It seems that Michael Savage, the Imminent Asshole himself, is once again all over the news on account of his usual misinformed yet angry opinions. This doesn't surprise me, as I remember when, five years ago, the man was "attacked by the liberal media," to use his terms, for saying the following to a gay man who called in to his television show on MSNBC:

"Oh, you're one of the sodomites. You should only get AIDS and die, you pig. How's that? Why don't you see if you can sue me, you pig. You got nothing better than to put me down, you piece of garbage. You have got nothing to do today, go eat a sausage and choke on it."

Savage was fired from MSNBC, as well he should have been. So what does he do? He "writes" a book about it. A book that, as it turns out, my own father purchased, read, and loved. That sad fact aside, the reason I put the word write in quotes is because, out of sheer curiosity, I read that poor excuse for literature myself. What struck me most, I suppose, was that I was amazed that a man who regularly touts his two Master's degrees and his Ph.D. never once bothered to define any terms of his book. I could be wrong, but that may not be the best way to show how educated you are.

Michael Savage, Imminent Asshole, is now under fire for stating that he believes Autism is being over-diagnosed.

"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."

But wait, he goes further.

"What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.'"

And further...

"Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men."

Am I understanding this correctly? Could it be that Michael Savage is subtly hinting that he perceives autism to consist of symptoms that, for my part growing up, were considered 'sissy'? I got that all the time growing up with my family, "Dr." Savage, but I guess I turned into a big, wimpy Sodomite anyway. I suggest that "Dr." Savage check his references. Last time I checked, autism is more than simply bad behavior, but involves a litany of tests. The reason genetics can't explain the condition is that it's pretty damn hard to find out what causes someone's brain to have difficulty processing the idea that other people share your experiences and feelings.

But I suppose I shouldn't expect someone who doesn't now work in the schools to understand exactly what is going on. I suppose he's never gotten to know a child who simply does not understand why his friend is crying, or who laughs along with kids who are teasing him because he doesn't understand that they're being cruel. But according to "Dr." Savage, this is evidence that boys like this are turning into girls. But what of the girls, "Dr." Savage? I'll use your logic, which leads me to conclude that if you told them to "be a man," you'd be encouraging them to be lesbians.

What makes this whole drama even better is all the people who are actually supporting the Imminent Asshole. There are those who simply repeat exactly what the man says, and those who write very intelligent comments on US News, like this gem from "Gypsy Nick of AZ":

"Michael Savage is right, the liberal, sensitive, politically correct don't spank you chiuld bunch calls a lot of spoiled brats by some receently invented disease that requires "Treatment" instead of correction. However there may be some legitimate cases of autism or ADD, but since all misbehavior is swept under the psycological rug, we may never know for sure. It's spspect when those offering the "treatments" for money, concoct and diagnose nebulous desieases which only they cab fix if you or the government will just pay the price. Kind of sounds like what the old fashioned fortune tellers and quck faith healers used to do, only now with a college degree to back it up, they are legit.

Gyps Nick"

Wow, Nick. I'm amazed that, amid all the horrible grammar and spelling, you actually managed to spell nebulous correctly, and use it properly, too. I suggest you go find out who Michael Savage's publisher is because I'm sure they'd love to make you the next asshole star. I'm willing to bet Micheal Savage would even make out with you. I hear he's into that.