Glenn Beck Slanders Maurice Strong To Deride Climate Bill

For almost 40 years, Maurice Strong has dedicated his life to spreading an environmental message around the globe. Now, he is finally getting recognized, thanks to entertainer Glenn Beck. Beck was looking for an additional yarn to spin following the Senate climate change bill, spearheaded by Democrat John Kerry, was unveiled Wednesday, and thus the Glenn Beck/Maurice Strong pairing took place.

Maurice Strong and Glenn Beck

Maurice Strong has had a long history with global warming. With a leading voice on global warming, Strong is a wealthy Canadian who served as Secretary General of both the 1992 Rio Environment Summit and the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Promoting global warming as a sinister large government plot is Glenn Beck, who has managed to avoid debt consolidation by inflating bogus conspiracy theories. The Maurice Strong conspiracy, Glenn Beck's latest pack of lies about the Senate climate change bill, was a no-brainer.

Glenn Beck's Maurice Strong quotes

As he promoted the principle of environmental sustainability for decades, Maurice Strong's global warming stance developed. Maurice Strong quotes have kindled the creative juices of online conspiracy theorists for a while now. Beck opened his show Wednesday with a screen graphic of a quote attributed to Maurice Strong by a journalist 20 years ago:

What if a small group of these world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? In order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn't the only hope for the planet that the| industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsibility to bring this about?

Cynical Glenn Beck

Beck then set the paranoia in motion with his ominous studio theatrics. Such tricks contain flamboyant visual aids and running his voice through filters to make him sound godlike. He eventually unveils his whopper:

Now, I want to be very clear here because we talked to the reporter that did this interview in 1990 up in Canada. And I want to be very clear: He [Strong] was fantasizing about a plot of a novel he was thinking about writing. [Pause for dramatic effect] Yeah.

Glenn Beck's Maurice Strong payoff

Beck then watered a little seed of paranoia that will grow into the echo chamber of his audience: Strong actually has not written any novels given that 1990 - or ever:

You know what? He's been busy. He's got this great novel idea, but he hasn't had time to do it because he's involved in collapsing the global economies into the hands of a global government. Isn't that interesting? It's almost like his book. Hmm. Maybe it's performance art.

Maurice Strong's Glenn Beck bounce

After Beck co-opted Maurice Strong quotes to denounce the Senate Climate change bill, Beck's congregation went online to learn a lot more about this evil megalomaniac. Maurice Strong was among some of the hottest internet search terms. Beck believers found plenty of fodder to support the kernel of hokum planted in their minds. But it is not for certain that Beck's minion bothered to check mauricestrong.net, which defines the truth behind comments Beck and numerous of his ilk have twisted. You can bet they avoided the post on mediamatters.com debunking Beck's phony analysis also.

Gutless Glenn Beck

Maurice Strong was not invited to Glenn Beck's show. He may are scared off by Maurice Strong's site, which offers a response to the conspiracy theories that are bandied about over the years. In particular, Maurice Strong provides the proper context to the quote Beck latched onto -- first used by Peter Foster, a columnist for Canada's Financial Post:

A particularly dishonest statement by long-time critic Peter Foster to his own editor, citing a fictional account which was clearly stated to be an extreme scenario of what might happen by the year 2030 if we failed to act. This specifically stated that it was not a prediction, and certainly not a recommendation, but the kind of prospect we must seek to avoid.

Maurice Strong receives his next honor

In recognition of his commitment to preserving the planet for future generations, Maurice Strong has received many honors. On May 29, he can be receiving the Freedom from Want Award. Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedom Awards consist of the Freedom from Want Award. Glenn Beck did not mention this fact to his audience. Strong is 81-years old, and he probably won't be around in 2030. But if the world listens to him, rather than Glen Beck's fabrication, maybe the world will just be a better place by then.