I got a link to this article about a guy that is a total asswipe and nutcase. Why do I use such harsh language? Well, anyone who is still one of the psycho "birthers" is about as crazy as the flat earthers. It's not like this has been rehashed again and again and again:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp
http://msgboard.snopes.com/politics/graphics/birth.jpg
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
Of course, then the "birthers" go off on the wild goose chase of the "long form" certificate. Never mind that the one shown is perfectly acceptable and a legal document on its own. It's as if these nutters are a cop that stop you for going 55 in a 55 with their radar gun stating 55, but they still give you a ticket because they don't have a picture of your speedometer from the time they took the reading...
So I am glad they booted this idiot. He's clearly mentally unstable. Not to mention that it's perfectly legal under the UCMJ to do that to him since he's disopbeying a legal order. Not only that, he'd be bad for good order and discipline (a case where I agree with that verbiage). And finally, my hypothesis is that he's a pussy, and was too afraid to deploy (PUSSY!).
On the vein of DOUCHEBAGGERY; while I don't agree with all of President Obama's domestic policies, the douchebagger of the past 8 years has forced us into a corner. When Billary tried to ram rod healthcare reform back in the 90's, there was still hope that the system could do what needed to be done. Sadly, since then, douchebaggery has been rampant, and any sort of humane compassion has been abdicated by the example set in our national leadership, and now the system is so broken and fucked sidways that we have no choice but to let the government step in and pick up the pieces. The "less government" libertarian part of me hates to see all these government programs put in place to do things that we as responsible citizens should be able to do for ourselves, but I have to face the facts that we fucked things up so bad, that we need to be rescued from our worst nature. Of course, now that there is a statesman and rational thinker instead of a supersticious sheeple in charge, we may get a better example set for us.
Finally, I want to present a blog from another writer that talks about the douchebaggery in education. Today is the 40th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11. An amazing time in history for the entire human race. And today, the US is barely able to get to low earth orbit, and will in all likelyhood get beat by the Chinese back to the moon, and even Mars. So here is that blog. While he states many things as "facts", i think he's a bit on the side of hyperbole, but his sentiments are right on. If you look at reports about the state of US education (or just watch Jaywalking), you know what I mean,
40 Years After Moon Landing: Why Aren't People Smarter?
Editor's Note: Forty years ago this month, humans landed on the moon for the first time. We asked Benjamin Radford why, four decades later, humans have not become any smarter.
A look at old periodicals reveals something very interesting about human nature. Newspapers and magazines from the early 1900s were full of advertisements for instant weight loss gizmos, miracle cures, and all other forms of self-evident quackery. A century later, this stuff is still being advertised - and lots of people are buying.
You would think that by now people would know that you can't lose 10 pounds a week taking a "breakthrough" miracle pill, and you can't earn $50,000 a week working from home in your spare time (at least not legally).
Despite a long tradition of free, compulsory public education (and more college graduates than ever), as a whole we don't seem to be getting much smarter.
Many of us still buy the newest fad items and get suckered into the latest conspiracy theory. We still fall for the same logical traps, the same wacky ideas, the same old discredited snake oil in shiny new bottles that plagued our forefathers-and their forefathers.
Why? If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we rise above bad thinking?
Education
Education is a big part of the problem.
Our educational system tends to focus on rote facts and memorization: names, dates, places, and events. It is easy to teach children basic facts, and to test their knowledge of those facts; either students know the capital of Argentina or they don't, and either the correct oval is darkened with graphite or it isn't. (The emphasis on "teaching to the test" also undermines critical thinking, favoring compartmentalized factual memorization over in-depth understanding.)
Being smart involves being able to understand the relationships between events, finding and questioning hidden assumptions, and so on. The fact is, most students are not taught how to think analytically and critically.
Critical thinking classes are rarely included in typical educational curriculum. The vain hope is that in the process of studying geography, math, English, biology, and so on, students will learn to think critically. But critical thinking should not be an afterthought or happy byproduct, it should be a primary goal because it is a way of thinking that can be applied to all academic subjects and areas of life.
Cognitive limitations
The widespread failure to teach critical thinking (or even recognize its importance) is only part of the problem. Efforts to make our kids smarter will inevitably crash up against a biological barrier: Our brains are actually hardwired to hinder our attempts to think critically.
Critical thinking is often counterintuitive, and our brains are easily fooled.
Superstition and magical thinking come easily to us; we jump to conclusions without evidence; our biases and prejudices influence how we interpret the world. We see faces in clouds and patterns in events where they do not exist. Personal experience and vivid anecdotes are much more easily learned and remembered than facts. Our fears and emotions often override facts and logic (for example, the factual knowledge that air travel is very, very safe does little to calm many people's visceral fear of flying).
In a way, the better question is, shouldwe expect people to be any smarter?
Critical thinking is a skill, and like any skill it can be taught, practiced, and improved upon. Expecting the average person to think logically and critically is like expecting the average person to play the piano or write a book. With study and practice, almost anyone can do it with some level of proficiency, but most people don't learn how to think critically or analytically-nor are they even aware of its value.
More data, same processors
The amount of human knowledge has increased exponentially over the past few centuries. We have more information than ever before on virtually every imaginable topic, from physics to medicine to sociology. (The notable exceptions are paranormal, possibly non-existent subjects like ghosts, Bigfoot, and psychic powers; the body of knowledge about these topics has not increased at all.)
But all that data and information is useless if people can't effectively understand or apply it. Without logic, wisdom, and reasoned analysis, facts are useless.
The United States - and indeed the world - is faced with a daunting set of challenges, including climate change, influenza pandemics, warfare, the search for renewable energy, and so on. Solving these problems will require an educated public able to critically and logically analyze the issues. Hopefully that will happen, but if history is any guide, we will instead stumble and muddle through, just as we always have.
A look at old periodicals reveals something very interesting about human nature. Newspapers and magazines from the early 1900s were full of advertisements for instant weight loss gizmos, miracle cures, and all other forms of self-evident quackery. A century later, this stuff is still being advertised - and lots of people are buying.
You would think that by now people would know that you can't lose 10 pounds a week taking a "breakthrough" miracle pill, and you can't earn $50,000 a week working from home in your spare time (at least not legally).
Despite a long tradition of free, compulsory public education (and more college graduates than ever), as a whole we don't seem to be getting much smarter.
Many of us still buy the newest fad items and get suckered into the latest conspiracy theory. We still fall for the same logical traps, the same wacky ideas, the same old discredited snake oil in shiny new bottles that plagued our forefathers-and their forefathers.
Why? If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we rise above bad thinking?
Education
Education is a big part of the problem.
Our educational system tends to focus on rote facts and memorization: names, dates, places, and events. It is easy to teach children basic facts, and to test their knowledge of those facts; either students know the capital of Argentina or they don't, and either the correct oval is darkened with graphite or it isn't. (The emphasis on "teaching to the test" also undermines critical thinking, favoring compartmentalized factual memorization over in-depth understanding.)
Being smart involves being able to understand the relationships between events, finding and questioning hidden assumptions, and so on. The fact is, most students are not taught how to think analytically and critically.
Critical thinking classes are rarely included in typical educational curriculum. The vain hope is that in the process of studying geography, math, English, biology, and so on, students will learn to think critically. But critical thinking should not be an afterthought or happy byproduct, it should be a primary goal because it is a way of thinking that can be applied to all academic subjects and areas of life.
Cognitive limitations
The widespread failure to teach critical thinking (or even recognize its importance) is only part of the problem. Efforts to make our kids smarter will inevitably crash up against a biological barrier: Our brains are actually hardwired to hinder our attempts to think critically.
Critical thinking is often counterintuitive, and our brains are easily fooled.
Superstition and magical thinking come easily to us; we jump to conclusions without evidence; our biases and prejudices influence how we interpret the world. We see faces in clouds and patterns in events where they do not exist. Personal experience and vivid anecdotes are much more easily learned and remembered than facts. Our fears and emotions often override facts and logic (for example, the factual knowledge that air travel is very, very safe does little to calm many people's visceral fear of flying).
In a way, the better question is, shouldwe expect people to be any smarter?
Critical thinking is a skill, and like any skill it can be taught, practiced, and improved upon. Expecting the average person to think logically and critically is like expecting the average person to play the piano or write a book. With study and practice, almost anyone can do it with some level of proficiency, but most people don't learn how to think critically or analytically-nor are they even aware of its value.
More data, same processors
The amount of human knowledge has increased exponentially over the past few centuries. We have more information than ever before on virtually every imaginable topic, from physics to medicine to sociology. (The notable exceptions are paranormal, possibly non-existent subjects like ghosts, Bigfoot, and psychic powers; the body of knowledge about these topics has not increased at all.)
But all that data and information is useless if people can't effectively understand or apply it. Without logic, wisdom, and reasoned analysis, facts are useless.
The United States - and indeed the world - is faced with a daunting set of challenges, including climate change, influenza pandemics, warfare, the search for renewable energy, and so on. Solving these problems will require an educated public able to critically and logically analyze the issues. Hopefully that will happen, but if history is any guide, we will instead stumble and muddle through, just as we always have.
- And Another Thing: Why Can't We Cure Cancer?
- SPACE.com Special Report: The Apollo Moon Landing
- Top 10 Conspiracy Theories
- Original Story: 40 Years After Moon Landing: Why Aren't People Smarter?
4 comments:
Wait...It gets BETTER! Lou Dobbs is now investigating. Challenged by a caller that Obama could not have hidden birth certificate issues from the U.S., she responded: "Yes you can. His birth certificate is locked and the story came out on WorldNetDaily the other day – they're really on this – he said originally he was born in like Queen Anne hospital in Hawaii. Then he sends a letter of congratulations on the anniversary of some other hospital in Hawaii, saying of course this is a great hospital, I was born here. He doesn't even know where the hell he was born because he's lying."
Link
I SPOKE TOO SOON! IT GETS EVEN BETTER!
"An African news agency that reported extensively on President Barack Obama's recent visit to Ghana has changed its archived article that described Africa as "the continent of his birth."
Now the reference is to "the continent of his father's birth."
report talks about the party atmosphere and the Obama fan clubs who has posted "Welcome home" signs.
"For Ghana, Obama's visit will be a celebration of another milestone in African history as it hosts the first-ever African-American president on this presidential visit to the continent of his birth," the report said. Link to full article
You know your issue is at the height of delusion when Jon Stewart calls you silly, and proceeds to rip apart the nutty conspiracy theory! :)
Even the whack-job Huffington Post is calling for Chairman Obama to release his records. Quote "The only thing wierder than the birthers are the anti-birthers" Link
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