Have any of you seen the plot of Glenn Beck's new book?

[durhamleft]

A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed . . . can it be stopped?

There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country.

For Noah Gardner, a twenty something public relations executive, it's safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome and insulated from the world's problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country.

But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future—but Noah, convinced they're just a bunch of freaky conspiracy-theorists, isn't interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause.

And then the world changes.

An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don't know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact—or, more importantly, which side to fight for.

But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted.

After five back-to-back #1 New York Times bestsellers, national radio and Fox News television host Glenn Beck has delivered a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that seamlessly weaves together American history, frightening facts about our present condition, and a heart-stopping plot. The Overton Window

The man is absolutely fucking nuts!

[Obs]

No he's not. He's a brilliant propagandist and businessman.

[fa2991]

I wonder who actually wrote it.

[durhamleft]

No he's not. He's a brilliant propagandist and businessman.

I would agree about his business skills, anyone who makes millions from his drivel deserves a medal. Regarding his propaganda, I sometimes think he actually pushes more 'moderate' right wingers away from the ideas he tries to promote as he is so extreme. But what I should have said, is the stuff he churns out is fucking nuts.

[The Vegan Marxist]

I would agree about his business skills, anyone who makes millions from his drivel deserves a medal. Regarding his propaganda, I sometimes think he actually pushes more 'moderate' right wingers away from the ideas he tries to promote as he is so extreme. But what I should have said, is the stuff he churns out is fucking nuts.

I don't think he's really trying to garner support by the "moderate-right", rather he's using his propaganda to emerge a "new-right", one in which embraces such history-altering views.

[bcbm]

just added to my amazon wishlist

[Revy]

I wonder who actually wrote it.

Dan Brown. just my guess.;)

[Nachie]

I read a review that just slaughtered it from the standpoint of continuity errors and really basic problems with the plot progression. But the funniest thing of all was that they said there was a scene in which two of the lead characters, after growing closer amidst situations of high tension and intrigue, finally share a passionate first kiss. And as soon as their lips part in this dramatic moment, they immediately begin talking about tax reform.

just like every steamy date I've ever been on!

[bcbm]

link?

[Nachie]

sorry i read it on some random liberal blog weeks and weeks ago now so i doubt i'll ever find it again. there were heavy quotes from the text though and it was just hilarious

[Prairie Fire]

Perhaps we should discuss the merit of the political theory that is the namesake for the book.

Thoughts?

[Rusty Shackleford]

sorry i read it on some random liberal blog weeks and weeks ago now so i doubt i'll ever find it again. there were heavy quotes from the text though and it was just hilarious


cracked.com did a good article (http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-steps-to-writing-successful-suspense-with-glenn-beck/) on it.

seriously the guy is a propaganda genius if he can actually just say "buy my book" every episode for a few weeks and actually make a serious amount of sales.

also. i really think glenn beck is a moderate far-right guy. it seems like his whole racial tolerance may actually make farther right people cringe. i also think his over reliance on god-speak may alienate him from libertarians.



Perhaps we should discuss the merit of the political theory that is the namesake for the book.
Thoughts?
bullshit has no merit.
revlutionary socialists, communists, and anarchists have not been secretly infiltrating the government to make it collapse.

if they did, they are sneaky bastards though.

[Nachie]

Noah stumbles into a room that holds his father's computer and finds an evil master plan in a PowerPoint Presentation that was left open. Seriously.

This was also pointed out in the review I read :lol: It just said that there were all kinds of super-lazy plot devices that stood up to no logical scrutiny, and were all in service to the grand message of the book.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I wonder who actually wrote it.

Here: Huffington Post
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/glenn-becks-new-novel-abo_b_613861.html)

But mostly The Overton Window resembles a pretty feeble self-published 2005 techno-thriller called Circumference of Darkness.

Except for one thing: In Circumference of Darkness, the villains planning the next 9/11 are an ultra-right militia movement. In Overton Window, the right wing nuts are the heroes.
...
So why -- except for the completely inverted politics -- does The Overton Window read so much like Circumference of Darkness? Because they were written by the same guy, a 52-year-old computer programmer named Jack Henderson.

He gets sole credit on Circumference. (And why shouldn't he? He published it himself.) On Overton, he gets thanked by Beck for "pouring his heart and soul into this project."

And, apparently, his leftover plot.

[GPDP]

I thought the likes of Ayn Rand's piles of stomach bile that pass for "works of fiction" should have made it clear to everyone already that fiction made solely to push a political agenda tends to leave little room for, well, actually competent plot projection and character development.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I thought the likes of Ayn Rand's piles of stomach bile that pass for "works of fiction" should have made it clear to everyone already that fiction made solely to push a political agenda tends to leave little room for, well, actually competent plot projection and character development.True even for our side... Upton Sinclair wrote a book a month:lol:.

But Ayn Rand's works also prove that a sociopath can't create interesting or realistic characters. You have to have normal human emotions and empathy to write fiction - who knew!

[durhamleft]

link?

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/books/

[Kayser_Soso]

The plot soothes Tea Partiers by making it seem like anytime extremism is discovered in their ranks it really is the fault of "liberal infiltrators." You know they actually claim this all the time.

[Peace on Earth]

I read the book. I wish I hadn't. It was nothing more than shameless propaganda in which Beck uses the main character's thinking to spout his ridiculous ideas. He compares Osama Bin Laden to Bill Ayers, defames Che Guevara, calls Hugo Chavez a dictator, and uses his typical fear tactics to make people scared of anything that actually helps people. A main idea of his is government agents infiltrating "patriot" groups, yet he makes no mention of the routine spying and infiltration of anarchist, anti-war, and environmental groups.

The writing was even worse. Thin plot, crappy dialouge and a predictable set of events, not to mention cliches and stock characters.

The only reason to read it is to be informed of the man's lack of both brain and conscience.

[bcbm]

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/books/

i meant nachie

[Os Cangaceiros]

This (http://www.alternet.org/story/147187/the_10_stupidest_moments_in_glenn_beck's_new_novel/) may have been what he was talking about.

[Adil3tr]

What the fuck! HE is the manifestation of that window! He is pushing fascism, racism, and theocracy! This asshole takes an accurate picture of what is happening, and flips it around. That asshole!

[ZombieGrits]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window

The overton window theory actually exists and is pretty relevant i think, its just that instead of the window being pushed into the far left as beck thinks, its being pushed so that the centre-right Democrats look radically left :/

[NecroCommie]

There actually is a plot in a book by Glenn Beck? I call your bluff.

[Volcanicity]

This has gotta win the Pulitzer Prize.

[Kayser_Soso]

There actually is a plot in a book by Glenn Beck? I call your bluff.

It's not written by Beck but a team of ghostwriters. Taking this into account, Beck could have come up with the general "plot" while on the toilet.

[Rusty Shackleford]

It's not written by Beck but a team of ghostwriters. Taking this into account, Beck could have come up with the general "plot" while on the toilet.

hes got some really shitty ghost writers then. or maybe they are actually pretty good but glenn beck inadvertently sabotaged it by him being a part of it.

[Kayser_Soso]

hes got some really shitty ghost writers then. or maybe they are actually pretty good but glenn beck inadvertently sabotaged it by him being a part of it.

I heard it was a team so it may be a question of too many cooks spoiling the broth. Since Fox tends to do everything on a shoestring budget, the publishing house he used may do the same thing. Beck likes churning out rivers of crap.

[Adi Shankara]

I wonder who actually wrote it.

Why would you think someone else wrote it? surely the capitalist system proves that people with sub-standard english skills, moronic half-baked theories and idiotic drivel can sell a book to fellow rich people can become successful, if you just put hard work into it!

oh...you mean he didn't write it himself? :rolleyes:

[JonnyCommy]

Argh, we must nationalise those industries at once, only disgusting capitalist money grtabbing pigs can allow this!

[Axle]

:lol:

Hey! They finally made the Glenn Beck program into a book! All the propaganda and fear-mongering with the added benefit of it being a novel, so Beck can write off all that propaganda and fear-mongering as being a work of fiction.

[Dimentio]

Glenn Beck is an interesting character indeed. Though I shouldn't have seen Bottom before I saw him. Now I just see Rik Mayall's character Richard Richard every time I see Glenn Beck.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Honestly, Beck has started to become boring since he's decided to become a preacher.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Honestly, Beck has started to become boring since he's decided to become a preacher.
yeah, i liked it when he was bashing progressives and coming up with "who he surrounds himself with" conspiracies.

[El Rojo]

conrades, i obvs. get that glen beck is one of the nastiest right wing nutjobs out there, and it is quite possible that there are not in fact words in the human vocabulary to describe his insanity, but these days it seems that every third thread on the politics section is about Glen Beck. maybe if we pretent he doesn't exist, it will all be better... :laugh:

[Red Commissar]

Even if it was a blank book, people will still buy it. Beck knows that. I highly doubt many of the people who bought his books actually read them all the way through. Their intent is to "support" Beck because his success validates their political viewpoints.

It's the same mentality that creates fanboys for video games, movies, TV shows, etc. who go out of their way to defend the creators of these properties. In the end it only serves to benefit people like Beck, and that's what makes him a professional entertainer and businessman. He knows what people pay money for and he's positioned himself in such a way to benefit from that. Much like Ann Coulter.

[Obs]

Guys, my post wasn't that good.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Glenn Beck is a mormon. I am surprised he gets support from the christian-right because they (morons/LDS) are usually frowned upon from most other christian groups.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Guys, my post wasn't that good.
because of that, i thanked both of yours posts. ha! take that!

anyways. yeah glenn beck is seriously a preacher now. when the hell did a news channel start having prime-time godtalk?


Glenn Beck is a mormon. I am surprised he gets support from the christian-right because they (morons/LDS) are usually frowned upon from most other christian groups.
the mormon church has been on a campaign to enhance their image. the church obviously supports right-wing policies and therefore once the bias against mormonism is broken(by beck on a mass scale) its yet another sect of christianity on the right.

[Tatarin]

I wonder who actually wrote it.

From Wikipedia:

Writer Chris Kelly has suggested that ghostwriter Jack Henderson repurposed the plot for "Overton Window" from one of Henderson's previous novels, "Circumference of Darkness".

(Wiki link) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Overton_Window)

[KC]

Beck isn't "nuts" he's just a very shrewd businessman. He himself has admitted that he doesn't believe anything he says and that it's all for the money.

[the last donut of the night]

glenn beck is an amazing troll

[Kayser_Soso]

Everyone here should go to Youtube and look up an After-School Special called the Wave(or look up the story it's based on, known as the Third Wave). If Beck pulls something like the teacher did in his history class experiment, I'll put his fucking portrait on my wall.

[Rusty Shackleford]

have you seen Glenn Beck's new website?
http://www.theblaze.com/

[leninfan]

What is the deal with Hugo? Why would someone call him a dictator?

[Kayser_Soso]

What is the deal with Hugo? Why would someone call him a dictator?

Because he does things America doesn't like. You'll start to see this pattern in history.

[progressive_lefty]

I'd like see more people on the Left stop talking about Beck's. If he can't present rational/logical arguments, then he shouldn't be allocated attention.

[Kayser_Soso]

I'd like see more people on the Left stop talking about Beck's. If he can't present rational/logical arguments, then he shouldn't be allocated attention.

The thing is he IS allocated attention. And he is having a big impact on the political scene. Ignoring him is like ignoring a Mosley, Hitler, or Mussolini. We can't say how far he will go personally, but those inspired by him might take things too far.

[RadioRaheem84]

The thing is he IS allocated attention. And he is having a big impact on the political scene. Ignoring him is like ignoring a Mosley, Hitler, or Mussolini. We can't say how far he will go personally, but those inspired by him might take things too far.

More like a Father Coughlin really.

This should go to show that a man like Beck, who is as loony as an Arkham Asylum inmate, is given more airtime to spread his filth because of powerful interests.

[Jimmie Higgins]

More like a Father Coughlin really.

This should go to show that a man like Beck, who is as loony as an Arkham Asylum inmate, is given more airtime to spread his filth because of powerful interests.Right, I think people give these guys too much credit. We look at times like the 1930s and we think it was all labor unions, unemployed marches, strikewaves etc. We forget how influential people like Coughlin were or how widespread anti-semitism and racism were - that even in the US, even in California there were armed reactionary groups (i.e. proto or outright fascists) helping the cops to break strikes and beat Mexican, Filipino and Okiee migrants and harass the unemployed.

The worst that we have today was much much worse in the 1930s - the main difference is the political vacuum on the Left and so that makes the Glenn Becks and so on look more powerful and influential than they really are. I mean the rally Beck had last week was countered by Al Sharpton who really could not offer much of an opposition because of the limitations of his liberal politics (he basically appealed to patriotism and said that Beck was divisive). Unfortunately the only person with a profile high enough and politics good enough to really be somewhat of a counter-weight to Glenn Beck and people like that is Michael Moore. His politics can be wack sometimes but he has good instincts and the most class-consciousness of any high-profile liberal/progressive out there today. But he only makes appearances when he's on a press tour apparently:(. He needs to bring his show back so that there is a semi-regular place for left-wing populism - and to train a new generation of Michael Moores through all the writers and producers that it would take to put on a show like that.

[RadioRaheem84]

Yes, Michael Moore's short lived left wing populist show was great.

Something like that needs to resurface.

[Jimmie Higgins]

No he's not. He's a brilliant propagandist and businessman.I was actually just working on a project last night and I needed to find pictures of right-wing talking heads and the interesting thing I noticed was that it's hard to find a bad picture of Glenn Beck - because all his "official" photos are of him making faces and sticking his tongue out. With Limbaugh and Coulter, all their photos are like David's paintings of Napoleon... shot from angles and with lighting to make them look important (Limbaugh's official photos have him smoking a cigar) and this pompusness makes them easy marks for satire and mockery. Glenn Beck subverts any potential satire through self-deprecation - he also uses it as a shield against criticism because, come-on guys, he's only joking about wanting to nuke mecca! On the cover of one of his books, he's dressed as a NAZI for gods sake - so now any visual representation of his obvious demagogic and Nazi-like rantings just becomes advertising for his book!

For these reasons, he's Limbaugh/O'Reilly 2.0, rather than just another of the tons of right-wing radio talking heads.

[Kayser_Soso]

I was actually just working on a project last night and I needed to find pictures of right-wing talking heads and the interesting thing I noticed was that it's hard to find a bad picture of Glenn Beck - because all his "official" photos are of him making faces and sticking his tongue out. With Limbaugh and Coulter, all their photos are like David's paintings of Napoleon... shot from angles and with lighting to make them look important (Limbaugh's official photos have him smoking a cigar) and this pompusness makes them easy marks for satire and mockery. Glenn Beck subverts any potential satire through self-deprecation - he also uses it as a shield against criticism because, come-on guys, he's only joking about wanting to nuke mecca! On the cover of one of his books, he's dressed as a NAZI for gods sake - so now any visual representation of his obvious demagogic and Nazi-like rantings just becomes advertising for his book!

For these reasons, he's Limbaugh/O'Reilly 2.0, rather than just another of the tons of right-wing radio talking heads.

Nitpick- It was supposed to be a DDR uniform, but then again his followers are too stupid to know what that was.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Nitpick- It was supposed to be a DDR uniform, but then again his followers are too stupid to know what that was.Oh no, what does that say about me:lol:!

In my defense, I approach everything pro-Glenn Beck related like looking at the sun - if I look straight at it I'll go blind*.




*but blind with rage!:cursing: