Gribbit is Waiting For My Call

Which I think is quite funny, don't you? I decided that I just had to tune in to his show on Wide Awakes Radio, in the same way that you have to watch people humiliate themselves on a talk show. Man, it's worse than I imagined. This little radio project of theirs is stunningly amateur. His show consists of him reading things from "Worldnetdaily exclusives" and other sources, one sentence at a time followed by a long pause for dramatic effect. Then they try and go to commercial, which never happens because of technical difficulties, then more monotone reading of articles. And yes, he's still ranting about me. He started his show by pointing out that I tripled the hits on his blog yesterday by linking to it, for which he calls me a "stupid ass".

Albert Brooks, on his legendary comedy CD Comedy Minus One, had a routine about radio DJs. He said that DJs are people who have a filter on their brains that turns any insult into a complement. No matter what is said, they think it's positive. And he impersonates a DJ going out on stage to introduce a band, precipitating this exchange with an audience member:

Audience member: "You suck!"
DJ: "Thank you, you're beautiful."
Audience member: "I said you suck!"
DJ: "I said thanks."

Gribbit seems to suffer from this same delusion, among many others. He actually takes the fact that over 100 people went to his blog to laugh at him as a compliment and a good thing. He is also oblivious to the fact that the admission that a link from my blog tripled his hits contradicts his claim of a few days ago that I called him a liar (and proved him to be one) in order to drive traffic to my blog.

Missing from his entire discussion, of course, is any engagement of the actual substantive issues that I raised with him. Practically everything he said about the ACLU, the Good News Club case and the Equal Access Act was wrong. After I proved them wrong, quoting the actual text of the rulings, ACLU briefs and the EAA itself, he still refused to change his claim or admit he was wrong. Hence, the entirely reasonable charge of being dishonest. All of this juvenile name-calling on his radio show is just a way of avoiding that fact.

Update: Man, listening to this show is just hilarious. He just spouts nonsense constantly. Here's a direct quote:

The United States has been the same since the adoption of the Constitution in 1787. 1787, people. When it was ratified, 1787. (long pause) Written in 1782, adopted in 1787.

Bzzzt. Thank you for playing. It was written in the summer of 1787. It was ratified over the next two years, beginning with Delaware in December of 1787 and going into effect in March of 1789, after New York ratified it and put it over the necessary 75% of the original states. And the part that he was actually ranting about, the first amendment's religion clauses, was written in 1789 and ratified in 1791.

He also said this of the ACLU:

I can almost read anything that they put out and make fun of it because of the fact that they're never right.

Uh, yeah. So when they defended the school kids in Massachusetts when the school punished them for handing out candy canes with bible verses on them, they weren't right? When they filed a brief on behalf of Lamb's Chapel, they weren't right? When they defended Rush Limbaugh and Jerry Falwell, they weren't right? When they defended the right of street preachers to preach on public sidewalks in Iowa, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington, they weren't right? When they defended the valedictorian in Michigan who wanted to use a bible verse under her yearbook picture, they weren't right? When they defended the right of a church to use a public park to perform baptisms in Virginia, they weren't right?

This is the kind of hyperbolic nonsense that kills the credibility of the STACLU crowd. There are plenty of legitimate criticism to be made of the ACLU. I've made many of them myself. But this kind of idiotic rhetoric is the antithesis of reasoned criticism, it's just juvenile bombthrowing aimed at the lowest common denominator. It is, quite literally, the ignorant leading the credulous. And when reality doesn't present a big enough target, just invent your own caricature and attack that.

More like this

Our old pal Gribbit is back, and he's inventing history. In the middle of a post about some crazy leftist that he, naturally, thinks represents everyone who disagrees with him, he writes the following: There a few leftists like you who did a blitz on me a few weeks ago trying to drum up traffic to…
Gribbit has responded to my questions. In his response, he admits that he was wrong about the order of the two examples, but misses the larger falsehood in his post. Here's his initial claim, again: We have seen this already. The ACLU fought to gain equality for after school projects so that a gay…
This time from Kender, who stopped by yesterday to accuse me of "attacking" Gribbit, despite the fact that A) Gribbit was the one doing all the attacking, and B) I was merely correcting Gribbit's inaccurate statements. So I was perusing Kender's blog and found this post, in the long line of…
Contrary to the hysterically overblown view so common on the religious right (a view intentionally planted there by frauds and hucksters like Pat Robertson), the ACLU regularly goes to court to defend Christian churches and organizations. I've mentioned in the past their work on behalf of Jerry…

The guy sounds unhinged, but aren't such small-fry beneath you? Unless it's just for kicks and grins, it seems like you're laughing at a retarded chimp.

Oh, it's just for kicks and grins. I think it's really, really funny to watch him make an ass of himself.

After I proved them wrong, quoting the actual text of the rulings, ALCU briefs and the EAA itself, he still refused to change his claim or admit he was wrong. Hence, the entirely reasonable charge of being dishonest.

In the alter-universe he's created in his under weight greymatter he isn't wrong. Bush is doing a great job, the founding fathers were for a Christian Theocracy, the ACLU was spawned in 1959 USSR and is bound on turning your kids into leather clad thick moustached baby rapers, all Muslims are terrorists and are hiding behind the Piggly Wiggly to jump out and bomb his Ford Explorer with the big american flag screen print in the back window, the left wing conspiracy has a secret document detailing their plans to use abortions as a population control tool and scientists are the public wing of an underground atheist regime bent on world domination and eugenics.

He can't be wrong. If you start with this as a baseline theres no way a liberal commie ignoramus (probable homo) as yourself could be right.

Oh, this guy is certainly not on track to be the next Limbaugh. He has the IQ of meat, the personality of an ebola virus and all the charisma of a parking meter. You really should listen just once, you'll be amazed at how amateur the production is and just how bad it sounds. He sounds like a 12 year old giving an oral report to an English class, with lots of stammering, mispronounced words and awkward pauses. It's really quite funny.

I just listened to a show. My head hurts.

He just tried to make a claim that teachers are overpaid.

1. Because they make 45 k / yr. (average across the country)- I haven't checked the numbers on this, but if it is correct I wouldn;t called that over paid by any stretch
2. they only work 6 months a year - I don't know what schools he's talking about. I checked the calendar for the high-school I went to and it's pretty much 10 months give or a take.
3. class is only 5 or 6 hours a day - uh...My friend to teaches would like to enlighten gribbit on a couple phrases - class preparation and grading work
4. they 45k is spread out across the whole year so they get paid in off months "whether they are in session or not" - how this is even remotely a point I have no clue.
5. that all teachers are part of the left wing indoctrination plan

In a perfect world, we would find out that Gribbit was home-schooled...

the ACLU was spawned in 1959 USSR and is bound on turning your kids into leather clad thick moustached baby rapers,

I'm forced to take umbrage at your stereotyping thick moustached individuals as baby rapers.

I have a number of friends with thick moustaches, and only a few are baby rapers. ohbutyouwillpet didn't even have a moustache.

He has the IQ of meat, the personality of an ebola virus and all the charisma of a parking meter. ... He sounds like a 12 year old giving an oral report to an English class, with lots of stammering, mispronounced words and awkward pauses. It's really quite funny.

OK, he's on track to become the next George W. Bush. Glad we cleared up the difference...

He sounds like a 12 year old giving an oral report to an English class, with lots of stammering, mispronounced words and awkward pauses.

Sounds like one of the last 6 State of the Union addresses.

By Chris Borum (not verified) on 21 Jul 2006 #permalink

My wife, my sister, several aunts, several uncles, my mother, my mother-in-law and several cousins are educators. If they're all overpaid then my family should be living like the Rockerfellers with all those people being "overpaid."

Teachers technically have summers off but most do quite a bit of work then wrapping up from the just-finished school-year and preparing for the coming school year. And many attend professional conferences during the summers too.

NOT TO MENTION that teachers spend a LOT of their OWN money for supplies. When was the last time that douchebag had to buy copier paper, folders, crayons, ink cartridges, etc for his job?

Whenever I hear dickweeds like this guy say that teachers are overpaid the first thing I want to do (actually 2nd -- the first is punch them in the face) is invite them to my modest home and look at our bank accounts and then ask "where's all that OVERpayment?!!!!"

He obviously didn't pay attention to his teachers growing up. Otherwise, he'd be smarter.

Then they try and go to commercial, which never happens because of technical difficulties ...

Too bad. I'd like to know what company would actually pay to be represented on that piece of junk.

Unfortunately, teachers can't force students to learn. "You can lead a whore to water, but you cannot make her think" is how Dorothy Parker put it.

No, Gribbet doesn't hold a candle to Rush, even now in his chemically enhanced dotage. People forget (or never knew) how brilliant the show was in the mid- to late 80s when it first went nationwide. I worked in a moderate Congressional office at the time, and we would turn off the sound for C-Span and listen to Rush when he came on.

As for gribbit, I have taught in Middle School, and most presentations are of far higher quality than his dreck.

Unfortunately, teachers can't force students to learn. "You can lead a whore to water, but you cannot make her think" is how Dorothy Parker put it.

Actually, it's "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think".

Or is it horticulture?

Yes, it was horticulture, my bad.

When was the last time that douchebag had to buy copier paper, folders, crayons, ink cartridges, etc for his job?

Something tells me his job doesn't involve any of those things. He may have had to provide his own protective goggles and gloves though. Only guessing...

At my Orange County, CA high school, some of the teachers spent their supposed summers off working a second job, as they couldn't make ends meet otherwise. One of them, I recall, drove a stagecoach at Knott's Berry Farm...

You really should listen just once, you'll be amazed at how amateur the production is and just how bad it sounds.

Yeah, it's something else. The whole production is reminiscent of a kid hiding in a closet with a Panasonic tape recorder circa 1971 while his brother and his brother's friends, sitting in the adjacent room and passing around a blunt, badly botch their remedial civics homework.

Something tells me his job doesn't involve any of those things. He may have had to provide his own protective goggles and gloves though. Only guessing...

I am reminded of a headline from The Onion from a while ago: "Tractor Trailer Driver to Address Nation on Rush Limbaugh." Anybody can be an attorney/biologist/economist when they're on the radio, right? None of those jobs can be that hard if you have a good helping of the much vaunted "common sense" that so many clueless pundets are so proud of.

By Troublesome Frog (not verified) on 21 Jul 2006 #permalink

"Anybody can be an attorney/biologist/economist when they're on the radio, right? None of those jobs can be that hard if you have a good helping of the much vaunted 'common sense' that so many clueless pundets are so proud of."

This whole slow leak of nuttiness is exactly what Charles A. Pierce was thinking of when he wrote the most excellent "Greetings from Idiot America" for Esquire last year.

"In the place of expertise, we have elevated the Gut, and the Gut is a moron, as anyone who has ever tossed a golf club, punched a wall, or kicked an errant lawn mower knows. We occasionally dress up the Gut by calling it 'common sense.' The president's former advisor on medical ethics regularly refers to the 'yuck factor.' The Gut is common. It is democratic. It is the roiling repository of dark and ancient fears. Worst of all, the Gut is faith-based."

http://www.aboyandhiscomputer.com/Greetings_from_Idiot_America.html

My favorite from Idiot America:
Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.

By Bi9ll from Dover (not verified) on 21 Jul 2006 #permalink

Rev. BigDumbChimp wrote:

4. they 45k is spread out across the whole year so they get paid in off months "whether they are in session or not" - how this is even remotely a point I have no clue.

I'm not sure why either, but I'm guessing he doesn't understand that teachers have the option of spreading their salaries out over the year, so they don't have to go 3 months without a paycheck. Which is what they would otherwise have to do. I'm guessing he thinks they are just getting paid for that time off.

Which they're not. The money is withheld from earlier paychecks and applied to the summer months. The guy is such an idiot he apparently thinks they just get "free money" for three months.

...

And as far as the 6 months- he may be thinking that, because school years are often about 180 days, that it's only six months because that's only about half a year, day-wise. Maybe someone should tell him about weekends? Christmas?

Nah. It's more fun watching him try to think.

(Then again, I may be overestimating his capabilites by presuming he's thinking anything...)