-
It's that time of year again - our ISP is asking for money. If you have some spare change, please click the Donate link... Thanks!
- About Us
- Search
- Need Help?
- Donate
- Login/Register
Latest Entries
Actions Menu
Blog Roll
- 4F Facebook Page
- Turn Up The Night with Kenny Pick
- Stephanie Miller Show
- The Tim Corrimal Show
- The Rachel Maddow Show
- Angry Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
- Thom Hartmann Program
- Turnips! Fans of Turn Up the Night Facebook Page
- Snopes.com
- Factcheck.org
- Official White House Page, if you must.
- The Brad Blog / Green News Report
- The Poorly Written Political Blog (Joe Santorsa)
Stupid Liars
Author: BobR
Date: 2014-01-08 12:16:41
There's a familiar phrase that goes along the lines of "you're entitled to your own opinion, but you're not entitled to your own facts". The best kind of opinion is an informed one, that is - one that is formed based on the best factual information available. The problem is when the opinion comes first, and then when facts can't be found to support it, they are fabricated out of whole cloth. Then one has to decide if the person delivering their opinion as if it were indeed fact are liars or stupid.
Raine's blog post on Monday put the information out there that essentially asked that question. There wasn't sufficient information to state definitively either way, and so she didn't. It appears, though, that he was indeed lying:
Whoopsie - did someone in the Paul household commit fraud to make a political point? It certainly didn't "accidentally" happen the way Paul told the story.
The other big nonsense going on revolves around the polar vortex (no pun intended). Despite this being a real thing that scientists have known about and studied for decades, there are those who are falsely claiming it's made up. The number one loudmouth is naturally Rush Limbaugh:
Obviously? Satelite photos of the polar ice caps are easy enough to find. This one took me 2 minutes:
Limbaugh's lies about the vortex were shot down as well by those in the know (ie: college-educated scientists and meteorologists). It's too easy to disprove this, yet those who want to believe it - will.
Obamacare is another one where horror stories abound, yet all it takes is a little effort, and the truth rises to the surface like cream:
Over a million people have signed up for coverage on the various exchanges. The horror stories are anecdotal and almost always missing numerous key details that show the truth.
At the beginning of this, I mentioned that it's hard to tell if these people are lying or stupid. I suppose "crazy" is another option. Case in point: Pat Robertson. He too is claiming that global warming is a "hoax" (dreamed up by whom and for what reason is always a fuzzy detail), and the proof is the lack of SUVs on Jupiter:
When one uses the term "in fact", it would be nice if what followed was indeed fact, not some nonsense that was pulled out of one's nasty nether orifices. Differing opinions are the basis of healthy debate and discussion, but when those opinions are based on fabrications, then the whole model collapses and the entire exercise becomes worthless.
Is it better to be a liar or to be stupid? Neither, when you are a powerful voice in our democracy. Lies, misrepresentations, and omissions are no way to run a country.
Raine's blog post on Monday put the information out there that essentially asked that question. There wasn't sufficient information to state definitively either way, and so she didn't. It appears, though, that he was indeed lying:
No one is being automatically enrolled for Medicaid in Kentucky, says Jill Midkiff, communications director for the state’s health department. “We’re not automatically enrolling people,” Midkiff explains. “People have to actually go and apply.”
[...]
The state is notifying some residents of their eligibility for Medicaid, but Paul’s son would have needed to actually apply for Medicaid in order to receive a Medicaid card.
Whoopsie - did someone in the Paul household commit fraud to make a political point? It certainly didn't "accidentally" happen the way Paul told the story.
The other big nonsense going on revolves around the polar vortex (no pun intended). Despite this being a real thing that scientists have known about and studied for decades, there are those who are falsely claiming it's made up. The number one loudmouth is naturally Rush Limbaugh:
"Right on schedule, the media have to come up with a way to make it [the cold snap] sound like it's completely unprecedented," Limbaugh said, "because they've got to find a way to attach this to the global warming agenda."
[...]
Limbaugh noted that media outlets have created a "polar vortex" to exaggerate the harsh weather conditions by publishing "fraudulent pictures," including photographs of the North Pole "melting" in order to convince people that "we're responsible -- we're causing it."
"Any weather extreme now is said to be man-made and therefore it fulfills the leftist agenda," he added. "Obviously there is no melting of ice going on at the North Pole."
Obviously? Satelite photos of the polar ice caps are easy enough to find. This one took me 2 minutes:
Limbaugh's lies about the vortex were shot down as well by those in the know (ie: college-educated scientists and meteorologists). It's too easy to disprove this, yet those who want to believe it - will.
Obamacare is another one where horror stories abound, yet all it takes is a little effort, and the truth rises to the surface like cream:
Yesterday I posted about a Fort Worth Star Telegram article that leads with the tale of Whitney Johnson, a 26-year-old new mother who suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS). Her insurer just cancelled her policy, and according to Johnson, new insurance would cost her over $1,000 a month.
[...]
When I tried to phone the reporter, she didn’t return multiple calls. Finally, I reached an editor at the paper. He told me that the both Yamil Berard, the reporter, and her editor were out of the office. I expressed my concern that inaccuracies in the story would discourage readers who were thinking about signing up in the exchanges. He suggested that I sounded like an “advocate” for Obamacare.
To my surprise, two hours later he called me back.
He had just received an internal email, he told me, which revealed that Whitney Johnson had found affordable health insurance for $350 a month – just $25 more than the premium on her cancelled policy, and roughly what I thought she would pay in the exchange.
Over a million people have signed up for coverage on the various exchanges. The horror stories are anecdotal and almost always missing numerous key details that show the truth.
At the beginning of this, I mentioned that it's hard to tell if these people are lying or stupid. I suppose "crazy" is another option. Case in point: Pat Robertson. He too is claiming that global warming is a "hoax" (dreamed up by whom and for what reason is always a fuzzy detail), and the proof is the lack of SUVs on Jupiter:
“There’s just one problem,” he said. “The Earth isn’t getting warmer. In fact, it’s because of the Sun. The Sun is now showing signs that we’re headed for something very, very different: global cooling.”
“It’s getting warmer in Jupiter, and they don’t have any SUVs driving around in Jupiter,” Robertson explained. “I mean, it has nothing to do with greenhouse gasses. It has to do with the axis of the Sun.”
When one uses the term "in fact", it would be nice if what followed was indeed fact, not some nonsense that was pulled out of one's nasty nether orifices. Differing opinions are the basis of healthy debate and discussion, but when those opinions are based on fabrications, then the whole model collapses and the entire exercise becomes worthless.
Is it better to be a liar or to be stupid? Neither, when you are a powerful voice in our democracy. Lies, misrepresentations, and omissions are no way to run a country.
