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Glenn Beck is an idiot

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May 15, 2010 1:33 pm

On the back cover of Beck's book "Arguing With Idiots" he lists a quote from Discover Magazine. The quote "Glenn Beck is an idiot" is atttributed to the magazine. The problem, the magazine as an institution, has no opinion one way or another on Beck and never called him an idiot.  Now, one of their contributors, Dr. Phillip Plait has an opinion, and it is he who called Beck an idiot. He wrote it on a blog space.  He did so because of some the ludicrous statements made by Beck regarding climate change and the California wild fires. Plait, incensed that Beck would make light of the fires because it was in Beck's words "progressives who hate America  getting burned out of their homes" took on Beck's misfacts regarding the fires and climate change.

Of course, millions of people follow Beck and believe what he says is gospel while Plait gets Phil who? Still, it is Plait who is right. Beck twists the truth and is loose with the facts. He even does it on his own book cover.

Beck can be entertaining when he gets on a rant, but you can't believe a word out of his mouth. Or, at least you shouldn't.

May 16, 2010 6:37 am

 " ... but you can't believe a word out of his mouth. Or, at least you shouldn't. "

A guy who peddles bonds for a living climbs up on his high horse and attacks a guy who is trying to get America to stop printing bonds.

And he's giving us free advice on who to trust.

May 16, 2010 6:31 am

 Thanks for the exursion into the liberal mind, bond guy.

May 16, 2010 12:15 pm

Couple of things here.


Glenn Beck IS an idiot. 

But Glenn Beck is also an actor.  I don't think either of you are right on this.  Mainly because he doesn't believe half of the crap that he says.  He's an entertainer.  Like Cramer.  And other idiots on TV.  He says things to get a reaction.  Most pundits do.

BondGuy rocks no matter what he sells. The value he has provided to newbie (and veteran FAs) has been unequaled.  Judge may have had the 500 day war, but BondGuy has been here for a long time.

Go back and read a thread from him where he talks about how all of the old tired broker style doesn't work.  I'm equally sure that BondGuy has been in this business so long that he has done it all.  If he can start a relationship with a safe bond, why shouldn't he?

And lastly.  Climate change may be happening.  Man-made climate change is bull.

May 16, 2010 7:16 pm

Yeah, why shouldn't he, Magician?

It's a free country.      

  ..... right?

May 16, 2010 9:42 pm

The man started in the business over 20 years ago.  Fee-only and fee-based was a dream then. 

It's not like the only thing he does is sell bonds.

May 16, 2010 10:48 pm

Millionair, I don't care who you trust. But, unless you want Palin as our next president you need to think about it.

Magician, I agree, Beck is light entertainment. Kinda the right's Bill Mawr, only not as funny. And maybe not as well written.  Look at Beck, compares every libreral to the Nazis and then says it's Ok to burn people out of their homes for their beliefs. Is that high comedy, bad writting, or a confused mind?  Unfortunately, too deep for the average Tea Bagger who is hoping the Santa Ana winds keep up year round. But, there's that science thing again, ops! I guess that's funny too. Well, until Sarah takes the oath of office.

On the biz front, I don't care what anyone thinks about what i do. It works for my clients, it works for my family, it works for me. Simple!

May 17, 2010 1:57 pm

Full disclosure here: I like Glen Beck.  I listen to his radio show when I'm in my car and he's on.  I DVR his show and watch it probably once a week.  I realize that his show is about entertainment, ratings, and money.  Not necessarily in that order.  My political leaning align themselves pretty squarely with the Tea Party movement.  Bond, your use of the Tea Bagger verbiage is a little disturbing.  I took you for a guy who was smart enough not to having to resort to name calling when you disagree with someone. 

Beck, while entertaining us average Tea Partiers, has uncovered, or at least brought to the forefront some things that should disturb us as US citizens, no matter what party we find ourselves in.  For instance, did you know that Freddie and Fannie now have a direct, unlimited line of credit whith the US government?  No TARP money needed, just walk across the hall to Uncle Sam and have him write you a check.  Those are tax dollars going to that failure of an organization.  Yours AND mine. 

While you may not agree with his politics or his tactics, you can't argue that the man knows his audience and his audience is listening and acting.  I think it's the acting part that gets under the skin of the average liberal/progressive.  It's pretty disturbing when the astro turf starts to cause some problems. 

It's OK, your (meaning the progressive Dems) time in the sun is limited.  How many days until mid-term elections?  I can't wait to see how effective Obama is when his party is no longer in control of the House and Senate.  Wait, did I use effective and Obama in the same sentence?  Sorry for the oxymoron.   

May 17, 2010 4:25 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

Full disclosure here: I like Glen Beck.  I listen to his radio show when I'm in my car and he's on.  I DVR his show and watch it probably once a week.  I realize that his show is about entertainment, ratings, and money.  Not necessarily in that order.  My political leaning align themselves pretty squarely with the Tea Party movement.  Bond, your use of the Tea Bagger verbiage is a little disturbing.  I took you for a guy who was smart enough not to having to resort to name calling when you disagree with someone. 

Calling them teabaggers is a put down? Who knew?

Beck, while entertaining us average Tea Partiers, has uncovered, or at least brought to the forefront some things that should disturb us as US citizens, no matter what party we find ourselves in.  For instance, did you know that Freddie and Fannie now have a direct, unlimited line of credit whith the US government?  No TARP money needed, just walk across the hall to Uncle Sam and have him write you a check.  Those are tax dollars going to that failure of an organization.  Yours AND mine. 

Ah, I'm speechless! Well, not quite. You didn't know? I can understand Joe Lunchbox not knowing, or really caring, but you?

Space, my view of the tea partiers is one of not too bright,  easily led conservatives who as a group don't understand how money works. I gotta tell ya, You're not helping to change that view. And, honestly I'm not trying to put you down, but funding of Fannie and Freddie as mechanism to help bail us out of this mess is well documented.

Why are we, with our tax dollars, doing this? To keep the economy from capsizing and to keep familes in their homes. Over the past six months alone they have modified over 135,000 mortgages. That's 135,000 families that won't be homeless. That's 135,000 houses that won't get added to the see through inventory. Think about that number, 135,000. That's my town and and every town around it. That's a lot of people, and that's just over the past six months! On the flip side mortgage delinquencies are still increasing. Are Tea partiers for putting people out of their homes?

 

 

While you may not agree with his politics or his tactics, you can't argue that the man knows his audience and his audience is listening and acting.  I think it's the acting part that gets under the skin of the average liberal/progressive.  It's pretty disturbing when the astro turf starts to cause some problems. 

Yeah, it's scary that somone with the IQ of astroturf could be elected prez because the audience is not well informed. The same audience that believes the health care debate was about health care.

It's OK, your (meaning the progressive Dems) time in the sun is limited.  How many days until mid-term elections?  I can't wait to see how effective Obama is when his party is no longer in control of the House and Senate.  Wait, did I use effective and Obama in the same sentence?  Sorry for the oxymoron.   

Because i call Beck what he is I'm a progressive Dem?

Well, I think the Alabama gubernatoral race were the attack ads are centered on the teaching of evolution are an absolute joke. Except they are dead serious. People in this day and age making a decision that rejects science? This is scary stuff! The dumbing down of America! And, the pandering to it. If rejecting the right's pandering to the flat earth crowd, and turning evolution into a religious debate makes me a progressive democrat, well I embrace that title heartily. Personally, i think it makes me a thinking American.

As for The effectiveness of the house and senate: There was a time when the parties would come together for the greater good of the country. After all the debate, and retoric, things got done. This is the way our governement is suppose to work. Now, we are polarized. I mean opposite ends of the magnet.  There is no compromise  regardless of the stakes. The talking heads energize groups at opposite ends of the spectrum and politicians have to pander to them. A good example is what you brought up, TARP. Without it we'd be looking at bread lines, yet the average Tea Bag partier doesn't know that or at least understand it. So, the drumbeat starts with all the crap about socializing the country and nationalizing the banks. This group buys into it. That's scary!

I'd say i'm more of a regressive centrist. i want things like they were in the good old days. When reasonable men with differing beliefs could agree. And debate wasn't spun into complete lies with supporting cheerleaders on both sides.

 

[/quote]

May 17, 2010 4:55 pm

The problem with working at Jones is that I'm surrounded with teabaggers. I believe that it's impossible to be dumb about politics and smart about investing. So I sit at meetings being forced to listen to their idiotic misuse of political facts, occasionally interupted by come to jesus testimony.

May 17, 2010 5:21 pm

Ah, yes.  Loan modifications.  Have you called your banker, assuming you still carry a mortage, and asked him if you can modify your loan?  He'd probably chuckle at you and tell you that you've got a great job, pay your bills on time, don't miss payments, have an emergency fund, have a great credit rating, bought a house you can actually afford and are generally a nice guy, so no, he's not going to modify your loan for you.  You signed a contract with his bank, now deal with it.  But he appreciates your business.

Meanwhile, your banker's counterpart at Freddie gets a phone call from somone who bought much more house than they could afford, took out a second mortgage on said house to buy that ________ they couldn't live without, have a horrible credit rating because they can't pay the minimum balance on their credit card bills, didn't have an emergency fund, and are generally nice people with a fatal planning flaw.  Their sob story is so compelling that the lender at Freddie feels so sorry for them that he says, sure, we'll modify your loan for you.  There now, doesn't that make things easier for you? 

OK, those were my tax dollars that guy just pissed away.  Those TARP dollars that just had to be spent to save the country.  Well, what lessons did we as a country learn from this last few years?  Was it to save more?  Was it to only buy what you can afford?  Was it to prepare for the worst?  Nope.  It was if you get into trouble, reach out of Uncle Sam's outstretched hand and grab the dollar bill that he's offering you.  It's your right as an American citizen to have the government bail you out of your own stupidity. 

We can at least agree on something.  Our current government is broken.  And broke.  I too want things to go back the way they were.  We're not going there.  We're headed the exact opposite direction.  

The funny thing is that if you are indeed a regressive centrist, I'm not sure why you're so tough on Beck.  The vast majority of his commentary is about getting back to the way things were when the government didn't want to control every little part of our existence.  Getting back to the way things were when men could argue and disagree with each other but yet get something accomplished.  He's looking back to men like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and the other founding fathers as the ideal of what our leadership should be right now.  Those guys didn't agree with each other, but they all knew what had to be done to make this country great, and they put aside their differences and did it.  Underneath Beck's ratings grab is some really good information.

How about we leave the evolution conversation to another time and place?  

May 17, 2010 5:56 pm

Bond Guy, liberal blowhard.

1. Picks a fight about Beck.

2. Diverts meaningful discussion about overspending. Makes fun of Spiff for being Joe lunchbox in his understanding about the (liberal and conservative engineered) cause of the meltdown.

3. Believes spending your money on bailouts is good for the economy.

4.Thinks he's qualified to judge who has the IQ of astroturf.

5. Apparently denies that America has swung hard to the left ( socialist economic policy).

6. Probably voted for Obama, now he's attacking Beck.

7. Peddles bonds for a living, makes fun of people who are worried about debt and bloated government and government intervention in the economy.

8. Apparenty pines for the good old days, when America cold afford his BS.

May 17, 2010 6:08 pm

For the record, I have zero problems with the way Bondguy makes his living.  He's been at this a long time.  I have no doubt that picking his brain on all things bond related would be a wonderful educational experience. 

May 17, 2010 7:12 pm

Selling debt is a lucrative and honorable way to make a living, I speak from experience. ( Pretty objective perspective, huh?)

Part of the hypocrisy of sucessful baby boomers has to do with selfishness ( as in, borrowing for today, and leaving the next generation in debt for tomorrow) - while claiming to be improving the or maintaining the economic legacy left by our parents.

To state the obvious, when a guy who peddles debt for a living ( who probably voted for the current leadership) - attacks the opposition - any points he can get win from the discussion are gravy. Just defining the playing field is a victory.   

Whether he is conscious of what he is doing or not, BG is employing Ombamian tactics in his fight.

1. Pick the fight (define the playing field).

2. Divert attention ( I profit from selling debt, but I'm qualified to attack those who fundamentally oppose overspending).

3. Debase the opposition ( astroturf I Q).

4. Justify your own actions or strategy.

5. Call for a reasonable harmony ( like the old days, when Congress got along).

Thanks for the lesson, BG. If you carry on in ignorance, I guess you're just a blowhard. If you know what you're doing, perhaps it makes you a socialist - in the purpose driven sense.

For example, when Obama attacks the health care industry ( most people are not trained to understand it), and creates fear and loathing of corporations to win public emotional support, you could call that fascist, or you could back off a little and be polite and call it socialism.

Meanwhile, it seems like liberals have a general sense that a guy like Beck is really a fascist. Maybe you could enlighten us, Bond Guy. This is your thread.

May 17, 2010 7:39 pm

I am curious, Bondguy, what got you heated up enough that you felt the need to come onto RR and blast Beck?  Did the Bold Fresh tour just leave your neck of the woods?  Casual dust jacket reading at the local Barnes & Noble? 

May 17, 2010 7:56 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

Ah, yes.  Loan modifications.  Have you called your banker, assuming you still carry a mortage, and asked him if you can modify your loan?  He'd probably chuckle at you and tell you that you've got a great job, pay your bills on time, don't miss payments, have an emergency fund, have a great credit rating, bought a house you can actually afford and are generally a nice guy, so no, he's not going to modify your loan for you.  You signed a contract with his bank, now deal with it.  But he appreciates your business.

 

Meanwhile, your banker's counterpart at Freddie gets a phone call from somone who bought much more house than they could afford, took out a second mortgage on said house to buy that ________ they couldn't live without, have a horrible credit rating because they can't pay the minimum balance on their credit card bills, didn't have an emergency fund, and are generally nice people with a fatal planning flaw.  Their sob story is so compelling that the lender at Freddie feels so sorry for them that he says, sure, we'll modify your loan for you.  There now, doesn't that make things easier for you? 

Actually, it would make it easier if you knew what you were talking about. The people getting approved for loan mods are honest people caught in a bad situation. No fraud. But speaking of fraud, it's the bankers in paragraph one who committed the fraud. They originated bad loans knowing that they were shit and sold them to Fannie and Freddie.  Bringing  bad loans current thru loan mods is a time honored banking practice. When it works it's the cheapest way out for the bank. Ultimately, it will be the cheapest way out for fannie and freddie. Still, for the Tea baggers agenda, easier to spin the beneficiaries as undeserving losers and deadbeats. Unfortunately, not true.

OK, those were my tax dollars that guy just pissed away.  Those TARP dollars that just had to be spent to save the country.  Well, what lessons did we as a country learn from this last few years?  Was it to save more?  Was it to only buy what you can afford?  Was it to prepare for the worst?  Nope.  It was if you get into trouble, reach out of Uncle Sam's outstretched hand and grab the dollar bill that he's offering you.  It's your right as an American citizen to have the government bail you out of your own stupidity. 

The average american isn't getting bailed out of anything.  Well, at least in my neck of the woods.

 

We can at least agree on something.  Our current government is broken.  And broke.  I too want things to go back the way they were.  We're not going there.  We're headed the exact opposite direction.  

The funny thing is that if you are indeed a regressive centrist, I'm not sure why you're so tough on Beck.  The vast majority of his commentary is about getting back to the way things were when the government didn't want to control every little part of our existence.  Getting back to the way things were when men could argue and disagree with each other but yet get something accomplished.  He's looking back to men like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and the other founding fathers as the ideal of what our leadership should be right now.  Those guys didn't agree with each other, but they all knew what had to be done to make this country great, and they put aside their differences and did it.  Underneath Beck's ratings grab is some really good information.

I'm tough on Beck because he's dishonest. And he's part of the problem. He takes the out of context and seeks to enflame with it. That drives the poles further apart rather than bringing them together. Going back to your comments about the undesrving getting bailed out. That's not true. Yet, it's guys like Beck who present the spin as fact and sell it to uninformed america. I'm not saying Beck actually said that, only that it's part of the ultra right spin machine. if you actually believe that irresponsible people who should  never have been approved for mortgages  are a meaningful percentage of those getting loan mods then you've bought in-you've been brain washed.  And there-in lies the problem with the Glenn Becks of the world, both on the right and the left. Neither is doing us any good.

How about we leave the evolution conversation to another time and place?  

That comment wasn't about evolution, but ok, another time.

And, the only thing I use a bank for is checking. On a personal basis i really hate those bastards.

 

 

[/quote]

May 17, 2010 8:01 pm

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704879704575236673459521654.html

May 17, 2010 8:36 pm

Actually, it would make it easier if you knew what you were talking about. The people getting approved for loan mods are honest people caught in a bad situation. No fraud. But speaking of fraud, it's the bankers in paragraph one who committed the fraud. They originated bad loans knowing that they were **** and sold them to Fannie and Freddie.  Bringing  bad loans current thru loan mods is a time honored banking practice. When it works it's the cheapest way out for the bank. Ultimately, it will be the cheapest way out for fannie and freddie. Still, for the Tea baggers agenda, easier to spin the beneficiaries as undeserving losers and deadbeats. Unfortunately, not true.

It must be fun to be you, your economic world must be so simple. And the solutions to the problems that " your people"  create make you richer. Still, your fascination with Beck is fascinating.

It's really just all about you and your legacy, liberal boomer. Blow hard, BG! This has been a education for me.

May 17, 2010 8:25 pm

[quote=Spaceman Spiff]

I am curious, Bondguy, what got you heated up enough that you felt the need to come onto RR and blast Beck?  Did the Bold Fresh tour just leave your neck of the woods?  Casual dust jacket reading at the local Barnes & Noble? 

[/quote]

Speaking of dust jackets, it is Becks misattribute of a quote on his own book's dust jacket that neatly pins him up like a butterfly at a high school science fair as the fraud he is. And, I say that realizing they don't teach science everywhere.

Still I'm not heated up at Beck. He's meaningless, if not harmless. As for tea partiers, well it depends on what branch? There are many not so good people, with not so good agendas and intentions competing to co-opt the tea party movement and message. That presents a potentially big problem.  I do like the anger, the being pissed off at the status quo. Change needs to happen. But i meant what i said, these people are too easily led and that's far from a good thing.

Oh, and the Bold Fresh tour? Yeah, we'll take your money, we'llbrain wash you, but you'll love it!  I like Bill, but he too is part of the problem, and he too is a little too loose with the facts. I usually skip his column in our local paper.

May 17, 2010 9:01 pm

How do you feel about some of the American people being  misled in their understanding of the health care industry's role as it relates to health care costs and  reform?

How do you feel about Chicago politics, broke boomers, debt, and the role of the government in the economy?

Do you think there is a massive socialist grab going on right now in the economy?

How exactly are you going to pay for the spending?

How will you hold your probable pals in power accountable for the spending?

Since you apparently think a lot of people are not as intelligent as you, how would you educate and awaken the masses if you agreed with the idea that we  need to be fiscally responsible?

There are no excuses for the past. All parties need to take responsibility. The problem I have is that while the economy is literally being taken over by the government, apparently bright enough folks like you are running offense for the invaders of the private economy.

In fairness, I'm not optimistic about the outcome of this battle, majority will win. Look at  Europe. Frankly, when I think about it, I think you're just messing with us. Relishing your liberal triumph. ( Yeah, you support Obama.)  I guess you're entitled, and the Beck crowd is doing its best to feel good about itself. I'm going golfing.