Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Republicans don’t trust women.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

T R E 4 5 O N

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

In my day, never was longer.

Putin dreamed of ending NATO, and now it’s Finnish-ed.

You are here: Home / Politics / Domestic Politics / Open Thread: Going There

Open Thread: Going There

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Of course Dana Milbank quite literally has a book to sell, but I’m wondering how much of a hopeful sign it may be that the Premiere Village Insider is edging away from full-frontal embrace of the Twenty-Seven-Percenters:

Conspiracy theorists find validation from Glenn Beck
“I would’ve never started watching Fox News if it wasn’t for the fact that Beck was on there,” says this friend, Byron Williams. “And it was the things he did, it was the things he exposed, that blew my mind.”
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“I do enjoy Glenn Beck,” Williams also says, “and the reason why I enjoy that is because… no other channel will speak about the same things that he’s talking about, and if you go and investigate those things you’ll find out that they’re true.”
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Unfortunately for Beck, this satisfied viewer currently resides at the Santa Rita Jail near Oakland and stands accused of a freeway shootout with police. Williams pleaded not guilty to four counts of attempted murder of a police officer. But according to court documents, he said he had been on a mission to kill people at the liberal Tides Foundation, which happens to be a favorite Beck target.
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In August, I wrote that while it’s not fair to blame Beck for violence committted by his fans, he would do well to stop encouraging extremists. Now, Williams has granted a pair of jailhouse interviews, one with the conservative Examiner.com and one to be published soon by the liberal group Media Matters. These recorded exchanges, which I have reviewed, show precisely why Beck is dangerous: because his is the one voice in the mass media that validates conspiracy theories held by the unstable…

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  3. 3.

    Yutsano

    Meh. I wouldn’t put too much stock in it. More than likely the seducer of penii is just going for playing up his “balanced” cred. He knows who signs his paychecks.

  4. 4.

    DougJ is the business and economics editor for Balloon Juice.

    I don’t know…Mad Bitch beer. That’s all I can think of when I hear Milbank’s name.

  9. 9.

    Ross Hershberger

    To be fair, conspiracy theorists find validation everywhere they look. if you took Beck off the air they’d see plots on the back of their Froot Loops box in the morning instead.
    It’s an experiment I’d be willing to see through, though.

  11. 11.

    hamletta

    Did anyone actually read the article?

    I know Milbank’s done some smug Villager shit, but he’s also done some damn good work, and lately his output’s been more of the latter.

    Having a respected voice at the Washington Post point these things out to the Villagers is A Good Thing.

    We all rage against the puke funnel that mainstreams right-wing memes, but isn’t this kind of a mirror image (with the added value of being true)?

  12. 12.

    Ross Hershberger

    Milbank:

    In August, I wrote that while it’s not fair to blame Beck for violence committted by his fans, he would do well to stop encouraging extremists.

    Because that’ll show Fox the error of their ways.

  13. 13.

    kommrade reproductive vigor

    because his is the one voice in the mass media that validates conspiracy theories held by the unstable…

    Au contraire, mon frere.

    A “national underground network” of pink pistol-packing lesbians is terrorizing America. “All across the country,” they are raping young girls, attacking heterosexual males at random, and forcibly indoctrinating children as young as 10 into the homosexual lifestyle, according to a shocking June 21 segment on the popular Fox News Channel program, “The O’Reilly Factor.”

  15. 15.

    RSR

    Wouldn’t surprise me it this isn’t just bitching about some ‘conspiracy theorist’ stealing the journalist limelight.

    Not that he’s wrong about Beck, but c’mon, really? You’re just getting to the party?

  18. 18.

    El Cid

    What — are you suggesting that we should trust an imprisoned attempted killer inspired by Beck conspiracy lunacies less than your big pointy head librul ‘scientists’ and Obama’s buddy Bill Ayers?

  19. 19.

    Mark S.

    Huh, I actually get the Big 10 channel. I don’t really care, but why does Dish put some of these channels up in the 9000’s where I never look?

  21. 21.

    sfinny

    Homer is one cute kitty, and those dogs are saints. Regarding Milbank and the recognition that certain rightwing media folks may inspire them to violence? I’m skeptical that it will get momentum amongst the public. Anytime I bring up the multiple examples to my co-workers the response is always the same. Both sides do it, there are radical liberals, these guys are crazy and have nothing to do with me or my beliefs. Blaming media people or politicians is partisan and mean spirited. Blah, blah, blah, you crazy liberal Obot.

  22. 22.

    Martin

    Well, on the upside, maybe while Glenn is out west he can get baptized. That’ll restore some sanity.

  24. 24.

    Bob In Pacifica

    Can you be a conspiracy theorist and believe that Glenn Beck is a full-of-crap rightwing batshit crazy twerp?

    There are many conspiracy theories out there. Not all involve birth certificates and Kenyans.

  25. 25.

    General Stuck

    Since I have finally conquered my aversion to wearing glasses and bought a pair of the reading kind, I can again read regular size print books. And query a few good books on Lincoln and The Civil War that are old enough to maybe be found in a smallish county library. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    And

    The Littlest Werewolf

  27. 27.

    debit

    Today while I was biking, I nearly hit a roller blader who’d suddenly stopped short. I hit the brakes, looked to see what had stopped him and saw this little guy. Luckily, I had my camera in my panniers, but unluckily, this was the only one wasn’t blurred.

    While this was in the suburbs, it was near a very busy highway and in an office park. Not the place I expect to see a fox taking a pee.

  28. 28.

    Ross Hershberger

    @debit:

    That’s a very young fox. Good eye, and a nice shot. Rare to see them in teh daytime like that.
    2 weeks ago, driving home here at midnight I damn near ran over a coyote in the road. Startled the crap out of me.

  29. 29.

    General Stuck

    @debit: Reminds me several years ago, one hot summer moonless night, I was standing out back next to the woods admiring the stars, and first one then another foxes trotted right past me. The second stepping on one of my feets. They didn’t seem to know I was there, or didn’t care, and just went on their merry way.

  30. 30.

    debit

    @Ross Hershberger: Wow, that’s right in the middle of people. I used to see coyotes every now and again when I owned horses and rode all over the back of beyond, but never so close to civilization.

    @General Stuck: That’s gotta be a great memory. This little guy didn’t really care about us. Just trotted up to the lamp post, had a whiz, then trotted off again.

  31. 31.

    Ross Hershberger

    @debit:
    Not only that, a week later 16 miles away in a residential area a woman saw her Maltese attacked by a coyote in her back yard. The dog got 5 stitches and survived.
    But back to the real dangers, Beck and his followers…

  32. 32.

    debit

    @Ross Hershberger: Yikes, poor puppy! Glad it’s okay.

    I clicked on the link above and read Beck’s rambling note and it seems to me he’s implying that he’s been poisoned. “Toxins or poison? I haven’t been eating any lead paint chips!” Man, he’s a piece of work.

  33. 33.

    Blotto von Bismarck

    Apparently, Glenn Beck won’t even stand up for Donald Duck, a distinctly American character. Is it because Glenn Beck is an anti-duck bigot? Is it because Donald Duck, despite owning a gun and having paranoia of “unfamiliar people”, hates the wealthy?

  34. 34.

    debit

    Trying my hand at making Italian Beef for sandwiches tomorrow. I was just waiting for the roasts to cool enough to put in the fridge. With that done, I am bound for bed. Night, all.

  38. 38.

    James E. Powell

    One writer, who almost no one outside of blogs pays any attention to, will do nothing to affect the general discourse in this election season.

  40. 40.

    Darkrose

    Went here for dinner tonight. I had the special, which was roast duck with dumplings and red cabbage. It came in what looked like an actual roasting pan for the duck, with two smaller dishes above it, one for the cabbage and one for the dumplings.

    Fabulous.

  41. 41.

    Martin

    @Ross Hershberger: We get coyotes in the neighborhood all the time. Red-tailed hawk the other day. Peregrines now and then. Sometimes a vulture out front. I’ve been told there are roadrunners and mountain lions about 2 blocks away, but I’ve never seen one.

    Quite a lot of wildlife diversity for suburban OC.

  42. 42.

    Southern Beale

    My favorite conspiracy theory is the one about how Mark David Chapman didn’t shoot John Lennon, author Stephen King did.

    I first heard about it when this guy called in to some radio show. Apparently Stephen King has been harassed by this guy for years.

    Anyway, it’s all fun and games until someone gets elected to Congress and then suddenly this whacko conspiracy shit becomes public policy. Why should the Clinton and Obama conspiracies be taken any more seriously than the John Lennon one? Just wondering.

  44. 44.

    Mnemosyne

    @jeffreyw:

    You may need to trim his nails. Charlotte starts getting all uppity when they get too sharp and she starts being able to climb things.

  45. 45.

    Mnemosyne

    @debit:

    We’re up against the Verdugo foothills just north of downtown Los Angeles and we literally have coyotes roaming the city streets. I’ve even seen them in broad daylight. A lot of them got forced down from the hills by the Station Fire last year, but they seem to have settled in.

    This is why our cats are indoor only.

  46. 46.

    frosty

    @Martha: Are they the same people who make Bare Naked lager and Wild Ride IPA? I’m not used to getting all steamed up reading beer labels.

    Well, except for those S. Clay Wilson ones that the Checkered Demon drank back in the 60s.

  48. 48.

    Origuy

    @General Stuck:
    Ta-Nehisi Coates has been doing a lot of research on the Civil War. He said that James MacPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom is the best single-volume work on the subject out there. It’s been out since 1988; every American public library should have it.

  49. 49.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @jeffreyw #37: Look very carefully at that blueberry tart. Study it closely. Do you notice a *BEAR* emerging? It’s ther, complete with two sleepy eyes, eyebrows, and a pinkish muzzle.

    Okay, I grant you it’s not “Find the Pope in the Pizza” or “Spaghetti Jesus” but it’s pretty awesome. So my advice to you is, donate that miracle BlueBeary Tart to the Smithsonian. Do *not*, under *any* circumstances, eat the tar . . .

    Never mind. Carry on.

  51. 51.

    Ross Hershberger

    @Martin:
    We’re by the Detroit Zoo. Every year around Halloween we get big flocks of turkey vultures hanging around. 50 large birds roosting in one tree is a pretty odd sight.
    The morning after the coyote near miss I saw a LARGE raccoon rooting around in the shrubbery around the house. It trampled the ferns for a while, then ambled off. The next night my wife had to chase one off of the roof.
    Maybe it’s the time of year.

  53. 53.

    Anne Laurie

    @debit:
    __

    Not the place I expect to see a fox taking a pee.

    Well, you know how adolescents are… no doubt that was a very important pee-mail which required an immediate response!

    Kinda the vulpine equivalent of texting while driving. Of course his parents warned him against it, but they don’t understand that he’s invulnerable and is gonna live forever…

  55. 55.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Tattoo Sydney: O/T, but please, when may we look for the next installment(s) of “The Fat Man, the Fat Cat, and the Barky Dog”?

    I referenced it the other day (the thread about how John’s new beard itches) and it made me think we need at least Chapter 2.

  56. 56.

    Belvoir

    It’s really not that funny anymore. Glenn Beck declares liberals and progressives enemies of America, and violent incidents.. happen.

    They just happen. And he is ramping it up every day on his show. Pretty much eliminationist rhetoric towards liberals and progressives, we are enemies of the American nation and must be stopped. By any means.

    It’s seriously unfunny. And he will scoot away from any blame, like the pig coward he is. An utterly corrosive and hideously wrong figure blabbing today in the American “mainstream”. His nutjob politics have been normalized by repetition. And it’s open season on liberals, with his eliminationist rhetoric. He’s inciting people, and we will see worse I think, worse violence. I wish I could laugh about Glenn Beck.
    Can’t yet.

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I always brake for bunnies. And squirrels. Pretty much anything, actually. I have pulled over and stopped the car to carry turtles across the road.

  59. 59.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Steeplejack: You are a prince among men. I swerve for animals, too. I couldn’t bear to hit one.

    @Tattoosydney: And right on cue, I show up! Your tart looks sooooo tasty. I like Rosalita, too, but since Cole calls her Rosie, I reluctantly adopted the moniker. Can’t wait for chapter two!

    @jeffreyw: You, Sir, are soooo unfair. First, you tempt me with the adorable Homer, and then with the delectable tarts.

    Yutsy, you still around? How you be?

    General Stuck, that is the cutest weredog I’ve ever seen!

  60. 60.

    Karen

    Since this is an open thread with pet lovers…is there anyone who wants a two to three old female spayed kitty? I have RA and had help with a friend. Now he’s gone and I can’t manage two cats. She and my other female cat are fighting constantly and because of that, her litter habits sometimes means it’s on the rug or the paper I’ve put in front of the litter box. I think that if someone had the patience and the energy they could probably get her to stop. She’s a very lovey cat, likes to cuddle and likes attention.

    Is it okay that I’m using the open thread to mention all this? I love her very much but I can’t take care of two cats and I’d prefer to keep her out of a shelter.

    Anyone interested I live outside of DC.

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