# Glenn Beck has Macular Degeneration **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098 "2010-07-26T20:59:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/1 "2010-07-26T20:59:35Z")
I heard on Howard Stern of all places (don’t judge me, it’s a rental car with satellite radio) that Glenn Beck has a new diagnosis of Macular Degeneration. I don’t see any comment on the Dope about it, so I thought I’d mention it. I’m not a fan of Glenn Beck. His only role in my life is to provide John Stewart with something to talk about now that GW is gone away. However, Macular Degeneration really sucks. The macula is the focal point of the eye, so in you can see peripherally, but you can’t see what you look at. You can’t read, but you can still walk. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/2 "2010-07-26T21:03:55Z")
Nitpick: [Macular Dystrophy](http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/21/what-is-glenn-becks-eye-disorder/). But still not something you, eh. . . look forward to.:o ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/3 "2010-07-26T21:07:12Z")
I should have seen that joke coming. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/4 "2010-07-26T21:09:18Z")
While I wouldn’t wish blindness (or more likely vision impairment) on anybody, I admit that when I heard about it I couldn’t help but think this: [God] _I’ll_ give you something to cry about! [/God] ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/5 "2010-07-26T21:11:17Z")
Does he also have hair on his palms? ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/6 "2010-07-26T21:11:38Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Nitpick: [Macular Dystrophy](http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/21/what-is-glenn-becks-eye-disorder/). But still not something you, eh. . . look forward to.:o My error. Thanks for pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/7 "2010-07-26T21:12:19Z")
That explains why every issue is left or right, he can’t see the middle. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/8 "2010-07-26T21:22:01Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I’m not a fan of Glenn Beck. His only role in my life is to provide John Stewart with something to talk about now that GW is gone away. However, Macular Degeneration really sucks. The macula is the focal point of the eye, so in you can see peripherally, but you can’t see what you look at. You can’t read, but you can still walk. I was at an optometrist last year and the guy was doing close-up shots of my eyeball. He put the slides up on the computer, turned to me seriously and said, ‘‘Have you ever heard of macular degeneration?’’ ‘‘Uh…No.’’ :eek: ‘‘Ah, well this right here is your macula, as you can see it’s pretty healthy…’’ ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/9 "2010-07-26T21:27:56Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > That explains why every issue is left or right, he can’t see the middle. Oooooh!!! Good one! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/10 "2010-07-26T21:38:26Z")
Okay. I’m going to hell. Big deal. But all I could think of is [Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-faCh8BUEts) ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/11 "2010-07-26T21:48:47Z")
> [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > I was at an optometrist last year and the guy was doing close-up shots of my eyeball. He put the slides up on the computer, turned to me seriously and said, ‘‘Have you ever heard of macular degeneration?’’ > > ‘‘Uh…No.’’ :eek: > > ‘‘Ah, well this right here is your macula, as you can see it’s pretty healthy…’’ Man, that guy should be an oncologist 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/12 "2010-07-26T21:48:53Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay. I’m going to hell. Big deal. But all I could think of is [Victim In Fatal Car Accident Tragically Not Glenn Beck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-faCh8BUEts) Perhaps he was allegedly the cause of said accident. He’s never denied it after all. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/13 "2010-07-26T21:56:49Z")
Doesn’t Beck admit to putting something in his eyes to “make” him cry - Vick’s Vaporub or something? Would that have anything to do with his condition? Anyway…it’s hard for me to dredge up much sympathy for such a disgusting piece of work as Beck. Now, if Rush would just lose his vocal chords and Hannity (or O’Reilly - take your pick) would lose his hearing, we would have “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.” Or, maybe more appropriately, “deaf, dumb, and blind.” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/14 "2010-07-26T22:10:29Z")
Nice to see such tolerance and compassion from the left wing. I thought conservatives were supposed to be the mean-spirited ones? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/15 "2010-07-26T22:18:52Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Nice to see such tolerance and compassion from the left wing. I thought conservatives were supposed to be the mean-spirited ones? Oh they are. Beck is probably the single most vile public figure with a podium in America. Anything said in this thread is orders of magnitude less offensive than anything Beck says on a daily basis. He personally has made otherwise sane Americans believe stupid lies. ACORN, the New Black Panthers and a thousand other trumped up issues have been spread by him. It is a fact that America would be a better place if he couldn’t read his teleprompter. I’m sad a human is potentially going blind. I’m happy that potentially a lying, scumbag, hate-merchant might be forced out of his TV Gig. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/16 "2010-07-26T22:20:21Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Does he also have hair on his palms? His political wankery is catching up to him. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/17 "2010-07-26T22:21:39Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > > [@joebuck20](#): > > > > Does he also have hair on his palms? > > His political wankery is catching up to him. :smack: Maybe those aren’t tears! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/18 "2010-07-26T22:24:29Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > > > Nice to see such tolerance and compassion from the left wing. I thought conservatives were supposed to be the mean-spirited ones? > > Oh they are. Beck is probably the single most vile public figure with a podium in America. Anything said in this thread is orders of magnitude less offensive than anything Beck says on a daily basis. > > He personally has made otherwise sane Americans believe stupid lies. ACORN, the New Black Panthers and a thousand other trumped up issues have been spread by him. It is a fact that America would be a better place if he couldn’t read his teleprompter. > > I’m sad a human is potentially going blind. I’m happy that potentially a lying, scumbag, hate-merchant might be forced out of his TV Gig. He won’t be, not over **this,** anyway. There’s such things as earbuds and braille terminals. ---
**Author:** ![Cinebar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Cinebar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinebar)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/19 "2010-07-26T22:26:21Z")
Do we even know for a fact it’s true? I wouldn’t put it past Beck (or Blech) to make this up for some sort of personal gain - publicity, profit, or sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098/20 "2010-07-26T22:29:35Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > He won’t be, not over **this,** anyway. There’s such things as earbuds and braille terminals. Yeah, that’s true. I suppose he could sob and tear throughout the whole show if he had a braille keyboard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-has-macular-degeneration/548098.md?page=2)