# Glenn Beck turns up the nuttery re: ISIS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 30, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374 "2015-08-30T04:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/1 "2015-08-30T04:11:28Z")
Not that he hasn’t taken a few strolls down the crazy path before, but now he’s got whole new level of nuttery in his “plan” to take down ISIS: fuel-air bombs to suck the oxygen out of the air, because our current “flower and cupcakes” approach (??) isn’t working. Neither is our being “trapped in a politically correct box.” (??) (Is that like being trapped in the closet?) Oh, never mind that ISIS members are mingled into the civilian population. Who cares, right? Just suck the oxygen away from everyone, and sooner or later you’re bound to hit your actual targets. P.S. Of course, he’s “pro-life.” ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/2 "2015-08-30T04:19:39Z")
[It sounds like he is starting to use that on his own audience](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-becks-simple-solution-defeating-isis-destroy-them-fuel-air-bombs): > [@](#): > > “That’s what has to happen to win a war,” he said. "You suck the air out the room, you make your opponent gasp. Nobody sucks the air out of the room like Beck. I’m not sure why we should care. however. He has no serious audience, (mostly Limbaugh leftovers). Limbaugh is clearly a liar and Hannity clearly a partisan, but Beck is just stupid. (He is also a liar, but mostly he is stupid.) ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/3 "2015-08-30T06:46:24Z")
I hear these vague descriptions of fuel-air bombs “sucking the oxygen out of a room” and sometimes described as “vacuum bombs” and they don’t seem to make any sense. There is no way a bomb (or any device) can create a vacuum for any significant period of time unless it somehow magically constructs a pressure vessel. And the only way a fuel-air bomb could consume the oxygen in a space is if it fills that space with fuel and consumes the oxygen through combustion. In that case, a lack of oxygen will be the least of your worries because you will have been burned to death and possibly blown into bits. Do these bombs actually do anything thing other than burning things and blowing things up like a normal bomb? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/4 "2015-08-30T07:05:48Z")
Ordinary bomb just fills the air with shrapnel, blows you to bits and then burns the bits. This one does all of that, and then smothers you. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/5 "2015-08-30T07:37:49Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > I hear these vague descriptions of fuel-air bombs “sucking the oxygen out of a room” and sometimes described as “vacuum bombs” and they don’t seem to make any sense. There is no way a bomb (or any device) can create a vacuum for any significant period of time unless it somehow magically constructs a pressure vessel. And the only way a fuel-air bomb could consume the oxygen in a space is if it fills that space with fuel and consumes the oxygen through combustion. In that case, a lack of oxygen will be the least of your worries because you will have been burned to death and possibly blown into bits. > > Do these bombs actually do anything thing other than burning things and blowing things up like a normal bomb? From Wiki: [Thermobaric weapon - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermobaric_weapon) > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Fuel-air explosive > A fuel-air explosive (FAE) device consists of a container of fuel and two separate explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge bursts open the container at a predetermined height and disperses the fuel in a cloud that mixes with atmospheric oxygen (the size of the cloud varies with the size of the munition). The cloud of fuel flows around objects and into structures. The second charge then detonates the cloud, creating a massive blast wave. The blast wave destroys unreinforced buildings and equipment and kills and injures people. The antipersonnel effect of the blast wave is more severe in foxholes, on people with body armor, and in enclosed spaces such as caves, buildings, and bunkers. > > Fuel-air explosives were first developed, and used in Vietnam, by the United States. Soviet scientists, however, quickly developed their own FAE weapons, which were reportedly used against China in the Sino-Soviet border conflict and in Afghanistan. Since then, research and development has continued and currently Russian forces field a wide array of third-generation FAE warheads. > > Effect[edit] > A Human Rights Watch report of 1 February 2000[27] quotes a study made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency: > > \*\*The [blast] kill mechanism against living targets is unique–and unpleasant… What kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction [vacuum], which ruptures the lungs… \*\*If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned and will probably also inhale the burning fuel. Since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents. > > According to a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency study,[27] “the effect of an FAE explosion within confined spaces is immense. Those near the ignition point are obliterated. Those at the fringe are likely to suffer many internal, and thus invisible injuries, including burst eardrums and crushed inner ear organs, severe concussions, ruptured lungs and internal organs, and possibly blindness.” Another Defense Intelligence Agency document speculates that because the “shock and pressure waves cause minimal damage to brain tissue…it is possible that victims of FAEs are not rendered unconscious by the blast, but instead suffer for several seconds or minutes while they suffocate.”[28] Emphasis mine. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/6 "2015-08-30T09:55:39Z")
That’s what Assads barrel bombs are doing. Or rather not just the oxygen out of the air, but air itself. The vacuum will rip the lungs right out of your body. Can’t really say why he’s so eager to send US troops back to fight another war in the Middle East, I thought the neocons had had their beating and learned their lesson. But if you absolutely have to go once more into the Mid East fray then there’s nothing wrong with ripping the lungs out of your enemies either. If you have to go to town, then go to fucking town. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/7 "2015-08-30T10:20:13Z")
My question is: What do stupid Republicans think about stupid Glenn Beck? One might expect that some levels of stupidity are too far gone even for Republicans (though Republicans have exceeded such expectations in the past). ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/8 "2015-08-30T15:47:21Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Can’t really say why he’s so eager to send US troops back to fight another war in the Middle East, I thought the neocons had had their beating and learned their lesson. The Neocons think Iraq was a success that was ruined because of Obama pulling the troops out too early. Yes, they are that stupid. No, they don’t learn any lessons. If JEB gets elected, he’ll bring the same people back into office and make the same mistakes all over again. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/9 "2015-08-30T20:13:51Z")
In fairness, I don’t think many of them _actually_ think that. They just say it for another chance to knock Obama. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/10 "2015-08-30T20:51:10Z")
Glenn Beck makes Gov. Walker look smart. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/11 "2015-09-01T14:46:59Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > My question is: What do stupid Republicans think about stupid Glenn Beck? Obviously they think he is the second coming of Christ. And only the most Holy Beck can save mankind from the ebils of the Democratic Satanic Cult. But Satan is almost out of office and one of the most Holy Becks’ disciples will be in charge, praise be. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/12 "2015-09-01T14:52:11Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > [It sounds like he is starting to use that on his own audience](http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-becks-simple-solution-defeating-isis-destroy-them-fuel-air-bombs):Nobody sucks the air out of the room like Beck. > > I’m not sure why we should care. however. He has no serious audience, (mostly Limbaugh leftovers). Limbaugh is clearly a liar and Hannity clearly a partisan, but Beck is just stupid. (He is also a liar, but mostly he is stupid.) Yeah, he drools all the way to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glenn-beck-turns-up-the-nuttery-re-isis/729374/13 "2015-09-01T15:17:40Z")
“You’ve never met a more flawed guy than me.” — Glenn Beck Doesn’t he have his University to run or has that had a Heritage-USA-like implosion?