Thursday, October 30, 2008

Oh. My. Gosh.

I've written before about the laughable propaganda engine called 'Conservapedia.'

Conservapedia is the American right-wing's 'alternative' to Wikipedia, which they claim: "shows a systematic liberal bias." Therefore, New Jersey lawyer and history teacher Andrew Schlafly, started his own 'trustworthy encyclopedia' which presents the (ahem...) facts from a 'Conservative perspective.'

[You mean a completely retarded one? - Editorial Bear]

Which translates as it being a place where Conservatives can go to find Wikipedia-like articles telling them all the make-believe they want to hear: Rubbish like how evolution isn't true, that the mighty vegetarian Tyrannosaurus Rex hung out with Noah and his pals and, of course, all sorts of rubbish about the 'enemies' of Conservatism, like our pal Obama.

For old time's sake, I visited Conservapedia to see what they've got written about Barack Obama. Check it out - it's hysterical and terrifying all at the same time:

http://www.conservapedia.com/Obama

For the sake of your sanity, though, I'll present some of the best bits. Remember, pundits who visit Conservapedia consider these to be 'facts.'

This picture from Conservapedia shows Obama not placing his hand on his heart during the pledge of allegience. This clearly indicates that he's a radical, white-hating militant Muslim who eats the tender flesh of aborted babies.

Doctors from the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons have observed that Obama uses techniques of mind control in his speeches and campaign symbols.

Yes, apparently we're all under the hypnotic control of Barack Obama.

"Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen." Obama's "birth certificate, from the state of Hawaii," has been "verified as a forgery by three independent document forensic experts."

Like with every other citation in the article, it's impossible to find links to the 'experts' - which is probably as a result of them not existing.

If elected, Obama would likely become the first Muslim President, and could use the Koran to be sworn into office.

I can't even think of anything funny to write about that claim. It's just a pathetic lie.

Obama has no clear personal achievement that cannot be explained as the result of affirmative action.

Remember, according to true Conservatives, no African American ever achieved anything through their own grit, determination or ability. Especially not the richest woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey.

Obama and his wife, reared a Baptist, have been active members since 1988 at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Wait, didn't they claim he was a Muslim earlier? You'd think they could get their (ahem...) facts straight in the same article.

Oh, about the Trinity United Church of Christ. Aside from the antics of firebrand preacher Jeremiah Wright, the proof of Obama's Godless, heathen ways is proved because: "this denomination was the first in America to ordain blacks as ministers."

Fortunately, it's not all Conservative insanity. In the 'talk' section of the article, some people have objected to this fact-free, cobbled-together of badly-written, disgusting propaganda.

One person writers: "The whole tone of this article on Barack Obama is appalling. It is poorly written, inaccurate, misleading, insulting and thoroughly vile. I would be ashamed to publish such contemptible stuff."

To which Andrew Schlafly, the owner of Conservapedia, responded with an instant ban on that user, smugly adding: "That's your first -- and only -- contribution here."

Another user pointed out that many of the article's claims had no citations, as sites like Wikipedia insist on.

One reader complained: "Citations... in the Obama article are NOT true sources. When following down to the footnote, I couldn't get to a site and was exposed, instead, to anecdotal evidence based on the observation of the person who wrote this article."

Andrew Schlafly's response to this allegation? Pointing out that it's not Conservapedia's policy "to cite only sources that can be proven to be "factually" true."

So straight from the horse's (ass's) mouth, his 'trustworthy encyclopedia' doesn't trust it's truthiness to those pesky, liberally biased things you and I would call 'facts.'

Over the past few months, I have been simply astonished at some of the things people have come to believe about Barack Obama. I often wondered what contagious mental illness they must have contracted.... turned out it's a little some called 'Bollockus Conservapediaus.'

Remember, folks: Andrew Schlafly is a teacher and an advocate of homeschooling. So when the next generation of American kids can quote Deuteronomy by heart, but have forgotton every medical and scientific advance more technical than the asprin, go and knock on that asshole's door.

13 comments:

Expat mum said...

Oh god it makes me weep. And last night we had Joe the Plumber being asked about Israel. Why he didn't come out and admit that he has no idea why Israel is even being discussed? Most of the people at McCain's rallies couldn't even find it on a map and yet it seemed so very important yesterday.

Anonymous said...

I'm a conservative and this is the first I've heard of "Conservapedia."

This election has come down to the basic underlying ideologies of the candidates... not abortion, not education, not the economy, not the environment, not the war. It is that driving force behind each of the candidates in what they want to accomplish within this country that I'm concerned with. I've no doubt in my mind that a vote for Barak Obama is a step toward socialism... or worse. I don't care about all the other crap swirling around that is serving to do nothing more than distract people and get them fighting over details.

As far as race goes... what do you think about the effigy of Palin hanging in West Hollywood? Did you hear about the effigy of Obama hanging from a tree on a Kansas college campus? It was taken down and denounced (as it well should have been!!! That crap is completely unacceptable!) However, the effigy of Palin still hangs. Granted it is at a residence and hanging under the guise of Halloween... but give me a break!

What is wrong with people? What if people showed up to some rally wearing t-shirts saying Obama was some derogatory name for a dinkle doink? There is very much a double standard going on. Can you imagine if the L.A. Times were witholding a tape of McCain??? Wouldn't happen.

Can you imagine if McCain made a commitment to only use public financing and then didn't and came out with a half hour promo infomercial???

I'm disgusted with it all. Hopefully, others will be too and pull that lever for McCain.

The Chemist said...

What's so bad about socialism? I have yet to meet the person in this country who can accurately define it in the first place, much less think about it objectively. (I'm sure Ginger can seeing as he's got the European edge)

Moreover, I wouldn't call Iraq "other crap". Real people are dying real deaths. Some of the newspapers I read don't shy away from showing you picture of bombing victims. I highly recommend you see some of them before you reduce Iraq to "other crap". Especially since the party you support was so gung-ho about it.

Finally, public campaign financing has traditionally been a thoroughly gamed system. Reform has traditionally been rejected by Republicans- this is a simple case of someone outmaneuvering their opponent. McCain wants to cry- tough. It's legal. When another country pulls a stupid stunt, McCain isn't just going to whine about it is he?

I don't understand what you expect anyone to do about the McCain-Palin mannequins, it's a futile concern and ultimately a rant from nowhere. No one can do anything about it.

It's all a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Anonymous said...

Chemist,

My list... abortion, education, the economy, the environment, and the war are all things that I care about. What I was stating was that we have to protect our basic freedom above all... not taking away from those things but ensuring that we can still address those other things in the future.

When I said, "I dont care about the 'other' crap swirling around..." I was referring to all of the accusations thrown out against both sides... like who is friends with who and whether someone tried to get someone fired. That crap. I would never refer to the Iraq war as crap and I am fully aware that people are dying "real deaths" as you put it.

And I know what socialism is.

I didn't expect anyone to do anything about the Palin mannequin. I was just pointing out a double standard.

Sound and fury? I'm not sure I understand what you are saying... but, then again, it seems pretty apparent that, in your mind, you are of superior intelligence Mr. Chemist.

The Chemist said...

"...it seems pretty apparent that, in your mind, you are of superior intelligence Mr. Chemist."

I don't have to work hard for that. Indeed, if you feel that after eight years of the USA PATRIOT Act, that the American right has shown one iota of respect for our basic rights, then an amoeba could achieve that modest feat of relatively superior intelligence.

Anonymous said...

Is there an organism lower than an amoeba? Because whatever it is, if there is one, I must be it.

I wasn't aware that the Patriot Act was just an arm of the evil right in this country.

I'm curious... I just can't seem to follow your logic. You stated in an earlier comment, "What is wrong with socialism?" Can you tell me what is good about it? Can you explain, in simple terms of course, how socialism would be of benefit in this country and just how our basic freedoms will be maintained under such? Remember to use small words.

The Chemist said...

Please don't take my amoeba comment literally, it was just a colorful way of saying that your statement was as dumb as a rock. (Hey, you asked for small words.)

The USA PATRIOT Act (not "The Patriot Act", please articulate the full dumbosity of the acronym) was contrived by Republicans, endorsed by Republicans in the Congress, and supported by the right in the general public. So while it is not an institutionalized arm of the right wing, it's pretty dang close.

What's this nonsense about "basic rights" you keep talking about. Our basic rights are elucidated clearly in the constitution- where has Obama forcefully gone against that?

Finally, stop expressing your ignorance of socialism. Socialism is not a singular monolithic ideology. It's not something you can take and express clearly in points 1,2, and 3 as being X, Y, and Z. The crux of all the various socialist ideologies is simply that capitalism is a system that cannot function without imposing (either systematically or as a byproduct) inequality on people.

Therefore if you accept that all people are equal, something must be done to mitigate or abolish this effect, if not the system altogether.

I'm not a socialist in the traditional sense of the term, however I don't look at ideas in a simplistic way and reject or accept them wholly. I shop, I take what I like and discard the rest. Fundamentally I think socialism basically gets it right: People with money in our society carry far more clout than people who do not.

If you don't agree with that, don't whine about Obama rejecting public financing. That if nothing else, implies a commitment to capitalism.

As for how basic freedoms would be preserved under a "socialist system", I remain confused to what you think those are. This is of course utterly disregarding the simple fact that socialism does not describe a system so much as it attempts to refute one.

Check out Marx's Capital sometime. Oh wait, I forgot, we all know what Palin thinks of having certain books in the public library.

Finally: The mannequin. What double standard? The man who set it up managed to make Olbermann's Worst Person list, and has earned the ire of many a Democrat/Obama supporter. I don't understand what else you expect.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Chemist,

I don't have a lot of time to respond right now... but, I did want to apologize for getting a bit snarky (and to Roland too). That is not typically my style.

I am just a middle aged housewife that dropped out of a community college over 20 years ago. I've been to your blogs before and it is obvious that you are very intelligent and a thinker. It is also obvious that our backgrounds are very different which I am sure has shaped our differing views.

No, all people are not equal but we have typically fought for equal opportunity in this country. It is what each individual does with that opportunity that they are responsible for.

I suspect that you have a very high IQ. What, may I ask, did you do to earn that IQ? Nothing. It was something you were born with. A gift. To look down your nose at those who do not share your level of intelligence is, I believe, wrong. There is an arrogance that comes across in your writing that I was responding to. It is a pet peeve of mine when I come across individuals who seem to see others as stupid and worthy of disdain. This probably comes from having a daughter with a learning disability (dyslexia) and I tend to respond on an emotional level... which was inappropriate to display in the comment section of someone else's blog (sorry again Roland).

Christianity seems to have come under attack in this country and, living in Colorado, we are feeling it through some legislation that has passed over the last year.

My understanding of Socialism is that it is a system that greatly reduces choice and penalizes achievers while rewarding under achievers in an attempt to make things equal. The areas I see as an immediate threat are taxes and healthcare. I don't have time to get into specifics right now and I know that is an extremely simplistic explanation...

The Chemist said...

Well, I secretly suspect Roland would get a kick out of an argument on his blog (I know I would). You are right about the IQ (I have taken the test, strangely) but there are a lot of reasons it's an unimportant number that ultimately determines nothing. If it helps, I actually got mediocre grades in high school. IQ has nothing to do with work ethic.

If I come of as arrogant, then I comes off as arrogant. I can't apologize for how I appear. I'm very passionate about my politics and will use whatever is at my disposal to make a point. If it helps I was watching House as I typed, which has a tendency to infect me with a little of his personality for a short period of time.

Roland Hulme said...

hi guys! sorry I've been absent from the discussion!

Coffee Bean! Hello! You're quite right about the Palin-effigy, although they took that down pretty quickly, I read, and even the least politically correct person would have to agree that lynching an effigy of an African American is MUCH more inflamatory than Sarah Palin, given America's racial heritage.

That being said, i totally reject that kind of thing - just like I complained about those people in the 'Palin is a c**t' tshirts. Disgusting.

As far as the public financing thing goes - if any other candidate had ever realised they'd have access to such campaign coffers, they'd have rejected public financing, too. I have no problem - not one iota - with what Obama did. It's within the rules and when he made that promise, he didn't realise he'd have the resources to outspend McCain 5 to 1. It's like us invading Iraq, but deciding we'll 'play fair' and not use airplanes because the insurgent don't have them.

I want a president who's in-it-to-win-it.

and hey, chemist! I agree with you about socialism, too. What Obama's got is (by American standards) left wing, economically - but that's STILL center/center right by European standards. It ain't socialism. When the power company, trains, airlines and car manufacturers are all owned in part or in full by the government (like they are in France) we'll be living under a socialist system.

There seems to be fundemental confusion with many republicans about what socialism actually MEANS.

America will NEVER embrace socialism. This is just a knee-jerk reaction to the similarly retarded totally unregulated free trade debarcle. That was an ideology like socialism, and just like socialism, it was doomed to failure.

Capitalism is the only system that makes any sense, but sadly it will always need SOME regulation.

I honestly don't see WHERE Obama is taking our freedoms away. The Republicans took away our privacies, our constitutional rights, our inalienable human rights... Bush et. al. has trodden more freedoms underfoot than Obama could ever hope to.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr. Chemist (that makes me giggle a bit... you are a youngun. In fact, my oldest is engaged to a boy your age)

You are right about IQ numbers being unimportant! It is more an indicator of natural ability and should never be taken for granted or as a limitation. Work Ethic is definitely more important!

The fact that you were watching House while commenting made me laugh out loud. Cute.

shelebel said...

Actually, this was not the Pledge of Allegiance, it was the National Anthem - which he was singing. Here is the proof.http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3759803

If you're going to slam the President, at least get your fact straight first.

Roland Hulme said...

Wow, shelebel, you didn't even read the post, did you?

But quite right, it was the anthem, not the pledge.