Thog's Science Masterclass #16: Bachmann's Back!

[realthog]

Republican Minnesota Congressperson Michele Bachmann has a fairly fragile grasp on logic, so it's probably expecting her to have anything even that good when it comes to basic scientific principles such as cause-and-effect. Or maybe she lives in her very own little quantum universe . . .

Whatever, she's attempting now to politicize swine flu -- not the way in which the racists are, by blaming it on Mexican immigrants, but in her own unique fashion. The occurrence of epidemics of swine flu is, in the Bachmannian view, perhaps related to the political persuasion of the US President in office at the time.

Interviewed by the rightist Pajamas Media:

I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter. . . . And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence.

You can watch the full video of the interview (18 excruciating twaddle-packed minutes) at Pajamas Media, or you can find the salient moments -- and relevant slice of transcript -- at Talking Points Memo.

The latter points out a historical factoid which it gleaned in turn from the Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages: the swine flu outbreak of the 1970s occurred, to be more precise, in 1976 . . . when the US President was a Republican, Gerald Ford.

Oops.

They laughed at Galileo, they laughed at Einstein, they . . .

Comments

[realthog.livejournal.com]

What's depressing is that one could ask the same question about a whole stack of people who're regularly featured on TV, both politicians and supposed pundits/journalists, who seem incapable of logical thought. Tomaq produced a useful list (to which I added a few) when commenting on a previous post of mine: http://realthog.livejournal.com/105874.html. It's not just that these people are rightists: it's that they seem to lack the basic skill of thinking -- and far too many of their audience seem likewise to lack that skill.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

You all keep making the same errors you've made dealing with the bushcrimesyndicate all along -- you think it is about truth, facts, information, discussion, showing the objective facts.

It just is not.

This is irrational because it is religion. They are deeply in love with their religion which in their minds is a cosmic war of good and evil, and they are the good, mirroring heaven (and this is as true of the crazy islamic and israeli hardcore -- and probably hindus and sikhs too) and we with truth, rationality, science, facts, objectivity, relativity are the evil, mirroring satan and hell.

You cannot discuss or negotiate.

Love, C.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

As I said: "it's that they seem to lack the basic skill of thinking -- and far too many of their audience seem likewise to lack that skill". It's the inability -- or refusal -- to reason . . . and as such it does indeed bear many resemblances to religious faith.

Yet these people pretend to rationality, to reason, and therefore, when they abuse it, they need to be called on this -- in the same way that Creation Scientists need to be called on the "science" part of their claims. (There are of course lots of other reasons to confront creationists, just as there are legion reasons to confront rightists. But here I'm concerned with a specific remit.)

I liked Kyle's expression, further up the page: "a greed for ignorance"

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

You can call them on it as often as you like but it will make NO DIFFERENCE.

The only thing that will make any difference is that they get no public attention to their bs. That NOBODY PAYS THEM ANY ATTENTION.

They whine all the time as it is that they are victimized and kept out of the discourse. So they should really be kept out of the discourse so they can at least for once tell a fact.

Love, C.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"it will make NO DIFFERENCE"

No difference to them, but in fact on occasion a difference to their audience. We know people who've seen the light about some of these demagogues, having discovered them telling one lie too many.

I'm not happy with the notion of simply ignoring the creeps. Everyone said this was the best thing to do with the loonies of the rightist noise machine, and guess what? We got two terms of Bush, and found ourselves living in a torture state.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

Well, I want fox shut down. It's nothing but a treasonous propaganda arm. Along with limbaugh and all that ilk.

[realthog.livejournal.com]

"It's nothing but a treasonous propaganda arm"

Couldn't agree more.

I was pleased to note the other day that Fox News's very own sweetheart, Antonin Scalia, wrote the Supreme Court ruling that Fox TV should pay that completely bloody halfwitted fine to the FCC for Bono having said "fuck" on live television. You play with vipers like Scalia and sooner or later you get bit.

[fledgist.livejournal.com]

For some reason, I first read this as "treasonous propaganda jam". Worse than Polaner all-fruit.