Ok, lets look at this..
Does this rise (500%) include seizures, and the truly observable testable effects of autism or is this the 'spectrum' which can include so called higly functioning folks?
Posted on 07/23/2008 11:24:54 AM PDT by mainestategop
>> Savage is an entertainer, but one with a scientific background, which neither you nor I have. Since his opinion doesn’t affect me one way or another, I’m willing to let him express it on HIS radio show, rather than be dragged into an emotional reaction by Media Matters.
My opinion of Savage has nothing to do with Media Matters, and very little to do with this particular tirade. His scientific background does not grant him expertise on everything, and certainly doesn’t grant him license to be an arrogant ass.
I never disputed that he is free to express his poorly reasoned, mego-maniacal, manic-depressive, imprudently phrased opinions on HIS radio show. More often than not, I agree with his overall conclusions (i.e. that ADD can be overdiagnosed, and possibly Autism as well). I disagree with his methodology, his obnoxious demeanor, his propensity for thoughtlessly shooting his mouth off, and his distinct lack of skill in supporting his opinions (aside from shouting “Get off my phone!”).
The fact that his fundamental conclusions are right most of the time is entirely irrelevant to my determination that he has an entirely repugnant personality. Though he is free to spout his opinions — I am nonetheless free to observe that Mike Savage is a first-rate nutcase, an arrogant gasbag, and does more harm than good for conservatism.
H
We don’t know his methodology. Obnoxious is a value judgment not provable empirically. All we know is his on-air personna, and he fights with the tools he has available for causes he believes in passionately.
Get off my phone is Glenn Beck, copied by Mark Levin. Interestingly, both Beck and Savage claim to be the #3 most listened to show in talk radio.
It’s the campaign to emasculate American boys through the classroom.
By treating the entire “autism spectrum” as this disease, the med-ed complex builds its grant money and fortunes. Are 99.9% fakers? No. Are there professional autism diagnosers who are helped financially by expanding the range of what we call autism into odd but benign behaviors often seen in growing children but correctible by PERSISTENT and proper parenting? Yes. Given that I know no profoundly autistic people but four “diagnosed” with Agsperger’s, who function quite nicely when they are not coddled, I have to believe the evidence of my eyes that the range of what we currently call autism needs to be shrunk considerably. This would injure the medical establishment and give teachers one less excuse for failure to teach. If Savage does not go over the top, are we even having this discussion?
>> Obnoxious is a value judgment not provable empirically.
I see nothing particularly wrong with a value judgment — the man is an obnoxious windbag. Who said I had to prove it empirically?
>> All we know is his on-air personna, and he fights with the tools he has available for causes he believes in passionately.
Passion is not a substitute for talent. The fact that his only available tools are self-righteous arrogance, shouting, barking, and shooting his mouth off reflects poorly on him specifically, and, by association, conservatism generally.
Were I a liberal trying to create an obnoxious conservative caricature, I couldn’t think of a better example than Savage. He embodies every single stereotypical misconception liberals and moderates have about conservatives.
>> Get off my phone is Glenn Beck, copied by Mark Levin. Interestingly, both Beck and Savage claim to be the #3 most listened to show in talk radio.
Savage isn’t even in the same league as Beck or Levin.
H
What's "over the top" in your book? If this post was all about him saying 90 % blah blah blah, I doubt Id even be posting. But 99.9 % is indefensible polemic, and makes him and everybody who swears by him look like fanatical idiots.
Michael has a talent- that is, he can get people to listen to him. This is a marketable talent, and the market judges all.
What you call shooting his mouth off is his value judgment, sometimes not provable empirically. Remember that he works in radio, where you must be “hot” to draw interest.
Interesting discussion, but you seem angry. I don’t exactly agree or disagree with your statements, but I pick my spots for emotional investment.
This isn’t one of those.
Your points are very well-taken. Don’t fret when Nonstatist keeps going back to his same talking points even after they’ve been answered — in the manner of Leftists. I consider that a good thing. Without his broken record we wouldn’t have thought of how best to answer him.
He cannot have helped to have noticed (as is easily inferred from your last point) that this brouhaha has alerted many more parents to the mounting threat to them and their children.
We at FR know that Leftists work constantly to fool worried parents into relinquishing care for their children to the state and thus to them. Someone who chose the Freepname “nonstatist” could hardly not be delighted with anything that loudly exposes such threats.
>> Interesting discussion, but you seem angry.
Not in the least.
H
my Niece who works with kids brought this up, she mentioned that her dad, my brother, has Asperger syndrome. She seemed a bit suprised when I could not restrain myself from laughing.
Asperger is another name for shy, its a personality trait not a disorder! Still I doubt that 99% of cases are fake but there are certainly kids being labeled as sick that are not broken in any way and that can have an effect on their self perception for life..
Noby is saying full blown autism is not real people are saying the spectrum is bunk. Socially withdrawn, yet intelligent kids are not sick they are future engineers ;)
Ok, lets look at this..
Does this rise (500%) include seizures, and the truly observable testable effects of autism or is this the 'spectrum' which can include so called higly functioning folks?
The definition of autism as defined on the autism website makes it clear that about 80 % of people with autism, as defined , have less than "normal" IQ, which is about 80. Thats not even 10 % of the population to work off of, starting off. These kids are barely teachable to begin with. Coupled with the seizures, and the rocking and othjer odd behavior,, autism itself is clearly a REAL, measurable, neurological disorder with hundreds of thousands of victims. (Does anybody say Down's Syndrome is a "fake" ?) And it is much, much more prevalent than 20 years ago.
As for the "spectrum", thats just designed to be scammed, especially for people looking for govt handouts like special schooling and so on. No denying that, but I would point out that Workplace disability is also a big government scam and in places like California there have been studies that as much as 40 % (!) of people on Disability are just plain faking it (ie walking with a fake limp, fake bad back, etc).... But I don't see Savage saying its 99.9 % fake (some of his listeners would scalp him if he tried to demagogue that handout)
so again we fall to the fact youre having a hissy fit about the language and not what he was talking about...
His clarification pretty much said what you were addressing in your second paragraph..
Don’t you DARE rip Dr. Jay Gordon. He is one of the most caring doctors I know. He will call, on his own time, parents of sick kids who aren’t even his patients, and ask how they are doing. He is on a parenting email loop and offers his expert, kind, decent care and advice freely. He is far more interested in healthy, whole children than in the drugs and vaccines so often pushed down pediatricians’ throats. He is a gem among physicians.
Okay, Savage can distort whatever he wants as long as the cause is just and he gets peoples attenion. As if he really wants to go anywhere with this, other than higher ratings.
For those people who actually have a brain, you might want to ask yourself..
Why would any parent want to have his or her child diagnosed with a developmental disability? What would be the educational or emotional gain for parents to have their children diagnosed with autism?
You might think its mostly a scam for money , but its not. Michael Savage is mostly a scam for money.
It IS A scam for money. Mainly disability pensions, extra pay for government employees in schools ETC. In a few instances it has also been a scam for control and oppression.
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