Debunking Glenn Beck: How to Save America from Media Pundits and Propagandists was written in response to Beck's Arguing with Idiots. Its most immediate concern is with exploring the agenda behind Beck's arguments and exposing the flaws in his reasoning. But this book's real mission is something much broader. Using Beck as an example, author Karl Rogers also shows why media reform is so vital to the future of democracy.
To make that case, Dr. Rogers offers a detailed discussion of the ideas and ideology at work in Beck's arguments, revealing how the well-known conservative pundit has distorted and twisted facts to misrepresent American history, the meaning of progressivism, and even the U.S. Constitution. The book examines topics ranging from the Second Amendment to health care, education, housing, the Supreme Court, unions, democracy, and government. It concludes by explaining how Americans can revitalize the Constitution as a living document and, by doing so, revitalize public debate and democracy itself.
"Debunking Glenn Beck is a thoroughly accessible, forward-thinking, and highly recommended critical treatise."
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Midwest Book Review
Foreword Harvey Sarles ix
Preface xiii
1 Twistifications and the Constitution 1
2 The Militia Clause 31
3 Public Education 49
4 Beyond Petroleum 69
5 Union Bashing 83
6 Illegal Immigration 99
7 The Nanny State 113
8 Shelter: A Basic Human Right? 127
9 Universal Health Care 137
10 Progressivism 149
11 The Myth of the Free Market 167
12 We, the People 183
Notes 199
Index 215
About the Author 225
CJ-RJ2
Posted December 9, 2011
Exactly what one would expect. Absent of fact and quite small. Couldn't bear to finish it.
2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous1313
Posted December 14, 2011
The previous reviewer is clearly biased. If it is a good book, why only give it a single star, even if the author is clearly "left leaning"? Karl Rogers is writing in response to Glenn Beck: an extremely biased media pundit and propagandist. Beck is never fair and balanced, so why does Rogers have to be? What is Rogers's bias? He writes a defense of progressivism against Beck's lies and slanders, and he corrects the false history of the Constitution, the progressive movement, and the foundations of America that Beck sells to his ill-informed fans. But, Rogers's main concern is to look at how Beck uses propaganda to distort and misrepresent the facts to his audience/readers to promote corporatism and distract the nationalistic conservative right from the corporate takeover of America. I would add, from the corporate takeover of Europe and the rest of the world as well. If you are interested in how propaganda works and the future of democracy in America and the rest of the world, read this book. As well as pointing out plenty of examples of Glenn Beck's falsehoods and propaganda, Rogers explains why democratic media reform is needed; why Net Neutrality needs to be defended; why Citizens United v FEC needs to be overturned; why the Constitution needs to be amended to clarify that the enumerated rights belong to persons, not corporations; and it explains how "we the people" can achieve these things. This book is accessible, interesting, and informative.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Debunking Glenn Beck: How to Save America from Media Pundits and Propagandists was written in response to Beck's Arguing with Idiots. Its most immediate concern is with exploring the agenda behind Beck's arguments and exposing the flaws in his reasoning. But this book's real mission is something much broader. Using Beck as an example, author Karl Rogers also shows why media reform is so vital to the future of democracy.
To make that case, Dr. Rogers offers a detailed discussion ...