Ignoring their own past, Beck and Donohue complained of "double standard" in discussion of religions
SUMMARY: On CNN Headline News, Glenn Beck asserted that "[t]here is a double
standard in the world today"
for Christians, and Catholic League president Bill Donohue later asked, "Why is it that, you know,
other religions aren't
held to the same degree of scrutiny?" In fact, both Donohue and Beck have a history of making inflammatory comments about
religions other than Christianity.
On the February 26 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck hosted Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights president Bill Donohue to discuss The Lost Tomb of Jesus, a documentary about the alleged discovery of the bones of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, and "Judah son of Jesus." Donohue asked, "Why is it that, you know, other religions aren't held to the same degree of scrutiny?" Beck, who had earlier said that Lost Tomb filmmaker James Cameron was "officially running for anti-Christ," asserted, "There is a double standard in the world today. Treat Christians one way, but heaven help you if you try that with anybody else's religion." In reality, Donohue and Beck themselves have a history of making inflammatory comments about religions other than Christianity.
Media Matters for America has documented Donohue's derogatory comments toward Jews and Muslims, and also his tolerance of bigotry from conservatives:
- On the February 9, 2006, edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Donohue said: "People don't trust the Muslims when it comes to liberty."
- On the December 8, 2004, edition of Scarborough Country, he said: "We've already won. Who really cares what Hollywood thinks? All these hacks come out there. Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. ... Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions. I believe in traditional values and restraint. They believe in libertinism. We have nothing in common. But you know what? The culture war has been ongoing for a long time. Their side has lost."
- In 2004, Media Matters first detailed anti-Catholic comments made by Jerome Corsi, who, as co-author of Unfit for Command (Regnery, August 2004), was one of the ringleaders of the smear campaign by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) -- a Catholic presidential candidate. Among Corsi's bigoted comments: "Boy buggering in both Islam and Catholicism is okay with the Pope as long as it isn't reported by the liberal press." Despite the uproar surrounding Corsi's comments, Donohue subsequently dismissed the comments as "quips."
Similarly, Media Matters has extensively documented Beck's history of making inflammatory statements regarding Arabs and Muslims on both his syndicated radio show and CNN Headline News program:
- During a November 14, 2006, interview with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), who recently became the first Muslim elected to Congress, Beck said: "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' "
- Beck mocked Islam by "mark[ing] the death" of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with a "Zarqawi bacon cake."
- He described as "surprising" a letter criticizing Al Qaeda in Iraq because "the man who wrote it" -- Islamic Society of Nevada director Aslam Abdullah -- "is a Muslim."
- Beck aired a segment mocking the names of several missing Egyptian students in which the announcer said that one "may or may not be accompanied by his camel." The segment showed pictures of crowds and pointed to random, unidentifiable people as the missing Egyptians. It ended with a reading of the students' names in quick succession followed by the announcer pretending to gag as he struggled to pronounce them.
From the February 26 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: Anyone who got dragged to see Titanic or was subjected to repeated playings of that Celine Dion song that just made you beg for death and would never go away, while your moron friends kept shouting, "I'm the king of the world!" every time they found a good parking spot, you probably suspect what I've believed for years. Only a force of pure evil could have directed that film, oh, yes, perhaps even the anti-Christ.
Well, "The Real Story" tonight is that many people believe that James Cameron officially has tossed his hat in the ring today and is officially running for anti-Christ. It seems that the director of Titanic, Aliens, and Piranha Part II: The Spawning, has a new project, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, a documentary that claims the resurrection of Jesus never happened and that old Jim has found the coffins of Jesus and the whole Jesus family.
[...]
BECK: Now, by asserting that Jesus wasn't resurrected, James Cameron is boldly stating that the basis for one of the world's largest religions is false. But what strikes me even more offensive is that this insult would be intolerable if it was said about any other religion. Can you imagine the firestorm if James Cameron would have said that, you know, I don't know, the foundation of Buddhism was false? Can you imagine Richard Gere all hacked off? Or Islam?
Why is it that Christians are still fair game? The only group where repeated, vicious attacks are allowed. Write a bestselling book like The Da Vinci Code, and you make millions of dollars. Publish a political cartoon about Muhammad, and the world stops turning, as Muslims take to the streets, crying discrimination and intolerance.
There is a double standard in the world today. Treat Christians one way, but heaven help you if you try that with anybody else's religion.
So let me say what, in today's mainstream media, is unsayable: I believe that Jesus is the messiah. He was resurrected, and that he is the son of God.
[...]
DONOHUE: It's the only religion that I know of that is put under this kind of microscopic scrutiny, and people are just puncturing kind of, you know, little seeds of doubt here and there, when, in fact, they don't have any scientific evidence in the first place. They're just simply saying, "What if this were true? And then this were true? And then this were true, then could it be true?" I mean, come on.
BECK: You know, I was just in church this Sunday. And I teach a class on Sundays in my church. And, you know, I said -- we were talking about faith and what faith really means. I think this kind of stuff actually is a blessing to us, because it makes us re-examine what we believe and why we believe it. Isn't this kind of stuff, in a way, in a way, good for people who believe in Jesus?
DONOHUE: Oh, I think it is, because I think more and more Christians need to become more attuned to the historical truth and to read the scriptures. My only objection -- I'm not objecting to, by the way, to the idea that maybe we should pursue this.
No, I want them to pursue it. Use all scientific evidence. I'm a social scientist, not a natural scientist, and I'm certainly not an archeologist, but I do believe in empirical evidence. I think we should look at it.
My only problem is this, Glenn, and you mentioned it at the beginning. Why is it that, you know, other religions aren't held to the same degree of scrutiny? And after a while, a pattern begins to emerge, year after year after year after year. And you begin to say, you know, you guys have been in the business of trying to undermine the truth of Christianity for a long time. You've tried every little thing in the book to try and do it, and now we're back, now with the biggest titanic fraud of them all.
Glenn Beck and Bill Donohue.
A pair of religious bigots, going at it.
Face it, the two of them are pining for the "Good Old Days," of the Inquisition.
The two of them are quite the braintrust.
You can't have a trust without a corpus.
Just a thought...
First, I won't even waste anyone's time again expressing my disdain for both Beck and Donohue...
However, I wonder if part of this perceived "double standard" has more to do with unfair generalizations about ethnicity or race rather than actual criticism of other religions.
Technically speaking, do Jewish people qualify as a race? (I don't know and I am only raising this for thought.) There is the Jewish state of Israel. Hitler and, long before him, much of Europe considered Jews an undesirable race. Bill Donohue famously chastised secular Jews in Hollywood... presumably those who are non-religious. One of my daughter's best friends joked to me recently that she was "such a bad Jew" because she didn't attend Temple or otherwise adhere to any religious practices. Yet being a "Jew" is how she identifies herself.
Muslims, or Islam, are customarily associated with the Arab world. Are Arabs considered a race, or a collection of similar races? What about Muslims in parts of North Africa or Indonesia? Races associated with a religion? At least you can say that most Americans associate Islam with assorted ethnic people who look and dress differently than we do.
On the other hand, Christianity is so universal that it is hard to associate it with any particular race or ethnicity. So if Donohue and Beck suggest that criticizing the Jewish and Muslim faiths are unfairly considered out of bounds while bashing Christianity is not, do you think maybe that they are mistaking implied racial criticisms of Jews and Muslims with actual criticisms of those faiths? If someone says all Muslims are terrorists, or if someone repeats an ugly stereotype about Jews, are the remarks really religious criticism or rather more along the lines of racial or ethnic insults? Those kinds of remarks are deserving of the condemnation they usually generate because, to me, there seems to be at least an implied racial or ethnic component.
When anyone makes a disparaging remark about Catholicism, though, it's actually about the policies, practices, or doctrines of a world-wide religious institution that is not associated with any particular race or races of people. But I don't see any particular "double-standard" that exists with respect to particular religions per se. On the other hand racial insults are generally regarded as repugnant to civilized people.
It's just food for thought, but perhaps guys like Donohue and Beck are mixing apples with oranges to a certain extent.
Somebody tell Bill Donohue that Irish Catholics are a bunch of drunks. Have you attacked Christianity? Or is Donohue mad because you've repeated a stereotypical ethnic slur?
Irony, you really hit the nail on the head. Religious slurs or ethnic/racial slurs? The results are mixed. I do find it strange that people are born branded, where identity is rooted in ancient tribal history, similar to caste systems. Modern humans must calibrate tradition with independent self-direction.
Last night's "Daily Show" had a cringe-worthy segment by Rob Riggle about a landowner in Texas who instituted hog racing on his perimeters to offend the Muslim buyers of adjacent land (where they intended to establish a Muslim community center). I wouldn't want a Muslim center next to my land either, but some of those white people's comments were cretinous (especially the guy who alluded to lynching).
Yeah, good 'ole Texas....with the world's highest incarceration rate and the highest high school drop-out rate in the nation. If a country or nation needs an example of what NOT to be like, there will always be Texas.
Well, "The Real Story" tonight is that many people believe that James Cameron officially has tossed his hat in the ring today and is officially running for anti-Christ.
Considering how Beck once claimed that the second coming of Jesus Christ would be heralded by Iran nuking the US sometime last year, I think it's somewhat hypocritical he'd crack jokes about the Apocalypse.
Write a bestselling book like [link to www.amazon.com] title="http://www.amazon.com/Da-Vinci-Code-Dan-Brown/dp/1400079179/sr=8-2/qid=1172605694/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-8302989-1578348?ie=UTF8&s=books">The Da Vinci Code, and you make millions of dollars. Publish a political cartoon about Muhammad, and the world stops turning, as Muslims take to the streets, crying discrimination and intolerance.
Good point, Beck. Why aren't Christians blowing up movie studios over this?
I find it astonishing and amusing that these two alleged Christians find it so easy to denigrate others. Can you imagine Glenn Beck teaching Sunday school - God help us!!
By the way James Cameron has said absolutely nothing...nothing that is inconsistent with the Resurrection. But that alleged Christian and "thinker" Glenn Beck could not help but take cheap shots at him...a very Christian thing to do I guess.
Glenn - look up hypocrite in the dictionary.
This is easy to explain. The reason Americans scrutinize and often criticize Christianity is because the more radical, narrow-minded Christians are trying to thrust their religion, through force of law, on the rest of us. Not all Christians...just the ones I fondly refer to as Troglodytes. These are the people who want a Constitutional Amendment banning Gay Marriage. Why? Because of their religion. These are the people who want their religious laws posted on our government buildings. These are the people who want to contaminate our science curriculum with their religious fairy tales. If Muslims became the majority, and didn't outlaw free speech, we would subject them to the same criticism.
It's funny when a group that has enjoyed majority status in this country since the beginning pisses and moans about being "oppressed". Here's a hint, boys. Stop trying to use your fairy tales as a moral cudgel, and we'll stop pointing out that they are fairy tales.Here's a hint, boys. Stop trying to use your fairy tales as a moral cudgel, and we'll stop pointing out that they are fairy tales.
Exactly.
Awesome! Morla cudgel. Well said Nerzog.
Awesome! Moral cudgel. Well said Nerzog.
I'm so sorry that the 80-85% of Americans who identify themselves as Christian are so persecuted. It's hard for them to get an even break. Everyone treats them so unfairly, and it's almost impossible for them to make it through the day without some anti-Christian bigotry raining down on them. It saddens me that such a vast majority of Americans are discriminated against and victimized. Other than balding, wealthy, white-haired males in their 50's, what group can claim more hardship and difficulty in their lives?
Yeah, it's kind of like those poor millionaires who have six-car garages whining about their unfair tax burden. Boo hoo.
Bill "sodomize their own mothers and smile" Donohue requires unimpeachable scientific evidence that a dead man did not return to life. Otherwise, obviously, he must have.
The mind reels.
Can anyone think for a moment that Beck might be right? He is. Whether or not he pokes at other races or religions has nothing to do with it. Look at the press, look at the media. Look at what the ACLU chooses to fight for and against. Christians are fair game, but don't make fun of Scientologists, Muslims, Wickans, Jews or anyone else. You might get sued.
Feel free to hate Beck, but he's spot on re: this topic.
Please show us where someone has gotten sued for making fun of a religion.
My thoughts exactly. Tom Cruise is ridiculed all the time by comics. Has he ever sued anyone? I think some guy raised hell about his religion being lampooned on South Park, but that pales in comparison to the constant whining by evangelicals about how downtrodden they are.
You're referring to Isaac Hayes (voice of Chef), who complained about how South Park was attacking his religion. Christianity? Nope - Scientology.
But it's only the Christians who get picked on, according to Beckohue. Somebody call these clowns a waaahmbulance.
"So let me say what, in today's mainstream media, is unsayable: I believe that Jesus is the messiah. He was resurrected, and that he is the son of God."
Unsayable? Then why is that very belief crammed down my throat every day? What a fraud. To say that christianity is being persecuted in this country is exposing yourself as an intolerant, narrow minded coward. In my little bitty town, I have literally dozens of religious worship facilities to choose from, all, all of them some variation of the jesus cult.
The ACLU does fight for Christians too. I saw a PBS show a year ago where they helped a woman sue to keep wearing her crucifix necklace at work ( i think she was a nurse) and also a girl who quoted a positive verse from the Bible in her high school yearbook and was censored. The ACLU stands for ALL Americans who have had their civil liberties violated. I am so sick and tired of rightwing screech monkeys trashing the ACLU, for they would come to their aid in a heartbeat to protect their right to free speech.
The problem is that the screech monkeys have no real concept of what is a right and what isn't. In their minds, forcing you to prop up their religion with tax dollars is their "right". Discriminating against gay people is their "right". They will actually argue that not allowing them to post the Ten Commandments on the Courthouse violates their freedom of religion. They will actually argue that freedom of religion does not mean freedom from religion, as if one could exist without the other. Go figure.
Why is it so necessary to remove any semblance of religion in the public view? The frustration that many on the right have is that the left is so militant in it's desire to remove all things religious, yet it will bend over backwards to promote equality of other religions such as Islam. Don't you dare display the ten comandments, butlet's go ahead and promote a crucifix in urine. Again, if it mocks Christianity, the left is fine with it. If it promotes the positive values of organized religion, no No NO... we can't have any of that.
The right doesn't want to beat you down with a stick or the bible. Christians just want to be left alone. This country, whether you like it or not, was FOUNDED on religious freedom and Christian principals. There is no arguing that. The founding fathers were Godly men.
Removing Christmas trees from malls/airports, not allowing red & green napkins at a Christmans... oops, 'Holiday' elementary school events, etc. Ridiculous. It would be nice if the left was a little more tolerant. Can't we all just get along?
I supposed you want us to remove any religious statements from our currency? Where does it end? You promote life when it comes to the ocelot or caribou, but when it comes to humans you are all for killing the unborn. The hypocrisy is surreal.
I see your up-to-date on your O'Reilly-Gibson canards. Poor, poor persecuted Christian. Perhaps you should sashay down to your taxpayer-subsidized church and pray for comfort.
This post is so far from reality. You can post the 10 commandments in your yard, on your car or tatoo them on your forehead for all I care. I would fight for your right to do so. Are you so insecure in your beliefs that you NEED an official imprimatuer for your religious beliefs. Keep them off the PEOPLES buildings. An official endorsement of ONE religion tells all other faiths they are second class citizens. And you are flat out wrong. Our country and our laws were in no WAY based on religious or Christian anything. Our country was established on ENLIGHTENMENT values. That is tolerance, and individual freedom. IF it were based on Christianity then more than two of the 10 commandments would be enshrined in law. They arent. The founding fathers didnt want religion within a country mile of the government or constitution. Whether YOU Like it or not those are the facts
"christians just want to be left alone"???? if only. you have got to be kidding me. i have always said i have no problem with the golden rule type of christianity. what i do have a major problem with is the shove it in your face, you must participate in my prayers, my commandments in the courthouse, type of christianity. and all the media does is kiss up to the various religions in this country. how many times do we see some disaster and then the interviews of the survivors and they're saying: the lord looked out for me. all those other losers jesus hated didn't make it.
Perhaps because Scientologist judges aren't putting up a 10,000 lb granite saucer in a courthouse.
This comment just made my day.
No he is not right and neither are you. First of all the ACLU has spent THEIR money to try cases furthering the cause of Christian religious freedom. You are just repeating a long dead, ludicrous on the face of it, rightwing talking point without merit. Second its ridiculous to claim Christianity is more scrutinized than other religions beyond what can be expected of the introspection of a society for THEIR major religion. If a Muslim or Bhuddist runs for office its an issue, it can hardly be said the same is true for Christians running for office. There is just a section of the religious right that is desperate to be seen as martyrs. Christianity is not under attack in the US, to claim it is is laughable.
"Look at what the ACLU chooses to fight for and against." --cann0nba11
Here are over 30 examples of the ACLU fighting for Christians and their rights and beliefs.
Get a clue.
I'll give you this clue: [link to stoptheaclu.com]
10. The ACLU was founded by Communist, with communist ideals, communist goals, and they continue to impose a Communist like agenda on America daily. The founder of the ACLU, Roger Baldwin stated clearly… 'My chief aversion is the system of greed, private profit, privilege and violence which makes up the control of the world today, and which has brought it to the tragic crisis of unprecedented hunger and unemployment? Therefore, I am for Socialism, disarmament and ultimately, for the abolishing of the State itself. I seek the social ownership of property, the abolition of the propertied class and sole control of those who produce wealth. Communism is the goal.”9. The ACLU does not believe in the Second Amendment. ACLU POLICY ' The ACLU agrees with the Supreme Court's long-standing interpretation of the Second Amendment [as set forth in the 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller] that the individual's right to bear arms applies only to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia. Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected. Therefore, there is no constitutional impediment to the regulation of firearms.
#8. Their outright hatred of the Boyscouts. They are currently doing everything in their power to hurt this organization. They attacked their free speech right to exclude gays, and are threatening schools, and fighting in court to get their charters shut down. The oppose the military supporting them, and will sue the pants off any school that attempts to charter them.#7. The ACLU are pro-death. Not only is the ACLU Pro-abortion, it’s the ACLU’s top priority. It most definitely takes a backseat to free speech for the ACLU. As a matter of fact, the ACLU has fought against the free speech rights of those that oppose it. If its abortion or euthanasia, as long as its pro-death you can count on the ACLU to support it. The only exception to the ACLU’s pro-death stance, is if it is a convicted criminal; in this case they are against death.#6. The ACLU advocate open borders. Not only have the ACLU opposed the Minute Men, a group who are simply exercizing their freedom of speech, protesting and stepping up where the government is failing, but they have helped illegals cross the border.#5. The ACLU is anti-Christian. The list is endless on this one. Under the guise of “seperation of Church and State”, the ACLU have made a name for theirself on being rabidly anti-Christian. This is one area where they are most hypocritical. They oppose tax exemptions for all churches, but fight for them for Wiccans. They are against Christianity in school, but oddly remain silent as our children are taught to be Muslims. Whether its baby Jesus, ten commandments, or tiny crosses on county seals, the ACLU will be there to secularize America, and rewrite our history.#4. The ACLU Opposes National Security. The ACLU have opposed almost every effort in the arena of national security. From the bird flu to bag searches, the ACLU have been against it. No matter what kind of search someone tries to do to protect people, the ACLU have proved they are against them across the board. Its kind of ironic that they don’t practice the principles they preach. Take a walk into the NYCLU's Manhattan headquarters - which it shares with other organizations - and you'll find a sign warning visitors that all bags are subject to search.#3. The ACLU Defends the enemy. They have a long history of this one. They defended the P.L.O. in 1985. They defended Quadafi in the 1980’s. And they continue today. They have told Gitmo detainees they have the right to remain silent, as in not talking to interrogators.
#2. The ACLU supports child porn distribution and child molesters like NAMBLA. As legislative counsel for the ACLU in 1985, Barry Lynn told the U.S. Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (of which Focus on the Family President Dr. James C. Dobson was a member) that child pornography was protected by the First Amendment. While production of child porn could be prevented by law, he argued, its distribution could not be. There is no doubt the The ACLU are perverting the Constitution.#1. The ACLU fufills its agenda using our tax money.
Ridiculous exaggerations and outright lies. It would take all day to debunk them all, and it wouldn't matter anyway to someone foolish enough to get their "facts" from that pinhead at stoptheaclu.com or .org or whatever. You'll believe whatever nonsense you want to believe.
Pure bunk. Your simpleminded hatred of the ACLU shows you simply dont know what you are talking about. IF the Boy Scouts wants to discriminate against gays they can the ACLU says so but they THEN must forgo the federal subsidies they get. The NAMBLA thing has been gone over a hundred times. While not supporting their goals the ACLU fought for their RIGHT to advocate a political position. You have to have an extremely simple mind not to be able to grasp that if you dont support the right of a group to advocate politically that which you detest and would spend YOUR time opposing that you dont believe in political freedom. Even MAO supported expression of ideas he agreed with. The ACLU is at the forefront of PROTECTING our rights and constitution to say otherwise is frankly ignorant. If you dont approve of their absolutist take on free speech and advocacy, or the separation of Church and state fine, I understand but this dumb misrepresentation of what the ACLU does is just knee-jerk propaganda without a shred of validity.
You are just re-hashing pathetic, old and long ago debunked talking points.
I will simply refer you to an old MMFA article where most if not all of your trash was previously addressed.
If the above link doesn't work, please use this link: http://mediamatters.org/items/200702010002
Give it up, OM. You can't educate the willfully ignorant.
This is what the military calls a target rich enviroment for regulars to this web site.
a) There is a firestorm of criticism of this film and whole thesis, Krishtun pundits all over the globe have their tunics in a wad.
b) Cameron has said " now the debate begins" not "here's undisputed proof" . Like what one would expect from a reasonable man.
c) Neither of these two are qualified to make any kind of judgement on early christian archeology even if they had actually seen the film, read the book or seen the purported evidence. All they have is thier faith in magical beings.
Take your mythologies, cocktails and latest wife and get off the public stage you moron.
I don't know what these guys are so concerned about. The Shroud of Turin was scientifically debunked years ago, yet the faithful still believe in it. Statues of the Virgin Mary that supposedly came to life were disproven by video tape, yet the faithful still believe. Gullible people will still be there to empty their pockets into the collection plates...the televangelists will still be able to afford their Rolls Royces...not to worry.
Religions come and go (historically speaking) but swindlers are here forever.
Glenn Beck is not even a good evangelical proselytizer and has a sorted, confused, and erroneous view of the world, and our history. He has no credentials but the sound of his voice, so why is he categorized as a news show??? What is the designation of "news" and a show meant to inform about issues of the day through the eyes of a shock jock, and whom else?? What value does this show have, really?? How did we allow a forum on the national stage for a man so lost, so confused, and so meaningless??? What is the message here I wonder?? America the beautiful, Home of the Brave, Land of the Free???The Fairness Doctrine is what our nation needs to begin our transformation back to democracy!
Why is he categorized as a news show??? It's the combination of news and entertainment. It's on a news network. He covers topics in the news, just like the Daily Show, but not as funny.
What is the designation of "news" and a show meant to inform about issues of the day through the eyes of a shock jock, and whom else?? He's not a shock jock. He is open and honest about the fact that he is a conservative, and he speaks for a lot more people that you realize. He is not afraid to criticize BOTH sides of the political spectrum.
What value does this show have, really?? It offers a counter-balance to the leftward agenda of the three major networks plus CNN, PBS and MSNBC. Can't the right have one, just ONE network on television?
How did we allow a forum on the national stage for a man so lost, so confused, and so meaningless??? We the people apparently dictated this show's presence by watching it. HNN can air what it wants, and supply/demand is making them happy. It's a very popular show. Deal with it.
What is the message here I wonder?? The message is incredibly clear. Have you tried to watch the show for an entire hour? The message is that Washington is corrupt, political correctness is ruining this country, and we are a country at risk if we don't wake the heck up.
America the beautiful, Home of the Brave, Land of the Free??? The Fairness Doctrine is what our nation needs to begin our transformation back to democracy! So what you are saying is since you don't agree with hisopinion he should be stifled? That's a GREAT example of tolerance and freedom. Check the first amendment out before you suggest that the government dictate who can say what.
He's not a shock jock. He is open and honest about the fact that he is a conservative, and he speaks for a lot more people that you realize. He is not afraid to criticize BOTH sides of the political spectrum.
Being honest about one's political beliefs doesn't mean he's not a shock jock. He has a history of saying hateful and offensive things, which Media Matters has documented. Regardless, please share with us the times Beck has criticized the right. I'm particularly interested in whatever he may have said about Bush's lies to lead us into Iraq, Cheney and Rumsfeld's optimistic (and very wrong) projections for the war, and Rice's totally obtuse comparison of Hitler and post-WWII Europe to Saddam and Iraq.
It offers a counter-balance to the leftward agenda of the three major networks plus CNN, PBS and MSNBC.
Beck is on a network owned by CNN. And many commentators from MSNBC are criticized on this very website for their right-wing bias. And what are these other, mystery "Three major networks"? I hope ABC isn't one of them (Path to 9/11, anybody?)
Can't the right have one, just ONE network on television?
Fox News. As the gamers say, PWNED.
It's a very popular show. Deal with it.
Or, you could point out why this show shouldn't be on the air in an attempt to make a better media for everyone.
The message is that Washington is corrupt,
I hope you are including Bush and his administration in that statement.
political correctness is ruining this country,
Yeah, everything was going great until political correctness came along. Remember when you could call black people the 'n word' and gay men queers? Good times, good times.
So what you are saying is since you don't agree with hisopinion he should be stifled?
No, he shouldn't be stifled. But he shouldn't be paid to broadcast his hate speech for an hour.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I'm a Christian and people sometimes criticize me for saying so. Boo hoo hoo. In the mean time I take every oppurtunity to mock other religions. But I belong to the one true religion so it's ok.
Beck is a punk. A xian thug who gives them all a bad name. How about a little of Beck's logic? Hey, you "other" xians you better start reining in your whackos or you'll be staring back at the US from behind razor wire.
What's really hilarious about all this is that Christianity teaches that if you aren't persecuted, you're doing it wrong. If you're with Jesus you're against the world, so the world will treat you badly.
If these idiots win their crusade, they'll make Jesus into a liar in the process.
I don't think they'll have any problems with the contradictions. After all, they've totally ignored that whole "camel through the eye of the needle" thing.
This stuff is so easy for atheists. Jesus-man, Mohammed-man, Buddha, Confuscious, the Dalai Lama, man-man-man.
All religion is destined to end up back in humanity's toybox. In the here and now, they are used for both good and for evil. Judge the believer's actions, not his beliefs. And keep them all the hell (an expression - not an actual place) away from my Constitution.
I'll second that.
I'll third it. However Buddhism isn't theistic. There are religious practices but for the most part it's more of a philosophy.
Email for BillDonohue is cl@catholicleague.org
headline News is headlinenews@cnn.com,
Let them know personally how offensive their bigotry is
Interesting reading in this area is Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins. The basic premise of the novel is that the body of Jesus is found in the catacombs of the vatican where it has been hidden since his death. One of the characters wants to go public with the discovery, but another character points out that people will just go on believing ... and they will, of course, all be killed by the believers. A very fun book of ideas, if only for Mon Cul the Baboon.