in thier core values.
Breathing breathable air, drinking drinkable water, and sustaining the ozone layer's protection from UV's are values that did'nt make the cut.
Too bad if you have children you want to breath, drink, or step outside in their lifetime!!
We should have known when our freedoms, and democracy began to erode. Darn! Dagnabbit!
What was it we needed these guys for again???
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
...but God forbid the left ever uses it in return.
It's like dysentery, only less amusing.
You bet, and it is countered by hype from the other side. The reasonable approach is somewhere middle to left of the debate. Sure, the earth appears to be warming (and has been since the last Ice Age). Is human impact accelerating the climate changes we are seeing? Probably. Is there a point of equilibrium? Perhaps. Can mankind totally reverse the trend? No. Can mankind slow it down? Perhaps. BTW, what greenhouse gas was the culprit in the end of the last ice age?
All criticisms of Gore & n Inconvenient Truth MUST include Nazi references.
Goebbels would be SO PROUD!!!
I was stuck in the car yesterday and was scanning through the radio stations, checking out the fetid paranoia cesspool of right-wing radio, when I happened upon Beck's show. The thing that stuck out about it to me is that he seems to be trying to act like a comedian, but he just isn't funny. He did a gag about burying Zarqawi in a "bacon shroud" and "ham hat" (so that other terrorists would be deterred) that could have been a funny one-time joke, then he proceeded to relentlessly beat it into the ground, thus destroying any comedy that might have been there. You could almost hear the flop sweat. The guy flat-out sucks at what he does.
Does he have the guts to repeat it on CNN - where it will get much more play?
Or doesn't he really believe it?
Or maybe he's just pandering to the morons that listen to him on the radio - but don't all his audiences deserve his enlightened opinion?
This highlights the fact that these guys - O'R, Flathead, Beck, Bennett, Coulnter, say the extreme stuff where there is less visibility, and keep fairly moderate when they're on the big shows.
but eventually it all ends up the same - and they get a pass.
It took Beck almost a week to get the "tory party line" on Gore.I guess he is a slow reader.Without their" GOP talking points",these wingnuts,would be lost!
Sirs: You will not be getting my support for your networks as long as you have Glen Beck on your staff. I couldn't believe it when you hired him, are you not aware that on his radio show he stated that 10% of the Islamic population should be disposed of. That is 100 million people, and this is the kind of individual you want representing you. I have avoided the Beck show, not watching the hate monger but reading the post on Huffington Post that he called and likened Al Gore to Adolph Hitler goes over the line. Evidently you are in agreement with him as you allow him to spew his bile after saying that. I will now move to boycott all CNN programming, and believe me you do need ME. I am ashamed of any Democrat that would appear on any CNN program after him saying that. Mr. Gore was the Vice President of the United States. What kind of leadership do you have, shameful is the best I can think of. I really wonder if one of your anchors or commentators called President Bush or Vice President Cheney the same thing, would you fire them, I think you would, but you allow Democratic attacks as part of your genre. Good bye until he is gone. The common joke now about CNN is you are Fox Light, and this proves to be the truth. ABC fired Rush Limbaugh for his racism but you allow character assination and a form of racism to be spewed on your channels.
As fractured as Beck's logic is, it is only symptomatic of the underlying problem. The disheartening problem is the existence of a portion of the populace which is swayed in its opinion of particular issues by the pabum puked up and espoused by the likes of Beck and Coulter on the stage of nationally televised network programs.
People who lack the capacity to discern the faulty logic of the viewpoints they promote, aren't making decisions based on pragmatic thinking and proven empirical evidence. They are justifying their held positions based on fear, ignorace and emotional instabillity. Spending time attempting to sway such people over to a more rational viewpoint is a waste of effort.