Glenn Beck's violent and unhinged rhetoric has real-world consequences!

On Sunday, July 18, unhinged ex-convict Byron Williams loaded his truck with guns and headed up a California highway with the intention of starting a revolution. If he hadn't been stopped by brave officers -- two of whom were wounded in the confrontation -- he could have carried out a plan to kill staff at progressive organizations, including the Tides Foundation.

What is the Tides Foundation? It's the nonprofit that Glenn Beck brags about "turning the light of day" on by constantly attacking it as part of a socialist conspiracy to destroy our government. The Tides Foundation isn't the shadowy political influence of Beck's fantasies -- it's a transparent organization known in the philanthropic community for doing good public service. Make no mistake: Beck's intention was to paint the Tides Foundation as a dangerous, increasingly powerful threat to freedom that must be stopped. And Williams set out to stop them.

It's time for those who profit from Beck to take responsibility for his incitements to violence. Beck's paranoid, dishonest and incendiary rhetoric doesn't just reflect on Beck -- it reflects on News Corp., Fox News' parent company, and its shareholders. Morgan Stanley owns nearly $300,000,000 in News Corp. stock, Bank of New York more than $175,000,000, Goldman Sachs $115,000,000, and JPMorgan Chase nearly $70,000,000. As owners of the company, they need to take responsibility for the conduct of its employees.

As Media Matters Senior Fellow Eric Boehlert wrote:

Indeed, for more than a year Beck has been portraying the progressive organization as a central player in a larger, nefarious cabal of Marxist/socialist/Nazi Obama-loving outlets determined to destroy democracy in America. Beck has routinely smeared the low-profile entity for being staffed by "thugs" and "bullies" and involved in "the nasty of the nastiest," like indoctrinating schoolchildren and creating a "mass organization to seize power."

As Media Matters reported, the conspiratorial host had mentioned (read: attacked) the little-known progressive organization nearly 30 times on his Fox program alone since it premiered in 2009, including several mentions in the last month. (Beck's the only TV talker who regularly references the foundation, according to our Nexis searches.)

So yes, Beck has done all he can to scare the hell out of people about the Tides Foundation and "turn the light of day" onto an organization that actually facilitates non-profit giving.

And guess what? Everybody in America would have found out about the Tides Foundation last week if Byron Williams had had his way.

Renounce Glenn Beck's Violent Rhetoric! Write letters, Email and Demand that News Corp.'s major shareholder stop the violent rhetoric and it's dangerous consequences! Spread the word and let them know that we are holding them accountable!

Media Matters For America

McCains Failed To Pay Taxes On California Home For Four Years, Newsweek To Report

Newsweek is set to publish a highly embarrassing report on Sen. John McCain, revealing that the McCains have failed to pay taxes on their beach-front home in La Jolla, California, for the last four years and are currently in default.

It seems as though John McCain also likes to boast of new standard for transparency and accountability but yet he has a problem with doing this himself.

May 15, 2008 -- John McCain will say today that his "administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability." Yet throughout his run for president, his own campaign has been anything but transparent and highlights just how hypocritical this promise is.

His campaign's refusal to release Cindy McCain's tax returns, along with the news yesterday that her assets included investments in Sudan even as McCain was criticizing firms for doing business there, raises serious questions about what other information the McCains are trying to hide. His decision to unilaterally withdraw from the public financing system without permission from the FEC shows that McCain thinks that the rules apply to everyone but himself. And his claims to be a break from President Bush couldn't be farther from the truth considering he has promised a third Bush term on the economy, a health care system that leaves many families behind, and a long-term American troop presence in Iraq. [McCain Campaign Email, accessed 5/15/08]

McCain may say he's going to be a different kind of leader, but if his campaign is any indication, it's clear that like Bush and Cheney he thinks he is above the law and that the rules don't apply to him. Sounds like instead of setting a new standard for transparency he'd be more of the same.

McCain's Rhetoric On Transparency Rings Hollow

Campaign Will "Never" Release Cindy McCain's Tax Returns, Not Even If He's Elected.
"CINDY MCCAIN: You know, my husband and I have been married for 28 years and we have filed separate tax returns for 28 years. This is a privacy issue. My husband is the candidate.
QUESTION: You'll never release, you're saying?
CINDY MCCAIN: No
QUESTION: Never?
CINDY MCCAIN: No. No.
QUESTION: Even if you're first lady?
CINDY MCCAIN: No.
QUESTION: Because that is, even though not an elected position, you would be in a very public role.
CINDY MCCAIN: I'm not the candidate." [NBC's The Today Show, 5/8/08: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDV2kZX_MU]

McCain Family Investments Had Ties To Sudan. According to the Associated Press, "Cindy McCain, whose husband has been a critic of the violence in Sudan, sold off more than $2 million in mutual funds whose holdings include companies that do business in the African nation" and "that are listed by the Sudan Divestment Task Force as targets for divestment." [Associated Press, 5/15/08]

FEC Says McCain Cannot Withdraw From Public Financing System. According to the New York Times, the FEC release a letter in February that "said Mr. McCain could not withdraw from public financing until he had answered questions about a $4 million line of credit for borrowing that was secured, in part, in December by the promise of federal matching money." [New York Times, 2/22/08]

McCain: A Third Bush Term

McCain's Health Care Plan Does Little to Help America's Uninsured. McCain's plan does not focus on "reducing the ranks of the uninsured," of which there are about 47 million, or one in seven Americans. According to the New York Times, "The McCain campaign has no estimate of how many of America's 47 million uninsured would likely gain coverage under its plan." [Wall Street Journal, 10/11/2007; New York Times, 3/2/2008]

McCain Said US May Stay In Iraq For 100 Years. At a New Hampshire town hall when McCain was asked "President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years." McCain responded: "Maybe 100" and "that would be fine with me." [McCain Town Hall, Derry NH Opera House 1/3/2008]

McCain Wants To Make Bush's Tax Cuts For the Wealthy Permanent. At a debate earlier this year McCain said "I'm disappointed because I think it's very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already." [MSNBC Debate, Boca Raton Florida, 1/24/08]

Source-All American Patriots