In his latest posting, Glenn Greenwald (a/k/a “Rick Ellensburg,†“Thomas Ellers,†“Ellison,†“Wilson†and “Ryanâ€Â) claims that “certain views that deviate from the elite consensus are banished from sight — simply prohibited — even when those views are held by the vast majority of citizens.”
His primary example is a recent poll by the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), which shows that 71% of Americans say we should not take either side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is not exactly a secret; a February 2008 Gallup poll came up with roughly the same number.
Ellensburg’s celebration of poll numbers is… selective. The Gallup poll also shows that American sympathizes by a 59%-17% margin with Israel over the Palestinians. The very PIPA poll Ellensburg cites shows that Americans would support having the UN commit to protect Israel from attacks by its Arab neighbors by a 53%-37% margin, but the numbers reverse on protecting Arab countries from Israeli attacks.
Ellensburg ignores those numbers, then criticizes Barack Obama for keeping the threat of military support on the table to deter attacks against Israel. Thus, while Ellensburg claims “the point has nothing to do with one’s views of the best policy towards Israel,” his cherry-picking of the numbers shows his point clearly does have to do with his policy views toward Israel.
Ellensburg’s other example relies on a PIPA poll of Iranians, including this gem:
[W]hile Iranian President Ahmadinejad is depicted by our political class as the Equivalent of Adolph Hitler, savagely oppressing Iranians as some sort of insane, vicious tyrant, that isn’t how they see it…
He then cites Ahmadinejad as having a 66% job approval rating. Ellensburg does not consider that the poll results may be influenced by the level of political repression in Iran. He must be one of those who thought the near-unanimous vote for Saddam Hussein was quite the mandate from the Iraqi people.
Baracky doesn’t portray Ahmadinejad as a vicious tyrant what arms people to kill our soldiers in Iraq and also innocent Iraqi people, so I think the our political class thing is overstated.
Overstatement is pretty much Ellensburg’s thing, though.
And again, he has a paying job, two New York Times bestsellers, and his blog posts have been read into the Congressional record.
Whereas Jeff has never even been once linked by James Taranto, or whatever the fuck his name is.
These facts cause my colon to twitch.
When the revolution comes, “our political class” will be the first against the wall.
Jeff,
Alternatively, GG is someone who spent a shockingly short tenure with a prestige law firm, ended up representing a neo-Nazi and having to extricate himself when said neo-Nazi was looking like he might have been involved in a plot to murder a federal judge, and now lives in low-cost Brazil from what he makes serving up overheated swill to the low-graders of the Left.
Also he has an even twitchier colon I bet.
Lots of good jiu jitsu fighters in Brazil. The grappling, it is strong in those people.
And Gleen is all about the grappling, you can bet.
Cabana boy cage grappling!
A left winger is selective in posting public opinion polls?
YOU DON’T SAY!?!??!
I reckon that must be why they never use them when it comes to affirmative action, gay marriage, welfare, term limits, oil drilling, etc.
Suggestion: when you are mentioning Glenn Greenwald (a/k/a “Rick Ellensburg,†“Thomas Ellers,†“Ellison,†“Wilson†and “Ryanâ€Â) you should also include Sockpuppet user Glenn Greenwald and his sockpuppet allies “Rick Ellensburg,†“Thomas Ellers,†“Ellison,†“Wilson†and “Ryanâ€Â, which he used as sockpuppets to attack his critics and defend himself while trying to make it appear that disinterested 3rd (and 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th) parties were defending him and attacking his critics, while also getting in plenty of praise and listing the many accomplishments of Glenn “Socky Sockpuppet” Greenwald, well-known user and abuser of sockpuppets.
This would help search engines equate the name Glenn Greenwald with sockpuppetry, since he is probably its foremost and most famous practitioner there-of (as his sockpuppet army of fans never failed to note, Glenn Sockpuppet-farmer Greenwald’s sockpuppet blog has been quoted on the floor of the US Senate and Mr. Sockpuppet has several NYT best selling books to his sockpuppet credit.
Also, it would be a fitting tribute, since leftwingnuts love to “googlebomb” anyone who is not a raving leftist with terms and news-stories they deem appropriate and fittin’, so Glenn “Master of Sockpuppets” Greenwald could only find it appropriate he be so honored as the top result anytime anyone searched for “Sockpuppet”.
Anytime anyone on our blog mentions Glenn Socky Sockpuppet Greenwald, we are always sure to include a sockpuppet reference because this also helps those who might not be completely familiar with “Sock” Greenwald place where they might have heard of him: as the internet’s foremost practitioner and creator of Sockpuppetry, and who owes much of his notoriety and fame to the many many sockpuppets who sing his praises, which is also a tribute to his obsessive, psychotic and anal-retentive psyche, in which he refuses to let any comment about him on any blog go without being answered by a Glenn Greenwald Sockpuppet operative rebutting the charges and hysterically refuting his critics and hyperbolically exaggerating his exploits and infallibility (which also earns him the appelation, “The Pope of Sockpuppet Village”.
So, in conclusion, please include the term “Sockpuppet”, “Master of Sockpuppets” “Sockpuppet Farmer” “Father of Many Socks” “Hero to Millions, whom if they do not actually exist as discrete human beings, are perhaps creations of my well-hung Brazilian Boyfriend, but certainly not ghost-written by me, because admitting that would render my many sockpuppet minions less formidable as defenders of all things Glenn “Socky” Greenwald and scourge of my detractors, of which there are many, but not as many as my horde of sockpuppets, who are so multitudinous that their name is Legion. As well as “Rick Ellensburg,†“Thomas Ellers,†“Ellison,†“Wilson†and “Ryanâ€Â, in addition to legion.
-signed, “not glenn socky sockpuppet greenwald”
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Had a problem twitchy colon once. Took a glass of warm salt water and it cleared right up.
As a pollster, Greenwald comes off as the slimy weasel attorney Alan Shore on Boston Legal. He may win an legal argument; every once in a while, although he couldn’t get his Nazi fascist ‘martyr to political correctness’and suspected murderer, a bar hearing. Matt Hale. They are often filled with examples of adhominems like his broadcast equivalent, Herr Olbermann. and often illogical non sequitors.
A point extremely well taken, feets.
I’ve written at least two posts taking apart Greenwald’s claims on public opinion. There’s never any context, and as you mention usually just one source, maybe two, for the global claims he makes. All in furtherance his attacks on the Non-Glenn Greenwald Power Structure.
#11 docweasel
Googling “glenn greenwald + sockpuppet” returns 27,500 hits.
Heh.
Greenwald seems like a reasonably intelligent person which suggests his “popular support for Ahmadamnjihadi” stance is not based on logic but on a need to oppose any action that President Bush might take or anything that remotely could support the war on terror narrative. Clearly most people in Germany would have polled supporting Hitler, would that make him a good person?