Glenn Beck to Join FOX News

Oh, BIG surprise... Following Huckabee, Glenn joins the dark side. Maybe it was because his ratings were so low...

Politico:

Drudge teased this earlier, and Fox News has announced that conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck is joining the network, leaving behind CNN's Headline News. Beck will host a show at 5 p.m. on Fox beginning in the spring (Full release after the jump).

It hasn't yet been determined when Beck's last day will be, but I've heard from a network source that Headline News was already preparing to re-air "Lou Dobbs Tonight" at 9pm, instead of Beck's show (which first airs at 7pm). When Beck leaves, Dobbs show will be in the 9pm slot, but no decision on 7pm.

"Glenn has been a terrific employee and colleague to many of us at CNN," a network spokesperson said in a statement. "We wish him well.”

LINK: Glenn Beck joins Fox News

Yeah, yeah. I know I've not been posting. I'm sorry, I'm still on a break.

-Mr. Joseph

Again?! Right-Wing Radio Hosts Meet with President Bush

Media Matters picked up this odd story...

In a August 1 blog entry on Townhall.com, syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote that "President Bush invited ten talk show hosts into the Oval Office for an hour of conversation today -- Glenn Beck, Bill Bennett, Neal Boortz, Scott Hennon, Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Mark Levin, Michael Medved, Janet Parshall and me. This was an off-the-record conversation, and so I won't be quoting the president." Blogger (and Media Matters for America Web producer) Oliver Willis noted Hewitt's post, and Talkers Magazine's website published a photo of the group.

Several conservative talk radio show hosts reportedly met with President Bush in September 2006, as Media Matters for America documented.

LINK: White House soirée, part deux: Beck, Bennett, Ingraham, Medved, and others met with Bush

I reported on the September 2006 charade here...

-Mr. Joseph

Beck to host CNN; Klein Dissappointed

Media Matters picked up this story about Glenn Beck...

On June 26, mediabistro.com's TVNewser weblog reported that CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck will fill in for Paula Zahn all next week on CNN's Paula Zahn Now beginning on July 2. TVNewser noted that Beck will also continue hosting his own show on CNN Headline News, which airs at 7 and 9 p.m. ET, meaning that for three consecutive hours, a CNN network will be broadcasting Beck. During the June 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio program, Beck said that CNN will "allow me to design [Paula Zahn Now] on what I wanted to talk about," adding, "I have decided to do a theme all next week on both television shows of 'We the people declare our independence.' " Beck also said, "I thought it was a good place and a good time to bring my theory to CNN that America is changing, that we are not Republicans and Democrats."

More...

LINK: Despite pattern of inflammatory comments, Beck to guest host for CNN's Zahn

To which, Joe Klein said this...

The world is a bit of a mess right now and CNN gives us Glenn Beck? Please, Mr. Parsons, sir, is this any way to show respect for your--our--viewers? Can't we, like, try a week of smart? See how that works? Just asking. Your Devoted Employee, Joe Klein

LINK: I come home to this?

Quite a delightful burn. I wonder why CNN is giving Beck the job -- isn't he having a bit of a ratings problem?

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (7/31/07):
LINK: MM: How low (in the ratings) can Glenn Beck go?

Glenn Beck's Ratings Are Extremely Low

This is my 300th post! I wanted to celebrate the 300th post with an analysis of all the current candidates for President, but because of the sheer number of candidates, the analysis isn't quite done yet.

However, we can celebrate with some good news!

My Two Sense reports...

Glenn Beck's ratings for the week of May 21-25 were staggering in how low Beck's ratings have fallen. When you think his ratings have hit rock bottom, they manage to dig just a little lower.

These are the numbers are for the 7pm hour. The first number is the 25-54 demographic, the second number is the total number of viewers.

Monday - 44,000 / 211,000
Tuesday - 141,000 / 302,000
Wednesday - 73,000 / 172,000
Thursday - 62,000 / 192,000
Friday - 43,000 / 123,000

These numbers are quite low. On Monday and Friday, Beck's demographic number was the lowest in all of cable news from 5pm to midnight. In Beck's 7pm time slot, he lost every single day (except Tuesday, which seems to be an abberation) to all 3 of the other cable news shows in both the demographic and total viewers.

Here are Glenn Beck's numbers for his 9pm show :

Monday - 167,000 / 397,000
Tuesday - 87,000 / 231,000
Wednesday - 37,000 / 142,000
Thursday - 119,000 / 355,000
Friday - 75,000 / 209,000

Beck loses in his 9pm timeslot as well. The other 3 shows on at 9pm are Hannity and Colmes, Larry King Live, and Scarbourough Country. Beck loses to them every night, but it should be noted he manage to squeak out a victory over Scarbourough on Monday. In total viewers, he loses handily to both Larry King and Hannity and Colmes.

What does this all mean? Glenn Beck's ratings are extremely low. The "Glenn Beck experiment" that Headline News started over a year ago has failed. A year ago, Glenn Beck was heralded as some sort of new talk show host that would revolutionize cable news. Instead, he is another in a long line of right wing radio talk show hosts who has failed in television.

In fact, Glenn Beck's numbers for this week were LOWER then a year ago when he was just starting. A year's worth of programming, advertising, and everything else that CNN and Headline News has done to push Glenn Beck has not made a bit of difference.

Beck's numbers are the lowest in cable news, and he shows no signs of improving any time soon. My question is how long will Headline News, CNN, and Time Warner continue to put up with Beck's low numbers?

LINK: Glenn Beck Ratings Report (May 21-25)

I really hope they boot his show of the air -- it is just awful. I've watched it several times and there is nothing appealing about it. Glenn Beck has to be my least favorite media personality.

-Mr. Joseph

UPDATE (7/31/07):
LINK: MM: How low (in the ratings) can Glenn Beck go?

After Imus, Franken calls upon CNN to fire Beck

Think Progress found this priceless clip...

Appearing last night on CNN’s Larry King Live, Al Franken said that firing Don Imus was the “right decision,” but pointed out that CNN has its own anchor who regularly spews hateful and bigoted remarks.

“CNN has Glenn Beck on,” Franken told King. “Glenn Beck asked my congressman, Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, you know, I just want to ask you, how do I know that you’re not working with the enemy? … I don’t know why that wasn’t grounds for CNN thinking, well, maybe Glenn Beck shouldn’t be on. I mean, how dare he say that to a congressman who has just been elected?”

King asked Franken, “With a lot of [controversial remarks] going on, are you calling for other dismissals?” Franken said, “No, I’m not. Just Glenn Beck on your network.”

Transcript:

FRANKEN: Well, the best thing to come out of this was the women from — from the Rutgers team. I thought they were eloquent. I thought they were dignified. I thought it was — I especially loved what one of them said about two — or three of her teammates.

She said, so and so is the big sister I never heard. So and so is the funniest person in the world. And so and so is going to make a great attorney. This guy doesn’t know anything about us.

And I think that just underlined it so well, that this was totally inappropriate, totally wrong. He didn’t know anything about them. And I hope gets the chance to talk to them, and I hope at least something good comes out of this.

You know, I — Ed Schultz was saying that everyone’s talking about this. I was up in Minnesota today with a group of seniors from seven counties. This wasn’t a senior home. This was seniors who were caring about policy. And they are debating global warming and health care, and they were — they weren’t talking about this at all.

It obviously is an important thing, it’s a big thing, but they were talking about things…

KING: Let’s stay — I’ll get to that. But let’s stay with I-Man for a couple of minutes.

FRANKEN: OK. Sure.

KING: Is it forgivable? Should CBS let him stay on?

FRANKEN: You know, it’s — it’s their choice. I think — I think NBC made the right decision. I think cable news is cable news. And he has that position.

I have heard a lot of talk radio — now, I will give you an example. CNN has Glenn Beck on. Glenn Beck asked my congressman, Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, you know, I just want to ask you, how do I know that you’re not working with the enemy?

And he said that — I think he said it on CNN. But he certainly is — he’s on CNN. I don’t know why that wasn’t grounds for CNN thinking, well, maybe Glenn Beck shouldn’t be on. I mean, how dare he say that to a congressman who has just been elected?

And I hear this kind of thing a lot of time. I monitored a lot of right-wing radio when I was doing my show and before it. And I’ve heard Rush Limbaugh say things that are worse than this.

And so, I don’t know.

KING: Does that make thing then forgivable since others are doing it? You know, if you go, 40, 50 miles an hour, it’s not an excuse if other people do it and they stop you. But should he be at least given some rope? FRANKEN: I don’t know if I buy the analogy, but I’m not glad I’m making this decision. This is up to CBS’ management. Let’s put it that way.

KING: You wouldn’t want to be in the position to have to make it?

FRANKEN: Well, if I were, I would make it, but that’s not my decision, thank you. That’s the answer.

KING: With a lot of it going on, are you calling for other dismissals?

FRANKEN: No, I’m not. Just Glenn Beck on your network.

KING: Just Glenn Beck.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: He’s on “HEADLINE NEWS,” right?

FRANKEN: Well, “HEADLINE NEWS” is part of CNN. And…

KING: Have you been on the Imus show?

FRANKEN: I have. I have been on a couple of times over the years. And, you know, after he did the White House — or no, it wasn’t White House correspondent — it was the Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner.

KING: Yes.

FRANKEN: I criticized him then, so we were on the outs. And, you know, one of the worst parts about this, I think, is that he used the defense it was a joke.

Now, Larry, I know that you loved Lenny Bruce. And Lenny Bruce offended people all the time. But there was always an actual point behind it, right?

KING: Correct. Correct.

FRANKEN: There was a joke. The joke meant something. It was about societal hypocrisy. Whatever it was about.

This was — I don’t get this joke. And I don’t get the idea of having — you k now, as someone who has had a radio show, of having a kind of racist sidekick. Which I guess is what it is.

I don’t listen to Imus enough. But isn’t it — was that the concept of a show, I’m going to have a vaguely racist sidekick?

KING: I don’t think that’s the concept of the show. It covers everything.

FRANKEN: OK. KING: It has major political figures, as you know.

FRANKEN: Yes, I know. I know, and that’s — he’s sort of trying to be a shock jock and be Tim Russert. And that’s a needle you have to thread, and I think it’s threadable. And I guess he just didn’t do it.

He hasn’t done it.

KING: Up next…

FRANKEN: It’s a terrible thing.

LINK: During CNN Appearance, Al Franken Calls On CNN To Fire Glenn Beck

Nice!
-Mr. Joseph

Even MORE on the Olbermann/Beck Feud

Media Matters documents the Olbermann "Worst Person" rip and Think Progress notes Glenn Beck's rant...

Olbermann:

On the March 16 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named CNN Headline News host and ABC News contributor Glenn Beck the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment for claiming on the March 15 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, as Media Matters for America documented, that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) cannot be elected president because of her voice: "[S]he is like the stereotypical -- excuse the expression, but this is the way to -- she's the stereotypical bitch ... that stereotypical nagging." As Media Matters also noted, on the March 16 edition of his radio show, Beck denied calling Clinton "a bitch," claiming instead that "Hillary Clinton sounds like the biggest nag on the planet ... I never said that Hillary Clinton -- excuse the language -- I never said that Hillary Clinton was a bitch. I said she sounded like one."

Olbermann awarded Fox News host Sean Hannity "the bronze" because, as Media Matters also documented, "He repeated the tale that President Clinton fired a U.S. attorney because the attorney was investigating Whitewater." Olbermann observed: "In fact, that U.S. attorney, Charles Banks, a Republican, investigated Whitewater, decided in October 1992 that there was no there there, resisted pressure from the first President Bush's attorney general to prosecute anyway." Olbermann acknowledged that "this could have gone to the Wall Street Journal editorial board," which made a similar accusation in a March 14 editorial, as Media Matters also documented.

From the March 16 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: The bronze to Sean Hannity, although this could have gone to the Wall Street Journal editorial board or Republican strategist Joe Watkins, who repeated this lie today on the network, or a lot of other people. But Sean likes "Worst Person" honors, so, tag, you're it. He repeated the tale that President Clinton fired a U.S. attorney because the attorney was investigating Whitewater.

In fact, that U.S. attorney, Charles Banks, a Republican, investigated Whitewater, decided in October 1992 that there was no there there, resisted pressure from the first President Bush's attorney general to prosecute anyway.

[...]

But our winner tonight, Glenn Beck of CNN and ABC, explaining that Senator Clinton cannot be elected president because of her voice. Quoting, "[S]he is like the stereotypical -- excuse the expression, but this is the way to -- she's the stereotypical bitch ... that stereotypical nagging -- nah, nah, nah, nah, nah," unquote. Beck says he would say the same thing about [Secretary of State] Condi Rice. Yeah, except he didn't. Glenn Beck, today's "Worst Person in the World."

LINK: Olbermann named Beck "Worst Person" for calling Clinton "the stereotypical bitch"; Hannity took "bronze"

RELATED READING:

VIDEO: Worst Person: Glenn Beck

Beck:

Last month, CNN’s Glenn Beck attacked MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, calling him an “intolerant ideologue” whose ideas “smack of the same McCarthyism [Edward R.] Murrow fought so valiantly against.”

Yesterday on CNN’s Reliable Sources, Beck once again went after Olbermann: “I’m in the hot seat almost constantly because I’m doing an opinion show — but I am telling you I’m doing an opinion show. I am in the hot seat because I’m a conservative — but I’m telling you that I’m a conservative. It’s people like Keith Olbermann doing news shows, never will ever admit that he’s a liberal. He is a liberal and he’s also blending news and comment together. That is the great danger.”

Beck is wrong. From a 6/9/05 Houston Chronicle profile:

A lot of my personal worldview is unmistakably sympathetic to things in a liberal playbook, but honest to God, I have been called a reactionary by some on the far left, a liberal by some on the far right and I’m insulted by both terms. My point of view is about delivering information and context. It has nothing to do with a political point of view.

While Olbermann admits that personally, he is liberal, he maintains that he focuses on criticizing those in power, which included President Clinton in 1998. I try to be “fair and honest and as accurate and as informed as possible, and allow my viewer to be the same way,” Olbermann told CSPAN last year.

On the other hand, Beck’s comments are more than just “conservative.” They are also, at times, racist, anti-gay, and sexist.

Transcript:

KURTZ: All right. Well, let me read you some comments from MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. We’re going to play part of your on-air response and we’ll talk about it on the other side. Olbermann told “Rolling Stone” this month, he called you a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a very dangerously bigoted guy who’s selling himself as a pragmatic philosopher. I don’t think he sees his own bigotry. There’s something about him that suggests one night he will say something that costs him his career in television. And you addressed this question of making a career ending move on your show. Let’s watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: If I’m going to be shut down for that, well, it will likely be because of an intolerant ideologue like Keith Olbermann. The very idea smacks of the same McCarthyism Murrow fought so valiantly against.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ: Now he wasn’t calling for you to be shut down. He said you might shut yourself down by saying something.

BECK: There’s a difference. There’s a difference here and I think this is what it is. We are in a very politically correct world and you can — if you’re honest about it, you can see that there is a different standard. I mean here I am. I’m in the hot seat almost constantly because I’m doing an opinion show but I am telling you I’m doing an opinion show. I am in the hot seat because I’m conservative, but I’m telling you that I’m a conservative. It’s people like Keith Olbermann doing news shows never will ever admit that he’s a liberal. He is a liberal and he’s also blending news and comment together. That is a great danger. But I would think that…

KURTZ: When he does his commentary, it says on the screen ’special comment.’

BECK: You’re only finding his commentary there in the special commentary? I mean come on.

LINK: Beck Falsely Claims Olbermann Will ‘Never Admit He’s A Liberal’

Developing...
-Mr. Joseph

More on the Olbermann/Beck Feud

Dina, I've got some time and a camera. Why don't you stop by? ... No? OK.
-Glenn Beck

Olbermann gave CNN's Glenn Beck the Worst Person in the World award for this...

Media Matters...

As Media Matters for America documented (here, here, and here), during each of the first three episodes of his CNN Headline News program, Beck made suggestive comments to CNN Headline News anchor Erica Hill, who was then giving daily news updates during the show. Hill no longer appears on Beck's program.

VIDEO / LINK: Olbermann named Beck "Worst Person" for propositioning woman on show

YouTube Video...

LINK: KO'd: Glenn Beck Named Worst Person for Requesting Racy Pics

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the March 1 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: But our winner, Glenn Beck of CNN Headline News. Talking about the latest naked photo scandal at American Idol, he asked a female guest to let him take nude photos of her. No, wait a minute. Not even he would do that. Ask a woman on television to pose nude for him, even hypothetically? I'm sorry, I'd have to see that to believe it. I'm sorry, Glenn. I don't know how this got in this list, I mean.

We have it on tape? Seriously? Dina Sansing, from US Weekly? All right, play it.

[begin video clip]

BECK: I don't think you have to be famous. I think you just work in the average, you know, in the average environment in America now, somebody would get a picture of you, and then it would be posted all around, and you -- it'll happen in your office.

SANSING: Yeah, possibly.

BECK: You don't think so?

SANSING: Well, it depends. You know, it depends --

BECK: Dina, I've got some time and a camera. Why don't you stop by? No? OK.

[end video clip]

OLBERMANN: Bravo, sir. I mean, not even Bill-O would do his sexual harassing on camera. Glenn Beck of CNN Headline News, today's "Worst Person in the World."

RELATED READING...

LINK: The Top 10 Conservative Idiots, No. 281 (Beck is #9)

LINK: Glenn Beck’s got a camera…

LINK: ‘Worst’: CNN's Glenn Beck gets salty with guest

No? Okay...
-Mr. Joseph

Olbermann vs. Beck

vs.
This is a feud just waiting to happen! Think Progress documented the opening round...

Olbermann (via RollingStone) on CNN's Glenn Beck:

A wolf in sheep’s clothing. The very dangerously bigoted guy who is selling himself as a pragmatic philosopher. I don’t think he sees his own bigotry. There’s something about him that suggests that, one night, he’ll say something that will cost him his career in television.

LINK: KEITH OLBERMANN: TRUTH-TELLER

Beck (via his own TV Show):

Hey, Keith, you’re not saving the world’s democracy; you’re killing it, my friend, by trying to limit the marketplace of ideas to only those that reflect your own.

LINK: Glenn Beck Claims Olbermann Is ‘Killing…The World’s Democracy,’ ‘Smacks Of…McCarthyism’

-Mr. Joseph

O’Reilly And Beck Agree: We’re ‘Afraid’ To Have ‘A Lot Of African-American Friends’

From Think Progress...

Last night on Fox News, Bill O’Reilly led a discussion about Sen. Joe Biden’s (D-DE) racially-insensitive remarks toward Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). But instead of exlusively focusing on why the remarks were condescending to African-Americans, he said blacks should “feel sorry for us white folks here, because I’m telling you now I’m afraid to say anything. … White Americans are terrified.”

My Two Sense points out that CNN’s Glenn Beck hosted a similar discussion last night, during which he said, “I don’t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I’m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare.”

Transcripts:

O’REILLY: Now you got to feel sorry for us white folks here, because I’m telling you now I’m afraid to say anything. You know, you’re an articulate guy, doctor, but I’m never going to say that. You’re a smart guy. Is that bad if I say you’re a smart guy? … Yes, absolutely, instead of black and white Americans coming together, white Americans are terrified. They’re terrified. Now we can’t even say you’re articulate? We can’t even give you guys compliments because they may be taken as condescension?

BECK: You know, Shelby, I don’t know if anybody else in the audience — oh, this is just going to be a blog nightmare over the next few days. But let me just be honest and play my cards face up on the table.

I was thinking about this just last week. I don’t have a lot of African-American friends, and I think part of it is because I’m afraid that I would be in an open conversation, and I would say something that somebody would take wrong, and then it would be a nightmare. Am I alone in feeling that?

VIDEO / LINK: O’Reilly And Beck Agree: We’re ‘Afraid’ To Have ‘A Lot Of African-American Friends’

-Mr. Joseph

CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

This one is all over the blogosphere... Media Matters picked it up first...

TRANSCRIPT:

From the November 14 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: History was made last Tuesday when Democrat Keith Ellison got elected to Congress, representing the great state of Minnesota. Well, not really unusual that Minnesota would elect a Democrat. What is noteworthy is that Keith is the first Muslim in history to be elected to the House of Representatives. He joins us now.

Congratulations, sir.

ELLISON: How you doing, Glenn? Glad to be here.

BECK: Thank you. I will tell you, may I -- may we have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards face up on the table?

ELLISON: Go there.

BECK: OK. No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, "Let's cut and run." And I have to tell you, 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."

And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

ELLISON: Well, let me tell you, the people of the Fifth Congressional District know that I have a deep love and affection for my country. There's no one who is more patriotic than I am. And so, you know, I don't need to -- need to prove my patriotic stripes.

BECK: I understand that. And I'm not asking you to. I'm wondering if you see that. You come from a district that is heavily immigrant with Somalians. And I think it's wonderful, honestly, I think it is really a good sign that you are a -- you could be an icon to show Europe, this is the way you integrate into a country. I think the Somalians coming out and voting is a very good thing. With that --

ELLISON: I'd agree with you.

VIDEO / LINK: CNN's Beck to first-ever Muslim congressman: "[W]hat I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies' "

LINK: Crooks and Liars: When is CNN gonna dump this guy?

-Mr. Joseph

Armageddon? Conservative Media Thinks So.

Media Matters again does a great job documenting all this.

Here are transcipts, video, and links...

Transcripts...

From the July 12 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: Hey, everybody. Hurry up; we've got World War III to fight. Yes, it is the end of days. Isn't it?
[...]
BECK: Here's what I do know about World War III and the impending apocalypse. One, we can't coexist with people who want to blow up trains and subways and bring down buildings. If somebody has a death wish, not really the best negotiating partner.
I also know that whether you like it or not, this is a religious war. Radical Muslims want to wipe everybody else off the face of the earth.

From the July 13 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: Bob, you were on the show yesterday on television, you were on the radio show today. We talked about that World War III is here, and 1938, that's about where we are, 1938. With the events of the day are we any closer to the next world war?
BAER: Oh, we've moved -- we've moved forward in the last 12 hours. Hezbollah has dropped some rockets on Haifa, a major Israeli city. This is a major escalation. We can see this spreading into other countries. We are much closer to Armageddon.
From the July 18 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: Oh, I don't know what it's like at your house, but it feels like the apocalypse is coming here in New York in more ways than one.
As the fighting continues in the Middle East, many people in the international community today are calling for either negotiations and/or a U.N. peacekeeping force to halt the conflict. And that's just -- I can't understand that on so many levels.
[...]
BECK: Gemini was born with two mouths, two tongues, two noses, four eyes. Some say this is the work of the devil. I'm not going to argue, quite frankly. In fact, I'm going on record now and saying, "I'm sorry, PETA: The cat must be stopped."
This evil creature, without doubt, further evidence, oh, yes, that the end of days is approaching quickly. I say, what, 20 minutes from now? Could be. You know, in this week, we've got a mess in the Middle East; we've had wildfires burning out of control; of course, we got the heat waves, 113 degrees today in Death Valley; mudslides in California, oh, they're coming.
How far away from the plague of locusts are we? Geez. We used to be able to count on news footage of cute little kittens.

From the July 24 edition of Glenn Beck:
BECK: I just want to tell you that I truly believe these mullahs are far worse than Hitler. I mean, Hitler was crazy evil. I believe these guys are biblically evil. And don't miss tomorrow's program. We have a series starting tomorrow on the coming of the messiah. We'll do that tomorrow.

From the July 18 edition of CBN's The 700 Club:
ROBERTSON: Thanks, John. Ladies and gentlemen, you might like to know what the Bible has to say about Israel in the last days. Is this the beginning of Ezekiel 38? We don't know but its getting close. Here's what the book of Ezekiel tells us in the 38th chapter.
[...]
Well, that's the prophecy of Ezekiel, that in the latter days, a coalition is going to come against Israel. And some of us have been waiting. Is this the end of it all? No. Is this what precedes the coming of the Lord? I don't think so. But it's clearly prophesied by Ezekiel if you believe that.
Now let's look at the map and to see what he's talking about. Here is Israel in the middle. It's called the navel of the earth. This is one described as Put which we identify as Libya. The other is Cush, and Cush is not Ethiopia, Cush is Sudan. And this is Sudan, which is of course an Islamic state. Libya is an Islamic state. And beyond that, what are we talking about? Gomer is somehow in the Caucasian area in here. These are Muslim people. Beth-togarmah may be Turkey. We're not quite sure exactly where all these people are. But Gog and Magog, Meschech is up in what is now the Russian federation. Rosh means head but it also is apparently Russia. So Russia's going to be involved with Persia which is down here. This is where Iran is. And so you can see the difference if Iran can come across it would have to cross Iraq, but it's trying its best to kind of overrun Iraq. But anyhow, here's Syria on the border with Iraq. Here's Iran right up on the close part. Syria, of course, borders Israel here. And Turkey borders there.
Now, you've got Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan. All these stans are Islamic republics. They are friendly to us but nevertheless that's what it is. Where is Tubal? Up here someplace in Magog. You can read in Genesis where they are. But the idea was that in the latter days when Israel is gathered back from the nations, the people are living at peace in their land, there is going to be this armada of essentially these Muslim nations joined with Russia to invade Israel, it says, in the latter days. Now are we seeing a prelude to that? We're not sure. But certainly Iran is making noises; they want to do it. The Sudan would undoubtedly kick in because they are fanatical Muslim in their leadership. Moammar Gadhafi has been relatively quiet but conceivably Libya could come on board.
This doesn't include Egypt, doesn't include Jordan, doesn't include Saudi Arabia or Yemen or these nations and, lo and behold, these particular nations are not joining in the current fighting against Israel. As a matter of fact, they are condemning Hezbollah. They don't want to have any part of it. And they are hoping that Israel will take them down a notch. They're hoping that the Iranians and the Syrians will come down a notch from where they are now because they're making trouble and they don't want it. But nevertheless, that's the situation described by the prophet Ezekiel. You ought to read your Bibles; Ezekiel 38. Can this be a prelude to that? I don't know, but it could be. We are beginning to see the line up of Iran, Russia, Sudan, Libya, and the Caucasian Muslim republics. Maybe Chechnya, some of those would play a role in this, we don't know. But when it's all finished, God says I'm going to destroy them all and I will bring glory to myself.

From the July 12 broadcast of The Gunny Bob Show:
NEWMAN: The truth be told, I don't say "uh-oh" very often when I hear a piece of news. When I got up this morning, about 0600, or so, turned on the TV and was greeted with the news that Israel had invaded Lebanon, and the first so-called words out of my mouth were "uh-oh." A world gone mad. Can mankind survive itself in World War III? I mean, is this the start of the big A -- Armageddon?
[...]
NEWMAN: If you just tuned into the show, I want to know if you think this, in the Middle East, could this be the beginning of Armageddon, at least a modern-day Armageddon?
[...]
NEWMAN: A world gone mad. Can mankind survive itself in World War III? And that's what we are in; but it's just not the World War III we expected. We kind of thought we'd be throwing missiles back and forth with the Russians, the Soviets. Well, it didn't come out that way, it came out to be different. And when you talk about Armageddon, the possibility of Armageddon, meaning wars all over the place and an awful lot of people dying that make World War II look like a joke, you've got to start adding up all the other factors.

From the July 4 broadcast of Jack Van Impe Presents:
JACK VAN IMPE: There's going to be a horrible conflict over Israel and over the Middle East. What they're saying now is, the last Bible prophecy that's going to be fulfilled, Psalm 83:4. Let us cast Israel off from being a nation that their name be no more in remembrance. And that's what starts Armageddon. As they divide the land of Israel, Joel 3, verse 2. Yes, Armageddon is coming, Revelations 16:16. But I repeat, it's not going to be the end of the world. Billions are going to be standing there to meet Christ after the conflict is ended and then they'll beat their swords and their plowshares and their spears and their pruning hooks, Isiah 2, verse 4.

From the July 18 broadcast of Jack Van Impe Presents:
REXELLA VAN IMPE: Yesterday a lady said to me, "Oh, Rexella, I love your program, I'm anxious to hear what your husband's going to have to say about the Middle East, and can he bring some comfort to my heart?" And I know you can, Jack.
JACK VAN IMPE: Oh, Rexella, there is war now in the Middle East and we'll have more to say about that a little later in the program. But do you know that when the lord Jesus Christ returns to earth to set up his kingdom; when he comes as the king of kings and lord of lords, Revelations 19:16, to rule and reign for one thousand years, Revelation 20, verse 4, that his feet hit the Mount of Olives and it splits from east to west, Zachariah 14, verse 4. But you know why he comes? Armageddon is not the end of the world. It's never going to end. We made a video last week that's going to be released this fall. And we got hundreds of verses proving that the world will never end. For Isaiah 45:17 and Ephesians 3:21 both say it's a world without end amen, amen. So, when he comes, Armageddon's not the end of the world, Revelations 16:16. But Christ comes to put an end to the fighting that is going on in the Middle East and globally and, of course, that's Revelations Chapter 11, verse 18.
[...]
JACK VAN IMPE: The hour has arrived. Jesus said there'd be wars and rumors of wars -- Matthew 24, verses 6 and 7, Mark chapters 13, verses 7 and 8. But listen to him in Luke 21, verse 9. He says when you hear of wars and commotions, wars and terrorism, wars and revolutionaries, be not frightened. These things must first come. And I'll come back to that in a moment. But he's talking about two things there: wars and terrorism. I had articles today but we're going to have to cut them off because we don't have time concerning the bombing that just took place in India with 200 dead. And in Somalia, in London a year ago, and then in Sweden, in Spain, and now they are talking about it happening in Canada and in New York -- the tunnels. Why? Because that is what the Bible says will come just before Christ returns. Terrorism. Genesis 6:11, Matthew 24:37, 2nd Peter 2:5, 2nd Peter 3:6.
But let's get back to the war issue right now. What were these wars that Jesus talked about when he said there will be wars and rumors of wars? Well, the thing that's going on right now in Israel could become a major thing or it could just become a minor skirmish for the time being and have it settled. Just a week ago, Israel said 'we will divide Jerusalem and Israel.' Now that's when the real conflagration begins because Armageddon, Revelations 16:16, occurs when they split the nation, Joel 3 verse 2. So watch for that. But as these things unfold, if it were now or later, we see that this leader comes out of the European Union, Daniel 9:26, and makes a seven-year peace contract, verse 27. But after 42 months, it is broken, as a nation called Russia marches against Israel along with the Arab federation. They're together. That's Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, and that mentions Gog, Magog, Meschech, Tubal, Rosh -- all cities now identifiable in Russia.

From the July 19 edition of Jay Sekulow Live!:
ROSENBERG: Interestingly enough, Jay, as you know, The Ezekiel Option is based on a 2,500 year-old Bible prophecy, Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, in which Russia teams up with Iran, Lebanon, Syria and a number of other Muslim countries to destroy Israel in what Ezekiel calls the last days. Now when I wrote the novel, people thought, "All right it's an interesting scenario, but Bible prophecy, you've got to be kidding me, that's never going to happen." What's interesting now, is we're watching is slowly, slowly, this exact coalition begin to form. And I have to say, I was very concerned on Monday when Russia talked about sending ground troops into the region, ostensibly as part of a peace-keeping force. But as you know, it's been bedrock U.S. foreign policy principle to keep Russian troops out of the Middle East for the last 60 years. And this would be a massively destabilizing event to watch actual Russian ground troops enter Lebanon. It's too soon to say, honestly, that Ezekiel 38 and 39 are coming true, but I think it's drawing a lot of interest in what the Bible has to say about future events in that part of the world given the parallels to those prophecies.

From the July 18 edition of Point of View:
CALLER: OK, I just wanted to discuss that according to the word of God -- I do a lot of research in Bible prophecy and things of the sort -- it discusses something on the order of that the holy city of Jerusalem will be trodden under the foot of -- I think it's a country from the North -- for 40 and two months. I just wondered: Do you believe that there will be any kind of a relevance on what you're talking about, about how Israel has been leaving their back door open a lot for several different attacks to happen?
ANDERSON: You know, I don't claim to be a prophecy expert, although we're going to have some on the program here pretty soon to begin to speak to that issue. But often times when they're talking about the north, they're usually talking about the kings of the north. Most people have identified that as what used to be the former Soviet Union, now Russia and that region of the world. But of course you also notice that Lebanon is north as well. I think the better answer to that -- and the quicker answer since we're coming up to the break here and we're going to have speaker of the house Newt Gingrich with us in just a minute -- is that this may not be the final scenes, but it may be rearranging some of the chairs, some of the scenery, if you will, on the final stage. And that may be a better way to say that.

From the July 24 edition of CNN's Paula Zahn Now:
ZAHN: Now, is the crisis in the Middle East predicted by the Bible? Next in our top story coverage: What does the Book of Revelation tell us about what's happening right now in the Middle East? Are we really approaching the end of the world, as some believe?

From the July 21 broadcast of Salem Radio Network's Janet Parshall's America:
PARSHALL: That's a challenge to us as people of the word; understanding that this is really a Sunday school lesson being played out in front of us. What is our position on the nation of Israel?

Summary Link and Video...

VIDEO / LINK: In Middle East conflict, other crises, conservative media find signs of Biblical prophecy of Armageddon

It's the end of the World!!!

-Mr. Joseph

Is U.S. now in World War III, IV, or V?

Media Matters did a great job compiling all of this.

Is it World War III, World War IV, or even World War V?

You decide!

Then, Stephen Colbert did a bit a satire on his show... take a look at that for a laugh.

Again, this is all from MediaMatters.org... I will post only the transcripts and a video link...

TRANSCRIPTS:

From the July 13 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight. Why should you care about the violence in Israel and Lebanon? That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

The answer to that question is because it affects your life. Every time stuff like this happens, the price of oil goes up and the worldwide economy totters.

It's exactly what Iran wants. And Iran is behind the terror attacks on Israeli forces. The whole thing is part of World War III, ladies and gentlemen. Islamic fascism against the West. That global conflict, unfortunately, is here for the foreseeable future.

[...]

O'REILLY: Yeah. Last question, Mr. Cook. Military action, you know, look, here's what Iran's going to do. It's going to push us as far as it can. It's going to do as much damage to the world as it can. And then it'll draw back, if it thinks military action is coming its way, correct?

STEVEN COOK (fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations): I think that's precisely the case. And there won't be much upside for the United States to take military action directly against Iran. They have too many cards that they can play against us. They have cards to play against us in Afghanistan, cards to play -- continue to make our lives miserable in Iraq. And obviously as we've seen, they've continued -- they've heated up the border between Israel and Lebanon.

O'REILLY: All right, World War III, right?

COOK: Possibly.

O'REILLY: I think we're in it. I absolutely think we're in it.

From the July 10 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:

GIBSON: From Kim Jong Il's missile testing to the Iranian president ranting that he'll wipe Israel off the map, and the fight to weed terrorists out of Iraq, some are calling the global war on terror something else, something more like World War III. Here now, Michael Ledeen, a columnist and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a public-policy research institute. Michael, it was a columnist in the New York Daily News today saying this is World War III, and it's on. Do you agree with him?

LEDEEN: Well, it's certainly on. It's more like World War IV, because there was a Cold War, which was certainly a world war. But sure, it's global, and it's on.

GIBSON: Where do we count the start of it?

LEDEEN: Well, that's always difficult to do. Probably the start of it was the Iranian revolution of 1979, when you had the first fanatical Islamic regime declare war on us, and that was explicit in the fall of 1979.

GIBSON: What would be the hallmarks of this? I mean, we know there's a war on terror. But the proposition put forward is that if you look at all of this stuff, what the Iranians are threatening to do, what the North Koreans are threatening to do, what the Japanese are threatening to do, what we are prepared to do and have done, that there really is one large world war under way. Does that concept hold together?

LEDEEN: Yeah, I think so. I think the president had it right at the beginning, and he seems to have forgotten about it, when he said that we're not going to distinguish between terrorist organizations and countries that support and feed and house and train and arm them. And so if you help terrorists, we're going to treat you as if you are a terrorist yourself. Well, there are many terrorist regimes around the world right now, and we're going to have to try to cope with them.

GIBSON: Michael, if the -- there is World War IV and it's under way, if that's a correct assumption --

LEDEEN: It is.

GIBSON: -- what should we be doing right now that we're not doing?

LEDEEN: We should be doing what we did most effectively in World War III. The way we won World War III was not by invading and bombing primarily, it was by bringing down regimes that were palpably failures, like the Soviet Union and the Soviet empire in general. If you look at the terrorist sponsors, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and so forth, all of whom work very closely together and so forth, these are all failed regimes. Their people hate them. They're not even feeding their people, even though some of them are drowning in oil revenues. So we should be supporting revolution in those countries against them, exactly as we did in Poland and Hungary and Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union itself. It worked in World War III, I don't see why it shouldn't work in World War IV.

GIBSON: Well, what if you throw into the mix the obvious, that we're not operating against states, we're not operating against governments in all cases, but what we call terrorists?

LEDEEN: It's exactly the same case. We are operating against states like Iran and Syria and North Korea. And in World War III, during the Cold War, the Soviet Union certainly supported terrorism around the world, as did allies of theirs like the Cubans and the Chinese and the North Koreans.

GIBSON: All right, Michael Ledeen, columnist, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Michael, thanks.

From the July 13 edition ABC Radio Networks' The Sean Hannity Show:

HANNITY: Welcome aboard, glad you're with us. Well, is World War III breaking out in the Middle? It may very well be. And we're gonna go for full, complete, comprehensive analysis that you're not going to get in the mainstream media.

[...]

We are loaded up today, as the Middle East on the brink of World War V, here.

From the May 24 edition of CNBC's Kudlow & Company:

KUDLOW: Now, all right. Jed Babbin is talking about some kind of World War IV, I guess. Actually, World War V. We have World War I and II and the Cold War as World War III, according to Norman Podhoretz. World War IV is the terror war, and war with China would be World War V. How likely, John? What would trigger such a thing?

From the July 12 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: Hey, everybody. Hurry up; we've got World War III to fight. Yes, it is the end of days, isn't it?

[...]

Here's what I do know about World War III and the impending apocalypse. One, we can't coexist with people who want to blow up trains and subways and bring down buildings. If somebody has a death wish, not really the best negotiating partner.

I also know that whether you like it or not, this is a religious war. Radical Muslims want to wipe everybody else off the face of the earth. And let me tell you something: Hollywood, clean the ears out and listen up. You are the first in line for the gas chambers if they ever win. You're the one who are producing a lot of the trash that's spilling out into their cave that's hacking them off.

Also, I know that people don't want to believe the worst. That's why more people aren't on the bandwagon. People are in denial. They don't want to think that we're facing something horrible. They want it to go away so we can all get back to our lives.

But listen to me, it is bad. And it's not just us. It's the whole Western way of life that is in trouble. That's why we need to get on that World War III bandwagon.

Now, here's what I don't know. I don't know if there are enough world leaders out there that actually have a spine anymore. Where are the real leaders? Not a lot of people are leading. That's not a real good place to be. Where's Churchill? Where's -- where's FDR?

You know -- I know we have, I know we have George Bush. He's doing it by himself. I mean, Tony Blair is doing good, too, but is that enough?

I also don't know what it's going to take to get people to wake up. My gosh, we were wide awake after 9-11. We've all gone back to sleep. We almost lost World War II because of apathy and denial. Please, let's not let it happen again.

[...]

BECK: Would you agree with me that World War III -- that we're here?

BAER: Oh, we've already, we've already started it.

BECK: Yeah, well I think we're 1938, World War II. It hasn't, it hasn't really hit yet where people are like, "Oh, I get it, we've got to fight." Would you agree?

BAER: This is like Hitler taking over Czechoslovakia. That's the stage we're at right now.

BECK: Right, right. OK. Do you believe -- please say yes -- do you believe it can be avoided?

BAER: No, we're going into a war. We have to brace ourself. It's coming.

From the July 13 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:

BECK: I absolutely know that we need to prepare ourselves for World War III. It is here.

VIDEO / LINK: Right-wing media divided: Is U.S. now in World War III, IV, or V?

Stephen Colbert...

COLBERT: All right, those of you following the Iraq war on television know that it's been pre-empted by the action-packed summer replacement series "Lebanon." It's new. It's new. It's scary. But it's important for everyone to remain calm and keep the situation in perspective.

[begin video clip]

GINGRICH: Look at all the different connectivity. You'd have to say to yourself, this is in fact World War III.

GIBSON: World War III.

O'REILLY: World War III, right?

GIBSON: This is World War III.

O'REILLY: World War III.

HANNITY: The start of World War III.

LEDEEN: More like World War IV.

[end video clip]

COLBERT: It's a world war. Remember, these guys know war. They're the ones who brought you the "war on Christmas." So, rest of the news media, stop calling it a regional conflict or a police action. It's a World War III. Or IV. Adjust your graphics accordingly.

VIDEO / LINK: "It's a World War III. Or IV"

Politics of fear? Nonsense!

-Mr. Joseph

Conservative Attacks on Al Gore's film

Media Matters does great by documenting all these attacks on Al Gore.

Sterling Burnett Attack I: Fox News Dayside
Sterling Burnett Attack II: Janet Parshall's America
Tucker Carlson Attacks Gore
Glenn Beck Attacks Al Gore
and
MSNBC's "Countdown" documents the "swift-boating" of Al Gore

I highly recommend seeing this film. I will see it as soon as I can and I will post a review ASAP. It looks to be very good.

-Mr. Joseph

Beck on Iran: "...nuke the bastards"

From Media Matters...

From the May 11 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: All right, stop the music. I've got to talk. Stu, give me a topic, some butch topic I can talk about for a second, will you?
BURGUIERE: Blowing up Iran.
BECK: Blowing up Iran. I say we nuke the bastards. In fact, it doesn't have to be Iran, it can be everywhere, anyplace that disagrees with me. Hang on just a second, is there any more [former "American Idol" contestant] Clay Aiken? Maybe we should just listen to them. We should listen to -- we should listen to the president of Iran. We should listen to President Tom [Beck's nickname for Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]. And say what, what, what do you want? How can we be friends? Why can't we just all get along? Who was your favorite on American Idol, President Tom?

This guy is like younger, more insane Rush Limbaugh.

-Mr. Joseph

Conservative Pundits Smear Helen Thomas

From Media Matters regarding the smear campaign against Helen Thomas.

Summary: After the contentious exchange between Hearst Newspapers columnist Helen Thomas and President Bush during Bush's March 21 press conference, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and several other conservative commentators rushed to attack Thomas. O'Reilly accused her of "hat[ing] Bush and try[ing] to undermine everything he does," and even suggesting that if he were Bush, he "would have laid her out." Several other conservative media figures -- including Jonah Goldberg, Fred Barnes, Glenn Beck, and Tucker Carlson -- have followed suit, sometimes with highly personal attacks.

LINK: O'Reilly, others smear veteran journalist Helen Thomas over exchange with Bush

Enjoy!
-Mr. Joseph

Glenn Beck is a disgrace

This is a Media Matters compilation of radio host Glen Beck's remarks on his program.

From Media Matters...

LINK: Media Matters audio compilation of Beck remarks

This man is disgusting. He should be taken off the air...

-Mr. Joseph