Michael Savage

[Empty Hands]

At first glance (or listen) this sounds down right insane, but having not listened to the entire show leading up to this point may leave a gap in understanding. ...If something sounds down right ridiculous, chances are it may have been taken out of context.

Saying insane, ridiculous, hateful, inflammatory things in a ranting rage filled voice is Michael Savage's entire business plan. I wouldn't worry too much about fleshing out the context. Some trenchant examples:

"Back when America was still moral and whole, our meatballs were big, soft, and tasty. Today, thanks mainly to the Demoncats, the libs, and the Commu-Nazis who rule the courts, America's meatballs are small, hard, and tasteless. In other words, we have replicated the Swedish meatball, which is what socialism brings."

"Liberalism is unraveling the very fabric of this great nation. And the sooner you understand that liberalism is a dangerous mental disorder, the sooner you can break free from this insanity that attacks the way you live, how you conduct your business, the way you worship, the choice of SUV you drive, the food you eat, and the very freedoms you enjoy."

"Had Mr. Bush gone along with Feinstein's request, you can be sure Barbara "Babs" Boxer would demand to be in the loop-in the interest of fairness. I guarantee it, two seconds after Babs put her hands on these national secrets, she'd be on a cell phone to someone in Brooklyn: 'You know what I just heard. Let me tell you, they're going to launch in two minutes. Oh yeah, it'll be over Afghanistan... No, I don't want you to tell anybody, it's just between you and me, and by the way, I had my nails done this morning. Oh, I had them done in pink, and yeah, were launching three B3 bombers in exactly twelve minutes but I tell you the truth, the jewelry I bought on QVC, it really doesn't hold up when I go on C-SPIN, you know, it looks a little cheap...'"

"They [babies] are being dissected, sometimes while still alive, and sold piece by piece. Ears for $75 a pair; arms and legs, $150; a brain for $999, tax not included... It's becoming a huge business. And some of this money is being funneled to the Democrat machine."

The guy is either dangerously insane or playing it for money, which makes him scum. Take your pick.

 

[Touch Of Death]

If Savage were talking about attention defecite dis-order I would tend to agree. Nurture and not nature is generaly the cause, but autism? Good Lord.
Sean

 

[Ninjamom]

....Mike Savage ....
Some trenchant examples:

"Liberalism is unraveling the very fabric of this great nation. And the sooner you understand that liberalism is a dangerous mental disorder, the sooner you can break free from this insanity that attacks the way you live, how you conduct your business, the way you worship, the choice of SUV you drive, the food you eat, and the very freedoms you enjoy."

Well, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.

The guy is either dangerously insane or playing it for money, which makes him scum. Take your pick.

I pick 'B. scum, Final answer.'

 

[Makalakumu]

Savage is a tool. Autism is the parents fault. Great explanation. The more people that buy it, the less will eventually sue.

No body with a radio show that big is ever going to tell you anything that isn't bought and paid for in some way.

 

[crushing]

Savage is a tool. Autism is the parents fault. Great explanation. The more people that buy it, the less will eventually sue.

No body with a radio show that big is ever going to tell you anything that isn't bought and paid for in some way.

I don't think I have ever heard Savage on the radio, but he does sound like quite the tool. But, at the same time, it seems to me that if a child has autism, he wasn't talking about that child.

Randy Rhodes, Don Imus, Mike Savage, and next. . .. Since 1984 was published and studied there was a tendency to think that 'Big Brother' was somebody else and not we the people. . .

 

[celtic_crippler]

Saying insane, ridiculous, hateful, inflammatory things in a ranting rage filled voice is Michael Savage's entire business plan. I wouldn't worry too much about fleshing out the context. Some trenchant examples:

"Back when America was still moral and whole, our meatballs were big, soft, and tasty. Today, thanks mainly to the Demoncats, the libs, and the Commu-Nazis who rule the courts, America's meatballs are small, hard, and tasteless. In other words, we have replicated the Swedish meatball, which is what socialism brings."

"Liberalism is unraveling the very fabric of this great nation. And the sooner you understand that liberalism is a dangerous mental disorder, the sooner you can break free from this insanity that attacks the way you live, how you conduct your business, the way you worship, the choice of SUV you drive, the food you eat, and the very freedoms you enjoy."

"Had Mr. Bush gone along with Feinstein's request, you can be sure Barbara "Babs" Boxer would demand to be in the loop-in the interest of fairness. I guarantee it, two seconds after Babs put her hands on these national secrets, she'd be on a cell phone to someone in Brooklyn: 'You know what I just heard. Let me tell you, they're going to launch in two minutes. Oh yeah, it'll be over Afghanistan... No, I don't want you to tell anybody, it's just between you and me, and by the way, I had my nails done this morning. Oh, I had them done in pink, and yeah, were launching three B3 bombers in exactly twelve minutes but I tell you the truth, the jewelry I bought on QVC, it really doesn't hold up when I go on C-SPIN, you know, it looks a little cheap...'"

"They [babies] are being dissected, sometimes while still alive, and sold piece by piece. Ears for $75 a pair; arms and legs, $150; a brain for $999, tax not included... It's becoming a huge business. And some of this money is being funneled to the Democrat machine."

The guy is either dangerously insane or playing it for money, which makes him scum. Take your pick.

Like I said, I wasn't defending Savage I was just calling for common sense over mob mentatlity.

Nobody ever disputed that Savage is or isn't a shock-jock. I thought the discussion was over the context of what he was saying which I took as whether or not the majority of children diagnosed with autism rarely have it and that huge pharmaceutical companies perpetuate illness without adequate proof to validate the use of their products in order to pad their profits at the expense of Americans; children in particular. IMHO that is a travesty, though I probably wouldn't have put it the same way he did.....but then again I'm not a shock-jock.

I think the larger issue is whether or not that claim is true, not whether or not Savage is offensive. Though the latter is easier to prove. LOL

 

[Tez3]

Am I right in thinking though that ther are few if any drugs that can be used to 'treat' autism? If I'm correct there would be no pressure from pharmacutical companies to push for diagnosis.
The key to bringing up children is to treat them as individuals not by gender or 'condition/syndrome' but as the people they are.
David CC this is my daughter you can decide for yourself how mannish she is!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=711844950

 

[shesulsa]

The only drugs that "treat" autism actually treat some effects of autism which mimic other things that have been successfully medicated before.

The drug du jour for Asperger and HFA (high functioning autism) people is Risperidone/Risperdal but it is only indicated in certain cases and is actually off-label use to prescribe it for the treatment of autistic symptoms. It is an antipsychotic generally used for schizophrenia and bipolar patients.

And yes, it is as expensive as hell. A low dose for my son costs around $450 per month.

But again - the need for that drug and others like it just aren't indicated in many cases of autism. The way autism is treated is mainly by sensory therapy, motor therapy, play therapy, speech and language therapy and psychological therapy geared toward social skills but only if the child is verbal. All in early intervention. Much more expensive than any drug and much harder to come by since most insurance companies won't pay for the treatment of autism.

You don't pop a pill for autism. The connection to big pharma isn't quite there.

The assumption that most autistic kids are popping pills really proves Savage knows NOTHING about the disorder and likens it to "allergies" and "ADD" which *are* often heavily medicated.

Autism is a Developmental Disorder with Neurological, immunological and digestive implications. It keeps a child from functioning in almost any capacity without diligent intervention and consistent, long-term aid.

Allergies can be tested for and medicated as necessary. ADHD can also be helped through some medications and through diet.

But there isn't a go-to drug for autism.

 

[DavidCC]

Did any of you listen to his show last night? he had a leader from the NAA on, and they had a great discussion about this topic. She was far from condemning him. They agreed on many points. SHE had actually listed to the entire segment, and not just some activist group's chosen excerpt.

he also re-iterated the context of his remark - he did not say that 99% of autistic kids needed better parenting - he was talking about 99% of mis-diagnosed kids. Which you wouldn't understand if you only read 2 paragraphs or listed to 60 seconds of the original broadcast.

It's not hard to be a little more thorough than just reading someone else's take on it. Apparently that is just little bit more work than most of you are willing to put in. Much more fun to demonize him and get all righteously angry, isn't it?

"The truly autistic are very ill and need all the help they can get." - Michael Savage, 7/21/08

 

[shesulsa]

From the audio clip:

"Now you want me to tell you my opinion on autism since I'm not talking about autism? A fraud. A racket. For a while we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudd ... why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because, I'll tell you why. The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Every kid was told "cough cough" when the nurse looks at you "cough cough cough" I dunno, the dust got me so everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one. Now the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out...."

Go to my original post, click on the link, play the excerpt yourself and at about 00:33 you will hear the bolded statement above.

I most certainly did listen to his tirade. Did you?

 

[Tez3]

Ill? No don't think that's right either! Shesulsa explained it clearly and properly, as she's one with experience I will go with what she says.
You simply can't blame things on bad parenting just because you feel it's that way, you need proof.
I'm not righteously angry not even angry and I have far better things to do with my time than waste it on someone who makes a living trying to shock people to up his radio ratings and bring more advertising in.

 

[shesulsa]

The whole point here is the blatant usage of outrageous, false, completely asinine statements that weaker minded people slurp up like candy to sell an opinion that really has nothing to do with the original statement itself. It's the same kind of thing as putting a naked woman on the hood of a car to sell the car. There really are some idiots who FULLY BELIEVE that most of the behavior problems being over-diagnosed today are nothing but the result of having only one parent in the home or inept parenting or the lack of a good spanking once in a while. Hearing someone else with some clout spew that crap only solidifies that kind of thinking in some people and plants seeds in the heads of others.

Sorry - I just have zero tolerance for people who feel completely justified in spewing this crap and then backpedalling and saying, "oh, oh, that's not what I meant, no, I meant this, not that and besides, I've published an official apology."

Yeah.

Whatever.

 

[DavidCC]

Go to my original post, click on the link, play the excerpt yourself and at about 00:33 you will hear the bolded statement above.

I most certainly did listen to his tirade. Did you?

Like I said, you listened to a short exceprt of the entire segment.

Did you listen to the conversation he had last night with a person from the NAA? of course not, you had everything you needed to know in one 60 second clip.

 

[shesulsa]

Like I said, you listened to a short exceprt of the entire segment.

Did you listen to the conversation he had last night with a person from the NAA? of course not, you had everything you needed to know in one 60 second clip.

Yup. Pretty much. If my husband tells me in a fit of rage I'm a stark raving ***** who has no business living in his house ... and later apologized for it? Mmmm ... that would be enough for me. That little moment revealed exactly what he really thought of me, deep down. And if it weren't the truth? It would tell me he was so completely out of touch with reality that I would never want to spend another intimate moment with him again in any capacity.

 

[Twin Fist]

Yup. Pretty much. If my husband tells me in a fit of rage I'm a stark raving *****

Words spoken in anger, should never be taken that seriously.

Sorry I cant agree with you on this one.

 

[arnisador]

More "attention through outrageous statement" from a media person. Disgusted but not too shocked.

Yes, that's my thought too after reading an article about this. His comments were ignorant and hurtful, but he's a "shock jock" and that's what he's paid for (however amazing that fact is to me). I note that his comments were "ripped out of context [by] far left Stalinists". (Stalin was a left-leaning liberal? Well, I'm sure that that is out-of-context too.) Perhaps he was taken out of context; I don't know. But even troubled children misdiagnosed with autism aren't overwhelmingly "brats" (they likely have other issues, be they medical or social). To my mind, he's either a nut or crazy like a fox, laughing all the way to the bank like Howard Stern and Don Imus. The latter is much more likely.

It's a racket. He knows what he's doing.

 

[arnisador]

Yup. Pretty much. If my husband tells me in a fit of rage I'm a stark raving ***** who has no business living in his house ... and later apologized for it? Mmmm ... that would be enough for me. That little moment revealed exactly what he really thought of me, deep down. And if it weren't the truth? It would tell me he was so completely out of touch with reality that I would never want to spend another intimate moment with him again in any capacity.

One strike, even for family members? That's a harsh way to live. Forgiveness is a blessing.

 

[punisher73]

"Now you want me to tell you my opinion on autism since I'm not talking about autism? A fraud. A racket. For a while we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudd ... why was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because, I'll tell you why. The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Every kid was told "cough cough" when the nurse looks at you "cough cough cough" I dunno, the dust got me so everyone had asthma from the minority community. That was number one. Now the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out...."

Sheulsa: I think YOU are the one who is taking it out of context because it is a topic close to you. What is the main topic of this paragraph that you posted? It is talking about people trying to get money for a disability that doesn't exist. It is NOT talking about legitimate cases. I had not even listened to the blip on the radio, and it is what I first talked about...people TRYING to get labeled autistic to get money for it. He is right from that paragraph...because, as you have said Autisim can be VERY hard to diagnose it is easy for unethical people to take a child and get them labeled as such for their gain.

A person needs to seperate the two issues. In the paragraph you posted, he is not talking about true autism, he is talking about people claiming autism for money. He lays out his reasons for comparing it to the misuse of "asthma" by people to get money and then states that "autism" is the misuse of the day.

I would think that people would be more in an uproar over people trying to profit from a condition like autism and would want people better educated so that it would be harder to do.

 

[celtic_crippler]

One thing's for sure. Savage got you all talking about it so he's definately earning his paycheck. LOL :shock:

 

[Live True]

What do you think is a more accurate percentage?

Okay...i'm answering without haveing read all the posts in between this question adn the end of this thread..so apologies if I repeat something already said...but to answer your question David...My meaning was:

If he was actually intending to provide a scientifically based argument, which I do not think was his intention...but giving him that benefit of the doubt...then a more accurate statement would have been something like
"X% of autistic children with this specific diagnosis are......" or even something more general
"x% of autistic children with severe autism...."

Comparing someone asperger's syndrome to someone with severe impairement is specious,pointless, and meaningless. Someone with Asperger's or mild impairement is more likely to have some abnormalities of social interaction but be able to function similar to many folks without Autism. Someone with severe impairement and also diagnosed with M/R would not be able to interact in almost any setting, may require significant medical care, etc. The two extremes do not compare.

In other words...it's a bald face generalized statement that shows, by it's nature, a lack of understanding of Autism and does not exhibit a knowledge of the scientific method that he SHOULD have, based on his education and degrees.

At the very best, he could have stated his case better, and knows better. At the very least, he doesn't really have a clue what he's talking about, and was just trying to stir the pot and get ratings. It's up to you to determine your opinion. I have formed my own, obviously.