Welcome to the first installment of my personal hell. I watched the full hour, and it was painful. The way I’m going to do this is that I will provide an overall analysis of the show followed by a full posting of my notes. The notes follow the show chronologically, contain some quotes I either think are funny or ironic, and some thoughts. And the analysis is analysis.  Here is the first analysis and batch of notes.

What torture. Even if I was a conservative, I don’t think I could take this guy. He jabbers for the first ten minutes about why he has chosen this difficult profession that he never wanted, as though it’s not for the tens of millions of dollars and his ego. The opening was cringe-inducing, but it got worse. I’ll tell you why this particular hour of television was so horrible. Beck said:

“I wanna bring you the news of the day, but I don’t wanna bring you the news of the day. And the reason why I don’t is because I’m not the guy to do it. I’m just the guy who happens to be sitting in the chair. And it doesn’t seem to me that anybody else is going to do it.”

The news of the day? I sat through an entire hour and there was not one piece of current news discussed. He did talk about stuff other people were saying either about him or that he thought they were saying about him, but that was the full extent of the news coverage. Bill Clinton worried that demonizing the government could have bad results and Joe Kline said Beck is being seditious. Those are the three pieces of current news in an entire hour. Seriously.

But if you’re a fan of him rehashing every supposed radical connection every person related to Obama has then this is the show for you. He just throws pictures around on a chalkboard for much of the show as though that’s all the evidence you need. I almost forgot, he does mention that a Michigan militia was busted, though he barely mentions it before he makes sure you know they are socialists, not right wingers. Then he proceeds to come full circle to how the radicals are taking over.

A good portion of this show was dedicated to convincing his viewers that the radical powers that be are trying to convince his viewers that his viewers are actually the radical ones. Those devious radicals are trying to convince families that they are radical (as though progressives don’t have families and didn’t vote for bigger change than we are getting). He doesn’t provide any evidence for how they are doing this, but he is certain of it.

If every week is going to consist of him talking about one or two news articles then telling you how they relate to the radical takeover of America, I may not make it through. Here are three stories that I think I can make fit my narrative I’m selling you, I’ll present them, walk to the chalkboard, shuffle pictures around, and call everyone not watching a radical. That seems to be the show. I always knew the show was largely about undefined and unknown forces and enemies conspiring against Beck, but I thought there would be some news. Maybe there will be in Tuesday’s show.

Glenn Beck Notes
Monday, April 19, 2010

First Segment:

Phrase to remember: “Not racist, not violent, just no longer silent.”

Compares his radio show to Jon Stewart.

Show is “about as funny as smallpox.” How true.

“I think our lives are about to change.”

“This land, if you believe the founders, was founded through divine providence. Which means this land is sacred and special, and it’s going to be used for her his purposes. Which means our rights, they’re not ours. We’re holding them until he has a reason until that generation comes to do whatever they’re supposed to do. I don’t know, that’s my guess.”

“I wanna bring you the news of the day, but I don’t wanna bring you the news of the day. And the reason why I don’t is because I’m not the guy to do it. I’m just the guy who happens to be sitting in the chair. And it doesn’t seem to me that anybody else is going to do it.”

So what is everyone else at Fox News doing? Or could you just go online and read for yourself without someone interpreting? I don’t think there is a shortage of people that want to do it.

Glenn defends himself against the claim that he is engaging in sedition. He uses a video clip to show that there is no evidence. Here a response from Joe I found during commercial:
“On the Chris Mathews Show Sunday, I said that some of the right-wing infotainment gasbags — people like Glenn Beck etc. — were nudging up close to the edge of sedition. This has caused a bit of a self-righteous ruckus on the right,” Klein wrote. “Let me be clear: dissent isn’t sedition. Questioning an Administration’s policies isn’t sedition. But questioning an Administration’s legitimacy in a manner intended to undermine or overthrow it certainly is.”

“It’s not illegal—unless actions are taken to overthrow the government in question—but it is disgraceful and the precise opposite of patriotism in a democracy,” he added.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36020.html#ixzz0llXJM3EU

“I love my country.” III

Brings up 9.11. Then talks about laying out evidence as though he’s proved something. He doesn’t say what, but he is upset he’s being ignored.

“It’s only people in New York and Washington that are buying this lie.” What lie? He doesn’t say, but only those elites don’t get it.

“The truth is the president is surrounded by radicals who want to fundamentally transform the country.” This is such bullshit. He’s saying they need to convince America that they are radical. Am I not a part of it?

He makes an analogy where someone broke into a house and the cop arrests the homeowner. So I guess America voted in a burglar who is robbing America, though apparently he doesn’t realize that it’s not just his house.

To the chalkboard

Bill Ayers and some debunked claims about supposed radicals. Somehow that family is taught they’re Nazis and radicals. It’s as though he believe throwing pictures around on a chalkboard makes things true.

He hates participation trophies, calls them loser trophies, who knows why?

He shows a clip of Bill Clinton saying we should criticize and disagree with politicians, but we shouldn’t demonize them. Beck takes this to mean something against him, apparently admitting

Chalkboard:

10% do the wrong thing in an emergency

80% do nothing

10% lead others to safety

Bill Clinton is doing the wrong thing by apparently leading people astray and making families seem like Nazis.

“I ask you to use your brain, I ask you to use your gut.”

I am ten minutes in and I cannot believe people can watch this. There has been no information, just baseless claims about scary enemies engaging in some conspiracy theory that is hardly defined. Beck forgets that Democrats have families, too. He just talked for 20 minutes. The only information offered has been things people either said or are supposedly directing at him. He claims the powers that be have huge egos because they are trying to convince the public they are radical (which makes no sense), but after twenty minutes all he has done is talk about himself and defend himself from attacks while pretending to be an every-day guy.

Second Segment:

Beck calls out a white supremacist Michigan group for being crazy. That’s how you know you’re crazy.

He thinks the media will paint the group as Tea Partiers, but Beck’s there to tell you that they are national socialists. I’m not really sure exactly what he’s talking about. I don’t get what they point is. He’s doing something with the chalkboard and pictures.

The left and the progressive left are different than Democrats. Democrats are being put into boxes with communists, I guess. I have no idea what he’s talking about.

This is rich, “Does anyone else in this country feel they’re driving a wedge between us?” I have no idea who they are in this scenario, but if you ask me, he’s driving that wedge harder than anyone.

He’s pissed because we don’t realize the Nazis and commies are the same. And I guess they’re taking the country over because we’re too busy to get it.

“We have radicals controlling the agenda.” So he took the group from Michigan and brought it full circle to the only thing he talks about.

He apparently thinks all social justice is the same and Nazi-like.

Third segment:

“The battle lines are being drawn.”

He is just talking about left-wing groups throughout history, naming people that have ties to them, and saying they’re horrible for it. Hasn’t he done this a thousand times? When you say battle lines are being drawn and say radicals are running our government, this is awful close to the sedition Klein was talking about.

He thought this was all really clever, but he hasn’t talked about one bit of news yet.

Fourth Segment:

Andrew Breitbart, operator of biggovernment.com, is on the show now. They’re going to talk about people setting up the Tea Party movement and how Americans aren’t buying it.

They’re going all the way back to the early health care reform debate when there was violence. Of course, those against health care were “independent, middle Americans” and those that counter-protested were only “union thugs.” There is no grey in Glenn Beck’s world.

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist.” Oh, Glenn.

Fifth Segment:

Some people in the unions are good and tip them off. They talk about some union thugs that attacked a tea party bus (threw eggs, I believe).

Sixth Segment:

He had a gavel and my DVR cut off. I’m assuming he was just saying goodnight or something.

Enjoy legally torturing me.

Adam Feser