The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets)

Posted on | June 27, 2013 | 48 Comments

Ali Akbar called and I had to tell him about the infamous — indeed, epic — nay, world-historic — exposure of Glenn Greenwald’s sockpuppetry back in 2006. Many people currently active in conservative New Media didn’t really get hooked in until 2008 (Sarah Palin) or 2009 (Tea Party), and have no memory of The Way Things Used to Be back in the misty early dawn of Ye Olde Internette.

Often these newbies will ask things like, “You mean Andrew Sullivan used to be a Republican?” or “Charles Johnson? Who’s that?”

It would be easy to get lost in nostalgic reveries, but rather than bore you kiddies with tall tales about UseNet and dial-up modems, I’ll see if I can bring it to a point pretty quickly:

If a monomaniacal hysteric like Glenn Greenwald is a “serious journalist,” then the threshold of seriousness is dangerously low, indeed.

That might seem harsh, if you don’t remember July 2006:

The Glenn Greenwald Sock Puppet Story,
From Start To (Almost) Finish
— Ace of Spades

Annotated WuzzaDem: The Facts
Behind the Greenwald Sock-Puppetry
— Patterico

Please, if you don’t know the backstory, click both those links and read carefully, because it reveals three important facts:

  1. Glenn Greenwald is a raging narcissist;
  2. Glenn Greenwald is habitually dishonest; and
  3. When caught in one of his stupid lies, Glenn Greenwald’s first instinct is to try to save himself by telling another stupid lie.

Here’s an interesting question for you: Why didn’t Glenn Greenwald graduate law school until he was 28? What year did he complete his bachelor’s degree, and what did he do during the years between finishing his undergrad education and deciding to attend law school?

That’s just something I’m throwing out there, not knowing that the answer would be of any relevance, although it’s an intriguing question in light of his subsequent legal adventures:

Before he was a reporter and commentator for The Guardian newspaper, Glenn Greenwald was a lawyer — and had a part-time job in the porn business.
“It was a long time ago,” Greenwald told the Daily News. …

(Ancient history! The Bronze Age!)

The Queens native became a lawyer in 1995, after graduating from NYU.
Greenwald was enjoying a career as a litigator when friend Jason Buchtel offered him a partnership in his consulting company, Master Notions Inc., back in 2002. …

(It was “back in 2002” — mere juvenile mischief!)

Court papers show that one of the company’s clients was then known as HJ — short for “Hairy Jocks” — and that Greenwald was the one who negotiated their deal. …

(“Trust me, Jason — there’s big money to be made here!”)

Owner Peter Haas “had this pornographic company he wasn’t able to maintain,” Greenwald said.
Greenwald and Buchtel agreed to help Haas in return for 50% of the profits. …
[Haas] accused Greenwald of having bullied him into signing the deal, citing several twisted emails that he said were from Greenwald, whose email address was, “DomMascHry31.” In one, Greenwald allegedly called Haas “a little bitch” and “a good little whore.” …

Well, you can read the whole thing, which includes Greenwald’s denials, and threats to sue everyone for libel, and climbing up on the cross to suffer as a Sacrificial Martyr for Truth.

Here’s the thing: We know from the 2006 sockpuppetry escapade that Greenwald is a liar with a habit of masquerading behind online aliases to achieve his dishonest purposes. (“Thomas Ellers” and “Rick Ellensburg” can vouch for this.) And here’s a dirty little secret about why Greenwald is now an expatriate living abroad:

The New York County Clerk’s office shows Greenwald has $126,000 in open judgments and liens against him dating to 2000, including a $21,000 from the state Tax Department and the city Department of Finance. . . .
Records show the IRS has an $85,000 lien against him.

Douchebag, thy name is Greenwald!

 

Category: Ace of Spades, Patterico

Comments

48 Responses to “Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets)”

  1. Mike G.
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:37 pm

    But…but don’t we have an extradition treaty with Great Britain? Why not extradite the sorry SOB for income tax invasion.

  2. robertstacymccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:45 pm

    He lives in Brazil, with his rentboy.

  3. robertstacymccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:45 pm

    He lives in Brazil, with his rentboy.

  4. Mike G.
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:48 pm

    Oh. Well, gives working from home a whole new meaning then.

  5. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:48 pm

    Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets) http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 | @AceofSpadesHQ @DanRiehl @Patterico

  6. KenInEastman
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:48 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets) http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 | @AceofSpadesHQ @DanRiehl…

  7. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:50 pm

    “Thomas Ellers” and “Rick Ellensburg” could not be reached for comment http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 @DanRiehl @proteinwisdom @instapundit

  8. Jus1MoreThing
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:50 pm

    Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets) http://t.co/mT0wnRHFKU ==There is something wrong w/that dude.

  9. instapundit
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:51 pm

    RT @rsmccain: “Thomas Ellers” and “Rick Ellensburg” could not be reached for comment http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 @DanRiehl @proteinwisdom @insta…

  10. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:55 pm

    “Memories light the corners of my mind. Misty water-colored memories …” http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 | @DanRiehl @iowahawkblog @jtLOL #tcot

  11. vermontaigne
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:55 pm

    RT @rsmccain: “The Way Things Used to Be back in the misty early dawn of Ye Olde Internette.” http://t.co/7LmPkRmQ1Q | Good day, sir!

  12. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:56 pm

    RT @vermontaigne: RT @rsmccain: “The Way Things Used to Be back in the misty early dawn of Ye Olde Internette.” http://t.co/7LmPkRmQ1Q | Go…

  13. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:57 pm

    Pro-Tip: Sockpuppets can’t sue for libel. http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 @vermontaigne

  14. PubliusNV
    June 27th, 2013 @ 5:58 pm

    RT @rsmccain: “Memories light the corners of my mind. Misty water-colored memories …” http://t.co/SpIHuvdIu2

  15. dhorton
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:00 pm

    So, is that why Glenn’s in Brazil? To avoid the IRS lien et al?

  16. G0TTDAMNNWRiTE1
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:00 pm

    http://t.co/N26qOHOACk http://t.co/pyQgYZMA8U THERE ARE STiLL 2MANY SUPER DUMBASS SUPER C0WARDASS UNW0RTHYASS EViL… http://t.co/C1kChTlUag

  17. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:00 pm

    @vermontaigne By cracky, bet ol’ @donsurber remembers “Rick Ellensburg”! http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0

  18. JeffS
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:03 pm

    I thought Greenwald moved to Brazil because the sex industry is cheaper and less litigious than here in the Yew Ess of Eh.

    IYKWIMAITTYD.

  19. vermontaigne
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:05 pm

    When the sheriff, when the sheriff comes for me, I fly to Rio di Janeiro!

  20. G0TTDAMNNWRiTE1
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:06 pm

    THE ToPP BiGG DoGG http://t.co/tSi1rNlR3O http://t.co/N26qOHOACk http://t.co/pyQgYZMA8U STiLL 2MANY UNW0RTHYASS U.S. REPUBLiCAN SENAT0RS

  21. vermontaigne
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:07 pm

    RT @rsmccain: Pro-Tip: Sockpuppets can’t sue for libel. http://t.co/7LmPkRmQ1Q | Unless they’re awarded standing.

  22. rsmccain
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:10 pm

    @vermontaigne Also, truth is the ultimate defense http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 (Who could *deny* Greenwald is a douchebag?)

  23. stayoffinternet
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:24 pm

    Glenn Greenwald Is a Ridiculous Joke (And Alas, the Internet Never Forgets) http://t.co/LDOwKvgbDm

  24. Shawn Gillogly
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:40 pm

    Alright. So let’s buy into the Left’s ‘kill the messenger’ narrative. Are we all hunky-dory with a government that scrapes every phone call and turns its Orwellian apparatus against political opponents at home instead of real enemies? The NSA, IRS, and DOJ get a free pass because the messengers aren’t lilly-white?

    What does Greenwald’s past have to do with the tea in China? And while I’ll grant Snowden is a criminal, that doesn’t mean the NSA isn’t full of people who made Watergate look like the petty theft it was.

  25. Josh_Painter
    June 27th, 2013 @ 6:58 pm

    RT @rsmccain: “The Way Things Used to Be back in the misty early dawn of Ye Olde Internette.” http://t.co/RGvGaHV6K0 @ali @vermontaigne @in…

  26. killpundit
    June 27th, 2013 @ 7:09 pm

    RT @vermontaigne: RT @rsmccain: “The Way Things Used to Be back in the misty early dawn of Ye Olde Internette.” http://t.co/7LmPkRmQ1Q | Go…

  27. daleyrocks
    June 27th, 2013 @ 7:39 pm

    Am I misremembering or wasn’t Ellers/Ellenburg/Greenwald censured by the court for illegally recording conversations during the Matthew Hale trial?

  28. JonDoe
    June 27th, 2013 @ 7:43 pm

    all valid. But why did he LIE about not producing gay porn when he clearly did. This only hurts everything he is doing. You can clearly hear his voice on this video directing. http://gay.theater.aebn.net/dispatcher/movieDetail?movieId=43962&locale=en&theaterId=14077&genreId=102

  29. JeffS
    June 27th, 2013 @ 8:43 pm

    Because liars lie. Regardless of their political affiliation, or lack thereof. It has to do with credibility and trustworthiness, you understand.

    Is he lying now? Or just telling part of the truth? That’s the question.

  30. Shawn Gillogly
    June 27th, 2013 @ 8:48 pm

    It’s a rubbish question. A total misdirection. Toss Greenwald out. He doesn’t matter. NSA has already said enough to incriminate itself. We already have a pattern from the DOJ & IRS of the same behavior.

    Even ENTERTAINING this ‘kill the messenger’ game is playing into the Left’s hand. The truth is, the NSA has already confessed it went beyond its mandate. Without Snowden, without Greenwald. Their own words do them in. Stop playing their game.

  31. Matthew W
    June 27th, 2013 @ 9:03 pm

    Good memory:

    http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002101211

  32. JeffS
    June 27th, 2013 @ 9:15 pm

    In the intelligence community, credibility and trustworthiness are key elements in evaluating information, not “rubbish”. That displays your own, very deep, bias on the subject of Snowden and Greenwald. Or ignorance. Or both.

    I didn’t trust the Federal government before Greenwald decided to play the “Deep Throat” game. And I haven’t trusted Greenwald since he was demonstrated to be a liar, and since he fled the country to avoid prosecution and civil judgments.

    I am ignoring Greenwald’s assessments and opinions on this; they are immaterial. That’s due to the reactions of the various governments to Snowden’s actions, which is telling enough. Greenwald was, at best, a conduit for Snowden’s information. At worst, complicit in criminal and treasonous acts. He is, by no means, any sort of hero.

  33. Shawn Gillogly
    June 27th, 2013 @ 9:43 pm

    Wrong on your assumption regarding my feelings on Greenwald and Snowden. I did call Snowden a criminal explicitly, did I not? I never said either of them are a hero. I don’t think much of either one of them. I said as much. You assumed you knew my thoughts better than me. I would call that pandering presumption.

    I said they’re immaterial, because the NSA’s own words, and the pattern of this administration, damns them WITHOUT playing the Left’s game. The entire ‘kill the messenger’ game is a whack-a-mole distraction from the real issue. Which is why the NSA can be scraping every phone call and e-mail in the nation, and not land on a bunch of pot-smoking Central Asians who made half-hearted attempts to conceal their motives (at best) as a legitimate threat.

    Also, your attempt to trot out ‘trustworthiness’ as a valid concern for sources displays at best, a dubious grasp of the history of espionage and intelligence gathering. The roles of prostitutes, honey traps, petty criminals, and stinged sources that are then turned against their former bosses belies your argument.

    Part of the problem the US has in human intelligence is Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton thought we needed ‘pristine’ sources of human intelligence. As a result, we’ve been pathetic in human intel since the end of the Cold War. The fact is, people who don’t have an axe to grind against the system they’re in aren’t likely to turn on it. So if you want to get eyes inside someone’s bedroom, you need to get the people willing to go there.

  34. Adjoran
    June 27th, 2013 @ 11:21 pm

    You mean the boyfriend he once tried to accuse of being the sockpuppet instead of himself? THAT rentboy?

  35. Adjoran
    June 27th, 2013 @ 11:25 pm

    He fell in love with the Carnivale. How ya gonna out-flame that?

  36. Adjoran
    June 27th, 2013 @ 11:27 pm

    Really? And what, specifically, has NSA conceded that is illegal?

    Not what Greenwald or Snowden SAY documents mean or prove, what NSA has said, as you claim.

  37. Adjoran
    June 27th, 2013 @ 11:30 pm

    Good times, good times.

  38. Adjoran
    June 27th, 2013 @ 11:43 pm

    Yes, the credulous choose to believe Greenwald, known liar, sockpuppet, wire-tapper, defier of court orders, expatriate tax cheat, and all-around anti-American scumbag, and Snowden, who has now admitted seeking his job for the express purpose of espionage, and accept their every unsubstantiated charge at face value.

    Your “heroes” are lying leftist deadbeat traitors, Zippy. Grow the Fluke up.

  39. Adjoran
    June 28th, 2013 @ 1:58 am

    They say if you mention the name of the Devil, he will appear.

    In entirely unrelated developments, Charles Johnson is on a bicycle tour of Scandinavia. http://www.thelocal.se/48642/20130623/

  40. K-Bob
    June 28th, 2013 @ 3:37 am

    I was hoping someone would remind folks again of Greenwald’s duplicity. (I might be mis-recalling, but I think Powerline blog actually brought out the label of “Douchebag” for Mr. Greenwald, sometime around the 2003 era. Suddenly, it became commonplace for the ‘D’ word to appear at more serious blogs.)

    So, naturally, instead of a reminder, Stacy brings out the sixteen-inch guns and presents an authoritative volley of epic proportion. Well done, sir.

  41. K-Bob
    June 28th, 2013 @ 3:39 am

    Hmmm.
    Blonde-ish long hair.
    Scandinavia.
    That “one in four” statistic.

    I wonder what he’s after.

  42. K-Bob
    June 28th, 2013 @ 3:49 am

    No.

    It’s not a “kill-the-messenger” game.
    A)These guys aren’t valid messengers to begin with.
    B) Anyone who needed their “message” to know what was going on is so uninterested in the subject that it doesn’t matter what these two “heroes” said. They’ll be back to watching DWTS and forget all about it.
    C) barack loves all the focus on a government agency, which totally takes the focus off of his impeachable offenses.

    The fact that Stacy has reminded folks of the duplicity of Greenwald is a reminder that people need to stop and think for a bit before deciding that the latest face to pop up on the radar is a total hero. That’s how barack got elected.

  43. K-Bob
    June 28th, 2013 @ 3:54 am

    Sounds vaguely like that old British joke about “Three days in Brighton makes your whole week”

  44. WJJ Hoge
    June 28th, 2013 @ 6:32 am

    But, but, but, but … Greenwald does such good things working with organizations like SEIU and Velvet Revolution US and people like Brad Friedman and Brett Kimberlin.

  45. Shawn Gillogly
    June 28th, 2013 @ 7:04 am

    So you’re alright with NSA scraping every phone cal and e-mail. You’re fine with them being too incompetent to use that information to catch REAL terrorists. And you’re OK that to the Left, the Tea Party is a bigger threat than Jihadists…and the Institutional Left controls the Gov’t Apparatus and has aimed it accordingly. No, that doesn’t need to be addressed.

    Yep, Obama’s right. They’re totally transparent and never abused their authority.

    I don’t care whether the Patriot Act says it’s ‘legal.’ Because that only proves the stupidity of that freedom-crushing law in the first place. The Patriot Act is inconsistent with Free Speech and the principles the Founders elucidated. We should be using this as proof the entire structure needs to be rolled back, reexamined, and kept under oversight by people NOT attached to the political machine.

  46. robcrawford2
    June 28th, 2013 @ 12:52 pm

    BTW — that means one of the few times Greenwald actually undertook the job of a lawyer, he was representing a murderous white supremacist.

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