May 21, 2010

Glenn Beck Goes for the Gold

GlennBeck.com

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So, how has Glenn Beck taken the news that Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) thinks he and his favorite gold dealer, Goldline, are working “hand in hand to cheat consumers”? Not well, by the looks of it. He’s called Weiner a modern-day Joe McCarthy and invited his fans to send in photos of the congressman with “his nose as a wiener.” And as the Beck trackers at Media Matters have documented, he’s not backing away from hyping gold—anything but. On yesterday’s radio show, he plugged Goldline as “the escape” from the economic doomsday scenario he’s been painting for the past couple of years. Earlier in the week, he dragged out his famous chalkboard for a bit what what can only be described as gold-bledygook:

He may seem like he’s losing it, but Beck is clearly reveling in the moment, which lets him tap into persecution complex and his shock-jock roots. Last night, in a bravura performance, Beck ripped into Weiner and then hit the chalkboard to connect the dots between community banking, Acorn, Van Jones, Bill Clinton, and Obama’s mom. You can get a taste of it on his site—right after watching a Goldline promo. And the fun continues tonight, when Beck appears on the O’Reilly Factor to discuss his feud with Weiner, which apparently is the funniest word Beck has heard since he was 11. On his radio program this morning, Beck said the highlight of the taping was hearing O’Reilly admit, “I like Weiner.” I suppose we should be grateful that Beck’s not coming under fire from Washington Democrat Rep. Norm Dicks.

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

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