tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post993162838457019803..comments2024-03-27T19:11:37.620-04:00Comments on You Don't Say: The birthers' allergy to factJohn McIntyrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-27633420573627004832009-08-08T02:13:12.627-04:002009-08-08T02:13:12.627-04:00There is a kind of looney-tunes talk radio program...There is a kind of looney-tunes talk radio program - I don't know its name, but it's on AM radio all night, every night. Most of the people who call are conspiracy wackos of one stripe or another, but the favorite topic is UFOs and related hallucinations. They are the people who believe everything they see on the X-Files, including a couple who named their son "Fox."Patricia the Tersenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-4583625777594198212009-08-04T11:58:45.313-04:002009-08-04T11:58:45.313-04:00"You have a vision of moral order in the univ..."You have a vision of moral order in the universe and there isn't any. Those stars twinkle in a void, dear boy, and the two-legged creature schemes and dreams beneath them, all in vain...Men will believe anything, the more preposterous the better. Whales speak French at the bottom of the sea. The horses of Arabia have silver wings. Pygmies mate with elephants in darkest Africa. I have sold all those propositions." <br />--Allardyce T Meriweather, from "Little Big Man" by Thomas BergerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-17795469373179949812009-08-03T14:32:50.570-04:002009-08-03T14:32:50.570-04:00I'd listen to your talk show. Could it be abou...I'd listen to your talk show. Could it be about copy editing and language? How about a podcast?M.C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-71678330769849852292009-08-03T10:36:21.133-04:002009-08-03T10:36:21.133-04:00Talk radio? I'm available for just about anyth...Talk radio? I'm available for just about anything that would pay me wages, but it's doubtful that there's an audience out there panting to hear me.John McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-86569194390486318632009-08-03T10:27:45.057-04:002009-08-03T10:27:45.057-04:00Would you start a talk radio program? I need to he...Would you start a talk radio program? I need to hear this conversation on the air. It's so refreshing.<br /><br />C WadeUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10387029009750097985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-85957272323587776882009-08-03T00:30:04.389-04:002009-08-03T00:30:04.389-04:00What the devil is a 'birther?' And please...What the devil is a 'birther?' And please don't tell me that it's a legitimate English word. I still won't use "incentivize" and the rest of the academic-political argot. I'd rather be understood by people who use standard English.The new photograph is good, although I miss the presence of uno capello della Americano.Patricia the Tersenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-46603144114685096472009-08-03T00:08:47.959-04:002009-08-03T00:08:47.959-04:00And when has it ever been different? People have a...<i>And when has it ever been different? People have always lashed out at those people and ideas that threatened them and their way of life, whether God given or earned.</i><br /><br />RiE nailed it. There are many folks down here who take a narrow view of the world's events and sometimes, it scares me. Like an ex co-worker who decided to raise chickens on his land for his family's sustenance and also bought a shotgun. The weapon is for when everyone is starving and will raid his house for food. The guy has a very large stockpile of canned goods too.PCB Robnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-6679139560279855292009-08-02T18:58:58.434-04:002009-08-02T18:58:58.434-04:00And when has it ever been different? People have a...And when has it ever been different? People have always lashed out at those people and ideas that threatened them and their way of life, whether God given or earned. Remember the Luddites and Saboteurs of the early Industrial Revolution? The Know-Nothings of the mid-Nineteenth Century? The Klu Klux Klan, Jim Crow Laws, "Separate But Equal," Holocaust Deniers? The list goes on. People believe Neil Armstrong did not set foot on the moon forty years ago. They believe that the world is flat. And a surprising number KNOW that theirs is the only True Religion and that everyone else must be converted to it, forceably if necessary, or be consigned to the nether regions. So the "birthers" are really just the continuation of a long line of people who "know" the Truth and won't let any facts stand in their way.<br /><br />Retired in ElkridgeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-83159099167542340232009-08-02T16:40:09.160-04:002009-08-02T16:40:09.160-04:00The Birthers got that label because their conspira...The Birthers got that label because their conspiracy theory comes from the same kind of fever that produces the 9/11 "Truthers." (They called themselves the 9/11 Truth Movement, and it was used against them.) Just as all scandals are now -gate, I wonder if all conspiracy theories will now be -thers. <br /><br />I also notice that many people mock the time machine aspect of the Birthers' claims, that the plot began decades ago because the family somehow knew the newborn Obama would run for president someday. The Birthers' explanation on this is less ludicrous: They say that, given a way to do so, it's not unreasonable that the family would angle for a way to have the newborn declared a citizen of the United States, just for a better chance at life. No need for time travel. There are holes in this story, too, although they're mostly circumstantial.<br /><br />This polarized world needs more critical thinking, which can be done by good editors in the right jobs or concerned-citizens, and probably both.Brian Cubbisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11572147009277095287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-1139834088015560402009-08-02T14:06:44.601-04:002009-08-02T14:06:44.601-04:00The problem with conspiracy theorists is that evid...The problem with conspiracy theorists is that evidence that disproves their POV is just further evidence of the coverup. On the plus side, the convoluted explanations required to sustain the belief are often quite imaginative. :-)<br /><br />PS Some of my seemingly rational friends belong to the 9/11-was-an-inside-job sect. A corollary of this was that the Pentagon was actually attacked with a cruise missle, not a jet. "Evidence" was that the government wouldn't release security-camera tapes of the attack. But then the government DID release the tapes. So at least we don't have to listen to this claptrap any more, altho this hasn't otherwise dented their conviction on the overall conspiracy.mikehttp://www.mikepope.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-45201874396356822082009-08-02T13:36:41.424-04:002009-08-02T13:36:41.424-04:00I am deeply concerned with the ability of people t...I am deeply concerned with the ability of people to delude themselves and believe anything that will make them feel more righteous and/or secure. If you read about how the Nazis seized power, partly by telling lie after lie in propaganda that people wanted to believe, it becomes really, really scary. Thanks for writing this.Chris Kridlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05283538203234257170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-7438920534090218092009-08-02T11:32:42.398-04:002009-08-02T11:32:42.398-04:00Paul Soucy, commenting on Facebook:
I like the s...Paul Soucy, commenting on Facebook: <br /><br />I like the suggestion that his family knew *when he was born* that they had to cover up the facts of his birth in order to make him president. Because back in 1961, if you wanted to pick a newborn to groom for the presidency, you would have picked a half-black kid with an African name who was born in Hawaii.John McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-43038092163045317772009-08-02T00:35:30.356-04:002009-08-02T00:35:30.356-04:00Like so many on the hard core right, the "bir...Like so many on the hard core right, the "birthers" seem to have been baptized in the same acidic waters as the rest of their faith-based brethern. With their minds tightly snapped shut, fundamentalists of every stripe -- gun nuts, conspiracy freaks, anti-evolutionists, the so-called pro life movement and these lunatic birthers -- have all the "facts" they need, and are thus impervious to reason or logic.<br /><br />The rising tide of such brain-dead idiocy around the world (fueled largely by ignorance and emotion, I suspect) does not bode well for our collective future. Then again, not much in the news these days does...<br /><br />This is a wonderful blog.Michael Taylorhttp://hollywoodjuicer.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-56402267805684035122009-08-01T23:00:14.862-04:002009-08-01T23:00:14.862-04:00Different tack. How many commonwealths are there i...Different tack. How many commonwealths are there in the United States? Name them. <br /><br />My academic friends in Australia expressed surprise and amazement to learn that I came from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since they lived in the Australia, a member of the British commonwealth. <br /><br />Are you a member? they wanted to know.The Spectatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04957037068796320437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-60049368633280178212009-08-01T18:39:46.214-04:002009-08-01T18:39:46.214-04:00I hate to play the race card, but one wonders if t...I hate to play the race card, but one wonders if this movement would even have gotten off the ground had the President's father been a foreign national from, say, Ireland or Germany or Denmark.Shayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16527241089629026268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-1494449908630267322009-08-01T16:39:17.962-04:002009-08-01T16:39:17.962-04:00The photograph as taken a couple of years ago at a...The photograph as taken a couple of years ago at a restaurant in Italy, in the town of Cagli where I spent a few days editing copy as part of a Loyola-sponsored summer program.John McIntyrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03559687583130468871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-66530801785468077702009-08-01T16:19:04.484-04:002009-08-01T16:19:04.484-04:00Among the many,many things that bother me about th...Among the many,<i>many</i> things that bother me about the birther movement is the claim that, when presented with hard evidence, the documents are forgeries. This is the same claim made by Holocaust denial superstars such as David Irving and Ernst Zündel when they are confronted with, literally, tons of physical evidence and first-hand testimony from the perpetrators.<br /><br />Corollary to that is the mistaken notion that someone just wakes up and decides one day to run for President. Do these people not think that among the massive amounts of paperwork that must be filed is evidence of eligibility for the job?<br /><br />(By the way, John, I haven't visited in several weeks and am delighted to see a new photo of you. Although you may have mentioned this in a prior post, I'm guessing you were at Crêpe du Jour when it was taken. Am I right?)Robinhttp://livejournal.com/sarahspadenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-76651391098749103902009-08-01T14:29:10.665-04:002009-08-01T14:29:10.665-04:00Some of these birthers are friends of mine and you...Some of these birthers are friends of mine and you are correct, no amount of reasoning or evidence will appease them. They also believe global warming is a conspiracy and that the government is tracking their movements. In don't know whether to laugh at them or cry for them?REGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09141872868930003563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-50297097081044566002009-08-01T12:35:33.208-04:002009-08-01T12:35:33.208-04:00In The Sun (the always totally ad-free magazine fr...In The Sun (the always totally ad-free magazine from NC, and my favorite), I read an excerpt from Seth Speaks: The Eternal Validity of the Soul just yesterday that made me think of the birthers right away: "The ego is a jealous god, and it wants its interests served. It does not want to admit the reality of any dimensions except those within which it feels comfortable and can understand...If you have a limited conception of the nature of reality, then your ego will do its best to keep you in the small, enclosed area of your accepted reality." <br /><br />A more fun quotation from their Sunbeams section this month was from Steven Wright: "If God dropped acid, would he see people?"traceychennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6051744883907551402.post-50664844985899176462009-08-01T10:46:55.322-04:002009-08-01T10:46:55.322-04:00I'm reading a book that examines why people li...I'm reading a book that examines why people like the birthers are so hardheaded even when they know they're wrong. It's called "Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)."<br /><br />I'm not very far in, but it talks about problems with cognitive dissonance, confirmation bias and the desperation to cling to any technicality to make them feel they are still right. Pretty good read if you haven't picked it up before.Luke Morrishttp://lukemorris.netnoreply@blogger.com