GLENN BECK'S REEFER MADNESS

Glenn Beck's Conspiracy So Vast just gets bigger and bigger. We know he thinks the Muslim Brotherhood, the U.N., and American unions are all in cahoots. Well, now we see Beck (or at least Jonathon Seidl, a writer for one of Beck's sites, The Blaze) linking international leftist groups to "hippie" protesters in Wisconsin (quote marks Seidl's, not mine) whom no one actually saw smoking pot but whom Beck and Seidl are sure must have been smoking pot because ... they're singing and dancing and playing drums! And an unnamed observer smelled pot! And what's worse, the cops did nothing!

It's crazy to summarize this -- I'm just going to reproduce the post from Beck's site verbatim. The link to sinister internationalism is in the first video. The embarrassing echoes of every clueless anti-drug screed of the past century are throughout:

DID POLICE IGNORE 'HIPPIE' RAVE AT WIS. CAPITOL AND 'BRO DOWN' WITH PROTESTERS?

Posted on February 25, 2011 at 6:27pm by Jonathon M. Seidl Jonathon M. Seidl

They were images that were odd, and to some shocking. In the halls of the Wisconsin Capitol on Saturday, young people banged drums, danced around, and blew horns as socialists and Marxist signs looked on. It was a scene described to The Blaze by a disgusted observer as a drug and alcohol-infested rave that Capitol police ignored. And while the Capitol Police deny those charges, it seems one prominent protester noticed something interesting, too.

Originally we brought you video of the alleged "substance-fueled" rave on Monday. That video showed protesters dancing, banging drums, and playing loud music in the halls of the Capitol:



Now we've uncovered video suggesting Capitol police are supporting the protesters. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who joined the protesters over the weekend, noticed the "hippie drum circles" in the Capitol, too. But he also noticed something else: the cops were very buddy-buddy with the protesters.

In an interview with GritTV, Morello admitted he was "broing down with the cops," meaning that instead of having to "sneak" around the police, he said, some of them were openly expressing support for the unions and stopping to take pictures with Morello:



That's interesting considering that we've obtained extended footage of the alleged "substance-fueled" rave (or the "hippie drum circle"). The new video shows police standing by, and watching, as the party rages on:



We called the Capitol Police to see if anyone noticed, or reported, on the alleged substance use in the Capitol. According to the police, no.

Capitol Police spokeswoman Carla Vigue told us no arrests had been made from Saturday on, and no one has reported any drug or alcohol use within the Capitol or on Capitol grounds.

"The protesters have been very peaceful and very cooperative," she said. Regarding the possibility of people using substances, with specific reference to the video of them looking on, she added, "That would never be able to happen."

She cited the "couple hundred" police patrolling the Capitol each day in making her statement. Because of security protocol, she said she could not detail exactly where police were stationed but said generally police were roaming "all over."

So what does this mean? In the end it's a he-said-she-said. Vigue denied police were joining in with protesters and, according to her, drug and alcohol use inside the Capitol could "never happen." The disgusted observer suggested otherwise, and Morello claims police were "down" with protesters and expressing their union support.

At minimum, then, couldn't you say such events are at least a possibility? We asked the Capitol police that question in a follow-up. We have yet to hear back.

Wow. There are no words.

I haven't smoked pot in more than twenty years, and I suddenly want to start up again just so I can read this thread while high. Just the quotation marks would be mind-bogglingly hilarious.