My insane encounter with a Fox News/Birther Goodyear Car Repairman
Everyone knows I live in Southern California and it's supposed to be this liberal haven of the country. I've been rehabbing my nerve damage so I can't move around too freely, but my car hasn't had an oil change in a very long time. There's a Goodyear dealership that did a good job the last time I went there. Plus I can actually walk home from the place while the work's being done. So I went to get the long-awaited service. I was helped by the owner of the place and after we chatted about what I needed, we went inside so he could write up the order as my car was taken inside and put up on a lift.
As we were at his computer, finishing up the input of our transaction, I saw that Fox News was on his TV and I jokingly said, "Oh, you have Fox News on?" He said, "I didn't put it on, but so what? What's wrong with it?" I said, "It's a propaganda network." He asked, "People can tell what the truth is, so who cares even if there is only ten percent of the truth?" I pointed out that for most people, it's hard to know which ten percent is the truth. That was my first mistake. There were a few other customers behind me, but that didn't faze the owner, as he then launched into a profanity-laced tirade against politicians and of course, the cancer of our society, the unions.
"Those fat bastards are making $500.00 an hour and taking my money and stuffing it in their pockets while they sit on their fat and useless asses." I was kind of stunned by his tantrum, and I know I should have kept quiet and just gotten out of there, but instead I replied: "You know, less than 1% of the country is unionized, so I think it's a little more complicated than that." I'm used to debating people about politics all the time either on the radio, online or TV, so it was like an instinct, even though I only wanted an oil change.
He went ballistic and started to scream to me the historical meaning of President Obama's first (Barack) and middle (Hussein) name and finished off by saying, "...and why won't he let me see his f*&king birth certificate? Have you seen his birth certificate? "
"Yes, I have."
"You're f*&king brainwashed. You can't see the truth!"
A man behind me said, "Can I get my car please?" I turned to him and said. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize this would happen."
The owner kept on screaming about the f*&king scum of the parasitic unions and walked away from the counter after trying to explain in some form of right-wing gibberish why this country is in the toilet and left in a huff. The words that echoed were, "It's not Bush's fault."
Another employee had came over by that time and inputted the order and printed up my oil change request. I looked at him and he said, "I hear this all the time."
"All I wanted was an oil change."
"I'll call you when your car is ready."
How did I end up at a Birther-owned a Goodyear auto place? I realized yet again the influence of the right-wing noise machine and Fox. It's sad and very disturbing when you take it out of our political world and see it alive in Americana. When I got the call a few hours later to get my car, I had printed out a copy of Obama's birth certificate (at the top of this post) and wanted to hand it to him to see what would happen, but I realized I wanted my car back instead.
Should I bring him a copy of President Obama's birth certificate just to see if actual evidence will make him change his mind? Or is the study posted in the Boston Globe correct, and actual evidence will only make him believe even more firmly that Obama is not born here?
For the most part, I'm joking on this poll, but I remembered this great article I read in the Boston Globe that probably proves it would be a waste of time: "How facts backfire":
In 2005, amid the strident calls for better media fact-checking in the wake of the Iraq war, Michigan’s Nyhan and a colleague devised an experiment in which participants were given mock news stories, each of which contained a provably false, though nonetheless widespread, claim made by a political figure: that there were WMDs found in Iraq (there weren’t), that the Bush tax cuts increased government revenues (revenues actually fell), and that the Bush administration imposed a total ban on stem cell research (only certain federal funding was restricted). Nyhan inserted a clear, direct correction after each piece of misinformation, and then measured the study participants to see if the correction took. For the most part, it didn’t. The participants who self-identified as conservative believed the misinformation on WMD and taxes even more strongly after being given the correction. With those two issues, the more strongly the participant cared about the topic — a factor known as salience — the stronger the backfire.
In a way, I'd like to test the theory on him, but he does have my home address.
It doesn't matter, he is the brainwashed one.
I fight with teabaggers on Yahoo Answers daily, they will never see facts for what they are. It just isn't in them.
This is my first time commenting at C$L. Im a regular reader and normally take what C&L says as true. But i just read something John said and it made me think, "really?"
John Amato said "You know, less than 1% of the country is unionized..."
So I went to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm , and it says:
"In 2009, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union--was 12.3 percent..."
Am I missing something or is John making up numbers? This is making me seriously reconsider the truth of much of what I've read that he's wrote.
Hoping someone can clear this up.
Liberals need fact-checked too!
"This is making me seriously reconsider the truth of much of what I've read that he's wrote. "
Hello, i'm new here and i'm concerned.
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
on whether you understood what you read. How many union members are there, according to those statistics, and what is the population of the US. Union members definitely represent less than one percent of the population but not less than one percent of the workforce.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
WAIT A MINUTE! according the the Bureau of Labor Statitics, in 2009 the number of people over 16 years of age and employed was 138.1 million, out of rougly 305 million (total population).
If we take 12.3% (the percentage of the workforce unionized) of the 138.1 million, that means that just under 17 million people in thie country belong to a union.
305 million divided by 17 million, calculates that 5.5% of the population, not the 1% that Amato claims, is unionized.
Did i do the calculations wrong? Or is Amato wrong?
Liberals need fact-checked too!
You are repeating yourself. Dox or GTFO!
Or is AgendaJones a wanker?
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKhXQr1gcio
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
OK, what's the deal with this showing up at the top of the thread? It was meant as a reply to deang at 3:01.
And I know I hit "reply."
Is it something quirky with the new format?
Amato was wrong.. But whats the difference? He was describing an argument with a buffoon. Because Amato mixed up a few percent in a heated argument with an obvious nut bag doesn't make his argument invalid. Im fairly certain that if this was an actual article on unions, he would have percentages about unions correct. However, this was an article about someone insane at a Goodyear station. The fact that this guy at the station was batsh*t crazy is pretty obvious. His point was made.
Nah he is just another in the long line of Koch Suckers
My wife was in for surgery (broken wrist) around Xmas. In the waiting room, there was a TV where anyone could change the channel. Only about 3 people there. There was some brain dead home show on. Woman comes in and changes the channel to FOX. I proceed to get up and change it back to where it was. She goes ballistic. I tell her that I'm tense enough right now, but if she wants we can call security to resolve the issue. For ANY business to have FOX on is only asking to have customers walk out. I'd call Goodyear and ask them if they have a policy to intentionally alienate customers.
But, Goodyear's probably afraid of what might happen if they let this mentally unstable person go.
On the other hand, I'm really surprised you found a Goodyear outlet you like. For me, it's the absolute last resort.
clinic I go to has FOX blaring 24/7 in the waiting room.
EVERY doctor's office I go to has that garbage on. I've complained a number of times but they never change the channel. When I can't stand it any more, I just get up and turn it off. If I'm asked why, I tell them it was giving me a headache.
Why the FUCK any medical professional would have that kind of tension-inducing, fear-mongering bullshit on where his patients can see, I can't understand.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
.
Ask if they'll sell you blood pressure medicine...
while the Doc is there. Otherwise, when he is not in the office, the employees change it to CNN.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
Guess I'm lucky.
It's on at the gym all the time and it DRIVES ME NUTS!!! At least the volume is muted.
Four televisions in front of the treadmills...Fox, ESPN, BET, MTV...I try to run outside as much as possible.
The shit people subject themselves to watch.
This is one of the reasons that Fox is #1. MSNBC is not available in a lot (most?) hotel rooms either.
I would like to have a tv with Fox behind me when on a treadmill. I would run like hell. Aaaarrrgggghhhh, get away from me.
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
Reason's
1 You already have nerve damage.
2. Sabotage
I have a better solution. Ask him politely if he's thought out the plan for who's going to pay for his meds ( and we all know he needs them), when his small business insurance gets too expensive.
Jeanne
So you want to escalate the tension of an already tense situation? You know this dude is blabbing to buddies about another one of his customers who just doesn't get it. With all the data and info out there, you think you're going to change this dude's minds? Good luck brotha.
but one day they said something about why won't Obama just release his birth certificate, & that's all he'd need to do to deal w/the question once and for all. I said he *had* released it and if he did again, they still wouldn't believe it. They had no response.
They are both racists against blacks and Latinos, btw. I heard my first (and only) "kill Obama" joke from one.
I would write to a big shot at Goodyear and tell them what you have told us. I'm pretty sure there is at least on complimentary oil change in your future.
If David N is watching Beck tonight he must have just fallen out of his chair. Beck is saying some of the most mind bending shit I have heard him say in a long time. He is talking about the dangers of news shows bending the news and mixing it up with opinions. Pot, this is my friend Kettle.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Yeah, I would have refused to have my oil changed after having been treated like that. Then, I would have written the national office of Goodyear telling them why you won't be going to them anytime soon.
this guy's head is empty.
450 votes but only five comments. Wonder if regular commenters felt their need to voice an opinion was satisfied by the oportunity to simply cast a ballot?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
...that when given the opportunity to be heard, the easiest way is to click the poll. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Also...we have had so much of the insanity that there's almost nothing much left to say...it's another facepalm moment.
I have been wondering why there are not more comments lately. It seems the number of comments have dropped dramatically lately. It's alright though, my comments will stand out more. LOLOLOLOL
It's this new format. Look at where the comments are. It looks like fine print. There need to be more defined borders and better fonts.
Is the font smaller than the post on your screen? I'm sending this comment on...because if you think there's a design issue in the comments, we should address it.
When you look at the front page, where are the comments? examle it will say "14 comments".
"14 comment" buried at the bottom, in the middle, in the same size and font as the rest of the footer.
The comments have been relegated to the footers of the articles.
They should stand out.
Ahhhh, highlight the word "comments" on the main post. make tghe word more pronounced. Good idea... maybe.
This kind of feedback really helps.
While I'm at it, the header at the top, where it has a large C&L, itshould refresh the page or something, it's just dead, it doesn't do anything.
My 2 ⊄
comment, nested as appropriate. Now it goes to the top, and only under the comment it is a reply to when "parent" is selected. Not too elegant.
Wholeheartedly
my theory. Perhaps we need some caging.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
would concur. I hope my cell is nice.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
I have heard this comment before. I remember when they changed last time and people were annoyed but they came back. Change is a very funny dynamic.
For the record everything is uniform in my browser. I like the new format but i liked the old one and the older one.
Even though I know where to click the comments thing, it's hard to find sometimes. It could be much more distinct!!!!
When I first came to C&L, years ago, I didn't even know you could comment for about a year, but I was new at this blogging stuff.
far left loon >.<
what can be attributed to angst. If there are fewer posts I think it has more to do with that. The tenor of the site has changed dramatically in the last year and I don't think it a good sign. There doesn't seem to be a lot of patience left in anyone. The site itself works fine for me.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
The facebook/twitter/buzz/digg bar to the left is just annoying. Don't know why. Usually all those links directly under the comments link on the main post or at the end of all the comments is sufficient.
I'm also one of those people who uses firefox and blocks ads. So I don't know if there are banner ads on the side of the screen, but all I'm seeing is very wide margins and empty space.
Not that any of those really prevent me from posting a comment though. They're just visual preferences.
You're absoutely right. What else is there left to say? There is a percentage of this country that is literally lost.
What poll are you guys talking about? I missed something but with the candy corn sugar high I have right now, I'm not surprised.
I haven't been doing as much commenting lately because it's no fun getting chewed out by someone who doesn't agree with me. I would rather play with Martini or read than fuss with someone. There's enough fussing in the world right now.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Oh come on POP. We need you here. You are one of the best voices on this blog!
Ah shucks! You are just trying to butter me up so I'll help you clean your fish tanks on Sunday. I know what you're up to, you rascal.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
If i had a fish tank you could help me clean it or you would have to clean it because I never would. You are thinking of Mr. Greenjeans. The Sunday folks are good folks too. But I wouldn't mind buttering you up. LOLOL. Ok enough of this. Just don't go away!
Oh yes, as soon as I posted that I realized my mistake but since my freakin' edit button doesn''t work, I was stuck with my error. We'll just leave the butter part there on the plate. :)
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Hallowean.
I never wanna be weaned...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
...just for you? C'mon, I get called an Obama apologist on just about every post I write. I rely on people like you to tell me when I really *am* being one. :)
Oh, I missed the pug picture. Can you post it again? I'll show you my dog if you'll show me yours. I posted pictures of Martini just about every day last week at my site, He's a charming devil.
I guess the problem is that I don't want to fuss and fight over my opinions. I just want to state them and if someone doesn't agree, I don't want to be called names and such. That's just no fun. I think one thing missing here lately is fun. Ranting on someone like the witch lady from Delaware is fun for a change. We need more comedy relief, as least I do.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Pffft, dogs! Who cares about those buggers? :s
(j/k)
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
them?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Blasphemy I say. We have five, four of which are rescues, and they are a daily source of delight.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
But still, come and give the feedback. A little fun *is* called for. I need some too. Gonna have to give that one some thought.
Here's the pug http://karoli.posterous.com/pug-at-rest
Ahh, she's so sweet. It took me a few seconds to figure out where her eyes would be located. She looks pretty comfy in that photo.
Site monitor, you better not delete Karoli's comment and link to her dog. We dog lovers will come after you and your little delete button too. :)
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Or you gonna do what, whine about it? Beside that karoli is one of the blog writers here. Don't think that her post will be deleted. (unlike any comment posts from us peasants :p )
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
you don't draw that much fire. Personally I enjoy deconstructing nonsensical arguments and actual policy debate and there are rich pickings here and many reasonable minds and many, let us say, interesting ones. To me that is fun.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
again I promise I will let you wave you pom poms in public from now on.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I remember what happened the last time I went under the bleachers with you. You tried to show me pictures of your grandpa's chimp.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
of the chimp. He wore a diaper. Those were pictures of David Vitter I was trying to show you.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Isn't it illegal to have chimp as a pet? I'm glat that you've set him free. Flourish my
childchimp.Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
Sorry and my apologies to the chimp. I'm sure he was more attractive than Vitter.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
"I haven't been doing as much commenting lately because it's no fun getting chewed out by someone who doesn't agree with me"
How do you think the candy corn feels :P
Study the symptoms not the virus...
I don't mean to worry you but you might now need a diagnostic check on your vehicle.
Those birther people are evil.
Lugnuts.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Guys like this don't want to know about facts, they only want to know what the rattling between their ears tells them or what Fox tells them.
with your car and taken it elsewhere.
inconvenient i know but fuck that guy.
So why bother bringing him a copy? And why did you get your oil changed there? I would have just said "sorry, I can't do business with you" and left.
Is that true? Only 1% of Americans are part of a Union? Then how did they "kill" the auto industry? My brother is in the Electrical Union. Or was, he is now in the Elevator's Union. I don't think he personally would want to kill America's auto industry. :)
THere are plenty of places in L.A. that will change your oil. The other people behind you might have thought this was a good idea also. Maybe this guy would learn to keep his political views to himself if he saw a group of potential customers walk out.
I can't see anything positive happening if you were to show him a copy of Obama's birth certificate. He'd just say it was a fake, and it would just get him all fired up again.You can't reason with these people, I'm sorry to say.
I'm battling a pinched nerve and carpal tunnel in my left arm, great for a musician writer.
Anyway, that's the problem thats been created by Fox news and the whole wingnut right - all they can do is shout invectives, quotes falsehoods, hurl insults, and storm off. Used to be a time when you could actually debate principles and all, but it seems those times are gone. I mentioned Paladino to my neighbor, and what a kind of loon her seems to be, and he went off on how he was sick of all those elitists from Harvard and Yale and all.
Sigh.
OMG, I think there may be something going on with car repair people. I was at my car repair shop (a guy I like and he helps me and is not affiliated with any big corp) and he was railing on and on about the curtain behind Obama when he talks from the White House*. He said the curtain was fill with Arabic symbolism (he pronounced Arabic like "aerobic". I was almost rolling on the ground by the time I left). So anyway don't bother trying to debate the guy. He will NEVER see your point. In fact he is turning more people off (the people in line and the people he is working with) than converting anybody. You should maybe draw him out more and really get him going and soon he will be calling Obama the "N" word.
*I hate that curtain too but for other reasons. I think it looks like shit.
I knew it! His muslim facade is just a ruse to get America exercising!
So that's how Obama stays fit:
Allah Akbar, stretch them quads....Allah Akhbar, clench them glutes...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Second comment.
Tell anyone who brings this up to LEARN something about genealogy. I've done it for quite a few years.
100% of their arguments are killed when you look into what the laws are about birth certificates.
No one, other than the individual or a court, can get a certified copy of your birth certificate.
No one can request one birth certificate over another. The state gives you what they decide you should get. (ie. long form, short form, certificate of live birth, etc.)
ETC.!
When they tell you that you're wrong, ask them why the gov't wants to protect you from identity theft.
Don't do it; it won't make a difference and he has all of your personal information. You don't know what he and his friends will do. He knows where you live. Don't do it.
"...you've gotten so smug that you love the smell of your own farts!"
you need to get out more. Society is rotting with this filth.
Agreed.
Like you said it's very sad when see the poisoned propaganda leaking into the heartland of America. They are completely controlled by fear and guilt. Fear about a world that is changing at an exponential rate and that their way of life, i.e. the white way of life, is changing. Guilt about electing the worst president in modern times whose administration was almost single handedly responsible for destroying the American Dream that they so cherish (We cherish it too g*****mit!). I have a couple of friends and relatives that I'm constantly embroiled in political debates with. My arguments are logical and fact based, with very little spitting and vein popping, and their arguments are all emotional paranoid diatribes about socialist/communists in the shadows and how the progressives have been trying to destroy America since FDR, with much spitting and vein popping.
Very few of these people will change their mind because the truth is a scary thing and that would mean that they would have to admit that they were wrong, and responsible, for voting for Bush.
It's truer than it ever when some one says that the youth is the future of America...and the world.
When do humans get the upgrade?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Welcome to America. You're completely free to be a raging idiot here.
You could show this man the actual original copy of the certificate, along with a newspaper clipping anouncing his birth, and a photo of him exiting the womb, and he would still think it was a conspiracy.
a link to this post. Include his name, of course.
Sadly, this is the inevitable outcome of generations that have slowly undermined people's trust in authorities and experts. Part of the problem is systemic... every time somebody in the government, left or right, decides that "the public doesn't need to know" and covers up the facts -- and we find out anyway -- we start to suspect that ANY official proclamation is a lie.
But there's been a slow and deliberate undermining of factual reality by corporations and the right for decades.
Because somewhere along the line, certain people figured out that if you don't like what the experts are saying... you can just hire some experts of your own.
We saw this in the 1950s and '60s when the tobacco company's "science" defied independent studies and commonsense to suggest that cigarettes were "safe."
In the 1970s, Richard Mellon Scaife and other deep-pocketed figures on the right resented university and academic expertise that they perceived as right-leaning. So they created "think tanks" and "institutes" engineered to produce opinions and "facts" supporting predetermined conclusions. It didn't matter that these new institutes don't have the academic traditions of university, such as producing peer-reviewed research. After a few decades, many people -- including the mainstream media and commentators on the left -- will often blindly accept the research and papers proffered by such groups without inquiring who they were funded by or what their agenda is.
In the 1980s and 90s, the right decided they didn't like the things the media was reporting -- so they started complaining about "liberal bias," forcing news media to skew right to defend themselves against charges of bias. Eventually, this meme paved the way for FOX News -- a wholly opinion and agenda driven organization disguised as a news channel.
And now we've got a small handful of scientists on the payrolls of oil companies who have managed to undermine the real fears of mainstream climatologists regarding global warming.
It's easy to pick on the "Tea Party" types -- but is it any wonder they blithely reject the facts... after decades in which the right has done everything possible to create a flurry of bogus facts to cloud every significant issue?
Tea Party people have been sublimely seduced.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Shout and rant at the top of your voice, and maybe you can scare reality away.
Now that would be funny. Start ranting just like the guy behind the counter except take it to a higher level. A Gelnn Beck level. A Bill o'Reilly level. "We'll do it live!!!!!!!" .
You could TAKE him a copy of the certificate, but I think it's futile. His mind is made up. He'll probably get angry again. Facts and evidence are annoying to ideologues and those who have decided already.
far left loon >.<
I honestly don't even know what to say to that.
I think you showed a lot of forbearance in going ahead with the oil change in spite of Mr. Goodyear's rudeness to you, his customer. I would have told him I was taking my business elsewhere, and suggested he brush up on the basics of customer service.
What union jobs pay $500/hr, anyway? I'd sincerely like to know. That's $1 Million/year, based on a 40 hour week times 50 weeks.
Come to think of it, that's probably average pay for a Fox News anchor or show host. Ironic, no?
Executive Suite Occupant's Union.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Show him the birth certificate. If you loose your car then call the police.
I believe that real evidence takes the argument out of fantasy land and confronts the accuser with a reality that stays in his mind long after the conversation. He may continue to yell and scream and be really stubborn in that moment when you hand him the birth certificate but it will stay with him. He will always know that some guy actually showed him a physical copy of the birth certificate and he will probably just silently stop bringing it up in conversation without ever really admitting he was wrong about it.
That's how the stubborn brain works.
I tend to agree. After you get your car back!
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Send the birth certificate to him, but run the envelope through your printer and affix a creditable-looking return address for the Orange County Republican Committee headquarters.
On the westside. To be discreet...it's on a street named after one of our US Presidents. I'd sure like to know if that's the one where the maniac is. If so, I won't be going back. Or...maybe I will, just to request that he turn off the Fox "News" Propaganda Channel (and of course I'd never mention this incident).
Okay, John...is that the one?
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face?" - General Jack D. Ripper
Van Burran Ln.?
The dealer wouldn't believe you if you brought the original certificate, accompanied by the attending physician, the hospital's executive director, the head of the Hawaii Department of Health, and President Obama himself. The tire store owner would say all of you were in on it. The Slacktivist explained this phenomenon @
http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/20...
http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/20...
I would tell the owner that FOX is to truth as your employees stealing from you is to your business, and leave it at that.
The overwhelming votes go to not showing the birth certificate to Mr. Goodshlub. What a bunch of lethargic, apathetic weens. You all need to get used to confronting these boneheads. 90% of them will back off when you call them on their crap. Like children, they have to be told over and over. Don't walk away.
just sayin.
Confronting them at their place of work with lots of witnesses is the perfect place to do it. Though I have to say, it helps to be 6'3", 220lbs and full of very scary, intimidating facts based on reality. ;)
places up? O.k. maybe, but right wing rage knows no bounds. Why confront a crazy person?
NEVER piss off wait staff or mechanics who have access to your car's essential bits and pieces!
Some of us mechanics actually DO have brains, empathy, common sense and, you know, things like that, so please, don't join the fringe fray.
Also good reason not to piss off your gynecologist, urologist and proctologist.
You get mey gist?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Had you handed the birther that particular birth certificate he would have said, "No!!! I want to see the ORIGINAL birth certificate from the hospital in Hawaii where he was 'supposedly' born!!! The one that tells the time he was born and how much he weighed. THAT birth certificate! The one the hospital refuses to let anyone see!!"
Here's an idea John. Go to that hospital and get a certified copy of THAT birth certificate then all these birthers can finally be SHUT UP!!!
(BTW....it's not Fox News that's influencing him. It's KFI's "John and Ken". If they're not blathering on and on about Jerry Brown being a chicken, they are lambasting California's unions and pension programs that are "destroying the state!":
http://www.kfiam640.com/pages/jk2010.html
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
What is shown above is the "certificate of live birth," which was posted on the Obama campaign website. This doesn't satisfy the birthers. They want to know about the "real" birth certificate -- the original piece of paper with the doctor's signature and the name of the hospital. Under Hawaiian law, this source document is confidential, unlike the certificate of live birth. The fact that it isn't made public obviously means it doesn't exist. As a result, showing this guy the certificate of live birth will only egg him on to deny Obama was born in Hawaii.
You dropped on your head?
You should take, not bring, the birth certificate to him. Sorry, I edit for a living. Great post though. I favor making the manager as miserable as possible.
Attach it to a brick and throw it through his fucking window!
Question: will you take your car back to this establishment? I certainly hope not...........don't give this jerk your business. I'm sure there are plenty of shops who have their televisions tuned to MSNBC, or some other less offensive station.
Personally, whenever I go to my health club, I switch every TV I can find off of Fox.............it's my gift to the members, as I figure I just made them smarter.
"Attach it to a brick and throw it through his fucking window!"
LOL. (but seriously don't ;) )
Bite my shiny metal ass.
http://www.startalkradio.net/
Maybe the guy was in a pissy mood because he is afraid of losing his job. Of course if he were in a union his job would have some protection. Maybe you could ask him about that. ;) That wink means I'm just teasing and you shouldn't do that.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
He'll just probably dismiss you as the one wearing the tinfoil hat, turn around and tune-in the beckster or one of the fringe-catering shows.
From here:
Another way I say this is, you can't argue with emotions. If people believe something and are emotionally attached to it, no persuasion will change their mind. Much like the recent articles about atheists actually knowing more about religion than believers. The faithful don't NEED to know-- they can FEEL.
I haven't seen any studies confirming what I'm about to say, but it seems that before the rise of the right-wing media in the early 90s, and definitely before 1980, Americans didn't hew so much to ideology and beliefs and recognized that facts and careful consideration could change their thinking. It's mostly right-wing Americans who are so stubbornly ideological, and before the time I just referred to, Americans didn't even think of themselves as right-wing the way masses of them have since circa 1990 and the rise of right-wing media. Facts still hold some sway in many other countries, but not here anymore, or at least not for that at least 50% that thinks of themselves as "conservative."
I rode with my neighbor to get an estimate on a brake job on a used truck he purchased that day. While he was speaking to the person behind the counter I walked into the customer waiting room. The room was empty and the TV was on Fox. There was no remote control and no buttons on the TV. I returned to the counter where Big Dude the owner had appeared. I questioned him about the TV being on Fox and he immediately began a tirade about liberals this and Obama that.
My neighbor was given a $184 quote to fix his brakes before anyone had even looked at the brakes on his truck. We left and went to an auto parts store where he checked the price of new rotors and pads. We went home with no parts. Later that afternoon my neighbor's cousin, a mechanic, came by and examined the brakes. The brakes were fine.
My neighbor is beginning to understand just how crazy watching Fox makes people.
2 weeks ago i had an appointment with a dermatologist. in their office they had fox on the teevee. i was the only person in the office and i asked that they turn it off. i was told that they couldn't turn it off. i said either fox goes or i go. the crone behind the counter said to just deal with it. i told her to go fuck herself. a week later another dermatologist same shit. a week later a walk in clinic, fox in my face, i stayed this time because they turned it off. you can't ever get away from that fox shit. but you can bitch about it.
"2 weeks ago i had an appointment" + "a week later another dermatologist same shit" + "a week later a walk in clinic"
The way I read it is... ya had the appointment 2 weeks ago that didn't go so well, then a week later, another unfortunate incident, then a week later at the clinic. Isn't that 3 appointments based on your opening statement? Apt-1↔Apt-2↔Apt-3..."2 weeks ago"
That doesn't seem to add up... I don't mean to be irritating, though it does seem... your good at getting appointments with specialists. ;-)
Study the symptoms not the virus...
His last appointment was yesterday or today?
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Thanks, yes I considered that.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
time is fluid, the drugs are dry. mostly teh drugs came from the 3rd doctor, maybe he is a pill mill, i sure hope so because today he is going to refill the hydrocodone the zanax, and the diazepam. not to forget the 2 blood pressure meds.
Thanks for your reply... I hope your feeling better soon. ;)
Study the symptoms not the virus...
to give him the birth certificate, be sure to take copies of the birth announcements in the paper. Maybe he can question the certificate's authenticity, but thinking ahead to have his birth announced in the paper so he could be president some day ----- oh, wait, he's a fox spewer; he'll have a whacko explanation for that, too. I'm sure Glenn Beck has given them a "reasonable", chalkboard filled, post it note explanation for the papers conspiracy in the thing.
Jesus Christ could hand the guy the birth certificate in person and it wouldn't convince the guy. It's like peeing in the ocean, it just doesn't make any difference in the big picture
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
are named after? Jesus "Big Fish Giveaway" Christ? Wasn't he the head of the Brotherhood
of Sumpinorudder Union? That Jesus H. Christ?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
The guy had a bakery too that could make a whole lot of bread from one loaf or something but his biggest claim to fame is what he could do with water. The dude was always in demand at a wine tasting party.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
or maybe his father called from Kenya (I mean, who would know) and placed the ad, then snuk the kid into the U.S. to fraudulently claim his citizenship. Makes perfect sense. I don't know why anyone would do that any other way.
It won't matter, but you should do it anyway just to piss him off - after you have your car back, though. Mail it to him. You don't have to take your car there again (I wouldn't, though it is encouraging that his coworkers indicated they were sick of him too).
I've heard the same bizarre anti-union spiel from right-wing fundamentalist Christian coworkers, who had it implanted in their skulls by both Fox News and their churches: "It's the unions that are the problem." No facts could sway them, because they'd heard it both from the popular Fox News and from their trusted pastors (who probably got the idea from Fox News in the first place). What were my "facts" (the scare quotes were theirs) against those authorities?
It's always disappointing when you find out that a valued business is run by right-wingers. I had a favorite Italian restaurant that I used to go to for lunch every day. One day, I came in and Rush Limbaugh was blaring over the speakers. I asked my favorite cashier what the deal was, said I was going to complain. "It won't do any good. The boss is mad today and this is what he does when he's mad." The cashier advised me not to patronize the place anymore, so I didn't. Found another Italian restaurant nearby and ate there regularly until one day the manager puts a gleefully pro-death penalty flyer by the front counter, just about the time our state was putting to death a man who was almost certainly innocent. I quit going there, too, and should have told the manager off but never did.
By the way, I don't think of southern California as a liberal paradise. I thought everyone associated southern California with Orange County and the like, full of the kinds of right-wing white suburbs that brought us Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, not to mention monstrous megachurches. Northern California, on the other hand ...
Northern California??? Are you kidding me???
I lived in Crescent City for years, and that area is about as right-wing as you can get (with the exception of Arcata.) Lots of loggers and "rape-the-natural-resources" types.
Unless you mean SF, which really isn't Northern California.
Do these commercial places get a deal on their cable bill if they show fox all the time? I mean why would they be so determined to keep it on all the time?
Oh and why do new comments only show up on that dealie at the bottom of the page when I post a comment?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Emotional security. That's why they spread the hate. Rationalization.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
without getting all platonic, when people have been lied to all their lives, they start making up the "truth".
religion, politics, culture, capitalism, there is hardly one thing or person to trust.
after all, in the age of "synthetic financial instruments" and "artificial persons", who knows? could be beets, could be peaches, just cause it's free don't mean it's no good. people make stuff up all the time, like there is a "hidden hand" that regulates the 'free market".
this country has been hoist with its own petard.
Send him a copy of the birth certificate every three months or 3,000 miles. Mark the return address
"Former Customer."
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Even just one time would be effective.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Honestly, once he started in on that, I would have told him that he will NOT do the work on my car and that I am leaving and not coming back. We have pretty much started doing that whenever we go to a place that is playing FoxNews. If they will not change the channel, I am not giving them my money. If they started in on me like this guy, hit him in the only place he seems to understand, his wallet.
Where is this place? I'd like to tell people to avoid it. Not just to avoid frustration but to save a life. This nut sounds unhinged enough that he could come out with guns a blazing, literally.
What union job pays that? Sign me up please.
Last spring, I visited my mom's family in South Carolina. My husband and I went into a gift shop, and as we arrived, a clerk inside watched us do so through a big window at the front of the store. We walked in, and as I started shopping, the clerk, an over-65 type, annoyingly followed me around the store.
She commented that our vehicle was a Honda, not one of those "Obama cars." "You know, the car companies that the government just took over." I told her that the government didn't take over the companies, they lent the companies money and took stock as collateral. "No! They are government-owned now! I watched it on TV. The government went down there and took the companies." I told her they didn't take the companies, and furthermore, when they were on their feet, the government would relinquish their stock. The lady wouldn't believe me.
I've often thought of sending that gift shop an anonymous copy of a newsstory about GM getting back on its feet.
...would I not take the ignorant bastard a copy of Obama's birth certificate, I'd try to screw him on the cost of the oil change if possible.
Lower the retirement age.
I agree with everyone else -- take your oil change $$ elsewhere and tell the owner why...
I've often wondered why so many small business owners think that Fox is worthwhile fodder for the waiting area.
I suspect with tight margins, many "small business" owners buy into the lies of the right wing (gov't taking your hard earned ca$h and giving it to the poor folks)
If you have a choice, shop elsewhere -- and let them know why you switched.
It won't change their political ideology, but it might make them put on ESPN instead...
One reason Fox is in small businesses is that Murdoch paid to have cable TV installed in many businesses with the provision that the business kept the TV on Fox.
In the '90's cable companies were focused on getting fiber to homes to deliver broadband services. Businesses like Goodyear probably had dedicated phone lines for their computers while other businesses dialed into headquarters and transmitted data at prescribed times. Cable companies went by strip malls and shopping centers without providing them service because there was no demand.
Murdoch made a wise investment despite the shit he puts out and I suspect cable companies appreciated his insight that got Fox favorable channel locations.
My doctors want me to have more fibre...
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I used to speak out like you did in casual situations, but now my dentist, my doctor and everyone I run into goes into rants like this owner of the Goodyear dealership. It has become so frightening that I'm almost a hermit here in Texas. I wish we could move somewhere these crazy people are not, but they even include several in my own family
Great story John ♥
I find it rather ironic that you patronized the establishment in part... because of your nerve damage issue, only to sustain "Some Nerve damage". ;-)
I can almost see and hear the Conservative/Libertarian rant, you often describe so well.
PS. I wouldn't take it personally... but they most likely spit in your oil :P
Study the symptoms not the virus...
metal shavings.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
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