Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president by Erenee Wade

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president October 02, 2010 12:09 am ET — 35 Comments

Glenn Beck and guests John Bolton and Stuart Varney mischaracterized a federal report to portray it as expressing "the worldview of the Obama administration." In fact, the document was issued during the Bush administration and is designed to "stimulate strategic thinking," not establish the administration's "worldview." Beck also falsely portrayed the report's discussion of trends in developing nations as applying to the United States.

PERSONALITIES: Glenn Beck Stuart Varney John Bolton SHOWS:

Glenn Beck show

NETWORKS:

Fox News Channel

ISSUES:

National Security & Foreign Policy Intelligence Government The Presidency & White House

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Beck, Bolton, Varney implicate Obama administration for Global Trends contents Beck: "This is what the government says the world is going to look like in 2025." From the October 1 edition of Fox News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: There's a report out, called Global Trends: A Transformed World. I told you about it earlier this week. Here it is: Global Trends: A Transformed World. This is what it's going to look like: 2025 Global Landscape. This is, this is a government report. This is what the government says the world is going to look like in 2025.

Bolton: Report assumes American "decisions have already been made" and are "congenial to Obama administration." From the October 1 edition of Glenn Beck:

BOLTON: And another absolutely critical point. The country in the world about which our intelligence agencies know the least is America. And I -BECK: I think that's petty much on government on the whole. They don't know who Americans are. BOLTON: I would go along with that. But my point is, this report is written as if America is a spectator, as if our decisions have already been made -- and by the way, all of them congenial to the Obama administration. That is the place we ought to start from, because that is the place we ought to reject.

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Phone calls, emails and letters from the public do make a difference. Remember that to be effective you must be polite, and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and indicate what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future. Fox News Channel FOX News Channel 1-888-369-4762 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 http://twitter.com/foxnews Glenn Beck Glenn Beck http://twitter.com/glennbeck Glenn Beck show http://twitter.com/glennbeck

Rush: Liberals were "the great segregationists" in '40s, '50s, and '60s, and "they remain segregationists to this day" 8 MINUTES AGO

Limbaugh: "Am I a racist because I do not support" [Obama] "or are 91 percent of blacks racists because

Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

they do?" 10 MINUTES AGO

Varney: "The worldview of the Obama administration, and of the president himself, is embedded in that report." From the October 1 edition of Glenn Beck:

Kilmeade is "still wincing" over the passage of health care reform 1 HOUR AND 54 MINUTES AGO

VARNEY: The worldview of the Obama administration, and of the president himself, is embedded in that report. He's looking at the America that we have now, that he has partly helped to create with his policies of the last 18 months, and he's projecting that into the future, into the world. It's a future view which I personally reject and I think we will reverse. But there's no question, that report encapsulates Obama's view of the world now and in the future. It is, however, reversible.

Report predates Obama administration, describes factors and trends meant to "stimulate strategic thinking" about policy Report issued two months before Obama took office. According the title page of Global Trends 2025 -- a report prepared by the National Intelligence Council that it describes as "the fourth unclassified report" in a series -- the document was released in November 2008. Report prepared to "stimulate strategic thinking about the future" through analysis of "key trends." The report states that it was designed "to stimulate strategic thinking about the future by identifying key trends, the factors that drive them, where they seem to be headed, and how they might interact" and makes clear that "timely and well-informed intervention can decrease the likelihood and severity of negative developments and increase the likelihood of positive ones." From Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World:

We prepared Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World to stimulate strategic thinking about the future by identifying key trends, the factors that drive them, where they seem to be headed, and how they might interact. It uses scenarios to illustrate some of the many ways in which the drivers examined in the study (e.g., globalization, demography, the rise of new powers, the decay of international institutions, climate change, and the geopolitics of energy) may interact to generate challenges and opportunities for future decision makers. The study as a whole is more a description of the factors likely to shape events than a prediction of what will actually happen. By examining a small number of variables that we judge probably will have a disproportionate influence on future events and possibilities, the study seeks to help readers to recognize signposts indicating where events are headed and to identify opportunities for policy intervention to change or lock in the trajectories of specific developments. Among the messages we hope to convey are: "If you like where events seem to be headed, you may want to take timely action to preserve their positive trajectory. If you do not like where they appear to be going, you will have to develop and implement policies to change their trajectory." For example, the report's examination of the transition out of dependence on fossil fuels illustrates how different trajectories will entail different consequences for specific countries. An even more important message is that leadership matters, no trends are immutable, and that timely and well-informed intervention can decrease the likelihood and severity of negative developments and increase the likelihood of positive ones.Â

Beck falsely portrays report's commentary on rise of "State-Owned Enterprises" in developing nations as applying to the West, U.S. Beck: "[T]he model of China is the goal that these guys are saying everybody is pretty cool with." From the October 1 edition of Glenn Beck:

BECK: Another finding in this report: "Today, wealth is moving not just from West to East

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Beck: "If you are a grandparent, get out of retirement ... Â if you can home school your grandchildren, please do it" 2 HOURS AND 43 MINUTES AGO

Beck on Chavez's "civilian militia": "I think I've heard ... that very idea from this president" 2 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES AGO

Beck: "Do not go where they are telling you to go, because that place might as well be the Superdome" 3 HOURS AND 43 MINUTES AGO

Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

but it is concentrating under more state control. In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis the state's role in the economy may be gaining more appeal throughout the world." Understand what that means. That means that the model of China is the goal that these guys are saying everybody is pretty cool with. This is what's gonna come. Well, I'm not cool with that. Are you? Then there's this. "There will be a rollback of privatization and a resurgence of StateOwned Enterprises." "In the early 1990s, many economists predicted" that these enterprises, State-Owned, "would be a relic of the 20th century. They were wrong." Stateowned enterprises "serve a secondary function as pressure valves, helping to relieve inflation and currency appreciation pressures. They also can act as vehicles for increased political control." Increased political control. Just what every American has dreamt about.

The section Beck cites clearly and specifically refers to developing nations, not the West or the U.S. The portion in question is the fourth bullet point in a section of the report that specifically refers to a subset of developing nations. From Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World:

Today wealth is moving not just from West to East but is concentrating more under state control. In the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the state's role in the economy may be gaining more appeal throughout the world. With some notable exceptions like India, the states that are beneficiaries of the massive shift of wealth -- China, Russia, and Gulf states -- are nondemocratic and their economic policies blur distinctions between public and private. These states are not following the Western liberal model for self development but are using a different model -- "state capitalism." State capitalism is a loose term to describe a system of economic management that gives a prominent role to the state. Others -- like South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore -- also chose state capitalism as they initially developed their economies. However, the impact of Russia, and particularly China, following this path is potentially greater given their weight on the world stage. Ironically, the major enhancement of the state role in Western economies now under way as a result of the current financial crisis may reinforce the emerging countries' preference for greater state control and distrust of an unregulated marketplace. [emphasis added]

Almost immediately after the portion Beck cites, the report discusses "nearly opposite trends in the West." The report goes on to say that "a gap on the role of the state of the economy is likely to remain between the West and the rapidly emerging economic powers." From Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World:

The increasing role of the state as a player in emerging markets has contrasted until recently with nearly opposite trends in the West, where the state has struggled to keep pace with private financial engineering, such as derivatives and credit swaps. The seeds of this capital market's depth and complexity date to the 1980s but grew with rising asset prices and bull markets from the 1990s until recently. The financial engineering--based upon a magnitude of leverage unthinkable even a decade ago--in turn has injected an unprecedented degree of risk and volatility into global markets. Greater controls and international regulation--a possible outcome of the current financial crisis--could change this trajectory, although a gap on the role of the state in the economy is likely to remain between the West and the rapidly emerging economic powers.

Beck has repeatedly smeared Obama administration as seeking "global redistribution of wealth" Beck: Obama's "ideology is global redistribution of wealth." For instance, on his September 16 Fox News show, Beck asserted that the Obama administration "and the progressives

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

and, quite honestly, the Marxists" share the view that there's "one pie" to divide. On his September 21 radio show, Beck claimed that Obama's "ideology is global redistribution of wealth," which "doesn't make sense" if you are "thinking like a capitalist." — S.E. & D.S.

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by draftedin68 (October 02, 2010 12:44 am ET)

Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck... Wow! Beck, Bolton and Varney - the Three Stooges of facts-from-assville. Big difference though; the original Stooges only pretended to be idiots.

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by rikntx (October 02, 2010 12:55 am ET)

And were actually funny. REPLY

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by Andy Kreiss (October 02, 2010 9:56 am ET)

Glenn Beck and guests John Bolton and Stuart Varney

That's not a good start for anybody looking to read some rational thinking. When I first read the headline I assumed this was just going to be another in the "Glenn Beck demonstrates his ignorance" series. When I read the first line, I wondered how all three of these men could be equally ignorant. But read their quotes. They're very careful not to say directly that this came from the Obama administration, only that they think their interpretation fits in well with their imaginary version of the president. So, the average Fox fan believes it came from the Obama administration. This one comes out of the "Ignorance" column and goes straight into the "Deliberate Bulls**t" column. REPLY

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by draftedin68 (October 02, 2010 2:38 pm ET)

"equally" ore intentionally? I'm not sure if you really meant "intentionally" when you wrote: "I wondered how all three of these men could be equally ignorant." If you really meant "equally", well, the answer is that they compared notes. Personally, I'd go with "intentionally" because in my book, "stupid" is defined as "intentionally ignorant". Come to think of it, both ways work just fine for these idiots. REPLY

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

by Andy Kreiss (October 03, 2010 3:03 am ET)

Right, drafted, my first thought was it would be a feat for three men' even these three idiots, to be that stoopid. It was obvious from their phrasing that this was a calculated stoopidity. REPLY

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by rikntx (October 02, 2010 6:41 pm ET)

"The world is about to be transformed, and there are people involved. How many times to people have to say we're going to fundamentally tranform America before it sinks in that they really are. This report discusses what they expect by 2025, like the unprecedented transfer of wealth, roughly from west to east now under way, it's in this report."

See what Elmer did there? He asks when are we going to start believing they are changing America, then when discussing the report, mentions what they expect. He uses two themes he has constantly harped on when discussing the President/administration, the "fundamental tranformation of America" meme followed by the "transfer of wealth" meme. He lets the viewer draw their own conclusion as to who (whom?) they are. Disingeniously clever, on a lowbrow level, he understands that his audience will automatically conclude this report came for this administration and that none of his faithful viewers will research any of what he says. Jeez can you imagine sitting around that production meeting with Elmer, Bolton and Varney? I need to shower the slime off just from thinking about it. REPLY

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by Andy Kreiss (October 03, 2010 3:05 am ET)

Exactly. It's what's done on Fox and am radio all day long. They don't really need to lie very much, just cite surveys and facts, but in a way that leads their dim-witted fans to arrive at the exact conclusion they want them to. Transparent to most people over the age of 10, completely convincing to the right wing brain. REPLY

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by National_Insecurity (October 03, 2010 8:52 pm ET)

"Deliberate Bulls**t" sounds so much more American than disinformation, which is the traditional term the Soviets invented. REPLY

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by mari2jj (October 03, 2010 2:22 am ET)

I am splitting my sides on this one. The Three Stooges at work I see. But I am not surprised that they even lie to complain about President Obama. Let me see, there was Larry, Curley and Moe I think. I am contemplating just who is to be named after which stooge but it is so difficult, they all seem to be so silly. Of course each of them would deny that their problem is just pure old politics with a huge dose of racism. Poor silly things. They jump on this hate filled speech only to make fools of themselves. Yep, Three Stooges, errr political hacksw named Beck, Bolton and Varney! REPLY

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

by Zygo1 (October 02, 2010 1:05 am ET)

Just wondered into that venomous site to see how twisted the facts become. Obama racked up $14 trillion deficit- fact Unemployment around 10%- fiction, many areas close to 20 and some areas in Ca 40% Many real facts about Health care reform are appearing even in liberal NYT-ie escalating insurance premiums (the whole idea of passing HC reform was supposed to be to lower it!!), people with preexisting conditions will not be covered!...etc...etc..82 million people to be covered by Medicaid in 2014 up from 52 and the funds are coming from Medicare-.. I can go on and on... I throught you should be tired carrying water for this most incompetent administration and clueless president... DAy in and day out...even dems are running away from him, and the bills at the risk of losing the election...majority of people know the truth and are angry you on the other hand are so engourged in your own lies- you strted to beleive it yourself...Just like Hitler said- repeat the lies long enought you will beleive it yourself....history is really repeats itself!!!Kepp your heads up your asses and enjoy the view!!! REPLY

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by yoiksaway (October 02, 2010 1:09 am ET)

Wow, John Bolton makes it to his show. That guy...wow, the stuff coming out of his mouth...if Darth Vader says something, you know it's evil, you've got a clue. But this guy, his beliefs are so scorchedearth, his rants are so matter-of-fact, somehow under-the-radar. He even beats out Coulter on the evilmeter, because at least she thinks she's funny. But check out some less-guarded moments. Example: BBC interview in 2007. and another: BBC covers the U.S. 2008 election And people would like him to run for President. Ow ow ow ow ow. REPLY

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by anitamurie (October 02, 2010 1:52 am ET)

Beck knows he can't just talk about redistribution of wealth here in the United States because he's a millionaire. His only concern is his own wealth but he knows that's not going to fly with his working class audience. So he resorts to scaring them with stories about the third world citizen,(who is much poorer than the average American),taking what little money the average American has.This is why he's talked about how "well off" a poor person in America is. You know: the 2 tvs, the microwave, the cable and possibly even a PC. Of course he's never lived in poverty and just doesn't get it. He's like Limbaugh who thinks we can't possibly have hunger here because we have so much obesity. That kind of mentality will never understand the dynamics of poverty in the United States. REPLY

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by mari2jj (October 03, 2010 2:27 am ET)

Well if there is one guy who is an expert on BEING obese, it is dear old Rush! REPLY

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by awizard2u (October 02, 2010 2:19 am ET)

My guess is that they haven't read it, or it is too complex for them to understand it, or they are truly idiots. Most likely it's a case of all three.Truly dangerous people, it is almost unbelievable. REPLY

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by DellDolly (October 02, 2010 3:04 am ET)

So, let me make sure I get this right....

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

Every few years, they come out with one of these global documents that discuss how issues and problems around the world might affect the USA. John Bolton was involved in the Bush Administration for many years. He started in May of 2001 as a guy who dealt with WMD's. Which would have come from problem areas around the world. And he worked as UN Ambassador in 2005 and 2006, dealing with countries all around the world, and trying to resolve differences with those nations we had problems with. And yet, somehow, Bolton didn't know that this document was the 4th in the series, and didn't know that it came out before Obama even took the oath of office? Really? He'd never seen a previous copy of the reports from this group? He worked in the State Dept and was the Ambassador to the UN, yet he never knew about these regularly-produced reports from the National Intelligence Council? Here's a link to the NIC - dontcha think that someone involved in the State Dept, working on WMD's, and someone who was the UN Ambassador, might should have KNOWN about the work that this group does? The National Intelligence Council (NIC) is the Intelligence Community's (IC's) center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking. Its primary functions are to: Support the DNI in his role as head of the Intelligence Community. Provide a focal point for policymakers to task the Intelligence Community to answer their questions. Reach out to nongovernment experts in academia and the private sector to broaden the Intelligence Community's perspective. Contribute to the Intelligence Community's effort to allocate its resources in response to policymakers' changing needs. Lead the Intelligence Community's effort to produce National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) and other NIC products. NIEs are the DNI's most authoritative written judgments concerning national security issues. They contain the coordinated judgments of the Intelligence Community regarding the likely course of future events. The NIC's goal is to provide policymakers with the best, unvarnished, and unbiased informationâ€”regardless of whether analytic judgments conform to US policy. REPLY

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by ilikeike (October 02, 2010 12:58 pm ET)

im not surprised that all 3 of them knew exactly what this report really was. i mean it must be hard to make up lies out of whole cloth every day. this report just gave them a bit of a head start.kind of like cliff notes for right wing conspiracy theorists REPLY

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by slowtyper (October 02, 2010 3:50 am ET)

a number of years ago i worked building big homes in Beverly Hills and the surrounding area..there were several street corner pundits that hung out on several corners of Sunset Blvd and Beverly drive..they railed against numerous real and imagined(mostly imagined)conspiracies and government plots..all with an "end of the world" religious bent..and every morning and afternoon 1000's of commuters ignored and laughed at their signs(think blackboards) and screaming rants as they passed..methinks it's time to apply the same to becktard and the dullards that he finds to share his "worldview" about the only difference i can see is that beck appears to dress a bit better just sayin' REPLY

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by mikehuck1976 (3 hours and 9 minutes ago)

There is no question. Beck is a urine-soaked street corner barker. What is amazing is how many simpletons will actually take the urine-soaked street corner barker seriously if he is dressed up like a

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Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America well-meaning professor. REPLY

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by YouTubeJEFF9K (October 02, 2010 8:32 am ET)

A redistribution of wealth would be a nightmare to the likes of Beck. He has thousands of times as much money as he deserves. REPLY

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by Jack2010 (October 02, 2010 9:22 am ET)

Beck's biggest con is his constant recommendation to his audience to not take his word for it but for them to fact check themselves. His followers take that as proof enough he's telling the truth. REPLY

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by the Grey Path (October 02, 2010 12:56 pm ET)

Conservatives don't worry about the future because the Second Coming is upon us. REPLY

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by soze169880 (October 02, 2010 3:40 pm ET)

Or, failing that, their own Jack Daniel's-fueled shootouts with the cops. REPLY

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by forrestfrench4466 (October 03, 2010 12:05 am ET)

Apparently they don't worry about people in need and suffering because "social justice" is an evil, librul thing. Boy, wonder who's going to be "left behind" when the whole rapture thing happens. REPLY

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by truth4me (October 02, 2010 6:30 pm ET)

Beck, Bolton and Varney - idiots of the highest level REPLY

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by nativeofsf (October 02, 2010 10:44 pm ET)

Three Blind Traitors... wonder where they keep their tails? REPLY

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by realamerica (5 hours and 31 minutes ago)

Tucked firmly between their cowardly legs? REPLY

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http://mediamatters.org/research/201010020001[10/4/2010 1:37:57 PM]

Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America

by mahilena1 (October 03, 2010 5:01 am ET)

What else is new...does anyone know what academic qualifications does Glenn Beck have? does he have a journalistic degree? college? is he a High School graduate? I would love to know obviously according to his view of himself he is a "doctor" in quite a lot of disciplines....the latest being theology... REPLY

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by GreenLantern (October 03, 2010 1:12 pm ET)

Did bolton just make a big deal out of our intelligence community not knowing all about our own country? Is he condoning the IC to do more spying and covert acts? Does he just get a pass from wing-nuts and hate-wingers on this? (A little over the top argument but it really scares me what these idiots get away with saying publicly with so little accountability) REPLY

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by dbtexas (October 03, 2010 2:35 pm ET)

Hey! Where are all the Right Wing Naysayers today? Hmmmmm! REPLY

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by fantagor (October 03, 2010 3:41 pm ET)

Amazing that neither of these arse hats is intelligent enough to check the publishing date before leveling an attack on Obama, when the attack ought to have been leveled on their BFF, Bush 43. Randy REPLY

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by IamRight (October 03, 2010 5:54 pm ET)

If it wasn't for all the lazy liberals, us conservatives wouldn't have anyone to boss around at work. Keep on complaining about how successful we are in these blogs while we support you with taxes. It is truly pathetic how little you want to do compared to how much you want. A little advice, work hard. REPLY

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by bintx (50 minutes ago)

I'm a conservative and REAL conservatives don't say the things you said in your post above. You're just a groupie and not "right." REPLY

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by progressive zeppelin 13 (October 03, 2010 10:58 pm ET)

And because of these clowns, any political debates I try to participate in feel like bashing my head against a wall. Logic as far as these guys see it, is a liberal trick. Mr. Colbert, you are so right. REPLY

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by Macaframa3 (5 hours and 10 minutes ago)

http://mediamatters.org/research/201010020001[10/4/2010 1:37:57 PM]

Glenn Beck's guide to butchering a document and smearing a president | Media Matters for America I love how he says, "Dont trust me read it for yourself, its online.", knowing that his viewers are too lazy or stupid to actually look it up. They know how to use their foxnews, glennbeck, and drudgereport bookmarks and thats it. REPLY

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by NiceguyEddie (4 hours and 19 minutes ago)

This report - the ACTUAL report, now - and these nimrods' reaction to it, considering the facts, its origin, its purpose and how these clowns had to spin it, is PROOF POSITIVE of something I've know for years: REALITY HAS A LIBERAL BIAS. Faced with the objective truth, these nuckfuts can't even cope. Their ideas don't even fly within their own circles, forget them having any illusions of being able to sell them to the general public! Their polices are a bad fit with reality, so, in there puny minds, REALITY (not their dumb@$$ polices) must change. Conservtaives, really, how many more incidents like this one will it take for you to finally see the light? If you have to CHANGE REALITY to make your policies work, guess what? THEY DON'T F---ING WORK! If, when faced with cold, hald reality, you have a world view that is completely incongruent with reality... Why the hell would you hang on to it? YOU'RE WRONG. Plain and simple. W-R-O-N-G. And I don't need to debate the alternatives or go into details here, because if a distortion of this magnitude is needed for your world view to make any damned sense? IT'S WRONG. That's self-apparent. ---------------------------------------------------Would you really rather be wrong than liberal?