(Newser)
–
A group of ultra-right-wingers in Idaho who want to start their own community and live "in accordance with Thomas Jefferson's ideal of rightful liberty"? That's like catnip for Jon Stewart, who spent more than 10 minutes on last night's Daily Show focused on the idea. Who would lead such a community? Freedom lover Glenn Beck, of course, who just recently came up with his own idea for a similar "freedom town." But Beck's "Independence USA" has its own set of rules: There's no Gap or Ann Taylor allowed in the Marketplace, for example; all the food must be local; no fireworks or hot dogs are allowed on the 4th of July; and Beck has some very specific requirements for how neighborhoods look.
It sounds more like "a perfect Marxist utopia" where Beck controls everything, Stewart noted. "Glenn Beck's vision for this town tells you a lot about the freedom fetishists who swear at every turn that their opponents' attempts to govern democratically are tyrannical assaults on our founding freedoms. But they don’t really believe in freedom, 'freedom to.’ They believe in ‘freedom from.’ Freedom from liberals. From people they disagree with. From the sensibly priced clothing of Ann Taylor. These folks that cloak themselves in patriotism pretending they alone can reveal the true intent of our constitution are not our founding fathers reincarnate. They’re just another shitty neighborhood association whose nostalgic utopia will fall apart the minute somebody decides to paint their house mauve."
