Glenn Beck had a special guest on his radio show this morning. Newt Gingrich called into the show and the two had a pointed conversation over the GOP candidate’s stance on health care.

With Gingrich building steam toward the GOP ticket Beck found it necessary to voice his concerns about Newt running for president. Before the interview, Beck said:

“I have serious concerns with Newt Gingrich… I truly, deeply care about the country just as much as Newt Gingrich does but we differ on the answers, I believe. I’d like to have him convince me that I’m wrong. I would love to have him convince me that I’m wrong.”

Beck grilled Gingrich about his support for an individual mandate to buy health insurance, for his ideas on climate change, and for his stance on the expansion of Medicare.

Here’s the first part of Glenn Beck’s interview with Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich maintained throughout the interview that his views were consistent. When pressed about his support of expanding Medicare in 2003, Gingrich said:

“My position is very straightforward. If you’re going to have Medicare, which was created in 1965 and it was created at a time when drugs didn’t matter, there weren’t many breakthroughs at that point. But to take a position that ‘We won’t help you with insulin but we’ll pay for your kidney dialysis’ is both bad at a human level and bad at a financial level.”

Beck also asked Gingrich if he believed in ‘The Inconvenient Truth?’

Gingrich said:

“Well, I never believed in Al Gore’s fantasies.”

Gingrich then talked about how he voted against the cap and trade bill and explained how the left had used the environment as an excuse to get control of the economy.

Here’s the second part of the interview.

At the end of the segment, Beck applauded Gingrich for agreeing to have the interview with him. Beck said:

“Newt, I have to tell you… obvious it was very clear in advance and I hope my staff made this very clear that this isn’t going to be an easy interview but I think you’ve… you know, there was no gaffes here by any stretch of the imagination. I didn’t expect any. But I appreciate the willingness to come on and answer the tough questions, and I wish you the best.”

What did you think of Glenn Beck’s interview with Newt Gingrich? Do you think Gingrich did a good job of handling Beck’s question?

Watch: Glenn Beck Grills Newt Gingrich About Health Care, Government Spending [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Want to see a Glenn Beck cartoon? GBTV, Beck’s online network, is getting ready to launch a new animated series.

PopWatch reports that Beck has teamed with animation company Icebox to create the new show. GBTV and Icebox, which employs writers who have previously worked on shows like The Simpsons, South Park, and King of the Hill, are currently discussing ideas for the new Glenn Beck cartoon?

Tal Vigderson, Icebox’s managing director, said in a statement:

“Icebox is known for edgy, irreverent programming. Many of our writers welcome the opportunity to create shows the whole family can watch. This venture lets us take a little break from shocking and offending our audience.”

Didn’t Glenn Beck become famous for shocking and offending his audience? Will the Glenn Beck cartoon not have little GBs running around calling people Nazis? What a waste…

GBTV’s president of programming Joel Cheatwood said:

“The team at Icebox has developed and produced shows for some of the most renowned and acclaimed networks on television and we are excited that GBTV will be home to one of their next projects. We look forward to working with Howard Gordan (24, Homeland)  Tal Vigderson and Jon Colier (The Simpsons, King of the Hill) on bringing an entertaining animated show to GBTV.”

The Hollywood Reporter notes that once the Glenn Beck cartoon is finished, it will join GBTV’s lineup which already includes Liberty Tree House, Mercury Theater, Beck’s two hour show, and the comedy news show The B.S. of A.

It isn’t clear if Glenn Beck will voice any of the characters in the new show.

Have you been watching GBTV? Will you tune in to see a Glenn Beck cartoon?

[Cartoon by Clay Bennet at the Times Free Press]

Glenn Beck Cartoon Coming to GBTV is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glenn Beck is going religious but not in the way you might suspect, the GBTV owner is eyeing a Dallas mega-church as the site for his newly launched online network.

The Gateway Church recently moved to a new larger facility and now the Southlake Journal says Beck has been eyeing their old 60,774 square-foot building for his show, a building that provides an auditorium with seating for 1,700 people.

At this time Beck has submitted a zoning change request so he can turn the space into a studio for GBTV.com and other Glenn Beck media ventures.

After moving to Texas after being fired from Fox News Beck said he would build offices in the area while maintaining office space in New York City.

At this time GBTV has 230,000 subscribers at a cost of $5 for access to Beck’s new show or $10 for access to all of his networks shows including his new kids series Liberty Treehouse.

Glenn Beck Wants To Turn Dallas Mega-Church Into TV Studio is a post from: The Inquisitr

Conservative talk show host and GBTV owner Glenn Beck has announced that a new conservative children’s show is launching this coming Monday via his online network. Called Liberty Treehouse the hour-long show won’t be hosted by Beck but will apparently share his “conservative sensibilities.”

According to Politico a lot of the show will look like something you’d find on Nickelodeon such as segments involving science and issues like bullying, while politics will also be discussed in some type of manner.

According to Beck:

“Liberty Treehouse will not only entertain children and young adults, but it will respect them and their knowledge and passion for history, art, science and current events.”

In the past Beck has openly discussed his hatred for progressives who indoctrinate their young which makes his own show ultra-hypocritical.

Speaking about the show Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance author Alexander Zaitchik says:

“I imagine the show will be a sort of anti-Sesame Street, which Beck probably thinks is a socialist-Islamist plot concocted by Frances Fox Piven and the Ayatollah in the 1970s.”

Will you be allowing your children to watch Liberty Treehouse? It’s just what we need 4th graders fighting on the playground over who’s going to take their state in the next voting cycle.

In the meantime GBTV is turning into quite the internet powerhouse with some analysts predicting that Beck will break the $100 million mark within 1 year thanks to a rabid user base who can’t get enough of their favorite conservatives grumblings.

Glenn Beck Launching Children’s Show On GBTV is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glenn Beck’s new internet show hasn’t even aired yet, but he already has more subscribers than the Oprah Winfrey Network has viewers. Beck, who will air his first show tonight at 5 p.m., already has more than 230,000 subscribers. OWN, on the other hand, was averaging just 156,000 viewers per month in June.

Beck’s 230,000 subscribers is far less than the 2 million people who tuned into his show at Fox, but that doesn’t mean that Beck is taking a pay cut. Subscribers to GBTV will pay about $5 per month, which according to Business Insider, will create about $20 million in revenue during the first year. (Beck made about $3 million per year at Fox.)

So what makes the GBTV so valuable? According to Beck, his network is not for “slugs.” Beck told the Wall Street Journal:

“GBTV is not for slugs. It’s news for people who want to get involved and play a role in saving our country.”

Basic subscribers will get to watch Beck’s two-hour daily show on GBTV, but that’s about it. Premium subscribers get to watch a video broadcast of Beck’s radio show, exclusive documentaries, and two other shows called Mercury Theater and the Liberty Treehouse. 

Beck will have complete creative control over his new show so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say when he isn’t being censored. Of course, it didn’t seem like there were too many constraints on Beck when he was on Fox.

So, are you a slug? Will you be tuning in to watch Glenn Beck tonight? Does it make sense that GBTV has more subscribers than the Oprah Winfrey Network has viewers?

The Oprah Winfrey Network Has Less Viewers Than Glenn Beck’s Internet Show Has Paid Subscribers is a post from: The Inquisitr

During his radio program on Monday, Beck declared the killings “the work of a madman” and called the suspect “as bad as Osama bin Laden.” But before launching into that condemnation, he questioned what the victims were doing at a summer camp run by Norway’s ruling Labour Party.

“The thing started to unfold, and then there was a shooting at a political camp – which sounds a little like, you know, the Hitler Youth or whatever. I mean, who does a camp for kids that’s all about politics?”

Beck’s insensitive comments were immediately condemned by Torbjørn Eriksen, a former press secretary to Jens Stoltenberg, Norway’s prime minister.

“Young political activists have gathered at Utøya for over 60 years to learn about and be part of democracy, the very opposite of what the Hitler Youth was about. Glenn Beck’s comments are ignorant, incorrect and extremely hurtful,” Eriksen told the Daily Telegraph.

Beck  (a presenter for the Fox News network until last month) however, is no stranger to controversy, as his comments have “stirred the pot” many times in the past. After the massive 8.9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami devastated a large part of Japan this March, Beck went on record to say the disaster could be a “message” from God.

via NY Daily

Glenn Beck Compares Victims of Norway Massacre to “Hitler Youth” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glenn Beck didn’t cry during his last show on Fox News, not even one little vicks vapo rub induced tear, instead the self proclaimed libertarian patted himself on the back for a job well done, provided a list of things he taught his audience over the last 30 months and used old faithful, also known as his blackboard.

Beck then announced to those few fans who didn’t already know that he was heading to internet and charging $10 per month to hear him rant and rave for two hours each weekend, while joking (I think):

“You will pray for the time I was only on the air for one hour a day.”

While Beck lost various advertisers over the last year and saw ratings plummet for his one time TV darling of a talk show he claims he wasn’t running away from TV:

“I didn’t run away from something, I ran to something. I knew exactly where I was supposed to be.”

He went on to add:

“I’m the only host who is supposedly the most dangerous person in America because of my influence and the least influential person in America because my ratings are supposedly declining,”

Glenn Beck Airs Final Fox News Show, Doesn’t Cry Or Anything is a post from: The Inquisitr

Some New Yorkers weren’t too happy that Glenn Beck showed up at the Bryant Park summer movie last night, harassing the TV personality and his family.

According to Beck shortly after the family arrived at the movie someone kicked wine onto his wife’s back and blanket.

In true Beck blowing stuff out of proportion fashion there’s a good chance that incident was just an accident, after all the movie is traditionally extremely overcrowded as it was last night and accidents happen, however when his wife and daughter got up to head over to the bathroom some people apparently shouted, ”We hate conservatives here.”

Beck said of the incident:

“We didn’t leave. My staff said this morning said why didn’t you leave right away. That was uncomfortable. I said because I have a right to watch a movie and enjoy a movie with my family in the park. I have a right.”

He then added in true Beck fashion:

“If I had suggested, and I almost did, “Wow, does anybody have a rope? Because there’s tree here. You could just lynch me.’ And I think there would have been a couple in the crowd that would have.”

I probably would have joined in the chants, if for no other reason then to get a rise out of Beck in real life, although shouting “we hate conservatives” just makes the hecklers sound like liberals with nothing intelligent to say, there were so many opportunities to expose Beck for the fraud he is that would have been much more suitable.

Glenn Beck and His Family Harassed During Bryant Park Summer Movie Event is a post from: The Inquisitr

Jane Lynch- known to Glee fans as Sue Sylvester, the scheming Cheerios coach- killed during a speech at D9 earlier this week.

Lynch, speaking as “Acting CEO” of News Corp., ragged on Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, sniping:

“I’m launching a Fox News investigation into the young and fresh face cast of  Glee. I have some inside information and I don’t believe one of them are real Americans. I’ve also convinced Glenn Beck to stay on at Fox for one final gig – as a dying patient on House — with a horrendous malady. His sickness is consuming him from the inside out.”

Lynch also roasted soft target Palin:

“Though not firm as of yet, I’m pretty sure we got Sarah Palin to do a guest spot on Glee. She’ll perform an original tune I penned: ‘Look at Me, I’m Batsh*t Crazy.”

Conservative idols weren’t the only target of Lynch’s deadpan humor. She also announced plans regarding The Daily:

“Never heard of it, never seen it, so clearly I’ll be shutting that down…”

and some old media targets:

“I’ll be incorporating a comics page into the Wall Street Journal. I’m a big fan of Family Circus. So seemingly mundane, and yet dripping with irony. It works on so many levels.”

Do you find Lynch funny, or is she a one trick pony?

Jane Lynch Mocks Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck at Conference is a post from: The Inquisitr

Controversial Fox News star Glenn Beck‘s days as a nightly feature at the network are numbered, according to a joint statement from Beck’s flack and the conservative news network.

Beck is known for his opinionated, highly emotional stance on air, and was a major target of satire from Comedy Central stars Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert at their Rally to Restore Fear and/or Sanity on the National Mall last fall. (The rally’s crowd far outstripped the earlier crowd drawn by Beck during a similar event.) The Washington Post floated plummeting ratings as a reason for Beck’s departure from the network at which he was once a key property:

It is not known when Beck will leave the channel officially.

Glenn Beck ‘transitioning off’ Fox is a post from: The Inquisitr

MoveOn.org, the progressive political advocacy group formed in response to the impeachment of President Clinton, has a new video satirizing Glenn Beck.

The funniest part of it is that- well, without giving the surprise away, it’s different for everyone. Using Facebook Connect, it crafts a different Becktastic experience for every viewer. If you’d like to view your version of the video, go to beck.cnnbcvideo.com and authorize it to link up to your Facebook account.

The video is very cleverly done- don’t forget to check out the sidebar to see all the “related links” in Glenn Beck’s latest crusade. While it is certainly funny, it also makes a good point about the dangers posed by this kind of alarmist “journalism.” Beck’s devoted viewers will often buy into his theories and are moved by his sob-fests. Under the guise of objectivity, Beck has presented many similar, crazy theories in the past about people and things he wishes to malign.

What did you think of the effort? Hilarious satire or vicious socialist plot against Glenn Beck?

Video Link: Glenn Beck’s new target is you is a post from: The Inquisitr

Cartman does Glenn Beck is a post from: The Inquisitr

“I’m not saying this is a plot by Hitler to steal Glenn Beck from all of us internal organ by internal organ by internal organ and then reprogram him to use as a weapon. But isn’t it fascinating that I’m the only one with the courage to ask these questions?”

(Note: Clip is long, but hilarious.)

Jon Stewart does fantastic Glenn Beck impression is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glenn Beck added a new mix to his radio show this morning when he suffered an unexpected attack of appendicitis.

According to reports, Beck left the show complaining that he was not feeling well., and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he had his appendix removed. Spokesman for Beck joked that “before going under Glenn asked the doctor to draw out the surgery procedure on a blackboard.”

Later reports suggest that Glenn Beck’s Appendicitis surgery went well and he is expected to make a full recovery. Andrew Napolitano is guest hosting Beck’s Fox News in his absence.

The Fox News announcement in the video as follows:

Glenn Beck Adds Appendicitis Attack To His Show is a post from: The Inquisitr

There is no harder thing than to have Glenn Beck outlive your child…

Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck

Onion: Car crash victim tragically not Glenn Beck is a post from: The Inquisitr

Satire and meme’s are an integral part of the Web. While satire has a long and rich history long before electrons started passing information among the InterTubes meme’s have been a much more recent happening but no the less funny or important. While many of the meme’s we see being spawned almost daily are harmless and give us a good chuckle when we run across them before they run out of steam there are others that take on a ling life of their own.

Of these the satire blog set up by an originally anonymous blogger to take a more than fair shot at Glen Beck has a suddenly become fodder for a case before the domain dispute center at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

The domain in question is glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com and since failing to get U.S. courts to take down the site due to their common “moron in a hurry” test Beck has decided that despite his dislike for world organizations this is a matter that can only be settled by the WIPO.

Since this has progressed to this point the previous anonymous blogger has revealed his identity and hired a lawyer to deal with the issue. Now to be fair one has to understand where and why the domain came into place which the now revealed blogger, Isaac Eiland-Hall, explained to Ars Technica

Eiland-Hall had discovered a Fark thread in which commenters picked up on a Gilbert Gottfried routine about Bob Saget raping and murdering a teenaged girl (it’s, er, a bit funnier in context than it sounds [NSFW]). They adapted it for Beck to highlight what they perceived as his habit of forcing people to explain away completely baseless charges—as when Beck interviewed Muslim Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) and opened with this gem: "And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview because what I feel like saying is, sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies. And I know you’re not. I’m not accusing you of being an enemy. But that’s the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."

How better to give Beck a taste of his own medicine than by wondering publicly why he has never addressed the rumor that he raped and murdered a young girl in 1990? No one’s saying that Beck really did it… but if he has nothing to hide, why won’t he deny the tale?

Eiland-Hall’s lawyer, Marc Randazza, is quick to point out when it comes to the WIPO and domain disputes. The process is generally used to prevent cybersquatters  from sitting on trademarked names and generally applies only when there is commercial intent and the real possibility of consumer confusion. It is safe to say that Eiland-Hall’s site is neither commercial in any way and neither does it cause any brand confusion with Glen Beck.

Good luck with that Glenn and as Randazza says in his response to the WIPO

"We are not here because the domain name could cause confusion. We do not have a declaration from the president of the international association of imbeciles that his members are blankly staring at the Respondent’s website wondering ‘where did all the race baiting content go?’ We are here because Mr. Beck wants Respondent’s website shut down. He wants it shut down because Respondent’s website makes a poignant and accurate satirical critique of Mr. Beck by parodying Beck’s very rhetorical style."

Guess it sucks when you have your own medicine shoved back in your face eh Beck.

glennbeckrapedandmurderedayounggirlin1990.com is headed to the WIPO is a post from: The Inquisitr

Part of the reason Glenn Beck resonates so much with the right is his heartfelt sincerity.

A heartfelt sincerity brought on by rage at the direction his country is taken… and a liberal application of Vicks’ Vapo-Rub under his eyes. A one-off for a photo shoot? Perhaps, but Beck is caught on camera saying this:

I think it’s getting used to it… my eyes are getting used to it.

What moves Glenn Beck to tears? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glenn Beck, you have to start rehearsing.

Remember the Oligarchy fail from a few weeks ago? Beck seems to be amping up his campaign to win the title of “craziest pundit who doesn’t rehearse” with a bizarre live stunt wherein he shows everyone what happens when you pretend to throw a frog into boiling water. Beck shouts a bit about how President Obama is creating shocking huge policy changes that will cause Americans to hop out of the metaphorical boiling water, based on the belief that a frog will hop out of boiling water when thrown in, but not object and just be happily boiled if cold water is heated after the frog is added.

Beck says:

Barack Obama has galvanized the country, because of the sheer size of the bills he’s proposed, and the number of the bills, the urgency that he’s placing on the bills. He’s forced us to think and get involved! We have, not like John McCain, been boiled slowly- we have been tossed quickly into boiling water, and don’t forget what happens, what happens when you throw them in! When you throw them in, frogs into boiling water!

Then he dramatically throws… nothing. And then, not surprisingly, nothing happens. Sheepishly, Beck walks closer the the camera and says:

Okay … forget the frog. I swear I thought they jumped right out. But they don’t. Forget about the Republicans, because most of them are fake. Forget about the Democrats, because most of them are fake. And forget about the frog, because it was fake!

The most viewed version of the stunt on YouTube edits out the last line about the frog being fake. But it appears that this was a stunt in which no frogs were harmed. Collective intellect of the American public? Thanks to folks like Glenn Beck, not so lucky.

The failed frog stunt, below:

Glenn Beck and the frog in boiling water stunt is a post from: The Inquisitr

In every business there is the concept of ‘the loss leader’. The idea is that you offer a product at such a low cost that people who wouldn’t normally come through the door come in to buy that product. At the same time there is the hope that they will end up buying something else at a regular price.

Here at The Inquisitr my writing about technology could be considered to be that ‘loss leader’. While it typically attracts a smaller demographic than say the people who read about Michael Jackson or the latest disaster it is hoped that while the reader is on the site they will end up reading other posts thereby increasing the pageviews. When it comes to television news – especially with cable news – these loss leaders, while they may cause some problems, are important because they bring in a demographic that might otherwise go elsewhere.

With the recent drive to hit FOX News in the wallet by trying to get advertisers to drop their support of the Glenn Beck show we are seeing Beck become more of a loss leader for the network. For all the outrage that his demagoguery might cause the network looks at the demographics of the audience he does pull in and how much of that traffic then converts to watchers of other shows on their network – news or otherwise. I am sure that there is a break point where the influx of viewers for his firebrand rhetoric will not balance out the loss of advertising dollars. At that point I am pretty sure that Beck would be shown the door – but don’t count on that happening for some time.

When it comes to FOX competitor CNN they realize that as repulsive as it might be to have that same kind of viewership associated with the CNN brand they are also a business which means they have to make money. Making that money means that they have to find some way to appeal to the “Glenn Beck” and “Rush Limbaugh” crowd.

This is where Lou Dobbs comes in because while he might be a little tamer than a Beck or Limbaugh he still appeals to the same mentality of viewership that the other two do. The problem is that right now CNN is facing the same pressure as FOX News is in that there are organizations out there putting pressure on advertisers to drop running ads on the Dobbs show.

Where Beck is becoming a loss leader moneywise for FOX News so is Lou Dobbs for CNN. From CNN’s point of view Dobbs is almost a necessity because he does draw in a growing demographic that would go elsewhere. As Jason Linkins noted in a post at Huffington Post

CNN is facing pressure on a number of fronts to drop Lou Dobbs from their roster of on-air talent, a move that would force millions of Americans seeking out news about the conspiracy to spread leprosy throughout America via illegal Mexican immigrants to turn instead to the guy who lives under the bridge by the old tire factory.

Sure CNN might be walking a fine line with the more loyal CNN viewers but as long as Dobbs keeps bringing in a demographic that would normally go to one of their competitors, especially FOX News, I think we can be assured that Dobb’s job is pretty safe. Yes he might be told every once in a while to tone down his particular type of rhetoric but as long as there is the potential of his viewers sticking around to watch other CNN shows then his value as a loss leader is worth the cost of possibly losing advertisers of his show.

Why CNN won’t let go of Lou Dobbs just yet is a post from: The Inquisitr

If there is a venereal disease that could infect television news it would have to be called the “Glenn Beck Disease” for no other reason than Glenn Beck being the most irritating brain frying “pretend” newsperson there is on television today. Limbaugh on his best day can’t even cause one to dribble and drool as much as Beck does in the first five minutes he is on the air.

News organizations are having a hard enough time trying to remain relevant without having to constantly battle against the illusion that Beck put forward that what he does is news. Not only does Beck do everything he can to inflame situations to his own benefit but he doesn’t care if what comes out of his mouth is true or not.

A good example of this is his recent pumping of the ACORN story and how one woman was caught on tape saying that she had murdered her abusive husband. Regardless of the ethics of how the ACORN videotapes were obtained Beck used the story to raise the ire against the other news networks and the government by asking why nobody was asking any questions about this.

Well it turns out that about a few minutes work by some real reporters in San Bernardino found out the story was totally false – which Glenn Beck could have done just as well but that wouldn’t have provided the gasoline he was looking for.

The thing that is really disgusting about this is that his employer Fox News doesn’t care whether what he says on television is true or not because in their words “does not host a ‘news’ show”. So while they wrap the presentation of the Glenn Beck with the appearance of being a news show it is in fact not even close. What they have done is provide Beck with a platform through which he can spew his own brand of “news” and commentary without having to behave as a proper journalistic news service.

In effect they are saying that who cares if what we say (as a news service) is true or not as long as we can keep riling up the masses through vitriolic commentary. Beck, Fox News, and everyone in the news business that tries to mimic them are driving any trust we might have into the ground.

Glenn Beck and Fox show just how much of a joke news is is a post from: The Inquisitr