Snap Fact #362 - PUNCH BACK: President Obama is THE Rational Man; Republicans Oppose Rational Thinking and Common Sense

In the past, if someone knew nothing and talked nonsense, no one paid any attention to him or her. No more. Now such people are courted and flattered by conservative politicians and ideologues as “Real Americans” defending their country against big government and educated liberal elites. Sadly some of these Know-Nothings are Republican politicians themselves.The legitimate press interviews them and reports their opinions seriously without pointing out the imbecility of what they believe. The hucksters of FOX News and the right wing radio wing-nuts orchestrate their loyal followers who are deaf to reason and listen to the voices bought by the powerful financial interests who will take away their rights. This cabal of evil knows that they can make their cool-ade drinking chorus believe almost anything. They know that for the ignorant and the bigoted, their lies sing a siren-like song. Haven’t you heard them crooning these ridiculous refrains?

The government is coming to get your guns.

Obama is a Muslim.

Global Warming is a hoax.

The president is forcing open homosexuality on the military.

Schools push a left-wing agenda.

Social Security is an entitlement, no different from welfare.

Obama hates white people.

The life on earth is 6,000 years old and so is the universe.

The safety net contributes to poverty.

The government is taking money from you and giving it to sex-crazed college women to pay for their birth control.

Coal is clean energy.

One could easily list many more such commonplace delusionary myths believed by Americans. They are kept in circulation by hundreds of right-wing political and religious media outlets whose function is to fabricate an alternate reality for their viewers and their listeners. They are sure that “The Big Lie” will work. It’s up to us to PUNCH BACK.

Stupidity is sometimes the greatest of historical forces. What we have today is a rebellion of dull minds against the intellect. They love politicians who rail against teachers and resent the ones who show an ability to think seriously and independently. The ignoramuses can always be counted on to vote against their own self-interest; but they are not ignorant all on their own. Hundreds of millions are being spent to keep a cacophonous symphony of misinformation blaring out to the uninformed and perpetuate the aforementioned lies.

“It’s a theory that’s out there, it’s got some gaps in it. In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution. I figure you’re smart enough to figure out which one is right.” … Texas Governor Rick Perry (GOP), creationism advocate.

"theories of evolution and the big bang are lies straight from the pit of hell.” … U.S. Representative from Georgia, Paul Broun (GOP), who serves on the House Science Committee, science denier.

"I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." … U.S. Senate candidate from Indiana, Richard Mourdock (GOP), anti-abortion advocate.

“legitimate rape” rarely causes pregnancy … U.S. Senate candidate from Missouri, Todd Akin (GOP), anti-abortion advocate.

“this is not an issue about denying anyone rights. This is an issue about protecting the rights of a human being to live* – irrespective of what stage in development they may be." … U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (GOP), anti-abortion and personhood amendment advocate (*unmindful of the life of the mother).

“(climatologists using) statistical tricks to distort their findings and intentionally mislead the public on the issue of climate change.” … U.S. Representative from Wisconsin, and current GOP Vice Presidential candidate, Paul Ryan (GOP), global warming denier, quoting unsubstantiated claims which were later proved untrue.

"voodoo, nonsense, hokum, a hoax." … U.S. Representative from Minnesota, Michele Bachmann (GOP), global warming denier.

"HPV vaccine has a very serious risk of causing mental retardation," … U.S. Representative from Minnesota, Michele Bachmann (GOP), nonfactual assertion of "risk" associated with cervical cancer fighting  pharmaceutical.  This in spite of no known cases of "mental retardation" in over 35 million users in the US alone. 

Scientist Bill Nye, the "Science Guy", hammered those who don’t believe in evolution. To do so “betrays the best use of our brains". Evolution …was discovered and the evidence for it is astonishing, it’s overwhelming. He said Earth is more like 4.5 billion years old, as opposed to 6,000 to 10,000 years old, as creationists believe. “That’s science, those are facts. You can’t just close your eyes and make them not true.

Warnings that we may face civilization-threatening temperature change by the end of the century, once considered outlandish, are now coming out of mainstream research groups. In the past, Mr. Romney has strongly endorsed the notion that man-made climate change is a real concern. But, in 2011, he softened that to a statement that he thinks the world is getting hotter, but “I don’t know that” and “I don’t know if it’s mostly caused by humans.” According to Public Policy Polling, only 21 percent of Republican voters in Iowa believe in global warming (and only 35 percent believe in evolution). Within the G.O.P., willful ignorance has become a litmus test for candidates, a test that Mr. Romney is determined to pass at all costs.

An educated, well-informed population, the kind that a functioning democracy requires, would be difficult to lie to, and could not be led by the nose by the various vested interests running amok in this country. An educated, well informed population would vote for an intelligent well informed president, and only one of our candidates can sing that song.