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Quote from: "url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-naw-glenn-beck-rally-20100829,0,3806936.story]LA Times[/url]"]'America today begins to turn back to God,' the cable commentator tells a crowd of conservatives as he kicks off a rally on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther KingÂ's 'I Have a Dream''speech.
Beck has said the rally would "reclaim the civil rights movement" and greeted the thousands gathered along the Mall with soaring predictions.
"I'm convinced that not just this event, but this time period is going to be remembered as the beginning of the great awakening in America," he said.

I'm sure MLK would be flattered that this racist, egocentric SOB has picked up his work for him.

The good news is that the people who side with Beck are mostly old people, and not the youth who will inherit the U.S.

Also, I'm still confused as to how this event has anything to do with civil rights and MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Glenn Beck said that it's just a coincidence.  That he was not aware when he chose that date, that it was the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's speech in the same location.  

From a recent Glenn Beck radio program:

Quote"This is a moment, quite honestly, that I think we reclaim the civil rights movement... We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties, and, damn it, we will reclaim the civil rights moment. We will take that movement, because we were the people that did it in the first place!"

I wonder who, exactly, he means by "we?"

Quote from: "Recusant"I wonder who, exactly, he means by "we?"

The far right? Mormons? FOX News?

Quote from: "Glenn Beck"We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties

Wow...
They say this, but are against the freedom to marry if you're gay, the freedom to smoke marijuana, the ability to exercise your freedom of religion by building a place of worship within the constrains of local law, and just about every single other controversial personal freedom or liberty I can think of.

Quote from: "Reginus"

Quote from: "Glenn Beck"We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties

Wow...
They say this, but are against the freedom to marry if you're gay, the freedom to smoke marijuana, the ability to exercise your freedom of religion by building a place of worship within the constrains of local law, and just about every single other controversial personal freedom or liberty I can think of.

Two possibilities:  colossal stupidity, or overweening cynicism.

"I'll take cynicism for $500, Alex."

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"

Quote from: "Reginus"

Quote from: "Glenn Beck"We are on the side of individual freedoms and liberties

Wow...
They say this, but are against the freedom to marry if you're gay, the freedom to smoke marijuana, the ability to exercise your freedom of religion by building a place of worship within the constrains of local law, and just about every single other controversial personal freedom or liberty I can think of.

Two possibilities:  colossal stupidity, or overweening cynicism.

"I'll take cynicism for $500, Alex."

Where Beck is concerned I have to vote for the colossal stupidity, that man is a walking time bomb, I expect any day that he goes bezerk and has a "call to arms" for all Christian Americans to take over the US.  I remember watching him on CNN Headline News and thinking this man is a whacko, back then; since then he has really gone to the Right Winged NUTJOB side.

Of course this is making the man a billionare, so he could be the next generation of "snake oil" salesman.. who knows.

Quote from: "Martin TK"Of course this is making the man a billionare, so he could be the next generation of "snake oil" salesman.. who knows.

Which is exactly why I vote for cynicism.

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"

Quote from: "Martin TK"Of course this is making the man a billionare, so he could be the next generation of "snake oil" salesman.. who knows.

Which is exactly why I vote for cynicism.

Point made and taken...  lol

The phrase "Great Awakening" has historical significance in the USA.  This country has a "Great Awakening" every 100 years or so.  It is a storm of religious fervor. The first Great Awakening saw the formation of evangelical churches and a break from religious hierarchy.  The Awakening of the mid 19th century supported the end of slavery and women's rights.  Some how I don't think the Glenn Beck Great Awakening will be quite the same thing.

Quote from: "notself"Some how I don't think the Glenn Beck Great Awakening will be quite the same thing.

Maybe it is the last ripple or insanity before the great awakening of reason  

Quote from: "Whitney"

Quote from: "notself"Some how I don't think the Glenn Beck Great Awakening will be quite the same thing.

Maybe it is the last ripple or insanity before the great awakening of reason   :D

Quote from: "notself"The phrase "Great Awakening" has historical significance in the USA.  This country has a "Great Awakening" every 100 years or so.  It is a storm of religious fervor. The first Great Awakening saw the formation of evangelical churches and a break from religious hierarchy.  The Awakening of the mid 19th century supported the end of slavery and women's rights.  Some how I don't think the Glenn Beck Great Awakening will be quite the same thing.

Excellent historical context. Secularism is spreading like wildfire because of the internet. Perhaps the next one will involve the final dethroning of religion as the de facto way of being for Americans. Perhaps we'll join our European cousins in having freedom of religion, but little to no religious influence on society and politics.

I hope Glenn Beck lives to see the true secularization revolution in America, where people simply stop being religious out of courage and understanding. Peaceful revolutions are my favorite kind.

Quote from: "notself"

Quote from: "Whitney"

Quote from: "notself"Some how I don't think the Glenn Beck Great Awakening will be quite the same thing.

Maybe it is the last ripple or insanity before the great awakening of reason   :D

I completely don't get it

Quote from: "Whitney"I completely don't get it ;)

Judging from the trends, this meet-up is more a matter of defending their turf, rather than driving home any stakes.  They see the same stats we do about the increasing secularization of youth, and it scares them.

I read this in an article the other day from CNN:

"The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.
The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found."

The following is from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life part of the Pew Research Center.  This is their survey of Americans ages 18-29 from February 2010.  http://pewforum.org/Press-Room/Press-Re ... icans.aspx (http://pewforum.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/Millennial-Generation-Less-Religiously-Active-than-Older-Americans.aspx)

QuoteAccording to survey findings, Millennials are significantly more unaffiliated than members of Generation X were at a comparable point in their life cycle and twice as unaffiliated as Baby Boomers were as young adults. Young adults today also attend religious services less often than older Americans. And compared with their elders today, fewer young people say that religion is very important in their lives...

Key findings include:

Compared with their elders today, young people are much less likely to affiliate with any religious tradition or to identify themselves as part of a Christian denomination. Fully one-in-four adults under age 30 are unaffiliated.
One-third of those under age 30 say they attend worship services every week, compared with 41% of adults 30 and older.
Fewer than half of adults under age 30 say that religion is very important in their lives (45%), compared with almost six-in-ten adults 30 and older (59%).
Sixty-four percent of young adults say they are absolutely certain of God's existence, compared with 73% of those 30 and older.
Adults under age 30 are just as likely as older adults to believe in life after death (75% vs. 74%), heaven (74% each), hell (62% vs. 59%) and miracles (78% vs. 79%).
Nearly three-quarters of affiliated young adults (74%) say there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith, compared with 67% of affiliated adults 30 and older.
The report, including a summary of findings, is available online.

here is the link to the actual report.  http://pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among- ... nials.aspx (http://pewforum.org/Age/Religion-Among-the-Millennials.aspx)

Quote from: "notself"

Quote from: "Whitney"I completely don't get it ;)

I got it right away, maybe we are showing out age here.  SMILE

I think we are.  

This reminds me of Whitney's recent post suggesting maybe the beast of burden has been lifted off of our back and placed on the muslims. It's hard to tell if Beck is trying to organize against atheism or secularism in general here (http://www.slate.com/id/2265216/). Notice in the slideshow of photographs from the event, one man is wearing a Fairy style portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Good Ol' Ben wouldn't have exactly been my first choice had I been supporting a Let's Get America Back to God movement.

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.slate.com%2Fmedia%2F1%2F123125%2F123054%2F2240596%2F2262543%2F2265428%2F12.jpg&hash=db60d97ddcb5dfcb600ce877baa405449e0f293e)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.slate.com%2Fmedia%2F1%2F123125%2F123054%2F2240596%2F2262543%2F2265428%2F17.jpg&hash=d104fb97a75fa3e01f98be519e54df4faf51bcec)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.slate.com%2Fmedia%2F1%2F123125%2F123054%2F2240596%2F2262543%2F2265428%2F01.jpg&hash=fc69edf9ba013e869f2a4f0d771678e32222d323)
Were those really made to support Glenn?

Quote from: "Sophus"(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.slate.com%2Fmedia%2F1%2F123125%2F123054%2F2240596%2F2262543%2F2265428%2F17.jpg&hash=d104fb97a75fa3e01f98be519e54df4faf51bcec)

LOL is that seriously Thomas Jefferson there on the left?
Haha, this shirt is just too great.  I should get one.

Quote from: "Reginus"LOL is that seriously Thomas Jefferson there on the left?
Haha, this shirt is just too great. I should get one.

That would  be funny, but actually it's supposed to be Samuel Adams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams) on the left, representing "Faith."  Adams was a bit of a hot-head and a demagogue, as well as a staunch defender of Puritanism. As such, he's probably the most appropriate of the three founding father figures on that shirt for Beck to latch onto.

Quote from: "Recusant"That would  be funny, but actually it's supposed to be Samuel Adams (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Adams) on the left, representing "Faith."  Adams was a bit of a hot-head and a demagogue, as well as a staunch defender of Puritanism. As such, he's probably the most appropriate of the three founding father figures on that shirt for Beck to latch onto.

Ah, ok.  I was gonna say that it looked a bit like this pic of thomas jefferson:
(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visitingdc.com%2Fimages%2Fthomas-jefferson-picture.jpg&hash=cd6aa50383b0df19497ff0c68d60f17a6eb8b28e)

Here is some info on the differences between MLK and Beck:

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcrooksandliars.com%2Ffiles%2Fvfs%2F2010%2F08%2FBeck-MLK_flow-chart.jpg&hash=5e4d4508016dc3d5c9f6144b03df930fc76835a6)

 

I ed.  And saved it.

I believe I have underestimated the racist element to the Tea Party as a whole. I always thought the down economy was what was igniting all the fear. But with pictures like this (http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-dumbest-shirts-at-the-glenn-beck-rally) it becomes pretty evident that Hitchens is right (http://www.slate.com/id/2265515/); this movement is about the fear of losing white Christian America.  :hmm:

Predictions for the future, ye heathen prophets?

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I :up:

I don't know so much about my lips to gods ear, but Glenn Beck can firmly apply his lips to my hairy ass!

'nuff said.

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I :up:

Also, to let you know, I made sure to spread this around a little.  Hope you don't mind.

Sounds like his early radio antics were actually pretty funny. I imagine that Gerbil bit was fucking hilarious. But Glenn Beck is a douche bag.

I remember he went on a rant about how Ron Paul hated America because of the primary statements where Paul said that maybe we antagonize folks to hate us enough to attack us on our own soil.

He and every retarded neo-con was like "ZOMG!! YOU JUST BLAMED MURKA!!!!". Beck's a moron but he is good for a few cheap laughs.

I honestly don't think that him, Limbaugh, Coulter, and O'Reilly believe the shit they spout off on the air. I think it's just a meal ticket and they're laughing at all the people who take them seriously. I really do. Watch some of the microexpressions on their face after they say the most outlandish shit. As a semi-professional troll I get those little twitches as well when I pull something IRL like that. It's nearly impossible to stop it. But it's great practice for your poker face.

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I ed.  And saved it.

And posted it on TAF.

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I :up:

Also, to let you know, I made sure to spread this around a little.  Hope you don't mind.

Quote from: "PoopShoot"

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I :bananacolor:

Quote from: "Sophus"

Quote from: "PoopShoot"

Quote from: "Thumpalumpacus"I ed.  And saved it.

And posted it on TAF.

TAF?

Another forum he and I frequent.

Quote from: "Reginus"I read this in an article the other day from CNN:

"The study, which included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.
The study included Christians of all stripes -- from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations. Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can't talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found."

I have high hopes about this. Can't help but wonder, however, 'how do these compare with the results of the previous generation?' Some people don't really convert to religion, or become enthused about it, until they're in adulthood.

Atheists can make good friends, but they're PARASITES!!!!! I want to know how Glenn responded to this.

[youtube:4b5tngxd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51-EJObUt-o[/youtube:4b5tngxd]