Sometimes You Can't Combat The Stupid

No matter how hard you try, there's no way to combat the amount of stupid in this country. I say that after making a dumb mistake. I replied to a stupid person's comment on this week's YouTube video of President Obama's weekly address. I should have known better. But it was a sincere effort to supply information - unfortunately, there's no amount of facts and truth that can appease the hatred.

Here's what initially got me started (not going to bother acknowledging grammatical errors):

berserker1776: "this is starting to feel like a banana republic ..... Ive been chasing cave men in Iraq for 27 months, almost got blown up rightfully so, i mean if occupier where patroling I-5 in california id try to blow them up too. mr. president, you are nevergoing to get my vote, my familly voted for youand they are disgusted with you. thanks for your part in fast in furiouse that led to the death of us border agents, and thanks for working to take our guns at home .... im going to go read my bible sir"

I responded with a general comment:

Broadway Carl: Reading the comments here thus far, I'm actually appalled at some of the responses. You'd think everything was all fine and dandy on January 19, 2009 but all went to hell on January 20th, 2009. And maybe some of you truly believe that for one bizarre reason or another. But the complaints I'm reading? Come on now.

Iraq? Call me crazy but I thought that started about 8 or 9 years ago. Bank bailout? Yeah, I remember that summer... of 2008.

And you can thank President Obama for restructuring TARP so that the banks would actually pay that $700 BILLION back that Henry Paulson and George W. Bush initially gave away with no strings attached.

Some of you really need to take a step back and actually see what happened before being so quick to blame someone for WHATEVER REASON you might have.

Of course to me, "WHATEVER REASON" is thinly veiled racism. I have little doubt that these kinds of vitriolic rants would be half as angry if we had someone in the White House who wasn't categorized for the last three years as a terrorist loving, Kenyan born, Manchurian candidate, Socialist, Marxist, Communist Antichrist. Oh, and he's black too. He's not a "real American."

The problem in commenting on YouTube is the limited characters allowed and it seems you can no longer include links to back up your information or provide a longer explanation. But it wasn't long before berserker1776 responded. And now I'm getting email notifications from YouTube telling me stupid people responded to my comment.

berserker1776: after 3 years in office the man has accomplished zero of his promises. and after 3 years the wars are now his wars so even if a war is not a war like libya, we have robots to send in to drop love bombs. this president is acting like adolph hitler, he says he doesn't need congress to go to libya, well why have a us flag lets get a UN flag on all our uniforms this is mass insanity. we are not free, and we are loosing everything at home AMERICA WHEN WILL YOU CARE? WHEN YOU HOMELESS?

...Sigh... I opened up a can of stupid. But hey, with "1776" in his handle to show his patriotism, he can't be all bad.

My initial reaction was to respond, which is when I came across the "no links" errors, so I took a step back, calmed down and decided to forget the notion of replying. It's not worth the time to slam my head against a brick wall of idiocy when I'm never going to convince the wall anyway. But what I wanted to say was this:

I don't know what planet you live on, but on my planet January 20, 2009 through July 16, 2011 is actually 2½ years, not three years. And as far as accomplishing "zero of his promises" you might want to visit this site that is keeping tabs on promises kept, 148 and counting. As far the wars are concerned, he said he'd draw down in Iraq, and he has; he said he'd escalate in Afghanistan, and he has; he said he'd surge troops in order to complete the dismantling of Al-Qaeda and then bring them home, which he's doing; he said he'd capture or kill Obama bin Laden, and he has. Just add those to the "Promises Kept" column. As far as Libya is concerned, you can say it's debatable whether the President violated the War Powers Act, but saying he's acting like Hitler is just plain silly. I hope you were just as vocal when President Bush declared war on Iraq under false pretenses.
Also please point me in the directions of the sources you're using for your claims that Obama policies led to the death of border agents and that he's trying to take your guns away. Good luck with bible reading.

I did get a word of encouragement, however:

fonkymaster: Finally! A rational person has appeared! It's super effective!

But it wasn't long before others chimed in:

JUDALATION: so since the president does one good thing we should forget the REAL BIG BAD THINGS HE HAS DONE?He has KEPT Guantanimo, Kept drilling offshore, Kept the Patriot act, Kept tax cuts for Millionaires, kept soldiers in Iraq, Kept Dont ask dont tell, and passed weak regulations on banks, He has surrounded himself with wallstreet people in his cabinet. He is to the right of Bush on Immigration and has deported more illegals than bush. He is AGAINST GAY MARRAGE,He racked + debt than bush

AthenasConquest: This is Hilarious Obama spent more money than all presidents combined.Now he pretends to arrest the problem blatant spending he created.

Well, it's like a crack in the dyke of stupid. I just don't have enough fingers to plug the holes.

Should I go into the fact that Congress voted practically unanimously to defund the closing of Gitmo? That Obama extended the Bush tax cuts in order to also provide and extra 13 months of unemployment insurance and that the tax cut extension wasn't just for millionaires, but for everyone? That he repealed DADT? That enforcing immigration rules, including deportation, is what the government is supposed to do?; but if you look at the numbers, deportation has been on a steady incline for the last nine years. Should I go into the fact that while Obama is personally against gay marriage, that hasn't stopped him from being the most progressive president when it comes to gay rights that all other president combined?

Sometimes you just have to save your energy, pick your battles and shake your head as you walk away from the stupid. At least on YouTube.

Forehead to Desk Moment

Well now we know why Herman Cain is so popular. I thought maybe he offered free pizza for your vote, but no. It's just that he's just as ignorant as Sarah Palin when it comes to the Constitution and misquoting it.

We don’t need to rewrite the Constitution of the United States of America, we need to reread the Constitution and enforce the Constitution. … And I know that there are some people that are not going to do that, so for the benefit of those who are not going to read it because they don’t want us to go by the Constitution, there’s a little section in there that talks about “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

BZZZT! Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Cain. That would be Declaration of Independence you are quoting. But we have a lovely parting gift for you - the complete DVD set of Schoolhouse Rock. Please watch these to prepare for your next Republican Primary debate. I'm sure it'll give you a leg up on your competition.

Stupidity Epidemic

Question 23 in the latest PPP poll for Iowa Republicans:

Q23 Do you think Barack Obama was born in the United States?
Yes..........26%
No...........48%
Not sure...26%

Seventy-four percent, SEVENTY-FOUR PERCENT, either don't believe or are unsure President Obama was born in the United States. That's a whole stateful of stupid.

ADDING... The same poll defines 77% of the poll takers as somewhat or very conservative.

S#*! Sarah Palin Says (Tea Party Demographic Edition)

Actually, no, Sarah. It's basically one party.

"A recent poll by YouGov for The Economist suggests that the movement's supporters are older, whiter, richer and far more likely to be Republican than Democrat."

What the F&$^ is Wrong with People!?

POSTED BY JHW22

I told Broadway Carl, about three hours ago, that I wasn't feeling sufficiently pissed for posting anything today. Then I went shopping with my kid who annoyed me the entire time asking for toys and refusing to cooperate at any level. The traffic on the way home was ridiculous and I needed to chill out while my husband relieved me of kid duty for a moment.

AND THEN I SAW IT! And I saw it again. And I saw it again. And I saw it again.

In the span of 45 seconds I read, in multiple locations, that the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named who wants to burn copies of the Qur'an canceled his bonfire because HE SAYS the Imam and leadership of Park51 agreed to move Park51 as a quid pro quo.

But Park51 isn't going anywhere. Their official statement via Twitter:

Official: It is untrue that Park51 is being moved. The project is moving ahead as planned. What is being reported in the media is false.

In fact, just earlier today I watched Soledad O'Brien's interview with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf from last night where he repeatedly, clearly and emphatically said that he believes relocating Park51 would be giving over to those would use that concession as a tool against America. There is no way the Imam would play Clarice Starling to the religious-text-burning-asshole-who-shall-not-be-named's Hannibal Lecter. And they didn't.

So you know what we have here, folks? What we have here is a failure to communicate.

One crazy, despised, disrespected asshole-who-shall-not-be-named said jump and everyone jumped. Media ran with it like it was the biggest breaking news story ever and didn't bother to check with PARK51 FIRST! And then people read the headlines and read the quotes of the asshole-who-shall-not-be-named and believed him. HIM. Seriously?

If that's not bad enough, now people will be going about their day thinking that moving Park51 is even an option all because some asshole-who-shall-not-be-named LIED and everyone FELL FOR IT!

I can't slap my forehead enough or bang my head on my laptop enough over the rapid stupidity that transpired in a matter of moments while I was telling my son that if he asked for a toy one more time, he'd lose a time stick*. Never before have I wished to argue with a four-year-old rather than face the absurdity of America more than just now.

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. And yes, I am now sufficiently enraged.


*My son earns a time stick when he's good and trades in time sticks when he wants to watch a show. When he runs out of time sticks, he can't watch shows anymore. When's he's really ornery, he can lose time sticks.

S#*! Sarah Palin Says (Vanity Fair Rebuttal Edition)

Well all I can say is, WOW! Less than 24 hours after a suggestion of making "Shit Sarah Palin Says" a recurring theme, comes the Mama Grizzly's latest statement in response to the Vanity Fair article that was less than kind:

"Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous -- sources that are anonymous -- and impotent, limp and gutless reporters take anonymous sources and cite them as being factual references," Palin continued. "It just slays me because it's so absolutely clear what the state of yellow journalism is today that they would take these anonymous sources as fact."

Erectile dysfunction jokes! Way to go, Sarah. I suppose we should ask the First Dude about being emasculated by the North Star.

I wonder what Michael Joseph Gross thinks about Sarah now, considering that in his appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe today, he not only admitted that he had left the "worst stuff" out of his piece, but his original intention was to write an article favorable to Sarah Palin because he felt she'd gotten a bum ride.

"I couldn't believe these stories either when I first heard them, and I started this story with a prejudice in her favor... I started this with every good intention toward her," [Gross] said. "I was just shocked and appalled at every step at what I found. And I wrote this story sort of against my will. It wasn't what I wanted to write, it wasn't what I wanted to find. It was what was forced on me by the facts."

I guess a wink to the camera just isn't enough anymore.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

S#*! Sarah Palin Says

After reading a few @SarahPalinUSA tweets (yes, I know it's a bit masochistic) I thought I might make "Shit Sarah Palin Says" a recurring theme.  Hell, I could run a completely different blog on her ridiculous tweets alone.  But I think I'll just save the good ones to ridicule for an occasional laugh.

My apologies to William Shatner.








Huh... yellow journalism. Do you suppose Sarah is talking about all the pundits in the "lamestream" media appalled that President Obama didn't give enough credit to former President Bush's surge? Or is she speaking about Fox News and their constant "Ground Zero Mosque" bashing?  It makes you wonder what's up? What's the threat?

Fox: The Parent Company Trap

Another awesome Jon Stewart segment.



So, do Fox News employees know that Murdoch's Newscorp partner is funding Park51 or are they really that fucking stupid? My guess is depending on the show, it's the former with a little bit of the latter. The little bit being the hosts of Fox and Friends.

Idiot Alert

Exxon Mobil, an American company... was involved in the Exxon Valdez spill.

And as Jason Linkins notes, the untrustworthy foreign company British Petroleum was, for eighteen years, the employer of one Todd Palin.

SARAH 2012!

WTF?

This story has to be seen to be believed. And then filed in the annals of the WHAT THE FUCK?! Hall of Fame.

Classic Stupidity - UPDATE

These are the boneheads we are dealing with.


(Photo via Bob Cesca)

These are the imbeciles that "want their country back" as if it was taken away from them in the first place. I wonder how morons like these get by day to day without being killed by walking into traffic? Or walking off a cliff? Or having an anvil fall on their head?

UPDATE (2:30pm): Update on The Stupid.

Via Wonkette:

Would-be teabaggers and and other easily duped dingbats are proudly emailing each other wonderful pictures of a million teabaggers crowding the National Mall, but these pictures are actually from the Million Man March of 1997, an event attended by, ahem, colored people.

Oh, the irony! AHAHAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAAAAAA!!!

Smell It? The Stench of Crazy In The Air

I am sticking to my self imposed blackout of all things Glenn Beck and 9-12 Project today as I value my health, but I couldn't help but click on a 50 second AP video, and this sign just made me chuckle.



If you can't make it out, it reads:

OBAMA
WE HAVE WAKEN (sic) UP
TO YOUR EVIL PLANS
TO DESTROY OUR
COUNTRY. TAKE YOUR
RACIST UN-AMERICAN
ACORN GROUPS AND
ARROGENT (sic) WIFE
BACK TO YOUR OWN
COUNTRY AND STRIP
THEIR RIGHTS AWAY!

Well, looks like they surely have "waken" up.

Two things:

1 - I don't know about you, but if I happen to make up a sign for public display, I'd think about spellchecking it and making sure the words I use actually exist in the English language first.

2 - I was under the impression that Glenn Beck's 9-12 Project was intended to make people feel the way they did the day after September 11th, "when even French newspapers proclaimed: 'We’re all Americans' — we were united." It was all about unity. Looking at some of these pictures, looks like Beck missed the mark by a little bit.

The Pandemic of Stupid (Part Three: The Michele Bachmann Edition)

Minnesotans should be completely embarrassed having this moonbat represent their state. Michele "Armed and Dangerous" Bachmann's latest conspiracy theory involves the evil Barack Obama and the use of information in the upcoming 2010 Census.

Now the Census, for those that don't know, has been around since Thomas Jefferson in 1790. A Founding Father. But that doesn't matter to Bachmann. She's convinced these personal questions are an invasion of privacy and doesn't know what the evil government (the government she is a part of) would do with such vital information like her phone number. Because we all know it's impossible for the government to get that information unless provided by the customer. The telecom companies would never surrender than kind of vital info.

Well, Michele, the U. S. Constitution (Article I, Section II) requires that there be a census every ten years in order to apportion the seats in the House of Representatives among the states. That would be to assure idiots like Bachmann have a job. Census information is also used by federal, state and local governments to assess needs and allocate funding, by academics to study the changing population, by individuals to trace their genealogy, and for many other purposes.

Besides the fact that you are subject to prosecution if you refuse to answer census information and Bachmann insisting she will not comply with the census next year, the killer is this little nugget: she is upset that they ask for all this very personal information, but don't ask if you are an American citizen. Listen to the MENSA conversation between Bachmann and Sean Hannity.



Really? Is there no question in the US Census asking if you are an American citizen? Surely that has to be an oversight, and an egregious one at that. Could Bachmann be correct? ...Of course not.

Section 3: Page 18, Question 8



Of course, Bachmann also brings ACORN into the mix, just one of over 250 organizations used by the government in compiling information of over 300 million people. I always knew that some ultra-conservatives righties were nuts when they were in power, but now that they're out of power they are freaking out and coming out of the woodwork faster than the zombies in Night of the Living Dead.

Here's Stephen Colbert's take on the Census (Thanks to Annette for the video).




(H/T GottaLaff)

UPDATE (3:30pm): Rachel Weiner: Michele Bachmann's Cenus Opposition Worries GOP

Three Republican congressman have publicly chastised fellow Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) for declaring that she would not fill our her census form.

"Boycotting the constitutionally mandated Census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country," said Reps. Patrick McHenry (N.C.), Lynn Westmoreland (Ga.) and John Mica (Fla.), members of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives in a statement Wednesday.

...Roll Call reports that the three congressmen approached Bachmann privately and asked her to stop the boycott. They went public because Bachmann "appeared unfazed by their request."

I Guess He Shouldn't Call Them Bitter

The brain trust at Arizona State University (that bastion of intellectualissimitudeiness... so, uh, party on) has decided that the guy who vanquished their state's favorite son in the recent election simply isn't experienced enough to merit an honorary degree from such a prestigious university.

Um. OK. How about you all just go fuck yourselves instead?