R i g h t a r d i a: Glen Beck distorts history and the efforts of the Obama administration

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Glen Beck distorts history and the efforts of the Obama administration

Glen Beck really misunderstands Thomas Paine. Paine became famous because of The Age of Reason (1793–94), his book advocating deism, promoting reason and freethinking, and arguing against institutionalized religion and Christian doctrines.

He also wrote the pamphlet Agrarian Justice (1795), discussing the origins of property, and introduced the concept of a guaranteed minimum income.

Paine opposed slavery, proposed universal, free public education, progressive taxation, guaranteed minimum income, and other ideas then considered radical.

During the financial meltdown during the Bush era, 40 to 45 per cent of the world's wealth was destroyed. Without the economic stimulus, the US could have entered a depression. Obama wants to send seniors on Social security a $250 check because there will be no cost of living allowance (COLA) this year because of the sour economy.

Beck even attacked stimulus money that was being provided to the citizens of Detroit. Of course, he neglected to point out that Michigan has the highest unemployment in the US at 16 per cent and Detroit has an incredible 22 per cent unemployment rate.

In addition, Beck called progressives 'slave owners.' Actually the progressives during the civil War were called Abolitionists. They opposed slavery and the expansion of slavery into new territories acquired by the US.

Many historical revisionists like Beck suggest that the Civil War was fought because of state's rights, but the CSA Constitution had a federal supremacy clause that was identical to the one in the US Constitution. The Civil War was really fought because the Abolitionists objected to the expansion of slavery into new US territories.