Orcinus takes us inside the diseased mind of wingnut psychopath Michael Savage, and it is not a pretty thing. He doesn’t think the tsunami was a tragedy, and he almost seems to think it was a useful means of thinning out Muslim populations. And for killing those sexually deviant Thais.
You need to see this to comprehend how twisted Savage is. Now, normally I wouldn’t waste much space on the rantings of scum like this, but it’s important you remember this: Just a year ago Savage was a host of a show on mainstream cable news network MSNBC. Before that, I used to listen to him on a mainstream talk radio station as I drove home from work. His books regularly make it onto the New York Times Bestseller Lists.
Savage is the perfect example of a topic Orcinus writes about frequently, i.e., the creeping of fringe freeper thinking into the mainstream media, an ominous pattern that started with Rush Limbaugh. Not long ago these ignoramuses would have been laughed at as clowns, as idiots, as goons. Now, Ann Coulter is an “analyst” on Fox News and these charlatans have become acceptable participants in our mainstream media.
Remember, Hitler was the butt of jokes for years before he assumed power. He was off to the extreme right, totally on the fringe. But somehow he managed to seep his messages into the mainstream consciousness, and soon, before anyone could even understand what was happening, his messages were not only okay, they were embraced by millions.
There’s no evidence that we’re in danger of succumbing to a Hitler (yet), but there’s ample evidence that violent, ugly, dangerous, thuggish messages are indeed becoming mainstream. It’s okay for protestors to be arrested for wearing an offensive T-shirt at a Bush rally. It’s okay to defend torture. It’s okay to hold people incommunicado without charges indefinitely. It’s okay to weaken our congressional ethics rules and to bribe journalists. It’s okay to spit on Muslims and even to openly discuss putting them in internment camps.
Anyone who wants a refresher course on this phenomenon, and anyone who doubts its existence, should comb through the Orcinus blog. You can’t say we weren’t warned.
1
By lisa
arrested for wearing an offensive T-shirt at a Bush ralley? How about those folks who were arrested for wearing T-shirts that said “Protect Freedom of Speech” or whatever it was???
January 7, 2005 @ 4:09 pm | Comment
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By richard
That’s just the sort of thing I mean — it’s offensive to Bush because it defends freedom, and therefore must be crushed. Of course, Bush is always talking about freedom, but when it comes to protecting the freedoms of his own people he’s done a disgraceful job.
January 7, 2005 @ 4:24 pm | Comment
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By Forrest
You’ve got great stuff up here today, Richard…
Thanks for this one…
January 7, 2005 @ 4:27 pm | Comment
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By American Bodhisattva
http://bodhisattva.no-ip.org/?p=107
We’lll begin with Michael Savage. First, some ratings information from a page praising him. By sizzling with passion at KSFO Michael Savage Soared to #1 Arbitron ratings among adults 12+ during afternoon drivetime in San Francisco and to be the top ta…
January 7, 2005 @ 5:59 pm | Comment
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By Tom - Daai Tou Laam
Jesus’ General followed up on the Al Neuharth incident to track down some of “the Red Guards” in the “Great Christian Cultural Revolution”.
This follows-up on how individuals follow-up on hate-mongers like Savage and continue spreading the hate in a passionate viral fashion.
Patriotboy in this follow-up post shows that the freepers can’t detect sarcasm with the obvious use of Cultural Revolution vocabulary.
“””Yes, I’m a general in the Red Guard of the Glorious Christian Cultural Revolution. As Our Leader commands, we will rid America of the “Four Olds,” tolerance, compassion, liberty, and reason.””” Parody at it’s sweetest.
January 7, 2005 @ 6:41 pm | Comment
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By James Palmer
Bloody great Firewall blocks blogspot (but not Livejournal, oddly). Does anybody know a means of circumventing it?
J.
January 7, 2005 @ 7:02 pm | Comment
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By richard
Tom, thanks for those great links. Jesus’ General is a genius.
James, there are all sorts of ways to confound the Great Cybernanny but I’ve been away too long to know the latest tricks. Can somebody help??
January 7, 2005 @ 7:57 pm | Comment
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By vaara
But of course, to the wingnuts Limbaugh and Savage are merely “entertainers,” so nothing they say should be taken seriously.
Something that they inevitably fail to do whenever an actual entertainer (but only a liberal one) mouths off about politics.
January 8, 2005 @ 3:17 am | Comment
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By emile
I usually use anonymouse, but it seems that it’s down for the moment. It should be back tomorrow.
January 8, 2005 @ 7:33 am | Comment
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By Lisa
did anyone watch the Senate/House arguments on Ohio? Some of the Republicans’ comments were perilously close to talk radio rhetoric. I call it the Republican microchip. When activated, they are only capable of mouthing the day’s talking points from the RNC.
Watching the Gonzales confirmation hearings and listening to Lindsay Graham was a huge relief – the first Republican politician I’ve heard in ages who seems to have genuine morals and isn’t spouting the party line.
January 8, 2005 @ 11:22 am | Comment
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By Forrest
Lisa, I noticed that too.
They tried to make it seem as if Boxer and Tubbs Jones were trying to overturn the election results, which was ridiculous and completely wrong. But it got their supporters fired up and angry; a few conservative callers got put on the air during the vote on CSPAN, but fortunately ever a couple of them were disgusted with the Republicans for not supporting an investigation.
January 8, 2005 @ 12:50 pm | Comment
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By richard
Lisa: I call it the Republican microchip. When activated, they are only capable of
mouthing the day’s talking points from the RNC.
And tragically, that ability to all sing in unison is why they may well hold onto power for many years to come. It’s certainly why they are there now, Staying om-message is everything in US politics, where people hate to think for themselves and are susceptible to repetition and simplicity. The Republicans understand this and expoit it magnificently, while the Dems scratch their heads wondering how an educated people can fall for such nonsense. When will my party ever learn?
January 8, 2005 @ 1:59 pm | Comment
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By Lisa
Well, it’s the singing in unison and having the right wing echo chamber – talk radio and cable TV – to reinforce the message…even if the Dems can come up with the Democratic microchip, we will have a much harder time getting our message reinforced.
January 8, 2005 @ 9:00 pm | Comment
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By Anonymous
viagra for the brain?
January 9, 2005 @ 8:57 pm | Comment
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By Anonymous
GWM needs some
January 9, 2005 @ 8:57 pm | Comment
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By Anonymous
that should bee GWB
January 9, 2005 @ 8:58 pm | Comment