a liar, or just plain stupider than a lavatory plunger?

[realthog]

I report, you decide. Well, in fact, it's Harper's Weekly that reports:

The House and Senate reached agreement on a $789 billion economic-stimulus plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign into law despite a lack of support from Republicans. "When Roosevelt did this," said Representative Steve Austria (R., Ohio), "he put our country into a Great Depression. That's just history."

Um, no, Rep. Austria. It's not.

Comments

[realthog.livejournal.com]

There's a useful book in this context called Lies My Teacher Told Me, by James Loewen.

But I think all nations colour thewir history atrociously to make themselves look good -- or at least they used to: most of the European ones have learned to face up to reality a bit better, with the Brits acknowledging the many vilenesses of the colonial period, etc. And even when I was a kid it was admitted openly in history classes that, yes, the Brits had been in the wrong in the events leading up to the American Revolution/War of Independence. The US is being a bit slower to catch up in this respect, is all.

But then, to the European eye, the US is pretty goddam odd and atavistic about patriotism, and that's probably a part of it too.