ERRATUM, NOT!
The defensive scramble we see in the GOP House leadership’s offices is nothing compared to the turmoil in Pud’s fact-check “mill” this last week. Forget about middle-aged politicians hitting on 16 year-olds, which has been going on at least as long as gambling at Rick’s. SFWILLIE’S BLOG was charged last week with MAKING A MISTAKE!
Apparently a new reader had nothing better to do than to put the entire archive of SFWILLIE’S BLOG under painstaking scrutiny. Our new reader’s effort produced news that is both good and bad: he found one factual mistake (alleged), in a June '06 post regarding zero (much ado about nothing).
As CEO of this enterprise, I was pleased with this result—even gold glovers make errors. But Pud was upset beyond belief.
To his credit Pud took full responsibility. “It’s my fault for hiring these incompetent assholes,” he said, referring to his fact-check crew. “You get what you pay for,” Pud said in disgust when I mentioned that his fact-checkers don’t get paid. “But I gave them business cards,” Pud exclaimed, “and a reason to live. In Oz, a business card’s as good as an occupation.”
It’s true, Pud’s three fact-checkers are old, decrepit, and mostly depressed. Their major qualification, according to Pud, is that they answer their phones. And Pud is right, they do enjoy the charade. “And no one will accuse me of hitting on these subordinates.”
So Pud called a meeting (actually he took them out to lunch), and read them his standard riot act “…Fact-checking is more than spell-checking, etc…” Pud returned elated!
“We weren’t wrong! Arabic numerals WERE invented by the Arabs. The story that Arabic numerals, especially zero, come from India is a Nazi lie! The German pre-eminence in classical studies was turned to the service of the Thousand Year Reich in a despicable intellectual ripoff .
“The Germans have a reputation for valuing precision and detail. Numbers are important to them. They wanted to kill all Jews, for instance, but they wanted to know exactly how many that was.
“Just as Hitler had to obliterate knowledge of his own Jewish ancestry, so too, he couldn’t stand the idea that the numbering system which was to quantify the glory of his Reich was invented by Jews, well, Semites. So he put his Nazi scholars to work.
“And what did the Nazi scholars come up with? They ‘discovered’ that Arabic numerals, especially zero, weren’t invented by Semites (Arabs) after all.
Apparently a new reader had nothing better to do than to put the entire archive of SFWILLIE’S BLOG under painstaking scrutiny. Our new reader’s effort produced news that is both good and bad: he found one factual mistake (alleged), in a June '06 post regarding zero (much ado about nothing).
As CEO of this enterprise, I was pleased with this result—even gold glovers make errors. But Pud was upset beyond belief.
To his credit Pud took full responsibility. “It’s my fault for hiring these incompetent assholes,” he said, referring to his fact-check crew. “You get what you pay for,” Pud said in disgust when I mentioned that his fact-checkers don’t get paid. “But I gave them business cards,” Pud exclaimed, “and a reason to live. In Oz, a business card’s as good as an occupation.”
It’s true, Pud’s three fact-checkers are old, decrepit, and mostly depressed. Their major qualification, according to Pud, is that they answer their phones. And Pud is right, they do enjoy the charade. “And no one will accuse me of hitting on these subordinates.”
So Pud called a meeting (actually he took them out to lunch), and read them his standard riot act “…Fact-checking is more than spell-checking, etc…” Pud returned elated!
“We weren’t wrong! Arabic numerals WERE invented by the Arabs. The story that Arabic numerals, especially zero, come from India is a Nazi lie! The German pre-eminence in classical studies was turned to the service of the Thousand Year Reich in a despicable intellectual ripoff .
“The Germans have a reputation for valuing precision and detail. Numbers are important to them. They wanted to kill all Jews, for instance, but they wanted to know exactly how many that was.
“Just as Hitler had to obliterate knowledge of his own Jewish ancestry, so too, he couldn’t stand the idea that the numbering system which was to quantify the glory of his Reich was invented by Jews, well, Semites. So he put his Nazi scholars to work.
“And what did the Nazi scholars come up with? They ‘discovered’ that Arabic numerals, especially zero, weren’t invented by Semites (Arabs) after all.
“And guess who the Nazi scholars say DID invent so-called Arabic numerals especially zero? The ARYANS (Indians). Surprise, fucking surprise!
“So it’s bullshit, just more blond haired blue eyed Euro-fascist bullshit. Of course the Arabs invented Arabic numerals. Duh!
Pud actually took a bow.
“My fact-checkers are geniuses. I should give them a raise!”
“So, Pud,” I asked, “how did you find out about this Nazi plot to alter history?”
“Oh,” he replied, “it’s just a theory. But history is just theory.”
“But you’re accusing lots of researchers and scholars of being Nazis. You can’t really mean that.”
“Ok,” Pud said, “’Euro-centric’. But let’s face it, Nazism is just an extreme manifestation of Euro-centrism.
“And,” Pud concluded, “Arabs already hate us enough. Even if the Aryans actually did invent Arabic numerals, this is not a great time to bring it up.”
“So it’s bullshit, just more blond haired blue eyed Euro-fascist bullshit. Of course the Arabs invented Arabic numerals. Duh!
Pud actually took a bow.
“My fact-checkers are geniuses. I should give them a raise!”
“So, Pud,” I asked, “how did you find out about this Nazi plot to alter history?”
“Oh,” he replied, “it’s just a theory. But history is just theory.”
“But you’re accusing lots of researchers and scholars of being Nazis. You can’t really mean that.”
“Ok,” Pud said, “’Euro-centric’. But let’s face it, Nazism is just an extreme manifestation of Euro-centrism.
“And,” Pud concluded, “Arabs already hate us enough. Even if the Aryans actually did invent Arabic numerals, this is not a great time to bring it up.”
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