MAD MAN

TIME (2009) 0/25

GLENN BECK

VON DREHLE/ 29-36

Glen Beck first became known nationwide through an up to the minute news show HLN and then switched to FOX. There isn’t any trick and dramatization that he won’t use mainly on Democrats. Some things he makes up, other he guesses the motive of the other, and some times he is right. He works in the tradition of Joe McCarthy, Father Coughlin, JFK assassination buffs 9/11 writers, and the birther movement spokespersons.

If anything, it is interesting. Some of those maps, balloons, hand signs and placard are bogus it doesn’t matter because it works. It agitates the fringe and it entertains others. YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID.

There are conspiracies in this world. However, most or many historical events are not a conspiracy. There may be cover ups later because a group or agency did so badly in

not protecting some figure, but the true blue conspiracies is rare, but do not happen.

What is entertaining for Glenn is that his well spoken outrageous comments are something that is both shocking and awe inspiring until you come back down to earth. Further, if he makes them up and they are famous, then he is not liable. He can have on experts that represent some think tank of crazies or a reporter from a tabloid. If the ratings go up then that is just okay.

By the way, some of the people that he trashes with his facts are folks off camera that he doesn’t mind and may even like. He just does it as a business of entertainment. O’Reilly and Limbaugh still out pace him, but he is climbing.

WIKIPEDIA

MANJOO/ 50-51

WIKIPEDIA has grown by leaps and bounds. It started as the People’s Encyclopedia. In the early days it was a social movement and lots of people contributed. However, as time went on (like most social movements it becomes formalized into a bureaucracy with editors and experts.) It has to do so. Why? Even though there are volunteer editors, there weren’t enough of them and some real major mistakes were made and not caught in time. Later, they would revise, but a famous newsperson was indicated as a killer of JFK and RFK.

Or a new person makes a bid to be on there and they are not that important. The peak was

March 2007. Since then new topics, writers, editors have diminshed although WIKIPEDIA is more accurate.

WHAT TO DO WITH McMANSIONS?

Now that the standard of living and borrowing has diminished a lot of big new houses stand empty. So what to do?

A number have taken on a lot of functions that would still qualify as residential. However, the major one is that a single family house becomes the home of a number of

families.

FREE SPEECH CORPORATIONS

FINEMAN/26

ARE corporations and unions free to crowd the airways with their political messages? The answer as of now is YES. They can spend as much as they want on almost any topic. Whatever the topic, they speak about it is bound to be on their own time and interest (directly or indirectly.) Thus others have the same right, but not the same amount of money.

There goes equal speech, but not free speech.