Update on "Teaching the Controversy: Why won't he deny raping and killing?:
Rather than try to fight a First Amendment case (which they would be destined to lose), Glenn Beck's lawyers have filed a complaint (.pdf here) with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a "specialized agency of the United Nations" based in the neutral country of Switzerland, claiming that the satirical domain name glenn beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.com is: 1) a form of cybersquatting, 2) defamatory and 3) an infringement on his trademarked name. (The irony here is that the United Nations and socialist Switzerland are two things Beck does not believe in.)
(The site itself is called "Did Glenn Beck Rape and Murder a Young Girl in 1990: The Official Parody Website About the Controversy" -- after a 2008 Gilbert Gottfried comedy routine spreading heretofore nonexistent rumors about Bob Saget in a televised Comedy Central roast. Gottfried also claimed that Saget seduced the Olsen twins with chocolate milkshakes.)
In response (.pdf here, lawyers for the site contend that Beck's defamation complaints are outside the scope WIPO's own decision-making powers, and that the satire is "not unlike the fame Campari ad in Hustler v. Falwell." Beck's people simply don't understand what an Intertubes Internet meme is:
"The term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke." See Internet For Beginners (Annex B)
From "Mr. Spock Ate My Balls," (defunct) to ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US to "Leeroy Jenkins" to a slew of sub-memes based on the movie "300", internet memes are as old as the internet itself, and almost as ubiquitous as actual cybersquatters. See Squidoo "Top 10 Internet Memes" (Annex C). Memes are often puzzling to those who have never encountered them before, and they are similarly puzzling to the subjects
of the memes when they involve real people.
Attorney Marc Randazza then offers a formula to explain how these things work:
(Outrageous Accusation) + (Celebrity) + (Question Why the Celebrity Does Not Deny the Accusation) = (Confirmation of the Falsity of the Accusation + Laughter)
snicker snort chortle
Agreed, frankly it's funnier that Beck doesn't get it, including the internet meme of the Streisand effect...
I can't be the only one who is disappointed that this article isn't about a genre bending alterna-rock musical genius.
Funny stuff though!
JE: Yes, the Only Beck That Matters is the Scientologist one.
I think you need to polish up on your fact-checking skills, Jim. Gottfried claimed that Saget seduced the Olsen twins with chocolate milk, not milkshakes. It's just this kind of irresponsible discrepency that distracts us from the matter at hand: whether or not Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990.
JE: Damn, and I don't remember my original source for that, either! All I know is that I wasn't able to disprove it, so I moved ahead, as Glenn Beck advises. You just can't ignore these stories, what with the Intertubes and all. Still, I regret the error and will make an immediate correction.
Glenn Beck: lunacy trumps life?
I have to laugh that I read this today. My mother and father - separately (because they are separated) - criticized me for not believing anything! And this time we weren't talking about religion. I made an off comment along the lines that I don't believe low fat foods and (insert adjective) fats make a difference in questions of heart disease and such. And my defense was simply that I have not seen any definitive proof, one way or another.
My father asked me how I believe in any study since I wasn't the one doing them.
I could only respond, "I don't believe in studies either. I look at them and make judgments based on their size and length of time. Even then I still hold a little bit of skepticism - look at all the useless data phrenologists gathered. "
He shook his head. Lucky for me it near his bed time.
No one can be an expert on everything. But you can make improvements to your "bullshit" filter. At least, if you can understand the basics of scientific research.
Although with Beck, his filter is in complete antagonism with mine.
JE: Damn, and I don't remember my original source for that [milkshakes vs. chocolate milk], either! All I know is that I wasn't able to disprove it, so I moved ahead, as Glenn Beck advises. You just can't ignore these stories, what with the Intertubes and all. Still, I regret the error and will make an immediate correction.
No, no, NO! Let it stand. Never take a step beck, er, I mean, back. Just move on. Keep going forward. On to the next description of the perfidy of the ranting right! If you stop to acknowledge and correct your errors, you'll soon be at their beck and call. Admit nothing!
Are you guys actually defending falsely accusing someone of raping and murdering a child? What is it was yournamerapedandmurdered.com?
Are you guys actually defending falsely accusing someone of raping and murdering a child? What if it was yournamerapedandmurdered.com?
Whoa now R, hold on a minute!
No one is saying that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990, so let's make that clear. The site doesn't claim to know the truth—"only that the rumour floating around saying that Glenn Beck raped and murdered a young girl in 1990 should be discussed."
As the site says:
"Why won't Glenn Beck deny these allegations? We're not accusing Glenn Beck of raping and murdering a young girl in 1990 - in fact, we think he didn't! But we can't help but wonder, since he has failed to deny these horrible allegations. Why won't he deny that he raped and killed a young girl in 1990?"
What was that Ebert just said about liberals playing by the rules, and conservatives being nasty fringe types?
JE: That's why sites like this Glenn Beck parody are so valuable: They point out exactly how and why what the the right-wingnuts (I wouldn't dignify them by calling them "conservatives") do is so nasty by reminding us what the rules really stand for. When Beck calls Obama "racist" or promotes other unfounded rumors (about, say, FEMA), this is what he's doing. It's not right, is it? At least this one's clearly satire, not intended to fool even the most gullible stooge.