Glenn Beck, Coming and Going

Today, Glenn Beck shut down his highly successful and controversial news commentary cable television program on the Fox News Network. During his two and a half years on Fox, Beck's mantra has been to "question with boldness," which drew the ire and disdain of many inside and outside the beltway.

The questions Beck asked were not willy-nilly queries for the purpose of high ratings, but in his words "when something did not make sense." Something that did not make sense was President Obama's appointment of Van Jones as the green jobs czar, a self-admitted Communist, 9/11 truther, and re-distribution of wealth proponent. When the questions kept coming, Jones submitted his resignation during the 2010 Labor Day holiday weekend.

Is it illegal to be a Communist in the United States, or to believe the Bush administration was involved in the 9/ll terror attacks? The answer to these questions is, no, but the puzzling presence of someone with Jones political beliefs so close to the President, only generated more questions which prompted his resignation. Then there were the questions about the community organizers group, ACORN.

Beck questioned the financial ethics of ACORN founder, Wade Rathke, and the group's voter intimidation and fraud tactics it used across the country. The questions led to Congressional hearings that resulted in federal de-funding for the group. But, Beck not only questioned, he used his program to challenge citizens to learn the history of their country.

In 2010, Beck began his Founder's Friday shows that delved into the history of the United States, and the men and women who shaped its early beginnings. In addition to the country's most famous founding fathers; George Washington, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin, there were some surprises.

Two little known facts were learned for the first time by many. A black man had signed the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush, and the first American killed in the Revolutionary War may have been Crispus Attucks, another black man. The Founder's Friday telecasts led to another milestone during Beck's tenure at Fox.

On August 28, 2010, Beck led out at the "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The crowd attending was estimated to be between 300,000 to 400,000. The religious leaders who spoke ranged from Muslim, Christian, and Judaism, and attendees in the crowd were of every ethnicity. But today, Beck acknowledged that the season for his Fox program had come to an end.

In addition to his syndicated radio talk show, speaking engagements, and his website, Beck's new venture is GBTV, a live video streaming network. Love him or hate him, he is not going away.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/06/obama-green-jobs-adviser-van-jones-resigns-amid-controversy/

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/28/thousands-expected-glenn-beck-rally-civil-rights-leaders-protest-event/

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2009/09/house_votes_to_end_federal_fun.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,595370,00.html

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-08-29/news/27073946_1_crowd-high-estimates-rally-attendees

http://www.glennbeck.com/2011/06/06/glenn-beck-and-mercury-radio-arts-announce-gbtv-home-of-glenns-new-two-hour-show/