Beck, of course, is a right-wing troglodyte who gained national notoriety (or infamy) when he asked newly elected U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) to prove that he wasn't a terrorist, because, you see, Ellison is a Muslim. Grace is a shrill harpy who screeched her way into the public consciousness through her obsession with the Natalie Holloway disappearance and other such tabloid crime stories.So tonight, I'm keeping one eye on Beck's show and one eye on the equally unwatchable Cavs-Pistons game, when I noticed a commercial on Headline News for something called CNN Heroes, a promotion through which the cable channel is asking its viewers to nominate their friends and neighbors who've taken extraordinary action or performed heroic deeds in their everyday lives to improve the world.
CNN has decided the heroism they care to honor can be classified in six categories: Medical Marvel, Fighting for Justice, Young Wonder, Championing Children, Community Crusader, and Defending the Planet. That last one caught my eye. On its web site, CNN describes "Defending the Planet" as "Innovative efforts to preserve and protect the environment."
The difference between that sentiment and Beck's beliefs could not be more stark. CNN Headline News' star pundit is traveling the country this summer on something he calls "An Inconvenient Tour." He recently hosted a one-hour special, "Exposed: A Climate of Fear," in which he set out to present the "other side of the climate debate that you don't hear anywhere." In the world in which right-wing pundits reside, Al Gore is the anti-Christ, environmental activists are tree-hugging hippies bent on destroying the U.S. economy, and anybody who wonders if human actions have had a negative effect on the planet are Chicken Little alarmists.
And yet, the company that employs Mr. Beck apparently thinks that "efforts to preserve and protect the environment" are heroic. So, CNN, which is it? Should we honor citizens who work to improve the planet, or listen to the guy who represents your pathetic attempt to earn your right-wing stripes and give the proverbial finger to the environmental movement?
Look, I don't expect any cable channel's hosts to be in ideological lockstep (except for Fox News, of course), but I also don't expect those same cable channels to be so cynical as to pat themselves on the back for honoring one movement during the very show hosted by a guy who'd happily undo the works of those same people. Breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking.
As for Nancy Grace ... well, it's late. We'll get to her tomorrow.
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4 comments:
I was hopeful that the CNN Heroes would be a celebrated series of CNN personalities. I would nominate James Earl Jones as the inaugural honoree -- "THIS is CNN." Perhaps there could be a set of collectible trading cards as well, with a special subset of Larry King cards.
Let's not forget Van Earl Wright. I think Corey knows how to get in touch with him.
Beck is unwatchable. Simply unwatchable.
I would, however, like to see someone recast the environmental issue as George Carlin did a decade ago--and Jon Stewart mimicked when I saw his stand-up show in Minneapolis 10 days ago. It's not about saving the planet. The planet is going to be fine. It's about keeping the planet liveable for our own species.
We're the only animal capable of making our environment antagonistic to our own survival--while we're the only species that lives its life fully understanding its mortality. How f***ed up is that?
We're also the only animal unable to sniff its own butt. And yet some of us willingly expose ourselves to the likes of Glenn Beck. Go figure.
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