THE CRAP

I’ve read about various disagreeable things Glenn Beck has said on his CNN program, but had never seen a clip from the program—did not even know what the man looked like—until last week when Dave vonKleist came to Austin to screen his documentary 9/11 Ripple Effect.

The documentary features an excerpt from the edition of Beck’s show on which Dave was a guest. It was included in the documentary as an example of how the mainstream media never seriously addresses the issues raised by 9/11 researchers, but rather, attempts to discredit the research by associating it with UFOs, tinfoil hats, Bigfoot, ghosts, and the Second Coming of Elvis. And there he was in the clip, Glenn Beck, doing just that, heaping ridicule on his guest, Dave vonKleist, without once asking a serious question.


It was, as I say, the first time I had ever seen Glenn Beck. And it would not be the last. No, I would see him again, much sooner than I anticipated.

The very next day (I kid you not), as I pulled out of the parking lot of my apartment complex, there he was again, Glenn Beck looking down at me from a large billboard—looking down, and pointing, with the words CUT THE CRAP behind him.

The next day, there he was again. And the next day, and the next. Clearly, this billboard is not going away any time soon. Every morning there he is, Glenn Beck, pointing down at me, telling me to CUT THE CRAP. It puts me in a foul mood, starts my day off all wrong.

There can be no doubt, this billboard is a form of psychological warfare. No, I don’t mean this particular billboard was positioned in that particular place just to annoy me personally. I’m not that paranoid. Not yet, at least. No, I mean the advertising campaign in general. All advertising is psychological warfare, of course, whether the product they’re selling is soap or soup. But if it’s a war they’re selling, or a political agenda of any kind, it is warfare in the most literal sense, particularly where Beck’s network CNN is concerned. Only a few years ago, it was publicly admitted that the CNN newsroom included Army PsyOps personnel. No one ever adequately explained why they were there, but it’s a safe bet they were up to no good.

It is not necessary, however, to know about CNN’s relationship with Army PsyOps to perceive the propaganda on CNN and other mainstream networks. When FOX news host Brian Killmeade advocated the use of Tasers on dissenters recently, it was apparent that this was part of a campaign of intimidation. Glenn Beck’s recent suggestion that Ron Paul supporters are terrorists is also part of that campaign. And so is the CUT THE CRAP billboard. The aggressive finger-pointing, the bullying posture, the very words CUT THE CRAP say it all. It’s another way of saying, “Shut up if you don’t agree with me.”

And yet, this morning as I drove out of the parking lot, I noticed something else about the billboard. It was the position of Glenn Beck’s head. It is directly in front of the A in CRAP, placed there like an asterisk to render the four-letter word printable. Very clever. But that’s not the only thing accomplished by the placement of his head. It does something else that surely was not intentional (unless the ad designer has a subversive sense of humor). By perfectly framing his head with the word CRAP, it sends the subliminal message GLENN BECK IS CRAP.

Having seen this, I now feel more kindly toward the billboard. In fact, I will hate to see it go. It brightens my mornings now as I pull out onto the highway and with a smile on my face start the day. GLENN BECK IS CRAP. Truer words were never spoken.