That's not irony...that's exactly what I'd expect an angry media personality to do.

Since the week before then new year is often treated as a time for reflection, I would like John Nolte to reflect on this:

If the biggest problem you had today was that some guy on TCM made a Glenn Beck joke, then you had a pretty good day. If that's such a big issue that you needed to write a column about it, then you have a pretty nice life.

But nothing is more important to the success of the network than the fact that up till now it has remained a rare refuge from the partisan politics that today seem to have infested everything from our White House Christmas tree to "Sesame Street."

Is this tripe for real? Who the hell reads this and thinks it makes an even remotely intelligent point?

For the record, Ben Mankiewicz gives often terrible, thin-skinned reviews which makes it a feat that anyone, even from Breitbart's rag, has managed to have me take his side.

Breitbart appeals to the same demographic that would actually be offended by criticism (or even a joke) at Glenn Beck's expense, so they have to lace their tirades with that same level of nausea-inducing wharrgarbl to keep their readers.

But it's only recently in this new absurd popularity of people like Beck that websites like Breitbart feel the need to rise to his defense. I wonder what Breitbart was doing in 1990...

Did anyone else find that difficult to read? Either I'm getting dumber with age (a strong possiblility) or that writer was pretty incoherent.

Read the headline, figured it had something to do with "A Face in the Crowd"...I don't agree with the writer getting all butt-hurt about the comment but if you need Ben to tell you how this relates to modern media then TCM is way over your head.

"Those of us who just want to sit back and relax and enjoy something without having to be on guard concerning a cheap sucker shot aimed at who we are and what we believe in have seen it start just like this a thousand times. Once the dam springs a leak ... the dam always ends up bursting. Always. And then, once again, we lose something we love."

This is why we can't have nice things!

What is it about Libturds that they have to remove the fun out of everything? The day I find a liberal with an actual sense of humor rather then just hatred for the US with a bunch of cackling morons to affirm their ego I'll probably drop dead immediately, and I plan on living a VERY longtime.

Yes, Ben Mankiewicz is a tool of the first order and yes, he should be punished (but not fired) as this is a first big time offense. If Arec freakin Baldwin can keep it caged, why can't this tool do the same?

Most places SHOULD be POLITICS FREE ZONES. The fact that they aren't is a poor reflection on society. The fact that people actually soil their diapers when this is pointed out is astounding.

"Science has already proved the dangers of smoking and alcohol but I can still ruin soft drinks for everyone!"

garandman1a: What is it about Libturds that they have to remove the fun out of everything?

So that's what sucked all the funny out of the comedy show they tried out on Fox News?

/the one they said was comedy, anyway.

Funniest part of this discussion: There was NOTHING POLITICAL about the Ben's comments. Nothing at all.

Hey Angry Media Personalities: If you can't stand the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen.

"If you're not familiar with the film, it starred Andy Griffith and he portrayed an evil media personality who fools the public by coming across as a likable down to earth kind a fella. Host Mankiewicz openly wondered if the producers had been able to see 50 years into the future and witnessed how people in this country were being manipulated and duped by angry media personalities, some who could cry on cue. He clearly was referring to conservative talk radio."

So... you admit that conservative talk radio is full of BS? But this TCM host is a jerk for referencing it, as it parallels a movie they're showing? an anybody name a reasonable conservative radio or television pundit at this point? I honestly can't seem to think of any.

"Waaaaah! Turner Classic Movies is turning against my pathetic political positions! I demand satisfaction!"

Geez, just write them nicely and they might play The Fountainhead to sooth your butthurt, you stupid asshole.

Breitbart's site is creepy. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but it appears he deletes any comments from liberals.

Disenfranchised conservatives are lame.

Bitter Barn: Breitbart's site is creepy. I didn't spend a lot of time there, but it appears he deletes any comments from liberals.

Disenfranchised conservatives are lame.

I comment there all the time and they are generally gone within minutes. What cowards these people are.

For the record, had Mankiewicz abused this opportunity to trash Chris Matthews or Keith Olbermann it would have been just as gratuitous and unwelcome.

HAHAHAHA WOW what a lie. I love love love love love this article.

garandman1a: What is it about Libturds that they have to remove the fun out of everything? The day I find a liberal with an actual sense of humor rather then just hatred for the US with a bunch of cackling morons to affirm their ego I'll probably drop dead immediately, and I plan on living a VERY longtime.

In a similar spot, I'd like meet a Conservitard with the ability to let things roll off his back. Mankiewicz alluded to (as in "did not call out by name") media figures that preach, preen, and pray to their audiences with no specific mentioning of Limbaugh or Beck. He could very well be referencing figures ON BOTH SIDES, but the only people jumping down his throat about it are butthurt Beck fans. Just because you eat up his crocodile tears doesn't mean he "really, really loves his country".

I'm sure a lot of this would be cleared up if someone could link and embed the actual TCM clip (which lasts less than 5 seconds).

This is what happens when angry, stupid people are faced with the truth of their anger and stupidity.

garandman1a: Most places SHOULD be POLITICS FREE ZONES. The fact that they aren't is a poor reflection on society. The fact that people actually soil their diapers when this is pointed out is astounding.

Sorry, but neocons and teabaggers are the biggest politicizers of ephemera of all. I used to post over at Lucianne.com a few years back, where they'd use Hillary Clinton's existence to squeal about the most unlikely associations. Someone was whining about some Julia Roberts movie being too liberal and that it was Hillary's fault, and when I pointed out that it had nothing whatsoever to do with Hillary Clinton, I was told that "EVERYTHING is political". This is a recurrent pattern with the fossilized right-wing mentality. But, of course, they get hysterical when they imagine even the slightest hint of oblique criticism against their own sacred cows.

garandman1a: What is it about Libturds that they have to remove the fun out of everything? The day I find a liberal with an actual sense of humor rather then just hatred for the US with a bunch of cackling morons to affirm their ego I'll probably drop dead immediately, and I plan on living a VERY longtime.

Yes, Ben Mankiewicz is a tool of the first order and yes, he should be punished (but not fired) as this is a first big time offense. If Arec freakin Baldwin can keep it caged, why can't this tool do the same?

Just so we're clear, you think Mankiewicz should be punished for this: "Host Mankiewicz openly wondered if the producers had been able to see 50 years into the future and witnessed how people in this country were being manipulated and duped by angry media personalities, some who could cry on cue."

You don't think it's appropriate to make a comparison between Lonesome Roads and Glenn Beck? Beck has clearly based his entire persona on that character. I'd wager that if you got him to fall of the wagon and have a few drinks, he'd admit as much to you himself.

darkman2000: Read the headline, figured it had something to do with "A Face in the Crowd"

Same here. Probably because they show the film every other week.

Jonathan Hohensee: darkman2000: Read the headline, figured it had something to do with "A Face in the Crowd"

Same here. Probably because they show the film every other week.

More like once a month, according to the TCM schedule.

Huggermugger: garandman1a: Most places SHOULD be POLITICS FREE ZONES. The fact that they aren't is a poor reflection on society. The fact that people actually soil their diapers when this is pointed out is astounding.

Sorry, but neocons and teabaggers are the biggest politicizers of ephemera of all. I used to post over at Lucianne.com a few years back, where they'd use Hillary Clinton's existence to squeal about the most unlikely associations. Someone was whining about some Julia Roberts movie being too liberal and that it was Hillary's fault, and when I pointed out that it had nothing whatsoever to do with Hillary Clinton, I was told that "EVERYTHING is political". This is a recurrent pattern with the fossilized right-wing mentality. But, of course, they get hysterical when they imagine even the slightest hint of oblique criticism against their own sacred cows.


So your solution is to lower yourself to their level?

WFern:
Is this tripe for real? Who the hell reads this and thinks it makes an even remotely intelligent point?

What, you mean the part about the clumsy politicization of the White House Christmas Tree (ornaments with photos of famous transvestites - autographed, Chairman Mao, and Obama spliced into Mount Rushmore), or the regular political BS they've been shoehorning in on Sesame Street (yes, they're doing it, and yes, it's also clumsy and PC).

If you're going to complain about someone else complaining about an issue, you might check to see if they're right about the issue first...

The odd thing about the TCM host who commented on "A Face in the Crowd" was that he stretched to make the talk radio point, while completely missing the much more obvious comparison to Barack Obama (a nobody who went from relative obscurity to national prominence merely on a charming appearance and a capacity for speaking, while being something else underneath).

I don't get why people keep trumping up the (sorta ham-fisted) political message of A Face in the Crowd, when the real reason that the movie has stood the test of time is that you get to watch a self-destructive bipolar freak melt the fark down over and over and over.

If your political stance and general beliefs are so fragile that they can be breached by an off-hand remark by the weekend TCM host, I think it's time to re-evaluate, well, just about everything.

cirby: WFern:
Is this tripe for real? Who the hell reads this and thinks it makes an even remotely intelligent point?

What, you mean the part about the clumsy politicization of the White House Christmas Tree (ornaments with photos of famous transvestites - autographed, Chairman Mao, and Obama spliced into Mount Rushmore), or the regular political BS they've been shoehorning in on Sesame Street (yes, they're doing it, and yes, it's also clumsy and PC).

If you're going to complain about someone else complaining about an issue, you might check to see if they're right about the issue first...

The odd thing about the TCM host who commented on "A Face in the Crowd" was that he stretched to make the talk radio point, while completely missing the much more obvious comparison to Barack Obama (a nobody who went from relative obscurity to national prominence merely on a charming appearance and a capacity for speaking, while being something else underneath).

You're saying the White House politicized the tree by hanging ornaments made by other people on it? Hedda Lettuce is taking the Christ out of Christmas by sending ornaments he helped a bunch of senior citizens decorate at a community center? An ornament with Andy Warhol's Mao in lipstick, a print that's museums all over the country, is scandalous?

You think comparing a fictional faux-populist entertainer to a real-life faux-populist entertainer is a stretch?

Okay.

"Not only was Mankiewicz clearly referring to right-wing talk radio, it was just as obvious"

maybe it was so obvious because what he said was true. occam's razor and all.

I'm sure Ted Turner is going to get right on that, butthurt conservative blogger.

Howard Beale could not be reached for comment.

xsarien: If your political stance and general beliefs are so fragile that they can be breached by an off-hand remark by the weekend TCM host, I think it's time to re-evaluate, well, just about everything.

THIS

Huggermugger Someone was whining about some Julia Roberts movie being too liberal and that it was Hillary's fault, and when I pointed out that it had nothing whatsoever to do with Hillary Clinton,

Well, "Mona Lisa Smile" WAS based on Hillary Clinton's undergrad years;
Link (new window)

WFern For the record, Ben Mankiewicz gives often terrible, thin-skinned reviews which makes it a feat that anyone, even from Breitbart's rag, has managed to have me take his side.

Whaddya want, he was on TMZ and "Cartoon Alley" & Ben Lyon's sidekick, his father was Press Secretary for RFK & McGovern AND behind the 1970's Metric Conspiracy, his aunt's widower dated Jackie O, & his grandfather wrote "Citizen Kane"-a roman a clef about the Democrat William Randolph Hearst. So it's a mixed bag.

Seriously?

Who is this retard that runs this site and why should we care about what he says? Two fark link in one day filled with idiocy from one blogger?

Couple of things;

I never hear from Glen Beck or Breitbart unless it's quoted by another liberal. Ignorance really is bliss here, people. I agree they make great douchebag bookends, but they have more influence from being quoted than from the amount of people who actually tune in.

I also found it funny that a fairly vague comment caused another conservative to label Beck a crybaby. Does this mean everyone actually know Beck is a whaaaambulance chaser?

TCM farking rules. Once a month is almost not enough for 'Face In The Crowd'. The setting is dated, but the message is not.

TCM is the only network that consistently shows only really good stuff, and I keep worrying that they'll f*ck it up somehow. Like, they're showing Ferris Bueller's Day Off this month, and yeah, it's a really good movie, but is it good enough for TCM? I guess it probably is, but I really don't want TCM to turn into SyFy or something equally sad.

someonelse: cirby: WFern:
Is this tripe for real? Who the hell reads this and thinks it makes an even remotely intelligent point?

What, you mean the part about the clumsy politicization of the White House Christmas Tree (ornaments with photos of famous transvestites - autographed, Chairman Mao, and Obama spliced into Mount Rushmore), or the regular political BS they've been shoehorning in on Sesame Street (yes, they're doing it, and yes, it's also clumsy and PC).

If you're going to complain about someone else complaining about an issue, you might check to see if they're right about the issue first...

The odd thing about the TCM host who commented on "A Face in the Crowd" was that he stretched to make the talk radio point, while completely missing the much more obvious comparison to Barack Obama (a nobody who went from relative obscurity to national prominence merely on a charming appearance and a capacity for speaking, while being something else underneath).

You're saying the White House politicized the tree by hanging ornaments made by other people on it? Hedda Lettuce is taking the Christ out of Christmas by sending ornaments he helped a bunch of senior citizens decorate at a community center? An ornament with Andy Warhol's Mao in lipstick, a print that's museums all over the country, is scandalous?

You think comparing a fictional faux-populist entertainer to a real-life faux-populist entertainer is a stretch?

Okay.

I also love that he thinks a transvestite is somehow a terrible, or remotely political thing.

[Citation needed] on that Sesame Street rambling as well, cirby.